Fire Sanctuary - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Guide - IGN (2024)

Welcome to IGN's Walkthrough for the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. This page contains information on the Fire Sanctuary dungeon, including how to get the Mogma Mitts, and win your second encounter against Ghirahim.

Video Guide - Fire Sanctuary Part 1

In the first room of the Fire Sanctuary, a strange piece of greenery called a Water Fruit hangs above the lava at the entrance. This fruit can be shot with the Bow, Slingshot, Clawshots, Whip or Beetle. It will drop into the lava, cool it and create a platform.

You can find a Pink Fairy and some Arrows in the pots on the right after crossing the first lava pit.

Hit the next Water Fruit above the river of lava and ride the platform to the right on the flowing lava -- it won't sink until it reaches the end of the river. The Bokoblins shooting at you can be eliminated with the Bow, or you can confront them head-on to pick up some spare Arrows.

The platform will start to melt around the same time you reach the end of the river, so jump off and head up the stairs to reach a Chest with a Small Key. Instead of dropping down, use the Clawshots on the vines to cross the gap to score some supplies in pots.

Drop down and a Mogma named Guld will appear. Hear him out and then unlock the door with the Small Key.

Work your way down the stairs while killing the Dark Keese -- if they hit you you will be unable to use items or your Sword for a short time -- and the Bokoblins. Head through the door.

On the other side is a Chest to the left with a Red Rupee inside. Head right until you reach an opening for an arena-like fiery room. Jump down and on top of the cooled lava slab. A giant lava hand roaming the room, known as a Magmanos, will follow you in the lava beneath the floor. You cannot harm the Magmanos at this point (you need water to hurt it). Stand on the small platform and, in an effort to attack you, the Magmanos will inadvertently raise the platform.

Once in the air, you can hop onto the closest ledge. Kill the Bokoblin with your bow then cross the vines to reach the platform to the south. Drop down and enter the door to the west after saving at the Bird Statue.

The Dark Lizalfos on the walkway is susceptible to the same old Lizalfos attacks, but it is capable of cursing you, rendering your items and sword useless for a bit. To avoid this, have your shield at the ready to Shield Bash the dark energy it emits.

Before doing anything else in this room, bust out your Beetle and collect some Rupees. Some are in a tunnel to the south, and more on a dragon statue to the north. this dragon statue has a cracked boulder in its mouth. You must destroy this.

There's an opening with a Blue Rupee that you can pilot your Beetle into to grab one of the Bomb Flowers behind it. Loop around the corner and ram your Beetle bomber into the stone mouth to free it up.

With the blockage cleared, the lava can flow freely again. Hit the Water Fruit above the now-flowing lava to create a solid slab which will can now carry you across the room. Ride it to the far west ledge while shooting arrows at the Bokoblins on the far side. Enter the unlocked door.

Ignore the captured Mogma for now and just head to the right. Use the Gust Bellows to clear away the hot magma patches so you can reach the Chest at the end of the corridor and grab the Small Key from inside.

Backtrack a bit and enter the locked door in the previous room. There are two chests in this room with a Red Rupee in one and a Monster Horn in the other. By the Red Rupee chest is a pot with a Pink Fairy inside as well (along the south wall, lower level).

On the upper level, stand in front of the familiar frog fire gate. Turn around and stab your sword through the whole in the decorative wall to skewer one of the Water Fruit so that it sticks to your sword.

Turn around and aim for the frog, swinging your sword to send the fruit flying at it. When the flame barrier subsides, enter the next chamber save at the Bird Statue. Watch out for the Dark Keese as you fight off the Bokoblins.

Enter the door to the east for a miniboss fight.

Magmanos.

There are solid slabs of rock on the ground. Use them just like you did before to reach an upper ledge, but this time you'll find some Water Fruit. Skewer one with a stab of your sword and jump back down into the arena.

Keep running until the hands show themselves, then lock on and toss the Fruit at one of the Magmanos. This will harden the monster allowing you to kill it with a flurry of sword strikes (or a bomb blast).

Once you've shattered both hands, go through the now-open door on your level, head down the stairs, and pull the lever to release the Mogma.

He'll give you the Mogma Mitts as thanks for freeing him. You can use the Mogma Mitts to travel through underground passages.

Video Guide: Fire Sanctuary Part 2

Nearby you'll find three patched holes. Burrow down into the one that opens up to enter a small underground tunnel.

Chip away at the small boulders with your Mitts as you make your way to the Bomb Flower. If you strike it from below, it'll roll towards the tough debris up ahead.

The blast will clear it out so that you can reach the ray of light marking the point where you'll emerge to the surface again.

Save at the Bird Statue. This room is filled with magma puddles which you can clear with the Gust Bellows. Under one of these to the east is a new dig spot by a locked gate. You can dig here to find a subterranean area with a switch the moves the gate above. You have to crawl to the red switch and punch it with your Mogma Mitts to open the gate above.

Through the gate is an exterior area filled with Bokoblins. Shoot them arrows and, before crossing the chasm, look for a foot switch nearby that opens a shortcut back to a previous area.

You should backtrack through this gate for an Empty Bottle now that you have your new Mogma Mitts. Enter the door leading back into the room where you first encountered the Magmanos. Here you can find a dig spot by the Bird Statue that leads to a subterranean area with a switch to open another gate.

Open the gate and resurface on the far side. Run down the stairs and you'll find a room filled with Water Fruit. You can use these to kill the Magmanos. Step on the pressure switch to open the gate. Stab the Water Fruit and carry it into the Magmanos chamber.

Run around and let it rise out of the lava. Toss the Fruit at it and slash it until it crumbles. This drains the room of lava. There is an exit on the west side of the now-drained pit that leads to a Chest with an Empty Bottle in it!

Return to the external area with the Bokoblin archers and drop down to find a Goddess Wall. Remember: You can draw an arrow to get a restock of arrows. Use the Clawshots to cross to the upper eastern door.

After the short cutscene with the trapped Mogma, look around near the southernmost wall to find a hole you can burrow through. Once underground, you have two switches you have to hit in order to move the gates above. You can only hit these in one order to activate them both. Hit the switch in the upper right area first.

Back on the surface, you'll now be able to reach a water fruit. Stick it to your sword and toss it at the frog head to extinguish another set of fire barriers, then pull the lever in the previously blocked-off room to release the second trapped Mogma here.

The Mogma will tell you about a fake wall AND give you the Dungeon Map! After the conversation, use the map to locate the fake wall that you can blow up with Bombs (it's on the east end of the room with the Mogma-freeing switch).

Beyond the false wall, burrow down into the hole and you'll run into a Moldorm. To defeat it, strike its tail three times. It loses some segments with each hit, making it harder to catch up to its weak spot.

Try to get it to ram into the wall as it chases you to stun it so you can slip around to its backside. Once you kill it, head through the opposite exit to the tunnel.

Get the Small Key from the Chest and climb up the nearby vines. Drop down to where the fake wall used to be and head all the way back west a few rooms to the Bird Statue next to the locked door (your map will show you the way).

Enter the locked door and shoot the Water Fruit to drop it into the lava. Head up the stairs and enter the western area. Follow the path around the right side and burrow into the hole at the end.

Heart Piece

In the far northwest corner of the Fire Sanctuary (1F), you can burrow into the ground.

Hit the switch to move the gate and a Mogma sharing the crawlspace with you will deactivate the switch and flee. Catching him is a tad tricky -- try to catch him at an intersection or corner and quickly run into him (remember that you can sprint while crawling!). He'll give you a Heart Piece if you successfully catch up to him.

Video Guide: Fire Sanctuary Part 3

Hit the switch to open the gate and climb out. Shoot down the Water Fruit to form a solid platform. Jump onto the platform and ride it down the lava flow to the east ledge. Go outside and burrow into the hole next to the Bird Statue after saving.

Make your way to the top of the screen and clear the three stones in the corner so you can reach the Bomb Flower you need to blast through.

Return to the bottom and smack the Bomb Flower. The resulting explosion will cause the tunnel to start flooding with lava, at which point you should hurry back the way you came. Make sure to pass the Stamina Fruit as you flee.

Once you're outside, you'll see that the lava has shifted and is now flowing freely. Hit the switch to open the gate, creating a shortcut.

Go down the stairs and drop the Water Fruit into the lava to create a now-drifting platform. Ride it to the central area. The Boss Door is here, along with a ledge with two statues in lava far below. This is called The Bridge of Decision.

B1

You'll have to jump into the mouth of the sleeping one (as stated by a stone at the start of the dungeon), so look to the one on the left -- its eyes are closed. Take a leap of faith and just when you think you'll hit lava, a platform materializes. Break your fall with the Sailcloth, then enter the statue's mouth. A Goddess Wall can be found in the area just before the door.

Two Dark Lizalfos will greet you here. An easy way to defeat them is to run and jump up onto the ledge, where they can't hit you, but make sure you stay on the very edge, so they'll spit curse at you. Once they start spitting curse, hit them with an arrow. Once the Lizaflos are dead, enter the door behind you.

Another Goddess Wall can be found at the bottom of the spiral staircase. Make your way up the tower and be sure to kill the Keese before using the Clawshots on the vines. Sprint and you can jump across each gap.

In the room at the top of the stairs you'll need to solve a puzzle involving statues and burrowing. There are five statues, each with a different number of wings. Take note of which statues have which number of wings. Dig your way down into the tunnel. The key is to activate the switches that sit underneath the statues in the order dictated by the statues (the one-winged statue first, then the two-winged one, etc.). You can press Z to see the statues above at any time.

Crawl towards the top of the screen to activate the first light pad. Hang a right to trigger the second one, then head down, avoiding the light pad above the Bomb Flower and roll the Bomb upwards to clear the rock, giving you access to the third pad (go around to reach it). Number four is the one next to the bomb, and number five the one at the top left section of the tunnel.

After succeeding in activating the statues in the right order, a Moldorm will crawl into the tunnel and a gate will close preventing you from leaving. After you defeat it and burrow back out. Grab the Mysterious Crystals (Boss Key) from the Chest behind the now-open gate.

Head west through the door to find a switch and a shortcut back to the Boss Door. Look for some pots with a Pink Fairy nearby.

Head back to The Bridge of Decision and save at the Bird Statue. Place the Mysterious Crystals in the Boss Key Slot and rotate it so it looks like a key.

Demon Lord Ghirahim: Rematch

Video Guide: Ghirahim Boss Fight

Ghirahim will appear in the sanctum, explaining that he's learned about the second Gate of Time. He has no idea where to find it, however, so you're still safe...for now. He'll fight you for refusing to surrender its location, and this battle's a bit different than the last.

Ghirahim will start off in much the same way as the previous fight, tracking your movements. The best way to confuse him is to hold your sword still directly in front of you, then suddenly slash. Try not to strike the daggers he summons this time -- you want to swing right between them, then follow up your strike with a few blows.

You can use Shield Bash counter attacks to stop his projectiles after you attack him. After he takes a few hits, he'll summon twice as many daggers, meaning you have a smaller window within which to attack him. Fortunately, since your sword is stronger, this part of the battle won't take quite as long.

In the second half of the battle, Ghirahim will summon not one, but two swords and renew his attack. When defending, he'll hold the swords in much the same way as a Stalfos, leaving one side open to strike. Hit him with a horizontal slash that connects with his unprotected side and then slash a few more times for extra damage.

If you fail to strike him, he'll unleash a powerful counterattack immediately and without fail. He'll also summon complicated series of daggers to send your way, such as a ring of them around you both horizontally and vertically. Spin Attacks will cut them out of the air -- look for the pattern of daggers: If they surround you, perform a horizontal Spin Attack; If they arch over your head, perform a vertical Spin Attack.

Ghirahim's other dagger attacks can be Shield Bash-ed to send them flying back in his face. The best times to hit him are when he's defending and when he unleashes another new attack -- he'll jump into the air and try to dive bomb you from above. Sprint out of the way and go in hacking at him when he lands.

Try not to get too close to him during the latter stage of the fight, since he'll be more aggressive and less defensive. It's easiest to just wait for him to try to attack from above. Keep at it, and soon enough he'll retreat.

Gather your Heart Container. Leave the chamber and claim Din's Flame. It'll power up your sword to its strongest purified level, granting you the Master Sword, the blade of evil's bane. It's not quite reached its final form, but it now has the power of the three creator Goddesses!

You can get a Heart Piece immediately after completing this dungeon. Just return to the front door.

Heart Piece

You need the Mogma Mitts for this Heart Piece. Outside the entrance to the Fire Sanctuary (in the Volcano Summit area) you can find a Gossip Stone with a dig spot in front of it (it's by one of the fire gates). Dig in the spot with your Mitts and you will find a Heart Piece.