in Honor of 5th Quest

Gleeok wrote:You just totally gave me an idea for a speed run attempt. 😊

Are you going to share?

I think I will join in this challenge. I've played 1 & 2 lots of times, and 3 I tried but never finished. I seem to recall playing halfway through the 4th also. I'll probably start on it tonight.

Added a schedule to an earlier post
EDIT: The schedule has been 'spoilered' in the earlier post to maintain thread coherency, but is now irrelevant as Successor put together a better schedule.

I also have a few pointers for players who are struggling with the first two dungeons, provided in spoilers below
First Dungeon
[spoiler]The first dungeon is closer than you think. You can reach it from start by traversing five screens, and it is located in a dead-end. It is a good idea to explore before you enter the first dungeon, to find at least an extra heart container.
If you're still struggling:
[spoiler]This won't be fun, but farm the octoroks to the east of start to gather money for bombs and the blue candle. Use the blue candle on the southmost green tree (the one that makes the bottom end of the 'greater than' sign on that screen) in the screen directly south of the Red Woods fairy pond (somewhat near the north-west-south-west maze) to snag a heart container. Next, traverse the forest maze (the path is the same as before) and travel north of the exit one screen to reach the mountain south of the graveyard. Bomb the wall here (roughly in the center) to find a cave containing the power bracelet.
If you're feeling like getting in some extra credit, save 90 rupees and purchase a magic shield
[spoiler]There are a few places to do this, the easiest to find are the screen immediately west from start (there's a shop if you push one of the rocks after clearing the screen) or the former location of dungeon six (west of the graveyard). Do NOT pay the higher price for the magic shield, as the quest is riddled with Like Likes and money is hard to grind.[/spoiler]
Then, brave the Lynel-ridden depths of Death Mountain to make your way to the North-West corner of the World Map. Here you will find two screens with arrows pointing towards each other. If you manage to clear the screen with the right-pointing arrow (since the Magic Shield can block Lynel sword shots), you can push down on one of the rocks and find a heart container cave. This gets you five hearts before the first dungeon, allowing you to acquire the White Sword before entering (I'll detail where to find the white sword in the Second Dungeon spoiler).[/spoiler]
The First Dungeon contains the Magic Book, which is actually somewhat of a detriment later in the game (it makes the wand start fires, but since we'll be using the wand as a bubble-proof sword and fires hurt Link it will only get in the way). This dungeon has several rooms where you must clear all the enemies to advance. They're Goriyas, and you won't have the boomerang to stun them. You'll need to get used to waiting for them to throw their boomerangs and then sneaking up alongside them while they're stopped.
If you can't find your way to the boss:
[spoiler]Try pressing against the walls. You will have to use a pass-through wall to reach the path leading to the boss. It's also a good practice to adopt, since this quest uses a LOT of pass-through walls.[/spoiler]
The boss of this dungeon is Aquamentus. The room has fire-shooters in addition to the classic first-dungeon dragon, so it might be painful with only three hearts. If you're having a lot of trouble, go back to the Overworld and fish around until you've got at least one more Heart Container.
[/spoiler]

Second Dungeon
[spoiler]The Second Dungeon is quite near its first-quest location. Make sure you have at least Five Hearts before setting out, because you'll need to acquire the White Sword before braving this den.
The White Sword can be found:
[spoiler]very easily, actually. Go to the first quest location for the second dungeon, and you'll find a lake. Bomb the wall on the north end of the lake, directly in the middle, and the White Sword will be there.[/spoiler]
The Second Dungeon is significantly easier than the first, especially because of the White Sword. The enemies are less aggressive selections, too. You WILL need the Candle before you enter, and you will want to grind money for the Blue Ring before you leave.
The shop containing the blue ring can be found:
[spoiler]in a familiar spot... the waterfall near first quest's Fifth Dungeon. It requires 250 rupees, of course, five short of the max you can carry[/spoiler]
The item in the second dungeon is the Bow. If you're having trouble finding it:
[spoiler]it is located in one of the key's teeth. You will need bombs to reach it. It's quite easy to find once you have the map, actually.[/spoiler]
The boss of this dungeon is Gohma. You'll need the bow to defeat it, but it's the weak variation that can only stomach one arrow. Even with the fire-shooters this should be a piece of cake.
[/spoiler]

I'll go over the Third and Fourth Dungeon next week, when their deadline has passed.

I'm sorry but why is your calendar starting before this thread/event even started? I also put Level 9 in it's own week because I am assuming it to be the most difficult and time consuming, to allow time to collect any extras that may be needed, or to catch up from previous weeks(say you didn't finish level 8 yet). Also people are busy and 5 weeks isnt too long a time.

SUCCESSOR wrote:I'm sorry but why is your calendar starting before this thread/event even started? I also put Level 9 in it's own week because I am assuming it to be the most difficult and time consuming, to allow time to collect any extras that may be needed, or to catch up from previous weeks(say you didn't finish level 8 yet). Also people are busy and 5 weeks isnt too long a time.

Because I used the calendar in my phone to get the dates; I wasn't looking at the thread start date. ...We only started on Wednesday? It feels longer than that.

But okay, I'll adjust the timeline. I was just worried five weeks would be too long.

So I've continued along the overworld and got myself an extra Heart Container before I quit searching for the White Sword and completed Level 1. With 6 Heart Containers and the Book; I went into Level 2 for a bit and then grabbed the White Sword (with the help of the Wiki, I would have never found it by myself until after I would have discovered that the Whistle won't work there) and then completed it.
Next, I went straight into Level 3 and swept it clean (except for the room with the Boomerang, which houses an ridiculous amount of Blue Darknuts) and beat the boss with plenty of health to spare. I personally thought that the Lanmolas before the boss were tougher than the boss.

Currently, this is what I have:
[spoiler]

• White Sword
• Magic Shield
• Bow and Arrow
• Candle
• Bait
• Bracelet
• Blue Ring
• Book
• 8 Heart Containers.
• 0 deaths (I can't believe that I actually managed to beat Level 3 with no deaths!).

CJC wrote:Because I used the calendar in my phone to get the dates; I wasn't looking at the thread start date. ...We only started on Wednesday? It feels longer than that.

But okay, I'll adjust the timeline. I was just worried five weeks would be too long.

I tweaked it and put it in the OP. Tell me what you think. I pushed up the dates a bit for people just starting and overlapped the last week of 3rd and first week of 4th.

Orithan wrote:[spoiler]So I've continued along the overworld and got myself an extra Heart Container before I quit searching for the White Sword and completed Level 1. With 6 Heart Containers and the Book; I went into Level 2 for a bit and then grabbed the White Sword (with the help of the Wiki, I would have never found it by myself until after I would have discovered that the Whistle won't work there) and then completed it.
Next, I went straight into Level 3 and swept it clean (except for the room with the Boomerang, which houses an ridiculous amount of Blue Darknuts) and beat the boss with plenty of health to spare. I personally thought that the Lanmolas before the boss were tougher than the boss.[/spoiler]

Currently, this is what I have:
[spoiler]

• White Sword
• Magic Shield
• Bow and Arrow
• Candle
• Bait
• Bracelet
• Blue Ring
• Book
• 8 Heart Containers.
• 0 deaths (I can't believe that I actually managed to beat Level 3 with no deaths!).

[/spoiler]

Let's keep the details of our playthroughs in spoiler tags.

Looks good. I'll spoiler out my schedules so that they don't confuse readers.

On an unrelated note, if you haven't learned the Darknut Sword Exploit, Dungeon 3 is the place to try.

This is not technically a glitch; rather, it is a shortcoming of the original Zelda engine. While Link is stabbing he cannot be moved by enemy damage. This allows him to stay his ground while the darknut continues to walk back and forth. If Link were to stab in a direction the Darknut cannot approach from (such as stabbing downward when the Darknut can only approach from above or the right), he will ALWAYS hit the Darknut regardless of its orientation. Also, since Link becomes temporarily invincible when struck, this can be used to mitigate the amount of damage the Darknut can inflict.

TL;DR
Stand north of an unwalkable combo, face south, and spam the stab button until all the darknuts on screen are dead.

You will have to learn this technique by Dungeon 8
[spoiler]It features one-tile-wide hallways with Darknuts that cannot reliably be defeated any other way.[/spoiler]
Special thanks to [MENTION=59795]pixcalibur[/MENTION] for teaching me this technique.

Another trick that's helpful is the 'bubble shield' technique. When struck by a bubble, Link's temporary invincibility will give you enough time to navigate roughly one quarter of the screen. If you follow the bubble, you can cling to it and maintain this invincibility while you work your way around the room. This trick is especially useful when the Red and Blue bubbles come into play; if a Red Bubble takes away your sword you should cling to it until you can safely reach the Blue Bubble.

Decided I'm going to buy a new laptop so I can start bringing mine to work to join you guys. Pathetic this was my idea and I can't even play along. 😞

ZC will run on any craptop. Maybe you can borrow one from someone?

Also, been trying to get recording to work. So far it's been shitty to say the least. Figured I'd do a play through the 3rd quest during this process. Finished LV1 so far. (Got wallmastered lol... and almost died from a red octorok! - losing frames and using the shitty logitech analog stick 'till I get my adapter back makes for stupid moments.)

Possible worlds shittiest LP coming soon!

Gleeok wrote:ZC will run on any craptop. Maybe you can borrow one from someone?

Also, been trying to get recording to work. So far it's been shitty to say the least. Figured I'd do a play through the 3rd quest during this process. Finished LV1 so far. (Got wallmastered lol... and almost died from a red octorok! - losing frames and using the shitty logitech analog stick 'till I get my adapter back makes for stupid moments.)

Possible worlds shittiest LP coming soon!

I tried recording some ZC a while back. It was terrible. Some software for one of those liveplay sites apparently works well I forgot who I take to about it. Either Moosh or TS.

Yeah, I have a 2004 Compaq Presario. It doesn't exactly run great. If I am doing nothing else ZC and ZQ run fine.

I died from a red octorok. I am not proud of it. I was running around the overworld like a chicken without a head looking for level 1.

Finally beat 3rd quest. Dungeon 9 was hell in a bottle; I ended up using ZQuest and Example 3rd to plot out courses to the key items and the boss.
...I know that's technically cheating, but at 99 deaths I just wanted the quest to be over.

I'll post pointers for the 3rd and 4th dungeon tomorrow.

I am jumping on this too. Wandered around the overworld for a bit, opening up a bunch of door charge rooms. Found the first three levels in my travels. Did part of level one, then died. I can tell this is going to be challenging. I remember trying this quest a while back but I am sure I didn't get very far. I will make sure I use the spoiler tag if I post anything of significance.

Beat LV 2. Going to try to go into speed-run mode pretty quick once I get the blue ring. I'll post the videos of my progress at some point also (maybe tomorrow).

SUCCESSOR wrote:Are you going to share?

Made more progress.
[spoiler]Completed Level 4, leaving midway to grab a couple of extra Heart Containers with my newly aquired Whistle and made my way through most of 5, where I stopped because I just happened to walk into a staircase that lead to the beginning 😞. Those things ain't going to be in my quest.
Well, one thing's certain - I'm getting the Magic Sword when finish Level 5.

My current equipment:

• White Sword
• Blue Ring
• Magic Shield
• Book
• Magic Boomerang
• Bombs x12
• Bow and Arrow
• Blue Candle
• Whistle
• 11 Heart Containers.
• Still 0 deaths. I did come close to dying in level 4 once though.

I think I'll bite onto this quest too. I've been playing 2nd Quest in Z1 lately and have come to a stand still on where to find thing, but I'm sure I'll get it eventually.
Anyways, I'll post my progress once I start.

Orithan wrote:Made more progress.
[spoiler]Completed Level 4, leaving midway to grab a couple of extra Heart Containers with my newly aquired Whistle and made my way through most of 5, where I stopped because I just happened to walk into a staircase that lead to the beginning 😞.[/spoiler]

Just a heads up:
[spoiler]That's not the last you'll see of that nasty little trick. It features in several of the dungeons, particularly the last two where they seem to be intentionally placed in a way designed to waste your resources.[/spoiler]

Now seems like a good time to give pointers for the third and fourth dungeon.

Third Dungeon
[spoiler]Firstly, if you haven't found the third dungeon yet, it is in a VERY FAMILIAR place:
[spoiler]Remember where the Magic Sword slept in First Quest? If you don't, well, it's in the spooky north-east corner of a certain area. You'll need to kill the ghini to gain entry.[/spoiler]
Before you enter the third dungeon you will NEED to acquire the Blue Ring. Fight around in the woods around start (particularly the green woods, as it is full of red octoroks which are easy to kill). If you need the enemies to respawn, make sure you've cleared the screen completely then enter and exit a dungeon.
You will also need to make sure you have all the bombs you can carry. There are a lot of walls that need to be blasted in this dungeon and there are also enemies that require bombs to defeat (they help with Darknuts and are necessary for the Dodongos).
Finally, make sure you have at least fifty rupees before you enter this dungeon, or you'll regret it.
This is the first dungeon in the quest to feature Red Bubbles. If you skipped Second Quest you might not know how to deal with these guys; they'll steal your sword until you go to a fairy pond, save and quit (continue WON'T stop it), use a potion, or touch a Blue Bubble. Thankfully this dungeon only features one room with them; if you get zapped, bomb the north wall and go through to find the Blue Bubbles with the cure.
Techniques that will be worth knowing before entering the dungeon are Dodongo Smoke Stun and the Darknut Stab Exploit:[spoiler]If you place a bomb in front of a Dodongo but not so close as to be swallowed, the dino will freeze when the smoke blasts its face. It is then vulnerable to the sword and it is GUARANTEED to drop a bomb refill. This seems to be easiest to achieve when the Dodongo is moving side-to-side, possibly because it is a bigger target in those directions. As for the Darknut Stab Exploit, find a choke-point, face down, and spam the sword button. If you're immediately above a no-walk tile the Darknuts will not be able to approach from that direction, so they will always be vulnerable to your sword. The repeated stabbing ensures they cannot knock you out of the choke-hold (since Link cannot move while attacking). Finally, if multiple Darknuts swarm the spot only one of them can hurt you at a time (thanks to temporary invulnerability).[/spoiler]
Third Dungeon does NOT have an item room, rather it has a single room where the boomerang is dropped once all enemies are defeated. If you're having trouble locating this room:
[spoiler]Bomb the left wall of a room with stairs. You can't miss it[/spoiler]
If you're having trouble beating all the enemies in the room, you can:
[spoiler]Pack bombs and go nuts, use the Darknut Stab Exploit, or simply skip the room. The Magic Boomerang can be found in Dungeon 5 and is much easier to acquire. You may have difficulty with DidDoggers without it, though.[/spoiler]
The boss is Gleeok, though it's not a particularly difficult incarnation. Get the pacing down to dodge the fireballs and this fight shouldn't last long.
[/spoiler]

Fourth Dungeon
[spoiler]There's a hint for the location of the fourth dungeon hidden in the Third Dungeon, behind a pass-through wall. You will need to find the Power Bracelet before you can enter:
[spoiler]The Power Bracelet can be found in a bomb cave immediately south of the graveyard[/spoiler]
If you are having trouble deciphering the hint, or if you just don't want to find it:
[spoiler]The Fourth Dungeon is located at a dead end in Death Mountain, significant because it has an arrow pointing in the opposite direction. This arrow was originally intended to guide players to Spectacle Rock in First Quest, but in this quest is possesses a pushable rock that will reveal the stairwell into Fourth Dungeon. You can reach Death Mountain by pushing through the Lynels past the Graveyard. With the Power Bracelet in hand, navigating to this portion of the world map should be fairly easy (use the three-stair warps scattered around Start to pop around until you're near the graveyard)[/spoiler]
Before you even enter the Fourth Dungeon, make sure you have purchased the Bait and are carrying at least 100 rupees. Also cap off your bombs before you enter; it's not hard to fight around for two bomb drops before entering the dungeon.
There's also up to three heart containers you're able to acquire before entering the fourth dungeon (technically you can get them before the first dungeon, but it will be easier now); you should locate them before proceeding:
[spoiler]The first is immediately south of the Fairy Pond in Red Woods. It can be acquired as soon as you have the Blue Candle. Burn the bottom-left green bush on the screen to reveal a staircase.
The second is in the western stretch of Death Mountain. It can be acquired as soon as you have the Power Bracelet. Make your way past the Lynels north-west until you come to a screen with an arrow of stones pointing to the right. Defeat all the enemies and then push on these stones until a staircase appears.
The third and final Heart Container you can acquire is actually on the way to Dungeon 4. After you scale the stairs to the very top of the Overworld (as if you were traveling to Spectacle Rock), go to the far right end of that screen and place a bomb. It will reveal a cave with the Heart Container inside.[/spoiler]
There's not a lot of places to go in this dungeon before you acquire the whistle:
[spoiler]There are two secret passages, one leading to the map and the other to the whistle. Make sure you push every brick, and remember that this quest allows you to push one brick onto another solid brick (this will become increasingly important the further into the quest you go.[/spoiler]
Once the Whistle is in your grasp, the rest of this dungeon is fairly easy. It is important to know, though, that even though this dungeon seems like it wants you to have the Ladder, that item is NOT found in this Dungeon. To cross the impassible rivers you need to find a passageway hidden on a different screen.
This dungeon also has the first (of two) bomb capacity upgrades (which is why you need the 100 rupees). Make sure you find it before you leave. The boss, of course, is DigDogger (because of the whistle). Fire shooters are utilized to make the fight more difficult, but using the boomerang to stun a DidDogger kid and then brutalizing it should make the fight no problem. You will fight this boss multiple times throughout the dungeon, but it's not something to worry about.
By the time you finish the Fourth Dungeon you should be acclimating to the higher difficulty of the combat. The rest of the game should be slightly easier from this point out. Also, after you acquire the Whistle:
[spoiler]You should be using it on EVERY Overworld screen. If it spawns a whirlwind, avoid it. If not, then the screen will reveal a secret. YAY!
This can be used to find the fourth and final free Heart Container [spoiler]Go to the entrance of the Second Dungeon and work your way south until you are in the forest crossroads (it has four tiny pathways north and south, and two wide ones east and west). Blow the whistle here to reveal a staircase leading to the fourth Heart Container[/spoiler][/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

CJC wrote:Just a heads up: boo!

LV 3 and 4 without the blue ring? Accepted! -Will resume playing late tonight.

I know I'm late to the party, but I'm determined to get through it at any rate.

So far I've not made much progress. I wandered around the overworld, found level 1, died a zillion times, and retried. I bought a blue candle and found a heart container (yay!). Now I'm close to beating level 1... if I can just keep my health long enough to make it to the end.

I'm not going to spoil anything for myself, so I haven't read the spoilers on locations or strategies yet. Hopefully I can see the challenge all the way through.

Just cleared the 4th Quest. It didn't seem very NES like with its dungeons and didn't seem to warn players about the changes it generally made or have any rhyme or reason, plus the Moldorms were WAY overpowered (clocked the one in Lv. 6 at least over 500 HP, took a CANDLE to take it down!). It was OK, loathed the Overworld though.

-James

Moar progress:

[spoiler]Finished Level 5 and completed level 6. The all I can say is that Level 6 is way too easy at this point in the quest, with the only attempts at making it harder being the use of cheap tricks like forcing you to get hit by Red Bubbles and use tons of arrows to defeat the Goriyas in the proceeding rooms or use a potion to regain your sword and the classic "Trap rooms" that send you back to the start of the dungeon. I thought this quest was going to get fairer than that 😞.

My current equipment:

• Magic Sword
• Blue Ring
• Magic Shield
• Book
• Raft
• Ladder
• Magic Boomerang
• Bombs x16
• Bow and Arrow
• Blue Candle
• Whistle
• Red Potion
• 13 Heart Containers.
• Still 0 deaths.

Got to LV5 tonight.
[MENTION=39330]CJC[/MENTION] Still no Blue Ring. I've got rupees that are just burning my pocket now. Whaddya say guys, double-or-nothing: 3, 4, 5 and 6 no blue ring? Who's man enough to match me? Or will I be the QPC champion by TKO? 😉

Gleeok LP's the 3rd quest:

(Yesterdays set)
Part 1 - Level 1
Part 2
Part 3 - Level 2a
Part 4 - Level 2b

(Today's Set)
Part 5 - Level 3
Part 6 - Level 4

Gleeok wrote:Got to LV5 tonight.
[MENTION=39330]CJC[/MENTION] Still no Blue Ring. I've got rupees that are just burning my pocket now. Whaddya say guys, double-or-nothing: 3, 4, 5 and 6 no blue ring? Who's man enough to match me? Or will I be the QPC champion by TKO? 😉

Over my dead body Gleeok you'll be champion. 😉

-James

I'd try that challenge too but I already bought the Blue Ring. I reached 255 while starting Level 3 and figured might as well so I am not collecting rupees for nothin'.

Man, give some of us human players a break with your NES Hard L33tZ0r skillz. Some of us didn't play games during that console generation (I didn't own a standard NES until the late nineties, and even then I only had six games for it).

Speaking of which, since people are trekking along so quickly, I think I'll post my pointers for the next two dungeons. This has NOTHING to do with my brain being made of Swiss cheese and the imminent threat of forgetting my pointers, I SWEAR.

Fifth Dungeon
[spoiler]Remember I said you should be playing the whistle on every overworld screen? Did you remember to try it on the maze screens?
[spoiler]The Fifth Dungeon is located in a staircase that is reveals only by playing the flute in the forest maze[/spoiler]
Use the whistle until you find the island that held the Fourth Dungeon in First Quest. Here you will find... the Perscription Letter! Pick up a double potion at one of the medicine shops (I use the one where the letter is found in First Quest) and gather up at least an additional fifty rupees (maybe more, depending on your aim with the bow).
Finally, make sure you've collected all four of the Heart Containers that can be found on the Overworld (the beach one doesn't count, since there's no way to get it until after it's no longer necessary). As hard as you try, though, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get the Magic Sword before this dungeon. Regrettable, as Dungeon five is...
Darknut hell! At this point it is no longer practical to use bombs to fight these enemies, so you'll have to have learned to Dance with Darknuts (luring them around unwalkable combos so you can stab their sides) or properly utilize the Darknut Stab Exploit (luring them to a choke point and spamming your sword) to get through several of the rooms. If there room features a blue darknut with several reds, try to kill the blue first (he's a room leader and he'll clear the screen if you beat him). If there's a bunch of blues... sorry, you'll have to beat them the hard way.
In addition, make sure you push every block once you've cleared a room and bomb every wall you can. But before bombing a wall, make sure it isn't a walk-though by pressing against it first. This dungeon features three walk-through walls; two are located in rooms with corner traps to make them more annoying.
The Fifth dungeon has two items to be found. The first is the magic boomerang.
[spoiler]In the first shutter-blocked room, start by bombing the top wall. You'll find a key and a door that cannot be reached by any means. Go back to the shutter room and clear the enemies, but do not advance. Rather, push around on the blocks until one reveals a staircase. This will take you to the unreachable side of the key room. Go to the west and defeat the Gleeok to find the Magic Boomerang. Then return to the key room, press against the north wall to pass through, and defeat the Manhandla to return to the start of the dungeon.[/spoiler]
The second is the raft, which you'll need to acquire to access the next dungeon.
[spoiler]The raft can be found in a dark room with corner traps. It features 8 zols and a locked door, and is found immediately after the 'Your money or your Life' room in this dungeon (that why you'll need 50 rupees by the way). This room also has a walkthrough wall to the east, which will eventually lead to the key to unlock said locked door. Illuminate the room, clear the Zols, and then push on the bricks until a staircase appears.[/spoiler]
If you stay calm in the face of oncoming Darknuts and bomb every wall as is practical in the shape of the map, you should be able to clear the Fifth Dungeon. The boss is once again Gohma, but he's learned to take a couple extra hits to the eye. Still relatively easy to beat, though, provided you reach the room with enough hearts.
Also note that there is a key in this dungeon which you CANNOT acquire yet. Don't worry, you won't need it to beat this dungeon.[/spoiler]

Sixth Dungeon
[spoiler]Yay! We have the raft now! Too bad it's only useful in two places, and we've been to one already. Wait... if the raft is only useful in two places and we've been to one already, then the other must be...
[spoiler]Dungeon Six![/spoiler]
You're going to need at least 150 rupees for this dungeon, along with the bait if you haven't acquired it yet. I recommend MAXING OUT your wallet, though, because running out of rupees in the wrong spot will be disastrous. Also, make sure you have a full double potion; if you used one in the Fifth Dungeon then scrape around to get the full potion back. You're going to need it.
Also, if you've been collecting the Heart Containers hidden around the Overworld you can now acquire the Magic Sword:
[spoiler]The Magic Sword is hidden in a cave adjacent to the Lake. It is the screen that boasts only a northwest corner of land, with the rest of the screen covered in water. At this point the only way to reach the screen is by passing through the Graveyard, then taking the stairs down from the screen with all the Armos statues. Get to the corner of land and bomb the only portion of wall big enough for a cave door, and the Magic Sword will be yours.[/spoiler]
Get used to checking your subscreen map before taking any doors in this dungeon; if the door leads to a room you've already explored then it's a trick to send you backward. Also, this is the first dungeon to feature a stretch of no-sword rooms, which you will need the bow to clear. Hence the extra buffer of rupees.
When you enter the dungeon there really isn't a whole lot you can do. The first key is held at bay by a river that only the ladder can cross, and going in the other direction reveals a room with a very vague and unhelpful old man. If you can't figure out what to do:
[spoiler]go to the previous room and press against the north wall. It's a walk-through wall.[/spoiler]
Like before, make sure you clear any room with bricks and then press against every brick. Hidden staircases are VERY important in this dungeon. The only item to be found is the ladder:
[spoiler]In the room where you walk through the north wall, you will be faced with unavoidable red bubbles. This leads to a stretch of dungeon that has to be cleared without the sword. In the second dark-room you encounter on this stretch (with eight blue goriyas), an isolated brick can be pushed to reveal the staircase which leads to the ladder. Make sure you find it BEFORE leaving this room, otherwise you will have to run the entire gauntlet again.[/spoiler]
This dungeon features a hierarchy of doors, one that if broken will send you back to start. Try to keep this list in mind as you explore:
Bombs come before key doors. Key doors come before shutters. Shutters come before open doors. If two doors of the same type exist, doors on the east or west wall should be prioritized before doors on the north wall. If such priority occurs you should NEVER take the doors on the north wall, as they are ALWAYS traps. If you end up at a dead-end, or the only path you can find leads back to start, check the path for hidden stairs (be sure to push EVERY brick on a screen after clearing the enemies). One last pointer:
[spoiler]Hungry Goriya's in the way in more ways than one. You should head North in that room.[/spoiler]
The dungeon also features a bomb bag increase:
[spoiler]Once you pass through the first key door, defeat the Gleeok and then bomb the north wall. Also note that continuing this way will lead to the map, which is very useful for this dungeon.[/spoiler]
The boss is a Patra, but not the screen hog variation. Get in close and spam-stab his barrier bugs, then waste him when he's vulnerable. Depending on your skill level you may or may not need the potion, but you shouldn't need it more than once.
After you beat the dungeon, grab the last heart container on the Overworld and then go back to the Fifth Dungeon for that leftover key.[/spoiler]

Orithan wrote:Moar progress:

[spoiler]Finished Level 5 and completed level 6. The all I can say is that Level 6 is way too easy at this point in the quest, with the only attempts at making it harder being the use of cheap tricks like forcing you to get hit by Red Bubbles and use tons of arrows to defeat the Goriyas in the proceeding rooms or use a potion to regain your sword and the classic "Trap rooms" that send you back to the start of the dungeon. I thought this quest was going to get fairer than that 😞.

My current equipment:

• Magic Sword
• Blue Ring
• Magic Shield
• Book
• Raft
• Ladder
• Magic Boomerang
• Bombs x16
• Bow and Arrow
• Blue Candle
• Whistle
• Red Potion
• 13 Heart Containers.
• Still 0 deaths.

[/spoiler]

I'm going to try and get 7, 8, and 9 done tonight (or just 7, 8 if I don't have enough time). Still no Blue Ring!

[EDIT] Beat it without using the Blue Ring in 4:40:52! 😃

Poll time. I died. Guess the Level I died in:
a) Level 7
b) Level 8
c) Level 9
d) All of the above

Cool. When you going to upload it?

-James

Fucking Gleeok. The one in level 3 I mean. I should not be having this much trouble with the damned thing. I've beat a 3 headed gleeok with the wooden sword and 3 hearts before. I really need a gamepad instead of this jacked up laptop keyboard.

SUCCESSOR wrote:Fucking Gleeok. The one in level 3 I mean. I should not be having this much trouble with the damned thing. I've beat a 3 headed gleeok with the wooden sword and 3 hearts before. I really need a gamepad instead of this jacked up laptop keyboard.

If you do, you can plug it into a spare USB port and then just set it up as a joystick for ZC. You won't be able to write to the trigger buttons, though (the program seems to struggle recognizing those inputs).

[MENTION=42714]Gleeok[/MENTION], I'm betting you only died in Level 9, and then only because Ganon touched you and did four hearts of damage (mister no-ring!). And I have to say it's quite impressive that you were able to beat the game like that. Congratulations.

I'll post hints for dungeons Seven and Eight tomorrow. And my post for Dungeon Nine (which will be supplied at a later date) will not be a hint, but rather a walk-through to escape the hell in a bottle while passing through as few rooms as possible.