Zelda: A Link Between Worlds guide – The Dark Palace
Part twelve of our complete Zelda: A Link Between Worlds guide, The Dark Palace.
The Dark Palace
Lorule Field
Master Sword – Lv. 2
If you've been following this walkthrough, you should have two Master Ores collected (one from Thieves' Hideout, the other from Skull Woods). Shift back to Hyrule from a portal and go to the Blacksmith's house. Speak to him and he'll upgrade your sword to "Level 2." The Master Sword is now mightier than before and deals greater damage to your enemies.
Upgrade Your Arsenal
It's a good time to remind you that you should be purchasing items and weapons at Ravio's store by now. We already told you to get the bombs, but go nuts and buy the Hookshot and Hammer!
Dark Palace
To the Dungeon
Your next row of business – and next dungeon – is Dark Palace, which lies in the same spot where the Eastern Palace was in Hyrule. Warp to the Witch's house (in Hyrule). Go west and then south to the boulder field. A gray pillar rests in the north part of the field. Merge into the pillar and slip through the cracked portal back into Lorule. Now head south one screen, east and then go north in between the pillars.
Sneaky Entry
Princess Hilda contacts you telepathically and informs our hero the next sage lies deep within the Dark Palace, and that the guards patrolling the area were once good people. Begin by moving upward and running east. You encounter a bunch of guards ahead with red beams flashing from their eyes. This is technically their range of sighting; get caught, and you'll automatically be brought to the jail cell in the southeast section of the area. To escape, simply squeeze through the jail bars with your merging ability.
The first guard is simple to pass. Merge into the east wall on its south end, wrap around and then slip by him. Two guards patrol the area north. Use the central vine wall and wrap around it; you'll need to wait for the two to shift their positions and walk by each other. Once they do, pop out of the wall and run straight into the passage north.
Head through the ruined building and jog west. Two more guards stand watch to the north. Use the west side wall and merge into it. You can only sneak by them halfway, because some rocks block you. Wait for the two to walk distantly, then merge out and into the wall again from the other side. Stay on the left wall and wrap around the second guard to get by.
Continue east to discover several guards roaming the area. Two are on the higher ledge, and can only see you if you ascend there. The other is on the lower level underneath the wooden beams. Ascend the left-side stairs carefully and wait for the guard to pass by. Then, head right and walk quickly across the beams. (One of the beams holds a Piece of Heart, which is well worth getting caught for. Consider this area a checkpoint since you're locked up in a closer jail cell southwest from here when caught.) The farthest guard to the right moves quickly around a pillar. Merge into the pillar, wrap around to the right side, and then quickly descend the stairs to the east.
Move forward and jog southeast. This guard is a breeze to get by; simply merge into the north wall and slide all the way down to the east and then south, across the water. From there, go east to encounter three guards to the north (and one from the south that has his back turned). To get by them, wait for the first two to move to the left and right, and then merge into the central wall behind them. Wrap around this wall and wait for the third guard to stand still; this is your chance to merge into the west wall and slide right by him.
The Last Guard & Dungeon
Head north to the final guard, who can easily be passed using your merging ability. Behind him rests the dungeon and a weather vane. Activate the weather vane and save. To enter the dungeon, blast its cracked wall with a bomb.
Dark Palace – 1F
This Palace is Dark
As the name of the dungeon implies, the first room of Dark Palace is quite…dark. Equip your lamp and ignite the torches around for better vision. First, head to the northeast corner and bomb the cracked wall to discover a chest holding a Blue Rupee. Next, return to the first room and jog over to the west side to find a crystal switch. Set a bomb in front of it, then run over to the central platform and stand on it. The bomb's blast will trigger the switch, moving both you and the platform to the north ledge across the pit.
Open a Window
On the north ledge, you'll notice light shining from the right window above. Toss a bomb up to the window's ledge to blast it open. This spawns an eye switch and unlocks the north door.
Invisible Platform
Another dark corridor lies behind the north door. Do yourself a favor and swipe the lit torch to your immediate left – you want it to be dark in here, because an invisible platform on the west side can only be seen without light. You can still equip your lamp, so walk north and turn left. Step on the floor switch to have a small key drop on the invisible platform. Merge into the west wall next to the floor switch, then slide to the key and pick it up. Before you unlock the north door, return to the floor switch in the west corner and bomb the two cracked platforms here. You'll thank us later!
Rolling Balls
The next chamber is largely similar to the Eastern Palace's black ball room, with a single large ball rolling out from the north gate periodically. Go up the central path and merge by the rolling balls that come your way. You will be returning to this room soon, so head through the northeast door.
Copy Cat
Three caped minions guard this hall. If you pay close attention, they move in the opposite direction of you, and stand still when you halt your movement. The green foes can easily be defeated with some sword swipes, but the red one can only fall from bombs. Be careful if you become face to face with them – they will fire a beam at you.
When you've secured the area, a block will rise out of the ground to the south. Ride it up to the south ledge. You can blast open a hidden passage on the south wall to discover a hidden room containing a Purple Rupee if you'd like; and reach the lower chest from a hidden passage in front of the moving block in the previous room. This chest holds a monster tail.
You can bomb the cracked surface on the floor to the northeast and drop down to B1. By doing this, you'll snag a monster horn. We recommend grabbing this later and concentrate on getting more important items first.
Compass Time
The passage leads you back to the rolling ball room on a higher level. Dash to the left and head through the west door. A moving block in the center of this hall ascends and descends. Hop onto the block and nail the two crystal switches on the left and right sides of the room with your bombs and/or boomerang. Doing so spawns a chest containing the compass. There's also a hidden fairy room you can access from this hall. Blast the south wall at the bottom of the moving block with a bomb using proper timing.
Blast the Floor
Return to the rolling ball room. Head through the narrow passage in the northeast section and look for a cracked surface on the floor. Blast it open with a bomb to reveal a hole. Drop down to B1.
Dark Palace – B1
Two Small Keys
You land in the north hall of B1 on an upper ledge. Grab the small key lying next to you. Then hop down the ledge. Eliminate the ghosts in your way and proceed through the east door leading to B1's northeast room. This hall has an invisible walkway that can only be seen in the dark. Run towards the lit torch to the east and swipe your sword to burn it out. With the light out, you can now see the walkway clearly. The mask critters charge at you, so yank their masks off with the Hookshot if you have it; if not, attack them from behind.
Follow the shadow walkway to the northeast corner and grab another small key. Two are now in your possession! Now that you're happy, head back to the previous room to the west. Run past the north stairs (which lead back to 1F) and proceed through the next western door.
Invisible Maze
This maze-like room has walls that cannot be seen until you put some fire out. Run over to the first torch and swipe it with your sword to extinguish it. That's better – you can now see the maze's hedges. Go south and look for a thin opening on the east wall. Merge into the wall and slide through it. Navigate through the maze and follow the path leading to the northwest corner. You will notice another crack in the wall in this section. Merge through the opening to reach the other side. There's a skull in the northwest corner at the end of this path; destroy it and step on the hidden floor switch beneath to spawn a chest.
The chest appears in the southwest corner of the maze. Merge your way over there and open the chest to claim a third small key. With that in your grasps, squeeze through cracks on the east side walls and exit this hall from the southeast door.
Three Switches, Three Bombs
This chamber holds the passage to the boss chamber, but a strange structure is blocking it. Head over to the southwest door and unlock it. The west side of this cavity has three crystal switches. Hop on the moving platform. You need to activate each one by throwing a bomb over the west wall in each section. If close enough, the blast will activate each switch. When they're all activated, a large chest appears. Open it and grab the big key. Then head back to the boss entrance hall and unlock the southeast door.
Tricky Fight
You're forced to battle those emulating enemies from earlier in this hall. The fight starts with all of them on the upper level, while you stand underneath them. Steer them – one at a time – into the central pit of the floor so they drop to your level. Once you defeat them, the entrance portal emerges, and the central block is activated. Head through the portal to save your game, and then return to this hall. Ride the block up to the next level and go through the west passage.
Merge Around
You are now in the boss chamber hall again, but on higher ground. Merge into the south wall and slide around west. Continue crossing until you land on the ledge in the southwest corner. A crystal switch is on this ledge; smack it to raise a wall below you and shine light on the eyeball. Hmm… seems like this has something to do with unlocking the boss gate.
Back up
Make your way back to the first floor of the dungeon (To get there easily, drop down, head through the northeast door, cross the shadow walkway, and exit from the northwest door ahead. Ascend the stairs from the northern passage of this hall to land back on 1F.) The stairs return you to the rolling ball room. Unlock the north door beside you and head up to 2F.
Dark Palace – 2F
Flipping Walls
By activating the crystal switch in 2F's first room, the left and right walls flip around. Set a bomb in front of the switch then merge into either the left or right wall (where the symbol is). This flips you over to the other side. Both sides have a cracked floor you bomb; the west leads you to another pit and some Rupees on B1, while the east lands you on 1F to a Purple Rupee chest. It's worth getting, but keep in mind you'll need to return to 2F to continue on.
Where's the Tiles?
When you're set to go, return to 2F and use the bomb technique on the crystal switch – either side leads you to 2F's south chamber. Both halls have tiles that disappear rather quickly, so don't waste any time; just nail the crystal switch to unlock the south door and get out!
Window Inspection
This room is fairly dark and guarded by ghosts. Use your lamp and ignite the torches to get around. Follow the west side path to discover a shiny window above you with a ledge in front of it. Toss a bomb up there to blow the window’s boards and to shine some light in the floor below you.
Now go over to the south central path to discover a crystal switch. This raises the platform before you; hit the switch while you're on the lift to reach the upper ledge. Merge into the south wall and slide over to the ledge in the southeast corner. Another boarded window rests on the wall to your right. Blast it with a bomb to shine some more light to the floor below (this seems to have triggered something).
One more window to go! Proceed to the north block, hit the crystal switch, and then ride it up to the upper ledge. Merge into the wall and slip over to the northeast ledge. The third window is here – like before, destroy its blockage with a bomb.
Hidden Chest
Want a Master Ore? Stay in this hall and lower the two blocks. Place a bomb in front of the southern crystal switch, then quickly run north and trigger the second switch. Ride the block up (by hitting the switch) and merge into the north wall (on the emblem). The wall flips upon the bomb's detonation, and you end up in a hidden passage. Open the large chest for a Master Ore!
Down to the Boss
It's time to settle the score with the Dark Palace's boss. Return to B1's south central hall. The light source you created unlocks the structure blocking the boss's gate. Unlock the door and head inside. It appears empty…ignite the two unlit torches in two corners with your lamp to initiate the fight.
BOSS! GEMESAUR KING
This massive beast moves rather slow at first, but is protected by a Rupee-covered armor and mask. Your first order of business is to destroy its mask. The only item that can destroy the mask is bombs. Tossing them at its face will instantly damage the monster's mask. The only attack to worry about are his spikes he decks at you. Simply merge into the wall to dodge it.
Once the mask is destroyed, Gemesaur King's entire body is exposed. He tends to move a bit faster than last time, but if you've got the Master Sword upgraded to Level 2, two hits should do it. The weak point remains its head. Be sure to strike him fairly close, but not too close or he'll spin around and hit you with his tail. His spikes multiply in greater quantity here, so merge into the wall to stay safe.
The third phase is much more challenging. The room darkens, and the beast goes off on a rampage. You cannot hit him at this state, so merge into the walls instead. To get the battle back to normal, ignite the two torches in the room (the first is located in the top-left corner; the other in the bottom-right). With the lights back on, Gemesaur is vulnerable again. Strike his skull as before, but stay clear of his nasty bite. Repeat this process until the boss falls.
Portrait Four
After the battle, snag the full Heart Container and examine the painting on the wall. The next sage ends up being Link's friend, Gully. No wonder he's been missing!
Don't get lost! Head back for the rest of our Zelda: A Link Between Worlds guide.