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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is packed with content, ranging from a complex main story, dozens of side quests, and little secret areas hidden around the world. One of the quests that you will come across quite early is A Mystery In The Depths.
In this guide, we are going to take a look at how to fully complete A Mystery In The Depths. This quest will reward you with the ability to use Autobuild, which comes in handy as you make creations to take you across Hyrule. Now, let's go over the prerequisites that you will need to do before completing A Mystery In The Depths.
Quest Prerequisites
Before completing A Mystery In The Depths, you will need to complete Camera Work In The Depths. Thankfully, this quest is simple and can be accepted shortly after touching down on the surface of Hyrule.
In the quest Camera Work In The Depths, you will venture into the Hyrule Field Chasm and unlock the camera. For a complete walkthrough on how to do this, be sure to check out our guide here!
In addition to completing Camera Work In The Depths, you will need to fully complete at least one route in the Regional Phenomena quest. This quest is split into four sections, with each section representing a region and race that needs help. Below, you can check out guides for each section.
After completing at least one of these quests, you are ready to begin A Mystery In The Depths.
How To Start A Mystery In The Depths
After unlocking the camera and completing at least one part of Regional Phenomena, head back to Lookout Landing and speak with Josha. She will be near the north gate of the area, which is to the right of the Skyview Tower here.
Upon speaking with Josha, she will tell you about a mysterious temple that is somewhere in the Depths. Unfortunately, she can't look for it herself, so it's up to you. The Depths can be quite dangerous, but Josha will give you some supplies to help. With a good supply of food, arrows, and Brightbloom seeds, it's time to set out.
We suggest bringing more than just want Josha gives you, as ten arrows and seeds may not be enough. To quickly stock up, head to a town and buy arrows. Brightbloom seeds can be found within caves scattered throughout the world.
Entering the Great Plateau North Chasm
To get to this temple structure from Josha's mural, you will need to head to the Great Plateau North Chasm. As the name implies, this chasm is found on the northern part of the Great Plateau, which is located to the south of Lake Kolomo in Hyrule Field.
This chasm is near the Kyokugon Shrine; if you have visited the shrine before, you can quickly teleport here.
Finding The Temple Structure
After jumping into the chasm, you will see the Nogukoyk Lightroot directly under where the Kyokugon Shrine is. Activating this Lightroot will provide you with better visibility as you navigate to the temple structure Josha mentioned.
The temple structure in question is actually the Great Abandoned Central Mine. From the Nogukoyk Lightroot, head directly south. After traveling a short distance, you will see stone structures that form a ring on the map; this is the edge of the mine.
From here, venture southwest until you come to the main structure of the building. Inside, you will find two NPCs who are supposedly researching Autobuild. Speaking with the NPCs will give you a taste of Autobuild, as you will use the ability to recreate a simple vehicle with four wheels.
So, who are these random NPCs? It's only fitting that this is a trap led by none other than the Yiga Clan. From here, you will be tasked with defeating Master Kohga, who rides around in a giant vehicle.
How To Defeat Master Kohga
There are two phases to the fight with Master Kohga. First, you will need to keep your distance and shoot arrows at him. When hit with an arrow, Kohga will be stunned; from here, you can run up to him and attack. This portion is pretty repetitive; just shoot arrows and attack up close when Kohga is stunned.
For the second portion of the fight, Master Kohga will have a barrier, preventing arrows from attacking him. Rather than shooting, you will need to wait for the perfect moment to strike. Observing Master Kohga's moves, you will notice a charge attack. This will be aimed towards you, but will not course-correct if you move out of the way.
To complete the second portion of the battle, you will need to stand near a wall of the battle area, luring Master Kohga to you. When he uses the charging attack, he will crash into the wall and become stunned. Here, you can run up to him and attack. Alternatively, you can shoot from a distance as well.
Clearing The Great Abandoned Central Mine
After defeating Master Kohga, he will flee and leave you in the Great Abandoned Central Mine. This area will gain a waypoint that you can teleport to. Before heading back to Josha, be sure to speak with the Construct in the location where you first met the two NPCs.
This construct will guide you to another, who gives you the Fanplane Schema Stone, which is essentially a blueprint that can be used with the Autobuild ability.
Within the mine, you can also find the Forge Construct. Here, you will be able to exchange Zonaite Ore for Crystalized Charges, Large Crystalized Charged, Zonai Charges, and Large Zonai Charges.
Once you've scoped out the area, it's time to return to Josha.
Returning To Josha
Josha will be waiting back at Lookout Landing for you. Head to her and tell her about your newly gained Autobuild ability. Josha will be a bit mindblown, and ask you to use the ability on a broken balloon that is nearby.
After repairing the balloon, the quest is done!
A Mystery In The Depths Quest Rewards
As a reward for completing the quest, Josha will give you a Schema Stone to make a hot air balloon, as well as a piece of Large Zonaite Ore.
Of course, the main reward is your new ability to Autobuild. This can be used to access Schemas, as well as bookmark your own creations that you want to build again. If you are new to vehicle creation, be sure to check out our beginner's guide to making vehicles.
Unlocking Autobuild Without Accepting The Quest
Prior to accepting A Mystery In The Depths, you will still be able to visit the Great Abandoned Central Mine. The NPCs will be here, regardless if you have spoken with Josha or not.
This means that you can complete the quest and unlock Autobuild without ever speaking to Josha. If you choose to do it this way, you won't have to have completed a Regional Phenomena route. When eventually speaking with Josha, the quest will be completed quicker, as you won't have the venture back down to the Depths again.