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In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the world of Hyrule seems to be recovering from the terrors of Calamity Ganon. There are construction materials all over the land, more people traveling between settlements, and a greater sense of interconnectivity. However, the recent changes to the world due to the Upheaval have put a dampener on things.
One of the consequences of the Upheaval is that the original Great Fairies from Breath of the Wild have been displaced and scared into their flowery hideaways, and if you want to upgrade your armor again, you'll have to go tempt them out of their buds.
What Is A Great Fairy?
Great Fairies are giant NPCs that allow you to upgrade your armor. There are four in the game, and they must each be unlocked individually through the quests below.
Armor that can be upgraded has four potential ranks that it can reach. To upgrade a piece to higher levels, you'll need to unlock more Great Fairies. Thankfully, it's not too difficult to unlock them all.
To begin the Great Fairy quests, you may first have to head to the Lucky Clover Gazette and sign on as a reporter. This unlocks various quests with Penn, the reporter you're forced to work with, including the very first Great Fairy quest.
The Lucky Clover Gazette is located just outside Rito Village, to the east, so you'll need some Cold Resistance to get there.
To get some Cold Resistance, either grab the Archaic Warm Greaves from the Great Sky Islands that you began the game on, or cook some food with Spicy Peppers in it.
How To Complete Serenade To A Great Fairy
To begin the first Great Fairy quest, you'll need to head to Woodland Stable. This is found to the east of Hyrule Castle, in the region of Eldin.
Here, talk to Penn, who will introduce you to Mastro, who will be your main point of contact for every Great Fairy quest. He explains that he and his band, the Stable Trotters, would be able to coax the nearby Great Fairy out of her flower, but their cart has broken down.
You'll need to do two things before you can complete this quest:
- Fix the Stable Trotters' cart with two nearby wheels using Ultrahand.
- Catch and register a horse, and earn enough Pony Points to acquire the Towing Harness.
To catch a horse, you'll need to sneak up on it from behind, ride it, and soothe it using the L button whenever it starts getting wild. After a while, you'll be able to control it well enough to direct it to some stables, where you can register it by talking to the stablemaster behind the counter.
To get the Towing Harness, you'll need to acquire a few Pony Points. You get one Pony Point for every different stable you visit (by talking to the stablemaster) and one for every time you pay money to sleep there.
Talk to the stablemaster to retrieve your horse, get him to attach the Towing Harness to it, and then ride your horse to the front of the Stable Trotters' fixed cart. Use Ultrahand to affix the harness to the cart, and then talk to Mastro. Tell him to get into the cart, and that you'll take him to the Great Fairy.
Simply ride your horse up the road to the Great Fairy. Once you've arrived, a cutscene will begin in which Mastro and his bandmate play for her, and you unlock her upgrade services.
As this is also a quest in the Clover Gazette arc of the game, you'll get some rupees for completing it, too.
With one Great Fairy unlocked, you can upgrade eligible pieces of armor one time each.
How To Complete Serenade To Mija
Mija is located just north of Snowfield Stable, which is way up to the north of Hyrule. To get there safely, you'll need a layer of Cold Resistance. The easiest route to the Stable is the northeastern path from the Lucky Clover Gazette.
When you reach the stable, talk to Mastro. He'll explain the situation again - the cart has broken down. There's another complication this time, though - the Great Fairy here will only come out if she hears a hornist. This hornist is currently trapped in a hole to the south, and you'll have to complete a separate quest to get him to rejoin the Stable Trotters.
This quest, and all subsequent quests that you'll need to complete to get the band together, are covered below.
After completing The Hornist's Dramatic Escape, Eustus will be with the band again, and you'll be able to take on this quest.
This time, you'll have to affix a roof to the band's cart. Simply grab one of the large wooden boards from the nearby construction setup and stick it to the top of the cart. This should be plenty of coverage, letting you repeat the process from last time - retrieve your hose and Towing Harness, and take the band up to the Great Fairy.
With two Fairies, you'll be able to upgrade your equipment to level two at either of them.
How To Complete The Hornist's Dramatic Escape
To find the titular Hornist, you'll need to head west from Hyrule Castle. Follow the road to New Serenne Stable, and when the road splits further up, take the southern branch. Keep heading west until you hit Tabantha Bridge Stable, and then follow the road further west across the Tabantha Bridge.
Eventually, you'll reach a bend in the road with a hole next to it. Inside this hole, you'll find the Eustus, whose cart has broken. Talk to him to begin the quest.
There are plenty of materials around the hole to help you fix up Eustus's cart. One solution that works well is to grab the two Balloons, put the nearby Flame Emitters inside them, and place them on either side of the cart. This will provide the upward thrust.
In addition to the Balloons, place a Fan on either side of the cart and have them facing the ground on a slant. This will provide horizontal movement while also giving the cart some more thrust - if you placed them perfectly horizontal, the cart would likely smash into the wall unless placed in the perfect spot; this just makes the plan foolproof.
Talk to Eustus once you've constructed the cart and ask him to get in. Activate the vehicle, and it should rise up and out of the hole.
If the cart drops Eustus out, you'll simply have to start over again.
For getting Eustus out of the hole, you'll receive three Courser Bee Honeys. These are required by another quest in this arc, so don't use them up just yet! After this, Eustus will join the band in the north, ready to get the second Great Fairy out.
How To Complete Serenade To Kaysa
You'll find Kaysa near Outskirt Stable, which is found to the southwest of Lookout Landing. As before, you'll need to complete a separate quest before you can actually take on the challenge of getting the Great Fairy to come out of her bud.
This time, you'll need to get Pyper back to the band by completing The Flute Player's Plan - see below for details.
Once you've completed Pyper's quest and got him back to the stable, you can start this quest properly.
This time, a horse won't cut it. Instead, you'll need to create a whole other vehicle that you can place the usual cart on top of.
Nearby, you should spot a large stone slab with three Wheels attached. Near the slab, you'll find a fourth Wheel and a Steering Stick. Assemble these objects into a car, with the Steering Stick at the front and the cart behind it.
Talk to Mastro and ask him to get into the cart, and then drive the band to the Great Fairy on top of the nearby hill.
It's best to take the rocky path - while it's bumpy, trying to go around the hill will likely lead to slopes that are too steep, causing the band to fall out.
As always, you'll be able to upgrade your armor a further level once you've unlocked this Great Fairy.
How To Complete The Flute Player's Plan
Pyper, the bandmate you need to solve a problem for this time, is found near Highland Stable. This stable is all the way to the south of the map, slightly to the right of Hyrule Castle and directly to the west of Lurelin Village.
Pyper himself can be found in the trees just outside the stable - climb the tree to talk to him, and he'll explain his predicament. He needs ten Sunset Fireflies to make a glowing tree.
Sunset Fireflies are found at night in the north of Hyrule near trees and forests. Try searching places like Kakariko Village and Eldin Canyon. They can be tricky to catch as they will fly away very quickly, and not every glowing light is a Sunset Firefly that you can pick up.
We recommend getting the Sensor upgrade for your Purah Pad and using that to search for Sunset Fireflies.
Alternatively, Beedle stocks up to four Sunset Fireflies at a time when he's at New Serenne Stable, so you can easily stock up there.
With ten Sunset Fireflies in hand, return to Pyper and hand them over. He'll ask you to lead Haite, his friend, to the big tree he's near at nighttime. Wait until nighttime at the nearby campfire and then talk to Haite - who is inside the stable - to get her to follow you. After you lead her to the tree, you'll complete the quest.
For completing this quest, you'll get a Big Hearty Truffle, and Pyper will rejoin the Stable Trotters.
How To Complete Serenade To Cotera
Cotera, the final Great Fairy, is located near Dueling Peaks Stable. This is directly to the west of Hateno Village if you need help finding it.
For this final Fairy, you'll need to convince Beetz to rejoin the band by completing his quest, Honey, Bee Mine. See below for details.
For this final vehicle construction task, you'll need to make a boat. Talk to Mastro until he and the band move to the water's edge, and then talk to him again to be able to move his cart.
This time, place the cart on top of a very large wooden board, attach two Fans to the back, and a Steering Stick in the front. Place this in the water before you ask Mastro and the band to get inside, as they don't appreciate being lifted into the air with Ultrahand.
Once they're ready in the cart, simply sail over to the Great Fairy bud in the distance. You don't have to get on land to complete the quest.
With all four Great Fairies released from their buds, you can upgrade armor to its highest level.
How To Complete Honey, Bee Mine
This is the simplest of the three sub-quests. To find Beetz, take the east exit from Kakariko Village. Eventually, after turning south, you'll come across a hole in the wall on the left. Through here, you'll find Beetz.
Beetz has one request, and that is for three Course Bee Honeys. If you still have the three you acquired from rescuing Eustus, that's perfect. Otherwise, you can find them on the trees around the Kakariko Village chasm.
In return for the honey, Beetz will return to the band and also hand you 100 rupees.