The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD was recently made available for Nintendo Switch, and it includes one particular mechanic that avid completionists will either love or hate: tool upgrades! In order to upgrade these tools, though, players will need to obtain a number of treasures to use as materials. Luckily, we’ve compiled a handy list of the general locations of each treasure; unfortunately, some do come down to luck but we’ve tried to be as specific as possible here.

Treasure Locations

Before we dive into the list of locations, there are actually two ways you can make your treasure hunting easier. First is by having a special item called the Treasure Medal present in your Adventure Pouch; you can obtain this medal from a Goddess Cube east of the Earth Temple’s entrance near a ramp (which, in turn, is located in the Eldin Volcano region). Second, later on in the game Fi adds the ability to use the dowsing mechanic to find the location of treasure. That’s got potential to make things easier for you too! With all of that being said, here’s where you can find each specific treasure:

• Hornet Larvae: The name might be a tad misleading, as the actual item resembles a honeycomb more than a baby insect. You can find Hornet Larvae in Faron Woods; drop down to the Deep Woods Bird Statue and there are two of them to your left. Shoot them down with your Slingshot and pull out your Bug Net — you can then catch a bunch of Deku Hornets in addition to the Hornet Larvae you need. These respawn each time you go to the sky and come back, by the way!
• Bird Feather: These are such a pain to get sometimes. Fly over to the Faron Woods and drop down to the Viewing Platform Bird Statue and then head southwest. Squeeze through a narrow opening and then the field in front of you will have some birds. Walk up to them as slowly as possible, and be sure not to move your Bug Net until you’re ready to capture them. This might actually be easier with motion controls. If the birds fly away, walk under the nearby log bridge and wait for them to respawn.
• Tumbleweed: These can be found rather easily in the Lanayru Desert — more specifically, they spawn near the North Desert Bird Statue at ground level. Tumbleweeds do disappear when they crash into obstacles, so you’ll have to be careful. Our recommendation is to walk around in wide circles, moving the camera with you if possible. Eventually, a Tumbleweed will spawn — run after it and catch it with your Bug Net.
• Lizard Tail: As you might expect, these are only dropped by Lizalfos enemies. The best place to obtain them is the Eldin Volcano region’s Earth Temple. If you have the Zelda & Loftwing amiibo figure, there’s an easy trick: defeat all of the Lizalfos in the Earth Temple, and then if you don’t have enough Lizard Tails you can return to the sky. Land on a nearby island, use the amiibo again, and you can re-enter the Earth Temple and defeat all the Lizalfos again as needed.
• Eldin Ore: This treasure is located in the Eldin region as well, and you’ll need the Digging Mitts to be able to find it. Your best bet is to dig around inside the Earth Temple and outside of the Fire Sanctuary.
• Ancient Flower: These tend to spawn in static locations in the Lanayru Desert, and are easier to find in areas where Timeshift Stones have been activated. Drop down to the Desert Entrance Bird Statue, turn around, and climb up the vines — there’s often an Ancient Flower on the cliff here. Keep your eyes peeled in Timeshift Stone areas, and use Fi’s treasure dowsing ability if necessary.
• Amber Relic: These are sprinkled around many of the game’s areas, so you’ll have no problem finding some if you just play through the main story as usual. If you’re in need of a few more, use Fi’s treasure dowsing ability while in Faron Woods. A few can also be found in the Skyview Temple.
• Dusk Relic: In total, you’ll need thirteen Dusk Relics to upgrade all of Link’s items. They can only be found in the Silent Realm trials that take place in the Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru regions. Collect thirteen Dusk Relics and hold onto them until they’re all used up. Don’t accidentally sell them by mistake!
• Jelly Blob: These are often dropped from slime-type enemies — specifically Chuchus, and a decent place to farm these would be in the Waterfall Cave on Skyloft. You’ll only need eight of them in total, so it’s not a bad idea to defeat a bunch of Chuchu as soon as you can access that cave.
• Monster Claw: These are dropped by Keese, so head on over to Skyloft’s Waterfall Cave and defeat a bunch of them. There are also several Keese in Faron Woods, if you’d rather check there.
• Monster Horn: They’re only dropped by Bokoblin leaders — the ones that toot their horn to summon even more Bokoblins. There are a good number of Bokoblin leaders in the Eldin region, so try checking there.
• Ornamental Skull: These are also dropped by Bokoblins — any kind, not just the leaders. Defeat a ton of Bokoblins and you should have no problem getting this treasure!
• Evil Crystal: These are quite rare, but you only need a grand total of four Evil Crystals to be able to upgrade each of Link’s items. A fair amount of Evil Crystals can be found from late-game dungeons including the Ancient Cistern and Sandship; otherwise you’ll have to grind the mini-game on Bamboo Island in hopes of getting it as a reward or defeat a bunch of Cursed Bokoblin enemies.
• Blue Bird Feather: These kinds of feathers are obtained in exactly the same manner as the regular old Bird Feathers listed above — except they’re only dropped by blue birds. Search Faron Woods for a duo or trio of birds, sneak up on them, and then catch a feather with your Bug Net.
• Golden Skull: These are rarely dropped by Bokoblin-type enemies (each and every kind of them, too). Drop down to a location like Faron Woods, defeat as many Bokoblins as you can, and then reload the area by going to the sky and coming back. From there, all you can do is hope you get lucky! You could also farm the aforementioned Bamboo Island minigame, too.
• Goddess Plume: The easiest way to obtain the rare Goddess Plume treasure is by grinding the minigame at Bamboo Island (and getting roughly 30 slices on the stick of bamboo).

Toward the end of Skyward Sword HD’s campaign, a Gossip Stone appears in Skyloft’s Waterfall Cave that serves as a merchant of sorts. It’ll offer rare treasures for sale, including the Blue Bird Feather, the Dusk Relic, the Evil Crystal, the Goddess Plume, the Golden Skull, and the Monster Horn. These don’t come cheap, so if you decide to go this route make sure you’ve got lots of Rupees saved! As a final note, please direct any questions to our Discord community.

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