A forgotten temple shrouded in mist, a quest for a lost sugary treat, and a dungeon boss that refuses to stay defeated-Zelda’s “Cotton Candy Hunt” in Echoes of Wisdom is anything but a typical side quest. Deep within the Faron Wetlands, players must outwit tricky puzzles, wrangle mischievous Sparks, and take on the enigmatic Smog once more, all to satisfy the cravings of a band of Deku scrubs and uncover the secrets of the Hidden Ruins. Are you ready to brave the marsh and claim your sweet reward?
In this The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom guide, we’ll show you how to get through the Hidden Temple and complete the Cotton Candy Hunt quest, including letting you know how to beat the dungeon boss, Smog (for the second time!).
Hidden Ruins location and how to start ’Cotton Candy Hunt’
The Hidden Ruins are located in the Faron Wetlands, southeast of Scrubton village. To begin the ’Cotton Candy Hunt’ quest, you must first complete the ’Let’s Play a Game’ side quest at the Eastern Temple and clear the Faron Temple Dungeon, as well as resolve the rift in the Faron Wetlands. Once these prerequisites are met, speak to the Deku in Scrubton to activate the quest. From there, head south into the swampy area until you find a scrub; alternatively, you can warp near the Faron Temple and proceed northward. In this marshy area, defeat two Drippitunes to stop the rain, then use water block staircases to reach and light two braziers with fire (using an Echo like Fire Wizzrobe is recommended). Lighting both braziers causes a statue to move, revealing the entrance to the Hidden Ruins dungeon, where the quest continues.
In order to unlock this quest you will need to have completed the “Let’s Play a Game” quest at the Eastern Temple. You will also need to have progressed the main story long enough to close the rift in the Faron Wetlands. This becomes possible after closing the first two rifts in Gerudo Valley and finishing the Hyrule Castle dungeon. (Our Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom walkthrough can provide guidance on the best order for those tasks.)
Once you’ve done both of these, you’ll be able to find a deku scrub in the Faron Wetlands who’s looking for cotton candy. They’ll say that they heard a voice asking to play a game (sound familiar?) and saw a flying cotton candy.
You might have an idea what they actually saw, but there’s no way to tell them that, and you want to explore the Hidden Ruins anyway, right?
Head south to find them, in the watery area to the southwest of the Faron Wetlands. You can also warp close to the Faron Temple and walk north.
How to enter the Hidden Ruins
To enter the Hidden Ruins for the “Cotton Candy Hunt” quest in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, first head to the Faron Wetlands after completing the necessary quest prerequisites. Begin by defeating the frog enemies in the area to stop the persistent rain. Once the weather clears, use fire-based Echoes or Ignizols to light both torches near the Deku statue. Lighting both torches will cause the statue to move, revealing a hidden staircase that leads down into the Hidden Ruins. Descend the stairs to start exploring the dungeon and continue your quest.
In this swamp area, first defeat the two drippitunes (one on the lilypad, and one hiding in the grass at the back of this area) to stop the rain.
Now use water block “staircases” to get to the level of the braziers, and ignizols to light them both. This will cause the statue at the back to move, revealing the entrance to the Hidden Ruins.
Hidden Ruins Room #1
Upon entering the first room of the Hidden Ruins during the ’Cotton Candy Hunt’ quest, you’ll immediately spot several braziers, jars, and a treasure chest containing a Monster Stone. After collecting the loot, proceed to the next chamber where you’ll encounter two Sparks circling a pair of torches and a box at the back of the room. To solve the puzzle, use crates or Echoes to guide the Sparks into the box, or utilize the Spark Echo acquired earlier for a simpler solution. Once the Sparks are secured, the path forward will open, allowing you to continue deeper into the dungeon.
In the first room you will simply find some braziers, jars, and a treasure chest with a monster stone inside. Continue through when you’re done looting everything.
Hidden Ruins Room #2
In the second room of the Hidden Ruins, you’ll encounter two Sparks circling around a pair of torches and a box at the back of the room. To progress, use crates or other Echoes to guide the Sparks so that they circle the room and eventually enter the box. Alternatively, you can use a Spark Echo acquired earlier in the Hidden Ruins to make this puzzle easier. Once both Sparks are inside the box, the door to the right will unlock, allowing you to continue deeper into the dungeon.
Sparks are back! Just like in the Eastern Temple, you’ll need to take these two and shepherd them into the cube mechanism at the back of the room. Alternatively, you can cheese it by summoning two sparks and shooting them directly into it. Problem solved.
Hidden Ruins Room #3
In Hidden Ruins Room #3 of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, players encounter a puzzle involving Sparks circling torches and a box. The goal is to maneuver these Sparks into the box by moving crates or using the Spark Echo ability, which simplifies the task. This unlocks the door to the next area. The room also features spiderweb-covered floors that must be cleared by defeating Baby Gohmas and burning the webs to reveal more Sparks and boxes. Additionally, players face an Armos enemy behind a grate, adding a combat challenge before progressing further into the dungeon.
Use an ignizol here to set fire to everything flammable. You’ll again find sparks underneath the spiderwebs – either move the boulders so that they can reach the mechanism or use your own echoes to open the door.
Hidden Ruins Room #4
In Hidden Ruins Room #4 of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, players face a puzzle involving Sparks circling torches and a box at the back of the room. The objective is to maneuver the Sparks into the box by moving crates or using the Spark Echo ability obtained earlier in the Hidden Ruins. Successfully guiding the Sparks into the box unlocks the door to the next area. This room also features spiderweb-covered floors with Baby Gohmas enemies that must be defeated before burning the webs to reveal more Sparks and boxes, continuing the progression through the dungeon. Players will need to move boulders and boxes strategically to clear the path and solve the puzzle, advancing toward the dungeon’s deeper challenges.
First, use Bind to move the boulder here up towards the cube. The spark that’s orbiting it will follow and enter the cube. Now use the extended echo summon (by holding down Y) to shoot two more sparks that will hit the boulder and enter the cube.
Hidden Ruins Room #5
The Hidden Ruins Room #5 in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom presents a challenging puzzle where players must carefully manipulate Sparks to unlock the path forward. Inside, the floor is covered with spiderwebs that must be burned after defeating Baby Gohmas, revealing Sparks and a box. The objective is to move these Sparks into the box by strategically shifting boulders and crates, which will unlock the door to the next area. Using the Spark Echo can simplify this task, allowing smoother progression through the dungeon. This room tests both combat skills and puzzle-solving abilities, setting the stage for the upcoming boss encounter.
In this room, climb down the ladders and then make a stack of water blocks to get to the level of the platform with the sparks rotating around it. This works best if you stack them against the wall, not touching the platform directly, as the sparks will electrocute the water.
Once on the platform, it’s easiest to defeat the sparks so that you’re not constantly dodging them. Spear moblins still come in handy here. Open the chest for 20 Rupees.
Drop down again and build another stack of water blocks on the other side of the next platform. (This spark has to go far enough that you have time to climb it before it gets around to electrocute the water again.) Head into the next room to the right.
Hidden Ruins Room #6
In Hidden Ruins Room #6 of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, players face a challenging puzzle involving Sparks and spiderweb-covered floors. After defeating the Baby Gohmas that infest the room, you must burn away the spiderwebs to reveal Sparks and a box. The objective is to maneuver these Sparks into the box by moving boulders and crates, which unlocks the door to the next area. Utilizing the Spark Echo can simplify this task significantly. This room tests your ability to manage enemies, solve environmental puzzles, and strategically use Echoes to progress deeper into the Hidden Ruins and advance the Cotton Candy Hunt quest.
Use a long Y press to shoot three sparks into the cube here. Then you can just pass through into the next room – there’s nothing in the water but electrocution.
Hidden Ruins Room #7
The Hidden Ruins Room #7 in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom presents a challenging puzzle involving Sparks and obstacles. In this room, players encounter two Sparks circling around torches and a box at the back. The objective is to maneuver these Sparks into the box by moving crates and boulders, or by using the Spark Echo ability obtained earlier in the Hidden Ruins. Successfully guiding the Sparks into the box unlocks the door to the next area, progressing the dungeon further. This room also features spiderweb-covered floors and Baby Gohma enemies that must be defeated before burning the webs to reveal additional Sparks and the path forward. The puzzle emphasizes strategic use of Echoes and environmental interaction to advance.
A bit of a breather here. Break the jars and continue onwards.
How to beat Smog, the Hidden Ruins boss
To beat Smog, the Hidden Ruins boss in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, start by using potions or smoothies that grant Electricity Proof to protect yourself from its lightning attacks. In the first phase, activate Swordfighter Form and attack Smog’s main form with slashes or arrows while maintaining the Electricity Proof effect. When Smog splits into three smaller clouds, your goal is to reroute each cloud by placing Echoes in their path to make them collide and merge back into one. After dealing damage to the reformed Smog, it will split again into five clouds; repeat the same strategy of guiding them together using Echoes. Once Smog is fully reassembled, use a strong Echo and Swordfighter Form to finish the fight. Using tall and single-block Echoes to trap clouds in corners or nooks helps manage their movement effectively, and you can use Bind to reverse cloud directions if needed.
Smog is back! Not very surprising, given the deku scrub’s report. He’ll immediately break into three clouds. If you remember from the last time you played this game with him, you’ll need to cause them to bump into each other in order to recombine them, since they don’t take damage in this form.
In this stage, we used a bed falling from the top platform to push the topmost cloud down onto the larger platform at the bottom. Its path then intersected with the right cloud and soon after the left cloud.
Once reassembled, Smog can take quite a few more hits than previously, but you can wear him down. We found an effective method was filling the bottom of the room with pathblades to make it absolutely hazardous. It still took a while (pathblades aren’t that strong) but was quite safe as long as you stay in the middle of the room and dodge the lightning balls.
Smog will split into five clouds this time. On the right and the left, where there are two platforms being circled, statues will force the lower cloud to rise up, and cause a collision. (You may need to use Bind to reverse their travel direction.)
You can then push the top cloud down for another collision. Depending where the resulting combinations end up, continue pushing and manipulating them until you have Smog back.
The second part of the combined Smog fight is much the same as the first part – and seemed to take less time. Once you’ve defeated him, Smog will explode into a bunch of rupees, monster stones, and a piece of heart. Then you’ll be able to climb out and exit the Hidden Ruins.
How to finish ’Cotton Candy Hunt’
To finish the “Cotton Candy Hunt” quest in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, first ensure you have completed the prerequisite quests “A Rift in the Faron Wetlands” and “Let’s Play a Game,” and possess the Ancient Charm. Then, head to Scrubton in the Faron Wetlands and speak with the Deku Scrub who mentions a large amount of cotton candy found near the Hidden Ruins. Warp to the ruins, defeat the Drippitunes blocking the entrance, and light the torches outside using fire-based Echoes to reveal the staircase. Inside the Hidden Ruins, solve puzzles by guiding Sparks into yellow blocks and burning spider webs with fire Echoes. After navigating through the rooms and manipulating objects with Bind Echoes, prepare for the boss fight with Smog. Defeat Smog by merging its cloud forms and attacking with ranged Echoes, then return to Scrubton to complete the quest and receive the Curious Charm accessory as a reward.
Return to the deku scrub in Scrubton to tell them the bad news. They won’t believe you, but they’ll see the ancient charm that you got in the Let’s Play a Game sidequest and fix it up for you anyway. It becomes a curious charm which greatly decreases damage when Zelda wears it.
Congratulations on finishing the Cotton Candy Hunt quest! Shame there wasn’t any cotton candy after all.
What secrets lie hidden within the mysterious Ruins in Zelda’s Echoes of Wisdom
The Hidden Ruins in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom conceal a variety of secrets tied to the “Cotton Candy Hunt” side quest. To access the Ruins, players must solve environmental puzzles in the Faron Wetlands, such as extinguishing rain by defeating Drippitunes and lighting braziers to reveal the entrance. Inside, the Ruins are filled with intricate rooms featuring puzzles that require clever use of Echoes-magical recreations of objects or creatures-to progress.
Key secrets include:
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Treasure Chests: Early rooms contain valuable loot, such as a monster stone.
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Unique Puzzles: Players must manipulate Sparks (electric enemies) into boxes to unlock doors, burn away spiderwebs to reveal hidden paths, and navigate obstacles like boulders and Armos statues.
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Boss Battle: The dungeon culminates in a rematch with Smog, a recurring boss, offering both challenge and reward.
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Quest Progression: Completing the Ruins is essential for advancing the “Cotton Candy Hunt” quest, which is tied to the lore and side stories of the Scrubton villagers.
These elements make the Hidden Ruins a memorable and rewarding dungeon, blending environmental storytelling, tricky puzzles, and classic Zelda combat.
What is the significance of the cotton candy creature rumored in the Hidden Ruins
The cotton candy creature rumored to reside within the Hidden Ruins is central to the “Cotton Candy Hunt” side quest in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. According to the Deku Scrubs of Scrubton, this creature is believed to be a massive, sweet treat-an enticing legend that sends Zelda into the depths of the Ruins to investigate. However, the truth is more sinister: what the Deku Scrubs thought was a giant cotton candy is actually the dungeon boss, Smog, a monster that must be defeated to complete the quest.
The significance of this creature lies in its role as a narrative twist and a source of local folklore. The Deku Scrubs’ belief in the cotton candy monster ties into their search for new sugary delights, following the loss of their spider web treat. Upon defeating Smog, players not only resolve the mystery but also earn the Curious Charm, an upgraded accessory that greatly reduces damage, marking a meaningful progression in both story and gameplay. The quest highlights the game’s blend of whimsical myth and hidden danger, reinforcing the theme that not everything in Hyrule is as sweet as it seems.
