Great Fairy Extended Guide — Unlocking & Upgrading Armor

Great Fairies are the only source of armor upgrades in TotK — each ★ tier increases defense and sometimes unlocks set bonuses. This guide covers all 4 fountain locations, how to unlock each one (the Stable Trotters concert quest), and which armor upgrades are most valuable.

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How Armor Upgrades Work

Base system: Each armor piece has 4 upgrade tiers (★ through ★★★★).

Requirements per tier:

1. The Great Fairy must be unlocked at her fountain
2. Specific materials (varies by armor piece and tier)
3. Rupees (cost scales with tier)

Defense increase per tier: Each star roughly doubles the defense value. A 3-defense piece becomes 5→8→12→18→28 across the four tiers.

Set bonuses: Some armor sets unlock set bonuses at ★★ (requires all three pieces at 2 stars).

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The 4 Great Fairies — Locations

Cotera (Northeast Necluda)

Fountain location: Necluda — near Kakariko Village, on the road north of the village

Finding Cotera: Follow the road north from Kakariko → the flower bud is visible on the right side of the path.

Unlock cost (Stable Trotters): The first Great Fairy is the cheapest to unlock.

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Kaysa (Tabantha Frontier)

Fountain location: Tabantha — near Tabantha Bridge Stable, west of Rito Village

Finding Kaysa: South of the Tabantha Bridge, visible from the road. Large flower bud near the stable.

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Mija (Akkala Highlands)

Fountain location: Akkala — near Woodland Stable (north of Eldin)

Finding Mija: Follow the road north from Eldin toward Akkala → fountain is near the stable at the road junction.

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Tera (Gerudo Desert)

Fountain location: Gerudo Highlands — Gerudo Desert sand region, southeast of Gerudo Town

Finding Tera: Most remote Great Fairy. Requires crossing the Gerudo Desert.

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Unlocking the Great Fairies — Stable Trotters

How to unlock: Each Great Fairy requires a concert performance from the Stable Trotters — a traveling musician group.

The unlock quest chain:

1. Find the Stable Trotters traveling musicians (near stables, on roads)
2. Talk to their leader → they need specific instruments/musicians before they'll perform
3. Help them find the missing musicians or instruments
4. Escort them to the Great Fairy fountain
5. They perform the concert → Great Fairy awakens

Multiple Great Fairies: Each subsequent fairy requires the previous one to be awake AND additional musicians recruited to the Stable Trotters band.

Cost scaling:

• Fairy 1: 100 rupees
• Fairy 2: 500 rupees
• Fairy 3: 1,000 rupees
• Fairy 4: 10,000 rupees

Fairy 4 (Tera): 10,000 rupees is a significant investment. Farm rupees via ore selling or Blupee hunting before attempting the fourth unlock.

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Upgrade Priority — What to Upgrade First

Tier 1 — Essential Upgrades

Hylian Set (★★): Even the basic set provides meaningful defense at ★★. Cheap to upgrade, early game priority.

Combat-specific sets (★★): Whatever armor you plan to wear through temples:

• Flamebreaker Armor (★★ before Fire Temple)
• Snowquill Armor (★★ Unfreeze before Wind Temple)
• Rubber Armor (★★ before Thunderhead and Lightning Temple)

Why ★★ specifically: Most set bonuses trigger at ★★. The defense jump from ★ to ★★ is also significant.

Tier 2 — Mid-Game Priority

Champion's Leathers (★★★): Zelda's gift armor — good defense + mild bonus.

Barbarian Armor (★★★): Attack boost + Charge Bonus (★★★ level) — best combat armor in mid-game.

Soldier's Armor (★★★): High defense without needing specific farming targets — accessible upgrade materials.

Tier 3 — Late-Game Priority

Depths Armor (★★★★): If spending extensive time in Depths, max upgrade gives best Gloom protection.

Phantom Armor (★★★★): Unique aesthetic + good defense. High upgrade cost.

Radiant Armor (★★★★): Useful in very specific combat scenarios (extra skeleton damage at night).

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Upgrade Materials Planning

Before upgrading, farm materials in batches:

• Plan your next 2–3 upgrades → identify required materials → farm all at once → go to Great Fairy → complete all upgrades

Common bottleneck materials:

• Lynel parts (Horns, Hooves, Guts) → required for many ★★★+ upgrades
• Silver enemy parts → required for ★★★★ on most sets
• Bubbul Gems → Koltin exchange for Mystic Armor (not Great Fairy directly but related)

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Quick Tips

• Unlock all 4 Great Fairies before heavy upgrade sessions — having all 4 unlocked means you can upgrade ANY armor set without backtracking. Worth the 10,000 rupees for Fairy 4.
• ★★ on everything before ★★★★ on one thing — getting two stars on all your armor sets gives more total defense and set bonuses than maxing one set and leaving others at base. Upgrade broadly first.
• Stable Trotters: recruit all musicians early — the musician recruitment for the fourth fairy concert has several steps. Start the chain on your first stable visit and the quest resolves naturally over time.
• Barbarian Armor ★★★ for Lynel farming — the Barbarian set's ★★★ charge bonus (charged attacks deal more damage) dramatically accelerates every Lynel fight. This is the single most impactful upgrade for difficult combat.
• 10,000 rupees for Fairy 4 is worth it — Tera is the only fairy that upgrades Gerudo region armor and the Phantom Armor. The Barbarian set (often farmed near Gerudo Highland Lynels) also uses Tera. The 10K investment pays off over many upgrade sessions.

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See also: Great Fairies Guide | Armor Upgrades Guide | Rupee Farming Guide