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If you’ve finished exploring Hyrule for now and want to take a break from all the Side Quests and Side Adventures, you can then get back on track with the main quest missions in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Thunderhead Isles concludes the Secret of the Ring Ruins quest, and this location is surrounded by an angry storm.
Located above the Faron Region, the Isles contain the Joku-usin and Joku-u Shrines, and since Thunderhead Isles requires you to glide and Ascend in extreme weather conditions, here's how to survive the trial. For some added style, you can glide while wearing the Glide Armor Set.
Updated by Chad Thesen on July 21, 2023: This guide has been updated to feature new embedded links that can allow easier navigation for readers. These embedded links include one for a guide detailing how to use the Ascend ability and one for a guide about how to acquire the Glide Armor Set.
Clearing The Storm
While it’s not essential that you clear the overhead storm surrounding Thunderhead Isles, it will make exploration a lot easier without the clouds hanging about. Ten Heart Containers are also required to complete the Isles, and if it’s still raining when you arrive, it will be necessary to stock up on Slip Resistant elixirs.
In order to clear the storm, you first need to complete the Regional Phenomena main quest assigned by Purah once the Lookout Landing Skyview Tower is up and running. After completion, Purah will start the Find the Fifth Sage challenge and, subsequently, the Secret of the Ring Ruins quest, but we'll keep spoilers to a minimum on these quests. Following the instructions during this mission will lead you to Dracozu Lake, where you must solve a riddle. Once the riddle is solved, the storm over Thunderhead Isles will vanish.
Arriving at Thunderhead Isles
Whether you clear the storm first or not is entirely up to you, but if you choose not to clear it, it’s essential that you equip Charged Armor and make sure you have no metal or gems attached to your weapons in order to dodge lightning strikes.
The first step in reaching Thunderhead Isles is to navigate to the Popla Foothills Skyview Tower and use its mechanism to propel you into the sky. You can then glide over to the Isles with Gust.
You can either land on one island a little before Thunderhead Isles to get your bearings or continue to the first platform and then use Ascend to reach the island above. The next step is to find the platform harboring a lightning rod ahead, which you can reach by gliding and ascending.
Use the catapult block to get to the next platform after the lightning rod is charged, or use Shock Fruit or Electric Chuchu Jelly to get the rod to strike faster. You’ll soon arrive at a platform with a mass of water in the middle, and you’ll need to use the nearby planks of wood to get you to the next platform by constructing an uphill ramp.
Keeping south and following the lanterns will lead you to metal tracks. Since the mining carts are missing, you’ll need to use a plank of wood plus a fan to get the plank moving up the metal tracks. If you don't clear the storm, you’ll need to create a shelter on top of the plank to shield you from lightning strikes.
When you reach the next platform, you’ll be able to Ascend and subsequently reach an encounter with a Flux Construct to be defeated on the left. Another set of metal tracks will be ahead, and same as before, you’ll need to create a platform with a fan to ride the tracks.
About halfway through your journey on these tracks, you’ll want to Ascend up to the middle platform. It’s best to hit the fans off at the right time or continuously hit A while traveling under the ascending point.
Complete Joku-usin Shrine
You can now see and enter the Joku-usin Shrine, but be warned, you will temporarily lose all of your equipment. There will be five Soldier Constructs and one Soldier Construct III to defeat in this room. Firstly, gather a stick, the Shock Fruit, and the Shock-Emitter Zonai Device that sits at the top of the ladder on the opposite side of the room. It’s best to take down the Soldier Constructs with bows on top of the pillars first. Then, you can use those bows to fire Shock Fruits at the other enemies. One of the other Soldier Constructs has a second Shock-Emitter that you can use after it’s defeated.
Once all six enemies have been eliminated, the Joku-usin Shrine exit will appear, and you’re free to collect the Electro Elixir in the chest and the Light of Blessing. The Joku-usin Shrine will now be available as a fast-travel point.
Complete Thunderhead Isles
Before you leave the Joku-usin Shrine in the southeast, locate a platform with an orange switch using the Paraglider and Ascend ability. Using a Shock Fruit on this mechanism will open a trap door in the ground containing a chest with an Old Map.
Return to the shrine building and go up the stairs. If you look up, you'll be able to Ascend through the base of a pillar and head towards the wheel and lightning rod. Defeat the Like Likes with Shock Fruit or Riju's power and collect the contents of the four chests in this space. Before leaving this platform, we have to use the catapult block once again to head south. The next platform has more metal tracks on it.
Since one of the two tracks is broken, you need to build two platforms - remembering to shelter if the storm is overhead - and attach the fan to the second build on the rail that isn't broken on the right-hand side. Create a bridge from the broken rail across to the second platform and hit the fan to move across the rails. You can also move the first platform over to the second build and use Recall to ride it over again.
On the next platform, move through the path of Soldier Constructs, defeating as you go until you reach an island you can Ascend to fight the final enemy. There will be another catapult block and lightning rod to the east that will take you on to the next patch of land. Ascend once more through the pillar until you arrive at the final catapult that will send you to the final platform with a chest containing a Shock Emitter.
If you go to the edge of this platform, you can jump off of it onto Dragonhead Island, containing the Joku-u Shrine. You'll be rewarded with a Diamond and Rauru's Blessing. You can then use Fire Fruit to burn down the wooden barrier blocking your entrance to a large stone gate. This is where you’ll need to have ten full Heart Containers in order to open the gate, and a Zonai terminal will be waiting for you on the other side. Once the cutscene ends, the Secret of the Ring Ruins quest will be complete, and the Guidance from Ages Past quest will begin.