Autobuild is the one ability Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t hand you on the Great Sky Island, and plenty of players go dozens of hours without it. That’s a shame, because it saves so much time. The good news: you can grab it very early, and you don’t even need to finish the quest that normally leads to it.
This guide covers the early Autobuild route, the normal quest route, and every other unlock that fills out Link’s toolkit, in the order you’ll meet them. There’s no wrong way to approach this, so pick the route that suits your playthrough.
Every Major Unlock at a Glance
| Unlock | How you get it | When |
|---|---|---|
| Ultrahand | Ukouh Shrine | Great Sky Island |
| Fuse | In-isa Shrine | Great Sky Island |
| Ascend | Gutanbac Shrine | Great Sky Island |
| Recall | Temple of Time, after the first three shrines | Great Sky Island |
| Paraglider | Main Quest “Crisis at Hyrule Castle” | First visit to Lookout Landing |
| Camera | Main Quest “Camera Work in the Depths” | After the Paraglider |
| Autobuild | Steward Construct, Great Abandoned Central Mine | Any time you can reach the Depths |
| Sensor, Travel Medallion, Hero’s Path, Sensor + | Side Adventure “Hateno Village Research Lab” | After Autobuild |
The Great Sky Island Abilities
Your first four abilities all come from the Great Sky Island, and each one gets its own tutorial shrine. Ultrahand comes first at the Ukouh Shrine, where you join a board and a hook to move on. Fuse comes from the In-isa Shrine, where you fuse a boulder to smash a wall and a Fire Fruit to an arrow.
Ascend waits at the Gutanbac Shrine on the snowy mountain, and you’ll need a way up the frozen cliffs first. Nintendo’s tip: build a climbable structure from nearby objects, or look for unfrozen patches of rock. After those three shrines, return to the Temple of Time, where an echo of Zelda grants Recall. For the fourth shrine, fast travel to the Room of Awakening, Ascend from the far left corner and use Recall on the gear to cross. That leads to the Nachoyah Shrine, the Recall test.
Take Your Time: the island is also packed with Koroks. Our Great Sky Island Korok seeds guide covers every one before you jump down.
How to Unlock Autobuild Early
Here’s the trick most players miss: the Steward Construct that grants Autobuild sits in the Great Abandoned Central Mine, in the Depths below the Great Plateau, and you can walk in and talk to it before the quest ever asks you to.
- Step 1: Get the Paraglider. Head to Lookout Landing, talk to Purah and finish “Crisis at Hyrule Castle”. You need it to survive the drop.
- Step 2: Stock up. Bring Brightbloom Seeds for light and a few Sunny meals or extra healing for Gloom.
- Step 3: Reach the Great Plateau. Glide in from higher ground, or smash the rubble blocking the old entrance near Gatepost Town Ruins with a heavy weapon.
- Step 4: Drop into a chasm. Jump into one of the Great Plateau chasms and glide down into the Depths.
- Step 5: Find the mine. Head for the big lit structure below the plateau, the Great Abandoned Central Mine, and climb to the top.
- Step 6: Activate the construct. Talk to the two researchers, then interact with the dormant Steward Construct. It wakes up and gives you Autobuild.
Lore Connection: those researchers aren’t researchers. They’re Yiga Clan, and Master Kohga from Breath of the Wild shows up right after for a boss fight. Stun him with an arrow, then hit him from behind his vehicle.
Once he’s gone, the constructs open a shop that trades Zonaite for Zonai Charges and Crystallized Charges, and they hand you your first Schema Stone, the Fanplane.
The Normal Route: Josha’s Quests
If you’d rather follow the story, talk to Josha at Lookout Landing after you have the Paraglider. That starts “Camera Work in the Depths”, which takes you into a chasm to meet Robbie and earns you the Camera. Nintendo’s official tips say her follow up, “A Mystery in the Depths”, only unlocks after you finish “Camera Work in the Depths” and at least one area from “Regional Phenomena”.
That quest has you follow the statues in the Depths from the Iayusus Lightroot until they lead you to the same mine and the same construct. Afterwards, Josha asks you to show off Autobuild by repairing Robbie’s hot air balloon.
Missable! If you grabbed Autobuild early, you still want to go back and finish Josha’s quests later. They lead to Robbie’s next request, which is how you get your Purah Pad upgrades.
How Autobuild Works
Autobuild remembers everything you build with Ultrahand and lets you rebuild it in seconds. If the parts are nearby, it snaps them together. If they aren’t, it fills in the missing pieces using Zonaite. You can mark favorites, and Schema Stones found around the Depths add ready made designs you never built yourself. For building tips, see our full Autobuild guide.
On the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, the ZELDA NOTES feature in the Nintendo Switch App adds Autobuild Sharing: you can turn a design into a QR code and scan codes from other players.
Purah Pad Upgrades and Other Unlocks
After Autobuild, talk to Robbie at Lookout Landing to start “Hateno Village Research Lab”. It adds four Purah Pad features:
- Sensor: beeps when a shrine is nearby.
- Travel Medallion: lets you place your own fast travel point.
- Hero’s Path Mode: shows everywhere you’ve traveled.
- Sensor +: tracks a creature, item or plant you choose.
Here’s your checklist for the rest:
- Map: activate the 15 Skyview Towers to fill in the surface and sky maps.
- Hearts and stamina: clear the 152 shrines. Every four Lights of Blessing buy a Heart Container or Stamina Vessel at a Goddess Statue.
- Weapon slots: give Korok seeds to Hestu, first found near Lindor’s Brow Skyview Tower.
- Armor upgrades: start “Potential Princess Sightings!” at the Lucky Clover Gazette, then help Penn at Woodland Stable with “Serenade to a Great Fairy”. There are four Great Fairies in total.
Autobuild Unlock FAQ
Can you get Autobuild before finishing a Regional Phenomena quest?
Yes. Go to the Great Abandoned Central Mine below the Great Plateau and activate the Steward Construct. The quest only points you there.
Where is the Autobuild construct?
At the top of the Great Abandoned Central Mine in the Depths, directly below the Great Plateau.
Do you need the Paraglider to get Autobuild?
In practice, yes. You need it to glide safely down a chasm into the Depths.
Which quest gives Autobuild?
Main Quest “A Mystery in the Depths” from Josha at Lookout Landing, which follows “Camera Work in the Depths”.
Checklist: four Great Sky Island abilities, the Paraglider, the Camera, Autobuild and four Purah Pad upgrades. Grab Autobuild early, then circle back for Josha’s quests at your own pace. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
