Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Where to Find Sapphires (& What to Do with Them)

Gems can be mined from ore deposits found on The Surface and the Sky Islands in Tears of the Kingdom. Common gems like Amber and Opal can be sold for a low price to merchants. Rarer gems such as the Sapphires are better off being sold or saved for armor upgrades.

The Upheaval in Tears of the Kingdom seems to have increased the number of ore deposits around Hyrule. Returning fans may have noticed that rare gems like the Sapphires selling for fewer rupees than their Breath of the Wild counterparts. Furthermore, Sapphires only drop from one type of ore deposit, making them more difficult to come across.

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Sapphires Location (Where to Farm)

Sapphires can be farmed from Rare Ore Deposits or Taluses:

• Unlike regular ore deposits, Rare Ore Deposits have golden ore sticking out of them. Breaking a Rare Ore Deposit is how players can farm rarer gemstones such as Diamonds, Rubies, and, of course, Sapphires.
  • The drop rate for Sapphires from Rare Ore Deposits is a bit lower than a Ruby and Topaz. In worst cases, breaking open a deposit may generate nothing but a hunk of Amber or Flint. It may not be the most reliable method for farming Sapphires, but it's the more "common" one.

• Players can also buy Sapphires for 600 Rupees per Sapphire in Goron City.
• Defeating a Frost Talus or a Stone Talus (Rare) may drop Sapphires and other rare gems. Frost Taluses have a higher chance of dropping Sapphires than any other gem.

Where to Find & Defeat a Frost Talus

While Stone Talus (Rare) aren't exactly common, they're easier to come across around Hyrule than their Frost Talus counterparts. Players that are strictly farming Sapphires will want to search out a Frost Talus instead. Thankfully, there's a Frost Talus west of the Sisun Shrine at -2690, 3351, 0240. In fact, players will need to defeat this monster to get the Green Shrine Crystal to unlock the Sisun Shrine.

Frost Taluses are found in colder regions, so players will want to bundle up before setting out for the Hebra Mountains. The Snowquill Set can be bought at Rito Village, but even equipping the Archaic Warm Greaves and a flame weapon (i.e, weapon fused with an Igneo Talus Heart or a Ruby) will be enough. Another way to combat the cold is to cook a meal that has hot ingredients, like Spicy Peppers.

Here's how to defeat Frost Taluses:

1. Trying to climb a Frost Talus will cause Link to freeze instantly. To warm it up, toss a Fire Fruit (or fuse a Fire Fruit with an arrow) at the Talus' body.
2. Once the Talus' body is warm, climb up to the gem/ore deposit on its head.
3. The Frost Talus will freeze its body after a while, so if this happens, just throw another Fire Fruit at its body or arms.
4. If Link is struggling to stay on the Talus' head, try fusing Bomb Flowers to arrows and fire them at its ore deposit.

Once the Frost Talus is defeated, it will drop any of the following gems as well as a Frost Talus Heart:

• Sapphires
• Opals
• Diamonds
• Flint

The Frost Talus Heart can be Fused to a melee weapon or a shield. It can't go into Link's inventory, so players will need to Fuse it immediately, or leave it be. When a Frost Talus Heart is Fused, it will add an ice attack to Link's weapon. It also gives him one level of heat-resistance, making it good to wear in the Gerudo Region.

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Where to Use Sapphires

Sapphires can be used in three different ways:

1. They can be Fused to weapons or arrows.
2. They can be sold to a merchant* for 150 Rupees.
3. They can be used for upgrading several armor pieces.

* A regular merchant will buy Link's Sapphire for 150 Rupees a piece. However, if he collects 10 Sapphires, he can instead sell them to a Gerudo merchant named Ramella in Goron City. She'll buy 10 Sapphire for 1700 Rupees. However, she'll cycle through Rubies, Diamonds, and Topaz as well. If she asks for 10 Rubies, she won't go to the next gem until Link hands over the Rubies. Sometimes, she'll ask for the same gem three-four times in a row. Thus, while Ramella will pay more for the ore, this method can be unreliable as it requires Link to have 10 of three different gems.

Fusing a Sapphire to a weapon or an arrow will give it an ice attack. They're ideal for fusing to Magic Scepters and other similar weapons. They don't function the same as an Ice-Breath Lizalfos Horn, as a Sapphire-weapon functions more like a wand than a sword/lance.

Finally, Sapphires are required for upgrading the following armor sets:

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for Nintendo Switch.