Ocarina of Time / Guide / Walkthrough

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Great Deku Tree

Your first dungeon: Dungeon Map, Fairy Slingshot, Compass, all 4 Gold Skulltulas, the three Deku Scrubs puzzle and how to beat Gohma.

Updated Nov 6, 2026. Unofficial guide by Nexzy.

Reward:

Kokiri's Emerald

Open full map

Your first dungeon. Something has cursed the Great Deku Tree from the inside, and he sends Link and Navi into his roots to stop it. Work your way up the tree, drop through the giant web to the basement, and take down the monster at the bottom.

What you get here

ItemWhere
Dungeon MapFloor 2, chest at the foot of the big vine wall
Fairy SlingshotFloor 2, chest past the crumbling bridge
CompassFloor 3, chest across the rising platforms
4 Gold SkulltulasSee the dropdown below
Heart ContainerBeat the boss
Tip

How dungeons work: each one hides a Dungeon Map (the layout), a Compass (chests and the boss room on the map) and one special item you need for its puzzles. Here, that item is the Fairy Slingshot.

Floor 1 and the Dungeon Map

A huge web covers a hole in the middle of the first room. You'll break it later by dropping onto it from the top.

The Deku Babas in here lunge at you. Step back out of reach, then stab while they're stretched out. Blocking works, but it just makes them wind up again. Hit the head for a Deku Nut, cut the stem for a Deku Stick.

Deku Nuts stun everything around you. Equip them by holding R and picking from your items, or from the inventory menu.

Climb the bright green vines to floor 2 and follow the walkway to a second vine wall. Skullwalltulas crawl on it and hit you while you climb, so leave it for now and open the big chest at its base: Dungeon Map.

Get the Fairy Slingshot

Go to the far side of floor 2 and through the door. It locks behind you until you beat the Deku Scrub. It hides in the leaves and spits nuts when you're far away: hold your shield up and the nut bounces back into it. Chase it down when it runs and hit it once more. It gives you a tip and the door opens.

In the next room the wooden bridge falls apart as you cross, so run. The chest on the far side holds the Fairy Slingshot.

  • Aim: target with ZL, then hold ZR to aim. Or free-aim with the stick or motion controls.
  • Ammo: Deku Seeds.

Shoot the Skullwalltula on the small vine wall next to the chest, then climb it for a hidden chest with 3 Deku Nuts.

Get the Compass

The bridge is gone, so shoot the eye above the doorway. A ladder drops and takes you back to the central room. Shoot the three Skullwalltulas off the big vine wall and climb it. Tap jump to climb faster.

On floor 3, move sideways along the vines and drop onto the ledge. A Skulltula hangs in front of the first door on the left. Hitting its shell just makes it spin, so back off and strike when its belly faces you: two hits, or one jump attack.

Inside, step on the stone button on the right. Three platforms rise out of the pit, then start sinking, so cross right away. A Deku Baba waits on the far side. The chest there holds the Compass.

The Compass marks another chest close by. Cut the grass behind the Compass chest, crawl through the gap, climb the vines and open it: 3 Deku Nuts.

Gold Skulltulas can't be locked on with ZL. Hit them, then grab the token they drop.

  1. Compass room: a high side ledge with something shiny on it. Beat the Skulltula guarding it from down in the pit, step on the button again to raise the platforms, and hop left.
  2. Basement entrance: after you drop through the web and swim out, turn around. It's on the vine wall. Shoot it, then climb up for the token.
  3. Basement, north side: on the big grate near the pool that splits the room. Shoot it from a distance, then jump to the grate.
  4. After the Gohma Larva fight: burn the web in the northwest corner with a lit Deku Stick, beat the Deku Baba and the Skulltula, and shoot it off the vines at the back. Climb up for the token.

Drop to the basement

Back in the central room, keep climbing. There's one Skulltula on the way up and another on the narrow walkway, plus a few hearts if you're low. From the very top, jump into the middle of the room. You land on the web, it breaks, and you fall into the basement pool.

Basement 1

  1. Step on the stone switch near the north grate. It lights a torch that burns the web off a small chest: 3 Deku Sticks.
  2. Equip a Deku Stick, light it on that torch, and run to the web over the south door before it burns out. Put the stick away with B once the web is gone.
  3. Bounce the Deku Scrub's nut back at it. It hints about three of its friends further down. Shoot the eye above the far door to open it.
  4. Water room: a spiked roller blocks the floating platform. Dive near the grate on the left and hit the floor switch. The water level drops and the platform fits under the roller.
  5. Beat the Skulltula on the far side, then push the stone block (hold A) under the high ledge and climb over.
  6. Torch room: light a Deku Stick on the burning torch and light all three braziers before the first ones go out. The door opens.
  7. A Skulltula drops from above, then three eggs hatch into Gohma Larva. They glow red before they lunge: sidestep or block, then hit back.
  8. Burn the web on the east side and crawl through the passage. It brings you back to the first basement room.
Tip

Getting to Basement 2: push the block off the ledge to make a step. Light a Deku Stick at the corner torch, cross the water to that block, climb up with the stick still out and roll into the web over the hole. It burns and you drop down.

Basement 2: the three Deku Scrubs

The hint was "two, three, one". Number the Scrubs left to right as 1, 2, 3. Only reflect nuts at them in that order: middle, then right, then left. Dodge every other shot. Catch the last one when it runs and it tells you the boss's weak spot.

Cut the bushes here for seeds and nuts before you go through the door.

Boss: Gohma

The room looks empty until you look up. Gohma is an armored spider and her eye is the only weak spot.

  • On the ground: she covers the eye while she walks at you. When she raises her front claws, backflip away. The slam gets her claws stuck and the eye turns green: slash it once, then back off.
  • On the ceiling: after a few hits she climbs the walls. When the eye turns green, shoot it with the slingshot. She falls down stunned. Run in and hit her as many times as you can.
  • Eggs: wait too long and she drops three eggs. Shoot them before they hatch.
  • Low on hearts: run along the edge of the arena to find recovery hearts.

About three rounds of that and she's done. Grab the Heart Container for a full extra heart.

Spoiler: Inside the Deku Tree.