Summary
- In Tears of the Kingdom, completing shrines is necessary for leveling up Link and can reward players with new heart containers or upgrades to the stamina wheel.
- Some shrines are more rewarding than others, either through tough puzzles or valuable treasures found inside, making them worth the effort.
- Shrine quests, like the one for Ishokin Shrine, can lead players on fun adventures and reward them with unique items like a giant horse or a Sage's Will, which can enhance character abilities.
Tears of the Kingdom is a vast game, with hundreds of side quests and tasks to complete in various regions of Hyrule. Players can easily spend dozens of hours scouring the map for Koroks or trying to defeat every enemy. One central component of the game is shrines, which are necessary for any player who wants to "level up" Link by getting him more hearts and stamina. All shrines, when completed, will give Link a Light of Blessing, and gathering four means players can give them to a goddess statue in exchange for a new heart container or an upgrade to the stamina wheel.
Although shrines are incredibly important to Tears of the Kingdom, some players can find them tedious after a while. With 152 overall, some shrines are far more worth it than others, especially to gamers not looking for a 100% completion rate. There are a few different reasons why a shrine can be rewarding. Sometimes it's simply the achievement of solving a particularly tough puzzle, or it's thanks to the treasures that can be found in some shrines. Oftentimes, players appreciate a shrine more when it adequately rewards them for their time and effort by providing a little more than just a Light of Blessing.
6 Kamatukis Shrine
Kamatukis Shrine is located to the bottom right of Skull Rock in Akkala, and is a classic Tears of the Kingdom shrine that asks players to solve a puzzle based on the title of the challenge, "A Precise Strike." Link will have to utilize his Ultrahand ability to attach the metal box to the pendulum and swing it just right to knock the ball into the target.
This shrine has a hidden treasure chest to the left that will require Link to execute the same task once again to reach it. Players will get a 
Mighty Zonaite Longsword for their trouble, which has high base damage compared to most weapons around Hyrule that aren't legendary.
5 Domizuin Shrine
This shrine can be found in the Akkala Citadel Ruins and, if completed fully, boasts a whopping three treasures. The challenge of this shrine is a fun if confusing one titled "A Prone Pathway." Upon entering the shrine, Link will be faced with a giant rectangle that cannot be climbed. Players will therefore have to hit and shoot the various crystal pillars to make the cube move with Link inside it.
This shrine demands the use of Ascend, one of Link's most helpful abilities. It may take a few minutes for players to get the hang of this puzzle since the different crystals will spin the rectangle in different ways. But once players have figured it out, there are chests containing arrows, a 
Zonaite charge, and a 
Strong Zonaite Shield. All fitting rewards for a job well done.
4 Sifumim Shrine
Sifumim Shrine will be the most convenient shrine to teleport to when visiting Lurelin Village on the far southeast end of the map. This shrine is one of the more challenging skill tests, titled "Proving Grounds: Flow." The shrine will strip Link of all his outside items and offer only weak sticks and 
Wooden Shields. Players will have to creep around the shrine and take down various Zonai constructs to loot their parts and fuse them to make the weapons stronger.
The biggest challenge here is the moat of water between Link and most of the constructs, including a ship-like pillar that floats around the water with a zonai atop it. Players will have to be savvy with their Ascend, and it may take a few tries to complete depending on how many hearts Link has. Remember, the constructs hit hard and Link won't have any armor on. Once players complete the shrine, they will get a Captain 3 Reaper which has a strength of 37, a rare and suitable treasure for an accomplished warrior.
3 Ishokin Shrine
Tears of the Kingdom has a multitude of shrines that don't typically require any puzzle solving on the inside of the shrine, but rather before players can even enter. These are called shrine quests, and there are dozens of them in the game. To enter Ishokin Shrine in Faron Grasslands, players will have to retrieve the green crystal needed to open its door. This will lead Link to Baddek, who has taken the crystal and won't give it back without something in return.
This will unlock the "Ride the Giant Horse" side quest, which asks Link to speak to people at the nearby Highland Stable to figure out the whereabouts of a mystical giant horse that Baddek is desperate to see. Next, players should head to the Lake of the Horse God, where they will find a massive white stallion. To ride it, Link will have to sneak towards it like any other horse and jump on when he's close enough. Depending on how developed Link's stamina wheel is, players might have a hard time staying on the horse.
If it's relatively early on in the game, it's worth stocking up on meals that will refill Link's stamina so he can tame the horse on the first try. Players should then register it at Highland Stable if they wish, before riding it back to Baddek who will then give Link the crystal. Although it will take players a little while to complete, this shrine quest is a fun adventure, and Link gets a cool giant stallion out of it. When players enter the shrine, they will be met by Raru's Blessing, which means they can take the 
Topaz from the treasure chest and quickly leave the shrine with no further puzzles.
2 Natak Shrine
Natak Shrine is another shrine quest that positions the puzzle outside the shrine rather than within. It can be found in the Sokkola Sky Archipelago above Akkala. This shrine also needs a green crystal, and Link will have to launch himself to a nearby sky island to get it. Once in the sphere, Link should use Ultrahand to twist it around to reach the treasure chest which contains a Sage's Will. These orbs, like Light of Blessings, can be exchanged at goddess statues. When players gather four Sage's Wills, they can choose to upgrade the damage that one of their sages does. This is huge for players, and Sage's Wills are difficult to find, so this shrine is very important.
Once that treasure chest has been opened, players will have to put the green crystal on the makeshift launcher device in the sphere and aim it back toward the shrine. This might take a few tries, but once it lands on the right island, Link can use it to open the shrine and retrieve an 
Enduring Elixir, which is an incredibly useful item to have on hand.
1 Mayasiar Shrine
This shrine can be found on Starview Island, one of the many sky islands in the Gerudo region. The puzzle for this shrine is a bit fiddly, but the rewards are absolutely worth it. Once players have made their way into the sphere that is Starview Island, they will have to mess around with mirrors and a wheel that moves the light, all in order to light up the yellow stones. This will take some trial and error, but a good tip to start is to follow the beams of light once they hit a mirror and try to reposition that next mirror to do the same.
Lighting up the stones will open the way to a treasure chest containing another Sage's Will, which is an invaluable find. It will also reveal the Mayasiar Shrine, which Link can then enter and find a 
Star Fragment staff, a cool and rare weapon that can shoot beams that will light up the area. Reaching this shrine can be particularly tricky, and might take players a long time. But the rewards are equal to the task, and it's worth it just to get Link those two rare items.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available to play on Nintendo Switch.