In order to progress past The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Great Plateau, Link must unlock the Paraglider, which will allow him to glide safely to the ground below as he embarks on his journey through Hyrule. The Great Plateau is the starting zone after Link awakens in the Shrine of Resurrection, serving as a tutorial area to get players acquainted with the mechanics of the game before they are thrown into its massive, open world. After obtaining the Paraglider in Breath of the Wild, players will be able to use it to explore Hyrule by gliding from tall places. They can catch updrafts to reach elevated areas more easily and drop bombs on enemies below. The Paraglider is by far one of the most important tools in Breath of the Wild, as well as one of the most fun to use.

The Paraglider can be obtained as part of “The Isolated Plateau” main quest, which introduces players to Breath of the Wild’s mechanics and Shrines. There are a total of 120 Shrines located throughout Hyrule that challenge Link with both puzzles and combat trials, and Link will earn a Spirit Orb for completing each one. By praying at one of the many Goddess statues throughout the game, Link can trade four Spirit Orbs for either a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel, which will increase Link’s maximum hearts or stamina respectively. There are four Shrines on the Great Plateau that players will have to complete to clear the tutorial and earn the Paraglider.

Related: How to Get the Master Sword Early in Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Completing the Great Plateau's Shrines will also introduce players to the Sheikah Slate’s Runes, which are crucial abilities for Link’s journey through Breath of the Wild and are required to solve puzzles, find treasure chests, and defeat enemies throughout the game. There are a total of four Runes in Breath of the Wild, including the Remote Bomb, Cryonis, Stasis, and Magnesis. However, the Remote Bomb Rune has two slots on the Sheikah Slate for both spherical and cubical Remote Bombs, and there’s also a sixth Rune slot for the Sheikah Slate’s camera, which can be obtained later once players reach Hateno Village. After obtaining the Runes and the Paraglider by completing the tutorial Shrines, Link will have all of the necessary tools to begin his quest to destroy Calamity Ganon.

How To Get Past The Great Plateau In Breath Of The Wild

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Great Plateau area

After completing Breath of the Wild’s first quest, “Follow the Sheikah Slate,” players will meet up with the Old Man once they climb down from the Great Plateau Tower. He’ll glide down and tell Link about Calamity Ganon before offering to give Link the Paraglider he just showed off in exchange for the treasure in the nearby Oman Au Shrine. By completing this Shrine, the BOTW Magnesis Rune will be added to Link’s Sheikah Slate. He’ll also obtain a Spirit Orb from the monk at the end of the trial.

Once Link steps out of the Shrine, the Old Man will glide out of the sky again to request that Link retrieve three more Spirit Orbs from the other Shrines on the Great Plateau. Fortunately, he’ll also teach Link about Breath of the Wild’s fast-travel mechanic, which allows him to teleport to any Shrine or Tower that Link has visited by selecting its location on the Sheikah Slate’s map. After teleporting to the Great Plateau Tower, the Old Man will also show Link how to use the Sheikah Slate to place pins that will help him navigate to the three remaining Shrines. These Shrines can be completed in any order, and players will find plenty of useful materials to help them reach all three by exploring the Great Plateau’s woods and ruins.

The Ja Baij Shrine can be found in the Eastern Abbey and will add the Remote Bomb Runes to the Sheikah Slate, but players will have to dodge the active Guardians lurking in this area. The Owa Daim Shrine is on the southern border of the Great Plateau and grants players the Stasis Rune, and the Keh Namut Shrine where players will find the Cryonis Rune is located just beneath a pond west of the River of the Dead. However, reaching the Owa Daim Shrine will require players to strategically scale a cliff while maintaining stamina, and the Keh Namut Shrine is located at a high elevation that will expose Link to the cold, which will deal damage over time.

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After the fourth and final Shrine on Breath of the Wild’s Great Plateau is completed, the Old Man will glide down from above one more time, but, rather than handing over the Paraglider, he’ll ask Link to meet him where the four Shrines intersect. By imagining an X drawn on the map using each of the Shrines as an endpoint, players can pinpoint the Shrines’ intersection at the Temple of Time. However, once Link arrives at the Temple of Time, the Old Man won’t be waiting for him inside the building, and players will have to track him down to claim their reward.

Where To Find The Old Man On BOTW’s Great Plateau

The Old Man waits for Link in BOTW's Temple of Time.

The Old Man will be waiting in the tower of Breath of the Wild’s Temple of Time, so players will have to scale the building and climb onto the roof to find him. Approaching the Old Man will trigger a cutscene in which he will tell Link everything about the tragic history of Hyrule, the four Divine Beasts, and the malice of Calamity Ganon, who Zelda has kept sealed for 100 years. From there, he’ll point Link toward Kakariko Village to seek the guidance of the elder Impa and give Link the long-awaited Paraglider.

With the Paraglider in hand, Link can glide down from the top of the Temple of Time by jumping into the air and pressing the B button again. Breath of the Wild’s open world of Hyrule is now open to Link since he can safely jump down from the Great Plateau’s tall cliffs, and players’ Adventure Log will be updated with the Destroy Ganon” main quest as well as the “Seek Out Impa” quest. Before leaving the Great Plateau, however, players should be sure to pray at the Statue of the Goddess inside the Temple of Time to exchange their well-earned Spirit Orbs for either a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel.

Next: How to Skip the Great Plateau in BOTW

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available on Nintendo Switch.