The Sandship is the fifth dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD and can be found floating around in the Lanayru Sand Sea. Players will have to jump through quite a few hoops to get there though, including riding a minecart along a decrepit track at breakneck speeds, infiltrating a pirate stronghold, and then finding the invisible ship with the help of Fi's dousing capabilities.
Much like the Lanayru Mining Facility dungeon, the Sandship makes heavy use of Timeshift Stones, with players needing to switch between past and present on a regular basis to reach the dungeon's boss. It's arguably worth it though, as, in addition to finding Nayru's Sacred Flame, players will also get their hands on the game's final weapon, the bow. They'll need to figure out some difficult puzzles before they do so, however.
How To Solve The Directional Lock
When Link first climbs aboard the Sandship, there aren't too many places he can go, making the first section of the dungeon relatively straightforward. Players should turn left upon gaining control of Link and then head through the door. Once inside the ship, they should head down the stairs, take a right, and then head through the unlocked door on the left side of the corridor.
Before crossing over the sinking sand, players should take out the Electro Spume using a bomb or a Skyward Strike and then follow the corridor along to another set of stairs. After passing through the door at the bottom of them, players will stumble across an army of Arachas and so should use Link's spin attack to avoid being overwhelmed. If they follow the corridor round to the end, they'll come to a set of double doors that lead to the dungeon's first puzzle.
The room contains a door with a directional lock like the one found in the Ancient Cistern dungeon. Before looking for the combination though, players should take care of any Arachas that are running around to avoid taking unnecessary damage. To get the code, players will need to clear the sand on the floor using the Gust Bellows, which will eventually reveal four wheel-shaped symbols with blue arrows on them.
The number of red handles will indicate the order in which the directions need to be input, making the full combination down, up, down, right. As with the last combination lock, those playing with Joy Cons can swing in those directions, but anybody who is using a controller should flick their right analog stick in the opposite directions, which would effectively make the combination up, down, up, left.
Once unlocked, the door will lead players to a room with a chest containing the dungeon's first small key. After grabbing it, they'll need to go back to the top floor and use the key on the locked door opposite the one they first came through. If Link's health is low, players should sit on a stool on their way there to replenish his hearts and consider saving the game at the nearby bird statue just in case.
How To Beat The Scervo Mini-Boss
The Scervo mini-boss isn't particularly difficult, but its unique setting makes it one of the most enjoyable fights in the game. It takes place on a thin plank, with Link trying to push the robot pirate off the edge, while Scervo attempts to push Link back into a wall of spikes. There are three phases, with the spikes behind Link moving ever closer for each one.
Due to the narrow playing area, it's best to stick with jabs only for this fight. If ever Scervo blocks an attack, he'll immediately respond with a counter, so players should be ready to jump back or bash him with their shield whenever he does. Eventually, Link will push Scervo back to the very end of the plank, and the pirate will bring the wall of spikes forward to begin the second phase of the fight.
The second phase is more of the same, although players should be sure to run forward at the very beginning to close the gap between them and Scervo as quickly as possible. This will reduce the distance that they need to push the pirate back and should be done at the start of all three phases. It shouldn't take long to push him back again and destroy his sword arm, and the final phase of the fight will begin.
Some might assume that without his sword, Scervo might be a little easier to handle, but he makes up for this by behaving a lot more aggressively than he does in the first two phases. Players should meet fire with fire, jabbing him before he gets a chance to land a blow with his hook and going all-in whenever he stumbles backward. After a minute or two, Scervo will fall down into the sand sea below and a chest containing the bow will appear at the end of the plank.
How To Get The Dungeon Map
Now that they have the bow, players should return to the main deck and use it to shoot the blue target on the mast. This will cause a Timeshift Stone to appear at the top of the mast, and players can shoot this to take the entire ship back into its past state. There'll now be a lot of Bokoblins to take care of, so players should use Link's sword and bow to clear the deck before doing anything else.
With all of the enemies now cleared, players should climb up the mast in the center of the ship and use the pullies to travel from plank to plank by shooting the blue targets on them from afar and then grabbing onto them after they travel over to Link. There are Bokoblins up here too, so players should shoot them from a distance using their bow to avoid being knocked off.
The main aim of climbing up here is to stop the cage that's guarding the Timeshift Stone from spinning, so players should find the slot on the mast, jab their sword into it and then turn. From here, players should follow the planks and pullies to the rear of the ship (due east on their map) and then look for a Clawshot target on a pole. By dropping down into this area, they can find a Goddess Wall and a chest containing a Piece of Heart.
With the Heart Piece now collected, players should hit the blue target on the lifeboat at the side of the ship to make it drop down to a lower level. After that, they should head into the door to the west, go down the stairs, and through the door in the corridor to the right. From here, they should enter the second room on the left and use their bow to shoot the Timeshift Stone through the grate in the ceiling.
Now that the ship is back in its present state, the electric security system is no longer active, allowing Link to walk freely into the next room. There, he'll find a chest containing the dungeon map. The metal bars will open too, allowing Link to return to the room with the sinking sand, which, conveniently, is very close to where he needs to head next.
How To Turn Off The First Generator
The next main objective is to rescue the crew from down in the brig, but before they can do that, players will need to deactivate a couple of generators. The first of these is in the first room on the right after crossing the sinking sand, but to gain access to it, players will need to blow the nearby fan with the Gust Bellows and then shoot the blue target on the other side with an arrow.
This will open up a door to the player's left. The intended strategy is to go in here with the Timeshift Stone activated, but doing it now will make things a little easier later on as players won't need to defeat the Technoblins that would otherwise be here. They should push the crate on the ledge out of the way, stand on the special floor tile, and fire an arrow at the blue target to unlock the room with the generator.
With that taken care of, players should return to the room next to where they found the dungeon map and reactivate the Timeshift Stone by shooting it through the grate. Now, they'll be able to head inside the generator room and kill the Technoblin, push their sword into the slot, and twist it to turn the generator off. Fi will remind players about the crew at this point, but unless players want the location of the generators marked on their map, there's no point in heading down to the brig just yet.
How To Turn Off The Second Generator
After disabling the first generator, players should take a right from the generator room and then enter the second room on their left. They'll need to defeat a couple of Technoblins in here and then push the red crate onto the floor tile to open up two panels on the side of the ship. If they pass through the hole on the right, they'll be able to use the lifeboat to return to the main deck by shooting the blue target.
Once back on the main deck, players should hit the blue target with another arrow to send the lifeboat back down to the lower level and then deactivate the Timeshift Stone. With the ship now back in the present era, they'll need to drop back down onto the lifeboat, head through the hole in the side of the ship, and then enter the room to their right.
Here, players will need to pull a lever to unlock the door and then shoot the Timeshift Stone through the grate above them. This will switch the era back to the past, and they'll be able to jab their sword into the generator and twist it to turn the generator off. Next, they'll want to go to the room next door via the corridor and then head down the ladder through the hatch on the left to reach the ship's lowest level.
How To Rescue The Crew
Following this new path, players will eventually come to an area with a grated metal ceiling and a ladder in front of them. They need to drop down this ladder to the passageway below and then run underneath the three giant metal blocks without getting crushed. Thankfully, this is pretty simple to pull off due to the slow speed at which the blocks descend.
After climbing a ladder, players will come to an area with a green branch on their left. To progress, they'll need to use their whip to swing over the gap, but rather than heading straight, they should swing into the area on their right and climb the ladder. At the top, they'll find some treasure chests containing a few silver Rupees and some rare upgrade components.
Once they've collected all of the treasure, players can drop back down the ladder and will then need to use their whip to swing on top of the giant metal crusher in front of them. Once on top, they should wait until it's at its highest point and then jump onto the next crusher. This will allow them to jump onto the solid ground in front of them, where they'll find a lever that raises some nearby metal bars.
There's a tunnel to the left of the lever, and following this will take players to a room with another lever that unlocks the brig. One of the crew will thank Link for rescuing them and tell him that the boss key is in the captain's cabin. The robot will then give Link another small key so that the young adventurer can access said cabin before leaving with the rest of its crewmates.
How To Get The Squid Carving Boss Key
With the second small key now in hand, players will need to return to the ship's deck, which can be achieved by following the tunnel back to the spot where they entered and then riding the lifeboat back to the top by hitting the blue target with an arrow. Once there, they'll want to use the small key to unlock the door on their left, but, rather than heading straight inside, they should first hit the Timeshift Stone with another arrow to return the ship's status to the present.
Upon entering the next area, players should head down the stairs and make their way to the far room on their left. There's a special panel on the floor, and standing on this will open up a hatch in the wall through which Link can shoot a blue target in the next room. This will open a door over to the player's right, and, after heading through it, they'll be able to shoot the Timeshift Stone through a fan in the ceiling once the Arachas have been taken care of.
As soon as the ship reverts to its past state, players will have some Technoblins and Beamos to take care of, the latter of which can be quickly dispatched with a single arrow to the eye. Once all of the enemies have been defeated, the metal bars guarding the chest and the room's exit will rise and players will be able to get their hands on the Squid Carving, which is needed to unlock the door leading to the dungeon's boss, Tentalus.
How To Find The Boss Door
Now that they have the boss key, players should return to the deck and ride the lifeboat down one last time. After leaving the room with the two hatches, they should turn right and then head down the stairs to the B2 level. There's a Technoblin that will charge towards Link in the corridor, but players can hit it with an arrow before it gets close enough to do any damage.
Upon continuing down the corridor, players will come to another Beamos, and, after defeating it, will find the boss door on their right. Before heading inside, they may want to use the nearby stool to replenish their health if needed and save at the bird statue just in case. Once they're ready, players can place the Squid Carving into the door to unlock the final section of the Sandship dungeon.
How To Beat Tentalus, The Abyssal Leviathan
After passing through the boss door, giant tentacles will begin demolishing the ship. Players should use Skyward Strikes to slice through them, using vertical strikes to deal with the tentacles coming out of the walls and horizontal strikes for any that come through the floor. There'll also be some rolling barrels that need to be dodged, but these shouldn't cause too much trouble.
Once players have made it back up onto the deck, they'll notice that the ship is now in two pieces. Tentalus will soon show up in the middle and the fight will begin almost immediately. In the first phase, tentacles will come out of the ground and attempt to grab Link, so players should use horizontal or diagonal Skyward Strikes to slice through them until Tentalus appears again at the side of the ship.
At this point, players will need to fire an arrow directly into its eye and then get in close to deal as much damage as possible with the Goddess Sword. They'll likely need to repeat this process a couple of times, after which, Tentalus will tear off another section of the ship and Link will be forced to climb up to the highest section of the deck via a crate.
The second phase starts out much like the first, with players shooting the boss in the eye and then damaging it with the sword while its head is on the deck. Rather than tentacles coming out of the floor, however, players will now have to contend with them attacking Link directly from Tentalus' head. Thankfully, these ones can be defeated with regular sword strikes, so players should slash any that get near them, while also utilizing Link's spin attack whenever needed.
After dealing enough damage to Tentalus' eye, the boss will be defeated and players can collect another Heart Container as their reward. They'll then need to hit the crest with a Skyward Strike, at which point, a cutscene will show the Goddess Sword being imbued with Nayru's Sacred Flame. This transforms it into the Goddess White Sword, which allows Link to assign up to eight different dowsing items at any given time. The young hero will then be taken back to the Ancient Harbor, where players can use the nearby bird statue to return to the sky. Next stop, Isle of Songs.