Finding every single Hinox and Stalnox hidden beneath the surface in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom requires navigating absolute darkness while managing your gloom recovery. The Depths version of these giant, one-eyed brutes hits much harder than their surface counterparts because their attacks inflict permanent gloom damage until you reach a Lightroot or eat sun-infusing meals. If you're trying to farm high-tier materials like Black Hinox Horns, Hinox Guts, or complete your monster compendium, searching blindly won't cut it.
The underground mirrors the surface topography. If a Hinox rests near a specific landmark or forest above ground, you'll usually find its shadow variant lurking directly beneath that exact coordinate in the dark.
Understanding Depths Hinox Variants and Mechanics
Before you dive underground to hunt, you need to know what you're up against. The underground houses standard Hinoxes, Blue Hinoxes, Black Hinoxes, and skeletal Stalnox variants. Unlike the surface, where they might be sleeping peacefully out in the open, underground specimens stand alert or sleep right next to shadow-soldier spawn points.
Every blow from a Depths Hinox drains your maximum heart containers with gloom. Stock up on Brightbloom Seeds, Bomb Flowers, and meals cooked with Sundandelions before setting out. Hitting their singular eye with an arrow causes them to sit down and clutch their face, giving you a safe window to rush in with a high-durability two-handed weapon fused to a strong monster part.
Key Depths Hinox Locations by Region
Instead of wandering aimlessly through the inky blackness, use Lightroots as your navigation anchors. The underground layout follows a reliable rule: surface shrines translate directly to Lightroots below, and surface geographic anomalies like forests or craters dictate enemy camps.
Central Hyrule and Hyrule Ridge Depths
The area directly beneath Hyrule Field and Hyrule Ridge contains several accessible mid-tier variants that provide quick materials early in your underground exploration.
- Near the Zonai Build Station: Drop down via the Great Plateau Chasm or nearby options. A standard Hinox patrols within easy walking distance of the central underground build station coordinates (0014, -1313, -0469).
- Hyrule Ridge Underground: Head northeast of the Hyrule Ridge Chasm, resting near the Tikanur Lightroot. A Blue Hinox waits here, patrolling an open basin.
- Forest Coliseum: Located deep beneath the Korok Forest area, this challenge arena features a Black Hinox if you navigate through the swampy northern underground corridors near the Muotue Lightroot zone.
Gerudo and Hebra Depths
The harsh climates of the surface map translate into rugged, sprawling cavern networks underground, hiding some of the toughest black-tier variants in the game.
- Gerudo Underground Basin: Southwest of Gerudo Town's underground equivalent, near Kasari Lightroot and Gonatoyrim Lightroot, you'll find a Blue Hinox guarding desolate pillars. Another Black Hinox sits isolated further west near coordinates (-4211, -1242, -0871).
- Hebra Plunge Shadows: Deep underneath the northern snowfields, tucked into the alcove corresponding to the Hebra Plunge, a Black Hinox rests ready for battle (-3618, 3808, -0678). Keep your distance until you clear surrounding stal-enemies.
Essential Strategies for Fast Hinox Farming
Taking down underground bosses efficiently requires a strategy centered on crowd control and heavy burst damage. Because these enemies regenerate health if you aren't careful or if you get knocked away, you'll want to maximize every stun window.
- Light the area first: Never fight in the dark. Shoot giant Brightbloom Seeds on arrows across the arena to illuminate gloom patches and pillars you can use for cover.
- Exploit the eye weakness: Keese Eyeballs fused to arrows act as homing missiles. If you're struggling to land a clean shot while the boss moves or guards its face, use a tracking arrow to guarantee an instant knockdown.
- Steal their weapons: When a Hinox rips up a tree trunk to use as a club, shoot it with a fire fruit or bomb flower to make it drop the log, removing its sweeping area-of-effect attack entirely.
- Mount for free hits: Once the boss falls to its knees, run around to its front side, press the prompt to mount its belly, and whale on it with your highest-attack weapon. Mounted strikes don't consume weapon durability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Depths Hinoxes respawn during Blood Moons?
Yes. Every standard Hinox, Blue Hinox, Black Hinox, and Stalnox underground respawn during a regular Blood Moon event, allowing you to farm their horns and guts repeatedly for armor upgrades.
What is the easiest way to heal gloom damage while fighting?
Eat meals or elixirs cooked specifically with Sundandelions. Normal food items only restore standard hearts, leaving gloom-damaged hearts greyed out until you step back onto surface ground or touch a Lightroot.
Are Stalnoxes found underground too?
Yes. Skeletal Stalnox variants appear in specific depressed crater areas in the underground. You must destroy their eyeball component after breaking their skeletal body to finish them permanently.
How do I find underground locations if I haven't unlocked the Lightroots?
Build a simple flying machine using a steering stick, a battery, and a couple of fans. Soar high above the dark landscape, look for the faint orange glow of distant Lightroots, and mark your map before dropping down to hunt.
