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There's a lot that's changed about Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and a lot of locations that ought to feel familiar feel completely new thanks to all of the revamped content throughout the game. Near the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab, one quest can be picked up that takes players just off the coast of this familiar lab – a quest that involves taking down a gang of pirates on the high seas.
In addition to the slew of other side adventures Link can encounter in Tears of the Kingdom, now there are several roaming fleets of Bokoblin pirates looting and pillaging Hyrule's shorelines. The three ships in The Gathering Pirates quest can only be accessed by boat or paraglider, and the quest itself starts upon talking to an NPC at the East Akkala Stable.
The Gathering Pirates Quest Location
The East Akkala Stable is on the road just below the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab in northeastern Hyrule, around the coordinates (4380, 3002, 0230). This is an important stable for players to re-visit often for a different reason: the Horse God Malanya is found just behind the stable, who offers Link the ability to upgrade or revive horses from the dead. Hit up the Shrine on the hill to have an easy way to teleport back here, then look for an NPC named Aya.
Aya can be seen sweeping or meandering around the East Akkala Stable, and when Link talks to her, she tells him of her fear that a nearby band of pirates may come up the cliff anytime and attack. She says they come from the North Akkala beach, which is only partly true. In fact, the pirate vessels are moored quite a way offshore, far enough away that it's best to paraglide down from the cliffs above or construct a boat to travel by water. Either way, the fleet of pirates is found around the coordinates (4739, 2783, 0067).
How To Defeat the Gathering Pirates
Upon arrival, the Bokoblins, Moblins, and Boss Bokoblins will immediately take notice of Link unless he is wearing a disguise. If arriving by air, try to aim for the top of one of the ships' masts, where explosive barrels and ranged fire can do wonders in thinning out the Monster Forces bar.
If arriving by sea, head for one of the great skulls attached to the front of each ship. If Link stands on these, and uses Ascend, he can easily reach the deck of any of these pirate ships. Be sure to look around before accepting the Ascend location, as it's very easy to accidentally jump into a group of Bokoblins with flaming weapons at the ready.
An easy way to dispatch of pirates on these ships is to go for headshots with the bow. Enemies struck this way will fly a short distance into the air and backward – if they fly off the edge of the boat and into the ocean, they can't swim and will die without any fight. Jump from the top of a mast to get some slow-mo time and increase accuracy.
On each of the three ships players will find different enemy types, including Bokoblins of various levels and equipment, Moblins (the larger, heavier-hitting monsters), and a Boss Bokoblin. One of the best strategies to use against Boss Bokoblins is the Muddle Bud, which will cause them to attack other monsters if struck with one. Fuse one of these Depths-exclusive materials to an arrow to wreak havoc from within.
Players who are struggling to beat the hordes of pirate monsters may find a trick with Autobuild and explosive barrels to be handy. If you have unlocked Autobuild, and have some extra Zonaite to throw around, attach two of the explosive barrels on the first ship together.
Then, using Autobuild's history and the low cost of six Zonaite for material costs, players can summon a copy of these two barrels on other ships. Just drop this bomb near enemy monsters to send them flying overboard – make sure Link is far away when the explosion goes off, or he'll go for a surprise swim too.
What Do You Get For Completing The Gathering Pirates?
After killing every monster on the pirate ships, a special chest will unlock on the third ship (the one with the Boss Bokoblin). Inside this chest is a Blue Hinox Hammer, which deals a huge chunk of damage with slow swings, and can be used to break rocks and other materials easily.
After collecting this, and the vast quantities of other materials like fish on all three ships, head back to Aya at the East Akkala Stable. For Link's courage in defeating all of the monsters, he receives two Pony Points, and an Endura Carrot. This might not seem exactly like a hero's reward, until one realizes that one Endura Carrot is what Malanya, the Horse God, requests in order to help Link.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available on the Nintendo Switch.