Lakebed Temple

Entering Lakebed Temple Early

There are several ways to enter Lakebed Temple early.

Skip the first corridor

If you've obtained the Master Sword early, it's possible to skip past the windy underwater portion of the first room by save warping.

Skipping the stalactites

Boomerang LJA (GCN only)

Discovered by Paraxade

From the end of the bridge, pull out the Gale Boomerang and target the collumn towards the left side of the door and do a long jump attack. From here, climb onto the fallen boulder, and target near the torches on either side of the door and use another long jump attack to reach the next plaform.

Helmasaur LJA (any version)

Discovered by LogitechSDAZ

Get on the end of the bridge and use the Gale Boomerang to lure a Helmasaur towards the edge of the above platform. Once he is near enough to the edge for you to target him, do so, and pull out you sword. Back up a bit and do a long jump attack off of the Helmasaur. If he is too close to the edge, you will have to wait for him to turn around otherwise your jumpslash will bounce off of his armor and the recoil will prevent you from landing on the platform. From here, turn into a wolf and climb to the crest of the fallen boulder. Align yourself, and jump to grab the ledge of the next platform.

Knock down the stalactite to water bomb chest

Faster method discovered by Cha0ticAce

By using the Boomerang it is possible to throw a bomb against the pillar on the ceiling making it drop down. This leads the way to the Water bomb chest up there.
Right before the bomb hits the pillar, jump attack to get on the platform and save time.

Skip knocking down the Stalactite to water bomb chest

You can also get up the ledge without knocking down the stalactite first.
Stand on the edge right next to the door leading to the main room and aim at the corner of the platform in front of you. Jump as soon as the boomerang goes out of bounds.
This is not faster than knocking down the stalactite from below and should only be used if you run out of bombs.

Here's a slightly slower way that uses targets instead.

Quick bomb disposal

Discovered by Majora MIM

One time consuming task that occurs in the Lakebed Temple is emptying your bomb bag of normal bombs so to obtain water bombs from chests. Instead of throw the bombs into a body of water, head over to one of the waterfalls in the stalacmite room. By standing under the water while trying to pull out bombs, the bomb's fuse is put out immediately allowing for incredibly quick disposal.

Double LJA to skip staircase (GCN only)

From the entrance to the swiveling staircase room, head over to the top of the staircase and pull out the boomerang. Target once just right of the chandelier on the ceiling and twice above the overhang on the right. Long Jump onto the staircase's banister, and then to the ledge. This is a lot faster than have to move the staircase multiple times.

Early Clawshot (GCN only)

Discovered by Paraxade

It is possible, using long jumps, to get the clawshot much earlier than was intended without ever having to go to the second floor of the dungeon and change the water level. Go to the hanging platforms room and run to the ledge of the top platform. Pull out the boomerang and target above the doorway on the left. Use a double long jump to jump to the hanging platform, and then to the door.

Pot Push Early Deku Toad [Wii]

Discovered by pokemongenius

Using four or more pots in the gale boomerang, it's possible to jump and be pushed far enough by the pots to reach the hanging platform without an LJA. This allows for early Deku Toad on the Wii version without needing bombs.

1. Collect 4-5 pots with the gale as shown

2. Line them up on the ground, and throw the boomerang such that it picks them up while returning

3. As it picks up the pots, jump towards the platform and try to get pushed by the pots. Jumpslash late into the jump

Jumping out a little from the platform can help with being pushed, though the direction the gale is returning from is also important. Don't jumpslash too early, as if the boomerang catches up with you it'll stop and you won't be pushed anymore. Jumpslashing stalls you and allows the gale to catch up quicker.

The second jump is possible with anywhere from four to one pots (or rupees/hearts) weighing the platform down. There's no guarantee any pots will land on the platform however, so preserving one to grab after the first jump is safest. Spin attacking the chain for an extra swing, in conjunction with the tilt from a pot, is a very consistent method. It's also possible to swing the platform enough using just the boomerang.

Later Early Clawshot

By hanging and dropping from the 2nd floor of the Single Cog room, you can reach Deku Toad without activating the water tower. This shows reaching the Deku Toad exit door; reaching the other door is possible in a very similar manner.

LJA over railing (GCN only)

Discovered by Paraxade

Please note that there is a faster way to enter Deku Toad than this LJA which uses Early Deku Toad

After doing the above trick, you can get over the railing in order to get to the Deku Toad faster. Jump attack on top of the chest and pull out the boomerang. Target slightly to the right of the pillar. Now simply use a long jump to get onto the railing and blow up the rock. If you have gotten the Ball & Chain early, use one more jumpslash to get past the previously mentioned pillar, and you can use the ball & chain to break the rock if you don't have water bombs!

Video showing how to use the ball & chain to break the rock.

Damage boost to railing

With a slightly precise damage boost, you can get on to the railing allowing you to get to the Deku Toad faster. First kill the chus, then open the small key chest. C-Up and align as shown in the video. Back up slightly then sidehop twice to the top of the chest and place a bomb down. Pull out the sword, and on the 7th Red Flash do a Jumpslash.

Earliest Heart Piece

Discovered by Giradam, Improved by SVA16162

It is possible to get the Heart Piece outside the Deku Toad before getting the clawshot and still being able to get out which saves 14s in 100% over getting it after. First stand where shown in the video, and then line up the cross-hair just to the right of the pot (pot cannot be broken), then go up and target above the platform, then target the floor nearby the pillar with the gate and heart piece. Now LJA to to pillar with the pot once the boomerang reachs the first target, then LJA again over to the nearby floor when the boomerang reaches the second target.

Now target the pot with the boomerang to grab it and place it on the pressure plate, go into the gate and kill the lizalfos with a Jump-Attack into Spin Attack. Open the HP and then hold L and roll forward once, then shield bash once, throw the boomerang to lift the pot off the pressure plate and start closing the gate, then shield bash while the gate is closing to get clipped OoB. You can use the Iron Boots to void out faster.

Earliest Heart Piece backup

Discovered By Devil6Lair

If you get trapped in the area with the heart piece it is possible to escape without death or savewarping. First sidehop up onto the back of the open chest, then look towards the torch on the wall and Jump Attack, if the angle was correct you will clip up onto the torch. From here you can do two targets to perform an OoB LJA to escape over the gate.

Early Heart Piece

By doing 3 LJAs (GCN only) in the western gear room, you can reach the chest containing a heart piece without having to change the water level/activate the gear.

Here is a back-up method if you fail you can climb up and use this set-up

Here is a faster backup method that only wastes 12 seconds.

Early Heart Piece (non-LJA alternative)

Stand near the center of the pillar and hold Target. Wait for the 5th red flash to fade away then hold forward. Shortly after jumping off, press B to drop the bomb. It should explode and boost you to the platform

It is also possible to reach the alcove with a somewhat precise wolf dash.

Boss Key Skip (Vine Clip)

Discovered by Juice

Drop down into the center of the key room, and head toward a patch of vines. Once you're standing next to them place a bomb behind you and vine clip through the wall. This can be done even if the water level has been raised by using Water Bombs and Iron Boots. Once you clip out of bounds, you must un-equip the Iron Boots by equipping an item over them.

Once out of bounds, equip the Iron Boots to sink below the floor, then swim toward the GCN left side of the pillar in center of the room. At the center, the game physics will start to behave erratically. If you pass underneath some open floor, the game will try to warp you back in-bounds. This is useful for getting high enough to reach the boss room trigger, and can even put Link back in-bounds inside the small room behind the boss door. Once you are high enough, head to the center and drop down.

If you don't have the Zora Armor, you will want to enter the loading zone wearing the Iron Boots or else equip them prior to resurfacing. If you don't, you will need to spawn the air meter and resurface before sinking. Not doing so will cause you to drown just before you reach the bottom.

On Wii, due to being able to clawshot an extended range of angles, it is possible to clip through vines using just the clawshot.

Boss Key Skip (Bridge Clip) for Any%

Discovered By Rachel74, Set-ups by Dragonbane, Adam/Rodner, SVA, Ekke325

It is possible to clip into the bridge by standing on the edge of the barrier and falling down onto the seam, from there with a perfect angle you can roll or walk up the bridge to the mid-point. You can then slightly face into the wall and clip, if you were at the right spot you will clip inside the boss room.
There are several methods of doing this but only two are really used lately. SVA found the the best known method of this clip which is a bit harder to learn but consistent. Clawshot up to the chandelier standing right next to the switch. Drop down, make a step to to right and sidehop.
After landing on the pillar, walk up and position yourself as shown. L-Slash slowly (don't mash!) until you drop down and backhop.
Then charge a spin attack and carefully go left until the outer end of Links beltbag touches the wall. Release the quickspin, backhop three times, let go of L and hold right to clip into the Boss Room.

If you don't have the Zora Armor, you will want to enter the loading zone wearing the Iron Boots or else equip them prior to resurfacing. If you don't, you will need to spawn the air meter and resurface before sinking. Not doing so will cause you to drown just before you reach the bottom.

Ekke325 found another way to skip the boss key that barely involves the chandelier. It is the fastest known method so far.
Enter the main room through the right door, jump attack once and then throw the boomerang with a target in the middle of the chandelier. Jump as soon as the boomerang reaches the target.
You will land on the stairway railing. Now make a small step to the right and sidehop twice. This will get you in the same position as with the setup above - continue as stated there.

Boss key skip (bridge clip) tutorial for Any%

Tutorial by Skyreon

Modern Any% speedruns turn the bridge differently in the first trip to Lakebed in order to save a few seconds over the previous route. This actually ends up affecting the boss key skip for the second visit. Thus, a slight variation of the bridge clip boss key skip method has been implemented. The following video explains this new method with clear instructions, visual cues and commentary.

Boss key skip (bridge clip) tutorial for Any% (old bridge orientation)

Tutorial by Skyreon

A fast and easy to follow tutorial on Ekke's fast method with clear instructions, visual cues and commentary.

Boss Key Skip (Bridge Clip) & Fastest Bridge Turn Route Comparison for Any%

Discovered by Gigopler

In Lakebed 1 by turning the bridge at the bottom rather than doing the double lja it saves 5 seconds because you can do a much faster boss key skip in lakebed 2. In Lakebed 2 With a slightly different setup you can do the bridge clip while the bridge is turned a different way. Jump down onto the bridge with either a jump attack, or jump down and use iron boots, which is faster. Backflip, Charged spin and line up, Backflip x3 and put on boots Backhop once then targetwalk right to get into the boss room.

Boss Key Skip (Switch Drop Method)

Discovered by ZachLink99

In No Save & Quit you have to clawshot over the wall and climb all the way up the bridge and LJA down, but it was found you could clip into the bridge a long while ago, here's the setup for it! Mash A to drop off the switch (a few frame window so if you mash fast its consistent) C-up to any angle between 16354 (furthest left) -> 16394 (furthest right) 4x Backflips -> Hold upleft Visual Cue's for the angles are in the video description! It saves roughly 10 seconds for No S+Q and 3-5s for ILs.

Boss Key Skip (Bridge Clip) for 100%

Setup By Venick409

After Collecting the heart piece put on the Iron Boots and sidehop left once, backhop twice, then unequip the Iron Boots. Now Sidehop (It will be small) then backflip down, now hold down until you fall into the bridge. L-Target Roll twice then look left into the wall slightly and L-Roll to clip

Fastest Boss Key Skip setup (Bridge Clip) for 100%

Setup By ZachLink99

After getting the heart piece put on Iron Boots and follow the setup: Sidehop, Backhop x2, Sidehop Take off boots Backflip pull sword Roll down Backflip x4 into autospin Target walk upright

Boss Key Skip via Midna Dive (Wii only)

Discovered by logitechSDAZ, Optimized by Simikins

By using a pot or a bomb, it is possible to Midna Dive off the bridge and use this to clip OOB beneath the room. From here, you can swim up to the Morpheel Boss Room loading zone.

LJA to Ooccoo from main chandelier

In 100% you LJA to Ooccoo after getting the 2nd Heart Piece. To do this don't move once you open the chest (or stand where you should be), then target above the overhang and LJA into the openning. If you target too far right you will hit the wall with your LJA and recoil all the way down into the water. It is possible to not target at all, just throw the boomerang at the spot and still instant LJA in time. NOTE: The video below target very far right, any further would have failed

An alternative method which is more risky and no faster is to stand on the edge of the chandelier and target at the two spots on the wall (not precise but could use vines as visual ques), once the boomerang goes out of bounds LJA (It isn't 100% consistent to go OoB hence why this method isn't recommend). It is possible to LJA so your jump attack breaks the pot, it is also recommended to do an auto spin in case you miss the pot

Ooccoo route comparison

Underwater tunnel room timesaver

Saves 1 - 2 seconds to sidehop from the ledge to the door instead of swimming.