Raft

Raft
Artwork of the Raft from The Legend of Zelda
First appearance	The Legend of Zelda (1987)
Appearances	The Legend of Zelda The Adventure of Link Link's Awakening Oracle of Ages Breath of the Wild
Found	(The Legend of Zelda) Level 3 (First Quest) Level 4 (Second Quest) (The Adventure of Link) Island Palace (Oracle of Ages) Rafton (Breath of the Wild) Various areas
Use	Allows passage over water

"Link can float across seas and lakes when he launches this from a dock."

— The Legend of Zelda manual

Rafts are recurring items in the Legend of Zelda series. Rafts serve as a means of transportation, allowing Link to travel over certain bodies of water.

Appearances

The Legend of Zelda

Link can obtain the Raft in Level 3 in the First Quest and Level 4 in the Second Quest. It is only usable when standing on one of the few docks in Hyrule. It is required to get to Level 4 in the First Quest and Level 5 in the Second Quest, both of which are located in the same part of the Overworld. In both quests it is also used to access the Eastmost Peninsula from the south in order to obtain either a 2nd Potion or a Heart Container.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

The Raft is found in Island Palace, the third dungeon of the game. It is needed in order to cross the water and reach the eastern section of Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Link can rent a Raft from the Raft Shop for 100 Rupees. It is used to navigate the Rapids Ride mini-game.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

At one point during the course of the game, Link needs to borrow a raft in order to sail to Crescent Island. Link goes to Rafton, an accomplished raft-maker in Labrynna. He is willing to make Link a Raft, but he needs Cheval Rope, a special kind of rope that doesn't decay in water. After retrieving the rope, Link borrows the completed raft and sails to Crescent Island. Although he's hit by a storm while sailing, the Raft can be found near the shores of the island, should Link have to travel back to the mainland of Labrynna again.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild Rafting - WATERFALL STUNT EDITION - 60fps Cemu gameplay -

Rafts are not collectible item but instead they can be found in various waterways throughout Hyrule. These rafts feature sails and Link can use the wind produced by a Korok Leaf to sail the raft. In certain areas he can let the wind carry him, but he has no control over the raft itself as he is unable to control where the wind blows. In areas with moving water such as rivers Link can let the water carry carry him. Link can use the Stasis Rune and stored kinetic energy to move beached rafts into the water without a Korok Leaf though stored kinetic energy is generally unsuitable for controlling the raft in water. Stasis can also be used to locate rafts as they glow yellow like all things that can be effected by the Stasis Rune. Using rafts is generally optional as Link can use other methods such as gliding using the Paraglider (especially after obtaining Revali's Gale) or Cryonis Rune to cross large bodies of water, though rafts do not require stamina to use as only wind or a Korok Leaf is required to move them and do not break unlike Cryonis blocks. They are also useful for servings as platforms where Link can use a Korok Leaf to blow Wooden Chests floating in the water to land so Link can open them though this is just one method as he can also use Cryonis to lift them out of the water. Link can also use them to reach sunkened buried metal treasure chests and use Magnesis to place the metal treasure chests (ones he cannot reach from land) onto the raft which he can then open onboard the raft. Rafts can be used for fishing and their are several advantages as Link can bow, spear, or bomb fish from them then move the raft close to the dead fish allowing Link to pick it up without swimming. Link can also use certain food based materials as bait to draw fish near to his raft allowing him to pick them up or kill them much easier. Rafts are useful for reach certain places such as Eventide Island or crossing large bodies of water like Necluda Sea. However, due to their size they can become stuck and can be impeded by obstructions. Some Rafts have mooring ropes tied to piers that must be cut with a cutting weapon or arrows in order to sail them.

Link sailing a Raft with a Korok Leaf in Breath of the Wild

Due to the raft's lack of armaments such as a cannon, Link is vulnerable to attacks by aquatic enemies such as Lizalfos and Water Octoroks. However, he can use a bow, boomerangs, Remote Bombs, or Sword Beams from the Master Sword to attack enemies from a distance. Throwing handheld weapons can damage enemies as well, though they will sink to the bottom of the water if they lack buoyancy, though wooden and ancient weapons tend to float while most metallic weapons sink though Link can use Magnesis to pick up sunken weapons to lay them on the raft so he can then pick them back up. Shock Arrows are an ideal weapon as Link can take advantage of the conductivity of water to boost their effect. Ironically Link cannot use Boat Oars to move Rafts as he can only use them as makeshift weapons. However Boat Oars float thus can be useful weapons for raft sailing, along with Fishing Harpoons which despite their metal spear point are designed to float making them ideal for spearfishing.

Horse on a Raft

Link riding Epona on the Raft docked in Lurelin Village in Breath of the Wild

In certain places it is possible for Link to get a Horse onto a Raft, allowing him to transport his horse to places such as Tenoko Island or Eventide Island that would normally be inaccessible to them. Normally it is not possible to get the horse onto a raft however Link can Horse step (which acts as strafing while on horseback) a horse onto a Raft from a pier, certain large rocks, or pushing a fallen tree log near the Raft and horse stepping onto it to get on the Raft. Once it is on the Raft, Link must use the throw command to blow wind from the Korok Leaf as this does not harm the horse, which would cause it to run off the raft like when Link performs a normal melee attack with the Korok Leaf. The Korok Leaf can be wielded on horseback but will not produce wind thus Link is unable to blow the Raft while mounted atop his horse. Link however must be careful as the horse will drift slightly while standing on the Raft when it is moving, forcing Link to keep the horse in front of him to reposition him (or her in the case of Epona) on the Raft to prevent it from falling into water. Link must also be aware of aquatic enemies such as Water Octoroks and Lizalfos who can spook the horse off the Raft. Horses can swim, though they will immediately head to nearby land and cannot be ridden until they reach solid land. Rafting with a horse is a test of Link's rafting skills, though serves little purpose other than allowing Link to take his horse with him to places like Eventide Island. If Link and his horse make it to Eventide Island it will remain on the Island during "Stranded on Eventide" allowing Link to use his horse to travel around the island and kill lesser enemies by trampling over them and can be used as a vaulting off point in order to draw his bow in the air to slow down time and fire arrows which allows for greater accuracy to ensure his limited supply of arrows hit their mark, though he should be careful as his horse can be killed in combat or accidentally. Additionally he should avoid taking his horse near the island's sleeping Hinox as the Hinox could easily end up killing it. Link can do this with any horse. Even Epona, though he should use a registered horse as tamed wild horse tend to move around if Link dismounts them making rafting with them next to impossible. Link can either use a Raft to transport his horse back to mainland Hyrule or simply access them through the Stables. If equipped with the Ancient Saddle he can simply summon his horse back to the mainland by whistling.

Other appearances

Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the Legend of Zelda series and should not be considered part of the overall storyline.

Hyrule Warriors

The Raft appears as one of the Item Cards used to unlock secrets in Adventure Mode. The 8-Bit Raft also appears as Link's 8-bit Gauntlets where it is humorously depicted as a Ball and Chain that Link wields using the Power Bracelets.

Hyrule Warriors Legends

The Raft returns as an Item Card in Adventure Mode, however Link's 8-Bit Raft is absent due to all 8-bit weapons being replaced with Level 3+ weapons.

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.