How to farm rupees in Zelda Ocarina of Time

Nov 13, 2026 - 02:12

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How to farm rupees in Zelda Ocarina of Time

Published Nov 12, 2026, 4:43 PM EST

Keep your wallet full in both timelines

Rupee farming in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake looks a bit different than you might be used to if you played the N64 original or any of its later ports. The most common method in older versions of the game — getting some red rupees above the Castle Town drawbridge — doesn't work anymore. However, there are several other quick and straightforward ways to fill your wallet, whatever size it is.

Below, we break down the best ways to farm rupees in Ocarina of Time remake.

Sell beetles to the Buyer

Early in the game, your best bet for rupee farming is scooping up bugs in empty bottles and selling them to the Buyer, which is the man in Hyrule Castle Town who's fanatical about creatures in bottles. He's sitting on the ground across from the Shooting Gallery and slapping the ground with his palms. He'll pay 20 rupees per beetle.

A beetle farming location in Ocarina of Time

Bugs live under rocks and bushes in various parts of Hyrule, but when you're playing as young Link in the past, the best location to get a bunch of bugs is this spot in northeastern Hyrule Field, near Kakariko Village. You'll notice a Song of Storms bloom, but you can ignore that for now, since the Song of Storms is something you'll only learn in the future. (It leads to a cave with a rupee reward, but it's also full of ReDeads — not a great place for kids!)

Bugs live in the plants and shrubs that surround the Song of Storms plant. Destroy the plants with your sword, scoop up as many bugs as you have empty bottles to fill, and trot back to Hyrule Castle Town to sell them. Repeat the process as often as you want. It's a bit slow, given young Link has to travel on foot, but at least Hyrule Castle Town isn't too far away.

You can keep using this method as adult Link. The Buyer is just in Kakariko Village instead of Hyrule Castle Town.

The jar man's location in the future in Ocarina of Time

Sell blue fire to the Buyer

This method of rupee farming is the most lucrative, but it takes some setting up before you can do it. In the adult Link timeline, the Buyer relocates to Kakariko Village with the rest of Hyrule Castle Town's survivors. He still pays for bugs and fish, but after you visit the Ice Cavern, he'll also buy blue fire off you for 40 rupees apiece.

Make sure you have Farore's Wind from the Great Fairy Fountain in Zora Domain, and clear the Forest, Fire, and Water Temples. Then, unlock the Shadow Temple and learn the Nocturne of Shadow from Sheik so you can fast travel back to Kakariko Village at any point.

With that done, head off to the Ice Cavern, and set a Farore's Wind warp point in one of the rooms with blue fire. Now you can fill all five empty bottles, play Nocturne of Shadow to go back to Kakariko Village, sell them to the Buyer, return to the Ice Cavern using Farore's Wind, and repeat the process until your wallet's full to bursting.

Sell Poes to the Poe Collector

The Poe merchant location in Ocarina of Time

This one's also exclusive to adult Link. No shops are left in the Hyrule Castle Town of the future, but there is a new vendor right at the entrance. They do only one thing: buy Poes. Poes are the spirits that attack you at night in Hyrule Field or any time of day in the Kakariko Graveyard. They leave behind a spirit ball when you defeat them, and if you bottle it up, you can sell it to the Poe Collector for 15 rupees. The graveyard has a seemingly endless supply of them, too.

This method is quicker if you have Epona and learned the Prelude of Light from Sheik after clearing the Forest Temple.

Defeat Skull Kids in the Lost Woods

Link looking at Skull Kids in Ocarina of Time

Defeating Skull Kids is one of the more challenging rupee farming methods, but it's also the most lucrative. Defeated Skull Kids drop a gold rupee worth 200 rupees. (It's basically the same as the giant orange rupee from the original game, just not giant. And not orange.) They don't seem to respawn following an in-game timer like other enemies, based on our testing. It appears Skull Kid respawns are tied to real-world time, possibly once per day, though we haven't been able to 100% confirm that yet.

Skull Kids only show up as adversaries when you're in the Lost Woods as adult Link, and they attack as soon as you approach. Skull Kids keep their distance and fire darts at Link, and they're immune to Deku nuts. The easiest way to land a hit is by using the Biggoron Sword thanks to its extended reach. If you take too long to defeat a Skull Kid, they'll vanish and then reappear the next time you enter the Lost Woods.

The quickest way to find Skull Kids is by taking a right as soon as you enter the Lost Woods. You'll find two of them there.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is a little bit different than the original game, so if you need guides to help you through, we don’t blame you. We have walkthroughs for all the dungeons, from the Deku Tree to Ganondorf's Castle. We also have guides for the sillier, in-between parts of the game, like when you have to find Richard (the dog) or Cuccos.

For those going for 100% completion, we also have guides on where to find every Piece of Heart, every Gold Skulltula token, and where to plant every Magic Bean.