Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom feature functionality with Nintendo’s amiibo collectables. Since launching in 2014, the roster of amiibo continues to grow, and one of the most prolific Nintendo franchises in the line is The Legend of Zelda. There are currently more than 20 different amiibo based on characters from the Legend of Zelda games. This includes the mainline games and their appearances in other Nintendo properties like Super Smash Bros. Nintendo also recently announced more coming to the collection based on Tears of the Kingdom.
Scanning any Nintendo amiibo during gameplay in either BotW or TotK provides Link with items. These can include weapons, consumables, materials, or rare clothing items and one-of-a-kind armaments. Some of the best armor sets and exclusive weapons are only available after scanning Legend of Zelda amiibo.
How to Use amiibo in Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom
The process of scanning an amiibo is identical whether playing BotW or TotK. To scan any Legend of Zelda amiibo, players simply need to bring up their ability wheel and select the amiibo icon. If for whatever reason amiibo scanning isn’t functioning correctly, it’s possible to enable scanning from the Options menu. After selecting the amiibo logo from the ability wheel, hold any of the following amiibo against the right Joy Con. If using a Pro Controller, hold the Zelda amiibo against the Switch logo in the center. Once the scanning is complete, you’ll hear a sound effect and items will drop from the sky.
Are Zelda amiibo Rewards the Same in BotW and TotK?
Although BotW and TotK share similar gameplay, they have different item and equipment parameters. These differences result in some of the rewards from scanning amiibo being different. While several of the generic drops (things like Meat, Fish, or Arrows) are consistent across entries, the items that unlock from the chests that drop vary across these two Legend of Zelda games. Note that scanning an amiibo does not guarantee a rare item in a chest and that you can only scan each amiibo once per day. While several items that unlock via amiibo can be obtained in-game, some are exclusive to amiibo unlocks (such as the various paraglider fabrics in Tears of the Kingdom).
Zelda amiibo Reward Exploit
Even though the best unlocks aren’t guaranteed and you can only scan an amiibo once per day, there’s a workaround. Since players can save their game at any time in either BotW or TotK, you can simply save before scanning any Legend of Zelda amiibo. If what’s contained in the chest isn’t the item that you were looking for, you can load the save and try to scan the amiibo again. Repeat this process until you luck out and land the specific items that you’re looking for.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild amiibo Unlocks
| amiibo | Image | Set | Chest Unlock | Other Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bokoblin (Breath of the Wild) |  | Breath of the Wild | Bokoblin Weapons and Shields, Elixers | Meat, Monster Parts |
| Daruk (Breath of the Wild) |  | Breath of the Wild | Stone Smasher, Divine Beast Vah Rudania Helm, Goron Weapons | Ores and Minerals |
| Guardian (Breath of the Wild) |  | Breath of the Wild | Guardian Weapons and Shields, Guardian Arrows, Ancient Cores | Arrows, Machine Parts, Gemstones |
| Link Archer (Breath of the Wild) |  | Breath of the Wild | Bows, Elemental Arrows | Meat, Fish, Arrows |
| Link Rider (Breath of the Wild) |  | Breath of the Wild | Traveller’s Bridle, Traveller’s Saddle, Elemental Arrows, Broadswords | Mushrooms |
| Mipha (Breath of the Wild) |  | Breath of the Wild | Silverscale Trident, Divine Beast Vah Ruta Helm, Zora Weapons | Fish |
| Revali (Breath of the Wild) |  | Breath of the Wild | Falcon Bow, Divine Beast Vah Medo Helm, Rito Bows | Arrows and Fruit |
| Urbosa (Breath of the Wild) |  | Breath of the Wild | Moonlight Scimitar, Divine Beast Vah Naboris Helm, Gerudo Weapons | Meat |
| Zelda (Breath of the Wild) |  | Breath of the Wild | Radiant Shield, Star Fragments, Gemstones | Shields |
| Ganondorf (Super Smash Bros.) |  | Super Smash Bros. | Sword of the Six Sages, Claymores, Monster Parts, Gems | Barrels containing Rupees or misc. items |
| Link (Super Smash Bros.) |  | Super Smash Bros. | Epona, Cap of the Twilight, Tunic of the Twilight, Trousers of the Twilight | Weapons, Shields, Arrows, Fruit, Meat |
| Sheik (Super Smash Bros.) |  | Super Smash Bros. | Sheikah Sword, Shield of the Mind’s Eye, Sheik’s Mask | Elemental Arrows, Mushrooms |
| Toon Link (Super Smash Bros.) |  | Super Smash Bros. | Cap of the Wind, Tunic of the Wind, Trousers of the Wind, Seabreeze Boomerang | Fish |
| Young Link (Super Smash Bros.) |  | Super Smash Bros. | Royal Weapons and Arrows | Fish |
| Zelda (Super Smash Bros.) |  | Super Smash Bros. | Twilight Bow | Gems, Bows, Herbs |
| Link (8-Bit) |  | 30th Anniversary | Cap of the Hero, Tunic of the Hero, Trousers of the Hero, Legend of Zelda Sword | Barrels containing Rupees |
| Link (Majora’s Mask) |  | 30th Anniversary | Fierce Deity Mask, Fierce Deity Armor, Fierce Deity Boots, Fierce Deity Sword | Mushrooms, Arrows, Swords |
| Link (Ocarina of Time) |  | 30th Anniversary | Cap of Time, Tunic of Time, Trousers of Time, Biggoron Sword, Elemental Arrows, Claymores | Meat |
| Toon Link (Wind Waker) |  | 30th Anniversary | Cap of the Wind, Tunic of the Wind, Trousers of the Wind, Seabreeze Boomerang | Fish |
| Zelda (Wind Waker) |  | 30th Anniversary | Hero’s Shield, Gemstones | Sheilds, Vegetables, Herbs |
| Link (Link’s Awakening) |  | Misc. | Royal Weapons | Fish |
| Link (Skyward Sword) |  | Misc. | Cap of the Sky, Tunic of the Sky, Trousers of the Sky, Sword of the Goddess | Rupees, Arrows, Swords, Shields |
| Link (Twilight Princess HD) |  | Misc. | Epona, Cap of the Twilight, Tunic of the Twilight, Trousers of the Twilight | Weapons, Shields, Arrows, Fruit, Meat |
| Wolf Link (Twilight Princess HD) |  | Misc. | Summons Wolf Link as a companion | Meat |
| Zelda and Loftwing (Skyward Sword) |  | Misc. | N/A | N/A |
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom amiibo Unlocks
| amiibo | Image | Set | Chest Unlock | Other Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Link (Tears of the Kingdom) |  | Tears of the Kingdom | Champion’s Leathers Fabric, Knight’s Broadsword | Mushrooms |
| Bokoblin (Breath of the Wild) | | Breath of the Wild | Bokoblin Fabric, Bokoblin Weapons | Bokoblin Guts and Meat |
| Daruk (Breath of the Wild) | | Breath of the Wild | Goron-Champion Frabric, Vah Rudania Divine Helm, Cobble Crusher | Minerals and Gemstones |
| Guardian (Breath of the Wild) | | Breath of the Wild | Ancient-Sheikah Fabric, Rusty Weapons, Ancient Blades | Iron Boxes containing Arrows and other misc. items |
| Link Archer (Breath of the Wild) | | Breath of the Wild | Tunic of Memories Fabric, Bows, Ancient Blades | Meat and Fish |
| Link Rider (Breath of the Wild) | | Breath of the Wild | Hylian-Hood Fabric, Soldier’s Broadsword | Mushrooms |
| Mipha (Breath of the Wild) | | Breath of the Wild | Zora-Champion Fabric, Vah Ruta Divine Helm, Zora Spear | Fish |
| Revali (Breath of the Wild) | | Breath of the Wild | Rito-Champion Fabric, Vah Medoh Divine Helm, Falcon Bow, Swallow Bow | Arrows, Herbs, Vegetables |
| Urbosa (Breath of the Wild) | | Breath of the Wild | Gerudo-Champion Fabric, Vah Naboris Divine Helm, Gerudo Scimitar | Meat |
| Zelda (Breath of the Wild) | | Breath of the Wild | Hyrule-Princess Fabric, Knight’s Shield, Soldier’s Shield | Gemstones and Herbs |
| Ganondorf (Super Smash Bros.) | | Super Smash Bros. | Demon King Fabric, Dusk Claymore, Gerudo Claymore | Bokoblin Guts, Meat, Gemstones |
| Link (Super Smash Bros.) | | Super Smash Bros. | Epona, Twilight Armor, Mirror of Twilight Fabric, Knight’s Broadsword, Soldier’s Shield (once Epona is registered) | Arrows, Fruit, Vegetables |
| Sheik (Super Smash Bros.) | | Super Smash Bros. | Sheik Fabric, Sheik’s Mask, Eightfold Blade, Shield of the Mind’s Eye, Phrenic Bow | Arrows and Mushrooms |
| Toon Link (Super Smash Bros.) | | Super Smash Bros. | King of Red Lions Fabric, Wind Armor, Sea Breeze Shield, Sea Breeze Boomerang, Boomerang, Knight’s Broadsword | Arrows and Fish |
| Young Link (Super Smash Bros.) | | Super Smash Bros. | Lon Lon Ranch Fabric, Time Armor, Biggoron Sword, Soldier’s Claymore | Arrows and Meat |
| Zelda (Super Smash Bros.) | | Super Smash Bros. | Princess of Twilight Fabric, Dusk Bow, Soldier’s Bow, Knight’s Bow | Gemstones and Herbs |
| Link (8-Bit) | | 30th Anniversary | Pixel Fabric, Hero Armor, Sword of the Hero, Knight’s Broadsword, Soldier’s Shield, Knight’s Shield | Arrows, Barrels with misc. items inside |
| Link (Majora’s Mask) | | 30th Anniversary | Majora’s Mask Fabric, Fierce Deity Armor, Fierce Deity Sword, Knight’s Broadsword | Mushrooms |
| Link (Ocarina of Time) | | 30th Anniversary | Lon Lon Ranch Fabric, Time Armor, Biggoron Sword, Soldier’s Claymore | Arrows and Meat |
| Toon Link (Wind Waker) | | 30th Anniversary | King of Red Lions Fabric, Wind Armor, Sea Breeze Shield, Sea Breeze Boomerang, Boomerang, Knight’s Broadsword | Arrows and Fish |
| Zelda (Wind Waker) | | 30th Anniversary | Bygone-Royal Fabric, Sea Breeze Shield, Soldier’s Shield, Knight’s Shield | Gemstones and Herbs |
| Link (Link’s Awakening) | | Misc. | Egg Fabric, Awakening Armor, Soldier’s Broadsword | Arrows, Barrels with misc. items inside |
| Link (Skyward Sword) | | Misc. | Sword-Spirit Fabric, Sky Armor, White Sword of the Sky, Knight’s Broadsword, Knight’s Shield, Soldier’s Shield | Wooden Boxes with materials inside |
| Link (Twilight Princess HD) | | Misc. | Epona, Twilight Armor, Mirror of Twilight Fabric, Knight’s Broadsword, Soldier’s Shield (once Epona is registered) | Arrows, Fruit, Vegetables |
| Wolf Link (Twilight Princess HD) | | Misc. | Mirror of Twilight Fabric | Meat |
| Zelda and Loftwing (Skyward Sword) | | Misc. | Goddess Fabric, Soldier’s Bow, Knight’s Bow | Gemstones and Herbs |