How Amiibo Work in Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (released May 12, 2023) features extensive amiibo support, building upon the foundation established in Breath of the Wild. Unlike many games where amiibo provide minor cosmetic bonuses, TOTK amiibo drop valuable weapons, materials, and exclusive paraglider fabrics that cannot be obtained through normal gameplay.

Each amiibo can be scanned once per day (real-world time, not in-game time). Scanning creates a glowing pillar of light that drops items from the sky, containing a random selection of materials and, occasionally, exclusive equipment. The drops scale with your game progress, providing stronger weapons and rarer materials as you advance through Hyrule.

Scan Link amiibo to unlock exclusive gear and paraglider fabrics

How to Scan Amiibo

After completing the tutorial on the Great Sky Island (approximately 2-3 hours of gameplay), the amiibo feature unlocks automatically. Press up on the D-pad to open the quick menu, navigate to the amiibo icon (rightmost option), and hold your amiibo figure or card to the NFC touchpoint on your right Joy-Con or Pro Controller. A brief loading screen confirms the scan, and items drop near Link's location.

Link Amiibo Unlocks (All Variants)

Tears of the Kingdom Link & Zelda Amiibo

Nintendo released two new amiibo figures alongside TOTK's launch: Link (Tears of the Kingdom) and Zelda (Tears of the Kingdom). These figures unlock unique paraglider fabrics not available through any other method:

  • Link (TOTK): Unlocks the "Hyrule Zelda Fabric" paraglider design featuring TOTK's key art
  • Zelda (TOTK): Unlocks the "Princess Zelda Fabric" paraglider design with a royal aesthetic

Additionally, these amiibo drop meat, fish, plants, and occasionally weapons from the "Of the Kingdom" set, which feature TOTK-specific designs.

Breath of the Wild Link Variants

Multiple Link amiibo from the Breath of the Wild era offer different reward pools:

Link (Archer) - BOTW:

  • Drops: Arrows (x5-20), bows, plants, and occasionally the "Tunic of Memories" armor set
  • Exclusive Fabric: None
  • Strategy: Best scanned when you need arrow restocks during mid-game exploration

Link (Rider) - BOTW:

  • Drops: Saddles, horse equipment, plants, raw meat
  • Exclusive Fabric: "Hyrule-Ridge Fabric"
  • Special Feature: Can summon Epona, Link's iconic horse from Ocarina of Time, which has max stats (4-4-4)

Epona is the only horse in TOTK with perfectly balanced stats and unique coloring.

Link (Climber) - BOTW:

  • Drops: Climbing gear, stamina-restoring food, ore, plants
  • Exclusive Fabric: None
  • Best Use: Early game when stamina management is critical for exploration

Super Smash Bros. Series Link Variants

The Super Smash Bros. line includes multiple Link iterations, each with unique drops:

Link (Super Smash Bros.):

  • Drops: General weapons, materials, occasional rare gems
  • Exclusive Items: Can drop the "Sword of the Sky" when RNG favors you
  • Paraglider Fabric: "Hero of Hyrule Fabric" (classic green tunic design)

Young Link (Super Smash Bros.):

  • Drops: Forest-themed items, wood, acorns, Kokiri-style equipment
  • Exclusive Fabric: None

Toon Link (Super Smash Bros.):

  • Drops: Naval-themed items, fish, occasional sea breeze boomerang
  • Exclusive Fabric: "King of Red Lions Fabric" (Wind Waker boat design)

Specialty Link Amiibo

8-Bit Link (The Legend of Zelda):

  • Drops: Rupees, basic weapons, occasional barrels with random loot
  • Exclusive Items: Can drop 8-bit sword and shield (cosmetic retro weapons)
  • Paraglider Fabric: "Pixel Fabric" (8-bit Zelda sprite design)

Link's Awakening Link:

  • Drops: Shells, fish, island-themed materials
  • Exclusive Fabric: "Koholint Fabric" (Link's Awakening art style)

Other Zelda Series Amiibo

Zelda (Multiple Variants)

Zelda amiibo typically drop plants, herbs, star fragments, and occasionally shields or bows:

  • Zelda (Super Smash Bros.): Drops shields, light-themed weapons, occasional Hylian Shield replica
  • Zelda (BOTW): Drops plants, star fragments, royal equipment
  • Zelda (TOTK): Drops Princess-themed items, mentioned above with exclusive fabric

Ganondorf

The Ganondorf amiibo (Super Smash Bros.) drops dark-themed weapons, meat, monster parts, and occasionally powerful two-handed swords. While no exclusive fabric is unlocked, the drops tend toward high-damage weapons useful in combat.

Guardian

The Guardian amiibo (BOTW) drops ancient materials, gears, springs, screws, and cores. This is one of the most valuable amiibo for players farming ancient materials to upgrade armor sets at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab, as ancient materials are time-consuming to gather naturally.

Bokoblin

The Bokoblin amiibo (BOTW) drops monster parts, weapons, meat, and occasionally rare monster extracts. Useful for players completing Kilton's monster-part requests or upgrading specific armor sets requiring enemy drops.

Cross-Series Compatibility

Many non-Zelda amiibo provide generic drops in Tears of the Kingdom, though without exclusive equipment or fabrics:

Compatible Nintendo Franchises

  • Super Mario Series: Drops mushrooms, plants, occasional weapons
  • Splatoon Series: Drops fish, seafood, occasional treasure chests with random loot
  • Animal Crossing Series: Drops plants, fruit, wood, building materials
  • Metroid Series: Drops meat, ore, monster parts
  • Fire Emblem Series: Drops weapons, shields, occasional knight-themed equipment
  • Kirby Series: Drops food items, star fragments, occasional recovery items

While these amiibo don't unlock exclusive TOTK content, they can still provide useful materials and weapons, making them worthwhile to scan daily if you own them.

Paraglider Fabric Collection

One of the most collectible aspects of TOTK amiibo integration is the exclusive paraglider fabric designs. These cosmetic patterns customize your paraglider's appearance and cannot be obtained without scanning specific amiibo.

Complete Fabric List (Amiibo-Exclusive)

  • Hyrule Zelda Fabric (Link TOTK amiibo)
  • Princess Zelda Fabric (Zelda TOTK amiibo)
  • Hyrule-Ridge Fabric (Link Rider BOTW amiibo)
  • Hero of Hyrule Fabric (Link Super Smash Bros. amiibo)
  • King of Red Lions Fabric (Toon Link Super Smash Bros. amiibo)
  • Pixel Fabric (8-Bit Link amiibo)
  • Koholint Fabric (Link's Awakening Link amiibo)

Completionists note: These 7 fabrics represent the core amiibo-exclusive designs, though additional Link variants may offer alternative patterns.

Farming Strategies and Best Practices

Daily Scan Optimization

Since each amiibo can only be scanned once per real-world day (resets at midnight local time), strategic players prioritize their most valuable amiibo:

  • Early Game (Great Sky Island to Lookout Landing): Scan Link (Climber) for stamina food and climbing gear
  • Mid Game (Exploring surface Hyrule): Scan Guardian for ancient materials and Link (Rider) for Epona
  • Late Game (Final dungeons and boss preparation): Scan Ganondorf or Link (Archer) for powerful weapons and arrows

Save Scumming Technique

Some players use "save scumming" to maximize amiibo drops. The process involves:

  1. Create a manual save before scanning an amiibo
  2. Scan the amiibo and check the drops
  3. If drops are unsatisfactory, reload the save and rescan
  4. Repeat until desired items appear

This technique works because amiibo drop pools use RNG determined at the moment of scanning, not when the day resets. However, it's time-consuming and somewhat undermines the intended gameplay experience.

Time Travel Considerations

Unlike Animal Crossing, TOTK does not penalize changing your Switch's system clock. Players who adjust their console's date can scan the same amiibo multiple times by advancing the date forward, then returning to the current date. This allows rapid farming of materials or multiple attempts at rare drops without waiting days.

Comparison to Breath of the Wild

TOTK's amiibo functionality largely mirrors BOTW with key improvements:

  • More Exclusive Fabrics: TOTK added 2 new fabrics with the launch amiibo, expanding customization options
  • Scaled Drops: Weapons and materials scale more intelligently with player progression
  • Consistent Compatibility: All BOTW-compatible amiibo work in TOTK, ensuring your collection remains valuable

Conclusion

Tears of the Kingdom offers robust amiibo support that rewards collectors with exclusive paraglider designs, rare materials, and powerful equipment. While amiibo are entirely optional (no content is locked behind them except cosmetic fabrics), they provide convenient daily bonuses that enhance the exploration experience. Whether you're farming ancient materials with the Guardian amiibo, summoning Epona with Link (Rider), or collecting all 7 exclusive paraglider fabrics, TOTK ensures your amiibo collection has meaningful utility in one of Nintendo's most ambitious adventures.