You’re standing on a cliffside in Hyrule, your health is down to a quarter-heart, and you’ve just shattered your last decent Royal Broadsword against a Lynel’s face. It’s a bad spot. Then you remember that plastic figurine sitting on your coffee table. You tap it to your controller, a chest falls from the sky, and suddenly you’re back in the game. Using Zelda amiibos in Breath of the Wild feels like cheating, but honestly, it’s more like a curated "easy mode" that Nintendo hid behind a paywall of cute collectibles.
It's been years since the game launched. People still argue about whether these little statues break the intended survival loop of the game. They kind of do. But they also add a layer of nostalgia that is basically impossible to get any other way. If you want to wear the Ocarina of Time outfit or ride Epona, you aren't finding those in a shrine. You need the plastic.
The Reality of Exclusive Loot
Most people think amiibos just give you some extra fish or a handful of arrows. That's wrong. While every amiibo—even ones from Animal Crossing or Splatoon—will drop a random assortment of meat or plants, the Legend of Zelda specific ones are the only way to access "legacy" items.
Take the Twilight Princess Link or the Super Smash Bros. Link. These are the only ways to get Epona. You can't catch her in the wild. She doesn't spawn in the giant horse forest. You tap the toy, she appears, and you register her at a stable. She has maxed-out stats and a unique saddle. If she dies, you’re going to be visiting the Horse God with a very sheepish look on your face.
Then there’s the Wolf Link amiibo. This one is arguably the most "game-breaking" of the bunch. In a world where you are usually a lone wanderer, having a literal wolf companion hunt for you and distract Guardians is a massive shift in how the game feels. The catch? His health is tied to your save data from Twilight Princess HD on the Wii U. If you didn't play that, he only has three hearts. He’ll die if a Red Bokoblin sneezes on him. But if you maxed him out to twenty hearts, he's a tank.
Armor Sets and the Grind
The armor is where things get really grindy. Each "Classic Link" amiibo—representing Skyward Sword, Wind Waker, the original NES game, and Twilight Princess—drops a specific tunic set.
They look incredible. They also require a staggering amount of Star Fragments to upgrade at the Great Fairy Fountains. We're talking dozens of fragments. If you’re planning on wearing the Cap of the Wild, you better get used to sitting on top of Dueling Peaks at night, staring at the sky, waiting for a streak of light. It’s a lot of work for a nostalgia trip.
What Most People Get Wrong About Drop Rates
There is a massive misconception that you can just tap an amiibo and get the "Big Reward" instantly. It doesn't work like that. The game uses a weighted RNG system.
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The first time you scan a Zelda amiibo in Breath of the Wild, you usually get basic stuff. You have to progress past a certain point in the story—specifically, leaving the Great Plateau and, in some cases, defeating a Divine Beast—before the "Super Rare" table unlocks. Even then, the chances of pulling something like the Sword of the Six Sages (from the Ganondorf amiibo) or the Biggoron's Sword (from the Ocarina of Time Link) are somewhere around 2% to 5%.
You can save-scum it. Basically, you save your game, scan the amiibo, and if you don't like the chest contents, you reload. It’s tedious. It's boring. But if you want the Twilight Bow—which fires light arrows in a perfectly straight line forever—you’re probably going to be staring at loading screens for a while. That bow is dropped by the Zelda amiibo from the Twilight Princess series, and it’s arguably the best long-range weapon in the entire game.
The Divine Beast Masks
When the Champions' Ballad DLC dropped, Nintendo also updated the functionality for the four Champion amiibos: Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa.
These don't just give you weapons. They drop Divine Beast Helmets. These helmets are actually useful because they provide Ancient Resistance (like the Ancient Helm) but also grant a specific buff related to that Champion’s element. The Vah Naboris Helm gives you shock resistance. The Vah Rudania one gives you flame guard.
The cool part? They actually change your UI. When you wear one, you can see the health bars of enemies in numerical form, much like the Champion's Tunic does. It’s a nice touch that makes the $15 plastic figure feel slightly more "premium."
Why the Guardian Amiibo is a Nightmare (In a Good Way)
The Guardian amiibo is huge. It’s twice the size of the others and has posable legs. In-game, it’s also one of the most valuable.
Why? Because it drops Ancient parts.
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If you’ve ever tried to craft the Ancient Armor set at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab, you know the pain of hunting for Ancient Gears and Ancient Cores. Ancient Cores have an abysmal drop rate from actual Guardians. The Guardian amiibo gives you a chance to get them without having to parry laser beams or risk your life. It also drops Ancient Arrows. If you’re struggling with the Trial of the Sword, having a steady supply of Ancient Arrows is basically a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Limitations and Frustrations
It's not all easy loot and cool outfits. There are some genuine downsides to the amiibo system that Nintendo never really fixed.
First, you can only scan each amiibo once per calendar day. If you have a collection of twenty figures, that’s twenty scans, but if you’re looking for one specific item, you get one shot every 24 hours. Unless you change the system clock on your Switch. Which everyone does. But it’s still annoying to have to navigate through the system settings just to try and get a pair of pants.
Second, the inventory management is a disaster. The amiibo chests drop weapons that take up slots. If your inventory is full, you have to back out, drop a sword, and then open the chest. If you accidentally close the chest menu without picking the item up, it disappears. Gone. See you tomorrow.
Third, the physical reality of owning these is a mess. They take up space. They’re expensive now, too. Some of the rarer ones, like the Skyward Sword Link, used to go for $50 or $60 on the secondary market because the "Fierce Deity" armor (dropped by the Majora's Mask Link) became so meta for high-level play.
The Fierce Deity "Cheat Code"
Speaking of the Majora's Mask Link, let’s talk about the Fierce Deity set. It provides the exact same Attack Up bonus as the Barbarian Armor you find in the Lomei Labyrinths.
The difference? The Fierce Deity set is much easier to upgrade in terms of materials, and it looks significantly cooler. The sword it drops—the Fierce Deity Sword—is a two-hander that hits like a truck. If you’re a player who values aesthetics as much as stats, this is the one amiibo you actually "need." It makes Link look like a vengeful god.
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Is it Pay-to-Win?
Sorta. In a single-player game, "winning" is subjective. Does it make the game easier? Absolutely.
You get better weapons earlier. You get food that gives you extra hearts. You get shields that don't break as easily. But Breath of the Wild is a game about exploration and friction. By removing that friction—by giving yourself a chest full of Royal Claymores every morning—you are bypassing the core loop of finding and losing gear.
For some, that ruins the magic. For others, especially those on their third or fourth playthrough, it’s a relief. It lets you focus on the world rather than the inventory screen.
Real-World Alternatives
Because Nintendo struggled with stock for years, a secondary market of "Amiibo Cards" appeared. These are small NFC cards that contain the data of the figurine without the plastic statue.
They are technically a legal gray area, but they are incredibly popular. You can get a pack of 20+ cards for the price of one single official amiibo. They work exactly the same way. If you aren't a collector and just want the Zelda amiibos in Breath of the Wild loot, this is what most people actually do. It's more portable and less of a headache.
Practical Steps for New Collectors
If you're just starting to integrate amiibos into your Hyrule journey, don't just scan them randomly. There is a strategy to it.
- Get to the Great Plateau Tower first. You can't use amiibos until you've at least spoken to the Old Man and activated the first tower.
- Scan near a stable. If you're scanning for Epona, you need to be near a stable so you can register her immediately. If you scan her on a mountaintop, getting her down is a nightmare.
- Turn on the Amiibo Rune. It’s not on by default. You have to go into the system settings in the game menu to enable it.
- Clean your surface. This sounds stupid, but ensure Link is standing on flat ground. If the chest drops on a slope, it will roll away. I have lost more than one Star Fragment to the physics engine because I scanned on a hill.
- Prioritize the "Big Three." If you only buy three, get the Wolf Link (for the companion), the Majora's Mask Link (for the Fierce Deity armor), and the Zelda (Breath of the Wild) amiibo (for the Hylian Shield—yes, she can drop a version of it, though it's rare).
The system isn't perfect. It's a weird relic of Nintendo's mid-2010s obsession with physical toys-to-life. But in the context of Hyrule, these items act as a bridge to the past. They turn a survival game into a celebration of a 35-year-old franchise. Just don't expect the RNG to be kind to you on the first try.
Scan your figures before you head into a major dungeon or a boss fight. The extra food and the occasional high-tier bow can turn a frustrating encounter into a victory. It’s your game—play it with whatever tools you have, even if those tools are made of plastic.