Look, scanning a plastic figurine to get some raw meat and a rusty claymore feels a little underwhelming. We’ve all been there. You tap a Link amiibo to your Joy-Con, wait for the chime, and... nothing but a generic chest. But if you’re playing Zelda Tears of the Kingdom amiibo hunting is actually about the long game. It’s about the aesthetics, the nostalgia, and those ridiculously cool paraglider fabrics that you can’t get anywhere else.
Nintendo didn’t just copy-paste the rewards from Breath of the Wild. They tweaked things. They made the legacy items—like the Fierce Deity armor or the Biggoron's Sword—findable in the actual game world through exploration. This was a massive shift. Suddenly, the "pay-to-win" vibe vanished, replaced by a "pay-for-convenience-and-style" system.
It’s a different beast now.
The Paraglider Fabric Obsession
The real reason most people are still tapping these figures daily is the paraglider skins. Honestly, the default fabric is fine, but it doesn't beat soaring over Central Hyrule with the Majora’s Mask design or the pixelated look of the 8-Bit Link fabric.
When you scan a specific Zelda Tears of the Kingdom amiibo, you aren't just getting food. You have a high chance of dropping an exclusive fabric. You take that fabric to Sayge at the Kochi Dye Shop in Hateno Village, pay 20 Rupees, and he’ll rework your glider. It’s a small detail, but in a game where you spend 40% of your time in the air, it matters.
Take the Tears of the Kingdom specific Link amiibo (the one with the glowing Rauru arm). It drops the "Tunic of Memories" fabric. It’s sleek. It’s modern. It fits the vibe of the new game perfectly. Then you have the Skyward Sword Zelda, which gives you the Goddess Fabric. It’s elegant and a nice nod to the origins of the timeline.
Weapons and Gear: Skip the Grind
You can find the Fierce Deity set in the Misko’s Treasure side quests. It’s a trek. It involves caves, puzzles, and a lot of climbing. Or, you could just tap the Majora’s Mask Link.
Scanning the right Zelda Tears of the Kingdom amiibo gives you a shortcut. If you scan the Twilight Princess Link or the Smash Bros Link, you’re likely to get pieces of the "Twilight" set. Same goes for the Wind Waker or the original NES outfit. For players who have limited time, this is a godsend. You’re essentially bypassing hours of cave-diving to get the iconic green tunics.
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But it’s not just clothes. The weapons are the real heavy hitters here.
- Sea-Breeze Shield: Tapping the Toon Zelda amiibo.
- Biggoron's Sword: Tapping the Ocarina of Time Link.
- Dusk Bow: Tapping the Twilight Princess Zelda (this used to be the Twilight Bow, but it’s been renamed and slightly nerfed for balance).
The durability system still exists. That’s the catch. You scan your $20 plastic figure, get a legendary sword, and it still breaks after twenty hits. It feels a bit punishing, doesn't it? But since you can scan them once every 24 hours, you basically have a rotating arsenal of high-tier gear that resets every morning.
Epona is Still the Queen of the Stables
You can’t just find Epona in the wild. You can find gold horses, giant horses, and skeletal horses, but the legendary mare is locked behind the Twilight Princess or Smash Bros Link.
The moment you scan it, Epona spawns. She’s already maxed out on stats. 4 stars across the board for strength, speed, and stamina. You take her to a stable, the stablehand freaks out because he recognizes the "horse of legend," and you’re set.
One thing people often miss: if you already had Epona in Breath of the Wild on the same Switch profile, she might already be in your stable. But if not, the amiibo is the only "official" way to get her.
Is the Ganondorf amiibo Overpowered?
The new Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf figure is a bit of a beast. When you scan him, you don't just get generic weapons; you get high-level Gerudo gear and rare materials. Most importantly, he drops "Dusk" themed fabrics that look incredible.
There’s a misconception that scanning villains gives you bad luck or "curse" items. Not true. In fact, the Guardian amiibo from the first game is one of the most useful. It drops ancient blades—the items you can attach to arrows to basically delete an enemy from existence. It’s the closest thing the game has to a "get out of jail free" card when a Lynel is charging you.
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Materials, Meat, and the RNG Struggle
Let’s be real. Most of the time, you’re just getting a rain of mushrooms and raw meat.
The drop rates for the "good stuff" (the fabrics and the armor) are roughly 10-20%. This leads to the infamous "Save Scrubbing" tactic. You save your game, scan the Zelda Tears of the Kingdom amiibo, and if it’s just a Traveler’s Claymore, you reload the save and try again.
It’s tedious. But if you’re desperate for that specific paraglider look, it’s the only way to beat the RNG.
Nintendo also built in a "pity" mechanic. If you scan the same figure several days in a row without getting the rare drop, the game eventually nudges the odds in your favor. It’s not officially documented in the manual, but community testing from sites like Zeldathon and various dataminers has shown that the loot pools shift based on frequency of use.
The Wolf Link Tragedy
We have to talk about the Wolf Link amiibo. In Breath of the Wild, this was the best amiibo, period. It summoned a literal wolf companion to hunt with you.
In Tears of the Kingdom, that’s gone.
Scanning Wolf Link now just gives you a massive pile of meat and a "Mirror of Twilight" fabric. It’s a bit of a letdown for fans who spent hours leveling up their wolf’s health in the Twilight Princess HD cave of shadows. Why the change? Likely because of the "Sage" system. Having four or five spectral avatars plus a wolf would have turned the game into a chaotic mob.
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How to Maximize Your Scans
If you’re sitting on a collection of these things, don't just tap them blindly while standing in a field.
- Go to a flat area: Items bounce. If you’re on a cliff, your rare chest is going into the abyss.
- Use Ultrahand: Sometimes the chests spawn stuck in the ground or behind objects.
- Scan during the early game: The weapons you get from amiibos don't scale with your progress like world loot does. An "Edge of Duality" from a scan is a god-tier weapon when you only have four hearts, but it’s junk by the time you’re fighting Gleeoks.
Interestingly, the game doesn't care if you use the official figures or the "amiibo cards" found on third-party sites. The NFC data is identical. While collectors will always want the plastic, the "functional" player often opts for the cards to save space and money.
A Look at Compatibility
The game supports almost every amiibo ever made. If it’s not a Zelda-themed one, you still get rewards. Tap a Mario or a Kirby figure, and you’ll get a random assortment of cooking ingredients. It’s a nice way to stock up on apples and herbs without having to forage in the woods for twenty minutes.
But the Zelda-specific ones remain the priority. The Link’s Awakening amiibo—the one that looks like shiny plastic—gives you the "Fish" fabric. It sounds lame, but it actually has a slight glow to it at night.
Actionable Next Steps for Players
If you want to make the most of your Zelda Tears of the Kingdom amiibo collection, start by visiting Hateno Village immediately. The paraglider customization is the only truly "unique" reward that justifies the effort of daily scanning.
Next, prioritize the Twilight Princess Link for Epona if you’re tired of walking, or the Majora’s Mask Link if you want the Fierce Deity armor without the headache of the Misko side quests. Remember that you can only scan each unique figure once per calendar day. If you have two different versions of Link (say, Ocarina of Time and Smash Bros), the game treats them as separate entities, allowing for multiple scans.
Finally, don't hoard the weapons. Use them. Since you can get a fresh one tomorrow, there is no reason to let that Biggoron's Sword sit in your inventory "waiting for the right moment." The right moment is now. Go hit a Hinox with it.
Check your collection, clear some inventory space, and start scanning at the beginning of your play session so you can use those materials to cook high-level meals before heading into the Depths.