Skyrim Switch Zelda gear guide: how to get the master sword, hylian shield and champion tunic

There's something very surreal about seeing the Hylian Shield used to violently smash a bandit's face in.

I mean, sure, in The Legend of Zelda Link slays plenty of goblins and beasts and even the occasional human-like baddie - but Skyrim's violent execution animations really are another thing entirely. Seeing Zelda gear in that setting is just one reason why you might want to grab the newly-added The Legend of Zelda themed gear in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for Nintendo Switch - and we're here to help you do just that.

The Zelda gear in Skyrim on Switch is available in two different ways - the first requires you to be a dedicated Zelda fan willing to have opened your wallet to Nintendo's nefarious amiibo system. Nintendo has a little rule that you can't lock important stuff behind amiibo outright, however, so you can find the Zelda gear out in the world of Skyrim in general if you're inclined to go searching.

Skyrim Switch Amiibo - how to use Zelda figurines to get the Master Sword, Hylian Shield and Champion Tunic

Okay, the easiest and simplest way to get your hands on the Zelda gear in Skyrim is to use the amiibo system, where you scan some of Nintendo's cute little figurines in order to get some items. Here's what you need to know about amiibo in Skyrim special edition:

• Skyrim is compatible with pretty much all amiibo out there. Mario, Sonic, Cloud Strife, K.K. Slider - they'll all work. When scanned, each amiibo will give drop a treasure chest containing a random selection of in-game loot that could include weapons, armor, ingredients - anything from Skyrim's absolutely enormous loot table.
• Zelda amiibo, however, are special. Any amiibo of a Zelda series character will also provide you with items when scanned but will on top of that offer you a 20% chance of one of the three special pieces of Zelda gear dropping. There are three current series' of Zelda amiibo: the Zelda characters in the Smash Bros. range (Link, Zelda, Shiek, Ganondorf, Toon Link)
• Gear that drops from amiibo will be level-appropriate for your current character.
• You can scan amiibo once per real-world day.

Okay, so now we know that - how do you use the amiibo feature? Well...

In order to use the amiibo, you'll need to equip it. Unlike in Zelda: Breath of the Wild this isn't a menu option, but is rather formatted as a spell-like power that can be found in your magic menu alongside your shouts and other special moves.

To access it, press B to bring up the menu and then press left into the magic menu. From there, select 'powers'. In here you'll find an amiibo power. Once equipped, you activate it with a tap of the R button (R1/RB).

Now here's where it gets a little complicated: the amiibo power requires a certain amount of space in order to spawn in its chest, as seen above. If pressing R doesn't work, you'll hear a thud-like noise and nothing else will happen. Get outside of a city into the overworld of Skyrim and find some flat-ish ground with plenty of space around it. When you get it right, a golden circle will appear on the ground. That's where the chest will appear when you scan your amiibo. There are three pieces of gear available this way...

The Champion Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It's light armor in Skyrim.

The Hylian Shield, in the classic design it's taken on from Ocarina of Time onwards.

The Master Sword, the blade of evil's bane, which has featured in Zelda pretty constantly since A Link to the Past.

The quality of this gear depends on your level at the time the chest is opened, and there's a 20% chance that one of these items will be inside a chest dropped after a Zelda amiibo has been scanned.

How to get Skyrim's Zelda-themed items without amiibo

If you don't have any Zelda-branded amiibo to hand and don't intend to buy any, the Zelda items are still available in Skyrim on the Switch naturally - but only once, and you won't be able to get them without traversing a dangerous area of Skyrim.

A chest containing all three of the Zelda items - the Master Sword, Hylian Shield and Champion's Tunic - can be found at The Throat of the World, the tallest peak in Skyrim. This area is home to some dangerous enemies, so we'd recommend being at least level 10 before you attempt this.

Keep in mind too that this is your only chance to get these items and their strength will again be scaled to your level when you pick them up - so you might want to hold off until later.