How to Get and Use Armor in Zelda: BOTW

As any Legend of Zelda player knows, it's dangerous to go alone through Hyrule. You need to protect yourself with armor, masks, and other items. In Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, armor—and matching armor sets—can provide all kinds of special effects and bonuses to help you survive challenges.

Screenshot of the classic armor in Zelda: BOTW — The classic Zelda outfit.

How to Get and Use Armor in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Pieces of armor are throughout Hyrule in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You can buy some armor pieces in shops in villages and others you can discover in Shrines. Some of the best armors are rewards for completing adventures within the main story quest or finishing side quests. It pays to be curious: Open chests when you find them, go into stores, do side quests, and you'll find great armor sets.

How to Find and Use the Best Weapons in Zelda: BOTW

Once you've got a piece of armor in your inventory, put it on by selecting it, pressing A, and then selecting Equip and pressing A again.

Each piece of armor delivers specific kinds of protection. When you wear all three components of an armor set in BOTW, though, you'll get a special bonus. It's not true of every armor set—check the tables later in this article for full details—but it's a good idea to wear the complete armor set. That way, you get all the benefits of each piece and an upgraded skill or protection.

Screenshot of the Radiant Armor in Zelda: BOTW — Radiant Armor makes you invisible to skeletons.

How to Get Armor Upgrades in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Each piece of armor offers unique protection and effects. You can enhance its power and effectiveness by upgrading your armor. Upgrades for each piece of armor in BOTW use different ingredients, so it pays to collect as many monster parts, precious stones, Guardian parts, and animals as you can.

Screenshot of the Desert Doe Armor in Zelda: BOTW — The Desert Voe Armor set helps in hot temperatures.

To upgrade your armor, go to a Fairy Fountain. You can find the Fairy Fountains here:

Fairy Name	Fairy Fountain Location
Great Fairy Cotera	On the hill above Kakariko Village, past the Tal'noh Naeg Shrine
Great Fairy Mija	In the forest northeast Akkala Tower, past Lake Akkala
Great Fairy Kayasa	Near a lake on a plateau near Tabantha Tower
Great Fairy Tera	Under a large skeleton in the Gerudo Desert, southwest of Dragon’s Exile

At first, the fairies are sleeping, and you need rupees to wake them. It costs more to wake each successive fairy (100 rupees at first and up to 10,000 rupees for the final one), so save your cash.

Fairies take your current armor and the items in your inventory to upgrade your armor sets to be even more effective. When you have awoken one fairy, you can upgrade armor by one level. With two fairies awake, you can upgrade armor by two levels, and so on.

Screenshot of the Barbarian Armor in Zelda: BOTW — The Barbarian Armor set increases attack.

An Overview of All Armor Sets in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Ready to start hunting for the armor set you need for that tough fight or tricky mission? Here's all the available armor in Zelda: BOTW, what it does, and where to find it.

Screenshot of the Ancient Armor in Zelda: BOTW — The Ancient Armor set provides protection against Guardians.

Armor Sets

These are the main armor sets available in BOTW. Some you buy, some you earn in side quests, and some you find on missions.

Armor Set Name	Armor Pieces	Location	Effects	Full Set Bonus
Ancient	Helm Cuirass Greaves	Akkala Ancient Tech Lab	Guardian Resistance	Ancient Proficiency
Armor of the Wild	Cap Tunic Trousers	A Gift from the Monks side quest		Master Sword Beam Up
Barbarian	Helm Armor Leg Wraps	Tu Ka'loh Shrine Dila Maag Shrine Qaza Tokki Shrine	Attack Up	Charge Attack Stamina Up
Dark	Hood Tunic Trousers	Kilton's Monster Shop		Night Speed Up
Desert Voe	Headband Spaulder Trousers	Gerudo Secret Club; Rhondson's Shop; Tarrey Town	Heat Resistance	Shock Resistance
Flamebreaker	Helm Armor Boots	Goron City	Flame Guard	Fireproof
Gerudo	Veil Top Sirwal	Forbidden City Entry main quest		Heat Resistance
Hylian	Hood Tunic Trousers	Hateno Village
Radiant	Mask Shirt Tights	Gerudo Secret Club	Stal Lure	Disguise Bone Attack Up
Rubber	Helm Armor Tights	Thunder Magnet side quest Toh Yahsa Shrine Qukah Nata Shrine	Shock Resistance	Unshockable
Snowquil	Headdress Tunic Trousers	Rito Village	Cold Resistance	Unfreezable
Soldier	Helm Armor Greaves	Hateno Village
Stealth	Mask Chest Guard Tights	Kakariko Village	Stealth Up	Night Speed Up
Worn	Old Shirt Well-Worn Trousers	Shrine of Resurrection
Zora	Helm Armor Greaves	Toto Lake Divine Beast Vah Ruta Lynel Safari side quest	Swim Speed Up; Swim Up Waterfalls	Swim Dash Stamina Up

Screenshot of the Soldier's Armor in Zelda: BOTW — Soldier's Armor provides a lot of protection for tough enemies.

Amiibo Armor

These armor sets are only available when you buy the related Amiibo and use it with your Switch.

Armor Set Name	Armor Pieces	Location	Effects	Full Set Bonus
Hero	Cap Tunic Trousers	Unlocked by matching Amiibo		Master Sword Beam Up
Sheik's Mask	mask only	Unlocked by matching Amiibo	Stealth Up
Time	Cap Tunic Trousers	Unlocked by matching Amiibo		Master Sword Beam Up
Twilight	Cap Tunic Trousers	Unlocked by matching Amiibo		Master Sword Beam Up
Van Medoh Divine Helm	helm only	Unlocked by Rito Champion Revali Amiibo	Cold Resistance
Van Naboris Divine Helm	helm only	Unlocked by Gerudo Champion Urbosa Amiibo	Electric Resistance
Van Rudania Divine Helm	helm only	Unlocked by Goron Champion Daruk Amiibo	Flame Resistance
Van Ruta Divine Helm	helm only	Unlocked by Zora Champion Mipha Amiibo	Swim Speed up
Wind	Cap Tunic Trousers	Unlocked by matching Amiibo		Master Sword Beam Up

Screenshot of the Zora's Armor in Zelda: BOTW — Swim up waterfalls wearing Zora's Armor.

Other Armors, Jewelry, and Masks

This grab bag of Zelda: Breath of the Wild armor, masks, and jewelry can be found or purchased in the game, while some pieces are only available when you purchase the DLC expansion packs (which we recommend. They're fun!).

Item Name	Set Pieces	Location	Effect	Full Set Bonus
Amber Earrings	earrings only	Gerudo Town	Heat Resistance
Bokoblin Mask	mask only	Kilton's Monster Shop	Hide from Bokoblins
Champion's Tunic	tunic only	Captured Memories main quest	See Enemy Health
Diamond Circlet	circlet only	Gerudo Town; Tu Ka'loh Shrine	Guardian Resistance
Island Lobster Shirt	shirt only	The Champions' Ballad DLC, near Cora Lake	Heat Resistance
Korok Mask	mask only	The Master Trials DLC; follow the torches in the Lost Woods	Detects Koroks
Lizalfos Mask	mask only	Kilton's Monster Shop	Hide from Lizalfos
Lynel Mask	mask only	Kilton's Monster Shop	Hide from Lynel
Majora's Mask		The Master Trials DLC, Ancient Mask side quest	Hide from enemies
Midna's Helmet	helmet only	The Master Trials DLC, Twilight Relic side quest	Guardian Resistance
Moblin Mask	mask only	Kilton's Monster Shop	Hide from Moblins
Opal Earrings	earrings only	Gerudo Town	Swim Speed Up
Phantom	Helmet Armor Greaves	The Master Trials DLC, as part of the Phantasma side quest		Attack Power Up
Ravio's Hood	hood only	The Champions' Ballad DLC, at the Spring of Courage	Climb Speed Up
Royal Guard	Cap Uniform Boots	The Master Trials DLC, as part of the Royal Guard Rumors side quest		Charge Attack Stamina Up
Ruby Circlet	circlet only	Gerudo Town	Cold Resistance
Salvager	Headwear Vest Trousers	The Master Trials DLC, as part of the Xenoblase Chronicles 2 side quest		Swim Dash Speed Up
Sand Boots	boots only	The Eight Heroine side quest	Sand Speed Up
Sapphire Circlet	circlet only	Gerudo Town	Heat Resistance
Snow Boots	boots only	The Forgotten Sword side quest	Snow Speed Up
Thunder Helm	helm only	Thunder Helm side quest	Lightning Proof
Tingle's Outfit	Hood Shirt Tights	The Master Trials DLC Exchange Ruins Castle Town Prison Mabe Village Ruins		Night Speed Up
Topaz Earrings	earrings only	Gerudo Town	Shock Resistance
Warm Doublet	shirt only	Prologue of main quest; Hateno Village	Cold Resistance
Zant's Helmet	helmet only	The Champions' Ballad DLC, in Tobio's Hollow	Unfreezable