This duplication glitch was patched out by Nintendo with TotK version 1.1.2.
Duplicating items in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is technically an exploitation cheat, but that doesn't mean it's not extremely useful for particularly hard-to-find weapons, shields, and items. This guide covers how to duplicate items in Tears of the Kingdom with three different methods, which can lead to infinite diamonds, infinite money, and even infinite Hylian Shields (or other powerful weapons!)
These duplication methods are almost certainly going to get patched out in the near future, and it kind of breaks the game economy. So if you want this to work, you’ll have to ensure not to update your game beyond version 1.1.1.
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How to Duplicate Items in Tears of the Kingdom
There are three different types of duping depending on what you need. Click to jump to the step-by-step instructions below.
- Duplicate Materials in Your Inventory - Easy
- Duplicate Weapons or Shields In Your Inventory - Most difficult
- Duplicate New (Undiscovered) Weapons and Shields - Situational
How to Duplicate Materials in Your Inventory
There are two methods to duplicate materials in your inventory:
Early Game Material Duplication - This method only duplicates one material at a time, but can be accomplished with just a bow and the material you intend to duplicate.
Late Game Material Duplication - This method is very, very easy, but requires you first to complete a spoilery late-game main quest called Guidance from Ages Past. Don't worry, we won't go into those spoilers on this page.
Need something extra valuable in your inventory? Check out this page to see where to find diamonds fast if you don't have one already!
Early Game Material Duplication
Before you start, know that you need to do these steps quickly - do not pause between steps. With a little practice, you'll have success more often than not!
As far as we can tell, this glitch was first discovered by Modoki_Returns and expanded upon by YouTuber Blaines!
- Equip a bow
- Attach an item you want to dupe. Like diamonds, for example. Do this by drawing your bow with R2, pressing up on the D-pad, and choosing a material.
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- Press + and navigate to the Bows and Arrows inventory. Note that the item is on Link’s arrow in the preview window.
- Drop the bow you have equipped (it's highlighted blue.)
- Equip a different bow.
- Press + twice very quickly. The goal is to leave and re-enter the menu before the dropped bow hits the ground. This may be easier on a Pro Controller than on a Joy-Con. Seeing the material on the newly equipped bow is a good sign, but does not indicate success.
- Drop the currently equipped bow. If you're on flat ground, you'll be able to tell if it worked if both bows are stacked on top of each other on the ground.
- Pick up both dropped bows to get a duplicate of whatever item you had attached to the arrow.
Duplicate Items Glitch Not Working?
If the item duplication glitch didn't work, try again. The most common point of failure is not pressing the + button twice fast enough. Try using a Pro Controller if you have one as the button is easier to tap. But also, you need to do the whole process quickly without pausing for more than a second at each step.
By using this dupe method you can have unlimited diamonds or other gems to make powerful weapons and arrows, or valuable meats that you can sell and max out your rupees--whatever!
Late Game Material Duplication
This glitch was discovered by Youtuber Blaines on May 23rd, and we used it in the video below to get unlimited fairies - beware, some spoilers in the video from main quests after the Regional Phenomena set.
Because this method contains a spoiler, please watch the video above or see our detailed guide here: How to Get Unlimited Health (Fairy Duplication Glitch)
Duplicate Weapons or Shields In Your Inventory
This method is the most difficult because it's time-consuming. We still can’t get it with 100% consistency, and on two occasions, have actually lost the item that we tried to dupe. Be aware of the risk, and make sure you have a recent auto-save ready.
As far as we can tell, this glitch was first discovered by Modoki_Returns and expanded upon by YouTuber Blaines!
- Because of the risk, get a recent auto-save on deck by entering any Shrine - then leave it.
- Equip the weapon or shield you want to dupe.
- Press B to exit the menu.
- Press + to enter the menu again.
- Save the game.
- Without exiting the menu, navigate to your inventory and drop your equipped weapon or shield.
- Equip a different weapon or shield in the same inventory. Don’t worry, you’re not losing this one.
- Press + twice as fast as possible. The goal is to leave and re-enter the menu before the dropped weapon or shield hits the ground, so it has to be extremely quick! This may be easier on a Pro Controller than on a Joy-Con.
- Drop the new weapon.
- Without leaving the menu, load your save. If you did it right, the weapon you dropped first (the one you want to duplicate) should be on the floor when you load back up, and will also still be in your inventory.
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If there’s no weapon on the ground when you load back up, try again and try to hit the + button twice faster.
Duplicate New (Undiscovered) Weapons and Shields
Duplicating previously undiscovered weapons is fairly easy, but requires the most preparation and is also the most situational. This method does not require the skill to tap the + button quickly twice in a row.
As far as we can tell, this glitch was first discovered by Modoki_Returns and expanded upon by YouTuber Blaines!
- Find a weapon, bow, or shield type lying on the ground (not in a treasure chest) that you have never picked up before. It will have question marks to signify it's unidentified. Do not interact with it yet.
- Make sure you have space for the new item in your inventory and have another weapon or shield you don’t want that is weaker than the equipment on the ground. The equipment you plan on sacrificing must be the weakest item in that inventory menu. We also believe this does not work with nearly broken equipment.
- Unequip all weapons, shields, and bows.
- Pick up the??? item, and press + when the pop-up with the item's description appears.
- Press Y to change the sorting of your inventory.
- Equip the shield or weapon you don't mind losing.
- Exit the inventory menu and the pop-up description.
- Open the inventory and drop the equipped item.
- Pick up the dropped item - you should have two of the same pieces of equipment in your inventory.
That’s helpful, but it only works with undiscovered items, so it's very situational and will eventually become useless as you've discovered more equipment.
Check out even more Cheats and Secrets, plus, How to Get an Unbreakable Master Sword Glitch
Up Next: Labyrinth Shrines and Solutions
Top Guide Sections
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- List of Side Quests and Side Adventures
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
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