1. Return to the Archery Training Shrines
If you haven’t, complete the Makurukis and Taunhiy Shrines. They can be found in the Hebra and Hebra Sky regions respectively. Between these two shrines, you can rack up 40 free arrows, which will respawn every 2-3 hours as long as you leave the area (I’ll explain this mechanic better in a bit).
Now 40 arrows may not seem like a ton (in fact it point blank just isn’t) but with their respawn rate, 40 *free arrows every couple of hours at most is worth looking into. All you need to do is fast-travel to each shrine, go inside, and there will be 20 arrows (and a Construct Bow if you’d like one) just ahead and to the left of the entrance.
Now, about that respawn mechanic... This will be a recurring topic in this guide, so listen up! The TOTK map is basically divided into eighty 8x10 squares (HUGE thanks to Austin John Plays for this data). As soon as you leave any area-the 8x10 containing each of these shrines for example-there is a 1% chance every minute for things like arrows and crates to respawn! More on this later, the point is, that those 40 free arrows are GUARANTEED to respawn within a couple of hours.
How it works:
- Travel to the Makurukis and Taunhiy Shrines
- Collect all the arrows
- Leave the area
- Rinse and repeat
2. Don't Forget the Crates!!!
They’re metal, they’re wooden, and they’re absolutely EVERYWHERE. In fact, crates are so plentiful in TOTK I often don’t notice they’re there (and I can’t imagine I’m alone in this). But if you’re in need of arrows, BREAK THOSE CRATES! Some are empty, but the majority of crates to be found in Hyrule contain *something. And significantly more than half of them contain arrows.
Likely the best places to go crate-smashing are the dozens of enemy encampments spread throughout each region. And while the monsters themselves won’t respawn until the Blood Moon, crates follow the same mechanic as the bundles of arrows we just talked about.
What this means, is that if you’re determined enough (or big on farming) you could potentially run around Hyrule smashing HUNDREDS of crates on a loop. What I mean by that, is you could potentially clear out a region, head back to your original starting point, and find all of those crates have respawned just in time for you to do it all over again!
How it works:
- Find an enemy encampment or abandoned area
- Find the crates
- BREAK ‘EM ALL
- Collect the goods (including, but not limited to arrows)
- Leave the area for a while
- Come back and SMASH ‘EM AGAIN
3. Even Monsters Have Arrows...
Bokoblins, Lizalfos, Constructs, Moblins, LYNELS, as we all know, many different enemies can wield bows. It can be a major hassle sometimes. But I’m going to tell you how you can turn that to your advantage when hunting arrows!
Archer enemies are unique in a couple of aspects. One is that they have an infinite supply of arrows. A new mechanic in TOTK allows you to take advantage of that in your quest for arrow farming. Simply equip a wooden shield (this will NOT work with a metal shield), block the shots from the enemy, and when you release your shield the arrows it blocked will be added to your inventory. You can literally do this as many times as you want until the shield breaks!!!
You can also collect arrows from archer enemies by picking them up when they miss shots taken at you. This tactic however is limited to about 5 arrows per enemy. One more thing on this topic, most archer enemies will drop a bundle of 5 arrows when killed. This gives you three different ways to collect arrows from bow-wielding enemies!
How it works (the shield trick):
- Get yourself a wooden shield (or six)
- Find archer enemies (Red Bokoblins deal the least damage)
- Allow them to fire upon you
- Block their shots with your shield
- Release shield button to add the arrows to your inventory!
4. Amiibo, is There Anything They *Can't Do?
Obviously there are plenty of things Amiibo can’t do, I’m just a *very big fan. One reason being, they CAN in fact help you in your quest for arrows! Quite a lot actually, especially if you have the full set (I recommend the NFC cards as a cheap alternative to the figurines).
There are 26 Amiibo that work in TOTK, and almost all of them drop a treasure chest (which can contain arrows). In addition to this, most of them drop food and/ or other items (which again, can potentially be bundles of arrows). But my favorites, the Link and Zelda Amiibo (as well as Gannondorf, and the Guardian) all drop barrels or crates along with their chests. And these always contain some arrows.
The Archer Link, Revali, Guardian, Gannondorf, and Twilight Princess Link and Zelda will be your best bet when arrow farming. The Twilight Princess Zelda Amiibo is also the only way to get the Dusk Bow apart from climbing to the very top of Hyrule Castle! One last thing, you can only scan Amiibo once per real world day.
How it works:
- Acquire Amiibo
- Scan Amiibo (no more than two at a time or the drops will disappear)
- Smash crates and open chests for arrows
- Wait 24 hrs. (or spam your Switch’s clock)
- Scan ‘em again!
5. Buy Them, Of Course (And Not Just From Beedle)
You had to know this was coming. If you read my article on the best ways to stockpile Rupees in Hyrule, or you’ve figured it out on your own and have some to spare, this is probably the quickest/ easiest method of arrow farming there is. If not, well that’s why I mentioned Beedle…
While he’s easy to find, and with the trick I’m about to teach you will always have a full stock of arrows, Beedle actually sells them at the highest price in Hyrule (paying for the convenience perhaps?) . The shops and vendors in every town that sells arrows (not as many as there are stables, but still quite a lot) all sell them significantly cheaper than our old buddy Beedle.
Now that you know where to get the best deals, I’m going to teach you a magnificent trick for farming arrows at the shops! To start, we’re gonna fast travel to, and buy out any and all the shopkeepers you can (or want to). With that done, simply fast travel to a town or stable outside the areas you’ve been in, find a bed, and sleep for 24 (in game) hours. Once you’ve done this, you can revisit any and all of the shops and/ or stables you’ve just been to and find they’ve fully restocked!!!
How it works:
- Fast travel to any shop and/ or stable
- Buy out their arrows
- Fast travel to the next and do the same
- Repeat as many times as desired
- Fast travel to a bed outside the areas you’ve been in
- Sleep at least 24 in game hours
- Return to find all shop and stable arrow stocks replenished
Well that’s all I’ve got; I hope this has been entertaining, if not helpful. Take care everyone and as always, thanks for playing along!!! :)
