Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Duplication Glitch Breaks The Game

There's no denying that part of the fun of "Tears of the Kingdom" is the ability to unleash utter chaos on the world of Hyrule. From wild fan creations fused together with scrap parts to torturing Koroks, gamers continue to test the limits of what's possible. Sometimes, though, pushing those limits means absolutely shattering the world's economy by duplicating and selling priceless treasures. That's right, players have already discovered a glitch that allows any item to be duplicated — including items that sell for a high price, like diamonds. 

While there are limits to the exploit, it seems to work on most items. One player shared an easy tutorial, demonstrating how to duplicate any item, including the elusive star fragments. Perhaps the best part of the exploit is that it doesn't involve any special locations or complicated button mashing. Instead, after just a bit of menu manipulation, the glitch works flawlessly. Here's how to do it.

On Twitter, Benjaninja shared a quick tutorial on how to enact the exploit, explaining that the entire cheat can be executed in a matter of seconds.

easy duplication glitch: fuse item to arrow, pause, drop bow, equip another, then press pause twice very quickly, drop bow, unpause and pick up both bows. profit #duplication #duplicationglitch #TearsOfTheKingdom #Zelda #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/OTOJnntKID

— Benjaninja (@ItsBenjaninja) May 16, 2023

First, players should fuse the item they want to duplicate to a bow — any bow will do — then pause, and drop the bow with the fused item. After that, they should equip a different bow, double tap pause rapidly, and drop the second bow. When they pick up both bows, they'll each contain the original fused item. Benjaninja additionally shared videos of their attempts at duplicating star fragments and rubies, commenting that the glitch should work with any item. This exploit could mean never running out of bomb flowers in a dark cave again, or exploring the depths with an unlimited supply of Brightblooms. With enough duplicated diamonds, Link could buy almost anything gamers need in "Tears of the Kingdom."

I'm reading that apparently equipping a third bow can help with this glitch. After dropping the second bow on the pause screen equip a third bow, that may help. Update a few times just out of muscle memory and it does seem to work more often than the times I don't

— Benjaninja (@ItsBenjaninja) May 17, 2023

Benjaninja added that doing the exploit a third time, with another bow, can make things move faster. They also commented that after doing the trick a few times, the actions become muscle memory, easily replicable as many times as needed. Players also added that the move seems simple, but is difficult in practice. It's possible that gamers have to use a certain rhythm or timing when pressing pause twice to get the cheat to work. 

As it turns out, this is not the only duplication glitch that players have discovered in "Tears of the Kingdom." Another one appears to be a little less finicky than the first, and doesn't involve the extra steps of fusing or equipping a bow.

VTuber Danie Ray shared that players can hop into the air to shield surf (hold LZ, then press X and then A), open the inventory, select/hold the items that need to be copied, then press the Y and Plus buttons simultaneously. As noted by Danie Ray, players can do this multiple times if they're leaping from a high-enough surface. For maximum duplication time, take a running jump from one of Hyrule's new floating islands and get to shield-surfing! Just make sure to pay attention how close you're getting to the ground.

Players should be aware, though, that their fun times with this glitch may be quickly coming to an end. According to a number of players on Twitter, the glitch is working less frequently, suggesting that the first big patch for the game may have cracked down on the glitch.

It's unclear why a fix from Nintendo would be rolled out inconsistently, but the prevailing theory seems to be that the gaming giant is hard at work on stamping this glitch out.

Gamers have been split over using this glitch, especially since it allows people to play "Tears of the Kingdom" in a way the developers of the game never intended. By duplicating some of the game's most precious resources, players are essentially breaking the world's carefully crafted economy, which hasn't sat right with some fans. Some gamers have joked about feeling like they're doing something wrong by using the glitch, while others have also noted that it's put them ahead of their peers who are also playing the game.

confessing my sins (used a duplication glitch to get 100 diamonds in totk)

— madi ⋆ (@hunterscyarika) May 22, 2023

A great number of players have mentioned that they're just planning to get as much mileage out of the glitch as they can, before Nintendo inevitably patches it out. Meanwhile, some players are amusing the gaming community by sharing some hilarious accidents that have occurred while attempting the glitch. In one case, a player forgot how devastating it can be to drop several bomb flowers in mid-air.

tried the duplication glitch on bombs and didn't think it through............... #TearsOfTheKingdom #Zelda pic.twitter.com/BBvQez7CDt

— rose, artist ♡✨🌿 @TOTK!!! (@churchflowerss) May 22, 2023

If you decide to use one of these glitches in your own playthrough, just keep in mind that gamers have pretty strong feelings about it — and try not to blow yourself up!