Armos

, also known as Soldier Statues and Armos Statues, are recurring enemies in .
==Characteristics==
They are stone or mechanical statues that come to life and attack. Their weaknesses, attack methods, and habitats vary significantly between games. In the majority of games however, Armos are initially inactive, and will activate and charge once disturbed. Inactive Armos are commonly referred to as Armos Statues. Some Armos are also explosive, and will self-destruct after being attacked. Armos come in several variations, with notable ones including Armos Knights, Death Armos, the Armos Warrior and Totem Armos.
==Mainline appearances==
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Armos first appear in and can be found throughout the Overworld, usually in small, aligned groups. Appearing like ordinary statues, they stand still, wearing a suit of armor and wielding a spear and a shield. However, if Link approaches and touches one, the Armos will flash and begin to move around erratically. Some Armos hide staircases beneath them, which lead to secret caves and can be revealed by activating them. One of these hidden staircases leads to Level 2 of the Second Quest. One Armos also hides the Power Bracelet in northwest Hyrule. Link can defeat an Armos using any item and can stun them with the Boomerang. Armos never drop any items when defeated. If Link activates an Armos from the bottom, he will get hit by it no matter what. In official artwork, Armos look more humanoid than they do in game and in the game's manual, they are stated to have once been human soldiers that were turned into stone.
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In , Armos resemble armed statues on a base. They are similar to the Armos of , as they will activate and become mobile when Link comes near, but will actively hop after him in attack as opposed to a random path. Dormant Armos appear gray, but turn an orange color when approached. They typically take many hits of the Fighter's Sword to defeat; however, they are especially weak to Arrows shot from the Bow. Armos are common to the surrounding area of the Eastern Palace in eastern Hyrule.
A group of giant Armos known as Armos Knights appear as the bosses of the Eastern Palace. They appear once more in Ganon's Tower.
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In , Armos appear as inactive statues that will only awaken when touched by Link. They slowly move in random patterns as opposed to pursuing Link. They cannot be attacked by most weapons, which will instead only repel them back. They are instead weak to Arrows, which will defeat them in one shot; and to the Boomerang, which defeats them in two hits. Groups of Armos can be found in the area surrounding the Southern Face Shrine; however, several of these statues are not actual Armos, and will thus not activate at Link's touch. Armos also appear guarding the way to the northern Face Shrine.
An Armos Knight also appears as a Guardian inside the Southern Face Shrine, guarding the Face Key needed to open the northern Face Shrine.
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In , Armos again appear as stone statues on a base. They are much less humanoid than before, appearing little more than a round statue with horns holding a sword and shield. Similarly to previous appearances, Armos will activate to Link's close presence and hop after him, but differ in that once they are struck, they will wildly spin around in circles before exploding. Some statues, however, are not true Armos, and can be pushed or pulled to press down Floor Switches. Because of their explosive nature, they can also be lured to detonate in front of cracked walls or boulders to open them. Armos mostly appear in Dungeons. Inactive Armos can be made to immediately self-destruct by throwing a Bomb at them.
For unknown reasons, inactive Armos also bear the Goron Emblem on them.
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In , Armos appear the same as in , but appear slightly different and take on a more defined, angular shape, which more closely resembles the Armos' artwork from .
In the Stone Tower Temple, there is also a nearly invincible variant called a Death Armos. These Armos float in the air and are initially active; they will attempt to slam down onto Link if he comes close. They bear the Red Emblem, and can be flipped over and defeated by shooting a Light Arrow at them.
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Armos come in two colors in : red and blue. Like in , Armos are impervious to the Sword, and can only be defeated by detonating a Bomb near them or by shooting Scent Seeds at them. They can also be stunned and defeated with the Magical Boomerang. Blue Armos, however, can be defeated with the Sword, as well as an assortment of other weapons. They will also activate when Link moves close, as opposed to merely touching them. The blue variety can be found in Unicorn's Cave. In some places, Armos appear as decorative statues, but will not activate.
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A giant Armos Statue called the Armos Warrior appears as the Sub-Boss of the Skull Dungeon in .
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In , Armos appear as armed, mechanical robots. They bear a closer resemblance to their older incarnations, as they carry a large shield and a spear and have a single eye, which glows when they are active. Armos move at a faster pace than their earlier appearances, often with sharp turns. They are unable to turn their bodies around when changing direction, and instead turn their heads around at different degrees when changing course. They appear in the Sea of Trees and Vaati's Palace.
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In , Armos appear as statues that slightly resembles a combination of their earliest and incarnations, in that they appear as round statues with horns and a single eye. When an Armos is active, spikes will appear around its body and it will quickly hop after Link, only stopping periodically to turn around. Unlike previous appearances, the Armos' armor is impenetrable by weapons, with the exception of their singular eye and a red crystal on their backside. Using the Hero's Bow, Link can temporarily stun the Armos with a single Arrow to the eye. If Link repeatedly strikes the crystal on its back with his Sword or other weapons, it will shatter the gem, make the Armos hop and spin in a random direction for several seconds, then self-destruct. As with previous games, statues resembling Armos, but that are not true Armos, can be picked up and carried by Link. These can then be placed down to activate switches.
The Armos Knight is a much larger variation of this Armos, with a movable mouth. Unlike the smaller Armos, it does not have a vulnerable crystal, but will occasionally stop hopping as it opens its mouth. Its mouth can also be forced open by shooting an arrow at its eye, much like their smaller counterparts. A Bomb can then be thrown inside to detonate it.
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In , Armos take on the appearance as red statues on a base carrying a sword, slightly resembling those in . When approached, a sinister laugh is heard as they activate and hop after the Links. They appear in the Temple of Ice. In addition, dormant Armos statues also appear, which can be pushed or pulled to push down switches. Armos Knights appear as well.
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In , Armos appear heavily based on their incarnation as robotic statues. They are found in the Wind Ruins, as well as in the Fortress of Winds. They serve as both blockades and enemies, as several inactive Armos block the Wind Ruins' passages. Active Armos are indicated by their white, glowing eye, and will spring to life when approached, while inactive Armos have an empty shell. They can be manually turned on or off when Link climbs inside one while Minish-sized, flipping a switch inside that will ignite flames and activate the Armos's sensitivity. When activated, the Armos will move and strike back when Link moves close while in normal size. Activating Armos becomes necessary in order to defeat them to unblock the passages. Likewise, Link can also climb inside one to shut it off, allowing him to walk past them in normal size, unhindered. These Armos must be activated and deactivated several times to progress through the Wind Ruins.
Armos were built by the Minish for the Wind Tribe long ago as security mechanisms. Their presence serves as a reminder of the Wind Tribe who once lived in the Wind Ruins.
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In , Armos appear in the Temple of Time. They take on a much more unique appearance, appearing as large, face-shaped statues carrying a hammer and shield. When Link approaches one, it will glow and begin to hop towards him. It will constantly slam down its hammer as it moves, attempting to hit Link as it pursues him. Like the Armos of , they are heavily armored and protected from most attacks; however, their vulnerable backside can be struck to damage them. Once damaged, they will wildly hop about while slamming their hammers before finally self-destructing.
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Armos in bare a close resemblance to those in . Like the previous Armos, they are statues covered in spikes that will hop towards Link. They can be defeated and deactivated by detonating a Bomb near them.
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In , Mounted Miniblins appear riding on active Armos statues, and will pursue Link once spotted. Unlike the Armos of , they cannot be dispatched with a Bomb. Instead, the Armos can only be destroyed either by knocking off their operator or by plowing into them with a strong enough force. Link can fight the Miniblin on top of the Armos by having Princess Zelda carry him while she is possessing a Phantom. Once the Miniblin is knocked off or defeated, the Armos will lose control and shortly explode. Armos can also be destroyed by having Zelda, while possessing a Wrecker Phantom, roll into them. Inactive Armos statues also appear as blockades on certain floors of the Tower of Spirits. These can also be destroyed by having Zelda roll into them as a Wrecker Phantom.
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In , the Armos have a significantly different strategy and appearance, resembling automata. These Armos are two-faced, with each side having its own attack pattern and method to defeat them. The "happy" face makes short, calm hops, while the "angry" face takes larger, more aggressive jumps towards Link. They appear in the Lanayru Mining Facility and the Pirate Stronghold, and they only come alive when an active Timeshift Stone is nearby. The Gust Bellows must be used on the spinning, magnet-shaped device resting above their heads to stun them. This causes the Armos to slowly open their mouths and stick their tongues out to reveal two crystals in each side, both of which must be destroyed in order to defeat them. 
The Sword technique that must be used to destroy the crystals depends on the face Link is currently facing. The crystal on the "happy" face has the easiest crystal to shatter since Link can slash it with his Sword from almost any angle. However, the crystal on the "angry" face can only be destroyed with a stab attack. Whichever crystal Link destroys first will cause the Armos to quickly change its side and attack Link again.
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Armos in are closely based on their incarnation, as yellow, soldier-like statues on a base that hop after Link when he is near. They are fought much the same way, and take several hits of the Sword to defeat. Some Armos statues are decorative, and will not activate when approached. They mainly appear in the area surrounding the Eastern Palace, as well as inside the Eastern Palace. They also later appear Inside Hyrule Castle, where a group of dormant Armos statues will come to life and attack Link one by one.
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In , Armos appear as a group of Armos known as Totem Armos. They are stacked up on top of each other and often have an enemy on top of them. These enemies will often throw spears at the Links. The Links can also ride the Totem Armos, allowing them to reach new heights and cross though dangerous hazards such as fire.
==In other media==
=== TV series===
In , various Armos statues appear in the episode "Sing for the Unicorn". As Link and Princess Zelda are walking through the Underworld, the young hero warns Zelda not to touch the Armos Statues. Zelda accidentally does so, and the statue comes to life, which kicks Link into another statue. This other Armos is also brought to life and picks up the hero while Zelda once again accidentally touches another statue. The Princess successfully dodges two Armos that are trying to attack her and proceeds to wield her Bow, firing one Arrow at the Armos that had Link in its grasp. A statue then grabs Zelda, but Link picks up his Crissword and fires a Sword Beam at each Armos, promptly defeating them.
The Tinsuits, an enemy unique to the TV series, also bears a resemblance to the original design of Armos from The Legend of Zelda.
==Spinoff appearances==
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Armos appear as enemies in both and . They resemble stone warriors that carry spears, and are encountered in several stages. Several Armos also appear in the games' cutscenes. In , Militron turns Koridians into Armos by crushing them and exposing them to fire, which are then sent to fight Link. In , after Zelda defeats the Iron Knuckle in Tykogi Tower, a pair of Armos appear and witness his demise, and quickly decide to leave the area.
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Armos appear as enemies in and behave identically to those in . However, all Armos remain as solid statues until the beginning of the third week of gameplay, where an Old Man in a cave states that he has breathed life into them.
==Crossover appearances==
===Super Mario-kun===
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Although Armos do not make an appearance in , Link can wield their Sword and Shield from and . They can be bought for 900 Gold in the Thuban Shop while playing the Weapon Master Mode. When Link equips these weapons, his defense will lower to 70% while his offense will stay the same. However, if Link makes a Soul Charge, his offense will boost to 40%, though it will diminish over time.
Image	Cost 	Attributes 	In-game Description
 	900 Gold	Defense decreases 30%Offense increases with Soul Charge 40% (deteriorates)	A sword and shield from one of the living Armos statues that dot the land of Hyrule. The origins of these items are shrouded in mystery, much like the Armos themselves. Concentrating one's will increases the weapons' power, but they are a bit too heavy for Link and he cannot use them effectively for guarding.
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Armos appear as enemies in , where they pose as statues waiting to ambush Cadence, Link, Yves, or Zelda when they come close by. Although normally stationary enemies, their movement is tied both to the beat of the music and the proximity of the hero. For instance, they will appear as normal statues until the hero is standing within their immediate vicinity, which will cause them to open their eye in order to gaze at the hero. If any of the heroes stands on a tile directly adjacent to an Armos, they will abandon their disguise and raise their wings for one music beat before exploding on the following beat. 
A second type of Armos also appears, which appears identical to the first variety, except they do not open their eye while they're in their dormant state or explode when the hero comes too close. Instead, they can only be awakened when they are hit with a weapon or or projectile. Once awake, they will turn yellow and chase the heroes at top speed. Unlike other enemies, they move to the beat of the music on every single beat, making them faster than most monsters.
==Trivia==
*In , an unused enemy referred to by fans as the "Armos Titan" resembles a traditional Armos statue, but has no weapons and attacks with its hands. Unlike other Armos, it has a gem on its chest and can be successfully hit by shooting three Arrows or one Bomb Arrow at it.
==Nomenclature==
==Gallery==
File:TLoZ Armos Artwork 2.png|An Armos as seen in 
File:LA Armos Sprite 2.png|An Armos as seen in the Player Select Screen from 
File:LADX Armos Sprite 2.png|An Armos as seen in the Player Select Screen from 
File:ArmosALttP.png|Armos from 
File:TMC Armos Sprite 2.png|A dormant Armos from 
File:TMC Armos Interior.png|Link inside an Armos while Minish-sized from 
File:Armostp.png|Inactive Armos from 
File:ST Mounted Miniblin Model.png|Mounted Miniblin riding on an Armos from 
File:SS concept 44.jpg|Armos concept art from 
File:ALBW Dungeon Artwork.png|Artwork with Armos in the background from 
File:ALBW Armos Statue Model.png|An inactive Armos Statue from 
File:TWoG Armos Cutscene Sprite.png|Armos from 
==See also==
*Totem Armos
de:Armos-Ritter
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fr:Armos
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ja:アモス
pt-br:Armos
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zh-tw:阿默斯