Armos

Armos are a recurring enemy in. They are stone statues that come to life and attack. Their weaknesses, attack methods, and habitats vary significantly between games. Inactive Armos are commonly referred to as Armos Statues. Notable variations include Armos Knight, Armos Warrior, and Death Armos.

Characteristics
The Armos has become a staple of the Zelda series since its debut in the original. These statues, when disturbed, charge and follow Link at will, and will continue to attack in this fashion until they are defeated or until Link runs a far enough. The weaknesses of the Armos vary in each game, with some Armos being susceptible to merely the Sword, or with the use of stronger weapons such as Bombs or the Bow.

Armos have come in numerous variations across the series, with some incarnations having completely different patterns and strategies. The Armos in The Legend of Zelda and were similar to humanoid knights in appearance, whereas the Armos in  and  are more akin to stone statues, and the Armos in SS undefined resembling automations. It is possible that all incarnations of Armos may be mechanical in nature, and use their sensory perception of touch and activation as a reference point. In, they can even be deactivated from inside.

Humanoid Armos
In the early games, Armos were more humanoid in appearance, and were explained to have once been soldiers turned to stone. In The Legend of Zelda specifically, when undisturbed, they are impervious to all forms of attack. However, they lose their stone defenses when awakened and move freely, enabling them to be dispelled with all kinds of weaponry.

At certain periods, the Armos must be moved in order to reach other areas, usually by pushing them out of the way. This however does carry the threat of also awakening an Armos. In Link's Awakening, Link can slowly push them out of the way without having to awaken them by using his Shield. Other times, the Armos need to be activated before they will move, such as in the, where certain Armos will only move after pressing a switch.

The Minish Cap Armos can be manually activated and disabled. While Minish sized, Link can climb into the statue and flip a switch inside that will deactivate the Armos' sensitivity, and thereby allowing Link to walk past them in normal size, unhindered. The Armos must be activated and deactivated to solve several puzzles, which can be found in the Wind Ruins area.

Statue Armos
As the series progressed, Armos gradually turned more statue-like in appearance and nature. In games such as A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time, Armos have lost the ability to walk and show no actual movement aside from hopping towards Link on their pedestal, a trait later used in many future games. In these games, the Armos' only form of attack is to charge at Link, and any arms bared are usually merely for visual decoration. These statues may also have spikes around their pedestals, as is, , and.

These types of Armos, with the exception of those in A Link to the Past, are usually impervious to most attacks even when activated. They are however usually weak to a well placed Bomb. In The Wind Waker, an Arrow can be fired into their green eye to stun them, so the gem on their backside can be struck to defeat them. It is also common for these Armos to explode after taking enough damage, and will usually spin around several times before finally self-destructing. In Spirit Tracks, a Miniblin may sometimes also ride on these statues, requiring dual strategy to defeat the combined foes.

The Armos in are different as they wield usable hammers. Similarly to the Armos in The Wind Waker, they also have a gem on the backside which can be struck twice to defeat them.

In some games, the Armos can also be used to complete puzzles that require a heavy depressor to stomp a switch, especially when no other similar object is nearby. However, since some incarnations of the Armos, like those seen in Ocarina of Time and, tend to jump about at random when activated, making the puzzle solving complicted.

Two-Faced Armos
In Skyward Sword, the Armos have a significantly different strategy and appearance, appearing much more robotic. This variation is two-faced, with each side having its own attack pattern and method to defeat them. The "happy" face has shorter, calmer hops while the "angry" face produces longer, more aggressive jumps towards Link. They appear in the Lanayru Mining Facility and the Pirate Stronghold, and can only be activated when a Timeshift Stone is nearby. The Gust Bellows must be used on the spinning device resting above their heads to stun them. This causes the Armos to slowly open its mouths and stick its tongue out to reveal two crystals in each side, both of which must be destroyed in order to fully defeat them.

The Sword technique which 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.

Totem Armos
In, Totem Armos are similar to statue Armos, but are so named because of other monsters riding them and forming a Totem. Totem Armos are nearly always seen with a monster riding them, such as a Moblin or a Soldier. The combined efforts of both monsters can make them a difficult enemy to deal with, as the Armos's invincibility to most attacks protects its rider. The Soldiers who ride Totem Armos can also make their Armos jump into the air and crash down as a devastating attack. Occasionally, a three-monster Totem can also be encountered, where one monster may be riding atop two Totem Armos stacked on top of each other.

The Totem Armos and their riders can be defeated in two ways. The Links can form their own Totem and attack the top monster. By defeating the Armos's rider, it will begin to spin madly before self-destructing. Another option is to place a Bomb near the pursuing Armos, as the blast will defeat the rider. This is less effective against monster Totems of three however, likely because the Bomb's blast does not reach the rider.

In the Training Ground and Sky Temple Levels, the Links will encounter harmless Totem Armos that sit quietly on green panels. The Links can ride these Armos to cross fire and lava, and solve puzzles, as well as attack enemies with. The Link riding it can only get off once the Totem Armos parks at a green panel. If the Totem Armos is destroyed, it will respawn at a green panel.

Animated series
Various Armos statues also appear in the "Sing for the Unicorn" episode of the Animated series. As Link and Princess Zelda are walking through the Underworld, the young hero warns Zelda to not 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 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 animated series, also bares a resemblance to the original design of Armos from The Legend of Zelda.

Philips CD-i Games
Armos appear as enemies in both and. They resemble stone warriors who carry spears, and are encountered in several stages. In The Faces of Evil, Militron turns Koridians into Armos by crushing them and exposing them with fire, which are then sent to fight Link. In The Wand of Gamelon, after Zelda defeats the Iron Knuckle in Tykogi Tower, a pair of Armos appear and witness his destroyed remains, and quickly decide to leave the area.

Soulcalibur II
Although Armos do not make an appearance in, Link can wield their Sword and Shield from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. 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.

Trivia

 * Due to a glitch in The Legend of Zelda, Armos will strike Link immediately if he approaches them from the south side. When approached from other angles, these enemies will give their adversary a few moments to get out of range without doing any damage, flashing briefly.
 * In Ocarina of Time, the Goron Emblem appears on the foreheads of inactive Armos Statues.
 * In Twilight Princess, an unused enemy called the by fans 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.