Skylanders Toy FAQ
This article will address many of the common questions concerning Skylanders toys.
The following article addresses commonly asked questions regarding Skylanders toys. If you are having issues with the Portal of Power, please check out the Skylanders Portal of Power and Hardware FAQ. If you are looking for the model number on your Skylanders toy, please check out Finding the Model Numbers on Activision Hardware and Software.
General Questions
Skylanders Sidekicks are miniature versions of certain Skylanders that can be used as companions. The key difference is that Sidekicks have no combat abilities while Minis are fully functional Skylanders with their own combat powers.
One of the most fun elements of a Skylanders toy is that the more it is used, the more “personalized” it becomes. There are a bunch of ways to personalize a Skylanders toy, and since data is saved on the toy, you can to take it to a friend’s house and play with your personalized toy on your friend’s console.
Here’s a list of what gets saved directly on a toy:- Experience points and levels
- Nickname
- Owner
- Gold
- Quests completed
- Treasures
- Currently equipped Hats and Trinkets
- Stat boosts
- Skill upgrades
Data is automatically saved to a toy about every 30 seconds and whenever one of the following happens:
- The Skylander gains a level
- You collect 100 pieces of gold
- You buy a skill upgrade
- You change hats
- You change the Skylanders’ nickname or the owner
- You reset the toy
- You place a Skylanders toy on the Portal of Power for the first time
- The Skylander gets a stat boost after completing a challenge.
The following items are saved on a user’s console. As a result, these items will need to be unlocked again when playing on a friend’s console:
- Gameplay Progression: When playing as a guest or on a friend’s console, the levels that a player unlocks will have to be replayed and re-unlocked.
- Challenges: Completing a Challenge as a guest or on a friend’s console will not unlock the challenge on your home console.
- Collectibles
- Hats and Trinkets: Collected Hats and Trinkets will be stored on the console where they are discovered. Only the Hat and Trinket that is currently being worn by the Skylander is stored on the Skylanders toy and can be taken with the toy and used on another console.
If a Skylanders toy is not registering after placing it on the Portal of Power, or it only works when held above the Portal, try the following tests to see what’s wrong. You might not need to do all of these tests.
- Replace the batteries in your Portal of Power.
- The Skylander might have been placed on a “dead spot” on the Portal. Dead spots can appear when more than one Skylanders toy or item is placed on the Portal, especially if they’re too close to each other. Try moving the Skylanders toy to a different spot on the Portal.
- Try another Skylanders toy on the Portal of Power. If none of them work, the problem might be with the Portal of Power itself. If other toys do work, the problem is with the toy itself.
Any Skylander can be used by either player one or player two in a Skylanders game. However, information is saved directly onto the toy and it becomes more personalized the more it is used. Therefore, if you want a personalized version of a particular character, you will have to own your own toy.
Yes. Any console or PC Skylanders game has a Skylanders management section in the menu that allows you to take ownership of a toy and reset it. Place the toy on the Portal of Power and select “Reset” from this menu option to delete all of the data from a Skylanders toy.
Please note: This can’t be undone! Once a toy is reset, it will be like you just took the toy out of the package. Ownership, gold, experience, hats, trinkets, and skills that were on the toy can’t be recovered.
Some Skylanders toys are made as limited editions with different colors or designs. Even though the toy looks different, many of these limited edition characters (such as the Halloween-themed Eye Brawl) will look like the Skylanders they’re based on in the game.
Yes. The character section on skylanders.com has information on every Skylanders characters, including screenshots, videos, and alternate variations of the characters.
Most Skylanders toys will work on any console. However, the following toys which will only work on Nintendo Wii, Wii U or 3DS:
- Hammer Slam Bowser
- Turbo Charge Donkey Kong
- Clown Cruiser vehicle
- Barrel Blaster vehicle
The Web codes that were included in earlier Skylanders games such as Spyro’s Adventure, Giants, and SWAP Force are no longer supported in any of the current generation of Skylanders mobile games or on the skylanders.com website.
Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure Questions
Nothing. The Volcanic Vault is not compatible with the 3DS version of Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure.
Skylanders SWAP Force Questions
The save system for the 3DS version of Skylanders SWAP Force is different than the versions of the game on other consoles. In order to save your game:
- Speak to Wendell, who will prompt you to sync your Portal of Power.
- Sync your Portal of Power
- Wendell will throw you a crystal and tell you to aim your 3DS at the Portal.
- Your Skylander will then be updated with all the information from the game.
Skylanders Trap Team Questions
Upgrades are stored on the Traps themselves and not with the actual Villains. Therefore, if you move a Villain to a Trap that doesn’t have an upgrade saved on it, the Villain will revert to its default state.
This is a very rare error that can occur if you remove the Skylander from the Portal just before landing on a Super Bounce Pad. If this occurs, there is no way to replace the lost experience. It will have to be earned again.
There is a slight difference in the way the two games calculate the amount of experience a Skylander earns. Fortunately, it can be easily resolved by having the character earn one experience point in Skylanders SWAP Force.
This is a rare issue that occurs when using Punk Shock's secondary ability multiple times in a row. Move to a different area to fix the problem.
Playing with Dune Bug for about 30 minutes can cause the frame rate to drop. Switch to a different Skylander or to a Villain from time to time to resolve and/or avoid the issue.
This is most likely because the Shake It! ability was used on a Bounce Pad. Remove and replace the Skylander on the Portal to resolve the problem.
The Waterwalker ability is not available in Skylanders Trap Team.
Legendary Zoo Lou doesn’t jump as high dvas the other Skylanders. Try using a different Skylander in sections where you’re having difficulties.
If you experience this, leave the Trap in the Portal and reselect the Villain you want. To avoid this issue in the future, do not remove the Trap at the same time as entering the Villain Vault.
Sprocket’s turret tends to cause issues when placed near objects. Avoid doing that and you should be fine.
This can happen when using Hoot Loop’s or Blackout’s teleportation ability too much. Use the teleportation ability less often, and you should be okay.
No. This is by design. If you want to jump down to another platform, retransform into your Skylander.
This can occur if the top part of a swappable Skylander is changed too soon after placing a Trap in the Portal. To resolve the issue, remove and replace the Skylander on the Portal. To avoid this issue, be sure to wait a few seconds after placing the Trap in the Portal before changing the Skylander on the Portal.
Tuff Luck is able to jump further than other Skylanders when using her secondary ability while jumping. Avoid doing this and follow the paths to encounter events as intended.
This is the result of a visual bug within the game. There are two levels—Dream Quake Arena and Monster March—where you will sometimes not see Prism Break's crystals spawn. They still deal damage when they fall even if you don't see them.
This is by design. The Deep Skin upgrade is not supported in Skylanders Trap Team
This issue sometimes occurs after repeatedly jumping and attacking. To resolve this issue, remove and replace the Skylander on the Portal.
To get your Reward Box, simply return to the Main Menu and load the Skylanders Academy again. Avoid this issue by not dashing to the Reward Box with High Five.
There are three Hats that are affected by this problem: Springtime, Kickoff, and Jolly. You can re-equip the Hat in Skylanders Trap Team to resolve the problem.
To avoid this problem, don’t remove the Trap from the Portal until the Villain Quest is complete. If you experience this issue, you’ll need to replay the Villain Quest to earn the reward.
There are no hidden chests in Wilikin Workshop or Chompy Mountains.