BotW Armor Upgrade Materials: Great Fairies and 7 Useful Sets

Armor upgrades are permanent, but rare monster parts are easy to spend on the wrong set. The tables below give the material cost per piece, show the few piece-specific exceptions, and separate verified game-data values from a published community conflict.

Every armor piece, with defense and where to get it, is in the all armor table. Eight sets have their own page with locations and the whole upgrade path: Barbarian, Ancient, Climbing, Stealth, Zora, Flamebreaker, Snowquill and Rubber; also Desert Voe, Radiant, Gerudo, Dark, Salvager, the Armor of the Wild, the Hylian and Soldier’s sets, the amiibo sets and the DLC sets.

Which armor should you upgrade first?

Use the obstacle in front of you as the priority rule:

Need	Upgrade first	Why
More raw defense	Hylian or Soldier’s	Hylian has a cheaper early material path; Soldier’s reaches 28 defense per piece at maximum enhancement.
Faster quiet travel	Stealth to ★★	The full enhanced set adds Night Speed Up.
Better climbing utility	Climbing to ★★	The full enhanced set adds Climbing Jump Stamina Up, although rain still causes slipping.
More attack power	Barbarian to ★★	Each piece has Attack Up, and the enhanced set reduces charged-attack stamina use.
Guardian-focused fighting	Ancient to ★★	Each piece has Guardian Resist Up, and the enhanced set activates Ancient Proficiency.
Death Mountain travel	Flamebreaker to ★★	Each piece has Flame Guard, and the enhanced set adds Fireproof.

Barbarian upgrades depend heavily on Lynel parts, so plan a route with the BotW Lynel locations guide before spending your stock. If you are still deciding what to tackle next, the Divine Beast order guide gives a progression route. The sequel uses a different fee system and material table, covered separately in the TotK armor upgrade guide.

Where are the Great Fairy Fountains in BotW?

Great Fairy	Fountain location	Practical landmark
Cotera	Woods above Kakariko Village, at the edge of East Hill	Follow the uphill path from the village toward the forest
Kaysa	Piper Ridge in Tabantha Frontier	The afternoon shadow of Tabantha Tower points toward the ridge
Mija	Akkala Highlands, southeast of Tarrey Town	Search the woods near Akkala Lake
Tera	Gerudo Great Skeleton in Gerudo Desert	The fountain sits within the great skeleton in the Dragon’s Exile area

The fairy you visit first does not determine the price. The game charges by restoration order, so you can open whichever location is convenient.

How much do the Great Fairy Fountains cost?

Fountain opened	One-time restoration cost	Upgrade tier unlocked
1st	100 rupees	★
2nd	500 rupees	★★
3rd	1,000 rupees	★★★
4th	10,000 rupees	★★★★

Restoring all four costs 11,600 rupees. That is the fountain budget, not a price charged again for every armor piece.

How do armor upgrade stars and rupee costs work?

Each restored fountain opens the next star tier globally. At the enhancement screen, the Great Fairy takes the listed materials; there is no additional per-upgrade rupee line. A qualifying set bonus activates only when all three matching pieces are worn and every piece has reached at least ★★.

Star	Fountains restored	Payment at the upgrade screen
★	1	Listed materials only
★★	2	Listed materials only
★★★	3	Listed materials only
★★★★	4	Listed materials only

What materials do the most useful BotW armor sets need?

Unless a row names a specific piece, the quantity is per piece and applies to the head, body, and leg items separately.

Hylian set

Hylian Hood, Hylian Tunic, and Hylian Trousers have no set bonus. Defense per piece rises 3 → 5 → 8 → 12 → 20.

Star	Materials per piece
★	Bokoblin Horn ×5
★★	Bokoblin Horn ×8, Bokoblin Fang ×5
★★★	Bokoblin Fang ×10, Bokoblin Guts ×5
★★★★	Bokoblin Guts ×15, Amber ×15

Soldier’s set

Soldier’s Helm, Soldier’s Armor, and Soldier’s Greaves have no set bonus. Defense per piece rises 4 → 7 → 12 → 18 → 28.

Star	Piece	Materials
★	All pieces	Chuchu Jelly ×5, Bokoblin Guts ×3
★★	All pieces	Keese Eyeball ×3, Moblin Guts ×3
★★★	Helm	Lizalfos Tail ×2, Hinox Guts ×2
★★★	Armor and Greaves	Lizalfos Tail ×3, Hinox Guts ×1
★★★★	All pieces	Lynel Hoof ×2, Lynel Guts ×2

Stealth set

Stealth Mask, Stealth Chest Guard, and Stealth Tights provide Stealth Up. With all three pieces at ★★, the set adds Night Speed Up. Defense per piece rises 2 → 4 → 6 → 9 → 16.

Star	Materials per piece
★	Blue Nightshade ×3
★★	Blue Nightshade ×5, Sunset Firefly ×5
★★★	Silent Shroom ×8, Sneaky River Snail ×5
★★★★	Stealthfin Trout ×10, Silent Princess ×5

Climbing set

Climber’s Bandanna, Climbing Gear, and Climbing Boots provide Climb Speed Up. With all three pieces at ★★, the set adds Climbing Jump Stamina Up; it does not stop rain slipping. Defense per piece rises 3 → 5 → 8 → 12 → 20.

Star	Materials per piece
★	Keese Wing ×3, Rushroom ×3
★★	Electric Keese Wing ×5, Hightail Lizard ×5
★★★	Ice Keese Wing ×5, Hot-Footed Frog ×10
★★★★	Fire Keese Wing ×5, Swift Violet ×15

Barbarian set

Barbarian Helm, Barbarian Armor, and Barbarian Leg Wraps provide Attack Up. With all three pieces at ★★, the set adds Charge Atk. Stamina Up. Defense per piece rises 3 → 5 → 8 → 12 → 20.

Star	Piece	Materials
★	All pieces	Lynel Horn ×1
★★	All pieces	Lynel Horn ×3, Lynel Hoof ×2
★★★	All pieces	Lynel Hoof ×4, Lynel Guts ×1
★★★★	Helm	Lynel Guts ×2, Shard of Dinraal’s Horn ×1
★★★★	Armor	Lynel Guts ×2, Shard of Farosh’s Horn ×1
★★★★	Leg Wraps	Lynel Guts ×2, Shard of Naydra’s Horn ×1

Ancient set

Ancient Helm, Ancient Cuirass, and Ancient Greaves provide Guardian Resist Up. With all three pieces at ★★, the set adds Ancient Proficiency. Defense per piece rises 4 → 7 → 12 → 18 → 28.

Star	Materials per piece
★	Ancient Screw ×5, Ancient Spring ×5
★★	Ancient Spring ×15, Ancient Gear ×10
★★★	Ancient Shaft ×15, Ancient Core ×5
★★★★	Star Fragment ×1, Giant Ancient Core ×2

Flamebreaker set

Flamebreaker Helm, Flamebreaker Armor, and Flamebreaker Boots provide Flame Guard. With all three pieces at ★★, the set adds Fireproof. Defense per piece rises 3 → 5 → 8 → 12 → 20.

Star	Materials per piece
★	Fireproof Lizard ×1, Moblin Horn ×2
★★	Fireproof Lizard ×3, Moblin Fang ×4
★★★	Smotherwing Butterfly ×3, Moblin Guts ×3
★★★★	Smotherwing Butterfly ×5, Hinox Guts ×2

Where should you farm common armor materials?

Material	Reliable area	Collection note
Rushroom	Gerudo Highlands and Hyrule Ridge	Scan cliff faces and mountain walls
Swift Violet	Gerudo Highlands and Hebra Mountains	Pick it from cliffs, or buy it at Coral Reef in Zora’s Domain
Blue Nightshade	Around Cotera’s Great Fairy Fountain	Its glow makes it easier to see at night
Sunset Firefly	West Necluda, Great Hyrule Forest, and Kakariko Village	Search after dark
Stealthfin Trout	Lake Mekar	Fish at night when their glow is easier to spot
Fireproof Lizard	Southern Mine	Lift rocks and approach carefully before they flee
Smotherwing Butterfly	Death Mountain and Eldin Canyon	Search near lava, or buy from Beedle at East Akkala or Wetland Stable
Ancient parts	Guardians and selected treasure chests	Screws, springs, gears, shafts, cores, and giant cores come from Guardian-related loot; cores are the bottleneck
Lynel parts	Lynels	Use the Lynel locations page to plan repeat fights