BotW Hearts or Stamina First? Max, Master Sword, Swapping
Hearts or stamina first in Breath of the Wild: the 13 hearts for the Master Sword, the 30-heart and 3-wheel caps, where to upgrade and how to swap.
Every four Spirit Orbs buy one upgrade in Breath of the Wild, and a Goddess Statue asks you each time whether it should be a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel. The short answer: stamina until you have a second wheel, then hearts until you have 13 for the Master Sword. This page gives the reasons, the caps, and the statue in Hateno Village that lets you change your mind.
Should you pick hearts or stamina first?
| Stage | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First five upgrades | Stamina Vessels | A second wheel doubles how far you climb, glide and swim, and almost every route in the game is a climb |
| Next ten | Heart Containers | 13 hearts is the Master Sword requirement; the Divine Beast bosses supply up to four of the ten |
| After the Master Sword | Whichever you run out of | A third wheel for long climbs, or more hearts for Lynels and Hyrule Castle |
Hearts are the easier stat to cover with food. One dish cooked with a Hearty ingredient refills every heart and adds yellow hearts on top, and armor from the Great Fairies cuts the damage you take. Stamina has food as well, but a cliff in the rain or a long glide is easier with a bigger wheel than with a menu full of dishes.
If fights are the problem rather than cliffs, reverse the order. Nothing is lost: the Horned Statue moves an upgrade for a net 20 rupees.
How many hearts does the Master Sword need?
13 permanent hearts. You start with three, so you need ten Heart Containers. Yellow hearts from Hearty food do not count, and stamina plays no part. The sword is in Korok Forest, past the Lost Woods; the route and the sword’s numbers are on the Master Sword page.
| Where the ten can come from | Heart Containers |
|---|---|
| The four Divine Beast bosses | Up to 4 |
| Goddess Statues, four Spirit Orbs each | The rest: 6 to 10 containers, 24 to 40 shrines |
What are the maximum hearts and stamina?
| Start | Maximum | Upgrades needed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hearts | 3 | 30 | 27 Heart Containers |
| Stamina | 1 wheel | 3 wheels | 10 Stamina Vessels (5 per wheel) |
Filling both would take 37 upgrades. The base game has 34, so you end at one of these:
- 27 hearts and three full wheels
- 30 hearts and two wheels plus two-fifths
The Champions’ Ballad adds four shrines on the Great Plateau, and their four Spirit Orbs buy one more upgrade: 28 hearts with three wheels. Even with it you cannot fill both.
Where do Heart Containers and Stamina Vessels come from?
| From | Upgrades | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 120 shrines, one Spirit Orb each | 30 | Your choice at a Goddess Statue, four orbs per upgrade |
| The four Divine Beast bosses | 4 | A Heart Container each |
| The four Great Plateau shrines of The Champions’ Ballad (DLC) | 1 | Your choice |
The list of all 120 shrines and the shrine map show the ones you are missing. The bosses are on the Blights page, and the order to take the Divine Beasts in is on its own page.
Where do you trade Spirit Orbs?
Pray at any Goddess Statue with four Spirit Orbs. The first is in the Temple of Time on the Great Plateau, and the plateau’s four shrines give you exactly the four orbs for one upgrade. After that, the villages and towns you pass through each have one: Kakariko Village and Hateno Village are the first two on the main quest.
How do you swap hearts for stamina?
The Horned Statue in Hateno Village trades them.
- Go to Hateno Village. The statue stands on the path that leads to Firly Pond. A village boy, Teebo, offers to show you something and walks you to it.
- Pray to the statue. It takes one of your essences, a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel, and the side quest The Statue’s Bargain begins. You need at least one upgrade for it to deal with you at all.
- Pray again and ask for it back. You choose which of the two it returns, and the quest ends.
From then on the statue works as a shop:
| Action | Rupees |
|---|---|
| Sell one Heart Container or Stamina Vessel | +100 |
| Buy one back, your choice of the two | −120 |
| Net cost of moving one upgrade | 20 |
It will not take you below three hearts or one stamina wheel. Moving five upgrades, a whole wheel, costs 100 rupees in all; ways to earn that are on the rupee farming page.
Can food stand in for upgrades?
For a while, yes:
| Effect | What it does | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Hearty | Refills all hearts and adds temporary yellow hearts | Hearty recipes |
| Enduring | Refills stamina and adds temporary yellow stamina | Enduring recipes |
| Energizing | Refills part of the stamina wheel | Energizing recipes |
Yellow hearts and yellow stamina disappear once used, and yellow hearts do not count for the Master Sword.
See also
Just starting? The beginner tips page lists what to do first after the Great Plateau.
FAQ
Should I get hearts or stamina first in Breath of the Wild?
How many hearts do you need for the Master Sword in Breath of the Wild?
What is the maximum number of hearts and stamina in Breath of the Wild?
Where do you upgrade hearts and stamina?
Where is the Horned Statue in Breath of the Wild?
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