How to increase health & stamina in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Andrew Highton
heart container and stamina vessel in zelda tears of the kingdom

Link’s survival in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is paramount to saving Princess Zelda. If you want the heroic Link to endure and survive more punishment, then you’ll need more health and stamina.

For the longest time, Link has operated in The Legend of Zelda games under the basis of hearts. A simple UI detail that tells the player how much health our hero has. Recent games have also focused on stamina too, and these principles remain the same in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Whether you have the Archaic Tunic equipped or a set of Barbarian Armor, walloping Bokoblins can come at a price – health and stamina. It’s hard to imagine that you’ll go through Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom without losing health. Meaning, you’ll need to ensure you have plenty of hearts in reserve for such eventualities.

Not only that but having extra stamina is vital for running from tough enemies and ascending intimidating structures and surfaces.

link holding a heart container in zelda tears of the kingdom
You can’t go wrong with more health and stamina.

How to get more stamina and hearts in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The method to getting more health and stamina in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is exactly the same – earn 4 Lights of Blessings and exchange them with a Goddess Statue.

You learn relatively early on that you can earn a Light of Blessing by completing one of the game’s many Shrines. Each Shrine is usually a gauntlet of puzzles or tasks to complete, and at the end of one, you’ll receive a Light of Blessing.

So, complete four shrines, receive four blessings, and then take them to one of the game’s Goddess Statues to select one of two rewards – a health upgrade or a stamina upgrade.

Here’s a quick rundown to make things nice and easy for you:

  1. Find and complete a Shrine.
  2. Receive the Light of Blessing at the end of the trial.
  3. Repeat this process another three times.
  4. Once you have four, head to your nearest Goddess Statue.
  5. Select which of the two upgrades you want.
  6. Then keep repeating all the above steps until your health and stamina are maxed out.

If at any point you are unsatisfied with the decisions you have made, then you can always respec your health and stamina at a later stage.

For even more useful guides to help you in Hyrule, check out our other Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom articles:

Sky Islands map in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | All Geoglyph locations | Do weapons still break in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? | All Great Fairy Fountain locations | All Skyview Tower locations | How to get Zelda’s Golden Horse | Best place to farm Zonaite | How to increase your inventory slots in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | Bubbal Gem locations | Bargainer Statue locations | How to get Phantom Armor set | Where to get the Steering Wheel | How to respec Heart Containers and Stamina Vessels in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | How to get Autobuild | How to get Hylian Shield

About The Author

Andrew Highton is a former Games Writer for Dexerto. He has a Creative Writing degree from Liverpool John Moores University and has previously written for games websites such as Twinfinite and Keengamer. With 13,000+ PlayStation Trophies to his name, Andrew is a fan of a huge variety of video games, his favourites being God of War and Metal Gear Solid. Contact him at andrew.highton@dexerto.com, on Twitter @AndyHighton8 or at www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-highton.