Link can increase his HP by collecting Heart Containers, or he can increase his Stamina by collecting Stamina Vessels. Unlike previous Zelda games, Breath of the Wild doesn’t have heart shards. Instead, players will need to collect special items called Spirit Orbs.
Although Link can obtain a total of four heart containers for each beast in “Breath of the Wild”, the stamina container can only be expanded through spirit balls. Once Link has four soul orbs, he can exchange them for a heart container or stamina container at any goddess statue. Link can have a total of 30 hearts, but he doesn’t get three stamina rounds. If Link has three stamina rounds, he can only have 27 hearts. Players may wonder which of the two is the better choice.
where to get soul orbs
If the player has left the Great Plateau, then they should know that Orbs can only be obtained by completing the Shrine. There are 120 temples in Breath of the Wild. Most of them have trials, but some are locked behind the shrine quest, while others allow Link to walk right in and get a soul orb.
If the player owns the Champions’ Ballad DLC, after Link liberates all four mythical beasts, a different type of temple will appear. The monks in these temples will reward Link with a beast badge, three for each beast. Badges cannot be exchanged for Heart Containers or Stamina Containers. The EX Champion side quest requires badges and is separate from the 120 shrines around Hyrule.
Heart container or stamina container?
After Link has 4 orbs, pray to any goddess statue in any village/city. There are no goddess statues for stables and mythical beasts. If Link has enough orbs, the Goddess Statue will let Link choose between a stamina container or a heart container.
If Link has 30 hearts or 3 stamina rounds, the statue tells Link that he can no longer pray for more HP or stamina respectively. If this happens, any Orbs gained from remaining Shrines will need to go to Heart Containers or Stamina Wheels, depending on how much HP/Stamina the player already has.
Some meals and elixirs will have yellow hearts/yellow stamina wheels (temporary hearts/temporary stamina) as their tag effects. These stack up to 10 hearts or up to 2 stamina rounds. Temporary hearts and stamina cannot be restored with normal meals or elixirs.
Also, it is impossible to have 30 hearts and 3 stamina rounds. Link can have 27 hearts and 3 stamina rounds, or 30 hearts and 2 and a half stamina rounds. So the decision will come down to does player : have more HP or is Stamina better?
Here are the pros and cons of each:
heart container
advantage
shortcoming
More health means less reliance on HP recovery items. There are more recipes to restore HP than Stamina.
Less stamina means Link will tire faster when gliding, climbing, swimming, or using charged attacks. HP does not recover over time. Certain shrine quests will be more challenging with less stamina.
stamina container
advantage
shortcoming
Link can climb/paraglider/swim longer with more stamina. Stamina regenerates when Link walks or stands still.
The reduced HP means that Link may need to rely more on HP recovery meals/elixirs. There are more recipes that give Link temporary hearts than temporary stamina. Recipes that restore stamina are usually limited to elixirs or require very specific food ingredients.
Since Breath of the Wild is open world, stamina containers are a better choice. Players will spend most of their game time climbing and paragliding. Sheikah Towers are easier to activate with more Stamina Wheels than with more Hearts.
Can heart containers and stamina containers be swapped?
If the player accidentally regrets their decision, they can exchange a container of hearts for a container of stamina and vice versa. To do this, they need to talk to the Horned Statue in Hateno Village. The statue is located on the north side of the Firly Pond, from Link’s house across the bridge to the village of Hateno.
When the player first talks to the Horned Statue, it will take one of their Heart Containers. This will unlock the side quest “The Statue’s Trade”. Don’t panic when you need a heart. Just talk to the statue again and choose “Return it”. The Horned Statue will return the heart, but then it will offer to trade Stamina for one of Link’s heart containers. If players are happy with what they have, they can choose to decline. After the first trade with the Horned Statue, subsequent trades cost 100 rupees.
The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild is available for Nintendo Switch.