How to Increase Hearts and Stamina in Tears of the Kingdom

Learn how to get more Hearts and Stamina Vessels in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom by completing Shrines and exchanging Light of Blessings at Goddess Statues.

Alright, so you've just started up The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and you're probably feeling a bit squishy with only 3 Heart Containers and one measly wheel of Stamina. Getting around will feel slow, and enemies can take you down in a flash. Don't worry, though – this is totally normal! Just like in Breath of the Wild, you can boost both your health and your stamina.

The key to getting stronger is collecting Light of Blessings. You get these by completing the many Shrines scattered all over Hyrule. There are over 100 of them, and you can spot them from a distance by their distinctive green glow. Inside each Shrine, you'll usually need to solve a puzzle that tests one of Link's abilities, like Ascend or Fuse. Once you beat the puzzle, you'll get a Light of Blessing from the Statue at the end.

Now, to actually use those Lights of Blessings, you'll need to find a Goddess Statue. These are usually found in settlements across Hyrule. For the early game, the easiest one to get to is right in the Emergency Shelter at Lookout Landing. Once you find a Goddess Statue, just interact with it.

Here's the important part: when you interact with the Goddess Statue, you'll get a choice. You can either take a Heart Container, which permanently increases your maximum health by one, or a Stamina Vessel, which adds a quarter of a new Stamina Wheel. Keep in mind that you'll need to collect four Light of Blessings to get one upgrade, so you'll need to do a few Shrines before you can even get your first full Stamina Wheel.

The game lets you have up to 40 Hearts and 3 full Stamina Wheels. Most players find it best to keep things balanced. A good strategy is to alternate between getting a Heart Container and a Stamina Vessel. This way, you'll be able to take more hits while also having enough stamina to explore and fight effectively throughout your adventure.