Somehow, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom feels even tougher than Breath of the Wild did, especially given the new enemy types and the introduction of so many more dangerous areas like the Depths.
So, players are going to need a lot more than just a lot of Stamina to get through their Tears of the Kingdom adventure, at least if they wanna do a bit more than run away from every fight. When it comes to Heart Containers specifically, what's the max Link can expect to obtain?
Maximum Amount Of Hearts Possible
Currently, as of May 31st, 2023, the maximum amount of both resources Link has are 40 Hearts and 3 full Stamina Wheels. But, players right now can only get 38 Heart Containers without sacrificing some Stamina to the Forbidden Horned Statue underneath Lookout Landing. Additionally, while the Link in the introduction of the game has only 30 Hearts, this is a reference to the fact that the original max HP in Breath of the Wild was only 30, and it's jumped up by about 10 in Link's newest adventure.
How To Get To 40 Hearts
But, how are players actually supposed to get to 40 Heart Containers? What steps does it entail? Let's go over every source for Heart Containers:
- 152 Shrines in the game which means 152 Blessings of Light to offer up at Goddess Statues across Hyrule. Divide that by 4 and that equals 38 upgrades to either Stamina or Health.
- A full Heart Container from each of the 5 Temple Bosses (as well as the boss in Hyrule Castle during the 'Crisis at Hyrule Castle Part 2' Main Story Quest) for a total of 6 more Hearts.
- 1 Stamina or Health Upgrade as a reward for the 'Call from the Depths' Side Quest.
Just to break it all down with a bit of quick math; every ring of Stamina requires 5 upgrades and the max is 3 Stamina Wheels total which means 10 of the 39 upgrade choices between Health and Stamina are dedicated to Stamina. Then, take the remaining 29 Shrine/Optional upgrades and the 6 Containers gained as part of the story, and that adds up to 38 Hearts since Link starts with 3.
After all that's done, simply trade half of a Stamina Wheel for 2 Hearts at the Forbidden Horned Statue and players will end up with 40 Hearts and 2 and a half Stamina Wheels. Thankfully, if a player does trade some Stamina for Hearts and decides they don't like it, it's very easy to switch back at the Statue.
Why The Awkward-Looking 38 Instead Of An Even 40?
A lot of people have been getting confused with the amount of Health and Stamina Link has at the start of the game. Players have been complaining that it's odd Link starts with 40 Hearts and 3 full Wheels while in under Hyrule Castle with Zelda when that's just not true. Link has exactly 30 Hearts in this introduction scene, meaning he's actually missing out on 10 whole upgrades at this point in his life. Granted, that wouldn't have helped him against dehydrated Ganondorf's Gloom Attack, but it's worth pointing out.
Another thing worth pointing out is that the Yellow Temporary Heart Containers function the same way they did in Breath of the Wild when it comes to Max HP. If Link is at 38 Hearts he can, at max, get 2 Temp Hearts on top of it. But, if he's at 40, then any food that would normally give Temp Hearts will have no effect.
Nintendo likely has some DLC of some sort planned for the near future in Tears of the Kingdom. And, like with Breath of the Wild, those extra 8 Blessings of Lights or 2 Heart Containers will likely be obtainable after this DLC or future content update.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for the Nintendo Switch.