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Link can build up his HP by collecting Heart Containers, or he can increase his Stamina with Stamina Vessels. Unlike previous Legend of Zelda games, Breath of the Wild does not have Heart Pieces. Instead, players will need to collect special items called Spirit Orbs.
While Link can get a total of four Heart Containers per Divine Beast in Breath of the Wild, Stamina Vessels can only be expanded via Spirit Orbs. Once Link has four Spirit Orbs, he can trade them for a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel at any of the Goddess Statues. Link can have a total of 30 hearts, but he'll be unable to obtain three Stamina Wheels. If Link has three Stamina Wheels, he can only have a 27 Hearts. Players may be wondering which of the two is the better option.
Where to Get Spirit Orbs
If players have already left the Great Plateau, then they should know that Spirit Orbs are only obtained by completing Shrines. There are a total of 120 Shrines in Breath of the Wild. The majority of them have trials, but some are locked behind Shrine Quests while others allow Link to walk right in and get a Spirit Orb.
If players have the Champions' Ballad DLC, a different type of Shrine will appear after Link has liberated all four of the Divine Beasts. The monks in these Shrines will reward Link with a Divine Beast Emblem, three per beast. Emblems can't be traded for Heart Containers or Stamina Vessels. The Emblems are needed for the EX Champion sidequests and are separate from the 120 Shrines around Hyrule.
Heart Container or Stamina Vessel?
Once Link has four Spirit Orbs, pray to any of the Goddess Statues in any of the villages/cities. Stables and Divine Beasts do not have Goddess Statues. If Link has enough Orbs, the Goddess Statue will make Link choose between a Stamina Vessel or a Heart Container.
Should Link have 30 Hearts or 3 Stamina Wheels, then the Statue will tell Link that he can no longer pray for more HP or Stamina respectively. If this happens, any Orbs obtained from the 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 labeled effects. These can stack up to 10 Hearts or up to 2 Stamina Wheels . Temporary Hearts and Stamina can't be recovered via regular meals or elixirs .
Again, it's not possible to have 30 Hearts and 3 Stamina Wheels. Link can either have 27 Hearts and 3 Stamina Wheels, or he can have 30 Hearts and 2 and a half Stamina Wheels. Thus, the decision will come down to the player: Is it better to have more HP or Stamina?
Here are the pros and cons for each:
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Because Breath of the Wild is open-world, the Stamina Vessels are the better option. Players will spend the majority of their gameplay climbing and paragliding. It's also much easier to activate Sheikah Towers with more Stamina Wheels than it is with more Hearts.
Can You Exchange Heart Containers and Stamina Vessels?
If by some chance players regret their decision, they can exchange a Heart Container for a Stamina Vessel and vice versa. To do this, they'll need to speak to the Horned Statue in Hateno Village. The Statue is on the northern side Firly Pond, which is past the bridge from Link's house to Hateno Village.
When players first speak to the Horned Statue, it will take one of their Heart Containers. This will unlock the sidequest "The Statue's Bargain." Don't panic when it takes a Heart. Simply speak to the Statue again and select "Give it back." The Horned Statue will return the Heart, but it will then offer to trade a Stamina Wheel for one of Link's Heart Containers. Players have the option of declining if they're satisfied with what they have. After the first trade with the Horned Statue, future exchanges will cost 100 rupees.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available for Nintendo Switch.