How Many Heart Containers Does Breath of The Wild Have

Although The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the series’ most radical reinvention since the beginning of the 3D era, it still uses the traditional measure of health – Heart Containers. Full Heart Containers are typically awarded after boss battles, but with BOTW only having four prior to Calamity Ganon, the game lets players earn more through other means. Even though there are no Pieces of Heart in Breath of the Wild, players can still get Heart Containers piecemeal throughout the game in exchange for Spirit Orbs, and BOTW actually lets players get more Heart Containers than any other game in the Zelda series.

Players are able to acquire 30 maximum Heart Containers, even if they decide to ignore all of BOTW‘s Divine Beasts. Three are available from the beginning of the game, and the remaining 27 can be collected by trading for four Spirit Orbs each. A single Spirit Orb is given to players upon completion of one of the game’s many Ancient Shrines, meaning to get all 27 from Goddess Statues, players will have to conquer at least 108 Shrines. Each boss defeated in the Divine Beasts will also award players with a Heart Container, so only 23 need to be gotten from Goddess Statues in order to hit the maximum.

Getting a maximum 30 Heart Containers comes with a trade-off; there aren’t enough Spirit Orbs to also get the maximum three full Stamina Wheels, even with the Heart Containers from the Divine Beasts. Stamina is arguably more valuable than an abundance of health, and those focused on getting more Heart Containers may eventually wind up with insufficient stamina. If players find themselves regretting their decisions from consultation with the Goddess Statues, the Horned Statue near one of Link’s more livable Zelda homes in Hateno Village will let them trade Heart Containers for Stamina Vessels, and vice versa.

Breath Of The Wild’s DLC Has An Additional Heart Container

If players purchase The Champions’ Ballad, the second DLC pack for Breath of the Wild, they’ll have the opportunity to acquire one more Heart Container. The new quest adds 16 new Ancient Shrines to the game, four of which are located on the Great Plateau. The other twelve, located near the Divine Beasts across Hyrule, contain unique items required for the DLC story. The four on the Great Plateau, however, will give players four new Spirit Orbs, which can be traded to a Goddess Statue for another Heart Container or Stamina Vessel.

With the additional Spirit Orbs from the DLC, players can be short of the maximums by two Heart Containers, two Stamina Vessels, or one of each. Breath of the Wild departed from the series’ previous games by forcing players to complete puzzles and challenges to upgrade their health, prompting many to hope BOTW 2 features zero Ancient Shrines. The frustration is only increased by not being able to get both health and stamina to their highest simultaneously, but 30 Heart Containers in Breath of the Wild is more than enough to defeat Calamity Ganon.

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