By this point, it’s a Zelda tradition to have Link begin his quest relatively weak. He will oftentimes only have three heart pieces, few weapons (if any), and can be killed fairly easily if you don’t know what you’re doing. That weakness was emphasized in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild where Link’s three hearts could be taken out easily by a tough enemy in one or two hits, and the Stamina bar that Link had would only allow him to run or climb for a little bit. Those mechanics have carried over to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, so here is how to increase your health and stamina as you progress through the game.
Use Lights of Blessing to Increase Health and Stamina in Tears of The Kingdom
In order to increase your health and stamina in Tears of the Kingdom, like with its predecessor, you’re going to have to complete Shrines. Much like the Shrines in Breath of the Wild, they are dotted all across the world and have a variety of challenges and puzzles within them for you to tackle. Once you’ve completed a Shrine, you’ll be awarded with a Light of Blessing. In order to upgrade either your stamina or health, you’ll first need to collect four Lights of Blessing.
You’ll then have to track down a Goddess Statue, which can be found throughout Hyrule in various locations. If you’re able to get an upgrade, the statue will have a faint light surrounding it. You can then approach it, and it’ll ask you whether you want a stamina upgrade or a health upgrade. If you get a health upgrade, you’ll get a new heart, up to a max of 30. If you get stamina, you’ll get a fifth of a stamina wheel, up to a max of three wheels.
Personally, I would recommend alternating between filling your heart containers and your stamina wheel. Even inside of the tutorial area, the Great Sky Island, there are enemies that can take away almost all of your health in a single hit, so getting your health bar up to a decent size is essential. At the same time, stamina will allow you to run and climb up walls, so the larger your stamina bar, the more you can run and the higher walls you can climb. I find that, if you invest too much in one, you’ll pay for it either in combat encounters or when exploring the world. If you want to survive in Hyrule, balance is key.
That is everything you need to know about how to increase your health and stamina with Lights of Blessing at the Goddess Statues in Tears of the Kingdom! For more early-game tips, you can get a refresher on how to remove map pins, how to fuse arrows with items, or how to use the Zonai Wing.