BOTW: How Many Hearts You Need To Get The Master Sword (2024)

The Master Sword in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can be found very early in a player's playthrough even if they don't have enough hearts to actually acquire it. All weapons have durability before they break, causing players to acquire new tools to defend themselves. However, the Master Sword in Breath of the Wild is coveted for being the exception to this rule and, instead, recharges after it becomes broken. Players can pull the Master Sword in BOTW only after obtaining a total of 13 full heart containers.

To find the Master Sword in BOTW, players must travel to the center of the Lost Woods. Here, the Master Sword is sitting on a pedestal, waiting for Link to wield it once more. Players can attempt to pull the Master Sword out immediately, but it will begin to drain life from them, and if Link hasn't collected enough hearts yet pulling the Master Sword out can literally kill him.

Related:

Normal Ways to Get Hearts for the Master Sword

Defeating Divine Beasts in BOTW and completing shrines are the main ways of gaining additional heart containers. Players can also exchange stamina for hearts, and vice versa, by speaking to the suspicious statue on the outskirts of Hateno Village. Shrine challenges reward Link with a Spirit Orb, and four of these can be offered to a Goddess statue to increase Link's heart containers or stamina wheel.

Players start with three hearts and must obtain 10 more before they can survive pulling out the Master Sword in Breath of the Wild. The weapon can fire a beam instead of being thrown while Link has full health, and has 30 attack power (which raises to 60 when fighting Calamity enemies). Players can not drop the weapon, but the Yiga Clan can steal the Master Sword from Link. Unfortunately, BOTW's Master Sword loses some value compared to past iterations because players can actually beat Calamity Ganon without using the weapon.

Heart Glitches to Get the Master Sword Early

There are also a few different ways players can utilize glitches in Breath of the Wild to get the Master Sword early. For anyone who doesn't want to take the time to collect enough hearts to get the Master Sword, it can be acquired by traveling to the Lost Woods at any point and building a campfire as close to the sword as possible. By interacting with the fire while looking in a specific direction, Link has a chance to get the Master Sword early without having it sap his heart energy. See this method in full in the YouTube video from Limcube below:

There is also a way to trick the Horned Statue in Hateno Village to giving Link an unlimited amount of hearts and stamina, which will let him get the Master Sword with ease. To perform BOTW's heart glitch, players should follow the steps outlined in the video from 100 Percent Zelda below:

More: Zelda BOTW: How to Get the Master Cycle Zero (Champions’ Ballad DLC)