- "You can climb walls covered in vines, but doing so will slowly deplete your stamina gauge."
- — Fi
The Stamina Gauge from Skyward Sword
The Stamina Gauge is a game mechanic from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It is also known as Stamina Wheel in Breath of the Wild. It is a circular green gauge that determines the amount of stamina Link has at his disposal. When Link is performing strenuous activities such as running, rolling, climbing, or performing certain sword techniques, the gauge will be drained. When not in use, the Stamina Gauge slowly refills itself over time. The Stamina Gauge may also be completely refilled by collecting Stamina Fruit.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword[]
As stamina is spent, Link's breath becomes more labored. When the gauge is completely drained, Link will be exhausted for a short while, preventing him from using any weapons or items until the gauge refills, leaving him defenseless if in battle. If Link is climbing vines or on a ledge when his gauge is emptied, he will fall off. If Link consumes a bottle of Stamina Potion, the rate at which his stamina is drained is slowed down considerably. If upgraded into a Stamina Potion+, the gauge sustains no drain at all. The effects of either potion last for three minutes, though this can be doubled with the help of the Potion Medal.
If a Guay defecates on Link, his Stamina will be slowly drained. When the gauge is completely empty, Link will shake off the Guay's droppings, and his gauge will refill. Another way he will lose stamina from an enemy is getting bitten by a Walltula. The Walltula will make Link's stamina decrease about twice the speed.
When underwater, a gauge similar to the Stamina Gauge appears beside Link, blue rather than green. It drains far slower than the Stamina Gauge when Link is swimming regularly. When Link performs a Spin Attack, about one eighth of the blue gauge is depleted. When in areas where Link swims for long periods of time, such as Lake Floria, there are usually oxygen bubbles that act like Stamina Fruit, completely replenishing the blue gauge. There is also a purple variety of these bubbles that, when Link runs into them, do not replenish the blue gauge, but drain more than half of it. There is an Air Potion that, just like the Stamina Potion, makes the blue gauge deplete more slowly. If upgraded into an Air Potion+, the blue gauge will not drain at all. The effect of both potions lasts for three minutes, which, like the Stamina Potion, can be doubled if Link if carrying the Potion Medal.
While sailing Skipper's Motorboat on the Lanayru Sand Sea, a functional equivalent to the Stamina Gauge appears in the shape of a boat's steering wheel. However, this gauge depletes half as quickly as Link's stamina gauge, and since the boat's only special action is acceleration, the meter only ever depletes gradually. However, like Link's stamina gauge, when the gauge is empty the Motorboat will be unable to accelerate until the gauge refills. The Motorboat's gauge refills twice as quickly as Link's Stamina.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild[]
A fully upgraded Stamina Gauge from Breath of the Wild
The Stamina Wheel returns in Breath of the Wild. It functions identically to the gauge in Skyward Sword, as stamina is drained when Link climbs, sprints, swims, uses certain attacks, and drifts with the Paraglider. If Link runs out of stamina while certain activities, it would result in him dropping from it: he would fall from wherever he is climbing (except ladders), he would drown and return to dry land with one less heart, and he would cease using the Paraglider and fall immediately. It can be replenished with certain consumables. Like the obtained Heart Containers increasing the number of hearts, each Stamina Vessel received will increase the Stamina Wheel with an additional part of one fifth of a wheel, and they can be obtained by offering four Spirit Orbs to a Goddess Statue.
Similarly, horses that Link can ride also have a certain amount of stamina, with five being the maximum amount that a horse can have (without the use of the DLC Ancient Bridle). The number of stars amounts to the number of times that Link can increase the horse's speed when at full gallop. Horses with broken coat colours (patches of white) will usually have only two to three stamina stars, whereas horses with solid coat colours will have four or even five. The Giant Horse is an exception to this rule with no stamina stars at all, meaning that its gallop is its top speed; it will, however, maintain that speed. Undead Stalhorses may also be ridden, and come equipped with three stars of stamina. The ethereal Lord of the Mountain, another rideable creature, shows five stars of stamina, however, the first star is almost instantly replenished, therefore giving the noble creature infinite stamina. All of these animals may have their stamina increased with Endura Carrots. Other rideable creatures, such as bears and deer, have no stamina and therefore have only two gaits - walk and a form of galloping unique to each creature.