Zelda: Skyward Sword HD - Every Item And Potion Upgrade

If you've already read our The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD treasure guide and bug guide you'll know where to find all the bits and pieces required in order to upgrade and max out Link's various items and potions.

Now we can take a look at what upgrades are available for each specific item, what infusions are available for each potion and how many treasures, bugs and Rupees you'll need to bring Rupin and Bertie at the Bazaar in order for them to carry out the work. Let's get upgrading!

Shield Upgrades

Each type of shield in the game can be upgraded in order to allow it to take more damage or, in the case of the Divine family of shields, slowly regenerate its durability. Your base Wooden Shield can be made stronger by reinforcing it to a Banded and then Braced Shield. Your Iron Shield can be Reinforced and then Fortified, and your Sacred Shield can be worked into both a Divine and Goddess version. Let's take a look at the various stages of Shield upgrade, how much they cost and what treasures you'll need to hand over to Rupin.

Wooden Shield Family

• Wooden Shield

Upgrades to: Banded Shield

Cost: 30 Rupees

Treasures Required: 2x Amber Relics - 1x Monster Claw - 1x Jelly Blob

• Banded Shield

Upgrades to: Braced Shield

Cost: 50 Rupees

Treasures Required: 2x Monster Claws - 3 Amber Relics - 2 Tumbleweeds - 1x Ornamental Skull

Iron Shield Family

• Iron Shield

Upgrades to: Reinforced Shield

Cost: 50 Rupees

Treasures Required: 2x Eldin Ores - 2x Ornamental Skulls - 2x Monster Claws

• Reinforced Shield
  

Upgrades to: Fortified Shield

Cost: 100 Rupees

Treasures Required: 3x Eldin Ores - 3x Monster Claws - 3x Tumbleweeds - 1x Blue Bird Feather

Sacred Shield Family

• Sacred Shield

Upgrades to: Divine Shield

Cost: 100 Rupees

Treasures Required: 3x Ornamental Skulls - 1x Dusk Relic - 2x Bird Feathers

• Divine Shield

Upgrades to: Goddess Shield

Cost: 150 Rupees

Treasures Required: 3x Monster Horns - 4x Dusk Relics - 3x Bird Feathers - 1x Blue Bird Feathers

Wallet Upgrades

Starting out in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, you'll only be able to hold a measly 300 Rupees in your base level wallet. However, the game has several upgrades ranging from this first wallet to a Tycoon Wallet that holds a whopping 9000 Rupees, a figure that can then be added to with a few extra wallet upgrades to bring that total to 9900 Rupees.

In order to upgrade your wallet through its various levels, you'll need to collect Gratitude Crystals - check out our Gratitude Crystal guide to find each and every one of these - and will need the full 80 crystals in order to top out at Tycoon Wallet.

As indicated in our Gratitude Crystals guide, you simply need to take your crystals to Batreaux at his hideout and he'll gift you with each wallet upgrade as you continue to deliver him crystals. Let's take a quick look at how many crystals each wallet will set you back.

Medium Wallet - 5 Gratitude Crystals

Big Wallet - 30 Gratitude Crystals

Giant Wallet - 50 Gratitude Crystals

Tycoon Wallet - 80 Gratitude Crystals

As for the extra wallets that fully max out your carrying capacity, you'll need to head over to Beedle's Airshop to pick these up for 100 Rupees each!

Item Upgrades

Each and every one of Link's various tools can be tricked out into a better version of itself. Let's take a look at how you can pimp out these most useful of items.

Beetle

Your trusty Beetle can be upgraded from its default version to a Quick Beetle for speedier traversal of spaces and then a Tough Beetle which can travel both faster and further. Here are the stages of progression for upgrading your Beetle.

• Hook Beetle

Upgrades to: Quick Beetle

Cost: 50 Rupees

Treasures Required: 2x Ancient Flowers - 2x Hornet Larvae - 1x Golden Skull

• Quick Beetle

Upgrades to: Tough Beetle

Cost: 50 Rupees

Treasures Required: 3x Ancient Flowers - 4x Amber Relics - 1x Blue Bird Feather - 1x Goddess Plume

Bug Net

You can transform your Bug Net from its default state to a Big Bug Net by handing in the following to Rupin.

• Bug Net

Upgrades to: Big Bug Net

Cost: 100 Rupees

Treasures Required: 3x Tumbleweeds - 2x Ancient Flowers - 1x Evil Crystal

Bow

Link's Bow can be upgraded from its vanilla state to an Iron Bow, which is more powerful and has a longer range, and a Sacred Bow which is enhanced by the power of the Goddess, enabling its arrows to travel far and strike down multiple enemies. Here are the various stages of upgrade for the Bow.

• Wooden Bow

Upgrades to: Iron Bow

Cost: 50 Rupees

Treasures Required: 3x Tumbleweeds - 3x Monster Claws - 2x Eldin Ores - 1x Evil Crystal

• Iron Bow

Upgrades to: Sacred Bow

Cost: 100 Rupees

Treasures Required: 5x Tumbleweeds - 3x Lizard Tails - 2x Evil Crystals - 1x Goddess Plume

Digging Mitts

Rather than paying out Rupees and handing over treasures to Rupin for an upgrade, your regular level Digging Mitts - which you'll receive from a Mogma in Eldin Volcano - will be automatically upgraded to Mogma Mitts later on in the game's story. Mogma Mitts enable you to both dig at spots for items and also tunnel right underground to find shortcuts, flip switches and fight centipedes!

Slingshot

The Slingshot, one of Link's most used items early in the game, can be upgraded to a Scattershot which is capable of firing multiple pumpkin seeds if you hold down the ZR button to charge it before releasing your shot.

• Slingshot

Upgrades to: Scattershot

Cost: 50 Rupees

Treasures Required: 2x Dusk Relics - 2x Amber Relics - 3x Jelly Blobs

Ammunition Upgrades

From your Bomb Bag to your Arrow Quiver and Satchel, all of your means of ammunition storage can be upgraded in order to hold more of their specific ammo type. Let's have a look at the upgrade paths for each one.

Seed Satchel

• Small Seed Satchel

Upgrades to: Medium Seed Satchel

Cost: 50 Rupees

Treasures Required: 4x Amber Relics - 3x Monster Claws - 3x Ornamental Skulls

• Medium Seed Satchel

Upgrades to: Large Seed Satchel

Cost: 100 Rupees

Treasures Required: 5x Amber Relics - 3x Monster Claws - 1x Golden Skull - 1x Blue Bird Feather

Bomb Bag

• Small Bomb Bag

Upgrades to: Medium Bomb Bag

Cost: 50 Rupees

Treasures Required: 1x Lizard Tail - 3x Ornamental Skulls - 1x Blue Bird Feather

• Medium Bomb Bag

Upgrades to: Large Bomb Bag

Cost: 100 Rupees

Treasures Required: 3x Lizard Tails - 4x Jelly Blobs - 2x Hornet Larvae - 1x Golden Skull

Quiver

• Small Quiver

Upgrades to: Medium Quiver

Cost: 50 Rupees

Treasures Required: 3x Monster Horns - 3x Dusk Relics - 5x Amber Relics

• Medium Quiver

Upgrades to: Large Quiver

Cost: 100 Rupees

Treasures Required: 2x Monster Horns - 3x Dusk Relics - 1x Golden Skull - 1x Goddess Plume

Potion Upgrades

In order to infuse your bog-standard potions and net yourself super-charged versions to imbibe when necessary you'll need to speak with Bertie at Luv and Bertie's Potion Shop in the Bazaar. Let's take a quick look at the infusions for each potion type, the specific bugs each infusion requires and how much they will set you back. Each infusion type comes in a + and ++ version, indicating 1 and 2 servings respectively.

Heart Potion

Heart Potion+ (Fully Restores Health)

Cost: 20 Rupees

Bugs Required: 3x Blessed Butterflies - 1x Volcanic Ladybug - 1x Woodland Rhino Beetle

Heart Potion++

Cost: 30 Rupees

Bugs Required: 3x Blessed Butterflies - 3x Deku Hornets - 1x Eldin Roller - 1x Sand Cicada

Revitalizing Potion

Revitalizing Potion+ (Auto-replenish your shield durability and restore eight hearts of health)

Cost: 20 Rupees

Bugs Required: 3x Deku Hornets - 2x Skyloft Mantises - 2x Woodland Rhino Beetles

Revitalizing Potion++ (2 servings)

Cost: 30 Rupees

Bugs Required: 3X Lanayru Ants - 2x Woodland Rhino Beetles - 1x Gerudo Dragonfly - 1x Sand Cicada

Stamina Potion

Stamina Potion+ (Instantly restores stamina gauge and keeps it at the maximum level for three minutes)

Cost: 20 Rupees

Bugs Required: 3x Volcanic Ladybug - 2x Sky Stag Beetles - 2x Gerudo Dragonflies - 1x Faron Grasshopper

Air Potion

Air Potion+ (Hold your breath underwater for three whole minutes)

Cost: 20 Rupees

Bugs Required: 2x Sky Stag Beetles - 2x Skyloft Mantises - 2x Lanayru Ants

Guardian Potion

Guardian Potion+ (Invincibility for three minutes)

Cost: 40 Rupees

Bugs Required: 1x Faron Grasshopper - 2x Eldin Roller - 3x Blessed Butterflies - 3x Starry Fireflies

Well, that's about it for this Item Upgrade Guide – why not jump back to our Zelda: Skyward Sword HD hub for more tips and help with the game?

There you'll find tips on the pros and cons of motion controls vs. analogue stick control, a list of the main differences between Skyward Sword on Switch and the Wii original, how to use the Zelda & Loftwing amiibo, where to find the Moonlight Merchant and the Thunder Dragon, and how to beat every boss and minigame.

You'll also find guides for all heart piece locations, all goddess cubes, and where to find every Gratitude Crystal, every upgrade treasure, every bug, and every potion recipe to fill your bottles with.