Ocarina of Time Upgrades: Every Wallet, Bag, Tunic and Boot

Ocarina of Time scatters its upgrades across the whole map. The bigger Bomb Bag is a rolling Goron and a bowling alley, the quivers are two archery minigames, the Deku Stick upgrades are a shop behind a fight and a talent show for Deku Scrubs, and the wallets are a family of cursed spiders. Each of our guides covers its own corner of that map. This one puts the whole set in one place.

It covers two kinds of upgrade. Capacity upgrades raise how many Rupees, Bombs, seeds, arrows, sticks or nuts Link can carry, and there are twelve of them. Equipment upgrades change what Link can do: the two scales, the two tunics, the two pairs of boots and the three strength items. Every location and number below is from Zelda Wiki unless I say otherwise, and the capacities are also checked against the game's own upgrade table in the decompiled N64 code. This is the N64 and 3DS game; the Switch 2 remake's changes are at the end.

The one rule behind every capacity upgrade

Every capacity line in Ocarina of Time has a base size and two upgrades. For the five ammo lines (Bombs, seeds, arrows, sticks and nuts), the two upgrades come from two different places, and it does not matter which you do first. Whichever you claim first gives you the middle size; whichever you claim second gives you the largest. Zelda Wiki says so on the Bomb Bag, Quiver, Deku-Seed Bag and Deku Nut pages, and the decompiled code shows the mechanism for the stick and nut sources: the Business Scrubs and the Forest Stage both check your current size and hand over the next one.

That matters more than it sounds, because fixed labels are easy to find. Zelda Wiki's own Quiver table lists the Kakariko gallery as the 40-arrow prize and the horse range as the 50, two lines under a sentence saying the order is free, and its Deku Stick page calls the Business Scrub's upgrade the first and the Forest Stage's the second. Those labels are only true in that order. If you won the horse range first, it gave you 40 arrows, not 50, and nothing is wrong with your save.

The two wallets are the exception. They come from a single source, the House of Skulltula in Kakariko Village, at fixed token counts, so there is no order to choose.

All 12 capacity upgrades in one table

That is two wallet upgrades plus two each for five ammo lines: twelve. The sizes in the right-hand column match the game's upgrade table in the decompiled code (gUpgradeCapacities in z_inventory.c), which is where the Deku Stick base of 10 and middle size of 20 come from; Zelda Wiki only gives the 30-stick maximum.

Notice the last column. Eight of the twelve can be earned as child Link: both Bomb Bags, both Bullet Bags and all four stick and nut upgrades. Only the two quivers are adult-only, and the wallets come from tokens you can earn as either. If you pull the Master Sword and never go back, much of this table is waiting in a version of Hyrule you left behind. The Pedestal of Time takes you back whenever you like.

The child upgrades

Wallets. The Adult's Wallet (200 Rupees) is the 10-token reward at the House of Skulltula and the Giant's Wallet (500) is the 30-token reward. The token hunt itself, including which of the 100 spiders are child-only, is in our Gold Skulltula guide.

Bomb Bag. The base bag is the dungeon item of Dodongo's Cavern. One upgrade comes from the Hot Rodder Goron who rolls laps of Goron City as a child: Zelda Wiki says the Bomb has to stop him while he is inside the northern alcove, and our Goron City guide has the timing. The other is one of the prizes on the Bombchu Bowling Alley wheel in the Market, which our Castle Town Market guide explains in full, including how to read which prize is up next.

Bullet Bag. The Fairy Slingshot from Inside the Deku Tree comes with a 30-seed bag. One upgrade is the Slingshot target in the clearing to the right of the Lost Woods entrance, where you need three bullseyes in a row; the other is clearing all 10 targets at the Market Shooting Gallery. The Lost Woods guide and the Market guide cover each. The Slingshot is a child item, and the Market gallery is a child-era game: Zelda Wiki says the gallery moves to Kakariko after the seven years and pays out quivers instead.

Deku Sticks and Deku Nuts. All four of these live in the Lost Woods. A Business Scrub in the woods sells the stick upgrade for 40 Rupees, and a second Business Scrub, in a grotto under a breakable boulder near the end of the woods, sells the nut upgrade for 40 more; Zelda Wiki notes you need the Bomb Bag to open that grotto. Business Scrubs only sell once you have beaten them. The other two come from the Forest Stage, a hole in the Lost Woods full of young Deku Scrubs: show up in the Skull Mask for the stick upgrade and the Mask of Truth for the nut upgrade. Both masks come from the Happy Mask Shop chain in our mask trading guide, and the Lost Woods guide has the route to every spot.

The adult upgrades

Quiver. The 30-arrow Quiver comes with the Fairy Bow, the Forest Temple's dungeon item. The two upgrades are both archery games. As adult Link, hit all 10 targets at the Shooting Gallery in Kakariko Village. Then, at the Horseback Archery Range behind Gerudo's Fortress, score at least 1,500 points. The range needs Epona, and its 1,000-point prize is a Piece of Heart, so it takes two runs; our Epona guide has the detail.

That is the whole adult list for capacity. Everything else adult Link earns is the equipment below.

The one upgrade with a deadline

On the Nintendo 64 version, one capacity upgrade can be lost for good. Zelda Wiki's Deku Nut page says that if you have not taken the Mask of Truth to the Forest Stage before you receive the Poacher's Saw in the Biggoron's Sword trading quest, the Forest Stage nut upgrade becomes impossible to get. It is a glitch, and the wiki says Ocarina of Time 3D fixed it. Our mask trading guide explains the cause.

So the order is: finish the masks, wear the Mask of Truth at the Forest Stage, and only then start the Biggoron's Sword trade. The Business Scrub's nut upgrade in the grotto is not affected, so a missed Forest Stage visit costs you the jump from 30 to 40 nuts, not both upgrades. I could not find any other upgrade on these pages that can be lost.

Scales, tunics, boots and strength

These do not raise a number. They unlock places.

Diving: Silver and Golden Scale

Zelda Wiki puts Link's unassisted dive at three seconds, or three meters. The Silver Scale doubles that to six meters. It is the prize for the Diving Game at the top of the waterfall in Zora's Domain: collect all of the Blue Rupees the Zora throws before time runs out. The wiki gives the price as 20 Rupees a go on N64 and 3DS. It is not optional, because the Silver Scale is how you reach the letter in a bottle that opens the way to Jabu-Jabu, which our bottle guide covers.

The Golden Scale is the adult prize at the Fishing Pond: set a new adult record with a fish of at least 13 pounds. That bar is from the decompiled fishing code, which only hands over the scale when the new record reaches it; a smaller record catch does not win it. Zelda Wiki says it lets Link dive further than the Silver Scale, without giving a depth. What it buys you is specific: per Zelda Wiki's Lakeside Laboratory page, with it Link can touch the bottom of the scientist's pool, and the scientist pays a Piece of Heart. Our Heart Piece guide lists the other deep-water piece.

Tunics: Goron and Zora

Both tunics are adult-sized, and both have a free source and a paid one.

• Goron Tunic. Darunia's son, named Link after you, rolls around an empty Goron City in the adult era. Stop him and talk to him, and he gives you the tunic free; the Goron City guide has how. The Goron Shop also sells it for 200 Rupees, and Zelda Wiki notes it is the only place to get it back if a Like Like takes yours. As an adult, the shop stays closed until you have stopped and talked to him. It is what makes Death Mountain Crater and the Fire Temple survivable, and the wiki adds that it lets Link cross lava tiles.
• Zora Tunic. King Zora gives it to you once you thaw him from the Red Ice with Blue Fire from the Ice Cavern. The Zora Shop sells it for 300 Rupees, but as an adult the shop door is iced over too, so you need Blue Fire either way. Zelda Wiki says it lets Link breathe underwater and gives no defence bonus.

Boots: Iron and Hover

The Iron Boots are the Ice Cavern's reward, given after you beat a White Wolfos. They make Link slow and let him sink to the bottom of water. Without the Zora Tunic a timer runs and Link drowns when it ends, so the boots and the tunic are a pair. Zelda Wiki lists two uses: the deep water of the Water Temple, where they are required, and walking against the fans in the Shadow Temple.

The Hover Boots are the Shadow Temple's dungeon item, behind a fake wall you find with the Lens of Truth and won after beating Dead Hand. Link can walk briefly over gaps and water in them, but they have no traction, so he slides. Zelda Wiki also says they stop Link sinking into the sand of the Haunted Wasteland and the Desert Colossus, and stop the sinking platforms in the fire barrier of Ganon's Castle from going down.

Strength: Bracelet to Golden Gauntlets

Strength is three items in a row, one per tier.

1. Goron's Bracelet (child). Darunia gives it to you once you play Zelda's Lullaby to open his room and Saria's Song to calm him down. Zelda Wiki says it only lets Link pick up Bomb Flowers and uproot bushes, which is enough to open Dodongo's Cavern. Link stops wearing it as an adult.
2. Silver Gauntlets (picked up as a child, used as an adult). They are in the Spirit Temple, at the end of the child half, the favour Nabooru asks of you. Child Link carries them out, but he only puts them on as an adult. Then they push the heavy block that opens the rest of the temple and lift large grey rocks. They cannot lift Monoliths.
3. Golden Gauntlets (adult). Zelda Wiki places them in the Shadow Barrier room of Ganon's Castle. They lift the black stone Monoliths: one blocks the door to the Light Barrier, and one outside the castle hides the Great Fairy of Courage, who halves the damage you take. Our Great Fairies guide covers that last detour.

The Silver Gauntlets are the one to watch. They live in an adult dungeon but you have to collect them as a child, with the Requiem of Spirit, so a player who never goes back in time stalls at the Spirit Temple's heavy block.

What changes on 3DS and Switch 2

Ocarina of Time 3D. Zelda Wiki says the Iron Boots and Hover Boots became items instead of equipment, so you put them on with a button rather than through the gear menu. The Forest Stage nut bug is fixed. The capacities and sources above are the same.

The Switch 2 remake changes several numbers. These are the ones Zelda Wiki documents on the item and minigame pages cited here:

For the remake, the Deku-Nut Bag pages give the same 20 / 30 / 40 sizes and the same two Lost Woods sources, and the Deku-Seed Bag page lists the same two seed-bag sources. For the rest of the remake's collectible changes, see our remake collectibles guide and the Switch 2 remake overview.

Quick Action Checklist

• Every ammo upgrade is order-free: the first one you claim gives the middle size, the second gives the max.
• Bring 40 Rupees for each of the stick and nut Business Scrubs; the Adult's Wallet (200 Rupees) is the 10-token reward.
• As a child after Dodongo's Cavern: Bomb the rolling Goron in Goron City and win the Bombchu Bowling Bomb Bag.
• As a child: three bullseyes at the Lost Woods target and all 10 targets at the Market Shooting Gallery for 50 seeds.
• In the Lost Woods: buy from both Business Scrubs, and visit the Forest Stage in the Skull Mask and the Mask of Truth.
• On N64, wear the Mask of Truth at the Forest Stage before taking the Poacher's Saw.
• As an adult: all 10 targets at the Kakariko Shooting Gallery and 1,500 points on Epona for 50 arrows.
• Win the Silver Scale at the Zora's Domain Diving Game; the Golden Scale is the adult Fishing Pond prize.
• Take both tunics for free: stop Link the Goron, and thaw King Zora with Blue Fire.
• Pick up the Silver Gauntlets as a child in the Spirit Temple; the Golden Gauntlets are in Ganon's Castle.