I did like a… 3 stamina to 1 heart ratio or something? Tried not to rush hearts so the game wouldn’t become a cake walk. In BotW I think I only added 3 hearts before maxing stamina all the way but there’s a lot harder content early on in TotK for me (it’s either boss variety or possibly because I’m expanding out way quicker because I know the map). So for TotK it was a ratio. I’m at max stamina now but I have like 8-9 hearts I think.
Ratio is not a bad idea! I decided to add some health after my first complete stamina wheel because I came across some content that I was no way prepared for such as:
spoiler
the lynel colosseum and three headed thing
All in all, wouldn't have it any other way. I know eventually I'll get enough health to have breeze throughout so I'm enjoying the challenge rn!
Stamina all the way until full, both games. I hate failing to get somewhere due to lack of stamina and food to compensate.
However, since I hit max stamina, I never actually need it all in totk, so if there's a master mode down the line making me replay the whole game, I'll probably stop at 2 wheels then hearts to stop getting one shot earlier.
On totk I boosted stamina first. I just got annoyed with how far I couldn't get with the glider in the sky. Turns out it was useful for spoiler reasons!
I went for stamina because of a huge emphasis on exploration. I found botw to be a bit frustrating because I was limited by my stamina so I forgone my health to complete a stamina wheel. I'm working on health since 2 wheels seems enough before cooking.
Also it forces me to find alternative strategies for combat such as stealth, weapon building, and cooking. Honestly, with the time saved in exploration but spent in preparing for combat, I'd say it balances out.
Over the course of my playthroughs, I usually upgrade stamina about once per two hearts - though I've gotten good enough at the game at this point that I could probably do one-to-one instead.
I like stamina to make exploration more comfortable, and you don't need hearts if you don't get hit! Of course, I do get hit so after filling out the first stamina wheel I went up to ~10 hearts, then another stamina wheel. I don't remember what I did in BotW but probably something similar.