Horizon: Zero Dawn – Where to Find all 5 Power Cells

The best armor in Horizon Zero Dawn is locked behind a quest called The Armory, in which you need to find five Power Cells to complete. You can get it by finding the Bunker where the armor is located or your first Power Cell. This quest continues until pretty much the end of the game, and the places where you can find each Power Cell can be easy to miss.

Most of the Power Cells are tied to main quests you can only unlock as you progress in the story. Thankfully, though, you can return to all the locations after you’ve completed these quests if you missed one by accident. And once you have them all, you can get the Shield Weaver armor.

Updated November 1, 2024, by Emily Stander: Horizon Zero Dawn just got a Remastered release on PS5 and PC, which warranted a refresh for players old and new who want to know where to find Power Cells for the Shield Weaver armor. You can find your first Power Cell or get into the bunker where the armor is stored pretty early on in the game, so it’s important to know where to look for the Power Cells so you don’t miss any.

Horizon Zero Dawn – Power Cell #1: Underground Bunker

The first Power Cell can be found in the Underground Bunker Aloy explores when she’s a child in the prologue. Initially, you wouldn’t have been able to break the ice crystals to get into certain rooms in the bunker. But now that grown Aloy has her spear, you can go back to the bunker and find the first Power Cell.

This can be done pretty much when you’ve finished the game’s prologue when you first take control of Aloy in The Embrace before she heads to the Proving. Go inside the bunker and retrace your steps until you reach a closed door. Break it open, and continue forward until you climb the stairs to the offices in the bunker. At the top of these stairs is a room blocked by ice crystals on your right – break them with your spear, and you’ll find the Power Cell in this room.

Horizon Zero Dawn – Power Cell #2: All-Mother

The second Power Cell can be located after Aloy wakes up in All-Mother Mountain, just after the events of the Proving and during the In the Womb of the Mountain quest. When you regain control of Aloy, exit the room she’s in and find her equipment. A conversation with Teersa will start, and she’ll ask you to follow her deeper into the mountain, but before you do, go across the room and look for a door with a red ‘locked’ symbol on it.

Just left of this door is a small tunnel you can crawl through to get to the other side of the room, and it’s here where you’ll find the Power Cell. If you missed it during the Womb of the Mountain quest, don’t worry; you’ll be able to grab it when you return during The Heart of the Nora later in the story.

Horizon Zero Dawn – Power Cell #3: Maker’s End

Makers’ End is a large ruin in the north-western corner of the map and one of the major story points in Horizon Zero Dawn, where you start to find out what happened to the Old World. You’ll need to fight through some enemies and a derelict Deathbringer to get to it at first, and then you need to start climbing to the very top of the broken-down building.

When you reach Ted Faro’s office, near the end of the quest, before dropping to where you can see a large conference table, turn right and climb the small tower. The Power Cell is at the very top of this tower – just be careful not to fall.

Horizon Zero Dawn – Power Cell #4: The Grave Hoard

The Grave Hoard is the next major main quest you’ll get after completing Maker’s End, and it’s also the location of the next Power Cell. Thankfully, you don’t have to look too far to find this one. After you’ve explored for a bit, you’ll need to manually reset some electronic locks in order to move forward in the quest.

Once you’ve set the mechanisms and the door is open, you’ll be able to find the Power Cell on the other side on the left of the small corridor. It’s kind of hiding in a corner, just next to a resource box, and just before you need to fight Shadow Carja in the building.

Horizon Zero Dawn – Power Cell #5: GAIA Prime

The last Power Cell can be found in the second to last main quest in Horizon Zero Dawn, The Mountain That Fell. Getting up to GAIA Prime can be quite a mission because of all the machines in the way, and once you reach the top, be ready to take on a Stormbird. But, once you’ve successfully fought your way through, you’ll reach the top and climb up the side of the ruin, where you’ll find yourself in a little room Sylens has put together for himself.

Step inside to see Sylens waiting for you. Complete your conversation with him, then head through the doors. Before you follow the quest marker down into the ruin, though, follow the path to the end of this large room. Here, you’ll find the last Power Cell.

Horizon Zero Dawn – How to Get the Shield Weaver Armor

Once you’ve got all your Power Cells, you need to head to the Bunker in Nora Lands to unlock the Shield Weaver Armor. The bunker is hidden underneath a hill near where you first meet Nil, just across from the Nora Hunting Grounds. It should be marked on your map with the same symbol as all the other ruins in the game.

Jump from the top of the hill into the big hole to get into the bunker, then swim forward until you reach the room where the armor is locked. You won’t be able to get to the left side of the room just yet, as you need to use your first set of Power Cells to power up the door on the right.

Once you’ve got them in, you’ll need to solve a puzzle to get them in the right order and unlock the door. From left to right, the correct directions for the discs are: Up, Right, Down, Left, Up.

This will open the door to where the Shield Weaver Armor is stored, but you’ll still need to insert the Power Cells on the other side of the room to free it from its mechanism. Following the same puzzle above, the discs should be directed as: Right, Left, Up, Right, Left.

Once that’s done, the mechanism holding the Shield Weave armor will unlock, and you’ll be free to grab it. It adds an extra shield to your health bar, which will recharge after a time when it’s depleted. With that, you’ve unlocked the strongest armor in Horizon Zero Dawn, and you’ll be (nearly) unbeatable.