You’re probably tired of Aloy getting knocked around by a single Ravager swipe. It happens. One minute you’re lining up a perfect Tearblast arrow, and the next, you’re staring at a "Game Over" screen because a stray Watcher kicked you in the ribs. Most players eventually stumble upon the Bunker in the Nora Sacred Lands—usually early on—and see that glowing, high-tech suit behind the glass. It’s the Shield-Weaver armor, the closest thing to "God Mode" you can get in this game without literally cheating. But to unlock it, you need to hunt down five specific items.
Finding every power cell in Horizon Zero Dawn is notoriously annoying if you don't know exactly where to look. They aren't just sitting in chests in the middle of a field; they’re tucked away in main quest locations, often at the very end of long, winding ruins that you might not want to backtrack through later. Honestly, it’s best to grab them while you’re already there for the story. If you missed them? Well, you’ve got some climbing to do.
The Frustrating Hunt for the Ancient Armory
The quest itself is called "Ancient Armory." It’s a bit of a tease. The game shows you the prize early on, but you can’t actually wear it until the final act of the story. That’s because the final power cell is locked behind a mission that happens right before the endgame.
Each power cell looks like a green, glowing cylinder. They don't take up inventory space in the traditional sense, so don't worry about clearing out your Blaze or Metal Shards to make room. When you find one, it stays in your "Special Items" tab. The real kicker is that the game doesn't give you map markers for these. You either explore every nook and cranny of the Old World ruins or you look up a guide. Most people choose the latter.
The First Cell: Underground Ruins (The Prologue)
Remember when Aloy was a kid and fell into that hole? The ruin is called "Eleuthia-9." You can go back there as an adult at any time. If you missed it during the intro, just fast-travel back to the starting area. You’ll need to navigate through the bunker until you find a doorway blocked by stalactites and stalagmites. You can't just walk through. You have to smash them with your spear.
Once you break through, the first power cell is just sitting on a desk. It’s simple, but it sets the tone for the rest of the hunt: look for the places that seem "off" or blocked by debris.
The Second Cell: All-Mother Mountain
This one is the biggest pain if you miss it. During the quest "The Womb of the Mountain," right after the Proving, you’ll wake up inside the mountain. Before you follow Teersa out to the main gate, you need to turn around. Look for a locked door with a red holographic interface. Most players think they can’t get in yet.
Wrong.
To the right of that locked door is a small ventilation duct. You can crouch and crawl through it. This leads you into the room behind the locked door where the power cell is waiting. If you miss this during the story mission, the doors to All-Mother are locked until very late in the game. You'll have to wait until the "Heart of the Nora" quest to get back inside, which is basically the end of the game. Get it now. Save yourself the headache.
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Climbing Maker’s End and The Grave-Hoard
As you progress through the story, you’ll start dealing with Faro Automated Solutions and the history of the "Metal Devils." This is where the difficulty spikes a bit.
The Third Cell: Maker’s End
When you reach the top of the Faro skyscraper during the "Maker’s End" quest, you’ll watch a long holographic recording of Ted Faro and Elisabet Sobeck. Most people watch the cutscene, loot the crates nearby, and then immediately fast-travel or rappell down. Don't do that.
Look up.
There is a literal spire extending even higher than the floor you are on. You have to climb the yellow handholds all the way to the very tip of the building. It’s a long climb, and the view is incredible, but the power cell is sitting right at the summit. It’s the highest point in the game. If you feel like you're about to fall off the edge of the world, you're probably going the right way.
The Fourth Cell: The Grave-Hoard
Thankfully, the one in "The Grave-Hoard" is much harder to miss. It’s located in the ruins of the US Robot Command center. As you’re following the main path, you’ll have to solve a few circuit puzzles (the ones where you rotate the rings). Once you open the main bunker doors, the power cell is basically right in your path. It’s on a ledge near some supply crates. If you’re the type of player who loots everything in sight, you’ll stumble over this one naturally.
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The Final Piece: GAIA Prime
You cannot get the fifth power cell in Horizon Zero Dawn until you reach the quest "The Mountain That Fell." This is deep into the main story. You’ll be exploring the ruins of GAIA Prime, the heart of the project that saved the world.
After you talk to Sylens in his workshop and prepare to head down into the ruins, you’ll reach a point where you’re supposed to rappell down a long drop. Stop. Instead of rappelling, look to the left. There is a small, easy-to-miss path that leads back into the mountain. It looks like a dead end, but there’s a hidden room back there. The final cell is inside.
Once you have all five, you have to go back to the Ancient Armory. You’ll need to solve two sets of ring puzzles. The first set asks for "military time" (24-hour clock) and the second set asks for degrees.
The solutions, just in case you don’t want to read the nearby data points:
- Right, Down, Left, Up, Right (for the first set).
- Right, Left, Up, Right, Left (for the second set).
Why the Shield-Weaver Changes Everything
The armor you get isn't just a cosmetic upgrade. It’s basically a rechargeable energy shield. Instead of losing health when a Thunderjaw hits you, the shield absorbs the damage. It turns blue when it's active and flashes red when it’s depleted.
It makes the "Ultra Hard" difficulty significantly more manageable. However, it’s not invincible. On higher difficulties, a single heavy hit from a Fireclaw or a Rockbreaker will deplete the shield instantly. You still need to dodge. But for general exploration and dealing with annoying groups of Glinthawks? It's a lifesaver.
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Some people argue that the Shield-Weaver ruins the "immersion" of the game because it makes Aloy look like a sci-fi soldier instead of a tribal hunter. If that bothers you, you can always use the "Transmog" feature if you're playing the Remastered or Complete Edition, keeping the stats while wearing your Nora Brave outfit.
A Note on Backtracking
If you finished the game and realized you missed a cell, don't panic. You can still go back to every single one of these locations. The only exception is the All-Mother Mountain cell, which is locked behind the "Heart of the Nora" progression. If you’ve finished that quest, the door is open for good.
Pro-tip: Use the Golden Fast Travel Pack. You’re going to be jumping across the map from the Nora lands to the Sundom to the frozen north. Buying the infinite fast travel pack from a merchant in Meridian early on makes this scavenger hunt 100% less tedious.
Practical Next Steps for the Completionist
- Check your inventory: Go to your "Special Items" tab. Count how many power cells you actually have. If you have two, you likely have the one from the ruins and All-Mother.
- Prioritize the Main Quest: Don't go looking for the GAIA Prime cell early. You physically cannot enter that area until the story allows it. Stick to the missions until you reach "The Mountain That Fell."
- Save your Metal Shards: You’ll need them for the Golden Fast Travel pack mentioned earlier. You need 50 Shards, 1 Fox Skin, and 10 Fatty Meat. It’s the best investment you’ll make in the game.
- Prepare for the Puzzles: When you finally get to the Ancient Armory bunker, look for the pink holographic displays. They give you the clues for the dial positions. If you're stuck, remember: the numbers usually represent the position on a clock or the degrees of a circle.
The Shield-Weaver isn't just about the defense; it's about the lore. Reading the data points in the armory explains exactly why that suit exists and what it was intended for during the "Enduring Victory" era. It bridges the gap between the primitive world Aloy lives in and the hyper-advanced tragedy of her ancestors. Grab those cells, get the armor, and go show those machines why humans are still at the top of the food chain.