There's a lot of different armor to collect in Horizon: Zero Dawn, each focusing on a particular playstyle. All pale in comparison to the Shield Weaver armor, the ultimate protection kit. And like all endgame gear, it's locked behind an ancient door that needs five power cells to open.
These Power Cells are scattered and hidden throughout the Horizon Zero Dawn map. Many of them are in places related to history. You'll be done with most of the game by the time you get your hands on all five cells and the Shield Weaver armor, but it will be worth it.
The Shield Weaver armor is important because it generates a force field, granting you an extra health bar that must be depleted before taking a single point of damage. It also has a fast cooldown, so only the most reckless hunter will leave a fight with as much as a scratch. The promotional images for The Frozen Wilds feature it for a reason.
This guide will show you where to find every Power Cell in Horizon Zero Dawn, and how far you need to be in the game to acquire them.
You don't need to start the Shield Weaver armor quest to collect the Power Cells; you just have to do it to get the armor. You will be able to access the Power Cells once you get out of the Embrace, which you will do after Proving and a big fight with a Corruptor machine.
Once you're outside the gates, talk to a hunter named Varl, and he'll put you through the main quest.
First Power Cell Location: Ruins in Embrace
The first Power Cell is located in the ruined bunker you visit when Aloy is a child. You can revisit this area once you have access to the Embrace as an adult. Specifically, the ruins are here:
The ruins are not difficult to access, as the Embrace does not house any dangerous machinery. These ruins should already be on your map. Head to the southernmost part of the area until you come across a hole in the ground surrounded by trees on three sides. You'll know it because several steep tree stumps flank the entrance.
Drop down into the hole and you'll find yourself at the start of the bunker where Aloy first found her Focus Tool.
Proceed as you did before. You'll come across a set of doors that you can now open with your spear, the ones kid Aloy walked through in the intro.
From these doors, continue through the facility, down a flight of stairs, and up those beyond. You'll pass two sets of stalactites, both of which are breakable now and lead to supply rooms. The first one you'll come across isn't the one you're looking for, but it will give you a good head start on crafting materials.
Once you've climbed the second set of stairs and near the room with the power cell, Aloy will say something about getting through the barrier now. The Power Cell itself is the green loot icon just beyond the icicles.
It's a simple matter of breaking the barrier and picking up the item. There is a large amount of additional materials and consumables in nearby supply crates.
For easy reference, here is the map of the ruins with the location of the power cell. The Power Cell itself is near the end of the area if you use the ruin icon on the map, as this entrance puts you near the last part of Aloy's journey through the complex.
Second Power Cell Location: Mother's Heart Mountain
You'll find the second power cell near the end of the game's prologue. After the demo, you'll begin a quest called The Belly of the Mountain. Aloy wakes up inside the mountain at the back of Mother's Heart settlement.
If you tackle the power cell during the Womb of the Mountain quest, you will leave the chamber and go through a pair of mechanical doors. After the second gate, you will come to an intersection. You will then turn to the hallway on the right. Light cascades through the door, there is a large stack of crates to its right.
Head into the room beyond and you'll notice a vent-like tunnel to your left. Go inside.
There are no other paths through the vent, so you'll eventually head into a large room where you'll find the power cell out in the open.
Third Power Cell Location: Maker's End
The third power cell can be found at the top of Maker's End, which you will visit as part of the "Maker's End" mission. The ruin is in the most northwestern part of the map, hidden in an ancient complex buried in a mountain. There is a Shell-Walker site nearby as well as a grassy field just south of it. Of the three northern piers on the map, Maker's End is the leftmost.
You'll make your way through an Eclipse camp before reaching the ruin. Follow the path to the left of the camp entrance to eventually reach a large clearing in the rubble. You're looking for a hole in the debris you can slip into using a button prompt. The hole is hard to miss: it's flanked by two icy steel walls with hanging icicles and descends into the darkness below.
Go down to the installation and continue with the initial mission settings.
If you return after the "Maker's End" quest, you are looking for a staircase leading to a long hallway with a bunch of open doors. The first opening on the left shows a yellow ladder going up. To climb up.
Keep going uphill crossing the different platform sections. You'll walk through a circular room and climb several sets of additional elevator shafts. Go to the top of each. Eventually you'll reach a set of purple lit hallways
You'll need to drop down the ledge and turn around to find your way past the first such room you reach, and the path is much less linear during this section. If you find yourself at an impasse, the way forward is probably behind you. Most hallways you'll want to walk through look like the image above.
The elevator shafts remain your main way to the top, and as you head to the higher parts of the tower, you'll eventually reach a large open office. It's covered in snow and has no roof, and there's a used but forgotten conference table in the center.
If you catch the Power Cell during the quest, there are story beats in this chamber that you'll want to experience. Once it's over, look above the elevator shaft you entered through to see a climbable part of the tower.
Climb up one last time and you'll stand on a small platform where the power cell is.
Fourth Power Cell Location: The Grave-Hoard
The fourth power cell can be found in the ruins of the Grave-Hoard which, like Maker's End and the fifth and final power cell, is only available once you have reached the appropriate point in the story. The "Grave-Hoard" mission. Surprise.
There are no Eclipse camps this time around, but the area near Grave-Hoard Ruin is home to some nasty machinery. The complex is on top of a large hill above a frozen lake. There's a campfire at the bottom of the hill and on the shore of the lake, and you'll need to head south to find the route up.
The path to the power cell is short, but that doesn't mean it's easy. There are three locked doors with circular puzzles to solve. Each of them opens a door that you need to progress. You will also need to slide two pipes as you would any other zipline.
At the bottom of the second pipeline, you will see an open door. The power cell is just beyond.
Fifth power cell location
As with most of the power cells in Horizon Zero Dawn, the fifth and final one is in a locked location behind a quest: this time in the ruins of GAIA Prime. You'll visit this endgame location as part of the "The Mountain That Fell" quest, and it's home to more nasty weather and machinery.
Reaching GAIA Prime is a test in itself, as Glinthawks and a Stormbird will make your life difficult. The nearest campfire is far from the mountain you have to climb, and the whole place is covered in a perpetual snowstorm. You'll also notice the endless ruined machinery surrounding you as you climb.
When you enter the complex, you immediately turn left and follow the path along the wall. You'll eventually reach another large open area with a pushback point directly in front of you. To be safe and make sure you get the power cell, don't go down immediately. Instead, look to your left.
Jump into the dark area under the zipline and you'll find a socket that will take you down the hallway to the power cell.
Climb up and you'll see a dark hallway ending in a small room. The last power cell awaits you there.
Unlock Weaver Shield Armor
Once you collect a Power Cell, you will have a quest marker for the location of the bunker. It's southwest of the Devil's Thirst Ruins but not very far.
You've come to the right place if you see a large hole in the ground with a broken power line tower grabbing the sky.
Jump down the hole and into the water. Collect the Metal Flower on your left, then head to where the armor is waiting for you – behind some doors.
In the bunker, to the right of the windows blocking your way to Shield Weaver, is a set of locks, two of which require power cells. Place your cells in the unpowered locks to activate the set.
A machine to their right will also light up. Scan it with your Focus to see a holo display with timestamps. These translate directly to the order and orientation of the locks to open the first door.
Lock times and rotations are:
- 12:00 p.m. (12:00 p.m.) – High
- 15:00 p.m. (15:00 p.m.) – Right
- 18h00 (18h00) - Bas
- 2100 (21:00 p.m.) – Left
- 0000 (12:00 AM) - Skin
The first and last locks are already in place, so all you have to do is twist the middle three.
Once the first door is opened, you will be face to face with the Shield Weaver armor, but you will not be able to access it. You need to place your remaining power cells to do this.
Head to the hallway beyond the armor to discover another set of circular locks. As before, they must be rotated in a specific order, again determined by a code on the nearby wall.
Angle values ​​and lock rotations are:
- 90 – Right
- 270 – Left
- 360 – High
- 450 – Right
- 630 – Left
Once done, the locks preventing you from Shield Weaver are now open. Go get the best armor in all of Horizon Zero Dawn. You'll need them for the final fight challenges, and definitely for Frozen Wilds. Enjoy the impressive look and almost unbalanced energy shield. For more on Horizon Zero Dawn, be sure to check out our guides hub!
