Horizon Zero Dawn has an “Ancient Armory” quest for which you must find five power cells to complete. Finding the five power cells enables Aloy to unlock the Shield-Weaver armor. That’s the best piece of armor in the game; I’ll tell you more about it later. First, you must find five power cells within five Old World sites across the map by playing through the game. This is where you can find the five power cell locations in Horizon Zero Dawn.
Ruins
Ruins is the first Old World site you’ll become acquainted with at the beginning of the game when Aloy is a kid. Return to Ruins on the south of the map just east of All-Mother. Walk to the level-one Ruins location circled on the map directly below that’s close to the exit. You’ll need to smash through some stalagmites to access the room behind them that contains the green power cell box alongside other supplies.
The power cell location in Ruins
All-Mother
The All-Mother temple includes another power cell. To find this power cell location in Horizon Zero Dawn, head to the circled All-Mother location, shown on the map directly below. Take the first right turn after entering the temple and take the first left turn.
The power cell location in All-Mother
Now you’ll see a locked door that seemingly doesn’t open. To access the room behind the door, crouch and walk through the ventilation shaft on the wall beside it. Walk through that ventilation shaft to enter the room behind the door that includes the power cell.
Ted Faro’s Office in Faro’s Automated Solutions
This power cell location in Zero Dawn Horizon is in Ted Faro’s office on the highest twelfth floor of Faro’s Automated Solutions. If you haven’t been there already, you’ll need to go there to complete the “Maker’s End” main quest. To get this power cell, climb onto the ledge above the bunker door in Faro’s office. Climb up the wall shown in the snapshot directly below to reach a ledge that includes another power cell.
The wall you need to climb up in Faro’s office.
The Grave Hoard
This power cell location in Horizon Zero Dawn is relatively straightforward to find. You’ll find it in the Grave Hoard ruins at the map location circled directly below. It is directly behind the locked door you’ll need to open by solving the three spinning disc puzzles during the “Grave-Hoard” quest. #
The power cell location in Grave-Hoard
GAIA Prime
This fifth power cell location in Horizon Zero Dawn is on level three of GAIA Prime, circled on the map directly below. GAIA Prime is a location you’ll go to on the “Mountain That Fell” quest near the end of the game. So, play through the game more if you haven’t been to GAIA’s Prime yet.
The power cell location in GAIA Prime
During that quest, you’ll need to rappel down to the snowy ground on level three of GAIA’s Prime. After rappelling down, turn toward the cliffside to find the climbing hooks shown in the snapshot below. Climb the cliff with those hooks to reach a room cave to pick up the power cell on a shelf.
The cliff you’ll need to climb to reach the power cell.
There’s also an interactive Horizon Zero Dawn map that shows the locations of the power cells. Open this Horizon Zero Dawn map page to see where they are. Click Hide All to remove everything from that map and select Power Cell on its sidebar.
How to Complete the “Ancient Armory” Quest
You can now power up the door controls with the five power cells to complete the “Ancient Armory” quest. Head to the location marker for the Ancient Armory quest. There you’ll need to drop down into the water of a cave and proceed to enter the underground ruins from there.
You’ll see the Shield-Weaver armor behind windows after entering the ruins. To access it, you’ll need to power up two bunker doors with the power cells and unlock them. Place two power cells into the breakers of the first bunker door.
The power cell breakers for a door
You’ll then see time codes that hint at the direction you need to turn the holo locks to unlock the first door. Those hints are the 24-hour clock times 1200, 1500, 1800, 2100, and 0000. Turn the first holo locks up, right, down, left, and up from left to right to unlock the door.
You’ll need to place the other three power cells in the breakers of the second door. To open that door, the locks must match the 90, 270, 360, 450, and 630-degree Faro code clues. Turn the holo locks right, left, up, right, and left from the left side to right to unlock the door.
The holo locks for the second door
You can now access and pick up the Shield-Weaver armor inside the sealed room. This is very cool armor because it absorbs damage with a protective shield that recharges. It doesn’t quite make you invincible, but you’ll be much harder to kill with Shield-Weaver equipped. When you’ve taken a lot of damage, retreat and give the armor a few seconds to recharge and restore its shield.
The Shield-Weaver armor
The downside to the Shield-Weaver is that it has no modification slots. So, you can’t enhance it in any way with modifications. However, that’s a small price for armor with a rechargeable shield. You won’t want anything else after you’ve equipped it.
So, find the power cell locations in Horizon Zero Dawn above ASAP to get your hands on Shield-Weaver before completing the game. Having that armor equipped will make it somewhat easier to finish off the game and complete all remaining side quests.
