Whether you’re new to Metroid or just struggling to get that last suit upgrade, finding all of Metroid Dread’s items and upgrades can be really frustrating. Pushing just past that frustration and hearing that glorious item get theme is one of the best parts of Metroid, getting there can be a challenge.
In this guide, we’re going to walk you through how and where to find the game’s upgrades. Proceed with caution, however: we did our best to avoid spoilers, but because of the nature of the game, some are impossible to avoid.
Charge Beam
You might notice that you’ll get to a point running around Artaria that you’ll hit some doors that don’t open from Samus’ normal beam shots. You’ll need the charge beam to open them. To get the charge beam, you’ll need to head as far down and to the left as you possibly can with the powers you have available. Before you can get it, however, you’ll need to have your first encounter with an E.M.M.I.
Congrats! You just got your first upgrade—now you’re one step closer to escaping this desolate planet.
Spider Magnet
You might’ve noticed blue, electric-looking strips scattered on the walls and ceilings throughout Artaria—once you’ve gotten the spider magnet, you’ll be able to climb across them with relative ease. To get this gravity-defying upgrade, you need to defeat your first E.M.M.I. To do so, go to the Central Unit location in the depths of the E.M.M.I. Zone in Artaria.
Once you’ve fought and defeated this miniboss, use the omega blaster the same way you did the first time you fought an E.M.M.I. Before you can fire a charged shot into the creepy murderous robot’s glowing red face, you have to break the plating on its face first. The game will walk you through how to do this; keep it in mind each time you fight an E.M.M.I. from here on out. Once that E.M.M.I.’s a distant memory, you’ll have the spider magnet.
Phantom Cloak
Now that you have the charge shot and spider magnet at your disposal, you’ll need to take on the game’s first boss, Corpius, to get the phantom cloak. If you’re having trouble with the fight, we recommend you check out our comprehensive guide that covers how to defeat every boss in Metroid Dread.
To find the boss, head to the bottom-rightmost room in Artaria and head through the door that’s being blocked by a monster. That door-blocking menace will always be an indication that you’re close to one of Dread’s boss fights. It’s also the game’s way of replenishing your health and missiles before each encounter. Land a well-timed melee counter and get the phantom cloak.
The phantom cloak allows you to pass through motion-sensing doors undetected. It will also make you invisible to the E.M.M.I.s. You’ll be glad you have it later on.
Wide Beam
The wide beam allows you to open doors that require three separate shots at the same time, as well as push blocks that look similar. Once you get to Dairon, head down and to the left. Once you’re in a large, open room with a number of different types of enemies, head further left. Proceed through the dark room to the left. Slide through the tight corridor in the bottom-left corner and you’ll get to a large room with a pressure plate.
Stand on this plate to turn on Dairon’s first power generator. Once you’ve activated it, a number of doors will suddenly be able to be opened again. The only door that you can leave the room through will take you directly to the wide beam upgrade, which you need to acquire and use to leave the room.
Morph Ball
Time for the answer to the age-old question: Why can’t Metroid crawl? Well, as it turns out, it’s because she can turn into a ball half her size and roll through tight corridors thanks to the morph ball. (Also, her name’s Samus. C’mon.) To get the morph ball, defeat the E.M.M.I. in Dairon. The ins and outs of actually defeating this area’s technological terror are nearly the same as last time, except this E.M.M.I. can get through tight spaces—and you can too, once you defeat it.
Varia Suit
Go to the room in Arataria with the red teleportal. You can get there by taking the red teleportal from Dairon. Once you’re there, go through the save room on the left and start going up. Once you get to the top, go to the magma flow control panel and activate it.
The area will suddenly change and a number of pipes will start shooting fire out of them. Start heading up—it’s the only way you can go. Once you get to the top of this section, you’ll encounter a missile door. Open it and head inside. In the next room, there’s a shaft in the ceiling you can go through in the morph ball. Go through it to get the varia suit. Now that you’ve got the varia suit, you can explore hot areas and take on the second boss.
Diffusion Beam
To get the diffusion beam, you need to defeat the game’s second boss, Kraid, an old foe of Samus’. If you’re having trouble with the big lizard, check out our boss guide to get some pointers on how to defeat him. Once you’ve finished him off, however, you’ll find the diffusion beam in the next room. The diffusion beam allows you to damage enemies and parts of the world through a layer or two of armor or terrain.
Bomb/Morph Bomb
Now that you’ve gotten the diffusion beam, head back to Dairon and turn on the second power generator. Now that the power’s back on, you’re able to open a few more doors. Head through the small passage with your morph ball. Then climb up through the room until you see a missile door.
Climb through the narrow shaft and open the door. Head through it and grab the bomb. The bomb lets you drop small bombs while in the morph ball. These bombs break pink tiles and propel you into the air a little bit in the morph ball.
Flash Shift
If you’re itching to take down the E.M.M.I. in Burenia, you need the flash shift. To get it, go as far down and to the left as possible in Burenia. You’ll know you’re in the right spot when you get to a large, underwater room with a number of platforms near the bottom. Climb up the platforms in the bottom-right of the room and go through the morph ball corridor above the 4th platform.
Once you get through to the other side, follow the path until you get to a missile door. Open it and proceed. A short cutscene where Samus picks up the flash shift will play. Now you’re ready to go kill the E.M.M.I. in Burenia! You can use the flash shift to perform up to three quick dashes in rapid succession and pass through doors that sense Samus’ presence.
Speed Booster
Head back to the E.M.M.I. zone, flash shift in hand and find the area’s central computer, kill it and get the omega blaster. Once you finish off the yellow E.M.M.I., you’ll get the speed booster. The speed booster allows you to run at extremely high speeds, break speed booster blocks and perform the crucial shinespark maneuver.
Grapple Beam
Head back to Arataria and go back to the E.M.M.I. zone. Then, go to the area near the top of the zone and break through the speed boost blocks to access a new door. Once you go through there, you’ll be greeted by a room that stretches really far up. You can either shoot through each layer of block and jump up, layer by layer or, you can shinespark through them.
To shinespark, use the speed booster until you start flashing. Once you’ve started flashing, tilt the left stick directly down and Samus will start glowing purple. Now that you’ve got it stored up, that charge will only last for about 15 seconds, so act fast—press B and tilt the stick in the direction you want to go and Samus will dash up, down, left or right at high speeds, breaking nearly every block in her path.
Once you get to the top, go through the save room on the right and go down and through the door at the bottom of the room. Go through the missile door and get the grapple beam. The grapple beam allows you to open grapple beam doors and hang from tiles with blue triangles in them. It also allows you to zip straight to spider magnet strips.
Super Missile
After your first foray into the E.M.M.I. zone, head to the right through the data room. Go down to the large shifting platform and go to its left side. The platform will rotate, blocking off the way you came. Go through the morph ball passage. Grab onto the spider magnet strip at the end and once the compartment you’re in goes down, go right. Go right again in the next room.
This should put you in a wide room with a large whale-like creature floating around. Go through the door to the left and bomb the floor underneath the door once you’re through. Slide through the gap you’ve just opened up and get the super missile. The super missile lets you open missile doors with green shields. They also deal extra damage.
Plasma Beam
Surprise! The X Parasite is back. Once you’ve seen the brief cutscene re-introducing another returning foe for Samus, head down and proceed through the door on the right. Go to the bottom of the next room and through the morph ball passage into the morph ball launcher. Head through the door on the right from there to get the plasma beam. The plasma beam allows you to open doors with green energy shields over them.
Spin Boost
Find the underwater area in the middle of Dairon with the mysterious, unbreakable light blue tiles. Go to the bottom of the room and go through the morph ball tunnel to the right. That will take you to a morph ball launcher, once you use it, you’ll end up in the room with the spin boost.
The spin boost can be a bit tough to pull off at first—all you need to remember is that you have to be in your midair spinning animation to pull it off. You can enter this animation by jumping while moving OR by pressing the jump button a second time after your initial jump.
Ice Missile
Defeat the Ghavoran E.M.M.I. to unlock the ice missile. This power-up allows you to destroy the large flaming mushrooms that block your path across ZDR. The upgrade also allows you to freeze your enemies and deal extra damage to the X.
Pulse Radar
Time for the final Aeion ability in the game, the pulse radar, which allows you to scan for breakable tiles. Once you’ve dispatched the area’s E.M.M.I. and picked up the ice missile, you should see an energy tank blocked off by a column of flaming mushrooms. Break it and grab the health tank (unless you have something to prove—trust me, it’s not worth the bragging rights).
After you get the energy tank, go up and to the right, through the door near the top of the room. Bomb the lower left corner of the room and go through the hole. Once you’re in the next room, you’ll be greeted by a statue holding the pulse radar.
Storm Missile
You have to defeat Escue to get the storm missile. For an in-depth walkthrough on how to defeat the insectoid boss, check out our guide on how to beat every boss in Metroid Dread. Once you’ve taken it down, you’ll get the storm missile. This missile power-up lets you shoot multiple targets at once, allowing you to open the metal doors with five separate lights peppered throughout the map.
Space Jump
The storm missile allows you to get the space jump, an upgrade that really helps open up the map. Take the train from Ghavoran to Ferenia and head to the right. Almost immediately, you’ll find a storm missile door. Open it and go through the next door to get the space jump. The space jump allows you to perform an unlimited number of jumps in midair with the same timing as double jumping with the spin boost.
Gravity Suit
The space jump will get you nearly anywhere you haven’t already been able to go with the help of the gravity suit. To find the gravity suit, return to the big room in Burenia where you found the flash shift. Instead of going to the bottom, however, use the space jump to get to the top platform on the left side. This will put you near a door. Go through the door and head to the bottom of the next room.
From there, you’ll be in range of a grapple beam block. Break it to bring down a large structure and open up a new path. Head down that path to get the gravity suit. The gravity suit gives you a full range of motion while underwater.
Screw Attack
The gravity suit will allow you to explore the frozen landscape in ZDR without a problem. Head to the elevator that takes you between Arataria and Cataris and then go right. In the next room go up and then to the right again. Now you should be in a room that’s mostly lava.
Thanks to the gravity suit, you can now go into the lava without taking any additional damage. There should be space for you to get to the other side of the wall and access the blue teleportal using your morph ball. Once you’re on the other side, take the blue teleportal to Arataria.
Once you’re in Arataria, destroy the grapple beam block at the other side of the room and go through. Directly underneath that, there’s a plasma beam door. Go through it and through the morph ball tunnel near the door. You’ll fall right into the Chozo statue’s hands—break the item sphere and take the screw attack. The screw attack breaks the light blue screw attack blocks.
Cross Bomb
The cross bomb is the last power-up that’s locked behind a boss fight in Metroid Dread (aside from one very special pickup). To get it, you need to defeat Golzuna in Ghavoran. If you’re having trouble taking him on, check out our guide for a few pointers on how to take him down and get the cross bomb. The cross bomb sends out a series of explosions in a cross pattern around Samus, allowing her to break multiple bomb blocks at a time and propel her up or to the side at high speeds.
Wave Beam
The wave beam is the second-to-last power-up you get from an E.M.M.I. To unlock it, you’ll have to find and defeat the central unit in Ferenia and get the omega cannon. Once you’ve taken care of the purple E.M.M.I., you’ll unlock the wave beam. Wave beam shots will travel through just about anything, including the ground.
Power Bomb
This is the last power you’ll get throughout the course of Metroid Dread! To get the power bomb, enter the E.M.M.I. zone in Hanubia. Unlike the rest of the powers you get from the E.M.M.I., all you need to do is enter the zone. Once you do, a brief cutscene will play and you’ll have defeated the last E.M.M.I. and gotten the power bomb. The power bomb allows you to break yellow power bomb blocks. To use it, go into your morph ball and hold the R button until Samus starts glowing. Then, press Y and watch the whole screen get wiped.
You will have to take on one last Chozo soldier, but if you’ve gotten this far, you already know what to do. Good luck! You’re almost near the end, but the toughest is yet to come—if you need any help taking care of Raven Beak, check out our guide on how to defeat him!
Charlie Wacholz is a freelance writer and college student. When he’s not playing the latest and greatest indie games, competing in Smash tournaments or working on a new cocktail recipe, you can find him on Twitter at @chas_mke.