Despite re-using the same assets from Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom has a lot of new mechanics to offer. You’ve got new abilities thanks to the Purah, different levels of maps, and many more.
Energy Cells are a new resource introduced to the game. You use these batteries whenever you want to turn on those Zonai devices to solve puzzles or traverse around the area. You’ll start with one Energy Cell that contains three charges. This is good enough for short burst sessions of Zonai device usage, but in the later sections of the game, you’ll struggle to make it far with just three charges. This guide will discuss how you can upgrade your battery in Tears of the Kingdom, plus its other uses.
You’ll receive your first Energy Cell after clearing the game’s “tutorial” on the Great Sky Island—specifically, once you complete the second Shrine (In-isa Shrine). After exiting In-isa Shrine, you’ll get to test it out since there’s a river you have to cross. All you have to do is use Ultrahand to attach a bunch of logs and two fans. Once you’re all set, hit the fans to activate them and go to the other side of the river.
You’ll be happy to know you can’t lose or run out of Energy Cells permanently. Your batteries will recharge if you run out of juice while using a Zonai device. If you don’t want the device to suck up all the power from your Energy Cell, you can hit it or move far away to deactivate it automatically.
As you travel along Hyrule, you’ll notice that some Shrines require you to use Zonai devices. Have no fear—Energy Cells aren’t used within these Shrines, so there’s no need to worry about not having enough batteries while trying to solve a puzzle.
If you want to have a longer battery life, you’ll need some Crystallized Charges. You’ll need 100 of them to upgrade your Energy Cell. To make these materials, you must first break down Zonaite Ore and turn them into Zonaite Charges. Zonaite Ores can typically be found in the Depths or on Great Sky Island.
In the Depths, in particular, many of the Gloom-infected enemies and bosses drop these materials—some can even drop 20 a pop. Moreover, if you defeat the game’s most challenging underground bosses, you can unlock chests containing 100 Crystallized Charges.
Here are more ways to get Crystallized Charges in the Depths:
- Open chests in Yiga outposts
- Find chests in abandoned mines
- Defeat certain bosses, such as Flux Constructs
- Buy from the Steward Constructs in forges
You can also purchase Crystallized Charges by spending your Large Zonaites and Zonaites at any of the Forge Contructs you find around the world. You likely had encountered one already in the Great Sky Island when you explored the Mining Cave.
Once you have enough Zonaite Ores to exchange for Zonaite Charges, go to a Forge Construct and put in as many Zonaite Ores as you’d like. Forge Constructs can be found all over the in-game world, but the ones in Lookout Landing and the Depths are the easiest to get to, thanks to fast travel. For every 100 Crystallized Charges, you’ll receive an extra charge to your battery.
Say farming Zonaite isn’t your thing. In that case, you can temporarily increase (and restore) your Energy Cells by consuming Zonai Charges. Zonai Charges and Large Zonai Charges are dropped by Construct enemies. You can also find them across Hyrule by examining inactive Constructs or opening chests. The regular Zonai Charges restore/increase your Cells by one bar, while the Large Zonai Charges give you an Energy Boost, letting your Cell’s power decrease slower than usual for a short time.
The battery on Link’s belt is a godsend if you’re looking to power the machines and vehicles that you create. That said, expanding your Energy Cell reservoir isn’t required to progress through the story, but it’s important that you still take the time to do so. Having a permanently upgraded battery will allow you to save on resources, and in a game where almost everything can break, you’ll need to keep tabs on your inventory.