Metroid Dread: Where to Find the Charge Beam

The Charge Beam is one of Metroid Dread‘s more useful navigation tools, and once you gain it you’ll find it indispensable for making your way through ZDR’s many cavernous labyrinths. In this guide, you’ll learn how to make your way from ADAM’s network center to the Charge Beam, finally allowing you to blast through high-powered doorways.

Head through the E.M.M.I. zone until you reach a water-filled room

After speaking to ADAM, head out the left door and re-enter the E.M.M.I. zone. Your only goal here should be to reach the complete opposite side of the arena, taking the upper route as much as you can while you’re being hunted down. There are a few destructible walls in one of the upper hallways, so don’t let those dissuade you. Just fire on them and skid through until you see the exit.

After traveling through the exit door, you should drop down into the water room pictured in the above map. None of the goodies in this room are as of right now accessible to you, so don’t worry about them. Instead, travel left into the save station and save your progress. From there, exit the room and dop down the winding slides present on the leftmost side of the map.

Flood the area below by taking out a dam

Once you drop down the slide, you should find yourself in a large pool of water. Heading to the right leads to a dead-end marked by one of the destructible, exploding “hearts” in the wall. Destroying this heart will break the dam holding all the water in, leveling it out throughout the area, and opening up a new pathway to explore. Continue heading towards your right from here until you come across another E.M.M.I. door. This is the last time you’ll have to travel through an E.M.M.I. zone before getting the Charge Beam, so make sure to plan before going in.

Activate a pressure plate to open a slide leading to the Charge Beam

Once you’re in the E.M.M.I. zone you’ll want to quickly head down and to your left. You’ll encounter the pump and pressure plate pictured above, and activating it will open a flood gate that pushes a life raft to the top of the room. This convenient placement will allow you to slide to the E.M.M.I. zone’s bottom floor, wherein you’ll find your last exit before locating the Charge Beam.

Head through a missile door and drop down a floor to gain the Charge Beam

After exiting the E.M.M.I. zone you’ll be presented with another water-pooled room with an energy recharge station in the middle of it. From here, just head to your right and take the bottom path until you find a missile door. Once you destroy the door’s covering, you’ll notice yourself locked in a room only escapable with the use of the Charge Beam. Fortunately, it’s directly to your left. Just slide through the bottom tunnel and Samus will be deposited into the room pictured above. Pick up your Charge Beam and watch the tutorial on its use to escape the trap and gain access to Artaria’s lower regions.

That’s all you’ll need to know to locate Samus’ Charge Beam in lower Artaria. If you need help on any of the other regions in the game, you can click here to find other guides for Metroid Dread.

Metroid Dread is available now on the Nintendo Switch, purchasable in-store or through your Switch’s eShop.