Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Guide - How to get the Charged and Super Thunder Shot

Anyone who is familiar with Metroid Prime games will know that part of the process is finding upgrades and improvements that enable Samus Aran to do new things. We are talking about a METROIDvania at the end of the day... However, in this latest chapter, aside from the various inventory improvements, there are some core and key weapon enhancements that you might miss, by simply not completing the shorter side dungeons that are on offer.

So, with this being the case, let us help you along the way, with the purpose of this guide being to find the Charged and Super Thunder Shot. You can find our Fire Shot guide over here and our Ice Shot guide here.

In Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Samus has four key alternate weapon options to swap between, with missiles being one (the upgrades for this are tied to the main story) and the other three being the elemental shots of Fire, Ice, and Thunder. All three can be improved by completing the six side dungeons in the desert area of Sol Valley, and for Thunder, here is what you need to do.

Where and how to get the Charged Thunder Shot upgrade

The good news with these upgrades is that you probably have the Thunder Shot by this point, meaning you can bust any elemental lock and there are no more barriers in place you cannot overcome to complete these upgrades. So unlike Fire and Ice, we don't need to tell you to leave until you have a key upgrade from the main story.

Still, to find the Charged Thunder Shot, you'll need to head to the Falling Labyrinth Shrine, which is the one that's located in the upper right of the Sol Valley, beneath the Great Mines. You won't know the name until it's completed, but you can see where to find it below.

Using your base Thunder Shot, smash the lock and then while standing on the platform in front of you, lower the psychic 'key' into its base to activate the lift into the dungeon.

After moving through one room with no secrets, you'll encounter an area that is one large open hole with tracks that the Morph Ball with the Spider upgrade can follow. Before trying to navigate these, drop down and smash the crates around the base of the centre pillar to find a tunnel you can move down in the Morph Ball to find an Elemental Shot Expansion upgrade.

Use the doors and return to the main area and then activate the centre console with your psychic powers to see the Spider tracks. You can simply trial and error this now to find the right path, but for ease, you want to use the path on the left side of the room of where you enter. Not directly to your left, but one along, essentially 90-degrees to your left if you walk from the main door to the centre console.

Using this path, the key is to keep moving upwards and to the right as much as you can, avoiding any fauna that could knock you off. Once you do, you'll notice that the path is quite straightforward and will take you up into the hole in the roof.

The good news is that there are no traps and pitfalls, as you can simply snag your upgrade and regard this dungeon as completed.

Where and how to find the Super Thunder Shot

Like the last dungeon, you can access and complete this one without any worries. If you ran into it earlier, you will have even been able to open the dungeon, as there is no elemental lock on it - simply a psychic key-into-lock mechanism as is used on all of the others anyhow. In terms of location, we're talking about the dungeon in the lower-middle of Sol Valley, which is called Ring of Thunder Shrine, as you'll know after you complete it.

This is actually a rather straightforward dungeon that doesn't require much effort at all. You'll arrive in a large room with several pillars in the middle. Using your psychic abilities on the two lowered pillars, raise them up, and then fire a Thunder Shot at any of the middle parts of the pillars that has a sandy colour to it. This will create a chaining charge effect between the pillars that will activate the lift in the centre and allow you to elevate into the reward room.

Use your psychic abilities to open the door and then reap your rewards without any concerns that there are any extra pitfalls along the way.