The Ice Shot is one of Samus’ core elemental upgrades in Metroid Prime 4, letting you freeze enemies, open cold-sealed doors, and even create temporary ice platforms. You earn it fairly early in the story, but only after completing a long sequence in the Ice Belt area.
This guide explains exactly how to reach the Ice Chip, how to retrieve it, and how to unlock the Ice Shot once you return to Base Camp.
How to Unlock the Ice Shot in Metroid Prime 4 Beyond?
1. Getting to the Ice Belt
The next primary location is the Ice Belt following the unlocking of Fire Shot in the Flare Pool. Look at the map in Sol Valley. You will see a purple circular marker in the north-west section. This location contains the next Master Teleporter Key, icebound in the frozen tundra.
MacKenzie will eventually contact you regarding the location and coordinates of the destination.
The location is a huge frozen mountain visible directly to the north, and you will need to travel to the mountain in your coordinates to proceed west. You should arrive at a large cliffside, which is the entrance to the Ice Belt.
2. Getting to the Loading Crane
Once inside, you just continue to the next segment through the frozen caverns until you arrive at the big room, which is packed with a magnificent crane.
This one is just like the one situated in the Flare Pool and has a large, bright blue frozen cryopod. This is the container that has the Ice Chip, but you are unable to get it.
You cannot activate the Spinner behind the gate just yet since you need the Psychic Boost Ball upgrade to do so. However, you can already break the cracked window above the entrance, but for now, you should head out and navigate the rest of the Ice Belt.
3. Retrieving the Ice Chip
You earn the Psychic Boost Ball after defeating Keratos in the Quarantine Zone. Once you leave the boss arena, backtrack to the large crane chamber near the Ice Belt entrance.
Return to the upper hallway and break the cracked window using a missile or a charged shot.
Swap to your Psychic Scan and use the Control Beam to guide an energy pulse through the broken window, around the corner, and into the lock on the far side of the malfunctioning door. This unlocks the gate and gives you access to the Spinner.
Drop into Morph Ball form and step into the Spinner. Charge it using your Boost Ball and release to power the crane terminal. Interact with the console to lower the cryopod. When the container hits the ground, approach it to acquire the Ice Chip.
4. Returning the Ice Chip to Base Camp
With the Ice Chip stored safely, travel back to Fury Green. Speak with Myles MacKenzie at his workbench.
As with the Fire Shot, he inspects the chip and modifies it so Samus can integrate its tech. After a brief dialogue, you’ll receive the Ice Shot as a permanent Arm Cannon upgrade.
How to Use the Ice Shot in Metroid Prime 4 Beyond?
1. Basic Use
Press the up button on the D-Pad to equip the Ice Shot. This switches your Arm Cannon to its ice-element configuration. Each shot consumes one unit of Shot Ammo.
The Ice Shot freezes enemies in place, letting you shatter them with follow-up attacks. This works especially well on fast enemies that usually dart around the arena.
2. Environmental Uses
The Ice Shot can interact with several systems in Sol Valley and other regions:
- Cold Locks – These frosty seals appear on certain doors. Lock on, fire one Ice Shot, and the lock crumbles.
- Lava Freeze Points – Some molten pools can be temporarily solidified. Freezing these surfaces allows you to walk across them or reach new paths in Flare Pool and similar zones.
- Puzzle Objects – In certain shrines, streams of water or environmental hazards must be frozen to redirect flow or access mechanisms.
How to Upgrade the Ice Shot in Metroid Prime 4 Beyond?
1. Shrines for Ice Shot Upgrades
The Ice Shot, like any other elemental shots, comes with two major upgrades: Charged Ice Shot and Super Ice Shot. One upgrade is given at each shrine and the order is decided by completing one first.
2. Floating Path Shrine (Charged Ice Shot)
In the bottom-left corner of Sol Valley. You have to destroy a Thunder Lock to gain entrance, so this shrine becomes part of the world only after you have the Thunder Shot.
The challenge inside requires the player to use psychic motes to activate floating platforms. Once the puzzle is solved, the player gets the Charged Ice Shot upgrade, which allows the player to produce stronger, charged ice blasts.
3. Source of Spring Shrine (Super Ice Shot)
Near the entrance to Flare Pool on the far right side of Sol Valley. Freeze the side water channels to force all flow into the center chute. This lowers the pedestal blocking the door and reveals the upgrade.
The Super Ice Shot eats up more ammunition but it is extremely high ice damage. After completing both shrines, you are in possession of the complete Ice Shot kit.
With the Ice Shot unlocked, you can access new areas, clear cold-sealed doors, and tackle key puzzles throughout Sol Valley and the regions beyond. When combined with its upgrades, it becomes one of Samus’ most versatile tools in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
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