If you’ve been circling Sol Valley wondering which glowing ruin to tackle next, the short answer is: go south for fire, then north for ice. Metroid Prime 4 strings its major progression gates around elemental swaps — and the Flare Pool and Ice Belt sequences are where those systems start to sing.
Finding the Fire Chip in Flare Pool
Ride your Vi‑O‑La toward the volcano and take the entry tunnels slow enough to notice purple scan auras and small side rooms. The scrapyard at the heart of Flare Pool is the set piece: a demolition crane, waves of burrowing Pyremites, and a Lamorn Plasma Torch perched on a platform. Use the crane platforms and some well‑timed Morph Ball boosts to detonate the torch — it falls, you inspect it, and you snag a Fire Chip.
Don’t rush the area. There are several neat callouts you can scan (Heatstrap crustaceans, Swarm Flyers, the Tether Node near the lava bridge). You’ll also pick up a Missile Expansion tucked behind psychic platforms at the very entrance if you take the time to boost up the ledges.
When you leave, expect the environment to react. Lava flows, burst pipes, and newly opened shortcuts make backtracking both interesting and dangerous. If you want a taste of the game’s spectacle and tone before you dive in, Nintendo’s marketing push reminded many why this stretch matters — it helped rekindle interest in the title after months of teasers Metroid Prime 4's 'Survive' trailer rekindles hype.
Turning the Fire Chip into the Fire Shot
Head back to Fury Green and give the Fire Chip to Myles at Base Camp. He’ll tinker a bit and hand Samus a new Fire Shot mode for the arm cannon. It consumes Shot Ammo (which starts small), but it quickly becomes indispensable: melt webbing, burn away ice, light braziers in shrines, and dispatch certain Grievers much faster than the regular beam.
With Fire active you can sweep Fury Green for previously blocked Shot and Missile Expansions — the game gently encourages you to tidy up each region after gaining a new tool.
Phenoros and the Grapple (a warm-up for later)
Flare Pool’s mid‑boss encounter (a memorable set piece) culminates in a dropped upgrade: a Psychic Grapple. It’s not just flashy; it opens shrine traversal and more vertical puzzles across the map. Use it to reach the shrine light and claim the Master Teleporter Key, then swing back out and prepare for the next leg of the journey.
Ice Belt — Melt, Scan, and Lasso Your Way Through
The Ice Belt is where Fire Shot proves its worth. Melt blocks of ice to uncover new tunnels and morph ball paths. The area leans into Metroidian staples: bomb slots, spider tracks, TK Code psych puzzles, and a handful of memorable fauna (Blue Krauks, Snow Wolves, Frostburn Grievers). If you like methodical exploration, this region rewards careful scanning — every creature, terminal and Lamorn Data Log adds flavor and occasionally grants the TK Codes you need.
Two mechanics deserve calling out:
- Lasso and psychic mechanics: pull down covers, yank locks off morph ball tracks, and connect Bomb Slots to generators. The lasso is a small tool that creates many “aha” moments when you realize a previously inert object is simply waiting to be tugged.
- Spider Tracks and Tether Nodes: once you have the Spider Ball you’ll revisit some routes and fling yourself into otherwise unreachable chambers. Ice Belt uses build‑around puzzles that feel clever rather than punitive.
- Scan early and often. The Ice Belt is dense with logbook entries that also hint at puzzle solutions.
- Use the Fire Shot conservatively. Shot Ammo is finite at first; replace missing ammo by hunting Shot Expansions and deposits back at Sol Valley.
- Save after big puzzle turns or boss fights. Those elevators and long corridors can be stingy.
- When riding Vi‑O‑La across lava, remember IC mode is automatic if you’ve upgraded the bike at Volt Forge — you’ll float but can’t always reach lateral ledges without a careful exit.
- If you feel stuck, think vertically: many locks are solved by toggling a lift, pulling a lassoed cover, or flipping a mote with your psychic powers.
- Deposit Green Energy Crystals at the Altar of Legacy whenever you pass Base Camp; some control and beam upgrades come from those rewards and they’ll make later fights easier.
Grab the Master Teleporter Key from the shrine after the boss encounter in the Quarantine Chamber (where Keratos makes his stand). Keratos drops the Psychic Boost Ball and opens a shrine — complete the shrine and you’re rewarded with the key.
What to prioritize here
Small tips that save headaches
A note on platform context
If you’re keeping tabs on the hardware side, the game’s Switch 2 release positioning and Nintendo’s post‑launch plans have shaped how some players experience performance and visuals. For readers tracking that angle, Nintendo’s latest scheduling and support notes help explain why certain versions feel more polished on newer hardware Nintendo Reconfirms Big Switch 2 Release Schedule as Third‑Party Support Surges.
This pair of regions—Flare Pool and Ice Belt—showcases Metroid Prime 4’s design rhythm: discover a tool, use it to access new traversal options, then return to earlier spaces to unearth secrets. If you’ve felt the game nudge you toward one glowing ruin or another, it’s deliberate. Take your time. Scan, tug, freeze, burn, and when the map finally folds back together, you’ll see how cleverly the pieces interlock.
Happy hunting, bounty hunter—there are still two Teleporter Keys waiting, and the planet keeps getting stranger the deeper you go.