Metroid Dread: How To Get Wide Beam, Morph Ball, Varia Suit & Beat Kraid

Metroid Dread is about to get a whole lot more complicated. If you thought the first part was a maze, you’d better be ready for even more confusion — you’ll be weaving through multiple areas and back against before you can face off against the next boss of the game. We’ll be smashing an EMMI and taking on a returning old enemy. In Part 2, we’ll be focused on clearing out Cataris — Kraid’s Lair.

Cataris is a burning cavern filled with lava. The extreme heat will rapidly lower your health, and lava will straight-up murder Samus if you even try to touch it. To make progress in Cataris, you’ll need the Varia Suit. At the start of this area, it’ll even appear impossible to progress… but that’s a trap. The first thing you need to learn is that a dead end isn’t always a dead end. Try shooting every wall or using missiles to reveal breakable block types. Every area in the game is packed with hidden blocks you can shoot (or bomb) through. If you see a wall, don’t take it for granted. There might still be a path forward if you experiment.

More Metroid Dread guides:

How To Get Wide Beam, Morph Ball, Varia Suit & Beat Kraid | Walkthrough Pt. 2

We’ll be exploring multiple locations in this portion (and all future portions) of this guide. To help keep your head on straight, we’ve labelled each section by name. This is how to progress.

Cataris

When you reach Cataris, it seems impossible to progress. Shoot the wall to the left of the entrance to reveal a hidden path.

Travel to the Network Station and go down to the Thermal Fuel Flow switch. Use it to close vertical doors and open horizontal doors.
Exit by shooting the wall to the right where the Energy Recharge Station is located.

Travel through the lava chamber (shoot through the walls) and enter the EMMI door to encounter green EMMI.

Use Phantom Cloak to evade EMMI and reach the second Thermal Flow switch.

Follow the glowing orange tube in the EMMI area to the Thermal Doors that are now open. Evade EMMI and reach the Thermal Door — exit the EMMI Area and pass the large shaft room.

Use the Sensor Door to access the generator switch. Shoot the generator to reactivate power, then ride the Spider Magnet plates above.

Reach the third Thermal Flow switch and follow the glowing pipe to the EMMI Zone. Follow the straightforward path past EMMI and to the Sensor Door — exit the EMMI Zone and reach the Network Station.

Returning to the EMMI Zone, jump onto the ceiling and hang from it then use Phantom Cloak to evade EMMI. Go forward, and reach the Map Station.

Climb up the shaft in the EMMI Zone and exit again. Follow the path to reach the Generator — this drains the lava in the nearby area and reactivates the Spider Magnet plates in the room below. Backtrack to the Spider Magnet plates room.

Use the Spider Magnet plate lifts to reach the upper-right Save Station, then travel up to reach the lava room that was previously inaccessible. It is no longer hot, so you can enter safely.
- From the Save Room, in the room to the right, it appears the upper door is inaccessible. Just shoot the walls to break through.

In the previously hot lava room, jump onto the Spider Magnet wall to lower the platform near the Thermal Flow switch we used earlier. Reach the fourth Thermal Flow switch and follow the red tube. This leads to the Tram Station, where you can access Dairon.

Dairon

Use the Spider Magnet wall and shoot through the floor ahead to reach the first Save Station.

In the area where the power is out, reach the Sealed Door and shoot the floor. Ahead, use the Power Generator switch to restore power to the section.

Next, you’ll get the Wide Beam from the Chozo Statue. Return to the huge room in the center of the map (so far) and shoot the crate to continue climbing up.

Reach the EMMI Zone and escape. Push the crate (Wide Beam) and you’ll be back at the Save Station. Push the crate in the room to the right of the Save Station to backtrack to Cataris.

Return to Cataris now that you have the Wide Beam.

Cataris (Revisit 1)

Back in Cataris, push the Wide Beam crate and return to the Emmi Zone shaft located above the Save Station. Break the Wide Beam Cover to access the room leading to the Central Unit.

Destroy the Central Unit (use missiles and charge beam) and gain the Omega Beam. Use it to destroy the Cataris EMMI.
- Same was as before. Lure it to a platform, use the rapid-fire to destroy the shielding, then run to a different passage and use the charge Omega blast on the EMMI’s exposed core.

Defeat EMMI to gain Morph Ball. Use the Morph Ball to exit through the center-left EMMI Zone door. This takes you back to the room with the monster statue — use Morph Ball to crawl inside the statue mouth.

Above the door to a heat room, shoot the ceiling and wall to reach an alternate path. This leads to a Save Room.

Use the Red Teleport Station to return to Artaria.

Artaria (Revisit 1)

Back in Artaria, go left through the Save Station and use Morph Ball to access the narrow gap passage where the Energy Part is located.

Progress until you reach the Thermal Flow switch. Activate it to begin a meltdown sequence — quickly run and jump through the exploding area, going upwards. If the path seems blocked, look for a gap to shoot through.

Past the exploding room, you’ll reach a Chozo Statue to gain the Varia Suit. With this upgrade, Samus can now enter extreme heat — but lava will still damage you.

Return to the Red Teleporter and return to Cataris.

Cataris (Revisit 2)

Now with the Varia Suit, Samus can explore many new areas. Go to the nearbly Ammo Recharge Station, and enter the left door. There’s a small lava pool in the extreme heat room — you can enter it and exit quickly without taking too much damage.

Follow the cave path, shooting any walls that look like dead ends until you reach the boss door. Counter the alien on the door to destroy it.

How To Beat Kraid

Phase 1: Kraid will spit projectiles and throw claws at you. Shoot both types with your regular beam to recover health and gain missiles. The claws generally drop missiles.

Dodge the fireballs mixed in with the biological projectiles Kraid spits out!

Aim for the eyes and mouth — use a charge beam shot or missiles on the eyes / mouth and Kraid will open its mouth. When its mouth is open, pelt the inside of the mouth with missiles. That’s his weak point.

Phase 2: In this phase, you’re stuck on the lower level with Kraid. Shoot the purple spot with anything — missiles are fastest — and Kraid will eventually guard the weak point with a hand. It will then launch a barrage of spikes.

Use Morph Ball to dodge the spikes, then jump onto the Spider Magnet plate that lowers. From here, shoot Kraid in the eyes / mouth to force its mouth open. Shoot the mouth and blast away all the claws it throws

Try to stay on the Spider Magnet plate for the full duration. If you do, Kraid will swipe at Samus with its claw — counter this attack!
- It will only swipe after taking enough damage. It may perform a punch attack instead. If it performs a quick swipe, you can counter.

It will punch when rages and its eyes glow red. If this animation begins, quickly drop back down. The punch is an instant defeat.

Deal enough damage (and get the counters in) to defeat Kraid.
- During the second phase, you can recover health by destroying the bouncing blobs it shoots out. Use a Charge Beam attack to reliably destroy them safely.

Defeat Kraid to acquire the Diffusion Beam. The Diffusion Beam, when charged, can hit objects through walls.