Rarefaction Cell

Downpour-Exclusive Content

This page contains content exclusive to the Downpour DLC. This content is not available in the base game.

SPOILER WARNING: Rivulet
This section contains major plot details from Rivulet. If you have not made significant progress or completed the game as Rivulet, then read no further!

"Rarefaction Cell"
Information
Code name	EnergyCell
Category	Key
Locations (amount)	The Rot

The Rarefaction Cell, referred to as Energy Cell in-code, is a key item in Rivulet's campaign found in Linear Systems Rail in The Rot. When held, it can be used to greatly boost Slugcat's jump height and swim speed.

Knocking the Rarefaction cell from its housing

Function

The Rarefaction Cell cannot be swallowed and weighs Slugcat down when held, resulting in lower jump height, swim speed, and a gradual downwards slide when not moving on poles or in tunnels.

Holding Pickup activates the Rarefaction Cell, distorting gravity for ~15 seconds and dramatically increasing jump height and swim speed. While active, the blue ring around the Rarefaction Cell turns white. Afterward, it enters a cooldown for ~10 seconds and the ring becomes black, after which it can be used again. Certain sound effects play when changing the Cell's state.

Bringing the Rarefaction Cell from Linear Systems Rail to The Heart in Submerged Superstructure is necessary for achieving the An Old Friend ending. Without the Remix option Key item tracking, if the Rarefaction Cell is lost through any means, the player needs to restart the cycle. When the option is toggled on, the Rarefaction Cell’s icon appears on the minimap, and if lost, respawns at the location it was last in contact with the player.

Trivia

• According to Five Pebbles and Looks to the Moon, Rarefaction Cells are the emergency power systems of Iterator superstructures, allowing them to keep functioning if conventional energy sources are lost or cease to function due to decay.
  • The Rarefaction Cells are also the main cause of the superstructures' gravitational anomalies, distorting space and gravity around them while active.
  • If a Rarefaction Cell is lost or removed from a superstructure, the Iterator in question slowly dies.
    • Looks to the Moon lost her Rarefaction Cells when her superstructure collapsed, as they were washed away by the Shoreline's ocean.
• Should the Rarefaction Cell be destroyed by being bitten by a Leviathan, a larger version of the Singularity Bomb's explosion occurs.
  • Unlike that of a Singularity Bomb's, this explosion cannot recharge or explode Electric Spears.
• If multiple Rarefaction Cells are spawned in Arena mode and one is activated, it shoots lightning to every other Rarefaction Cell in the Arena, activating them all at the same time.
• Despite weighing Rivulet down when held, the Rarefaction Cell is buoyant and floats in water.

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