Zonai Devices Guide — Every Device & Best Builds

Zonai Devices are TotK's engineering system — fans, rockets, wheels, cannons, and more that Link can Ultrahand together into vehicles, weapons, and mechanisms. This guide covers every device, the best builds, and how to manage the battery system efficiently.

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The Battery System

Zonai Devices consume battery power when active. Link starts with 1 battery segment.

Energy Well (battery capacity):

• Upgrades purchased from Crystal Refiners at Zonai Device Dispenser locations
• Each upgrade costs 100 Zonaite (floor of the Depths)
• 1 segment = 1 Energy Well upgrade → maximum: 8 Energy Cells (8 full batteries)

Battery recovery:

• Battery recharges automatically when not using powered devices
• Zonai Charge (item) = instantly restores 1 battery segment
• Large Zonai Charge = restores 3 battery segments at once
• Cooking: Zonai Charge + meal doesn't combine — Charges are used directly from inventory

Key insight: Battery upgrades are the #1 priority for Zonai builds. A hoverbike with 1 battery barely crosses Hyrule Field. At 3 batteries you can cross the continent. At 8 batteries, the hoverbike is effectively infinite for normal trips.

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All Zonai Devices

Propulsion & Movement

Fan

• Function: Generates strong wind thrust in the direction it faces
• Best use: Attach 2 fans facing backward to a raft for water travel; attach to back of build for horizontal flight
• Battery drain: Low
• Build tip: 2 fans on a plank = fast river raft

Rocket

• Function: One-shot burst of extreme vertical thrust
• Best use: Launch builds straight up (sky island access without tower); shield Fuse for personal launch
• Battery drain: One-use (consumed on activation)
• Build tip: Stick vertically to any build → activate → instant sky launch

Flame Emitter

• Function: Continuous fire stream
• Best use: Defense (mount on cart facing enemies), cooking (fire near cooking pot), thaw puzzles
• Battery drain: Medium

Hydrant

• Function: Powerful water jet
• Best use: Extinguish fire enemies, Sidon combo (water jet + water shield), solving water puzzles
• Battery drain: Medium

Balloon

• Function: Hot-air balloon — requires nearby heat source to inflate and rise
• Best use: Attach to any platform + Flame Emitter below = slow-rise sky platform
• Battery drain: None (requires heat source, not battery powered directly)
• Build tip: Platform + Balloon + Flame Emitter = aerial observation post

Wing (Glider)

• Function: Fixed-wing glider component — provides lift when moving forward
• Best use: Attach wheels and fan for powered glider; attach to Sky Island launching rail for extra glide
• Battery drain: None (passive lift — fan for propulsion consumes battery)

Wheels & Ground Movement

Wheel

• Function: Motorized wheel, rotates when activated
• Best use: Cart builds, steering mechanisms, powered ground vehicles
• Battery drain: Low per wheel
• Build tip: 4 wheels on a plank + steering stick = basic ground cart; add fan for boosted speed

Stake

• Function: Anchor point — driven into ground by Ultrahand to fix structures in place
• Best use: Anchor floating builds to the ground, build stable platforms, hang structures
• Battery drain: None (passive anchor)

Spring

• Function: Compressed spring that launches objects when activated
• Best use: Launching cargo, creating jumping mechanisms, shield Fuse for personal launch
• Battery drain: One-use (resets after a moment, but needs activation each time)

Cart (Sled)

• Function: Low-friction sled base
• Best use: Combine with fans for fast ground movement; ideal for cargo transport
• Battery drain: None (passive — fans attached to it consume battery)

Combat

Cannon

• Function: Fires explosive projectiles
• Best use: Remote defense turrets, direct combat from vehicles, destroying cracked walls
• Battery drain: High
• Build tip: Attach to rotatable arm via Ultrahand for manual aiming; stabilize with a Stake anchor

Laser

• Function: Continuous laser beam — low damage per second but precise
• Best use: Cutting ropes from distance, triggering targets, slow damage to stationary enemies
• Battery drain: Medium-High

Construct Head

• Function: Creates a Zonai Construct companion that attacks nearby enemies
• Best use: Combat assistance on difficult enemy camps
• Battery drain: High (drains until construct deactivates or battery empty)

Beam Emitter

• Function: Timed energy blast
• Best use: Similar to laser — puzzle use and triggered mechanisms
• Battery drain: Medium

Utility & Puzzle

Zonai Cube (Stone)

• Function: Solid weight block
• Best use: Counterbalancing see-saws, weighing down platforms, structural weight

Mirror

• Function: Reflects light beams
• Best use: Redirect Sunlight beams for fire/puzzle solutions; Sunlight puzzles in Sky Islands

Portable Pot (Cooking)

• Function: Portable cooking station — place anywhere, cook meals
• Best use: Cook in the field without needing a campfire; works same as fixed cooking pots
• Battery drain: None (uses fire nearby, or flame emitter)

Steering Stick

• Function: Directional control mechanism — attach to vehicle for manual steering
• Best use: All ground vehicles — lets Link steer instead of just going straight
• Battery drain: None (passive control component)

Time Bomb

• Function: Timed explosive — plant and leave
• Best use: Demolition (blowing up rock walls), traps, delayed combat use
• Battery drain: One-use

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Best Builds

Hoverbike (Meta Build)

The single most important build in TotK. Once saved to Autobuild, spawnable anywhere for 3 Zonaite.

Parts: 2 Fans + 1 Steering Stick

Assembly:

1. Place Steering Stick vertically (handle up, shaft pointing down)
2. Attach Fan horizontally on the left side (blades facing down)
3. Attach Fan horizontally on the right side (blades facing down, mirroring the first)
4. Mount Link at the Steering Stick handle
5. Activate fans — hoverbike lifts and steers

Battery use: 1 fan = ~2min flight per battery. With 3+ batteries, can cross most of Hyrule without stopping.

Save to Autobuild immediately — Autobuild lets you respawn this exact build from Zonaite anytime.

Fast Ground Cart

Parts: 1 Cart + 2 Fans + 1 Steering Stick

• Place cart base flat
• Attach Steering Stick upright on front of cart
• Attach 2 Fans on rear facing backward
• Mount and activate — very fast ground movement

Aerial Assault Platform

Parts: 1 Wing + 2 Fans + 1 Cannon + 1 Steering Stick

• Place Wing flat
• Attach Steering Stick to top-center
• Attach Fans to the rear facing back (propulsion)
• Attach Cannon facing forward-down
• Launch from a tower and glide while firing cannon

Simple Raft

Parts: 1 Large Board (found near water) + 2 Fans

• Attach Fans to the rear of any wooden plank
• Activate — fast river/lake travel
• Works in Lanayru, Zora's Domain, Akkala lakes

Sky Island Launcher

Parts: 1 Board + 2–3 Rockets

• Place rockets pointing straight up on the bottom of a board
• Stand on the board
• Activate rockets — instant vertical launch from surface
• Rockets consumed but the board and Link reach sky island altitude

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Autobuild — Save & Deploy Blueprints

Autobuild is unlocked in the Depths (Great Abandoned Central Mine).

How it works:

1. Build any construct with Ultrahand
2. Open Autobuild menu (hold L + Up on D-pad)
3. Select "Register" to save the current construct
4. Spawn it later for a Zonaite cost proportional to number of parts

Hoverbike Autobuild cost: ~3 Zonaite (extremely cheap — Depths mining provides hundreds)

Priority blueprints to save:

• Hoverbike (primary transport)
• Fast Ground Cart (flat terrain)
• Rocket Platform (sky island access)
• Combat Turret (cannon + stake for base defense)

Tip: Autobuild places new Zonai parts from your inventory or nearby material pool. If you don't have the parts, it spawns "phantom" ghost parts that still function but have a slight extra Zonaite cost.

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Zonaite Farming

Zonaite is the Depths currency for Zonai upgrades and Autobuild materials.

Best Zonaite sources:

1. Zonaite ore deposits in the Depths — glowing green ore clusters on walls and floors
2. Construct enemies in the Depths — drop Zonaite on defeat
3. Zonai Ruins sites — large Zonai structures have ore clusters on their exterior

Efficient Depths Zonaite circuit:

• Start from any Lightroot in Central Depths
• Mine every glowing green deposit in a 200m radius
• Kill Constructs encountered along the way
• Teleport to next Lightroot cluster and repeat
• 30-minute circuit yields ~150–200 Zonaite

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Quick Tips

• Hoverbike first, everything else second — it's the single biggest quality-of-life unlock in the game
• Battery upgrades = more hoverbike range — prioritize 3 Energy Cells before anything else
• Autobuild saves your sanity — register your best builds immediately after creating them
• Fans on water are twice as fast as swimming — a basic fan raft crosses Lanayru faster than Zora Armor swimming
• Rockets on shields = fastest emergency vertical escape from any situation
• Construct Heads drain battery fast — don't run them continuously; activate, let them fight briefly, deactivate
• Large Zonai Charges are the best mid-flight battery boost — carry 5–10 at all times
• Stake anchors prevent drift — if building a static turret or observation platform, use Stakes to keep it in place

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See also: Battery Upgrades Guide | Sky Islands Guide | Best Zonai Builds Guide