IIRC this is even a loading screen hint, but just in case anyone missed it (or is interested in the actual ratio), I decided to quickly test it.
| Zonai Charges | Capsules | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 small | 1 | 1 : 1 |
| 2 small | 3 | 1 : 1.5 |
| 3 small | 5 | 1: 1.6 |
| 4 small | 8 | 1 : 2 |
| 5 small | 12 | 1 : 2.4 |
| 1 big | 10 | 1 : 10 |
| 2 big | 22 | 1 : 11 |
| 3 big | 34 | 1 : 11.3 |
| 4 big | 47 | 1 : 11.75 |
| 5 big | 60 | 1 : 12 |
Conclusion: if you find a Zonai Device Dispenser with stuff you really like, feed it 5x Big Zonai Charges at once for maximum payout. The smaller Zonai Charges are best kept for other stuff, like checking what exactly a newly discovered dispenser spits out or refilling your battery in a pinch.
EDIT / ADDITION:
If you mix-and-match, you get the following output in capsules:
| Zonai Charges | 0 small | 1 small | 2 small | 3 small | 4 small | 5 small |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 big | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 |
| 1 big | 10 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 21 | |
| 2 big | 22 | 24 | 27 | 31 | ||
| 3 big | 34 | 37 | 40 | |||
| 4 big | 47 | 50 | ||||
| 5 big | 60 |
The blank squares are impossible as you can only put 5 items at once into the dispenser.
The Ratio:
| 1:X Ratio | 0 small | 1 small | 2 small | 3 small | 4 small | 5 small |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 big | 1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2 | 2.4 | |
| 1 big | 10 | 6 | 4.6 | 4.25 | 4.2 | |
| 2 big | 11 | 8 | 6.75 | 6.2 | ||
| 3 big | 11.3 | 9.25 | 8 | |||
| 4 big | 11.75 | 10 | ||||
| 5 big | 12 |
What about Construct Horns?
These are always a 1:1 deal. Even if you put 5x Captain Construct IV Horns into the Device Dispenser at once, will you get 5x capsules in return.
…as long as you don’t make the mistake of going to a Forge Construct to buy the needed Big Zonai Charges with chunks of Large Zonaite, only to realize that these, too, are needed for armor upgrades … it might or might not be a contributing factor to why I still haven’t fully upgraded the Zonaite Set. <__<
>_>
I, uh, used my large Zonaite to buy crystallized charges so I could upgrade my battery pack.
ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ
You can fight the temple bosses in the depths for a giant crystallized charge (worth 100). There are three of each, which would net you 25% of a complete charge alone (four “batteries” out of the total 16). There are two Colgera fights in the northwesternmost portion of the Hebra depths, netting you an easy 200 crystallized charges right off the bat, provided you have a good bow (a royal bow should do the job) and enough arrows (24 if you’ve got really good aim). The marbled gohma is really easy too, as it doesn’t have a ceiling to climb in the depths, but I just couldn’t tell you where they are off the dome. The other two are still pains in the ass because nothing about the mechanics of the fight changes (I.e., the muck and the swarms of gibdos).
Then, be sure to hit up all the Yiga hideouts, as, in addition to the Autobuild schematics they hide, every one of them has a large crystallized charge, and there are 34 of them total (so 680 charges).
All good info. At the time, I was actively avoiding looking things up, just trying to play as organically as possible. At some point I had stopped opening chests in the depths, because it seemed like the old map locations had the good loot and everything else just had charges or normal items. I wasn’t sure if you needed a map before the good loot spawned (you do not) or if opening a chest before getting the map affected the contents (also no).
Was very much looking forward to a master mode replay using better resource management, but Nintendo rained on that parade. 😒
Can you do anything with the crystalized charges other than upgrade your battery? I bought a bunch of charges to upgrade my battery before exploring the depths fully. Now after beating the temple bosses and stopping by various mines and yiga hideouts I have hundreds of charges that are just collecting dust in my inventory.
IIRC once you completely upgraded your battery (including turning them all blue) the Constructs will instead sell Zonai Device Capsules to you, so you won’t have to rely on the RNG of the Device Dispensers anymore. I can not personally confirm yet tho as haven’t maxed out the battery yet.
This is pretty much inline with the gameplay. You can accumulate them without having to use them but keep in mind, I am involved in a grinder mindset set. ex. I have thousands of Poe on hand just in reserve for future weapon purchases.