Mortal Shell II Opening Walkthrough

This route covers the Prologue only: Forlorn Village to Marrow Keep in the released Mortal Shell II. Follow the 12 steps below for your first Shell, two tutorial Beacons, the Tar Golem encounter, and your first Ovum. Optional pickups and fights are marked separately.

It ends when you establish Marrow Keep as your hub. For the next stage, use the Fast Travel and Beacon Guide; this page does not cover the complete campaign. Historical achievement differences are collected at the end.

1. Gain your first Shell

From the starting house, pass through the open gate on the left. The short path ends at Trollweed; collect it, turn around, and enter Forlorn Village.

You can speak with Daisy and the cultists for context, but progression continues through the next gateway and down the slope. Accept the flower crown from Marigold on the path, pass Fern and Nettle, and approach the seated armored knight holding an egg-like object. Choose Claim What's Yours.

In the UnderMether realm, walk forward until the encounter finishes, then interact with the kneeling knight. You return to the village inhabiting Harros, your first Shell.

2. Fight through the battlefield

After claiming Harros, your starting equipment is:

• The Iconoclast, a light two-handed sword
• Naylshotte, a powerful shotgun-style sidearm
• Untarnished Seal, which enables blocking and Perfect Guards

Before leaving the petrified cultists, check the left wall and go around the tree for a piece of Ventrium. Speak with Ruk if you want, then break the crates beyond him and drop into the battlefield.

On the left, destroy the crates around the glowing ground growth and strike it to collect Gloom. Gloom is the main progression currency and is dropped on death. Use the five slow Wretches ahead to practice light attacks, heavy attacks, dodges, and guards.

Optional battlefield pickups

• Loot the 50 Coin Pouch from the corpse on the right.
• Break the crates blocking the far-right side passage, defeat three Wretches, and collect another 50 Coin Pouch.
• In the second battlefield section, take the Ventrium from the central corpse.
• Strike the Gloom growth in the river on the far left.

Climb the wooden steps at the rear of the battlefield. Commune with the UnderMether statue to receive the ranged-weapon lesson, then continue upstairs.

3. Reach the Village Outskirts Beacon

Around the corner is a courtyard of Brigand Soldiers. They attack faster and use longer combinations than the Wretches, so isolate them rather than trading into a group.

After the courtyard is safe:

• Read the journal entry behind the tent if desired.
• Collect the 50 Coin Pouch from the wooden beam behind the tent.
• Interact with the small statue in the partially enclosed area to the right of the entrance for another Ventrium.

Leave through the broken brick wall on the far side, destroy the next crates, and pick up the Coin Pouch on the ground. Drop into the swamp and activate the Village Outskirts Beacon. Resting here restores health and establishes your first checkpoint.

4. Cleanse the Overgrown Temple

The corruption ahead blocks the route, so interact with the Village Outskirts Beacon and choose Cleanse Beacon.

Inside, descend the steps and open the chest for the Muradean Actuator, an item used later for weapon upgrades. Read the corridor journal if desired, then step on the central elevator button and ride down into the Overgrown Temple.

The broken UnderMether statue on the right teaches attack-type weaknesses. Apply that lesson immediately: use a heavy attack to break through the Shield Brigand's defense. Down the steps are another Shield Brigand and a boulder-throwing Brigand Stoner. Dodge the Stoner's throws, close the distance, and combine safe melee and ranged attacks.

Enter the side room to the Stoner's left and defeat the two Shield Brigands. Press the wall button at the far end to raise the guarded gate. Pass through and cleanse the black growth.

Before leaving, return to the end of the Stoner's main corridor. The removed corruption exposes a small statue containing another Ventrium. Collect it, then use the growth at the exit to return to the Beacon. The vanished corruption on the surface confirms the cleanse is complete.

5. Defeat the Gloombound Ritualist

Rest at the cleansed Beacon if needed and collect the Weltcap exposed near the wall behind it. Continue forward toward the Crossbowman; another Brigand waits in ambush on the right.

The next UnderMether statue introduces Shell Abilities. Harros can petrify nearby enemies, and hitting a petrified target damages its Break bar rather than its health.

At the fork, take the left slope first for an optional group of Wretches and a Common Moonshine at the corner. Return to the fork and descend along the lower-right path. Mycellian Skulks here release poison gas when killed, so strike them down and immediately create distance. Stay against the right cliff to find a small tunnel with a Weltcap guarded by another Skulk.

The torch-lit swamp at the bottom is the boss arena. The Gloombound Ritualist summons Infested Wretches that rush you and explode. Stop attacking the boss when they appear, move away, and deal with the entire group before re-engaging.

At close range, use Perfect Guards and Harros's Stone Stun to build Break. Fire the Naylshotte only during a safe recovery window, such as after a critical hit. When the Ritualist falls, leave through the crates at the far end of the arena.

6. Reach the Disciple's Grotto Beacon

Defeat the lone Brigand attacking from the left, then walk to the end of that ledge for a 150 Coin Pouch on the fence. Continue uphill through two Brigands and a Stoner, collect the Common Moonshine on the right, and pass the optional journal.

In the next clearing, defeat the guard beneath the white skeletal monument. Strike the monument three times to drop a Laterite, a weapon material above Ventrium.

Cross the bridge slowly. Three Soldiers occupy the span, with an armored poleaxe-wielding Knave behind them. Use ranged attacks to draw or eliminate the smaller enemies before fighting the Knave. Stay close enough to practice Perfect Guards against its strong but readable attacks.

Do not take the side drop yet. Continue across the bridge and descend into the cave with a central tree. Two Netopyrs hang from its branches and fire a shotgun-like blast; dodge their first shots and remove them quickly. The Disciple's Grotto Beacon is immediately beyond the cave. Activate and rest there before exploring the nearby branches.

7. Cleanse the Derelict Hideout

Choose Cleanse Beacon at Disciple's Grotto and ride the elevator into the Derelict Hideout. Kill the first Brigand and prepare for a Crossbowman firing from above around the corner.

Break the crates on the left and squeeze through the gap. Defeat the Soldiers beyond it, then visit the Crossbowman's firing position for a 75 Coin Pouch. Continue carefully to the Stoner at the end of the route.

The corruption behind the Stoner is the dungeon objective. Cleanse it, collect the Ventrium that was behind the growth, and return to the surface. The Beacon is now a secure checkpoint for the optional miniboss beside it and the required route ahead.

8. Defeat the Tainted Vestige

From the Beacon, take the immediate exit on the left. This short path reaches the Tainted Vestige, the encounter connected to the earlier bridge drop. Activating Disciple's Grotto first gives you a nearby respawn point.

At range, the Vestige sends two rapid waves of spikes through the ground. Dodge forward and close distance to discourage repeated casts. Its melee swings are slower and suitable for Perfect Guards, but the fast grab is unblockable and can remove a Shell in one sequence. Limit each punish to a few attacks so you can react to the grab.

Defeating the Vestige awards a Burnt Effigy. Strike the nearby bone statue for another Laterite, then return to the Disciple's Grotto Beacon.

9. Clear Garrick's Den

Take the path around the left side of the Beacon and enter the fog passage. Ride the elevator down into Garrick's Den.

The first Lithopod resembles a walking gravestone and attacks by leaping from range. It is durable but its single attack pattern is easy to guard. After defeating it, drop to the lower area containing three more Lithopods.

Clear the room and collect the Coin Pouches across the floor for 275 Coin total. No further objective is available here during this visit. Use the floor's air current to leave, then return to the Beacon.

10. Fight the Tar Golem

Take the route to the right of Disciple's Grotto. The UnderMether statue reviews guarding. Down the slope, a Headsman drops into the path. Its hits are powerful, but its attacks are readable and its Break meter is small enough to punish with Perfect Guards. After the fight, turn back toward the corrupted gravestone and collect the embedded Ventrium.

Ride the air current behind the Headsman's landing point and follow the path to Ruk. After his warning, round the corner and use the Bone Gate to enter the arena. Pick up the lit torch at the back to trigger the Tar Golem.

Many Tar Golem attacks are unblockable. Watch the full wind-up and dodge late rather than panic-rolling at the first movement. When it advances while striking the ground with alternating axes, the opening hit is fast but the sequence can be Perfect Guarded repeatedly to build substantial Break. Stone Stun adds more Break, while the Naylshotte is safest after a critical hit.

Win or lose, the following scene leaves the Harbinger without Harros. Collect Vatra's Seal from him, leave the arena, and ride the elevator upward.

11. Collect your first Ovum

At the top, take the first left for an optional note. Return to the main path and follow it upward past another tattered note until you emerge into daylight.

Cross the corrupted area and speak with Ruk. When ready, cleanse the growth beside him and interact with the revealed Ovum. The communion with the UnderMether and the transition to a new area confirm the objective is complete.

12. Reach Marrow Keep

After the transition, you receive Ruk's Map. Open it when prompted; the required route runs east toward Marrow Keep.

Before leaving, turn around and enter the small cave behind the spawn point. The glint inside the rock is a Coin of Mammon, a valuable worth 500 Coin when sold later. Then follow the long main path toward the Keep. The stone sitting point near the end is optional.

Squeeze through the narrow gap to reach Ruk and the UnderMether's followers outside Marrow Keep. A Devout's Chalice lies to the left of the entrance between the followers and the Keep. Collect it, place the Ovum at the entrance, and go inside.

Speak with Zhirelle, the Shellkeeper. This marks two additional Shell locations on the map. Rest at the Marrow Keep Beacon to establish the hub and finish the Prologue route.

Before choosing your first open-world destination, review the Beginner Guide. Widow's Overlook and Mushroom Village are the recommended early direction; the Mushroom Village Key guide covers the hidden arch and Shrine of Trials once you arrive.

Continue into the full game

Marrow Keep is the start of open-world progression. Use the Fast Travel and Beacon Guide for the existing Fainweald and Mammon routes, and the Locations directory for documented destinations. The former Beta endpoint is not the end of the released campaign.

The official September 5 update adds optional Adaptive Difficulty, disabled by default. If enabled, enemy health, damage, and resistance to stagger can change with your performance; combat difficulty may differ from the original opening route notes.

Historical Open Beta achievement notes

The Beta objectives My First... and Finish the Fight belong to the earlier test version. Their names and retry workarounds are not current completion instructions. Use the released-game achievement guide when planning achievements; unverified conditions are identified there.