Mortal Shell 2 Shells Guide
Nine named bodies, eight you keep. Harros teaches the loop and is destroyed after Tar Golem. The eight below swap at Zhirelle. Bond caps at Tier IV. Glimpses are no longer finite after the Week 1 update; Merrick sells Mether's Severance to respec.
Harros, the Vassal
Automatic in the prologue. After the opening statue you inhabit the body in the lone realm. Inventory starts with Iconoclast, Naylshotte, and Untarnished Seal.
Stone Stun petrifies a target and feeds Break for a Riposte.
Tar Golem calcifies the body. You cannot recover Harros in the main game or NG+. Harden and the Seal remain. Do not add him to the eight-Shell swap list.
| Shell | Role | How to get it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiel, the Acolyte | Agile stealth. High mobility. | SE from Widow's Overlook Beacon, downhill to a fenced camp or graveyard. Body half-buried in a shallow grave. | Shadow: invisibility plus stagger. |
| Proxima, the Broodseeker | Lightning grapple melee. | North from Widow's Overlook to Blackridge Cliffs, past cultists and the white spider, into Shattered Beacon. | Grapple pull or zip, then a lightning hit. |
| Eredrim, the Venerable | Heavy armor. Break control. | Citadel of Penance elevator. Floor collapse into The Warden. Beat the Warden; the body is in the arena. | Shoulder Bash, Ethereal Diapason, Executioner. |
| Smert | Low-health berserker with a freeze window. | Western Fainweald swamp near Outskirts of Nochte. Three blood pools around the altar — one is already full, offer in the other two. Offering knocks you out of the Shell; never offer as Harbinger. | Temporal Solidification stores hits then explodes them. |
| Gragu | Exploration and self-heal. | One-Legged Wolf Tavern after Mother's Breath. He wants the Heart of Vatra from the temple east of the cliffs. Hand it over; he dies and leaves the Shell. | Heart of Vatra. Lute is on the same tavern stage. |
| Lazlo | Heat-armor tank. | West of Outskirts of Mammon to High Lord's Courtyard, underground cathedral, beat Vellen, interact with the sarcophagus in the crypt behind him. | Retribution heat aura. Overheat dumps the armor bonus for a few seconds. |
| Sariel | Alchemy / lightning caster. | SE Mammon. Beat Sariel on the Silent Steps platform, then Chamber of Becoming. Destroy the tombstones or lightning rods or she resurrects. | Same run as Clockwork Scythe and Caged Hystrix. |
| Sester Genessa | Summon doubles. Dual form. | Talk Genessa out at Marrow Keep, then Sester Censer SE of Outskirts of Mammon. Beat Sester Secundus, bring the censer back, play the memory. | Faithful Doubles and Duality. Bond with Genessa herself, not only Zhirelle. |
Bond and Glimpses
Max Bond is Tier IV, about 27 Glimpses per Shell. Seeking the Past wants that on all eight. The Week 1 Update, published the same day as that guide, states that "Glimpses and Tarcores are no longer finite resources, allowing all shells and Tarstones to be upgraded in a single playthrough." So 216 is the amount of bonding the achievement asks for, not a budget you can run out of. The same patch adds Mether's Severance, a Shell respec item given to Zhirelle, the shell keeper: she severs your bond with a Shell, resets it, and returns every Glimpse you spent. It is sold by Merrick and restocks as you progress.
Unlock rates
Steam snapshot from 1 September 2026, useful as find-order, not as a ranking: Tiel 79.7% · Proxima 78% · Eredrim 56.7% · Smert 49.1% · Gragu 48.3% · Sariel 35.2% · Sester Genessa 33.9% · Lazlo 31.4%.