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Combat in Mortal Shell 2, the latest action RPG from Cold Symmetry, revolves around five interconnected systems: the Shells you inhabit, the Weapons and Sidearms you wield, the Seals that shape your defensive options, and the Tarstones that let you customise all of the above.
Your loadout has four Support Slots, which hold passive Tarstones offering straightforward buffs to things like critical chance, damage, or survivability. On top of that, both your weapon and your sidearm each carry three additional slots of their own, split between one Ability Tarstone, one Combat Tarstone, and one Infusion Tarstone per weapon/sidearm.
Ability Tarstones grant you powerful active abilities fuelled by resolve, Combat Tarstones alter your melee combos and projectile behaviour in combat, and Infusion Tarstones imbue your weapon or sidearm with elemental and status effects. Not every Tarstone is compatible with every weapon or sidearm, so keep an eye on what actually fits your build.
With so many available, it helps to know what you're working with. Below is a full breakdown of every Tarstone in the game, organised by category.
Support Tarstones
Support Stones are passive buffs that improve your general combat effectiveness without changing how your attacks fundamentally work. They are a reliable foundation for any build.
| Tarstone | Description & Level Upgrades |
|---|---|
| Auspicious Stone | Improves melee Critical Chance (10% > 15% > 18%) |
| Headman's Stone | Improves melee Critical Damage (50% > 80% > 100%) |
| Devout Stone | Improves Resolve gain from melee attacks (50% > 80% > 100%) |
| Shattering Stone | Improves melee Stagger Damage (1% > 2% > 3%) |
| Berserker's Stone | Improves melee damage the lower your Health is (up to 130% when at 35% or below Health > 140% at 40% or below > 165% at 50% or below) |
| Marksman's Stone | Improves ranged Critical Chance (10% > 12% > 15%) |
| Deadeye Stone | Improves ranged Critical Damage (20% > 30% > 40%) |
| Siegebreaker's Stone | Improves ranged Stagger Damage (50% > 100% > 150%) |
| Spite Stone | Improves ranged damage the lower your Health is (up to 140% when at 35% or below Health > 150% at 40% or below > 160% at 50% or below) |
| Bulwark Stone | Provides Damage Reduction to all characters (+10% > +15% > +25%) |
| Retribution Stone | Improves Riposte damage (20% > 30% > 50%) |
| Gloombound Stone | Slain foes drop more Gloom (+15% > +25% > +40%) |
| Justiciar's Stone | Slain foes drop more Coin (+15% > +25% > +40%) |
Combat Tarstones
Combat Stones alter how your attacks behave, adding new effects, modifying combos, or changing how your projectiles interact with enemies.
| Tarstone | Description & Level Upgrades |
|---|---|
| Wounding Stone | Melee attacks inflict Perforation (2 stacks per strike > 4 stacks > 7 stacks) |
| Grudge Stone | Weapon deals a guaranteed Critical Hit (every 10 attacks > 7 attacks > 5 attacks) |
| Duality Stone | Weapon light attack combo strikes twice (First attack > First and Second > All attacks) |
| Unyielding Stone | Weapon light attack combo has Stagger immunity (First attack > First and Second > All attacks) |
| Parasitic Stone | Slaying foes grants the stone Leech stacks (1 Leech stack per kill > 2 stacks > 3 stacks) |
| Thief's Stone | Striking foes grants you Warp (1 Warp stack per strike > 2 stacks > 3 stacks) |
| Stillblade Stone | Grants access to a special Light Combo Finisher and deals Break Damage (10 Break Damage > 15 > 25) |
| Zealot's Stone | Grants access to a special Light Combo Finisher and generates Resolve (+40% Resolve > +70% > +150%) |
| Clerik's Stone | Grants access to a special Heavy Combo Finisher with a higher Critical Chance (+20% Critical Chance > +25% > +30%) |
| Tyrant's Stone | Grants access to a special Heavy Combo Finisher that inflicts Weak stacks (4 Weak stacks > 5 > 6) |
| Enfeebling Stone | Projectiles inflict Fragile (5 Fragile stacks per strike > 6 > 7) |
| Shuddering Stone | Projectiles generate a Knockback shockwave on impact (Small shockwave > Medium > Large) |
| Pulse Stone | Projectiles generate a shockwave on impact that pulls enemies in (Small shockwave > Medium > Large) |
| Ironpiercer's Stone | Projectiles pierce through enemies (up to 3 targets > 4 > 5) |
| Myriad Stone | Sidearm fires multiple projectiles in an arc per shot without consuming additional Resolve (3 per shot, dealing 75% of the original damage > 5, 50% damage > 7, 35% damage) |
| Splitting Stone | Sidearm fires multiple projectiles in an arc without consuming additional Resolve (2 per shot, dealing 70% of the original damage > 3, 60% damage > 4, 50% damage) |
| Rupturing Stone | Projectiles that strike critically deal Break Damage (8 Break Damage > 15 > 20) |
| Blackblood Stone | Projectiles explode mid-air and deal splash damage (2 Splash Damage > 3 > 4) |
| Corroded Stone | Projectiles start dealing damage over time after hitting their target (8% of the original damage every 7s for 30s > 12% > 15%) |
| Squall Stone | Projectiles spin in place for a duration after hitting their target (spin for 3s and deal 8% of the original damage > 4s, 9% > 5s, 10%) |
| Charged Stone | Sidearm charges up faster (20% > 35% > 50%) |
| Volatile Fragment | Enemies dying by a ranged attack will explode dealing splash damage (15 splash damage > 25 > 35) |
| Unstable Stone | Hitting the same enemy 5 times triggers an explosion that deals splash damage (20 splash damage > 30 splash damage > explosion triggers after 10 hits) |
Infusion Tarstones
Infusion Stones add elemental or status effects to your weapon or sidearm attacks. They are the most straightforward route to building around a specific damage type.
| Tarstone | Description & Level Upgrades |
|---|---|
| Arbiter's Prize | Consume 30 Resolve to infuse you Weapon with Bloodcurse (last for 4 strikes > 8 strikes > permanent) |
| Serpent Stone | Consume 15 Resolve to infuse you Weapon with Poison (last for 4 strikes > 8 strikes > permanent) |
| Voltaic Crown | Consume 30 Resolve to infuse you Weapon with Lightning (last for 4 strikes > 8 strikes > permanent) |
| Warden's Stone | Consume 30 Resolve to infuse you Weapon with Frost (last for 4 strikes > 8 strikes > permanent) |
| Curseblood Stone | Consume 30 Resolve to infuse you Weapon with Curse (last for 15 strikes > 30 strikes > permanent) |
| Nightgrasp Stone | Consume 30 Resolve to infuse you Weapon with Phantom (last for 4 strikes > 8 strikes > permanent) |
| Torpor Stone | Consume 25 Resolve to infuse you Weapon with Stasis (last for 4 strikes > 8 strikes > permanent) |
| Wretchcaller's Stone | Consume 30 Resolve to infuse you Weapon with Trauma (last for 4 strikes > 8 strikes > permanent) |
| Inflamed Clawstone | Consume 30 Resolve to infuse you Weapon with Burn (last for 4 strikes > 8 strikes > permanent) |
| Hag Stone | Consume 20 Resolve to infuse you Sidearm with Trauma (last for 4 shots > 8 shots > permanent) |
| Viletongue Hedron | Consume 20 Resolve to infuse you Sidearm with Bloodcurse (last for 4 shots > 8 shots > permanent) |
| Emberseed Stone | Consume 20 Resolve to infuse you Sidearm with Burn; inflicts Burn on Critical Hits only (last for 4 shots > 8 shots > permanent) |
| Voltaic Amber | Consume 20 Resolve to infuse you Sidearm with Lightning (last for 4 shots > 8 shots > permanent) |
| Frostshard Stone | Consume 20 Resolve to infuse you Sidearm with Frost (last for 4 shots > 8 shots > permanent) |
| Accursed Stone | Consume 20 Resolve to infuse you Sidearm with Curse; inflicts Curse on Critical Hits only (last for 15 shots > 30 shots > permanent) |
| Monarch's Vestige | Consume 20 Resolve to infuse you Sidearm with Phantom (last for 4 shots > 8 shots > permanent) |
| Weeping Stone | Consume 20 Resolve to infuse you Sidearm with Trauma (last for 4 shots > 8 shots > permanent) |
Ability Tarstones
Ability Stones are the most impactful category in the game. Each one grants a new active ability that consumes resolve to use, effectively adding a special move to your arsenal. Choosing which ones to equip is one of the most meaningful build decisions in Mortal Shell 2.
| Tarstone | Description & Level Upgrades |
|---|---|
| Acolyte's Stone | Consume 40 Resolve to perform a Charged Light Attack (+15% Critical Chance > deals 150% Critical Damage > Resolve cost reduced to 30) |
| Unwieldly Stone | Consume 35 Resolve to perform a Charged Heavy Attack (grants 2 Leech stacks on kill > grants 3 Leech stacks and restores 20 Health on kill > 3 Leech stacks and restores 25 Health on kill) |
| Magdelena's Memento | Consume 100 Resolve to rise into the air and unleash a flurry of ruthless strikes (each strike inflicts 2 Weak stacks > each strike has +15% Critical Chance and deals +50% Critical Damage > each strike deals 100% Critical Damage) |
| Captive's Scabstone | Consume 100 Resolve to swing your weapon in a violent arc, striking down all who stand close (each strike deals 300% damage > each strike deals 250 Stagger Damage > Resolve cost reduced to 75) |
| Conquerer's Reward | Consume 100 Resolve to drive your weapon forward in a series of swift, piercing thrusts (each strike deals 200% damage > attack delivers 4 additional strikes > Resolve cost reduced to 75) |
| Infused Stone | Consume 70 Resolve to throw your weapon to strike multiple targets before it circles back to you (each strike inflicts 3 Perforation stacks > the thrown weapon strikes up to 4 targets > each strike infliczs 150% damage) |
| Shrike Stone | Consume 70 Resolve to leap high and plunge your Weapon into the ground (attack triggers a shockwave that deals 150 splash damage > Resolve cost reduced to 50 > attack deals 25 Break Damage upon landing) |
| Colossus Stone | Consume 80 Resolve to thrust your weapon into the ground to send shockwaves rippling through nearby foes (each shockwave deals 30 splash damage > covers a wider area > each shockwave deals 80 splash damage) |
| Lost Clotstone | Consume 60 Resolve to spin in place and release your weapon with brutal force (thrown weapon deals 200 splash damage > deals 300% damage to the target > Resolve cost reduced to 40) |
| Clockwork Shardstone | Consume Resolve over time to hold your weapon before you with its chainsaw spinning at full speed (each chainsaw spin deals 12% of the weapon base damage > each chainsaw spin deals 15 Stagger Damage > each chainsaw spin deals 20% of the weapon base damage) |
| Scholar's Wormstone | Consume Resolve over time to set the chainsaw in motion, augmenting your every attack (each chainsaw spin deals 15% of the weapon base damage > 25% > 35%) |
| Hexapod Core | Consume 60 Resolve to carve through enemies with a rapid succession of strikes (each strike grants 3 Warp stacks > the ability has Stagger immunity > Resolve cost increased to 80, but the ability continues with another barrage of strikes) |
| Solnir Shard | Consume 25 Resolve to launch a heavy round in a parabolic arc that bursts on impact to deal splash damage (deals 70 splash damage in a small range > 120 splash damage in a small range > heavy round bursts into a wider explosion) |
| Confessor's Keepsake | Consume 60 Resolve to charge your Sidearm, firing a powerful devastating shot (deals 200% damage > 300% > 350%) |
| Fusillade Stone | At 80 Resolve or higher, unleash a flurry of consecutive shots (each shot has +20% Critical Chance > +35% > deals +100% Critical Damage) |
| Barrage Stone | Consume 40 Resolve to launch a heavy round that detonates above the target, scattering explosive projectiles below (detonates 2 times, each projectile deals 8 splash damage > 2 times, 12 splash damage > 3 times, 14 splash damage) |
| Tarred Fragment | Consume 50 Resolve to fire multiple tethered projectiles, spinning at high speed (spon for 6s > 8s > projectiles cover 150% the range) |
| Fulminant Stone | Consume 60 Resolve to fire a heavy-caliber round that triggers multiple explosions around the target (3 explosion > 5 explosions > each explosion deals 20 Break Damage) |
| Infested Stone | Consume 60 Resolve to fire a clinging projectile that triggers a massive explosion after a brief delay (deals 100 damage upon explosion > projectiles draw the aggro of nearby enemies > projectiles scatter 3 other clinging projectiles upon exploding) |
| Summoning Stone | Consume 70 Resolve to summon the last slain foe to fight on your side (summon attacks 2 times before vanishing > attacks 5 times > summon 2 foes instead of one) |
| Strange Remnant | Consume 15 Resolve to unleash a stream of projectiles that chain between multiple targets (projectiles deal 20 damage > chain between up to 4 targets > projectiles deal 40 damage) |
| Hand of Rock | Consume 80 Resolve to unleash a swarm of relentless homing projectiles (each projectiles deals 10 damage > deals 5 Break Damage > firing rate increased by 30%) |
Quick tip: Ability Stones that cost resolve are only as useful as your resolve generation. Before committing to high-cost Ability Stones like Hand of Rock or Summoning Stone, make sure your build includes enough resolve generation through Support Stones like Devout Stone or Zealot's Stone to use them reliably in combat.
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