Despite coming from a small developer, Mortal Shell has established itself as one of the best Souls-like titles out available. It's a shorter game than Dark Souls, but it's still one that will keep the player's attention from start to finish. Soulsborne fans will feel right at home with the game, and it's a great way to fill the time until FromSoft's upcoming Elden Ring is released.
It still has enough mechanics of its own to deliver an experience that's fundamentally unique to Mortal Shell. The player needs to take into account what Shell/Body they are using and combine it with correct weapons. All of which, offer several playstyles and approaches providing their players with their replay value. Now Mortal Shell has been made available for Xbox Game Pass users, there's never a better time to dive into this dark fantasy from Cold Symmetry. Before diving in, however, It's a good idea to know what the best weapons are in the game.
Updated February 2nd, 2022, by Michael Llewellyn: With Elden Ring just around the corner, there's no doubt that fans of the Dark Souls series will be anticipating what is already predicted to be a contender for the game of the year. The Souls games are lengthy experiences and replaying any of them now will prove challenging even for the most hardened players. However, Mortal Shell offers itself as a viable alternative that wears its influences on its sleeve but is a much shorter game by comparison. Elden Ring seems to offer its players a variety of classes to choose from. So with Mortal Shell's variety of fighting styles and weapons, it proves itself worthy as a great go-between for players that waiting on the release of Elden Ring at the end of February.
6 The Martyr’s Blade
- How To Obtain: The Martyr's Blade can be obtained after defeating Hadern at the entrance of the Martyr's Temple.
- Ability: The Petrified Winterglass and the Radiant Winterglass
The Martyr's Blade is a two-handed sword and one of the strongest weapons in the game. It is described in-game as:
"A two-handed sword, achingly cold to grasp. A remnant from a long-dead empire. The First Martyr reserved this greatsword for heretics, but the blade fell upon many pious necks. In time devotion was not enough, the Enshrined whispered of new sins and new foes hidden within their ranks."
The Martyr's Blade is a powerful sword that deals massive damage. It has two abilities the Petrified Winterglass and the Radiant Winterglass. The Petrified Winterglass ability will freeze enemies on impact. The Radiant Winterglass ability is great for taking down larger groups of enemies with a single attack. The downside to the Martyr's Blade is that it's very slow and requires a lot of stamina leaving the player character vulnerable to attack. This can be countered by using the hardening mechanic, but It requires a lot of quick thinking from the player.
5 Hallowed Sword
- How To Obtain: The Hallowed Sword is the first weapon that players will get in the opening tutorial area after defeating Hardern.
- Ability: The Mechanical Spike and The Molten Spike
The Hallowed Sword is the first weapon that the player will obtain in the game. It is described in-game as:
"A Heavy Sword with a hollow at its center. This cumbersome sword appears broken or perhaps unfinished. A piston-like mechanism is buried deep inside".
Despite its somewhat depressing description, the Hallowed Sword is very well-balanced. It has a moderate speed and damage output but has two powerful abilities in the Mechanical Spike and The Molten Spike. The Mechanical Spike targets a single enemy with a jumping attack. It's an excellent ability to use against bosses thanks to its stagger effect. The Molten Spike activates a burning spike to hit enemies with a lot of burning damage.
4 Smoldering Mace
- How To Obtain: The Smoldering Mace is obtained by initiating a battle with Hardern. To do this the player character will need to interact with the book near the statue found at the Temple Grounds entrance.
- Ability: The Foundry Stone and the Awakened Stone
The Smoldering Mace is a tricky weapon to use at first, but it's deadly in the right hands after a bit of practice. The mace's description is as follows:
"Ashes drift from the mace's smoldering head.
This mace bears an inscription: "Righteous fire may only be wielded by a disciple consecrated by wrath and fury".
The Smoldering Mace is a long-range weapon that's designed to damage multiple enemies at once. It has two abilities the Foundry Stone and the Awakened Stone. The Foundry Stone will set the Mace on fire and inflict burn damage on multiple enemies. The Awakened Stone will grant the player character temporary invulnerability and attack multiple enemies with a firestorm.
3 Ballistazooka
- How To Obtain: The Ballisazooka is a slow but powerful ranged weapon. It can be found on the first floor of the Fallgrim Tower. To use it, however, the player character will need to repair it by purchasing the Tools for Vlas the Merchant for 8000 Tar.
- Ability: Can Stagger Bosses
The Ballistazooka is the only ranged weapon in Mortal Shell. It deals massive damage to enemies from a distance. The weapon is described in-game as follows:
"An unwieldy projectile weapon, dubbed "Ballistazooka" by brigands. The Neoterics of Muraden invented this arcuballista for disputed trials. Those who plead innocence to the Arch Engineer would stand before its narrow sites, praying for the bolt to veer away in an act of divine justice".
Once the player has repaired the ranged weapon, it will become capable of firing large bolts at enemies making it perfect for boss fights and elite enemies by inflicting stagger on impact. The weapon's biggest downside is the reloading time making it useless against large groups of enemies due to leaving the player character vulnerable for the duration of its reloading time.
2 Hammer And Chisel
- How To Obtain: The Hammer and Chisel can be obtained by defeating Hadern at the entrance of the Eternal Narthex. The fight can be initiated by activating the book next to the statue.
- Ability: Perfumed Censor and Foul Censor
The Hammer and Chisel are one of the fastest weapons in the game and until the DLC was added it was the best in the game. They are described in-game as follows:
"The only tool fit to write of eternity. Though innocuous in appearance, it is only by these tools that the Twiceborn etched histories and scripture upon the sacred tablets. Beneath the hammer's blow, reality itself bends and breaks".
Despite the speed of these weapons, the Hammer and Chisel don't consume much stamina meaning that the player character attacks with blistering speed. The damage output per hit is low compared to other weapons on the list but the damage mounts up. In addition, it has two abilities named Perfumed Censor and the Foul Censor. With the Perfumed Censor, the player character will gain temporary invulnerability while spinning and throwing daggers at multiple enemies at once. The Foul Censor, like the Perfumed Censor, grants temporary invulnerability as the character will target one enemy, knock them down, and inflict poison.
1 Axatana
- How To Obtain: To obtain the Axatana The player needs to have obtained all the aforementioned weapons on the list. Once again, the player will need to return to Fallgrim Tower to fight Harden for the last time. Hadern will be waiting for the player character on the second floor of the Fallgrim Tower. After defeating him, the player will obtain his Shell and acquire his weapon.
- Ability: The Dash Strike and the Axe Flurry
The Axatana is the newest weapon in Mortal Shell as it came accompanied with The Virtuous Cycle DLC.
The Axatana's in-game description is as follows:
"A pair of twin blades, crafted to transform into an axe. An exquisite invention of unknown origin. The twin-blades are notable in their own right, but the mechanism by which they combine offers up near-infinite possibilities in battle".
The Axatana is a weapon that initially performs similarly to the Hammer and Chisel thanks to its speed and range. However, its transforming ability can turn it from a Katana into a two-handed axe. It's the best weapon in the game offering both speed and power to suit all kinds of players. In addition, the Axatana can target single and multiple targets. The Dash Strike ability is used in Katana form, and it targets single enemies from a medium distance. The Axe Flurry ability will swing at multiple enemies at once by dealing heavy damage. The weapon can be transformed mid-combo meaning that the player can quickly combine fast and heavy strikes with ease.