Overview
Mortal Shell 2 gives you nine main weapons to master — more than double the four from the original Mortal Shell — plus eight sidearms, for 17 collectible weapons in total. Every main weapon has its own unique moveset; there are no shared-moveset subtypes. The stamina bar is gone, melee hits build Resolve, and Tarstones let you inject new properties and follow-up attacks into almost any blade.
Weapon names and types below are confirmed by the launch trophy list (one trophy per main weapon) and multiple English guides (Game8, GamesHub, Whisper of the House and AllThings.How).
All 9 Main Weapons
| Weapon | Type | How to Get |
|---|---|---|
| The Iconoclast | Two-handed blade | Starting weapon |
| Axe & Dagger | Axe and dagger pair | Shrine of Trials — needs the Chapel Key found near Mushroom Village |
| Veteran's Battle Axe | Battle axe | End of King's Crypt |
| Great Martyr's Blade | Two-handed blade | Martyr's Prison, via the Holding Cells |
| Obsidian Hammer | Heavy hammer | Obsidianite Mines |
| Axatana | Transforming axe and katanas | Forgotten Tower area — ring the bells to reveal the bridges |
| Black Needle | Needle blade | Defeat the boss at the end of the Sester's Gate beacon |
| Clockwork Scythe | Scythe | End of the Chamber of Becoming (with Sariel's Shell) |
| Caged Hystrix | Spiked club | Late-game weapon; "Spiked" trophy |
| Salvaged Trebuchaxe | Trebucket axe | "Chop Chop" trophy |
A few notes on the list. The Iconoclast is the weapon you start with and, per GamesHub, it's strong enough to carry most of your fights. Axatana is a transforming weapon: light attacks use twin katanas, heavy attacks bring out a massive axe, and community guides rate it one of the fastest weapons in the game. Axe & Dagger is quick and pairs naturally with shells that have big stamina pools. Some guides refer to the Great Martyr's Blade as the "Blade of the Martyr" — same weapon, two names. Caged Hystrix was listed as a sidearm by some early coverage but sits in the main-weapon list on the launch trophy table (Spiked).
Upgrade Materials
Main weapons and sidearms both upgrade at the Tarforge, the game's blacksmith hub. Main weapons use the Muradean Actuator, while sidearms use the Obsidian Lathe. Upgrading consumes four core materials, confirmed by multiple sources: Ventrium, Dorsalite, Laterite and Thoracium. Gloom is not an upgrade material. Early on, Laterite can be bought from the Mushroom Village merchant or found in chests in the Crypt of Trials, which makes it the easiest material to stockpile in the opening hours.
Thoracium is a higher-tier of the four, tied to the +16–+20 upgrade range. It is both found in the world — for example, destroy the glowing totem and defeat its guardian inside the Empty Cradle dungeon (Temple of Finality, The Unfound Path) — and, from mid-game on, purchasable from The Collector secret merchant for 5,000 Coin during Night mode, so it is farmable rather than truly scarce.
Note on materials: a couple of guides use alternative spellings or list an extra material for max-level upgrades, but that name hasn't been corroborated anywhere else, so we've left it out. Treat the four materials above as the current consensus and double-check the in-game Tarforge interface after the Day One patch.
Tarforge Upgrades & Tarstones
The Tarforge system is where weapons go from serviceable to broken. Each weapon accepts Tarstones that add combat properties — extra follow-ups on combos, status application and unique weapon abilities. Several progression items live here too: the Foundry Stone (refunds materials on smelting), the Endless Core (removes the +20 upgrade cap) and Etching Needles (unlock Tarstone tiers).
A few Tarforge-specific balance notes: the Day One patch reworked the Devout, Bulwark and Shattering Stones, nerfed Myriad, Retribution and Shrike Stones, and made the Parasitic Stone compatible with all weapons. Old save files migrate their stone inventory automatically.
Best Weapons to Upgrade
A few standouts if you're deciding where to sink materials first:
- The Iconoclast — free, strong, and one of only two weapons with access to Curse. GamesHub rates it highly enough to "probably carry most fights."
- Axatana — transforming moveset and one of the fastest weapons in the game; a top pick for generalists.
- Axe & Dagger — pairs with Tiel's big stamina pool for near-endless combos; also one of only two weapons that take the Duality Stone, which doubles your attacks.
- Great Martyr's Blade — slow, but it's the only weapon with Frost access; with the right Tarstone it becomes one of the strongest blades in the game. Eredrim's huge health pool makes him a natural wielder.
- Clockwork Scythe — wide sweeps and a chainsaw-style special; one of the most damage-heavy late picks.
Whisper of the House makes a point worth repeating: test the moveset before you invest. "Later" weapons aren't inherently stronger, and the best weapon for you is the one whose rhythm fits your shell build. With the Day One patch flattening late-game scaling, moveset feel matters more than raw numbers.