The best Mortal Shell weapons and the locations to find them

Choosing the best Mortal Shell weapons and discovering their locations isn't the toughest challenge, as there are only five of them in total. However, they are all important as they're extremely powerful and have their own unique properties, which means you should try and pick them up as quickly as possible. This is made easier as they're found at the start of the three main dungeons, so you don't have to make a huge amount of progress to reach them, and learning the routes will speed up the process as you'll spend a long time grinding before you unlock the option for fast travel.

All you need to get the best Mortal Shell weapons is to find the altar with a book on it at the beginning of the three dungeons, then interact with it. After a small and somewhat creepy cutscene, you’ll be able to fight against Hadern, who you probably remember from the tutorial. If you can best him, then you’ll unlock the weapon he is using. All you need to do then is pick it up from the statue next to the book, and you can even make the weapons stronger by finding specific items and using them at an anvil.

The Best Weapons in Mortal Shell

There’s good news and bad news here. There’s not really one best Mortal Shell weapon that’s better than any of the others. Instead, each one offers up different strengths and weaknesses. There will, however, definitely be one weapon that you favor above the others, and that’s why it’s so important that you try and unlock them all as soon as you can so you can find 'the one'.

When you do, you can pour all of your resources into that one weapon and will really help you out as you get to some of the tougher fights. We’ve given you a description of each of the four (and a half) weapons down below, so you can read about them and find out which one is for you. 

1. Hallowed Blade

The Hallowed Blade is the first weapon you’ll come across in Mortal Shell. You pick it up from the statue inside of the tutorial. These statues are the ones that will hold the weapons you unlock until you’ve equipped them once. The blade itself is a pretty decent weapon. It has good striking speed and damage, which makes it quite powerful when you’re going up against some of the smaller enemies. However, due to its balanced nature, it’s unlikely to be your favorite weapon. 

It has two special attacks, as do all the weapons, and you have to find the upgrades to unlock them. The first upgrade, the Mechanical Spike, can be found in a chest in the Grisha cave in front of Fallgrim Tower. This makes a giant spike come out of the bottom of your sword which you then ram into an enemy for massive damage. 

The second upgrade is the Molten Spike, which has the same general attack but also inflicts burning. This can only be found once you’ve caused The Mist to descend by beating one of the bosses. You can find it within a Frog Chest in the big camp within a valley in Fallgrim. 

2. Smoldering Mace

The Smoldering Mace is a long weapon that uses wide swings to take out enemies. You can unlock it by beating Hadern at the beginning of the Temple Grounds area. It’s a little slow on the wind-up, but the striking speed itself is actually quite good. It’s an excellent choice if you’re fighting against groups of enemies, and it only gets better when you unlock the special attacks. 

The first one, unlocked by using the Foundry Stone, unleashes an AoE attack that deals excellent damage and also sets enemies on fire. You can find this item inside a tomb that can be found right after the second room in the Temple Grounds. 

The second ability is unlocked by using the Awakened Stone. This ability sets the mace on fire and causes every strike to inflict burning on whatever the mace hits. You can find it in the Monument of Ash, in a tomb on the bridge that leads to the Sanctum of fire. 

3. Martyr’s Blade

The Martyr’s Blade is the slowest of all of the weapons. However, it also deals the most damage per strike, and it has a very long reach to boot. It’s good against nearly everything you’ll come up against but only if you can master the timing of it. You can unlock it by beating Hadern at the beginning of the Abandoned Chamber. 

The first upgrade is the Petrified Winterglass, which causes the blade to be coated in ice and gives your strikes the ability to freeze enemies.  You can find it through a hole on the right-hand side of the third room of the Abandoned Chamber on top of a tomb.  

The second upgrade comes from using the Radiant Winterglass. This gives you the ability to unleash a massive AoE attack that freezes enemies for a little bit. You can find it in the Enshrined Sanctum just after the Enslaved Grisha fight. Cross the bridge there and head down and then explore the back end of the room to find it. 

4. Hammer and Chisel

You can get the Hammer and CHisel by defeating Hadern in the Eternal Narthex. It’s the fastest weapon by far, but also does the least damage. However, it can also inflict poison on enemies, which makes it a good choice if you like to take fights slowly. It’s much better against single targets but offsets this when you unlock the first ability. 

The first ability is gained via the Perfumed Censer. This ability lets you spin forwards and shoot out nails to attack the surrounding area. It’s an excellent ability for clearing a cluster of enemies. You can find this censer in the left-hand area of Eternal Narthex behind a torch guarded by one of the ranged enemies. 

The second ability lets you smash the chisel at far away enemies and deals absurd damage. You unlock it by using the Foul Censer which you find within the Shifting Archives. Just before the boss is a hidden teleporter among the tablets, take the teleporter to pick up this item. 

5. Ballistazooka

The final weapon is probably the showiest of all. It’s not a main weapon, but one that you can wield as long as you have ammo. To unlock the Ballistazooka, you need to buy the Tools from Vlas at Fallgrim Tower for 8,000 Tar. 

Once you’ve done that, you can head to the anvil where it rests on the first floor of Fallgrim Tower and fix it. From then on, you can use it as long as you have Large Bolts. These can be purchased from Vlas for 800 Tar, but they also occasionally drop from some enemies. 

The weapon itself is a ranged one, and it’s a great choice for picking off troublesome foes without risking your own health. It’s a bit slow though, so be prepared for that wind-up.