Mortal Shell 2 Walkthrough - Part 11: Blackridge Pass (All Loot, Bosses and Secrets)

The Sarcophagus Trial and Gorf the Toad

From the Widow's Overlook save point, walk northwest to the cluster of sarcophagi; the trial altar sits at its center. The world drains to gray, and two sword-wielding ghosts come at you first, then four more. They like to attack as a pack, but every one of their swings can be interrupted, so hit them before they hit you: and when a ghost has already committed to a swing, meet that one with a block. The reward is a Retribution Stone.

Further north stands a stone with a hollow in it, and the hollow hides a Ventrium. To the right, behind a rock, three Weltcap mushrooms grow. In the dead end beyond sits a huge toad named Gorf, who asks you to bring her mushrooms. Hand over one Weltcap and she trades it for a Marsh Pearl, worth 2,000 Coin. If your Weltcap is sitting in a quick slot, take it out first, then hand it over.

The Fork and the Blackridge Pass Beacon

Where the path forks, go left first. At the cliff edge lie 250 Coin; past them, three enemies with torches guard a Ventrium. One shield-carrier holds the rope bridge, and beyond him a statue stands at the cliff's edge with the Map of Fainweald beside it, numbered three. Do not press on past the statue yet; double back to the fork.

Now take the right branch uphill, kill the two flying enemies, and cross the little bridge to activate the Blackridge Pass beacon.

Mustworn Tomb

The dungeon beneath the beacon is the Mustworn Tomb, and it has one house rule: the big jars are bombs. Strike one in melee and the blast kills you on the spot. Shot from range, the same jars roast whatever enemies stand beside them, which makes them your best friends in here.

Shoot the first jars and take the Laterite from the white pedestal behind them. Ahead come one crossbowman, two weak enemies, and a Common Moonshine, with one soldier a little further on. Here the jars are mandatory: the way forward opens only when you shoot them. If your resolve runs dry, strike the white tree to refill.

Upstairs waits a strong enemy with a pickaxe. He winds up slowly, then lands three fast hits in a row. Land two heavy strikes of your own, back well out, let the whole flurry pass, then step in again. The kill pays a Ventrium. Open the white chest for 650 Coin, cleanse the Ovum, and return to the surface. Cleansing it earns a Glimpse, and a second Glimpse lies outside on the right.

Blackridge Cliffs and Coward's Retreat

From the Blackridge Pass save, head right and forward into Blackridge Cliffs. In the first glade, a tree-monster brawls with three fanatics; the profitable move is to work the big one over while it is busy with them. To the right of the glade, a descent leads into the next dungeon.

The lift down into Coward's Retreat ends badly: the wooden platform past it breaks under your feet, and you wake up in a cell. A Ventrium waits at the rock behind you. The key hangs on a corpse in the left corner of the grate; take it and unlock your cage. Outside, go left. Read the note, take the Chest Key from the two crates, open the chest on the right, and take your weapon back.

The way onward is a raised footbridge: shoot the rope holding it up and it drops into place. One soldier next, then three soldiers, one of them with a hammer; the dangerous barrels beside them can do your work for you. The chest here holds a Laterite. Blow the barrels to the right of the chest and you are back at the hole in the platform; climb out to the surface.

The Bell Snail and the Barrel Bridge

In the first tree glade, turn right toward the bridge stacked with barrels. Three saber-wielding zombies rise out of the ground before the bridge. Past it waits a snail with a bell where its shell should be: dodge the horn attacks, strike back between them. Beyond lie four Weltcap mushrooms and a Devout’s Chalice worth 100 Coin. The path farther in is buried under bells, and a fall into the low pit along it is not one you walk away from, so turn back here.

The Second Glade: the Shattered Beacon

From the save, return to the tree glade and climb forward and up to the second glade, where a white spider prowls. Around the corner on the right, a white pedestal carries a Laterite. Ahead, on the wooden platform, lies a Galvanic Shard: every one you find grants Lightning mitigation that scales with the count. The crates hold a Common Moonshine. In the center of the glade stands a Shattered Beacon: step into it and the shell Proxima is yours, the second of eight.

The Exchange

You rise from the ground in the body of a humanoid woman. Merrick is standing nearby and offers you a mushroom. Do not simply talk. Use the blade to take a sample of his blood first, and only once it proves he is clean, speak to him. Tell him you are hunting the Hexapod.

Proxima's signature tool is the Biosampler on its cord: she pulls monsters toward her from a distance, and whatever she reels in takes shock damage. Big monsters cannot be pulled: you get pulled to them instead, so pick your targets with that in mind. She also carries a little more health than Tiel.

Crumbling Tunnel

At the second glade's right side, a descent opens into the Crumbling Tunnel. A Ventrium waits at the entrance, and the cave puts on a show: an enemy gets crushed under a slab of rock in front of you. A Laterite stands on the pedestal ahead. Drop down on the right and set the barrels off from a distance. On the white debris lies a map marking where the Triarch Repeater is hidden. Take it and run: the cave starts collapsing, and the only correct answer is to sprint for the exit and ignore every enemy on the way.

The Hollow and The King's Crypt

From the second glade, walk toward the great tower and drop down a level; the left-hand path before the glade leads to the same spot. In the hollow below, three saber zombies and one archer wait. A Devout’s Chalice worth 100 Coin sits under the bridge on the left. Descend at the center of the hollow.

The King's Crypt runs on pressure plates, and the plates arm the traps. The first enemy marches at you and dies to its own explosion; bait the next one onto a second trap, and expect more waiting around the corners. Then drop into the pit.

Below, a wooden door blocks the way. Break it with a shot from range rather than your weapon, or the barrels behind it will introduce themselves. Two tripwires cross the stairs; hug the wall and they cannot touch you. The doorway beyond hides a bear trap, with several exploding zombies behind it: draw them into the trap and finish them off with shots. The second pit lies further in, far deeper than the first. Left of it, a breakable wall opens a quick route back.

Heal up, then drop into the pit aiming for its side wall, and jump down from there: the staged fall costs only part of your health. At the bottom, one spearman stands between you and the loot. The white pedestal holds a Dorsalite, and by the sarcophagus lies the weapon Veteran's Battle Axe +4. Touch the glowing point and it carries you to the exit; climb back to the surface.

The Dark Glade and Stones of Remembrance

From the second glade, push forward and right, down to the dark glade where the spiders live. Cut down the saber zombies on the way and take two Galvanic Shards off the black growths. The corruption barricade here, once cleared, opens the green paths.

At Stones of Remembrance, a Burnt Effigy stands on the gravestones in the center. Head north and clear a second patch of corruption; axe-wielding hunters jump you on the way. By the stone arch lie a Weltcap and, in the white sarcophagus, a Laterite. The little bridge here leads into a cave: leave it for later.

Follow the green paths southeast, past spear witches and the big skull-carrying monks. Another Burnt Effigy waits on the gravestones, and the chest beside it holds a Gloombound Stone. One wall carries a door marked with a symbol, another a window with bells visible through it. A white pedestal here offers a Laterite. Turn back.

Blackridge Hamlet and the Holding Cells

At the first tree glade, the right-hand path is choked with corruption; clear it and the entrance to Blackridge Hamlet opens, with three saber zombies bursting from the ground along the way. Inside the village, take the Ventrium from the table ahead. On the right, detonate the barrels from a distance to expose three Laterite. On the upper square, kill the three zombies and lift a Devout’s Chalice worth 100 Coin off the fish figurines. Then find the well and climb down its rope into the Holding Cells.

Several soldiers work the underground rooms. Open the iron maidens as you find them: bodies and a few resources inside. One corner hides a Ventrium. The route out is a wooden platform with a lift, and the walkways beyond are swept by crossbow fire. Getting knocked off drops you into a ring of monsters, so skip the tightrope act and ride the lift down to clear the floor properly.

The bottom level holds poisonous monsters, two flyers, and two snakes. Past them, a skull on little legs scurries around: block its leaping attack, then punish the landing. In the house behind, strike the tree for 1,000 Gloom. In the house past the second lift lies the Feeding Room Key. Return to the center of the floor, unlock the gate at the side with it, and claim the Glimpse. The empty gate there warps you straight to the boss.

The Bell Glade Circuit

In Blackridge Hamlet, clearing the second corruption barrier opens the way to a bridge held by two monks. Before the bridge on the left: two Ventrium. Past the bridge on the left, a path drops to a statue and one more Ventrium. Continue left to the cliff by the bridge for 450 Coin, then return to the fork.

Cross the little footbridge forward and kill the skull-carrying monk. Two Burnt Effigy figurines sit among the rocks beside the path. Through the stone arch and over the bridge, fanatics fill the glade with the wooden posts, and one more Effigy hides in the branches on the right. Below it spreads a mushroom glade with a trial. To the left, a strong swordsman waits; three more Burnt Effigy figurines perch on the branches and by the bells nearby.

The trial at the big bell glade is a tedious three waves, and it pays out an Unyielding Stone:

• two fanatics first
• then two skull-carrying monks
• then one strong swordsman

In the bowl on the pedestal before the trial sits a Legendary Tar: the health upgrade, and the single best pickup on this hillside.

North of the glade, up the stone stairs, a spear witch guards a locked door that wants the Crypt Key. The courtyard of bells and water nearby is already at war with itself, monks against snails, and a second locked door there wants the same key. This is also where the wall with the window from the green paths finally pays off: press the stone button to its right. The doorway behind it is piled with bells, an Effigy hides inside one of them, and the chest against the wall holds a Coin of Mammon worth 500 Coin.

Farther south, the gate under the belfry opens into a courtyard of torch-bearing fanatics, with soldiers locked in cages among them. The crates hold 650 Coin, and the cage holds a Ventrium. Clearing the corruption here links the courtyard back to the zombie Grom bathing in his cauldron: the fast route to the Mushroom Village save point.

Deserted Mine

From the Mushroom Village save, return to the big bell glade (east on the map), then take the western footbridges and turn south. An Effigy sits by the house along the way; past it, the descent into the Deserted Mine, with 250 Coin lying alongside.

The mine entrance is boarded shut, with a note beside it. Break through, kill two spiders and a third slightly below, then break a couple more walls. By the crates: two Common Moonshine. A Laterite stands on the pedestal, and the note on the body beside it tells of a secret under the lift. Step on the lift's button and immediately hop aside. The lift rises, the chest beneath it holds 2,000 Coin. Call the lift back with the lever, ride up, break the door at the top, and step out into daylight.

Grisha Hunting Grounds

From the bell glade, go north under the bridge to the stone wall with the statue; left from it, past a Ventrium on the way, a cave descends into the Grisha Hunting Grounds. The entrance is a wrecked hunters' camp. A note and a Common Moonshine here, two snakes and another Common Moonshine beyond, and a flying monster at the campfire. In the hall past it all, the big beast comes for you.

The Northern Fortress and the Fifth Map

Outside, from the statue wall, go right. Pass between the rocks under the bridge, kill the strong warrior, and take the Coin of Mammon worth 500 Coin. Continue east under the bridges, past the cart.

From the big bell glade, climb the muddy slope northward. Two soldiers first, with a Ventrium on the body. Higher up, find the way onto the rocks, where a snail and more soldiers wait. At the top, bear right through the soldier camp. Past two bridges stands the ruined fortress, and inside it poisonous monsters and leaping vampire-things come at you in numbers. The bag of Coin on the fortress wall is a trap: take it and you are teleported to the Citadel of Penance, the prison in the north of the world map. Admire it from a distance and move on.

From the fortress ruins, head south. Across the chasm a statue with a map is visible; drop down to the ledge below, take the Laterite from the pedestal, and walk the footbridges: the left branch climbs back up, the right one crosses the chasm. By the crow and the statue lies the Map of Fainweald, numbered five, and a new beacon stands on the way to it. The same spot also opens from the bell glade by heading southeast.