Mortal Shell II Upgrades Guide

Upgrade the loadout that clears your route

The Tarforge at Marrow Keep is the centre of equipment improvement. Franz stands beside it, and its functions open as you bring in the right components. The safe early rule is to upgrade the weapon, Sidearm and Tarstones that are already solving fights for you. A new pickup can wait until you have used it in a real area.

Unlock item	Tarforge purpose
Muradean Actuator	weapon upgrades
Obsidian Lathe	Sidearm upgrades
Etching Needles	Tarstone upgrades
Foundry Stone	remove weapon or Sidearm upgrades and recover materials for a Gloom fee
Endless Core	removes the weapon and Sidearm level cap
Laterite	material for weapon and Sidearm stat and damage improvement

A simple route through the system

The Tarforge grows in stages. Hand Franz the Muradean Actuator to unlock primary-weapon work, Obsidian Lathe for Sidearms, and Etching Needles for Tarstones. Primary weapons and Sidearms use Ventrium and coins at the forge. The Endless Core removes their level cap.

Tarstone progression is separate. A stone earns experience while equipped as enemies die; once it reaches its requirement, spend coins at the Tarforge to advance it. Harbinger levels are separate again: spend Gloom to raise Health, Shell Health, Base Damage, Critical Chance and Shell Points. Gloom comes from enemies, bosses and breakable effigies, but a second death before recovery loses the dropped pile.

Spend one resource stream at a time

The Tarforge has several tempting tabs, so decide what the next route needs before spending. If a boss opening ends because the weapon is too weak, improve that weapon first. If a Sidearm is your reliable answer to a gap, give it priority over an unused second option. Advance a Tarstone when you have seen its trigger contribute in a real fight, not because its name sounds powerful.

Resource decision	Useful question
Weapon or Sidearm	Is this equipped for most of the next route?
Tarstone	Can I describe the moment its effect will trigger?
Harbinger Gloom	Is the failure about survival, damage, criticals, or Shell Points?
Foundry Stone	Am I moving materials from an established dead end to a weapon I have actually tested?

The Foundry Stone makes a course correction possible, but it is still better to test a pickup before building around it. Keep the forge decision tied to one upcoming challenge and the loadout will stay understandable.