One aspect of Mortal Shell that will help you tremendously on your journey is the flexibility you have with the characters in the game at your disposal. While there is no option for a mage or ranged attacker like in Dark Souls, you do have good variance in the shells that the game gives you.
However, is there one typo that is the best of all situations? Or maybe a case that best suits a certain style of play? Each carries different stats of the three attributes:
- Durability - Your health bar, determining how many hits you can take to enemies
- Stamina - Your stamina, the bar that determines your energy to be able to swing your weapon or dodge an attack.
- Resolve - A comat meter that can be refilled to allow the use of special attacks and parry attacks
Let's take a look at what's available.
Without shell
Statistics (estimated):
- Durability - 1/10
- Endurance - 10 + / 10
- Solve - 6/10
Since there is no stats screen for not having a shell, this equates to having one point of durability, 10 in stamina, and six in resolution, which makes playing through Mortal Shell without a brave act. While it is not a requirement for you to take a shell, and there is even an achievement / trophy (Forever Alone) if you choose not to take a shell and complete the game, some parts of the game will be almost impossible without one.
When traveling without a shell, you are vulnerable to death with a single strike from any enemy. The good thing about doing without it is that you will have almost unlimited endurance, much more than with any case, but there is, literally, no room for error.
You also cannot remove a case and do without it in the menus. You must be removed from the shell to continue without a shell, which would also disqualify you from success after previously binding with a shell.
However, if you are absolutely convinced that you can do without a shell, this is by far the most difficult way to play Mortal Shell.
Harros, the vassal
Statistics:
- Durability - 5/10
- Endurance - 5/10
- Solve - 5/10
The "starter" shell, Harros will be there to welcome you right after the tutorial. Combat-wise, it's the first shell you encounter specifically to launch yourself.
Harros may seem redundant to the other three shells, especially with how his stats stack up against the other Solomon, but Harros can be of great help. His strength comes from his improvements in combat ability and the focus they bring to the hardened mechanic, the game's biggest lifeline.
It normally resets after about six seconds for reuse, but its abilities can overload that. These include shortening the cooldown by 25%, which means you can engage enemies faster. Another will cause his stamina gauge to reload quickly, negating the issue of his lower energy than some of the other shell options. The hardening effect, where you will have a short period of invulnerability after being broken, can be doubled to last twice as long before you can be hit again.
There are other abilities that will also increase your insight into enemies, meaning you can level it up faster.
If you can ignore its rather meager stats and want to use the best shell to use the hardening technique, Harros can be a great choice.
Tiel, the sidekick
Statistics:
- Durability - 3/10
- Endurance - 10/10
- Solve - 2/10
Found hidden in a cave covered in tree bark on the outskirts of Fallgrim, Tiel's shell is protected by a mini-boss named Ven Noctivagu. While it can be difficult to manage your stamina, it is not too difficult to kill.
Tiel is the rogue shell of the game, a very agile character with a lot of stamina, as well as faster stamina recovery. This comes at the expense of durability and resolution, which are both very low.
For those who like fast characters and have plenty of room to dodge and weave, Tiel is excellent. Many of Tiel's combat perks can unlock poison damage from his attacks while healing poison damage taken instead of hurting him, which is very useful in the game's first dungeon.
However, it becomes more exposed in the later dungeons as the damage begins to increase and enemies prevent you from rolling around them. You'll need to use hardening more often as dodge and weave become more difficult to use effectively, especially if you don't have access to the Ballistazooka weapon to take out enemies from a distance.
Solomon, the scholar
Statistics:
- Durability - 7/10
- Endurance - 5/10
- Solve - 10/10
A true all-rounder of the set, Solomon's Shell can be found near the Fallgrim Tower. If you entered through the downstairs door, you will have seen the cave with the spikes protected by a loud growling enemy. It will be Grisha, but unlike Ven Noctivagu, you can ignore this mini-boss and still pick up Soloman, hidden in a cave just down the hill from Grisha's location.
Solomon is a great choice for almost any situation. His stamina goes deeper than you might think, and as long as you don't engage an enemy while stamina isn't available, Solomon will be able to get in, rack up damage, and get out without too much trouble.
Its maximum resolution is also great once you've unlocked some skills beyond parry technique. It can quickly build the resolution gauge and unleash abilities more often than any other shell.
He's not as bulky as Eredrím, and he'll lack stamina if you're too aggressive, especially when using one of the bigger guns. It also has a large circle when initiating combat, which becomes a big deal in one of the game's later temples. Its combat buffs are also less useful than other shells. Despite these drawbacks, its overall prowess makes it a great intermediate option.
Eredrím, the Venerable
Statistics:
- Durability - 10/10
- Endurance - 3/10
- Solve - 3/10
Located near the game's final temple, Eredrím will likely be the last shell you find and bond with. This one-shell tank is the one you'll want if staying alive is your priority.
Very large and a rolling circle similar to Solomon's, Eredrím generally takes slightly less damage from hits than other shells due to its size, especially later in the game when enemies are more ruthless. For this reason, it makes the best choice for any bosses you come across as it will negate a lot of the big damage they can deal.
Its combat buffs will complement that as well, with additional health and increased base damage potential, as it can stagger enemies more frequently, while another ability can stack additional damage if you have a single monster, easily tradable in Mortal Shell.
Naturally, its bulk means that it will require the player to exercise incredible patience, as endurance is paramount. You'll have to slow down and use whatever bit of resolution you gain. This style of play is definitely not for everyone, but it certainly has its uses, especially in the dungeon where its shell resides outside.
The verdict
Choosing the best shell among the four shells is difficult because each of them is adapted to a different resistance.
Harros takes the incredibly valuable hardening ability and makes it so effective that it can make up for its lack of stats. You'll be hard-pressed to run out of stamina with Tiel, so if you can master dodge timing and have a good spatial awareness in the tightest spots, he's impossible to kill. Solomon represents a great all-rounder for stats, with enough versatility for any weapon used with him to be effective while still being most effective with his weapon abilities. And finally, Eredrím is by far the bulkier shell, so if you're concerned about the difficulty of the game, it's probably the best shell to neutralize it.
Ultimately, all viable hull choices. All of them have interesting aspects in their kit and are viable in almost any situation. It's up to you to find what works best for you.
When it comes to playing without a shell for the game, we only recommend it if you intend to complete the game for the achievement. Every enemy in the game will kill you in one hit, and since you don't have a shell to hide in, you won't have an extra chance of getting back into a shell if you get nibbled. Use this option with caution.
