The boss staggers; my health is a sliver and the lamp feels impossibly far. I swap to the sidearm, land the last shot, and a sudden rush of Resolve rewrites the fight. That tiny choice—stone, shell, timing—has decided more runs for me than any grind.
Best Tarstones to use in Mortal Shell 2
On every Steam review and Discord thread I read, the same handful of Tarstones get named as game-changers. Tarstones are not cosmetics: they bend the numbers and the moments that matter. I focus here on General and Combat Tarstones because Infusions are heavily tied to specific shells; you’ll get more mileage by pairing universal stones with flexible shells like Tiel or Proxima.
What are the best Tarstones in Mortal Shell 2?
You want clear picks that carry you through midgame into the final gauntlets on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, or the Steam Deck. Below I break down the stones I use, why they work, and the small play tweaks that turn them from useful to indispensable. These choices pair well with community recommendations on Reddit and guides from outlets like Moyens I/O.
Devout Stone
I pick Devout Stone on runs where Resolve management will make or break my patterning. At max level it grants +28 Resolve on a Sidearm kill, which turns small, safe plays into momentum. Treat your sidearm like a resource collector: when an enemy is one shot away, switch for the guaranteed kill and the Resolve cash-in—your reserves will feel like a bank vault opening.
Berserker’s Stone
If you play melee, Berserker’s is one of my go-to choices for boss attempts and tight arenas. At max level it boosts melee damage to 165% when your HP drops below 50%. That spike turns clutch windows into kill windows—damage snaps like a coiled spring when you dip under half health, so plan your potions and Glints around it.
Headsman’s Stone
Headsman’s Stone is the reliable choice for crit builds because it multiplies melee damage by +100% at max level across the board. I use it when my crit chance is already high—stacking crit modifiers and Headsman’s creates frequent, explosive swings. If you prefer steady, predictable bursts, this stone is the plumbing behind every big hit.
Grudge Stone
Grudge Stone is the versatile pick I reach for when my build mixes melee and ranged. At max level every fifth attack is a guaranteed crit—an excellent cadence for weapon arts, chain attacks, and mid-combo finishers. Pair Grudge with Headsman’s and your regular hits become punctuated with high-damage beats that force enemy behavior changes.
How do Tarstones affect combat?
Tarstones change the rhythm: Resolve generation, crit frequency, and conditional damage spikes are all metagame levers. You can read the numbers in the Steam guide or watch creators on YouTube, but the real lesson comes from runs where a stone turns a near-loss into a lamp—those moments teach you how to time swaps, when to bait, and how to set the fight tempo.
Final note: the stones are only half the equation—shell choice, weapon scaling, and how you play the windows matter just as much. I test stones across shells like Tiel and Proxima, and I track community builds on Reddit and Discord to see which combos appear most often. Which Tarstone will you swear by when the final boss lamp blinks?