Mortal Shell II Tarstones: Upgrade Scarcity Guide
You cannot max every Tarstone on one save. The economy caps you at roughly 25 maxed stones out of 73-75. Here is how to spend Tarcores without locking yourself out of the build you want.
Core problem: You cannot max every Tarstone on one save. Tarcores only come from tempering other Tarstones, L2 to L3 costs 6 Tarcores, and the net economy caps you at roughly 25 maxed stones out of about 73-75. Players who dump cores into "maybe later" stones lock themselves out of the build they actually want. The question is not how to click upgrade, it is how to not waste a finite resource.
1How the Tarcore Economy Works
- 1Equipped Tarstones gain XP from kills.
You do not need to fire the stone's ability. Any kill counts as long as the stone is slotted.
- 2Tarcores sit in the forge trough, not your inventory.
They do not auto-add. Players constantly miss them. Always check the trough after tempering.
- 3Unlock Temper first: Etching Needles chest in Glutted Mire.
After Tarblighted Shepherd, before Magdalena, near Ruk's bridge in a bone chest. Give to Franz or kill Franz, both unlock Temper.
2The Tarcore Farm Loop
-
1
Slot junk stones on purpose
Fill every slot (up to 10) with stones you do not plan to max. These are your core generators.
-
2
Farm dense areas and elites until each hits 10,000 XP
Any kill counts. Dense packs and strong enemies while 10 stones are slotted is the XP loop.
-
3
Temper L1 to L2 for 100 coins
Pick up the core from the trough. This is your budget for real stones.
-
4
Swap the L2 junk stone out for the next unleveled one
Repeat until all stones have been cycled to L2. Community efficiency: about 8-9 loadout rotations covers the whole L1 to L2 core pool.
-
5
Keep your keepers at L2 until the core pool is banked
Do not pay 6 cores until you have a surplus and the stone is already at the 20k XP bar. Maxing early starves every other option.
-
6
After a keeper hits L3, use the 3 refunded cores to start the next keeper
Do not treat the refund as free extra maxes. It only softens the net -3 cost.
3Which Stones to Keep (Decide by Weapon Lock)
Many stones only fit specific weapons. Maxing a stone that does not fit your main weapon is a permanent waste on that file. Pick keepers by weapon lock, not by flavor text.
-
Axe & Dagger
Duality - The community pick for Axatana. Double light hits make it the strongest matching stone for this weapon. Max it if Axe & Dagger is your main.
-
Universal
Unwieldy - Health-on-kill pickup from Merrick (2000 gold). Works on any weapon. A safe early keeper for sustain builds.
-
Early Crit
Auspicious - Early crit-chance stone from a chest in Mushroom Village. Strong keeper if crit fits your weapon's hit pattern.
-
Crit Window
Grudge - Guaranteed-crit interval. Max it only if the L3 text (the crit window) is the reason you equipped it on your main weapon.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Leaving Tarcores in the forge trough. They do not auto-add to inventory. Always check the trough after tempering.
- Maxing the first six stones that hit 20k XP. Without a plan, you lock yourself out of the build you actually want.
- Assuming NG+ chests give more cores. They do not. You keep what you already generated. Plan across the whole save.
- Thinking you must use a stone's ability to gain XP. Any kill counts as long as the stone is slotted. You never need to fire the ability.
- Spreading L3 across many weapons instead of one main plus matching stones. Focus your maxes on one weapon's compatible stones.
- Ignoring compatibility. A maxed stone that will not slot into your weapon is dead weight. Check fit before spending 6 cores.