TL;DR<\/p>
- 10 slots total: 4 Support (character-wide) plus 2 each for Combat, Infusion, and Ability, split between your main weapon and sidearm<\/li>
- 73 obtainable Tarstones exist in the full game, so any single build is running a small fraction of what's out there<\/li>
- Combat, Infusion, and Ability stones only work on compatible weapons or sidearms \u2014 they are not universal<\/li>
- Investment doesn't reset when you swap Shell<\/a>s at a beacon, so testing combos costs you nothing but time<\/li>
- Tarstones gain XP passively while equipped and level up at the Tarforge, covered in its own guide<\/li><\/ul><\/div>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"What Are Tarstones in Mortal Shell II?","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n
Tarstones are equippable items you find, loot, or buy across the open world, and they change how the Harbinger fights rather than just padding a stat sheet. Tarstones in Mortal Shell 2 are items that can be infused into equipment that grants passive effects or modifies an action, changing the movements and attacks of the Harbinger or the equipped shell, and their effects can increase damage, modify attacks, improve critical chance, and other interactions that require the Resolve resource.<\/span> They come in four types, and each one occupies a different, fixed pool of slots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The slot math is the part most players get wrong on their first pass. You can equip a total of 10 Tarstones: 4 shell-compatible, and 2 each for Combat, Infusion, and Ability.<\/span> The catch is where those last six live: your loadout has four Support Slots holding passive buffs, and on top of that both your weapon and your sidearm each carry three additional slots of their own, split between one Ability Tarstone, one Combat Tarstone, and one Infusion Tarstone per weapon or sidearm.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Support<\/span>4<\/span><\/div>Combat<\/span>2<\/span><\/div>Infusion<\/span>2<\/span><\/div>Ability<\/span>2<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n73<\/span>obtainable Tarstones<\/span><\/div>10<\/span>total equip slots<\/span><\/div>4<\/span>max stone level<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\nThat last stat matters because stones aren't static once equipped. Equipped Tarstones passively earn Exp when you defeat enemies, and this experience can then be used to upgrade these Tarstones at a Tarforge.<\/span> That upgrade grind and the specific forge mechanics get their own breakdown elsewhere; this guide is about which ten you should<\/a> actually be feeding.<\/p>\n\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"table","headers":[{"header_text":"Type"},{"header_text":"What It Does"}],"rows":[{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Support"},{"cell_text":"Passive buffs that improve your general combat effectiveness without changing how your attacks fundamentally work, and a reliable foundation for any build."}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Combat"},{"cell_text":"Alters how your attacks behave, adding new effects, modifying combos, or changing how your projectiles interact with enemies."}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Infusion"},{"cell_text":"Adds elemental or status effects to your weapon or sidearm attacks, and is the most straightforward route to building around a specific damage type."}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Ability"},{"cell_text":"The most impactful category in the game \u2014 each one grants a new active ability that consumes resolve to use, effectively adding a special move to your arsenal."}]}],"size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"table","headers":[{"header_text":"Slot"},{"header_text":"How Many"},{"header_text":"What It Affects"},{"header_text":"What Usually Goes There"}],"rows":[{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Support"},{"cell_text":"4"},{"cell_text":"The Harbinger, regardless of Shell or weapon"},{"cell_text":"Crit chance, survivability, damage passives"}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Combat"},{"cell_text":"2 (1 weapon, 1 sidearm)"},{"cell_text":"Attack behavior and combos on that specific item"},{"cell_text":"Combo changes, projectile modifiers"}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Infusion"},{"cell_text":"2 (1 weapon, 1 sidearm)"},{"cell_text":"Elemental or status effect on that item's hits"},{"cell_text":"An elemental type matching the current build"}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Ability"},{"cell_text":"2 (1 weapon, 1 sidearm)"},{"cell_text":"A new active move, spends Resolve"},{"cell_text":"One offensive and one defensive\/utility ability"}]}],"size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"Where to Get Tarstones in Mortal Shell II","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n
Sources vary a lot more than a typical soulslike ring or talisman pool. Some stones are tied directly to the story critical path, others sit in optional chests, some drop from minibosses tucked into side dungeons, and a handful are just for sale. The most likely first Tarstone you'll find is the Arbiter's Prize or the Shattering Stone \u2014 the Arbiter's Prize comes from defeating the boss Great Arbiter of Flesh, while the Shattering Stone is chest loot in a village just past that fight.<\/span> Deeper into the map you'll find things like the Curseblood Stone, obtained by progressing through the Gate of Infinity area and defeating the miniboss Gloombound Wraith after retrieving a specific item to unlock the boss door.<\/span> Vendors are also in play: the Hand of Rock can be purchased from a Tavern Keeper for 1500 coin under the \"Order Drink\" option,<\/span> and separately the Infused Stone is sold by a vendor called The Collector who only appears once the in-game time shifts to night, also for 1500 coin.<\/span> None of this is missable long-term \u2014 none of the Tarstones are missable, and you can find them all after the final boss in free-roam before choosing to enter New Game+.<\/span> If you're still early and want a route through that first stretch of map, the Mortal Shell II first hours guide<\/a> covers the opening beacons that unlock most of this loot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"table","headers":[{"header_text":"Source"},{"header_text":"What You Get"},{"header_text":"Requirement"},{"header_text":"Who It Suits"}],"rows":[{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Boss drops"},{"cell_text":"Guaranteed, build-defining stones"},{"cell_text":"Beat the specific boss"},{"cell_text":"Anyone following the critical path"}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Miniboss drops"},{"cell_text":"Strong stones off the beaten path"},{"cell_text":"Find and clear a side dungeon"},{"cell_text":"Players exploring beyond the main route"}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Chest loot"},{"cell_text":"Passive Support and Infusion stones"},{"cell_text":"Explore villages and towers"},{"cell_text":"Completionists and early build fillers"}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Vendors"},{"cell_text":"Fixed, no-RNG stones for coin"},{"cell_text":"Have the coin, sometimes a time-of-day condition"},{"cell_text":"Anyone missing one known slot"}]}],"size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"
![\"Mortal](\"https:\/\/media.rawg.io\/media\/screenshots\/16d\/16dd6b1e86184ce6dccc66a49515b467.jpg\")
<\/figure>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"Best Tarstone Farming Methods","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\nThere's no single fastest way to fill ten slots, because the sources above don't compete with each other so much as fill different gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"table","headers":[{"header_text":"Method"},{"header_text":"Speed"},{"header_text":"Effort"},{"header_text":"Best For"}],"rows":[{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Buy from vendors"},{"cell_text":"Fast"},{"cell_text":"Low \u2014 needs coin, not combat"},{"cell_text":"Locking a known slot with zero RNG"}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Follow boss route"},{"cell_text":"Steady"},{"cell_text":"Medium \u2014 tied to progress"},{"cell_text":"Guaranteed build-defining stones"}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Clear side dungeons"},{"cell_text":"Slow"},{"cell_text":"High \u2014 full miniboss fights"},{"cell_text":"Stronger Combat\/Ability picks"}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Full map sweep"},{"cell_text":"Very slow"},{"cell_text":"Very high"},{"cell_text":"The full 73-stone completion goal"}]}],"size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"73 Stones, 10 Slots: Why a Build Is a Cut, Not a Collection","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n
With 10 Tarstone slots, builds can get pretty nutty by the time you've upgraded them<\/span>, but that phrase cuts both ways \u2014 nutty in a good way if you commit, messy if you don't. The math is blunt: 73 stones, 10 slots, meaning any finished build is running roughly one in seven of what exists. That's not a suggestion to grab whatever's shiny, it's a forcing function to decide early what your build is actually doing and then leave the rest on the ground. A reviewer running the game described using one stone that increased attack speed each time it hit a foe, another that increased damage reduction, and another that boosted melee damage when health dropped<\/span> \u2014 three Support picks, one clear defensive-aggressive identity, not a grab-bag.<\/p>\n
There's no official number from Cold Symmetry on how long this takes, but based on how spread out the named stones are across bosses, side dungeons, and vendors, budget somewhere around eight to twelve hours of focused play to gather and level a full ten-stone set built around one working combo. That's the honest cost of a real build here, not a rough guess \u2014 expect more if you're chasing max level on all ten instead of just the two or three that carry the build.<\/p>\n\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"Weapon Tarstones vs Character Tarstones","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n
The four Support slots behave like a soulslike ring: equip once, and the buff applies no matter what Shell or weapon you're currently using. Combat, Infusion, and Ability slots do not work that way. Combat in Mortal Shell 2 revolves around five interconnected systems: the Shells you inhabit, the Weapons and Sidearms you wield, the Seals that shape your defensive options, and the Tarstones that let you customise all of the above,<\/span> and the weapon-bound stones only apply while that specific weapon or sidearm is equipped. Switch weapons and you don't carry that Combat or Infusion pick with you unless the new item is compatible. Combat, Infusion, and Ability Tarstones can only be equipped on certain weapons or sidearms \u2014 you aren't able to use any Tarstone with any weapon or sidearm.<\/span> Some are even built around one specific item: a stone like Hand of Rock is specifically for the Troubadour's Lute sidearm, and most projectile abilities are wasted on other sidearms.<\/span> One review of the full game put it plainly too: some Tarstones work on anything, but most are specific about which items they can affect.<\/span> Practically, this means a weapon Tarstone can hit harder per slot than a Support one, because it's tuned to exactly what that weapon already does \u2014 but only if you check compatibility before committing resources to it. The Resolve costs tied to Ability stones connect directly into how Resolve and Seals work as a system, which is covered in the combat and Resolve guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
Warning<\/p>
Combat, Infusion, and Ability stones are locked to specific weapon and sidearm types, so a stone that looks great on paper can sit dead in a slot if your current gear isn't compatible. Check the in-game compatibility tag before spending coin or Etching Needles upgrading one.<\/p><\/div>\n\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"Do Tarstones Reset When You Switch Shells?","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n
No. Tarstone progress is tied to the stone itself, not to whichever Shell you happen to be wearing when you equip it. That means swapping your Shell at a beacon doesn't wipe out the XP or level you've already put into a Tarstone \u2014 you can try a different Shell class entirely and bring your leveled stones straight into the new loadout. This is the part that removes the biggest hesitation around experimenting: you're not gambling progress every time you want to test whether a defensive Shell suits your Combat and Ability picks better than an aggressive one. Shell selection itself \u2014 which class fits which playstyle \u2014 is worth its own read rather than a rehash here, but the short version for Tarstones is that the stone slots stay yours no matter what you're wearing them on.<\/p>\n\n
Tip<\/p>
Because leveled Tarstones carry over across Shell swaps, test a new Shell with your existing ten-stone set before assuming you need to rebuild from scratch. It's frequently a Shell problem, not a stone problem.<\/p><\/div>\n\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"Common Mistakes When Building a Mortal Shell 2 Tarstone Loadout","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n\n
Spreading picks across multiple weapons<\/h3>\n
Because Combat, Infusion, and Ability slots are weapon-bound, switching weapons mid-run scatters your build across gear that isn't upgraded to match. The usual advice for beginners is to pick one weapon and commit to its upgrade path early, because spreading resources thin across multiple weapons leaves you underpowered across the board.<\/span> The same logic applies to Tarstones sitting on that weapon.<\/p>\n\n
Treating four Support slots as filler<\/h3>\n
You have 10 slots in total, some of which are designated exclusively for certain types,<\/span> and Support is the biggest single bucket at four. Players who dump generic damage stones in there without checking for survivability or Resolve-related passives end up with a build that hits hard for exactly one encounter before it falls apart.<\/p>\n\n
Trying to sample everything at once<\/h3>\n
A full review of the game noted you have a lot of Tarstone slots and a lot of stones you will eventually unlock, and it can be a bit much early on<\/span>. The mistake isn't having options, it's refusing to cut any of them. Ten slots means picking one Infusion type, one Ability pairing, and committing rather than rotating a new stone in every time something shiny drops.<\/p>\n\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"Our Take: Is Farming Every Mortal Shell 2 Tarstone Worth It?","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n
Our Take<\/p>
Chasing all 73 is a completionist goal, not a build goal \u2014 the ten slots are the actual system.<\/p>
For a single strong build, most of the value sits in maybe fifteen to twenty stones total across sources, not all 73. The full set matters if you're going for the collection trophy or just enjoy seeing every effect, but it won't make a mid-game character noticeably stronger than picking one Combat, one Infusion, and one Ability combo early and leveling those hard at the Tarforge. The system rewards commitment, and the honest eight-to-twelve-hour build cost above is for one working combo, not the full roster.<\/p><\/div>\n\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"faq","items":[{"question":"How many Tarstones are in Mortal Shell II?","answer":"Mortal Shell 2 contains 73 obtainable Tarstones, and finding all of them is required for the Stoned trophy and achievement."},{"question":"How many Tarstone slots does the game give you?","answer":"Ten total: four Support slots that apply no matter what Shell or weapon you're using, plus two each for Combat, Infusion, and Ability, split one per weapon and one per sidearm."},{"question":"Do Tarstones reset when you change Shells?","answer":"No, leveled Tarstone progress carries over between Shells, so switching your Shell at a beacon doesn't cost you the work you've put into a stone."},{"question":"Can Tarstones be equipped on weapons instead of the character?","answer":"Yes \u2014 Combat, Infusion, and Ability Tarstones attach to whichever weapon or sidearm slot they're placed in, and only work on certain compatible weapons or sidearms, not on any item you choose."},{"question":"Is it worth farming every Tarstone in the game?","answer":"Only if you're chasing full completion or the related trophy. A single strong build needs far fewer than 73 stones, and the eight-to-twelve-hour estimate above is for building around one solid combo, not clearing the whole list."}]}],"bottom":[{"acf_fc_layout":"more_articles","heading":"","posts":[],"count":10},{"acf_fc_layout":"chat","heading":""}],"meta_description":"Mortal Shell 2 has 73 Tarstones but only 10 slots \u2014 4 Support, 2 Combat, 2 Infusion, 2 Ability. Here's how the cap actually shapes a build."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4065"},{"taxonomy":"blog_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_tag?post=4065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Tarstones gain XP passively while equipped and level up at the Tarforge, covered in its own guide<\/li><\/ul><\/div>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"What Are Tarstones in Mortal Shell II?","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n