Mortal Shell II Currencies: Gloom, Glimpses, Points

Mortal Shell II runs on four separate currencies, and mixing them up is the single most common beginner mistake in the game. Gloom, Glimpses, Shell Points and gold each do one job only, and only one of them punishes you for dying. This guide breaks down what each currency actually does, where to get it, and the one rule that should change how you play.

These are the game’s four progression currencies, and each one sits in a completely different system. Gloom is a currency acquired from defeating enemies and bosses or from destroying effigies that contain Gloom, and spending it improves Health, Shell Health, Base Damage, Critical Chance, and Shell Points. Glimpses work on your Shells rather than your character — Glimpse unlocks additional abilities for the Shells you find and inhabit. Shell Points are the perk currency spent inside a Shell’s own talent tree, and gold is the plain shopping currency. Only one of the four is a real gamble to carry around.

Gloom is the only currency on this list you lose on death, which means you’re not punished for choosing to upgrade your Shells instead of buying healing items. The soulslike habit of hoarding every currency “just in case” only applies to Gloom here: Glimpses, Shell Points already spent, and gold stay with you however you die. Dying drops your Gloom at the spot where you fell, and you can go back for it; die again before you pick it up and that Gloom is gone for good, because only your last death is tracked.

Two changes since launch soften this. The Week 1 Update added Egon’s Stone: it revives you at a dungeon’s entrance when you die inside, at the cost of its durability, and when it breaks it prevents Gloom loss for that death. The 5 September update improved the logic around Gloom drops on death so lost Gloom is easier to retrieve, and the Gloombound Stone no longer loses durability when you recover Gloom from your own corpse.

Gloom comes from just about everything you kill, with the biggest chunks coming from bosses and mini-bosses, plus Gloom effigies found throughout the map that release currency when struck. Glimpses are rarer and tied to bigger milestones rather than trash mobs — Glimpses are primarily from defeating bosses and clearing Beacons, so cleansing a Beacon’s attached dungeon is one of the better sources. Since the Week 1 Update, mini-Beacons no longer award a Glimpse, a Glimpse Stone wears down as you defeat enemies and then breaks into Glimpses, and the gloom siphon gives additional rewards, Glimpses included. Shell Points come purely from leveling your Harbinger with Gloom, and gold flows from loot and selling drops. If you’re still working out your route through the early game, the first hours guide covers which Beacons to prioritize early.

Glimpses only really show up in meaningful amounts from bosses and full dungeon clears. Since the Week 1 Update they are no longer a finite resource, which Cold Symmetry says allows all Shells to be upgraded in a single playthrough, so New Game+ is no longer needed to max your roster. Merrick also stocks Glimpse Stones once you have gathered enough Ova; the boss order guide lays out a route that front-loads the higher-value fights. For Gloom, grinding respawning mobs near a Beacon is a simple top-off — the repeatable loops and Night Mode’s real payoff are in our Mortal Shell 2 Gloom farming guide.

Spending currency correctly gets you two different kinds of payoff: a Shell that can do more, or a build that hits harder. Raising Bond Tier with Glimpses is handled through the Shellkeeper in Marrow Keep or directly at any Beacon’s Level Up option, and it’s the gate on a Shell’s actual kit rather than a cosmetic bonus.

How Many Glimpses You Need, and Getting Them Back

Community guides put one Shell’s maximum Bond Tier at 27 Glimpses; we haven’t verified that figure in the current build. At launch Glimpses were finite, and one playthrough couldn’t max every Shell. That changed with the Week 1 Update: Glimpses and Tarcores “are no longer finite resources”, allowing all Shells and Tarstones to be upgraded in a single playthrough.

The same update added Mether’s Severance, a Shell respec item. Give it to Zhirelle, the shell keeper, and she severs your bond with a Shell, resets it and gives back all the Glimpses you spent on it. Merrick sells it and restocks it occasionally as you progress; its price isn’t stated in the patch notes. The 14 September hotfix made it usable at Genessa’s trainer as well, and the 24 September hotfix fixed a soft lock when cancelling it with a gamepad. The notes don’t say whether a Severance also resets Shell Points, and we haven’t tested it.

Weapon Upgrade Stones Are a Separate System Entirely

Don’t confuse Gloom, Glimpses or Shell Points with the raw materials weapon upgrades need — those are handled through stones like Ventrium, Laterite, Dorsalite, Thoracium and Ossinite, spent alongside gold rather than any of the four currencies covered here. Tarcores, which Tarstones need, stopped being finite in the same Week 1 Update, and both Merrick and the Collector now carry them. How those upgrade branches actually work is its own topic — see the Tarforge upgrade guide for the breakdown.

Myth: dying wipes everything you’re carrying

Only Gloom is at risk. Glimpses, Shell Points you’ve already spent, and gold are untouched by death — the loss is isolated to the one currency tied to leveling.

Myth: Shell Points carry between Shells like a shared pool

They don’t. Levelling those Abilities up requires Shell Points, which you earn by levelling up your character with Gloom rather than through the Shellkeeper, and once you’ve got them, you can spend them on your currently inhabited Shell’s talent tree. Points sit inside whichever Shell you’re wearing when you allocate them, not in a shared account pool.

Myth: Glimpses you spend are locked in for good

That was true at launch and no longer is. Since the Week 1 Update, Mether’s Severance resets a Shell and returns all the Glimpses spent on it, so a Bond Tier spend can be undone as long as you have a Severance to hand in.

Sources and Confidence

Where each claim comes from, and how far to trust it.