Developer Cold Symmetry has released the first major update for its souls-like action-RPG, Mortal Shell 2, just days after its launch on August 20. The patch, dubbed "Balance Patch 1," introduces a range of adjustments aimed at refining the player experience, particularly concerning the game's economy and combat difficulty.
One of the most impactful changes targets the game's currency systems. Previously, discovering new shell locations required spending Glimpses, a rare currency used to unlock the memories of playable shells. This patch now shifts the cost of shell maps to Gloom, the game's equivalent of souls or runes, and refunds any Glimpses already spent on these maps. Players can reclaim these refunded Glimpses from the Shell Keeper's alcove in Blackmarrow, a move intended to ensure that discovering new shells does not impede the ability to bond with them.
Furthermore, the acquisition rate of gold, a crucial resource for weapon upgrades, has been significantly increased. Enemies across the board now drop more gold, with a notable doubling of gold from enemies in the Mammon area. This adjustment aims to bring the gold economy into better balance with the discovery rate of weapon crafting materials, allowing for more frequent weapon upgrades.
The cost associated with unleveling weapons at the Tarforge has also been reduced by 75%. Cold Symmetry stated this change was made to facilitate weapon switching without the need for extensive grinding through New Game Plus cycles, addressing concerns that the previous Gloom costs were prohibitively high.
Balance Patch 1 also brings adjustments to enemy and boss encounters. All enemies previously featured in the beta have had their health points restored to their beta values, with the notable exception of the Caerinid spider in Magdalena's area, which retains its increased health to maintain its role as a challenging, non-respawning foe. Several bosses have also seen their base damage and maximum health reduced. The Lost Child's base damage is down by 10% and max health by 15%, while the Monolith has received a 19% reduction in base damage and a 10% reduction in max health, with some of its attacks also being retimed for fairness.
Individual enemy health values have been adjusted across the board, with significant reductions for enemies like the Infested Stalker (-52.4% health) and the Caerinid Spider (-33.3% health). Weapon balancing includes buffs to the Great Martyr's Blade (+20% attack damage) and the Troubadour's Lute (+100% attack damage). Additionally, the Caged Hystrix and Triarch Repeater weapons no longer have minimum resolve requirements to fire, and tracking for light attacks on the Axatana, Black Needle, and Clockwork Scythe has been improved.
Quality-of-life improvements include the ability to use the Guard seal while walking and buffs to several Tarstones, including Parasitic Stone, Grudge Stone, Bulwark Stone (which now offers significantly increased damage reduction), Clerik's Stone, and Squall Stone. The patch also includes general crash fixes, bug fixes, and performance updates.
Balance Patch 1 is currently available for PC players. Cold Symmetry has indicated that console versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S will follow shortly.