Mortal Shell 2: Ruins Of Nochte walkthrough (Part 11)

1. Travel from Desolate Peak into the Ruins Of Nochte.

From the Desolate Peak Beacon, head to the Bone Gate on the south side.

This Bone Gate, unusually, connects to two other Bone Gates, and you can choose between them just by looking at the one you want to go to. Head to the right-most Bone Gate.

2. Enter Prophet's Rest and unlock Smert.

Welcome to the Ruins Of Nochte! You're actually right near the main fort of this region, where the next legacy dungeon is located - but we'll save that until last.

Kill the Brigands and Stoners who accost you after passing through the Bone Gate, and loot the lone Ventrium from their camp. Then take the right-hand path (as opposed to the bridge, which leads into the fort).

At the bottom of the winding slope you'll find a Mycellian Skulk fighting a Torch Cultist. Kill the winner, and destroy the Gloom Tentacle they were fighting beside. Now continue on, taking the right-hand path around the rock. You'll find two Devout's Chalices in the mouths of statues on this side.

Make your way around to the other side of the rock, and you'll be faced with Prophet's Rest - a ritual area guarded by a number of groups of Cultists (including a Faceless Clerik).

There are three rings on the ground around the ritual area. These three rings must be filled with blood: you can either kill enemies on top of (or very near to) a ring to fill it up, or you can interact with the ring to fill it with your own blood. Be aware that doing it yourself will instantly deplete your current health bar to zero, so only do this if you still have your Shell intact.

Once the enemies are all dead and the rings are filled with blood, approach the centre of the area and you'll find a brand new Shell. Interact with it to unlock Smert.

As usual you'll immediately enter a new Memory - "The Convert". Follow the prompts as usual, and then attack the Hierarch once Smert says "Then I will encourage you". Whether you parry or take the responding strikes from the Hierarch, the Memory will progress to its end shortly after, giving you access to your new Smert Shell.

Should you switch to Smert? An extra tip from Ollie

Smert is an unusual one: he can enter a Fight Stance where he halts time and pummels enemies with unarmed attacks, building up stacks of "Chaos". Once time resumes, the Chaos stacks turn into a random status effect (Burn, Freeze, Poison, etc). It's a playstyle that takes some getting used to, but it's a powerful ability - particularly when you inflict Freeze!

The downside is that the ability sacrifices a lot of your health, so I've always felt like I needed to get a lot of value out of each use to make it worthwhile. As always, you can switch between any Shell (and any weapons) you like during this walkthrough - I'll occasionally make recommendations based on an area, but you can keep following this walkthrough with any character. So try Smert out and see if his style suits you!

3. Reach the Outskirts Of Nochte Beacon.

Just for reference, if you turn around and look towards the north, you'll see a Bone Gate on the edge of the cliff. That's the other of the two destinations you could have picked from the Desolate Peak Bone Gate. We're not going back anytime soon though!

Now that you have Smert, look to the opposite side of Prophet's Rest to the direction you entered from. Head down the slope into the water. Ignore all the Skulks and Rootbound Lurks you see ahead of you. Instead, turn left and head through the archways to find the Outskirts Of Nochte Beacon.

4. Conquer the Infested Den.

Inside the Outskirts Of Nochte Beacon, you'll find the Infested Den. It's an area absolutely crawling with Skulks, so you may wish to switch to Tiel (if you've given him Poison Immunity) for this dungeon.

The moment you come out of the elevator, watch for the ambushing Skulk on your left. Then strike the wall directly behind the campfire on the ground to dispel it.

In the expansive room beyond, kill the Skulk and Leechtongue in front of you, then head around the back-left, past another Skulk, and up the wooden stairs.

Three more Skulks await you on the upper platform. Kill them, then head to the end of the platform and shoot the vertical wooden surface across the gap to bring it down, forming a bridge across which you can walk.

Kill the next two Skulks across the bridge, and collect the 500x Coin Pouch on the left side before continuing on. Break the Bone Statue for a Laterite, then traverse the air current to a higher ledge with yet more Skulks.

Open the chest once the Skulks are dead, and you'll get the Hag Stone - a Tarstone which infuses your Forgotten Crossbow (and one undiscovered Sidearm) with Poison. Then progress through the cave until you're overlooking the final room - containing four more Skulks and a Leechtongue.

You can kill off the Skulks from up here using your Sidearm. Then drop down and kill the Leechtongue before cleansing the corruption at the far side for a Glimpse and an Ovum!

5. Obtain the Map Of Fainweald [1].

Back in the overworld, you'll see another set of archways on the opposite side of the Beacon from where you came. Head through them (minding the Rootbound Lurk that unburrows as you approach), and kill the two Lithopods beyond.

Ahead there are two paths: the left takes you along the cliffside towards more Lithopods, and the right is a slope upward through a stone structure doorway. Take the right-hand slope first - it leads directly to Ruk, ready to hand off the Map Of Fainweald [1] which reveals the entire Ruins Of Nochte on your map.

6. Reach the Hag's Path Beacon.

Now backtrack down the slope and take the left-hand path this time. There are six "sleeping" Lithopods clustered around a Bone Statue on the cliff edge; kill them all carefully and loot the Statue for a Laterite.

Keep going around the corner, past a couple more Lithopods and another Rootbound Lurk, and you'll come to a rather unpleasant sub-region of the Ruins Of Nochte simply called the Hag's Path.

One thing to understand about the Hag's Path right from the start: the vast majority of it is a central swamp filled with enemies, and aside from being the densest source of Tarspores in the game, there's pretty much nothing of interest here. For that reason, I'll just walk you through the path around the edge which hits all the areas of actual value, and leave you to optionally clear out the swamp yourself if you want to do so.

So, as you step into the swamp, kill the three Skulks and the Tarred Vestige approaching you. Then hug the left-hand wall until you come to a clearing with several explosive/Poison ritual totems, and a Wortbinder Witch. Ignore the Witch at first, and head around the left corner through the archway. This will take you to a slope where three Frog Cultists are waiting.

Kill the Frog Cultists, then return to the ritual circle and kill the Witch. Upon the Witch's death, a Tarred Vestige will spawn in the centre of the circle. Kill it too. Kill everything! Kill kill kill!

Go back around where you found the Frog Cultists, just past the archway. Loot the Ventrium from the statue, and then follow the upper walkway to the end, where you'll find another Laterite.

Now go back to the ritual circle, and cross the river over to the other side, where two Batushka and a Cannibal Knight can be found patrolling. There are also two Rootbound Lurks which unburrow in the river as you pass. Slay all these enemies, and loot the Bone Statue to your left for yet another Laterite.

Head around the path beside the giant rock which the Bone Statue was next to, collecting the 150x Coin Pouch from the cart along the way. You'll come to a clearing with a couple of large gnarled trees.

Head to the cliff edge, and follow it to the left to find a lower pathway guarded by Lithopods, which leads to a Bone Gate. We won't be using it, but this is the Bone Gate that leads to the east side of Gloomshade Grove, very near where you found the Bloodcursed Lithopod miniboss. Loot the Laterite next to the Bone Gate.

Then turn around and head back up. Further along the cliff edge, you'll see the Hag's Path Beacon. Activate and rest at it.

7. Clear out the Disciple's Stash.

Once you've rested, head opposite the Beacon into the village. On the right, you'll encounter a Neophyte Sester standing guard by a wooden section of wall to an otherwise stone building. Kill the Sester, loot the Coin Of Mammon on the statue beside the wood wall, and then destroy the wall to reveal a dungeon entrance within.

This is the Disciple's Stash - it's not really a true dungeon, more just a hidden loot area, as the name suggests. Kill the Sester at the bottom of the elevator, and loot the Bone Statue beside her for a Laterite. Then kill the next Sester and finally the Faceless Clerik at the end of the path.

With the enemies slain, you can loot the various Coin Pouches in the last room (around 1350x Coin total), and loot the chest for a very handy 5x Ventrium.

8. Obtain the Clerik's Stone.

Head back out of the Disciple's Stash, and unlock the main gate of the building with the stone button beside it. Ahead of you, in the centre of the village, is a medley of Cultist foes to slay, including another two Wortbinder Witches. Kill everything in sight, and loot the Ventrium up the small steps beside the house in the swamp.

Now, return to the wooden wall you broke through to reach the Disciple's Stash. Turn around and look opposite: you should see a wooden staircase leading up the side of a house. Head up those stairs to find another Ventrium.

Now head through the large wooden doorway in the fence beside that house. Follow the slope all the way up, carefully killing the trio of Foul Knights on the way.

At the top is a small enclosed fort-like area. Another Foul Knight is just beyond the entrance, and two more can be found a few steps further in. The area is dominated by a large hole in the ground, which you'll need to skirt around. There's also another notice board here, like the one outside of Mushroom Village (ah, so long ago).

Three collectibles to collect in quickfire fashion: past the notice board, there's a hole in the stone brick wall on the right, through which is a Devout's Chalice. On the other side of the hole from there, you can loot a Laterite from the stone slab there. And at the far end, through the archway, you'll find a Synaptic Vessel for improving your Mether's Pulse heal.

There's one other valuable here, and it's sneakily hidden. Facing that same archway where you found the Synaptic Vessel, look to the right of the archway and destroy first the crates against the wall, and then the wall itself.

Behind the (illusory) wall is a cliff edge with a chest. Loot it for a new Tarstone - the Clerik's Stone. This one's nice if you're already in the habit of heavy attack combos. If you're finding it hard to commit to those long windup animations, Vatra's Seal (Harden) is the answer. You can block even while in the middle of a hefty animation, so it's perfect with the Clerik's Stone.

9. Fast Travel to Widow's Overlook.

You might not expect this next step - it's time to go all the way back to Widow's Overlook! Why? Because we're now going to approach the Ruins Of Nochte from a different angle, and neatly meet up with your current position.

From the Clerik's Stone chest, drop off the edge of the cliff (you'll only take a small bit of damage). You can either run past or defeat the various enemies around you; either way, turn left and you'll see the Outskirts Of Nochte Beacon right next to you. Rest there and use Mether's Breath to fast travel to Widow's Overlook.

10. Find the Ruins Of Nochte Beacon.

From Widow's Overlook, head down the slope and to the right, into the arena of the Great Arbiter Of Flesh boss (if you can remember that far back). At the far end of the arena, there's a bridge leading to a cliffside walkway.

Head down this walkway, killing the Shield Brigand and the four Lithopods on the way. There's a Bone Gate at the end, but before you use it, head around the left side and you'll find a well-hidden Ventrium. Then take the Bone Gate.

At the other side, you'll find another Ventrium on the edge beside you. Collect it, then start to make your way across the large stone bridge and collect the 500x Coin Pouch on the left side. Now focus your attention on the foe ahead, because here you'll encounter a nasty new enemy type: a Gloom Seeker.

These dual-wielding foes are powerful - they're probably my least favourite regular enemy in the game. They have unusual timings on their attack patterns, and long combos of high-damage strikes. Their only drawback is that they don't have a very large health pool (though it isn't small either).

Try to bait it into a combo while staying out of reach, and punish it with Sidearm attacks to whittle it down before going in for the kill. Shell abilities like Tiel's Shadow Strike or Eredrim's Shoulder Bash will also make this fight safer.

Once the Gloom Seeker is dealt with, head to the far side of the bridge and use the next Bone Gate to enter the Ruins Of Nochte from the east side. Shoot the Netopyrs in the tree before they can be a nuisance, then open all the nearby sarcophagi for a Laterite, a Ventrium, and a bunch of Gloom. There are also two Coins Of Mammon, one on either side of the tree in the centre; and there's a sitting spot by the Bone Gate if you want to use it.

Finally, activate the Ruins Of Nochte Beacon on the edge of this clearing, and rest at it.

11. Clear out the Brigand Camp.

Head down the slope beside the Beacon, and double back around the side of that slope to kill the three Wretches below you for a Tarspore.

Ahead, take the upper left-hand path across the bridge by the waterfall, rather than the lower path which leads down towards the stone structure ahead. Along this upper path, you'll find several more Wretches to kill. Ultimately, this path leads to a Brigand Camp, containing a Headsman, two Armed Knaves, and three regular Brigands.

Once all the Brigands are dead, various cages around the camp will automatically open, each one containing a Leechtongue. Deal with the one near the entrance first, and then explore the camp to find 2x Common Moonshine on the left and right sides, and a chest on the right containing 750x Coin.

Take the back-left path to another Leechtongue cage, kill it, and collect another Ventrium beside the cage. Then head to the right for another caged Leechtongue to slay. Beside this one is a Bone Gate. Use it to teleport down to the area below you.

12. Clear out the Waterfall Camp.

After the teleport, a bunch of Infested Wretches will run from right to left, and explode themselves on some Brigands further around the corner. Let 'em. You, meanwhile, should turn around and head behind the Bone Gate, where you'll find a Tarred Vestige that needs killing.

Follow the path beyond the Tarred Vestige and you'll arrive at the stone structure you bypassed on your way to the Brigand Camp. It's being patrolled by several of a new kind of enemy called a Hunched Collector, although really they should look very familiar: they're the non-boss versions of Vrannic, the Grand Illusionist, who you fought on the way to Magdalena.

Do a circuit around the stone structure, killing all the Hunched Collectors. They're really not that tough. Their ranged attacks are easily dodged, and their staff attacks easily parried.

A few steps north of the stone structure, there are three things to note. First: a sitting spot beside a waterfall. Second: the realisation that you're overlooking the area you reached at the end of the Hag's Path earlier, with the Clerik's Stone. You've now met up with your former self!

Third: there's a pathway to your right, guarded by several Brigand Crossbowmen. Kill the Crossbowmen and open the chest at the base of the tree in their little hidey-hole for another 500x Coin. Go round the back of the tree as well to pick up another Gloombound Stone.

Now head back to the nearest wall of the stone structure that was guarded by the Collectors. You'll notice a section in the centre of the wall that's partially inset against the rest. To the right of that section, there's a stone button. It's subtle, easily missed. Push it to open the way inside the structure.

Inside there is just a dungeon entrance, so head down it to enter the Waterfall Camp. It's another very short mini-dungeon; just head down the path, kill the three Brigands by the waterfall, and loot the Ventrium to your left.

Finally, walk straight through the waterfall - but prepare yourself, because an Armed Knave is on the other side, already winding up a strike against you. Kill it, and loot the chest for a Coin Of Mammon. Then exit the dungeon and the stone structure.

13. Visit the Nightfish.

As you step out of the stone structure, turn left and you'll see a path leading to a raised drawbridge. Use the lever by the bridge to lower it. Cross the bridge and turn left immediately after the archway. You're now back at the last Bone Gate.

Head behind the Bone Gate again, to where you fought the Tarred Vestige. Where the bridge is, you can drop down below onto an air current. Directly ahead of you is the Outskirts Of Nochte Beacon once again, but only go there if you need to rest up.

Instead, after dropping down onto the air current, collect the Devout's Chalice at the bottom of the slope, and then immediately turn right. Kill the Skulks and Rootbound Lurks in your way, and enter the cave ahead of you.

This cave is home to an intriguing NPC known only as the Nightfish. You can go up to it and interact with it to enter a "shop" of sorts, where you simply convert your Coin into Gloom. Each 100x Coin you spend gives you 200x Gloom. Personally I don't think it's worth doing, because Coin is harder to come by than Gloom, and you'll need a huge amount of Coin to upgrade your weapons to the highest levels.

However, it's worth looking around the cave for the various valuables stashed away: 2x Ventrium, 2x Devout's Chalices, and a Tooth Of Nochte.

14. Reach the Nochtean Gate Beacon.

Now exit the way you came, and use the air current to head back up to the Bone Gate. If you rested, let the new wave of Infested Wretches pass from right to left again. This time, follow them around to the left, and kill the remaining Brigands and the Stoner in your way (mind the explosive barrels nearby though).

Behind the Stoner, on the left, there's an upper ledge. Shoot the vertical wooden planks up there to bring down a ramp that allows you access. Head up there and kill the three Tarred Corpses that emerge from the ground. Then loot the stone slab for a Laterite.

Drop down the ledge ahead of you onto the main pathway, and head up the slope. Kill the two Armed Knaves ahead of you. When you reach the top, you'll see a new Beacon to activate: the Nochtean Gate Beacon.

15. Conquer the Thieves Retreat.

Activate the Beacon, rest at it, and level up if you can - but don't cleanse the Beacon quite yet. Instead, exit the Beacon and head to the right (facing the Beacon).

Past the first archway, turn right and destroy the crates in your way. Ahead of you is a bridge guarded by two Crossbowmen. Loot the Common Moonshine, Laterite, and 1000x Coin Pouch on this bridge.

Then go back and head straight on through the second archway. Kill the next two Brigands, and drop down to the lower ledge. There's another 250x Coin Pouch here. Collect it, then go up the stairs and kill the Stoner up there.

Turn around after killing the Stoner, and you'll see a locked gate. Push the button beside the gate to open it up, allowing passage down into the Thieves Retreat.

This dungeon is actually a bit nasty and confusing. It's populated by a new kind of enemy - the spectral Necropede, which is capable of various different kinds of ranged Lightning attacks. Kill the first one you encounter in the corridor past the elevator, then step out into the main (very large) room of the dungeon.

The gimmick of the Thieves Retreat is that it uses invisible floors. Walk straight across the gap in front of you and you'll see that you won't fall. Kill the two nearby Necropedes (they're also standing on an invisible floor so you can go right up to them), then turn back and look to the near wall, where another Necropede will attack you from an upper ledge.

This Necropede is also there to show you that there's also an invisible floor (a ramp this time) which leads up to that upper ledge. Kill the Necropede and head up the slope. Follow this path around the corner, killing more Necropedes and bypassing the tripwire traps as you go.

Towards the end of the path is a Roaming Head, and another Necropede around the corner to the left. Kill both, then go to the very end of the path where you're overlooking the main room again, and drop off the edge. There's another invisible floor to catch you just below.

This path leads to the left where the end of the dungeon can be found, but before you do that, follow the path the opposite way (carefully), where it will turn a corner and lead back towards the centre of the room. Kill the remaining Necropedes in your way as you use the invisible floors (and stone floors) to cross to the opposite wall, where there's a Gloom Tentacle to destroy.

Now drop down to the ground. The ground level is swarming with enemies (mostly Foul Knights), and you don't have to kill them if you don't want to. Just visit both ends of the ground floor. The side you entered the dungeon from has two stone slabs containing 2x Laterite, while the opposite side has a 500x Coin Pouch and a Gloom Tentacle containing 3500x Gloom.

Once you've collected them all, you can find an elevator near the centre of the room. Ride it back up to the top, and make your way to the end of the dungeon in the back-left corner, using that same path you dropped down onto earlier.

Turn the corner and you'll find a Revered Gland at the end of the dungeon. You can then use the glowing light to teleport back out of the Thieves Retreat.

16. Kill everything on ground level.

Exit the dungeon, head down the steps to your right, and drop down onto the ground level of the fort. Immediately to your left there will be a Crossbowman and a Headsman to kill. Just past them, you'll discover, is the bridge (guarded by a Stoner) which you saw at the very beginning of this part of the walkthrough. The one that leads back to the Desolate Peak Bone Gate.

You obviously don't need to go back there, though you can kill the enemies again if you wish (or just the nearby Stoner if it's noticed you). Instead, turn right before the bridge and go round the corner to find more Brigands, and a Ventrium on the back of a wooden cart.

Now head to the far side of the ground level. In your way there will be an Armed Knave, another Headsman, and another Crossbowman. Kill them all, and loot the Common Moonshine by the tents.

17. Clear out the Ravaged Tomb.

Next, go to the locked gate beyond the bonfire, and use the lever on the wall to open it. To your right, there's another dungeon entrance. Descend it to enter the Ravaged Tomb.

Head down the corridor and kill the two Foul Knights at the end. Around the corner to the left, there's another locked gate that can be opened with the stone button beside it. Inside this tiny side-room is a Roaming Head, guarding a Ventrium.

Also inside this room is a stone block. Squeeze yourself between the block and the back wall, and strike the block to send it out of the side room and onto a pressure plate.

Activating the pressure plate opens up a new area beyond the far wall of the corridor. Head down the steps, and once you see the Bone Statue, prepare to dodge the Infested Wretch that attacks you from the right, just around the next corner.

Loot that Bone Statue for a Laterite, then head up the next set of stairs and you'll find a chest containing the Duality Stone. Axe and Dagger users, this Tarstone is for you.

Turn around from the chest, and use the pressure plate to open the gate, leading back into the main corridor. But beware! There's now a rolling Knight Of Mammon in this corridor, and it can kill you easily if you're not prepared. Bait its roll, then get into the rhythm of single attacks and dodges to avoid its "pufferfish" spike attack.

Once the Knight Of Mammon is dead, there's nothing else to do in the dungeon, so turn and leave the way you came.

18. Cleanse the Abandoned Shrine.

Back out of the dungeon, head up the steps in front of you and take the elevator up. This leads right back to the Nochtean Gate Beacon. Rest there, and select "Cleanse Beacon" to enter the Abandoned Shrine inside.

Head down the corridor and kill the Foul Knight in your way. Try to do it carefully, avoiding damage, because you're about to face a boss and want to retain your health.

At the end of the path is a drop down to a lower platform, where two more Foul Knights can be found. Again, deal with them carefully, with minimal health loss if possible. Then loot the Bone Statue for a Laterite and open the chest for 1500x Coin.

19. Defeat Vrago, Solikar Champion.

Now turn around, and check the left-hand corner. You'll find a group of crates to smash through, and just beyond that, another drop down to a lower platform. Prepare yourself: the moment you drop, you'll be forced to contend with Vrago, Solikar Champion.

The bad news is you have to be pretty much perfect in this fight, because Vrago deals so much damage with each attack, and he chains them together so mercilessly, that one wrong move is likely to mean death (or at least, Shell-death). The good news is that it's really not as hard as it sounds to be pretty much perfect in this fight!

You'll need to quickly get used to the extreme speed of Vrago's unblockable jump-attack combo; each attack comes very quickly after the last, so you need to chain-dodge your way out of them. All his blockable attacks, meanwhile, are well-telegraphed and very easy to parry.

Once you manage a Riposte, punish him as much as possible as he's getting back up. You'll find that Vrago doesn't actually have a huge amount of health; I used a +9 Iconoclast, which whittled down his health bar pretty quickly.

Once Vrago is defeated, you'll earn a Glimpse for your trouble, as well as a tonne of Gloom (about 8000) and a new Tarstone: the Voltaic Crown. After that, you can cleanse the corruption to the side of the arena and retrieve the 3x Ova there as you make your way back out into the overworld (earning another Glimpse).

You'll also find, as you exit the Beacon, that the gateway behind the Beacon has now been cleared of corruption, allowing you at last to enter your second legacy dungeon in Mortal Shell 2.