u/Dinesh_Sairam

After about 5-6 hours of playing the Advanced Access, I've realized that the Infinite Seal is not at all worth it.

The enemies in the main game hit 2-3x as harder compared to the Demo, not to mention that there are multiple enemies who are harder in general owing to their variety of attacks.

While I loved using the Infinite Seal in the Demo, it's no longer a favorable risk-reward to use it in the main game. In the Demo, whiffing an Infinite Seal parry meant taking 10-20% of damage or 20-30% against tougher foes. In the main game, it's more like 50% even against some of the regular enemies and straight up 70-80% against the tougher ones. You'll be practically dead unless you are at full HP at all times. The Infinite Seal's parry simply takes too long to 'reload' once you whiff it.

The other problem is that the combat system is not at all made for taking on multiple enemies at once, and the Infinite Seal just makes it that much worse. I've multiple ocassions where I whiff a parry and receive attacks from two different enemies at the same time, effectively kicking me out of the shell. That rules out using the Infinite Seal for general exploration, which sucks.

Unless the 'reload' window for the Infinite Seal is reduced drastically, I see no point in using it. Once you whiff a parry, the Harbinger holds the knife high above his head. There should be an animation to bring it back down quickly to trigger another parry window. However, I don't know how realistic it is to expect the Devs to include an entirely new animation in the game post launch.

Possibly the only use for the Seal right now is in fights where you've memorized all the attack patterns of the enemy (I did use it sucessfully one time against >!the Grisha!<). Even then, you need to practice fighting the enemy a little more to adopt the parry window for the Seal. It is too much effort for little reward and a whole lot of risk.

I am personally alternating between the Untarnished Seal and the Vatra Seal, with a slight preference towards the Untarnished Seal. I think the parry window provided by the Untarnished Seal is generous for my taste, but at least it does not mean death when I whiff a parry one time.

I was looking for something fresh and short to play over the week while waiting for Mortal Shell 2 (Post which, I know I will stop playing everything else). However, I didn't want to stray too far from the souls genre.

Given all this, I picked up Thymesia and also it was available at a huge discount on Steam (I got it for like GBP 3.99). I just completed the first area, and it's been good. The combat is fantastic, but everything else is kind of meh.

What are you playing?

First of all, thank you Cold Symmetry and Playstack for such an elaborate Demo!

I've just completed the main content and all the challenges Mortal Shell 2 Open Beta. Here's my honest feedback about the game.

I'm ignoring commentary on some common bugs (Ex: Enemies not spawning in corrupted statues, getting stuck off bounds, collision detection issues, items getting unquipped automatically) and hope that they will be fixed in the full game.

What works for me in Mortal Shell 2

• Environment: The dark fantasy vibes of the game is fantastically crafted. I haven't played the mainline souls games. But I likened it to the environment in Lies of P, and I loved that game.
• Level Design: Even though it was a short exploration, I liked what I saw. I could see early signs of intriguing world-building and lore. I'm confident the full game will handle it well.
• Enemy Design: The enemy variety (Including bosses) even in this very short demo was appreciable. Even their movesets were completely unique. I can't wait to see all the different types of enemies in the full game.
• Combat: The combat system is amazing. I normally love games with a fast-paced combat system, like Sekiro or Khazan. But somehow MS2's slow and heavy combat flow just works. Be it meele combat, parry, or ranged combat - all of them feel like they have a sense of weight to them. It's awesome!

What I wish could change in Mortal Shell 2

• Too Generous Parry: I love the Parry look and feel in MS2. But I feel like the parry windows are too forgiving. In my opinion, the Untarnished Seal's parry window should match the parry window granted by the Infinite Seal (Maybe even a tad bit lower than that). The Infinite Seal can be reassigned to a different combat use (Why do we need two different Seals for Parry?)
  • Also, someone on this subreddit opined that Parry should be available by default (i.e., Without the use of Seals) and I kind of agree with that too. In that case though, the Poise Break granted by Parries should be reduced.
• Lack of Autonomy in Levelling Up: I noticed that levelling up automatically allocates points across your stats. I think in classic souls fashion, letting players have full autonomy with allocating them works best (i.e., If I want to upgrade attack and resolve first without investing into health for a risky playstyle or vice versa). Each level should allow players to invest 1-2 points into Health, Resolve, Attack, Ranged Attack, Poise Break build up, or Shell Points.
• Character Movement: The main character seems to be always floating an inch above the ground, and his gait is the same regardless of whether he's walking on water, rock, or earth. There should be more weight to his steps, variety in gait based on environment and maybe adding sounds to movement could help.
• Unbalanced Boss Difficulty / Build Progression: The first boss (Tar Golem) was amazing. But the bosses after that seemed to slowly reduce in difficulty to the point where I was able to dispose of the final boss in like 10 seconds. Either boss difficulty curve is too slow, or the skill/build progression is too fast. I hate fighting a HP sponge just as much as I hate being a freaking nuclear bomb. These should be more balanced.
• Limited Combos: Of course, the Open Beta has only 2 weapons. But I felt like they had a limited number of combos. So far, I've just been using the 4-move light attack, the jump attack and the ocassional heavy attack. I know a couple of the Tarstones grant new moves, but even that's limited. There should be at least 5-6 different combos for each weapons class, apart from the default light/heavy combos, to clearly set them apart. Players could practice them with Sister Genessa before heading out into the world.
• Better Effect Descriptions: The Beta has shown multiple effects like Poison, Perforation, Burn etc., But their description should exactly lay out what they do. For instance, I had no idea Perforation is similar to Bleed until I read a post on this subreddit.

My personal wishlist

These are things which are not in the game, and honestly do not affect my view of the game. But they could add a lot to my personal enjoyment of it.

• Auto Loot: Include a menu option to enable auto loot. I don't mind picking up unique items. But things like gold coins should be part of auto loot.
• Familiarity System: I did not play Mortal Shell 1. But one of the systems MS1 had is apparently the familiarity system related to items i.e., You had to consume items to slowly reveal their effects and unlock their full potential. That sounds fantastic. I didn't see it in the Beta. But hopefully it is present in the full game.
• Weapon Skill Tree: Everyone loves a good skill tree. The character level-up is already done from the Beacons. But I wish there was a weapon skill tree (Even if it's a relatively small one) that can be slowly unlocked by interacting with Sister Genessa.
• Overworld Shell Interaction: Each Shell should have 1-2 unique abilities outside of active combat. For instance, equipping Tiel could enable a stealth kill on enemies and it could also grant Poison Resistance. Plus, some of the Beacon Cleansing challenges should be accessible only while equipping a certain shell.
• Unique Combat based on Shell: This request may be too much to ask, but a man can dream. I wish shells had unique deflect and riposte animations. Further, there should be synnergines between specific weapons and shells. But like I said, I don't think it's possible to include in the game at this point. Maybe in Mortal Shell 3.
• Fast Travel between Beacons: As much as I appreciate the awesome teleporter on top of the temple, allowing players to travel between Beacons is a bare minimum requirement.
• Beastiary / Lore Journal: The Harbinger cannot speak. That's why I think it would be cool if there was a journal section in the menu, where he records lore bits and notes on enemies. I'm not sure if the game has side-quests. If it does, it should go on the journal as well.

That being said, the good news is that the positives outweight the negatives for me. I have already pre-ordered the Devout Edition, and can't wait to play it. But if some of the above changes are incorporated, I will be a much happier man.

Once you 'die' in the fight, the game saves only after the cutscene.

Do what you will with this information.

Currently, both of these seals have the same use case: Enabling Parry. But I felt like the Untarnished Parry is too generous and the Infinite Parry, while more difficult to execute, is essentially the same thing. The other two Seals found in the Beta have a completely different purpose. So why do 2 Seals enable the exact same mechanism?

That's why I thought of something that solves both of these problems (Granted, they're my problems).

• The Untarnished Seal should have a smaller parry window. In fact, the parry window for the Infinite Seal is a perfect reference.
• The Infinite Seal should be reassigned to a slightly different usage. One cool possibility is somewhat similar to the 'Clash' mechanic from Wuchang or the 'Counter' mechanic from Khazan. Essentially, you use a Light Attack to time and meet the enemy's strike right in the middle. In MS2, this should trigger an increased Poise Break build up and a large amount of stagger. It's just that the method of execution is different and plays like whole new mechanic.

What are your thoughts on the Untarnished Seal and the Infinite Seal?

I completed my NG some time back with the "Dream's Sweet Deceit" ending. I was playing blind for the most part and didn't care about achievements or anything of that sort.

I've now played through NG+ and just completed the Avian area. I'm about to head into Zhenwu Temple.

I only have the 'Sage' trophy and the trophies related to the other 3 endings left to get. I originally intended to get all these trophies in successive NG cycles. But Mortal Shell 2 is about to drop, and I can already tell from playing the Open Beta that I'm going to switch to that game as soon as it drops in about 3 weeks.

I have precious few days left with Wuchang. I wanted to ask, what's the best way for me to get all 3 endings in a single playthrough, if I'm open to save scumming?

For reference, I'm playing on a PC via Steam.

Having played the Mortal Shell 2 Open Beta, one minor issue for me was not understanding what all the combat related attributes meant.

For instance, some of the abilities and Tar Stones inflict statuses like Burn, Leech, Poison, Bloodcurse, Perforation etc.,

While I can guess what some of these will do based on previous RPG/Action gaming experience, it's better to avoid all doubts and add descriptions of what each of them do as a tool tip while exploring these objects.

I'm sure this feedback has already been provided, but let me add to the pile.

The Main Character feels like he's always floating an inch off the ground. His gait is constantly the same, regardless of whether he's walking over a rocky surface, water, or earth.

It's throwing my immersion off by a lot.

W game otherwise though

For reference, 'Corrupted Statues' are the ones which spawns waves of enemies for you to kill as a challenge (The screen goes grey until the challenge is finished).

Bug: The challenge fails to spawn enemies. It's either at the very beginning, where only 1 enemy is spawned or at the end, where instead of 3-4 enemies, only 1-2 are spawned. After defeating the enemies, the player is softlocked into the challenge arena (The arena is blocked off by an energy wall once the challenge begins and will not let up until it's complete). The only way to get out is to quit to main menu and load back in, which puts the player back at the last Beacon.

There's a Corrupted Statue right next to the Widow's Overlook Beacon. I didn't mind the bug in that location too much, since I could just run back immediately and try it again. After 3-4 attempts, I was able to complete the challenge. But there's another one of these statues inside the 'Ritual Ground' dungeon (Gloopy thing found next to where you find Tiel's body). This dungeon is quite a ways away from the Beacon and there are multiple enemies in between. After getting glitches in this challenge a couple of times, I had to quit the game for the time being since I got frustrated from all the running back.

I'm going to log off for today, but I will be back tomorrow to bash my head against it until I clear it. The silver lining is that quitting back to main menu from anywhere in the game and then loading back retains your current level of Gloom. It's like a psuedo Homeward Idol, which is neat.

I understand that this is just a Beta, and hopefully it's fixed in the final game. I just wanted to report the bug.

I just started playing the Mortal Shell 2 Beta.

Just before the first boss of the game (Gloombound Ritualist, I think), there were two paths leading up to the boss arena. I took the one up top, then dropped down. I took down the boss quite easily, and in that exileration, I forgot about the other path. I proceeded all the way until I reached the hub area (Marrow Keep).

I just remember the path I missed. But there does not seem to be a way to go back to the tutorial region.

Can I somehow go back and take the other path? Is there something important there that I've missed?

I recently purchased a Wolverine V3 Pro Controller for my PC. It has 6 remappable buttons, including 4 claw buttons on the back. I've not explored remapping the buttons much until now. I already know that the buttons can be remapped to a single input (Like M1 -> X button). But I was wondering if I can remap the buttons to perform multiple key combinations.

For example: Can I remap M6 to perform Y + RB?

Say, I'm currently playing Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. Y is the quick spellcast button, whereas Y + RB usually casts a different spell than the one I have equipped on quickcast. If I can remap M6 to do that action instead, it would be very useful, since I can cast the spell I want much quicker.

Is there any way I can do this? I tried doing it on the 'Razer Controller Setup for XBOX' application, but apparently this application does not support the Wolverine V3 Pro (Confirmed by Technicians at Razer).

For reference:

• Controller Model: Wolverine V3 Pro 8k (PC)
• Platform: PC

I recently purchased a Wolverine V3 Pro Controller. It has 6 remappable buttons, including 4 claw buttons on the back. I've not exlored remapping the buttons much until now. I was wondering if I can remap the buttons to perform multiple key combinations.

For example: Can I remap M6 to perform Y + RB?

I'm currently playing Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. Y is the quick spellcast button, whereas Y + RB usually casts a different spell than the one I have equipped on quickcast. If I can remap M6 to do that action instead, it would be very useful.

Is there any way I can do this? I tried doing it on the 'Razer Controller Setup for XBOX' application, but apparently this does not support the Wolverine V3 Pro.

I'm not big on Wuchang: Fallen Feather lore. I'm going to have to look up a video on it.

But from what I understand through the game, the Bai family botched the ressurrection of a dying child due to incorrect usage of the Chisels. Bai Ziyun/Wuchang takes her sister Bai Yu, and flees the Bai estate. Bai Yu unfortunately dies on the journey, and Bai Wuchang is wracked with guilt. She vows to resurrect her sister at all costs.

So during the game, Bai Wuchang goes around collecting all the Chisels and the two rings of Samsara (By directly or indirectly completing multiple main and side quests). After defeating the Feather Taoist in the Bo Capital, she uses the combined power of the Chisels (Presumably) to reach out to the Primordial Deity. It's all good until now.

However, the Primordial Deity seemingly puts Bai Wuchang in a state of trance (She's seen floating upwards while being unconscious). She dreams of being back together with Bai Yu and a fully recovered He Youzai. But the Feathering being present on her arms indicates that she's merely dreaming about this 'perfect' life. This is further proven by the title of the ending 'Dream's Sweet Deceit' and Duryal's voiceover indirectly stating that it's not a good ending for Bai Wuchang.

I'm sorry, but this ending is dubious at best. Why did I have to complete so many quests and defeat a handful of secret and extremely tough bosses to get this ending? I should feel good about completing everything in the game, but I felt bitter and cheated.

I looked up the other endings of the game. Two of them are outright bad. Let's ignore them (Jarful of Medicine and Successor of the Bo). One of them (Bound By Fate's Threads) seems to be the 'good' ending i.e., Bai Wuchang finally accepts that her sister is gone, Bai Wuchang and He Youzai are seemingly cured of the Feathering, and Fang Yao decides to travel with them (Instead of Bai Yu in the illusory ending). But in order to achieve this, you need to either not complete certain portions of the game or destory a secret item which took a lot of effort to acquire (i.e., By defeating the literal embodiment of Bai Wuchang's obsession with bringing her sister back).

So, here are the four endings of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers -

• A dubious ending where Wuchang continues to dream about resurrecting her sister, achieved by completing everything there is to do in the game (Including banishing the embodiment of Wuchang's obsession with resurrecting her sister)
• A 'good' ending, achieved by not completing some key parts of the game and/or destroying an artefact that takes a significant amount of effort to obtain
• Two outright bad endings

There is no sense of satisfaction is any of these endings.

In my opinion, 'Bound By Fate's Thread' should be the 'True' ending of the game, awarded for completing all the content in the game. Some of the late game cinematics, items may have needed alteration to achieve this. But it would have made perfect sense, and ensure that at least one of the endings was satisfactory.