Mortal Shell II has 8 playable Shells. A Shell is a body you possess while exploring: each one is effectively an equippable class with its own active abilities and a passive skill tree.
Unlike the first game, every Shell now has distinct active abilities on top of passive upgrades. Points spent to enhance a Shell can be refunded and reallocated for free, so you can freely switch Shells and try new combat styles. For a side-by-side comparison, see the Shells list page.
The eight Shells
The roster mixes a few returning faces with mostly new ones. Below are the eight Shells and their known combat identities, as gathered from launch coverage and the trophy list.
- Tiel — an agile rogue Shell with an invisibility ability and a critical shadow stab.
- Eredrim — a durable front-line Shell with a shoulder bash and a blinding shockwave, plus frost immunity.
- Sariel — expels parasitic thorns that inflict curse; a high-risk Shell that trades health for damage.
- Lazlo — heats its armor to unleash burning shockwaves; fire-oriented with an overheat mechanic.
- Proxima — fires a hook that pulls enemies in and deals lightning damage over time.
- Smert — halts time and stacks chaos strikes that detonate when time resumes.
- Gragu — a heavy brawler whose healing is earned through kills rather than standard heals.
- Sester Genessa — summons faithful doubles that copy your strikes; becomes “stray” when health depletes.
Abilities and skill trees
Each Shell has active abilities that spend Resolve, the yellow bar above your health that fills as you land melee attacks. Passive skill trees offer the larger, better-organized progression chart that reviewers highlighted as a major step up from the original.
Because Shell points are refundable, you are encouraged to swap builds for specific threats, such as maxing Lazlo's fireproof armor against a fire-heavy enemy.
Which Shell should you start with?
Coverage recommends matching your first Shell to your preferred fight tempo. Tiel and Sester Genessa are commonly called out in early coverage for their forgiving, flashy combat loops, but every Shell can work in some capacity. Exact tiering is best confirmed in-game as balance patches land.