Glimpses are an experience item in Mortal Shell, and you’ll need plenty of them if you want to unlock every ability for each of the five Shells. However, there’s also a more abstract use for Glimpses that somewhat changes up the game.
Think of Glimpses like Humanity from Dark Souls or Insight from Bloodborne. Though they serve a slightly different purpose, they coexist beside the standard experience points you’ll be collecting from monsters and the like, this time called Tar.
This guide will tell you all about Glimpses, including:
- What they are and how you get them
- The different types of Glimpses and their values
- How to farm Glimpses (and “game” the system)
What Are Glimpses and How Do You Get Them?
As stated, Glimpses are a type of experience in Mortal Shell. Your primary source — Tar, this game’s version of souls — is much easier to come by. You can farm Tar by killing enemies over and over and collecting the various Tar consumables throughout the world. There are quite a few, so the resource is relatively easy to find.
Glimpses are almost solely gained from Glimpse items, which are rarer. If you somehow land on a trove of them, though, they’re probably not worth the trouble. Most Glimpse items only give you a few Glimpses of experience.
The higher-value Glimpse items come from boss fights or in other dangerous areas surrounded by fierce enemies. In other words, to unlock your Shell’s potential, you’ll have to deal with some of the most powerful denizens of Fallgrim and its surroundings.
Enemies have a low chance of dropping low- to mid-value Glimpse items, but the odds aren’t in your favor for the good stuff. Bosses also provide a set number of Glimpses, but not as much as the number found in their items.
The Different Types of Glimpses
Glimpse consumables all have a set value. At higher familiarity, which you gain simply by using an item a set number of times, several Glimpse items grant additional experience Glimpses.
- Glimpse of Futility: 1 or 2 Glimpses
- Familiarity 10 required for more
- Glimpse of Wisdom: 2 or 3 Glimpses
- Familiarity 8 required
- Glimpse of Affection: 4 or 5 Glimpses
- Familiarity 4 required
- Glimpse of Hope: 6 or 7 Glimpses
- Familiarity 6 required
The remaining Glimpse items are only obtainable by defeating bosses or succeeding in other high-risk scenarios — the rewards are equal to the danger.
- Glimpse of Reverie: 15 Glimpses
- Found by defeating Hadern before reaching Fallgrim
- Glimpse of Insignificance: 15 Glimpses
- Found in the Martyr’s Altar
- Glimpse of Truth: 15 Glimpses
- Found at the end of the game
- Glimpse of Annihilation: 15 Glimpses
- Found in the Sanctum of Flame
- Glimpse of Oblivion: 15 Glimpses
- Found in the Shifting Archives
- Glimpse of Cowardice: 10 Glimpses
- Found just before entering the Shifting Archives; you will need the Eredrim, the Venerable Shell
- Glimpse of Courage: 10 Glimpses
- Found in a chest in Fallgrim on the way to the Abandoned Chamber catacombs. Will need the Mist active
- Glimpse of Disdain: 22 Glimpses
- Found at the top of the Dim Gate in a torch in the large open hallway
How to Farm Glimpses
Once you obtain your first Sacred Gland, Fallgrim will be covered in a dark, green mist. Enemies will become vampiric, ghoul-like creatures, and the toad-shaped chests will unlock.
These chests contain rare loot, including upgrade materials and, important for our purposes here, higher-value Glimpse items. Normally, the Mist only appears once you have a Sacred Gland in your possession, but there is a way to spawn it at your leisure and farm the frog-shaped chests whenever you like.
Thestus
Meet Thestus, a creepy priest-like figure who, for the low cost of a single Glimpse, can return the Mist to Fallgrim. For a second Glimpse, he will remove it.
He’s in Fallgrim Tower, in the second-floor antechamber with the weapon rack and workbench outside where the Old Prisoner lives.
The Mist changes some enemies into Grisha boss monsters, which drop 7 Glimpses when defeated. Plus, various Frog Chests scattered about have Glimpse items inside them, and that loot respawns when the Mist returns. So long as you aren’t carrying a Sacred Gland, Thestus can call and dissipate the Mist whenever you’d like him to, making farming a breeze.
As long as you’re okay with the ghoul monsters everywhere.
And that’s about all you need to know without Glimpses, with as few spoilers as possible. Check out our review of Mortal Shell if you haven’t yet, and stay tuned to our game hub for more.
Published: Aug 17, 2020 10:26 pm