Mortal Shell Guide: How to Renounce All Shells

While Mortal Shell is no pushover, veteran Dark Souls fans have been vocal about its difficulty (or lack thereof), calling it a great starting point for players who are new to this type of game. That’s not a bad thing at all, but there is a way to make the game tremendously more difficult, and it has to do with the ability to renounce your shell. 

Renouncing your shells makes Mortal Shell that much harder, perfect for those looking for a greater challenge. In this guide, we’ll explain what that means, how to do so, and give you other tips that will make the process easier for you.

What Happens When You Renounce Your Shell?

Renouncing your Shells means you give up the ability to use any Shells for the remainder of the game. Remember how the beginning of the game starts you off as a Foundling with no Shell? That’s how you’ll be playing the game if you choose to renounce your Shells. 

Doing so will convert your Foundling to the Obsidian Dark Form. Though you won’t be able to use the skills and abilities associated with any of the four shells (Harros, Solomon, Tiel, or Eredrim), Obsidian Dark From does have its own pros and cons. 

The upside of renouncing your Shells is that you’ll get a massive stamina boost, and you’ll be very quick on your feet, which some players actually prefer. All the Tar you earn can go into buying items and weapon upgrades since Shell upgrades are useless.

The downside of renouncing your Shells is that your health is insanely low while in Obsidian Dark Form. Basically, everything is a one-hit kill in this mode. That means you also won’t be able to harden, and any progress you’ve made with your Shells thus far will be deleted, including upgrades and any Glimpses tied to them.

Aside from making the game more challenging, there are three trophies/achievements tied to using renouncing your Shells:

• Forever Alone — Beat the game without ever bonding with a shell
• Life is Suffering — Beat the game in Obsidian Dark Form
• The Nihilist — Renounce humankind

Finding the Strange Altar to Renounce Your Shells

If you want to take the plunge, you’ll need to visit the Strange Altar, which is found in Fallgrim. We’ll walk you through finding the Altar by starting at Fallgrim Tower.

First, head out the door to the right of the Sester. 

Once outside, take a right and continue until you reach the open area with many branching paths.

Take the leftmost path that leads up to a camp with a couple of enemies.

Continue down and take the next left path, past the archer and Sturdyman (the red hooded enemy). You’ll be heading towards the giant toad NPC, Gorf.

Head towards the toad and follow the path past him. If you keep going, you’ll come to a split, where you can go left, right, or seemingly to a dead end ahead.

Keep going ahead. You’ll find a little tunnel you can crawl through, which leads to the Strange Altar. 

When you arrive on the other side, interact with the Altar, and you’ll get the following warning:

“Choosing to renounce all shells forsakes your connection to mortality. You will play the rest of the game without a Shell. Your connection to the Shells will be severed, and you will lose all progress made with your Shells.”

You’ll then have the option to proceed or back away. If you choose to renounce your Shells, an animation will play, showing your character stabbing their armor off.

From here, you’ll respawn at the starting area of Fallgrim, where you’re free to continue playing — without a Shell and with a sliver of health.

That’s everything you need to know about how to renounce your Shells at the Strange Altar in Mortal Shell. Renouncing your shells is a great way to increase the game’s challenge while making your character faster and more agile in the process. For more on Mortal Shell, including other tips and walkthroughs, be sure to visit its hub page here.