Soulslikes aren’t the most accessible of games, usually by design. Ten years ago you’d have been burnt at the stake asking for an easy mode on Bloodborne, but nowadays, more developers are including difficulty settings in the genre in an attempt to make them more accessible. Mortal Shell 2 developers Cold Symmetry are approaching it from a different angle though, with a little more work going into changing difficulty – to the point many players may not even realise you can do it – and more than just enemy damage and HP changing depending on the difficulty level you select. Figuring out how to change difficulty in Mortal Shell 2 can be laborious, but we have everything you’ll need.
How to Decrease Difficulty
Decreasing difficulty in Mortal Shell 2 is far simpler and easier to figure out than the alternative. When starting the game, you’ll have to complete the tutorial section, a few hours at most, less for more skilled players, before being introduced to Marrow’s Keep, the central hub of the game. Everything from upgrading weapons, a shopkeeper, NPCs, and changing and upgrading your Shells is housed here, and what you’ll need to decrease the difficulty is also here.
DIRECTIONS… and then you’ll find the Slayer Seal on a throne overlooking the cliffs below. It does warn you that by equipping the Slayer Seal you’ll be decreasing the difficulty in a trade-off for disabling achievements, so it’s up to you whether you’re happy with that. Each time you kill an enemy with a Riposte attack, you’ll get health and stamina back for your trouble. Worth it, right?
How to Increase Difficulty
Now, if you want to give yourself a stress-induced headache and make life more difficult for yourself by increasing the difficulty in Mortal Shell 2, you can do that too. One of the first areas you’ll visit in the open world, Widow’s Overlook, houses a boss nearby, the Great Arbiter of Flesh. Take the Gloombound Flame you get from here to the top of Marrow’s Keep and use it to light the lantern at the very top of the tower.
This will cause Thestus, a new character NPC, to appear, and talking to him will allow you to increase the difficulty. It’ll turn to nighttime, enemies will gain more health and cause more damage, and most interestingly, there will be new events, rewards, NPCS, and even new dungeons will appear throughout the world.
Whichever direction you take, be it easier, normal, or hard, the world of Mortal Shell 2 will have a lot to offer all players, that’s for sure.
For your next read, check out our review of Mortal Shell 2, or our top tips and tricks you’ll want to know before you play.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
