Crypt of Martyrs Guide – Mortal Shell
The final unique area you will need to visit in Mortal Shell is called the Crypt of Martyrs. This area is accessible through the Abandoned Chamber in the Fallgrim Outskirts. Unlike other unique areas we’ve visited up to this point the Crypt of Martyrs contains two boss fights: the Enslaved Grisha, and Tarsus, The First Martyr. When you beat the Enslaved Grisha you will be stuck in this area as the boss arena is purposefully designed to cut off backtracking. To help you complete this area use our Crypt of Martyrs guide below.
Exploration: Due to the game’s gland/fog mechanic you will want to explore each location as much possible prior to fighting the area’s final boss. This mechanic causes the level to change when a gland is acquired. The Crypt of Martyrs changes a little when the gland is acquired causing you to explore more of it when you need to backtrack. This area remain this way until you reset them by entering NG+.
Crypt of Martyrs Map and Guide
The Crypt of Martyrs is divided into three sections: Abandoned Chamber, Enshrined Sanctum, and Martyr’s Altar. All three sections of the area are fairly linear in design so I’ve opted to only include a map of the Abandoned Chamber. The other section the Enshrined Sanctum contains the boss fight with the Enslaved Grisha and a long climb to the bottom of a cave. At the bottom of this tower you will find the Martyr’s Altar boss room.
Weapon: Martyr’s Blade
In the Abandoned Chamber head forward and rest at the Sester Genessa there. Continue past her into the next room to find a workbench and a weapon statue. Interact with the book next to the statue to trigger a fight with Hadern for the Martyr’s Blade sword. This weapon is a long two-handed blade with frost abilities you can unlock via upgrades. Defeat Hadern and pull the blade from the statue to equip it if you so desire.
How to Get Through the Abandoned Chamber
If you played the open-beta of Mortal Shell you will immediately recognize the Abandoned Chamber area. This area is laid out exactly like it was there. There are no changes. You will find enemies are the same and item spawns are also the same. Feel free to explore the Abandoned Chamber to get the various items in it. Once explored all you need to do is head down either the straight-ahead or left path from the center square room to reach the entrance to the boss fight versus the Enslaved Grisha.
Boss: Enslaved Grisha
Note: Defeating the Enslaved Grisha will trap you in this area as you can’t go back up the ledge you drop down into the boss arena. This means you won’t be able to buy items from Vlas or upgrade your weapons for the foreseeable future. Be absolutely stocked up and upgraded before venturing into this fight.
As mentioned earlier there are two bosses you need to fight in the Crypt of Martyrs with the first being the Enslaved Grisha. This boss fight is exactly as it was in the open beta and is similar to the Grisha we fought in Fallgrim. There only real difference here is that the Enslaved Grisha gets a few new moves and will knock icicles off the ceiling on certain ground smash attacks. Another important thing to point out is that the Enslaved Grisha will always charge you at the start of the fight so stand behind a column to cause it to run into that instead which knocks it over.
When you do defeat the Enslaved Grisha the only direction you can go is deeper into the area. Head into the next room to find a Sester Genessa waiting for you and a chest next to her with some good loot inside it. Grab the checkpoint and open the chest. Head past the chest into the next large are which is long section of the Enshrined Sanctum.
How to Get Through the Enshrined Sanctum
The Enshrined Sanctum is the icy area you will reach when you enter the Grisha boss room. After defeating and passing through the next room you will end up in a large cave system that has buildings built into it. At the very body of this cave system you will find the boss room called the Crypt of Martyrs. I omitted making a map for this area as it is very linear in nature. All you need to focus on is going down which can be done by simply following the main path. This will lead you to the room at the bottom where there is a Sester Genessa. Sip the tar then head into the next room to find the boss goblet.
Boss: Tarsus, The First Martyr
Important: End of area bosses always have two health bars. Don’t celebrate when you drain the first health bar. Be ready for the second phase.
The boss at the end of the Crypt of Martyrs is Tarsus, The First Martyr. Tarsus resides in an icy boss arena that allows it to skate and move quickly around the arena. This boss fight is in my opinion one of the hardest in the game as Tarsus is faster than any other boss we’ve fought up to this point. With that said if you visit this location near the end of the game you will be rather strong yourself, which helps to swing the fight in your favor.
During this fight you will need to be constantly ready to use harden or your dodge as Tarsus will zoom around the ice at you. Besides this attack Tarsus can summon a blizzard around itself when it smashes its sword into the ground. It can also call up icicles out of the ground that will freeze you if they hit you. Both of these attacks can really mess you up so be cautious. Besides these two attacks the other combos are fairly standard to what we’ve seen in the game up to this point.
When you do finally beat Tarsus you will want to loot his body to teleport out of the area. Pull the Crystalline Gland out of the frozen body in front of you to trigger a change in the level.
Final Run Back to Fallgrim Tower
When you have the Crystalline Gland you will need to run back to Fallgrim Tower. Make your way up through the slighlty changed Enshrined Sanctum following the linear path laid out for you. At a few points you will need to crawl through a couple of tunnels to reach rooms you may (or may not have) explored on your way down. Once through these rooms you will reach a path heading up to the double doors next to Sester Ganessa’s location by the Enslaved Grisha boss room. Open them then grab checkpoint.
Head through the Grisha Boss room and climb up the grate ramp that is now formed which allows you to go back to the Abandoned Chamber. Not much is changed here so run back to the beginning and exit to the Fallgrim Outskirts.
You can retrace the path back to Fallgrim Tower we came from earlier or head along the right path through the next section of the Fallgrim Outskirts to a tunnel in the wall. Go through it and pass through the next room to another tunnel. Crawl through it to be at the end of the creek that runs from the large area at the base of the Fallgrim Tower. Follow the creek up and to the left and you will see the tower looming in the distance. Head over to it and go inside. The game is almost finished.
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