The final boss of Mortal Shell is a truly impressive and alternatively pathetic foe — which is the highest ideal in a Dark Souls game. This is a highly polished battle against a massive inhuman monster, something you don’t find often in the Souls series. It isn’t a duel against a human opponent here. And this thing has some truly killer abilities.
The first thing you’ll notice about the Unchained is how much health it has. This guy takes far more damage than any of the other boss fights combined, and he’s a true slog to survive. I recommend stocking up on Weltcaps in Fallgrim before attempting to fight him. At least 10 will help you a lot here.
Otherwise, this is just like any other battle. You need to learn the Unchained’s tricks, and how to counter them without getting yourself killed. He isn’t impossible, and it’s my opinion he isn’t even the hardest boss in the game. That doesn’t take away from the challenge. Grab your favorite fully-upgraded weapon and prepare for a long fight.
More Mortal Shell guides on Gameranx:
- 10 Tips To Help You Survive | Beginner’s Guide
- How To Find All 4 Shells | Class Locations Guide
- How To Get All 5 Weapons | Hadern Boss Tips
- How To Open Fish Statue Chests | Fog Mechanic Guide
- How To Fully Upgrade The Hallowed Sword
- All Weapon Upgrade Locations | Weapon Abilities & Damage Bonuses
- How To Beat Imrod, The Unrepentant | Temple Grounds Walkthrough
- How To Beat Tarsus, The First Martyr | Abandoned Chamber Walkthrough
- How To Beat Crucix, The Twiceborn | Eternal Narthex Walkthrough
- How To Get The Secret Baghead Ending | Easter Egg Guide
The final boss can be accessed after you return all three Glands to the Old Prisoner in Fallgrim Tower. After the Old Prisoner drops into the hole, follow it and the final boss will begin.
Unlike the other bosses in Mortal Shell, this boss only has 1 form and 1 health bar. It can heal itself with a special attack at about 30% health, but even if you ignore this ability completely, it will only restore its health to about 50%. The big difference is that this boss has far more health than anything you’ve encountered so far.
Boss: The Unchained
The Unchained is a massive wingless bird-like beast that lunges from long-range with a huge swings. When you’re close, the Unchained will peck the ground or swing its tail. You can easily score a 3-hit combo after it lunges at you — use a sprint-heavy attack, then use Harden to block its quick tail-attack, then complete your 3-hit heavy combo or 3-hit light combo.
The Unchained will periodically slam the ground, generating two waves of water. Dodge through the water or you’ll get caught in the wave for a small amount of damage. This is an annoying attack, but you can back away and time your second dodge when the boss is about to attack so you don’t waste stamina.
The Unchained’s deadliest attack comes at about 50% HP. It summons multiple minions that can gang up on you. You can quickly defeat them all with a heavy attack — just have Harden ready to block their attacks. There numbers can easily kill you.
- TIP: Line up the minions into one large horde, then Harden just after unleashing a Heavy Attack — they’ll take damage as they jump-attack into your frozen sword, killing them instantly. Any AOE attacks or Weapon Abilities will help here.
At less than 40% HP, the Unchained will create a spinning whirlpool in the center of the arena. Minions will spawn and run into the whirlpool — enter the spinning pool and kill them before they reach the center. Each minion that gets sucked into the Whirlpool will slightly heal the Unchained boss. Don’t get sucked in yourself, or you’ll die! He only does this once.
The rest of the fight goes basically the same as the early parts. He’ll lunge at you with a huge swing. Roll to dodge, then attack with a combo (using Harden to guard against a counter-attack) until he’s down. When he dives, you’ll have time to heal before he leaps up into the sky and slams back down.
You can also stun him using the Ballistazooka. A good shot will put him in a stunned state, leaving him vulnerable to a heavy combo. Keep hitting him, clearing the minions that spawn, and healing — eventually, you’ll be able to take him down.
After the fight is over, select to [Extract Gland] from the Unchained. Now you’ll get a choice to [Ascend] — ascending will take you to New Game+, while refusing will send you back to Fallgrim Tower to continue your game.
In New Game+ enemies have more HP, and deal more damage. Any Key Item weapon upgrades are also replaced with Quenching Acid, so you can fully enhance all of your melee weapons. You’ll keep all your upgrades and unlocks in New Game+.
