How to Farm Gloom Fast in Mortal Shell 2 – Updated Leveling Guide

TL;DR

• Gloom is the main leveling currency in Mortal Shell 2 — you spend it at Beacons to upgrade your Harbinger.
• The best early farm spot is Gloomshade Grove, where four Grisha Hunters give you around 1,000+ Gloom every 30 seconds.
• Always equip the Gloombound Stone Tarstone before farming to get more Gloom per kill — note that as of the Week 1 Patch it is now a Fragile Tarstone with stronger passive bonuses.
• Hitting glowing orb trees gives one-time Gloom — never skip them.
• Night Mode makes enemies drop more Gloom, but it also makes them harder.
• Spend your Gloom regularly — you lose it all if you die and fail to recover it. As of Balance Patch 1, Shell map locations also cost Gloom instead of Glimpses, so budget accordingly.
• The Week 1 Patch added new Beacons throughout Fainweald and Mammon (active during daytime only), revised dungeon reward chests, and added Glimpses to the Gloom Siphon — all of which affect how and where you farm.

If you are playing Mortal Shell 2 and feel like you keep hitting a wall, you probably need more Gloom. Gloom is the white glowing currency you collect from enemies. It works just like Souls in Dark Souls — spend it to level up, lose it when you die. The more you have, the stronger your Harbinger becomes. This guide covers every reliable way to farm Gloom fast so you can stop getting one-shot and actually enjoy the game. It has been updated to reflect Balance Patch 1 (August 20, 2026) and the Week 1 Patch (August 29, 2026).

Before we get into the best farming spots, it is worth checking our Mortal Shell 2 beginner’s guide if you are just starting out. And if you want to see every boss you will face along the way, the full boss list for Mortal Shell 2 is a good reference to keep open.

Gloom in Mortal Shell 2

What Is Gloom in Mortal Shell 2

Gloom is the main progression currency in Mortal Shell 2. You use it to level up your Harbinger at any Beacon. Each level gives your character a stat boost — more Health, Shell Health, Base Damage, Critical Chance, or Shell Points.

The cost to level up increases every time. Early levels are cheap. Later levels are expensive. This means the faster you farm Gloom, the faster you can keep pace with the game’s difficulty curve.

There is one big rule to remember. You drop all your unspent Gloom when you die. It stays at the spot where you died. If you reach it, you get it back. If you die again before that, the Gloom is gone forever. So spend it regularly at Beacons rather than hoarding it. As of Balance Patch 1, Shell map locations now cost Gloom instead of Glimpses — any Glimpses you already spent are refunded at the Shell Keeper’s alcove in Blackmarrow — so you have one more reason to keep your Gloom topped up rather than sitting on large reserves.

When Can You Start Leveling Up

You cannot level up from the very start. Beacons are available early, but the level-up option is locked until you clear the three introductory bosses in the prologue. After defeating the Tar Golem, carry the Ova to Marrow Keep. Once you arrive and find the Beacon near the hub’s center, leveling becomes available at every Beacon from that point forward.

How to Farm Gloom Fast in Mortal Shell 2

There are several solid methods to farm Gloom quickly. Using them together gives the best results.

Method 1 – Enemy Loop Farming at Beacons

This is the core method. Clear all enemies near a Beacon, then rest at the Beacon to respawn them. Kill them again. Repeat. It sounds simple, and it is — the trick is picking the right spot.

The key variables are:

• Enemy density — more enemies per run means more Gloom per run
• Enemy difficulty — tougher enemies drop significantly more Gloom
• Distance to Beacon — a short walk back to reset saves a lot of time

A Beacon that sits ten seconds from a cluster of decent enemies beats a denser zone that takes two minutes to run back from every time. The Week 1 Patch added new Beacons throughout Fainweald and Mammon — these are only active during daytime — so check for new reset points in areas you have already explored, as some previously inconvenient farm routes may now have a Beacon much closer by.

Method 2 – Hit Glowing Orb Trees

Scattered across the world are vine-like tree growths with bluish white glowing orbs on them. Strike them and you collect a one-time drop of Gloom. These do not respawn. Once you hit them, that Gloom is gone for good.

Always hit every glowing orb tree on your first pass through a new area. Never skip them. They are free Gloom that you cannot come back for.

Method 3 – Equip the Gloombound Stone

The Gloombound Stone is a Support Tarstone that increases the amount of Gloom dropped by every enemy you kill. Equip it before any farming session and every run pays out more.

You can find it in a bone chest in the Stones of Remembrance, southeast of the Stonebled Gate. Head down the path with the three enemies, take them out, then go left into the ruins near the water to find the chest. Note that as of the Week 1 Patch, the Gloombound Stone has been converted into a Fragile Tarstone. It now has a stronger passive effect than at launch and gains a bonus effect when it breaks, so it is even more valuable to equip during farm sessions — just be aware it has durability now and will eventually need replacing. Duplicates can be found in the world multiple times per playthrough and are also sold by Merrick.

Tarstones also gain XP just from being equipped while you kill enemies. The more you use the Gloombound Stone, the higher its level gets and the better its bonus becomes. You can upgrade Tarstones at the Tarforge in Marrow Keep after handing Franz the Etching Needle.

If you are still figuring out which Tarstones to use, our guide on the best Tarstones for beginners in Mortal Shell 2 covers the most important picks.

Method 4 – Enable Night Mode for More Gloom Per Kill

Night Mode is an optional harder difficulty you can switch on at any time. When active, enemies get more health, deal more damage, and move more aggressively. In return, they drop more Gloom and Coins per kill.

To unlock Night Mode:

• Go to the area southeast of the Widow’s Overlook Beacon in Fainweald
• Defeat or run past the Great Arbiter of Flesh miniboss
• Interact with the stone stele in the middle of the area to collect the Gloombound Flame
• Fast travel back to Marrow Keep and take the elevator to the top of the tower
• Find the extinguished lantern and interact with it to use the Gloombound Flame
• This summons Thestus — talk to him and choose “Call forth the Night”

You can switch back to Day Mode at any time by talking to Thestus again. There is no permanent commitment. Only use Night Mode when you are comfortable with the combat — the enemies hit much harder and have roughly double the health compared to standard mode.

Best Gloom Farming Locations in Mortal Shell 2

Location 1 – Gloomshade Grove (Best Early Game Farm)

This is the best early Gloom farm in the game. Right next to the Gloomshade Grove Beacon is a clearing with four Grisha Hunters. Each one drops around 274 Gloom. Killing all four gives you roughly 1,000 to 1,100 Gloom every 30 seconds. Rest at the Beacon to reset them and repeat.

To reach Gloomshade Grove:

• Start at the Widow’s Overlook Beacon
• Head straight north to the Blackridge Pass Beacon
• Use the wooden bridges over the western chasm next to Blackridge Pass
• Continue northwest through the marked path
• Circle around south into the large clearing — the Gloomshade Grove Beacon is right there

This route is reachable within the first hour of a playthrough if you know where to go. Activate the Beacon first, then start your farm loop. The Grisha Hunters are tough but manageable, and their proximity to the Beacon makes this loop extremely fast.

If you equip the Gloombound Stone and run this farm with Proxima as your Shell, you also get Extracted Specimens dropping from the Grisha Hunters, which you can sell to Merrick at Marrow Keep for 100 Coins each. One route, two income streams.

Location 2 – Sunken Village Sheep Pen (Early Game Option)

Near the Sunken Village Beacon in the Glutted Mire, there is a sheep pen across a rope bridge with nine sheep inside. Clearing them gives you up to 900 Gloom per run. This is a solid early option and easy to do safely.

The sheep are low risk. They do not fight back in a dangerous way. However, this spot falls off around level 15. After that, the Gloom per run is not enough to keep up with the rising cost of leveling. It is good for absolute beginners, but switch to Gloomshade Grove or tougher zones once you are comfortable.

The sheep also work as a Coin farm when using Proxima — they drop Extracted Specimens even though they drop no Coins directly.

Location 3 – Mushroom Village Gate (Mid-Game Farm)

From the Mushroom Village Beacon, turn around and head up the bridge. You will find a tall bipedal enemy with large mandibles. It stun-locks fairly easily and drops over 2,000 Gloom per kill. The short distance back to the Beacon makes this a fast and efficient loop.

This spot is great when you are aiming for a specific level threshold before pushing into a difficult boss fight or a new area. It is one of the better mid-game farms available.

Location 4 – Blackridge Pass and Blackridge Hamlet

The area around the Blackridge Pass Beacon also has strong farming potential. You will find cultists fighting a tree monster nearby, and the adjacent Blackridge Hamlet has plenty of zombies packed together. Combined with Night Mode, this zone pays out well for players who are comfortable with combat at night.

Tips to Maximize Gloom Farming Efficiency

• Always have the Gloombound Stone equipped before you start a farm session. More Gloom per kill adds up fast over many runs. As of the Week 1 Patch it is now a Fragile Tarstone, so keep a spare in your inventory or buy another from Merrick when it breaks.
• Spend your Gloom before you push into unknown areas. If you die somewhere new and cannot recover your Gloom, you lose everything. Level up at a Beacon whenever you have enough. Remember that Shell map locations now cost Gloom too, so plan your spending between leveling and unlocking Shells.
• Unlock and activate nearby Beacons before farming. A Beacon you have not activated cannot serve as a reset point. Always cleanse the Beacon in a new area before you start grinding it. The Week 1 Patch added new daytime-only Beacons in Fainweald and Mammon — find them to shorten existing farm loops.
• Clear dungeons and mini-bosses first. They give large one-time Gloom rewards and are not repeatable, so do them before settling into a farm loop. The Week 1 Patch also revised dungeon reward chests across the first two regions and restored missing arena rewards, so revisiting cleared dungeons may yield loot you previously missed.
• Night Mode stacks on top of the Gloombound Stone. Running both together means every kill gives you noticeably more Gloom than either one alone.
• Turn on Auto Pick Up Gold in Game Settings so you do not miss Coin pouches while you are focused on combat.
• Shoot your dropped Gloom from a distance. If you die and your Gloom is in a dangerous spot, you can shoot it to collect it without walking into the danger zone.
• Use Egon’s Stone in dungeons. This new Fragile Tarstone added in the Week 1 Patch revives you at the dungeon entrance when you die inside it, and prevents Gloom loss from that death when it breaks. It is a direct safety net for protecting your Gloom during risky dungeon runs.

Getting your weapons and sidearms dialed in also makes farming sessions much faster. Check out our guides on the best weapons for beginners in Mortal Shell 2 and the best sidearms for beginners to make sure your loadout is ready before you grind.

What Does Gloom Do in Mortal Shell 2

Gloom levels up your Harbinger. Each level increases one or more of the following base stats:

• Health — your base HP pool
• Shell Health — health tied to your equipped Shell
• Base Damage — raw attack power
• Critical Chance — how often you land a critical hit
• Shell Points — used to unlock Shell abilities and passives

Gloom is also used to refund weapon and sidearm upgrades through the Smelt Equipment feature at the Tarforge. As of Balance Patch 1, smelting costs 75% less Gloom than it did at launch, making build experimentation much more affordable. The higher level the equipment, the more Gloom the refund costs regardless — plan your upgrades before smelting to avoid wasting Gloom on reversals. Since Balance Patch 1, Shell map locations also cost Gloom rather than Glimpses, giving you a second major use for the currency beyond leveling.

Note that Gloom only levels your Harbinger. Shell abilities are unlocked separately using Glimpses, which come from chests, Corrupted Beacons, and NPC interactions. As of the Week 1 Patch, Glimpses are no longer a finite resource — they can also be earned from the Gloom Siphon and purchased from Merrick — so you no longer need to ration them as strictly as at launch. Mini-Beacons no longer award a Glimpse as of this same patch, which changes how much you get from exploration versus combat. See our guide on the best Shells for beginners in Mortal Shell 2 to figure out which Shell to invest your Glimpses in first.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Farming Gloom

• Skipping glowing orb trees — they are one-time only and many players run past them without noticing
• Not equipping the Gloombound Stone before a farm session — this is free extra Gloom with zero downside; remember it is now Fragile and will eventually break, so carry a spare
• Banking too much Gloom without spending — the more you hold, the more you lose if you die in a bad spot; also remember Shell map locations now draw on your Gloom too
• Farming low-level areas too long — areas like the sheep pen fall off quickly past level 15; move to higher-yield zones
• Activating Night Mode before you are ready — Night Mode roughly doubles enemy health and damage; do not enable it mid-farm if your build is not solid yet
• Ignoring new Beacons after the Week 1 Patch — new daytime-only Beacons were added throughout Fainweald and Mammon; check previously explored areas for shortcuts to your preferred farm spots

Boss Gloom Rewards Are Worth It

Bosses drop large amounts of Gloom on death. They are not farmable (they do not respawn), but clearing them is always worth it for the one-time boost. If you are stuck on a boss and debating whether to grind more Gloom first, spending 10 to 20 minutes farming at Gloomshade Grove before the fight is usually the smarter call than bashing your head against the boss with a weak Harbinger. Note that as of Balance Patch 1, The Lost Child and The Monolith have both had their health and damage reduced, making those particular boss fights more approachable if you are still working toward their Gloom rewards.

For boss strategies, our individual guides cover every major encounter:

• Zmey the Uninvited boss guide
• Sester Secundus boss guide
• Magdalena the Lady of the Woods boss guide
• Droeg the Conqueror boss guide
• Isaac the Scholar Prince boss guide
• Prophet of Profane Infinities boss guide
• Malborn Offspring boss guide
• Hexapod boss guide
• The Nameless Captive boss guide
• The Lost Child boss guide

Other Things That Help You Level Up Faster

Gloom farming is the main lever, but a few other habits speed up your overall progression:

• Learn to parry — parrying opens up ripostes that kill enemies faster, which means shorter runs and more Gloom per minute. The Week 1 Patch gave ripostes a full scaling pass — riposte damage now scales with enemy health so it stays meaningful in late game and Night Mode, and invulnerability windows are now consistent through the end of each animation. Our guide on how to parry in Mortal Shell 2 explains how to do it reliably.
• Unlock new weapons — some weapons deal with enemy groups faster than others. The Week 1 Patch buffed heavy weapons generally, with the Obsidian Hammer receiving a full balance pass and the Axatana’s weapon ability updated to grant invulnerability frames. Check our all weapon and sidearm locations guide to make sure you are not missing something better.
• Pick up permanent items — some items give you lasting benefits that carry through the whole run. See our guide on permanent items in Mortal Shell 2 so you do not skip anything important.
• Get a map — navigating without a map wastes time. Our guide on how to get a map in Mortal Shell 2 helps you orient yourself quickly in new areas.

Mortal Shell 2 Gloom Farming FAQ