Mortal Shell 2 New Game Plus Guide — What Carries Over and What Resets

TL;DR

• New Game Plus in Mortal Shell 2 is called New Purpose. You start it by selecting Send Ova at the Gloom Siphon in Marrow Keep after beating the final boss.
• Your character level, Shells, weapons, sidearms, Tarstones, currencies, and most inventory items all carry over.
• Dungeons, beacons, Corrupted Gates, NPC quests, and your Ova count all reset.
• Enemies hit harder and have more health in NG+.
• Permanent pickups like Synaptic Vessels and Revered Glands respawn, letting you further upgrade your healing flask.
• The Seeking the Past achievement requires at least one NG+ run — possibly two.
• You earn the Cosmic Harbinger Skin as a reward for entering NG+.

Finishing Mortal Shell 2 for the first time feels like a big moment. But the game does not end there. New Game Plus — officially called New Purpose — gives you a real reason to go back. You bring your entire build into a harder, refreshed world and keep making it stronger. If you are new to the game or just getting started, our Mortal Shell 2 beginner’s guide covers everything you need to know before you get to this point.

This guide explains how to start NG+, exactly what carries over, what gets reset, and what you should do before you commit to the next cycle. You can play Mortal Shell 2 on its official site and it is available on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox.

How to Start New Game Plus in Mortal Shell 2

NG+ does not start automatically after you beat the final boss. The game leaves you free to keep exploring and finishing any unfinished business. The cycle only ends when you personally choose to begin it.

To start New Game Plus:

1. Defeat the final boss and watch the ending.
2. Return to Marrow Keep.
3. Go to the Gloom Siphon — the absorption machine in the collection room.
4. Select Send Ova.
5. Confirm your choice. New Purpose begins.

This is important: once you select Send Ova, the transition is permanent for that save file. Your Ova count resets and the world refreshes. Do not rush into it without finishing everything you still want to do.

What Carries Over in Mortal Shell 2 New Game Plus

Almost everything tied to your Harbinger and build carries over. Here is the full list:

• Character level — All the Gloom you spent leveling up stays. You carry your stats into the new cycle.
• All unlocked Shells and their memories — Every Shell you found and every memory you watched carries over. Your Bond Tier progress with each Shell also stays intact.
• All weapons and sidearms with upgrades — Every primary weapon and sidearm you collected carries over at their current Tarforge upgrade level. A fully upgraded weapon stays fully upgraded.
• All Tarstones with upgrades — Every Tarstone you collected and upgraded is yours to keep.
• All Seals — Including the Slayer Seal if you picked it up.
• Currencies — Coins and other currencies carry over.
• Inventory items — Materials, consumables, and key items carry over.
• Revealed map areas — The map stays revealed, though markers reset.
• Mether’s Pulse upgrades — Your healing flask improvements carry over.

In short, the build you spent your entire first playthrough building walks into NG+ fully intact. You do not start from scratch.

What Resets in Mortal Shell 2 New Game Plus

Everything tied to the world resets. Here is what you will need to do again:

• Beacons — All fast travel points need to be discovered again. You will not be able to jump around the map from the start.
• Dungeons — All dungeons reset and can be replayed. This is a good thing — it means more Glimpses and rewards.
• Corrupted Gates — All six gates reset and must be completed again.
• NPC quests — Quest progress resets. If you accidentally killed an NPC during your first run, they will return here, which is handy.
• Ova count — Your collected Ova goes back to zero. The whole point of NG+ is to collect them again.
• Map markers — Markers reset even though the map itself stays revealed.

There is one important note about weapon pickup locations. Since you already own your weapons, revisiting those spots in NG+ does not give you the weapon again. Instead, those locations now provide upgrade materials, which is a great source of Tarforge resources for the new cycle.

What Changes in New Game Plus

Enemies Are Harder

Enemies and bosses in NG+ have more health, deal more damage, and are noticeably more aggressive. Boss movesets stay the same, but punish windows shrink. Trades that worked fine in your first run may no longer be survivable. Your carried build — especially a maxed weapon and high Bond Tier Shell — helps absorb a lot of that. The early Fainweald stretch is manageable, but the Mammon region and late-game fights hit considerably harder than before.

Upgrade Materials Improve

In areas where you previously found basic upgrade materials, you will now find more advanced ones. NG+ quietly upgrades the quality of resources scattered throughout the world, which makes continuing to build out your gear faster and more efficient. Be sure to check our Gloom farming guide to keep your levels climbing in the new cycle.

Permanent Pickups Respawn

This is one of the best parts of NG+. Synaptic Vessels and Revered Glands — the items that upgrade your healing flask — respawn in the new cycle. That means you can collect them again and push your Mether’s Pulse even further. If you missed any during your first run, NG+ gives you another shot. You can check our beacon locations guide to get your fast travel network back up as fast as possible.

Glimpses Refresh

Glimpse rewards from beacons and bosses are granted again in NG+. This is the main reason to run NG+ if you are going for 100% completion. A single playthrough does not give enough Glimpses to max out every Shell’s Bond Tier. NG+ gives you the resource you need to keep going.

What to Do Before Starting New Game Plus

Because some things reset and cannot be recovered mid-cycle, there are a few things worth doing before you select Send Ova:

• Finish all NPC quests — Quest progress resets in NG+. Complete any outstanding NPC storylines before committing.
• Collect all optional bosses — Any optional boss you skipped will be missed if you do not complete them in the current cycle. Check our Mortal Shell 2 all boss list to make sure you have not missed anything.
• Grab the Temple of Vatra Tarstone — There is a Tarstone in the Temple of Vatra area in the north part of the map that becomes permanently inaccessible once you leave the area for the first time. The game does not reset the gates leading there in NG+, so if you missed it, it is gone. Get it before leaving that area. See our best Tarstones guide to understand what you are working toward.
• Upgrade Sester Genessa’s Bond fully — There is a known bug in the current version of the game where Sester Genessa stops functioning correctly in NG+ when trying to progress her Bond tier. Max her out in your first run to avoid losing progress.
• Finish any dungeon you want to clear — Dungeons reset in NG+, but if you have a specific reward you want without replaying a dungeon, get it now. Check out our guide on how to get the Makeshift Projectile if you still need the Alchemist’s Workshop rewards before jumping into NG+.
• Stock up on Gloom — Having a healthy Gloom reserve going into NG+ lets you level up faster once the new cycle starts. Our guide on leveling up with Gloom covers the most efficient methods.

NG+ Reward: Cosmic Harbinger Skin

When you reach New Game Plus, you unlock the Cosmic Harbinger Skin. This is a cosmetic unique to the Harbinger character — it does not apply to the playable Shells. To equip it, rest at any Beacon and select the Change Shades option. It is a nice visual reward for finishing the campaign.

Is New Game Plus Required in Mortal Shell 2?

It depends on what you are going for. You do not need NG+ just to finish the main story — one playthrough is enough for that. But if you want full completion or the Platinum trophy, you will need at least one NG+ run, and potentially two.

The key achievement that locks you into multiple playthroughs is Seeking the Past. This requires you to watch all Shell memories, and there are simply not enough Glimpses in a single playthrough to unlock every memory for every Shell. The earliest most players can earn this is NG++, making it likely the last achievement before 100%.

Even outside of achievements, NG+ is worth doing. You get to push your build further, collect better upgrade materials faster, replay dungeons, and take on bosses with a fully developed loadout. It rewards the time you already put in rather than stripping it away.

New Game Plus and Night Mode

Night Mode is a separate difficulty layer you can activate using the Gloombound Flame item. It makes enemies stronger across the board — more enemies spawn, they deal more damage, and they drop more rewards. You can combine Night Mode with NG+ for an even bigger challenge. Night Mode also unlocks content that is hidden during daytime, including secrets and unique events, so it is worth exploring on your NG+ run if you want the full experience.

You can toggle Night Mode by visiting Thestus at the top of Marrow Keep. It is not permanent — you can switch back to normal whenever you want, unlike the Slayer Seal.

Tips for Starting New Game Plus

• Prioritise getting your beacons back as fast as possible so you can fast travel efficiently. Our fast travel guide explains exactly how the system works.
• Focus on Shell Bond upgrades early. If you did not max out a Shell’s Bond Tier in your first run, the Glimpses in NG+ are your chance to do it.
• Do not skip the Synaptic Vessels and Revered Glands that respawn. Getting your healing flask as strong as possible makes the harder enemies easier to manage.
• Pick your best weapons for the harder fights. NG+ enemies punish you for using underpowered gear. Check our best weapons guide to make sure your loadout is solid before facing the tougher content.
• Use the best Seals for your playstyle. Our best Seals in Mortal Shell 2 guide can help you decide what to equip in NG+.
• If you want to experiment with a new Shell, NG+ is a great time to do it. Your old Shells and their Bond progress carry over, but the new resource flow lets you invest in a second or third Shell more easily.

Frequently Asked Questions