Mortal Shell 2: Holding Cells walkthrough (Part 8)
Overview & Key Takeaways
If you've been following along with our Mortal Shell 2 walkthrough, then the last two areas you conquered were the Blackridge Cliffs and the Gloomshade Grove. In both areas, you've found wells which I specifically told you not to descend yet. Well, now it's time to discover what lies below.
The Holding Cells form a large subterranean dungeon which bridges the gap between the two regions of Fainweald. It's a dungeon with a couple of hidden secrets, several key collectibles, and one very dangerous boss fight. If you need a helping hand through the area, then you're in the right place! Below I'll take you step by step through every part of the Holding Cells in Mortal Shell 2.
If you've been following along with our Mortal Shell 2 walkthrough, then the last two areas you conquered were the Blackridge Cliffs and the Gloomshade Grove. In both areas, you've found wells which I specifically told you not to descend yet. Well, now it's time to discover what lies below.
The Holding Cells form a large subterranean dungeon which bridges the gap between the two regions of Fainweald. It's a dungeon with a couple of hidden secrets, several key collectibles, and one very dangerous boss fight. If you need a helping hand through the area, then you're in the right place! Below I'll take you step by step through every part of the Holding Cells in Mortal Shell 2.
Want the walkthrough for a different area of the game? You'll find the full list of all our guides on our Mortal Shell 2 walkthrough hub page!
Holding Cells walkthrough steps:
- Enter the Holding Cells via Blackridge Hamlet.
- Bypass the fake walls.
- Open the far gate.
- Descend to the ground floor.
- Acquire the Feeding Room Key.
- Defeat the Rabid Grisha Pack.
- Reach the alternate exit.
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1. Enter the Holding Cells via Blackridge Hamlet.
From where we left off, head back to the Gloomshade Grove Beacon and use it to teleport to the Mushroom Village Beacon. Enter the Grisha Hunter Camp to your left, and use the air current you unlocked to jump right into the well area of Blackridge Hamlet. This is the fastest way to get to this entrance of the Holding Cells.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Destroy the explosive barrels (and Tarred Corpses) around the well, and then interact with the well to enter the Holding Cells dungeon itself.
Mark step as completed.
2. Bypass the fake walls.
Down the steps from the entrance, kill the three Brigands who attack you. One of them will drop a Common Moonshine. You can also open up the iron maidens if you wish, but they only contain corpses and a bit of Gloom.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Through the next doorway, there's a Ventrium to your left, but be careful as you'll be attacked from the right by another Brigand. With the Brigand slain and the Ventrium taken, the path into the main area of the Holding Cells is clear.
But as you head out onto the wooden walkway, you'll see there's a Bone Statue on a separate walkway on your left. It's completely walled off. So how do you get to it?
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Step back into the previous corridor, and return to the dead end where the Ventrium was. Hit the wall to the right of the Ventrium statue, and you'll reveal it to be a fake wall.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Destroy the Gloom Tentacle within, and then hit the far end wall to dispel another illusory wall. Now you can walk onto the platform with the Bone Statue, and destroy it for a Laterite.
Mark step as completed.
3. Open the far gate.
Now head back onto the main wooden platform. The massive room before you can be a bit overwhelming to follow, but we'll break it into two sections: the upper walkway, and then the ground floor.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
There's an elevator in front of you, but bypass it using the right-hand path for now. Follow the walkway across to the other side of the room, killing all Brigands (and one Armed Knave) along the way. Just ignore the crossbowmen firing at you from the side, you'll get to them later.
As you continue along the walkway, you'll reach a closed gate on the left wall. To open it, keep following the platform into the back room, where a lone Armed Knave stands by a Gloom Tentacle. Kill the Knave and destroy the tentacle. Then destroy the crates behind the tentacle, and tap the stone button on the wall.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
This opens the gate from earlier, so retrace your steps to that gate, and pass through it. Inside this room there's a statue you can loot for a valuable Revered Gland. There's also a side passage blocked by crates, but leave it for now. We'll do that bit last, because it leads out of the dungeon.
Mark step as completed.
4. Descend to the ground floor.
Head into the back room again, and this time take the far exit to reach the elevator on the other side. Around the elevator are two more crossbow Brigands to kill.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Once you've done that, it's time to head to ground level, but don't use this elevator for it. Instead, go back to the start of the room. Why? Because just before you reach the first elevator again, you can drop down from the platform you're on to a lower ledge containing a Bone Statue. Loot the statue for a Laterite. Then just drop down to the ground.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Mark step as completed.
5. Acquire the Feeding Room Key.
The ground floor is swimming with Mycellian Skulks and Netopyrs, which makes this a fantastic time to use your Forgotten Crossbow. Clear out all attackers, including the lone Leechtongue who slithers towards you from the centre of the room.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Before you head further into the room, look behind you for a small wooden hut. Inside, there's a Gloom Tentacle which will net you another 3000x Gloom.
Now carefully head over to the far side of the room, killing every enemy on the way. As well as more Netopyrs and another Leechtongue, there'll be a frightful new enemy called a Roaming Head - basically a giant head with two legs. Its jump is easily parried and it hasn't much health, so it's not much of an issue beyond being creepy as hell.
There's also a locked wooden door on your right, around where the Roaming Head is. There are bear traps on the ground around it, and the door is locked for the moment anyway. But not for long!
In the far left corner of the room, you'll find another small wooden hut. Head inside and loot the body on the floor for the Feeding Room Key.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Mark step as completed.
6. Defeat the Rabid Grisha Pack.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Go back to that locked door surrounded by the bear traps, and open it using the Feeding Room Key. Ride the elevator to the top, and loot the Glimpse from the boxes on the right in front of you.
Now get ready, because you're about to face a very difficult encounter, harder than anything else so far in the game in my opinion. Gird yourself, then use the Bone Gate to enter the arena of the Rabid Grisha Pack.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
The "Pack" consists of two full-grown Grisha. They tend to attack you at once, which is what makes this battle so difficult. You need to stay agile throughout this fight, and keep circling around so that you're always facing both Grisha at once and can see what they're about to do.
Quick weapons are better for this, so I'd use either the Axe and Dagger or the Iconoclast. Tiel's Lingering Shadow ability is useful for giving yourself a moment of breathing room to heal while you're invisible, so I'd advise using his Shell if you aren't already. Don't try to parry any attacks unless there's clearly only one Grisha attacking you at a time. If they're both gunning for you, then just dodge out of the way.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Beyond that, you just have to stay patient, and focus down one Grisha in particular. The faster you turn this fight into a 1v1, the better.
Once you get the kill, you'll be rewarded with a Grisha Remnant, the Inflamed Clawstone (a new Tarstone), and just over 1100x Gloom (which if you ask me is far too little).
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Mark step as completed.
7. Reach the alternate exit.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
To exit the arena, stand in the centre and look up towards the Bone Gate icon back the way you came. Then tap "A" to traverse, sending you back to the top of the elevator you used to get here.
Exit into the main room (again, mind the bear traps), and take the right-hand elevator up to the walkways above.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Now go back to the gate that you opened earlier, behind which was the Revered Gland. Destroy the crates in the corner of the room, and follow the path beyond. You'll come to a corridor guarded by a group of Wretches, but there are also three pressure plates on the ground between you. The Wretches will walk over them and get shot to pieces with arrows, leaving you to clean up the rest.
Zig-zag your way past the pressure plates to the end of the corridor. Kill the lone Wretch around the corner, and then attack the far wall to dispel yet another illusory wall.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Around the corner is another long corridor, this time guarded by a Headsman and a Brigand. Once they're dead, head to the far end and interact with the dangling rope to exit the Holding Cells.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
This exit brings you to an entirely different area of the overworld, but it should be very familiar! This is the well beside the Citadel entrance, which we bypassed in the last part of our walkthrough on Gloomshade Grove. Which is perfect, because your next stop is the Citadel itself!
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Playstack
Of course, you should probably rest at the nearby Gloomshade Grove Beacon before you do anything else. Level up, use that Revered Gland to boost your Mether's Pulse capacity if you can, and perhaps even return to the Marrow Keep for some weapon upgrades. The Citadel contains another nasty boss fight, and you'll need to be prepared.
Mark step as completed.
Now that the Gloomshade Grove and the Holding Cells have been conquered, it's time to venture even further west beyond the Citadel Gate, to see what lies within. If you've enjoyed our walkthrough so far, be sure to keep your 100% playthrough going with Part 9 and our Mortal Shell 2 Citadel Of Penance walkthrough.
