Mortal Shell 2 Tarstones: Etching Needles and Franz
Tarstones level at Franz after you deliver the Etching Needles. They cap experience at each rank. The first upgrade costs gold; later ranks ask for Tar cores.
How Tarstone upgrades unlock
Current for the launch version.
Tarstones do not level until Franz has the Etching Needles. Find that chest on the first gateway route, bring the needles back to Marrowkeep, and the forge starts accepting stones. This page is the unlock and the rank rules. It is not a ranking of every stone.
Weapon upgrades are a different handoff: the first-beacon actuator. Sidearms need a third part, the Obsidian Lathe. Do not mix the three items.
The three Franz parts
Franz sits in Marrowkeep, left of the Gloom Siphon room. Each part turns on one function.
| Part | Where it is | What Franz unlocks | Why it is separate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actuator | First beacon chest in the prologue (Village Outskirts) | Weapon upgrades | Later parts stay dark if this one was skipped |
| Obsidian Lathe | Martyr’s Tomb, southeast of Widow’s Overlook | Sidearm upgrades | Same machine, different item |
| Etching Needles | Chest on the first gateway after the sheep fight | Tarstone tempering | Stones cannot rank without it |
If you already left the prologue without the actuator, you need Mother’s Breath — beacon-to-beacon travel after enough eggs go into the Gloom Siphon — before that first chest is reachable again.
Where the Etching Needles are
Start from Widow’s Overlook, the first open-world beacon north of the keep.
- Go east into the first gateway (Glutton Mire / the cleansed mushroom-village gate).
- Reach the Sunken Village beacon and take the bridge.
- Pass the shepherd fight that turns you into a sheep.
- Cross the next bridge. The needles are in a chest just past the crow rook, before that gateway’s last boss.
Take the needles to Franz. The machine then offers Tarstone ranks.
How a stone actually ranks
A stone earns experience while you use it. At the current rank it caps at 10,000 experience and stops growing until you pay for the next rank at Franz.
| Rank step | What it costs | Why that matters |
|---|---|---|
| First upgrade (1 → 2) | Gold only | You can start ranking as soon as the needles are in |
| Later ranks | Tar cores plus the filled experience bar | You have to keep using the stone, then pay again |
| Top of the documented track | A third tier | This page does not pick a best stone for that tier |
Fill the bar first. The forge will not take the gold or cores on an empty stone.
What this page does not list
Named stones and a “best Tarstones” order still need their own pages. Infusions are the weapon-locked sockets. Night Mode’s night merchant can sell unique stones; that vendor lives on the Night Mode page, not here.
If you only needed Franz to stop looking locked, check the actuator first, then the needles.
Common mistakes
- Using stones for hours with no needles delivered. Experience still caps; Franz cannot rank them yet.
- Handing Franz a later part before the actuator. The first chest is the lock for the whole forge.
- Treating weapon ranks and stone ranks as one bar. Two items, two functions.
- Skipping the chest after the sheep fight. That is the needles, not a flavor crate.
Frequently asked questions
How do you upgrade Tarstones in Mortal Shell 2? Deliver the Etching Needles to Franz, fill a stone’s experience, then pay at the forge.
Where are the Etching Needles? In a chest on the first gateway east of Widow’s Overlook, after the sheep fight and before that path’s last boss.
Why will a stone not take more experience? It has hit the 10,000 cap for its current rank. Upgrade it at Franz, then use it again.
Do you need Tar cores for the first rank? No. The first step is gold. Cores show up on later ranks.
Is this the same as maxing a weapon at the Tarforge? No. The actuator opens weapon ranks. The needles open stone ranks.
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