Mortal Shell 2: Citadel Of Penance walkthrough (Part 9)

The Citadel Of Penance is located in the northwest corner of Fainweald in Mortal Shell 2. It's a small, compact sub-region adjoining the Gloomshade Grove, and it's absolutely crawling with Brigands of all shapes and sizes.

Fortunately, at this stage of the game you should be more than a match for them - even the hulking Warden boss in its centre. Below is Part 9 of our ever-expanding 100% Mortal Shell 2 walkthrough, and I'll walk you step by step through how to discover and conquer every corner of the Citadel Of Penance.

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!

Citadel Of Penance walkthrough steps:

1. Activate the Citadel Beacon.
2. Obtain the Map Of Fainweald [2].
3. Acquire the Bulwark Stone.
4. Clear the upper levels.
5. Clear the lower levels.
6. Defeat The Warden.
7. Unlock the Eredrim Shell.

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3. Acquire the Bulwark Stone.

Turn around. Opposite the map statue, you'll see a closed gate. Use the lever next to the gate to open it. Collect the 350x Coin Pouch on your left, and then head onto the bridge ahead of you.

Along the way, you'll need to defeat two Armed Knaves and two Stoners. All together they look intimidating at first, but it's actually quite fun because you can bait the Stoners into throwing rocks directly into the backs of the Knaves, sending them flying.

Once the four foes are dealt with, head to the end of the bridge and open the chest there for another Tarstone - the Bulwark Stone.

Mark step as completed.

6. Defeat The Warden.

Once you've fully explored the area, ride either of the two elevators to the top. You'll come to a stone circular platform, at the centre of which is a fake coin pouch. Approach it to trigger the crumbling of the whole floor beneath you, bringing you down into the arena of The Warden boss fight.

The Warden is essentially a supercharged Headsman, and with his flaming executioner's axe and aggressive combos, he's a pretty scary foe at first glance. But really, his danger simply comes from trying to overwhelm you with his combo of unblockable jumping strikes. You can find the rhythm of this one very quickly, and simply dodge to the side of each jump attack.

Otherwise, The Warden has similar timings to any Headsman. He's built to be parried, and it works as well as you'd expect. After each Riposte, pepper him with ranged shots from your Sidearm. As long as you stay on your toes and watch for that red unblockable icon, it shouldn't be too tricky a fight.

Mark step as completed.

7. Unlock the Eredrim Shell.

When you successfully slay The Warden, you'll earn around 6,500x Gloom, and you'll instantly see the true reward is at hand: the screen will turn red as you approach the centre of the arena, where a new Shell awaits you.

Interact with the Shell to unlock Eredrim - a strong contender for the best Shell in the game, in my opinion. As with all Shells, you'll automatically enter Eredrim's first Memory - The Choice. This one's extremely simple - just follow the couple of prompts, and listen to the conversation that follows.

Once it's done, you'll be able to switch to Eredrim and learn about your new abilities with this Shell! Unlike Tiel and Proxima, Eredrim has two active abilities, both of which are capable of dealing strong Break damage to your foes to create more opportunities for Ripostes. His Slaughterer effect also makes him excellent for dealing with groups of smaller foes with very high efficiency.

That's everything to be found within the Citadel Of Penance, so you can leave via either elevator now and make your way back through the Citadel Gate, ready for the next stage of your playthrough.

Mark step as completed.

Now that you've 100%'d the Citadel and have a brand new Shell to play around with, it's time to turn your gaze towards the curious Desolate Peak, just south of the Citadel itself. The questline that takes centre stage in this small region can really stump new players, so be sure to follow along with Part 10 and our Mortal Shell 2 Desolate Peak walkthrough!