Veteran’s Battle Axe is an early-game heavy weapon you can get in Mortal Shell 2. It can be found in The King’s Crypt dungeon in Blackridge Pass, and reaching it means dealing with traps, explosive pots, and volatile kamikaze enemies. This guide tells you where to find the Veteran’s Battle Axe with a complete dungeon walkthrough, weapon upgrade requirements, compatible Tarstone data, and tips to use it.
How to Get Mortal Shell 2 Veteran’s Battle Axe
Reach the King’s Crypt
The Veteran’s Battle Axe is found on the lowest crypt level in The King’s Crypt. Start your journey at the Blackridge Pass Beacon north of the Windows Overlook Beacon.
Follow the northern path upward until you reach the Shattered Beacon near where you find Proxima Shell. Continue north past the Beacon to find an overworld ledge overlooking lower terrain. Look down, and you should see the illusory entrance to The King’s Crypt below.
The fall isn’t steep enough to hurt you, so drop straight down and step inside the dungeon entrance.
Tip: You can also buy the overworld map that marks the weapon’s area from Merrick at Marrow Keep for 300 Coins, but you don’t need it for this job here.
King’s Crypt Dungeon Walkthrough
Take the elevator down to the crypt’s main level. Watch the floor in the main hall, as multiple pressure plates trigger hidden wall spikes, so avoid blindly sprinting through the hall. Deal with the enemies while staying clear of the marked plates.
Proceed through the corridor into the room where the path ahead is blocked by explosive barrels. Shoot them with your sidearm from a distance to clear the way and take out an exploding zombie inside the tunnel.
Tread carefully, as there’s a bear trap in the center of the hall floor, so stick to the wall to cross, then drop down from the hole to the bottom.
Destroy the wooden plank door to open the entry to the chamber. Step backward into the room where you arrived from above, as an explosive wretch will rush at you but will get crushed by the traps. You can shoot barrels with your sidearm beside the door. After that, kill the spearman guarding the stairs, then go upstairs.
Above just before the stairs leading to the corridor, destroy the explosive barrels on the left in the dark and take the Laterite from the ground. As you climb the stairs, a group of wretches will arrive from the other end. You can fight them head-on, but you’d better keep your distance and let them detonate.
Drop down through the hole in the hallway and kill the Halbert Knight. Once he is down, approach the headless corpse beside the coffin and interact with it to collect the Veteran’s Battle Axe weapon.
Veteran’s Battle Axe Overview
The Veteran’s Battle Axe is a large, heavy weapon with blades on both ends. It works best if you like committed, hard-hitting attacks rather than quick weapon strings. The axe gets extra abilities as you upgrade it and can be customized a lot with Tarstones.
Veteran’s Battle Axe Upgrade Materials
| Upgrade Level | Damage | Material Required | Coins |
|---|---|---|---|
| +1 | 105% | Ventrium x2 | 100 |
| +2 | 110% | Ventrium x2 | 100 |
| +3 | 115% | Ventrium x4 | 300 |
| +4 | 120% | Ventrium x9 | 500 |
| +5 | 125% | Ventrium x13 | 1,000 |
| +6 | 130% | Ventrium x18 | 1,250 |
| +7 | 135% | Laterite x2 | 2,750 |
| +8 | 140% | Laterite x4 | 2,750 |
| +9 | 145% | Laterite x9 | 3,500 |
| +10 | 150% | Laterite x13 | 4,250 |
| +11 | 155% | Laterite x18 | 5,000 |
| +12 | 160% | Dorsalite x2 | 5,750 |
| +13 | 165% | Dorsalite x4 | 6,500 |
| +14 | 170% | Dorsalite x9 | 7,250 |
| +15 | 175% | Dorsalite x13 | 8,000 |
| +16 | 180% | Dorsalite x18 | 8,750 |
Veteran’s Battle Axe Compatible Tarstones
The Veteran’s Battle Axe supports a broad selection of Tarstones that include heavy attacks, critical hits, Resolve spending, healing, status effects, stagger, and direct ability damage.
| Tarstone | Type | Lv. 1 | Lv. 2 | Lv. 3 | Lv. 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zealot’s Stone | Combat | Grants access to a special Light Combo Finisher | Light finisher generates +40% Resolve | Light finisher generates +70% Resolve | Light finisher generates +150% Resolve |
| Wounding Stone | Combat | Melee attacks inflict Perforation | Inflict 2 Perforation stacks per strike | Inflict 4 Perforation stacks per strike | Inflict 7 Perforation stacks per strike |
| Unwieldly Stone | Ability | Consume 25 Resolve to perform a Charged Heavy Attack | Charged attack grants 2 Leech stacks on kill | Charged attack grants 3 Leech stacks and restores 20 Health on kill | Charged attack grants 5 Leech stacks and restores 25 Health on kill |
| Tyrant’s Stone | Combat | Grants access to a special Heavy Combo Finisher | Heavy finisher inflicts 4 Weak stacks | Heavy finisher inflicts 5 Weak stacks | Heavy finisher inflicts 6 Weak stacks |
| Thief’s Stone | Combat | Striking foes grants you Warp | Gain 1 Warp stack per strike | Gain 2 Warp stacks per strike | Gain 3 Warp stacks per strike |
| Stillblade’s Stone | Combat | Grants access to a special Light Combo Finisher | Light finisher deals 10 Break Damage | Light finisher deals 15 Break Damage | Light finisher deals 25 Break Damage |
| Shattering Stone | Support | Improves melee Stagger Damage | Melee attacks deal 150% Stagger Damage | Melee attacks deal 200% Stagger Damage | Melee attacks deal 220% Stagger Damage |
| Retribution Stone | Support | Improves Riposte damage | Riposte damage increased by 10% | Riposte damage increased by 15% | Riposte damage increased by 20% |
| Lost Clotstone | Ability | Consume 60 Resolve to spin in place and release your weapon with brutal force | Thrown weapon deals 200 splash damage on impact | Thrown weapon deals 300% damage to the struck target | Resolve cost reduced to 40 |
| Inflamed Clawstone | Infusions | Consume 30 Resolve to infuse your weapon with Burn | Infusion lasts for 4 strikes | Infusion lasts for 8 strikes | Infusion is permanent |
| Headman’s Stone | Support | Improves melee critical damage | Melee attacks deal +50% Critical Damage | Melee attacks deal +80% Critical Damage | Melee attacks deal +100% Critical Damage |
| Grudge Stone | Combat | Your weapon deals a guaranteed Critical Hit | Guaranteed crit every 10 attacks | Guaranteed crit every 7 attacks | Guaranteed crit every 5 attacks |
| Devout Stone | Support | Killing an enemy with your Sidearm generates Resolve | Generates 7 Resolve | Generates 14 Resolve | Generates 21 Resolve |
| Curseblood Stone | Infusions | Consume 30 Resolve to infuse your weapon with Curse | Infusion lasts for 4 strikes | Infusion lasts for 8 strikes | Infusion is permanent |
| Clerik’s Stone | Combat | Grants access to a special Heavy Combo Finisher | Heavy finisher has +20% Critical Chance | Heavy finisher has +25% Critical Chance | Heavy finisher has +30% Critical Chance |
| Berserker’s Stone | Support | Improves melee damage the lower your Health is | Melee damage up to 130% at 35% Health or below | Melee damage up to 140% at 40% Health or below | Melee damage up to 165% at 50% Health or below |
| Auspicious Stone | Support | Improves melee Critical Chance | Melee attacks have +10% Critical Chance | Melee attacks have +15% Critical Chance | Melee attacks have +18% Critical Chance |
| Arbiter’s Prize | Infusions | Consume 30 Resolve to infuse your weapon with Bloodcurse | Infusion lasts for 4 strikes | Infusion lasts for 8 strikes | Infusion is permanent |
| Acolyte’s Stone | Ability | Consume 15 Resolve to perform a Charged Light Attack | Charged attack has 15% Critical Chance | Charged attack deals 150% Critical Damage | Resolve cost reduced to 10 |
How to Use the Veteran’s Battle Axe
The Veteran’s Battle Axe punishes impatient players. Because the swings are heavy, you have little time to recover if you miss. Wait for clear openings instead. Use the axe’s reach to control distance, then strike only after your opponent commits to their own move.
For general offense, pair it with an Inflamed Clawstone and choose a Parasitic Stone if you need more sustain. When you focus on critical hits, Grudge, Auspicious, or Headman’s Stones are the better options. Don’t waste your rare upgrade materials right away, and check the weapon’s base stats after any game updates to see if it’s worth your resources.
