Conqueror’s Reward is an Ability Tarstone in Mortal Shell 2 that rewrites the Black Needle‘s weapon art into a fast, forward-driving flurry of piercing thrusts. When it fires, a blue spectral clone appears alongside you and hammers the target with rapid stabs, making it a strong pick for burst damage against single enemies and tight groups.
Quick answer: Defeat Droeg, the Conqueror at the end of the Conquered Temple gate to earn Conqueror’s Reward, then slot it onto the Black Needle. Its base effect spends 100 Resolve to lunge your spear forward in a series of swift thrusts.
Conqueror’s Reward effects on the Black Needle
Conqueror’s Reward only works with the Black Needle. It cannot be attached to any other weapon, so the spear is a hard requirement for using it at all. Each level you unlock stacks on top of the last, turning a single thrust into a high-damage, multi-hit weapon art.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| Lv. 1 | Consume 100 Resolve to drive your weapon forward in a series of swift, piercing thrusts |
| Lv. 2 | Each strike deals 200% damage |
| Lv. 3 | The attack delivers 4 additional strikes |
| Lv. 4 | Resolve cost reduced to 75 |
At full rank, the art costs 75 Resolve instead of 100, hits harder per stab, and adds four extra strikes to the chain. That combination is what makes the spectral thrust so efficient. You can throw it out repeatedly during a run, clearing enemies before they close the distance thanks to the Black Needle’s long reach.
How to get Conqueror’s Reward
Conqueror’s Reward drops from Droeg, the Conqueror, the boss at the end of the Conquered Temple gate in Mammon. The Conquered Temple is a snowed-in dungeon, and Droeg is a large ogre who swings a huge bone club.
His most dangerous move is the Blazing Frostfire that pours out of his back. When he looks stunned but a red icon flashes around him, homing flames launch from his body, and each one deals heavy damage. Bring a shell with strong evasion, keep moving during that phase, and punish him after the club combos. Clearing the fight hands you the Tarstone directly.
Note: After grabbing the Ova at the beacon, you can push past into the freezing area beyond the hallway. Surviving the periodic cold damage all the way to the end nets you the Frostshard Stone as a bonus.
Get the Black Needle first
The Tarstone is useless without its weapon, so you also need the Black Needle. It is a stolen Twiceborn spear that reaches further and faster than it should, and it drops from the Twin Sesters boss fight inside the Sester’s Bastion.
Head east to the Sester’s Gate Beacon, enter, and make your way to the Sester’s Bastion. Push through the dungeon, clearing enemies along the route, until you reach the Twin Sesters. Defeat them to claim the Black Needle. Cleansing this gate is also required to pass through Sester’s Gate and reach the Conquered Temple, so this step naturally comes before earning Conqueror’s Reward.
Equip Conqueror’s Reward at a beacon
How to upgrade Conqueror’s Reward
Higher levels are handled through the Tarforge in Marrow Keep, and unlocking those upgrade slots requires a quest item. You need to give Franz the Etching Needle, which expands the Tarforge’s upgrade options.
You can loot the Etching Needle from a chest just before the Magdalena, Lady of the Woods boss fight. When you spot Ruk past the bridge, drop through the opening and turn right before the tunnel. A small side area holds a bone chest with the Etching Needle inside.
After handing it to Franz, keep Conqueror’s Reward equipped and kill enemies to fill its experience bar. Once the bar is full, return to Franz in Marrow Keep and spend Coin to push the Tarstone to its next level. Repeat this to reach the reduced 75 Resolve cost at Level 4.
Put together, Conqueror’s Reward turns the Black Needle into one of the spear’s strongest offensive tools. Earn the weapon from the Twin Sesters, take Conqueror’s Reward off Droeg, feed Franz the Etching Needle to open the upgrade path, and by Level 4 you have a cheap, repeatable spectral thrust that carves through most encounters.
