Mortal Shell 2: Holding Cells Dungeon Walkthrough and Rabid Grisha Pack

The Holding Cells is a dungeon in Blackridge Hamlet, tucked under a well and packed with illusory walls, arrow traps, and enemy groups that punish sloppy sprinting. Everything inside funnels toward one locked door at the bottom of the pit, and one very sharp boss fight behind it.

Quick answer: Drop into the well at Blackridge Hamlet, work down to the bottom of the pit, take the Feeding Room key from the shack on the far side of the arena floor, unlock the large door, and kill the Rabid Grisha Pack to earn the Inflamed Clawstone.

Both Holding Cells entrances in Mortal Shell 2

Two wells lead into the same dungeon. Neither locks you out of anything, so the choice is about how far you want to walk and what you want to pick up first.

Entrance	How to reach it	What you meet first
Blackridge Hamlet well	From the Blackridge Pass Beacon, follow the path southwest through the village and clear the enemies around the well before interacting with it	A short stair, three weak enemies, then a linear corridor
Gloomshade Grove well	A secluded spot near the Martyr’s Prison entrance, close to the Gloomshade Grove Beacon	A heavy knight plus basic soldiers, and a Revered Gland just past an illusory wall

Blackridge is the faster option because its Beacon sits closer to the well. The Gloomshade side looks like a dead end when you land, but it has two exits. Either walk off the ledge and use a plunging attack to cancel fall damage, or hit the illusory wall on your left at the end of the corridor.

Upper level route: illusory walls, the gate switch, and the arrow trap

From the Blackridge well, take the stairs ahead and clear the three enemies waiting at the top. The corridor beyond is a single path, so keep your camera turned to the left wall as you move.

Spot the small recess on the left and grab the Ventrium inside it. The wall right beside that recess is fake, so hit it to open a side room holding Gloom.

Continue to the dead end ahead and strike that wall too. It opens onto a bridge, and crossing it gets you Laterite.

The Harbinger locks on to a glowing blue spectral enemy inside the Holding Cells corridors — Locking on before you commit is worth it in the tight corridors, where a second enemy can close the gap fast. Image: Cold Symmetry

Return to the main path until you reach an elevator. Ignore it for now, turn right, and take the corridor that loops around it.

Follow that route until a giant knight blocks you. Kill it and push on to the fork ahead, where the left branch is a locked gate and the right branch is open.

Take the right branch and fight through to a large chamber with a Gloom tree and another knight. Kill the knight, take the Gloom, then check the crates on the right side of the room. The switch for that locked gate is hidden behind them.

Head back through the now-open gate and pick up the Revered Gland ahead. Smash the crates to your left to reveal a narrow hallway.

Stop before entering the hallway. A large group of soldiers is waiting, and if you hold position they walk into an arrow trap that kills several of them for you. Note where the trap switches sit, then finish the survivors and move through without stepping into the same line of fire.

Keep going to a dead end with two statues and hit the wall between them. An enemy attacks the instant the illusion breaks, so have your guard up, then deal with the larger one behind it. The rope here is a secret exit that warps you out toward the Citadel of Penance outskirts, so leave it alone until you have finished below.

Note: from the Blackridge side, there is a second stretch of illusory walls to the left of the hallway past the room with the iron maidens. Breaking through leads to a Ventrium totem, and a second totem sits outside, reachable by dropping from a nearby ledge.

Getting to the bottom of the pit and the Feeding Room key

The lower floor is the real objective. You can reach it with the elevators on the wooden walkways or by dropping and using a plunging attack, but the elevator route lets you collect one more resource on the way down.

Walk back to the elevator you skipped and look under the rafters as you approach. Glowing Laterite is visible on a platform below.

Activate the elevator to send it down, then step off and drop onto the Laterite platform instead of riding it. Take the resource and look over the edge to scout the floor below.

The player stands on a wooden platform overlooking the dark lower level of the Holding Cells — The wooden walkways and lifts ring the open pit, giving you a safe angle on the enemies waiting at the bottom / Image credit: Cold Symmetry

Use your sidearm from the ledge to thin out the creature-type enemies down there. They swarm quickly in the open, so every one you drop early saves healing charges you will want for the boss.

Drop into the arena floor, clear the remaining enemies, and check the small cabin ahead for Gloom.

Cross to the larger shack on the opposite side, the one furthest from the Blackridge entrance. Two corpses lie inside, and the Feeding Room key is on the ground beside one of them.

Use the key on the big locked door on this floor. Past it, a lift takes you up to a Glimpse and then straight into the boss arena.

Entering the arena starts the fight immediately, with no run-back or pause. If your health flasks are low or you are underleveled, grab the Glimpse, back off, and return later.

How to beat the Rabid Grisha Pack

Two Grisha share the arena. Their movesets are simple, and the entire difficulty comes from being flanked. Turning the fight into a 1v1 is the whole strategy.

The cleanest opener is the pair of overhead cylinders hanging above the arena. Hold your shots until a Grisha is standing directly beneath one, then fire. The falling cylinder deals heavy damage and knocks that Grisha down, buying you a long stretch to punish the other one alone.

Lightning works the same way. Stunning and launching one Grisha isolates it, and depending on your build you can strip roughly 20 to 40 percent of the other one’s health before the pack reforms. Repeat the isolation until the first Grisha dies, then finish the survivor in a straight duel.

Attack or option	What to do
Regular claw swipe	Parry it. The riposte animation makes you invincible, so the second Grisha cannot punish you mid-counter
Red-glowing lunge grab	Dodge it. Harden does not stop this one
Overhead cylinders	Shoot only when a Grisha is directly below one, for massive damage plus a knockdown
Tiel	Perfect dodges build the enemy Break meter, which suits a long attrition fight
Proxima	Upgraded Seizure applies Stasis and Lightning to both Grisha, slowing them and adding damage over time

Your Shell and weapon choice matters less than patience here. Breaking a Grisha for a riposte is reliable on any setup, and staying calm while you read their limited moveset beats trying to out-damage both at once.

Holding Cells rewards and how to confirm the dungeon is done

Killing the pack drops 2x Grisha Remnants and the Inflamed Clawstone, a Tarstone for the Veteran’s Battle Axe that adds fire damage to the weapon. Seeing the Clawstone land in your inventory is the confirmation that the dungeon is cleared.

If you are sweeping the place for everything, the full haul across both floors covers Ventrium, Laterite, several Gloom nodes, a Revered Gland, and the Glimpse above the boss lift. The rope near the statues remains as a shortcut out toward the Citadel of Penance once you are finished, which is the quickest way to leave without backtracking through the traps.