Mortal Shell 2 Solnir Shard Location (Grenade Launcher Tarstone)

The Solnir Shard turns a sidearm into something closer to a grenade launcher. Instead of firing a standard bolt, it spends Resolve to lob a heavy round in an arc that bursts on impact for splash damage, which makes it one of the few ways to hit clustered enemies in Mortal Shell 2 without closing distance. It is a single-drop item, and there is only one way to get it.

Quick answer: Defeat Solnir, the Gloom Seeker, a boss found past the Citadel Annex beacon in the Mammon region. The Solnir Shard drops the moment the fight ends.

What the Solnir Shard does

It is an Ability Tarstone, so it slots into a sidearm rather than a melee weapon or the shell itself. Firing it consumes 25 Resolve per shot, and the round air bursts when it lands, damaging everything caught in the blast rather than a single target.

Level	Effect
1	70 splash damage, small range
2	120 splash damage, small range
3	Wider explosion range

Compatibility is limited to three sidearms, so check what you are carrying before you make the trip.

Forgotten Crossbow
Caged Hystrix
Naylshotte

Getting to the Citadel Annex beacon

The drop sits deep in the southern Mammon territory, past the Gate of Infinity. Reaching that beacon means travelling south from Marrow Keep to the Outskirts of Mammon, crossing the Road to Absolution, taking the transporter to Castigator’s Keep and beating the gatekeeper boss Starved Herodion on the snowy approach. Once the Gate of Infinity beacon is revitalised and cleansed, the route below is short.

Fast travel to the Gate of Infinity beacon and take the portal beside it. You come out in a dark stone corridor that leads into the Ashen Sanctum.

Push through the Ashen Sanctum. Spider-like beasts and dual-bladed spectres patrol the bridges here, and most of them can be run past if you keep moving toward the stairs rather than stopping to clear rooms.

Player character sprinting up a torch-lit stone staircase inside the Ashen Sanctum cavern — The torch-lit staircase inside the Ashen Sanctum. Image: Cold Symmetry

Cross the gaps between the stone platforms and follow the cliffside path downward. Blue torches in this region project barriers and shield nearby enemies, so shoot one out if a gate refuses to open or a foe is taking no damage.

Armored character standing beside a stone pillar lever on a narrow elevated walkway — The narrow elevated platforms on the way down to the Citadel Annex. Image: Cold Symmetry

Descend the final set of platforms to the corrupted beacon and revitalise it. The BEACON FOUND CITADEL ANNEX prompt confirms you are in the right place, and resting here gives you a checkpoint right outside the arena.

Starting the Solnir, the Gloom Seeker fight

From the beacon, climb the large staircase directly above it. Spear and scythe-wielding guards, floating figures and four-legged beasts hold the steps, and a spear enemy usually blocks the first landing.

Character advancing along an icy walkway with enemies waiting further ahead — The walkway above the Citadel Annex beacon leading to Solnir’s arena. Image: Cold Symmetry

Stop at the stone tablet in the hall before the arena. Reading it confirms you have taken the correct branch rather than the bridge route toward the Hushed Sanctum.

You stand in the hall of Lord Isaar, the Scholar Prince, the one true heir to the throne of Mammon. May his reign be as eternal as words etched in this stone.

Shoot the fire sources at the edge of the flooded arena with your sidearm. Extinguishing them is what triggers the encounter, and the boss health bar for Solnir, the Gloom Seeker appears as soon as the last one goes out.

Fight it as a duel. Solnir wields dual blades and covers ground quickly, so rolling through its strings and punishing the recovery works better than trading hits, and a strike stone helps close out the final stretch of its health bar.

Solnir, the Gloom Seeker boss health bar during the duel in the flooded chamber — The dual-blade duel against Solnir, the Gloom Seeker in the flooded arena. Image: Cold Symmetry

Confirming you picked up the Solnir Shard

A NEW TARSTONE ACQUIRED banner reading Solnir Shard appears the instant Solnir falls, alongside the Glimpse and Gloom the kill awards. Open the Tarstones menu to check it: a fresh drop reads Level 1 with an XP bar at 0 / 10000. Equip it to a compatible sidearm and the heavy round replaces your normal shot while you hold the ability input.

Tarstones menu with Solnir Shard selected and its 70 splash damage upgrade line highlighted — The Solnir Shard in the Tarstones menu, showing the 70 splash damage line at Level 1. Image: Cold Symmetry

Upgrading the Solnir Shard at the Tarforge

Levelling it is a two-part job. First, the Tarforge in Marrow Keep needs its upgrade options unlocked, which means handing Etching Needles to Franz. That quest item sits in a bone chest shortly before the Magdalena, the Lady of the Woods boss fight, tucked into a small side area off the path beyond the bridge where Ruk stands.

Second, the shard has to earn its own experience. Keep it equipped and kill enemies as you explore until the XP bar fills, then return to Franz. The Level 2 upgrade costs Coin, while Level 3 also requires Tarcore.

Pairing the shard with Devout Stone, which raises Resolve gain from melee attacks, keeps the 25 Resolve cost topped up between shots so you can fire it far more often.

Once it is slotted, the Solnir Shard mostly changes how you open fights rather than how you finish them. The arc takes some adjusting to, but a single burst into a group of the Mammon region’s packed enemies clears far more than a conventional bolt ever will.