Mortal Shell II PC Requirements, Tips & Key Facts

Mortal Shell II on PC requires a 64-bit processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a DirectX 11 GPU, with the full specs depending on whether you want 1080p/30 FPS on low or 4K/60 FPS on ultra. This article covers the official minimum and recommended system requirements, explains what each spec means for your actual frame rate, and gives beginner tips for surviving the game’s unforgiving combat.

Background: What Is Mortal Shell II?

Mortal Shell II is the sequel to the 2020 action RPG Mortal Shell, developed by Cold Symmetry and published by Playstack. Like its predecessor, it is a soulslike: you fight through a dark fantasy world, die often, and learn enemy patterns. The sequel expands on the original’s signature mechanic—possessing fallen warriors called Shells—with new weapons, a larger world, and a more interconnected level design. The game launched on PC and consoles in 2025, and the PC version is a native port rather than a console emulation, so it supports mouse and keyboard as well as controllers.

The key difference from the first game is the scale. Mortal Shell II has a semi-open world with multiple regions, whereas the original had a hub-and-spoke structure. This means the PC version needs more storage and memory because the world is streamed in larger chunks. The game also uses Unreal Engine 5, which brings Nanite geometry and Lumen global illumination, two features that are heavy on the GPU and explain why the recommended specs are higher than the original game’s.

Official Minimum System Requirements

The minimum requirements are what you need to run the game at 1080p with low settings and an average of 30 frames per second. These are the specs the developers tested against, so anything below this will likely be unplayable or suffer from severe stuttering.

OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 2004 or newer)
CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600
RAM: 8 GB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 8 GB
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 60 GB available space (SSD strongly recommended)

The 6 GB VRAM requirement on the GTX 1060 is important. The 3 GB version of that card will not meet the minimum because Unreal Engine 5’s texture streaming needs more video memory. If you have a 4 GB GPU, you may be able to run the game, but you will likely see texture pop-in and longer loading times.

Recommended System Requirements

The recommended specs target 1080p at 60 FPS with high settings. This is the baseline most players should aim for, as the game’s combat relies on precise timing and a stable frame rate.

OS: Windows 11 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
RAM: 16 GB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 60 GB NVMe SSD

The jump from 8 GB to 16 GB of RAM is not optional for comfortable play. The game uses about 10–12 GB of system memory during normal exploration, and if you have 8 GB, Windows will start paging to your disk, which causes hitches exactly when you are in combat. The recommended CPU is also notably faster than the minimum because the game simulates a large number of AI enemies in certain areas, and that work is single-thread heavy.

How to Check Your PC Against These Specs

Before buying, you should verify your hardware. On Windows, open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), go to the Performance tab, and note the CPU model, RAM total, and GPU name. For storage space, open File Explorer and check the free space on your C: drive. If you are unsure about your GPU’s VRAM, search for your exact model name plus “specs”—manufacturers list the memory size on their product pages.

If your PC is below the minimum, the game will still launch, but expect 20 FPS or lower. You can try lowering the resolution scale to 50% or using FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) if your GPU supports it. FSR 3 is built into the game’s options and can double your frame rate on older cards, but it will blur the image. If you are between the minimum and recommended, aim for the “Medium” preset, which looks close to high but reduces shadow resolution and disables ray tracing.

Beginner Tips for Combat and Progression

Mortal Shell II is harder than the first game because enemies are faster and have more varied combos. The core loop is the same: harden (raise your stone skin to block one hit), parry, and punish. Here are the most useful tips for new players.

Master hardening first. Hold the hardening button (default: Q on keyboard, L1 on controller) just before an enemy’s attack lands. You take no damage and can immediately counter. Do not spam it—it has a cooldown of about 2 seconds, and if you harden too early, the enemy will hit you after it expires.
Use the tutorial area fully. The first area, Fallgrim, has a training dummy and a ghost that teaches parry timing. Spend 15 minutes there until you can parry three attacks in a row. The parry window is roughly 0.3 seconds, which is forgiving compared to other soulslikes.
Pick the Eredrim Shell early. Eredrim has the highest health pool, which makes early mistakes survivable. The other starting Shell, Tiel, is faster but dies in two hits. You can switch Shells at any Sester (the game’s checkpoint), so you are not locked in.
Do not fight groups. Use a throwing item (like a fire pot) to lure one enemy away. If you aggro three or more, run away until they reset. The game’s AI does not leash quickly, so you may need to go around a corner and wait 10 seconds.
Spend Tar and Glimpses before boss fights. Tar is the currency for leveling up, and Glimpses are for unlocking weapon abilities. You lose both on death unless you retrieve your corpse. If you are near a boss door, go back and spend everything first.

Key Facts About Performance and Settings

The game has several graphics options that disproportionately affect frame rate. The most demanding are ray tracing, shadow quality, and global illumination. On a recommended-spec PC, turning ray tracing off and setting shadows to medium will give you a 20–30% performance increase with almost no visual difference during combat. The game also has a built-in benchmark tool in the settings menu, which runs a 60-second scripted scene and reports your average and 1% low frame rates. Use that to test changes rather than guessing.

One common issue is stuttering when entering a new area. This is due to shader compilation, which happens on the first run after a driver update. The game will stutter for the first 5–10 minutes of a session, then smooth out. If it persists, verify your game files through Steam or the Epic Games Launcher—corrupted shader cache files are a known cause. Also, disable any overlay (Steam, Discord, GeForce Experience) because they can cause micro-stutters in Unreal Engine 5 games.

Another fact: the game does not support cross-save between PC and console. If you play on both, your progress is separate. The PC version does support Steam Cloud saves, so reinstalling Windows will not erase your progress as long as you have cloud sync enabled.

Storage and Installation Requirements

The install size is 60 GB, but you need about 75 GB free during installation because the game unpacks compressed files. The difference between an HDD and an SSD is dramatic: on a mechanical drive, loading a region takes 30–45 seconds, and you will see invisible walls while textures load. On an NVMe SSD, loading takes under 5 seconds. The minimum spec says “SSD strongly recommended,” but in practice, an HDD makes the game nearly unplayable because enemies can hit you before their models appear.

If you have multiple drives, install the game on your fastest one. Also, ensure your Windows page file (virtual memory) is set to “System managed” on the same drive as the game. A manually set small page file can cause crashes in Unreal Engine 5 titles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run Mortal Shell II on a laptop with integrated graphics?
No. Integrated graphics like Intel Iris Xe or AMD Radeon integrated do not meet the minimum GPU requirement. The game will launch but run at under 15 FPS even at 720p. You need a dedicated GPU with at least 4 GB of VRAM.

Does Mortal Shell II support ultrawide monitors?
Yes. The game supports 21:9 and 32:9 aspect ratios natively. Cutscenes are letterboxed to 16:9, but gameplay fills the whole screen. There is no HUD scaling option, so the health bar may be far from the center on very wide monitors.

Is the game more difficult than Elden Ring?
It is different. There is no open-world grinding to overlevel, so you must learn patterns. However, the hardening mechanic gives you a defensive tool that Elden Ring does not have, which makes some fights easier. Most players find the first five hours harder, then it becomes similar in difficulty.

Do I need to play Mortal Shell before the sequel?
No. The story is self-contained, and the tutorial explains all mechanics. There are references to the first game’s characters, but they are not required to understand the plot. You will miss some lore callbacks, but nothing that affects gameplay.

What is the best graphics setting for a GTX 1660 Super?
Use the “Medium” preset with ray tracing off and resolution scale at 100%. This should give you 50–60 FPS at 1080p. If you get drops below 45 FPS, lower shadow quality to low and disable ambient occlusion.

Does the game have a photo mode?
Yes. Press P (or the right stick on controller) in gameplay to open photo mode. You can adjust camera angle, field of view, depth of field, and add filters. It pauses the game, so you can safely take screenshots during combat.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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