Mortal Shell 2: How to Get the Great Martyr’s Blade Early — And Why Patch 1 Changed the Equation
THIS “EARLY-GAME” GREAT MARTYR’S BLADE IS HIDDEN BEHIND A BOSS CHEESE — AND PATCH 1 JUST MADE IT EVEN MORE DEADLY. 🔥
Players are rushing into Martyr’s Prison far earlier than expected to grab the Great Martyr’s Blade — and there’s a surprisingly cheesy way to deal with the enemies guarding it. But the real twist? Patch 1 buffed the Blade’s attack damage by 20%… 👀
Here’s the route, the cheese, and why this weapon is suddenly getting so much attention. 👇
The Great Martyr’s Blade is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about early-to-mid-game weapons in Mortal Shell 2.
The reason is not simply that it looks impressive.
It is a massive two-handed greatsword with strong base damage, access to Lightning and Frost infusions, and a moveset built around powerful, deliberate attacks. More importantly, Balance Patch 1 increased its attack damage by 20%, meaning some launch-day opinions about the weapon are already outdated.
The catch?
The Blade is hidden inside Martyr’s Prison, a dungeon that players can reach surprisingly early — but getting there and surviving the enemies inside is another matter.
That has led players to experiment with “boss cheese” and aggressive routing techniques to obtain the weapon before their character would normally feel ready for it.
And that is where things get interesting.
Where Is the Great Martyr’s Blade?
The Great Martyr’s Blade is located inside the Martyr’s Prison dungeon.
Current guides place the dungeon in the northern section of the early Fainweald route, with access from around Gloomshade Grove and the exterior of the Citadel of Penance.
One reliable route begins at the Gloomshade Grove Beacon.
From there, players can travel through the tunnel toward the Citadel area and follow the exterior route toward the prison.
The dungeon itself is easy to miss because it is not sitting directly on the obvious critical path.
That is one reason the Great Martyr’s Blade has become such a popular discovery for players who are deliberately exploring the opening areas.
The important landmark is the prison entrance.
Once inside, however, the game stops making things easy.
The Blade Isn’t Simply Sitting in an Open Chest
Players entering Martyr’s Prison expecting a quick pickup will quickly discover the problem.
The weapon is located beyond a sequence of enemies and locked sections.
Current location guides describe reaching a room containing four enemies, defeating them and then gaining access to the weapon room where the Great Martyr’s Blade can be collected.
That is where the “early weapon” idea becomes slightly misleading.
Yes, the dungeon is accessible relatively early.
But accessibility does not necessarily mean the developers intended players to comfortably clear it at the moment they first discover it.
This is a classic Soulslike situation:
The game lets you go there before you’re ready.
And experienced players immediately see an opportunity.
Instead of fighting everything conventionally, you can exploit positioning, enemy behavior and environmental geometry to get through the area with considerably less risk.
Why the Boss Cheese Is So Attractive
The appeal of an early-game cheese strategy is obvious.
You don’t need to completely overpower the dungeon.
You need to survive long enough to reach the reward.
That distinction matters.
If your ultimate objective is obtaining the Great Martyr’s Blade, spending resources upgrading your current weapon simply to make the prison easier may be counterproductive.
A player can instead use the environment to separate enemies, manipulate their attacks and create opportunities to strike safely.
The exact execution depends on the current game version and enemy behavior, so players should be careful with older videos showing specific AI exploits.
What works perfectly on launch day can disappear after a hotfix.
But the broader strategy remains useful:
Don’t assume every enemy has to be fought head-on.
The Great Martyr’s Blade Is a Serious Upgrade
Once acquired, the Blade immediately stands out from many of the game’s faster weapons.
The current weapon database lists the Great Martyr’s Blade with:
38 base damage
76 fully upgraded damage
7 base Revive
14 fully upgraded Revive
Lightning and Frost infusion options
It begins at +4, making it one of the weapons that enters the game at a significantly higher forge level than the starter Iconoclast.
That does not automatically make it the best weapon in the game.
In fact, current weapon documentation explicitly warns against treating Mortal Shell 2’s arsenal as a simple universal tier list. Different weapons serve different purposes, and the Great Martyr’s Blade’s major identity is its slow, powerful greatsword moveset and Frost specialization.
But for a player who likes heavy weapons?
It can be an extremely attractive early pickup.
And Then Patch 1 Happened
This is the part older YouTube guides may not account for.
Balance Patch 1 increased Great Martyr’s Blade attack damage by 20%.
That is an important change.
Players evaluating the Blade based on launch-week footage may be looking at an outdated version of the weapon.
The official patch information confirms the attack-damage increase, although it does not establish that the Blade is suddenly the best weapon for every Shell, build or boss.
That distinction matters.
A 20% attack-damage buff is not the same thing as a 20% increase in overall DPS.
The Blade is still slow.
Its attacks require commitment.
And a player who cannot reliably connect those attacks may get considerably less value from it than someone who understands its spacing and timing.
Slow Doesn’t Mean Weak
This is perhaps the biggest misunderstanding surrounding heavy weapons.
The Great Martyr’s Blade is not designed to compete with something like Axe & Dagger in attack frequency.
It is designed around individual hits carrying substantially more weight.
That changes how you approach combat.
With a faster weapon, you can often recover from a missed attack quickly.
With the Great Martyr’s Blade, committing to a swing is a decision.
You need to understand the enemy’s range.
You need to know when it is safe to attack.
And you need to avoid getting greedy after a successful hit.
The reward is that a correctly timed heavy attack can make an enemy’s health bar disappear much faster than players unfamiliar with the weapon might expect.
Frost Is the Blade’s Signature Advantage
The Great Martyr’s Blade is particularly interesting because it can be infused with Frost.
Current weapon documentation identifies it as the only melee weapon specifically associated with Frost infusion.
That gives it a distinct role rather than simply making it another generic greatsword.
Frost can add another layer to the weapon’s damage and crowd-control potential, making the Blade more attractive for players building around status effects and enemy control.
It also explains why the weapon may become considerably stronger once players begin investing in the appropriate Tarstones.
The Great Martyr’s Blade does not necessarily need to be played as a pure raw-damage weapon.
A Frost-focused setup can give it a different identity.
There Is Another Important Upgrade: Captive’s Scabstone
And this is where the Blade’s build potential gets even more interesting.
A recently documented Ability Tarstone called Captive’s Scabstone is specifically tied to the Great Martyr’s Blade.
It drops from The Nameless Captive in Prisoners’ Domain and gives the weapon a Resolve-consuming wide horizontal attack.
The ability costs 100 Resolve and provides a broad close-range sweep.
That is particularly valuable because one of the Great Martyr’s Blade’s biggest weaknesses is its vulnerability to groups.
A slow greatsword can feel awkward when multiple enemies surround you.
A wide-area ability changes that equation.
Instead of relying entirely on the normal moveset, you gain an attack designed to cover a much larger area.
The catch is that this is not an early-game freebie.
Captive’s Scabstone comes from a later boss encounter.
So while the Great Martyr’s Blade itself can be acquired early, its most interesting specialized upgrades may require further progression.
That creates an unusual weapon curve:
Early acquisition → strong base weapon → later investment → specialized build potential.
The Weapon Starts at +4
Another reason the Blade is attractive to early players is its starting forge level.
The current weapon database lists the Great Martyr’s Blade at +4, compared with +0 for The Iconoclast and +3 for weapons such as Axe & Dagger and Obsidian Hammer.
That means the weapon is not starting from the same baseline as the game’s initial equipment.
You’re effectively acquiring a weapon that already sits partway along the upgrade ladder.
This can make the Blade especially appealing to players who want to minimize early Gold and material investment.
However, there is an important caveat.
The weapon’s starting forge level does not mean you should immediately dump every resource into it.
You still need to determine whether the moveset fits your Shell.
A high-damage weapon that you constantly miss is not an upgrade.
Which Shell Should Use It?
There is no single mandatory Shell for the Great Martyr’s Blade.
Current community tier lists put the game’s Shells into very different roles, with Smert, Genessa and Gragu currently receiving particularly strong evaluations for their boss-control potential.
That does not mean they are automatically the best Blade users.
Instead, the weapon should be paired according to the combat rhythm you prefer.
A heavy weapon benefits from a Shell that can create safe attack windows.
If your Shell can stagger, control or otherwise interrupt an enemy, the Blade becomes easier to use.
If you’re relying entirely on perfect dodges and constantly repositioning, the weapon’s slow commitment can become more demanding.
This is why the “best weapon” label needs some qualification.
Why the Great Martyr’s Blade Isn’t Automatically the Best Weapon
The current weapon database lists eight melee weapons in total:
The Iconoclast, Axe & Dagger, Veteran’s Battle Axe, Great Martyr’s Blade, Obsidian Hammer, Axatana, Black Needle and Clockwork Scythe.
They are deliberately differentiated.
The Iconoclast is a lightweight two-handed starter.
Axe & Dagger focuses on dual-wield combat.
Veteran’s Battle Axe is a heavier early weapon.
Great Martyr’s Blade specializes in the greatsword/Frost role.
Obsidian Hammer is a later heavy weapon.
Axatana provides another Duality option.
Black Needle provides a long-reaching spear.
Clockwork Scythe serves a later-game reaper role.
So calling the Great Martyr’s Blade “the best weapon” is really shorthand for something more specific:
It is one of the strongest heavy-weapon options you can obtain unusually early.
That is a much more defensible claim.
The Early Route Is What Makes It Special
The most important discovery isn’t necessarily the Blade itself.
It’s when you can obtain it.
Because the Martyr’s Prison route is accessible relatively early, experienced players can deliberately prioritize the weapon before following the normal progression curve.
That creates a powerful snowball effect.
Get the weapon early.
Use its starting +4 forge level.
Take advantage of the new 20% damage buff.
Upgrade it as materials become available.
Then use it to make subsequent areas easier.
This is why early weapon routes are so popular in Soulslike communities.
A weapon obtained 10 hours earlier than expected can fundamentally change how the next 10 hours feel.
But Don’t Turn the Run Into a Death Marathon
There is one major downside to rushing the weapon.
You can spend more time dying than you would have spent simply progressing normally.
The Great Martyr’s Blade is useful only after you actually obtain it.
If the prison enemies are consistently destroying you, there is nothing wrong with leaving the area, strengthening your Shell and returning later.
The entire point of the cheese strategy is to save time, not to prove that you can beat an encounter while massively underleveled.
Use the environment.
Separate enemies.
Take advantage of attack recovery windows.
And if the current AI doesn’t cooperate with a particular cheese shown in an older video, don’t force it.
The game is still receiving balance changes.
Be Careful With Launch-Day Guides
This is especially important in August 2026.
Mortal Shell 2 launched on August 20, 2026, and Patch 1 has already changed several systems and balance values.
That means guides uploaded during the first few days are already potentially outdated.
The Great Martyr’s Blade is a perfect example.
A video recorded before Patch 1 may show lower damage.
A route guide may use old enemy behavior.
A build guide may recommend a progression system that has already changed.
So when following a YouTube tutorial, always check the upload date and current patch.
The 20% attack-damage increase is confirmed.
Whether a specific cheese still works exactly as shown in a video is a separate question.
A Simple Strategy for Getting the Blade Early
If your goal is simply to obtain the weapon as quickly as reasonably possible, the process looks like this:
1. Reach Gloomshade Grove.
This is the key landmark for the route.
2. Travel toward the Citadel of Penance.
Follow the exterior path rather than simply entering the main progression route.
3. Find Martyr’s Prison.
Current guides place the dungeon in this northern section.
4. Enter and explore carefully.
Don’t assume the enemies need to be fought one after another.
5. Use positioning to reduce the number of enemies attacking simultaneously.
This is where the boss-cheese/AI manipulation strategy becomes useful.
6. Reach the weapon room.
The Great Martyr’s Blade becomes available after dealing with the required enemies and opening the route.
7. Equip it and test the moveset.
Do not immediately assume it is better simply because the damage number is higher.
8. Consider Frost later.
The weapon’s unique infusion options give it a clear specialization.
What Patch 1 Means for New Players
For someone starting Mortal Shell 2 now, the timing is actually excellent.
The game has only recently launched.
The first balance patch has already landed.
And one of its most interesting early weapons received a substantial damage increase.
That means a player following an old launch-week opinion that the Great Martyr’s Blade was mediocre could be making a decision based on information that is already obsolete.
The current version deserves to be evaluated on its own merits.
It is still slow.
It is still demanding.
But it now hits harder.
And with Frost available, its identity is considerably clearer.
The Bottom Line
The Great Martyr’s Blade is not literally the undisputed best weapon in Mortal Shell 2.
The current weapon data does not support that kind of universal ranking.
But it is an unusually attractive early weapon.
You can reach Martyr’s Prison relatively early.
You can use positioning and enemy behavior to make the route substantially easier than a conventional fight.
The weapon starts at +4, deals 38 base damage, can use Lightning or Frost, and — most importantly — Patch 1 increased its attack damage by 20%.
Later, Captive’s Scabstone gives it another powerful option for dealing with groups, although obtaining that upgrade requires defeating The Nameless Captive in Prisoners’ Domain.
So if you’re still near the beginning of the game and love heavy weapons, there’s a very good reason to make the detour.
You don’t have to wait until the mid-game to start swinging one of Mortal Shell 2’s most intimidating blades.
And after Patch 1?
That early Great Martyr’s Blade rush looks a lot more tempting than it did at launch. 🔥
