Blood and Hunger: a Mortal Shell 2 lifesteal build

1The loadout

• ShellGragu the Insatiable

  Revered Heart is a heal you recharge by killing rather than by finding, so aggression and survival stop competing for your attention.

• SealSlayer Seal

  A clean Riposte returns both Health and Resolve, which is the same trade the rest of the build makes, from a different direction.

• WeaponVeteran's Battle Axe

  The only primary the Inflamed Clawstone fits, so it is the one weapon that can carry a second infusion alongside the Bloodcurse. The catalog records no ability for this axe at all, though, and our own weapon ranking caps it at C for that — take the pick as ours: it is here for the exclusive stone, not for a stat we can show you.

• SidearmNaylshotte

  It hits hardest with the muzzle almost touching, which is the range this build was already standing at.

When it comes togetherRough until the Parasitic Stone and the Unwieldly Stone are both socketed; genuinely self-sufficient once Gragu's second tier is open.

2Tarstones

Listed in priority order — slot them in this sequence as you find them rather than waiting for the full set. Every stone below is one the named gear actually accepts.

Veteran's Battle Axe

Weapon socket

5 stones

Tied to the primary, so changing weapon means revisiting this list.

1. 1

   Parasitic StoneCombatslot first

   Leech on every kill, and by level four each kill is worth three stacks of it.

2. 2

   Unwieldly StoneAbility

   A charged heavy that, fully upgraded, restores health outright on the kill and hands you five Leech stacks with it.

3. 3

   Arbiter's PrizeInfusion

   Bloodcurse on the weapon — and Gragu has a skill node that turns Bloodcurse into an advantage rather than a cost.

4. 4

   Inflamed ClawstoneInfusion

   Burn as a second infusion option, permanent at level four, for enemies that shrug off the first.

5. 5

   Lost ClotstoneAbility

   A wide spin for the moment three of them arrive at once, which on this build is the moment you want.

Naylshotte

Sidearm socket

3 stones

Drawn from a pool the melee slot mostly cannot touch.

1. 1

   Blackblood StoneCombatslot first

   The rounds burst in the air and splash, and no other sidearm accepts it.

2. 2

   Viletongue HedronInfusion

   An infusion that suits a weapon fired from arm's length, where the whole spread connects.

3. 3

   Emberseed StoneInfusion

   Burn on critical hits, which is a cheap second status to run alongside whatever the weapon is carrying.

Gragu the Insatiable

Shell socket

2 stones

These fit whatever else you are carrying, which makes them the picks that survive any change of weapon.

1. 1

   Berserker's StoneSupport

   Melee damage climbs as your Health falls — at level four, up to 165% at half Health or below, which is the build's actual reward for the risk it takes.

2. 2

   Headsman's StoneSupport

   Melee critical damage up by half at level two and doubled at level four, so the hits that do land while you are low are the ones that end the fight.

3Skill tree priorities

Nodes from Gragu the Insatiable's own tree, in the order they are worth spending Glimpses on.

1. 1

   Heartworktake first

   Grants an effect against Bloodcurse, which is what makes the Arbiter's Prize safe to leave infused.

2. 2

   Bloodthirst

   Improves Revered Heart directly — more healing from the resource you are already refilling.

3. 3

   Maniac

   More melee damage against enemies Gragu has never killed, which front-loads exactly the fights you have not learned yet.

4. 4

   Devourer

   Adds an effect while Revered Heart is at full power, rewarding you for killing faster than you need to heal.

4How to play it

1. 1

   Pick off the weakest enemy in the group first — the loop needs a kill before it gives anything back.

2. 2

   Stay in melee. Every effect on this list is written around landing hits and finishing them.

3. 3

   Let your health drop into the lower half and leave it there; that is where the Berserker's Stone lives.

4. 4

   Spend the charged heavy on something that is about to die, not something that just arrived.

5. 5

   Hold Revered Heart until you are genuinely in trouble — it recharges, but not mid-swing.

5If you have not found it yet

Each of these plays close enough to the piece it replaces that the rest of the page still holds.

• 

  Obsidian Hammerinstead of the Veteran's Battle Axe

  It takes the Parasitic Stone, the Unwieldly Stone and the Lost Clotstone as well, and kills small enemies in a single hit.

• 

  Ballistazookainstead of the Naylshotte

  One enormous hit instead of a close-range spread, for when you need something dead before it reaches you.