If you’ve stumbled across the Tar Golem in Mortal Shell 2, you might be wondering whether you’re actually supposed to beat this thing.
The short answer is yes, you can defeat the Tar Golem. But there’s a bit of a catch, because beating it doesn’t really change the outcome of the encounter. Whether you win or lose, you’ll still get the same result and cutscene.
So why bother fighting it?
Well, there’s a trophy tied specifically to pushing the Tar Golem all the way down to its minimum health. If you’re trying to get every achievement or trophy, you’ll definitely want to give this fight a shot.
Here’s where to find the Tar Golem and, more importantly, how to actually deal with it.
How to Defeat Tar Golem in Mortal Shell 2
Yes, the Tar Golem can be defeated.
However, this isn’t a mandatory boss fight for progressing through the game. You can leave the encounter alone if you’re simply trying to continue the story.
Defeating the Tar Golem is mainly useful if you’re going for the No, You Still Can’t Win trophy.
There’s also an interesting little detail here: winning or losing the fight doesn’t change the final outcome of the encounter. You’ll still get the same result and cutscene either way.
So don’t feel like you’re missing some major story branch by not winning.
How to Beat the Tar Golem
The easiest way to approach this fight is to focus on Break Damage rather than trying to simply hack away at the Golem’s health.
Your Stone Skin Shell Ability is particularly useful here.
When you manage to petrify the Tar Golem with Stone Skin, that’s your opportunity to go in and start building Break Damage. Attack while it’s petrified, get as much Break progress as you safely can, and then start creating some distance once it begins moving again.
You don’t want to stand there swinging endlessly just because the Golem has been frozen.
Get your damage in, then reposition.
Use Parrying to Build Break Damage
Parrying is another major part of this strategy.
When the Tar Golem uses its regular melee attacks, try to learn the timing and parry them rather than simply dodging everything.
Successful parries help build Break Damage, and once you’ve filled the Break Gauge, you’ll have the opportunity to perform a Riposte.
That’s where you can take a significant chunk of the Golem’s health.
The basic rhythm is pretty simple:
Petrify → attack → build Break Damage → reposition → parry → Riposte.
You don’t need to rush the fight. In fact, trying to rush it is probably the easiest way to turn a manageable encounter into a frustrating one.
Watch Out for the Red Attack
There’s one attack you really don’t want to try parrying.
When the Tar Golem performs its red attack, that attack is unblockable.
If you see the red indicator, don’t stand your ground hoping to counter it.
Dodge to the side.
The goal is simply to get out of the attack’s path and use your dodge’s invulnerability frames to avoid taking damage.
Once you’ve learned which attack is the red one, the fight becomes much easier to read.
Tar Golem Location
You can find the Tar Golem past the Disciple’s Grotto Beacon.
From the Beacon, take the right-hand path that leads downward. You’ll eventually find a nearby updraft that you can ride.
After using the updraft, continue past the Elite Brigand until you reach an empty gate.
Go through the gate and follow the path toward the Tar Golem’s arena.
It’s not necessarily an encounter you’ll stumble into by simply following the main path, so if you’re specifically hunting the boss down, keep the Disciple’s Grotto Beacon in mind as your starting point.
Tar Golem Rewards
Defeating the Tar Golem rewards you with:
- Vatra’s Seal
The bigger reason to fight it, however, is the trophy.
Tar Golem Trophy – No, You Still Can’t Win
The Tar Golem is tied to the No, You Still Can’t Win trophy.
To unlock it, you need to take the Tar Golem down to its minimum health.
That’s the important part.
You don’t necessarily need to think of this encounter like a normal boss where defeating the enemy completely is the only objective. The trophy is specifically connected to reducing the Tar Golem to its minimum health.
If you’re only interested in progressing through Mortal Shell 2, you can safely skip the fight.
But if you’re working toward 100% completion, there’s a very good reason to go back and take it on.
The encounter also gives you Vatra’s Seal, so you’re not walking away completely empty-handed.
Just remember that winning the fight doesn’t alter the eventual outcome or cutscene. You’re essentially taking on the challenge for the trophy, reward, and satisfaction of finally putting the Tar Golem down.
And honestly, if the game gives you an enemy that basically says, “You probably can’t beat me,” it’s hard not to try at least once.