Shells
Shells basically act as 'weapons' from other games. Equipping a Shell improves the character stats/attributes, but also grants them a special skill that activates on its own - let's go over all the shell elements in this guide and explain how they work!
Where to get Shells?
You can farm Shells from the Grim Pursuit mode. In the mode you will tackle 10 different bosses, that are further split into difficulties - the stronger the boss, the higher rarity Shells it can drop.
Rarities & class
Rarity
Shells have their own rarities: Rare, Unique, Epic and Mythic. The rarity decides the attributes the Shell provides to the character (higher rarity -> better attributes), the number of passives (2-3) and the number set slots (2-3).
Class
Each Shell has a class that roughly decides what their skill does. There are four classes: Healer, Striker, Supporter and Survivor.
Attributes
Each Shells comes with 4 attributes (stats): HP, DEF, ATK and SPD. Equipping the Shell will improve the character's stats by the same amount.
And don't worry! While HP, DEF and ATK vary depending on the Shell, SPD stat is the same for all Shells of the same rarity. So there's no Speed RNG here.
Passives
Each Shell can have up to 3 different passives that further increase the character stats. Still, you start with 0 passives on a new Shell and only by leveling it up (and Ascending) you're able to unlock the Passives.
Here are the passives:
- Slot 1 improves either HP, DEF or ATK - both flat and percentage for all three,
- Slot 2 improves either Crit Rate, Crit DMG, SPD, Healing Effect, Effect ACC or Effect RES,
- Slot 3 has a lot options that range from straight DMG increase to a element-specific bonuses.
The passives also have roll ranges - so for example, the HP in slot 1 can roll values between 600 and 1800.
Full list of passives and roll ranges
In the tabs below you can find the full list of passives you can obtain in every slot.
| Name | Effect | Rare | Unique | Epic | Mythic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amplification | ATK | 60 | 80-90 | 100-120 | 150-180 |
| Overclocking | ATK% | 10% | 13-15% | 16-20% | 24-30% |
| Source | HP | 600 | 800-900 | 1000-1200 | 1500-1800 |
| Surge | HP% | 10% | 13-15% | 16-20% | 24-30% |
| Crystallization | DEF | 40 | 50-60 | 70-80 | 100-120 |
| Crystal Wall | DEF% | 10% | 13-15% | 16-20% | 24-30% |
| Name | Effect | Rare | Unique | Epic | Mythic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penetration | CRIT Rate | 6% | 8-9% | 10-12% | 15-18% |
| Unparalleled | CRIT DMG | 10% | 13-15% | 16-20% | 24-30% |
| Shadow Dash | SPD | 7 | 9-10 | 12-14 | 16-20 |
| Vibrancy | Healing Done | 5% | 6-7% | 8-10% | 12-15% |
| Support | Shield Provided | 3% | 4-5% | 6-7% | 8-10% |
| Focus | Effect ACC | 10% | 13-15% | 16-20% | 24-30% |
| Calm | Effect RES | 10% | 13-15% | 16-20% | 24-30% |
| Name | Effect | Rare | Unique | Epic | Mythic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assault | DMG Dealt | 2% | 2.5-3.0% | 4.0-5.0% | 6.5-8.0% |
| Dauntless | DMG Taken | -2% | -2.5-3.0% | -4.0-5.0% | -6.5-8.0% |
| Shadow Guard | DMG Taken if the character has the highest SPD among all allies | -4% | -5-6% | -7-8% | -10-12% |
| Defensive Stance | DMG Taken if the character didn't deal damage in a turn (up to 3 stacks) | - | -2.0-2.5% | -3.0-3.5% | -4.0-5.0% |
| Synergy | DMG Dealt by an ally after applying shield/healing to them (up to 5 stacks) | - | - | 0.9-1.0% | 1.2-1.5% |
| Insight | Effect RES & Effect ACC (effect decreases by 20% at the end of each turn) | - | - | 32-40% | 48-60% |
| Gaze | Effect ACC (increase at the end of each turn; up to 5 stacks) | 3% | 4-5% | 6-7% | 8-10% |
| Blade of Reason | DMG Dealt (only if Reason element) | 4% | 5-6% | 7-8% | 10-12% |
| Blade of Oddity | DMG Dealt (only if Odd element) | 4% | 5-6% | 7-8% | 10-12% |
| Blade of Hollow | DMG Dealt (only if Hollow element) | 4% | 5-6% | 7-8% | 10-12% |
| Blade of Constancy | DMG Dealt (only if Constant element) | 4% | 5-6% | 7-8% | 10-12% |
| Blade of Disorder | DMG Dealt (only if Disorder element) | 4% | 5-6% | 7-8% | 10-12% |
Reconfigure
The passives can be 'rerolled' using Training Data and Reconfigure Chips. Each reconfigure will roll a random stats AND random roll range for one of the passive slots - and you're able to either keep the old stat or the new one. So no need to worry about 'destroying' your Shell.
Skill
Each Shell has a skill that is either active or a passive that boost the character's performance. The skill is tied to the Shell, so you can't change it.
The skills are very different - some heal, some provide buffs, some deal damage. So you will have to pick a Shell that fits the character's kit and improves it.
Each skill has has a initial cooldown and usage cooldown (visible in the top right corner of the skill box). The initial cooldown shows how long you have to wait before the skill can activate for the first time and the usage cooldown tells you long you have to wait for the next skill trigger to happen.
Matrix Levels
Shells also come with up to 3 different Sets 'slots', each with 1-3 Matrix Levels. So when rolled well, you can get 9 additional Matrix Levels, bringing the total to 27 Matrix Levels (18 come from the Modules) to use on your character! Lower rarity Shells only have 2 slots, not 3.
The Sets that roll on the Shell aren't fully random - each Shell has a pool of sets that can appear on them.
If you want to check all Shells available in the game, check this guide:
Upgrade & Ascension
Just like characters, Shells have level and stars too. They start at level 1 and can be upgraded up to level 40 - but every 10 levels, you have to ascend them by feeding Shells (with the same name) into it - the number of Shells needed to be fed increases with the star level. This will increase the max level cap.
Leveling is done using Training Data that also drops from the Grim Pursuit mode.
Here's how the ascension screen looks like:
Imprint
Imprinting allows you to transfer one Shells Ascension, level and Passives into another Shell. The only thing that will 'remain' from the target shell are the Matrix effects and Matrix levels. This is a great system, because you don't have to 'relevel' Shells from scratch every time you get one with better Matrix Effects! You just feed the old Shell into the new one and it's ready to use!
Important! The Shell you use to imprint will be destroyed when you do it. So you can't 'duplicate' Shells - this system only helps you transfer the levels.