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To level a Tarstone in Mortal Shell II, equip it and use it in combat to build its experience bar. When the bar is full, take the stone to Franz at the Marrowkeep Tarforge and pay to raise its rank. You must first find the Etching Needles and deliver them to Franz to unlock Tarstone tempering.
Find the Etching Needles to unlock Tarstone tempering
The Etching Needles are the Tarforge component that unlocks Tarstone upgrades. A route guide places them in the Glutted Mire, in a chest along the path after the Sunken Village Beacon and the Wandering Shepard encounter. Cross the bridge and search the chest before the area’s last boss. Follow those landmarks in order if the local layout is unfamiliar. Route guide
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Once you have the needles, deliver them to Franz at the Marrowkeep Tarforge. The forge can then temper Tarstones. If you have not found the needles, a full experience bar alone will not unlock the rank-up option. Tarstone leveling guide
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- Equip the stone. Choose the Tarstone you want to improve and keep it equipped while you fight; it gains its own experience through use.
- Fill its current-rank bar. The guide reports a cap of 10,000 XP per rank. At the cap, the bar stops growing until you rank up.
- Visit Franz. Bring the stone to Franz at the Marrowkeep Tarforge after delivering the Etching Needles.
- Pay the rank-up cost. The guide says the first increase, from rank 1 to rank 2, costs gold. Later rank-ups require Tar cores as well as a full experience bar.
- Build experience again. After the rank increases, equip and use the stone to fill its next-rank bar.
The cited guide describes three tiers of progression, but does not give a complete rank-by-rank price list. It also does not establish exact gold prices or Tar core quantities, so plan on needing the relevant resource without relying on an unverified amount. These mechanics are reported by fan guides describing the launch version; a later game update could change them. Tarstone leveling guide
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If a Tarstone stops gaining experience
- Check the bar. If it has reached the current-rank cap, take the stone to Franz and complete the paid rank-up before expecting more progress.
- Check the unlock. Confirm that you found the Etching Needles and delivered them to Franz.
- Check what you mean by “level up.” Tarstone XP is separate from other progression systems, including Gloom, Glimpses and Shell points. A Tarstone levels through its own experience bar and is ranked up at Franz; that is not the same as improving a Shell or upgrading a weapon. Progression guide
Choose which Tarstone to invest in
Before leaving a stone equipped to build experience, consider the effect you want and whether it suits your weapon or sidearm. Tarstones can provide passive effects, weapon effects or specific attacks. The available guides explain the general leveling loop, but do not establish enough stone-by-stone data to support a detailed ranking or resource-efficiency comparison.
For completion context, PowerPyx reports 75 obtainable Tarstones and says 73 are needed for the Stoned achievement. These are figures from that guide, not independently verified official totals. PowerPyx Tarstone guide
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