Grounded Mutations Tier List: Ranking All Mutations

Many elements of the Grounded make it stand out in the recent past of the survivalist genre, and one of them is the mutations in the game, which we will explain and rank in our Grounded Mutations Tier List.

Tier List’s Criteria

Our Mutation Tier List consists of all the notable mutations in the game. We will rank them from the best to the worst to help you in the game. They are organized in tiers that go from best to worst.

• S Tier: The best mutations 
• A Tier: The second-best mutations 
• B Tier: Average mutations
• C Tier: Below-average mutations
• D Tier: Mutations best avoided

All Mutations Compared

Here are all the mutation stats summarized: 

S-Tier 

The Mutations in this tier are the best in the game. You can book a permanent slot for them out of the 5, and it will make your life easy in the game where the world has shrunken. 

Buff Lungs

Buff Lung is one of those mutations you might want to equip because it is essential for us in all the general tasks. Your sprinting, chopping, and smashing abilities are boosted, while your defense improves greatly in a fight. This is one of our favorite mutations and a must-have because the general tasks are something you can’t get away from and a boost of 50 to the stamina makes the game easy for you, and the grinding is not hard as a result of this.

Meat Shield

One of those mutations had given us a hard time because it was not easy for us to choose between this and Buff Lungs. This mutation is very good if you have an issue with blocking and want to take as little damage as possible because of your inability. To be very honest, we would not call it an inability; the game makes blocking hard.

Mom Genes

When you initially use this mutation, you might curse us for putting it on the S Tier, as it is not everyone’s cup of tea. Still, it is on the ultimate tier of our Grounded Mutations Tier List because you can have a deadly combination of daggers and spears.

Coup de Grass

There was a very frustrating bug in the past, but with the recent updates, they have fixed it, and you can now get to phase 2/2 very easily. This bug was so annoying that we would never have placed it on this tier, but since the fix, we can’t stress enough how good this mutation can be. 

Juicy

The mutation will decrease the thirst drain by almost half. The issue of hunger and thirst dropping quickly was in the game, but with the new development and updates, the dev team of Grounded has done a great job of fixing it. It doesn’t drain as fast, but it doesn’t mean thirst has stopped dropping. Juicy can help you and is essential for those hindered by thirst draining quickly.

Sharpshooter

One of those mutations we avoided in the past was because we thought it stopped increasing damage. Still, while playing the game, we learned that unlocking the Smithing Station is the best way to increase the damage you can inflict with your weapons and one shouldn’t rely on mutations for that.

Dissection Expert

Loot items are extremely important in survival games. Therefore, the Dissection Expert is an outstanding mutation that every player should go for regardless of their build. With the Dissection Expert, you will have an increased chance of getting loot from the creatures.

A-Tier

The mutations on this tier list can be easily put on the S Tier if you think we have done injustice to them because the margin of difference between them is very less. Nevertheless, both tiers have the best mutations in the game.

Smasher

We suggest you always use a hammer at level 6 with the smasher. Yes, weapon types don’t increase damage when coupled with a mutation, but they surely add a unique effect to your chosen weapon type. The hammers gain a unique effect from the smasher mutation is a slow attack/daze effect giving you more time to hit your enemies.

Natural Explorer

Sprinting in this game has been very painful for us. It drains very easily, and the world is very large; we feel it should not drain as fast. Many argue that it is good to get the true essence of the game, but for us, we can’t compromise. Thus the natural explorer will speed up things for you, and your exploring and dodging become very easy in the game.

Chopper

Small insects are perhaps one of those enemies that annoy us a lot. You might want to disagree, but they are damned. So for them, the axes are weapons that you must keep. They are not as lucrative as other weapons in the game, but when you have the chopper mutation, the nasty insects can easily be killed with quick swirls.

Ant-nihilator

Red Ant Eggs, Marbles, and Quartzites are some of the essential things to have in Grounded, and the best place to find them is in the Anthills. It would be very stupid to go there without the Ant-nihilator mutation. Equipping one gives you the ultimate resistance against them at phase 3 and increases your damage to kill them off.

Ants are very annoying in this game, and it is one of the must-have mutations. Bringing death to them is very soothing, but we wish the mutation was not just ant specific so we could put it on the S Tier.

Blademaster

Certain weapons in the game, like the swords, need you to be rapid. This drains your stamina, making it harder for you to cope with it if you don’t have a mutation like a blade master in your mutation slots. Speaking of this, there was a bug associated with the blade master in the game at one point, where attacks from weapons cost zero stamina but were later fixed. 

Cardio Fan

Our Grounded Mutation Tier List targets every player, from beginners to experts. Thus this Cardio Fan’s inclusion on the A Tier might make the experienced ones sad. It boosts your stamina which is much more than, for example, the natural explorer and is on the higher side. Experienced players know how to conserve stamina, so for them, it might be annoying, but for those who are starting new, this is a must-have mutation as it makes your life easy.

Shocking Dismissal

AoE attacks are always great when you get caught up with a bunch of creatures. For example, places like Anthills usually have ants in abundance and they can overwhelm you quite quickly. This is where a mutation like Shocking Dismissal can become handy. When the attacks get blocked you’ll get a 20% chance of emitting an electrical explosion.

The explosion will not only damage but also stun nearby enemies. Hence, it is a great mutation to have for scenarios where you are facing more than one enemy. You can acquire the Shocking Dismissal by killing the Assistant Manager Boss.

Bardic Inspiration

Bardic Inspiration is a mutation that is best suited for playthroughs with friends. With the mutation, you get a 20% chance of applying a buff effect to yourself and your allies whenever you shoot your bow or crossbow. The applied buff can last up to 10 seconds. Here are the buffs the Bardic Inspiration has to offer:

• Obstinate Overtime: 25% Decrease in Damage Taken.
• Critical Concerto: 20% increase in attack damage.
• Attack Aria: 10% increase in the chance of getting a critical hit.
• Soothing Sonata (Requires Bard’s Tudor): 25% chance of granting 5 Health after 2 seconds for the next 10 seconds.

Apex Predator

Do you find yourself using the Boss Weapons in Grounded? If yes, then it’s crucial that you get the Apex Predator Mutation. With it, you’ll add some game-changing buffs to these weapons which can surely make your life at the yard a lot easier. Here are all the effects each boss weapon gets through the Apex Predator Mutation in Grounded:

Hauling Hero

The Hauling Hero mutation is a must-have for avid builders. If you’re playing with friends then make sure that whoever is found building the most gets the Hauling Hero. The mutation increases the Hauling Strength which ultimately allows players to carry more building materials with them.

You can get from 5 up to 15+ increase in your hauling strength depending on the phase of the mutation.

Rascal Rogue

Earlier in the S tier, we came across a mutation called Dissection Expert which was great for getting more loot from enemies. The Rascal Rogue works in a similar manner, however, it doesn’t rely on drops, it rather focuses more on stealing items from creatures while players are using melee attacks.

The reason we put it down at A Tier is that we think that Dissection Expert is a little more superior when it comes to looting. Rascal Rogue only works on Melee Attacks and has a 2% chance (which is quite low) at Phase 1.

B-Tier

The average Tier of our Grounded Mutations Tier List. You can use these mutations but they are not a must and can be switched around according to your needs in the game.

Barbarian

The barbarian, at one point, was perhaps a go-to mutation. But the developers of Grounded decided to encourage players to use other methods to combat the Wolf Spiders in the game. In the past, they were menacing, but we feel they aren’t as intimidating with the recent changes in the game.

Truffle Tussle

There can be instances in the game when all the weapons might give up on you. In that case, the Truffle Tussle can be a great mutation. But other than that, I don’t find any substantial reasons to put it in one of the mutation slots. It can be good against noninfected bugs, but against the infected ones, it’s of no use; it works, for example, in close-range with grenades, which is a bummer.

In short, for mob control, Truffle Tussle can be used if, by chance, all your weapons break. Besides that, this average mutation can be avoided.

Fresh Defense

If you need some coal, having this mutation is a plus, but only if you have the lion armor with you! The lion armor is easy to find but only having the line armor to have protection against the sizzle effect is ridiculous. For this reason, it is part of the B Tier of our Grounded Mutation Tier List.

This gives the impression that the mutation is weak and glitched, but in short, it is just a very weird mutation. Hopefully, the devs will consider changing it a bit, as it is a must-have in areas with BBQ fumes and haze.

Javelineer

We don’t think many players like spears because of how sluggish they can be, but they, on the other hand, drain less stamina. While they increase your range, they can be sluggish and result in less damage. To increase the damage, one can use the Javelineer mutation, but again the increase will not be substantial, and the Switching Station is your best bet to increase the damage of your weapons. Thus it is not placed on the higher tiers, but it is not completely useless, so it was fair enough for us to put it on the B Tier.

Guard Dog

Raids are hard for many players, and they often complain about how their whole bases are destroyed, but in our opinion, they can’t do much damage with the right strategy. One of the ways to combat this is using a mutation like the Guard Dog. The Raids happen very rarely, though, but when they happen, the Guard Dog mutation will help you defend your base better.

Assassin

The Bone Dagger is one of our favorite weapons from the game. It has a short range but is very quick. With the Assasin mutation placed in the holder, the damage from the dagger increases. One can argue that the Dot (damage over time) from the dagger is a good thing, but we find it underwhelming. 

Spicy Safety

A useful mutation against enemies that relies on stabbing or smashing you. For example, the larva will chop you to death if you are not careful, but the Spicy Safety can help you have good resistance against its damage. Enemies with explosive attacks can also be menacing, but they are very few. This mutation is average at best until the devs introduce more enemies who rely on stabbing, explosive, and smashing.

Reliable Friend

If you have the right strategy, then this mutation is of little use to you but if on your team there is a newbie, then using this mutation helps you as it boosts your speed to revive the friendly players in the online multiplayer mode. Thus we placed it on the average B Tier of our Grounded Mutations Tier List to keep a balance.

Lil Fist

It is considered useless by many players, but in our opinion, it is not completely useless. As it can help fight the Gnats in the game easily; moreover, it is of great use if your weapons break or you want to preserve your weapons. Returning to Gnats, they are very annoying and can make you drop your weapon, then Lil Fist can come in handy. It is, in our opinion, hated for no reason, as it deserves a little less hate.

Whittle Wizard

Whittle Wizard is an average mutation in Grounded in my opinion. Only because it’s really constricted and focused on one weapon. If you’re using Candy Staves then the Whittle Wizard will really aid you in taking down enemies since it adds all sorts of status effects.

Mantsterious Stranger

Mantsterious Stranger is a unique mutation because it’s the only one which summons an NPC ally for the player. You can unlock the mutation after beating Mant the Boss Creature. The Mantsterious Stranger will then grant you a 2% chance of summoning a friendly Mant on the field.

The Mant will use three attacks: Punch (10 Stun and 120 Damage), Combo Punch (10 Stun and 100 Damage), and Overhead Smash (50 Stun and 80 Damage). The Mant will remain by your side until it gets taken down. The only downside of the Mantsterious Stranger mutation is its low chance rate of 2%.

C-Tier

This unfortunate mutation is below par but not outright gimmicky, as you can use it if needed. If the devs decide to add more underwater places in future updates, it might jump a tier or two.

Merteen

When you discover 3 underwater landmarks, then you will be able to unlock the Merteen mutation. You might be excited, but we want to tell you that it has little to no usefulness. Grounded has very few underwater areas, and one such place is the Kai Pond, which might be useful as it gives you an underwater oxygen boost. Besides that, just put it aside.

Corporate Kickback

Lifesteal abilities are always great, however, when it comes to the Corporate Kickback the effects are quite minimal. With the mutation, players get a 5% chance to get a buff which allows them to gain lost HP while inflicting melee damage. The Corporate Kickback can be obtained by beating Director Schmector.

As we mentioned earlier, the effects are quite low and seem insignificant in the later stages of the game. On top of that, if you rely on ranged attacks then the Corporate Kickback will be of no use to you.

Trapper PEEP.R

Don’t get us wrong the Trapper PEEP.R is a decent mutation, however, the thing that makes it so unattractive is its obtaining method. Players have to get 20 and more Gold Cards to unlock the phases of Trapper PEEP.R. Every Grounded player knows how tedious this task can get.

D-Tier

The worst tier of our Grounded Mutations Tier List. Some of these are broken because of an update, while the others are gimmicky and have no substance use in the game.

Parry Master

We would have placed this on the A or the S Tier in the past, but since the bugs strike back to update, it is better avoided now. We had it ranked 2 for us, which was very underwhelming. In the past, it aided in boosting your stamina upon a good block, but now it does nothing. Therefore it is best avoided.

Mithridatism

This mutation again would have been part of our best tiers, but since the latest update, it has been bugged. It will fluctuate between levels, sometimes at level one; then it will jump to level 3. This continues back and forth. Thus, we expect it will make your life hell while fighting enemies with venom.

Rock Cracker

Who even harvests rocks in the game? Just kidding, some people might do it. Everyone has their mindset but once you are done rock harvesting, pack it somewhere. Don’t waste your mutation slot on it.

Grass Master

Ok, you are done collecting grass? Empty the slot and use another mutation from the C Tier and above. A useless mutation!

Daredevil

Save your Raw Science, and don’t buy this mutation from BURG.L. With time you can buy it, but for the most part, you don’t need it because if you are careful, falling to your death is nearly impossible in this game.

Sour Sensation

Let’s be honest, hit-back abilities are really not that popular in numerous games and it happens to be the case with Grounded as well. Sour Sensation reflects damage back to the creature who hits you. Even though, it does help in taking down the damage but is really not worth much.

Therefore, we pegged the Sour Sensation down in D-Tier. If you manage to get Phase 3 on this mutation then it’s worth something and does make a difference in battles. Other than that, the damage returned is usually so low that you’ll hardly notice it. 

Spore Lord

To wrap up our Grounded Mutation Tier List we have the Spore Lord. Despite granting buffs to the player, the mutation is just not friendly enough. First off it only relies on explosive damage. Hence, it will only benefit players who are using an explosive build in Grounded. Apart from that, the buffs are not that significant.

Players have a 10% chance to get 1% explosive damage resistance, a small chance of a 1% speed increase, a minor chance of a 1% increase in explosion damage. Even though these buffs can get stacked, they still do not make a huge difference in battle.

Changes Due To Updates

Last Update: Update 1.2

Here are all the changes which have affected the Grounded Mutations in recent patch updates:

• Mutation Loadouts:
  • You can now create and switch between four different Mutation loadouts using the new Mutation Loadouts radial.
  • On controllers, the default binding to open the radial is Right D-Pad, while on keyboards it is the T key.
  • The emote and chat radial on controllers have been combined into a single radial to free up space.
• Lil Fist: The bonus damage stacks will now be cleared when you take damage.
• The proc chance for the Mastery bonus has been reduced.
• Trapper PEEP.R’s final tier now requires 60 gold cards instead of 59 to balance the tiers.
• The bonus health value of Meat Shield has been increased.
• The bonus stamina value of Buff Lungs has been increased.
• The stamina regeneration buff of Cardio Fan has been increased at all tiers.
• [REDACTED] Stranger: 
  • The proc chance has been doubled.
  • The damage of [REDACTED] summon has been increased.
• The proc chance of Shocking Dismissal has been increased.
• The bonus damage of Grass Master has been increased.
• The bonus damage of Rock Cracker has been increased.

Disclaimer

This Tier List is based on our time in the game. We have clocked many hours in the game, and as a result, we were able to form this Tier List. So we are very confident that the information you see is accurate, but we can not make sure you agree with this Tier List ranking 100% as the nature of it is subjective.

The Mutations Tier List comes to an end here. We ranked all the major mutations from the best to the worst with a logical explanation of their ranking, and we would love to hear from you in the comments below. Meanwhile, you can also look at our other Grounded content below.

Next:

• BEST Grounded Weapons
• Grounded BEST Settings
• Grounded Shared Worlds
• Grounded: How To Repair
• Grounded Floors