Mutations


Commentary: This list evaluates mutations individually. In other words, Yeti Skin is evaluated primarily on its own merits, not the fact that it leads into Yeti Fur. The only other thing to note is that I've played 'em all (most of them quite extensively!), so this is all coming from personal experience.

God Tier
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These mutations are so powerful that they fundamentally change the entire game in your favor.

Zombie - This mutation has more value than any other, while also changing how the entire game works. Soaking, burning, drugging, getting stunned, getting headshot, dying, buffing, healing, acquiring, playing SamsaraMOO. It's all largely a non-issue with Zombie. Also comes with two excellent exploits. Cheap for what it is. Only costs nanites, ATP, top-end crafting and a (huge) Sneak penalty. BRN penalty is big but easy to work around.

Fibrocartilage - There is one mutation that is truly mandatory on each and every build in the game and it's this. You are 5 HP further from death with no downsides.

Mule - Resource management is a big part of this game. Whatever you want to have, with Mule you can have more of it. That universal applicability coupled with a lack of any real downside cements Mule as an auto-click.

S Tier
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These are mutations which are top-of-the-line picks that provide tremendous value. Some have serious downsides but are still worth taking because they're so strong.

Brainslug - Unbelievable value. Either +3 BRN or +40 stun resist alone would make an S-tier mutation and this gives you both. Has stern penalties and a skill floor but it's worth it.

Lithodermis - High defensive value. Horribly underutilized! Transforms any build into a walking tank. Adds some mobility tech. Beat soak is a very safe choice too. Weight penalty is stiff but Litho is worth it.

Firewalker - Solves a lot of problems in one stroke. Part-counters downsides of Yeti Fur, Vampire, and the PvP threat of Carrie. Makes ants easier. Not flashy but will save your life time and again.

Empath - Only useful for PvP but good at that; 100% a novelty in PvE. Huge Focus buff. Build-flexible. Great utility spell. Easier drugging. Balanced by a high skill floor stress mechanic and a ~40 focus requirement.

Blink - Massive mobility buff, which is one of the most important parts of the game. Enables a bunch of cool techs. Changes the game's tempo dramatically. If you can make the focus minimum and don't have Hooligan this is a very safe pick.

Hideous Freak - Big value. Focus buff. Sneak buff. Easy stress micro. Nice spell. Balanced by shop restrictions (an issue in endgame) and COL debuff. Very safe choice for many builds.

Swollen Brain - Very high value for little cost. Stat intrinsics are huge and penalty is small. Biggest problem is no Brute Strength, which is an issue for some builds.

Hooligan - Huge value but rather pricy. Resists are absolutely top-tier. Gives a nice spell for BRw builds. Focus penalty and soft blink incompatibility hold it back from true auto-click status.

Clairvoyance - Exclusively for PvP and very good at that. Not useful in PvE. Good in PvP for information gathering and its focus buff, with the stiff downside of no true mobility spells.

Screech - Mostly a PvP mutation but also good in PvE. Incredible spell. Counters feint. Hard to counter. Stops movement on low END builds. Focus intrinsic seals the deal.

Carrie - Excellent spell. Burn is fast, cheap, and punches through armor. Only fully countered by solar sponge. Counters Yeti Fur hard. Focus intrinsic is even more value. Only downside is zero utility. PvP builds only, 100% redundant in PvE.

Writhing Smoke - Good spell that demands respect. Especially good for gunners. Focus intrinsic is great too. Enables some outrageous PvP shenanigans. Sometimes useful in PvE as well.

Medium - 100% PvP mutation, but good for that. Great spell, allows even more safe information gathering. As subtle as a brick to the face. High skill cap. Opens up some cool mind games in PvP. Not useful in PvE (nobody cares about raider bosses) but is often used to PvP without PvPing by PvE players. Nice focus intrinsic.

Vampire - Tremendous value, almost as much as Zombie but without the paradigm shift. Huge stat intrinsics. High skill floor, astronomical skill cap. BRN penalty is significant and requires planning. Sun changes your playstyle completely. Very build-flexible, works on everything except Medic and Science.

Iron Liver - Massive value. Great healing and survivability throughout the game. Unlocks a BRW buff. Very low skill floor. Moderate skill cap in weight management. Easier than Lithodermis because you can put the weight down.

Billygoat - Superb intrinsics. Munch is a nice spell with some cool techs available. Simple but strong, a very safe pick.

Phaser - Nice Focus intrinsic. Phase is a very high skill-cap spell. Powerful and deceptively flexible in both PvE and PvP. Incredibly build-flexible. Needs Blink to truly excel but even without it's a great mutation.

High Density - High-value beat soak in both PvE and PvP. Also counterbalances Nimble Fingers. Good throughout the game.

Snakeskin - Soak intrinsics are great. Solid in both PvE and PvP. Gets value throughout the game.


A Tier
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Very good mutations that fall short of being truly top of the line. Often they struggle to compete with S-tier options or have downsides that are robust counters to their value.

Eelskin - Single-handedly counters grabs which is huge. Soaks are good throughout the game. Mobility is sometimes useful too. Water penalty takes some getting used to. Complete waste of a slot on BRW builds. Camelfat incompatibility is sometimes an issue.

Yeti Fur - BRW intrinsic is nice. +2 BRN in freezers saves a bunch of XP. Soaks are too specific to provide value in most fights. Burn penalty is killer in PvP. If you're not doing any PvP this mutation is S tier.

Enigma - Nice intrinsic for some builds. No psychoanalysis is problematic but not too bad. Not always worth the slot, build-dependent. Has a bit of a skill floor. Excellent Empath synergy.

Abomination - Awesome drugging. Exclusive weapons with exotic damtype. Good intrinsics in stats and defence. Armor restrictions are a huge problem. Has tremendous difficulty with late-game PvE and some PvP matchups.

Leapfrog - Buffs movement speed. Leap is a great spell in both PvE and PvP. Incompatibility with Lithodermis stings. Is a waste on builds with good Focus.

Bloodhound - Good intrinsics. Build-flexible. No gimmicks. Some builds can afford to sacrifice it because they have bigger fish to fry but SEN is a great stat.

Flight - The yakety sax mutation. Great for PvP, not so hot for PvE. Falls off in endgame due to weight restrictions.

Hyperimmune - Great intrinsic. ATP immunity is good. Losing nanites is a hefty cost unless you're Abomination or Chud.

Salamander - Nice Focus intrinsic. Two big mobility skill intrinsics. Great on any build that has low END. Spell is OK. Can be redundant on builds with high END. Craft penalty is a stinker on some builds.

Bleeder - Bleed KO immunity is a big safety upgrade. Frenzy is a fantastic drug. High BRW opens up some build shenanigans. Feint resist opens up some fights. Stress bonus is very nice. Frenzy focus penalty is huge though.

Brute Strength - BRW intrinsic is huge. No Swollen Brain or Empath and -1 END makes this mutation extremely expensive though.

Fuck Machine - COL intrinsic is nice. Spells are a great destress and small heal-over-time. No serious downsides but many builds don't need it.

Camelfat - END intrinsic is very safe. Passive is only useful in PvP but pretty great for that. Struggles to compete with Iron Liver's value. Often better for PvP specifically than Iron Liver.

Superclot - END intrinsic is great. Passive removes a KO source and saves some damage. If you're not taking Bleeder you should take this.

Rubberskin - Soaks are nice in PvP. Little to no value in PvE.


B Tier
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These mutations have good value but tend to be net-neutrals after accounting for their costs, restrictions, or downsides.

Chud - Nice intrinsics. Free minions. Nanite resist sucks. -4 Pilot is a huge XP tax. Chud network is not good enough to replace planes. Offers less than all other racials. Very easy to play, though.

Twitchy Nerves - Good intrinsic. Terribly expensive Focus cost. Only worth it on builds that really need the REF (and most don't).

Junkrat - Intrinsic exchange is okay. Extra scavenge is nice in late-game. Spell is poop. Overshadowed by higher-value options.

Yeti Skin - Locks out Chiller which is nice once in a blue moon. Makes Flight much easier to use. A bit too specific to be worth the slot unless you're going for Yeti Fur.

Nimble Fingers - Good intrinsics. Very expensive. END penalty is big. Beat penalty will sometimes get you killed. Great for characters that aren't interested in combat.

Ripperlikes - This is Ripper, Tendrils, Horrorspike and Carcinocudgel. They're all the same: weapon skill intrinsic in exchange for a harder time with brain stuff. Brainy stuff is important so this is a serious drawback and not all builds will want it, but it's good at what it does. Auto-click for Abominations of course. Tendrils is the best one because it buffs Focus.


C Tier
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These mutations tend to take away more than they offer, or else offer so little that they can't justify their slot cost.

Chiller - COL intrinsic is middling value. Spell is far too slow and hard to cast. Preservative utility is good but there are cheaper ways to preserve stuff. Comes with a ton of annoying baggage. Locks out Carrie which is infinitely better.

Silicone Skin - Passives are occasionally convenient in PvE but junk in PvP. Soaks are a nice PvP backstop but low value in PvE. No protection from fatalities defeats much of the mutation's point. Overshadowed by other T2 soak options. Good synergy with Blink but I don't think that saves it.

Solar Sponge - Intrinsics are middling value in PvP, almost zero in PvE. Passives are far too inconsistent. Overshadowed by other T2 soak options.


D Tier
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These mutations offer so little or have such massive penalties that they tend to do more harm than help outside of extremely specific builds.

X-Ray Vision - Tiny skill intrinsics in non-combat, non-crafting skills. Spell is complete hogwash. Only worth the slot on Medic minmax builds.

Cat Ears - Same problem as X-ray except the skills are even worse. Only worth the slot on certain Rifles minmax builds.

Plant Whisperer - Almost zero value. Makes getting some plant components easier but the only one that really matters is peyote.

Stench - Adds an END drug. Outrageously expensive. Drug penalties are too stiff to be worth casting. Mob ignoring effect is completely obviated by Sneak. Theoretically good for Zombie but in reality it's not. You're a zombie, you can just die and get back up to bypass mobs.