Grounded: Mutation Tier List – Update 1.3

You only get to slot up to 5 different Mutation perks at once in Grounded, which can make it hard to decide which ones are worth it without a tier list.

What’s more, updates always bring along balance changes, so even veteran Grounded players will want to see how the balance shifts with each update. Yesterday’s garbage can be tomorrow’s treasure!

In this article, we give you our tier list of Mutations based on the current version of Grounded.

Mutation Tier List For Update 1.3

• S Tier – Natural Explorer, Blademaster, Javelineer, Chopper, Spicy Safety, Cardio Fan.
• A Tier – Dissection Expert, Ant-nihilator, Sharpshooter, Apex Predator, Assassin, Fresh Defense, Coup de Grass, Mithridatism, Whittle Wizard.
• B Tier – Reliable Friend, Shocking Dismissal, Meat Shield, Mom Genes, Bardic Inspiration, Corporate Kickback, Parry Master, Guard Dog, Trapper PEEP.R, Rascal Rogue.
• C Tier – Buff Lungs, Merteen, Barbarian, Rock Cracker, Spore Lord, Grass Master, Hauling Heroes, Battle Buddies, Truffle Tussle.
• D Tier – Daredevil, Sour Sensation, Juicy, Lil Fist, Mantsterious Stranger, Smasher.

Mutations are more or less ranked from best to worst within each tier, though there’s a lot of wiggle room due to them being fairly equal.

Key Points of the Tier List

On top of this tier list, you also have to account for your personal preferences and playstyle when choosing Mutations. 

For example, Reliable Friend might as well be in D Tier if you’re playing Grounded as a solo player!

As another example, Whittle Wizard would be fantastic if you were going for a wizard build!

That said, the Mutations in S Tier are more or less “must-haves” for most players, regardless of playstyle.

Natural Explorer is by far the best example of this, making it the best general-use mutation in the entire game. It increases your movement speed based on how many landmarks you find!

Movement speed always comes in handy, and you’re always finding landmarks as you explore. You can’t go wrong with that Mutation!

Javelineer, Chopper, and Blademaster are fantastic to help you specialize in various weapon types. Make sure to pick the Mutation to match your favorite weapon type and you’ll be fine!

For defense, Spicy Safety is your best bet as most hostile bugs deal smashing and stabbing damage types primarily.

Lastly in our S Tier, Cardio Fan will greatly increase your Stamina Regen and lower your Exhaustion Time. 

It’s easy to run out of stamina frequently in this game, which makes this Mutation almost mandatory if you have issues with stamina management!

Explaining Tiers Below S

Other than the amazing must-have Mutations in the S Tier, you pretty much can’t go wrong with anything in the A or B tiers. As long as they fit your playstyle, they’re fantastic choices!

The C and D tiers, though? You’re best staying away from those unless their niche uses actually work well for you.

That said, we’ll be surprised if anyone finds Mutations like Smasher particularly useful. Its main real benefit is slowing down enemy attacks by a relatively small amount, and only for 10 seconds.

Of course, Smasher is just one example. All of its companions in the D Tier are similarly niche, so most players won’t find them worth using at all. Especially considering the limited Mutation slots…

Anyway, that’s it for our Mutations tier list!

Keep in mind, that this is only valid as of Update 1.3, and balance can always change down the line. Who knows, maybe we’ll be singing Smasher’s praises in a few months?

ALSO READ: Grounded: All Secret Keys and Chest Locations Guide