In Grounded 2, the miniature world of Brookhollow Park presents amplified dangers, with an array of aggressive insects. To enhance your chances of survival, you can acquire Mutations – unique sets of abilities earned by completing specific challenges. This guide will detail every Mutation, explain their unlock conditions, and offer strategic advice on their optimal use.
What are Mutations in Grounded 2?
Mutations are powerful buffs in Grounded 2 that significantly enhance your character`s combat prowess, stamina, and elemental resistances. Accessible via the Mutations tab in your inventory, these abilities are crucial for improving your survival rate and should be prioritized early in your playthrough.
Mutations are categorized into four distinct groups:
- Fighting Styles
- Combat Abilities
- Exploration
- Survival
Each Mutation is unlocked by completing specific challenges, typically across three levels, with the benefits scaling at each tier. Initially, players can equip two active Mutations, a limit that can be expanded to a maximum of four by utilizing Milk Molars found throughout the game.
How to Unlock All Mutations in Grounded 2
Fighting Style Mutations
Lil Fist
- Kill 40 creatures with fists
- Kill 100 creatures with fists
- Kill 200 creatures with fists
Unlocking the Lil Fist Mutation enhances your unarmed combat, allowing you to build up powerful fist attacks. While not always the most efficient combat method, it offers a unique challenge. For quick progression, focus on punching weaker enemies like grubs, especially in the early stages of the game.
Smasher
- Kill 40 creatures with clubs
- Kill 100 creatures with clubs
- Kill 200 creatures with clubs
The Smasher Mutation grants a bonus stun effect when wielding clubs, proving highly effective for incapacitating larger foes such as roaches, stink bugs, and the formidable praying mantis.
Javelineer
- Kill 40 creatures with spears
- Kill 100 creatures with spears
- Kill 200 creatures with spears
Level up the Javelineer Mutation by using spears. This ability increases your thrown spear damage and reflects a portion of incoming damage back to your attackers.
Assassin
- Kill 40 creatures with daggers
- Kill 100 creatures with daggers
- Kill 200 creatures with daggers
The Assassin Mutation boosts critical hit chance with dash strikes, while dual daggers and sickles gain additional critical hit damage. This is a formidable choice for close-quarters combat, allowing you to inflict significant damage on various insects, including scorpions, spiders, and roaches, especially when using weapons like Orb Weaver daggers.
Sharpshooter
- Kill 40 creatures with bows
- Kill 100 creatures with bows
- Kill 200 creatures with bows
A must-have for archers, the Sharpshooter Mutation increases your critical hit chance with fully charged bow shots.
Blademaster
- Kill 40 creatures with swords
- Kill 100 creatures with swords
- Kill 200 creatures with swords
The Blademaster Mutation enhances sword combat: sword attacks temporarily reduce enemy damage output and remove your stamina meter, allowing for sustained offense. This is a prime choice for players who prefer swords in Grounded 2.
Whittle Wizard
- Kill 40 creatures with staves
- Kill 100 creatures with staves
- Kill 200 creatures with staves
The Whittle Wizard Mutation empowers staff attacks with enhanced elemental effects. Sizzle inflicts greater burn intensity, and shattering frozen enemies results in increased damage. Furthermore, staff attacks gain a higher critical hit chance against both frozen and burning enemies at maximum elemental buildup.
Combat Mutations
Parry Master
- Perform 30 perfect parry blocks
- Perform 80 perfect parry blocks
- Perform 150 perfect parry blocks
The Parry Master Mutation rewards perfect blocks by restoring your stamina.
Ambush
- Land 30 ambush attacks
- Land 80 ambush attacks
- Land 150 ambush attacks
Ambush attacks, or stealth attacks, against unaware enemies deal critical hits with this Mutation. When combined with daggers, ambush attacks gain a significant boost to critical hit damage, making it ideal for stealth-focused players.
Frenzy
- Defeat the mysterious stranger
The Frenzy Mutation is a late-game unlock, obtained after completing the main story and defeating the mysterious stranger. When active, melee attacks trigger a rage state, granting increased damage and health regeneration, though you lose the ability to perform timed blocks.
Guard Dog
- Complete 1 MIX.R event
- Complete 4 MIX.R event
- Complete 9 MIX.R event
The Guard Dog Mutation boosts your damage output against creatures attacking your base or `turf`.
Exploration Mutations
Natural Explorer
- Discover 20 points of interest
- Discover 50 points of interest
- Discover 80 points of interest
The Natural Explorer Mutation is acquired by discovering points of interest across the map. It provides a movement speed bonus, which is temporarily reduced upon entering combat or taking damage from a creature.
Trapper Peep.r
- Collect 25 gold cards
- Collect 50 gold cards
- Collect 75 gold cards
The Trapper Peep.r Mutation enhances the damage multiplier of critical hits.
Survival Mutations
Cardio Fan
- Deplete stamina 100 times
- Deplete stamina 250 times
- Deplete stamina 500 times
The Cardio Fan Mutation is an excellent early-game unlock, accelerating stamina regeneration and reducing exhaustion duration after depletion. This makes it invaluable for evading enemies, particularly before acquiring or when your buggy is incapacitated.
Reliable Fan
- Revive 5 allies
- Revive 15 allies
- Revive 30 allies
The Reliable Fan Mutation enables faster revival of downed allies. For solo players, this Mutation can still be unlocked by reviving your buggy.
Fresh Defense
- Eat 1 mint shard
- Eat 5 mint shards
- Eat 10 mint shards
Fresh Defense offers substantial protection against elemental hazards. It reduces the rate and damage from sizzle burns, as well as diminishing harm from poison gas. To collect the required Mint Shards (large mints resembling vitamins), you`ll need the Omni-Hammer Level II upgrade.
Spicy Safety
- Eat 1 spicy shard
- Eat 5 spicy shards
- Eat 10 spicy shards
Unlocking Spicy Safety by consuming spicy shards provides crucial cold resistance, including chill reduction, enhanced freeze resistance, and reduced shatter damage when frozen. This Mutation is highly recommended for exploring frigid areas like the Ice Cream Cart, where it should be combined with cold-resistant gear and smoothies for optimal survival.
Mithridatism
- Kill 5 venomous creatures
- Kill 50 venomous creatures
- Kill 150 venomous creatures
The Mithridatism Mutation diminishes the rate at which venom spreads through your body and reduces the damage taken from venom.