MK 11 may not be as laden with secrets as some of the older games in the series, but there is definitely some things going on under the hood that casual players might miss. On this list, you will see secret techniques, finishers and Easter eggs that can be hard to spot. So let’s dig in.

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10 Show Some Mercy

Easily the most important entry on this list, performing Mercies in Mortal Kombat 11 are crucial since they not only increase your tower score, but they also provide you with more hearts to spend on Forge items or to open Krypt chests. Finally, you need to perform them to unlock some keys to open doors in the Krypt.

But how do you actually perform one? Well the game doesn’t exactly tell you. Luckily it’s quite simple. All you have to do is beat the opponent until you get to the “Finish Him/Her” screen. Then about a couple jumps away from the opponent you want to hold L2/LT/ZL (depending on your console), press down 3-4 times and then release. Your opponent will now be given a bit of health and if you win, you feel even more badass.

9 Fatality Inputs

As you start to open chests in the Krypt, you’ll notice that you’ll unlock some fatalities for your characters. But don’t let the game fool you; you don’t have to actually unlock fatalities in order to use them.

Unlike brutalities which do need to be unlocked, fatalities can be performed any time as long as you know the button input. Of course, these can be looked up online pretty easy.

8 Rewards From Tutorials

It’s completely understandable that newbies want to jump straight into the fighting and slash their opponents to bits in Mortal Kombat 11, but it is actually valuable to complete the lengthy tutorials. Not only are you able to learn a lot about the game mechanics, but you can also unlock some skins and more.

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For completing the base mechanics tutorials, you get a little bit of Time Krystals for each section which can be used to buy cosmetics, brutalities and more. Finally, completing each individual fighter’s tutorial earns you a skin for them. Get into the dojo, fighters!

7 Smash Reptile

Have you wanted to smash Reptile? No not in that way you pervs, we meant with a giant hammer. Well even though Reptile is not a playable fighter, there is still a way that you can obliterate this Zaterran warrior to bloody bits in Mortal Kombat 11.

In the Krypt, there is a room located in The Torture Halls which you can find behind a Skeleton Key door and a wall which you must destroy using Kenshi’s blindfold and Shao Kahn’s hammer. Once you get into this room, a cutscene with Reptile will play. Now you can find him at various locations in the Krypt using Kenshi’s blindfold and if you blast him with the hammer, you will get a Reptile skin for Scorpion called “Forest Ninja”. An absolute win for us.

6 Brutality Poses

Every time you perform a brutality in MK 11, you will not see a grisly death but also your fighter will strike a sick pose for screenshots. But what if we told you that you can alter the pose if you hit the right buttons?

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For certain characters (like with Sub-Zero), hitting button combinations right after doing their brutalities will change the pose. Johnny Cage puts his action figure in different poses, Sub-Zero’s ice sculptures change, and more. The button inputs change depending on who you play as so be sure to look them up.

5 The Lone Stage Brutality

In previous Mortal Kombat games, stage fatalities were common (remember The Pit?) but it seems at first glance that Mortal Kombat 11 doesn’t offer much in the way of killing your opponent with the stage itself. But we may just have to look harder…

In the stage “Special Forces Desert Command”, you can use the interactive moose head to replace your opponent’s regular noggin. Just toss it at them for the final hit of the match, then hold the button you used to throw…and boom! Your opponent is now a Moose and Human/Tarkatan/God/Demon/insect/Outworlder hybrid.

4 Let Your AI Fighter Do The Work

While the game is immensely fun, everybody has those moments on the couch where you need to get up to use the toilet or do some housework. Thankfully however, you can still earn rewards even while away from the screen.

How can you do this? By letting your A.I fighter do the work! When selecting your character for a tower, you’ll see an option for A.I fighter listed next to their variations. Toggle that on and now an A.I will fight against your tower opponents. You will have to navigate the menus when the matches end and you definitely should set your A.I fighter’s behavior properly (don’t give Scorpion any points in Zoning) and you should be good to go.

3 Don’t Skip AI Battles

While it might be a weird concept to play by not playing, Mortal Kombat 11 has an entire mode dedicated to just having computer opponents duke it out against each other. This is called “A.I Battles” which you can find in the “Fight” section of the main menu.

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For this mode, you should create a variation of your character that specifically will excel in an A.I Battle setting. This would be having augments on specific gear that helps them in this mode (this can be seen in the Kustomize option on the main menu). The main reason you want to play this mode is that you can unlock exclusive skins and cosmetic items from here. Plus you can fast forward the matches so you won’t have to suffer for long.

2 Smash Lava Rocks

The Krypt is full of goodies for players to unlock and purchase, but there’s stuff to get even in the most random of places.

While in the Krypt, you’ll hear some loud crashing noises. This usually signals that that meteor has fallen into The Courtyard area, which can be smashed open by a swing of the Shao Kahn hammer. Like most chests in the Krypt, it’s a crapshoot whether or not you’ll find something good, but it’s always worth a shot. You can also use a konsumable item to call down a meteor at will if you wish.

1 Do Your Part In Boss Fight Group Battles

Sometimes in the Towers of Time, special Group Battle Boss Fights will appear. If one were to walk into the fight unprepared, you’d get sliced to ribbons in an instant. There’s a few reasons for this and most of the time it’s because teammates for these fights can be utter fools.

While it’s not evident at first, if you zoom out in theatre mode you can assist the player who is currently engaged in kombat. Using certain modifiers, you can apply armor, give health boosts and shoot projectiles at the opponent. Be sure to be a good teammate in these matches and you can all enjoy the rewards.

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