Highlights
- A NetherRealm Studios employee has unveiled a hidden trick in Mortal Kombat 1 that allows players to gain extra health by pairing certain characters together.
- The health trick applies to both the main roster characters and kameo fighters in the game, with big characters like Shao and Jax having increased health when paired together.
- While the game is currently only available to pre-order customers, some fans are intrigued by a mysterious placeholder on the character-select screen, speculating that it could be for a secret, unlockable character or for upcoming DLC.
An employee of Mortal Kombat 1 developer NetherRealm Studios has revealed an unknown trick for players to gain extra health in the game. The previously undisclosed feature may have a large impact upon many player's character selections, and affects Mortal Kombat 1's regular and kameo character rosters.
Unexpectedly announced just back in May, Mortal Kombat 1 is now available in early access, released only to those who pre-ordered the Premium or the Kollector's Edition of the game. The highly-anticipated title will otherwise see a full release on September 19. The long-running blood-soaked fighting franchise boasts an impressive plethora of characters and faster-paced gameplay than its predecessor Mortal Kombat 11, meaning players are likely going to need all the health they can get.
Mortal Kombat 1's health trick reveal comes courtesy of Stephanie Brownback, NetherRealm Studios' lead QA analyst. In response to apparently seeing a lot of online speculation regarding various characters' health values, Brownback responded with the included tweet, revealing that both the main kombatant and kameo fighter affect the player's overall health. She goes on to say that pairing "big meaty" roster characters like Shao and Jax together results in a highly boosted health bar. However, size apparently doesn't always matter, as she responded in the negative to a fan asking if this applied to all characters of a larger stature.
While the game may currently be available for those who pre-ordered, it is Mortal Kombat 1 is missing a major feature at launch. In a post on X just days ago, the official Mortal Kombat account confirmed that cross play will not be available, although the development team plans to roll out the feature in the near future. While players may currently be limited to playing online against others on their specific platform, their connections should be solid, as NetherRealm previously stated the game would be utilizing rollback netcode.
While exactly what factors determine a character's health remain a bit unclear, some fans seem to be more focused on whether Mortal Kombat 1 has a secret 24th character. Even with the game's release, the character-select screen still has a mysterious placeholder with an empty silhouette with a plus sign laid over. Some fans are theorizing the slot belongs to a secret, unlockable character, while others chalk it up to it acting as a placeholder for the game's incoming Kombat Pack 1, which features gory superheroes Peacemaker, Homelander, and Omni-Man along with returning veterans Quan-Chi, Ermac, and Takeda.
Mortal Kombat 1 is available now in early-access, and launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
