Mortal Kombat 11 is the latest game in the Mortal Kombat series, developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. The title is praised by many players for its storyline, large roster of characters, and the new customization known as Augments.
These Augments, when equipped on a character, will act as perks and advantages in battle; the right combination can absolutely be what makes or breaks a battle, especially in a fast-paced experience like Mortal Kombat 11. As such, many newcomers to the fighting game will want to know what the best Augments in the game are.
Updated on July 4, 2023, by Rhenn Taguiam: While upcoming Mortal Kombat 1 teases a high-definition gorefest of a reboot for the Mortal Kombat franchise, players who itch for Flawless Victories can still look at Mortal Kombat 11’s Augments as a way to drastically alter the way a Kombatant functions in a fight. Despite the availability of both universal and character-specific Augments in Mortal Kombat 11, certain Augments just rise above the rest with how they change the flow of a Mortal Kombat match. Such Augments include a boost to the overall technique damage, a stockpile of health that fills up every round, prolonged stuns, more efficient parries, and a damage-over-time buff.
15 Special Delivery – Get Massive Damage Boosts
Players enjoying their Mortal Kombat 11 gameplay almost always have a go-to Special attack regardless of their Kombatant of choice, with the game offering at least one in-character Augment that boosts Special attack damage by 3%. Thanks to Special Delivery, their Kombatant can get a 10% up to a whopping 40% Special attack boost.
Considering how a lot of Special attack buffs stack, the additional 10% jump via Special Delivery can add a significant leap in a character’s combo strength. With MK11’s fast-paced combat, even the smallest boost in attack can go a long way in endurance fights.
14 Soul Phylactery – Shang Tsung Gets A Second Chance
Among Mortal Kombat Kombatants, Shang Tsung has an infamous reputation for casually absorbing the souls of his opponents to gain not just their abilities but also their life force. This ensured Shang Tsung’s sustained vitality, with Soul Phylactery representing this tenacity in-game. When equipped, Soul Phylactery will store 3% of Shang Tsung’s remaining health whenever he wins a round. All his stored health will be used to heal him once he reaches 50% health. This effect is on top of +5% Poison Resist and +1% Global Damage.
This Augment is extremely nifty when using Shang Tsung in prolonged fights such as in Challenge Towers or Endurance rounds. Not only that, knowing Shang Tsung’s kit properly can ensure this Augment can stockpile quite a lot of health, with the boost at 50% health being the equivalent of a spare life bar that can turn the tide of a losing battle.
13 Animated Blood – Skarlet Can Stop Combos
Skarlet in Mortal Kombat lore needs to use blood magic to sustain herself in fights, as characterized by her blood-oriented kit that she manipulates like water. Fans who like to stun enemies in particular will enjoy Skarlet’s Killer Clot, which is basically a ball of blood that latches onto opponents for up to 6 seconds when they get near her.
At its core, Killer Clot remains a popular choice in stopping enemies from special canceling their moves, which translates to not being able to string combos more efficiently. Thanks to the Animated Blood Augment, Killer Clot gets a 4-second extension on top of +10% Blood Resist and +4.5 Global Damage. When used properly, Skarlet can debilitate the opponent’s damage output by removing any openings to special cancel. And even if opponents still try to pull off a Special, Skarlet would already have the health advantage to shrug it off.
12 Deflected Arrows – Liu Kang Can Punish Pokes
De facto series protagonist Liu Kang is known for his martial arts prowess, with his Energy Parry move allowing him to deflect projectiles as though reflecting the mastery of his chi or life energy. In Mortal Kombat 11 gameplay, the Deflected Arrows Augment gives Energy Parry a 6-frame extension. Despite the simple effect, the extra frames can transform Energy Parry into an opening for Liu Kang to punish opponents.
On top of Liu Kang having more time to shrug off enemy projectiles, having the Dragon’s Gift Kustom Ability will allow Energy Parry to “return fire” with a fireball. In terms of combo strings, this should leave Liu Kang with enough time to follow through with a Flying Kick. Thanks to Deflected Arrows, Energy Parry becomes an efficient punisher for opponents who like to poke their way into the offensive.
11 Ignition Drive – Boost Scorpion's Amplified Damage
Amplified attacks in Mortal Kombat gameplay reward players for dishing out complicated yet powerful moves, with the Ignition Drive Augment offering an extra dose of hellfire to Scorpion’s aggressive kit. At its core, Ignition Drive enhances Scorpion’s Amplified Specials to burn opponents upon hit, dealing 75 Fire Damage across 4 seconds. This is on top of giving Scorpion +2% overall damage and +10% Fire Resist.
The Fire Damage persists even if enemies block Scorpion’s Teleport, practically giving players a guaranteed 75 Damage attack provided they pull the initial combo string. This general buff to Scorpion’s Amplified attacks makes his teleports and spears do much more damage courtesy of damage-over-time, making this an ideal Augment for all modes in the game.
10 Pumped Up – More Health
Pumped Up is an extremely simple Augment – it simply increases the Health of the player. The Level 4 version of the Pumped Up Augment will increase the player character’s Augment by 1000.
Most experienced players wouldn’t gain much use out of this Augment in particular, but newer players might need to soak up an extra hit or two. As such, Pumped Up can be quite useful for somebody new to Mortal Kombat 11. However, with experience, this Augment will become less useful to a player.
9 Brute Strength – A Simple Damage Increase
Brute Strength is one of the more simple Augments, but what it offers is very useful to any fighter. This Augment will increase the damage that all physical attacks deal. With a Level 4 Brute Strength Augment, the extra damage totals up to 50% for any and all physical attacks.
With this Augment, players will easily be able to deal more damage against opponents. The only downside is that it is difficult to find Level 4 Augments, and Brute Strength is not any different.
8 Bill of Health – More Health, More Damage
Although Bill of Health can only be used in certain situations with certain characters, it is still a strong Augment to use in story mode. When equipped, Bill of Health will increase the damage a player deals as long as they are at full health.
A Level 4 Bill of Health makes the damage increase by 50% at full Health. The downside is it requires the player to be skilled against their opponent, to ensure they don’t take any hits that would make Bill of Health useless.
7 Ammo Dump – Far More Bullets for Rambo
Ammo Dump is a Jinsei Augment for Rambo – that is to say, it is an Augment that only Rambo can equip. The Augment is simple, in that it increases the amount of bullets that Rambo fires from his Machine Gun. At Level 4, this Augment increases the bullet spray by 400%. Ammo Dump is a very important Augment to use on Rambo.
400% is a large amount, after all. Because of this increase, Ammo Dump is often used within Rambo builds that are considered nigh-unstoppable.
6 Frozen Asset – Increasing Kollector’s Stun-Time
The Jinsei Augment for the fighter Kollector is a simple one, but when used right can make the Kollector even stronger than he already is. The Augment as-is will increase the duration of his stuns; Level 4 Frozen Asset increases his stun time by a full 100% – which, in other words, doubles the stun time.
With a doubled stun time, a skilled player could easily take advantage of the extra time and finish off the opponent in a flash, making this Augment quite strong.
5 Breakthrough – Armor Breaking
An Augment known as Breakthrough is shockingly strong, as it grants the player a chance to pierce the enemy’s armor with each attack. The Level 4 version of Breakthrough sports a full 100% piercing chance.
Similar to Brute Strength, this Augment will greatly increase the damage that a player deals when Breakthrough is equipped. However, instead of just increasing the damage that a player deals, a Level 4 Breakthrough will completely ignore an enemy’s armor. This, in turn, will cause more damage, making this Augment quite useful.
4 Wicked Wounds – Longer Stun Time for Shao Kahn
Similar to the Jinsei Augment Frozen Asset, Shao Kahn’s Augment Wicked Wounds will increase the Stun time of his skill Merciless Spear. Unlike with Frozen Asset, though, the Level 4 Frozen Asset Augment will increase the Stun time by a whopping 400%. The downsides to this Augment are that Shao Kahn is not considered to be one of the best units in Mortal Kombat 11, and it’s only on one skill. Despite that, the extra stun chance is still important to use on Shao Kahn.
3 Defenseless – A Chance for Unstoppable Attacks
Defenseless, though it has a somewhat low activation rate (even at Level 4), is still a very strong Augment to equip. At Level 4, Defenseless has a 20% chance to make any attack thrown in an opponent’s way to be Unblockable – the enemy would not be able to mitigate the damage with a well-timed block if 20% wins in the player’s favor. Any player who uses it can easily take out a large chunk of the enemy’s Health if the enemy can’t block a particularly strong attack.
2 Lucky Blows – Chance of Instant Death
Lucky Blows is one of the strongest Augments in the game, only burdened by its low chance to activate. At Level 4, this Augment grants the wearer an 8% chance for each Krushing Blow to be a one-hit KO, at the cost of gaining no Gear EXP. Despite having such a small activation rate, Lucky Blows is still considered to be one of the best Augments in Mortal Kombat 11 – when luck favors the player, it’ll be an instant kill.
1 Blaze of Evil – Ignite Effects for Scorpion
A Jinsei Augment for Scorpion, Blaze of Evil is one of the best Augments to equip on the fighter. Once equipped, a player using Scorpion will have all Fire attacks gain a chance to Ignite, which deals 5 Fire damage per second. On top of this, the higher level of Augment, the longer the Ignition will stay on the enemy. At Level 4, this Augment has a 60% chance to Ignite, and durations increase by 100%. Due to Scorpion having the potential to be the strongest character in the game, and Ignite being a very strong effect, this makes Blaze of Evil one of the best Augments in Mortal Kombat 11.
Mortal Kombat 11 is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
