Grounded guide: A list of every perk and mutation

Having the proper perks in Grounded can make your life in the backyard a whole lot easier. Whether you need a perk to help out with harvesting, combat, or stamina management, there are plenty to choose from to enhance your character. Finding them all and figuring out how to get each one can be a bit of a pain, though. Check out this list of all the current Grounded mutations/perks. Grounded is out now in early access on Xbox one, Xbox Series S|X and PC.

Character perks in Grounded are actually called Mutations and are discovered by simply playing the game. The longer you play, to more you will end up uncovering naturally. Sometimes though, it can be tough to figure out how to obtain each perk on their own. We’ve compiled a list of all the current perks and how to get them. Some perks only have a single level, while others can be upgraded to a maximum level three for increased effectiveness.

Juicy

Perk Description: ” Like a true bookworm, you can’t resist a wall of text. An encyclopedia knowledge of beverage ingredients enriches you.”

The Juicy perk reduces your food and water gauge drain rate. This is the perfect perk for the player that goes nuts harvesting materials and completely forgets to bring food with them. Equip this perk, and you won’t have to worry for a while about food or water. You can obtain this perk by finding all five juice boxes in the game.

Lil Fist

Perk Description: “Your tiny limbs flail and crush upon for after for. With every swing, these bitty bones of yours harden, and muscles tighten.”

Lil’ Fist increases your melee damage for your fists. Take the fight to the bugs and punch them in the face repeatedly with this perk. Obtain this perk by killing fifty creatures with your bare fists.

Buff Lungs

Perk description: “You inhale, and your cells burn bright with an enhanced energy capacity.”

Time to get yourself lungs of steel! The Buff Lungs perk provides an increase to your overall maximum stamina. This perk can be purchased from BURG.L, the loveable burger-flipping science robot, for seven thousand science points.

Rock Cracker

Perk description: “A path of destruction is left in your wake, and it’s clear that busting makes you feel good. Your little arms bring hammers down with an ever-growing efficiency.”

Smash boulders like a monster with super strength! The Rock Cracker perk allows you to smash rocks or clay in fewer hits. You need to advance through three levels to hit maximum efficiency. Smash twenty-five rocks for the first level, sixty for the second, and just over one hundred for the final level.

Grass Master

Perk description: “Like an insatiable lumberjack, you’re becoming a living lawnmower. your intimate knowledge of chopping grass allows you to topple them with increasing ease.”

Become a master of chopping down grass, with the Grass Master perk that is easily obtained by chopping down a bunch of grass. The first level of the perk is unlocked by cutting down fifty blades of grass, the second level at two hundred, and the third-level at five hundred blades of grass cut.

Ant-nihilator

Perk description: “The ant has become a familiar threat, and you begin to know your enemy inside and out. Death and devastation greet all ants that face you.”

Become an ant terminator with the Ant-nihilator perk. Increase your damage done against the pesky ants and decreases damage taken at maximum level. This perk also has three levels to level up for maximum effect. The first level is obtained at fifteen ant kills, the second level at forty-five, and the third at one hundred.

Coup de Grass

Perk description: “Discovering a beacon of hope in the darkness lifts your will to survive. Bursts of inspiration flash before your eyes in the heat of battle as you land blows one can only describe as lucky.”

Coup de Grass isn’t a substantially beneficial perk, but it does help in combat situations. This perk occasionally grants an extra increase to critical strike damage. You can discover this perk by finding the four-leafed clover.

Fresh Defense

Perk description: “A plume of mint dust envelopes you and sends a cool wave rippling through your skin. Cells activate a freshness layer to combat the sting of all that stinks and burns.”

Fresh Defense isn’t a perk where you douse yourself in Old Spice and ward off insects by smelling really good. Fresh Defense increases your resistance to gas damage. You can obtain this perk by collecting mint chunks.

Sharpshooter

Perk description: “A film crawls across the surface of your eyes, allowing you to focus with deadly clarity. This deals increased damage with all bow type weapons.”

Sharpshooter is the perfect perk for those that love to use a bow for a weapon. As explained in the perk description, this increases damage with all bow type weapons. There are three levels of this perfect to obtain for maximum effect. The first level is obtained at forty creatures killed with a bow, the second level at one hundred, and the third at two hundred creatures killed.

Cardio Fan

Perk description: “Exhausting your tiny body over and over again, your cells adopt a more efficient respiration process.”

The Cardio Fan perk is probably one of the most important perks and the easiest one you can obtain in Grounded. Cardio Fan increases your stamina regeneration rate and has to be leveled up three times for maximum effectiveness. The first level is obtained when you run out of stamina one hundred times, the second level at two hundred and fifty times, and the third at five hundred. The final stage is a moderate stamina increase, where the first and second levels are only a minor increase in stamina.

Meat Shield

Perk description: “Your size to meat ratio is off the charts, and you take hits like a champ.”

No, you don’t carry around a literal shield of meat. The Meat Shield perk increases your maximum health, allowing you to take more damage before running away in terror. You can purchase this perk from BURG.L at the Oak Tree lab for seven thousand science points.

Reliable Friend

Perk description: “Life in the lawn is filled with narrow escapes, and you’ve been right there for all of it. Your muscle memory, mixed with hope and determination, makes a harrowing rescue all the more probable.”

It’s great to have a friend around to help out when you’re in trouble. The Reliable Friend perk increases player revival rate and is currently the only perk where you need a second person in order to obtain it. This is another perk that has three levels to work through for maximum effectiveness. The first level is obtained when you revive a player five times, the second level at fifteen times, and the third-level at thirty times.

Natural Explorer

Perk description: “With each landmark found, you gain a better understanding of the lay of the land. Your tiny feet traverse the yard like it’s the back of your hand.”

Move through the jungle of the backyard like a cheetah on the hunt! Well, it’s more like someone who is out for a fast stroll through the park, but you get the picture. The Natural Explorer perk slightly increases your movement speed and also has three levels to work through for maximum effect. The first level is obtained by finding five landmarks in Grounded, the second level at twenty landmarks, and the third at fifty landmarks.

Daredevil

Perk description: “Powered by a perpetual flow of adrenaline as you skitter and leap through the yard, risk assessment has no place in your moment to moment thoughts. repeated trial and error lets you take leaps of faith with confidence.”

You can’t take a leap of faith into a hay pile like Ezio in Assassin’s Creed, but you can obtain the Daredevil perk to help reduce fall damage. In order to get this perk, take a trip and have a visit with BURG.L to purchase Daredevil for five thousand science points.

Smasher

Perk description: “Heavy strokes of power flood your little limbs to bring hammers down with unmatched force and intensity. Equipped with a hammer, your enemies will know true pain.”

Tiny shrunk person, smash! It sounds like something that tiny Hulk would say. Smasher is a perk that increases your one-handed hammer damage, giving your blunt weapons just a bit more punch. Unlock this perk simply by slaying creatures with a one-handed hammer.

Merteen

Perk description: “The push and pull of thick, rich pond water coaxes your gummy little body into becoming a part of this world. Your permeable skin begins to utilize an electrochemical gradient that propels your limbs like tiny flagella and aids in respiration.”

Easily the most useful perk to have while traversing the pond, the Merteen perk will get you swimming around quickly in the water. Find three underwater landmarks to unlock the Marteen perk.

Chopper

Perk description: “Fury and bloodlust pump through your arteries, fueling an efficient flow to hacking and chopping muscles. Axes are an extension of your angry little body.”

The axe is probably one of the most used items in any survival game, so having a perk to help make that weapon even better is great to have. The Chopper perk increases axe weapon damage through three levels. The first level is obtained by killing fifty creatures with an axe, the second level at one hundred creatures, and the third level at two hundred creatures slain.

Assassin

Perk description: “Small blades blur in your hands as you swing with an absolute precision. Daggers are your weapon of choice and ensure your toes die swiftly.”

The Assassin perk, suitable for ones who master dagger-type weapons. This can be a great perk to have equipped if you are harvesting lots of material with your daggers, such as in the koi pond gathering eelgrass. You can obtain the assassin perk by killing fifty creatures with daggers for the first level, one hundred for the second, and two hundred for the third.

Javelineer

Perk description: “Range is your greatest ally as your reach out and stab your foes from afar. Spears are increasingly deadly in your hands and when thrown.”

Just like a few other perks in Grounded, Javelineer is a weapon damage focused perk that increases your spear damage. In order to obtain this perk, you have to upgrade through three levels for maximum effectiveness. The first level is reached at fifty creatures killed with a spear, the second level at one hundred killed, and the third at two hundred.

Barbarian

Perk description: “Strong and reckless, you pride yourself in using the biggest weapons possible. Your muscular arms have no problems swinging clubs with great force.”

If your a fan of the Mint Mallet, the Barbarian perk will make you an even bigger fan. This mutation increases club damage and is obtained by killing creatures using club weapons. The first level is obtained at fifty creatures killed, the second level at one hundred, and the third-level at two hundred creatures killed.

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