Mortal Kombat X – Secret Brutalities! – with VIDEO (Now in Near-HD Quality!) – Updated 8/1 with NEW Video

Mortal Kombat X has enjoyed an active post-release life in the form of DLC and patches.  Even those not wishing to spend extra money have been able to enjoy the benefits of free costumes, the recent klassic fatalities, and one of the game’s most interesting hidden features thus far – secret brutalities.  For our purposes, all brutalities not explicitly listed as such in the game will be considered “secret brutalities.”  I have further broken these down by type to make things easier and I’ve moved the 3 current videos to the bottom of the page.

For a text version of this document, please click here.

Update Ver.2.3 – New “needs investigation” section added.

Update Ver.2.2.4 – Minor corrections and clarifications, plus brand new video with all brutalities at the bottom of the article!

These secret brutalities play into the mysterious and elusive nature of previous entries in the series and must be “discovered” (or Googled?); they’re not listed or referenced anywhere in the game.  The trend started several updates ago with some now well-known “stage brutalities” in the Outworld Marketplace and received at least 4 new additions in the latest patch, version 1.07.  I’m sure we’ll see more of these in the future, and who knows, there may be even more lurking within the game even in its current state!

Below is a video of all the currently known secret stage and character brutalities.  Beneath the video you’ll find detailed, tested, and verified instructions on how to perform them!  Typically Nerd Bacon isn’t used as a platform for instructional information, but this is worth disseminating for the time being.  While a respectable amount of information regarding these brutalities can be found elsewhere, much if it is incomplete and quite obviously untested – probably copied and pasted from place to place.

1. Stage Brutalities
   • Brutalities that can be executed using stage interactions (or background elements)
2. Character Brutalities (Non-X-ray)
   • Unlisted individual character brutalities activated by special moves, combos, etc., but not an X-ray
3. X-ray Brutalities
   • Unlisted individual character brutalities triggered by an X-ray
4. “Reflect” Brutalities
   • Brutalities resulting from an opponent’s special move being reflected back at them via a character’s “reflect” special move
5. Shinnok “Impostor Brutalities”
   • Shinnok can copy moves using Mimicry and then use these copied moves to inflict brutalities on the opponent
6. Alternate Brutalities
   • Listed brutalities with alternate animations depending on changes in variation or “enhancement” of certain moves
7. Under Investigation
   • Rumors abound, but if these exist, they’re not widely known or recorded…

None of these brutalities have official names (that I’m aware of).

These moves are described in PS4 button terms.  If you need to translate:

• Triangle = Y
• Square = X
• Circle = B
• X = A
• L1 / R1 = LB / RB
• L2 / R2 = LT / RT

Stage Brutalities

Outworld Marketplace “Blanche” Explosion

A lot of people have seen this one by accident – throw the old lady, and the opponent explodes!

• Must be at Outworld Marketplace stage
• Player must use at least 2 level interactions (or the same one at least twice) during the match
• Final hit must come from throwing the old lady (“Blanche”)
• Works at any distance

Note:  This is contrast to many instructions saying that the player must use both the fire and throw the barrel during the second (or final) round and that player must be at sweep or jump distance when throwing Blanche.  I’ve experimented extensively with this – even something such as leaping off the awning (far right) twice in the first round and throwing Blanche at point-blank range will work!

Outworld Marketplace “Blanche” Beatdown

This one is great because of how surprising it is when seeing it the first time…it’s awesome seeing the lil’ ol’ lady beating the hell out of one of the realms’ fiercest warriors!

• Same requirements as explosion
• Must hold DOWN while throwing Blanche

The Kove Explosion

Pretty much a repeat of the the Outworld Marketplace.  Waiting for the corpses to wash up can be a pain though…

• Must be at The Kove stage
• Final hit must come from throwing washed up corpse
• Must hold FORWARD while throwing corpse

Note:  I haven’t seen many instructions about this one, though no other stage interactions are required!

The Kove Watery Grave

So far this comes the closest to a traditional stage fatality from previous games.  It’s definitely one of my favorites!  And if you ever wondered what good that “stance shift” button was (L2 on the PS4) besides one of Johnny’s brutalities and earning a couple of trophies, here’s its best use yet.

• Must be at The Kove stage
• Must hold STANCE SHIFT (L2) during final hit
• Final hit must come from an uppercut (Down + Triangle)

Note:  This is really easy to pull off; again, no need for level interactions during the match for this one to work.

Dead Woods Impalement

Notice the blood that runs out of the log at the end and the rising steam…excellent touch.

• Must be at Dead Woods or Infected Dead Woods stage
• Must be at Sweep Distance or further
• Final Hit must come from throwing hollow log (on the far right of stage)

Note:  Nearly all the instructions elsewhere mandate swinging on the tree branch mid-level and breaking the limb on the far left on the screen, both in the second round.  No level interactions are required.

Kuatan Jungle Head Smash

A little on the generic side…I hope a future update gives us something involving that weird snake creature or the alligator-like critter.

• Must be on Kuatan Jungle stage
• Must grab center vine at least once during match (the one hanging straight down mid-screen)
• Final hit must come from smashing the opponent into the stone pillar

Lin Kuei Temple Immolation

This one gives us a version of the opponent’s corpse that we don’t see too often.

• Must be at Lin Kuei Temple stage
• Must be at Sweep Distance (or greater)
• Must hold FORWARD during final hit
• Final  hit must come from throwing one of the torches (all 3 will work)

Quan Chi Fortress Kahn’s Wrath Hammer

Here’s one that hasn’t gotten much attention yet.  Although I’ve seen it mentioned, I was able to discover it before reading about its existence.

• Must be on Quan Chi Fortress stage
• Final hit must come from using hammer on far right of stage

Training Room Simulation

Surprisingly, the above Stage Brutalities will all work when the appropriate simulation is present in the Training Room stage, aside from uppercutting the opponent in the water at The Kove.  For the others, the same requirements must be met (holding Forward, using 2 interactions, etc.) as in the original stage, but once they are, the brutalities will trigger as normal!

Non-X-ray Character Brutalities

Most of these are pulled of similarly to regular, listed brutalities.  I’ve also included an oddball entry from Reptile in the list, and though it mechanically functions a little more like an “alternate” brutality, it’s highly unlikely that it would be discovered based on listed conditions.

Cassie Cage – “American Way”

• Spec Ops Variation
• Must perform (and possibly connect?) 1 American Way (Down, Back, Square) during the match
• Final hit must come from American Way (D, B Sq)

After performing an American Way, there’s a few second wait before Cassie is able to do it again.  It only takes about 2% of the opponent’s health, so what I found easiest was to get their health down, perform and connect one American Way, and then finish him or her off with another.

Mileena – “Low Pounce”

There’s been a fair bit of confusion regarding how to do pull this off.  I’ve done my best to nail down what works and what doesn’t, so take a look at the requirements and then keep reading for a more thorough explanation.

• Must be in Ravenous Variation
• Final hit must come from Low Pounce Chain Grab (Down, Back, Circle – Back, Back, Square – Down, Down, Triangle)
• Must press an additional Down, Down, Triangle after the first.

Sound weird?  Maybe it is, but I’m confident that this is the trick.  The weird thing is that Brutality Kombat confuses the matter.  In Brutality Kombat, it’s possible to only execute the first part of the Chain Grab, “Dislocate,” and then rest of the Brutality will follow.  However, in regular kombat, a simple Dislocate (B B Sq) followed by Back Ride (D D Tri) is not enough to trigger it.  I have found that entering in an additional Down Down Triangle will activate it without fail.

If you’re unfamiliar with Mileena’s Ravenous Variation, you may find yourself faced with another problem: you can’t exactly connect a Low Pounce (D B Cir) against a standing opponent.  This must be done while the opponent is in the air.  The easiest way to accomplish this is by first performing a Ball Roll – Back, Down, Circle.  Then, as soon as she stands up on the other side of the opponent, input D B Cir and you’ll grab the opponent and leap over them.  It is at this point where you must quickly execute Dislocate (B B Sq) followed by Back Ride (D D Tri) and then another D D Tri for the brutality.

There may be other in-match requirements for this to work as well; I haven’t done extensive testing on that front.  Some sources have cited extremely complicated combos necessary for the finisher, but this is untrue.  One particularly damaging combo that can be strung together involves starting out with the Half Blood kombo (F + X, Cir, Cir) followed by an Enhanced Ball Roll (B, D, Cir + R2), and then leading into the Low Pounce Chain Grab.  Just don’t forget to tap D D Tri an extra time if you notice your opponent’s health is depleted.

Predator – “Ugly Mother…”

Another recent find…

• All variations
• Final hit must come from Ugly Mother… kombo – X, Triangle, Square + X
• Hold Triangle during final hit

Remember to move that thumb fast and get to Triangle before the final hit of the kombo connects.

Reptile – Acid Wash Ugraded

“Acid Wash” was/is one of the lamest brutalities in MKX, so I was pleased to see this bizarre little addition to the sequence.  It makes it a brutality worth striving for.

• Must meet conditions for Acid Wash brutality
  • Must inflict more than 25% (formerly 30%) damage during the match with Acid Spit (Down, Forward, Square).
  • Final hit must come from Acid Spit.
• Hold UP immediately after performing final Acid Spit and before it hits the opponent

Note:  According to the move data, an Acid Spit deals 5% damage, or 1.62% damage when blocked.  I don’t know if chip damage is included in the “more than 25%” condition, so to be certain, be sure to connect a total of 6 Acid Spits during the match.  Yes, 5 of them will yield 25%, but note the more than detail.

This can also be kind of tough to pull off at close range.  As I was experimenting with it, I found that you have to press and hold UP before the projectile connects or the “new version” won’t kick in.  Although the brutality will trigger at any range when all conditions are met, Reptile’s Acid Spit is one of the fasting moving projectiles in the game and it can be tough to press the UP button quickly enough if closer than half screen or so to your opponent.

Tremor – “Lava Drop”

I had this video ready(ish) several days ago, and though the thought entered my mind that Tremor might come upon us this Tuesday (today), I had no idea that’d I’d still be working on this project.  At any rate, I seem to have developed some sort of “brutality mentality,” and after seeing Tremor’s listed brutalities, I felt sure that there just had to be one pertaining to his “Lava Skin” mode of his Metallic Variation.

Fully prepared for rigorous testing, my first experiment was going to test the Lava Throw (analogous to the “It’s Tremor” brutality’s Gold Throw), but a few seconds before delivering the final hit, I decided to use the Lava Drop.  It worked beautifully.

• Must be in Metallic Variation
• Must have Lava Skin (Down, Down, Square) active (by default, Tremor has Gold Skin active in this variation)
• Final hit must come from Lava Drop (Down, Back, X)

Tremor – “Rock Slam”

Here’s one I just discovered earlier today using the “Brutality Kombat” modifier.  I was able to do some testing and come up with the following stipulations, though it is possible that other conditions exist.

• All Variations
• Must connect at least 4 Rock Slams (F + Triangle) during match
• Final hit must come from Rock Slam (F + Tri)

As I said, there could be other factors at work, but I’ve pretty much ruled out the following as variables: holding buttons during the final hit, health meter requirements, “first hit” requirements,  and winning both/losing one round requirement.

Tremor – “Rolling … ?”

Here’s another discovered via Brutality Kombat with similar requirements.  Like the brutalities listed below this one, you’ll get a different animation depend on whether the final hit comes from the “standard” or “enhanced” special move.  You’ll also get a slightly different animation for the Crystal version and the Lava version while the Rock and Gold are the “vanilla” versions.

• All Variations
  • Gold Skin
  • Lava Skin
• Must connect at least 3 “Rolling” special moves during match
• Final hit must come from Back, Forward, Circle or Back, Forward, Circle + R2.

Technically, this is a different special move in each Variation even though it pretty much does the same thing, and you could squeeze 8 distinct animations out of it.  Give it a try, and don’t forget to save up a bar of super for the enhanced version!

Tremor – “Shockwave”

This would’ve been a pretty tough one to discover on its on, but it’s worth it.

• All variations
• Final hit must come from Shockwave kombo – Back + X, Triangle, Triangle
• Must hold Square during final hit

This can be a bit tricky to nail at first.  It’s best to input the kombo itself as quickly as possible and start holding Square before Tremor finishes hitting the opponent.

Tremor – “Throw”

I was right on the verge of playing around with throws in Kustom Kombat with the Brutality Kombat modifier on and wouldn’t you know, I ran across what would’ve probably been my second or third attempt!

• All variations
• Final hit must come from a Throw – L1
• Hold DOWN during final hit

This one seemed a little underwhelming at first…until I kept my eyes out for the details….  A couple of sources mentioned having to finish the first round with a throw in order to activate this one, but that simply isn’t true.

X-Ray Character Brutalities

A few characters have listed X-ray brutalities and are easy enough to pull off, though these secret ones can be  bit more tricky to pull off.  In all 3 of these cases, the exact requirements are not wholly understood by anyone it would seem.  I’ve done my best to clue you in to what works most of the time…don’t get discouraged if these don’t work right away. It’s speculated that X-ray brutalities possibly exist for all characters, and I’ve read unconfirmed reports of X-rays for D’Vorah, Mileena, Ermac, and Ferra/Torr all leading into brutalities.  For now though, the “magic condition” seems to be tied to something beyond anyone’s full understanding.

Erron Black

This is the easiest of the three; it’ll actually activate automatically in Brutality Kombat.  I’ve read a few requirements, but so far only one set has worked for me consistently.  Bear in mind that this may not be and probably isn’t the exact set of conditions.

• Any Variation
• Must perform 3 Sand Traps (Down, Back, Forward, Triangle) in first round and 3 Sand Traps in second round
• Final hit must come from Erron Black’s X-ray (L2 + R2)

Plenty of sources will say that 3 Sand Traps in either round or (more often) 3 Sand Traps in the second round is the ticket, but again, doing so will not work consistently.

Jacqui Briggs

The second easiest of the bunch, I still don’t nail this one 100% of the time.  Sometimes I feel like I’m doing the exact same thing over and over and getting different results.

• All  Variations
• Must hold DOWN during final hit
• Final hit must come from Jacqui’s X-ray (L2 + R2)

The trick here is exactly when that damned DOWN button is supposed to be pressed.  Sometimes I’ve had success pressing down as soon as I execute the X-ray (as in pressing L2 + R2 + D) while others activate after pressing D just slightly after performing the X-ray.

Sonya Blade

I’ve convinced myself that I’ve been on the verge of figuring this one out time and time again, but out of these 3 brutalities, this is the one where consistency has eluded me the most.  Sonya’s X-ray is a parry, meaning it will only activate as a response to an opponent’s strike.  To the best of my ability, the requirements are as follows:

• Any Variation
• Final hit must come from Sonya’s X-ray (L2 + R2)
• Must press and hold DOWN + FORWARD after the opponent’s attack has been parried but before the X-ray is fully underway.

It’s tricky, but D+F is definitely the key…somehow.  Occasionally I have gotten it to work by pressing D+F at the same moment as L2 + R2, but it seems to work a little better to press and hold D+F just after the opponent’s hit “connects” with Sonya’s parry.

Reflect Brutalities

A few characters have “reflect” special moves that bounce projectiles back at the opponent.  Not all reflected projectiles will yield a brutality, and for some of them, a specific condition must be met by the opponent for the brutality to work.  For example, Kung Lao’s Hat Throw in the Buzz Saw variation (Back, Forward, Triangle) will only result in a brutality if Triangle is held.  If the opponent performs the Hat Throw and happens to hold Triangle and the hat is reflected, the brutality works.  Other projectiles (Kung Jin’s “Straight Arrow” and Cassie’s “Single Shot” for example) have no such conditions.

I’ve done a lot of testing with these, and so far, these are the characters with reflect abilities capable of inducing a brutality:

• Jacqui Briggs – High Tech Variation – Advance Tech: Down, Back, Square + R2
• Kenshi – Kenjustu and Balanced Variations – Blade Reflect: Down, Back, Triangle
• Kitana – Royal Storm Variation – Bounce Back: Down, Back, Circle; Hold Circle to Extend
• Takeda – Ronin Variation – Shirai Ryu Reflect – Down, Back, X

I’ve also been experimenting with lots of projectile attacks (both those involved with brutalities and otherwise) and so far, here’s who and what works.  Note that any extra instructions (Press Up, Hold Triangle, etc.) are to be done on the opponent’s part.

• Cassie Cage – All Variations – Single Shot: Back, Forward, Square
• Kung Jin – All Variations – Straight Arrow: Down, Forward, Triangle
• Kung Jin – Shaolin Variation – Chakram: Back, Forward, Square; Press Up to aim for head and Chakram will reflect to shins; Press Down to aim for shins, and Chakram will reflect to head.
• Kung Lao – Buzz Saw Variation – Hat Toss: Back, Forward, Triangle; Hold Triangle
• Kung Lao – Hat Trick and Tempest Variations – Hat Toss: Back, Forward, Triangle: Press Up to aim for head and Hat will reflect to waist; Press Down to aim for waist, and Hat will reflect to head.
• Predator – Hish-Qu-Ten Variation – Plasma Shot: Back, Forward, X
• Quan Chi – All Variations – Skull: Down, Back, Triangle; Hold Triangle
• Reptile – All Variations – Acid Spit: Down, Forward, Square; “Upgraded” version will not work.
• Shinnok – Bone Shaper Variation – Amulet Strike: Back, Forward, Square; Hold Square
• Tremor – Metallica Variation – Gold Throw: Down, Back, Square (Must have Gold Skin (Down, Down, Square) active)

I’ve tried other non-brutality projectiles (Reptile’s Slime Ball for example) with no effect.  I’ve also tried other brutality-inducing projectiles (Scorpion’s Fireball, Liu Kang’s Solar Flare, Kotal’s Sun Stone), also with no effect.  I’ve tested all the other brutality-triggering projectiles I can think of and these are all that I can get to work.

Shinnok “Impostor Brutalities”

In Shinnok’s Impostor Variation, he has a special move called Mimicry (Down, Back, Square).  When Mimicry connects, the next time the player uses D B Sq Shinnok will execute a move copied from the opponent.  This move is always the same and is always a move present in all of the character’s variations.  Interestingly enough, Shinnok can actually “steal” brutalities with some of these moves.  The brutalities aren’t new, but they are passed on to Shinnok.

The one question that remains are the requirements to trigger these brutalities.  For example, Shinnok steals Mileena’s Ball Roll, which will trigger a brutality without having to hold Down as in the original.  However, the original also says Mileena must connect 5 of these moves throughout the match, and so far I don’t know if conditions like these are still required.

Here are the characters’ whose copied moves can result in brutalities.  Shinnok executes all of these moves with D B Sq (after a successful Mimicry connect) unless otherwise noted, and these must be the final hit of the match.  Most of them are as easy as simply executing the move, though some have additional requirements in line with the original brutality.

• D’Vorah – Ovipositor Charge – No need to hold Forward during final hit.
• Ermac – Tele-Slam – No need to put it at the end of a 5 hit combo
• Jax – Dash – Final hit must come from Downward Dash (Down, Back, Square + Down) and opponent must be ducking
• Kung Jin – Cartwheel Kick
• Mileena – Ball Roll – No need to hold Down
• Sonya – Leg Grab – No need to put at the end of a 5 hit combo
• Sub-Zero – Freeze – Final hit must come from uppercut while opponent is frozen

Alternate Brutalities

These “alternate” brutalities as I’ve come to call them have probably been a part of the game since the first day, but as long as we’re on the subject of brutalities, I feel like they’re worth pointing out.  Essentially these are brutalities that are performed more or less exactly as listed but feature different animations.

Cassie Cage – “Pop Goes” and Johnny Cage – “Eye Popping”

This is the exact same brutality with the exact same alternate results.  The “regular” brutality requires:

• Cassie in Hollywood variation and Johnny in any variation
• Must perform at least 4 Nutkrackers (Back, Down, X) during the match
• Final hit must come from Nutkracker

Normally the opponent’s head will proceed to fly off, but you can shake things up a little by performing an enhanced version of the move, Back, Down, X + R2.  I’ll leave the surprise for those of you watching the video or anxious to try it yourself.

Goro – “Speed Bag”/”Shokan Massacre”

This is probably the most drastic alternate brutality.  Goro’s move list says that his special move “Speed Bag” or its enhanced version should lead into a brutality in all variations as long as Forward is held.  Well this is only partially true.  Speed Bag is only available in Kuatan Warrior and Tigrar Fury Variations.   The same move in Dragon Fangs (Down, Back, Forward, X) is known as Shokan Stab.  Shokan Stab as the final hit with F held will not lead into a brutality.

Instead, the player must use the enhanced version, Shokan Massacre – Down, Back, Forward, X + R2 – as the final hit (while holding F).  This results in a completely different animation than the brutality based on Speed Bag.

• Must be in Dragon Fangs Variation
• Must hold FORWARD during final hit
• Final hit must come from Shokan Massacre (Down, Back, Forward, X + R2)

Kung Lao – “Klassic Toss”

This one is actually spelled out in the in-game instructions, though the brevity of the movelist can make it a little confusing.  It’s essentially 2 (perhaps even 3?) brutalities rolled up into one.

If you’re in Lao’s Hat Trick or Tempest Variations, you’ve got a couple of choices:

• Must be at least jump distance away from opponent
• Final hit must come from Hat Toss (Back, Forward, Triangle)
  • Tap UP to aim for opponent’s head
  • Tap DOWN to aim for opponent’s waist

Getting the aim right can be a little difficult at first, but you have the option of decapitating your victim (UP) or bisecting him or her at the waist (DOWN).

Should you find yourself in the Buzz Saw Variation….

• Must be at least jump distance away from opponent
• Must hold Triangle during final hit
• Final hit must come from Hat Toss (Back, Forward, Triangle)

…And you’ll get what I think is, by far, the coolest of the three possibilities.

Kotal Kahn – “Stick Around”

This is an interesting one as well, and though I suppose it’s not technically hidden, there is a little bit of ambiguity about it.  Kotal’s movelist lists the brutality Stick Around as something like:

• Available in all variations
• Player must connect 5 Sun Stones (Down, Forward, X) during match
• Must be at least jump distance from opponent
• Final hit must come from Sun Stone (Down, Forward, X)

Sounds pretty easy as far as brutalities go; however, once you’re in Kotal’s War God Variation and start swinging that sword/saw/axe awesomeness that is the Macuahuitl around, you’ll soon find that Down Forward X initiates a throw of this new weapon, not the Sun Stone!  So…the brutality says “all variations” yet it also specifically mentions the Sun Stone…I figured a test was in order.  Turns out that it works swimmingly in the War God Variation, only this time you’ll get to see your adversary impaled with the Macuahuitl instead.

Under Investigation

In my (seemingly never-ending) search for secret brutalities, I’ve stumbled across a lot of unconfirmed rumors. What is “unconfirmed”? Hazy descriptions, no conditions, no footage, heresay, essentially any huge missing piece that keeps us from experimenting with it or seeing it for ourselves. Quite a few candidates have been mentioned.

• D’Vorah – possibly a secret X-ray brutality
• Ermac – unspecified brutality
• Ferra/Torr – another possible X-ray brutality
• Jason – unspecified secret brutality
• Johnny Cage – (from our own “Comments” section) unspecified secret brutality
• Mileena – possible secret X-ray brutality
• Shinnok – unspecified secret brutality (possible reference to slew of “Impostor Brutalities”?)

More!?

As of right now, this is everything that I could find and/or discover.  I haven’t necessarily undertaken the most strenuous and exhaustive tests in every single area, but I have played around with several things such as trying to discover other stage brutalities using various interactions as the final hit and the uppercut trick from The Kove to no avail.  Character brutalities are a little more difficult owing to the insane number of possible variables, though I did spend some time experimenting with other enhanced moves for brutalities – for instance I thought perhaps Kung Jin’s enhanced straight arrow would lead to a more gruesome brutality, but as it turns out, it doesn’t activate a brutality at all!

If you encounter a problem with any of these or discover any new ones, let us know immediately!

As always, I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground when it comes to the secrets of Mortal Kombat X!

Know something that we don’t?  Or maybe the video helped you our on your quest for bloodshed and carnage?  Let us know!

Written by The Cubist

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Find out what these ratings mean and how I rate video games.

I collect as much video gaming paraphernalia as I can get my hands on, especially when it comes to hardware. With over 40 systems including oldies like the ColecoVision and Intellivision, obscurities like the CD-i and 3DO, and the latest and greatest including the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and PS Vita, I get easily overwhelmed. Most of the time you can find me firmly nestled sometime between 1985 and 1995 when it comes to my games of choice, but I’m also having a great time seeing what the 8th generation has to offer.

Currently in love with: Mortal Kombat

Email me anytime, about anything: thecubist@butthole.nerdbacon.com