Mortal Kombat X tier list — best fighters ranked

Check out all the Mortal Kombat X characters and their variations ranked, from the crème de la crème fighters to the bottom of the barrel brawlers.

Mortal Kombat was once the premier fighting game, but there was a period of about a decade, when the series seemed to have lost its way. Too much focus was paid to its multimedia spin-offs at the cost of the quality of its games. Mortal Kombat X was the game that helped pull the fatal fighting franchise out of its slump, reintroducing a whole new generation of gamers to the bone-crunching violence and captivating gameplay the series was once known for.

Mortal Kombat X is an impressively well-balanced fighting game—every character can work in a competitive multiplayer situation. Of course, as with any fighting game, there will always be clear standouts among the pack. We’ve put together this Mortal Kombat X tier list to show you how we’d rank the characters that make up the game’s roster. If you’re new to the game or want to improve your rank, this tier list will help you know which fighters are the “best.”

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Mortal Kombat X fighter tier list

Mortal Kombat X is fairly unique among fighting games in that nearly all its characters are viable in competitive multiplayer. What separates them is the strength of their variations, which are distinguished by the availability of “cheesy” or “spammable” tools in their kit.

To create this tier list, we first ranked each variation individually, then averaged the scores of all of each character’s variations. The final list is the result of those calculations.

General rules of thumb for what these tiers mean:

  • S-tier characters are those whose variations are all very good. You can’t go wrong with any of them.
  • A-tier characters also have excellent variations, but they tend to have one that’s far worse than the other two.
  • B-tier characters generally have one great variation and two mediocre ones. They’re still viable picks, but you might get bored spamming the same variation over and over.
  • C-tier characters have at least two weak variations and one good one. However, that one good variation lacks the “cheese factor” that many of the better variations have. You’re almost always going to have a better time playing as another character.

Now, let’s get to the full tier list. You can see how we’ve ranked the Mortal Kombat X fighters in the following image:

Mortal Kombat X variation breakdown

Below is the full list of all variations that we analyzed to generate the above image:

FighterVariationTier
ErmacMysticS
MileenaEtherealS
ShinnokBoneshaperS
Liu KangDragon’s FireS
RaidenDisplacerS
ScorpionHellfireS
Jacqui BriggsFull AutoS
ErmacMaster of SoulsS
MileenaPiercingS
ShinnokImposterS
Cassie CageHollywoodS
TremorCrystallineS
TriborgSektorS
KitanaRoyal StormS
Jason VoorheesUnstoppableS
TriborgSmokeS
KitanaAssassinA
Cassie CageBrawlerA
Jason VoorheesRelentlessA
TremorAftershockA
TriborgCyraxA
ReptileDeceptiveA
Sonya BladeCovert OpsA
Takeda TakahashiLasherA
AlienAcidicA
KanoCommandoA
Kung LaoBuzzsawA
Quan ChiSorcerorA
D’VorahBrood MotherA
GoroDragon FangsA
TanyaDragon NaginataA
PredatorHish-Qu-TenA
LeatherfaceButcherA
KitanaMournfulA
Liu KangDuelistA
Jason VoorheesSlasherA
ReptileNimbleA
ScorpionInfernoA
Sonya BladeDemolitionA
Takeda TakahashiRoninA
AlienKonjurerA
KanoCutthroatA
Quan ChiSummonerA
Sub-ZeroGrandmasterA
Ferra/TorrRuthlessA
Bo’ Rai ChoDragon’s BreathA
ErmacSpectralA
MileenaRavenousA
ShinnokNecromancerA
Liu KangFlame FistA
Cassie CageSpec OpsA
TremorMetallicA
RaidenThundergodA
ReptileNoxiusA
Sonya BladeSpecial ForcesA
Takeda TakahashiShirai RyuA
Kung LaoTempestA
Sub-ZeroUnbreakableA
D’VorahSwarm QueenA
Jacqui BriggsShotgunA
GoroTigrar FuryA
TanyaPyromancerA
Kenshi TakahashiPossessedA
Kung JinShaolinA
Sub-ZeroCryomancerB
Kenshi TakahashiBalancedB
Kung JinAncestralB
Johnny CageA-ListB
Bo’ Rai ChoBartitsuB
Erron BlackGunslingerB
RaidenMaster of StormsB
Kung LaoHat TrickB
D’VorahVenomousB
GoroKuatan WarriorB
TanyaKobu JutsuB
Kenshi TakahashiKenjutsuB
Kung JinBojutsuB
PredatorHunterB
LeatherfaceKillerB
Johnny CageFisticuffsB
Erron BlackMarksmanB
Kotal KahnSun GodB
ScorpionNinjutsuB
AlienTarkatanB
KanoCyberneticB
Quan ChiWarlockB
PredatorWarriorB
LeatherfacePretty LadyB
Johnny CageStunt DoubleB
Ferra/TorrViciousB
Kotal KahnWar GodB
TriborgCyber Sub-ZeroB
Ferra/TorrLackeyC
Kotal KahnBlood GodC
Jacqui BriggsHigh TechC
Bo’ Rai ChoDrunken MasterC
Erron BlackOutlawC

As you can see from the table above, all characters at least have one decent variation, making every fighter viable in a matchup. Achieving that kind of balance is impressive for any game; more so for a fighter!

That was our Mortal Kombat X tier list. Now that you know which variations are the most effective, it’s time to jump into the game and start grinding those ranks. Good luck!

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Expert Writer