Mortal Kombat 11 Mercy: How to pull off the ultimate flex
Gaming’s most venerable gorefest has a compassionate side. If you’re feeling particularly benevolent after a brutal match in Mortal Kombat 11, instead of obeying the iconic call of “FINISH HIM”, you can generously grant your opponent a sliver of health to get back in the fight. This is called a “Mercy”, and here’s how you pull it off in Mortal Kombat 11.
Mortal Kombat 11 Mercies: how to perform a Mercy
Before we get into fatalities - which we have a full separate page on - let's talk about the ultimate flex: a Mercy. A Mercy is like an alternative fatality - except instead of triggering a cinematic sequence of your opponent's brutal death, you let your opponent live to fight again.
This actually restores a small amount of health back to the character and then gives you both back control for one final bout. You can only perform one mercy per match, so you can't use it to troll and keep a match going forever. In real practice, a Mercy is arguably most useful for having a second attempt at pulling off a Brutality, another type of mid-match finishing move. It's also used for some finisher challenges that give items that can be helpful for progressing in the Krypt.
What better way to prove your dominance over an opponent than to let them get up just to knock them down all over again?
To perform a mercy, simply press the left trigger (LT on Xbox, L on Switch, L2 on PS4) and then while still holding that trigger in press down 3 times - then release the trigger. All this is done during that 'finish him' period, just like a fatality.
That's Press and Hold Left Trigger, Down, Down, Down, Release Left Trigger. It doesn't have to be too quick, but having a rhythm to it will help. Mercy!
We’ve embedded a short video guide from Youtuber Astrosive, so you can take a look at the timing:
Now you’ve mastered the art of Mercy, why not memorise what you’re really here for, Mortal Kombat 11’s Fatalities!