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Mutant Year Zero Characters — Who To Bring and Why

Mutant Year Zero Characters — Who To Bring and Why

Author: Verdict Games Editorial Team Last Updated:

The Bottom Line

Pick your three by what they buy cheaply, not by their stats, because the stats are nearly identical. Bormin and Farrow have 8 health and everyone else has 6; movement, armour and throw range are the same across all six. Bormin is the only real body, Dux is the burst window thanks to Skull Splitter at one point, Farrow is the cheapest stealth specialist, Selma controls ground for two points, and Magnus brings effects nobody else has at fair rather than cheap prices.

Summary

Mutant Year Zero gives you six characters and lets you field three. Comparing their stats to choose is close to pointless — everyone has 12 movement, 0 armour and 10 throw range, and health is either 8 or 6. The real differences are in pricing. Each character buys the same shared mutations at their own rate, and with only one Minor, one Major and one Passive equipped at a time, those prices decide roles far more firmly than the stat sheet does.

Who This Is For: Mutant Year Zero players choosing a three-character squad Beginner-friendly

Key Points

Key Points

1

All six characters have 12 movement, 0 armour and 10 throw range. Only health differs, and only between 8 and 6.

2

Bormin and Farrow have 8 health. Dux, Selma and Magnus have 6.

3

Each character can equip one Minor, one Major and one Passive at a time — three mutations, no more.

4

The same mutation costs different amounts per character, which is what actually defines roles.

5

Big Khan arrives with the Seed of Evil DLC and overlaps heavily with Farrow's mutation list.

Six characters, three slots. The obvious way to choose is to compare their stats, and that turns out to be almost useless.

Character Health Movement Armour Throw range
Bormin **8** 12 0 10
Farrow **8** 12 0 10
Dux 6 12 0 10
Selma 6 12 0 10
Magnus 6 12 0 10

That is the entire statistical difference between them. Same movement, same armour, same throw range, and health that takes one of two values. Whatever makes these characters different, it is not on this table.

What differs is what each one pays for the same mutation. Skull Splitter costs Dux 1 point and Magnus 9. Silent Assassin costs Farrow 5 and Magnus 11. Since everyone can equip only one Minor, one Major and one Passive, price is what actually assigns roles.

The six, by what they buy cheaply

Character Role The cheap buys that define them The trap
**Bormin** The only real body Run 'n' Gun (2), Hog Rush (5) upgrading to Bear Smash (3), Stone Skin (6), Joker (4) Eagle Eye costs him 10 and Spore Cloud 10. Do not try to make him a shooter
**Dux** The burst window **Skull Splitter (1)**, Alpinist (5), Eagle Eye (6), Knee Shot (4) Chameleon at 12 is the most expensive mutation in the game and he can still equip only one Major
**Farrow** Cheapest stealth specialist **Silent Assassin (5)**, Sneak (4), Moth Wings (5), Gunslinger (6) Super Tendons costs her 10 where Selma pays 5
**Selma** Ground control **Tree Hugger (2)** upgrading to Tree Caster (3), Super Tendons (5), Contortionist (6) Twitch Shot costs her 9 where Bormin pays 5
**Magnus** Effects nobody else has Telekinesis Shield (3), Sneak (3), Puppeteer (6), Chain Lightning (6) Silent Assassin 11 and Skull Splitter 9 — the two worst prices in the game
**Big Khan** (DLC) Heavy, overlaps Farrow Ground Pound (5), Flame Puke (5), Sneak (4) His list duplicates Farrow's, and he pays 8 for Silent Assassin where she pays 5

The squads worth building

Squad Why it works Who it suits
**Bormin, Dux, Selma** The default and the most complete: one body, one guaranteed critical for a single point, one area lock for two. All three core purchases are among the cheapest in the game Anyone playing the campaign for the first time
**Bormin, Farrow, Selma** Trades Dux's guaranteed critical for Farrow's cheap Silent Assassin and 8 health. Better if you intend to open every fight from stealth Players who want the stealth layer to carry the run
**Bormin, Dux, Magnus** Adds mind control and chain lightning to the burst window. Weakest on area denial, strongest on removing a single dangerous enemy Players comfortable enough to give up Selma's crowd control

Whichever three you field, keep a fourth partly built. Characters swap freely between missions but mutation points do not come back, so the cost of an insurance pick is only the points you put in them — and some fights genuinely want a different shape.

Health is 8 or 6, and armour is always 0

Two consequences fall out of that table, and both push in the same direction.

Nobody tanks by being tough. With 0 armour across the board and a two-point health spread, damage prevention has to come from mutations — Stone Skin's one invincible turn, Joker pulling attention for a turn, Telekinesis Shield's 25 percent, Spore Cloud's smoke. Bormin is the body not because of his 8 health but because he is the one who can buy those cheaply.

Positioning outranks durability. Everyone moves 12, so everyone can reach the same cover. Contortionist on Selma for 6 points — full high-cover bonuses from low cover — does more for survival than any stat on the sheet, because it changes what the map is worth.

Common mistakes

  • Choosing a squad from the stat screen. It is nearly identical across six characters.
  • Making Magnus a stealth killer. He has the two worst prices in the game for exactly that.
  • Spreading points across all six. Commit to four; the other two are scenery until you need them.
  • Leaving the Crossbow on Dux. Same 4 damage as the silenced pistols, half the critical chance.
  • Buying Big Khan a second Farrow. If you own both, buy the two DLC-exclusive Majors or skip him.

Which mutations are worth their price is in the mutations tier list, and the reason stealth prefers 10 percent pistols over the 5 percent crossbow is in the stealth guide. New players should start with the beginner guide, and the honest review covers what the campaign does and does not do with all of it.

FAQ

FAQ

Bormin, Dux and Selma is the most reliable core. Bormin is the only character with both 8 health and damage mitigation, Dux buys Skull Splitter for a single point and becomes the burst window, and Selma locks down ground with Tree Hugger for two. Farrow replaces Dux well if you want the cheapest Silent Assassin instead of the cheapest guaranteed critical.
Barely at all. Every character has 12 movement, 0 armour and 10 throw range. Health is 8 for Bormin and Farrow and 6 for Dux, Selma and Magnus. That is the entire stat difference, which is why choosing a squad from the stat screen tells you almost nothing.
Three at a time, chosen from the six you recruit over the campaign. You can swap freely between missions, so a character you left behind is not lost — but mutation points spent on them are, so spreading purchases thinly across all six is worse than committing to four.
For his effects, yes. Puppeteer and Chain Lightning do things nobody else can, and Telekinesis Shield at three points is good value on a 6 health body. What he is not is cheap — Silent Assassin costs him 11 and Skull Splitter 9, both the worst prices in the game, so do not try to make him a stealth killer.
Only if you like his two DLC-exclusive Majors, Ground Pound and Flame Puke, at five points each. His list otherwise overlaps Farrow's almost exactly — Circuit Breaker, Sneak, Silent Assassin, Gunslinger, Frog Legs, Super Tendons — and Farrow gets Silent Assassin for 5 where he pays 8.
Less than it appears. Bormin starts with a Scattergun, Dux with a Crossbow, Selma with an Ancient Pistol, Magnus with a Rambino, and Farrow with a Boomstick. Weapons move freely, and the Crossbow in particular should be taken off Dux — it has half the critical chance of the silenced pistols for the same 4 damage.

Our editorial policy is honest, no-spin reviews. We separate facts from opinion and back every rating with reasoning. View Editorial Policy

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