The game presents you with four categories of perks: Signature Perks ,which can only be applied to the character they’re designed for; and Minor Perks, which can be applied to anyone in the roster and fall into three distinct purposes (Offense, Defense, and Utility). Once a character has levelled up enough to unlock all their perk slots, you can apply up to four perks to them: one of their Signature Perks, and any three Minor Perks you want. There are two or three Signature Perks to choose from for each character, and nearly 50 Minor Perks. Any of these can be extremely useful if you have a specific character build in mind, but there are some that are more generally useful. Read on below for our picks of the best Minor Perks in MultiVersus, as well as our choice of Signature Perk for every character.
Best offense perks in MultiVersus
Deadshot
Ideal for Mage/Ranged characters (or other character class builds focussing on ranged abilities), Deadshot adds 5% onto the damage dealt by your projectiles, or 10% if your teammate in 2v2 equips the same perk. It’s not particularly flashy, but it’s generous and reliably increases your power without requiring you to pull off any specific tricks first.
Ice to Beat You!
Formerly known simply as “Ice Projectile”, this perk has received a little bit of a nerf in the newest version of the game, reducing the ice stacks it applies to enemies you’ve just hit with your projectile to just one (or two if you and your ally both have it applied). But although it’ll take a little longer to apply the Frozen status (which requires 15 stacks) than it used to, it’s still an incredibly powerful effect, reducing enemies’ movement speed the more the debuff stacks on them and immobilising them completely for a few seconds once they’re Frozen. It effectively combines a crowd control passive with a useful boost to active damage; plus it’s always extra satisfying to play with elemental attacks, isn’t it?
Percussive Punch Power
It can seem like a lot of MultiVersus’ 40-some Minor Perks favour aerial and projectile attacks, which can make it tricky to fill out a good build for a good old-fashioned horizontal brawler. But Percussive Power Punch goes a long way towards redressing the balance, giving your Assassin and Bruiser characters in particular the option of a powerful 5% increase to damage if their attack results in a horizontal knockback to their opponent (generously doubled to 10% if both teammates pick this perk).
Wildcat Brawler
As with the Percussive Power Punch perk detailed above, this is a simple yet powerful option to equip if you’re playing a Bruiser or Tank character with a melee focus. It adds 5% onto the damage of any melee attacks you perform, doubled if your teammate has the same perk applied to their character. It’s the melee version of Deadshot, basically.
Best defense perks in MultiVersus
Absorb ’n’ Go
MultiVersus’ collection of defensive perks are arguably its weakest, and you might well choose to dispense with them altogether in favour of equipping an extra utility perk (widely held to be the best category). However, there are some defensive options that come in particularly handy when you’re still learning the ropes. Absorb ’n’ Go is definitely one of these, giving a 7% cooldown refund to any team member knocked back by a projectile (increased to 15% if stacked by both allies). It’s more of an insurance policy than a component to an ideal build, but it’ll definitely cut down on frustration if you find yourself getting a little battered.
Kryptonian Skin
You only need to take one look at MultiVersus to know it can get a little confusing at times. I suspect that must be a deliberate stylistic choice, because several perks have names that make them sound like they’re going to be exclusive to one character, but can actually be applied to anybody. One such is Kryptonian Skin, a defense perk that reduces incoming damage by 4% (or 6% if stacked by both teammates). It’s not the most exciting ability, for sure, but it comes in very handy time and again and does make you feel a little bit like Superman, even if you’re not playing as Superman.
Slippery Customer
This may not be especially useful for Tank characters, but players focusing on other roles who are skilled at the art of ducking and weaving will doubtless make good use of the Slippery Customer perk, which adds 10% to the invulnerability window created by dodging (15% if stacked by your teammate).
Best utility perks in MultiVersus
Coffeezilla
Coffeezilla has the simple but extremely desirable benefit of reducing ability cooldown times by 10%. The stacking effect if both allies on a team equip the perk isn’t as overwhelmingly powerful as in some other cases, but it still gives you a nice boost, with the cooldown reduction bumped up to -15%.
Retaliation-Ready
The name of this perk has been changed from its working title, the less exciting but more descriptive “Projectile Gray Health”. After knocking back an enemy with a projectile, your team gains 3 grey health for 3 seconds, and the effect stacks if both teammates have the perk applied. This perk is so OP it’s already been nerfed once (reducing its duration from 5 to 3 seconds, and its stacking power from a frankly ludicrous 8 to a more subdued 4), and more nerfs are likely as beta iterations continue. But it remains an excellent choice, especially for characters from the Support or Tank classes.
Tasmanian Trigonometry
Knockback Influence is MultiVersus’ version of a fighting game standard mechanic: namely, the one that allows you to counteract a potential KO by dashing into the attack at the precise moment your opponent lands a hit that could fling you out of the stage. With this perk applied, you get a 15% boost to this power (25% with team stacking), and it can definitely save your character’s skin in a pinch.
Triple Jump
Unfortunately, this perk doesn’t allow you to perform an extra jump any time you feel like it; you only gain the ability in the immediate aftermath of performing an aerial attack on an opponent. However, for characters whose moveset is Vertical or Mixed, this is still an incredibly powerful perk, especially since it applies its effect to teammates as well. And if both team members equip the perk, then you can always triple jump regardless of when either of you last performed an aerial attack.
Best signature perks in MultiVersus
It’s significantly harder to compare the signature perks in MultiVersus than the other types, because there’s no real way to gain a one-to-one comparison on perks that are exclusive to single characters. Every character has two or three Signature Perks all of their own, and your favourite character to play as will definitely influence your view of which is “best”. However, here’s a brief rundown of each character’s most useful Signature Perks:
Betrayal (Arya Stark): Arya can hit an ally with her dagger to grant them the Enranged buff, which she can also apply to herself by dashing to their location. (Arya’s dagger attack has a longer cooldown after using this move.) Bouncerang (Batman): Hitting an enemy with a recalled Batarang on its return journey will apply the maximum number of weakened stacks to that enemy. Lingering Love (Bugs Bunny): Bugs can further leverage his status as the only real mage in town by supercharging his Charm debuff, allowing kisses to remain on the stage and entrap passing opponents even once Bugs has moved away. Going Out of Business (Finn the Human): If an ally is KO’d, all items in Finn’s store will have a 200 coin reduction for 20 seconds. The discount is permanent whenever Finn’s own damage reaches 100. Electric Groove (Garnet): Using Garnet’s electro powers to apply the Shocked debuff on an opponent grants her a stack of Rhythm. Smooth Moves (Harley Quinn): Gives Harley’s ground and air attacks a double purpose as dodges, granting her brief invulnerability at the start of either attack. Afterburners (The Iron Giant): The Iron Giant’s rocket boot takeoff ignites the ground and leaves behind firewalls. Sticky (Jake the Dog): Opponents who touch Jake while he’s stretching are briefly stunned, leaving them open to attack. For Three! (LeBron): If LeBron or his teammate hit an opponent with a basketball from a distance, the ball will explode, dealing damage and knockback to all nearby opponents. Fire Fluff (Reindog): Reindog’s fireball generates a larger second fireball upon hitting an enemy, or a brief firewall after hitting the ground. One Last Zoinks (Shaggy): Shaggy will automatically gain rage after reaching 100 damage. Bounce Bubble (Steven Universe): Increases the velocity and hitstun duration of opponents who get knocked into Steven’s wall or platform shields. Break The Ice (Superman): Opponents affected by ice take extra damage, which scales with the number of ice stacks. I Gotta Get In There! (Taz): Taz’s allies can jump into his dogpile, giving the special increased damage, more knockback, extended range and duration, and extra armour. Dynamite Split (Tom and Jerry): Deflecting Tom’s dynamite with Jerry’s tennis racket causes the projectile to split into three. Knowledge Is Power (Velma): Grants Velma 7 grey health after she collects a piece of evidence. Whip of Hephaestus (Wonder Woman): Adds a powerful knockback to the Lasso of Truth.
That’s all Folks! (You knew it had to be done.) But if you’re looking for more MultiVersus guides here at Rock Paper Shotgun, be sure to check out our tier list of the best characters in MultiVersus.
