The Rarest Mortal Kombat 11 Skins

Skin rarities are relative in Mortal Kombat 11. The three categories — Mortal, Mythic, and Elder — are supposedly ranked skins, with Mortal as the most common and Elder as the rarest. Naturally, Elder skins would seem like the hardest to get. 

However, some players report receiving Elder skins like Baraka's Marked for Death from tutorials for free. Meanwhile, some of the game's Mortal skins can take hours to find. These discrepancies have led some players to believe that the skin rarity levels might be left over from a scrapped RPG mechanic — which might have made for an interesting transformation for the long-running series.

Basically, the rarest MK11 skins don't necessarily have a glowing purple Elder label, which can ultimately make finding some of the most coveted Mortal Kombat skins a confusing endeavor. Still, some skins stand above the rest — ones that can't be randomly found unless under special circumstances. Players earn these skins in various ways, from paying for a Kollector's Edition to crawling around the Krypt. Fans still speculate when these skins (whether they're variations of one skin, or a set in general) will come around next.

Here are the rarest Mortal Kombat 11 skins.

Raiden, Earthrealm's Thunder God in Mortal Kombat's mythology, fuses with the mortal Liu Kang to become Fire God Liu Kang. Fire God Liu Kang isn't the actual name of the skin, but is actually fans generally refer to as the set of skins including the Exalted One, New Protector, Fire and Thunder, Electric Flame Heavenly Dragon, and Holy Inferno. All of the Fire God Liu Kang skins feature a silver-haired Liu Kang with ice blue eyes and glowing ornate tattoos.

Only one of the variations has a steady location, though. According to Twinfinite, players could grind for the Exalted One in the Towers of Time, one of Mortal Kombat 11's game modes that offers rotating challenges. At one point, the Shang Tsung trial offered players an opportunity to collect another variation of the skin from the Towers of Time. As per Redditors, many of the Fire God variations also appeared in trial towers soon after MK11 DLCs were released, but only for a limited time. 

According to DualShockers, Kold War Skarlet debuted as a regional exclusive for those who pre-ordered Mortal Kombat 11 in Russia. The blood-bending Outworld champ wears a military-style coat dress with a matching cap, mask, and thigh-high boots — a stylish skin for any Skarlet main. The skin's title likely refers to the Cold War, the historical conflict between the United States and Russia during the mid-1900s. 

About eight months after MK11's worldwide release, NetherRealm made Kold War Skarlet temporarily available through the game's Time Krystal Store. During this promotion, she returned for a limited time beginning February 14, 2020, but hasn't reappeared since the offer ended. Because of how rarely the skin appears in the store, which seems to be the only way to get it if you didn't preorder the Russian version of MK11, it remains one of the rarest in the game. 

As of April 2021, players have yet to report the skin's return. One Reddit user pointed out that other rare skins have cycled in multiple times, while Kold War Skarlet remains out of sight.

A Mortal Kombat 11 live event in Brazil revealed Cangaceiro Kano as a regional exclusive skin for the game's release. Gamers who pre-ordered MK11 in Brazil received Cangaceiro Kano as a bonus. Some might think Kano's outfit gives off a "pirate" vibe, but informed fans on Reddit have been quick to point out that the skin actually aims to specifically represent cangaceiro (or cangaço) bandits.

Players have had more than one chance to secure this skin. One Redditor reports seeing the skin at least twice in the premium shop and another during a Race Against Time event. Getting all six variations of the skin, which players have discussed online, seems to be more of the challenge rather than securing any version of the skin itself. Outside of the few times the skin has popped up in the Time Krystal Store and the opportunity to grind for it in the Towers of Time, sightings of Cangaceiro Kano have been pretty scarce.

Avalanche Sub-Zero, not to be confused with the tournament variation name, features electric blue accents on the cryomancer's usual uniform. Some have complained that the skin is mostly a recolor of his usual duds, but others appreciate its unique blueness. The skin was originally released as a regional exclusive for Europe with its own Kollector's Edition, which also included a steel book case, ice cube molds, and a bright blue Sub-Zero face mask. 

Like some of the other rare skins, this one also supposedly cycles in and out of the premium store. However, content creators like Dynasty reported that only two variations appeared in the store on November 2020 during its first release. 

Players have had the chance to buy the skin outside of in-game means, as well. Mustard, a prominent Mortal Kombat content creator, alerted fans to the chance to snag Gold Demon Scorpion and Avalanche Sub-Zero skins as part of a Beyond NRG promotion. For a limited time, fans who ordered the Beyond NRG Blue Raspberry Lemonade flavored energy drink mix received Avalanche Sub-Zero as a bonus. 

Players can also earn exclusive seasonal skins in Kombat League, Mortal Kombat 11's ranked mode. Season of Blood, or Season One, contained a few fan favorite skins that players still talk about over forums. Designs vary from simple recolors to more involved costume redesigns like the Season of Hive. Once the season ends, then that season's skins are no longer available, unless there's a rerun.

When the seasons reset at the beginning of 2021, players received another chance to catch past season exclusives. Some rejoiced at the chance to grind for skins they missed, because they bought the game after the first few Kombat League seasons. Others called the move lazy and wished NetherRealm opted for an alternate solution, like putting the older skins in an offline tower — which NetherRealm actually did.  

MK11 data miner thethiny discovered a way to reveal hidden towers that offered Kombat League skins from an offline challenge. Reddit user zweihandr helpfully compiled Kombat League skins up until December 2020 for players to reference for said tower.

Krypt Events offer exclusive gear for participating players. It's not unusual to see Ed Boon, Creative Director at NetherRealm Studios, and the Mortal Kombat team announce Krypt Events in advance on official channels. However, players can also see Krypt Event announcements in the game. According to Prima Games, players have about 24 hours to find Kronika's golden orb in the Krypt and claim their gear once the event goes live.

Krypt Events rarely rerun. Even when they do, the short notice can make it difficult for players to snag the skin in time. To give fans a heads up, news outlets may report these events (like Mortal Kombat Online did with the Young Justice Liu Kang skin), but some skins aren't around long enough for that to make a huge difference.

Some players have resorted to alternate methods of finding their favorite skins. Variations of Krypt Event skins, like Kitana's Edenian Blue outfit, can be unlocked through other means. According to Redditors, Edenian Blue in particular can be selected as an alternate color if you have Katana's Marigold skin unlocked. However, the mask and fans come from separate sources. 

The Eternal Klash and Time Warriors skins rewarded DLC buyers with pre-order bonuses for Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath and Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate respectively. Each of these packs contained skins for three different characters.

Eternal Klash took inspiration from older Mortal Kombat games for its skins. Unbound Rage Scorpion redesigns his Mortal Kombat 9 costume. Son of Arctika Sub-Zero brings back his iconic helmet and armor from Mortal Kombat: Deception. Kori Power Frost, a Klassic Frost skin, reimagines her original outfit with new additions like the emblem on her black undershirt. In contrast with Eternal Klash, the Time Warriors pack featured new variants of three characters: Dark Web Noob Saibot, Halt and Catch Fire (HCF) Liu Kang, and Blood Moon Skarlet.

Early on, Warner Bros. Customer Support confirmed that the skins for Eternal Klash and Time Warriors would eventually appear in the shop, despite the original pre-order bonus exclusivity. NetherRealm has since put the skins up for purchase in the shop, but only from time to time. A few Redditors confirmed these claims with their own purchases.

Gold Demon Scorpion remains the only exclusive skin that hasn't appeared in the premium shop or any other in-game event. This skin originally came with the Mortal Kombat 11 Kollector's Edition alongside a steel book case for Xbox One and PS4 versions, Dragon Logo Magnet, and a golden replica of Scorpion's mask. Since then, Beyond NRG offered the skin as part of a promotional special for its Wild Forest Fruits energy drink mix. Besides those two ways, there's no official way to get the skin. 

Warner Bros. Customer Support and officials press that they have no plans on making the skin freely available. Some players have resorted to buying the skin from sites like eBay. Others hold onto the hope that one day, like the Gold Scorpion skin from Mortal Kombat X, Gold Demon Scorpion will eventually become a free downloadable skin for players who wait long enough.