The tribes are a very central aspect in the quest progression and overall story of Biomutant. You are introduced to the tribe system very early on but there is so much more to know about it than what's explained in the game. There are a total of six tribes in Biomutant — The Jagni, Myriad, Ankati, Pichu, Lotus, and the Netra tribe.
Each tribe is unique in its own way, as minute as they may be in the grander scheme of the game. These differences and nuances are interesting and learning about them will make the overall experience of the game more immersive for you as you go through and beat the game.
Each Tribe Has Aura Points
One of the distinctive aspects of each tribe is that they each come with their own Aura score. Each tribe's Aura score is as follows:
- Ankati - Light
- Netra - Somewhat Light
- Myriad - Maximum Light
- Jagni - Dark
- Pichu - Somewhat Dark
- Lotus - Maximum Dark
While each tribe has its own Aura score just like you, you don't necessarily need to join a tribe that's similar to your Aura score. Just because your current Aura score is Dark, that doesn't mean you're only allowed to join the Jagni tribe.
Making Aura choices opposite to that of your chosen tribe's also isn't detrimental to your relationship with them, but the dialogue between you and the tribe master will become a tad tenser.
The Tribe Masters
Each tribe also has a tribe master. These NPCs are the ones you speak to if you want to join their tribe or the ones you fight if you want to conquer them. Early on, you'll only be introduced to the tribe masters of the Myriad and Jagni tribes, Jet and Dusk for the former and the latter, respectively.
Later on, you'll meet Emissive Whisper, the tribe master of the Netra tribe, Sniper of Antaki, Fluoron Dew of Pichu, and Slimy Kong of Lotus. These tribe masters are the personification of their tribes and what they represent.
Talking to each tribe master when joining their tribe runs very similarly, but fighting them showcases how different each tribe master is. Some of them use their tribe weapon against you and some of them are accompanied by minions.
How Tribe Rivalries Work
As soon as you join a tribe, you will immediately be introduced to their rival tribe. This is the tribe you're going to have to defeat in order to please the current tribe you're in.
At the beginning of the game, you can only choose between the Myriad and Jagni tribes. These two tribes are already rivals, meaning joining one will automatically make the other the villain of your story, in a way.
Later on in the game, you're introduced to the four other tribes in the game. A tribe's rival is mostly the one whose territory is opposite theirs. For the Netra tribe, it's the Lotus. For Ankati, it's Pichu.
You Can Abandon One Tribe For Another
Even though at the beginning of the game you're only given the option to choose between Myriad and Jagni, you actually have the option to abandon your tribe for another. However, you cannot do this for your current tribe's rival.
You can only join another tribe that's neutral.
If you really want to join your current tribe's rival, you only need to join a neutral tribe, and then head to your previous tribe's rival's main outpost. Heading to a tribe's main outpost and opting to speak to their Sifu is how you join a tribe.
How To Get Tribe Weapons And Attire Sets
Another unique aspect of each tribe is that they all have their own tribe weapons and attire sets. Getting each tribe's weapons is fairly simple, but attaining their attire sets is a bit more difficult.
Tribe weapons may not be the best weapons in the game, but they most certainly have interesting features. The way to earn each tribe weapon is to either join or conquer a tribe, which you can do fairly easily with every single tribe in the game. If you want a tribe's attire set, you must first ally with them. You will earn their attire set as a reward after defeating their rival's second outpost.
The Art Of Persuasion
You don't always need to employ a gun's blazing and sword-wielding approach when conquering another tribe. In Biomutant, you can take a more diplomatic approach and persuade a tribe master to give up their posts in peace instead of fighting them head-on.
According to the game, the success rate of the persuade option is tied to your Charisma stat. However, this is very inconsistent and almost senseless. Most of the time, the persuade option has a 50% chance of actually succeeding.
Failing to persuade a tribe master will cause you to lose a stat point, so you should just keep that in mind if ever you want to be diplomatic with a tribe master instead of just fighting them.
Unite Or Go To War
By the time you defeat three Worldeaters and conquer two tribes, you will get the choice to either unite the tribes immediately or conquer them manually. The former option will let you progress through the game's main campaign quicker as it will end the tribe conflict and send you to the fourth and final Worldeater right away. There is, however, a caveat to this.
If you choose to unite the tribes immediately, you'll lose the chance to earn the other tribes' weapons. Conquering each of them manually is more time-consuming, but this is the only way to earn every single tribe weapon in the game.