Performing Mercy after winning two rounds (instead of executing a Fatality) is a great way to offer an extended fight either as a show of respect, to rack up extra points (more on that below) or to simply rub your opponents face in it!
Whatever your reason, Mercy is a great ability to have in your MK11 knowledge base.
The correct distance from your opponent
First, you’re going to need to put the correct amount of space between yourself and your opponent when attempting to show Mercy:
Set the correct distance and successfully show Mercy to your opponent. Beware as your opponent can come at you just before ‘Mercy’ disappears from the screen!
The distance seems to be the space of around 4 characters (between yourself and your opponent). Once you land those inputs correctly, ‘Mercy’ will appear on the screen with gold shinning light, while your character performs a taunt (Cassie Cage takes a pic of her opponent).
The control inputs to show Mercy
PS4/PS5: L2 (hold), Down, Down, Down – Release L2
XBOX One: LT (hold) , Down, Down, Down – Release LT
Switch: ZL (hold), Down, Down, Down – Release ZL
(hold the pads left trigger while pressing down on the D-pad 3 times, then let go of L2 immediately after this)
* it has been reported that some ports may require 4 down inputs, instead of 3 (but 3 always worked for us on the PS5 version)
The result will be a small portion returned to your opponents health meter. This can also be used strategically against the CPU as you can still follow-up with Brutalities, Friendships and Fatalities to help boost your scores and collectibles!
