Mewgenics Class Guide: Every Collar Explained (And How to Get Them)
A cat's genetics decide its potential in Mewgenics, but the collar around its neck decides its job, and there are fourteen very different jobs to choose from.
None of these collars come free past the starting four. Most get unlocked by clearing specific zones and reporting back to Butch, which means the roster of available classes grows alongside the difficulty of the fights they're meant to handle. Building a squad that survives Act 3 means understanding what each collar actually does, not just picking whatever color looks coolest.
The Frontline: Tank and Butcher
Every squad needs something absorbing hits so the rest of the team doesn't have to, and Mewgenics gives two very different flavors of that job.
The Tank (Grey Collar) is available from the start and does exactly what the name promises. A flat +4 Constitution lets these cats shrug off damage that would flatten anything else in the roster, and their knockback options turn them into a shoving tool as much as a wall, useful for pushing enemies into hazards or off the edge of the arena entirely. It's not a flashy job, but a run without one tends to end badly.
The Butcher (Red/Bloody Collar), unlocked by clearing The Core in Act 2, is the aggressive version of the same idea. High Constitution and Strength come paired with a serious Speed penalty, so this cat moves slowly but hits like it means it. Its meat hook ability drags enemies out of position, which makes it especially good at yanking a squishy healer or archer out of the backline and putting it directly in front of a Fighter.
Damage Dealers: Fighter, Hunter, Thief, and Monk
The Fighter (Red Collar) is one of the four default collars and stays relevant well into the late game. A straightforward +2 Strength and +1 Speed makes it reliable rather than flashy, and that Speed bonus matters more than it looks, since flanking for a backstab multiplies damage significantly. Pairing a Fighter with a Bleed passive turns it into a genuine boss killer, though leaning on Berserk-style buffs comes with real risk since they trade incoming damage for output.
The Hunter (Green Collar), also available from the start, solves the problem of taking damage at all by staying at range. A +3 Dexterity bump improves ranged accuracy, and its trap-laying ability creates choke-point kill zones that the AI reliably walks into. The Marked ability is arguably its best trick, guaranteeing hits against high-dodge targets that would otherwise shrug off attacks entirely.
The Thief (Black Collar) unlocks after clearing The Sewer in Act 1 and plays like a gamble. The highest base Speed in the game means it usually acts first, and its stealth kit revolves around teleporting behind a target for a critical hit before vanishing back into cover. A Constitution penalty means a failed play leaves it standing next to a boss with nothing to protect it, so the reward scales directly with how much risk feels acceptable.
The Monk (Yellow Collar), unlocked after The Lab in Act 3, switches between melee and ranged stances and gets multiple attacks per turn. That attack frequency makes it unusually strong with on-hit effects, since something like a poison-on-hit item gets applied twice as often as it would on any other class. The tradeoff is mana management, which takes some getting used to.
Casters and Control: Mage, Necromancer, Druid, Tinkerer, and Psychic
The Mage (Blue Collar) rounds out the starting four and functions as the squad's glass cannon. Its Intelligence bonus improves both mana regeneration and spell effectiveness, and it's the class best suited to exploiting elemental interactions like fire spreading through grass or electricity arcing through water. A Strength and Constitution penalty means getting caught in melee range usually ends badly, so keeping a Mage near a Tank isn't optional so much as basic upkeep.
The Necromancer (Purple Collar), unlocked after clearing The Boneyard in Act 1, is built around turning corpses, enemy or ally, into zombie minions. That flood of extra bodies messes with the turn order economy in the squad's favor, though a Strength penalty means the class is fairly useless without its summons doing the actual work. It's worth watching those zombies closely too, since they'll eat nearby corpses to heal themselves, sometimes including loot that was worth grabbing.
The Druid (Brown Collar) shows up after The Crater in Act 2 as a support and summoner hybrid built around familiars and nature buffs. A well-built Druid can turn a squad into something close to unstoppable, while a poorly built one just stands around producing plants that don't do much. A Constitution penalty keeps it fragile enough that it belongs in the back regardless of build quality.
The Tinkerer (Orange Collar), unlocked after The Bunker in Act 2, leans into turret-building and mid-fight crafting. A +4 Intelligence bonus makes mana generation a non-issue, and the turrets function like extra party members that don't carry permadeath risk. The setup time is the catch. Fast fights don't leave much room for it to shine, but long boss encounters make the Tinkerer one of the better picks available.
The Psychic (Pink Collar), available after clearing The Moon in Act 2, trades damage for displacement and debuffs, pushing enemies around and disrupting their turns rather than killing them outright. It's a harder class to use effectively than the Mage simply because a confused enemy is still alive to cause problems, but a well-timed push can turn a losing fight around.
Support: The Cleric
The Cleric (White Collar), unlocked by clearing The Alley in Act 1, is the only dedicated healer in the game, and in a system built around permadeath and lasting injuries, that makes it close to mandatory. Its Cleanse ability strips debuffs like Poison or Bleed on top of straightforward healing, and running a squad without one is a rough way to learn why the class exists.
The Wildcards: Jester and Blank Collar
The Jester (Jester Hat/Collar), unlocked after clearing The Rift in Act 3, has zero inherent stat bonuses and instead copies abilities from other collars in the party. It's genuinely chaotic in a fun way for a challenge run, though a squad built around specialists usually gets more consistent value than one built around a class that borrows its identity from everyone else.
The Blank Collar, purchasable from Tracy, isn't a class of its own. It duplicates whatever collar it's paired with, making it the only way to run two of the same class at once. A pair of Clerics for players who struggle with positioning, or a full squad of Fighters for a more direct approach, both become possible once this collar's in the mix.
Here's the full list for quick reference:
Building a Squad That Actually Works
A Tank or Butcher up front to absorb hits, a Cleric to keep everyone standing, a Hunter for consistent ranged damage and trap utility, and a Mage or Fighter filling out the last slot covers most of what Act 3 throws at a squad. The Mage brings elemental combo potential, while the Fighter is the safer pick for anyone who'd rather not manage mana on top of everything else. Whatever the final composition looks like, going in without a Cleric is a decision that tends to get punished quickly.
