Mortal Kombat Character Guide:
A Community Driven FAQ written and organized by HolyWhiteMage, DragonPick, &
TheChad_87
Version History
Version 1.0 – 7/29/2011 – Posted to GameFAQs Message Board.
Version 1.1 – 7/30/2011 – Updated character sections: Sonya, Stryker, Sub-
Zero
Version 1.2 – 8/1/2011 – Added Frame Data for Cyrax, Ermac, Johnny Cage,
Kabal, Nightwolf, Raiden,
Reptile. Scorpion, Sheeva, Smoke, Sonya, Stryker, Sub-Zero
Version 1.3 – 8/7/2011 – Updates to Mileena, Sheeva.
Version 1.4 – 8/8/2011 – Updates to Cyrax, Jax, Mileena, Sindel. Frame Data
added for Sindel.
Version 1.5 – 8/10/2011 - Added Frame Data for Jax, Kano, Kitana, Kung Lao.
Version 1.6 – 8/12/2011 – Updates to Sindel, Jade
Version 1.7 – 8/17/2011 - Added Frame Data for Liu Kang
Version 1.8 - 8/25/2011 - Added combos for Ermac. Revisions to several
sections (Formatting, typos, etc.)
Version 1.9 - 8/26/2011 - Updates to Baraka, Jax, Kabal, Kitana, Kung Lao,
Liu Kang, Nightwolf, Noob, Quan Chi, Raiden, Reptile, Scorpion, Sektor, Shang
Tsung.
Version 2.0 - 8/27/2011 - Updates to Shang Tsung, Sheeva, Sindel, Sonya,
Stryker, Sub-Zero.
KEY
1 = Front Punch
2 = Back Punch
3 = Front Kick
4 = Back Kick
X = X-Ray
jP = Jump-In Punch
jK = Jump-In Kick
njP = Neutral Jump Punch
njK = Neutral Jump Kick
xjP = Crossover Jump Punch
xjK = Crossover Jump Kick
xx = Cancel. Or used to denote when timing is strict and inputs must be
quick.
# = Timing issue requiring you to wait or slow down the input (usually
~.5sec)
[Corner] = This combo may only be performed with opponent’s back in the
corner
[Reset] = This combo includes a reset.
Armor = This attack will absorb one hit (You still take damage).
Super Armor = This attack will absorb all hits within it’s active frames (You
still take damage).
Phasing = This attack will pass through projectiles (No damage is inflicted).
General Notes:
- In addition to posting in the Topic, should you wish to contribute, you can
always e-mail one of the admins at: thechad87@hotmail.com or
DragonPick@Live.com
- This is still a ROUGH DRAFT. If you notice something that is wrong, please
e-mail me.
Game Notes:
- All X-Rays have Super Armor unless stated otherwise in that characters X-
Ray section.
- You still take damage while (super) armored. This means that attacks that
would knock you out and finish the round will still do so even through an
(super) armored attack. What (Super) Armor will do is prevent you from
flinching or being grounded by enemy attacks.
- In order to perform a “Wake-Up” attack, you will need to input the command
as your character is rising from the ground. Each section details a bit about
wake-up attacks, and tends to mention which ones have invincible start-up. If
an attack does get invincible start-up, it is 8 frames.
- Each character, supposedly, has a secret technique. Some are listed, and
some are still undiscovered.
- You will see frame data mentioned for certain characters, but not others.
This is because we do not yet have frame data available for all characters.
It will be added as I sort through it and it becomes available.
- Frame Data Note:
jP - 7f jK - 8f
njP - 9f njK - 10f
Throw - 10f Air Throw - 9f
These are universal for all characters.
- Resets or other information confirmed to be removed in the next patch will
not be included.
Character Table of Contents
You can easily navigate to a particular character section by using CTRL+F and
searching for the character tag listed below.
Baraka [MKBAR]
Cyber Sub-Zero [MKCSZ]
Cyrax [MKCYR]
Ermac [MKERM]
Jade [MKJAD]
Jax [MKJAX]
Johnny Cage [MKJON]
Kabal [MKKAB]
Kano [MKKAN]
Kitana [MKKIT]
Kung Lao [MKKUN]
Liu Kang [MKLIU]
Mileena [MKMIL]
Nightwolf [MKNIT]
Noob [MKNOO]
Quan Chi [MKQUA]
Raiden [MKRDN]
Reptile [MKREP]
Scorpion [MKSCO]
Sektor [MKSEK]
Shang Tsung [MKSHA]
Sheeva [MKSHE]
Sindel [MKSIN]
Smoke [MKSMO]
Sonya [MKSON]
Stryker [MKSTR]
Sub-Zero [MKSUB]
===============
Baraka
===============
“Gwaaah!”
[MKBAR]
Special Moves
Blade Charge (8%)
Blade Rush (13% - Phasing, Armor)
D, F, 2
Spark (8%)
Sparked (14%)
D, B, 2
Chop Chop (11%, 7 Hits)
Chopchop Shop (17%, 9 Hits)
B, B, 1
Blade Spin (9%, 2 Hits)
Spinner (15%, 4 Hits)
D, B, 3
Blade Slice (10%, 3 Hits)
Slicer (14%, 4 Hits)
D, F, 1
X-Ray: Nail and Impale (32%, 4 Hits)
Baraka’s X is light on damage, but it’s easy to work into his BnB combos
(usually replacing Blade Charge/Rush) and it serves as a good punish. It
should also be noted that it will catch airborne opponents within range that
are not at the very peak of their jump.
Secret Technique: Cancel It!
Not a secret technique, per say; but, Baraka can cancel pretty much ALL of
his normals into specials. This makes him pretty hard to read at times. He
can also do most of these cancels mid-string. If you’re not doing a special,
you can almost guarantee you can cancel into one. This offers good screen
control and the ability to confuse opponents.
This also means that Baraka’s X-Ray is available off of any hit. Very useful
indeed.
Basic Combos
2, 1, xx Blade Spin (16%, 4 Hits) or Spinner (22%, 6 Hits)
F+2, Chop Chop, (buffer FF), D+4, Blade Charge (25%, 10 hits) or Blade Rush
(29%, 10 hits)
F+4, 4, step forward, 4, xxBlade Charge (25%, 4 Hits) or Blade Rush (29%, 4
Hits)
B+3, 1, dash, B+3, 1, dash, F+2, 4 (29%, 6 Hits)
B+3, 1, dash, B+3, 1, dash, B+3, 1, dash, 4, Blade Charge (35%, 8 hits) or
Blade Rush (38%, 8 hits)
2, 2, 1+2, xxChop Chop, (buffer FF), D+4, #Blade Charge (30%, 12 Hits) or
Blade Rush (34%, 12 Hits)
2, 2, 1+2, dash, B+3, 1, dash, 4, xxBlade Charge (32%, 8 Hits) or Blade Rush
(35%, 7 hits)
[Corner] 2, 2, 1+2, B+3, 1, B+3, 1, 1, 2, 1 xxChop Chop (40%, 18 Hits)
X-Ray Combos
F+4, 4, (Buffer FF), 4, xxX (42%, 7 Hits)
B+3, 1, dash, B+3, 1, dash, 4, xxX (44%, 9 Hits)
F+2, Chop Chop, (buffer FF), D+4, xxX (45%, 13 Hits)
B+1, F+2, xxChop Chop, (buffer FF), D+4, xxX (50%, 14 Hits)
Playing as Baraka
Preferred Gameplan: Counter
Baraka has slow movement speed, but all of his attacks hit quickly. This
makes him a good counter-style character but a poor rushdown character. He
has a particularly hard time with combatants who can keep constant pressure
against him (Johnny Cage, Kabal, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sonya) as well
as those adept at zoning (Kano, Kitana, Noob, Sindel, Mileena, Sub-Zero). For
this reason, Baraka is going to be relegated to Counter status. He HAS to
react to the opponent, but this doesn’t mean you can’t still control the pace
of the match. Should you see an opening for one of his combos, take it, but
don’t force anything.
Any time you land a Chop Chop, follow it up with Blade Charge for extra
damage. Blade Rush is the only EN move Baraka has access to that is worth
using meter for, but this is definitely a move he should use and use often.
It even has the added bonus of causing some push back, which is great because
Baraka can absolutely devastate a cornered opponent in no time. Baraka should
never use meter to boost combo damage unless it will win him the round. His
meter should be saved for naked Blade Rushes to get through projectiles
because, without it, he is incredibly easy to zone out. Blade Spin makes for
a good counter to aerial attacks, but Chop Chop fits this bill even better
and allows follow up with a Blade Charge for extra damage. Note: If you catch
an airborne enemy with Chop Chop, you CANNOT follow up with D+4, Blade
Charge/Rush. You can use just Charge/Rush without the D+4, though. Slices is
an excellent tool for building meter, netting nearly 1/3 of a bar on block.
Baraka has a few decent mix-up options at his disposal. F+2 hits medium, and
B+3 hits low. Keep these in mind should you attempt to mount an offensive.
Perhaps his greatest mix-up tool is his B+3, 2, 2, string (LHM). If an
opponent reads the second 2, you can always cancel into Chop Chop or Blade
Spin.
Defensive Wake-Up options for Baraka are somewhat limited in Blade Spin and
Chop Chop. Once again, Chop Chop is superior, but has greater cooldown should
it whiff. Blade Charge can be used should you want to advance or Blade Rush
if an opponent decides to throw projectiles.
D+4 is an essential weapon in any Baraka’s arsenal. It lowers his hit box to
prevent cross-ups, it enables a safe F+4 string starter, it can even be used
in the middle of Baraka’s combos.
Baraka has quite a few bad match-ups, but he is absolutely a contender. He
just has to be played thoughtfully. Get in there and apply these tips and
you’ll be slashing your enemies to ribbons in no time.
Fighting Baraka
A competent Baraka is NOT going to make the first move. He’s going to try and
force you into making mistakes and then he’s going to punish you for it. Keep
this in mind. If he tries to rush you down, chances are you’re either (a)
better at rushdown than him or (b) a character with a teleport/pseudo-
teleport and better zoning skills. If you’re (a), then show the tarkatan what
rushdown is all about and apply more pressure. Just be mindful of Chop Chop
as it can be chained into Blade Charge or even X-Ray. If you’re (b), then get
outta there and zone him out, his projectile is one of the worst in the game.
With fairly standard damage (8%) and horrible cooldown, he’s not likely to
win any zoning wars any time soon.
Be aware that his counter game is fierce. If you whiff a combo starter, you
will pay for it with around 30% of your life total (without X-Ray). Never
jump in on him. His blade spin is quick to start-up and will punish any jump-
ins; but, at only 9%, it’s not too scary. The real danger of jumping in comes
if he gets in Chop Chop. In which case, he can follow-up with D+4, Blade
Charge for ~20%.
Stay out of the corner. Again, stay out of the corner! Baraka’s real
potential shows through when he corners an opponent. He will shred you
without mercy if he can back you up against the wall. Don’t let him. Remember
that his rushdown is not so good, so if you get close to the corner, switch
it up and start pushing him back. Just watch out for Blade Rush as it has
some push back.
Stay on your toes, and only strike at him when you feel like you have the
upper hand and apply zoning pressure when possible. Keep this in mind, and
this nomad will be relocating to the Netherrealm.
Fatalities
Up the Middle: B, F, D, F, 1 (sweep)
Take a Spin: F, F, D, D, 3 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: D, D, D, 3
Babality
F, B, F, 4
===============
Cyber Sub-Zero
===============
“You are not so fearsome.”
[MKCSZ]
Special Moves
Ice Ball (Capture. 7% if done while frozen.)
Ice Beam (Capture. 7% if done while frozen.)
D, F, 1
Ice Bomb (Close, Medium, Far, 8%)
Cryo Bomb (Close, Medium, Far, 8%)
c. B, B, 1
m. F, F, 1
f. B, B, F, 1
Slide (9%)
Cyber-Slide (12%, 2 hits)
B, F, 4
Teleport
Bangport (8%)
D, B, 1
Ice Parry (8%)
Frozen Parry
D, B, 2
Dive Kick (Close, Far, 7%)
PowerKick (Close, Far, 18%, 3 hits)
c. D+3 (In Air)
f. D+4 (In Air)
X-Ray: Cool Down (36%, 3 Hits) [In Air Only]
Cyber Sub-zero's X is done while in the air. It comes out quite fast and
ranks above average in damage. It also auto aims on the spot the enemy was
standing on when it's activated. At full jumping height, it's almost
impossible to miss with this X, but it can be blocked.
Secret Technique: Unknown as of now
Basic Combos
jk, c.Dive Kick (13%, 2 Hits) or c.PowerKick (21%, 4 Hits)
F+2, 2, Slide (15%, 3 hits) or Cyber Slide (18%, 4 hits)
1, 1, 2, xxSlide (18%, 4 hits) or Cyber Slide (20%, 5 hits)
3, 3, 2, #Slide (21%, 4 Hits) or Cyber Slide (23%, 5 Hits)
3, 4, jump, f.Dive Kick (19%, 3 hits) or f.Power Kick (25%, 5 hits)
3, 4, dash B+2, 2, Slide (26%, 5 Hits) or Cyber Slide (28%, 6 Hits)
m.Ice Bomb, Uppercut, dash, B+3, 2, 1 (28%, 5 Hits)
B+1, Ice Ball, jP, 2, 1, 1+2, dash, B+2, 2, xxSlide (32%, 9 Hits) or Power
Slide (34%, 10 Hits)
2, 1, Ice Ball, jP, 2, 1, 1+2, dash, U+4, xxSlide (40%, 10 Hits)
[Corner] 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, xxSlide (36%, 9 Hits)
[Reset] U+4, xxm.Bomb, (Reset), dash, 2, 1, 1+2, dash, U+4, xxSlide (15%, 2
Hits; 37%, 7 hits) [Total: 52%, 9 hits]
Enhanced Combos
B+3, xxIce Beam, jP, 2, 1, 1+2, dash, U+4, xxSlide (37%, 9 Hits – 1 Bar)
c.Ice Bomb, Power Slide, dash, U+4, xx Slide (37%, 6 Hits – 1 Bar)
X-Ray Combos
B+3, 2, X (39%, 5 hits)
2, 1, 1+2, xxjump, xxX (43%, 6 hits)
2, 1, Ice Ball, jP, 2, 1, 1+2, xxjump, xxX (49%, 10 Hits)
m.Ice Bomb. #B+1, 2, Dash, B+3, 2, X (50%, 8 Hits)
Playing as Cyber Sub-Zero
Preferred Gameplan: Rushdown//Mix-Up
Cyber Sub-Zero is strong, and he’s quick. His entire skill set (save Ice
Ball) is fast and he has one of the best strategic moves in the game: Ice
Bombs. They are unblockable and freeze the enemy. These can be placed several
distances or he can surround his enemy in them, or even cover most of the
battlefield with the EN version. One interesting tactic to keep in mind is
that 3, 3, 2 can be canceled into c.Ice Bomb. You can then follow this up
with an Ice Ball (or an Ice Beam, if you have the meter) should the opponent
jump back and an Ice Parry (Frozen Parry if you have meter) or jump back and
Dive Kick if he or she jumps forward. If you catch an opponent in the air,
njP, U+4,xxSlide is a good follow-up as it deals 26% to an airborne opponent
after a freeze. Overall, his attacks are quite flashy and surprising and his
Dive Kick gives him a decent air to ground approach, though it isn't as good
as Sonya's. It is worth noting that his Dive Kick is very hard to punish on
block. His B+1 is an amazing poke that reaches from just outside sweep range
and can be canceled into a freeze. His slide is identical to Sub-Zero’s: and
at this point, it should be mentioned that the move is HIGHLY punishable on
block. CSZ has the much safer Dive Kick to allow for distance closing
attacks. For this reason, slide should not be used outside of combos or
unless employed as punishment or mix-up (Low hits).
CSZ’s mix-up consists mostly of High to Low, but his 3, 4 string hits
overhead on the second hit and can be followed-up with a slide with proper
timing. Another interesting, albeit limited, thing to keep in mind is that
EN Ice Bomb followed by Ice Beam is an almost guaranteed freeze (won’t work
against teleporting characters). This costs 2 bars but is useful for catching
an opponent with less than 25% health to end the match.
His wake up options consist of Ice Parry and Slide. Slide hits low and parry
counters high attacks. This forces CSZ to make an odd decision on wake-up. Be
aggressive with mix-up or be defensive.
Cyber Sub-Zero seems to sport the best of everybody. In fact, CSZ’s attacks
are, for the most part, inferior versions of other attacks, but combine them
all and you get a very destructive character. Aggressive players can be
stopped with Ice Parry and Defensive players can be handled with bombs. His
combos are strong, and his set ups for them are clever and quick, allowing
him loads of damage if played correctly. Mastery of this character is not an
easy task, but if used to his full potential, he can quickly give others the
cold shoulder.
Fighting Cyber Sub-Zero
He isn't the powerhouse Story Mode made him out to be, but he can still be
one of the most destructive characters in the game. Play a balanced style of
attack since CSZ has a tool for aggressive and defensive fighters. Get at a
decent distance from him and prepare for a Freeze Ball or Slide. Stop the
slide with a projectile or the Freeze Ball by ducking or jumping. Should you
jump, be aware that an EN Ice Beam will still catch you. When he is in the
air, prepare for a Dive kick or an X if he has the meter, both of which can
be blocked, leaving him open for a second. Note that the X is MUCH easier to
punish than a dive kick.
His Parry is high so low attacks will stop it and don't worry about being
frozen by Ice Bombs unless there is more than one on the field. They are
quite easy to avoid for the most part. Be aware though that jumping is not a
good idea if CSZ has meter as EN Ice Beam will most likely catch you in the
air.
His wake up game isn’t much to worry about. If you’re going on the offensive
strike with low combo starters if possible so the parry can’t catch you, and
if going for a more defensive style, block low to avoid a slide, being aware
that EN Dive Kick is an overhead. Slide is a very punishable move. It can be
baited by standing and blocking, then quickly crouching on reaction to the
slide, leaving CSZ open for a full combo. This, as well as his teleport, are
most definitely his weakpoints in terms of specials. Punish both ruthlessly.
Zoning is probably the best tactic. Characters with high/low projectiles (Liu
Kang, Sindel, Kabal) are probably your best bet, but any projectile zoning
will do. Just be aware of the threat that Ice Ball and, more importantly, Ice
Beam pose.
Play carefully against him, and be wary of his jumps and you'll send him to
the scrap heap.
Fatalities
Kold Fusion: D, B, D, F, 2 (jump)
Brain Freeze: D, D, B, D, 1 (jump)
Stage Fatality: D, D, U, Block
Babality
D, B, F, Block
===============
Cyrax
===============
“Safeties disabled. Combat mode engaged.”
[MKCYR]
Special Moves
Bomb (Close, Medium, Far, 8% - Unblockable. Launches)
Stickybomb (8% - Launches)
c. B, B, 4
m. F, F, 4
f. B, B, F, 4
Net (Capture)
Electro-net (Capture and drain 1 bar)
B, B, 3
Teleport
Bangport (8%)
D, B, 1
Buzzsaw (8%)
Saw Blade (15%, 2 Hits)
B, F, 2
Reverse Kick (7%)
Donkey Kick (11%, 2 hits)
D, F, 3
Ragdoll (10%, 2 Hits)
EN Ragdoll (15%, 3 Hits)
D, F, 3, xx1+3
Anti-Air (8% - Only on airborne opponent)
Power Anti-Air (10% - only on airborne opponent)
D, F, 1
X-Ray: Cyberdriver (3 hits, 30%)
The range of Cyrax’ X is very lackluster. Not that it matters as Cyrax X-Ray
will always be used in combos. The best part about Cyberdriver is that it can
be comboed into and out of with proper timing. Being near the corner makes
following it up easier. Of note is the fact that Cyrax X can be used as an
anti-air if need be.
Secret Technique: Unknown as of now
Basic Combos
B+2, dash, #1, 2, 1, m.Bomb (20%, 5 Hits)
B+2, dash, #1, 2, 1, Anti-Air (23%, 7 Hits) or Power Anti-Air (24%, 7 Hits)\
1, 2, 3, Buzzsaw (20%, 4 Hits) or EN Buzzsaw (26%, 5 Hits)
1, 2, 1, xxRagdoll (23%, 5 Hits) or EN Ragdoll (24%, 5 Hits)
F+2, xxc.Bomb, dash, 3, 3, Net, njP, dash, B+2, dash 2, 2, F+1 (33%, 10 Hits)
m.Bomb, 2, 2, njP, dash, B+2, dash, 2, 1, Net, dash, 3, 3, Anti-Air (40%, 13
Hits) or Power Anti-Air (41%, 13 Hits)
[Corner] c.Bomb, 3, 3, 4, jK (back), dash, 3, 3, Net, 3, 3, Buzzsaw (35%, 11
Hits)
[Anti-Air] 1, dash, 1, dash, 3, 3, xxNet, dash, B+2, dash, 1, 2, 1, m.Bomb
(25%, 10 Hits)
Enhanced Combos
c.Bomb, 2, 1, Anti-Air, njP, dash #B+2, dash, xxSticky Bomb, dash, 3, 3, Net,
dash, 3, 3, 4 (43%, 14 Hits – 1 Bar)
2,1, xxSticky Bomb, m.Bomb, Uppercut, B+2, dash, 1, 2, 1, Ragdoll (57% 12
Hits – 1 Bar)
[Unbreakable] Sticky Bomb, #Sticky Bomb, Buzzsaw (24%, 5 Hits – 2 Bars)
X-Ray Combos
f.Bomb, F+2, #B+2, dash, 2, xxX (47%, 9 Hits)
m.Bomb, 2, 2, njP, dash, B+2, dash, 2, xxX, (Buffer FF), 1, xxRagdoll (56%,
13 Hits)
Playing as Cyrax
Preferred Gameplan: Juggle//Zoning//Mix-Up
Differences between Cyborg and Human Cyrax: (1) Human Cyrax has a safe
Teleport & (2) Human Cyrax has slower Bombs and a slower Net. You will need
to adjust the timing on your combos accordingly.
Cyrax is one of the “Grapplers” of MK9. He sports an unblockable command
throw in B+1, 2, 1, 2 that causes stagger, has an Anti-Air Throw, and the
Ragdoll toss. His standard throw does 12% damage and his B+2 hits medium.
This combines to give him deceptively good mix-up. He even has Donkey Kick,
an EN move leading into Ragdoll that hits low. Cyrax Teleport is HIGHLY
unsafe and should only be used to close space after a net or to build meter;
however, EN Teleport can be used against an opponent trying for cross-ups,
but keep in mind it will cost you a bar of meter and Cyrax REALLY needs it
for wake-up and bomb set-ups. Even still, the option is there.
When it comes to normals, 1, 1, 1 2, 1, 2, & 1, 2, 1 are all safe on
block. 1, 1, 1, and 2, 1, 2 also end with overheads. 3, 3 is also safe on
block, but should primarily be used during combos due to lack of mix-up
potential. Keep in mind that 1, 1 and 3, 3 are your combo starters of
choice. Both are safe and block. 1 is 9 frames. 3 is 10. Cyrax’ D+1 is great
for applying pressure and can force an opponent into crouch-blocking, which
allows your B+2 to grant full combo.
Cyrax functions better when played at a deliberately slow pace. His actions
are very stop-and-go, but once he gets going, the momentum is hard to deal
with.
Basically, the goal with Cyrax is to land a net and let the explosions begin.
Do NOT blindly throw nets. Each one has to be tossed deliberately. It works
better if you work it into combos. Once Cyrax nets an opponent, he can trade
1 Bar for 45+% damage. m.Bomb, 2, 2, njP, dash, B+2, dash, 2, 1, Net, dash,
3, 3, Anti-Air (40%, 13 Hits) is the Bomb Trap. A successful command throw
can be followed up with m.Bomb, 2, 2 to force the opponent back onto the
bomb. This is not completely safe as teleporters can get out of it easily,
and X-Ray attacks will prevent it as well as some uppercuts. Opponents can
even jump out of it now, but a blocking opponent will be trapped. The end
result will be ~40% with no meter usage. Another way to achieve this is with
the Net: Teleporting behind a captured enemy and then waiting about .5sec
before throwing a medium bomb and then performing 2, 2. This is much safer,
but requires the opponent be captured, and requires precise timing. To
achieve this goal, Cyrax will need to use his bombs wisely to control space
well enough to force the opponent into making a mistake and getting captured.
He will also need to manage meter effectively. One way to help build meter is
through the use of Teleports and by throwing out bombs after safe attacks (1,
2, 1; Uppercuts; Reverse Kick). One string to keep in mind is 1, 2, 1 which
you can cancel into a medium bomb and then throw a Net. This puts the
opponent in a very precarious situation as the bomb is unblockable and
jumping would surely mean getting caught in the Net. Keep both of Cyrax B+2
combos in mind as you can njP and go into the first on an airborne opponent
caught in a Net. This ends with the m.Bomb//Net pseudo-trap discussed above.
If an opponent is launched off the Bomb, Cyrax can juse njP and the second
B+2 combo for damage. You should also mix it up some with f.Bombs after the
1, 2, 1 string as most opponents will begin tech-rolling backwards to avoid
the bomb after being trapped once by it. Another good tip concerning Cyrax’
Teleport: use it any time you net an opponent. You will notice there are no
jP in combos after Nets listed above. This is because you should almost
always Teleport in to build meter instead. The small amount of meter Cyrax
gains from this is worth tons more to him than the 3% damage from a jP.
Having said that, there will be times when you can manage both, but it is not
consistent. If you can though, by all means, go for it.
Cyrax is beastly against a cornered opponent. He can utilize a pseudo-trap in
the corner by using his corner combo that ends with a Buzzsaw repeatedly
using the knockdown to drop the c.Bomb and repeat the full combo. Cyrax can
make it difficult for an opponent to escape his corner pressure. Other good
knockdowns to consider using to set-up the corner loop: 2, 1, 2, 1,2,1 3,
3, Buzzsaw, B+2, njP, B+2
One thing you don’t want to happen is for Cyrax to get cornered. He has no
armored moves making it very difficult for him to fight back. Be aware of
your position on the field at all times, and keep his Teleport in mind if you
start to drift towards the corner. Yes, it is unsafe, but a cornered Cyrax is
already dead.
Teleport, Anti-Air, Buzzsaw, and Reverse Kick are Cyrax’ wake-up options.
Keep in mind that Reverse Kick and Buzzsaw both hit high with Reverse Kick
being your Wake-Up of choice. In fact, there’s very little reason to use
Buzzsaw much at all. Note that Donkey Kick hits low and then high in EN form
making it a great wake-up, and it should be used often; however, bear in mind
that EN Ragdoll deals 15% and costs one bar of meter, which Cyrax can get
~50% out of otherwise.. Cyrax has no armored EN attacks, but Donkey Kick has
a few invincible frames on wake-up.
Applying all of this will make Cyrax an explosive force.
Fighting Cyrax
You have to be aware of the presence of bombs and the threat of a net at any
time. If you are caught in a net and Cyrax has at least 1 bar of meter,
you’re likely to eat ~50%. Note that you can take >35% off of a net even if
he is without meter. The Net is blockable, but his Bombs are not. This can
create some sticky situations as jumping the bomb is often tricky due to the
huge vertical space the net encompasses and blocking the net will only insure
that you are blasted by the bombs. Dash block to move about.
Should Cyrax go for a command grab, be quick to hit 1 as this will counter
it.
Keep in mind that Cyrax’ teleport is unsafe and use this to your advantage.
His teleport always puts him close to you meaning within striking distance.
Cyrax is an offensive monster with great juggles and good mix-up game to go
with it; however, his defenses are frail. Rushdown is the bane of this
robot’s programming, so go on the offensive. Be aware that his EN Donkey Kick
hits low, so if you dash in on him, duck and block, all the while watching
for the start-up animation of B+2. If you can manage to corner him, you
should be able to take the match from him. Just don’t get careless with your
rushdown as a single Net can spell disaster for anyone with less than ½
health remaining if Cyrax has access to EN attacks.
Basically, you’ll need to employ a guarded rushdown strategy to effectively
handle this guy. Use this information wisely and you’ll snuff out Cyrax’
firepower.
Fatalities
Buzz Kill: F, D, F, B, 2 (close)
Nothing but Net: B, D, B, F, 1 (jump)
Stage Fatality: D, U, Block
Babality
D, F, B, 2
Cyrax Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 9f 2 - 18f 3 - 10f 4 - 19f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 10f D+3 - 9f D+4 - 13f
B+1 - 14f B+2 - 30f B+3 - 16f B+4 - 18f
F+2 - 29f
U+4 - 14
Specials:
Bomb - 18f
Reverse Kick - 22f [EN - 9f]
Buzzsaw - 17f [EN - 18f]
Teleport - 11f
Anti-Air Throw - 9f
X-Ray - 15f
===============
Ermac
===============
“We are many; you are but one.”
[MKERM]
Special Moves:
Force Ball (8%, on ground only)
Focus Ball (10%, 2 hits, on ground only)
D, B, 2
Airblast (8%, in air only)
Force Blast (12%, in air only)
D, B, 2 (In Air)
Force Port (8%, also in air)
Teleport (10%, 2 hits, also in air)
D, B, 4
Forcelift (5%, 2 hits)
Telelift (9%, 3 hits)
D, B, 1
Hover Slam (8%, unblockable)
Levitate Smash
D, D, U
Force Push (11%, 2 hits)
Tele Push (15%, 2 hits)
B, F, 1
X-Ray: Cannonball Slam (35%, 3 hits)
Ermac lifts the enemy for this one. It's about mid range (a jump and a half
away) or closer and can be blocked or jumped over. It can also be substituted
in combos with Forcelift. Note that the hitbox extends over Ermac’s head,
Secret Technique: Hoverport, Hoverblast, and Cancel
Ermac can actually cancel his Hover Slam or Hover Smash at the very peak of
the jump into a Forceport/Teleport. This can be good for confusing enemies.
As Hover Slam is unblockable, it requires the opponent to jump in order to
avoid it, and Forceport grants full combo if it hits an airborne opponent.
Another option is Hoverblast, which consists of using Ermac’s Airblast at the
peak of a Hoverslam. This is rarely going to actually hit an opponent, but it
does help with the mind games as it is basically a cancel of Hoverslam
without forcing a teleport or cancel.
Hover Slam can be cancelled by tapping D, D adding to Ermac’s full screen
mind games.
Basic Combos
jK, xxForceport, dash, 3, xxForce Lift, dash, 2, 2, xxForce Push (35%, 9
Hits)
Forcelift, njK, Forceport, dash, 2, 2, xxForce Push (31%, 8 hits) or Tele
Push (34%, 8 hits) [TP]
Forcelift, njK, Forceport, dash, 3, 1, dash, F+4 (31%)
1, 2, Forcelift, jK, Forceport, dash, 2, ,2 Force Push (36%, 10 Hits) or Tele
Push (38%, 10 Hits)
B+3, 4, Forceport, dash, 3, xxForcelift, dash, 2, 2, Force Push (32%, 10
hits) or Tele Push (34%, 10 hits)
B+1, 1, 4, xxForcelift, jK, Forceport, Force Push (40%, 10 hits) or Tele Push
(42%, 10 hits)
F+1, 1, 4, Forceport, dash, 2, 2, xxForcelift, dash, 2, 2, Force Push (36%,
12 Hits) or Tele Push (37%, 12 Hits)
B+1, 2, F+1, dash, #Forcelift, jK, Forceport, dash, 2, Force Push (42%, 11
Hits)
[Reset] 1, 2, Forcelift, jK, Forceport, dash, (reset) B+2, dash, Forcelift,
njK, xxForceport, dash, 2, 2, xxForcepush (23%, 6 Hits ; 31%, 9 Hits) [Total:
54%, 15 Hits]
X-Ray Combos
Forcelift, dash, 2, 2, xxX (44%, 7 hits)
B+1, 1, 4, X (46%, 7 hits)
B+1, 1, 4, xxForcelift, dash, 2, 2, xxX (54%, 11 Hits)
B+1, 2, F+1, dash, #Forcelift, #X (50%, 9 Hits)
Playing as Ermac
Preferred Gameplan: Zoning//Counter
Ermac has many tools at his disposal: A great teleport, specials with large
invisible hit boxes, and a fast projectile. He isn't easy to play, but he is
fun once learned.
In terms of normals, Ermac is far from quick, but his 1, 2 combo starter
clocks in at 10f, which is solid enough, especially for a zoning character.
B+1 and F+1 are too slow to use as pressure strings, but lead to some very
high damage punishment combos. F+4 hits low and causes stagger state. It's
not enough of a stagger to generate a safe-jump situation, but it is enough
to allow Ermac to follow up with a dash and any of throw, 1,2 string, or
another F+4. This gives Ermac another interesting trick up his sleeve.
Utilizing his F+4 and his reset effectively will have Ermac keeping any foe
on his/her toes. Also note that F+4 can be used in serveral combos, not just
the one BnB listed.
3, 1, 2 grants HUGE advantage on hit, enough to allow a safe-jump. Keep this
in mind. Against careless opponent’s Ermac can actually get a few chains of
jP, 3, 1, 2 or he can mix up 3, 1, 2 and F+4 with jump-in punches along with
his throw to create a bit of a mix-up game upclose.
Ermac’s Reset is a very valuable tool in his arsenal. It should be noted,
however, that it is easily avoiding by tech rolling backwards, so be aware
that if an enemy catches on, you're not likely to be nailing this one
repeatedly.
Force Push makes a great anti-air and covers a lot of area. It is great for
keeping Ermac’s enemies away and punishing them. He is possibly one of, if
not the absolute, best zoning characters in the game. His Fireball has quick
recovery and deals solid damage and is great for baiting opponents into
jumping into the Force Push. Keep Ermac’s throw in mind as a zoning tool as
well. Dash-Blocking is the only way to safely approach Ermac, and from a
blocking stance it is near impossible to counter the throw. Use it to create
some distance.
Ermac is also an amazing Counter-style character. He punishes hard.
Capitalize on your opponent’s mistakes. Unfortunately, Ermac is, himself,
very punishable. All of his specials leave him open for punishment at just
about anywhere inside half-screen. Hover Slam is notoriously bad for this and
must be used with extreme caution as the recovery is atrocious,
Any time any of his specials or combos launch the enemy across the screen,
Force Ball, or occasionally Hover Slam, should be used to keep pressure on
your opponent. Also, should Ermac win out with a jP against an airborne
opponent, he should land in enough time to catch the (still aerial) opponent
in a Forcelift. This fact combined with Force Push can make most opponents
afraid to try jump-ins on Ermac at all. Keep this as well as the option for
Hoverport in mind to initiate mind games
In terms of wake-up, Ermac’s best options are Force Push and Forcelift, both
of which receive invincible frames. The Force Push should be used to create
space or against an airborne opponent. Forcelift has more combo potential,
but a smaller hitbox and is more easily punished on whiff. Be careful using
this as many players will dash block in to bait the wake-up.
It's easy to annihilate enemies with Ermac, just hard to do it properly.
Fighting Ermac
Some of Ermac's best game goes into keep away tactics. Jumping at him is
dangerous due to the presence of Force Push, an excellent anti-air. Also note
that the hit boxes on Ermac’s X-Ray and Force Lift are both HUGE and extend
over his head. Ermac isn't much at projectile fights, but his teleport helps
him at fighting from afar to punish enemies with a better projectile game
than himself. Up close, he can chain practically anything to send you away so
be prepared to keep up an aggressive close-midrange game, and use your
superior close up combos and don't let him get too far. Stay out of sweep-
jump distance. This is Ermac’s sweet spot. You should also abuse cross-ups as
much as possible as he has very few, if any answers to it. Actually cross-ups
may be the MOST important tool in your arsenal against Ermac, and luckily,
the entire cast sports them.
Do NOT approach him without blocking on wake-up. He will Forcelift you and
then chain whatever to send you back across the screen. He really struggles
up close and personal, but it’s going to be a battle to stay there. He’s
going to try to hit you with a Force Push to put you out of his face. You
have to play a defensive rushdown or it’s going to work, blocking after each
string to prevent being Force Pushed away and then punish the Force Push.
Ermac has great specials, but all of them are punished on block. His Force
Lift and Force Push both leave him very vulnerable if you are anywhere near
sweep distance or closer. Also be aware that he has some amazing mind games
from full screen utilizing Hover Slam cancels. If you can read him, you'll
win out in the end; but if not, you're going to struggle.
Abuse dash-block to close in on him. Ermac really can’t do much other than
throw against a dash-blocking opponent, and once you get in on him, he’s not
so scary. Stay there and keep the pressure up. Rushdown characters do really
well in this match-up once they get in. It’s getting there and staying that
presents the problem.
Close distance and keep pressure up and soon you’ll be microwaving this
EasyMac.
Fatalities
Mind Over Splatter: D, U, D, D, Block (jump)
Pest Control: F, B, F, D, 4 (jump)
Stage Fatality: D, U, D, D, 3
Babality
D, D, B, D, 2
Ermac Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 10f 2 - 12f 3 - 12f 4 - 20f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 13f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
F+1 - 18f F+2 - 21f F+3 - 12f F+4 - 14f
B+1 - 21f B+2 - 19-51f
U+4 - 25f
Specials:
Forceblast - 19f [In air - 10f]
Forceport - 33f [EN - 33f] [In air - 29]
Forcelift - 13f
Forcepush - 14f
X-Ray - 23f
===============
Jade
===============
“This will be easy!”
[MKJAD]
Special Moves:
Boomerang (8%)
Reboomerang (13%)
D, F, 1
Boomerang Up (8%)
Reboomerang UP (13%)
D, B, 1
Boomerang Down (8%)
Rebomerang Down (13%)
D, F, 3
Shadow Kick (6%)
Eclipse Kick (10%)
D, F, 4
Shadow Flash (Invincible to projectiles)
Shadow Glow (Super Armor, Invincible to projectiles, Takes more damage)
B, F, 3
Staff Overhead (8%, yes it's an overhead)
Staff Smash (Leaps forward further, otherwise same)
D, B, 2
Staff Grab (8%, 2 hits)
Staff Slam (14%, 4 hits)
D, F, 2
X-Ray: Staff Buster (35%, 3 hits - Phasing)
Jade runs all the way across the screen for her attack. It's quicker than it
sounds, she gains a Super Armor, and she passes through projectiles. It can
be blocked, but otherwise it's a great X. The damage is also above average.
Secret Technique: Double Shadow Kick
Doing Shadow Kick twice really quickly will make Jade Shadow Kick again for
more damage (8%, 2 hits). This can be placed into any of her combos using
Shadow Kick. It can also be used with one (12%) or both (15%) Shadow Kick’s
enhanced. It may be advantageous to EN the first to gain armor. Enhancing
both is not recommended, as it only adds 3%. Also note that a Double Shadow
Kick will cause the enemy to be sent a full screen’s length away whereas the
single Shadow Kick puts distance closer to half screen between the opponent
and Jade. This adds to Jade’s zoning and space control significantly.
Basic Combos
Staff Overhead, dash, B+2, U+3 (23%, 4 Hits)
3, 4, Boomerang or Boomerang Down (15%, 3 hits) or Reboomerang (19%, 4 hits)
B+3, 2, Staff Grab (19%, 4 hits) or Staff Slam (24%, 2 hits)
B+2, #U+3 (16%, 3 hits)
B+2, dash, xx1, 2 dash, 1, 2, 4, F+3 (24%, 6 Hits)
F+2, 1, 2, Shadow Kick, xxShadow Kick (20%, 5 Hits)
3, Staff Overhead, dash, B+2, dash, B+3, 2, Staff Grab (31%, 7 Hits) or Staff
Slam (33%, 9 Hits)
B+1, Staff Overhead, dash, B+2, dash, B+3, 2, xxShadow Kick, xxShadow Kick
(33%, 9 Hits) or EN Shadow Kick (35%, 9 hits)
[Corner] 3, 4, 2, #1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, Shadow Kick, xxShadow Kick (33%, 11
Hits)
Enhanced Combos
U+3, EN Shadow Kick, Shadow Kick (22%, 4 Hits)
3, 4, EN Staff Overhead, dash, B+2, dash, 1,2, dash, 4, Staff Grab (33%, 9
Hits)
B+1, Staff Overhead, dash, F+2, Reboomerang Up, dash, F+4, Shadow Kick,
xxShadow Kick (36%, 10 Hits - 1 Bar)
[Reset] B+1, Staff Overhead, dash, B+2, dash, 1, 2, dash, 1, 2, Reboomerang
Up (1st hit MUST whiff – Reset), dash, B+1, Staff Overhead, dash, 1, 2, dash
4, Staff Grab (29%, 9 Hits + 37%, 11 Hits - 1 Bar) [Total: 66%, 20 Hits – 1
Bar]
X-Ray Combos
U+3, X (43%, 5 Hits)
B+1, Staff Overhead, dash, B+2, dash, 4, xxX (47%, 9 hits)
Playing as Jade
Preferred Gameplan: Counter//Zoning
Jade is a great counter-style character with limited zoning potential. The
problem with Jade is that you have to rely heavily, heavily on punishment
tactics. This means you have to know which of the other characters’ attacks
are actually punishable. Also, keep in mind that the “sweet spot” for Jade is
going to be just outside sweep distance.
Jade is fast. Her combos are pretty strong and come out quickly. Her
versatile Boomerangs and Staff Specials give her decent zoning ability, but
they are quite easy to anticipate and react to, and the Boomerangs are
better used as reset tools in combos. Jade is VERY versatile with great
rushdown potential and quick (albeit, relatively weak) combo strings & resets
with EN Boomerang, decent zoning tools in Boomerang and various Staff
Specials, and even amazing defensive potential in Glow/EN Glow. She can
really play whatever role you see fit.
U+3 is an amazing, amazing attack. It does everything. It’s an anti-air. It
goes over low projectiles, it’s mostly safe (it can be punished by only the
fastest specials), it even combos into X-Ray.
You have two main combo starters B+2, which is most effective as a punisher
for a blocked teleport, dive kick, or similar move that leaves a vulnerable,
airborne enemy and the ninja slides, and B+1, which is the combo starter of
choice for standing opponents. There is a problem with B+1, Staff Overhead
though. If B+1 is blocked, the Staff Overhead is very unsafe. Jade actually
has a solution to this. Because of the long attack animation for B+1, you can
actually input Staff Grab after you’ve already pressed the input for Staff
Overhead. this will override your Staff Overhead and the safe on block Staff
Grab will come out instead. Also keep in mind that Staff Overhead, B+2, U+3
will reach from just outside sweep range. In fact, mid range is where she is
most comfortable. Her staff destroys the chances of most characters reaching
her with normals, and her Shadow Kick allows a quick approach to defeat
teleporters or unblockable ranged attacks (Jax’s Ground Pound, Scorpion’s
Hellfire, Sheeva’s Ground Stomp, etc). Speaking of Shadow Kick, it should be
noted that there is actually more to the double Shadow Kick than adding the
2% damage. You can control spacing with this. If you do a dingle Shadow Kick,
you will place the enemy at about halfscreen distance away. A double Shadow
Kick will put them Fullscreen. You can also often follow-up a double Shadow
Kick with an empty Shadow Kick (whiffs) to close space. Keep your spacing,in
mind and always be aware of the location of the corners. Jade becomes
exceptionally deadly when she has cornered an opponent as she them employs a
full H/M/L mix-up arsenal. B+1, U+3, and B+2 all make excellent anti-air
attacks with great range should an opponent try to jump in to close the
distance. B+2 is usually the best option as it can combo into an U+3. F+2, 1,
2 combo starter can actually catch a teleporting opponent in his/her
vulnerable frames (think Scorpion, Smoke, Cyrax). A well timed Staff-Grab
will do the same.
Jade can easily adapt to face her enemies aggressively or defensively thanks
to her Donatello staff. She is a solid character from any distance, and she
should play all of these roles to keep an opponent disoriented. Adding Shadow
Flash or Shadow Glow to begin any of her combos is a great way to avoid
getting your combos canceled or to deal with zoners, spammers, or just help
to keep a decent pressure and advance. Jade’s EN Glow is the single best
special in the game. Offensively, it’s a great tool, but it’s even better
when used as a counter to enemy attacks. It is definitely worth the 1 bar of
meter as it can completely turn the tide of battle. While some moves gain
armor when enhanced, Jade’s EN Glow grants armor to ALL of her moves for a
short time frame. This makes her an amazing counter-style character as long
as she has meter. Also of note is that Jade should be using her 3, Staff
Overhead combo when she uses EN Glow instead of the B+1, Staff Overhead. The
reason for this is because B+1 has a very long animation and eats through
most of EN Glow. If you use the 3 starter, the Glow duration last throughout
Staff Overhead as well.
The thing with Jade is this: in order to effectively play Jade, you have to
be in constant control of the match. She doesn’t just play “on reaction” by
reading her opponent. You have to actually force them into attacks that you
are prepared to counter.
This is where Jade begins to waver: whereas most other characters simply
benefit from having meter or open up new options when it is available, Jade
needs meter to be competitive at all. Without her resets and her EN Glow, she
struggles to gain footing against most of the cast.
The Shadow Flash can also be used on wake up. The button press to add it
before her combos is precise though. Staff Grab and Shadow Kick both have
invincible start-up when used on wake-up. Also, keep EN Staff Overhead in
mind as it has armor anyway. Meter should be used for EN Glow and
Reboomerangs most of the time, but Jade does have a great X-Ray. Though her X
mixes nicely into her combos, it's best use is to punish spammers, zoners, or
just that stray projectile that never should've been fired. In fact, her X-
Ray just solidifies her status as the Queen of Counter. Wear the crown.
Fighting Jade
Jade is a difficult character to approach and even after approaching she's
difficult to stay near. Using projectiles around her is dangerous. Though she
doesn't have a teleport, she does have numerous other ways to deal with
projectiles, most notably, via Glow. She can also use her U+3 to go over low
flying projectiles and send you into the air. Also note that if Jade has
meter available, she can follow it up with EN Shadow Kick or even an X-Ray.
Be aware of U+3, but it shouldn’t really be feared unless X-Ray is available.
Note that you CANNOT punish it with a full combo string unless you are using
Kung Lao (His EN Spin can catch her and punish with full combo). Otherwise
just nail her with a quick special and try to get in to apply pressure.
It is very important to be aware of your location on the screen. Jade can
easily push her opponents into corners with her Shadow Kick and once there,
she mill keep you there with armored attacks and anti-airs.
One of her few problems is that her attacks have some pretty obvious cool
down that can be taken advantage of. Keep pressure on her, but with safe
combo strings (If you leave yourself open, she will punish). Up close, she
isn’t as dangerous as expected and has very little mix-up potential.
Stay out of range of her staff when approaching, then punish her when she
tries to use it. Always, always, always, be cautious with your offensive if
she has meter. EN Glow will give her combo starter of choice armor, and this
can easily give her the match.
Stay careful, force her to attack so you can punish her, and don't projectile
too much and you'll soon be knocking this pole cat off of her fence.
Fatalities
Head-A-Rang: U, U, D, F, 1 (fullscreen)
Half Mast: B, D, B, D, 4 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: B, F, D, Block
Babality
D, D, F, D, 4
===============
Jax
===============
“Bring it!”
[MKJAX]
Special Moves:
Energy Wave (7%)
Assault Wave (2 hits, 8%)
D, B, 2
Dash Punch (9%)
Dash Fist (2 hits, 17% - Armor)
D, F, 2
Note: Holding B during this move will make Jax slam the opponent on the
ground behind him.
Ground Pound (Close 8%, Med 11%, Far 15% unblockable)
Ground Quake (10%, unblockable)
D, B, 3 (Close)
D, F, 3 (Medium)
D, B, F, 3 (Far)
Gotcha Grab (3 hits, 11%)
Gotcha Beatdown (6 hits, 16%)
D, F, 1
Air Gotcha Grab (2 hits, 12%)
Air Gotcha Blast (2 hits, 15%)
D, B, 1
Overhead Smash (12%)
Elite Smash (2 hits, 15%)
D, U, 4
Back Breaker (3 hits, 10% - In Air)
1 +3
X-Ray: Brigg’s Bash (4 hits, 41%)
Jax's X-ray is unblockable. It's not exactly fast but it can catch an enemy
pretty easily. Especially in corners. One of the strongest X-rays in the
game, too. Some X-rays can slide under his though. Jax can't catch opponents
that are in the air, so be careful of that.
Secret Technique: Extra Slams, Ground Pound Cancel
Input the following during Jax’s throw:
- Triple Slam - Throw, 1+ 4
- Quad Slam - Throw, 1 + 4, 2 + 3
- Quint slam - Throw, 1 + 4, 2 + 3, 2 + 4
- Sex Slam - Throw, 1 + 4, 2 + 3, 2 + 4, 1+ 2 + 3 + 4
Jax can also dash cancel out of a Ground Pound.
Basic Combos
jK, Backbreaker (16%, 4 Hits)
c./m.Ground Pound, njP, dash, 1, jK, Back Breaker (7 hits, 24%)
c./m.Ground Pound, dash, B+1, 2, 4, Dash Punch (5 hits, 23%) or Dash Fist (6
hits, 28%)
c./m.Ground Pound, dash, F+2, 2, B+1, Air Gotcha Grab (26%, 6 Hits) or Air
Gotcha Blast (27%, 6 Hits)
m.Ground Pound, dash, 1, dash, 1, dash 1, dash 1, dash 1, Gotcha Grab (31%, 9
Hits) or Gotcha Beatdown (34%, 11 Hits)
f.Ground Pound, dash, Dash Punch (22%, 2 Hits) or Dash Fist (27%, 3 Hits)
2, F+2, B+1, Air Gotcha Grab (26%, 5 Hits) or Air Gotcha Blast (28%, 5 Hits)
B+1, 2, 4, Dash Punch (23%, 3 hits) or Dash Fist (30%, 5 Hits)
F+4, 1, Dash Punch (15%, 3 Hits) or Dash Fist (23%, 4 hits)
1, 2, Overhead Smash (18%, 3 Hits) or Elite Smash (22%, 4 Hits)
F+4, xxOverhead Smash (2 hits, 16%) or Elite Smash (3 hits, 19%)
[Corner] F+4, 1, 3, F+4, 1, 3, F+4, 1, 3 (34%, 9 Hits)
Note: If a combo can be done with c.Ground Pound or m.Ground Pound, m.Ground
Pound will inflict 2-3% more damage. Damage is shown with c.Ground Pound.
Jax cannot combo into his X
Playing as Jax
Preferred Gameplan: Rushdown
Jax is a difficult one to master. His combos are surprisingly weak, but he’s
insanely fast if you know which strings to sue with him. His dash is speedy,
and his dash punch is even quicker meaning he can close space quickly. The EN
Version also has armor meaning that he can be a scary rushdown character in
the right hands.
Jax's best shot is the corner. Thanks to his Dash Punch he is unstoppable if
the enemy is caught in the corner. Dash back, dash forward into a knock down
combo, dash back, dash punch, etc... He also has a scary corner combo. F+4,
1, 3 can be looped up to 3 times with proper timing and creates a great frame
trap that hits low. There are more damaging corner combos, but none with the
F+4 starter.
When it comes to normals, Jax is extremely fast. His 1 is only 8 frames. B+1
& F+2 are going to be Jax’ combo starter of choice for punishment combos as
they are a great deal slower.
Jax' Ground Pound is his signature technique. It’s unblockable with decent
damage, and can easily lead in to his most punishing combos. Though it's slow
and can be seen coming, careful planning and catching with these are key to
mid-screen Jax usage. Also of note is that his f.Ground Pound deals a
whopping 15%. This makes Jax very anti-turtle. Keep in mind that Ground
Pounds are cancelable as well and have almost no recovery. This can help with
some mind games. Mastery of Jax’s Quad Slam is essential. If you can pull off
the extra hits, that’s great, but it’s not necessary. With the Quad Slam, he
clocks in as 13%. Also, holding B after landing an EN Dash Punch will let you
throw the opponent in that direction. Useful for cornering them Do not get
into a zoning war. Jax’ projectile has horrid recovery and only deals 7%.
Similarly to Smoke’s OTG Smoke Cloud, Jax’s Ground Quake can hit an opponent
who hits the ground with the right timing for an added 10%. If you’re in the
corner and fast enough 1, 1, 1, 2 or F+4, 1, 3, F+4 1, 3 can be placed after
for a reset. An Overhead Smash will also always guarantee a Ground Quake
with proper timing.
When it comes to mix-up, Jax has a few options. F+4, 1, 3/4 is safe on block
and starts low. It can also be canceled into Dash Punch/Gotcha Grab. B+1, 2,
4 hits overhead on hit 2 and is also safe on block. Overhead Smash is also an
overhead (duh). D+4 is a decent poke, and in most cases can be followed up
with Dash Punch or Overhead Smash. Also, there’s the fact that Ground Pound
is unblockable, it’s highly punishable if an opponent catches Jax during
start-up, though. Also concerning Ground Pound: Jax’ 1, 2, Dash Punch has an
8 frame start-up meaning it’s quicker than most characters’ attacks.
Cancelling Ground Pound with dash 1, 2, Dash Punch will catch opponents off-
guard occasionally.
Wake-Up options for Jax include Dash Punch, Overhead Smash, and Gothca
Grab/Air Gotcha Grab. Gotcha Grab is a good option for an opponent who wants
to get in your face and Air Gotcha Grab will grab them out of an aerial
assault (the range is horrid, though). Overhead Smash is a nice surprise for
close turtling enemies, but I wouldn’t recommend it’s use often. The Dash
Punch is Jax’s go to wake up. It’s extremely fast and powerful and can easily
send rushdown enemies flying. It also has phasing.
Jax can be annoying if used correctly. A little bit of rushdown, and a
pseudo-frame trap make him a decent character. Just use your Dash Punch to
muscle your opponent into the corner and then let loose with the corner combo
and Dash Punches or F+4, 1, 3s. If you keep pressure on an opponent, you’ll
make your life much easier as a Jax player. He really struggles if the
opponent can create some distance Jax isn’t very powerful in this iteration.
I think it’s penance for Mortal Kombat: Special Forces.
Fighting Jax
Jax can a bit of a push over. It's not too hard to approach him. His
projectile isn't that great, and his anti-air has bad range. What you should
look out for is the Dash Punch. That thing is fast and will shut you down in
the air or on the ground. Effective use of it is VERY hard to deal with.
Zone him out. This is, absolutely, the best way to deal with Jax. His only
means of closing space is going to be his EN Dash Punch and that requires
meter. Be aware that he can reach you from just outside jump distance with an
EN Dash Punch. This means playing mid-range against Jax is risky. If you have
armored EN moves, using them on reaction to Dash Punch is a great way to shut
Jax down as Dash Punch and Ground Pounds are really all he has.
Don’t be too afraid to jump in despite his anti-air grab. It has horrible
range so he’s only going to catch you if you are VERY close (It will not
reach outside of about 1 dash’s distance, or just inside sweep range).
He moves quickly and his attacks are even quicker. Even Ground Pound is,
deceptively, not punishable on whiff. If you want to punish this move, you
have to get in on Jax before he hits the ground. Also be aware that his
Energy Wave fires quickly, but has a pretty noticeable recovery. You can win
out in projectile wars, it just takes some getting used to Jax’ rhythm.
Basically, Jax can present a problem if you’re not sure how to approach him
because he is very hard to punish with all of this moves that grant advantage
on block. The best strategy is going to be to zone him out. Otherwise, you’re
gonna have to play him from mid-rang and respect the Dash Punch. If you go in
close range, be sure that you’re better at the rushdown (i.e. Johnny Cage,
Sonya, Kung Lao) or that you can for sure get away from him (i. e. Kitana)
and soon you’ll have Jax AWOL… permanently.
Fatalities
Smash and Grab: B, F, F, B, 2 (close)
Three Points!: F, F, B, D, 3 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: D, F, D, 1
Babality
D, D, D, 3
Jax Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 8f 2 - 14f 3 - 17f 4 - 26f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 7f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
B+1 - 15f B+4 - 22f
F+3 - 24f F+4 - 9f
Specials:
Energy Wave - 23f
Dash Punch - 12f [EN - 13f]
Ground Pound - 41f [EN - 48f]
Gotcha Grab - 11f
Air Gotcha Grab - 15f
Overhead Smash - 28f [EN - 26f]
X-Ray - 36f
===============
Johnny Cage
===============
“I make this look easy!”
[MKJON]
Special Moves
Low Forceball (8%)
Double Low Ball (11%, 2 Hits)
D, F, 2
High Forceball (8%)
Double High Ball (11%, 2 Hits)
D, B, 2
Flipkick (9%)
Shadow Flipkick (16%, 4 Hits)
D, B, 3
Shadow Kick (8%)
Eclipse Kick (12% - Armor)
B, F, 4
Nut Punch (11%)
Nutcracker (15%)
B, D, 1
X-Ray: Ball Buster (37%, 4 Hits) [Parry]
Johnny Cage’s X is nothing short of game-changing. It is a parry that causes
ground bounce on resolution. It can, fairly easily, be chained into his BnB
for over ½ of an opponent’s life bar. He is also completely invulnerable
during start-up to anything other than low projectiles.
Secret Technique: Unknown as of now.
Basic Combos
sweep, xxD+1, Flipkick (16%, 3 Hits) or Shadow Flipkick (23%, 6 Hits)
2, 1, F+2, #Shadow Kick (22%, 4 Hits) or Eclipse Kick (25%, 4 Hits)
F+3, 3, xxNut Punch (21%, 4 Hits) or Nutcracker (25%, 4 Hits)
B+3, dash, 1, 1, dash, 4, 4, xxNut Punch (27%, 8 Hits) or Nutcracker (29%, 8
Hits)
B+3, dash, 2, 1, F+2, dash, 4, 4, xxFlip Kick (31%, 7 Hits) or Shadow
Flipkick (35%, 10 hits)
F+4, dash, F+3, 3, xxLow Forceball (23%, 5 Hits)
F+4, dash, 1, 1, dash, 1, 1, dash, 4, 4, xxNut punch (30%, 8 Hits) or
Nutcracker (32%, 8 Hits)
F+4, dash, 2, 1, F+2, dash, 4, 4, xxFlip Kick (34%, 7 Hits) or Shadow
Flipkick (37%, 7 Hits)
[Corner] F+4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2 xxNut Punch (36%, 9 Hits)
Note: All combos ending with Flip kick can be ended with Shadow Kick as well
to gain extra distance.
X-Ray Combos
X, F+3, 3, xxFlip Kick (45%, 8 Hits)
X, dash, B+3, dash, 2, 1, F+2, dash, 4, 4, xxFlip Kick (52%, 11 Hits)
Playing as Johnny Cage
Preferred Gameplan: Rushdown//Counter
Johnny Cage is all about the rushdown. He has some mix-up options, but they
are planted within the middle of many of his combos, most of which are safe
on block. This makes him very dangerous. Cage can tear through even a
blocking opponent handily.
B+3 and F+4 are his main combo enablers. The first is a pop-up and the second
an overhead with bounce. F+4 is slow (28 frames). Combos starting with it
should be used for the overhead property of as punishers. B+3 is only 11
frames making it the quicker of the 2 pop-up combo enablers. 2 and F+3 are
both only 9 frames making them great options for starting combos.
Cage’s uppercut is blaringly fast. Abuse this against teleporters and
opponents that tend to jump in. When going for rushdown, it’s usually better
to abuse combos ending in nut punch since you will stay close to the
opponent. Nut Punch will also leave them standing, thus preventing wake-up
attacks..
Also, keep in mind Johnny’s F+3, 2 string. It only does 9% (3% chip);
however, it leaves Johnny at great advantage if blocked and can be followed
up with another F+3, 2. This creates a frame trap in which the opponent can
only jump out. He or she cannot counter F+3, 2 on block.
In addition to his rushdown-centric moveset, Cage also tends to dominate the
airspace with Flip Kick and High Forceball serving as two of the best anti-
air attacks in the entire game. Flip kick is a great anti-air that almost
rivals Kano’s Up Ball. Use it often and let your opponent know that you
control the air space. If he or she is afraid to jump, it will make your
rushdown tactics much easier to pull off. Also keep in mind that eclipse kick
will land on an opponent not at the very peak of his or her jump as well, so
it is often impossible to jump over it.
Eclipse Kick is one of the best anti-zoning moves in the game. It travels
through projectiles, has armor, covers a great deal of space, and will even
break Sub-Zero’s Ice Clone on impact.
Cage has a good variety of wake-up moves, making him an excellent counter-
style character as well. Flip Kick covers aerial assaults, Nutcracker
prevents rushdown, and Shadow Kick will make it impossible for the opponent
to run with the EN version traveling fullscreen and being armored. You also
have X, which is always great to activate in response to a hyper aggressive
player.
Mastery of these tips will make your Johnny Cage a box-office smash.
Fighting Johnny Cage
Cage is a very rushdown centric character; however, he has plenty of tools to
turn the tide on anyone trying to play the rushdown in the match. For this
reason, zoning is the suggested means of defeating Cage. He has an extremely
hard time breaking through the defenses of characters like Sub-Zero and Shang
Tsung without using meter.
Should your character lack decent zoning options, a viable alternative game
plan is to play counter-style. This can be tricky though as most of Cage’s
moves have quick recovery, and he has some devastating frame traps.
You shouldn’t be trying rushdown, ever. Cage is likely better at it than you
and can be played as a superb counter-character in many situations. If you do
decide to mount an offense, you should try to stay at midrange all the time
anticipating a Shadow Kick. Unfortunately, very few characters do well at
mid-range (Read: Jade).
Stay out of the air. Cage sports, possibly, the second best anti-air game of
the entire cast (Kitana takes first). If you jump at him, you’ll be eating a
high forceball or EN Flip Kick for sure.
Let Cage set the pace of the fight, and then pick it apart, countering when
he comes in for the rushdown and zoning should he goes into counter-mode.
Doing this should have you stopping Cage just short of his big break.
Fatalities
Heads Up!: F, F, B, D, 3 (close)
And the Winner is…: D, F, D, F, 4 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: D, B, F, Block
Babality
F, B, F, 4
Johnny Cage Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 8f 2 - 9f 3 - 10f 4 - 9f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 7f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
B+2 - 16-64f B+3 - 11f B+4 - 22f
F+2 - 16f F+3 - 9f F+4 - 28f
Specials:
Low Forceball - 19f
High Forceball - 19f [EN - 22f]
Flip kick - 9f
Shadow Kick - 8f
Nut Punch- 18f
===============
Kabal
===============
“Let’s see what you’re made of.”
[MKKAB]
Special Moves
Gas Blast (9%, also in air)
Vapor Blast (13%, 2 Hits, also in air)
B, B, 1
Nomad Dash (Capture)
Nomad Charge (Capture, Phasing)
B, F, 4
Groundsaw (8%, Low)
Ground Blades 13%, 2 Hits, Low)
B, B, 3
Tornado Slam (11%, 3 Hits, Overhead)
Cyclone Slam (15%, 3 Hits, Overhead)
D, B, 2
X-Ray: Kabal’s Deep (34%,4 Hits)
Only has armor AFTER start-up. Damage scaling on this is horrible. Best used
naked or in one of the combos listed only. Deals average damage, but is great
for punishing zoning attempts.
Basic Combos
1, 1, B+4, Nomad Dash, B+1, 2, 1, dash, 1, dash, F+3, 2, Tornado Slam (28%,
13 Hits) or Cyclone Slam (29%, 13 Hits)
2, 1, Nomad Dash, B+1, 2, 1, dash, 4, Gas Blast (25%, 8 hits) or EN Gas Blast
(27%, 9 Hits)
F+3, 2, Nomad Dash, B+1, 2, 1, dash, F+4 (24%, 7 hits)
B+1, 2, 1, dash, 1, dash, F+3, 2, Nomad Dash, step back, B+1 (whiff), 2
(whiff), 1, dash, 1, dash F+4 (29%, 10 Hits)
B+1, 2, 1, dash, 1, dash, F+3, 2, Nomad Dash, F+3, 2, Tornado Slam (32%, 12
Hits) or Cyclone Slam (33%, 12 Hits)
1, 1, B+4, xxNomad Dash, B+1, 2, 1, dash, 1, dash, F+3, 2, xxTornado Slam
(28%, 13 Hits) or Cyclone Slam (29%, 13 Hits)
[Corner] B+1, 2, 1, #B+1, 2, 1, #B+1, 2, 1, B+1, 2, 1, F+3, Groundsaw (36%,
14 Hits)
X-Ray Combos
1, 1, B+4, X (36%, 7 Hits)
B+1, 2, X (40%, 6 Hits)
F+3, 2, Nomad Dash, F+3, 2, X (40%, 9 Hits)
Secret Technique: Dash Cancel
By pressing B+Block, you can actually cancel Kabal’s Dash. Kabal can also
cancel his dash by inputting any of his other special moves. This gives him
insane mix-up potential being that Buzzsaw is a low attack, and Tornado Slam
is an overhead.
Playing as Kabal
Preferred Gamneplan: Mix-Up//Zoning//Rushdown
Kabal can do a little bit of everything as long as he stays on the offensive.
Gas Blast/iAGB and Buzzsaw are two of the best zoning tools in the entire
game and he has some of the best mix-up in the entire game thanks to Nomad
Dash cancel shenanigans. Nomad Dash is also a capture move, solidifying
Kabal as a jack-of-all trades.
Mastery of his Instant Air Gas Blast (iABG) is essential to play Kabal
effectively. The reason being that the iAGB has MUCH quicker recovery than
the standard grounded version. There are two primary methods of performing
this: U to jump and then immediately tapping B, B, 1 or hitting U+B, U+B, 1
VERY quickly. The second option is usually preferred. An effective Kabal
also requires mastery of the, slightly easier to execute, Nomad Dash Cancel.
This is the heart and soul of Kabal’s Mix-Up game. An opponent that is not
blocking will be hit with the Nomad Dash, Low Blockers will have Tornado Slam
to deal with, and a High Blocking opponent eats a Groundsaw. Also, keep
Groundsaw in mind against downed opponents, it will catch them on wake-up if
they are not employing an invincible attack. Keep Nomad Dash in mind as a
solid anti-air as well. The EN Nomad Dash is a perfect answer to xjP.
As far as wake-up goes, Kabal has Nomad Dash, Buzzsaw, and Tornado Slam. None
are armored, but all are very solid to allow him to apply mix-up even on
wake-up, Basically, everything about this character lends to an aggressive
mix-up. Even when zoning, Kabal employs a long range mix-up arsenal.
2, 1, Nomad Dash is Kabal’s punishment combo starter of choice because it is
much quicker than his F+3 or B+1 attacks. Keep it in mind for punishes which
leave very small windows. The downside of this is that 2, 1 has horrible
reach by comparison and requires that Kabal be VERY close. The reason for
ending certain combos with F+4 instead of a more damaging Groundsaw or Gas
Blast is because it leaves the opponent standing at the cost of roughly 2%
damage. 2, 1, 2 ends in an overhead and 1, 1, B+4 ends low, making both
decent strings to throw in for mix-up every once in a while.
Another thing to keep in mind: Kabal’s defenses are weak. For this reason, it
is often better to save meter for Breaker or EN Nomad Dash. It’s not like his
X-Ray is all that spectacular anyway. The X-Ray combos should really only be
used if they will end the match (Not just the round, as that meter will be
more important for breaker round 2).
Kabal is very difficult to use and even more so to master, but once he gets a
good running start, it’s impossible to keep up,
Fighting Kabal
Kabal can do a little bit of everything, but his strings do not lend well to
punishment. His F+3 & B+1 are both 13 frames each meaning they are too slow
to really punish. This makes rushdown Kabal’s weakness. Stay on him, all the
while aware of the prospect of wake-up Groundsaw or Tornado Slam.
A great strategy for beating Kabal that can be exploited by a few characters
is using attacks with “hop” animations. (ie. Jade’s Staff Overhead, Mileena’s
U+4 or B+2) to actually go over the Groundsaw on wake-up and continue the
assault.
Kabal builds meter insanely fast, but he uses it just as quickly. Catch him
when he’s without meter and don’t let up. He has very few answers for xjP
without meter.
Keep in mind that this is one match-up where you do NOT want to be on the
defensive, Given his repertoire, Kabal can rip apart almost anyone if they
let him. This match will come down to a race to see who can deplete the
other’s lifebar first. To play him counter-style is going to be an uphilll
battle as each wrong read puts him at extreme advantage.
Should you decide to utilize zoning tactics, you’ve got a rough road ahead of
you as well. Not even Kitana and Mileena can keep up with iAGB with their iAF
and iAS, respectively. Kabal’s iAGB has insanely quick recovery. Not to
mention Groundsaw hitting low as another zoning option. Once he’s had enough,
he can opt to utilize meter and EN Nomad Dashg in. This, unfortunately makes
zoning wars with Kabal a losing battle.
Stay on him and don’t give him much breathing room. Do not try to outzone
him. He’s quick and he’s good at rushdown, but his defenses are poor. If you
stay on him, you’ll soon have him running in the opposite direction.
Fatalities
Hook Up: B, F, B, F, 1 (sweep)
It Takes Guts: D, D, B, F, Block (sweep)
Stage Fatality: D, D, 4
Babality
F, D, B, 3
Kabal Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 13f 2 - 9f 3 - 17f 4 - 12f
D+1 - 7f D+2 - 11f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
B+1 - 13f B+2 - 15f B+4 - 11f
F+3 - 13f F+4 - 9f
Specials:
Gas Blast - 15f
Nomad Dash - 18f [EN - 14]
Groundsaw - 15f
Tornado Slam - 21f
X-Ray - 24f
===============
Kano
===============
“…”
[MKKAN]
Special Moves:
Ball (11%)
Kano Ball (12%, 3 Hits. Charge by holding Blk. If charge > 3sec, unblockable)
F, D, B, F or
F, D, B, U
Down Ball (In Air Only. 8%)
Downward Ball (In Air Only. 16%, 3 Hits)
F, D, B, F or
F, D, B, U
Up Ball (11%)
Uprise Ball (13%, 2 hits)
D, F, 2
Knife Throw (9%)
Knife Toss (14%)
D, B, 2
Choke (9%)
Kano Choke (15%. Has armor)
D, F, 1
Air Throw (9%, 2 Hits.)
1+3 (in Air)
X-Ray: Just the Tip (41%, 4 Hits)
Kano's X-Ray is an unblockable grapple. It's slow, but it works wonders
against a turtle-ing enemy. and is a good move to stick in after a blocked Up
Ball since it has super armor. It's also good to use against an Ex Teleport
that has multiple hits (Smoke, Ermac, Scorpion). You will absorb the first
hit because of the armor and then grab on the second. Very useful indeed.
Note that it will NOT catch an airborne opponent.
Secret Technique: Unknown as of now
Basic Combos
jk, Air Throw (15%, 3 Hits)
jK, Air Ball (14%, 2 Hits) or Kano Air Ball (22%, 4 Hits)
B+2, F+1, xxChoke (19%, 3 hits) or Kano Choke (24%, 3 Hits)
B+2, F+1, xxKnife Throw (19%, 3 Hits) or Knife Toss (23%, 3 Hits)
F+3, B+2, dash, #2, 1, 2, Up Ball (26%, 6 Hits)
F+3, B+2, dash, #2, 1, 2, dash, B+1, 1, 2 (27%, 8 Hits)
B+1, 1, 2, dash, B+1, 1, 2, xxBall (31%, 7 Hits) or Kano Ball (33%, 8 Hits)
B+1, 1, 2, dash, 2, 1, 2. dash, 2, 1, 2, xxUp Ball (33%, 10 Hits)
[Corner] B+1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, #2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, xxUp Ball.(36%, 13 Hits)
Kano cannot combo into his X-Ray.
Playing as Kano
Preferred Gameplan: Juggle//Zoning
Prepare to be called a spammer! Kano doesn't have any truly spectacular
combos, but he has a few really nice juggles and one of the best zoning tools
in the entire game in his Knife Throw. It has amazingly fast recovery and
cannot be duck-blocked safely (2% chip damage). An opponent can simply duck
under the knife without blocking, but this leaves him/her open to Ball or an
EN Knife Toss. You should also take note that if you charge an EN Ball for ~3
sec, it becomes unblockable. EN Choke has armor, making it a very reliable
tool in Kano's arsenal as well.
B+1, 1, 2 is Kano's best combo starter as it leads into his most damaging
juggles, but 2,1,2 is easier to pull off.
F+3, B+2 will launch a standing blocking opponent and will let you pull a
juggle.
He has weapons for Crouch Blocking opponents, the major difference being that
the knife throw ender will send the opponent to the other side of the screen
for some zoning shenanigans, whereas Choke puts them within dash range to go
for another juggle.
Up Ball is your anti-air of choice, but don't forget that jK, Air Throw will
do more damage; so, if there's an opening for that, go for it. Up Ball is
punishable, but barely. It's comparable to the EN version of Cage's flip
kick. Only characters with quick uppercuts and those with good jab combos
(such as Sonya's 1, 1, 4 combos) will be able to do so effectively. This
makes it Kano’s Wake-Up attack of choice. Ex Choke can also be considered if
you want the armor.
Put these tips to good use and you’ll be UpBallin, Knifin, Jump Kickin’ and
Juggling’ your way to victory. A Kano Spammer will sometimes win, but a
really good Kano will do it with style. No Charge!
Fighting Kano
Combos that start with a jab are really good because they make Up Ball more
easily punishable with a combo. It’s still not easy to punish, but it is
possible. If you’re having trouble with this, a simple uppercut will work
just fine.
Baiting and avoiding his X-Ray is easy enough as you can jump over it with
proper timing, but it’s better to try and avoid blocking within his range
when he has X-Ray unless you have extremely quick reflexes.
Bear in mind that Kano’s main offensive will consist of Up Ball up close and
Knives from a distance with a few juggles thrown in. You can duck the knives
as long as you do not block, but be prepared as Kano’s Ball attack will
travel across the screen and catch you off guard. Be aware that he can juggle
from a high or low start and has a solid overhead combo dealing ~20%.
Do not rush a grounded Kano unless you are prepared to deal with Up Ball.
This is by far his best wake up option. EN Choke will be used, too due to the
invincibility it’s armor causes. Remember this should you decide to rush down
Kano.
Keep these tips in mind while playing Kano and you’ll have that shrimp on the
barbie.
Fatalities
Heartbreak: B, D, B, F, 1 (sweep)
Eat Your Heart Out: D, D, F, B, 4 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: U, U, B, 3
Babality
F, D, D, 3
Kano Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 11f 2 - 10f 3 - 15f 4 - 18f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 11f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
B+1 - 12f B+2 - 23f B+3 - 18f B+4 - 21f
F+1 - 12f F+2 - 12f F+3 - 15f F+4 - 28f
Specials:
Up Ball - 8f
Ball - 8f
Choke - 10f
Knife Toss - 16f
X-Ray - 28f
===============
Kitana
===============
“You will learn respect!”
[MKKIT]
Special Moves:
Fan Toss (7%, 2 hits, also in air - 8%)
Charged Fan (12%, 13% if fully charged, 2 hits, also in air)
D, F, 1
Upraise (Paralyzing)
Uplift (Paralyzing, faster)
B, B, 2
Cutting Fan (9%, 2 hits)
Fan Dice (19%, 4 hits)
D, F, 2
Square Boost (7%, also in air)
Square Wave (11%, Armor. also in air)
D, B, 1
Pretty Kick (10%, 2 hits)
Pretty Legs (13%, 3 hits)
D, B, 3
Fake Out Kick (6%)
D, B, 4
X-Ray: Big Fan (31%, 4 hits)
Kitana throw's her fans at the opponent, making this a projectile X. It can
also be done in the air or substituted for her regular fan throw in most
combos. Easily blocked, but not easily punished. Easily blocked, but not
easily punished. The scaling on this is horrid though. Try to only use naked
or in one of the combos listed below, if you must.
Secret Technique: Enhance Fan Cancel.
Holding 1 lets you charge Kitana’s Enhanced Fan and adds 1% of extra damage.
Dashing in this stance cancels the second toss of the Enhanced Fan and opens
combo potential.
jK, xxiAF. dash, 4, Fan Toss, dash, 2, Fan Toss, F+2, Fan Cutter (41%, 11
Hits)
2, 1, xxUpraise, dash, jK, xxiAF, dash, 4, Fan Toss, dash F+2, xxCutting Fan
(34%, 11 Hits)
F+4, 1, dash, 4, Upraise, dash, dash, #B+2, xxiAF, dash, #Fan Toss, 4
xxCutting Fan (40%, 12 Hits)
F+2, 1, B+2, xxiAF, dash, # Fan Toss, dash, 4, xx Fan Toss, F+2, xxCutting
Fan (44%, 11 Hits)
F+2, 1, 4, xxFan Toss, 4, xxFan Lift, dash, step forward, B+2, xxiAF, dash,
4, Fan Toss, dash, 2, xxCutting Fan (43%, 14 Hits)
[Anti-Air] B+2, xxiAF, dash, #Fan Toss, dash, 4, xxFan Toss, F+2, xxCutting
Fan (43%, 10 Hits) [TP]
[Anti-Air] Fan Toss, dash, 4, xxFan Toss, dash, 2, xxUpraise, dash, dash,
#B+2, iAF, #Fan Toss, dash, 4, xxCutting Fan (50%, 14 Hits)
[Corner] F+4, 1, B+2, xxiAF, #Fan Toss,Fan Toss, 3, 3, 3, Cutting Fan (47%,
14 Hits)
Enhanced Combos
2, 1, xxEN Fan, cancel F, F+2, 1, B+2, xxiAF, dash, # Fan Toss, dash, 4, xx
Fan Toss, F+2, xxCutting Fan (45%, 14 Hits- 1 Bar)
[Unbreakable] Upraise, iAF, Fan Toss, EN Fan, cancel F, Fan Toss, EN Fan,
cancel F, Fan Toss (24%, 10 Hits – 2 Bars)
X-Ray Combos
jK, xxiAF, dash, B+2, xxX (43%, 7 Hits)
B+2, Fan Toss, dash, #B+2, xxX (45%, 7 Hits)
F+2, 1, njP, dash, #B+2, Fan Toss, dash, B+2, X (47%, 10 Hits)
Playing as Kitana
Preferred Gameplan: Zoning//Juggle//Counter
Kitana doesn't do a lot of damage. But she is insanely fast. Her fans are a
difficult to dodge projectile and can set opponents up for combos if you
catch them airborne. Her Square Boost is a great pseudo-teleport and combined
with her fans gives her great control of the air.
D+1, D+1, D+1. I cannot stress enough how important Kitana’s D+1 poke is to
her overall gameplan. When someone gets in her face, ideally she wants to
push them back out so she can counter on her terms. D+1 allows her to do
this. Repeated D+1s or D+1 followed up with Cutting Fan will push the
opponent back far enough that you can go for the F+2, 1. F+2, 1 is a great
poke and is gonna be your combo starter of choice. It is a safe poke that
leads into a launcher and is also safe on block.
Note that you can immediate follow a blocked advance with Fake-Out Kick for a
bit of a mix-up game. 2, 1, 2 is a great combo to pop straight out of a
Square Boost and just a good combo in general. It covers a lot of ground and
a lot of space is all directions. Upraise makes a great anti-air and can set
up for powerful air combos. Mixing Pretty Kick and Fake Out Kick can confuse
enemies quickly.
If you have meter available, Kitana’s 2, 1, EN Fan combo makes a great
offensive tool. Keep it in mind.
Any technique that utilizes Kitana's speed is a great one. She is very
aggressive and fun to play as well. Be aware that mastering instant air fans
is basically a requirement to play her competitively. Hitting someone with
Fans from the air and then immediately with fans from the ground can be tough
to swallow.
Pretty much anything except Fan Toss can be used as a wake-up attack, and
none of them are armored. This can make Kitana’s wake-up game a little
tricky. While none of your attacks are completely safe, Fan Lift helps avoid
being rushed down. Cutting Fan has amazingly quick recovery and leaves the
opponent staggered making it your most aggressive option, and Fake Out Kick
gives a little bit of mix-up game on wake up for those that dash in and block
high hoping to avoid a wake-up. Square Boost can get you out of a tight
situation, but if used in the corner is not gonna do much good. Pretty Kick
should NOT be used as a wake-up attack it has long start-up and horrid
recovery making it inferior to Cutting Fan in almost every way.
One important trick that should be mastered for Kitana is the instant Air
Fan, or iAF. This is a simple trick and basically involves jumping and
throwing an Air Fan as close to the ground as possible. There are a few
reasons to do this. First of all, the iAF has much quicker recovery that a
standing ground fan. It also inflicts 1% more damage. There are several
different ways to actually achieve the iAF: U, D, F, 1, or a 270o motion
starting with U are the most common. An iAF can be followed up, almost
immediately, with a ground fan as well. Note that for iAF, Kitana flips
backwards and with grounded Fan Toss, she steps forward. Kitana can also do
an Instant Air Square Boost, or iASB using a similar method. The utility of
this is to fly over low flying projectiles or to attack an enemy while
closing space.
Another thing to note concerns implementing Kitana’s zoning game against
characters with Parry type attacks (Namely Nightwolf’s Reflect, and Smoke’s
Shake). A good strategy is to utilize Kitana’s iAF in such a way that the fan
actually travels over the opponent, this will often-times bait him/her into
using the parry and leaving him/herself open for punishment.
Apply these tips to your game and you’ll have everyone bowing before your
greatness.
Fighting Kitana
Kitana should be beaten close up. Her Fans are just too much to deal with at
long range, especially if your opponent is particularly adept at Instant Air
Fans. You can have great success at mid-range if your character happens to
accel there as well (Read: Jade). Don’t falsely assume that her game up close
isn’t good just because her projectile game is great. She sports a safe poke
combo starter in F+2 that leads into 40+% juggles. She may not be the
rushdown queen, but she can still dish out damage with the best of them.
Kitana sports possibly the best Anti-Air move-set in the entire game. For
this reason, it's best to not get into the air too much with Kitana, since
her anti-air and air specials are most likely better.
She is quick and hits repeatedly, but she doesn't hit hard. All that damage
can add up extremely fast, though. As aggressive as she is, she has little in
the way of defense. Punish her aggressiveness and play defensively when close
and it'll be over quick. Just be careful when attempting a rushdown on a
grounded Kitana. She has 5 different wake-up options, meaning outguessing her
is not an option.
Do NOT let her zone you out, though. She is almost always going to be better
at the projectile game due to the ease of throwing a Fan Toss immediately
following a low Air Fan.
Keep these tips in mind and you’ll be knocking the tiara right off of this
princess.
Fatalities:
Fan Opener: D, D, B, F, 2 (sweep)
Splitting Headache: F, D, F, B 3 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: F, D, D, 3
Babality
F, D, F, 4
Kitana Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 14f 2 - 11f 3 - 12f 4 - 17f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 15f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 15f
B+1 - 20f B+2 - 22f B+3 - 13f B+4 - 15f
F+2 - 18f F+3 - 18f F+4 - 17f
Specials:
Fan Lift - 24f [EN - 10f]
Fan Toss - 24f [EN - 22f]
iAF - 13f
iASB - 18f
Cutting Fan - 14f
Pretty Kick - 18f
Fake-Out Kick - 31f
X-Ray -
===============
Kung Lao
===============
“For the Shaolin!”
[MKKUN]
Special Moves:
Hat Toss (7%, U or D to aim)
Ultimate Hat (10%, stuns. Will hold an airborne opponent)
B, F, 2
Ground Hat (7%)
Grinding Hat (9%, hold 2 to hesitate)
D, B, 2
Spin (5%, launches)
Cyclone (9%, 3 hits, quicker, armor, moves forward)
D, F, 1
Dive Kick (6%, in air)
Multi-Kick (13%, in air, 3 Hits)
D+4
Teleport
Double Port (Armor)
D, U
1, Tele-Throw (11%)
2, Tele-Spike (7%)
3, Tele-Kick (9%, Can combo after)
4, Tele-Drop (13%)
X- Ray: Fist of the Shaolin (31%, 4 Hits)
Stellar X-Ray. One of, if not the best in the game. Can anti-air not just in
front of you, but behind you, too. Time it well and that teleporter giving
you grief just eats it. What makes it even better is you can do a follow-up
after it and do more damage.
Secret technique: Unknown as of now.
Basic Combos:
2, 4, Low Hat (14%, 3 Hits)
1, 1, 2, Spin, jK, xxDive Kick, F+3, xxSpin (26%, 8 hits) or Cyclone (29%, 10
Hits)
2, 1, Spin, jK, xxDive Kick, dash, 1, dash, 2, 4, 1+3, xx2 (33%, 10 hits)
B+3, 3, 3, Low Hat (14%, 4 Hits)
B+3, 3, Spin, jK, xxDive Kick, F+3, xxSpin (24%, 7 Hits) or Cyclone (27%, 9
Hits)
Tele-Spike, dash, 1, Spin, dash, 2, 4, 1+3, xx2 (26%, 7 Hits)
Tele-Kick, 2, 4, Spin, dash #2, 4, 1+3, xx2 (34%, 8 hits)
Enhanced Combos
1, 1, 2, Spin, njP, dash, 2, EN Hat Toss, dash 1, dash, 2, 4, 1+3, 2 (36%, 12
Hits - 1 Bar)
[Corner] B+3, 3, 3, EN Hat Toss, jk, Dive Kick, 1, 1, 2, Spin, Spin (33%, 11
Hits - 1 Bar)
X-Ray Combos:
1, 1, 2, Spin, jK, xxDive Kick, F+3, xxX, dash, 1, 4, 1+3, 2 (48%, 15 Hits)
1, 3, X, F+3, Spin (42%, 8 hits)
Tele-Spike, Spin, X (35%, 6 hits)
Tele-Kick, 2, 4, Spin, dash, X, xxdash, xxUppercut (50%, 9 Hits)
Note: Any combo ending in 2, 4, 1+3, 2 can be ended with 2, 4, 1+3, 4 for
about 1% less damage.
Playing as Kung Lao
Preferred Gameplan: Rushdown
Kung Lao is a rushdown character, through and through. He can do some average
zoning with Ground Hats and the occasional Hat Toss to try and get people to
come to him, or, to keep tricky anti-rushdown characters away (looking at you
Sub Zero) or make opponent’s likely to jump at him. Ground hat is the
projectile of choice in almost all zoning situations.
On the defensive, you want people to stop approaching on the ground and jump
at you, because Spin is the best anti air in the game, its nuts. Stop
uppercuting, keep Spinning. Spin is the move everyone hates Kung Lao for.
This great move comes out fast, but it is still unsafe on block. Successful
hit will launch the opponent high in the air and you can begin a juggle with
it.
On the offense, be varied. Don't get in a routine pattern, pressure with safe
strings and remember to throw when a string is being blocked. Keep them
reeling and don't stop, and make the most of your Spin launches. With KL’s 1,
1, 2, 1 string, If you leave out the last 1, you can cancel into Spin and
begin a big combo on a good hit confirm. If it’s blocked, you can do all four
hits and the string is safe. 2, 1, 2, 1, 2 is great it inflicts stellar
damage for a string, and inflicts a massive amount of chip damage (~10%). Not
safe on block though.
Kung Lao’s mix-up consists mainly of his 2, 4, combo starter. You can link
this into 1+2 for an overhead or Low Hat for a low.
KL’s 2, 4, 1+3 string can be ended with either 2 or 4, it’s recommended to
mash both of them for ease, or learn the proper timing: hit them as he grabs
the leg and puts it right to his hip. Note that it’s a just frame input (one
1/60 second), but pressing two buttons gives you twice the chance. Another
interesting little trick is that you can do an EN Low Hat and then do a Tele-
Grab. If the opponent blocks the hat, he or she is vulnerable to the throw
and if he or she doesn’t block, they’ll be hit with the Hat. EN Low Hat can
also be held by holding 2, this can be used to control space and can be used
to force opponents to block so that KL can move forward and low poke and
release the hat toss. The opponent is very likely to be hit in this scenario.
This can also be used to continue a juggle after a spin; however, it is quite
difficult.
F+3 is also a great move as is allows you to close distance or can be used in
combos.
You can also tack an X-Ray on pretty much anywhere that there is a Spin.
KL really only has 2 options for wake-up: Spin and Teleport. This makes Spin
your wake-up of choice. Note that Telport is HIGHLY, highly unsafe, Use it
sparingly. Dive kick is a great move, but highly punishable on block. It can
be whiffed to close the distance, or to anti-air other jump-ins, or reach a
zoner who thought that fireball was safe.
Kung Lao’s weakness is unsafe specials, so as soon as the opponent reads him
and knows what’s next, he’s done. The Shaolin warrior is very high risk, but
he’s also very high reward. Get out there and reap it.
Fighting Kung Lao
The trick here is to bait him and punish. At a distance, zone him out and
watch him take risky chances to get in. Punish a whiffed roll, or try and
catch a block on a divekick.
If he's staying just out of normals range and fishing for a Spin, punish it
with the fastest move you got. Admittedly, that doesn't apply to all
characters, but most of the cast has a punish for it. Kung Lao's Rushdown to
the core, so the best thing to do is keep him away from you. Zone him out
with projectiles if you have them, and respond to what he does. He’s going to
force you into the Counter role. Go with it. Punish all teleports if he gets
crazy. And if you learn even one thing, even one slight slight thing from all
this: DO. NOT. JUMP. IN. AT. HIM. You’re gonna get hit with a Spin.
If you are also a rushdown character and zoning isn't an option, it’s far
from over, still. When up close, remember most of his strings are safe, so he
will try to bait your attack and Spin it. Don't fall for it. Be more
defensive. Kung Lao is that character in a fighting game that you have to
adapt your strategy around a little bit, not all players can do the same ole
same ole against him and get a win. Let him set the pace, but also let him
know you’re in control of the match.
Play smart, watch him take a risk, then wreck him for it. Also, getting stuck
in the corner is generally bad in any fighting game, and this goes triple
against Kung Lao. Get outta there. Do not let him corner you. Keep in mind
that spin is his only viable wake-up option. If you decide to rush a downed
KL, you’re going to have to deal with it. Long pokes (Kitana’s D+1, Sonya’s
D+4, etc) can reach him from outside Spin range.
Keep these things in mind and Kung Lao will be spinning his way right into a
fatality.
Fatalities
Hat Trick: B, F, F, B, 2 (sweep)
Razor’s Edge: D, D, F, B, 1 (close)
Stage Fatality: D, F, D, 3
Babality
D, F, D, 2
Kung Lao Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 10f 2 - 7f 3 - 10f 4 - 22f
D+1 - 7f D+2 - 7f D+3 - 9f D+4 - 12f
B+1 - 28f B+3 - 11f B+4 - 19f
F+2 - 23f F+3 - 18f F+4 - 27
Specials:
Hat Toss - 21f [EN - 25f]
Ground Hat 19f [EN - 19-274f]
Spin - 6f [EN - 9f]
Teleport - 62f
1 - 10f
2 - 23f
3 - 5f
4 - 22f
Dive Kick - 6f
X-Ray - 6f
===============
Liu Kang
===============
“Show me what you can do.”
[MKLIU]
Special Moves:
High Fireball (7%, also in air)
High Dragon Fire (11%, also in air)
B, F, 1
Low Fireball (7%)
Low Dragon Fire (11%)
B, F, 3
Flying Dragon Kick (7%)
Flame Dragon Kick (13% - Armor)
B, F, 2
Bicycle Kick (6 hits, 14%)
Bicycle Steps (8 hits, 19% - Armor)
B, B, F, 4
Parry (8%)
Burning Parry (8%, launches)
Dragon Stance
D, B, 2
1 Final Act (7%, launches)
2 Fist of Death (9%)
3 Shaolin Flip (14%, overhead)
4 Moon Sweep (7%)
X-Ray: Fist of Flame (24%, 3 hits - 30%, 4 Hits)
Liu performs a forward cartwheel on his enemy. It reaches a little more than
half the screen and hits overhead.. It comes out quite fast, but when up
close can be ducked under easily. It's pretty weak damage-wise, but is easy
to add into certain combos.. Liu Kang's aggressiveness from far away or close
up, makes this Xray not exactly useful, but since it is an overhead and
attacks can be comboed from it, it’s great for punishment or turtles.
Secret Technique: Dragon Cancel
Liu Kang can dash cancel his Dragon Stance or cancel it into any special move
including his X-ray. It gives him some decent mind games, but the majority of
the attacks he can use in this stance are high attacks. Still a good move in
his arsenal.
Basic Combos:
3, 3, Flying Dragon Kick (3 hits, 13%) or Flame Dragon Kick (3 hits, 18%)
F+1, 2, Low Fireball (3 hits, 14%) or Low Dragon Fire (3 hits, 17%)
B+3, 1, 2, dash, F+2, 4, Flying Kick (25%, 6 Hits) or Flame Dragon Kick (29%,
6 Hits)
B+3, 1, 2, dash, xxB+3, 1, 2, dash, #B+3, 1, 2, dash, F+2, 4 (33%, 11 Hits)
2, 1, 3, #2, 1, 3, dash, 2,1 3, dash, xx B+3, 1, 2 (31%, 12 Hits)
2, 1, 3, #2, 1, 3, 2, 1, Flying Dragon Kick (9 hits, 28%) or Flame Dragon
Kick (9 hits, 30%)
F+3, 4, Flying Dragon Kick (13%, 3 hits) or Flame Dragon Kick (17%, 3 hits)
2, 1, 3, 3, 3, 4 (6 hits, 21%)
1, 2, B+1, xxBicycle Kick (21%, 9 hits) or Bicycle Steps (26%, 11 hits)
[Corner] B+3, 1, 2, B+3, 1, 2, #B+3, 1, 2, B+3, 1, 2, B+3, Low Fireball (42%,
14 Hits)
Enhanced Combos
Burning Parry, jP, iAFB, Flying Kick (19%, 5 hits - 1 bar)
X-Ray Combos:
X, xxBicycle Kick (10 hits, 38%)
B+3, 1, 2, dash, F+2, 4, xxX, step forward, 2, 1, 3, dash, B+3, 1, 2 (45%, 15
Hits)
X, step forward, xx2, 1, 3, 2, 1, 3, dash, B+3, 1, 2 (45%, 13 Hits)
B+3, X, dash, Uppercut (40%, 6 hits)
[Mid Only] 2, 1, 3, xx2, 1, X (36%, 9 hits)
Playing as Liu Kang
Preferred Gameplan: Rushdown//Mix-Up//Juggle
Wow, Liu can do anything. Really. He has a lot of tools for a powerful
aggressive fighter. Far away he can zone with low, high, and air Fireballs.
Up close, his juggles are wild and fast with great mix-up potential with his
2, 1, 3 hitting high, high, low and his B+3,1, 2 hitting low, high, high.
This makes him very hard to block up close without getting caught up in one
of his juggles. Use this to your advantage and keep pressure on your opponent
at all times.
He's quick on his feet, and Hell to escape from, but he's not that strong.
His speed covers his low strength so well it's actually hard to notice at
first, and his low strength combos really add up after a short while. Also
keep in mind that like most of the very skilled zoning characters, Liu can
actually perform an iAFB (Only with his High Fireball). This gives him
similar zoning properties.
Dragon Stance, is great for psyching out enemies or just having more options
to Liu's already bursting arsenal. It’s deceptively quicker than it looks and
can be dashed out of, or regular attacked from early.
Liu has several good wake-up options at his disposal, most notable, the Low
Fireball. This means if you are grounded, you can immediately start a zoning
game on wake-up. Other options include Bicycle Kick and Flying Kick, both of
which can be EN’ed for armor as well as Parry to catch overly aggressive
opponents.
Liu is freakin' vicious, no wonder he won the first four tournaments.
Fighting Liu Kang
Liu Kang is most likely faster than you. His combos are probably better. His
range probably swamps yours. Looking pretty bleak, eh? Not quite.
You've got two main options. Be more aggressive or outsmart him. Staying
close is dangerous, but being far means you'll probably be pelted by
fireballs, so close is better unless you’re using one of the zoner adepts
(Noob, Sindel, Kano, Kitana, Mileena) or one of the characters with a captue
(Sub-Zero, Cyrax).
Being highly aggressive isn't the best idea, because of Liu's Parry, but his
Parry is high, so using low combos to start off will often catch him off-
guard. Defensive fighting isn't that safe on Liu, he can poke very well at
blockers and has nasty mix-up game incorporated into his juggles. He can
catch most of the other characters, so a hit-and-run game isn’t likely to
work well, either. His specials do have a lot of cool down after failing, so
punish them if you can. Just like with Smoke, getting caught in one of Liu's
chains is murder on your health so breakers are more advisable against him.
Switch your tactics to keep him guessing, Don't get into a projectile fight
unless you are sure you're better, and keep in mind that his EN Flying Kick
has armor. Characters that can trap (Sub-Zero, Cyrax) or Teleport are your
best bet for slaying this dragon.
Fatalities
Fist of Flame: F, B, D, D, 3 (sweep)
The Beast Within: D, D, F, D, 4 (jump)
Stage Fatality: D, F, B, 3
Babality
D, D, D, 4
Liu Kang Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 9f 2 - 8f 3 - 13f 4 - 22f
D+1 - 10f D+2 - 9f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
B+1 - 14f B+2 - 15f B+3 - 10f B+4 - 16f
F+1 - 10 F+2 - 17f F+3 - 20f F+4 - 13f
Specials:
Fireball - 15f
Low Fireball - 17f
Flying Kick - 16f]
Dragon Stance - 18f
1 - 12f
2 - 14f
3 - 25f
4 - 15f
Bicycle Kick - 18f
Parry -
X-Ray - 28f
===============
Mileena
===============
“Let us dance!”
[MKMIL]
Special Moves
Sai Blast (6%, also in air]
Sai Bursts (9%, 2 Hits, also in air)
B, F, 1
Teleport Drop (7%, also in air)
Tricky Teleport (9%, 2 Hits, also in air)
F, F, 3
Leaping Neckbite (7%)
Leaping Lunch (11%)
B, F, 2
Ball Roll (5%, launches)
Smashing Roll (8%, overhead, launches)
B, D, 4
X-Ray: Femme Fatale (33%, 7 hits)
Decent damage if done naked. Horrid damage scaling on this one, though.
Still, better used in combos or as a punish for a whiffed attack.
Secret technique: Backstabber
If you land a B+2 Leaping Sai attack, Mileena’s Sai will be stuck in the
opponent’s back. This increases the damage of her Bite/EN Bite attack by 4%
or 1-2% if used to end a combo. This is actually more useful than it seems
given that B+2 is an overhead that goes over low projectiles (ie Kabal’s Saw,
Jade’s Boomerang Low, and Liu Kang/Sindel’s Low Fireball).
Basic Combos
jK, Teleport Drop (13%, 2 Hits)
4, 2, Teleport Drop, xxAir Sai, Roll, 4, 2, Teleport Drop (27%, 7 Hits)
Ball Roll, U+4, B+1, 4, dash, 1, 1, 2, xxBite (26%, 12 Hits) or EN Bite (28%,
14 Hits)
B+3, B+4 (9%, 2 Hits)
B+3, xxBall, U+4, B+1, 4, dash, 1, 1, 2 xxBite (28%, 13 Hits) or EN Bite
(29%, 15 Hits)
U+4, B+1, 4, B+1, 4, 4, Roll, B+1, 4, xxBite (35%, 14 Hits) or EN Bite (36%,
16 Hits)
F+3, Ball Roll, U+4, B+1, 4, dash 1, 1, 2, xxBite (30%, 13 Hits) or EN Bite
(31%, 15 Hits)
2, 3, Roll, U+4, B+1, 4, dash, 1, 1, 2 xxBite (33%, 14 Hits) or EN Bite (35%,
16 Hits)
[Corner] B+1, 4, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4 xxRoll, dash (under), 4, xxBite (38%, 15
hits)
Enhanced Combos
B+3, En Roll, #B+1, 4, B+1, 4, 4, xxBall, B+1, 4, xxBite (32%, 18 Hits - 1
Bar)
Note: You can end all combos ending with xxBite with xxSai Blast for the same
damage and knockdown.
X-Ray Combos
B+3, xxBall, U+4, B+1, 4, 4, xxX (38%, 13 Hits)
U+4, U+4, B+1, 4, 4, Roll, B+1, 4, 4, X (41%, 12 Hits)
2, 3, Ball, B+1, 4, B+1, 4, xxX (42%, 14 Hits)
Playing as Mileena
Preferred Gameplan: Mix-Up//Rushdown//Zoning
Mileena is a great Mix-Up//Rushdown character who, in addition, plays the
Zoning role deceptively well.
F+3 is a great poke option and can be canceled into Ball Roll for full combo.
B+2 is a good attack to use on reaction to low projectiles. Otherwise, it is
very situational and should be avoided for the most part, it is an overhead
and does leave a Sai stuck in the opponent’s back, giving a slight damage
boost (1-2%) to all of Mileena’s combos ending with Bite/EN Bite. Keep her
D+3 and D+4 pokes in mind. Her D+4 is tied with Sonya for longest reach in
the game and both D+3 and D+4 lower her hitbox, making her difficult to hit
with jP. Also note that it’s almost always better to end combos with Bite
(NOT EN Bite) as Bite causes the opponent to remain standing after the combo
(The EN version causes knockdown). Also keep the following in mind regarding
Mileena’s range: 2, 3 requires you be close, U+4 reaches from sweep distance
& F+3 from a little outside. B+3 requires you be a little closer than sweep.
Note that U+4 and B+1, 4 are both safe on block. Mileena’s 4, 2, string
should be the center of her offense.Mileena’s, She can also carry out full
combo off of 4, 2 as listed above. 4, 2 combo string is her combo of choice
for utilizing pressure. Ending with 4, 2, Teleport Drop as opposed to B+1, 4,
Bite might seem strange at first, however this combo is used to keep constant
pressure on an opponent. The Teleport Drop at the end of the combo will
whiff, but it places Mileena right next to a downed opponent. This is her
version of 50/50 as she can go for her own mix-up options. Also note that
this string is guaranteed off of a D+4 if it is unblocked. Also abuse B+3,
B+4. This string is NOT safe at all, but you will hit with it far more often
than you will miss and it will train opponents to crouch block, opening them
up for U+4. You should also use this string more often than the more
damageing B+3, Roll combo because the Roll cannot be hit confirmed and if it
is blocked, Mileena is punished by full combo.
Grounded Sai Blast is going to be your projectile of choice from range. Sai
Blast has amazingly quick recovery. This makes Mileena an excellent zoner if
need be; however, this is not where she excels. Her Teleport Drop can be used
to catch a jumping opponent and immediately followed up with iAS, Ball Roll,
xxcombo finisher of choice.
Also note that using U+4 to end many of the listed combos will cause a
“splat”, which can be followed up with a Teleport Drop to continue pressure.
B+3, EN Roll is a great combo starter. B+3 hits low, and EN Roll hits
overhead providing stellar low-to-medium mix-up. This is especially useful
against opponents on wake-up as her small hitbox tightens even further with
B+3 and completely avoids many characters wake-up atttacks (i.e. Kabal’s
Tornado Slam).
In Mileena’s case, instant Air Sai refers to using the Sai immediately upon
jump similarly to iAGB/iAF with Kabal/Kitana. Using iAS, Ground Sai and
Aerial Sai of varying heights makes it pretty much impossible to approach
Mileena from Fullscreen by creating a projectile wall. The best way to
achieve an iAS is by tapping U+B and then F+1. You can also do it by jumping
and immediately hitting B, F, 1, but this method is more difficult. Another
note concerning iAS is that if it is thrown out after a blocked Teleport
Drop, it will make it more difficult for the opponent to punish her. This
tactic actually jails some characters completely (Reptile). Keep in mind,
however that this makes it much easier for an opponent to land an uppercut.
Should Mileena find herself in a zoning war, she is pretty much guaranteed to
come out on top between her fast recovery, varying Sai heights, and Teleport
Drop. If closer than ¾ screen, Ball Roll punishes high projectiles with full
combo. If further away than that, Mileena will stop the Roll directly in
front of her opponent opening up a perfect opportunity for a throw.
Mileena’s Teleport Drop is one of the best teles in the game. The EN version
is great too. Since it looks deceptively similar to the normal version, it is
often hard for opponents to read the second hit is coming.
Mileena is the queen of mix-up. She has combo starters that hit H/M/L. She
has deceptive EN versions of her normal specials (Tricky Teleport is 2 hits,
making it harder to punish, & EN Ball Roll hits overhead).
When it comes to wake-up options, Mileena has Teleport Drop, Ball Roll, and
Leaping Neckbite. Ball Roll is great for careless approaches and high
projectile-counter, and Teleport Drop is good to punish projectiles should
the opponent decide to toss one while you’re grounded (Kabal is notorious for
this with Groundsaw, attempting to catch the opponent on wake-up).
Use her Mix-Up up close and her zoning tools from afar and you’ll be steeping
out of the flesh pits and into Khan’s throne.
Fighting Mileena
A good Mileena is going to be difficult to fight. She has some of the best
mix-up options in the game coupled with a great, great zoning tool. You’re
going to have two options: (1) present the better rushdown and keep pressure
on her so that she can’t mix you up, or (2) read her mix-up and counter.
Obviously option 2 is much more difficult, but more likely to succeed than
option 1.
If you go the counter route, you have to read her Ball Roll and Teleport and
bait them in with projectiles. Both of these moves are punishable with AA
combos on block. Speaking of Anti-Air, should you have an anti-air attack
(Sheeva & Jax' Anti-Air Throws), or even one with high priority in the air
(CSZ's Dive Kick), you can utilize it against Mileena's Teleport Drop.
Be careful with your zoning. A Ball Roll under any of your projectiles will
have you eating ~30%. Other than that, stay diverse. Mileena thrives against
predictable opponents, so keep your options open and don't try to play
defensively unless you're sure you can read her.
Fatalities:
Be Mine: B, F, B, F, 2 (jump)
Rip Off: B, F, B, D, 3 (jump)
Stage Fatality: D, D, D, 1
Babality
D, D, F, B, 2
===============
Nightwolf
===============
“Ancestors, give me strength!”
[MKNIT]
Special Moves
Shoulder (9%)
Power Charge (12%, 2 Hits – Phasing, Armor)
F, F, 4
Lightning (8%. Unblockable.)
Thunder Storm (8%. Unblockable. Lanches)
D, B, 3
Arrow Shot (6%)
Multi-Arrow (5%-15% 3 Hits, 5% each.)
D, B, 1
Reflect (Reflects projectiles.)
Absorb (Absorbs projectiles. Restore health.)
D, B, 2
Axe Swing (5%)
Tomahawk Bash (9%, 2 Hits)
D, F, 1
Choke (12%, 2 Hits)
Strangle (16%, 4 Hits)
D, F, 2
X-Ray: Ancestor’s Call (34%, 3 Hits)
Hits from just within sweep range. Deals solid damage. Nightwolf is great at
building meter with Shoulder and Lightning, so it’s very likely that he will
use X-Ray during the match. Note that his meter is usually better used for EN
Lightning/Shoulder, but it’s always nice to have the option for unbreakable
damage. Do remember that it is a bit slow.
Secret Technique: Unknown as of now
Basic Combos
1, 1, 1, xxChoke (21%. 6 hits) or Strangle (25%, 8 Hits)
B+1, 1, 1, xxAxe Swing, dash, 2, Choke (28%, 8 Hits) or Strangle (32%, 10
Hits)
B+1, 1, 1, xxAxe Swing, Axe Swing, dash, 1, 1, Arrow Shot, Shoulder (33%, 10
Hits)
B+2, 2, Axe Swing, Arrow Shot (20%, 4 Hits) or Multi-Arrow (26%, 6 Hits)
B+2, 2, Axe Swing, Axe Swing, B+2, Choke (34%, 7 Hits) or Strangle (37%, 9
Hits)
F+3, 1, Axe Swing, Axe Swing, B+2, Choke (33%, 7 Hits) or Strangle (35%% 9
Hits)
F+3, 1, Axe Swing, B+2, Axe Swing, dash, 1, dash, 1, 2, 2, Shoulder (37%, 10
Hits) or EN Shoulder (38%, 11 Hits)
[Corner] F+3, 1, 2, F+3, 1, 2, #F+3, 1, 2, Uppercut (43%, 10 Hits)
Enhanced Combos
EN Lightning, B+2, Axe Swing, dash, 1, 2, 2, Shoulder (31%, 7 Hits – 1 Bar)
F+3, 1, Axe Swing, B+2, EN Axe Swing, B+2, Choke (40%, 9 Hits - 1 Bar)
X-Ray Combos
B+1, 1, 1, xxAxe Swing, Axe Swing, dash, 1,xxX (48%, 10 Hits)
F+3, 1, Axe Swing, B+2, Axe Swing, dash, 1, xxX (49%, 9 Hits)
B+2, 2, Axe Swing, B+2, Axe Swing, dash, 1, 2, xxX (52%, 10 Hits)
Playing as Nightwolf
Preferred Gameplan: Counter//Rushdown
Be ready to spend a ton of time in the lab. Even Nightwolf’s simple strings
tend to be stubborn with timing. His 1, 2, 2, 1 string can be a pain to land
successfully, and canceling it into Shoulder and Choke is a necessity. When
you attempt his combos with the jab juggles (dash, 1), he can cause quite a
headache. The good news is this: once you master him, it’ll be your opponents
who have the headache.
Nightwolf boasts, arguably, the best special move set in the game. This is
the reason to pick-up Nightwolf. His Axe Swing is one of the best
launchers/anti-airs around, with the EN version hitting High, Med and causing
a bounce, making it great for extending combos or using as mix-up. His Choke
is another great move, perfect for ending combos with and doubles as an anti-
air. His Arrow Shot projectile is safe on block, even at close distances but
inflicts just below standard damage for projectiles (6%). The EN version,
however, is one of the best projectiles in the game hitting up to 3 times for
15%. Also, keep in mind that any time you hit an airborne opponent with an
Arrow, you can follow it up with a Shoulder. Nightwolf’s big three special
moves, Reflect, Lightning, and Shoulder Charge, play an integral part in his
gameplan and solidify him as a counter-type character. Shoulder Charge is
incredibly good. It is safe on block (but not on whiff) and causes knockdown
on impact. It is also a surprisingly good anti-air. This will be NW’s most
used special. Use it to condition your opponent and Shoulder Charge him or
her everytime they attempt to advance. EN Lightning on opponent’s wake-up is
guaranteed unless the opponent uses an advancing wake-up attack or quick
teleport. Both versions are also unblockable, meaning that once an enemy has
been trained to block and duck thanks to Arrow Shot and Shoulder, he or she
is wide open to Lightning. Reflect guarantees that Nightwolf will not lose a
projectile war. He’ll be packing double the firepower by sending his
opponent’s own projectiles back as well as a few arrows/lightning bolts of
his own. Absorb, the EN Reflect, restores a portion of health.
The only wake-up attack you need is Shoulder Charge. The EN version boasts
armor and the second hit is an overhead, making it one of, if not the
absolute, best advancing specials in the game. Reflect is also an option on
wake-up to consider if your opponent is projectile-happy, Choke/Strangle and
Axe Swing/Tomohawk Bash are also viable options for an opponent who plays a
bit more “in your face” and work extremely well against jump-ins.
Use this information, and you’ll be channeling the ancestors in no time.
Fighting Nightwolf
A good Nightwolf is one with a very powerful offensive pressure. He plays up
close, can easily close in on zoners with a power charge and though his mix
up game isn’t exactly top notch, he seems to have every kind of counter or
combo for a turtling character. His weakest play is his defensive game
though. Forcing a Nightwolf to retreat will give him only his arrows and
lightning for support, both of which can be easily overcome with the proper
timing. Never turtle against Nightwolf, it’s best to counter his abilities
with an aggressive amount of mix ups. That isn’t to say that Nightwolf can be
easily zoned out. He has Reflect, which can reflect most projectiles as shown
below and absorb even more for health with the EN version. You can play the
zonign game against Nightwolf, but it’s going to be an uphill battle if he’s
quick on the draw with Reflect.
He has a technique for every situation, but his defense up-close is still
weak. Most likely you’ll have to play by his terms or bait him into Charging
or jumping towards you. If he jumps any anti-air will take him. But if he
charges, it can easily be defeated by ducking (without blocking), then
uppercutting or if you’re quick enough, unleashing a combo. As for his
Lightning its primary use is to punish defensive players. Don’t give him a
good reason to use it. Play carefully, because it is unblockable. But a
whiffed Lightning means a lot of easily punished recovery time for Nightwolf.
A quick dash type move (Reptile’s Elbow Dash, Jax’s Dash Fist, Jade’s Shadow
Kick, etc.) can escape a Lightning and may guarantee damage, but a simple
jump away works wonders too.
Blocking high most of the time will stop his more powerful combos from
wreaking any real havoc on you and you shouldn’t randomly try to jump at him
because of the aforementioned Axe Swing or even a well-timed Choke. If you
can play smart, carefully, and aggressively, then you will send him to meet
his ancestors.
Fatalities
Little Off the Top: D, F, D, B, 4 (jump)
Ascension: D, D, F, B 1 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: D, D, D, Block
Babality
F, B, F, B 1
Reflect List
Nightwolf can Reflect/Deflect/Absorb the following:
Baraka – Spark
Cyber Sub-Zero – Ice Ball
Cyrax – Sticky Bomb, Net [Deflect]
Ermac – Forceball
Jade – Boomerang
Jax – Shockwave
Johnny Cage – Forceball
Kabal – Gas Blast
Kano – Knife
Kitana – X-Ray, Fan Toss
Kung Lao – Hat Toss, Ground Hat
Liu Kang – Fireball
Mileena – Sai
Nightwolf – Arrow Shot
Noob – Shadows [Deflect]
Quan Chi – Skull
Raiden – Electricity
Reptile – Force Ball, Acid Spit
Sektor – Missile, Up Missile [Deflect], Homing Missile
Shang Tsung – Fireball, Ground Skull [Deflect], Up Skull [Deflect]
Sheeva – Fire Blast
Sindel – Fireball
Sonya – Energy Ring
Stryker – Grenades, Gun Shot
Sub-Zero – Ice Ball
Kratos - Apollo’s Bow, Golden Fleece
Skarlet - Dagger Toss, Blood Ball
Rain - Water Bubble [Deflect]
Freddy - Glove Toss, Freddy Fingers
Nightwolf can Absorb, but not Reflect/Deflect the following:
Cyber Sub-Zero – Ice Beam
Kabal - Groundsaw
Kung Lao – EN Hat Toss
Sektor – X-Ray
Sub-Zero – Ice Beam
Kenshi - X-ray
Nightwolf Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 9f 2 - 13f 3 - 17f 4 - 19f
D+1 - 7f D+2 - 7f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 11f
B+1 - 22f B+2 - 19f B+4 - 17f
F+2 - 20f F+3 - 11f
Specials:
Shoulder Charge - 10f
Lightning - 31f
Arrow Shot - 36f
Reflect -
Axe Swing - 19f [EN - 21f]
Choke - 20f
X-Ray - 21f
===============
Noob
===============
“Fear me!”
[MKNOO]
Special Moves
Ghost Ball (Blocking disabled.)
Spirit Ball (3%. Blocking disabled. Confused – Controls are inverted)
D, F, 1
Black Hole (Above, Behind, Front, 3% - Unblockable. Teleports opponent to
sweep range.)
Darkness (Above, Behind, Front, 4%, then 7% - Unblockable. Teleports opponent
to sweep range.)
a. D, B, 2
b. D, F, 2
f. D, F, B, 2
Teleport Slam (10%, 2 Hits)
Teleport Smash (14%, 4 Hits)
D, U
Shadow Charge (8%)
Saibot Charge (11%, 2 hits)
D, F, 3
Shadow Upknee (6%)
Saibot Upknee (9%)
D, B, 3
Shadow Slide (7%)
Saibot Slide (10%)
B, F, 4
X-Ray: Together Again (36%, 3 Hits)
Blockable and possible to jump over. Comes from the opposite side of the
screen, making it a little harder to anticipate. It’s easy to combo into
(basically any of his chains that end with the launch kick). And as an added
bonus, it puts you about ½ screen distance away upon resolution, which is
perfect range for Shadow zoning.
Secret Technique: Unknown as of now
Basic Combos
jk, Teleport Slam (16%, 3 hits) or Teleport Smash (19%, 5 hits)
2, 1, Ghost Ball (7%, 3 Hits) or Spirit Ball (10%, 3 Hits)
2, 1, 2, Shadow Slide (18%, 4 Hits) or Saibot Slide (20%, 4 Hits) (*)
F+4, 3, xxShadow Charge (19%, 3 Hits) or Saibot Charge (22%, 4 Hits) (*)
B+2, 1, 4, xxShadow Charge (18%, 4 Hits) or Saibot Charge (21%, 5 Hits) (*)
B+1, 2, 1, xxGhost Ball (11%, 4 Hits) or Spirit Ball (13%, 4 Hits)
B+1, 2, 1, 4, xxShadow Charge (21%, 5 Hits) or Saibot Charge (23%, 6 Hits)
(*)
[Reset] B+1, 2, 1, 4, a.Black Hole (reset) Shadow Charge, F+4, 3, xxShadow
Charge (16%, 4 Hits; 26%, 5 Hits) [Total: 42%, 9 Hits]
Note: Combos with a (*) can have Shadow Charge or Shadow Slide substituted
for similar damage/same, but with a high/low mix up respectively. Use your
judgement for which is better for what situation. Technically a Teleport can
be substituted as well, but is not recommended since the shadows put more
space between you and the enemy.
Enhanced Combos
[Corner] 2, 1, 2, EN Shadow Upknee, 4, 4, 2, 1, 2, Shadow Upknee, Shadow
Upknee (42%, 10 Hits – 1 Bar)
X-Ray Combos
B+2, 1, 4, xxX (39%, 6 Hits)
2, 1, 2 xxX (43%, 6 Hits)
Playing as Noob
Preferred Gameplan: Zoning
When applying zoning pressure, it’s a good idea to mix up your Shadow Charge,
Shadow Slide, and Darkness. If the opponent attempts a projectile war,
Darkness will catch him/her and set them up for easy juggles.
Noob lacks solid mix-up options, however, the second hit of B+2, 1, 4 is a
medium strike as is the third hit of B+1, 2, 1, 4. Both chains end in a “keep
away” kick. Also worth noting is that the second hit of Noob’s Evil Twin
string (B+1, 2, 1, 4) hits a little further than sweep range. This is
valuable information because, at times, it may be advantageous to whiff the
first hit in order to catch an opponent outside of his/her own attack reach
with the second.
Teleport Slam is a great, great attack; however, do not become overly reliant
on it as it is HIGHLY punishable. A blocked Teleport Slam will have Noob
eating an uppercut at best and a full combo at worst. Noob’s Shadows are his
weapons of choice and rightfully so; they’re quick and hard to punish outside
of sweep range. Inside sweep range, Shadow Upknee is your only viable option
as it will generate distance if it hits and is safe on block and the
animation causes Noob to tighten his hit box. It is also a good answer for
teleports. Outside of sweep range, a good mix-up of High/Low hits with
Charges and Slides is preferred. Blackhole should be tossed in from time to
time to attempt to catch an opponent off guard and land a juggle ending with
the launch kick or to force him/her into making play errors for you to
capitalize on with the shadows. Shadow Charge should be used following each
Teleport Slam as it forces the opponent into blocking again unless he or she
possesses an advancing wake-up attack. (Failure to block or jump will result
in eating a shadow). Most people will not jump at Noob since Shadow Upknee
ranks with Up Ball (Kano) and Flip Kick (Johnny Cage) as one of the best
anti-airs in the game.
Ghost Ball is tricky, but it serves Noob best in one of two ways: (1) Against
a cornered opponent (2, 1, 2, Ghost Ball.) to set up for Noob’s Corner combo
and (2) to enable naked X-Ray or Teleport Slam on an opponent that can’t
afford to take the damage.
For Wake-Up options, Noob has Teleport Slam and All 3 Shadows. Teleport Slam
should VERY rarely be used as Wake-Up. Shadow Upknee is your wake-up of
choice if you need a “get off of me” move, the EN version can be followed up
with a Shadow Charge to really push an opponent back and put you back in
prime zoning range.
Keep these things in mind, and you and your little buddy will be out inciting
fear in everyone in no time.
Fighting Noob
Stay on him like black on coal, seriously. Noob cannot handle rush down
pressure with anything other than Shadow Upknee and all of his EN moves lack
armor, so the only time you really even need to worry about it is on wake-up.
Do NOT try to initiate a zone war with him unless you are Kitana, Kano,
Mileena, or Sindel. These are the only characters in the game that even stand
a chance at winning out in a zoning war against a competent Noob.
Be aware of his mix-up options. He has no low or medium combo starters at
all; however, he does have a few medium hits littered throughout his BnBs,
but no Low hits, so if you are blocking a Noob string up close, use standing
block. The possible hit from a Shadow Slide is worth the risk compared to a
full combo that could force you into a corner.
On that note, stay out of the corner. Noob’s only really impressive combo
damage-wise can only be performed in the corner. You should also be very
cautious about jumping in on Noob. Shadow Upknee is a pain, and should Noob
decide to use his EN version, he can follow that up with a Shadow Charge and
put you right back to square one, within prime zoning range.
Also, be aware of his blockable, but hard to evade Teleport Slam and his
unblockable, but easily avoidable Blackhole. A good mix up of these combined
with alternating Shadow Attacks can really cause headaches from all the mind
games. If you see a Blackhole portal drop behind you, be prepared for the
Shadow Charge. Even on block, this guy is going to push you back into the
portal and open you up for a juggle. This is your cue to go on the offensive
and rush him down.
Stay focused, and stay close. Dash block to close distance and always block
Shadow Upknee and you’ll soon have the shadow twins crying on each other’s
shoulders.
Fatalities
Make a Wish: B, F, B, D, 4 (jump)
As One: D, D, B, D , Block (jump)
Stage Fatality: F, D, F, Block
Babality
F, U, F, 1
===============
Quan Chi
===============
“You will serve me in the Netherrealm.”
[MKQUA]
Special Moves:
Skeletal Boost (Health Boost or 1% Damage Boost - Random)
Skeletal Buff (Health Boost and 1% Damage Boost)
D, B, 4
Ground Burst (Close, Med, Far, 7%)
Ground Blast (Close, Med, Far, 10%, Unblockable)
c. D, B, 1
m. B, F, 1
f. D, B, F, 1
Note: Ground Blast is also referred to as “Rune”.
Skull Ball (8%)
Skull Chomp (11%, slight stun)
D, B, 2
Sky Drop (7% - Forward or Back)
Sky Stomp (4 hits, 17% - Forward or Back)
D, B, 3
f. Hold F
b. Hold B
Trance (1%)
Mesmerize (1%, drains meter)
B, F, 3
X-Ray: Amulet Assault (32%, 3 Hits)
Quan Chi flashes the opponent...with his amulet. It's much faster than
expected and has more range than it looks like it should. It's blockable, but
has Super Armor. The damage isn't too great, but it's a worthy tool in his
arsenal.
Secret Technique: Directional Sky Drop
Sky Drop, B or F: Quan Chi can aim his Sky Drop by pressing Forward or Back.
Making this move even more useful and dangerous than it already is. It can be
used to get behind the enemy or right in their face, avoiding the cool down
of an enemy blocking it and counter attacking with a grab. Skillful and
planned usage of this technique is essential for a stylish and tricky Quan
Chi.
Basic Combos
jK, Sky Drop (13%, 2 Hits)
1, 1, 2, f.Sky Drop (4 hits, 17%) or f.Sky Stomp (7 hits, 24%)
1, 1, 2, Trance, njP, jK,xxSky Drop (25%, 7 Hits)
1, 1, 2, Trance, B+2, 1, step forward, B+2, 1, dash, xxuppercut (32%, 9 Hits)
U+3, Trance, B+2,1, dash, B+2, 1, dash, uppercut (27%, 7 Hits)
B+2, 1, dash, xxB+3, 3, xxTrance (4 hits, 19%)
B+2, 1, step forward, B+2, 1, dash, 1, 1, 2, trance, jP 1, 1, Sky Drop (35%,
12 Hits) or Sky Stomp (39%, 15 Hits)
B+3, 1+2, dash, 3, xxTrance, dash, F+1, 2, 1+2 (25%, 8 Hits)
B+3, 1+2, dash, B+2, 1, dash, 1, xxTrance, dash, F+1, 2, 1+2 (31%, 10 Hits)
Enhanced Combos
[Reset] B+2, 1, step forward, B+2, 1, dash, 1, 1, 2, trance, jP 1, 1, Sky
Drop, (reset), dash, 2, 1, EN Ground Burst, (reset), dash 2, 1, EN Ground
Burst, (reset), dash, 2, 1, EN Ground Burst (35%, 12 Hits; 17%, 3 Hits; 16%,
3 Hits, 16%, 3 Hits) [Total: 84%, 21 Hits – 3 Bars]
X-Ray Combos:
Trance, X (4 hits, 33%)
1, 1, 2, Trance, njP, X (8 hits, 37%)
B+3, 1+2, dash, B+2, 1, dash, 1, trance, dash, F+1, 2, xxX (44%, 11 Hits)
B+2, 1 step forward, B+2, 1 dash, 1, trance, dash, F+1, 2, xxX (48%, 11 Hits)
Playing as Quan Chi
Preferred Gameplan: Counter//Mix-Up//Juggle
Quan Chi isn't exactly strong, but he's surprisingly fast. His combos are
quick and, with a little imagination, can mix in nicely with his specials.
First of all, let’s talk about this massive, massive reset combo. This is
also known as the Rune Trap. The damage listed is against an opponent that
does not block after the first EN Rune. Note that blocking opponents will
only take ~9% less total damage. Of course, the bad thing about the Rune Trap
is that the full combo will cost you all 3 bars of super, but I can’t imagine
a much better use for it. Also note that the combo can be cut short at any
time there is a (reset) if you want to save/don’t have the meter.
The best follow-up for a Rune Trap is definitely the B+3, 1+2 combo starter.
as it offers great mix-up and is just hard to block in general.
Trance is a great move, it's a combo ender and a beginner, allowing Quan Chi
to chain several combos at once. It also reaches approximately ¾ screen, but
cannot consistently grab airborne opponents. Skeletal Boost seems to be a bit
underrated. The Damage Boost on it can change a 19% combo into a 30% combo
and lasts for one whole combo. It doesn't seem to go away until Quan Chi
finishes a combo or at least gets one hit in. The boost will fade if QC is
hit, though. Health Boost is great for obvious reasons. Still, it should be
used sparingly as the cooldown is quite long. Following an uppercut is a good
time to consider activating it, but beware of characters with teleports. Sky
Drop is a great and tricky teleport, but if overused, can easily become
Quan's downfall since it's blocked easily and punished heavily. Also Quan
Chi's Corruption combo (F+1, 2, 1+2) is one of his most powerful base combos.
It is also a good mix-up option as it hits high-low-high. Use it, and use it
often. Another great mix-up option is his Annihilation combo (B+3, 1+2) as it
hits low and then medium and causes a bounce.
Mesmerize can be a great tool if used correctly, draining one bar of meter
from the opponent. However, it should NEVER be used outside of combos as the
risk of giving up your own meter for a possibly whiffed attack is not worth
it.
Sky Drop is Quan Chi’s only wake-up option, but it’s a pretty good one. EN
will increase the damage, and give you some space from an overly aggressive
opponent. Another viable option is using the Directional Sky Drop to force
the landing somewhere other than on top of the opponent.
All in all, Quan Chi has some great mix-up options, but is limited by his
slower movement speed and lack of really great specials. Still, he’s fun to
play as and is great at mind games with his mix-up game, Trance, and
Directional Sky Drop. Use the things highlighted here and your foe will be
the next to join your army of specters.
Fighting Quan Chi
I know he looks scary, but he's not that bad. His combos aren't too strong so
don't fear them too much. What you should worry about is his keep away
abilities and his mix-up game. Ground Burst, Skull Ball, Trance, all these
moves smash you from a far and lets him punish you for the smallest mistakes.
His Boosts are rarely ever used, but note that hitting him before he laughs
will cancel the boost.
Stay close, and pressure him, all the while punishing for failed combos and
mix ups. Watch out for those. He loves to start and end combos high and/or
low so be guarded should you choose to go on the defensive against him.
Keep in mind that his only wake-up is the incredibly easy to avoid and
incredibly punishable Sky Drop. So applying constant pressure is a good way
to keep the sorcerer down. Be aware that he can use the Directional Sky Drop
to get around and make himself harder to hit.
Be aware that he can start combos High, Medium, or Low, so blocking in any
capacity is never truly safe against Quan Chi. You must stay especially
guarded if you’re going to play defensively against him.
Be aware of his mix-up game and on the look-out for sky drop and trance and
you can send this necromancer back to the Netherrealm.
Fatalities
Beat Down: F, F, D, D, 1 (sweep)
On Your Knees: D, F, D, F, 4 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: B, F, D, 2
Babality
F, D, B, 2
===============
Raiden
===============
“Thunder take you!”
[MKRDN]
Special Moves
Lightning (7%)
Bolt (13%, 2 Hits)
D, B, 1
Electrocute (8%)
Shocker (8%, Armor)
D, F, 2
Electric Fly (10%, 2 Hits)
Thunder Fly (10%, 2 Hits, Armor)
B, F, 3
Teleport
Sparkport (Teleports twice, Armor)
D, U
Vicinity Blast (7%)
Vicinity Burst (10%)
D, B, 2
X-Ray: Shock Therapy (34%, 4 Hits)
Raiden’s X-Ray deals pretty average damage and is above average when it comes
to damage scaling. It is not easily worked into his combos; however, it can
be and it makes for a very good punish. It can also function as an anti-air.
Keep in mind it reaches further than expected (About jump distance)..
Secret technique: Unknown as of now.
Basic Combos
F+2, 4, #Electric Fly (22%, 4 Hits)
F+4, dash, B+3, 1, xxElectrocute, dash, B+3, 1, xxElectric Fly (29%, 8 hits)
B+3, 1, 2, dash, Electrocute, dash, B+3, 1, 2, Electric Fly (33% 9 Hits)
1, 2, 1, Electrocute, B+3, 1, 2, Electric Fly (29%, 9 Hits)
3, 3, 4, Teleport, Electrocute, B+3, 1, 2, Electric Fly (36%, 9 hits)
[Corner] 3, 3, 4, Vicinity Blast, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, xxElectrocute, 3, 3,
Electric Fly (41%, 14 Hits)
X-Ray Combos
F+4, dash, Electrocute, B+3, 1, xxX (40%, 8 hits)
3, 3, 4, Teleport, Electrocute, B+3, 1, xxX (46%, 10 Hits)
Playing as Raiden
Preferred Gameplan: Rushdown//Counter
Raiden hits hard and he hits fast. This, coupled with his teleport, which
serves as a “get out of jail free card” to get away from an assault or as a
good special to advance in on an opponent, makes Raiden formidable, indeed.
Raiden’s teleport lies at the very core of his gameplay. He will have to
utilize it frequently during the match to be effective. “Utilize frequently”
does not mean “spam”. The tele should be used either to close in or on
reaction to get away and counter. The reason being that it is VERY hard to
punish. Only very fast specials, normals, and uppercuts can do so; and even
then, the teleport must be anticipated. Keep in mind that Vicinity Blast
gives advantage on block, but is punishablr on whiff. EN Shocker is going to
be Raiden’s anti-air of choice as it has armor and can be followed up with
several different strings. Electric Fly is highly punishable. Again, Electric
Fly is highly punishable. It is Raiden’s ONLY highly punishable move. Do not
abuse it. On that same note, don’t be afraid to use it to check someone
either. Do not initiate zoning wars. Raiden’s Lightning is, for all intents
and purposes, a very average projectile. Don’t forget that it’s there though.
The EN version hits with 2 Lightning attacks. Note that you can combo off of
the back projectile if you are precise with your timing.
Raiden is, by no means, a mix-up character. His teleport, however, allows him
to play a weak mix-up game consisting of sweeps, throws, and his 3, 3, 4,
string. He can also teleport instead of finishing certain strings completely
(B+3, 1, 2, & 3, 3, 4). This can make Raiden exceptional frustrating to
punish for an opponent. Throw it in every once in a while. Raiden has no low
combo starters; however if his D+4 hits, it leaves him at advantage. Enough
so that he can actually dash in and perform a F+2, 4.
Electric Fly is really Raiden’s only wake-up option and should be used
sparingly.
When played correctly, the god of thunder really lives up to his name in MK9,
zapping through all the competition.
Fighting Raiden
The God of Thunder is deadly, fast, and strong. His attacks are quite easily
“spammable”. He has overhead launches, and his teleport is extremely quick
and hart to anticipate. The Electric Fly, a.k.a. “Superman”, can shut down
many opponents as well.
Always block high. He’s extremely strong and his combos are deadly, but all
of them involve either high or medium attacks for starters. His Electric Fly
is really easy to punish after blocking. In fact, all of his special moves
can easily be countered afterwards.
It’s a good idea to go into practice mode and play with Raiden’s teleport a
lot. You’ll be able to get a feel for how fast it is, because after you start
blocking high, Raiden will begin to teleport in to grab/sweep you. If you
learn the timing, you can stop his teleport with a a sweep or escape the grab
with a 1 or 3. It’s more likely that this will be the throw used on you, so
it’s better to try that.
Fatalites
Just a Scratch: D, F, D, F, 1 (Jump)
Transplant: B, F, F, D, 4 (Sweep)
Stage Fatality: D, D, D, 2
Babality
D, B, D, 4
Raiden Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 9f 2 - 11f 3 - 12f 4 - 18f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 12f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 15f
B+2 - 25f B+3 - 15f B+4 - 16f
F+2 - 12 F+3 - 25 F+4 - 30
Specials:
Electricity - 26f
Electrocute - 13f
Electric Fly - 8f
Teleport - 26f [EN- 41f]
X-Ray - 22f
===============
Reptile
===============
*Chomp, Chomp* *Hiss, Hiss*
[MKREP]
Special Moves
Slow Force Ball (5%, launches)
Slow Mega Ball (8%, charging makes Force Ball larger)
B, B, 1
Fast Force Ball (8%)
Fast Mega Ball (11%, charging makes Force Ball larger)
B, B, 3
Slide (8%)
Slime Trail (12%, 3 Hits)
B, F, 4
Acid Hand (11%, overhead
Reptilian Hand (9%, overhead, launches, armor)
D, B, 2
Invisibility (Makes Reptile translucent for 6 seconds)
Vanish (Makes Retile completely invisible and slightly boosts damage for 8
seconds)
D, U, 4
Acid Spit (8%)
Acid Stream (12%)
D, F, 1
Elbow Dash (11%, 2 Hits)
Reptilian Elbow (17%, 3 Hits)
B, F, 2
X-Ray: Tricky Lizard (33%, Phasing)
Very solid X-Ray. Deals about average damage, but travels full-screen has
phasing. Reptile can get much more use out of his BnB’s though, so use
carefully or to seal the match in your favor.
Secret technique: Unknown as of now.
Basic Combos
Fast Force Ball, Elbow Dash (whiffs), njP. #3, 2, Slow Force Ball, 3, 2, 1,
Slide (31%, 9 Hits) or EN Slide (33%, 11 Hits)
1, 2, 2, xxFast Force Ball, 3, 2, Slow Force Ball, 3, 2, 1, Slide (31%, 11
Hits) or EN Slide (32%, 12 Hits)
3, 2, 1, xxElbow Dash (whiffs), xxnjP, #3, 2, Slow Force Ball, Fast Force
Ball, #3, 2, 1, Slide (37%, 12 Hits) or EN Slide (38%, 14 Hits)
[Corner] 3, 2, 1, Acid Hand, 3, 2, 1, Fast Force Ball, 3, 2, 1, Acid Spit
(39%, 12 hits)
Note: Combos ending with 3, 2, 1, Slide can instead be ended with 3, 2, Acid
Stream to leave opponent standing. This costs 1 bar and does 1-2% less
damage.
Enhanced Combos
3, 2, EN Elbow Dash, Slide (29%, 6 Hits)
EN Acid Hand, xxFast Force Ball, Slow Force Ball, dash, 3, 2, xxAcid Spit
(25%, 6 Hits)
3, 2, 1, xxElbow Dash (whiffs), xxnjP, #3, 2, Slow Force Ball, 3, 2, EN Fast
Force Ball, #3, 2, 1, Slide (40%, 14 Hits)
X-Ray Combos
Fast Force Ball, X (36%, 5 Hits)
1, 2, 2, 1, X (38%, 8 Hits)
3, 2, 1, xxElbow Dash (whiffs), xxnjP, #3, 2, Fast Force Ball, Slow Force
Ball, #3, 2, 1, X (44%, 15 hits)
Playing as Reptile
Preferred Gameplan: Juggle//Rushdown//Zoning
Reptile is a Great Juggle//Rushdown character, but he also has great zoning
potential in Force Balls and Acid Spit. His movement is very awkward and a
little hard to get used to at first. His dash feels very clunky as well.
Force Balls are a great, great zoning tool because if one lands, it grants
full combo from anywhere inside fullscreen. Acid Spit is a very, very fast
projectile and deals slightly above normal damage for standard projectiles
(8%). Aside from using Force Balls to start juggle combos, Reptile can
straight up zone with them as well. Firing multiple Force Balls and Acid
Spits in rapid succession will get most opponents frazzled. Try to set a
pattern with them, and as soon as the opponent adapts, break it. Elbow dash
is the fastest move in the entire game. It is a solid attack that is also
useful for moving around the stage quickly. A good strategy utilizing Elbow
Dash is to fire a Slow Force Ball, then Elbow Dash in on the opponent. If he
or she is blocking, you get a free throw. Reptile’s Invisibility is an
interesting tool in his arsenal. While the regular version does not make
Reptile fully invisible, it does shroud him enough that it’s difficult to
tell what special or combo string he is attempting. The EN version will make
Reptile completely invisible and give a minor damage boost to Reptile (2-3%
added to combos). Both versions end if Reptile is hit with an attack or if he
blocks.
Fast Force Ball and Slow Force Ball are, for the most part, interchangeable
in combos, but you may only use one of each type in a juggle. Using Fast
Force Ball first will increase overall damage by about 1%. Also, on the topic
of Force Balls, often a fully charged EN Slow Force Ball can be used to give
Reptile “cover” so he can safely approach. Keep this in mind, especially if
Reptile is losing the life battle.
It is actually often worth it to end combos with Acid Stream because it
leaves the opponent standing and prevents a wake-up attack. An option for
dealing with wake-ups against a downed opponent is to fire off a Slow Force
Ball, then Elbow Dash in. This will snuff out most wake-ups.
Also, don’t be overly conservative when it comes to meter management. With
Elbow Dash, Force Balls, and Acid Spits, Reptile builds meter almost as
quickly as he spends it.
Reptile’s Mix-Up is limited. He has quite a few overhead attacks and Silde
hits low, and that’s about it. Also note that while it doesn’t combo, his D+4
can be cancelled into Acid Hand, which is often useful for mix-up.
Reptile’s throw should also be mentioned as it has an interesting property.
His neutral throw and forward throw actually serve two different purposes.
Reptile’s neutral throw/back throw should be used to create space. From here
you can begin to create zoning pressure. Reptile’s forward throw, however
puts the opponent within Elbow Dash distance meaning you can actually follow
it up with some rushdown tactics.
On wake-up your options include: Slide, Acid hand, Invisibility, and Elbow
Dash. All of which are viable options. Slide will advance while hitting a
standing opponent and Acid Hand is good to use on advancing opponents,
especially the EN version as it has armor.
All of these contribute to make Reptile one of the most versatile characters
in the game. He truly seems to have a tool for every situation. Effective use
of them will guarantee this Saurian isn’t going extinct any time soon.
Fighting Reptile
Reptile is strange. He’s slow to move, and yet, he can become surprisingly
fast at the same time utilizing Elbow Dash. His skills as a zoner are
extremely powerful with two, technically three, different projectiles. His
true power comes from his dangerous juggles, usually initiated from a
Forceball. The Forceballs can be mixed into combos, making Reptile extremely
dangerous anywhere on screen. His Acid Spit is a basic projectile, and is
actually quite fast, but you’re more likely to see forceballs. He has two
versions, fast and slow. His recovery on either is quite bad though so Dash-
Blocking quickly, or simply jumping over them, will get you there quickly.
Certain teleports aren’t advised in reaction to Force Ball, since Reptile
ducks when he launches them and you may miss, allowing him to juggle you.
Getting too close with jumps will allow Reptile to reach in with his combos
if timed right although he has no true anti-air.
Also, he has two moves that propel him forward, The Elbow Dash, and the
Slide. The Elbow Dash hits high and is very quick. It cannot hit an enemy in
the air, which is good and bad at the same time. It allows Reptile to pull
off very unique juggles for more damage any way, but you never have to fear
jumping over it. That said, it has barely any recovery on block, but can
still be punished if you time it right with very fast specials. The Slide is
more traditional, and hits low, but is still one of the quickest, if shortest
ranged slides in the game. Treat his Slide like any other, low block and
punish as it is just as highly punishable as the other iterations in the
game.
Reptile wants you close, but only on his terms. He has a somewhat poor mix-up
game and can mostly be stopped up close with high blocks. Turtling is
dangerous though because his Acid hand technique launches enemies into the
air for more powerful juggles and hits medium. An aggressive play style is
recommended to stop him. Most Zoning wars he will triumph at, and will
result in him rushing you down. He can’t handle close up fighting without it
being of his own terms though, so rush him down if you get a chance.
Enhanced Forceballs are probably one of the biggest worries some one fighting
Reptile can have. If he enhances a Slow Forceball it will grow to an insane
size, with charging, and will launch you for what will most likely be an
extremely damaging combo. But since it moves so slowly, Reptile can Dash in
front of it and force you into a corner or into his deadly claws. The best
counter to this is to teleport before he finishes charging, or zone him out
for space and block the Forceball. If he fires another Forceball the giant
one will disappear. If he enhances his invisibility, he will get a damage
boost. A quick projectile or two will stop that as he will turn visible
whether he blocks or not. Finally his X-Ray is a powerful counter for a
desperate Reptile against a Zoner, so projectiles may not be the best weapon
unless in certain cases since Reptile’s major zoning tool, Force Ball, grants
a full combo. Also be aware that Reptile probably builds meter more quickly
than any other character in the game except for maybe Kabal and Mileena.
Basically, since Reptile can switch from zoning to rushdown, you have to
adapt to zoning and rushdown. It sounds far more simple than it actually is;
however, it can be done. Just play smart and apply the things mentioned here.
If you can force him out of his comfort zone long enough to punish his failed
juggles, you can put Reptile back in his place…in pieces.
Fatalites
Acid Yak: F, F, D, U, 3 (Sweep)
Weight Loss: D, D, F, B, 1 (Sweep)
Tasty!: B, B, F, D, Block (Jump) [DLC]
Stage Fatality: F, D, D, Block
Babality
B, F, B, D,
Reptile Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 11f 2 - 11f 3 - 13f 4 - 18f
D+1 - 9f D+2 - 11f D+3 - 8f D+4 - 12f
B+1 - 15f B+4 - 18f
F+2 - 15f F+3 - 15f
Specials:
Fast Forceball - 29 [EN - 18]
Slow Forceball - 29f [EN - 18]
Slide - 12f
Acid Hand - 27f
Invisibility -
Acid Spit - 20 [EN - 21]
Elbow Dash - 6
X-Ray - 14
===============
Scorpion
===============
“Vengeance will be mine!”
[MKSCO]
Special Moves:
Spear (3%, stuns and )
Flame Spear (7%, Armor, stuns)
B, B, 1
Demon Fire (7%, unblockable)
Hell Fire (8%, unblockable)
D, B, 2
Teleport (9%)
Flameport (11%, 2 hits)
D, B, 3
Takedown (10%, 2 hits)
Takeout (12%, 2 hits)
D, B, 4
Air Throw (8%, 2 hits)
1+3
X-Ray: Scorpion Sting (30%, 3 hits)
Scorpion teleports under ground and appears behind his enemy, punching them.
This is a pretty quick X that's easy to catch some one with. In terms of
strength it's quite average though. It can be blocked, but Scorpion has Super
Armor and can slide under grabs, like Kano and Jax's X.
Secret Technique: Unknown as of now
Basic Combos
jK, xxTeleport, dash, 3, 3, xxSpear, xjP, F+2, 1, xxTeleport (34%, 9 hits)
3, 3, xxSpear, njP, dash, B+2, jK, xxTeleport, jK, Air Throw (36%, 10 hits)
3, 3, xxSpear, B+2, dash, 3, 3, xxTeleport, dash, 2, 1, xxSpear (26%, 10
hits)
2, 1, xxSpear, xjP, F+2, 1, xxTeleport (27%, 7 Hits)
F+4, xxSpear, xjP, F+2, 1, xxTeleport (23%, 6 Hits)
B+2, jK, xxTeleport, dash, 2, 1, xxSpear, xjP, F+2, 1, xxTeleport (28%, 10
hits)
2, 1+2, xxTeleport, dash 1, 1, 1, Spear, xjP, F+2, 1, xxTeleport (33%, 11
hits)
Enhanced Combos
[Corner] 3, 3, xxSpear, xjP, F+2, 1, EN Teleport, jK, Air Throw (38%, 11
Hits)
[Reset] 3, 3, xxSpear, njP, dash, B+2, jK, Teleport, jK, Air Throw, (Reset)
EN Hellfire (36%, 10 hits; 8%, 1 Hit) [Total: 44%, 11 Hits]
Note: Any combo ending in Teleport (but not Flameport or Air Throw) grants a
guaranteed Demon Fire.
X-Ray Combos:
jK, xxTeleport, dash, 3, 3, xxSpear, xjP, F+2, 1, xxX (45%, 11 Hits)
F+4, xxSpear, njP, dash, B+2, jK, xxTeleport, dash, 2, 1, xxX (44%, 11 hits)
2, 1+2, xxTeleport, dash, 1, 1, 1, Spear, xjP, F+2, 1, xxX (41%, 13 Hits)
3, 3, xxSpear, njP, dash, B+2, jK, xxTeleport, dash, 2, 1, xxX (45%, 12 Hits)
Playing as Scorpion
Preferred Gameplan: Rushdown//Juggle//Mix-Up
If Mortal Kombat needs a hyper-aggressive rush down character, then it’s got
Scorpion. Scorpion's combos are fast, and he hits hard. When Scorpion
combines his combos and juggles correctly, he becomes a powerhouse of a
fighter. His fast and sometimes surprising combos can easily catch opponents
off guard.
Scorpion's classic projectile, the Spear, does little damage, but it keeps
enemies close so they can be beaten efficiently. If blocked, it has a decent
recovery time, but it is punishable none-the-less. His Teleport is a bit
average compared to others, but any teleport is a great asset in this game.
His ability to mix in the takedown for defensive fighters, with his high
combos makes him confusing up close.
Finally, his ace in the hole against defensive fighters is the unblockable
Demon Fire. This move is great because it has tracking meaning it will follow
the opponent without specific inputs (A la Shang Tsung’s Ground Skulls and
Jax’ Ground Pound). You should also be mindful of your option to use EN Spear
against zoners to absorb a hit and pull them in for full combo. Also, NEVER
use a Spear outside of a combo unless it is EN. Ever. Get the picture?
Scorpion becomes truly scary in the hands of a very competent player. I have
noted that you may go for the unblockable Hellfire after a successful
Teleport. However, following a Teleport, the opponent is left with a stagger
state. Instead of going for the Hellfire, Scorpion can jP or utilize his mix-
up to go for another combo. This is what really makes him a powerhouse. After
an Air Throw, EN Hellfire is guaranteed. This can end matches, so keep it in
mind.
Note that Scorpion’s BnB starts with 3, 3, instead of the slightly more
damaging 2, 1. the reason for this is because 3 is 10 frames, whereas 2 is
12. 1 is also 12 frames which is the reason it is not used as a combo
starter. But, don’t forget about Scorpion’s 1, 1, 1 string. It is still one
of his best for the sole reason that it can be cancelled into spear and it is
safe on block.
The reason for ending a combo with Spear when there is already a Spear in the
combo is because this will down your opponent at your feet allowing to keep
the pressure up. Also keep in mind that if you do Scorpion’s [Corner] Combo
without the xjP while your back is in the corner, You will, instead, corner
the opponent.
In terms of Mix-Up, Scorpion has B+2 as an overhead combo starter and F+4 as
a low starter. He should also be incorporating lots of jP, xjP, jK, and
Throws (Use the throw anytime a jP is blocked). Use the stagger off of a
Teleport to make these safe. You can actually go for the mix-up in this way
any time you land a Teleport on a groudned opponent and it causes stagger.,
even in the middle of the above listed combos. The basic combo, 2, 1, Spear,
xjP, F+2, 1, Teleport (27%, 7 Hits), is particularly good for working this
strategy repeatedly with a jP or xjP tacked on the beginning.
Another small note is that Scorpion is particularly adept at punishing
whiffed teleports. Utilize his B+2 combo starter in this situation.
Wake-Up options for Scorpion include Teleport and Takedown. Takedown is used
against an advancing opponent and Teleport as more of an escape tactic, or to
set the opponent up for stagger and mix-up. Also keep EN Spear in mind as it
has Armor and grants full combo. Also, should you be grounded in the corner,
EN Teleport on wake-up is your escape plan.
All of these things combine to make Scorpion a 50/50 machine. The best part
about him is that he has so many options. Every time you land a combo, you
are given the choice of going for guaranteed damage or the mix-up. Keep your
options open and remain unpredictable and you’ll be burning em’ up in no
time.
Fighting Scorpion
Scorpion is extremely aggressive and quick, making punishing hard. Playing
defensively is dangerous with Scorpion's Demon Fire and mix-ups. Scorpion's
weakness is also one of his greatest strengths: his Spear. Scorpion will lose
most projectile fights with out Super bar on him, so attack him from far
away. If he gets dumb and decides to throw a naked Spear, remind him of why
that’s such a bad idea.
Prepare to mix your projectiles with an escape teleport (if available), or
block in case Scorpion tries to punish you. Finally you can try to out-fight
him up close, but be wary. Scorpion is most likely better close-up with all
his resets and mix-ups.
You should be constantly trying to bait him into making a mistake, be it by
teleporting into a block or throwing a naked spear so that you can punish
fully.
Keep in mind that while Scorpion has good mix-up and great damage output,
very few of his moves are safe and his fastest combo starter is still 10
frames. All pokes will beat this out with the slowest ones clocking in at 9
frames. If he gets close and you want him out of your face, poke relentlessly
until you create some breathing room.
With a little patience and some clever planning, Scorpion will be on a one
way trip to Hell.
Scorpion's Demon Fire//Spear Spam
Scorpion's Demon Fire is unblockable and hits on the ground only. To escape
it, the best idea would probably be to jump, but that will often lead to a
Spear to the face. There are a few ways to avoid this, depending on the
character you are using:
1. Jump anyway. Once Scorpion has fired his Spear, use a special move in the
air. Whether it be a projectile, a teleport, a grab, or something else using
that move will keep you in the air just long enough to avoid Scorpion's spear
and leave him open for a counter attack. Experiment to see which air specials
work best. For the characters that don't have air specials, a harder thing to
do would be an air punch. It keeps you in the air for a slight bit longer
than an air kick and may give you enough time to dodge the attack.
2. Eat it and counter. it doesn't do a lot of damage. If you have a character
with a teleport or escape technique (Kitana's Square Wave, Reptile's Elbow
Dash) use it to get close and prepare to fight up close. Only a foolish
Scorpion would Demon Fire while so close.
3. Escape through the small window. If they're spamming, then the Demon Fire
should be easy to anticipate. It has a very short start-up and if you are
using a fast enough character, you can dash through it or escape the flame
and punish the punisher.
Fatalities
Split Decision: F, D, F, 2 (close)
Nether-Gate: B, F, B, 3 (close)
Toasty: D, U, U, 2 (jump) [DLC]
Stage Fatality F, U, U, 1
Babality
D, B, F, D, 2
Scorpion Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 12f 2 - 12f 3 - 10f 4 - 22f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 10f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
F+2 - 19f F+3 - 26f F+4 - 17f
B+2 - 19f B+4 - 16f
Specials:
Spear - 13f
Demon Fire - 22f
Teleport - 35f
Takedown - 21f
X-Ray - 37f
===============
Sektor
===============
“I will show no mercy.”
[MKSEK]
Special Moves
Flameburner (8%)
Flame Thrower (12%)
B, F, 2
Teleport Uppercut (6%)
Metal Uppercut (11%, 2 Hits)
D, F, 4
Straight Missile (8%)
Double Missile (13%)
B, F, 1
Up Missile (Above, Behind, Front, 8%)
Homing Missile (8%)
a. D, B, 3
b. D, B, F, 3
f. D, F, B, 3
Leg Lift
U+3
4, Toe Kick (9%)
3, 4 Sneaky Kicks (2 hits, 11%)
X-Ray: Massive Missile (32%, 3 hits)
Sektor fires a powerful missile all the way across the screen, making this a
powerful projectile X-Ray. It does average damage and fires slower than a
regular missile, but can still be chained into Sektor’s powerful attacks
quite easily for ~40%.
Secret Technique: Pop, Lock, Cancel
Sektor can dash or special cancel the Leg Lift
Basic Combos
2, 1, xxFlame Burner (3 hits, 15%)
2, 1, xxTeleport Uppercut, 2, 1, xxFlame Burner (6 hits, 24%)
B+3, 4, xxTeleport Uppercut, 1, 2, xxFlame Burner (25%, 6 hits)
B+2, xxTeleport Uppercut, B+2, 1 (4 Hits, 27%)
Leg Lift, Toe Kick, xxTeleport Uppercut, F+2, B+1 (5 hits, 22%)
F+4, 4, xxTeleport Uppercut, B+3, 4 (5 hits, 25%)
1, 2, B+1, F+4, 4, xxTeleport Uppercut, B+2, xxFlame Burner (36%, 8 hits)
Enhanced Combos
1, 2, B+1, JK, xxTeleport Uppercut, F+4, 3, xxEN Teleport, B+2, xxFlame
Burner (45%, 11 Hits)
B+3, 4, xxTeleport Uppercut, F+4, 4, xxEN Teleport Uppercut, B+2, xxFlame
Burner (37%, 9 Hits)
X-Ray Combos
2, 1, xxX (5 hits, 36%)
B+3, 4, xxTeleport Uppercut, 2, xxX (7 hits, 37%)
B+4, xxTeleport Uppercut, 2, xxX (6 hits, 41%)
B+2, xxTeleport Uppercut, F+4, X (6 hits, 43%)
1, 2, B+1, F+4, xxTeleport Uppercut, 2, 1, xxX (44%, 10 Hits)
Playing as Sektor
Preferred Gameplan: Zoning//Counter//Juggle
Sektor is not exactly quick, nor does he seem strong at first, but his
juggling ability is surprisingly good, allowing for some low risk, high
reward combos. For the most part, his attacks aren’t safe at all. They leave
him with a lot of recovery on block, but those that don’t can easily be
combed into a teleport, and then into those unsafe, high damage
attacks. Both of the techniques on Leg Lift are bufferable, allowing Sektor
to instantly combo into his teleport and a potential 20%+ combo. Toe Kick
isn’t his only medium, but it is the only one that can consistently combo
into a special. Unfortunately, using the Leg Lift is risky and he usually has
better, albeit it more difficult to use, options.
Keep B+1 in mind as it is safe on block and doubles as an anti-air. It also
functions as a great GTFO move and is a superb way to start out any match.
Sektor can compete favorably at range or close up, and many of his combos
actually send the enemy flying, keeping more aggressive opponents away. From
afar, Sektor’s Rockets mow enemies down, giving him a clear advantage in most
projectile wars. His Up Missile doesn’t knock down, but is very useful for
keeping an opponent guessing or on the offensive. The Flame Burner is
generally unsafe in almost all situations and should be used to finish combos
or a match. It is also suprisingly effective against jump-ins making it your
other option for starting a match off.
And Sektor’s trump card is the Teleport Uppercut. It’s a teleport launcher,
giving him the best of both worlds and allowing him to combo easily into his
least safe, yet more powerful attacks. In fact, Meter for Sektor should
mostly be saved for breakers (in case one of his riskier attacks fail) and
the enhanced version, the Metal Uppercut, for more combo potential and wake-
up options.
Some of Sektor’s least safe, yet more powerful, combos and attacks involve
B+1. They launch the enemy a good distance away from Sektor and allow him to
begin his powerful zoning game. Of course, they are dangerous on block and
using these incorrectly will end with Sektor eating a full combo.
One technique that Sektor has if you’re willing to use a bar involves his
Enhanced Up Missile. It becomes a homing missile and moves a bit slower than
the regular missile. If you can time it right, a jP followed by B+3 will earn
a free combo. The missile will hit high, the jump in punch will hit medium,
and the kick will hit low and can be followed by 4, Teleport Uppercut for
numerous combos.
When it comes to wake-up, Teleport Uppercut and Flame Burner both have
invincible frames and make good choices. With Teleport being your go to wake-
up, but only if you know it’s safe. Flame Burner can be a cute trick to
employ against jump-ins.
A few last notes: Sektor’s sweep doesn’t have him duck, meaning that he is
susceptible to certain hits that would miss most other characters. Finally
never use the combo chain 1, 2, 4 for anything. The last hit will almost
always miss in a combo and can be blocked. Cancel into Flame Burner instead
as it deals more damage (~1%) and leaves the opponent standing, preventing a
wake-up. Follow this and stay unpredictable and you see why he’s, quite
possibly, the best built robot there is.
Fighting Sektor
From far away, you can expect to be pummeled by missile upon missile. Try and
fight back and you’ll most likely get knocked down, giving Sektor a clear
advantage. If it turns out you have a projectile that can match up with him,
a teleport will force you to eat a combo. A dash-blocking approach would be
great, but Sektor has his mix-up tools, which will instantly connect into a
teleport combo. Still, it’s possible to approach Sektor with baiting or dash-
blocking to him. You just have to exercise a bit of caution. Up close, he’s
not exactly aggressive, but his unpredictability and easily performed
teleport combos can throw you off. Even with a low amount of mix ups, just
one low or medium start combo can catch you with a health-devastating combo.
There are zoners who can punish Sektor better than others (Mileena) and
zoners with a low projectile (Sindel) may be his worst fear. The possibility
of an uppercut is lessened because of the zoner ducking to fire their
fireball.
As long as Sektor has meter, he is practically impossible to pressure since
he always has a wake up Metal Uppercut with armor that can pound you into a
combo if you aren’t careful. A defensive play style is best against him.
Dash-block to get close enough to bait him into using a poor or unsafe
attack, and then punish him for it. Countering whiffed attacks work just as
well. Sektor’s missiles are powerful, but they are very slow to launch.
Certain attacks (Scorpion’s Hellfire) or teleports can cancel it out
completely and can be slid under as well.
The double Missile cannot be ducked, but it’s rare that you will see one
outside of desperation. Playing just outside Sektor’s reach (especially his
B+1 attack which will push you back further), and punishing his unsafe moves
with a defensive or zone happy play style will dethrone the pampered prince
quickly.
Fatalities
Robo-Sek: F, D, B, F, 3
The Scarecrow: D, D, F, B, 1
Stage Fatality: D, F, D, BLK
Babality
B, D, D, D, 4
===============
Shang Tsung
===============
“Your soul is mine!”
[MKSHA]
Special Moves
Fire Skull (9%)
Triple Skulls (15%, 3 Hits)
B, B, 1
Up Skull (Above, Behind, Front, 8%)
Skull Storm (Above, Behind, & Front, 8%)
a. D, U, 2
b. D, F, 2
f. D, B, 2
Ground Skull (Close, Medium, Far, 8%)
Ground Skull (Close, Medium, Far, 8%)
c. D, U, 4
m. D, B, 4
f. D, F, 4
Soul Steal (8% - Morph into opponent with 30% damage boost - Lasts 5 Seconds)
Soul Capture (8% - Armor –Morph into opponent with 30% damage boost – Lasts 8
seconds)
F, D, B, 1
X-Ray: Your Soul is Mine (33%, 3 hits)
Shang Tsung’s X-Ray reaches just past ¾ of the screen (3 back dashes distance
from opponent, or one forward dash from Fullscreen). It’s very easy to combo
into from any of his mix-up options, and the damage is just below middle of
the pack as far as X-Rays are concerned. It will NOT hit a jumping opponent.
2 things should be noted concerning Shang Tsung’s X-Ray:
(1) It has armor. This makes it a decent wake-up option if you’re sure that
the 33% will finish the match.
(2) Unless the X-Ray will win you the match, it’s probably not worth it.
Shang can get 38% off of his most powerful fireball juggle for 1 bar. X-Ray
will give him 33% for 3, albeit it with less work.
Secret Technique: Unknown as of now
Basic Combos:
B+2, Soul Steal (14%, 2 Hits)
F+3, 4, Soul Steal (14%, 3 Hits)
B+1, 2, 1, dash, 1, 2, 2, Soul Steal (20%, 7 Hits) or Soul Capture (24%, 8
Hits)
B+1, 2, 1, Fire Skull (16%, 4 Hits) or Triple Skulls (20%, 6 Hits)
[Corner] 2, 2, 1, c.Ground Skull, #2, 2, 1, Soul Steal (36%, 9 Hits)
Enhanced Combos
B+1, 2, 1, 4, f.Ground Skull, Ground Eruption, #c.Ground Skull, m. Ground
Skull, f.Ground Skull (32%, 11 Hits – 1 Bar)
B+1, 2, 1, 4, f.Ground Skull, Ground Eruption, xxf.Up Skull, c.Ground Skull,
Soul Steal (34%, 12 Hits – 1 Bar)
F+4, 3, 4, f.Ground Skull, Ground Eruption, xxf.Up Skull, c.Ground Skull,
Soul Steal (36%,11 Hits – 1 Bar)
F+3, 4, m.Ground Skull, f.Ground Skull, Ground Eruption, xxf.Up Skull,
c.Ground Skull, Soul Steal (38%, 11 Hits – 1 Bar)
2, 2, 1, c.Ground Skull, m.Ground Skull, Ground Eruption, xxf.Up Skull,
c.Ground Skull (38%, 10 Hits – 1 Bar)
a.Up Skull, f.Ground Skull, Ground Eruption, back dash xxc.Ground Skull,
m.Ground Skull (33%, 7 Hits – 1 Bar) [Fullscreen]
a. Up Skull, jP, 2, 2, 1, c.Ground Skull, m.Ground Skull, Ground Eruption,
xxf.Up Skull, c.Ground Skull (47%, 12 Hits – 1 Bar)
Note: In most of Shang Tsung’s combos ending with “xxf.Up Skull, c.Ground
Skull, (xxSoul Steal)” you can finish with a.Up Skull or a 1, 2, 2 string
instead for ~2% less damage to avoid the Soul Steal.
X-Ray Combos:
F+3, 4, xxX (37%, 5 Hits)
B+2, xxX (38%, 4 Hits)
2, 2, 1, c. Ground Skull, dash, 2, 2, 1, xxX (45%, 10 hits)
a.Up Skull, jP, 2, 2, 1, c.Ground Skull, X (51%, 9 Hits)
Playing as Shang Tsung
Preferred Gameplan: Juggle//Zoning
Get ready to spend some time in the lab. Mastery of the combos listed above
is a necessity to play as Shang. You HAVE to know his mix-up combo starters
and be familiar with where each one causes an opponent to land. This is
crucial to ST’s zoning and mix-up game. a.Up Skull is a good tool for mix-up
as well as it causes stagger state on anyone hit with it. This is
particularly useful following a B+2 overhead. Also, implement his throw often
if possible, as you gain a small portion of health each time you use it (2%).
Shang Tsung requires very vigilant meter management. Fortunately, each of his
specials causes good meter gain. Each projectile gives 1/7 meter when blocked
and does 2% chip damage, making them excellent zoning tools and meter
builders. The meter is best served used in juggles for the Ground Eruption
and for use with Soul Capture on wake-up. Shang Tsung’s meter should probably
not be used for X-Ray except for in emergency situations. The same can be
said of breaker.
Shang’s Up Skull specials are amazing for zoning. Shang has very little
trouble controlling his opponent’s position on the screen utilizing these.
f.Up Skull prevents an opponent from advancing and should be utilized
frequently against jump-ins. b.Up Skull is less useful as, most of time, you
want them to be retreating; however it makes for a good juggle starter if you
use the b.Up Skull against a retreating opponent and then hit them with the
corresponding Ground Skull. Keep the a.Up Skull and 1, 2, 2 string combo
enders in mind. Not only does it prevent you from finishing the combo with
Soul Steal, it sets the opponent up for 50/50 shennanigans if you follow it
up with an a.Up Skull or f.Up Skull because if the Up Skull hits, Shang gets
a guaranteed jump-in. Also, don’t be afraid to use your EN Up Skull, It’s a
guaranteed hit if your opponent isn’t blocking and is a great way to check
them. Don’t be overly liberal with it, though. It does cost meter. Meter
which serves better in Shang’s Fireball Juggles.
Shang Tsung has some scary, scary juggles. The best part about it all is that
you can literally start a fireball juggle from anywhere on the screen as long
as you have meter available. Also note that fireball juggles are unbreakable
combos. This makes an adept Shang Tsung fearsome, indeed.
Should the opportunity arise, it might be worth it to B+2, Soul Steal, and
then X-Ray the opponent with his/her own character. This is especially
effective against Jax & Kano as their X’s are unblockable throws. The Soul
Steal should wear off after the X-Ray, so you’ll be back to Shang, and it
will surely have done more damage than any X-Ray combo Shang could come up
with. Ideally, you’ll want to end the match this way as going into another
round with no meter is not good for Shang.
He is not without his weaknesses, however. Shang’s only truly viable wake-up
attack is Soul Capture, which requires 1 Bar to use. With very precise
timing, c.Ground Skull can be used to trip up an aggressive opponent, but it
only has a few invincibility frames (8).
Cross-ups also present a problem for Shang. D+4 poke can be linked into
c.Ground Skull fairly easily and then followed up with standard fireball
juggling; and, if landed, sends the message “don’t try that again”, but this
is really his only option aside from a well-timed njP.
Use this information to begin your own soul collecting. Happy hunting!
Fighting Shang Tsung
Shang Tsung really has very few wake-up options. You’ll see c.Ground Skull or
Soul Capture. That’s pretty much it. This means that if he lacks meter, he is
VERY vulnerable to rushdown tactics. If he has meter, Soul Capture will stop
an assault; however, this is not what Shang wants to use it for, so you’re
making him “waste” the meter on wake-up instead of giving it to him for
juggles. Either way, this is good for you.
If you are hit with a Soul Steal/Capture, RUN!. Seriously, get out of dodge.
You’ll be fighting a mirror match in which the opponent has a 33% damage
increase. This is not going to end well for you. Dodge him for about 4
seconds for the regular or 7 seconds for the EN, and then start to make your
way in on him. Other than that, you should know your own character’s
weaknesses well enough to frazzle Shang.
Cross-ups are a nightmare for a Shang Tsung player. He simply lacks a viable
response to them aside from njP or D+4. Be aware that D+4 causes a brief
hitstun and if you are careless, you can be caught in a fireball juggle.
If using a character with an attacking teleport, note that it can be abused
versus ST. He lacks any real answer to it at all other than block and punish
with c.Ground Skull.
Do NOT get in a zoning war with him. Shang has tools that allow him to zone
for days. He will catch you with one of the Ground Skulls and then you’re on
a ride with an unbreakable juggle. That’s what makes him so deadly. He can
literally start an unbreakable combo from anywhere on the screen.
Don’t save meter for breakers. You will never get to use them. All of ST’s
damaging combos are fireball juggles. Your breakers are useless. This does,
however, mean that you don’t have to hesitate to use your X-Ray combos or EN
specials.
Shang Tsung can’t do much against a fierce, unrelenting rushdown. You’ve got
to get in on him and stay there; which isn’t easy as he has several combos
ending with launchers. One thing to keep in mind is that his most powerful
Juggles end with you about jump distance away from him. Use this to your
advantage should you get caught. Advance and rush him down.
Hit hard and hit relentlessly and you’ll have this old man back on his
walker.
Fatalities:
Bang Bang!: B, D, F, 3 (sweep)
Identity Theft: D, D, B, D, 2 (jump)
Stage Fatality: U, U, B, 1
Babality
D, B, D, 3
Shang Bang Cheat Sheet:
Details combos that Shang Tsung should know with each character to maximize
his efficacy with Soul Steal/Capture.
Baraka: 2, 2, 1+2, dash, B+3, 1, dash, 4, xxBlade Charge (43%, 8 Hits)
Cyber Sub-Zero: B+1, Ice Ball, jP, 2, 1, 1+2, dash, F+1, 4 (45%, 9 Hits)
Cyrax: Net, dash, #f.Bomb, F+2, #B+2, (revert) Uppercut (42%, 5 Hits)
Ermac: Forcelift, njK, Forceport, dash, 2, 2, Force Push (42%, 8 Hits)
Jade: B+1, Staff Overhead, dash, B+2, dash, 4, F+3 (41%, 7 Hits)
Jax: m.Ground Pound, dash, F+2, 2, B+1, Air Gotcha Grab (38%, 6 Hits)
Johnny Cage: F+4, dash, 2, 1, F+2, dash, 4, 4, Flip Kick (45%, 7 Hits)
Kabal: F+3, 2, Nomad Dash, F+3, 2, Tornado Slam (35%, 8 Hits)
Kano: B+1, 1, 2, dash, xxB+1, 1, 2, Ball (41%, 8 Hits)
Kitana: F+2, 1, B+2, xxFan Toss, dash, #Fan Toss, dash xx3, 3, Pretty Kick
(49%, 10 Hits)
Kung Lao: 1, 1, 2, Spin, jK, Dive Kick, F+3, Spin (35%, 8 Hits)
Liu Kang: B+3, 1, 2, dash, xxB+3, 1, 2, dash, #B+3, 1, 2, dash, xxuppercut
(44%, 10 Hits)
Mileena: U+4, U+4, B+1, 4, 4, Roll, U+4 (40%, 7 Hits)
Nightwolf: B+2, 2, xxAxe Swing, Axe Swing, dash, 2, Choke (43%, 7 Hits)
Noob: B+1, 2, 1, 4, xxTeleport Slam (30%, 6 Hits)
Quan Chi: B+2, 1, step forward, B+2, 1, dash, 1, 1, 2, Trance, (revert), B+1,
2, 1, Fireball (44%,12 Hits)
Raiden: B+3, 1, 2, dash, B+3, 1, 2, Electric Fly (37%, 8 Hits)
Reptile: 1, 2, 2, xxFast Force Ball, 3, 2, Slow Force Ball, 3, 2, 1, Slide
(41%, 11 Hits)
Scorpion: 3, 3, Spear, xjP, F+2, 1, Takedown (36%, 8 Hits)
Sektor: B+3, 4, Teleport Uppercut, 2, 1, xxFlame Burner (33%, 6 Hits)
Sheeva: 2, 1, 2, F+1, Grab N Punch (40%, 11 Hits)
Sindel: [Reset] B+3, F+2, B+2, 4 (Reset) xxFireball (24%, 4 Hits; 11%, 1 Hit)
[Total: 35%, 5 Hits]
Smoke: B+2, 3, Smoke Cloud, step forward, 3, 2, jK, Air Throw (41%, 8 Hits)
Sonya Blade: Air Dop, 4, xxKartwheel, dash, B+2, 1, F+2, #1, Leg Grab (50%,
10 Hits)
Stryker: B+1, 2, 2, njP, Gun Shot, Roll Toss (38%, 8 Hits)
Sub-Zero: B+1, 2, xxIceball, 2, 1, 4, xxSlide (41%, 7 hits)
Kratos: F+2, xxHead of Helios, 4, B+2 (hold), 4 (50%, 6 hits)
Skarlet: F+2, 1, 2, xxUp Slash, jk, xxBlood Drop (33%, 6 hits)
Kenshi: 1, 1, xxRising Karma, F+3, 2, xxSpirit Charge (31%, 6 hits)
Rain: B+1, 1+2, dash, 4, xxLightning, Super Kick, Geyser Kick (33%, 6 hits)
Freddy: B+2, c. Hell Spike, dash, B+1, 2, Glove Toss (30%, 5 hits)
===============
Sheeva
===============
“For the Shokan!”
[MKSHE]
Special Moves
Fire Ball (12%)
Fire Blast (16%)
D, F, 2
Jump Stomp (11%, 2 Hits - Unblockable)
Jump Crush (15%, 2 Hits - Unblockable)
D, U
Ground Pound (9% - Unblockable)
Ground Smash (16%, 2 hits - Unblockable)
D, B, 4
Grab N Punch (18%, 7 Hits)
Untamed Fury (22%, 6 Hits - Armor)
B, F, 3
Note: Holding B during Untamed Fury will cause Sheeva to toss the opponent
behind her.
Anti Air Grab (14%, 3 Hits) [Airborne opponent]
Power Anti Air (18%, 3 Hits - Armor) [Airborne opponent]
D, F, 2
Low Grab (13%, 2 Hits - Unblockable) [Ducking opponent]
Anti Duck Throw (17%, 2 Hits – Armor, Unblockable) [Ducking opponent]
D, B, 3
X-Ray: Slam Dance (33%, 4 Hits - Unblockable] [Fullscreen]
Sheeva’s X-Ray is quite good because it is unblockable, like Kano and Jax’s
X-Ray attacks, however it reaches from fullscreen distance. The downside is
that it will only connect with an enemy whose feet are touching the ground,
and it only does 33%.
Secret Technique: Directional Jump Stomp
Holding F or B while in the air from a jump stomp lets you redirect where
Sheeva will land. This is VERY useful for getting in on an opponent and using
Sheeva’s powerful combo strings and command throws.
Basic Combos
3, 3, Grab N Punch (25%, 9 hits) or Untamed Fury (28%, 8 Hits)
F+3, Grab N Punch (22% 8 hits) or Untamed Fury (25% 7 Hits)
1, 2, B+1, dash, 2, Anti-Air Grab (26%. 7 Hits) or Power Anti-Air (29%, 7
Hits)
1, 2, B+1, dash, 4, Grab N Punch (31%, 11 Hits) or Untamed Fury (34%, 10
Hits)
2, 1, 2, F+1, Grab N Punch (30%, 11 Hits) or Untamed Fury (33%, 10 Hits)
Low Grab, #B+2, 1+2, xxFireball (41%, 5 hits) or Flame Blast (45%, 5 Hits)
[Only on ducking opponent]
[Corner] 1, 2, B+1, #1, 2, B+1, 2, 1, 2, F+1, Grab N Punch (37%, 17 Hits)
X-Ray Combos
F+3, xxX (36%, 5 Hits)
2, 1, 2, xxX (37%, 7 hits)
Playing as Sheeva
Preferred Gameplan: Counter//Mix-Up
Sheeva is powerful, but she is SLOW! She is a beast against Counter-style
characters. Her Mix-Ups lead into some very powerful combos, with her most
damaging coming from a Low Grab. However, to make her viable, she has to be
artificially sped up. One way is by using dash-cancelable attacks to close
distance. Sheeva’s D+3 is a solid poke and is dash-cancelable, so there’s
that. Dash-canceling a D+3 poke is also a good way to bait someone into
crouch-blocking, allowing you to go for one of Sheeva’s most damaging combos.
Sheeva can also D+3 and then cancel into a command grab. This won’t usually
work because Sheeva’s Grab N Punch is blockable, but it is an option.
Sheeva’s F+4 is one of the best pokes in the game and is great way to start a
match. If you read a jP at the start, use her Anti-Air Throw instead. F+4 can
also be a great anti-air from afar, but will whiff if you are too close. Also
keep 4, Grab N Punch in mind to punish jump-ins.
Another way is through her teleport. A successful Jump Stomp can be followed
up with a 2, 1, 2 combo starter against most characters. This is where
Sheeva’s mix-up game comes in. If the opponent crouch-blocks, go for the low
grab combo. If they stand and block, B+1 will end the string with a low hit,
or you can use a normal throw, or the F+3, Grab N Punch. If the opponent
doesn’t block, carry on with a string. Keep in mind that Sheeva technically
lacks an overhead special, but she has 2 unblockable specials: Jump Stomp &
Ground Pound, as well as a command throw to use vs ducking opponents. These
give her an edge against turtle-ing characters. Use them. 3, 3 is Sheeva’s
slowest combo starter, but it has more reach than any of her others. Still
you need to be inside sweep range. Consider using this as even her quickest
combo starter is a sluggish 12 frames on start-up. Also keep in mind that
Sheeva’s Anti-Air Throw takes priority over pretty much everything in the
game.
All of her EN grapples have armor. Again, ALL OF HER EN GRAPPLES HAVE ARMOR.
Proper management of meter will separate the good Sheeva players from the
great ones. Her meter serves her better for EN attacks than for her X-Ray.
However, in Sheeva’s case, the EN throws should be used as counters. (i.e.
Untamed Fury for almost any attack that leaves the opponent standing, Power
Anti-Air is great for pulling down Dive-Kickers, and Anti-Duck Throw can pull
characters out of low poke animations)
Hitboxes are an interesting topic to discuss when talking about Sheeva. You
should take note that any combo employing Grab N Punch on an airborne
opponent will NOT work against Kitana and Mileena because of their smaller
hit boxes. This can be frustrating, as changing the combo ender to anything
else will drop the overall damage by about 5%.
When it comes to Mix-Up, Sheeva actuall has a pretty solid arsenal. Her
problem is that she lacks a true overhead combo starter. Her 2, 1, 2, combo
string is ALWAYS, always, always your combo starter of choice, if possible.
It is the fastest, which isn’t saying much, and it leads into F+1, Sheeva’s
overhead. F+3 is a low hit and can be followed up with Grab N Punch.
Wake-Up options for Sheeva are limited. Ground Pound, Grab N Punch and Low
Grab all get the 8 frames of invincibility of wake-up. EN Jump Stomp does as
well. Grab N Punch and Ground Pound are your wake-up attacks of choice.
Proper timing is essential with Ground Pound should you use it. You want to
be sure that the opponent has his/her feet on the ground and will be hit and
with a whopping 39 frame start up, that’s not easy. In all honestly, you’re
better off using D+3 against an advancing opponent and canceling it into a
command throw.
All of Sheeva’s moves scream for a solid “Counter Character” She has
excellent mix-up options and can be played aggressively; however, she really
shines when played a bit more defensively. Her combos lend to a “start-and-
go” sort of playstyle, so capitalizing on that is key to making your way to
becoming Queen of the Shokan.
Fighting Sheeva
Do NOT crouch-block against Sheeva. Her most powerful combo will only hit a
crouching opponent, and at 41% it is very much likely to turn the tide of
battle in her favor.
Watch out for her Jump Stomp. It can be redirected, so there is always going
to be a 33% chance that it will hit you if you simply move, or just stand
there. Anti-Air attacks tend to knock her out of the Jump Stomp with Kung
Lao’s Spin and Baraka’s Blade Spin being forerunners. A well timed backwards
jK will also knock her out, but this can be difficult to do. If your
character has an attacking teleport, you can initiate it as well just after
she starts hers. Characters with upward firing projectiles (Shang Tsung,
Sektor) also make good counters to Jump Stomp.
Grab N Punch is a powerful attack; however, despite appearing to be a
grapple, it is not unblockable. Keep this in mind up close as Grab N Punch is
Sheeva’s only real option for fighting close range.
Sheeva has her Mix-Up and a set of 2 unblockable specials making playing
defensively against her a non-option. Keep in mind, that she is SLOW.
Capitalize on this. If you can knock her down, take advantage and rush her.
While her EN grapples have armor, they have slow start-ups with vulnerable
frames. Be careful approaching her on wake-up, however as the invincible
frames from wake-up coupled with the armor of EN Grapples make her quite hard
to approach. Mounting a good, high-pressure rushdown is the best way to send
this Shokan back to Kuatan.
Fatalities
Stripped Down: F, D, D, F, 1 (sweep)
Lend a Hand: F, B, F, B, 4 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: D, D, D, D, 1
Babality
D, D, D, B, 4
Sheeva Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 13f 2 - 12f 3 - 19f 4 - 13f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 13f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
B+1 - 21f B+2 - 28f B+4 - 24f
F+2 - 31f F+3 - 26f F+4 - 17f
Specials:
Fireball - 26f
Jump Stomp - 58f
Ground Pound - 39f
Grab N Punch - 25f
Anti-Air Grab - 17f
Low Grab - 22f
X-Ray - 36f
===============
Sindel
===============
“You are pathetic and weak!”
[MKSIN]
Special Moves:
Fireball (8%, also in air)
Power Fireball (11%, 2 hits, also in air)
D, F, 1
Low Fireball (8% also in air)
Low Fire (13%, also in air)
D, F, 3
Yell (1%, stun)
Scream (1%, hesitate, stun)
D, B, 2
Levitate
D, D, U
Note: Hit Block to cancel.
Hair Whip (11%, 2 hits)
Hair Toss (13%, 4 hits)
D, F, 2
Step Up (10%, 3 hits, overhead)
Step Over (13%, 2 hits, overhead)
D, F, 4
X-Ray: Queen B (31%, 4 hits)
Sindel swings her hair for a low hit. It's pretty quick, and since the hit is
low, many players won't expect it. The damage is among the worst in the game,
but having X-Ray adds to Sindel's mix-up options.
Secret Technique: Air Dash
F, F or B, B during Levitate. Sindel can dash forward or backwards. It’s kind
of quick, but because of her large cool down leaving her pretty vulnerable,
it's not worth using too often.
Basic Combos
jK, xxFireball (14%, 2 Hits) or EN Fireball (20%, 3 Hits)
2, 1 xxStep Up (15%, 6 Hits) or Step Over (19%, 5 Hits)
1, 1, B+2, iAFB (16%, 4 Hits) or EN iAFB (21%, 5 hits)
B+1, 2, dash, 3, xxYell, jP, 2, 1, xxStep Up (22%, 10 Hits) or Step Over
(24%, 9 Hits)
4, 4, B+1, 2, step forward, 4, 4, Fireball (25%, 7 Hits)
4, 4, B+1, 2, dash, 1, 1, 1, xxHair Whip (9 hits, 27%) or Hair Toss (28%, 11
Hits)
B+3, F+2, dash, B+1, 2, dash, F+1, 2, xxStep Up (29%, 9 Hits) or Step Over
(31%, 8 Hits)
B+3, F+2, dash, 3, 1, xxYell, jP, F+1, 2, xxHair Whip (31% 10 hits) or Hair
Toss (32%, 12 Hits)
[Teleport Punish] 1, xxYell, jP, B+3, F+2, B+1, 2, dash, 1, 1, 1, Hair Whip
(10 hits, 34%)
[Reset] B+3, F+2, B+2, 4 (Reset) xxFireball (18%, 4 Hits; 8%, 1 Hit) [Total:
26%, 5 Hits]
[Corner] 3, 1, B+2, U+4, 1, xxYell, 3, 1, B+2, 1, 1, 1, Fireball (14 hits,
44%)
Enhanced Combos
2, xxEN Scream, jP, B+3, F+2, dash, 3, 1, xxHair Whip (31%, 10 Hits – 1 Bar)
[Reset] 2 xxEN Scream, jP, B+3, F+2, B+2, 4, (reset) Fireball (26%, 8 Hits –
1 Bar; 8%, 1 Hit) [Total: 34%, 9 Hits – 1 Bar]
[Corner] 3, 1, B+2, U+4, 3, xxEN Fireball, F+3, xxEN Fireball, 3, xxEN
Fireball, xxYell, xjP, F+1, 2, xx Hair Whip (64%, 18 Hits - 3 Bars)
Note: Combos ending with Hair Whip can be ended with Step Up for ~1% less
damage and more space.
X-Ray Combos:
2, 1, xxX (34%, 7 hits)
B+3, xxX (36%, 5 Hits)
B+3, F+2, xxX (38%, 6 hits)
4, 4, B+1, 2, step forward, 3, xxX (38%, 9 Hits)
4, 4, B+1, 2, dash, 1, 1, 1, X (11 hits, 43%)
Playing as Sindel
Preferred Gameplan: Zoning//Mix-Up
Go nuts. Seriously. Maybe there's something to that Sindel Scene. While,
she's not exactly strong, she's extremely quick and versatile. Up close her
mix-up combos will send your enemies far across the screen which is exactly
where you want them.
Sindel’s normals are pretty slow. 11 frames for 1, which makes 1, 1, B+2, Low
Fireball her quickest combo. Even then it’s quite slow. B+3, F+2 combo
starter is 27 frames and should only ever be used to punish an opponent’s
mistakes or with a jP tacked on to the beginning. 2, 1, Step-Up (17f start-
up) and 3, 1, B+2 (15f start-up) are your go-to combos of choice at close
range because they both end with great GTFO attacks.Another good GTFO option
is Sindel’s throw. At 12%, it is actually almost as damaging as most of her
combos and can be used immediately following a blocked jP. Keep in mind that
any up-close fighting Sindel does should be with the one clear objective in
mind: to get further away so she can zone more.
Sindel is fireballs. She's a great zoner and with the ability to blast angled
fire while in the air, she makes a powerful and difficult character to
approach. Just like with Kabal, Kitana, and Mileena, Sindel requires mastery
of an instant air projectile. This time, it is the Instant Air Fireball or
iAFB. Sindel’s iAZoning is a little more difficult though as her projectiles
are angled. This basically involves jumping and throwing an Air Fireball as
close to the ground as possible. The main reason for this is the iAFB has
much quicker recovery that the standing version. Another thing to keep in
mind is that if Sindel is throwing both versions of iAFB and a of both
versions of grounded Fireballs, it becomes very difficult for an opponent to
find a safe spot on the screen. There are several different ways to actually
achieve the iAFB: U, D, F, 1/3, or a 270o motion starting with U are the most
common. Sindel can also use Levitate and cancel it as soon as her feet leave
the ground for an IAFB. This version is easier for some people to achieve the
iAFB even though it requires more button presses. Use whichever method allows
you to get Fireballs flying the quickest, but keep in mind that the Levitate
Method builds meter much quicker. Note that 1 will give you the wide angled
version whereas 3 gives the steep angle. The angle seems like a curse at
first, but when you consider that she can jump over other projectiles and
still land hers, it becomes a great asset. Also don’t be afraid to use her EN
iAF on opponents that are closer as both hits will land. Step Up is Sindel’s
GTFO move, and it’s a great one at that. Her Levitate helps with her air
zoning and keeps certain moves from hitting her. Also note that it is
possible to land a Scream after a B+3, F+2, but the timing is ridiculously
strict, so it is usually better to use the EN version to guarantee a hit.
Between Step Up and Fireball, Sindel isn’t likely to have a shortage of
meter. This is good, because she’ll be spending it on her EN BnB Reset. Keep
in mind that the Reset is to be used ONLY as a punish or following a jP. The
combo functions as a great damage sink as well as a terrific GTFO move.
Sindel’s X-Ray is actually pretty good being a low. It will only do 31%
naked, but remember it’s there. She has a few X-Ray combos, but in all
likelihood, she’s not going to have 3 bars of meter to spare.
Everything about Sindel is speed and zoning. The start up on her Yell is
poor, but if it lands, it's a wonderful long lasting stun; and, with proper
timing, it can be worked into many combos or used as an anti-air.
Sindel’s U+4 offers a few interesting properties: for one, it makes it nearly
impossible to xjP on her. It is also a fairly solid anti-air as it attacks
skyward and tightens her hitbox. Should an opponent be rushing Sindel, it is
often your best option to go for a jP. The reason for this is because if it
is blocked, Sindel can do a throw and toss the opponent away where she can
resume zoning and if it connects she can use any combo ending with Hair
Whip/Step Up to toss them away as well.
Sindel’s best mix-up string is, without a doubt, 1, 2, Step Up as it hits H,
H, L, M, M, H. Abuse this at close range because it is quite difficult to
block effectively. She can also mix it up within the string by doing 2, Mix-
Up, bypassing the low hit if you read that the opponent is going to attempt
to guard against the low. B+3, F+2 combo starter hits H, M making it a solid
option as well and leads into Sindel’s most damaging combos, but it has
incredibly slow start-up and should realy only be used following a successful
jP. Another extremely useful tactic is canceling D+4 into Step-Up. This
creates decent mix-up.
In terms of wake-up, Sindel has a few interesting options: Step Up, Low
Fireball, Yell, & Levitate. Only Step Up and Levitate will get the invincible
wake-up frames. Yell is good to deter an advancing opponent. Low Fireball
lets Sindel continue zoning without missing a beat. It’s also better to go
with the EN Low Fireball against an advancing opponent if possible. It has
invincibility longer than a standard fireball and ir causes knockdown
allowing Sindel to start Flight canceling into Fireballs again Levitate is an
interesting wake-up option. It can be used to go above low-flying projectiles
(Kabal’s Groundsaw, Jade’s Boomerang Low, Liu’s Low Fireball, etc), and
Sindel can begin zoning from the air with iAFBs. Step Up is Step Up. You
should know how to use it by now. I do NOT recommend this as a wake-up.
She's quite difficult to master, but fun to play. Applying the tips mentioned
above will have your Sindel showing everyone exactly why she’s the Scream
Queen of Mortal Kombat.
Fighting Sindel
From far away she can barrel you with a multitude of projectiles and up close
she can send you away so she can shoot at you some more. Her speed makes her
a bit hard to catch, but block dashing or simply dodging her projectiles may
be the best shot.
Fortunately, her damage output is relatively low and her attacks have
terrible priority. This, however, does not mean this will be an easy match.
Her mix-up alone is enough to keep you on your toes the whole match up close,
and her zoning abilities are insanely good. Should you manage to pin her
down, use attacks with high priority to ensure you beat out her mix-up game.
Keep her from going on the offensive by snuffing out all of her attacks.
She’s likely to attempt jP combo starters to remove some of her low priority.
For this reason, characters with solid Anti-Air attacks (Cyrax, Johnny Cage,
Kano) or Air Throws (Sonya, Scorpion, Smoke) will have an easier time keeping
her locked down.
Use her poor wake-up against her. Ger her grounded and then stay on her.
Unfortunately, this is harder than it sounds. Her throw and her Step Up
attack will both send you far away for her to continue zoning, as does her EN
Reset BnB. You’ll have to employ a very well-guarded rushdown in order to
succeed at this.
Up close defensive play is better. She's quite fast and has combos to take
care of defensive fighters so prepare to follow her mix ups. Her most common
mix-up attacks will include 2, 1, which hits H, H, L, and Step Up which hits
M, M, H. Be prepared to block against 2, 1, Step Up repeatedly at close
range, then punish her with your strongest combos. Keep your guard up and
give her something to scream about.
Fatalities
Migraine: B, F, D, F, 1 (sweep)
Mouthful: B, F, U, 2 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: D, D, D, 1
Babality
D, D, D, U
Sindel Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 11f 2 - 17f 3 - 15f 4 - 14f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 12f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
B+1 - 16f B+2 - 12f B+3 – 27f B+4 - 13f
F+1 - 15f F+3 - 19f
U+3 - 16f U+4 - 16f
Specials:
Fireball - 18f
Yell - 35f [EN - 31f]
Hair Whip - 20f
Step-Up - 15f
X-Ray - 21f
===============
Smoke
===============
“Where there is smoke, there is fire.”
[MKSMO]
Special Moves:
Smoke Cloud (6%, 12% if left to fall)
Smoke Bomb (10%, 16% if left to fall)
D, B, 2
Shake (9%, Projectile Counter, unblockable)
Vibration (9%, Counter, unblockable)
B, F, 1
Teleport (9%, 2 hits, also air)
Smokeport (15%, 3 hits, also air)
D, B, 4
Invisibility
Vanish
D, U, 3
Smoke Away (Goes through projectiles & opponent’s body)
Phase Away (Goes through anything)
F, B, 3
Smoke Towards (Goes through projectiles & opponent’s body)
Phase Towards (Goes through anything)
B, F, 3
Air Throw (8%, 2 hits, in air)
1+3
X-Ray: Burn Out (34%, 3 hits)
Similar to Sub-zero's. Smoke Turns invisible and charges, then teleports and
hits the enemy. He can be hit while invisible, but is invulnerable while
teleporting. Charging does not change the xray.
Secret Technique: Unknown as of now
Basic Combos
2, 1, Smoke Cloud, jK, Teleport (23%, 6 Hits) or Smokeport (26%, 7 hits)
Smoke Cloud, step forward, 3, D+1, 2, dash, 3, 2, jK, Air Throw (29%, 9
hits)
B+2, 3, Smoke Cloud, step forward, 3, 2, dash, 3, D+1, 2, jK, Air Throw (36%,
11 Hits)
3, D+1, 2, dash, B+2, 3, xxSmoke Cloud, step forward, 3, D+1, 2, jK, Air
Throw (37%, 12 Hits)
[Corner] 2, 1, 4, Smoke Cloud, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 2, 1, 4 (41%, 13 Hits)
X-Ray Combos
Smoke Cloud, X (37%, 4 Hits)
2, 1, Smoke Cloud, X (39%, 6 Hits)
B+2, 3, Smoke Cloud, #X (40%, 6 Hits)
3, D+1, 2, xxX (40%, 6 Hits)
Playing as Smoke
Preferred Gameplan: Counter//Juggle//Mix-Up
Smoke is one of the best defensive/confusion characters in the game. He’s a
great counter-style character with some really strong juggles and decent mix-
up game. From far away, Shake and Teleport make great punishes. Shake can be
charged by holding 1 and will have Smoke countering projectiles. EN Shake
counters all projectiles and all normals that aren’t lows. It does NOT
protect against specials that are not projectiles (i.e. Kitana’s Cuttting
Fan, Jade’s Staff Throw, Raiden’s Electric Fly) Smoke Cloud is great for
starting juggles and bringing your enemies close for battle. His Invisibility
isn't useless (against humans) and makes him harder to predict.
The Smoke and Phase specials allow quick navigating of the stage and
confusing more aggressive fighters. The normal version passes through any
projectile and the EN version passes through all attacks. Smoke can actually
use these moves similarly to the way Jade uses her Glow/EN Glow by nullifying
an attack and then punishing.
After an Air Throw, you should be throwing a Smoke Cloud. It is NOT
guaranteed, but the only thing the opponent can do is block. There’s no
reason not to follow up every Air Throw with a Smoke Cloud.
Smoke Away/Towards specials are the key to Smoke’s Mix-Up. You’ll notice that
Smoke lacks a low string of any kind, and has no low combo starters at all.
This begs the question: What exactly makes him a mix-up character? It’s Smoke
Away/Smoke Towards in addition to his overhead strings. When Smoke utilizes
his Smoke Towards, he has several options. You can use 2, 1, 4 (Smoke’s
fastest string). This causes knockdown so you can Smoke Towards again and
keep the pressure going. You can use a throw. Note that should you throw, you
can no longer use Smoke Towards to keep the pressure up as it will create too
much space. You can try for a sweep, then either Smoke towards to go to the
other side and continue the mix-up or Smoke Away to generate some space. You
can try B+2, 3 combo starter, which is an overhead. If you have meter, you
can activate EN Shake and go on the defensive. No matter which route you
take, you want to condition your opponent here. Repeatedly do the same thing
when you Smoke Towards a few times (say 3 cycles of 2, 1, 4). This will have
your opponent expecting a 2, 1, 4, which hits high. If he or she crouch
blocks, go for the overhead. If he or she stands and blocks, either sweep and
keep up the pressure or throw and go back to utilizing Smoke Bombs. There are
many different ways to go about this, but I think the general picture is
pretty clear: Set a pattern, and then break it.
In terms of wake-up, Smoke has Teleport and Smoke Away/Towards with
invincible start up. Smoke away is great for retreating upon knockdown and
Teleport should be utilized for zoning attempts or against jumps.
Combining his speed and difficulty to catch, Smoke is a very deadly opponent
when used correctly and can quickly burn through the competition.
Fighting Smoke
Smoke is fast and hard to hit. The best way to defeat him is to stay on him.
Far away he can do more damage than you most likely could, and you’ll have to
deal with Smoke Bomb pressure.
His defenses are frail though, meaning he has quite a hard time shaking
someone off who can keep constant pressure on him. Rushdown//Counter
characters (Sonya, Raiden, Johnny Cage) will do best in this match-up as they
can keep the pressure up constantly and have little trouble switching to the
defensive to punish Smoke should he attempt to mount an offensive. This is
important as straight rushdown tactics will be met with teleport spam and
smoke bombs leading into 35+% juggles.
When it comes to defending against Smoke’s mix-up, ALWAYS block high. He has
NO low combo starters. Again, block HIGH. Do NOT block low. Smokes BnB has a
med hit tucked right in the middle of it.
Don't get into a projectile fight with him, he will use Shake, and you will
lose. Period.
His X is easily blockable, but it comes out quick. Ere on the side of caution
should he obtain X and you decide to attempt a rushdown.
Hit hard. Hit fast. And don’t let up. Let him know just how bad smoking is
for his health.
Fatalities
Smoked Out: B, F, B, F, 1 (sweep)
Tremor: B, B, D, F, 2 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: F, U, U, 1
Babality
D, B, D, F, D
Smoke Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 15f 2 - 11f 3 - 15f 4 - 20f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 14f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
B+1 - 20f B+2 - 15f B+3 - 14f B+4 - 16f
F+1 - 15f F+2 - 11f F+3 - 15f F+4 - 17f
Specials:
Smoke Cloud - 18f [EN - 20]
Shake - 15f
Teleport - 17f
Invisibility - 38f [EN - 28f]
Smoke Away/Towards - 22 until invulnerable state & 34 until vulnerable again.
X-Ray -
===============
Sonya
===============
“I guess I’ll have to do this the hard way!”
[MKSON]
Special Moves
Energy Ring Blast (8%)
Rings of Justice (12%, 2 hits)
B, F, 2
Leg Grab (13%, 2 hits)
Krazy Legs (19%, 3 hits)
B, F, 4
Kiss (1%, stun)
Deadly Kiss (1%, can hesitate, stun, reach further)
D, B, 1
Arc Kick (9%)
Arc Wave (11%)
D, B, 4
Kartwheel (8%, 2 hits)
Kartwheel Bash (11%, 2 hits, Armor)
D, F, 3
Air Drop (7%, only in air)
Air Strikes (16%, 3 hits, only in air)
D+4
Air Throw (8%)
1+3
Military Stance
D, B, 2
Military Stance
D, B, 2
1 Shoulder (7%)
2 Knockdown (9%)
3 Power Knee (5%)
4 Double Kick (2%, 7 hits)
1+3, 1+2 Tackle (3 hits, 15%)
F+1 Dash Punches (2 hits, 9%)
B+2 Lift Off (5%, launches)
B+4 Hit the Deck (7%, sweep)
X-Ray: SF Beatdown (29%, 8 hits) to (33%, 11 hits)
Sonya throws out a four hit combo and if the fourth strike hits, she will
perform her X. This one starts really fast, but unfortunately has a lot of
hits in it. though it looks cool, scaling is not kind to it at all. It’s best
not to use since her BnBs get more out of just one bar anyway.
Secret Technique: Military Cancel
Sonya can dash or special cancel her Military Stance.
Basic Combos
jK, xxAir drop (13%, 2 hits) or Air Strikes (20%, 4 hits)
B+2, 1, F+2, njP, step forward, Kiss, dash, F+2, 2, xxMilitary Stance, 1+3,
1+2 (34%, 10 Hits)
B+2, 1, xxKartwheel, dash, 1, dash, 1, dash, 1, dash, 1, dash, 1, 1, 2 (33%,
11 Hits)
B+2, 1, xxKartwheel, dash, 1, dash, 1, dash, 1, dash, 1, 1, xxLeg Grab (36%,
11 Hits) or Krazy Legs (37%, 12 Hits)
1, 1, 4, xxKartwheel, dash 4, Leg Grab (7 Hits, 23%) or Krazy Legs (9 Hits,
28%)
Kartwheel or Kartwheel Bash, B+2, 1, F+2, jK, Air Throw (27%, 8 Hits; or 30%,
8 Hits)
F+2, 2, xxKartwheel, F+2, 2, xxLeg Grab (8 hits, 29%) or krazy Legs (9 hits,
33%)
Air Drop, 3, 1, 2, Leg Grab (6 hits 31%) or Krazy Legs (7 Hits, 36%)
Air Drop, 4, xxKartwheel, dash, 1, dash, 1, dash, 1, dash, 1, dash, 1, 1, 2
(32%, 9 Hits)
Air Drop, 4, xxKartwheel, dash, B+2, 1, F+2, #1, Leg Grab (38%, 10 Hits) or
Krazy Legs (40%, 11 Hits)
[Corner] Air Drop, 4, xxKartwheel, B+2, 1, xxKiss, jump, Air Drop, 3, 1,
xxMilitary Stance, 3+1, 1+2 (43%, 13 Hits)
X-Ray Combos
F+2, 2, xxKartwheel, X (36%, 15 hits)
3, 1, 2, xxX (36%, 14 hits)
Air Drop, 4, xxX (44%, 13 hits)
Playing as Sonya
Preferred Gameplan: Rushdown//Counter
Sonya Blade is a brilliant mix of speed and power. She's agile and has a
great pseudo-teleport with the Arc Kick. Energy Ring is a quick powerful
projectile, and actually lets her battle it out with some of the better
zoners in the game. She can actually perform quite well as a defensive zoner
if need be as the recovery on Energy Ring is so quick she can often block
after firing it. Sonya's combos are enhanced further by her Military Stance,
opening up an entire area of new combos and abilities for her. Her play style
is very aggressive. She's one of the fastest rushdown characters and should
be used up close against her enemies. Pretty much any of her attacks lead
into a possible combo, with Air Drop and Kartwheel being the forerunners.
Sonya’s Kiss ability is safe on block and has almost no recovery time despite
a slow start-up. It can also be used defensively from sweep distance as it
prevents jump-ins or the opponent from advancing. Sonya’s Kiss is a powerful
tool, even if it is somewhat hard to use. When used in combos, the Kiss
becomes as useful as Sub-zero’s Freeze or Scorpion’s Spear. If Sonya can
land a njP on an already air borne enemy, she can follow it up with a Kiss (a
small dash can help with the timing) and will stun her enemy for a split
second, allowing Sonya to continue her rush. Kiss also allows for Sonya’s
Corner combo, one of the best in the entire game.
Also, should you need to tone down an overly-zealous opponent, Sonya’s D+4
has great reach. In fact, it ties with Mileena for longest reach in the
entire game. Mess around; stay on your toes, and don't stop moving. Special
attention should be brought to Sonya’s B+2, 1 and Air Drop starter combos as
these are going to be the bulk of her offense. Air Drop combos make for good
rushdown options at 5 frames, whereas the B+2, 1, combos make better
punishers as B+2 is 17 frames. 1, 1, 4 Combo starter begins with a jab and
should be used when timing is crucial for punsihing a special (i.e. Kano’s Up
Ball) as it is 7 frames. Kartwheel is never recommended as a combo starter
unless you need the armor that the EN version provides as other combos are
generally more damaging with better follow-up options.
Next topic of discussion: why two very similar B+2, 1, Karthweel combos? The
combo ending in 1, 1, 2 causes hit stun and gives Sonya a 50/50 and safe
jump; whereas the other version ending in Leg Grab is intended to give more
raw damage. The best follow-up to this 50/50 set up is going to be jP, Air
Drop, 4 combo and repeating the same 50/50 string after a jP.
Keep in mind that her Kartwheel Bash has armor, making it an excellent combo
starter under pressure. Also, keep Sonya's F+4 in mind. It hits overhead and
causes a great deal of hit stun. It can be used repeatedly to shake an
opponent from crouch blocking, or it can be used once to give a safe jump and
addle an opponent. Either way, it is one of Sonya's best normals, so keep it
in mind.
Military Stance Mix-Up: Sonya has a stellar mix-up game incorporating
Military Stance: High - B+2 launcher. Medium – 1+3, 1+2. Low- F+1
knockdown.
Unfortunately, the military stance mix-up is basically her only mix-up
option. It is, however, quite solid. Utilize the F+2, 2, Military Stance
combo frequenty. On hit, go with B+2 to launch the opponent for a combo. On
block, use the corresponding mix-up option listed above. Also, when it comes
to mix-up, never use your EN Air Drop as an overhead. Why? Because the
standard jP is an overhead and can be followed up with an Air Drop.
For wake-up, Sonya can employ any of Leg Grab, Arc Kick, or Kartwheel.
Kartwheel has armor on EN and leads to combo potential, whereas Leg Grab
makes for a good GTFO and Arc Kick helps create some distance, or close the
gap on a hit-and-run opponent.
Does that random F+2, 2, xxArc Kick combo have you scratching your head? It’s
only use is to safely escape the corner. Nothing amazing here, but a cute
trick nonetheless.
Meter management is a hot topic of debate for Sonya. There are two main
options: (1) build up for X-Ray and go for the Air Drop X-Ray combo or (2)
Use the meter for mostly breakers and the occasional EN attack. (2) is almost
always the right option. Landing an Air Drop means Sonya is free to go with
one of her Air Drop combos, which honestly does almost as much damage as her
X-Ray. It’s also nice to have the option of using EN Kartwheel for armor
should she need it. EN Leg grab also tends to add quite a bit of damage when
used at the end of a combo. This can sometimes make all the difference.
All of these things will have your Sonya putting her enemies on lockdown.
Fighting Sonya
Sonya is fast and strong. The problem is that Sonya makes for a great
Counter-Style character in addition to Rushdown, sporting some of the
quickest punishers in the game.
Almost all of her combo starters are safe on block as well. This makes her
particularly hard to deal with.
Her D+4 is one of the most annoying attacks in the game, and most players
using Sonya are not afraid to throw it out there occasionally (and by
“occasionally”, I mean constantly). Attacks with hop animations (Mileena’s
B+2, Jade’s Staff Overhead, Reptile’s sweep) and jK, Air Throw are good
options if your character happens to have one to send the message “I can
still hit you when you do that; so stop!”.
Her zoning abilities are much better than those of most rushdown-style
characters in the game making her tough to zone out. She also has Arc-Kick to
bring her in closer and play more of an in-your-face style whether you like
it or not. Up close, be aware of any time she jumps as an Air Drop is likely
to follow. Being caught by an Air Drop is bad. You do NOT want that to happen
as it leads into Sonya's most damaging combos. Don't underestimate Kiss. It
has slow start-up, so you should be trying to knock her out of it, but it is
safe on block, serves as a solid anti-air, and against a Sonya with quick
reaction speed, it grants her full combo on hit.
Fatalities
Scissor Split: D, D, B, F, 1 (jump)
Kut-Throat: D, B, F, B, 4 (sweep)
Stage Fatality: B, F, D, 2
Babality
D, D, F, 3
Sonya Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 7f 2 - 10f 3 - 14f 4 - 10f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 7f D+3 - 8f D+4 - 12f
B+2 - 17f B+3 - 15f B+4 - 25f
F+2 - 19f F+4 - 22f
Specials:
Military Stance - 11f
1 - 11f 2 - 16f 3 - 8f 4 - 8f
F+1 - 15f B+2 - 14f B+4 - 12f 1+3 - 12
Energy Ring - 20f
Leg Grab - 17f
Kiss - 37f
Arc Kick - 32f [EN - 18f]
Kartwheel - 23f
Air Drop - 5f
X-Ray - 16f
===============
Stryker
===============
“Police brutality, coming up!”
[MKSTR]
Special Moves
Baton Sweep (6%)
Baton Bash (12%, 2 hits)
High Grenade Toss (9%)
Double High Grenade Toss (11%, 2 hits)
Low Grenade Toss (9%)
Double Low grenade Toss (11%, 2 hits)
Gun Shot (6%, 2 hits)
Bang Bang (8%, 4 hits)
Roll Toss (12%, 2 hits)
Roll Out (16%, 2 hits, Super Armor, increase in range)
X-Ray: Busted (38%, 4 hits)
Stryker pulls out a flashlight and blinds the enemy with it. It comes out
quite slow, and missing or having it block has some bad cool down. Its Range
extends to the tip of the light. It can be blocked and Stryker can be hit out
of it. It makes a terrific anti-air, however.
Secret technique: Bullet Hesitation, Bullet Cancel
Hold 1 during Gun Shot. Stryker hesitates shooting his gun. After letting go
or holding for a long enough time, Stryker will fire. Same with his enhanced
version. During his hesitation he can dash cancel out of the gun attack
entirely.
Basic Combos
2, 3, Roll Toss (18%, 4 Hits) or Rollout (22%, 4 Hits)
B+3, 2, dash, 1, Gun Shot, step forward, 4 (28%, 6 Hits)
B+2, F+2, dash, 1,1, Gun Shot, dash, 4 (27%, 9 Hits)
B+1, 2, 2, njP, Gun Shot, Roll Toss (29%, 8 Hits) or Rollout (32%, 8 Hits)
B+1, 2, 2, njP, dash, 1, 2, xxGun Shot, step forward, 4 (31%, 8 hits)
Enhanced Combos
[Corner] B+3, 2, 1, 2, xxGun Shot, 1, 2, Bang Bang, 1, 2 (43%, 14 Hits - 1
Bar)
X-Ray Combos
B+1, 2, 2, njP, dash, 2, xxX (44% 9 Hits)
Playing as Stryker
Preferred Gameplan: Zoning
Stryker's combos aren't really good. They are quite weak by comparison to a
large margin of the cast and are difficult to connect with his specials. But
from far away, Stryker's extremely fast projectile, Gun Shot, and his
Grenades make him one of the best zoners in the game.
In terms of normals, Stryker has an 8 frame roundhouse in 4. It doubles as an
awesome anti-air and when used this way can be followed up with Gun Shot for
around 14%, and, if you have meter available, 4, Bang Bang, Roll Toss (25%, 7
Hits) makes an even better anti-air. 2, 3 is very slow (18f), but the second
hit is a low. B+3, 2 is a good L/M mix-up string. Unfortunately, it is a
sluggish 26 frames.. B+1, 1, 2 is his best combo starter up close, but it is
also slow and beaten out by other quicker attacks (16f). Even so, keep these
strings in mind knowing that it’s usually better to just go with the
lightning fast roundhouse (4) as it also creates distance. Stryker also
sports one of the fastest uppercuts in the game (7f). Keep his 2, 3, 2 string
in mind as a great GTFO move.
Roll Toss is a surprisingly quick move that can startle an opponent up close
or punish high projectiles as it will roll wight beneath them and punish.
Speaking of which, Stryker's gun is a high projectile, meaning characters
like Sub-zero and Reptile can slide under it, so be careful. His grenades are
a great anti air and baton sweep is pretty great if forced to fight up close.
Don't enhance Gun Shot unless it is to extend juggles. The small damage
increase isn't usually worth it. Stay far, keep them guessing with a decent
mix of grenades, gunshots, and Rolls and if forced up close use his high/low
mix ups to get defensive fighters to back off. Also his Rollout is great from
getting away from teleport punishers.
Fighting Stryker
Get close. You don't even have to fight defensively, up close Stryker is kind
of a push over, but far away you may as well be dead. Most likely your combos
are superior to him, so stay close to him. It's best not to play too
defensively, because some of Stryker's combos mix a lot of high and low
attacks. Just the same, too agressively, and stryker can knock you down
easily, allowing him to get away from you and feed you a barrage of lead.
Balance your style, stay close and don't worry about getting hit too much and
soon Stryker will be the one feeling Police Brutality.
Fatalities
Time Served: F, D, F, 3 (sweep)
Have A Blast: D, F, D, F, Block (sweep)
Stage Fatality: F, U, U, 4
Babality
D, F, D, B, 2
Stryker Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 10f 2 - 18f 3 - 13f 4 - 8f
D+1 - 6f D+2 - 7f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 12f
B+1 - 16f B+2 - 19f B+3 - 26f B+4 - 17f
Specials:
Baton Sweep - 27f
Grenade Toss - 22f
Gun Shot - 26f [EN- 22f]
Roll Toss - 24f
X-Ray - 34f
===============
Sub-Zero
===============
“This fight will be your last.”
[MKSUB]
Special Moves
Iceball 0% (Capture. 5% if done while frozen)
Icebeam 0% (Capture. 5% if done while frozen)
D, F, 3
Slide 9%
Power Slide (12%, two hits)
B. F, 4
Ice Puddle 0% (Capture, Unblockable)
Ground Freeze 0% (Capture, Unblockable)
D, B, 3
Ice Clone 0% (Creates Capture state if touched by opponent – Lasts 3 seconds)
Ice Statue 0% (Creates Capture state if touched by opponent – Lasts 4
seconds)
D,B, 1
X-Ray: Deep Freeze (33%, 3 hits)
Sub-Zero freezes himself and charges the enemy with a shoulder rush. It can
be held to hesitate. When shoulder rushing Sub-Zero is invulnerable, but not
before. Charging does not change the length of the rush. It always goes just
short of full screen.
Secret technique: Unknown as of now
Basic Combos
F+4, xxSlide (15%, 2 Hits) or Power Slide (18%, 3 Hits)
F+4, xxIce Ball, jP, 2, 1, 4, Slide (31%, 7 hits) or Power Slide (33%, 8
Hits)
B+1, 2, xxIce Ball, dash, njP, dash, 1, dash, B+1, 2, 2, 1, 2, xxSlide (35%,
11 Hits) or Power Slide (36%, 12 Hits)
2, 2, xxIce Ball, jP, B+1, 2, 4 (24%, 7 Hits)
2, 2, xxIce Ball, jP, 2, 1, 4, xxSlide (30%, 8 Hits) or Power Slide (32%, 9
Hits)
2, 2, xxIce Ball, dash, njP, dash, 1, dash, B+1, 2, 2, 1, 2, Slide (32%, 11
hits) or Power Slide (33%, 12 hits)
2, 1, 2 xxIce Ball, dash, B+1, (whiffs), 2, 2, 2, Slide (29%, 8 Hits) or
Power Slide (30%, 9 Hits)
B+2 (Charge), dash, B+1, 2, xx2, 1, 2, xxSlide (35%, 7 Hits), or xxPower
Slide (36%, 8 Hits)
[Corner] 2, 1, 4, Ice Ball, 2, 1, 4, Slide (36%, 8 Hits)
Enhanced Combos
Ice Clone, EN Slide, step back, B+1 (whiffs), 2, 2, 1, 2, Slide (30%, 8 Hits)
2, 2, 4, EN Ice Beam, dash, dash, 2, 1, 2, xxSlide (35%, 8 Hits)
[Reset] B+1, 2, xxIce Ball, njP, step forward, B+1, 2, EN Ground Freeze,
(reset) dash, B+2 (charge), dash, dash, 2, 1, 4, xxSlide (20%, 6 Hits ; 32%,
5 Hits) [Total: 52%, 11 Hits]
X-Ray Combos
F+4, xxIce Ball, jP, 2, 1, 4, X (charge .5s) (48%, 9 hits)
2, 1, 4 X (charge .5s) (48%, 6 Hits)
B+1, 2, xxIce Ball, jP, 2, 1, 4, X (charge .5s) (50%, 10 hits)
Playing as Sub-Zero
Preferred Gameplan: Zoning//Counter
Sub-Zero moves slowly, however, he has some speedy options. His dash is quite
quick and his attacks are quicker than they first seem. His more advanced
combos are some of the deadliest in the game.
Sub-Zero should be used with patience. He can rush decently, but many
characters are better at it than he. One thing to keep in mind is that his 2,
2, 2 string hits overhead on the last hit and has an insane hit box extending
above and behind Sub-Zero’s head. For the most part, you’re going to want to
base your offense off of 2, 2. It’s just a great, great string. It’s safe on
block and can be chained into specials. B+1, 2 is an overhead and is safe on
block, but it is slow. Combos starting with 2, 1, 2 or B+1, 2 should be used
as punishers only. F+4 is a solid poke. It hits overhead and can be chained
into Ice Ball. B+2 is Sub-Zero’s charge attack. NEVER use this outside of
combos and resets. It’s meant to be used for a “re-freeze”. 2, xxIce Ball is
Sub-Zero’s anti-air of choice. Use it on anyone trying a jump in and punish
them with full combo (B+1, 2, 2, 1, 2, Slide). B+1 and 2 are Sub-Zero’s
quickest combo starters at 12 and 9 frames, respectively. B+2 is terribly
slow; however, Sub-Zero may begin charging it during the last few moments of
a freeze. This makes it safe, but the timing is fairly strict.
Sub-Zero's signature attack is the Ice Ball. It's a slower projectile, but it
paralyzes his enemy. Using this, Sub-Zero will usually win projectile fights,
getting a full combo versus the average 8-10% projectile damage. You
shouldn’t be using this to try and trade with other projectiles. You should
be the one setting the speed of the match with your Ice Ball and forcing them
to react, all the while building meter.
Another interesting trick to keep in mind: B+1, 2, 4 can be followed up with
a ground freeze if the opponent remains OTG. Also be aware of your Ice Clone
at all times. It is Sub-Zero’s single greatest tool. You can use it to
control space in such a way that opponents will be scared to move. We’ve all
seen/played against a Sub-Zero who throws the Clone and hides behind it. If
you’ve ever tried this tactic against the AI, you know that they will
mindlessly spam projectiles until the Clone dissolves. This works when a
human opponent does it, too. Don’t mindlessly lay them here and there.
CHOOSE your spot and use it as a way of saying “This is my space. Keep out.”
Also, there are VERY few situations against a teleporting character that you
shouldn’t have an Ice Clone behind you as you advance. Remember this tactic
as it is highly effective. It also functions surprisingly well as an anti-
air.
Slide is Sub-Zero’s only wake-up attack option. It is a great technique,
however, many opponents will become conditioned to expect it. Mix it up with
back-roll recovery for defense and Ice Clone as well as the slide. Note that
Ice Clone on wake-up is useless against a rushing opponent as the lack of
distance will make it impossible to generate clones.
This summary has provided everything you need to permanently put Sub-Zero’s
adversaries on Ice.
Fighting Sub-Zero
A good Sub-Zero knows how to switch between defensive and aggressive play. So
play on that to their weakness. Sub-Zero’s offense is much less formidable
than his defense, so forcing him to be offensive and punishing works well.
His combos are limited and he only has a grand total of 4 Special moves. He
can be hit during his Slide by medium projectiles (Scorpion's spear) but not
high projectiles (Stryker's Gun). Ice Ball can be blocked. Ice Puddle is
horribly slow. Which leaves Ice Clone as the one move that really lacks a
clear cut answer.
Countering Sub-Zero's excellent defensive play and forcing him to fight
aggressively or using anti-defense attacks (Cyrax's bombs, Scorpions
hellfire) is the best way to slip up the Chinese Ninja Warrior and land your
best attacks. Be aware of ice clone at all times. Note that he cannot use it
if the opponent is standing too close. Use this information. Ice clone also
has a cooldown of 4 seconds. Sub-Zero cannot handle rushdown without his
clones.
Keep his Refreeze in mind. If you are frozen and notice Sub-Zero charging
B+2, do not do anything. This attack will not refreeze if you remain neutral.
Should you try to move or block, you will be frozen.
Sub-Zero has excellent space control, you will need to take that away from
him if you hope to melt this snowman.
Fatalities
Have An Ice Day: B, F, D, F, 4 (sweep)
Spinal Smash: D, B, D, F, 2 (sweep)
Spine Rip: F, D, F, 2 (close) [DLC]
Stage Fatality: F, D, B, 2
Babality
D, B, D, 4
Sub-Zero Frame Data
Normals:
1 - 16f 2 - 9f 3 - 18f 4 - 24f
D+1 - 7f D+2 - 13f D+3 - 7f D+4 - 8f
B+1 - 12f B+2 - 42-59f B+4 - 16f
Specials:
Ice Ball - 22f [EN - 20]
Slide - 10f
Ice Clone - 2f
Ground Freeze - 55f [EN- 53f]
X-Ray - 17f
Downloadable Content & Extras
=============================================================================
========
=
Coming Soon
=
=============================================================================
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Contributors and Shout-Outs
To everyone that contributed: we have not forgotten you all, and we will get
this section filled out as soon as we have updated all the character
sections.
Thank you all so much! Without you, this would not have been possible.
Contributors by Section:
Baraka
- ToXiCNiNjA132
Cyber Sub-Zero
- Noob_Smoke_
Ermac
- briguy77, Captain_Sexy_T, Tethealla
Jax
- Fog9, shadowmario8 Captain_Sexy_T
Johnny Cage
- zombie13579
Kabal
- NwOLK666, zombie13579, Noob_Smoke_
Kung Lao
- Thedeadsider, monkeypahng
Liu Kang
- kman2390
Mileena
- myronmew4shodogg, Archiantagonist, cberry09
Nightwolf
- PS2012
Noob
- briguy77
Quan Chi
- tomandsam
Reptile
- BigBlackMarth, zombie13579
Scorpion
- Nafzger
Sektor
- lolHades
Shang Tsung
- Gamin_GURU
Sonya
- Shady9XD
Stryker
- Shady9XD
Various/Other:
ISpinKickBabies, LordTapir, ERrorMAC15, Alex_DC22,
- Huge Thank You! to briguy77. You've been an amazing help with so many
sections! Know you are greatly appreciated. Also, props to zombie13579 for
various contributions as well. You guys rock!
- All frame data courtesy of DrDogg, TheSabiie, & Lomyn from
TestYourMight.com forums.
- Special Thanks to tournament players Tom Brady, Konqrr, KrayzieBone,
DanCock, and REO for discussing specific characters and strategies with me or
answering any questions I had about specific characters.
If you contributed to a section and your contribution was used and you aren’t
listed under contributors, but would like to be, send me an e-mail at
thechad87@hotmail.com. Include your username and I will credit you.