It's a pretty common consenus that Shao Kahn is not great, possibly even bottom 5. I'm quarantined and bored, so I took him into training mode to see if I could figure out any positive aspects of the character. While his sweep, j2, and d2 are possibly each top 5, here are the primary issues I see with the character (True Kahn variation):
- Like other characters, he is reliant on high attacks. However, his d1 and d2 only give +10 on hit, making it a 1-frame link to jail into his standing 1. This would maybe be acceptable if he got some amazing damage off his standing 1, but nope. His d4 is +15 but pushes the opponent halfway across the screen.
- Similar to Jade, his d2 usually does as much damage, if not more, than other kombo extensions. Not counting jump-in starters, his 1-bar damage output hovers around 25%, signicantly lower than other characters.
- His amplified Shoulder Charge literally makes no sense. You can delay the amplify significantly, which would be an awesome mind game if it came out on block. But it doesn't. And if you delay it on hit, it will whiff. So literally no point in ever delaying. Similarly, you can press down+amplify to turn it into a safer non-launcing overhead...that also doesn't come out on block. So, whenever you hit with Shoulder Charge, you have the option of spending a bar to launch your opponent, or spending a bar to knock them down and deal 13% total damage...
- He has access to a standing reset with bd4. However, midscreen, it pushes your opponent too far away for any followups. In the corner, most of the setups into the restand leave Kahn at -8... At best, he's +5, with only his 10-frame f3 to force his opponent to respect his plus frames.
- His only cancelable mid-hitting non-poke normals are both gimped. b2 is a solid button, but it's 13 frames and at least -5 on block. It's cancelable but can't be confirmed. Same with f3, which is at least 10 frames, but is stubby as shit, and is almost impossible to hit-confirm.
- He has two mid-hitting 26-frame projectiles that are both -16/-17 on block. Other than Merciless Spear whiffing non-stop due to its nonexistant hit box, Kahn basically has the same move twice.