Ermac has an even less stable placement than the DLCs characters... Why?

[Enenra]

Ermac, according to the bottom 5 project, is 19-21st place. However, I hear an ass ton of mixed opinions. On the Kombat Network stream (Feb 11) people were talking about how CD jr said Ermac could very well be top 10, and in the same stream we saw an Ermac beat rev0lver, who is an amazing player. Slips, who exposed Scorpion, says Ermac has a lot of potential and is a top 3 male ninja. Ermac MU chart is also very impressive. It honestly seems like people say Ermac is mediocre, or great. When I look at all Ermac has to offer, compared to his negatives (IE weak against pressure), it seems his pros out weigh his cons.

I hope to see some people tell me what is up with the telekinetic ninja in red. I am pretty open, but I'd love to hear that Ermac is good as opposed to bad, naturally.

 

[Kindred]

The way i see it is like this:
Ermac is a beast at punishing and very good at mind games.

The punishing (like his big combos that he gets off JiP) lets him destroy bad and okay players.
When it comes to better players, the frequency at which you land these big combos of 45%+ becomes rare and you have to use the different mind games and confuse opponents as to what you will do next.

The second part is why I think people hit a wall with ermac. You have to essentially look completely random while being deliberate. You have to expect that your JiP will be blocked most of the time and so you must rely on little bursts of damage like an U4, grab, etc to win. And thats not easy since you go in, do damage, and go out. (at least thats how I play him)
Sure you can zone, which you still use mind games, but so many characters have armor nowadays that I much rather do the "guerrilla" style attack.

Ermac is a very solid character. He just has to work VERY hard to win when facing skilled players since his strategy isnt one dimensional like "just zone" or "just put pressure", its a whole different dynamic I find.


At least that's my opinion and 2 cents on him

 

[Enenra]

snip

Solid opinion. I zone pretty hard and flip the table when they start getting into their comfort zone, as I feel very comfortable with Ermac rush down. The thing with his punishment is, you really only need to do it once or twice. If you get a combo, it really hurts them. And he is a good zoner, and has good rushdown. He seems really solid and plays well. Who else hits Mileena's telekick for high 30%?

 

[Kindred]

Solid opinion. I zone pretty hard and flip the table when they start getting into their comfort zone, as I feel very comfortable with Ermac rush down. The thing with his punishment is, you really only need to do it once or twice. If you get a combo, it really hurts them. And he is a good zoner, and has good rushdown. He seems really solid and plays well. Who else hits Mileena's telekick for high 30%?

I wouldnt qualify him as a good rushdown. Hes okay but he doesnt have great mix ups with low and overhead starters, hes not very fast, his recovery is quite long for his specials, his teleport is fully punished by block (unlike scorpions).
He's still great but he does have his issues when you try to use him as a full rushdown i find

 

[Metzos]

his teleport is fully punished by block (unlike scorpions).

What do you mean ? Scorpions teleport is fully punishable on block too. Except if you mean the EX version which is also very punishable by Ermac at least and most of the cast too.

 

[16 Bit]

CD Jr and Slips are right. He is a great punisher and he regulates hella space. He's very similar to Kitana actually, both in strengths and weaknesses.

It's just that America has no top Ermac, the early ones retired and Bone has multiple personality disorder.

 

[Tokiwartoothxdk]

i think the thing that keeps ermac down is that a lot of his bad MU's are top characters (ie raiden, reptile, etc) he's a great character but I personally think he was jipped a little when they were just handing out buffs

 

[Error]

Bone has multiple personality disorder.

Then I think he fits the position perfectly.

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

Ermac is the CM Punk of Mortal Kombat.
No one's gonna believe he's tops until he TKS's John Laurinitis through a table.

2'nd best ninja in the game behind Smoke.
If it wasn't for all the GODDAMN ARMOR, it might be a tie.

Then I think he fits the position perfectly.

This. You've gotta be a little loose in the mental department to get down with the Many.

 

[Metzos]

i think the thing that keeps ermac down is that a lot of his bad MU's are top characters (ie raiden, reptile, etc) he's a great character but I personally think he was jipped a little when they were just handing out buffs

Even so his bad matchups are pretty much winnable though. Ermac is the most underrated male ninja IMO.

 

[NRF CharlieMurphy]

Even so his bad matchups are pretty much winnable though. Ermac is the most underrated male ninja IMO.

He isn't easy to win with when you first encounter someone with good fundamental play. Ermac's footsies are awkward and take some getting used to I think. But I agree with you ... He doesn't seem to have a 7-3 matchup anywhere... and probably not many 6-4's that are real.

 

[Tokiwartoothxdk]

Even so his bad matchups are pretty much winnable though. Ermac is the most underrated male ninja IMO.

oh absolutly, i just feel that some match ups look better on paper than in a real fight like kung lao for example. i played some good kung lao's but sometimes i just cant keep the guy out and when i do the reset i go straight into 3,1 pressure and he spins me out of it before the 3 connects, but back to your point yes he is a underrated character because i feel people havn't seen his true potential yet

 

[Big Pampering]

oh absolutly, i just feel that some match ups look better on paper than in a real fight like kung lao for example. i played some good kung lao's but sometimes i just cant keep the guy out and when i do the reset i go straight into 3,1 pressure and he spins me out of it before the 3 connects, but back to your point yes he is a underrated character because i feel people havn't seen his true potential yet

I think an ermac that knows the matchup can be pretty bad for kung lao

 

[Metzos]

I think an ermac that knows the matchup can be pretty bad for kung lao

This.

 

[THTB]

Bone has multiple personality disorder.

LMAO

 

[zaf]

i would not be putting kung lao in a reset after a combo anyways, i would push him away after.

 

[Enenra]

i would not be putting kung lao in a reset after a combo anyways, i would push him away after.

Tue that keep that ugly little troll over THERE

 

[Metzos]

Tue that keep that ugly little troll over THERE

Well you know what Scorpion says when he spears. " Get over here !". Ermac should say "Get over there !" when he TKP's someone.

 

[STORMS]

CD Jr and Slips are right. He is a great punisher and he regulates hella space. He's very similar to Kitana actually, both in strengths and weaknesses.

It's just that America has no top Ermac, the early ones retired and Bone has multiple personality disorder.

But there is a top Greek player

metzos13

 

[SwiftTomHanks]

I was the guy yesterday using Ermac. I had been tooling around with him since he was the character I wanted to play before the game came out. However since about a month or two into the games release I had to drop him because my friends told me he was cheep and they wouldn't play with me if I used Ermac. So I went in yesterday with about 30 minutes of new tech and came 10% away from beating CD and going into grand finals. Ermac is a beast! I'm not sure about a specific number on the tier list, but Ermac is tournament viable for sure!

He has a ton of mind games between staggering strings, low/high mix ups, unblockable cancels, 50/50 slam that can be linked into from any of his strings or after a TKP connects, an amazing wake up that needs to be respected.

I don't know what more one could want in a character - other than armor, a damage exploit (cyrax, smoke), a mileena d4, and random advantage.... oh wait, all those things are cheep as hell. So in closing, Ermac is a great AND legit character. I'll continue to use him (mixed in with Sektor) at Winter Brawl.

 

[Ermaculate_Slim]

Wish My Ermac luck at Final Round Ill do my best to Rep him

 

[NRF CharlieMurphy]

I swear the more "retarded" you play Ermac ... the more effective. I've never been more frustrated playing a character because of how random he can be and not get punished. Establishing the air fireball gives him free jumps all day long. His damage is normal for the characters with no meter 40-45% is pretty much what everyone does as a punish.
Its the fact that all of his combo's let him set up the situation in his favor. STH... I hope you stick with him. Ermaculate... I hope, no WANT you to blow someone up at FR that is a big name. Just to show how crazy this game can be when a good player uses an unknown character.

 

[Ermaculate_Slim]

I swear the more "retarded" you play Ermac ... the more effective. I've never been more frustrated playing a character because of how random he can be and not get punished. Establishing the air fireball gives him free jumps all day long. His damage is normal for the characters with no meter 40-45% is pretty much what everyone does as a punish.
Its the fact that all of his combo's let him set up the situation in his favor. STH... I hope you stick with him. Ermaculate... I hope, no WANT you to blow someone up at FR that is a big name. Just to show how crazy this game can be when a good player uses an unknown character.

I am win or lose I'm not switching at all I'm determined to win with this character

 

[Skkra]

People who say and have been saying Ermac is not a good character are idiots. Actually, a lot of people in this, and all, gaming communities are idiots who don't know what they're really talking about. I've been playing this game for a mere NINE WEEKS and when I see people saying certain things I can't help but facepalm. The sad truth is that most people do not understand how to break down a game system.

MK9 has to be one of the most playable games I've ever seen. I do not believe a SINGLE character is incapable of winning a tournament - everyone has tools... its just that most people don't want to put in the time and effort with certain characters. I'm currently leveling up my Sheeva just to prove a point.

Ermac is completely fine. He doesn't have anything that makes him stupid like the broken Cyrax reset, but he's fine! He's solid! He's good! If you have good spacing and fundamentals you can beat anyone.

 

[NRF CharlieMurphy]

I don't think he's good against people that can stay in his face. Skarlet, Johnny Cage, Sonya, Jax, Kung Lao. Just a few that come to mind.
He's the ultimate hit and run character.