People online are telling me I play the same as every other Sub-Zero.

What's the deal? Only so many of his combos are useful for dealing damage, and when I'm against people who can mash projectiles at a distance, I feel like I need to scrape up whatever damage I can deal against these guys. Then I get called out for not being original.

Is there any way I can change up my Sub-Zero's playstyle to be more effective? I sure as hell don't want to be cookie-cutter.

That's tough. I feel certain character are made to be played a certain way. If you are having success why mess with it. I understand though. You want your sub to stick out. Maybe hit the lab and see what you can do. Maybe you can come up with a flashier combo, it may do a little less damage but that's the trade off. Or don't care what people say and kick their ass!

dude dont let online smack talk destroy ur game. if ur playing an effective sub, then stick with it. like u said he only has so many useful combos. ppl just like to complain about somethin bro, now if ya start having issues offline, then start askin the questions and me n anyone else will help ya out

Being cookie cutter is being more effective, that is why it is a cookie cutter.
One thing you can do is play a couple of other characters for a while, to learn what they can do and improve your overall gameplay.
Also, try using the new tech, ending a frozen opponent with B1,2,1 for stagger and continue 2,2 pressure. It is very fun.

The worst thing just happened to me. I lost a mirror match to a Sub-Zero who *claims* he doesn't use the character. All he did was emulate my playstyle, throw Ice Clones everywhere, and punish me for my mistakes. I've been a Sub-Main since the first or second week of the game's release and I easily beat everyone else he used, including Kano and Kitana.

Why are Sub-Zero mirror matches so difficult and what can I do to put it in my favor? Attempting to jump over ice clones and stay in the back did nothing for me.

i play noob/smoke/kabal!with smoke my toughest macth up is another smoke!all others raiden-kung lao etc etc i dont have any problem!because generaly i dont play smoke vs smoke because when i pick smoke my opponent take another one or when they pick smoke i play noob!so the main reason is i dont have any good experience on smoke vs smoke!mortal kombat is a very unique fighting!its something lika a sport!you need to be fast,accurate with good reflexes etc etc!so maybey you where on a bad day and you lost from that sub-zero!pr you may be better fromt that player but his play style win yours!and dont believe what they say on internet!i bet he has played sub-zero a lot!

Don't worry man, mirrors with sub are like chess. Just don't fall into a noticeable pattern when you play. Develop your Mund fucks and it will take you far. The fun thing about maining sub is that almost everyone THINKS they know how he's gonna play, let them think that, then fuck their Mind up when you dash from behind the clone and throw their ass. . Subs game is in the head of your opponent, which is exactly where you want it. And like they said above, don't let the trash talk get to you, just play to win. I main sub and scorpion, so believe me when I say I know what its like to get called out when I just bodied some dude who kept falling for the clone or jumping into my spear. Do you have people to play offline with?

-b_s- :headbang:

I main sub-zero and i've yet to find another sub-zero to match my skills. But the mirrors i've played are like beef_supreme says. It's like chess and you have to mind fuck em to win.

The best way i've found to play another zooning char with sub is to rush down. They will never spect a rush down sub-zero.

A great weapon to use is the enhanced grond freeze because no one uses it and no one expects it even from full screen. Then rush down and stard the mix ups. Probably most sub-zeros will do a wake-up slide, that's easy to predict, people have patterns, just block it and punish. After a few punish they will stop using it and block low, then do foward + bk + freeze and combo again. After that, go and throw or expect a wake up slide. And if you are feeling nasty and you have the life lead, clone and let them come to you.

Beign original, and efective it's diferent things. Most retard message i got online is " Your smoke sux, you doing same combo,but you have great strategies" ...dumb
Just leave them be, ppls who saying things like "you'r not original , graber, spamer..." they just want to please their ego ,and don't wont to learn the game.All they care is their online ranking and how cool is to do a FATALITY. Good player on other hand, wuld help you out and point out your technical mistakes. If you have posibility, then find players like that , or some player that wuld like to learn game with you

@VRbrada why you pick Noob vs Smoke??... just asking

+1. Ex ice beam is great in mirrors too for projectile trades. It'll set you up for the b+2 reset, dash, 21, dash, 224~slide. Get em in the corner, d+4~clone to trap, then show em how a real sub does it! Keep doin what your doin man. Watch some of Tom Bradys casual or tourney vids for some excellent mind game schoolin'.



-b_s- :headbang:

We all know that random online scrubs are terrible at judging how good you are. Online is terrible, most people online are terrible, and people will say whatever they want to justify losing to you.

Combos are not supposed to be original. You are supposed to go for max damage/advantage every time. Otherwise you will lose more. What's more fun, scraping someone 20 games in a row or trying to do your own original combos that won't be as good as the standard and losing?

This entire board is based on the idea that there are optimal ways to play. This implies that any other way to play is not as good. Creativity is only good if it nets you more wins. Playstyle only comes about because there's so much subjectivity in analyzing games.

Edit: Said another way that's not as... cynical, a good artist still has to follow the principles of drawing and painting. He can break the rules if it serves his purposes, but he has to know the rules first and why they exist so that he can break them intelligently. Otherwise, if all that mattered was creativity, then anything I drew in 5 minutes would be as good as a Van Gogh.

Here are some things that you probably don't do right now:

1) D+4 xx Ice Clone ~ dash, F+4 xx Ice Ball

2) 2,1 block string, dash back once xx slide or clone

3) Block (ROFL - joking but seriously, no one blocks online by blocking you're going to be doing something that 90% of the other subs dont do)

I wouldn't care if somebody said something like that to me, but I actually feel like Sub-Zero is one of the only characters where you can see that not everybody is playing him the same from an overall strategy standpoint.

You should see what people say to me. Like 3/5 people i played against with sub, they say to me that sub is trash, sub hasnt not one on one combat, and more. I don't really care, but seriously i think sub might be now the hatest mk character besides Kano.They don't even care how to play against him.

They say that because you beat them. Last night I got called a scrub for using Kitana fans from full screen followed by various abusive messages.

Do what works if you're playing to win. Mix it up with silly combos if you have a lead or don't care too much. I like 22~iceball, ex ground freeze, jps 224~slide just for lols sometimes.

Sometimes i do the more sub-optimal Kombos just to make the person keep playing with me.

Yes, some people can get pretty grumpy when you dominate the matches. I often give away one round as well so that they feel they have a chance.

More often than not when i win two straight rounds, the refuse to continue, but giving one round away makes it more exciting and keeps them playing.

So, sometimes it can be positive to do Suboptimal Kombos.

Lol, I can't do that. I am just relentless when I find myself in that position.

This is online though, in a Tournament-setting, you HAVE to be relentess!

Put on that winning-face! Losing is out of the question!

Dont let them get in your head...Sending you messages is mindgames, they get you all worked up trying to prove yourself....Beat them the way you want, let them cry.