How to Defeat Any Character

[TheChad_87]

I'm actually working on a comprehensive FAQ to include all characters. It's all going to be public domain soon enough, anyway, so here are a few of the "Fighting Against" sections. Hope they help some (Ignore the corny puns - haha! I can't resist).

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 Netherrelm.

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 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 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 the 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 Ice Ball, and more importantly Ice Beam, poses.
Play carefully against him, and be wary of his jumps and you'll send him to the scrap heap.

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 ~60%. 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.

There's more where that came from if any of this is helpful. I realize it's mostly basic info, but I have done sections for characters all the way through Scorpion in alphabetical order, so if this is helping anyone, let me know & I'll see if I can offer any more advice.

 

[zRaandom x]

Ermac


Your best bet against Ermac is to force him to come to you. Pelt him with projectiles and try to bait out a teleport so you can block and punish. Watch out for his wakeup Force Lift because it comes out very fast and will beat out almost anything you can throw at him. Once he has meter you have to watch your every move because his X-Ray comes out very quickly and will punish pretty much any minor mistake you make.

With all due respect, I completely disagree with this since ermac IS a zoner. His best bet IS to be far away zoning you out with projectiles and force push.

 

[NRF CharlieMurphy]

Jax

Jax wants to be up close and personal. He has a block infinite currently (1,2,gotcha) and a low starter that can link into some fun stuff. He has a decent mixup game.... nothing special. He rules the air against most characters.... very fast uppercut, and air throw, and a command air throw. If you are caught in the corner and he has meter.... forget about it... your done. His ground pound against you in the corner is death.
Unless you are Cage, I'd make him make mistakes and keep him at beyond sweep distance.... where his projectile is punishable as well as ground pound.
Always note his meter.... EX Dash Punch has full armor and goes almost across the screen.

I'd like to add about Mileena. She is going to poke you until you bleed.... good Mileena isn't going to teleport or roll for no reason... only on reaction to projectiles or in combos. A good Mileena will zone until you make a mistake.... then mix you up because of all the pressure she exerts. I would not suggest jumping in on her or meeting her air to air... as she can combo off of any air to air attacks with a jab and roll. All of her normals besides her D+4 are slow... so pressuring her is the best way to win.

just adding to some of your other posts.... Kung's Low Hat puts him at advantage on block... Look at Johnny Cage's page for all of his frame traps, he has a ton.

 

[NRF CharlieMurphy]

With all due respect, I completely disagree with this since ermac IS a zoner. His best bet IS to be far away zoning you out with projectiles and force push.

I knew i missed one.

Ermac

Cross over cross over cross over. He has no answer to this... at all. Pressure and cross over.
Really that is all. His force lift is punishable on block. Don't jump IN... or you'll eat a force push/lift and some combo.
Ermac's strength is at sweep distance... and he is very good at keeping that type of clearance. Once you score a knockdown or get inside... don't let him out. Throwing him is a good way to get started.

 

[zRaandom x]

I knew i missed one.

Ermac

Cross over cross over cross over. He has no answer to this... at all. Pressure and cross over.
Really that is all. His force lift is punishable on block. Don't jump IN... or you'll eat a force push/lift and some combo.
Ermac's strength is at sweep distance... and he is very good at keeping that type of clearance. Once you score a knockdown or get inside... don't let him out. Throwing him is a good way to get started.

Thats right. Other good thing is to rush him down after a knockdown and BAIT wakeup force lift to punish with a combo.

 

[eskuAdradit0]

Yeah, you wanna keep the pressure on Ermac. Once you've gone through his zoning fortress, he ain't got that many tools (just block high and you're good) and they're quite sloww.

 

[scottyj]

I knew i missed one.

Ermac

Cross over cross over cross over. He has no answer to this... at all. Pressure and cross over.
Really that is all. His force lift is punishable on block. Don't jump IN... or you'll eat a force push/lift and some combo.
Ermac's strength is at sweep distance... and he is very good at keeping that type of clearance. Once you score a knockdown or get inside... don't let him out. Throwing him is a good way to get started.

I get beat by that constantly. He really doesn't have much going on once you're inside. Any Ermac users have an answer for that? I'm stummped outside of 3,1,2.

 

[CrashLand]

One simple PROTIP for dealing with Liu Kang...

One of his launcher strings goes: low, high, high. The other one goes: high, high, mid. Therefore, if you block low for the first hit, then high for the rest, you beat his two most damaging mixups, so do that unless he gives you a good reason not to.

He has a good overhead normal (f+3) but it doesn't lead into a combo, and he can do strings that end low, but they don't hurt that much or lead to knockdowns.

 

[Joelsoh]

Could we check the information you post here. I mean, I read Rain's one and I already found two notation errors.

Also lines like "I'm going to go ahead and say I'm a 360 player and couldn't care less about Kratos." Come on.

 

[zRaandom x]

Stop the hate brah. Hes doing this as a favor to all of us.

 

[Vulcan Hades]

vs Zoners: Dash block or dash cancel into crouch tech to close distance. Jump over projectiles. If you have some, use EN moves with armor to go through their projectiles. Let them compromise first. If you have a quick projectile and are not afraid to trade, block their projectile and throw one of your own.

vs Teleporters: Crouch or dash cancel into crouch tech (most ninja-teleports hit high), dash block or jump out of the way. Try to punish teleports with full combos.

vs Rushdown: Space them out with D1, D3, D4 and jump over them / away from them when you feel they are about to make a move.

vs Mixups: Fuzzy guard either by tapping down when you stand block or releasing down and pressing down again while you crouch block. Try to time your blocks with the rhythm of your opponent's attacks. Obviously, it helps knowing your opponent's strings hit levels to know how to block vs them.

vs Counters: Don't give them something to counter. If opponent is very anti-projectile, then not throwing projectiles will suddenly make them lose what makes them great. They'll have no choice but to rely more on zoning or rushdown which they probably lack.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Alright well I just woke up and am ready to start another 8 hour stint of researching, posting, and editing. I want to thank you guys for the very valuable information you have posted. I do have to apologize because I'm aware some of the info (particularly Baraka) isn't as helpful as it should be. I just want to remind everyone that this is going exactly how I was hoping it would. You guys are giving me tons of good info that I am going to be able to post in his section. I figure within a week or so every single character post is going to be loaded with awesome character info thanks to your posts and further research on my part. The good news is I just got an email from Xbox Live and my 360 should be back within a few days. That will make my research 10 times more accurate because I will be able to actually put these theories to the test (even if practice mode is shit...). But anyway, thank you all for your interest in the thread and your dedication to accurate facts.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Just a heads up. I know that many of the current posts are pretty unimpressive. I just wanted to let you know to check out the Kano post because this is what I have in mind for every character in the game. Even the Kano post isn't exactly where I want it, but it should at least give you and idea of what to expect from this guide.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Also, in an effort to fish out some better information you're going to start seeing my posts in all the character-specific forums. Hopefully I can gain enough insight into many of the characters I don't use or get to fight often to really add some punch to this guide.

 

[Theme]

No need to start attacking me for stating the obvious. I never said I wouldn't be using this, just that everything could be found elsewhere already.

Not really necessary post since Eight beat me to it, but thank me for the effort!

You still butthurt because I called you out in the Lag thread? Lol... Nice try. Petty.

 

[SilverKeyMan]

Thanks for posting this! It's incredible. =D

 

[TheChad_87]

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 far away to punish enemies who are better at projectiles 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 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.
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.
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 when they get in. It’s getting in that presents the problem.
Close distance and keep pressure up and soon you’ll be microwaving this EasyMac.

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/EN 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.
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.

Fighting Jax
Jax is 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. He's not as scary as he seems, and if you can stay out of the corner, you should be okay against him for the most part.
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 make him pay for that POS, MK: Special Forces.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

With all due respect, I completely disagree with this since ermac IS a zoner. His best bet IS to be far away zoning you out with projectiles and force push.

That's exactly the point. You want to be in his face, but you want that to happen on your terms. If you try to get in on a good Ermac player you are going to eat a very high damage kombo. Ermac's only real zoning tool, his fireball, just isn't that fantastic. The object of zoning him is to net some chip damage and force him to teleport to you for an easy block -> punish scenario.

 

[Theme]

When I play Liu Kang against an Ermac, I ususally am very aggressive. I'd get up in his face, and when hes down, I am next to him, I block and punish for his wake-ups. Sometimes, I'd throw in a surprise combo or if I feel like I have an advantage. Usually, I just get up in his face and he'd freak out and make mistakes. Thats when I punish.

 

[Wrathchild]

Nightwolf
(based on my fights with him and posted information)

Though Nightwolf have more mid-hitting chains than pretty much any other character he only has 1 low-hitting chain and it can't even kombo. This means you are typically going to want to block high against his pressure. You still don't want to let him in close because most of his chains have advantage on block.

Hey man nice tips I really appreciate the info. I just want to point out that I used to use Nightwolf and F3,1 is a low combo string that leads to hatchet juggle.

 

[Sentry_Gun]

Hey man nice tips I really appreciate the info. I just want to point out that I used to use Nightwolf and F3,1 is a low combo string that leads to hatchet juggle.

F3,1 is not a low combo string, no matter how much it looks like one

 

[Kombo]

You still butthurt because I called you out in the Lag thread? Lol... Nice try. Petty.

Meh, got over it. Frustartion with this game at the time reflected in my posts. And you didn't exactly call me out either I got better things to do with my life than worry about some ass over the internet. This man put all his time into making this thread for you, me and everybody else out and you say something as idiotic as you did. I see you didn't bother to reply to Eight. Also didn't remember your name let alone you "calling me out." This is the internet, any drama ends as soon as I log off. I'm out living the good life while your saying I'm butthurt about a post on a Mortal Kombat forum. I don't want to derail this thread anymore but you need to get over yourself.

 

[TheChad_87]

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. You can also actually uppercut him out of it in the last few frames. For the most part, however 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.

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.

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.

 

[Theme]

Meh, got over it. Frustartion with this game at the time reflected in my posts. And you didn't exactly call me out either I got better things to do with my life than worry about some ass over the internet. This man put all his time into making this thread for you, me and everybody else out and you say something as idiotic as you did. I see you didn't bother to reply to Eight. Also didn't remember your name let alone you "calling me out." This is the internet, any drama ends as soon as I log off. I'm out living the good life while your saying I'm butthurt about a post on a Mortal Kombat forum. I don't want to derail this thread anymore but you need to get over yourself.

Lol... Of course you'd start saying something like 'living the good life' because no one can disprove it. Your on the internet after all and you can be Bill Gates if you wanted. I dont understand why you and Eight responded the way you did as a personal attack towards me. Was it because you heard some sarcasm in my post or something because if so, I had no intentions of insulting the creator of this thread. What I said was true, anything like this could be found on each characters specific thread, this one isn't really needed, but I thanked the creator for his efforts nonetheless. I also never said I wouldn't use it. Its not like I was out to get him. You and Eight took it upon yourselves to response in that targeting manner for no reason at all, and I dont take personal attacks lightly. You're butt hurt enough to respond the way you did on this thread, and it further proves it with this previous post. Now lets see if you would 'derail this topic further' by responding.

Fighting Kitana
Kitana should be beaten close up.

Honestly, I dont think there is 'the most effective' way to beat a Kitana player (an experienced one at least). She dominates air like no other. Her setups are good as well, good enough to lead into a heavy 30-40% combo each time, so you might want to watch out for her launchers. Her fans and poking are fast too, so I dont think fighting her up close is a good call, unless your characters a rushdown like Liu Kang or something similar. I play Kitana (still learning) and I have problems most with the armored specials. What I like to do is sit back and throw fans and wait till they come to me, then I launch them to start a combo. The reason its hard to fight Kitana's is because most of hero moves are quick and look similar with fan use (the range is great too). I usually just use specials against her, like JC's Shadow Kick (EN to plow through the fans) or Liu Kangs EN Bicycle Kick/Dragon kick in a similar fashion.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Lol... Of course you'd start saying something like 'living the good life' because no one can disprove it. Your on the internet after all and you can be Bill Gates if you wanted. I dont understand why you and Eight responded the way you did as a personal attack towards me. Was it because you heard some sarcasm in my post or something because if so, I had no intentions of insulting the creator of this thread. What I said was true, anything like this could be found on each characters specific thread, this one isn't really needed, but I thanked the creator for his efforts nonetheless. I also never said I wouldn't use it. Its not like I was out to get him. You and Eight took it upon yourselves to response in that targeting manner for no reason at all, and I dont take personal attacks lightly. You're butt hurt enough to respond the way you did on this thread, and it further proves it with this previous post. Now lets see if you would 'derail this topic further' by responding.



Honestly, I dont think there is 'the most effective' way to beat a Kitana player (an experienced one at least). She dominates air like no other. Her setups are good as well, good enough to lead into a heavy 30-40% combo each time, so you might want to watch out for her launchers. Her fans and poking are fast too, so I dont think fighting her up close is a good call, unless your characters a rushdown like Liu Kang or something similar. I play Kitana (still learning) and I have problems most with the armored specials. What I like to do is sit back and throw fans and wait till they come to me, then I launch them to start a combo. The reason its hard to fight Kitana's is because most of hero moves are quick and look similar with fan use (the range is great too). I usually just use specials against her, like JC's Shadow Kick (EN to plow through the fans) or Liu Kangs EN Bicycle Kick/Dragon kick in a similar fashion.

The Kitana post is one that still needs a lot of work. However, that is one comment that I almost didn't post because it just seems so common-sense. Kitana is a ranged juggernaut. Between her Ground and Air Fans she can keep you locked down from full screen. That means full screen is exactly where you don't want to be. Kitana is at her weakest when she is forced to defend against a good rushdown. I'm not saying it's easy to get in on her by any means, but being in her face is definitely preferable to taking her assault from full screen where she faces no fear of reprisal.