My Take On Character Loyalty in MK X

[Error404]

Is the character variation feature really going to stop people from switching characters? I'm not someone who will pick a different character in tournament play or anything but I still think that the idea of giving different tools will not work as intended. The reason I feel this way is because of the individual style of every player. Lets take me as an example , I prefer to play up-close in my opponents face , rushing down as much as possible without being careless. That is what i'm most comfortable with .
So here's an example scenerio. Lets say that i'm playing Hollywood Cassie or whatever her rushdown variation is , and i'm going up against Grandmaster Sub-Zero. I get bodied the first match because of ice clone zoning preventing me from rushing down. At this point I decide to switch characters , but I don't feel like playing Spec-Ops Cassie because I don't like zoning. So why would I ? Instead I can pick Displacer Raiden and be able to move around the ice clone. Im still rushing down , but using different tools.
And that is what think will happen with most players. This also works the other way around, a defensive player will not rush down simply because he can do a little better . Don't get me wrong I love the idea and I think its great , but I don't think it will stop players from countering each other as it is advertised in some of the gameplay demos.

 

[kabelfritz]

might very well happen

 

[ShadowBeatz]

I don't think so either but, and I could be wrong, I also don't think that the different variations were put in so people wouldn't have to switch characters in tournament play. I saw it and the first thing I thought was that it appealed more towards the casual player.

It's just like you said, a teleport character is going to have an easier time against a character like Sub-Zero than someone without one, whether they're rushdown or zoning.

 

[ForeverKing]

 

[Eddy Wang]

Characters loyalist will pick a character and master each variation playstyle, what you described is not character loyalism, is just counter pick with a different character, whether playstyle remains the same.

 

[Saboteur-6]

I think the leading concern is that with 3 Variations, are we getting 3 "incomplete" versions of a character instead of having a well-rounded character with multiple options against multiple match-ups. Are variations too specialized in that sense? Naturally all of this is just speculation (and for the record I'm optimistic about what I'm presenting here as to NOT be the truth), since we wont know until hands-on.

 

[EarlyReflections]

I get your point .
ex: I'm afraid of Raiden's teleport… Seems Displacer's specific.
wtf? I want teleports for all variations!

 

[WakeUp DP]

I'll be using lots of chars but thats bc I just love learning everyone.

 

[Saint Op Omen]

I think it seems more like characters were given more moves overall then they would have had if they didn't have to make different styles...
Like they start with a great base of who the charater is and then add for different play styles...
Also this may lead to people picking the same character and switching versions or switching characters...but a version that say adds rushdown to someone who otherwise would not have it serves the same purpose...giving you more choice then would normaly be available...

 

[Amplified$hotz]

Lol ppl will be counterpicking characters AND variations.

 

[Peckapowa]

Is the character variation feature really going to stop people from switching characters? I'm not someone who will pick a different character in tournament play or anything but I still think that the idea of giving different tools will not work as intended. The reason I feel this way is because of the individual style of every player. Lets take me as an example , I prefer to play up-close in my opponents face , rushing down as much as possible without being careless. That is what i'm most comfortable with .
So here's an example scenerio. Lets say that i'm playing Hollywood Cassie or whatever her rushdown variation is , and i'm going up against Grandmaster Sub-Zero. I get bodied the first match because of ice clone zoning preventing me from rushing down. At this point I decide to switch characters , but I don't feel like playing Spec-Ops Cassie because I don't like zoning. So why would I ? Instead I can pick Displacer Raiden and be able to move around the ice clone. Im still rushing down , but using different tools.
And that is what think will happen with most players. This also works the other way around, a defensive player will not rush down simply because he can do a little better . Don't get me wrong I love the idea and I think its great , but I don't think it will stop players from countering each other as it is advertised in some of the gameplay demos.

typically raiden is about turtling and footsies... it'll be scary if he is a rushdown character

 

[xenogorgeous]

counterpicking will happens no matter what ..... always happend and always will .... and some people just love being "tier whores"

 

[aldazo]

counterpicking will happens no matter what .....

Yes, but this time character loyalists will have the chance to keep their chars and switch styles accordingly.

 

[callMEcrazy]

Character loyalty is an issue for casual players. Competitive players won't bother with it. They will pick and learn the strongest variations from the entire pool, for example Displacement from Raiden and Hellfire from Scorpion. I don't see competitive players wasting time in learning all 3 variations of a character just to "complete" the character. They will effectively treat each variation as a separate character.

 

[xenogorgeous]

Character loyalty is an issue for casual players. Competitive players won't bother with it. They will pick and learn the strongest variations from the entire pool, for example Displacement from Raiden and Hellfire from Scorpion. I don't see competitive players wasting time in learning all 3 variations of a character just to "complete" the character. They will effectively treat each variation as a separate character.

this is a great true fucking statement !! normally it is what happens in the end .... you see .... kinda "let's do anything possible to try to get top 8 in that major tourney" .... hehe

 

[Swindle]

Character loyalty is an issue for casual players. Competitive players won't bother with it. They will pick and learn the strongest variations from the entire pool, for example Displacement from Raiden and Hellfire from Scorpion. I don't see competitive players wasting time in learning all 3 variations of a character just to "complete" the character. They will effectively treat each variation as a separate character.

You can tell that to the Catwoman, Green Arrow, Shang, Mileena and Kitana mains who placed (and placed high) in tourneys. Some pro's WILL be character loyalists, regardless of how that character stacks up against the rest tier-wise. Yes, most will gravitate to the "best" variations with little regard to the character, but some of the biggest names in the MK/Injustice community consistently backed a character who wasn't top-tier.

 

[Pterodactyl]

Is the character variation feature really going to stop people from switching characters? I'm not someone who will pick a different character in tournament play or anything but I still think that the idea of giving different tools will not work as intended. The reason I feel this way is because of the individual style of every player. Lets take me as an example , I prefer to play up-close in my opponents face , rushing down as much as possible without being careless. That is what i'm most comfortable with .
So here's an example scenerio. Lets say that i'm playing Hollywood Cassie or whatever her rushdown variation is , and i'm going up against Grandmaster Sub-Zero. I get bodied the first match because of ice clone zoning preventing me from rushing down. At this point I decide to switch characters , but I don't feel like playing Spec-Ops Cassie because I don't like zoning. So why would I ? Instead I can pick Displacer Raiden and be able to move around the ice clone. Im still rushing down , but using different tools.
And that is what think will happen with most players. This also works the other way around, a defensive player will not rush down simply because he can do a little better . Don't get me wrong I love the idea and I think its great , but I don't think it will stop players from countering each other as it is advertised in some of the gameplay demos.

NRS has embraced counter-picking, but they did it in a way in which they feel will allow variety(instead of people flocking to the same characters because they have the right answers, and away from others because they lack them). Instead of Sub-zero's zoning being bad against half of the cast, and he can't do anything about it besides ending up underused and unloved, he has the option to change styles to deal with the portion of the cast that can get around his zoning.

1:55 in the video specifically:

And what you are describing isn't bad, it's just playstyle loyalty.

That's the second perk to the variations people don't seem to acknowledge. Most have been focused on "Now everyone has an answer for everything" instead of "Now everyone has a way to play how I want".

For example: I like using [x]'s rushdown variation, but they seem to have a tough time dealing with a notable number of other characters and their variations. I want to be able to win and have fun still, but I don't want to have to switch between rushing down and zoning or trapping. I can just learn [y]'s rushdown variation to help me deal with other characters without having to give up the playstyle I most enjoy.

 

[TarkatanDentist]

I actually don't think that character variations were added with the purpose of getting people to stick to just one character. I honestly reckon they considered it an easier way to have a much larger cast than they appeared to have. Depending on how much these variations actually 'differ', we could potentially get a cast size as large as 90!

As I've mentioned before, many MK2 and UMK3 characters are effectively 'variations' on each other i.e. the male ninjas, female ninjas and robots. Look at Kitana and Mileena in MK2/UMK3 especially - they each had three special moves (well, Kitana had four in MK2 if you count her fan swipe...), but otherwise played exactly the same. But did those different special moves have a huge effect on gameplay? Fuck yes they did.

The only possible flaw with this system that I can think of is that balancing all these variations is going to be a nightmare lol.

 

[DuBBer Kiir]

Meh the game has a year before it's released, why's everybody already trying to pinpoint exactly how things are going to go when it comes out?

Any predictions you make at this point will most likely be laughed at by the first month of the game's release.

 

[Vulcan Hades]

I personally think players who will master all 3 variations of their main character have more chances to fail in the long run. I mean it's perfectly possible that only one variation of your favourite character suits you as a player.

For example: I don't see someone like Tom or Theo, picking the rushdown variation of Sub Zero just because they can. The reckless rushdown doesn't fit their personality and playstyle. They are really lame and patient players that excel at playing footsies. So instead of picking Sub-Zero variation 1, they might pick the Raiden or D'vorrah variation that fits that same style but gives them new tools to counter whatever problems they run into.

PL could learn all the crazy fast variations that have a lot of mobility and rushdown. SonicFox could main all the Yolo variations. And m2dave is better off learning all the zoning variations. etc.

I think being a character loyalist could really play against you in MKX. I think the wisest thing will be to explore all characters and only pick up the variations that suit you best but that still serve as counter pick.

 

[Swindle]

Meh the game has a year before it's released, why's everybody already trying to pinpoint exactly how things are going to go when it comes out?

Any predictions you make at this point will most likely be laughed at by the first month of the game's release.

You're absolutely right. Let's stop any kind and prediction or discussion until next year. Because THAT'S fun. You're a real boner killer, Dub.

 

[Wetdoba]

Am I the only one that likes switching up their playstyle? I'm by no means a strictly rushdown or strictly zoning player, I would rather adopt the playstyle of the character I end up maining, so the variations are perfect for me.

 

[DuBBer Kiir]

You're absolutely right. Let's stop any kind and prediction or discussion until next year. Because THAT'S fun. You're a real boner killer, Dub.

Dude go back and look at injustice predictions, some of them are hilarious lol.

But I'm just saying that nobody knows how this game is going to pan out. People are already saying displacer Raiden is going to be broken lol. WE HAVE LESS THAN 8 CHARACTERS IN A GAME A YEAR AWAY and people want to say stuff is broken? So dumb, I'm sure NRS learned a lot from MK9 and Injustice about broken shit, and will do much better this time around.

 

[jozuvloke]

Just cuz you pick raiden doesn't mean you'll be able to teleport all over safely I'm sure!

 

[aldazo]

Character loyalty is an issue for casual players. Competitive players won't bother with it. They will pick and learn the strongest variations from the entire pool, for example Displacement from Raiden and Hellfire from Scorpion. I don't see competitive players wasting time in learning all 3 variations of a character just to "complete" the character. They will effectively treat each variation as a separate character.

16bit.