Strategy - Kitana Kitana General Discussion/Strategies

[xWildx]

it probably means you are all spoiled by mk9 kitana

Or it means... she's not good. Quite a revelation, isn't it?

 

[ShaolinGunFu]

How come kitana prime is spilling blood and yall spilling tears?

 

[Rean]

full screen ex superman. twice.
jumping on kitana to eat airfans. twice.
no melee ground fan punish.

true highlevel play. its obvious PL doesnt know the matchup

 

[xWildx]

full screen ex superman. twice.
jumping on kitana to eat airfans. twice.
no melee ground fan punish.

true highlevel play. its obvious PL doesnt know the matchup

Just ignore him. That video was literally from like day 2.

 

[GLoRToR]

I believe that she overall needs way better recovery and in certain cases better startup, such as her parries. She needs her old poke back.
Or if none of that, mid overhead fans and a fast hitting low both of which leads into awesome damage.

 

[learis1]

Kitana doesn't need buffs as much as other retardedly overpowered characters just need nerfs. I'd rather other top characters be nerfed so they actually have to play with half a brain rather than kitana be buffed to where she can just play brainless like the rest of the top characters.

 

[Rean]

but if you bring top characters to mediocrity, kitana will still remain D tier

 

[GLoRToR]

Just ignore him. That video was literally from like day 2.

Oh, it was actual gameplay footage? I have click to play on my flash so that I don't just randomly open vids and since his troll vid last post, I kinda don't look at his content anymore XD

 

[armani]

I was going to post this in the Kitana Combo Thread but I think this is a better fit in this thread.

if we all learn how to iAF like Neon Verte I think Kitana will be a problem online lol (he was doing chest height iAFs and was able to get an 8 hit combo full screen using them). the pressure would be ridiculous. all you need is a life lead and you can just sit back and GF and iAF all day. match complete.
being that the fans are so fast, psychologically you can piss your opponent off.
These cell phone companies need to take some notes. Cause her coverage is almost OP in my opinion.

if your opponent is doing a..

- full screen block? iAF and GF. chip damage.
- full screen crouch block? again. iAF and GF. get dat chip damage.
if your opponent is stupid enough to jump you can convert with a run~f43 combo or another GF or something lol you decide. boom a free 20+%
- full screen neutral duck? you run in. more than likely they'll throw out their projectile, you neutral duck and throw another GF, OR do an enhanced GF to trade with their projectile and get a knockdown. Then you can either run in further, do a sharpen, do an early reflect if you anticipate another projectile, etc.

- mid screen block? chip them out with GFs.
- mid screen crouch block? again chip them out with GFs. I haven't seen anyone really punish Kitana after a blocked GF at midscreen (yet) but it has to piss people off when it happens.
- mid screen neutral duck??? IDK it's too risky to whiff a GF that close. (if f2 was an OH this would be the perfect move for this situation)
but once they've had enough fan harassment they'll get antsy and do something that's 111 punishable and boom a free 30+% lmao

- close block? you either grab, do 3d4 mixups (another hard knockdown I think), b14~fan lift combos etc.
- close crouch block? b2. it's slow, BUT it's a hard knockdown. then you can do cross people up with j2~float njp (which is safe according to Khaotik). can someone confirm if j2~float njp jails? if it does then we might have something viable on our hands.
- close neutral duck? do b2.. (again if f2 was a fucking OH you could blow people up for being stupid)

after j2~float njp..
- your opponent might get hit with the njp trying to crouch block everything after b2. boom another free 30+%

if they block the j2~float njp...
- your opponent might throw out something. block and punish accordingly.
- they might crouch block again. hit em with another b2 and reset the situation.
- respecting the b2 they'll eventually just block. (again you either grab, do 3d4 mixups (another hard knockdown I think), b14~fan lift combos etc.)
if you get a combo and end it with a throat slice your a backdash away from continuing the zoning pressure. meaning alot of chip damage and an antsy opponent that'll do stupid stuff for no reason.

once they catch on to the b2, j2~float njp setup then you just block after b2 hits. they'll either back roll then get zoned out with some fan harassment, or do a wakeup armor move and you punish them for it.

another thing is her run. it's quick as HELL.
if you hit your opponent mid screen with a GF and run afterwards you can check them with a 111 for a full combo if they get button mashy.
(if I'm off with any of this info I'm sorry. I'm new to this semi-competitive MK scene AND I can't back this info with training mode vids but this is how I think kitana should be played. I dont have my own PS4 yet lmao but anyways please correct me if I'm wrong so we can get to the bottom of this character, cause she's dope as hell)

EDIT: I also have a question, is b14 the only low that combos into her fan lift? If so, that's really shitty for her lol.

I think the only buff she needs is a quicker f2 that's also OH so that we have a combo-able overhead (like everyone else in this damn game). I really think at the last minute they decided to remove the property from f2, it LOOKS like an overhead lmao.
(and maybe a mid hitting GF/iAF so that the opponent HAS to block her fans at fullscreen)

TL;DR use those fans, and use j2~float njp after b2.

 

[BloodyNights]

How come kitana prime is spilling blood and yall spilling tears?

lol Does PerfectLegend even play Raiden? Also he did exactly the only thing Kitana is good at, owning people who jump at her, and punishing for doing stupid things like random superman.

 

[Rean]

its a vid from 19th of april, like really

 

[Pterodactyl]

Kitanna needs butts !!!!

 

[Eldriken]

How come kitana prime is spilling blood and yall spilling tears?

If you're gonna use a video to try and prove your point, at least pick a video that proves your point instead of the exact opposite.

 

[Hellbringer]

whoever thinks kitanas fans should hit mid:

 

[Rean]

btw can we also talk about how useless sharpen is?
being time based its quite worthless. takes too long to cast, fades out way too fast

 

[Miss Kanzuki]

My roommate plays GM Sub-Zero and while we're probably not the best, I did understand a whole lot about the MU.

First of all, it's definitely NOT at Kitana's favor. The only thing you have going for you is damage--Sub Zero (currently) has to work for his and has to spend bar.

In the corner, you do have to make a hard read. There's no way around it. You can probably gimmick into parry I suppose, but that's extremely risky for 15% payoff (as oppossed to his 30-40%). In this sense, I think Royal Storm is your best bet, as at least you have an air escape option.

Here's what I found useful. Hope it helps:

- Use IAF sparingly. Sub can and will slide on reaction. Even worse, if he spaces you correctly, he can actually slide, not hit you and recover in time for an even better punish. Mid screen is an honest footsie game. Use it here and there to keep him honest and/or if he's full screen, but otherwise, not a good idea.

- You win air to air. You will deal 30-40% plus off a j2 than he will with his. Midscreen, watch out for opportunities of when he jumps, even over your head. Kitana can do a really early NJP, so you will beat out his option at best, get out of the vortex at worst.

- Against GM sub specifically, Float is not a bad idea. Jumping over his head and going for cross-up/non-cross-up means he has to respect your options and not just clone away. You can cancel into float early or late, which does mess up a lot of his inputs. If he's D2 happy, float really high and punish with NJP into 40%. You will outdamage him if he risks going air to air. Long story short, this is how you make him block.

- If you're using Assassin, do not be afraid to react to clone/iceball with EX AS. You don't need to use meter for combo damage--use it to make him afraid to zone you. 19% damage can and will add up.

Good luck.

Great post, but I find that when I do EX AS on reaction I am still getting frozen, I think it was just a normal iceball too.

A so I saw in an earlier post about people who refuse to jump(like a sub at fullscreen just ducking fans) can fan toss, dash, then run into throw.

 

[Xero_18]

it probably means you are all spoiled by mk9 kitana

seriously, sometimes people sound like they dont understand their characters at all and rather cry for changes than trying to understand. i have a friend who was complaining about mileena a lot, which is way more reasonable than complaining about kitana, because her framedata is really ass. i told him to stick with her and explore her meta which is all about the threat of the roll, which indeed sometimes just lets you walk up and do your 36 frame overhead. now he's doing fine with her, by just accepting she is a mindfuck character that has to take risks. work your way around the weaknesses and play your character as what it is. not every character can be an untouchable flowchart character, like mk9 kabal and kenshi, some are designed in a way that focuses more on the "Player vs Player"; not the "character vs character" thing. this has yet to be explored before you change anything.

How to fear the roll? That shit is very unsafe on block and can be blocked standing. I'm not saying she don't need work too but your Player vs Player argument for a character build is a very bad concept. It's always about the character cuz when building a tier list it's about the character at max potential not max player skill

 

[kabelfritz]

How to fear the roll? That shit is very unsafe on block and can be blocked standing. I'm not saying she don't need work too but your Player vs Player argument for a character build is a very bad concept. It's always about the character cuz when building a tier list it's about the character at max potential not max player skill

i dont even bother explaining further

 

[Xero_18]

i dont even bother explaining further

You don't need to. Tier placings are defined by max character ability in the hands of two competent players of the same skill level. With that being said she has way too many shortcomings that on equal footing to say she just has to outplay the other player. That can be said for every character and player

 

[Xero_18]

I kinda slept on this idea but B2 should be a string of like B2 F2 with the F2 being the last 2 of 212 since it just sends them full screen and only leads to stuff in the corner.

 

[EarlyReflections]

This thread is much more interesting than MKX Kitana herself

 

[xKhaoTik]

How come kitana prime is spilling blood and yall spilling tears?

this is the dumbest example ever. This match happened during like week 1 when NO ONE knew the MU. Hell, people still dont even know it. No tears here and try again

 

[Big Pampering]

this is the dumbest example ever. This match happened during like week 1 when NO ONE knew the MU. Hell, people still dont even know it. No tears here and try again

lol wasnt that an online first to one.

 

[Jaku2011]

There are 75 Matchups in which my strings are garbage, and my fans are ducked. Hell Ferra/Torr is a better zoner. I'm just glad she's just my fun secondary and not my main like some of these poor souls.

 

[Xero_18]

I was going to post this in the Kitana Combo Thread but I think this is a better fit in this thread.

if we all learn how to iAF like Neon Verte I think Kitana will be a problem online lol (he was doing chest height iAFs and was able to get an 8 hit combo full screen using them). the pressure would be ridiculous. all you need is a life lead and you can just sit back and GF and iAF all day. match complete.
being that the fans are so fast, psychologically you can piss your opponent off.
These cell phone companies need to take some notes. Cause her coverage is almost OP in my opinion.

if your opponent is doing a..

- full screen block? iAF and GF. chip damage.
- full screen crouch block? again. iAF and GF. get dat chip damage.
if your opponent is stupid enough to jump you can convert with a run~f43 combo or another GF or something lol you decide. boom a free 20+%
- full screen neutral duck? you run in. more than likely they'll throw out their projectile, you neutral duck and throw another GF, OR do an enhanced GF to trade with their projectile and get a knockdown. Then you can either run in further, do a sharpen, do an early reflect if you anticipate another projectile, etc.

- mid screen block? chip them out with GFs.
- mid screen crouch block? again chip them out with GFs. I haven't seen anyone really punish Kitana after a blocked GF at midscreen (yet) but it has to piss people off when it happens.
- mid screen neutral duck??? IDK it's too risky to whiff a GF that close. (if f2 was an OH this would be the perfect move for this situation)
but once they've had enough fan harassment they'll get antsy and do something that's 111 punishable and boom a free 30+% lmao

- close block? you either grab, do 3d4 mixups (another hard knockdown I think), b14~fan lift combos etc.
- close crouch block? b2. it's slow, BUT it's a hard knockdown. then you can do cross people up with j2~float njp (which is safe according to Khaotik). can someone confirm if j2~float njp jails? if it does then we might have something viable on our hands.
- close neutral duck? do b2.. (again if f2 was a fucking OH you could blow people up for being stupid)

after j2~float njp..
- your opponent might get hit with the njp trying to crouch block everything after b2. boom another free 30+%

if they block the j2~float njp...
- your opponent might throw out something. block and punish accordingly.
- they might crouch block again. hit em with another b2 and reset the situation.
- respecting the b2 they'll eventually just block. (again you either grab, do 3d4 mixups (another hard knockdown I think), b14~fan lift combos etc.)
if you get a combo and end it with a throat slice your a backdash away from continuing the zoning pressure. meaning alot of chip damage and an antsy opponent that'll do stupid stuff for no reason.

once they catch on to the b2, j2~float njp setup then you just block after b2 hits. they'll either back roll then get zoned out with some fan harassment, or do a wakeup armor move and you punish them for it.

another thing is her run. it's quick as HELL.
if you hit your opponent mid screen with a GF and run afterwards you can check them with a 111 for a full combo if they get button mashy.
(if I'm off with any of this info I'm sorry. I'm new to this semi-competitive MK scene AND I can't back this info with training mode vids but this is how I think kitana should be played. I dont have my own PS4 yet lmao but anyways please correct me if I'm wrong so we can get to the bottom of this character, cause she's dope as hell)

EDIT: I also have a question, is b14 the only low that combos into her fan lift? If so, that's really shitty for her lol.

I think the only buff she needs is a quicker f2 that's also OH so that we have a combo-able overhead (like everyone else in this damn game). I really think at the last minute they decided to remove the property from f2, it LOOKS like an overhead lmao.
(and maybe a mid hitting GF/iAF so that the opponent HAS to block her fans at fullscreen)

TL;DR use those fans, and use j2~float njp after b2.

Unfortunately a lot of that is negated by Kitana's properties themselves :/