The Zoning Academy (Mortal Kombat 11 Edition)

[KRYS9984]

The amplified / launching teleport slam is what had me most excited about Noob Saibot from the trailer; the ability to zone similarly to MK9 and counter-zone with a full combo punish got me hooked on maining him (along with the fact that he's one of my favorite characters).

I guess it seemed too good to be true and he possibly won't have all these tools in a single variation. We'll just have to wait and see what happens with all these characters when the game releases; NRS seems to not want to share or give insight on their pre-made variations so it's somewhat difficult to theory craft at the time.

 

[kcd117]

I wonder if the shadow clone moves behave like projectiles or have special properties against Jade’s glow/Projectile parrys like Skarlet’s tongue.

 

[MKF30]

Noob and Cetrion no doubt for me(well two that I will definitely be using a lot)

 

[M2Dave]

I wonder if the shadow clone moves behave like projectiles or have special properties against Jade’s glow/Projectile parrys like Skarlet’s tongue.

Good question. I cannot recall what the shadow clones' properties were like in Mortal Kombat 9.

Props to @Trini_Bwoi for pointing out all the teleport special moves in this thread. I was going to do so myself eventually.

Teleports aside, if I had to take an early guess, I would say that zoning will most definitely be viable yet limited in Mortal Kombat 11. Walking back and holding block will be powerful, but the community will confuse this strategy for zoning as they did in Injustice 2.

 

[Marinjuana]

Cetrion looks really cool. I don't always pick zoning characters but when I do, I prefer the slower, wackier and more meticulous ones.

It's unclear if the ability will be available in competitive but her Earth buff is the orbiting rocks we saw from the trailer. One of the three rocks will latch out at the opponent and attempt to hit them if they hit Cetrion with an attack inside the circle. Not exactly sure what the requirements are, how close the opponent needs to be, etc.

But it seemed super useful and it got me thinking, you could probably use this as a way to really shutdown teleports. Imagine her just sitting there throwing rocks and then someone teleports, only to get hit by one of the rocks after touching Cetrion. Seems like a very cool tool.

 

[SaltShaker]

Cetrion looks really cool. I don't always pick zoning characters but when I do, I prefer the slower, wackier and more meticulous ones.

It's unclear if the ability will be available in competitive but her Earth buff is the orbiting rocks we saw from the trailer. One of the three rocks will latch out at the opponent and attempt to hit them if they hit Cetrion with an attack inside the circle. Not exactly sure what the requirements are, how close the opponent needs to be, etc.

But it seemed super useful and it got me thinking, you could probably use this as a way to really shutdown teleports. Imagine her just sitting there throwing rocks and then someone teleports, only to get hit by one of the rocks after touching Cetrion. Seems like a very cool tool.

It's the best one of the buffs imo. Superior to the one that allows you to block after being hit, because this serves about the same purpose while allowing you to follow up easier.

I like your thoughts on the teleporters, especially when you're up on life or they're almost dead. If you can throw it up and not have to think about the Tele, that can help close out some MUs easier.

Can't wait to use her. Feel like she was designed specifically for me.

 

[B. Shazzy]

lul i bet all the whining turned Centurion’s low vine grab from a low just the other day, shown in the game informer update, into a mid vine grab now.

so glad erron flew under the radar so he didnt get whined about. Tell you all about how gdlk he is when I get my early copy sometime this week lul

 

[ol_dirty_blunt]

Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, I may be old, washed up, and grumpy, but zoning aficionados all over the world grant me the honor and privilege to create this historic and influential thread every two years. While Mortal Kombat 11 is set to be released on the 23rd of April, in the meantime please use this thread to discuss the new gameplay mechanics and characters reveals.

Zoning Potential in Mortal Kombat 11

Early impressions of Mortal Kombat 11 suggest that the pace of the game is similar to Mortal Kombat 9's, which benefits zoning. Even better, the running mechanic has been removed so your opponents is unable to crouch your projectile and run across the screen to close the distance easily. However, some people argue that the revamped meter system no longer favors zoning characters. Speaking of the meter system, there are two bars for offense and defense respectively.

The meter generates automatically so that characters no longer build any meter while zoning. Likewise, characters no longer build any meter while rushing down either. The game’s new gameplay elements are fatal blows (the X-Ray moves of the game), krushing blows (a normal or special move that prompts “X-Ray mode” after certain requirements are satisfied), and flawless blocking (pressing the block button within a three frame window of an attack, including a projectile). Only time will tell what effects these gameplay mechanics will have on zoning.

Objectives of the Zoning Academy

1. Use zoning-based characters as primary characters.

2. Protect zoning from anti-zoning zealots, casual gamers, and scrubs, of which there are contemporarily a plethora on TYM.

3. Demand buffs to zoning strategies if they are deemed weak.

4. Avoid using highly offensive characters who do nothing but rush down.

5. Support zoning players in offline and online tournaments.

Zoning Players Watch List

BasicS - new player with lots of zoning potential

Pig of the Hut - old school zoning master

Tweedy - currently the best zoning player in the NRS community

Wound Cowboy - old school zoning and footsies master

More players to be added at a later date. Apply in this thread if you consider yourself a "Zoning Master".

Zoning Characters Watch List

Kano

Noob?

Shang Tsung?

Skarlet

More characters to be added at a later date. Make suggestions in this thread.

Shang tsung and hopefully spawn will be my mains so I'm definitely following this thread

 

[fr stack]

Although i am a rushdown fool i am tryin to learn the real skillz of fighting games which is zoning, pure hellish keepaway which generates lots of ragemail and salt noob will be my main with skarlet and whoever else can help me achieve my dreams

 

[legion666]

D’Vorah with Batgirls teleport will be every zoner worst nightmare...

 

[ColdBoreMK23]

Lol the fucking struggle is real already if half the cast has a tele. Lius 50/50 tele will be horrible if it's a base move.

 

[SaltShaker]

D’Vorah with Batgirls teleport will be every zoner worst nightmare...

Better be custom only. D'VORAH teleporting like Batgirl for full combo is where it's going TOO far.

Lol the fucking struggle is real already if half the cast has a tele. Lius 50/50 tele will be horrible if it's a base move.

Better be -20 type on block. Or custom only. Even Liu Kang teleports now.


I'm disgusted with the whole "just give them a teleport" rationale of game design, so I'm really hoping a lot of them are custom only. It's almost like they are insulting players saying they are too stupid to space their way in so here's a teleport.

 

[Trini_Bwoi]

Cetrion looks really cool. I don't always pick zoning characters but when I do, I prefer the slower, wackier and more meticulous ones.

It's unclear if the ability will be available in competitive but her Earth buff is the orbiting rocks we saw from the trailer. One of the three rocks will latch out at the opponent and attempt to hit them if they hit Cetrion with an attack inside the circle. Not exactly sure what the requirements are, how close the opponent needs to be, etc.

But it seemed super useful and it got me thinking, you could probably use this as a way to really shutdown teleports. Imagine her just sitting there throwing rocks and then someone teleports, only to get hit by one of the rocks after touching Cetrion. Seems like a very cool tool.

I think I would gladly take a hit from an orbiting rock if it meant getting in close and bypassing all of her crazy projectiles.

 

[Marinjuana]

I think I would gladly take a hit from an orbiting rock if it meant getting in close and bypassing all of her crazy projectiles.

Yeah but your teleport is still punishable if I block and Cetrion may have advantage after. Assuming it would work for this, it stops me from risking a full combo punish because I tried to throw a rock.

 

[Lord Snotty]

I'm going to throw so many rocks I swear.

 

[Eldriken]

Does f2~db4 with Skarlet count? That's all I'm gonna do at the beginning just to see how many people I can piss off. >.>

Early prediction: it doesn't work that well and I lose, thus I'm the only one getting pissed off.

 

[Baconlord]

New images by the individual with an early copy provides some information regarding Noob Saibot.

I'm not sure if spoilers are permitted outside of the dedicated thread (hence the spoiler tab) but if not, please ask me to delete my post.

Spoiler: Noob Saibot

View attachment 13783

View attachment 13784

It seem that "Dead of Night" retains his Mortal Kombat 9 tool kit with Shadow Slide and Tele-Slam but omits Ghostball.

As for "Total Blackness", I think Shadow Portal is the launcher; in the official trailer, only the opponent goes through the portal (before the ground bounce) and the still image / icon matches the animation as well. This is a very good special attack but I'm not sure how I feel about it being tied to Ghostball and Sickle Snag

Those aren't tournament variations. They're preset variations that are meant to be changed and customized.

 

[B. Shazzy]

New images by the individual with an early copy provides some information regarding Noob Saibot.

I'm not sure if spoilers are permitted outside of the dedicated thread (hence the spoiler tab) but if not, please ask me to delete my post.

Spoiler: Noob Saibot

View attachment 13783

View attachment 13784

It seem that "Dead of Night" retains his Mortal Kombat 9 tool kit with Shadow Slide and Tele-Slam but omits Ghostball.

As for "Total Blackness", I think Shadow Portal is the launcher; in the official trailer, only the opponent goes through the portal (before the ground bounce) and the still image / icon matches the animation as well. This is a very good special attack but I'm not sure how I feel about it being tied to Ghostball and Sickle Snag

Im positive these were the variations show in the Kast. They said those are not intended for competitive. All we can still trust is the base specials

 

[BlunderGod]

The two locked stages appear to be a some kind of forested cave and a ruined wasteland respectively both of which with Kronika's hourglass in the middle.

 

[KRYS9984]

Those aren't tournament variations. They're preset variations that are meant to be changed and customized.

Im positive these were the variations show in the Kast. They said those are not intended for competitive. All we can still trust is the base specials

*Previous post removed; nothing is guaranteed at the moment and even a day 1 patch could change things up*

 

[SUPAHJD]

Well.

After all the shit I talked, looks like I'm in here because of Skarlet and apparently, she has some decent zoning tools.

Hello.

 

[atljonesbro3]

So are there any viable zoning characters? It all seems so bad.

 

[ColdBoreMK23]

RIP THE Dream

 

[atljonesbro3]

RIP THE Dream

I'm so disappointed in how awful noob is. I was looking forward to him probably the most.

 

[SaltShaker]

Looks like pretty much Skarlet and the Tito's. Zoning is situational, circumstantial, and MU specific at best for the traditional zoning characters. Appears that Paulo's Vision may have finally overtaken us all.