Opinion poll: Is zoning “good” in mk11

[scrubjesus111]

I personally think this is a non-starter, but I just had someone tell me that zoning isn’t good in mk11, and I got curious as to whether anyone else shared that opinion. So, what do you think, is zoning good in mk11?

 

[TyCarter35]

It depends on the matchup. I mean if ur playing against Jade using Jax then yea fucking zoning looks hella strong but if ur using Scorpion then probably not. It's def better than MKX where zoning is non existent cuz at least half the cast had a teleport and the run button but not injustice good where u had zoning that was so oppressive that some matchups were lopsided af

 

[Circus]

It's a strategy, but at the highest level you can't expect it to be someone's entire playstyle. It just isn't good enough.

Even dedicated zoners like Skarlet, Shang, and Cetrion have to get the majority of their damage from brawling in most matchups, just like everyone else at the highest level.

Just see any high level match with Dragon, King Gambler, or Foxy using Shang. It helps their gameplan, don't get me wrong. Most of the match could even be one character traversing projectiles, but the majority of the damage won't come from the projectiles themselves like some zoners in past NRS games. It's just a way to manipulate the opponent's actions.

Of course there are matchups that zoning could be abused more than regularly, like Jax vs Cetrion, but generally, no, zoning isn't TOO good in MK11.

It's just okay. The way it should be tbh.

 

[Shale101]

It depends on the matchup. I mean if ur playing against Jade using Jax then yea fucking zoning looks hella strong but if ur using Scorpion then probably not. It's def better than MKX where zoning is non existent cuz at least half the cast had a teleport and the run button but not injustice good where u had zoning that was so oppressive that some matchups were lopsided af

I agree with the Jade jax and scorpion jade part but not the MKX part. I think zoning was better in MKX.......I was a kitana player and being able to do an instant air fan to catch a jumping opponent then run full screen and do a combo was great. I think there are many more teleports in MK11 then MKX.

 

[DixieFlatline78]

It's matchup dependent but as a whole it's a little underpowered. It supplements character's gameplans but projectiles are either highs or have slow startup/recovery, so you can't exactly keep people out forever. That's not a bad thing though. Playing against S3 Guile or ST Sagat could be pretty infuriating depending on your character.

Balanced zoning is a good thing

 

[Gooberking]

I'd like to think it's better to say that it is reasonable in MK11. It has it's moments and it's very useful to a point, but it's not really a good go to strategy as a whole. It's not anywhere near as oppressive or productive as in IJ2. Once you run out of meter, there isn't a lot you can do to keep someone from eventually just walking you down if that is what they want to do. There are also lots of teleports, so that's a thing.

Some matches have their moments, but it seems better suited to closing out a match at low life, or widening a life lead than trying to be a legit strategy. At some point you are going to end up face to face, and you aren't going to take over the life lead from being behind with zoning. In IJ2 you could run people over with it, and it felt like you had to be pretty good to get on the other side of the zoning game, but here? No. Losing to zoning in this game is more about being clueless or overly passive or something. I don't think it takes any real quality of play to overcome. In most cases you can just block some stuff and walk in and you will get there.

 

[KingKhrystopher]

Depends on the characters. In 99% of cases against Noob and Scorpion, no. Most other characters can contest it or do the basics against it. So it's relatively decent.

 

[scrubjesus111]

Losing to zoning in this game is more about being clueless or overly passive or something. I don't think it takes any real quality of play to overcome. In most cases you can just block some stuff and walk in and you will get there.

Lol just block some stuff and walk in against Sonya, sure. Tbh I don’t know as much about other nrs games, but in this game most good zoners also have great normals. Sonya, Cetrion, outtake Johnny, skarlet, kabal, etc. I’d say it will take some serious quality of play to get in on them and not get jacked up in the process. Honestly I just end up switching to scorpion reborn, but if the answer is always to pick a different character, then maybe the question shouldn’t be whether zoning is good, but whether it should be in the game.

 

[LawAbidingCitizen]

Zoning is definitely good in MK11. Depending on the matchup determines whether you can use a full zoning strategy.
Some matchups Sonya/Liu Kang can machine gun them out at little risk vs characters like D'Vorah or Kotal Ascension.

But it seems there is ways around it for the most part which is good.
Its pretty balanced and that's how it should be.

 

[Edmund]

like many others said it’s matchup dependent, I would say that on a whole zoning isn’t good to be anyone’s sole style, but it can be someone’s primary style so long that it is supplemented with other tools

 

[Gaxkang]

Yeah it is...and it's NRS style zoning. Fast projectiles, wonky hitbox/hurtbox stuff to encourage crabwalking, and chip damage. And no projectile trading.

With some projectiles online someone could be full screen and you gotta act early if you wanna block or duck. And some projectile stuff got krushing blows.
If Sub Zero freezes you full screen and he gets knocked down, he can get up and stroll over to combo you.

And considering a character with great zoning can also be great up close...well there's that too.

Now if ya got a teleport (and teleport into combo)....the zoning can get shut down entirely.

 

[GLoRToR]

Depends who. Cetrion and Skarlet are great zoners. Jade's zoning is unsafe, only the high is + and there is a gigantic gap in the meterburn. Her air glaive alone isn't good zoning, that's a spacing tool that you can check people with but you aren't going to keep people out as Emerald Defender unless they have literally no fundamentals.
Cetrion doesn't need to outplay anyone to keep zoning, her design is full injustice mode.

 

[Rasssta48]

Zoning would be so much better if projectiles will be destroy each other after inpact.

 

[Sutter Pain]

Zoning would be so much better if projectiles will be destroy each other after inpact.

Thats as NRS as a block button and perfect hit boxes.

 

[Vslayer]

Zoning is solid in this game, but not enough that you can't do anything about it, which is perfect. No one wants Injustice zoning, it was gross to play against and watch.

I'm curious to know who your friend plays and if Injustice was their main game.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

It's a strategy, but at the highest level you can't expect it to be someone's entire playstyle. It just isn't good enough.

Even dedicated zoners like Skarlet, Shang, and Cetrion have to get the majority of their damage from brawling in most matchups, just like everyone else at the highest level.

Just see any high level match with Dragon, King Gambler, or Foxy using Shang. It helps their gameplan, don't get me wrong. Most of the match could even be one character traversing projectiles, but the majority of the damage won't come from the projectiles themselves like some zoners in past NRS games. It's just a way to manipulate the opponent's actions.

Of course there are matchups that zoning could be abused more than regularly, like Jax vs Cetrion, but generally, no, zoning isn't TOO good in MK11.

It's just okay. The way it should be tbh.

Yeah, this is pretty much how it works in modern Street Fighter too. You use it to control your opponent’s movement, and to catch them now and then making a mistake, but it’s not a complete replacement for playing footsies.

 

[Marlow]

It's good. It seems to be more towards the middle of where zoning was at in MKX and Injustice 2, which people seem to prefer. I really liked Injustice 2, so I wouldn't mind if the zoning, at least for a couple characters, was stronger, but I think it's still pretty good in MK11.

 

[ismael4790]

Imo, zoning (in the sense of keeping the opponent as far as possible as much as possible until they hang themselves) is not viable as a standalone strategy in the majority of cases in mk11, because how the game is designed. Even whith the zoning being bad in mkx, a few characters where designed with the full zoning archetype in mind. In mk11, even the "premiere zoners" are usually stronger at the midrange than what they are at full screen. So my answer is a no.

 

[@MylesWright_]

Even dedicated zoners like Skarlet, Shang, and Cetrion have to get the majority of their damage from brawling in most matchups, just like everyone else at the highest level.

Not really a dedicated zoner then are you

 

[thlityoursloat]

It's strong when your character doesn't have a 3/4th screen advancing attack that's a mixup on block, or a teleport that's also a mixup on block/whiff, or a projectile reflect/absorb that can be done indefinitely.
Which is like.. a good majority of the cast? So no, but it's definitely miserable when you do play a character who doesn't have any of that.

 

[MKF30]

Better than MK X for sure lol.

 

[SOULWARRIOR 71K]

As a Shao Kahn main, zoners feel awesome for 3 reasons 1. NRS gave some of them teleports for some stupid reason. 2. NRS gave some of them counter zoning moves for some stupid reason. 3. Some of these “zoners” are almost just as good up close as they are from the back of the screen.

And to say “just pick someone else” shouldn’t be the answer. I know some people enjoy zoning but I find it to be straight up unfun garbage to have someone shooting projectiles while walking backwards for the entire fight.

 

[ABACABB]

Its ok but theres too much anti zoning tools in this game . I dont even talk scorpion , he always had his tele but others have all kinds of teleports ,reflects and stuff .

 

[TaserFace007]

It's pretty good. They've given characters a lot of good zoning tools, but most everyone else has good counterzoning tools in terms of long advancing moves, teleports, etc which help them get in on the zoners.

Zoning is kind of full screen mix up mind game as one person is trying to keep away and the other is trying to close the gap. It's quite fun.

 

[ChatterBox]

It's finally a valid strategy but not an instant win condition, nor totally useless. Everyone can get in on the zoners, and the zoners aren't useless against runners and teleporters.

I think the MK11 regenerating 2-bar system really helps in this regard. No one can ever do more than 2 amp projectiles to just keep pushing people back all day long. Blocking a few projectiles doesn't give the zoner access to their super or a long onslaught of ex moves over and over and over. Chip damage seems to be in a good place as well, with flawless block really becoming a factor in the longer matches too.