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Is Baraka considered low tier now?

Nickolaidas

Agent of Chaosrealm
I remember commentators hyping him a year ago, yet in final kombat they more or less talked about him as if he was low tier (that part with Tweedy going no way when asked if they would see Baraka or something).

So what happened? Is he considered trash now in the eyes of the pro players?
 

Denny

Noob
I think the main issue with tier position in many cases is that there are so many variations and so many unknowns in the system that there is literally no accurate way of determining it, other than whether or not several top players think so.

My personal opinion is that he has the damage and the tools to do well.
Where any of his stand compared to Upgraded or whichever objectively may be the worst variation in the entire game currently, is anyone's best guess.
I'd also like to mention that people who exclusively play a character tend to feel strongly about the character's weaknesses.
Beyond that, what Agilaz said.

There are simply very strong characters in the game that are proven.
Upsets can happen, of course.
 

SonicNinja3532

The Wannabe Prodigy
He’s not low tier but at a high level he just isn’t that great a character. His movement isn’t that great, he doesn’t really have great mids (f4 advances but isn’t confirmable and is somewhat slow and that’s basically it), he has two krushing blows and an autoshimmy but honestly you shouldn’t be teching against baraka because he has no throw loops so you can just take the throw a lot of the time. He’s very much so solid and he shits damage but he suffers from the same issue mad man does in that he just doesn’t have a way to open you up properly.
 
Yeah, hes not in a very good spot right now. He has potential but he gets out classed by the rest of the cast. I dont think he needs buffs for real but he needs some quality of life adjustments.

To me, it feels like they worked on Baraka pretty early in the games development before they really knew what the meta would be. They gave him a really high and consistent damage but worried that he would be too strong if they gave him anything else.

In the strike/throw meta he ends up having some of the worst tools. He has the worst throw range in the game, no wave dash to help him with his trouble getting in, He cant really stagger, his only mid is i12 and puts him airborne meaning most of the cast can low profile it with a d3 for a full combo, no throw loops, all of his moves push the opponent away from him, etc. You get the point.

Not to say you cant win with him, but I think hes pretty low tier in the sense that there is no match up he outright wins. Even characters that the rest of the community considers "low tier" have at least 1 or 2 matchups that they outright win(and it's usually against Baraka, imo) Even the thing he's good at, damage, hes not so far ahead of other characters that it really even matters.

Again, I still think you can win with him but he needs some quality of life changes. Give him a wave dash so he can keep his pressure, increase his throw range, get rid of the block stun on f4 to make it a real stagger, reduce the pushback of 11 so he can actually strike throw, re-work flag so that it doesnt have as much recovery or absorbs a projectile to get the damage buff. Shit like that would go a long way for him, honestly if they gave him a good wave dash it would solve most of his problems. But that's just my opinion.
 

Dankster Morgan

It is better this way
Baraka is the funnest character in the game. I went from thinking the character is lame af before the game launched to where now if I went back to MK11, I'd be a Baraka main.
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
Administrator
Premium Supporter
I think Baraka is a really solid character, he just has a couple of matchups that are borderline unwinnable. If not for those few matchups, I'd consider him a great character.
 

Dankster Morgan

It is better this way
I think Baraka is a really solid character, he just has a couple of matchups that are borderline unwinnable. If not for those few matchups, I'd consider him a great character.
Like who? I could see him getting clapped by someone like Shang or maybe Cetrion in theory but I dont play
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
Administrator
Premium Supporter
Like who? I could see him getting clapped by someone like Shang or maybe Cetrion in theory but I dont play
Anyone who can keep him out effectively. It's been a few months since I played the matchup so patches might have helped a bit, but I never did find an answer to Shang's up-skull move. Some characters can dash through if timed correctly; not Baraka. Some characters can get a flawless block punish; not Baraka. Some characters can out-trade; not Baraka. Even if you just record the opponent spamming up-skulls in training mode, it can be very difficult and frustrating trying to land a decent punish. And that's just with mindless spam.

I don't have a ton of experience with the matchup yet, but from what I've played it looks like Sindel will give him a ton of problems. Her aerial moves utterly avoid his zoning while allowing her to get in for free. It can be very difficult for him to get into the necessary range to get anything started.

And I don't see him winning against characters with a strong defensive teleport. Baraka shits damage but isn't great at chasing, other than yolo b2.

And, like others have said, he doesn't have a lot of ways to open you up and doesn't really get much from his throws. His sweep is one of the best in the game but it conditions your opponent to block low; something you don't want if you ever want to land a full kombo.
 

Dankster Morgan

It is better this way
Anyone who can keep him out effectively. It's been a few months since I played the matchup so patches might have helped a bit, but I never did find an answer to Shang's up-skull move. Some characters can dash through if timed correctly; not Baraka. Some characters can get a flawless block punish; not Baraka. Some characters can out-trade; not Baraka. Even if you just record the opponent spamming up-skulls in training mode, it can be very difficult and frustrating trying to land a decent punish. And that's just with mindless spam.

I don't have a ton of experience with the matchup yet, but from what I've played it looks like Sindel will give him a ton of problems. Her aerial moves utterly avoid his zoning while allowing her to get in for free. It can be very difficult for him to get into the necessary range to get anything started.

And I don't see him winning against characters with a strong defensive teleport. Baraka shits damage but isn't great at chasing, other than yolo b2.

And, like others have said, he doesn't have a lot of ways to open you up and doesn't really get much from his throws. His sweep is one of the best in the game but it conditions your opponent to block low; something you don't want if you ever want to land a full kombo.
That makes sense to me. I played a lot of Bane in Injustice 2 and he was bottom 10 but not like bad or anything. But you could be getting your nutsack kicked in the entire game but catch up in one combo. Sometimes getting the combo was it's own thing.

I remember one time M.D. said he would rather get torn apart by a pack of dingoes than play Bane vs pre patch Deadshot, I think of that often when I have to chase someone.
 

Ck AeroVoid

Mk Casual, KI God
HE IS A HORRENDOUS KHARACTER WHO NEEDS BUFFS ASAP> HE SUCKS> IHE NEEDS FASTER FRAMES
SRSLY PLS BUFF NRF DA NERFERS
 
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Dankster Morgan

It is better this way
who actually answered his question?
The very first response was a good answer, being that Baraka is good, but someone like Geras will give you more bang for your buck. I might have misunderstood your comment, what did you mean that the community doesn't know what to do with a balanced game?