How they can turn mk1's image around and bring hype for their next gsme

[Vulgar]

I think pre-patch Deathstroke was top 1 in the format he existed in, and would continue to be top 1 even with Martian and Batgirl added to the roster. Guy had his zoning butchered and still ended up safely in the top 10 at the end of the games life.

On the topic of Injustice (kinda) I don't think zoning will ever be allowed to be strong again in a fighting game. Casuals just can't put up with it and tbh dealing with zoning in any kind of lag can be a nightmare, and with games being predominate played online now, I just don't see it ever being as strong as the old days. Not for long anyway, It'll always get patched and nerfed. We'll never again get a game as diverse as Injustice 1.

Man, as whacky and fucked up as Injustice was, it was also fun as hell.

 

[Dankster Morgan]

How would the Peacemaker part work? People wouldn't STHU about "nerf Peacemaker" 24/7 when he was top tier, but those tools that were nerfed is what he needs to be good again except maybe the recovery on torpedo. So how do you buff him without causing the same outrage that got him nerfed? Feels like he'll get an exorbitant amount of complaints by default for being a (if he was strong) zoner.

It is unfortunate but I feel like NRS sometimes creates no-win situations for themselves. Like with Deadshot having dominant zoning and having a launching 50/50 up close that sends you back to full screen, but they nerf his zoning instead of making his overhead a mid or something. So they completely killed him and as you say, if they buffed him, normies would shit a brick over Deadshot buffs.

It’s like a character comes out that feels like they were designed to be dominant, like vanilla Deadshot couldn’t be a simpler and easier character to use anywhere on the screen and he was very good at what he did. Like how do you end up with a character like that period if you don’t want him to be amazing, then cave immidiately and kill the “annoying” parts but keep what was actually egregious. Might as well have not even added him in the game in the first place.

 

[SaltShaker]

I think pre-patch Deathstroke was top 1 in the format he existed in, and would continue to be top 1 even with Martian and Batgirl added to the roster.

Woa woa woa let's not go that far lol. MMH was one of the most busted characters in not just NRS history, but modern FG history. Only characters in games better than this guy are banned one's or ultra super duper Tekken 4 Jin levels of busted. Dude went even with only a few characters, beat the others, and dominated the others haha. Only character comparable to this guy is MK9 Kabal.

 

[SaltShaker]

It is unfortunate but I feel like NRS sometimes creates no-win situations for themselves. Like with Deadshot having dominant zoning and having a launching 50/50 up close that sends you back to full screen, but they nerf his zoning instead of making his overhead a mid or something. So they completely killed him and as you say, if they buffed him, normies would shit a brick over Deadshot buffs.

It’s like a character comes out that feels like they were designed to be dominant, like vanilla Deadshot couldn’t be a simpler and easier character to use anywhere on the screen and he was very good at what he did. Like how do you end up with a character like that period if you don’t want him to be amazing, then cave immidiately and kill the “annoying” parts but keep what was actually egregious. Might as well have not even added him in the game in the first place.

Yep agreed, and the flip side of it is when they try to make the zoning character without those benefits they tend to be weak because the zoning isn't as dominant as it should. Quan Chi in MK1 is a pretty good example. He SHOULD be a glass cannon where his zoning is uber strong and can dominate a MU, but his up close is weak where if you get in Johnny Cage style you body him. But instead Cage will just get in and body him unless the Quan player is significantly outplaying him. I feel like Quan should have more frames/better frame traps on his zoning, faster zoning, etc rather than buffing his normals (that all have gaps lol) and making him stronger up close. But like the other guy was saying I think those days are dead.

Back to Inj, I think in Inj2 Dr. Fate was a great representation of a Top tier zoner that worked well in the meta. Someone like that I'd like to see in MK1. All the Havik players and such can remain strong and it's fine imo.

 

[LEGEND]

Woa woa woa let's not go that far lol. MMH was one of the most busted characters in not just NRS history, but modern FG history. Only characters in games better than this guy are banned one's or ultra super duper Tekken 4 Jin levels of busted. Dude went even with only a few characters, beat the others, and dominated the others haha. Only character comparable to this guy is MK9 Kabal.

I feel like any argument I make here would sound like MMH downplaying but. . .

Deathstroke's full screen presence is constant and forces people to take risks, MMH and Batgirl are not immune to this, in the same way that they go 5-5 (ish) with Sinestro despite their obvious anti-zoning tools and broken up close game. But Deathstroke has safe 50/50s at close that require no resources AND better zoning. I think that version of Deathstroke is closer to MK9 Kabal than MMH. I'm glad we never had to find out for sure.

 

[Eji1700]

Yep agreed, and the flip side of it is when they try to make the zoning character without those benefits they tend to be weak because the zoning isn't as dominant as it should. Quan Chi in MK1 is a pretty good example. He SHOULD be a glass cannon where his zoning is uber strong and can dominate a MU, but his up close is weak where if you get in Johnny Cage style you body him. But instead Cage will just get in and body him unless the Quan player is significantly outplaying him. I feel like Quan should have more frames/better frame traps on his zoning, faster zoning, etc rather than buffing his normals (that all have gaps lol) and making him stronger up close. But like the other guy was saying I think those days are dead.

Back to Inj, I think in Inj2 Dr. Fate was a great representation of a Top tier zoner that worked well in the meta. Someone like that I'd like to see in MK1. All the Havik players and such can remain strong and it's fine imo.

I'm still not sure they exactly want quan to be a zoner so much as a setup character. Hence one of his ideal states being portal on opponent into armored nonsense.

I'd argue katana is closer to really being a zoner and intended to be so, but their approach in general has been odd. It's like every injustice they shit the bed with some insane zoner and then over correct for the next mk.

It's extra weird that mk traditionally had some really unique zoning thanks to how projectiles worked.

 

[Dankster Morgan]

Yep agreed, and the flip side of it is when they try to make the zoning character without those benefits they tend to be weak because the zoning isn't as dominant as it should. Quan Chi in MK1 is a pretty good example. He SHOULD be a glass cannon where his zoning is uber strong and can dominate a MU, but his up close is weak where if you get in Johnny Cage style you body him. But instead Cage will just get in and body him unless the Quan player is significantly outplaying him. I feel like Quan should have more frames/better frame traps on his zoning, faster zoning, etc rather than buffing his normals (that all have gaps lol) and making him stronger up close. But like the other guy was saying I think those days are dead.

Back to Inj, I think in Inj2 Dr. Fate was a great representation of a Top tier zoner that worked well in the meta. Someone like that I'd like to see in MK1. All the Havik players and such can remain strong and it's fine imo.

Agreed. It’s funny you mention Quan, because he along with Predator had “good” zoning in MKX but if it wasn’t for their offense they’d have been trash. Them having some good zoning tools was a cope that zoning wasn’t dead in that game, but if that was the crux of their character they’d be buns. Sub COULD sit in a life lead in MKX with the klone but he was good because of a looping 33/33/33 armor break in the corner that leads to 50% meterless damage. That’s a bit of a tangent but just kind of like Deadshot, it was all slapped together.

Funny to mention Fate as well, because he became just as hated as Deadshot following the nerfs. But Deadshot was mogging him pre patch, Deadshot vs Fate pre patch was probably the worst matchup in the game. So they kill Deadshot just to replace him with Fate. Which is why Deadshot was such a poorly designed character to begin with that was so obviously designed to be great, then killed. He was too simple in that he does two things extremely well, but if he loses one of them, he can’t cope like Deathstroke or Batman could.

 

[Marlow]

Back to Inj, I think in Inj2 Dr. Fate was a great representation of a Top tier zoner that worked well in the meta. Someone like that I'd like to see in MK1.

I feel the same way about Cyborg in Injustice 2, although more as a fundamental mid tier zoner.

 

[M2Dave]

How would the Peacemaker part work? People wouldn't STHU about "nerf Peacemaker" 24/7 when he was top tier, but those tools that were nerfed is what he needs to be good again except maybe the recovery on torpedo. So how do you buff him without causing the same outrage that got him nerfed? Feels like he'll get an exorbitant amount of complaints by default for being a (if he was strong) zoner.

Aside from buffing the hit advantage, I would not touch the torpedo. Kano knives to torpedo is the primary reason why Peacemaker was nerfed this severely.

I would explore reducing the cooldown of Eagly as well as the startup and recovery of the force field.

Eagly seems to have about four seconds of cooldown while the force field starts up in 61 frames, recovers in 60 frames, and lasts for two seconds. These numbers have to be facetious. LOL. You are much better off flawless blocking projectiles than activating the force field.

Once upon a time, these two special moves were over-tuned. Now they are under-tuned.

By the way, zoning is compatible with modern fighting games, but the zoning character has to do more than "pew pew", and there has to be some kind of execution/depth requirement.

I never bothered to learn Deadshot because I knew the first week of Injustice 2's release that he was eventually going to be nerfed down the toilet.

One of my favorite zoning characters of the modern fighting game era is Poison from Street Fighter 5, and NRS has done a better job with some of their zoning characters like Sektor and Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 1. I would like to see more original designs in future games.

 

[SaltShaker]

Aside from buffing the hit advantage, I would not touch the torpedo. Kano knives to torpedo is the primary reason why Peacemaker was nerfed this severely.

I would explore reducing the cooldown of Eagly as well as the startup and recovery of the force field.

Eagly seems to have about four seconds of cooldown while the force field starts up in 61 frames, recovers in 60 frames, and lasts for two seconds. These numbers have to be facetious. LOL. You are much better off flawless blocking projectiles than activating the force field.

Once upon a time, these two special moves were over-tuned. Now they are under-tuned.

By the way, zoning is compatible with modern fighting games, but the zoning character has to do more than "pew pew", and there has to be some kind of execution/depth requirement.

I never bothered to learn Deadshot because I knew the first week of Injustice 2's release that he was eventually going to be nerfed down the toilet.

One of my favorite zoning characters of the modern fighting game era is Poison from Street Fighter 5, and NRS has done a better job with some of their zoning characters like Sektor and Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 1. I would like to see more original designs in future games.

Yea that's what I meant, that Torpedo was probably the main stupid thing that I wouldn't buff. Looking at those numbers I didn't realize the forcefield was THAT bad now, sheesh. That's just, yea lol. Eagly cooldown makes sense too. I'm just wondering how an effective Peacemaker would go over with the crowd say if he was "Top 10" even without being Top 3 in a game that is so tailored towards offensive in-your-face pressure.

I remember us talking about Deadshot back then and I was surprised you weren't using him and this is exactly what you said LOL! I was super annoyed when he got nerfed to oblivion but you warned me haha.

Yea agree Poison was epic and very well designed. I've been trying out Guile in SF6 the last couple of weeks and rekindled the SF spark. This is pretty much exactly how I want to play a FG (elite zoner, high execution, elite buttons) and I'm mad I didn't try him when was using JP last year. I'd definitely like to see more characters like this be intentionally designed by NRS in future games.

 

[Subby Z]

@YagamiFire and really anyone else

Would you guys be interested in spitballing ideas for character direction for some of the characters after Armageddon.

I liked a lot of your ideas Yagami, but I think a good potential name could be Mortal Kombat: AD

as in after Blaze’s death. It could be a subsequent story of how Armageddon was prevented and plotlines for some of the cast going forward. We could do so in DM or possibly even here. I just think people throwing out ideas and then taking suggestions to refine those ideas could be a good idea.

 

[YagamiFire]

Would you guys be interested in spitballing ideas for character direction for some of the characters after Armageddon.

Potentially sure. Always fun.

 

[Subby Z]

Potentially sure. Always fun.

Cool. First let’s figure out a roster. I think we can safely cull a good amount of characters and figure out who most want to see back (a lot of the trilogy cast most likely with some good 3d cast thrown in.

I’m thinking for a good core cast (and this is honestly the cast I think should be in most mk games) we go with: Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Kitana, Mileena, Liu Kang, Sonya, Johnny Cage, Jade, Noob Saibot, Shang Tsung, and Jax

Let’s maybe do a roster of 25 (not counting dlc that would be added obviously).

 

[Krasiox]

Reptile.

 

[YagamiFire]

Let’s maybe do a roster of 25 (not counting dlc that would be added obviously).

25 to start is good. I'd say some amount of that also needs to be new characters or characters that exist in the canon but that have never been playable.

Your list so far is definitely what I'd see as 'core' to the cast and necessary and the suggestion of Reptile is also solid.

 

[Subby Z]

Reptile.

Haha yeah I figure a lot of the ninjas will end up there.

25 to start is good. I'd say some amount of that also needs to be new characters or characters that exist in the canon but that have never been playable.

Your list so far is definitely what I'd see as 'core' to the cast and necessary and the suggestion of Reptile is also solid.

So since this is after Armageddon I am going to throw out the 3 characters I think should survive from NRS timeline. You may disagree but they are 3 I want to see move forward. Kotal, DVorah, and Erron Black. How they would fit idk but I think that at least in concept these 3 deserve another chance and a number 4 from that kinda goes to Skarlet as well.

So we’re down to

Scorpion
Sub-Zero
Noob Saibot
Raiden
Liu Kang
Johnny cage
Sonya
Jax
Kitana
Mileena
Jade
Shang Tsung
Reptile
Kotal
DVorah
Erron Black
Skarlet

I think another character who would come in useful here is Ermac. He helped revive all of the heroes once upon a time so I think his inclusion would also be needed.

Do you disagree with any of these past few?

Oh and what characters from hints of the past are you thinking of? My brain immediately went to Nimbus Terrafaux but maybe just called nimbus here for short.

 

[YagamiFire]

Do you disagree with any of these past few?

I have no major issues with any of those because my brain is also partially in 'marketing/popularity' mode when I do things like this and Kotal and Erron especially are quite popular and Skarlet is pretty popular too. We're also going to need Kung Lao. He's much too popular to skip.

Stuff below

Spoiler

Regarding other additions, we have some slots left over and at least some need to go to 3d era characters. One I'd highly suggest would be doing something with Kai. He needs a second chance badly and I had an idea to bring him in and immediately tie him into stuff...while also bringing back some of the Asian mythology & imagery that really has gone by the wayside with NRS MK. The idea came to me with the scars Kai has. Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kai. They're coming together with a fourth as arranged by the Elder Gods to tie into the Four Guardians.

Kai would be Baihu aka the White Tiger of the east. Baihu is typically tied to the military so might be a good opportunity thematically to actually give Kai a damn background. He mentions wanting to find his soul in MK4. So maybe he's a young man with military experience haunted by it. Not military like Jax & Sonya but maybe more like child of war stuff. And he went East to try and find some peace which is how he joined the Shaolin and White Lotus society. Just an idea. This militaristic bent would also tie into the direction for Kai having to become a foremost warrior for Earthrealm (starting by aiding ALL the realms in the aftermath of Armageddon against Shao Kahn).

For obvious reasons, Liu is Qinglong, the Azure Dragon. He's always been tied to dragon iconography, etc. With the Dragon also representing Imperial power, this would also be used thematically to advance Liu into more of a direct leadership role instead of being a more passive warrior waiting for things to go wrong for him to right. Liu would have to be more in charge, more of a leader and take a lot of authority for Earthrealm back from the gods (Raiden included) so humanity can chart its own course after Armageddon. I feel like Liu had nothing after MK4 which is why the Deadly Alliance just killed him and his character has spun its wheels since. Dude needs to put on big boy pants ESPECIALLY after some of the shit Raiden has done/failed to do

Baihu being the Western symbol and Qinglong being the Eastern symbol are also fantastic since Kai would be a westerner and Liu is a native of the east.

As for Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise...it's relation to the Dark Mysterious Warrior makes Kung Lao a good match for it since he was originally a lone warrior going his own way and doing his own stuff. Also the tortoise stuff is a nice nod to his metal hat (which he has even worn on his back like a shell in at least one alt outfit). Kung Lao would need some good direction as well and, maybe, focusing on his penchant for independent action is a good thing for his growth

Okay so that leaves the Vermillion Phoenix of the South Zhuque. This is the curveball for the 4...because I'm suggesting FINALLY giving Shang Tsung more of a background...and having him round out the kooky quartet here of characters tied into each other for the story. The phoenix is a symbol of rebirth & immortality...and that's perfect for Shang. Shang's early mortal life in Earthrealm would be revealed as a candidate of the very early Order of Light. The game would feature Shang at his youngest physically (similar to MK1 I'd think)...and, more importantly, since he was res'd by the Elder Gods it would be without his withering curse. So Shang no longer needs to steal souls. He still knows HOW to though. Basically, it's a chance for redemption for Shang. In the past his betrayal of the ideals of the Order of Light would have lead to his curse & banishment which lead to him traveling to Outworld etc etc from the OG timeline. Now he can once again fight for the realm he was born to...and save all of existence in the process.

Tease a redemption arc for Shang? Yes. Big time. Go through with it? Yes. Big time. And then hidden in the story reveal that Shang made one move that shows he's still out for himself and is still evil. There's no redeeming the sonuvabitch.

The Four Guardian beasts dynamic would be a thematic element in the story development of the four and potentially something the Elder Gods themselves are aware of as an auspicious formation of warriors.

I'd say there should likely be 2-3 new/first time playable characters. I'm suggesting one of them as Jerrod. The dude has been mentioned all over the place and gets super little characterization. It would also give the game an 'older male' character type in line with characters like JP in SF6 and Victor in Tekken 8.

Ermac I'd suggest holding off on because I think Kenshi might be a better initial choice because he's hyper popular and not a ninja. I'm off the mind every DLC pack should have a ninja in it.

I think that'd put us at 21 characters so far? So we still have 4 slots. At least 1 should be a FULLY new character if not 2, I'd think. A new game with a new era needs to show off new toys.

I'm also going to say something insane and insist that Kobra be in the game...and be awesome.

Thoughts?

 

[Subby Z]

I have no major issues with any of those because my brain is also partially in 'marketing/popularity' mode when I do things like this and Kotal and Erron especially are quite popular and Skarlet is pretty popular too. We're also going to need Kung Lao. He's much too popular to skip.

Stuff below

Spoiler

Regarding other additions, we have some slots left over and at least some need to go to 3d era characters. One I'd highly suggest would be doing something with Kai. He needs a second chance badly and I had an idea to bring him in and immediately tie him into stuff...while also bringing back some of the Asian mythology & imagery that really has gone by the wayside with NRS MK. The idea came to me with the scars Kai has. Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kai. They're coming together with a fourth as arranged by the Elder Gods to tie into the Four Guardians.

Kai would be Baihu aka the White Tiger of the east. Baihu is typically tied to the military so might be a good opportunity thematically to actually give Kai a damn background. He mentions wanting to find his soul in MK4. So maybe he's a young man with military experience haunted by it. Not military like Jax & Sonya but maybe more like child of war stuff. And he went East to try and find some peace which is how he joined the Shaolin and White Lotus society. Just an idea. This militaristic bent would also tie into the direction for Kai having to become a foremost warrior for Earthrealm (starting by aiding ALL the realms in the aftermath of Armageddon against Shao Kahn).

For obvious reasons, Liu is Qinglong, the Azure Dragon. He's always been tied to dragon iconography, etc. With the Dragon also representing Imperial power, this would also be used thematically to advance Liu into more of a direct leadership role instead of being a more passive warrior waiting for things to go wrong for him to right. Liu would have to be more in charge, more of a leader and take a lot of authority for Earthrealm back from the gods (Raiden included) so humanity can chart its own course after Armageddon. I feel like Liu had nothing after MK4 which is why the Deadly Alliance just killed him and his character has spun its wheels since. Dude needs to put on big boy pants ESPECIALLY after some of the shit Raiden has done/failed to do

Baihu being the Western symbol and Qinglong being the Eastern symbol are also fantastic since Kai would be a westerner and Liu is a native of the east.

As for Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise...it's relation to the Dark Mysterious Warrior makes Kung Lao a good match for it since he was originally a lone warrior going his own way and doing his own stuff. Also the tortoise stuff is a nice nod to his metal hat (which he has even worn on his back like a shell in at least one alt outfit). Kung Lao would need some good direction as well and, maybe, focusing on his penchant for independent action is a good thing for his growth

Okay so that leaves the Vermillion Phoenix of the South Zhuque. This is the curveball for the 4...because I'm suggesting FINALLY giving Shang Tsung more of a background...and having him round out the kooky quartet here of characters tied into each other for the story. The phoenix is a symbol of rebirth & immortality...and that's perfect for Shang. Shang's early mortal life in Earthrealm would be revealed as a candidate of the very early Order of Light. The game would feature Shang at his youngest physically (similar to MK1 I'd think)...and, more importantly, since he was res'd by the Elder Gods it would be without his withering curse. So Shang no longer needs to steal souls. He still knows HOW to though. Basically, it's a chance for redemption for Shang. In the past his betrayal of the ideals of the Order of Light would have lead to his curse & banishment which lead to him traveling to Outworld etc etc from the OG timeline. Now he can once again fight for the realm he was born to...and save all of existence in the process.

Tease a redemption arc for Shang? Yes. Big time. Go through with it? Yes. Big time. And then hidden in the story reveal that Shang made one move that shows he's still out for himself and is still evil. There's no redeeming the sonuvabitch.

The Four Guardian beasts dynamic would be a thematic element in the story development of the four and potentially something the Elder Gods themselves are aware of as an auspicious formation of warriors.

I'd say there should likely be 2-3 new/first time playable characters. I'm suggesting one of them as Jerrod. The dude has been mentioned all over the place and gets super little characterization. It would also give the game an 'older male' character type in line with characters like JP in SF6 and Victor in Tekken 8.

Ermac I'd suggest holding off on because I think Kenshi might be a better initial choice because he's hyper popular and not a ninja. I'm off the mind every DLC pack should have a ninja in it.

I think that'd put us at 21 characters so far? So we still have 4 slots. At least 1 should be a FULLY new character if not 2, I'd think. A new game with a new era needs to show off new toys.

I'm also going to say something insane and insist that Kobra be in the game...and be awesome.

Thoughts?

Haven’t forgot ya Yagami just got tied up.

I like the concepts for the Shaolin as long as Shang indeed stays evil haha. A good bait and switch like proposed could work. I just like Shang as that sneaky character who can just always get out of trouble.

I do think though after looking at concept art that Kai and Nimbus could be a bit too similar so we’ll say no to Nimbus for now.

Also on Ermac. Personally I want him. For the simple fact that he missed 11 all together and was dlc in MK1. I think it’s time for him to jump back to main roster.

I’m also throwing Fujin in there. I’d argue he became a favorite in 11 and as far as 3d era representation goes he is one of the favorites.

Do you have any idea how we avoid Armageddon here? That’s another thing I’m thinking on. How was Armageddon avoided and also

Who is the boss for this game? I’m personally a fan of taking old bad guys and upgrading them to boss characters. It makes them legitimate threats and adds to their lore however if you want an all new boss I’m totally down for that as well.

 

[Trickywizard]

In Killer Instinct, this worked very well, actually. Every character is "busted" by design, and every character's Instinct is designed to break the rules of the game in a different way. The game is considered very well balanced, though there are tiers.

It took a bit to get there, and the Roster was released over seasons and things did shift as time went on, but the final product is fantastic.

It worked for UMVC3 too, game was busted and it lasted about 10 yrs with zero support from the devs. The game was extremely fun to play and watch too.

 

[Trickywizard]

I think it’d actually be mutually beneficial. Because you’d have people actually paying to essentially be QA & balance testers. And there would be hundreds of thousands of them instead of the handful NRS employs

Why not just a long free beta? 6months beta with online and practice mode?

 

[Eddy Wang]

Haha yeah I figure a lot of the ninjas will end up there.


So since this is after Armageddon I am going to throw out the 3 characters I think should survive from NRS timeline. You may disagree but they are 3 I want to see move forward. Kotal, DVorah, and Erron Black. How they would fit idk but I think that at least in concept these 3 deserve another chance and a number 4 from that kinda goes to Skarlet as well.

So we’re down to

Scorpion
Sub-Zero
Noob Saibot
Raiden
Liu Kang
Johnny cage
Sonya
Jax
Kitana
Mileena
Jade
Shang Tsung
Reptile
Kotal
DVorah
Erron Black
Skarlet

I think another character who would come in useful here is Ermac. He helped revive all of the heroes once upon a time so I think his inclusion would also be needed.

Do you disagree with any of these past few?

Oh and what characters from hints of the past are you thinking of? My brain immediately went to Nimbus Terrafaux but maybe just called nimbus here for short.

i'd Swap D'vorah with Kano.
I know its getting kinda old but i still think Sonya can't coexist on a roster where Kano isn't in it in some form, it doesn't work.

As for Skarlet, they need to go back and make her a Ninja, as she was in MK9, i mean full moveset:
Kunais that don't do chip without meter
blood balls that can be aimed to travel in arc and self inflict damage but does 7% chip damage
short jabs and punches on strings that whiff on crouch when it doesn't high jail
f4 that crushes highs and links specials
blockstrings on high guards
restand strings
terrible wakeup system
terrible teleports
insane amout of armor on ex dash
20 overheads

Fuck, they can even bring me in just to design this character along for free, i'd be down even for that.

 

[YagamiFire]

Also on Ermac. Personally I want him. For the simple fact that he missed 11 all together and was dlc in MK1. I think it’s time for him to jump back to main roster.

100% okay with that level of devotion for the roster. Kick Kenshi, bring in Ermac. Hell, make it so one of the souls currently in Ermac after Armageddon death is his bro Kenshi to hint at Kenshi as a future DLC character

I’m also throwing Fujin in there. I’d argue he became a favorite in 11 and as far as 3d era representation goes he is one of the favorites.

Fujin was high on my list to suggest as well but I didn't want to overwhelm the roster with my own suggestions. I'd say he should absolutely be in as well.

Do you have any idea how we avoid Armageddon here? That’s another thing I’m thinking on. How was Armageddon avoided and also

I say don't have it avoided. Shao wins, Elder Gods do a last Hail Mary of pooling their power to res the core cast as their 'champions of Mortal Kombat' to oppose Khan in an all-or-nothing battle across the realms. Maybe some of the cast is people Shao res'd himself to serve him as his lieutenants. The initial shipped game is the story of surviving Armageddon and defeating Shao...then all the DLC seasons shed light on characters and the worlds direction after things are fixed.

Who is the boss for this game?

Shao and his lieutenants. Go the route of having his lieutenants be unfair in some way when you fight them the same way as Akuma and M. Bison in SF6 have their playable versions but also super boss versions. Maybe each one is empowered by a Kamidogu to watch over a realm by Shao thereby explaining their boosted powers. Just spitballing. Make his real theat be a leashed, empowered Onaga that Shao has power over (since he'd likely enjoy turning the tables on his old master)...and the hidden super boss of the game is a Kamidogu Onaga at full strength. People have been wanting Onaga back and this would be the first time he'd be a boss in a game with traditional 2d gameplay. For comparison to something like Tekken, Shao would be "Always Devil Mode Kazuya" and Onaga would be more like Azazel.

i'd Swap D'vorah with Kano.

I am biased as a Kano fan...but I agree with this Tho I'm also not opposed to Kano being DLC after finally being 'found' by Sonya

As for Skarlet, they need to go back and make her a Ninja, as she was in MK9, i mean full moveset:

I am a supporter of this. I can't stand MK11 Skarlet. The wife also VASTLY preferred her incarnation in MK9.

My wacky suggestion is a Flesh Pits trio

Skarlet
Meat
[new character]

Skarlet would be blood
Meat would be flesh
[new character] would be a bone-based character (think Marrow from X-men or Kimimaro from Naruto)

And yes I unironically support Meat getting a shot as a full character 100%. I feel like he could become MK's 'tarman zombie' (if any of y'all are familiar with Return of the Living Dead) as a slightly silly mascot. Also just imagine Skarlet like draping herself on Meat with her arms over his shoulders because he's constantly bleeding and she's just soaking it in through her skin. Meat is one of those characters that straddles the line between gorey and goofy in a way that I think is quintessential MK and he could inherit some stuff from Havik (who I think has been massively damaged at this point so will need some time off unfortunately) as far as self-mutilation moves