Match-up Discussion Kitana's Current Standing in the Community <3

[RTM2004]

Kitana's D3 is the same as Jade and Mileena, cheap. D3 is good, I use it mostly for cross up attempts as I find it better than D1 because a delayed cross up punch seems to hit me quite frequently despite her small hitbox on that D1.

 

[rev0lver]

Block low and poke back...

Well the kitana's that use it are the ones who are the top one's lol.

Any d3 is overrated, block and poke back, but it's easier said than done.
you're sitting there expecting the d3, but what if they grab you? or b33 fake out kick (it jails on ducked opponents)
33 leaves you neutral.
etc

Footsies is her main game, but her d3 pressure is legit.

I know, but I mean it's only going to get you so far vs certain characters (i.e. Cage, Sonya, Lao, etc). Like I think Cyrax up close pressure is clearly superior to Kitana's, which is why I think Cyrax's pressure+damage evens him out vs Kitana's zoning and footsies.

 

[Mr. Mileena]

I know, but I mean it's only going to get you so far vs certain characters (i.e. Cage, Sonya, Lao, etc). Like I think Cyrax up close pressure is clearly superior to Kitana's, which is why I think Cyrax's pressure+damage evens him out vs Kitana's zoning and footsies.

I do NOT do d3 pressure on Sonya, Kung Lao, Cage, or Kenshi

 

[TheChad_87]

I do NOT do d3 pressure on Sonya, Kung Lao, Cage, or Kenshi

Smart Boy ^_^

 

[Playpal]

D3s are godlike (unless your d3 doesn't give advantage). They're capable of more than just pressure.

 

[ragnar0kz28]

Cage is now where Raiden was a few months back OVERATED Cage does worser vs Kenshi, Kabal and Freddy than Kitana, he does good vs Jax, Kitana goes even, even Sindel does pratty good vs Cage, thing is people is just too afraid, zoners can condition hes game, then why people say Cage is better than Kitana when he struggles more in those matches..

 

[Mr. Mileena]

Cage is now where Raiden was a few months back OVERATED Cage does worser vs Kenshi, Kabal and Freddy than Kitana, he does good vs Jax, Kitana goes even, even Sindel does pratty good vs Cage, thing is people is just too afraid, zoners can condition hes game, then why people say Cage is better than Kitana when he struggles more in those matches..

How can you say Johnny Cage is overrated?

lol
If anything he was underrated at most.

 

[ragnar0kz28]

You agree whit me that Cage struggles more against those matches than Kitana?

 

[DanCock]

Wow I thought I spelled bad


Sent from my iPad 2 using Tapatalk

 

[rev0lver]

You agree whit me that Cage struggles more against those matches than Kitana?

I disagree. Both characters need to get in on Kabal and Freddy to do anything in the matchup, and Cage has an easier time staying in with his pressure. Kenshi maybe not though, as Kitana can fish with ex fans and Kenshi can safely armor through Cage pressure.

 

[BillStickers]

Online warrior here. I agree with a lot of these matchups. I'm nowhere near an expert with Kitana, but just based on my experience, here's where I differ:

Cyber Sub Zero - 6/4
I think CSZ has more tools than he's given credit for. A CSZ player with excellent meter management can shut down some of Kitana's zoning options and force himself close to her.

Cyrax - 5/5
The high damage of Cyrax puts this at even for me.

Johnny Cage - 6/4
Machine gun iAFs seem to shut this guy down pretty easily.

Kano - 5/5
Easily outzones Kitana and can get back to full screen pretty easily. His zoning gives him X-Ray pretty quickly, which you have to respect.

Quan Chi - 4/6
Skydrop mixups make him hard to read, then you have to deal with his crazy-ass mixup strings, and even if you're not being juggled and tranced at this point, you then have to eat 30% worth of rune traps. :'(

Reptile - 4/6
Zoning him out seems to be the only way to make progress. Up close, his 6 frame dash beats out all of Kitana's options.

Sektor - 4/6
You can't iAF because of teleport into 40% combo, and you can't get in because of flamethrower. His zoning builds meter quickly and gives him a lot of safe teleport opportunities.

Sindel - 5/5
Sindel outzones Kitana easily. Kitana has higher damage output once she gets in, but getting in is a huge pain in the ass.

Smoke - 6/4
I don't know if this is because Kitana players are pretty much trained on how to beat Smoke from the get-go, but I find Smoke to be insanely predictable. Dash block smoke bombs, bait shake and then ass, rinse and repeat. Teleport is punished with 35+%, EX-shake loses to a normal cutter, and smoke-away is punished with ass.

Stryker - 4/6
Roll seems downright unpunishable and goes under fan, ex-fan, and x-ray -- not to mention it has a ridiculous autocorrect window.

 

[ragnar0kz28]

I want to know why CDjr and CD put Kitana at number 2 what am I missing I see Sonya and Kenshi being better than her for shure also Kabal obviously

 

[BillStickers]

I want to know why CDjr and CD put Kitana at number 2 what am I missing I see Sonya and Kenshi being better than her for shure also Kabal obviously

Sonya and Kenshi beat her, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're better characters overall.

 

[Mr. Mileena]

Online warrior here. I agree with a lot of these matchups. I'm nowhere near an expert with Kitana, but just based on my experience, here's where I differ:

Cyber Sub Zero - 6/4
I think CSZ has more tools than he's given credit for. A CSZ player with excellent meter management can shut down some of Kitana's zoning options and force himself close to her.

Cyrax - 5/5
The high damage of Cyrax puts this at even for me.

Johnny Cage - 6/4
Machine gun iAFs seem to shut this guy down pretty easily.

Kano - 5/5
Easily outzones Kitana and can get back to full screen pretty easily. His zoning gives him X-Ray pretty quickly, which you have to respect.

Quan Chi - 4/6
Skydrop mixups make him hard to read, then you have to deal with his crazy-ass mixup strings, and even if you're not being juggled and tranced at this point, you then have to eat 30% worth of rune traps. :'(

Reptile - 4/6
Zoning him out seems to be the only way to make progress. Up close, his 6 frame dash beats out all of Kitana's options.

Sektor - 4/6
You can't iAF because of teleport into 40% combo, and you can't get in because of flamethrower. His zoning builds meter quickly and gives him a lot of safe teleport opportunities.

Sindel - 5/5
Sindel outzones Kitana easily. Kitana has higher damage output once she gets in, but getting in is a huge pain in the ass.

Smoke - 6/4
I don't know if this is because Kitana players are pretty much trained on how to beat Smoke from the get-go, but I find Smoke to be insanely predictable. Dash block smoke bombs, bait shake and then ass, rinse and repeat. Teleport is punished with 35+%, EX-shake loses to a normal cutter, and smoke-away is punished with ass.

Stryker - 4/6
Roll seems downright unpunishable and goes under fan, ex-fan, and x-ray -- not to mention it has a ridiculous autocorrect window.

Johnny Cage: Throwing air fans is not going to cut it out. Kitana's zoning is overrated, plus, you're pushing yourself into the corner, which is where you DO NOT want to be. 5-5

Sindel: I main Sindel as well, and I almost have Kitana beating Sindel 7-3, but I'll leave it as 6-4. any baited wakeups get 2,1 ex fan punished, kitana can time and punish low fireballs with jk fan, sindel loses the trading favor, due to kitanas fans doing more damage into combo, 6-4 Kitana

Quan Chi- 6-4 Kitana.
Skydrop shouldn't be a problem, that's if you're just spamming air fans, which you really shouldn't do vs quan.
An easy way to blow up sky drop, is walk a little back and block, this will block the regular sky drop, plus the skydrop behind you, if he drops in front of you, f2+1 him for chip if you want, or continue your footsie game. 6-4 Kitana

Stryker- He can't handle her upclose, but his zoning can keep her out. You don't want to throw fans at stryker, ex fans help get in though, 5-5 (although many people think Kitana wins 6-4)

Sektor- Again, Kitana does NOT have to iaf to win all her MU's, this is much like johnny cage, an all footsie game, sektor has a lot of loopholes in his strings, that can be punished with 2,1. He has a horrible wakeup game, much more punishable than Kitana's. 5-5

Kano 6-4 Kitana
Punish upball with 2,1. Her footsies are better, and she can easily get in on him if you dont panic

Reptile- you do NOT want to zone him out, reptile wins the zoning battle.
Kitana shuts down reptile upclose, his pokes suck, dash is his only answer, but if you block it, his dash will eat a 2,1 punish 5-5

Smoke- 5-5 (everyone had it kitana losing it, but her footsies make up for it) Don't throw fans, occasionally throw one to catch him off guard, but this is an all footsie matchup)

Cyrax- 6-4, 5-5 I won't argue with either or

It seems a lot of your matchups are heavily based on her iaf's, but her footsie and rushdown game is so much better. Her zoning is overrated, but against sonya, cage, you can throw some out, but make sure not to rely on winning on just zoning.

Kitana's footsies are amazing, but thanks for the input, ill reply with mine

 

[Z-911-Z]

Going down my personal tier list before Kitana shows up:

S Tier: Kabal, Sonya
A+ Tier: Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, Smoke, Kenshi
A Tier: Kitana

So number seven for me.

 

[BillStickers]

Johnny Cage: Throwing air fans is not going to cut it out. Kitana's zoning is overrated, plus, you're pushing yourself into the corner, which is where you DO NOT want to be. 5-5

Sindel: I main Sindel as well, and I almost have Kitana beating Sindel 7-3, but I'll leave it as 6-4. any baited wakeups get 2,1 ex fan punished, kitana can time and punish low fireballs with jk fan, sindel loses the trading favor, due to kitanas fans doing more damage into combo, 6-4 Kitana

Quan Chi- 6-4 Kitana.
Skydrop shouldn't be a problem, that's if you're just spamming air fans, which you really shouldn't do vs quan.
An easy way to blow up sky drop, is walk a little back and block, this will block the regular sky drop, plus the skydrop behind you, if he drops in front of you, f2+1 him for chip if you want, or continue your footsie game. 6-4 Kitana

Stryker- He can't handle her upclose, but his zoning can keep her out. You don't want to throw fans at stryker, ex fans help get in though, 5-5 (although many people think Kitana wins 6-4)

Sektor- Again, Kitana does NOT have to iaf to win all her MU's, this is much like johnny cage, an all footsie game, sektor has a lot of loopholes in his strings, that can be punished with 2,1. He has a horrible wakeup game, much more punishable than Kitana's. 5-5

Kano 6-4 Kitana
Punish upball with 2,1. Her footsies are better, and she can easily get in on him if you dont panic

Reptile- you do NOT want to zone him out, reptile wins the zoning battle.
Kitana shuts down reptile upclose, his pokes suck, dash is his only answer, but if you block it, his dash will eat a 2,1 punish

Smoke- 5-5 (everyone had it kitana losing it, but her footsies make up for it) Don't throw fans, occasionally throw one to catch him off guard, but this is an all footsie matchup)

Cyrax- 6-4, 5-5 I won't argue with either or

It seems a lot of your matchups are heavily based on her iaf's, but her footsie and rushdown game is so much better. Her zoning is overrated, but against sonya, cage, you can throw some out, but make sure not to rely on winning on just zoning.

Kitana's footsies are amazing, but thanks for the input, ill reply with mine

Weird, your post got cut off and I had to quote it to see the rest.

You are amazing! Thanks for the help!

 

[rev0lver]

Stryker- He can't handle her upclose, but his zoning can keep her out. You don't want to throw fans at stryker, ex fans help get in though, 5-5 (although many people think Kitana wins 6-4)

I never understood why people think it's 6-4 Kitana, I agree with you. Stryker probably has the most tools to deal with her out of the bottom 10, it's solidly even imo.

 

[Mr. Mileena]

Updated Sonya MU: 5-5

Kitana struggles with characters who can keep her out. - Kenshi, Kabal, Freddy

The only reason I went with Sonya beating Kitana, was because the whole community sided with that, and I got blown up for thinking otherwise.
In no way will Kitana ever beat Sonya 6-4 etc, but I really think it is even.

Kitana can zone for meter, and ass away safely when timed right, making sure the sonya is not too far from you as to punish it.
Whiffed d+4, eats a f2+1
Can cross sonya and punish a whiffed d4 with djk into combo

Yes, Sonya's pressure is insane, but I just don't see Sonya beating Kitana solely based on that. Cage has immense pressure as well, and no way is that in Cage's favor.

The biggest factor in which sonya stops kitanas footsies is her d+4 and ex cartwheel, both which can be blown up.
This matchup requires precise reads, immense concentration, and the ability to preserve meter mainly for breaker.

Again, this is my personal opinion, I'm done downplaying my character, while she may not be top 4, i have her at 5 or 6 Solidly.

I can really see why CD and CDjr put Kitana so high up there, with someone like CD playing Kitana, I can see why...

Most importantly, stop fearing Sonya so much, know that Kitana can handle Sonya too.
Obviously, someone like Mileena, Sindel, etc, lack safe options, lack a better footsie game, and get punished and overwhelmed.

Kitana in my opinion, can hang with Sonya, captivating on her mistakes, as Sonya can to Kitana as well.

 

[rev0lver]

I can really see why CD and CDjr put Kitana so high up there, with someone like CD playing Kitana, I can see why...

My problem is just that (according to jr) for Kitana it's because of the character, but for Jax it's because of CDjr. That just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Mr. Mileena]

My problem is just that (according to jr) for Kitana it's because of the character, but for Jax it's because of CDjr. That just doesn't make sense to me.

Jax is downplayed too... lol
Jax is a great character.

 

[Espio]

.

Stryker - 4/6
Roll seems downright unpunishable and goes under fan, ex-fan, and x-ray -- not to mention it has a ridiculous autocorrect window.

That matchup isn't bad for Kitana, it's even. Stryker checks her with his zoning and counterzoning options, Kitana checks him with her superior range on her pokes and normals.

Roll is full combo punishable when read by the opponent, with a NJP.

Additionally, forward 2, 1 blows up roll toss without armor.

Roll toss is safe on block, but not safe on whiff.

I never understood why people think it's 6-4 Kitana, I agree with you. Stryker probably has the most tools to deal with her out of the bottom 10, it's solidly even imo.

Thank you.

 

[Jimmypotato]

I love the princess always will, Nice list Mil!!!

The reason everyone thinks she's moving down in standing is because everyone has figured out how to fight her with there characters. Kitana was explored alot early on in the game while other characters where not, so no one had sound stratagies to fight her.

Now they do and they see that she doesn't blow everyone up. Shes absolutely all about footsies, captilizing on full punish oportunitys, making great reads and knowing all your match ups. All your options in situations against every character.

I like to play a hybrid style like Joe, but I've also recently in certain match ups, started to lame people out and run the timer down with life leads, she has an excellent keep away game in certain match ups, and forcing people to come at her leads to there mistakes and kitana has some of the best punish damage from all situations in the whole game.

if you know your getting backed into a corner a quick D1~square ass can get you out pretty quick, obviously some characters can blow that up, but it's still a great way to get out against most of the cast, gotta do it before your right in the corner though obviously.

I love this character and agree with Joe, she has some tough match ups, but there is no reason a kitana player needs to counter pick, she can win all her match ups in tourny setting.

I do think Skarlet is 5-5 though due to the her fricken armour, if it wasn't for that, I can see no how kitty can work that match up like you had told me before.

Good list!

 

[ragnar0kz28]

Kitana <3 in my contry shes the most feared char out there jeje

 

[ragnar0kz28]

Mr. Mileena

your psn xo__Jessica__xo ?? I fought that person on ps3 today omg plays exact same as you do..

 

[LEGEND]

Ermac, Liu, Jax, Cage, Freddy, Raiden, Sektor, Kenshi, Sonya, Smoke, Stryker, Reptile and Kabal all either:

A) beat her

OR

B) Give her problems, problems that her damage and footsies can overcome in the right hands.
-

Kitana played perfectly still sits just outside top 5