General/Other - Kung Lao Project De-Noob

Hi Folks!

I wanted to create a bit of a "progression" thread about me trying to get better at MKX - I've played a few fighters in the past and have always enjoyed them but MKX is the first time I've ever taken the plunge to online fighters and I'm totally out of my depth. I played Soul Caliber at uni and more recently MK9 but only ever against AI. I thought I was decent enough until I jumped online.

Right now I'm loosing match after match, unbelievably my online score right now is sitting around 40/260. I'm doing something fundamentally wrong in how I'm going about gaming. I'm hoping a simple progression thread where I can post some videos of me gaming and seek ways to improve will really help me get a lot more out of the game. (I did try to record some gaming this morning but PS4 has switched how the recording works)

I'm a big Kung Lao fan boy. From what I'm to understand Lao is one of the more complex characters to play which is no doubt making my endeavors harder but I love him so sod it

So thats a bit of background - Time for some questions / issues I got - Some more fundamental as well. Also bare in mind I don't understand all of the acronyms yet too.

I have played the single player a fair bit, spent a good amount of time in training, know a bunch of moves / combs which I can pull of pretty regular in training mode or more so in single player so hoping its a decent base to learn from. Also starting to understand frame data too.

My current problems are!

I can't get any initial hits in to combo from. People seem to either block everything or my arms just seem far shorter then other peoples. Partially with 1, 1. I often block a combo but in the process get pushed back and am out of range to hit back. I'm not sure what moves I want to use as combo starters.

Once I've blocked a combo I cant hit back because the opponent always seems faster then me.

Once I get down I cant get back up again with out getting battered to shit. I try blocks, high and low. I've just learnt I can do "wakeup" attacks, back dash and rolls but my timing is terrible.

I never ever win Air / Air combat. I don't understand how the game picks a winner.

Thanks in advance for any help / recommendations. As I said earlier I'm hoping to record some footage which might help folks give me a few pointers on how to improve

What console are you on? If you're on PSN, add me @ Gravelands and we can go into practice at some time and you can practice A. getting used to the slight delay w/ online vs. offline comboing, B. what to use to start off combos, and C. punishing and where to go from there.

The fact that you acknowledge your problems and know what you are doing wrong is the first step.

Mad props on that.

but what I would do is instead of playing online all of the time, just sit in practice and learn how to punish moves with KL.

Thanks guys.

I'm on PS4 but UK, well up for some practice if your in the EU. I'm StormyWBA.

So punishing is when you block a combo and attackback during your opponents recovery time? Which move is worth using to punish with Lao, like I said earlier I find 1, 1 is quick but has very little range.

Any tips on air to air also?

11 is a fine punish string but to start offense try using b2-spin or f23 spin. b2 is a little slower, but is an overhead that links to spin. f23 is pretty fast, has good range and the second hit is a low. in his tempest variation you can do f23-hat spin-f23 spin (semi-tight link) for some pretty huge meterless or 1 meter combos.

I've only been playing lao for a couple days but i hope this helps a bit. I'm sure there are better laos on here

As someone who got into fighters with injustice your win/loss seems reasonable.
I saw drop Lao until you get better.
back with injustice I really wanted to main flash, but I had to put that on hold till I got better.
I suggest Kung Jin to start off with, really easy to get the hang off
add me if you wanna talk or w/e Mr_BAMFito
NA tho

For punish - The main thing about punish is that you both need to know what moves to punish with, and what moves are punishable. This should be discovered in training mode. Find the characters you struggle against most often take them to training mode study their moves and practice the appropriate punish. It should also be noted that in order to punish tighter strings you have to release block as early as possible as soon as the final hit is blocked. Also note that if you get the hang of this consistently offline and miss punishes online that it doesn't always necessarily reflect your progress as a player as lag becomes a variable.
Air to Air- I used to have the same problem. The way I think of it now is that you should approach air to air as making a hard read. If you think the opponent will jump have a preemptive air to air strike ready. If you think the opponent will leave the ground before you, use an anti air instead (kung lao is arguably the best in the game at this.).
Push back on block- This happens to everyone. Sometimes the opponents move seems to put you out of range for your best attacks. During these instances it is best to either have a plan for the neutral game. For most people you would close the gap by fishing with a down 3 or 4 confirm, creating space to zone to force mistakes, waiting for a jump in, or baiting a jump in. At higher levels or familiarity with the run system, after block with proper timing you can buffer a run to close the distance more effectively.
Wake up- I guess this comes more with experience than anything, probably more intuitive than anything, and obviously your options depend on the circumstance at hand. I like to think of it as in game rock-paper-scissors. If you think you're opponent is going to try to hit you on quick wake up go for delayed. If you think you're opponent will be over zealous with his pressure back dash or armor. These options are for your own exploration really but I think after time you should get used to it.
I am by no means a great player so if anyone thinks they can add or have any corrections be my guest but I hope I have helped in some way, shape, or form.

Nice post jb, lots of stuff to try here. I'm hopping to get some recordings up when I next get a chance to get online.

So with air to air is it the person who left the group first that looses? Does kick beat punch? Etc?

Also what do you mean by the neutral game. I'm pretty new to the mk terminology and there are still a few catching me out

StormyBA said:

Nice post jb, lots of stuff to try here. I'm hopping to get some recordings up when I next get a chance to get online.

So with air to air is it the person who left the group first that looses? Does kick beat punch? Etc?

Also what do you mean by the neutral game. I'm pretty new to the mk terminology and there are still a few catching me out

Click to expand...

In regards to air to air that's basically what it comes down to thanks to the new patch ( some characters could attack in the first frames of their jump ). It's also helpful to know that if you look at frame data certain aerial attacks come out sooner than others. For example sub zero's jumping punch 1 comes out 2 frames faster than his jumping punch 2. I don't know Kung Lao so well so you will have to look at which aerials will work best for you. Neutral game, at least for me, refers to a position where neither one of you are exactly within striking distance and so forces you to control your space as opposed to your opponents. In this game you control your space by back dashing, jumping, running or throwing out your best ranged move, zoning, or other character specific things. You should really look at competitive play to see how this kind of works out especially ones featuring Kung Lao. Perfect Legend would be a great place to start as he is a noteworthy Kung Lao main.

I managed to record a bit of game this morning, uploaded to youtube and vanished huzzah! Will try again later this evening.

What my plan is really is to upload regular videos of me trying and failing, hopfly get some advice on what I'm doing wrong then game/record again with updates.

One big frustration is during training mode I can pull of most specials most of the time, on their own but also as cancels. When I'm only they often dont happen. I cant work out if this is just lag or if I'm getting excited and messing things up

Right video uploaded.

As usual I sucked found a fair few cancels did not work, again no idea if I suck or its just lag. Was trying to be a bit more tactical. More 44, F23 and low hats.

Damn watching that back I see a ton of specials not working. And also NJ's just not happening quick enough.

Just a few things I've noticed:

- As mentioned earlier, get yourself familiar with strings that the opponent wants to throw out. That way you know how to block them and either punish them or try to get a read on what they do next.

- Look for certain tells. The Raiden player in the first match seemed to like using his torpedo dive at max range. It's an easy punish. (Though training mode can give you the feel on when you can punish; if not just a D2). Or a straight hat.

- It's kind of a gamble, but if you know 100% that B44 will land and you want that extra damage, EX Spin + follow up of your choice. If you don't want to spend meter, there's always low hat as well.

- Certain players give the feel of "They're gonna wake up X-ray." Try to find moments where you can peek at their meter.

Granted, I feel like I should be following my own advice as well.

StormyBA said:

Right video uploaded.

As usual I sucked found a fair few cancels did not work, again no idea if I suck or its just lag. Was trying to be a bit more tactical. More 44, F23 and low hats.

Damn watching that back I see a ton of specials not working. And also NJ's just not happening quick enough.

Click to expand...

Something BIG, you are missing from your game is d1, d3, and d4. You have to you use those after you block to escape pressure. In the corner you were being smothered and all you had to do was use low pokes. You need to learn when to use your low pokes and understand why they are good. Using reversals would help your game tremendously as well. Finally capitalization on combos. You make healthy habits out of those and you'll be golden. Also probably the best thing for you right now, look at Learning Mortal Kombat X by Cross Counter TV on youtube. 9 Part series you can look at based on what you feel you need help on.

Thanks for the feed. Getting into bed now but will try to get few rounds in tomorrow morning.

So when I get up!I want to quickly do a few d pokes to push them back? Ive been trying to do wake up spins but dent to get destroyed before even getting off the ground (more below) its frustrating during the game feeling defenceless!


I found this match up better then usual. I think we finished on around 5\5 with the main reason for loosing being not getting up well so its a top priority to improve. Having done some research I know a few options with wake up, delayed, back dash and roll. Its just practising.

I also lack confidence my attacks will hit the target so rarely commit to the full combos.

Also found this game not so laggy too which helped pulling off the specials.

The points so fair has already improved my game some so thanks again for taking the time to check out the videos.

Another thing to note:

I honestly don't use breaker if I know the round is basically lost. It saves me needed meter for the next round. I would avoid using a break near the end of a round unless it was a game-ending combo or the fight gets extremely close.

Same with X-Ray. I would avoid ending with X-ray unless it gives you just enough damage to take the round or if you're ending the last round. It's a huge meter sink; and often enough, you can do similar damage with one meter (or you take their meter when they break). Alternatively, you could use X-ray if it can punish something that EX-Spin can't.

Additionally, cancelling B22 into low hat usually combos for me; if not just making it safe. You usually want to get them to fear low hat so you can cash out with something like B22 into EX Spin.

On the EX side of thing's. Most of the time they dont happen when I want them to happen and brakers happen when I'm not even trying to do it. Just really shows how much I button bash when under pressure. Same goes for wake up attacks too - really dont have the timing down on those yet which often means getting a massive battery as seen in the videos above.

I've really been putting some thoughts into more low hats, as well as rather then ALWAYS trying to combo. Does seem to have helped a fair bit, people look a bit more confused about what I want to do.

Going to spend a few hours twitching if anyone watch me fail for a wile will be watching the chat and will work on any tips you guys offer!

Www.twitch.TV/stormyba

Still chipping away at this - I think I've grown in a bit of confidence from having a bit more of an understanding for the game in general - I'm getting a few more wins but overall there are still problems I'm running into as you can see below in this video!


So not sure what to use as a general punish after blocking a few moves. Kung Lao's arms just seem really short and people are just out of range! Is the only option an EX Spin?

I struggle with consistency spins in general. Often after the B2 hat, just dont happen often!

Youtube.com/user/clarkluthorgaming


It's all there

What controler settings do i want to be using. At the moment I have everything off bar special move short cuts.

How quick should I be aiming to do cancels? One thing I'm starting to notice in training is that I feel like I'm pressing df1 but its coming out in the wrong order, say d1f, or diagonal f1 or some times even a jump. I'm using a basic ps4 pad and the dpad. Could I just be rushing to do moves far to quickly? Do I need a better pad?

I've been catching up a bit on this thread BTW, some great buts of information and defo getting a much better understanding of the mechanics, now the problem is just a lack of skill!

You're not doing Kung Lao hat pressure bro, B2 low hat, B22 Low Hat, D4 Low Hat, F23 Low Hat, Blocked? Spin/Ex Spin. Punish with F23 Spin or 11 spin depending on how close. But by using the hat mixups you'll start winning a lot more easy. You can use EX Low Hat for additional pressure since you're like +3 on block but I'd save meter for EX spin to react to pressure, wake up, or jump ins.

Been using the low hat a lot more in recent matches and am already seeing better results - I just need to get more consistent in button presses under pressure to improve general consistency.

Will try the F23 punch when I'm next on =)

Quick progress report and a small selection video of some wins and loses.

Overall kinda feel like I'm getting to grips with things a little more and overall have a little more confidence with!e in a match. Understanding the game more also means there is less frustration when I loose because I can see the mistakes I made. I'm on the cusp of feeling like I know what I'm doing!!

I'm still having trouble in some areas. One is just a general consistency of pulling off specials at will. I've lost a fair few match ups now because of it. Could be I suck or maybe a bit of lag?

Some matches, as in the jax match up, I get owned by a dull guy spamming the same string. A right pain but not sure what to do about it.

I'm still a bit unsure about wake up attacks and when to press the button, is it as lao goes to stand up or just as he hits the ground??

I'm missing a lot of moves too leaving me open to punishes!

I'm working more on low hats too, they are pretty awesome. Also D3 or D4 spin.

Every now and then tho I'll have a spert of combo our a round that really goes to plan which is a great and pretty addictive feeling!

As always any tips are always welcome

Fuck I thought this was gunna be a campaign for Noob

Can we do this as well?

Do what now? Confooosed