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Scar Asks: Do u feel MK11 should have variations?

Did variations idea work?

  • No! Explain.

    Votes: 81 51.9%
  • Yes! Explain.

    Votes: 75 48.1%

  • Total voters
    156

MKF30

Fujin and Ermac for MK 11
NRS did a great job with the balancing with patches, quick fixes etc it's just a shame it came down to "shitty variation vs. good variation" at the end of the day.

I think it was alright, what I love about NRS is they're not afraid to try new things out then based off the feedback determines if they do it again.

I don't think we'll see them done the SAME way if they do return however don't be surprised if they do something similar for Injustice 2 with a modified character, I just hope we have full freedom of aesthetics, and personally I want to see the KAK back again but just like MKA keep it separate and a KAK mode only. People this way can create their own Khrome, better yet they should hold a contest for best KAK THEN winner gets picked and their dream characters gets made into an official MK character. THAT would be awesome. It would also give the artist MK players a chance to shine and not just tourney players.

It would be cool if instead of a GEAR system with armor, defense, offense etc have aesthetics/pieces of clothing unlockable with a MT option to unlock everything for a small price. Also this nobody should bitch about because it would have no effect on the gameplay, I'm talking from a aesthetic point of view to make our MK characters unique to the player. I hope to see this in tourneys for Injustice 2 as I've said already but given the way the gear system seems limited with trim presets IDK if this will be the case. We'll see.

I don't think we'll see variations though, first we had the 3-2 martial art style system, then we had variations. So I think they need to just have a base character BUT maybe have something similar to Injustice 2 where as you level up you can choose certain MOVES for the character, different than Injustice 2 and different than variations. I'll explain, say Sektor or Triborg is in MK 11. You can choose the "zoning level up option" or the "rushdown" level up option as you unlock moves to add to your character. Of course this wouldn't be unlimited and balanced when need be. Example, say I choose Zoning for sektor, you'd have missiles, flame thrower, teleport punch already. So you'd have options to improve those moves say flame thrower has upgrades for range that are safe from far to mid screen while the rush down version of this move would stun you thus you can get a combo...depending on your play style.

Missiles zoning would perhaps push Sektor back a little as he shoots them, standard would be one missile, ex would be 2(as he's had) but zoning option would have 3 and we could choose maybe how he shoots, example for rushdown maybe this move juggles them on the last hit in the air for combos, where as the zoning version shoots 3 straight but faster but pushes them back away from you. Etc, etc

I think they should do this or all character, not a variation system but I think this is better because it allows the play to play the character how THEY want without being fully broken or OP like a pure KAK from scratch. This would be different than injustice because their gear system will have new moves all together and honestly the Injustice system sounds more complex with gears for different things. MK 11 should be more simple AND offer both the upgrade for zoners and rushdown options as well as the pure aesthetic option with full 100% color palette freedom like KAK in MKA, so if someone wants a purple Scorpion with yellow belt buckle and orange mask they can do that. Offer the options that a PC modder would be able to do, let's put it that way.

That is what I want in MK 11.
 
Imo, they went OTT with nerfing certain characters, as their ideas and balance decisions are very questionable. MK11 should focus on 1 variation or bring back MKD style of combos (switching styles mid-strings) and go back to MK9 style of play and keep it true to the cast and swerve guest DLC completely.
 

Darth-Nero

Come Thunder! Come Lightning!
For the majority of the cast it's always a single dominant variation that is most frequently being used over the other two, specially in major tournaments. So i'd rather have a single balanced characters with all the possible tools than 3 variations where 1 is good/op and the other 2 have a million drama threads to get them just as good.

The variation system as an idea doesn't bother me but the lack of innovation does. The system looks so forced on some characters like repitle where he literally get's nothing but one move each while everything else is the same, He could be all-in-one and it will be perefectly balanced.

Bottom line, if you wanna keep the variation system then do it correctly. Make me feel like i have 3 different variations in a single character, give every variation it's own set of unique strings and moves, not just a single tool on a universal maquette. Triborg is a great example of how the variation system should be for every character, If that's how it's gonna be then am all for. But it's not, so plz stahp.
 

dribirut

BLAK FELOW
This notion that it makes things more unbalanced is so dumb: top of my head variations that have made top 8:
Tarkatan/acidic/tempest/demolition/specops/summoner/sorcerer/kobu/noxious/wrestler/ronin/ Shirai riu/ hqt/piercing/ swarmqueen/ vicious/ imposter/ boneshaper/ wargod/ bloodgod/ grandmaster/ shaolin/ bojitsu/ gunsliger/ Hollywood/ stuntdouble/ alist/ cutthroat/ mystic/ master of souls/ dragon afire/ thundergod/ royalstorm/

That's 34 and I'm sure I'm forgetting some
 

BillStickers

Do not touch me again.
IMO it just makes everyone's job harder. Characters weren't even finished when MKX came out. Kudos that NRS's engine is so modular that it can make stuff like this possible, but it's not necessary at all to make a good game and didn't solve any of their issues in terms of ability to balance.
 

GamerBlake90

Blue Blurs for Life!
If the variation system were to be balanced across the entire cast much better in the next MK installment, I'd hope they will carry over.

My concerns with the current system have already been noted, so I need not say more.
 
Two variations we be hard for some characters. Because I love each variation of Mileena and wouldn't want to see Ethereal go, since Ravenous and Piercing would cleary come before ethereal. I wouldn't want to see see dragon Naginata to go, since there is a possibility they would pick Kobu Jutsu. I'd rather see the boomerang return or a new weapon, or even better a grappling variation. I'm pretty done with the Tonfa.
 

FrankOceansWaifu

Watch this set up.
I feel the variation system was a success in expanding upon our already much loved characters. Take someone like Tanya for example, NRS stayed true to her fighting style with her tonfas and projectiles and incorporated that with her variations as well as expanding on her character with her new Dragon Naginata variation.

The same can be said for other characters too. Then there are unique characters like Triborg which open up easy ways for including multiple characters into one. It's great way of straying away from the shoved entire roster with bland movesets like MK:A while still bringing characters' likeness in contrast to being excluded and forgotten.

I think the variation system is a great idea in not only bringing back fan faves and providing diverse yet fun ways to play, but to also expand on characters' abilities and fighting styles to bring a more compelling roster. Shit still needs some balancing tho
 

honeybooboo

I speak truth, no lie
I assume nrs will just copy/paste the variations along with the moveset and flesh them out. Possibly rework somethings. Ie like what they did with injustices returning characters.
 

Error

DF2+R2
I think if more work was put into the weaker/less interesting variations it would be perfect. And also the variations shouldn't jump around archetypes too much as some have mentioned. Giving a keep away character command grabs doesn't make a good grappler.
 

Afk Skinny

3D Krusader
This notion that it makes things more unbalanced is so dumb: top of my head variations that have made top 8:
Tarkatan/acidic/tempest/demolition/specops/summoner/sorcerer/kobu/noxious/wrestler/ronin/ Shirai riu/ hqt/piercing/ swarmqueen/ vicious/ imposter/ boneshaper/ wargod/ bloodgod/ grandmaster/ shaolin/ bojitsu/ gunsliger/ Hollywood/ stuntdouble/ alist/ cutthroat/ mystic/ master of souls/ dragon afire/ thundergod/ royalstorm/

That's 34 and I'm sure I'm forgetting some
But thats outta like 90+ :DOGE.

Im opposed to variations coming back, I wouldnt mind 2 though
 
I think the variation system was an interesting concept and helped with certain match ups however I'm in agreement that one variation was generally better than the other two and some variations for the same character weren't unique enough. As a kitana player I thought mournful was unique but was lacking too much and assassin wasn't really that much different to Royal storm.
I also think the variation system has made balancing the game too hard for NRS and for this reason I think having a kp3 would make it even worse, do whatever the news is, I think it should just be a patch.

So overall, while fun and interesting, I didn't think it worked well. Maybe just have 2 variations if they decide to keep it.
 

DDutchguy

Stand 4'ing airplanes out of the sky
Agree, nrs has shown they can't handle the balance of 3 variations.
As much as I want to disagree with you here, there are many characters that indeed have two good variations and one that is a bit redundant.

Kenshi - Balanced is outclassed by Possessed and Kenjutsu.
Jax - Pumped Up is out lassed by Wrestler and Heavy Weapons.
Raiden - Master of Storms is booty tier, while Thunder God and Displacer are good.
Scorpion - Inferno is too gimmicky to be used outside of anything but low level ranked.
Sub Zero - Unbreakable sucks while Grandmaster is good and Cryomancer is okay (because of its damage).
Mileena - Ravenous is outclassed.
Kitana - Mournful is outclassed.
Johnny Cage - Fisticuffs is outclassed.
Kano - Cybernetic is outclassed.
Kung Lao - Hat Trick is outclassed.
Liu Kang - Dualist is outclassed.
Kung Jin - Ancestral is outclassed.


While there are definitely also a lot of characters with 3 good variations (Cassie, Quan Chi, arguably Predator, Kotal Kahn, Ermac, Alien, Jason, Sonya, Jacqui, Ferra/Torr) I do think two variations per character would be much more doable if they decide to make the system return, at least from the perspective of making all variations viable in a competitive field.
 

SwegZero

GO NINJA GO NINJA GO
It was a very good idea, on paper at least. But the execution was poor, as my mood thingy shows.
 

THTB

Arez | Booya | Riu48 - Rest Easy, Friends
I think the variation gimmick could have been great, but the idea didn't entirely work due to how much needed to be balanced. Out the gate, it absolutely sucked in terms of balance. After patches it's gotten better for sure, but the fact still remains that some variations just minimize the importance of the rest in a high level environment.

I think NRS should just stick to one character, one variant. A lot less of a balancing hassle.