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New on TYM and Mortal Kombat

Hi all, I bought recently a xbox one console + Mortal Kombat XL. So I decided to join this forum and maybe get better :). I did not enjoy in the past the Mortal Kombat series due to living in Germany and not being allowed to buy the game as a minor. Later a played a lot Quake III Arena.

I have played a little with a few characters in the story mode and a few matches online with Erron Black. I choose him because he has a special move which is a double leg takedown, a wrestling move btw. Not the best argument for picking a character but I suck anyway :D.

Is there a guide for complete beginners like me to start with the game, a yt channel, an article or something else? Or do I have to choose a character and work with him. Should I play online games right away or practice offline? And if there is a member who doesn't mind playing some matches once in a while with me let me know. I live in Germany. I am new with next generation consoles and have some minor issues with my MK XL copy on xbox.

Anyway I hope to have fun with the game and make friends here.
 

Saltea Moonspell

"Mind Over Matter" I dont mind, and X dont matter
Welcome To TYM. I know you will enjoy MKX a lot!

Everything you need to start playing is here. Just a longer moment and browse through. If you picked your character, then you should head to his section. Once you established your questions just past them up and you will get some support right away I hope.

Take care!
 

CrazyFingers

The Power of Lame Compels You
Welcome to the site, hopefully you enjoy the game and TYM! If you need games with people I'm sure the EU boys would be happy to oblige (since you're from Germany yea?) and if you ever need character specific help simply go to the corresponding forum and look for what you need. If you need general help simply send a message to a mod (such as myself) and we will be happy to help you in any way!
 

GLoRToR

Positive Poster!
Hi all, I bought recently a xbox one console + Mortal Kombat XL. So I decided to join this forum and maybe get better :). I did not enjoy in the past the Mortal Kombat series due to living in Germany and not being allowed to buy the game as a minor. Later a played a lot Quake III Arena.

I have played a little with a few characters in the story mode and a few matches online with Erron Black. I choose him because he has a special move which is a double leg takedown, a wrestling move btw. Not the best argument for picking a character but I suck anyway :D.

Is there a guide for complete beginners like me to start with the game, a yt channel, an article or something else? Or do I have to choose a character and work with him. Should I play online games right away or practice offline? And if there is a member who doesn't mind playing some matches once in a while with me let me know. I live in Germany. I am new with next generation consoles and have some minor issues with my MK XL copy on xbox.

Anyway I hope to have fun with the game and make friends here.
Welcome. Don't get scared by all the trolls, keep learning.
Google for "fighting game fundamentals" if you don't know them yet, worth looking into. Ultrachentv on youtube has a great tutorial series. It's in street fighter but it's just as relevant to MK.
 

Tanno

The Fantasy is the Reality of the Mind
Καλωσήρθες, συνωνόματο φιλαράκι. Σε κατάλαβα από το παρατσούκλι σου.

Enjoy thy time in TYM. ;)
 
Reactions: GAV
Thanks for the warm welcome guys. I really enjoy the game so far. Will stick with Erron Black since I like playing with him and to learn the mechanics of the game. Switched from outlaw to gunslinger though.

Outlaw is hard to play, at least that is the case with me. With gunslinger I have options from the distance. My problem now is how to deal with characters ho can teleport. Any tips or is it specific to the character?

I headed also to the Erron black forum. Lots of information to digest. I will read it in small chunks. I even managed today some combos, one of them 21122 :), now I have to look how to string combos together.

One question. How do I know which moves, combos are good? Have the hit, block numbers to be positive? I don't really understand what all the numbers mean. I did not watch any tutorial yet. Will do so, so don't worry.

And at last I was disappointed Baraka is not available. Story is also meh but a minor issue.
 

Jelan

Aquaman is dead lel
Frame data can help to figure out your good moves as well as guides and such, but it's more trial and error as a beginner to what is good and isn't.

And welcome! Yaaaaay! :3
 

Ankh

Noob
Erron Black is not an easiest of characters to begin with, In my opinion. He has steep learning curve.
The game takes some time to get aquainted to, I think in a couple of months you'll be pretty decent if you'll stick with the character.
So, I wish you to have some patience and and best of luck :)
 

CrimsonShadow

Administrator and Community Engineer
Administrator
One question. How do I know which moves, combos are good? Have the hit, block numbers to be positive? I don't really understand what all the numbers mean. I did not watch any tutorial yet. Will do so, so don't worry.
The short answer is: There are guides on the forum that explain which strings and normals are good to use, and why. But also, it's good to watch better players and see which strings they are using, and how/where.

Now for the longer answer -- you are generally looking for the following:

  • Startup -- When you're using a string at a range where your opponent can also hit you, you want to be leading with something that starts up pretty quickly (has low startup frames). The reason is that the longer it takes your string to start up/become active (which means, to reach the point in its animation where it starts to do damage), the more the chance that your opponent will interrupt you with something faster first.
  • Damage -- different strings do different amounts of damage.. And they also "scale" the combo damage you do differently. So starting or ending a combo with one string vs. another may make the difference between you doing 25% damage vs. 30%. Over time, that extra 5% will add up.
  • Recovery -- While your character is in 'recovery' after your opponent has blocked your string or normal, your opponent can do whatever they want to do before you are able to move or block again. So if the startup of their next move is faster than the time it takes you to recover.. You guessed it -- you get hit before you're able to block or move out of the way. So if you're using a string when your opponent might be blocking (or when the string might miss them altogether) it's important to use strings with less recovery. Otherwise, you'll end up being hit or 'punished' for a ton of damage every time your opponent blocks or evades your offense.
Now moving to concepts that are a little more advanced:

  • Hitboxes -- certain normals (especially 'starters', the first hit of a string) have hitboxes that 1) Cover a large area, 2) Travel quickly forward, allowing you to catch your opponent off-guard, or both. So when you are trying to cover distance and hit your opponent before they can hit you, the hitbox matters.
In addition, you have normals that hit "high", "medium", as well as and "low" and "overhead" (in addition to a couple advanced special cases that you'll worry about later). So this matters for 2 reasons: 1) Your opponent's defense. A "high" normal can usually either be crouched under, or 'poked' under with a low attack. So if your opponent is constantly ducking and peppering you with low attacks to frustrate your offense, you're going to have a hard time landing a string that starts "high" on him. This is why strings that start "mid" are important -- because they'll (usually) hit someone who is crouching as well. And, 2) Overheads hit your a opponent even if he's crouching and blocking.. Lows will hit your opponent even when he's standing up and blocking. So picking a string with normals that hit low or overheard will help you "open up" you opponent's defense when they are blocking your moves.

  • Combo possibilities -- Certain strings allow you to chain other strings in afterward, to continue your 'combo'. This is either because you can end (or interrupt) the string with a special move, which allows you to then continue your combo with another string; or because the string itself 'launches' your opponent into the air -- which means you can hit them again, before they fall back to the ground (which ends the combo in most cases, allowing your opponent to get up or block).
Then there are still more advanced considerations:
  • Knockdown type
  • Hit-confirmable
  • Corner carry
  • Gaps
etc.

So to summarize, when we choose 'good strings', we're looking for considerations like this:

"Hmm... Ok this string starts up quickly, hits mid, and it's 'safe' on block (meaning it has very low recovery time when your opponent blocks it). It also does good damage and allows me to start a longer combo by ending it with a special move".

Anyway, hope that helps.
 
Last edited:

Matix218

Get over here!
How i know what strings the tournament players are using ? And what combos ?
Just watch footage. Also go on the specific character forum on TYM fo what ever character you are trying to learn. In there you will find discussions on bread and butter (BNB) combos, gameplay topics (including disvussion of individual moves, strings, punishes, matchups, etc), and gameplay videos that you can watch.
 

GAV

Resolution through knowledge and resolve.
Welkome!

As for learning resources, I'd suggest starting with Ketchup and Mustard's tutorial series. Here's a link to the first video in the series:

CJ2003!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good to see you here bro.
 

CrimsonShadow

Administrator and Community Engineer
Administrator
How i know what strings the tournament players are using ? And what combos ?
Easiest thing is to go in to the move lists in Practice mode and try out most of the strings. This takes a while, but once you go through most of them, you'll get a feel for what they look like.

(A guide will help you know which strings are common -- but taking a bit of time to go through them yourself will help you remember better).

Then look at Youtube or Twitch archives of tournaments, online play, etc. from good players. Pay attention to when tournaments are happening (like this weekend! NEC) and look for the streams that you can watch. Keep an eye out for which moves and normals are being used at each point.

(Sometimes the commentators will even call out certain strings that are being used -- but you want to get to where you can identify them visually).

And if you have a question about why, just ask -- there's probably someone around that knows what was going on :cool:
 

Tanno

The Fantasy is the Reality of the Mind
And if you have a question about why, just ask -- there's probably someone around that knows what was going on :cool:
Let me answer this question for ours new fellas here.

If you go to practice mode, and set the AI to counterattack with any special attack, only then you may practice all the moves to find the gaps. If you feel anything that's dangerous, then you know which is unsafe. This is why most of the competitors use safe and unsafe moves at certain points. You need to know yours character before trying him against your opponents in Ranked to get used to him. If you're the math guy, then I suggest that you ask around to help you out with this.

Some moves are being used just to be safe. Some of the unsafe moves are only for the combos. It's up to you to familiarize these combos and know which is safe or not. As for the strategy and the gameplay of each character, you need to see their match ups. It's up to you to choose your character of your liking. Most of the competitors are CQCers, most others zoners, others both.

It's literally a pain in the ass, but if you learn your character, you're bound to be good with.

To sum it up, first of all, learn the fundamentals, then go to practice to get knowledge and mastery of your own character, and finally, get used to playing with him against other characters. Some of the characters are the worst MUs for the other characters. It's up to you to know which character is good against another or not.

That's all.
 

Ozzy_K

Death waits for a slightest lapse in concentration
Hey guys, I'm also new on TYM, hello to everyone!
So I wanted to ask how to setup the image of the variation you are playing to be displayed under your avatar?