Discussion Are 50/50s really the dominant offensive strategy in MKX?

[Pan1cMode]

So it seems everyone has come to the conclusion that offense in MKX is very strong. 50/50s often come under fire for being an easy, braindead way to initiate offense. Given their strength in MKX and the skewed risk reward, it seems as if everyone thinks 50/50s are what makes a character good.

However, for the majority of the game's life, I think it's been block string/stagger pressure has been the dominant offensive strategy.

Let's look at the current and previous top tiers of this game;

- Kung Lao
Dominated with staggers, block string pressure and great armour and plus frames

- Tanya
Dominated the game with great mobility, insane block pressure and very strong staggers with wreckers.

- Liu Kang
Block string pressure for days

- Alien
Acidic dominates with strong neutral tools, very good armour, spacing game and DOT

Tarkaten relies on the wrecker mind game along with spacing, armour and neutral dominance

- Mileena
Spacing, staggers, meter build, great neutral/pace control

- D'Vorah
Has 50/50s but staggers and run cancel pressure are a massive part of her game.

- Johnny Cage
Neutral and block string/stagger pressure

- Takeda
Block string pressure with ex kunai or staggers in ronin. Has hard to blockables, but majority of gameplan revolves around spacing and block string pressure.


The two characters which immediately contradict this are Sonya and Kano, but I think if you look at MKX overall, it's block pressure which has been the most dominant offensive strategy.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Granny]

stagger them into a 'free' 50/50!

 

[THTB]

Quan was very good (not sure if people retrospectively consider him top tier still) and his general offense was 50/50-based, with HTBs and zoning as well.

 

[Amplified$hotz]

Besides Kung Lao don't all of those characters have some kind of unseeable mixup that leads to a combo?

 

[STRYKIE]

Makes case for blockstrings being an underlooked premiere source of offense in MKX

Doesn't list Liu Kang as example

 

[REO]

I don't see how Mileena isn't a 50/50 char. The whole notion that she's just this "footsie / zoning" character is not being completely honest. She has very strong offense with countless staggers and strings, and she's definitely a 50/50 character also. She's just literally everything being 50/50s / offense / pressure / footsies / space control / and zoning.

I can't tell how many tournament matches I watch where top Mileena players win by doing a string mix-up with a low and use EX Overhead ball roll to clutch it out, or to open up the opponent with one of her (5?) multiple 50/50 mix-ups in strings or the mindgame conditioning of going low or overhead.


Alien is just as strong of a 50/50 character as he is a pressure and footsie character, IMO.

I also believe D'Vorah is a 50/50 character along with being a rushdown / pressure and footsie character. Her 50/50s strengthen her offense and both of them together are essentially what makes D'Vorah, D'Vorah.

Ermac is a top tier 50/50 character with zoning and space control.

Quan Chi was arguably considered the best in the game and had insane 50/50s and hard to blockables at one point.

Tanya was also underrated as a 50/50 character. Standing 1~EX Low drill or B+1 was in itself a 50/50 that hit many players in tournament and was risky to scout and block if you were psychology on the receiving end. But she was mainly a rushdown / pressure character WITH the added bonus of a 50/50 in Kobujutsu.

Demolition Sonya (who many top players currently consider potentially the best ATM) needs no explanation.

Cutthroat also doesn't need an explanation.

Pre-Patch Raiden was both an offensive juggernaut and a 50/50 power house.

Smoke, Imposter, Jacqui, Jax, Ferra/ Torr, Kotal Kahn, and Kung Jin are underlooked 50/50 and mix-up heavy characters that are extremely strong in the current meta in the game. ESPECIALLY Smoke and Imposter - who are severely underestimated by the community.


I think 50/50s and rushdown / pressure in this game are pretty even if you factor in day one to now. Pre patch Liu Kang was the most broken rushdown character while characters like pre patch Quan Chi and Raiden were the most ridiculous 50/50 characters.

 

[Pan1cMode]

Besides Kung Lao don't all of those characters have some kind of unseeable mixup that leads to a combo?

Tanya, cage, Liu don't have unseeable mixups.

Mileena and alien have full combo punishable mixups.

Takeda's mixups are dependant on him having established his block string game already.

 

[Cossner]

Tanya, cage, Liu don't have unseeable mixups.

Mileena and alien have full combo punishable mixups.

Takeda's mixups are dependant on him having established his block string game already.

 

[Awkward Sloth]

Tanya, cage, Liu don't have unseeable mixups.

Mileena and alien have full combo punishable mixups.

Takeda's mixups are dependant on him having established his block string game already.

For Tanya i think instant air pogo b3 is an unseeable 50/50
And stand 1 into ex spiral arrow is an unblockable the first time you do it in Kobu.

 

[Pan1cMode]

For Tanya i think instant air pogo b3 is an unseeable 50/50
And stand 1 into ex spiral arrow is an unblockable the first time you do it in Kobu.

I was talking specifically about kobu.

s1 into low drill is sneaky af, but I don't think it qualifies as an unseeable mixup.

 

[Cossner]

Tanya, cage, Liu don't have unseeable mixups.

Mileena and alien have full combo punishable mixups.

Takeda's mixups are dependant on him having established his block string game already.

 

[Awkward Sloth]

I was talking specifically about kobu.

s1 into low drill is sneaky af, but I don't think it qualifies as an unseeable mixup.

Needs more Pyromancer downplay.

And gotcha

 

[freerf245]

I voted for zoning lel

 

[Pan1cMode]

You know full well I meant traditional 50/50 but whatever.

 

[Amplified$hotz]

Tanya, cage, Liu don't have unseeable mixups.

Mileena and alien have full combo punishable mixups.

Takeda's mixups are dependant on him having established his block string game already.

Cage's 113/11 f2 can be fuzzyed?

 

[jaylee777]

I personally think the most dominant offensive strategy includes having both blockstring/stagger pressure along with the option of doing a 50/50.

Characters like mileena, alien, ermac, dvorah come to my mind when thinking about this.

 

[Pan1cMode]

Cage's 113/11 f2 can be fuzzyed?

Yes.

 

[UGL Preon]

50/50s are strong because in some cases for guessing right you don't get much in response. If you guess wrong, welcome to 30-40% gone, minus 2 bars if you break, or reset into the same situation...then down 2 bars if you break this time.

Staggering strings make 50/50s stronger due to a lot of the best staggers belonging to characters that can keep you on your toes to set up the 50/50 metagame. Also with the run button and good advancing mids, you're always in arms reach. The offense is really suffocating in this game.

 

[RoboCop]

I'd also argue that block-string pressure is just another type of 50/50. It's not overhead/low, but it's still keep blocking, try to poke, try to armor, try to tech, so really block-string pressure is more of a 25/25/25/25. The only positive aspect is that if you do guess right, usually that means you get a punish or at least it's your turn. The same can't be said for all of the bullshit safe launching 50/50s in this game.

 

[omooba]

I'd also argue that block-string pressure is just another type of 50/50. It's not overhead/low, but it's still keep blocking, try to poke, try to armor, try to tech, so really block-string pressure is more of a 25/25/25/25.

pretty sure option selects fuck with this number especially cus there's safe armor in this game. also you didn't take backdash into consideration

 

[EdenianWarrior]

You gonna type a legitimate response.....or just post a picture in a passive aggressive ass manner to score yourself some likes? I think I know the answer.

 

[EdenianWarrior]

I don't see how Mileena isn't a 50/50 char. The whole notion that she's just this "footsie / zoning" character is not being completely honest. She has very strong offense with countless staggers and strings, and she's definitely a 50/50 character also. She's just literally everything being 50/50s / offense / pressure / footsies / space control / and zoning.

I can't tell how many tournament matches I watch where top Mileena players win by doing a string mix-up with a low and use EX Overhead ball roll to clutch it out, or to open up the opponent with one of her (5?) multiple 50/50 mix-ups in strings or the mindgame conditioning of going low or overhead.


Alien is just as strong of a 50/50 character as he is a pressure and footsie character, IMO.

I also believe D'Vorah is a 50/50 character along with being a rushdown / pressure and footsie character. Her 50/50s strengthen her offense and both of them together are essentially what makes D'Vorah, D'Vorah.

Ermac is a top tier 50/50 character with zoning and space control.

Quan Chi was arguably considered the best in the game and had insane 50/50s and hard to blockables at one point.

Tanya was also underrated as a 50/50 character. Standing 1~EX Low drill or B+1 was in itself a 50/50 that hit many players in tournament and was risky to scout and block if you were psychology on the receiving end. But she was mainly a rushdown / pressure character WITH the added bonus of a 50/50 in Kobujutsu.

Demolition Sonya (who many top players currently consider potentially the best ATM) needs no explanation.

Cutthroat also doesn't need an explanation.

Pre-Patch Raiden was both an offensive juggernaut and a 50/50 power house.

Smoke, Imposter, Jacqui, Jax, Ferra/ Torr, Kotal Kahn, and Kung Jin are underlooked 50/50 and mix-up heavy characters that are extremely strong in the current meta in the game. ESPECIALLY Smoke and Imposter - who are severely underestimated by the community.


I think 50/50s and rushdown / pressure in this game are pretty even if you factor in day one to now. Pre patch Liu Kang was the most broken rushdown character while characters like pre patch Quan Chi and Raiden were the most ridiculous 50/50 characters.

I do agree with what you said about Mileena. Thankfully, all of her 50/50 options are unsafe asf.

 

[RoboCop]

pretty sure option selects fuck with this number especially cus there's safe armor in this game. also you didn't take backdash into consideration

Good call on options selects. Backdashes are laughable in this game, though. If you time them right then you can sometimes avoid a bad situation, but typically the full-screen advancing strings of the top 20 characters will catch any backdash attempts for a full punish.

 

[FL Rushdown]

I think the most dominant offensive strategy is pressing buttons. I win infinitely more of my matches when I press buttons vs not pressing buttons.

Seriously though, are we really saying a character that uses blockstrings(all of them) and staggers(fucking everyone) somehow means 50/50s aren't incredibly prevalent and strong in mkx?

 

[omooba]

QUESTION:

You gonna type a legitimate response.....or just post a picture in a passive aggressive ass manner to score yourself some likes? I think I know the answer.

ANSWER:

Good call on options selects. Backdashes are laughable in this game, though. If you time them right then you can sometimes avoid a bad situation, but typically the full-screen advancing strings of the top 20 characters will catch any backdash attempts for a full punish.

lol true. i guess it depends on the character. i fought this one subzero who back dashed and whiffed punished my d'vorah's f1,1,2 enough times for me to change up my gameplan into reading the backdashes