Has NRS done a good job patching Mortal Kombat X so far?

[M2Dave]

Everyone knows I am huge critic of Mortal Kombat X. While the overall presentation of the game is beautiful, I dislike the monotonous 50/50 mix ups of the game. However, something positive must be said about the manner in which NRS has patched the game thus far. I understand this community is in a highly emotional state after each patch, which leads to some amusing "Salt Report" material that can last @SneakyTortoise a month, yet objectively speaking the patches so far have honestly been anything but controversial. The top tier characters have been normalized but remain top tier. As much as @SonicFox5000 's Erron Black gameplay disgusts me, I do not want to see Erron Black be bombarded with constant negative changes. Keep Erron Black top tier but more fair, which is more or less what NRS has done. On the other side of the tier spectrum, some previous low tier characters such as Kenshi and Shinnok have received reasonable adjustments that have propelled them to at least mid tier status. Some work still remains to be done to characters like Kitana and Ferra/Torr while some reoccurring glitches and bugs have to be fixed.

With everything said, I ask the community, has NRS done a good job patching Mortal Kombat X so far? I personally think so. There is a vast improvement from what we have seen in Injustice: GAU and in particular Mortal Kombat 9, so props to the development team, and also quality assurance who tested the game.

Finally, I would normalize the top tier characters some more with the following suggestions. Do you agree with the suggestions? And which characters ought to be buffed?

 

[Marvaz]

No. Imo they have patched the wrong things.

 

[SneakyTortoise]

I've fucking made it

 

[sub_on_dubs]

What Dave means to say is "Buff Zoning" or just put Freddy back in the game.

 

[Name v.5.0]

In all seriousness, this community needs to come up with EVERY example possible of a mid oddly whiffing and put it in one thread. I've seen it all over the character forums. This is a big deal guys and needs to be fixed more than character balancing.

 

[Paul the Octopus]

I agree the patching so far has been measured and thoughtful. Kudos to NRS.

In terms of future changes - I think they should shrink the hit box of sub zero's ice clone so that more moves can pass through it.

 

[KH_Seraph]

I agree that NRS' decisions with patching have improved over IGAU and MK9. I'll check out what your suggestions are, but... mostly at this point I don't feel like any characters should be buffed. There are definitely some that need to have their hitboxes corrected and fixed however (i.e - Liu Kang and Jacqui for example...I know Sonya's one b332 string could be adjusted as well).

Some buffs to characters seen as weaker or low tier would be nice as well, but I'd say they should mostly focus on fixing things that aren't really working as intended. I could list off a wide summary of things for Dualist Liu Kang but @AK L0rdoftheFLY already took care of that. That's the only major sore spot for me at the moment since he's my character, lol.

 

[Scott The Scot]

I think they've done a good job so far normalising the characters but I think a particular character has been over buffed SLIGHTLY (not saying who because it'll start an argument in which I don't to take part in) however it's something you can deal with for sure though. I've been playing Kitana recently and whilst she has to work harder for her wins, I don't really think she needs many buffs at all - I'm not a Kitana main nor do I have tourney experience with her so blow me up if you want, igaf.

 

[SidTheHaze]

Idk if kenshi deserved 16 buffs but I hope they patch super unviable variations later down the road.

 

[TKB]

In all seriousness, this community needs to come up with EVERY example possible of a mid oddly whiffing and put it in one thread. I've seen it all over the character forums. This is a big deal guys and needs to be fixed more than character balancing.

How about highs randomly hitting a crouched opponent as well? Happened last night numerous times while I was fighting @RunwayMafia

 

[WidowPuppy]

Aside from addressing, then ignoring... lol, the number one complaint about input delay online... I think [Paulo] NRS has done a great job SO FAR with character specific balancing. Looking forward to some of the lower tier characters being buffed in whatever ways he sees fit. Would also like them to fix the fact that 50 percent of the time I load up the game on my Xbone, that Tanya or Jason [characters which I've paid for and downloaded with the Kombat Pack] are not available [Along with some skins as well].

 

[juicepouch]

I'd rather they patch inconsistent mids and other gameplay issues before balancing

Also f/t is better than goro, Goro needs more help

 

[HoneyBee]

@General M2Dave Can you be more specific with your nerf request for D'Vorah?

"D'Vorah
- significantly reduce block frame advantage of f+1,1,2 xx WGC"

In case you're unaware, she's currently +16 after a perfectly executed F112 Bug cancel on block BUT everyone has the option to take the last hit of the string which only deals about 4% damage and let's them get out of the situation entirely since the 2 portion of F112 sends you full screen. The best thing D'Vorah can do to beat this option is by ending the string in ovi which would give her a total of 10% damage on a read that the opponent will let go of block, but punished if the read is wrong. She could also stagger F11 but then she no longer has guaranteed frame traps and she can be poked out of, armored through, back dashed, etc etc.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

The thing is, they always do a decent job, but then get blown up for "too many patches" anyway.

Personally I'd rather see a game that's moving in the right direction (with occasional missteps, which are inevitable) than a game that's not moving at all.

 

[Scoot Magee]

I'm only going to comment on Scorpion because I play him. I don't think the FBC advantage needs to be nerfed, people will probably call me out on it but I don't think it's really a big problem. There's ways around it like eating the 4 and getting hit full screen away. The only way you get around 15% chip is if you have flame aura active and end with a MB FB, otherwise you get 8.25% chip. If anything Scorpions flame aura is more powerful than his FBC pressure imo.

Don't get me wrong, I think scorpion is a monster in this game. I just don't think his FBC pressure makes him over powered. If they nerf the FBC pressure then it is what it is but I just don't think it needs to be done.

Honestly I would like to see the game stay unchanged for a good while before making any drastic decisions. That goes for all characters unless it's something totally game breaking.

 

[Johnny San]

they always do a good job

You seem to either have forgotten Injustice Scorpion or think the nerfs were pretty good. Please tell me it's the former.

 

[IrishMantis]

M2Dave given the game props? is this Bizzaro World?

 

[DavS13]

They need to fix the in-game frame data, mids hitting high, and alternate controls.

 

[Zaccel]

So far it's been sensible, methodical changes. There's still a bunch of weirdness floating around (whiffing hitboxes and seemingly-useless strings, namely. Block breakers could use a look, but it's too soon to say), and some characters could use some love. Not always Kenshi-level improvements, but QOL touch-ups to make more elements of every character feel useful, not just the weaker ones. I'm sure NRS will get there sooner or later.

 

[Ares_Supreme]

Scorpion
- reduce block from advantage of 2,1,4 xx FBC in Hellfire to prevent uninterruptible loops

Yeah i'd also like clarification on this one before I go crazy. Do you mean like, if my opponent gets caught in 214 I can only FBC a single time as opposed to creating a block string?

I'm only going to comment on Scorpion because I play him. I don't think the FBC advantage needs to be nerfed, people will probably call me out on it but I don't think it's really a big problem. There's ways around it like eating the 4 and getting hit full screen away. The only way you get around 15% chip is if you have flame aura active and end with a MB FB, otherwise you get 8.25% chip. If anything Scorpions flame aura is more powerful than his FBC pressure imo.

Don't get me wrong, I think scorpion is a monster in this game. I just don't think his FBC pressure makes him over powered. If they nerf the FBC pressure then it is what it is but I just don't think it needs to be done.

Honestly I would like to see the game stay unchanged for a good while before making any drastic decisions. That goes for all characters unless it's something totally game breaking.

Yeah if this is what he means then I 100% disagree. He is literally asking to take away the entire point of the variation which makes absolutely 0 sense.

 

[VenomX-90]

Idk, are ppl still bitching?

 

[Big Pampering]

Imo before we nerf the top tiers further we need to buff the weaker character a little and see how it goes from there. You might get the same situation like in the previous games if you go nerfing the top tier even more and then continue to buff other characters.

 

[DownfouralitY]

Fixing the gameplay related mechanics should be the first priority imo, but idk. I just hope they dont nerf or buff characters too hard, like I know Erron Black nerfs are inevitable so I hope he doesnt get launched into shitter tier

 

[CJKRattlehead]

I think they have done a mostly fair job balancing, still though a ferra/torr nerf? Why would they do such a thing?

 

[HeroesNZ]

The blockstring off of Scorpion's 214 FBC isn't his best asset - in fact it'd be great if that was all they nerfed.

If they were to nerf him, I'd say decrease the active frames on Flame Aura so it's easier to block and whiff-punish, and decrease the active frames on his J3.

I'm really liking the way they're patching the game so far - no knee-jerk reactions and pretty smart, targeted nerfs. If Hellfire is nerfed then hopefully his FBC frame-data generally stays the same. He needs the plus frames to make up for his lack of combo-able 50/50s.