Guide - Hat Trick Hat Jus' Drippin in Swag - A guide to everything Hat Trick

[I GOT HANDS]

HAT GAME ON FLEEK

A ​

Kung Lao - Hat Trick

Guide​

Welcome to my Kung Lao guide. Since the recent buffs, this is a character many people have been intrigued by, and I personally think at this point it's fair to say he IS very viable, and although he doesn't have some of the pointed strengths of the other two variations, he does bring his own to the table, and a versatile, adaptible playstyle to be molded by the hands of the player behind him. This guide contains almost all the information I could come up with, but nothing is ever truly complete in the ever-changing world and metagame of Mortal Kombat, so I am 100% committed to keeping this thread up to date, accurate, and useful. Any suggestions, please leave them in the comments.


DISCLAIMER: this guide is currently unfinished, and will be built on heavily over the next few weeks by contributing members of the Kung Lao community. If you would like to contribute, feel free to leave anything in the comments section, if not I do have a very friendly and open Inbox



Legend:
RC = Run Cancel
OH = Overhead
HCB = Hat Call Back (DD2 with Hat out)
Spin = DF1 with Hat in
TP = Teleport (DU)
JiP = Jump in 2
JiK = Jump In 3

NOTES​

Spoiler: Neutral Game - Key Normals, Strings, and Openers:

Just to run down most useful buttons to be pressing in the neutral game. Hat Trick has some very nice, very safe buttons.


Midscreen:

F2: Punish, Neutral
B22: Overhead Starter
D4: Poke/conditioning tool
D1: Check/Pressure Set-Up
112124: Pressure string
Jump in 2: Air opener
EX-Projectile: Fullscreen full combo starter projectile


F23 is your go-to punisher but is super unsafe in the neutral, however F2 is an amazing 11 frame advancing mid that can also hitconfirm into a 35% Hatarang combo in the neutral off the F21 string. B22 is an Overhead starter with advancing properties, that cancels into Hat Trap and is fully safe against everything except Cassie's Flipkick. Using D4 is a good poke and a great way to bully your opponent into getting opened up for an Overhead. Aside from the regular uses of D1's as a check and fastest/least negative poke, it is especially useful as Hat Trick (and Kung Lao in general) as he has a lot of stuff that leaves him only slightly negative (6 frames and and under) and throwing that poke out immediately after can discourage your opponent from being able to throw anything too heavy your way if the try capitilise on their plus frames. On hit it also perfectly sets up a 112124, which is a pressure string that builds about half a bar and gives a completely safe trap, and with a Hat Trap already out can be gapless looped into itself again at the cost of a meter. It's a great response to any blocked pokes or for just taking advantage of +frames in general, as it hitconfirms quite easily into 25% and a Trap set-up. I normally wouldn't mention Jump in 2 as every character obviously has jump in's, but this one deserves a mention as it has an insane disjointed Hitbox, and makes 44 (your highest damage combo starter) completely safe, as it can usually be beaten by pokes as it's a high, and the second hit has an armorable gap, hitconfirming off the Jump in solves both these problems at once. This is especially relevant for Hat Trick because we get a completely safe Trap set up off the JiP, 4 cancel, and also because unlike other variations, B321 is such a bad opener for us, netting only 18% without meter. JiP also beats out most other air normals, and is still an easy convert thanks to our advancing normals. EX-Projectile is also a key tool as it launches for combo making it a great opener, which I'll touch on more in other sections. Other noteworthy moves for the neutral game are NjP, JiK, Divekick, Teleport, Spin, and Hat Trap/Callback, but I feel these are pretty self explanatory and/or mentioned later on in this guide. However, it is also worth emphasising that his NjP is really good.




Corner:

44: 50/50 opener
112124: Punish/Wake-Up Pressure
F21: Punish/Wake-Up Pressure
B22: Overhead Starter with Hat On
D1/D4: Pokes
B321: Good punish, advancing corner push normal
NjP: Air opener


Corner plays somewhat different to midscreen, in that after every 21 knockdown ender, you can make use of the frame advantage to set up a safe Low Hat Trap, and use it in conjunction with 44. The second hit of the string being Overhead gives you a mix-up option between that and cancelling the first 4 into Hat Callback, making it a true 50/50, even if the first hit is blocked. The dangers of this however is the fact that 4 is a high starter, meaning it will get beaten out by most wake-up pokes. F21 however is a good compliment to this, as it will beat out wake up pokes, delayed wake ups, and will give amazing pressure on block as well. Neutral jump into Air-Hat Callback or NjP is a good mix-up as well, and jumping back while threatening the Divekick/Air-Hat Callback at all times are good options to start with another Jump In, or to just catch your opponent off guard with one of the first two options, or a whiffed cross-up/wake up punish. The overhead starter option of B22 is as good as ever in the corner if your Trap isn't set up, and combos into significantly more meterless damage than before. B321 is now a much better option in the corner as it now does combo with Spin, as does the entirety of 112124 for your fastest point blank punish other than naked Spin, but F2 is still your fastest advancing normal so don't forget about it.

Spoiler: Basic Gameplan:

Kung Lao plays a bit differently to Tempest and Buzzsaw, in that he doesn't necessarily always need to be rushing in and beating down your face. The Hat Trap does however give him elements of what makes both versions good without crossing into their territory or doing their "thing" better than them, while adding some unique utility of it's own.

In general, you want to get whatever you can out of the situations you are in, without necessarily trying to force positioning on to your opponent. At range? Use your Hat's to win the meter war and trick your opponent into getting opened up to a Hat-A-Rang opener. Your opponent throwing projectiles? You have an excellent teleport opener to punish, that can combo into 45% meterless if you set up a trap as well. Trading blockstrings? Abuse your meter gain and chip strings. Neutral game, you have an amazing Overhead starter which is completely safe on block and sets up a free Trap on block, you have a good D4, and you have a very legit mids in the game with F2. AA's are unreliable in this game, and Kung Lao is a major threat in the air, with air-armor, Divekick, possibly THE best D2 hitbox in the game, an amazing NJP, and Hat Trick even has the ability to call Traps back mid jump. In the corner you have a lot of mix-ups and everything you do midscreen pushes your opponent towards it heavily, even his THROW (which really lives up to the name). Make good use of it all, you have the tools.

Simplest terms, you generally want to be pressing D4, B22, D1, 11212(4) (hitconfirming for the 4 on Block or the Spin on hit),Throw, F21, Ji2(+44), EX-BF2 (and B321 if you have a Hat out). There is some good buttons behind this character, nothing OP, but everything does it's role very sufficiently.

Spoiler: Universal Combo Enders

Any combo that ends in 21 can have replace this for a second JumpKickDiveKick. In the corner, its generally best to end in 21, you can end in a Throw for max damage, or F14 for max Untechable Knockdown damage. I prefer to end with 21 for Hard Knockdown and good frame advantage whenever possible, as it gives time to get a hat out, even Low Hat is unpunishable after a 21 ender. I've ended all my combo's listed in in 21, unless it's impossible or inconsistent to land. I'll touch more on the benefits of this later.

Spoiler: Using Hat Traps

Hat Traps can be used in a number of ways, and aside from being ABSOLUTELY safe to both throw out and call back off certain strings, they are excellent ranged punishes, Call Back being a safe "projectile", that travels towards your position on the screen (and will follow your movements), which also launches on connect (although not always practical to convert off), and Low Hat which skims all the way across the ground, hits Low, but is less safe to set-up, and launches less thus is harder to both convert, and combo with. They can also be used to give you very nice block strings, as well as to extend your damage mid combo (pushing Tempest levels, with extra wallcarry). Remember that Spin and Hat Toss are not available while your Hat is off, but if you get hit the hat immediately returns meaning you can always Spin on the wake-up.

Kung Lao's 112124 can be either used to get a completely safe Hat Trap out behind your opponent, or linked together with another 112124 with no armorable gap by using an EX-Hat Call Back (giving him shades of Tempest pressure). Low Hat set up in the corner is completely safe after any 21 ender even if your opponent Tech Rolls, which gives you a 50/50 in the corner albeit off a set-up, giving you a very nice corner game and options regardless.

He has a decent projectile, which is extremely hard to distinguish from forward Hat Trap. You can Hat Trap AND Callback in the amount of frames it takes most characters to throw a projectile, so this is a good way of building meter at range, and if your opponent gets too irrespectful of it, the afore mentioned similarity in animations is a good way to sneak through a Hat Toss projectile, as well as a Hat-A-Rang, our EX projectile, an amazing launcher which combo's full screen for ~30% after a Run Cancel.

Spoiler: Combo'ing with Hat Out:

Midscreen (and corner) combo's can be extended by the Hat Callback, and once the Hat is back on further extended by the spin, giving you a bit of extra damage and wallcarry. But if the spacing is too short your combo can carry you past your Hat meaning the HCB will whiff, and if the Hat is too far the hitstun won't be long enough to combo. So being aware of where your Hat roughly is at all times is important. Assuming you get a full combo punish or TP 3 opener where you can follow up with anything, your 3 optimal choices for ranges are as follows: 4xxHCB for close range, B321xxHCB for slightly further range, and 44, RC, B321xxHCB for maximum range. As such, Hat Trick has more BnB's than most characters, combo's are almost freeform and change based on the positioning and flow of the game. Obviously, if you don't have fullcombo punish the range of connect will be dependant on what your opener is, sometimes you just have to call it back and hope for the connect, not much else you can do.

Practically any combo with a HatCall Back in the middle of it, can be followed up with either 4xxSpin or B321xxSpin. B321 is singificantly harder on execution, and adds more gravity making the follow up double air kicks much harder to connect, but will add about an extra 2% to most to combos. At my discretion, I've used 4xxSpin for most combos, B321 for the ones that didn't have much previous juggle if they were considered consistent enough during my testing. Feel free to go with what you what please.

You want to go for the longest range combo possible without carrying them past your Hat in the space of the combo before the Hat Callback. I personally recommend sticking one map as much as possible and getting familiar, although that's just a suggestion, but I'll touch more on it later.

Spoiler: Hat Trick's 50/50

Hat Trick has a true 50/50 in the corner if he has a Low Hat set up, a set up which is 100% safe off a 21 ender if timed right (tested against Tempest EX-Spin), or off B321xxLow Hat Trap. A close enough Low Hat can be used to give you a 50/50 with standing 4, you have a choice of follow up string which is an Overhead launcher into combo (44), or cancelling into Hat Callback (4xxHCB). It can be used midscreen but requires close promixity Low Hat, and gets very little return off the Overhead as well as less returns off the Low than a standard midscreen combo, making it best used after pushing someone to the corner and ending in a 21, giving him some very strong options in the corner. Just remember that there IS a gap that can be armored through in between the first and second hit of 44.

Spoiler: Positioning with Hat Trick

Positioning is vital with this variation. If you start a combo and your Hat is behind you, you've just cut your combo short because you can't spin or HatCall. Cross-up your opponent, make sensible use of TP, armored Teleports ARE an good use of meter (and your Hat stays up even if you take a hit), if you need to call your hat back pre-emptively even if it whiffs (still a bit of meter), and just be aware of your Trap at all times. Believe me, it will be much easier for you to keep track of it than your opponent, and the payoff is worth it. On this note, I swear by Lin Kuie Temple as that stage for Hat Trick Kung Lao, there is four "Leap" interactables, the two middle ones you can pick your direction. This is perfect for switching positions, and using your Hat traps to control a LOT of space. And given how much dominance Air Force Kung has over the sky, it's much harder for your opponent to abuse. Between Dive Kick, Spin, Vortex, great jumping normals, air armor with EX-Teleport, Hat Call back and AIR Hat Call Back, you have a lot of options. It will also make it harder for your opponent to keep track of the Hat.

Spoiler: Meter management with Hat Trick

I find meter is best saved for getting in as opposed to extending combos, as Lao has so many great tools to do this (Spin, Hat Toss, Hat Call Back, Armored Teleport [+ MB Throw] are all great metered openers), but spending meter in combo's will generally only net around 3% per meter spent, but I've included a couple of mid combo Meter uses regardless in the section, but generally only for the hardest hitting combos.

You can build a LOT of meter for these options with the 112124 blockstring.

​

BNB MIDSCREEN COMBOS​

||Neutral Game Openers||

JiP Starter​

31% Meterless - JiP, DU, 2, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21
38% Meterless - JiP, 44, RC, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21*
42% 1-Bar - JiP, 44, RC, B321xxEX-Spin, NjP, JiKxDK, JiKxxDK*

29% Meterless - JiP, RC, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21 [Air-To-Air]

Spoiler: WITH HAT OUT

31% Meterless - JiP, DU, 2, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21
36% Meterless - JiP, 4xxHCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21 [Close Range]
39% Meterless - JiP, B321xxHCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21 [Mid Range]
43% Meterless - JiP, 44, RC, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxDK, JiKxxDK [Long Range]
54% 3-Bars - JiP, 44, RC, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, B32xxXRay

35% Meterless - JiP, RC, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxxDK, JiKxxDK [Air-To-Air]

Neutral Starters​

26% Meterless - B22xxHat Trap, HCB, F21xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21 ** [Overhead Starter]
33% 1-Bar - B22xxHat Trap, EX-HCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK,21 ** [Overhead Starter]
36% 1-Bar - F21xxEX-Hatarang, 44, RC, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21

Hat-A-Rang Starter​

36% 1-Bar - EX-Hatarang, RC, 44, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21 [Full Screen Convertible]
31% 1-Bar - EX-Hatarang, RC, 1, B32xxSpin, JiKxDK, JiKxDK [Anti-Air Conversion]

Hat Callback Starter​

22% Meterless - HCB, D1xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21 *** [Standard Poke Range Convert]
22% Meterless - HCB, F21xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21 *** [Longest Range Convert]
29% Meterless - HCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21 [Anti-Air Convertible]
31% 1-Bar - EX-HCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21


||Punishment Starters||

25% Meterless - 11212xxSpin, JiKxDK, B321xxHat Trap
25% Meterless - F23xxSpin, JiKxDK, B321xxHat Trap
33% 1-Bar - B321xxEX-Spin, JiKxDK, 21
35% 1-Bar - 112124xxEX-Hatarang, 44, RC, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21
36% Meterless - 44, RC, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21

Spoiler: WITH HAT OUT

31% Meterless - 112124xxHCB, B321xxSpin, Ji1, JiKxDK, 21
32% Meterless - F23xxHCB, B321xxSpin, Ji1, JiKxDK, 21
35% Meterless - 4xxHCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21
38% Meterless - B321xxHCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21
43% Meterless - 44, RC, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxDK, JiKxDK

||Air/Anti-Air/Wake-Up/Armored Starters||

NjP Starter​

30% Meterless - NjP, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21

Spin Starter​

21% Meterless - Spin, Ji1, JiKxDK, 21
22% Meterless - Spin, NjP, JiKxDK, 21 [Anti-Air only]
24% 1-Bar - EX-Spin, NjP, JiKxDK, 21
25% 1-Bar - EX-Spin, NjP, JiKxDK, RC, Throw [Armored - Wake-Up Corner Swap]

Dive Kick Starter​

22% Meterless - DK, 1, B32xxSpin, B321xxHat Trap [Untechable Knockdown + Set-Up Ender]

JiK Starter​

27% Meterless - JiKxxDK, 1, B32xxSpin, B321xxHat Trap



||Teleport Starters||

TP-Mid Starter​

40% Meterless - TP, 3, 44, RC, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, JiKxxDK

Spoiler: WITH HAT OUT

38% Meterless - TP, 3, 4xxHCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21 [Close Range]
41% Meterless - TP, 3, B321xxHCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21 [Mid Range]
45% Meterless - TP, 3, 44, RC, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxDK, JiKxDK [Long Range]
56% 3-Bars - TP, 3, 44, RC, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, B32xxXRay

TP-OH Starter​

29% Meterless - TP, 2, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21

Spoiler: WITH HAT OUT

32% Meterless - TP, 2, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, B321xxHat Trap [Untechable Knockdown + Set-Up Ender]

EX-TP-Throw Starter​

40% 2-Bars - EX-TP, EX-1, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21

Spoiler: WITH HAT OUT

44% 2-Bars - EX-TP, EX-1, 4xxHCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxxDK, JiKxxDK [Close Range]
47% 2-Bars - EX-TP, EX-1, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxxDK, JiKxxDK

Execution Tips:
*;44 has an armorable gap, but with a jump in can be made entirely safe by hitconfirming the jump in and inputting [Ji2,4DF4] on hit or [Ji2, 4DF2] on Block for a completely safe Hat Trap.
**: Immediately after calling the Hat back, hold forward while waiting to press F2. You won't notice any visible walk, but the couple of frames or so will be enough to make the combo string consistently when you get it.
***: In poke range, after calling a Hat back, input D1F1 and hitconfirm the second 1, you just don't tap if you don't see them get launched. This is the safest most reliable possible convert.

BNB CORNER COMBOS

​

||Corner Game With Hat On||

Overhead Starter​

32% Meterless - B22xxHat Trap, D4xxHCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21

NjP Starter​

31% Meterless - NjP, B321xxSpin, Ji1, JiKxxDK, 21

Dive Kick Starter​

26% Meterless - DK, 1, B321xxSpin, JiK, 21

Neutral Game/Oki Openers​

25% 1-Bar - EX-Spin, NjP, Ji1, JiKxxDK, 21 [Armored Starter]
27% Meterless - F21xxSpin, NjP, JiK, JiKxDK, 21
28% Meterless - 112124xxSpin, NjP, JiKxDK, 21
33% Meterless - B321xxSpin, NjP, JiK, JiKxxDK, 21 [Mid Opener ]
38% Meterless - 44, RC, B321xxSpin, NjP JiKxDK, 21





||Corner Game With Low Hat Out||

Neutral Jump Starter 50/50​

32% Meterless - EX-AirHCB, 1, B321xxSpin, NjP, JiKxxDK, 21
35% Meterless - NjP, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21

50/50 After High Opener​

32% Meterless - 4xxHCB, 1, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21 [Low Starter - 36% if unblocked]
37% Meterless - 44, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21 [Overhead Starter - 42% if unblocked**]

Hat Callback Starter​

30% Meterless - HCB, 1, B321xxSpin, NjP, JiKxDK, 21
31% Meterless - HCB, B321xxSpin, NjP, JiKxDK, 21 [Jump Back Tech*]
29% Meterless - EX-AirHCB, F21xxSpin, NjP, Ji1, JiKxxDK, 21 [Jump Back Tech*]

Dive Kick Starter​

28% Meterless - DK, 1, 4xxHCB, B321xxSpin, 21 [Jump Back Tech*]

Neutral Game/Oki Openers​

33% Meterless - 112124xxHCB, B321xxSpin, NjP, JiKxDK, 21
33% Meterless - F23xxHCB, 1, B321xxSpin, NjP, JiKxDK, 21 [Mid Opener ]
42% Meterless - 44, B321xxHCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxDK, 21





||With Regular Hat Out||

39% Meterless - B321xxHCB, Bj3, B321, JiKxDK, 21

​

Execution Tips:
*: After a knockdown, between Divekick, EX-AirHCB, and HCB on landing, going for a Back Jump lets you threaten a full combo the entire way back, and if they respect all that, gives you a safe Jump in to make your High openers uncrouchable. Good mix-up tech, especially good against characters like Mileena with a low-profile wake up launcher, or against characters whose wake up you know will whiff on a Jump Back.
**: Delay the B321 follow-up, let them float for a little bit after the 44 launcher, so that the HCB connects.

SAFE BLOCKSTRINGS & HAT SET-UPS​

||100% Safe-On-Block Set-Ups||


1.5% Meterless - B22xxHat Trap [Builds 20% of a Bar]
2% Meterless - 4xxHat Trap [Builds 10% of a Bar]
2% Meterless - B32xxHat Trap [Hitconfirmable - Builds 20% of a Bar]
2.5% Meterless - 112124xxHat Trap [Hitconfirmable - Builds 40% of a Bar]

Spoiler: IF HITCONFIRMED

25% Meterless - 11212xxSpin, JiKxxDK, B321xxHat Trap [Untechable Knockdown + Set-Up Ender]
33% 1-Bar - B321xxEX-Spin, NjP, JiKxDK, 21

||100% Safe-On-Block Hat-Calls||

3.5% Meterless - 4xxHCB [Builds 25% of a Bar]
4% 1 Bar - EX-HCB, 112124xxHat Trap [Builds 50% of a Bar, No Armorable Gap]
7% 1-Bar - 112124xxEX-HCB, 112124xxHat Trap [Hitconfirmable -Builds 90% of a Bar + Set-Up, No Armorable Gap]
8% 1-Bar - B321xxEX-HCB, 112124xxHat Trap [Hitconfirmable - Builds 75% of a Bar + Set-Up, No Armorable Gap]

Spoiler: IF HITCONFIRMED

31% Meterless - 112124xxHCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21
38% Meterless - B321xxHCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21

SWAG SELECTION​

Spoiler: These combos are high damage but generally pretty inefficient as far as meter goes, but when your Hat game off the hook and you wanna release some swag these look dope AF

||Midscreen||
46% 1-Bar - TP, 3, 44, RC, B321xxHCB, B32xxEX-Spin, JiKxDK, JiKxDK


48% 2-Bars - TP, 3, 44, RC, B321xxEX-HCB, NjP, B32xxEX-Spin, JiKxDK, JiKxDK
50% 2-Bars - TP, 3, 44, RC, B321xxEX-HCB, B321xxEX-Spin, JiKxDK, JiKxDK [High Execution, Inconsistent, Impractical, Stylish AF]


49% 3-Bars - EX-TP, EX-1, B321xxEX-HCB, 4xxSpin, JiKxxDK, JiKxxDK



||Corner||



35% 1-Bar - 4xxEX-HCB, NjP, JiK, B321xxSpin , JiKxxDK, 21 [Low Hat Out - Low Starter - 38% if unblocked]
39% 1-Bar - 44, B321xxHCB, 4xxEX-Spin, JiKxxDK, 21 [Low Hat Out - Overhead Starter - 43% if unblocked]


47% 2-Bars - JiP, 44, B321xxEX-HCB, 4xxEX-Spin, NjP, JiKxxDK, Throw [Throw Ender - Ultra Brutality Making Machine]

​

As an end note, this is all subject to change. I'll be adding in more things like gameplay footage and combo videos later on. If you play Hat Trick and would like to contribute, please do so! I know I missed some viable Hat Call Back combos which I'll eventually update, I have just been sitting on this big list and it's getting confusing so I need to put it down now. I'd love to get some more flashy shit for the Swag section, but any serious advice, or gameplay notes you would like to modify / add to this, please let me know and I'll definitely put them in if they are worthy






@ETC Mcfly
@Mykal NS
@Vigilante24
@Youphemism
@Eddy Wang
@BLOOD CAPTAIN X
@themilkman014 (tried to copy your Reddit formatting for Ermac, couldn't find a way to make it work well on here, so I built from that and this is what I went with, hopefully still counts as "convenient" )
@Big Pampering​

 

[SaltShaker]

Your guide looks official. Good stuff man.

 

[Samsara]

Classy stuff man, you put some time into this. This is probably besides the point, but this is probably the flashiest looking thread I've seen in my short weeks on this forum. I think your formatting is fine, and I think you have a respectable thread on your hands.

 

[Mykal NS]

Good stuff man, glad to see I could help. #H A T B O Y Z

 

[Mykal NS]

I've got some more swaggy setups and punishes to add to this thread. You play on Xbox or PS4? I want to invite u to online training and show you some setups.

 

[DavS13]

Damn great guide. Under punishment starters I believe you meant F23.

 

[UsedForGlue]

Thats all good dude, but there is no information in here that I would be looking for, like can he do any strings that let him through out a hat without being punished? are there any that let him MB it back and can't be interrupted? although you have listed about a million combos, a guide should really strip away tons of the combos and only tell you the best possible B&B's from a characters major strings, one with and one without meter, and then specific ones like his NJP combo, JK combo etc.

Try to be more concise with the combo information, and maybe lay out more gameplay specific ideas that work.

 

[I GOT HANDS]

Your guide looks official. Good stuff man.

Classy stuff man, you put some time into this. This is probably besides the point, but this is probably the flashiest looking thread I've seen in my short weeks on this forum. I think your formatting is fine, and I think you have a respectable thread on your hands.

Cheers guys, this been my new main for a minute now that Sub-Zero seems stuck in the ditch of buggy character, I'm liking the asymmetrical gameplay this variation brings to the table, Hat Traps are raw as hell

I've got some more swaggy setups and punishes to add to this thread. You play on Xbox or PS4? I want to invite u to online training and show you some setups.

Steam unfortunately dude. I'd love to see everything you got so I can increase the size of this guide, is there another way we can link up?

 

[I GOT HANDS]

Damn great guide. Under punishment starters I believe you meant F23.

Indeed I did! Good catch, and then I copy+pasted it all through the combos, fixed it now. Good looking out

Thats all good dude, but there is no information in here that I would be looking for, like can he do any strings that let him through out a hat without being punished? are there any that let him MB it back and can't be interrupted?

You are right, thanks for the suggestion, I'll definitely add in a section of which strings are safe to set up Hat off, and go into a bit more detail on Blockstrings, that could definitely use some work.

although you have listed about a million combos, a guide should really strip away tons of the combos and only tell you the best possible B&B's from a characters major strings, one with and one without meter, and then specific ones like his NJP combo, JK combo etc

Try to be more concise with the combo information, and maybe lay out more gameplay specific ideas that work.

I'm afraid I don't know what you mean... I feel like that's exactly what I've done. You'll see I have his main BnB combos for each of his key strings and openers

JiP
NjP
JiK/DK
Hatarang
Hat Callback
Spin
Punishment Strings
Overhead and 50/50 starters


And I've even hid all the combos with a "mid combo Hat Call" under spoilers to keep it simpler, although they are most definitely core to Hat Trick's the gameplay as well.

I know it looks like a lot of combo's, but all are important depending on the situation, and every single one is a BnB. This isn't meant to be "a beginners introduction to MKX through Kung Lao, here is 5 easy combos to get you started!" This is intended to be a comprehensive guide of all his options, made concise as possible. I'd love to cut it down so if you can see any combo up there that you don't think needs to be there please let me know so I can work on trimming it down, however as it stands I think all are pretty core elements to Hat Trick's gameplay, I tried really hard to avoid redundancy

Also, what sort of specific gameplay ideas are you talking here? I'll add another section with a little bit more to using Hat Traps, and Kung Lao's general gameplan, flexibility and options during a match. Is this sort of what you meant? Because I agree, that's a bit lacking as well at the moment

Thank you for the constructive criticism btw

 

[UsedForGlue]

Also, what sort of specific gameplay ideas are you talking here? I'll add another section with a little bit more to using Hat Traps, and Kung Lao's general gameplan, flexibility and options during a match. Is this sort of what you meant? Because I agree, that's a bit lacking as well at the moment

Thank you for the constructive criticism btw

No problem man.

The combos are cool, all I am saying is whittle each combo starter down to the best possible two, one with meter and one without, thats all I'm saying.

As far as gameplay goes, you need to basically lay out some specific stuff, like try answering these questions.

1. Are there any safe strings that I can use to get a hat toss out without being punished?
2. If so, can I call the hat back without being punished?
3. After a combo knockdown, what is the best possible set up mid-screen?
4. Why should I choose Hat Trick over Tempest of Buzz Saw? What matches does it benefit KL?
5. What is the basic game plan?

If you cover any of those topics, your guide would be on point.

 

[I GOT HANDS]

No problem man.

The combos are cool, all I am saying is whittle each combo starter down to the best possible two, one with meter and one without, thats all I'm saying.

As far as gameplay goes, you need to basically lay out some specific stuff, like try answering these questions.

1. Are there any safe strings that I can use to get a hat toss out without being punished?
2. If so, can I call the hat back without being punished?
3. After a combo knockdown, what is the best possible set up mid-screen?
4. Why should I choose Hat Trick over Tempest of Buzz Saw? What matches does it benefit KL?
5. What is the basic game plan?

If you cover any of those topics, your guide would be on point.

This is excellent advice! I'll try to have all this written up within a day or so. Thanks for this, it's harder for me as a player of the character to realise what I need to touch on in the guide if that makes any sense, some of it is so natural to me that I don't even think of it as a "thing" that needs to be mentioned. Of course a lot of it does however, so this is a great response I couldn't pay for this kind of feedback, glad I got this response so I can add it in instead of people deciding "meh I'll wait for the next guide which does explain it".

As for the combos, I still think it's pretty much there. For the most part, there is just one or two critical combos for each entry. For example, Hatarang starter has 2 entries, but one doesn't work if it catches them in the air, and the other doesn't work if it catches them on the ground. Both are pretty different and both are necessary to know or you are playing with an incomplete toolkit.

If I was to put a metered option in for everything, the size would almost double. Plus, I explained under Meter Management in the notes, that for the most part using meter only nets you like 1 or 2% but I included a couple of options where it nets 3% or higher.


For now, I've updated the Blockstring section to include safe Blockstrings, safe Hat Set-Ups, and safe Hat Callback strings. I'll get working on the other stuff now too, let me know what you think.

 

[UsedForGlue]

This is excellent advice! I'll try to have all this written up within a day or so. Thanks for this, it's harder for me as a player of the character to realise what I need to touch on in the guide if that makes any sense, some of it is so natural to me that I don't even think of it as a "thing" that needs to be mentioned. Of course a lot of it does however, so this is a great response I couldn't pay for this kind of feedback, glad I got this response so I can add it in instead of people deciding "meh I'll wait for the next guide which does explain it".

As for the combos, I still think it's pretty much there. For the most part, there is just one or two critical combos for each entry. For example, Hatarang starter has 2 entries, but one doesn't work if it catches them in the air, and the other doesn't work if it catches them on the ground. Both are pretty different and both are necessary to know or you are playing with an incomplete toolkit.

If I was to put a metered option in for everything, the size would almost double. Plus, I explained under Meter Management in the notes, that for the most part using meter only nets you like 1 or 2% but I included a couple of options where it nets 3% or higher.


For now, I've updated the Blockstring section to include safe Blockstrings, safe Hat Set-Ups, and safe Hat Callback strings. I'll get working on the other stuff now too, let me know what you think.

Will do. Ive been trying to use Hat Trick too. I have some stuff, but nothing is guaranteed.

 

[I GOT HANDS]

Doesnt have to be, anything you (or anyone else) wants to contribute (even including overviews of gameplay elements or whatever) I'll look over and hopefully add it to the thread

 

[Eddy Wang]

@I GOT HANDS, there is a lot of combos in this guide, i think is completely unnecessary, a guide should contain more information on how you to set your best strategies for the best possible situations and stay away from different forms of combos unless the pratical ones.

Also you should describe some gameplan strategies as well, the part i like mostly is on how you explain the behavior of the hat traps and call back hats, but i believe your guide can be 100% better with some research, asking other lao mains who play hat trick can be a good way to put out a very good guide.

For example, i'm not a fan of the 50-50 mix up with the low hat to mix the 44, or 4~call back low hat. because standing 4 hits high so is not a true overhead starter and its not even mid, so anyone that wakeups with a d1 will stuff your mixup attempt, and the second hit can be armored out, and the mixup with the low hat is easily handled because 44 and 4~call back low hat don't have the same block stun, so deceiving someone to block instead of armoring might not be a helpfull thinking from lao.

One of the things i like in Hat Trick is that i don't give up for damage so easily and still found pratical ways to lockdown opponents in the corner by landing large combos into hat trap.
Corner Punishes: B321~spin, NJP, hat trap, 11, call back hat, 21~ hat trap

Kung Lao by default is a character that punishes players that like to press buttons at turns, the flow chart of this game is "i poke, you poke back" KL in all his variations can blow ppl up for trying to poke back because he has a armored spin that breaks armor, anti-airs and forces respect of any kind.
That because he has a slow walk speed, so in order to apply a good pressure he has to be running most of the time.

His gameplan consist of force people to respect those holes by making them thinking you're willing to spin just to continue applying pressure with 112124 and hat traps, everytime they respect the gap fearing ex spin.
Hat trick has the ability to place a hat trap and call it immediately to build meter and force hesitation of retaliation, this mixes up with hat-a-rang that is completely decieving since you can't exactly tell when is hat-a-rang and when is hat trap at some distances.
KL also is able to spin the instant he hat gets back on his head fully, so you can trick your opponents to commit to heavy risks if they want to gain momentum.

The only reason to let a hat out without calling it back is mostly in the corner because it gives a different form mind game, instead of low and overhead, the opponent get to choose between waking up or just block, which of course a blocked wake up with the hat out gives lao a very damaging combo into hat trap again, and no wake up gives lao a lot of chip damage into spin or not spin mind game.

Mid screen, allows you to predict opponents routines that can be work at your advantage , like placing a hat trap to bait an offense and punishing accordingly depending of who lao is fighting.

The only issue of hat trick is fighting characters with teleports like Scorpion, because his fastest hat trap can only be placed forward, backwards talkes as long as the low one, and on a good player that can teleport once he sees you placing the hat can make you waste some good setups.

If i were you, i would make a hat trick guide 2.0, i think this guide is good, but i think it lefts a lot out of the table, as UFG said, it does't explain things he would like to know.

 

[I GOT HANDS]

@I GOT HANDS, there is a lot of combos in this guide, i think is completely unnecessary, a guide should contain more information on how you to set your best strategies for the best possible situations and stay away from different forms of combos unless the pratical ones.

Also you should describe some gameplan strategies as well, the part i like mostly is on how you explain the behavior of the hat traps and call back hats, but i believe your guide can be 100% better with some research, asking other lao mains who play hat trick can be a good way to put out a very good guide.

For example, i'm not a fan of the 50-50 mix up with the low hat to mix the 44, or 4~call back low hat. because standing 4 hits high so is not a true overhead starter and its not even mid, so anyone that wakeups with a d1 will stuff your mixup attempt, and the second hit can be armored out, and the mixup with the low hat is easily handled because 44 and 4~call back low hat don't have the same block stun, so deceiving someone to block instead of armoring might not be a helpfull thinking from lao.

One of the things i like in Hat Trick is that i don't give up for damage so easily and still found pratical ways to lockdown opponents in the corner by landing large combos into hat trap.
Corner Punishes: B321~spin, NJP, hat trap, 11, call back hat, 21~ hat trap

Kung Lao by default is a character that punishes players that like to press buttons at turns, the flow chart of this game is "i poke, you poke back" KL in all his variations can blow ppl up for trying to poke back because he has a armored spin that breaks armor, anti-airs and forces respect of any kind.
That because he has a slow walk speed, so in order to apply a good pressure he has to be running most of the time.

His gameplan consist of force people to respect those holes by making them thinking you're willing to spin just to continue applying pressure with 112124 and hat traps, everytime they respect the gap fearing ex spin.
Hat trick has the ability to place a hat trap and call it immediately to build meter and force hesitation of retaliation, this mixes up with hat-a-rang that is completely decieving since you can't exactly tell when is hat-a-rang and when is hat trap at some distances.
KL also is able to spin the instant he hat gets back on his head fully, so you can trick your opponents to commit to heavy risks if they want to gain momentum.

The only reason to let a hat out without calling it back is mostly in the corner because it gives a different form mind game, instead of low and overhead, the opponent get to choose between waking up or just block, which of course a blocked wake up with the hat out gives lao a very damaging combo into hat trap again, and no wake up gives lao a lot of chip damage into spin or not spin mind game.

Mid screen, allows you to predict opponents routines that can be work at your advantage , like placing a hat trap to bait an offense and punishing accordingly depending of who lao is fighting.

The only issue of hat trick is fighting characters with teleports like Scorpion, because his fastest hat trap can only be placed forward, backwards talkes as long as the low one, and on a good player that can teleport once he sees you placing the hat can make you waste some good setups.

If i were you, i would make a hat trick guide 2.0, i think this guide is good, but i think it lefts a lot out of the table, as UFG said, it does't explain things he would like to know.

Hey Eddie - Some real good stuff in here, thanks for your response.

You are very right about the 50/50. I'll definitely add about the dangers of 44, and not being predictable with it.

I don't understand why you would ever punish with "B321~spin, NJP, hat trap, 11, call back hat, 21~ hat trap" when B321xxSpin, NjP, JiK, JiKxxDk, 21 does 33% and is shitloads easier on execution. Is it for that 5% of a bar? I don't get it.

Not calling a Hat Back most definitely has it uses midscreen as well. You sacrifice Projectile and Spin for an 8 frame start launching projectile which does 5% and comes from their side of the screen. Making it arguably the best projectile in the game when its out. Yeah, the loss of being able to blow up holes is a big one, but the benefits you gain for choosing to do it are big as well. It's really great for controlling the space between you and it, and if you can connect into a combo with it still on screen, it can string into it as well often giving you a few % of damage. So not leaving Hats out midscreen is not something I'm going to add as the only correct way to play it, because I think it's up to the player behind the character to decide how the want to use it in those situations and both options are very strong.

I think the combo section is fine, there is a lot of combo's, but this is a guide to EVERYTHING Hat Trick, most of these are not mentioned in the combo thread so where else do they go?, and they are ALL important and useful and none are redundant. I also won't be making a second thread if that's what you are suggestion, I don't really see a point to doing so when I can just edit and keep this one updated. You are right about getting input from other Hat Trick mains, I just wanted to put out there what I already had down because it was becoming a huge messy word pad file to constantly scroll through, so I wanted to get it all formatted and posted on the forum where I could get some good response from the other Hat Trick players out there who wanted to contribute

A lot of this advice sounds like how you personally choose to play Hat Trick but I think he's very flexible, so I can't just write this up as THE way to play him, but I appreciate your input on the first page for anyone reading this thread to mull over. It does strike me however that you are playing this guy as Tempest light, and a lot of the way you are using him Tempest is just going to do better. True?

Some of the other stuff you mention is really good, and having not played AGAINST a Hat Trick Kung Lao it never occured to me the visual bluff of Hatarang and Forward Hat Toss. I'll be sure to touch on that.

 

[Eddy Wang]

Hey Eddie - Some real good stuff in here, thanks for your response.

You are very right about the 50/50. I'll definitely add about the dangers of 44, and not being predictable with it. However I think its still definitely worth MENTIONING that if you feel confident they will block can force a 50/50, but I will restate heavily that it's not a BnB or a major part of the gameplan.

I don't understand why you would ever punish with "B321~spin, NJP, hat trap, 11, call back hat, 21~ hat trap" when B321xxSpin, NjP, JiK, JiKxxDk, 21 does 33% and is shitloads easier on execution. Is it for that 5% of a bar? I don't get it.

Not calling a Hat Back most definitely has it uses midscreen as well. You sacrifice Projectile and Spin for an 8 frame start launching projectile which does 7% and comes from their side of the screen. Making it arguably the best projectile in the game when its out. Yeah, the loss of being able to blow up holes is a big one, but the benefits you gain for choosing to do it are big as well. It's really great for controlling the space between you and it, and if you can connect into a combo with it still on screen, it can string into it as well often giving you a few % of damage. So not leaving Hats out midscreen is not something I'm going to add as the only correct way to play it, because I think it's up to the player behind the character to decide how the want to use it in those situations and both options are very strong.

I think the combo section is fine, there is a lot of combo's, but this is a guide to EVERYTHING Hat Trick, most of these are not mentioned in the combo thread so where else do they go?, and they are ALL important and useful and none are redundant. I also won't be making a second thread if that's what you are suggestion, I don't really see a point to doing so when I can just edit and keep this one updated. You are right about getting input from other Hat Trick mains, I just wanted to put out there what I already had down because it was becoming a huge messy word pad file to constantly scroll through, so I wanted to get it all formatted and posted on the forum where I could get some good response from the other Hat Trick players out there who wanted to contribute

A lot of this advice sounds like how you personally choose to play Hat Trick but I think he's very flexible, so I can't just write this up as THE way to play him, but I appreciate your input on the first page for anyone reading this thread to mull over. It does strike me however that you are playing this guy as Tempest light, and a lot of the way you are using him Tempest is just going to do better. True?

Some of the other stuff you mention is really good, and having not played AGAINST a Hat Trick Kung Lao it never occured to me the visual bluff of Hatarang and Forward Hat Toss. I'll be sure to touch on that.

I never played tempest more than a few times.

But instead of playing a specific game in general, i play any character in this game based on his general tools, and use the variation specific tools for variation specific strategies, i guess that is why it goes under the impression that i'm laying as a light tempest, however I'm just playing Lao

B321 punish in corner happens sometimes when they're so focused in getting out and choose to use this string, but i finish my combos mostly with hkd even midscreen because allows me to play mind games with hat traps afterwards, either baiting wakeup or forcing characters to block fearing the call back, or just build a mental pressure over space control.

 

[I GOT HANDS]

Haha that makes sense actually. I feel like playing a standard Lao game, Tempest is just so damn strong that if gonna play Lao like "Lao" there ain't much point to playing Hat Trick to begin with. I think Hat Trick is for a different playstyle, be it stronger or weaker, if we ain't making creative use of the traps then it's the wrong variation. Now I'm not saying anything you suggested is wrong, all your uses of Traps are on point, just that these aren't strict "rules" IMO if this makes any sense.



But yeah I definitely agree with you on hard knockdown ender, it's costs only like 1% and gives you a lot more options to set up wherever you are... But about that B321 punish in the corner, I understand why there's times to use it as an opener, just not sure about that follow up combo... It looks sexy (which I love) but it's sacs like 5% on doing a much easier combo that also ends in hard knockdown is all I'm saying

 

[Eddy Wang]

Truth, i have some footage, but the internet i'm using currently is a pre-paid card for my cell phone, and its only 500MB, so i can't upload a match to show my quick growth with the character, but im considering to buy another card just to put at least one video out.

So i far, i believe i'm among TYM members with a very solid Hat Trick

 

[The PantyChrist]

I'm curious about which launches allow for hat throw and call back within the same combo for added damage. Which are practical, which are frame perfect.

Also maybe just a personal pet peeve of mine but neither 44 nor hatarang are special cancellable so you aren't truly "run canceling" your just starting your run after the recovery

 

[Vigilante24]

Maybe its just my personal preference but I actually end every single one of my combos midscreen with mostly 21 or occasionally B12 2+4 (more damage and more carry, but less time to run up and pressure unlike 21) just for the corner carry cuz ya know... I want them in the corner. But maybe im just weird. If ya want midscreen hat setups, go for it!

Msg'ing you the rest of my notes now to add to the first post.

 

[I GOT HANDS]

Ok, the guide has been updated with a spoiler on "Key Strings, Normals, and Openers" and a section for "Basic Gameplan". The spoiler "Using Hat Traps" has also been extensively reworked and extended. I've also gone through and added/removed little bits in other sections to improve the guide in other ways, as well as tweaking the combo section, removing a couple of combo's and replacing them with better options that I've either picked up from the community or since discovered myself. Overall in this update I've given general advice for the neutral, spoke on the benefits of the corner, and tried to be a bit more in depth about how to use the tools unique to this variation, while tweaking other improvements I could find across the board.

 

[I GOT HANDS]

I'm curious about which launches allow for hat throw and call back within the same combo for added damage. Which are practical, which are frame perfect.

There isn't many useful uses of it. There are some hard ways you can pull it off, but most the time it will just cost you damage, and be much harder on execution. The main exception would be the B22 string, because it doesn't combo into spin on it's own, but both launches and can be cancelled into Trap.

In the corner, [B22xxHat Trap, D4xxHCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21] is 32% and isn't too hard to hit at all. Midscreen, [B22xxHat Trap, HCB, F21xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21] is 26% but is slightly tighter, however you will get it consistent with practice, trust me. At first I thought I had no chance (my execution isn't that great) but hell now I can just about land it most the time ONLINE, and I freaking suck online.

However, the easiest way to combo off the B22 midscreen is by spending a meter for [B22xxHat Trap, EX-HCB, B321xxSpin, JiKxxDK, 21] for 33%.

 

[Youphemism]

Don't know how I missed this, I'm assuming you tagged people in the edit which doesn't work

In your corner combos you only wrote B22~HT, D4~HCB, spin, jk~dk, 21 instead of B22~HT, D4~HCB, B321~spin, jk~dk, 21.

That's what I've got from the quick look over I've done anyway, if there's anything else I'll let you know

 

[I GOT HANDS]

Don't know how I missed this, I'm assuming you tagged people in the edit which doesn't work

In your corner combos you only wrote B22~HT, D4~HCB, spin, jk~dk, 21 instead of B22~HT, D4~HCB, B321~spin, jk~dk, 21.

That's what I've got from the quick look over I've done anyway, if there's anything else I'll let you know

Whoops! You have a good eye man. Let me know if you see anything else, or just have anything you think I could add to it from your opinion

And no I tagged you in the first post, it's weird cause apparently most people didn't get the note for it either


I got another update coming in under a week, touching a bit further on neutral game, and also making Hat Trick safe!

 

[Youphemism]

Alright I gave it a more thorough read-through this time.

I don't think B3 is as bad a normal as you think midscreen, it's good for hitconfirming since B32~hat trap is safe on block and you can do something like B321~ex spin or B321~hat-a-rang or something like that on hit. It also has good range and can be one of his best whiff punishers.

In Basic Gameplan when you say "Neutral game, you have an amazing Overhead starter which is completely safe on block and sets up a free Trap on block" which are you talking about?

You said Call Back is safe but against some characters it isn't since it's -7.

Also might want to mention in Using Hat Traps that when your hat is off you also lose access to B2 and B22

B22~Hat Trap is not safe. It's unsafe against at least Cassie. Same with 4~HCB.