Discussion How Do You All Decide Who Your Main Is? Who is it and why?

[Somea2V]

I usually go with characters with some facet that appeals to me in some way. With Injustice, it was characters I've liked for years. I'm a huge DC fan so I pretty much played everyone at one point or another. But I've always been a fan of the lanterns, so I mained Sinesto. With Soul Calibur, it was characters that have weapons I like or have studied in real life. I always gravitated towards the blunt, long weapons, like staves, spades or spears, or the quick weapons that incorporated striking, like Yun-seong's sword style. Or it was just characters I relate to. I tried MKX because it involved the same community from Injustice. The only character that ever truly interested me was Johnny Cage because I could understand him and he seemed like a real character to me. He's got his flaws but his origins come from trying to prove he actually can do the things everyone downplays or chalks up to movie magic. I get that, I really do. So, he's what drew me in here.

As I said, it could be style but more often it's because something specific about the character appeals to me on a personal level.

 

[Classic Malt]

Of course the most important this is the play style. But almost as important is the story/looks of the character. I personally would never touch Jacqui, because her personality is dull and I also do not like her playstyle.

Characters I play because they fit my play style and they look cool and have a good story:

Tremor, Sub-Zero, Cassie Cage, Erron Black, Ermac, Scorpion, Jason, Kotal Kahn, D'vorah, Triborg, Mileena.

Characters I have to learn yet: Reptile, Kano, Kung Lao, Predator, Alien, Leatherface, Tanya, Bo Rai Cho

 

[Protectobot]

Sorry if this is late, but I was bored and curious about what ppl thought lol...

Sorry also if I wrote a book! O_O

I pick my character based on many factors: personality, back story, and POWERS and/or cool-looking moves (cool-looking combos are a plus but not mandatory). I especially like NATURAL powers (not powers that characters get from accidents, e.g., or different kinds of technology).

I'm also kinda a goodie-two-shoes that tends to pick 'good' characters to play cos I want to relate to their values and game characters sometimes are the best role models for me in life (esp. when I was a kid!), but I like a powerful villain too, to challenge them...

I actually usually don't like playing human characters, either, but in MKX, most characters are humans and develop their powers through training anyway, so EARNED skills and powers can be as cool or cooler to me than superpowers

I used to be a HUGE Street Fighter fan. I'm OLDER than probably anyone on this freakin' site (maybe not Tom Brady, but otherwise lol...) so I grew up with the SF2 games and used ALL characters and almost all of them were my favorite at some point, and those games were about cool fighting skills and styles (martial arts, special forces and such), and super powers and tech rarely played a part (except for Bison's/Vega's psycho drive to steal opponents' powers or energy to defeat more opponents in the future).

Some posters might have guessed I was a HUGE Transformers cartoon fan cos Protectobots are a sub-group of Autobots from the original G1 TFs cartoon lol. I used to LOVE robots, but then I saw the Justice League cartoon and after watching a few gameplay vids of Injustice, I got back into NRS games cos I'm definitely a DC fan (Marvel to some extent but not as much). MK games these days have much more depth and better combos (I think...I haven't played all of them yet.).

My main was Raven for IJ, but I liked MMH, but so many ppl complained about him being OP and the undisputed best character so I didn't use him as much cos it felt like cheating lol, but I LOVE his combos and attacks/powers. Big surprise that I like Supes, and guess which character I'll being using most in IJ2 if Starfire from Teen Titans isn't in the game later, or Black Canary?

On the other hand, I'm a Batman fan like 99.9999% of the planet lol, cos I like characters without powers as well if they are badass fighting specialists, and I don't mean with WEAPONS almost exclusively, cos someone like Deathstroke might be fun to play against, but I feel kinda like Bats, coincidentally, cos I don't like guns (BORING!). Bats uses technology but he's a master martial artist, so I can forgive his need of tech to fight someone like Supes sometimes!

I mostly remembered playing MK2 and MK3 a little as a teen, and I liked mostly (in no set order), Jax, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero, and Liu Kang. I liked Jax's 'GOTCHA!' and ground pound and purple projectile with that 'WHOOSH!' sound; I liked KL's teleport that you could cancel into a tele-kick; Sub-Zero's freeze attacks were awesome; and Liu Kang had that SWEET Dragon fatality and got the low fireball and PAINFUL bicycle kick that did 25% damage each time lol and he was supposed to be the best fighter cos he won the first tournament back then (I think).

I HATED how Jax's arms got ripped off by Ermac (DAMN him), and I LOVE telekinesis so he was like the Raven of the MK games but I'm mad at him for what he did to Jax (I like the sound of Jax's metal arms connecting on opponents but I preferred human arms for his powers instead), and his powers and general existence weren't quite natural cos I like characters that seemed like they were guaranteed to exist at some point. (Powers received through accidents are based on 'what if?' scenarios and I like guaranteed or developed powers, although you could argue' what if Supergirl and Supes never left their homeworld and never had a way to trigger and discover their powers?)

...which brings me to god characters like Raiden, whom never caught my interest until MKX and MK9 to an extent, ironically, but Thunder God Raiden's lightning strings look AWESOME and I love teleports and teleport attacks but having to choose between Displacer and TG to get his lightning strings OR his teleport is frustrating for me MOS doesn't seem viable to use, either...but otherwise an awesome gimmick lol

I only started playing the game recently so I didn't get to use pre-patch TG Raiden anyway.

I recently picked up Takeda cos I love his machine gun-esque punch and his teleport punch, but I'm yet ANOTHER Kung Jin main for now cos he's easier to use and still fun for me; despite relying heavily on weapons to fight, which I usually avoid when picking a character hehheh. It feels almost like cheating but I love how I have a hit-confirmable combo started from a fast jump-in with lots of range and priority!

Hopefully I'll be able to develop Takeda and even get BACK to Raiden cos I think Raiden's just a badass character in general but his playstyle is frustrating still for me atm...

 

[OFIDYAN]

Before the game comes out, like in Injustice 2 I'll main Green Lantern. See I decided before he or she was even revealed! :]

[disclaimer]
This may not allow you to win tournaments. Green Lantern or Reptile have never one a major tournament by themselves as a character. People can quote the one time MIT used Reptile in Grand Finals against DJT, but he didn't even use him to get to grand finals as well as not even using him the entire set. Then losing ultimately..

 

[EMPR_MURK]

Liu kang has always been my mk favorite. As a kid, him turning into a dragon was always cool and back then dragons were my favorite mythical creatures.

 

[SoV N3RO]

The way I determine who I wanna play is by 2 factors:

• Their design

If I find them visually pleasing and I'm interested in the character, I then:

• See how they play / if they retain my personal play style (being 50/50 rushdown)

If they have both, that's my main lol.

 

[GAV]

They have to be cool. They have to feel visceral. I have to be able to execute their best stuff after practice and it has to feel natural. Also, they can't be so easy that I can be good with them with little to no practice.

 

[GAV]

Sorry if this is late, but I was bored and curious about what ppl thought lol...

Sorry also if I wrote a book! O_O

I pick my character based on many factors: personality, back story, and POWERS and/or cool-looking moves (cool-looking combos are a plus but not mandatory). I especially like NATURAL powers (not powers that characters get from accidents, e.g., or different kinds of technology).

I'm also kinda a goodie-two-shoes that tends to pick 'good' characters to play cos I want to relate to their values and game characters sometimes are the best role models for me in life (esp. when I was a kid!), but I like a powerful villain too, to challenge them...

I actually usually don't like playing human characters, either, but in MKX, most characters are humans and develop their powers through training anyway, so EARNED skills and powers can be as cool or cooler to me than superpowers

I used to be a HUGE Street Fighter fan. I'm OLDER than probably anyone on this freakin' site (maybe not Tom Brady, but otherwise lol...) so I grew up with the SF2 games and used ALL characters and almost all of them were my favorite at some point, and those games were about cool fighting skills and styles (martial arts, special forces and such), and super powers and tech rarely played a part (except for Bison's/Vega's psycho drive to steal opponents' powers or energy to defeat more opponents in the future).

Some posters might have guessed I was a HUGE Transformers cartoon fan cos Protectobots are a sub-group of Autobots from the original G1 TFs cartoon lol. I used to LOVE robots, but then I saw the Justice League cartoon and after watching a few gameplay vids of Injustice, I got back into NRS games cos I'm definitely a DC fan (Marvel to some extent but not as much). MK games these days have much more depth and better combos (I think...I haven't played all of them yet.).

My main was Raven for IJ, but I liked MMH, but so many ppl complained about him being OP and the undisputed best character so I didn't use him as much cos it felt like cheating lol, but I LOVE his combos and attacks/powers. Big surprise that I like Supes, and guess which character I'll being using most in IJ2 if Starfire from Teen Titans isn't in the game later, or Black Canary?

On the other hand, I'm a Batman fan like 99.9999% of the planet lol, cos I like characters without powers as well if they are badass fighting specialists, and I don't mean with WEAPONS almost exclusively, cos someone like Deathstroke might be fun to play against, but I feel kinda like Bats, coincidentally, cos I don't like guns (BORING!). Bats uses technology but he's a master martial artist, so I can forgive his need of tech to fight someone like Supes sometimes!

I mostly remembered playing MK2 and MK3 a little as a teen, and I liked mostly (in no set order), Jax, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero, and Liu Kang. I liked Jax's 'GOTCHA!' and ground pound and purple projectile with that 'WHOOSH!' sound; I liked KL's teleport that you could cancel into a tele-kick; Sub-Zero's freeze attacks were awesome; and Liu Kang had that SWEET Dragon fatality and got the low fireball and PAINFUL bicycle kick that did 25% damage each time lol and he was supposed to be the best fighter cos he won the first tournament back then (I think).

I HATED how Jax's arms got ripped off by Ermac (DAMN him), and I LOVE telekinesis so he was like the Raven of the MK games but I'm mad at him for what he did to Jax (I like the sound of Jax's metal arms connecting on opponents but I preferred human arms for his powers instead), and his powers and general existence weren't quite natural cos I like characters that seemed like they were guaranteed to exist at some point. (Powers received through accidents are based on 'what if?' scenarios and I like guaranteed or developed powers, although you could argue' what if Supergirl and Supes never left their homeworld and never had a way to trigger and discover their powers?)

...which brings me to god characters like Raiden, whom never caught my interest until MKX and MK9 to an extent, ironically, but Thunder God Raiden's lightning strings look AWESOME and I love teleports and teleport attacks but having to choose between Displacer and TG to get his lightning strings OR his teleport is frustrating for me MOS doesn't seem viable to use, either...but otherwise an awesome gimmick lol

I only started playing the game recently so I didn't get to use pre-patch TG Raiden anyway.

I recently picked up Takeda cos I love his machine gun-esque punch and his teleport punch, but I'm yet ANOTHER Kung Jin main for now cos he's easier to use and still fun for me; despite relying heavily on weapons to fight, which I usually avoid when picking a character hehheh. It feels almost like cheating but I love how I have a hit-confirmable combo started from a fast jump-in with lots of range and priority!

Hopefully I'll be able to develop Takeda and even get BACK to Raiden cos I think Raiden's just a badass character in general but his playstyle is frustrating still for me atm...

You're not the oldest. I used to play this...

...using this...

 

[Vigilante24]

Its all about playstyle for me. For example, Joker is my favorite DC villain of all time so of course I mained him in Injustice. He was ass! I found a character that fit my playstyle best (footsie based characters, ranged normals plz, has to have good anti airs) in Yellow Lantern. I ended up becoming that Joker main who used Yellow Lantern in tournament for Joker's bad MUs. So in other words, I never used Joker in tournament lol.

In MKX, my favorite character by design is actually Erron Black. My Erron however is booty! Pumped Up Jax is my main with War God Kotal and Commando Kano being some of my better secondary characters. All 3 are footsie based characters with range and great anti airs.

When Injustice 2 is out, as much as I love Static and was a huge fan of the show (plus I look like him ) if he either doesn't make it into the game or he does and is ass or doesn't fit my play style, im not playing him.

 

[PapaRegadetho]

Im a pretty big Kung Fu fan so I mostly always play characters that are of Chinese origin. Liu Kang got my heart back in MK3 when I was only 4,5 years old, so I sticked with my boy and continue to kick ass with him and I do prefer to have a balance of defensive and offensive options which Liu kept to this day.

 

[Evil Canadian]

I've been at this shit since sf2 hit back in 91 so I have had a long time to know what I like.

1) are the normals good
2) are the normals safe
3) can I cancel hitconfirms into a safe special if need be

I like to play lazy and lame. Liking the character is a big boost as well.

I'd like to say I would like to play Canadian characters, but hahh...

 

[RM NoBrows]

Main? Lel idk what that is in this game. I play too many people to pick one as a main.

Ancestral KJ
HQT pred
Sektor
Ermac (just started playing him, starting with MOS for the basics)
Quan chi all variations
War God and sun God kotal
Ninjutsu scorp

And I play all of them the same amount so yeah, no main. I pick them based on my play styles.

I did play tarkatan for a while but it's not even fun TBH.

 

[D7X]

Sorry if this is late, but I was bored and curious about what ppl thought lol...

Sorry also if I wrote a book! O_O

I pick my character based on many factors: personality, back story, and POWERS and/or cool-looking moves (cool-looking combos are a plus but not mandatory). I especially like NATURAL powers (not powers that characters get from accidents, e.g., or different kinds of technology).

I'm also kinda a goodie-two-shoes that tends to pick 'good' characters to play cos I want to relate to their values and game characters sometimes are the best role models for me in life (esp. when I was a kid!), but I like a powerful villain too, to challenge them...

I actually usually don't like playing human characters, either, but in MKX, most characters are humans and develop their powers through training anyway, so EARNED skills and powers can be as cool or cooler to me than superpowers

I used to be a HUGE Street Fighter fan. I'm OLDER than probably anyone on this freakin' site (maybe not Tom Brady, but otherwise lol...) so I grew up with the SF2 games and used ALL characters and almost all of them were my favorite at some point, and those games were about cool fighting skills and styles (martial arts, special forces and such), and super powers and tech rarely played a part (except for Bison's/Vega's psycho drive to steal opponents' powers or energy to defeat more opponents in the future).

Some posters might have guessed I was a HUGE Transformers cartoon fan cos Protectobots are a sub-group of Autobots from the original G1 TFs cartoon lol. I used to LOVE robots, but then I saw the Justice League cartoon and after watching a few gameplay vids of Injustice, I got back into NRS games cos I'm definitely a DC fan (Marvel to some extent but not as much). MK games these days have much more depth and better combos (I think...I haven't played all of them yet.).

My main was Raven for IJ, but I liked MMH, but so many ppl complained about him being OP and the undisputed best character so I didn't use him as much cos it felt like cheating lol, but I LOVE his combos and attacks/powers. Big surprise that I like Supes, and guess which character I'll being using most in IJ2 if Starfire from Teen Titans isn't in the game later, or Black Canary?

On the other hand, I'm a Batman fan like 99.9999% of the planet lol, cos I like characters without powers as well if they are badass fighting specialists, and I don't mean with WEAPONS almost exclusively, cos someone like Deathstroke might be fun to play against, but I feel kinda like Bats, coincidentally, cos I don't like guns (BORING!). Bats uses technology but he's a master martial artist, so I can forgive his need of tech to fight someone like Supes sometimes!

I mostly remembered playing MK2 and MK3 a little as a teen, and I liked mostly (in no set order), Jax, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero, and Liu Kang. I liked Jax's 'GOTCHA!' and ground pound and purple projectile with that 'WHOOSH!' sound; I liked KL's teleport that you could cancel into a tele-kick; Sub-Zero's freeze attacks were awesome; and Liu Kang had that SWEET Dragon fatality and got the low fireball and PAINFUL bicycle kick that did 25% damage each time lol and he was supposed to be the best fighter cos he won the first tournament back then (I think).

I HATED how Jax's arms got ripped off by Ermac (DAMN him), and I LOVE telekinesis so he was like the Raven of the MK games but I'm mad at him for what he did to Jax (I like the sound of Jax's metal arms connecting on opponents but I preferred human arms for his powers instead), and his powers and general existence weren't quite natural cos I like characters that seemed like they were guaranteed to exist at some point. (Powers received through accidents are based on 'what if?' scenarios and I like guaranteed or developed powers, although you could argue' what if Supergirl and Supes never left their homeworld and never had a way to trigger and discover their powers?)

...which brings me to god characters like Raiden, whom never caught my interest until MKX and MK9 to an extent, ironically, but Thunder God Raiden's lightning strings look AWESOME and I love teleports and teleport attacks but having to choose between Displacer and TG to get his lightning strings OR his teleport is frustrating for me MOS doesn't seem viable to use, either...but otherwise an awesome gimmick lol

I only started playing the game recently so I didn't get to use pre-patch TG Raiden anyway.

I recently picked up Takeda cos I love his machine gun-esque punch and his teleport punch, but I'm yet ANOTHER Kung Jin main for now cos he's easier to use and still fun for me; despite relying heavily on weapons to fight, which I usually avoid when picking a character hehheh. It feels almost like cheating but I love how I have a hit-confirmable combo started from a fast jump-in with lots of range and priority!

Hopefully I'll be able to develop Takeda and even get BACK to Raiden cos I think Raiden's just a badass character in general but his playstyle is frustrating still for me atm...

It's never too late! You should actually write a book.
Imagine: MKX! A Biography

 

[FinalBoss_FGC]

My favorite MK characters are:
Fujin - not in
Smoke - in
Kung Jin - in
Rain - not in
Scorpion - in
Raiden - in

So if they are one of those characters, next step: getting a feel for them

If I like the way they play, I will learn and use them for about a week. If I feel like I can utilize them at a higher level, I'll stick with them.

I used Smoke on release but I didn't like his pressure/block string playstyle.

Raiden was the 2nd character I tried and I didn't like his weird movement...was kinda wonky imo

I didn't try Scorpion until recently and he relies on footsies but the tele keeps the opponent from spacing too well. Love it. He is my 2

Kung Jin, it's weird because he was my main the moment I saw him and that's usually how it is.

Ill adjust my playstyle to the character I just have the first impression on...luckily Kung Jin plays exactly how I like. Great spacing, a divekick, strong projectiles...so KJ is the perfect fit for me

 

[D7X]

My favorite MK characters are:
Fujin - not in
Smoke - in
Kung Jin - in
Rain - not in
Scorpion - in
Raiden - in

So if they are one of those characters, next step: getting a feel for them

If I like the way they play, I will learn and use them for about a week. If I feel like I can utilize them at a higher level, I'll stick with them.

I used Smoke on release but I didn't like his pressure/block string playstyle.

Raiden was the 2nd character I tried and I didn't like his weird movement...was kinda wonky imo

I didn't try Scorpion until recently and he relies on footsies but the tele keeps the opponent from spacing too well. Love it. He is my 2

Kung Jin, it's weird because he was my main the moment I saw him and that's usually how it is.

Ill adjust my playstyle to the character I just have the first impression on...luckily Kung Jin plays exactly how I like. Great spacing, a divekick, strong projectiles...so KJ is the perfect fit for me

Interesting.
I've always thought Kung Jin was a boring character (Not playstyle, but how he looks and his personality), He's my my pocket main because of how safe he is. I cannot play him without his shadow costume lol

 

[Renzokuken]

I like playing cocky assholes so I naturally gravitated towards Kung Jin. It just so happens that he's an anti-airing conversion machine with godlike range. The combination of both gameplay style and personality made him an insta main for me.

 

[GreatKungLao]

There is a few qualities I'm looking for in order to pick up the character. He should be protagonist, asian, kung-fu master, shaolin monk, hero, boyscout, great and cool looking animation and personality wise, badass intros and outros. Something one or combination of those are enough to satisfy me mostly. Gameplay is the last thing I care about. I pick up the character and only then I learn how to play with him, no matter his playstyle. I have no pleasure in playing and winning with character that I dislike as an actual character.

To put it more philosophycal: I choose a person, not a weapon.

 

[VSC_Supreme]

I saw Kotal Kahn, I liked Kotal Kahn, I mained Kotal Kahn.

Though visual appeal is the first thing, I got to like how the character plays. I've always liked Ermac and think his character and design are cool but I never liked how he played. Same with Triborg Smoke, I just didn't like how you have to play him.

 

[CallMeTetris]

I just go for whoever stands out as cool, in regards to looks/costume, personality, backstory, fighting style/powers and abilities/moveset, etc, or characters that i just feel a connection to for whatever reason. There are certain fighting styles that I'll look for and gravitate to immediately - taekwondo, muay thai, pro wrestling, street/dirty fighting - but even then I don't necessarily find those characters to always be the coolest.

Every now and then there'll be a character that I really like but just can't get a feel for their playstyle, but I try to stick with them regardless unless it's something that I really just can't get my head around. And there are sometimes characters that I pick up solely because I like their gameplay (SF4 Sakura for example, though I did come to really like her as a character too over time), but those are usually side characters. My mains always have to be someone I really, genuinely like as a character in some way.

90% of the time I'll have decided on my main(s) before I even touch a game, based solely on seeing the characters, and they usually feel pretty right.

 

[D7X]

I just go for whoever stands out as cool, in regards to looks/costume, personality, backstory, fighting style/powers and abilities/moveset, etc, or characters that i just feel a connection to for whatever reason. There are certain fighting styles that I'll look for and gravitate to immediately - taekwondo, muay thai, pro wrestling, street/dirty fighting - but even then I don't necessarily find those characters to always be the coolest.

Every now and then there'll be a character that I really like but just can't get a feel for their playstyle, but I try to stick with them regardless unless it's something that I really just can't get my head around. And there are sometimes characters that I pick up solely because I like their gameplay (SF4 Sakura for example, though I did come to really like her as a character too over time), but those are usually side characters. My mains always have to be someone I really, genuinely like as a character in some way.

90% of the time I'll have decided on my main(s) before I even touch a game, based solely on seeing the characters, and they usually feel pretty right.

"Every now and then there'll be a character that I really like but just can't get a feel for their playstyle, but I try to stick with them regardless unless it's something that I really just can't get my head around"
You just described my whole MKX career perfectly LOL

 

[RoboCop]

Well, when a new game comes out, I like to go straight to the Eventhubs tier list for the game and pick the best character. Works like a charm.

 

[Marinjuana]

Well, when a new game comes out, I like to go straight to the Eventhubs tier list for the game and pick the best character. Works like a charm.

Lol they still have Outlaw as the best. Seems like some games get updated more then others.

 

[D7X]

Well, when a new game comes out, I like to go straight to the Eventhubs tier list for the game and pick the best character. Works like a charm.

No. Don't use Eventhubs. Ever.
It's a popularity contest...

 

[TyCarter35]

Well, when a new game comes out, I like to go straight to the Eventhubs tier list for the game and pick the best character. Works like a charm.

Eventhubs is the least credible tier list ever

 

[D7X]

Eventhubs is the least credible tier list ever

Yeah, I just find who's fun until a trust worthy person/team comes out with one.