Mileena Matchups

[ZeroEffect]

Depends on what you have problems with.

 

[Doctor_Rouse]

I don't know about any of you but my main concern is Kung Lao and Raiden. These players are by far the more annoying and the worst matchups for Mileena. I really need some help with these fellas.

 

[Velvet Sack]

For Raiden, you'll want to be blocking high pretty much all the time,* since he can't do much low other than sweep. When I see his teleport starting up, I mash d4, which shuts down whatever he was about to do. Punish blocked supermans (supermen?) with roll combos, or u4 if you're certain he's in range.

*Edit to clarify: I don't mean turtle him. I mean when you block, block high. It's generally best to keep the pressure on if you can. He doesn't have much in the way of anti-air, so keep those JPin combos coming.

KL, on the other hand, I don't really have much of a general strategy for. He's got answers for everything, so you've really gotta read your opponent well and try to bait him.

 

[xMiniM1]

Kung Lao is DEFINITELY my worst, followed by Raiden. His hat is too fast for Mileena's wake-up Teleport. Spin is also super annoying.

 

[ZeroEffect]

Kung Lao doesn't seem to be all that bad for her actually, though it still seems to be in Lao's favor . The only problems I really run into are with his Low hat and dive kick.

Pros:
- Mileena can hurt him for Spin with relative ease using Roll punishes
- Mileena wins damage battle midscreen now that KL's was nerfed
- a delayed Air Sai will keep you from trading with Low hats at range.
- D+3/D+4 if you're in range of his rolling kick to interrupt (That move sucks if you're forced to block it)
- Punish blocked dive kicks with dash in combo, or U+4 if you can.
- If you keep away from Kung Lao long enough you force him to rolling Kick, Dive Kick, or teleport. Low kick to stop rolling kick and roll under him to get away from dive kick and teleport and reset spacing.

Cons:
- Spin punishes Telekick and Roll for free combos.
- Dive kicks will actually stuff her Roll so that's annoying.
- Low Hat beats all wakeup attacks except EX Neckbite (even that last one I'm not 100% sure of)


Raiden just... sucks. I have no idea how that matchup works aside from beating the player.

One trick I've started adopting, is buffering Forward and Down for Rolls. I do that when expecting a teleport, and once I see it, I let the 4 go. If timed right should stop everything he does. Might even punish him.
Oh and you can punish Superman with dash-in 2 (full combo). You don't really need to dash most of the time unless he's at the range where he bounces farther back. Sometimes, I've gotten D+4 to beat out Superman, but I don't know the timing for it.

 

[Doctor_Rouse]

Kung Lao doesn't seem to be all that bad for her actually, though it still seems to be in Lao's favor . The only problems I really run into are with his Low hat and dive kick.

Pros:
- Mileena can hurt him for Spin with relative ease using Roll punishes
- Mileena wins damage battle midscreen now that KL's was nerfed
- a delayed Air Sai will keep you from trading with Low hats at range.
- D+3/D+4 if you're in range of his rolling kick to interrupt (That move sucks if you're forced to block it)
- Punish blocked dive kicks with dash in combo, or U+4 if you can.
- If you keep away from Kung Lao long enough you force him to rolling Kick, Dive Kick, or teleport. Low kick to stop rolling kick and roll under him to get away from dive kick and teleport and reset spacing.

Cons:
- Spin punishes Telekick and Roll for free combos.
- Dive kicks will actually stuff her Roll so that's annoying.
- Low Hat beats all wakeup attacks except EX Neckbite (even that last one I'm not 100% sure of)


Raiden just... sucks. I have no idea how that matchup works aside from beating the player.

One trick I've started adopting, is buffering Forward and Down for Rolls. I do that when expecting a teleport, and once I see it, I let the 4 go. If timed right should stop everything he does. Might even punish him.
Oh and you can punish Superman with dash-in 2 (full combo). You don't really need to dash most of the time unless he's at the range where he bounces farther back. Sometimes, I've gotten D+4 to beat out Superman, but I don't know the timing for it.

That's not the issue I'm worried about, I'm worried about a rush down Kung Lao. Wake ups never work on him at all. Maybe it's the timing, Don't know but it seems like he wins all the time. I like the Zoning technique but the Teleport low kick seems like it works for him alot more often.

 

[ZeroEffect]

Well it depends how he's rushing you down. Is he using a lot of half strings into crossover jump punches? Are you blocking more strings than you need to out of fear he'll Spin? If it's either of these, you really just have to make a guess as to whether or not he'll commit to a jump or spin and react accordingly. That's not just a Mileena problem.

You can jump back punch (or neutral jump punch) him out of the air if you predict a crossover jump, which will give you a combo. If the fear of spin is the issue, you just have to poke him (D+1 or D+3) or jump out of the unfinished string until he's forced to try using spin. Yeah, you might guess wrong, but there's not really much else you can do in that situation.

Also, KL doesn't have any overhead launchers or combo starters in his strings, so once a string starts you're better off crouch blocking to avoid being hit with Low hat. (Low Hat gives him advantage on hit...) And yeah wakeups don't really work against him unfortunately.

 

[aj1701]

For Raiden, you'll want to be blocking high pretty much all the time,* since he can't do much low other than sweep. When I see his teleport starting up, I mash d4, which shuts down whatever he was about to do. Punish blocked supermans (supermen?) with roll combos, or u4 if you're certain he's in range.

*Edit to clarify: I don't mean turtle him. I mean when you block, block high. It's generally best to keep the pressure on if you can. He doesn't have much in the way of anti-air, so keep those JPin combos coming.

KL, on the other hand, I don't really have much of a general strategy for. He's got answers for everything, so you've really gotta read your opponent well and try to bait him.

Hopefully one of the more advanced players will correct me if I'm wrong, but I've found throwing sais and making him come to you seems to work ok. Let him try something, and counter. Her d+4 is a great poke, get them used it it and then roll instead when they're off guard.

 

[London Lust]

Depends on what you have problems with.

I would like to know which character will be able to cover Mileena's bad matchups.

 

[ZeroEffect]

Well I guess any character that handles rushdown and frame traps well. Kung Lao/Raiden seem to be a counter pick for anyone, but other than them, I'd say Cage. Maybe Cyber Sub Zero even.

 

[Gamin_Guru]

Since Mileena gives me a lot of trouble as Shang Tsung, I probably need to start using Kung Lao to fight her.

 

[ZeroEffect]

Oh yeah, Gamin Guru I played you yesterday didn't I? Those were really close matches with Shang. I don't know if you need to change characters, since you really weren't doing badly at all, but if that's what you wanna do then go for it.


On another note, I really don't know what to think of Mileena at the moment. I get the feeling now that she's just okay and will only appear worse with time (and DLC). It's not that she has horrible options, just that she's so unsafe on her best moves. Her low/overhead "mixup" will become easily readable, at least offline, with time and it seems like she has to jump to get in on some characters. She has some good stuff, but matchup wise, there are too many characters that force her to play by their rules and she doesn't get many chances to dictate the pace of a match.

I dunno, maybe with more practice I'll find something that makes me think more highly of her. She's still viable, but hard to really make her work. Not gonna drop her or anything like that though.

 

[Jer]

Zero: I understand where you're coming from with this, I honestly think that she's very viable, will have bad matchups obviously, but there should be some work arounds for her bad matchuips.

She's extremely unsafe on all her best moves, I'm thinking that if you play Mileena, you really need to be in the opponents head.

 

[ZeroEffect]

That's just it. I feel like you have to rely on getting in your opponents head the whole match. As I said, I'm not gonna drop her. She's not hopeless, I just wonder sometimes why people seem to think she's so extremely underrated. It's even hard to crossover jump punch with her, which could be hitbox thing or something. (try doing a crossover jump punch in training mode on an opponent who's crouch blocking if you guys don't know what I mean).

I may have mentioned this before, but I come from the Soul Calibur scene. In SC4 I main Talim, who turns out to be one of the 3 worst characters in the game. (didn't know that before I picked her, obviously.) I manage to do very well with her after lots of work, but it was still very frustrating at times. Mileena's definitely not that level of bad in this game, but I guess I wonder is it just me? or does she really have to play around her opponent's more often than not?

Strangely, when I fight a Mileena mirror, I too feel more scared of her options than I should. Usually after I block 2 or 3 rolls/telekicks, (even if I don't punish them hard), I've discouraged them enough to dominate the matchup. It could also be an online thing where her mixups are harder to see for some people.

 

[galindo]

Mileena is one cheeky kunt mate i swear absolutely hate fighter her.
mostly because she has the lowest god damn hitbox

 

[cyke_out]

People in the MK match up thread are saying Mileena has no bad match ups and is better than Kitana. Tom Brady thinks she is very good and is in his usual rotation. I can't see how this is though- cyber sub zero is a bitch! Bur I'm sure they know something I don't.

 

[ZeroEffect]

Cyber Sub is actually not bad for her since she can control the air against him. He's not very dangerous from full screen so he has to get close to start his offense. Air sai really discourages Dive kicks from anywhere but sweep distance. And he can't slide under ground sai. If he teleports, just roll away from him or jump backward to create more space. He doesn't have great anti air from the ground like Cyrax air throws.

Of course it's not that simple to beat him if you're fighting a smart player, but it should be enough to frustrate Cyner Sub into taking risks that you can punish. I usually just base my game around mixing up air and ground sais to force his hand. His freeze has slow recovery as well so if you jump it/roll under it you get free combos.

The thing about Mileena is that she doesn't have a comeback factor. If she's really down on life, you can pretty much turtle her (and don't jump) until she makes a mistake. She will do something unsafe or reckless eventually, because she needs to in order to get damage. On the other hand, if she's ahead in life, she can chip pretty well, her low hitbox kicks are annoying for people, and she's a good punish character with Roll.

Still, I have no idea why Tom Brady thinks she's secretly better than Kitana, when Kitana, to me, is "Mileena done right". But at any rate, it's back to the lab with her for me.

 

[Jer]

I haven't been able to play MK in like two weeks and i'm pretty depressed about it.

I need to get some games in and try out some more stuff, i really wanna try and ditto a Mileena from here >_>

 

[MKF30]

Just a quick question, while I'm an Ermac player and have dealt with every Mileena there is it's not that easy.....how does Kung Lao match up against her? Does his spin have priority over her teleport kicks?

I've also noticed Cage's flip kick has priority over her kicks and totally stuffs them out but you need to time it well.

 

[Pig Of The Hut]

Just a quick question, while I'm an Ermac player and have dealt with every Mileena there is it's not that easy.....how does Kung Lao match up against her? Does his spin have priority over her teleport kicks?

I've also noticed Cage's flip kick has priority over her kicks and totally stuffs them out but you need to time it well.

Spin has priority but not one good mileena player would ever blindly do reg tele kick unless 100% guaranteed . Ex u can gamble sometimes but isn't recommended .

Mileena matches well against elite Laos and ermac matches well against mediocre Laos

 

[ZeroEffect]

I dunno, I personally think the Ermac matchup sucks for Mil. I lose to lots of Ermacs online, even mediocre ones who just know he basic setups and combos. You're just forced to block so much against him that he almost gets free safejumps off of anything. Sure you can make a read or guess when he wants to jump over you, but the risk/reward is not in her favor at all. If she guesses wrong, and he jumps over her, she has to take chip damage and gets put in a mixup. If she guesses wrong, and he doesn't jump, he can punish her counter attempt with force push/lift for damage and full screen space.


I will say that recently I've been playing a lot of Sub-Zeros. And while I thought the match could be 5/5 at first, I'm really starting to think Mileena beats Sub pretty well.

You basically want to play this match as far away from Sub as possible. Don't jump towards him, or if you do make it sparingly as not to eat an ice clone. Mix up timing with air sais and ground sais to keep him out. Slide doesn't go under ground sai. When he has the clone on the screen, don't just start chucking sais in a rhythm, or you might trade with the freeze and give him a combo. Throw a couple and wait to see if he tries to trade with ice blast. When you see it, Telekick on reaction and get your free safejump punch.

When you land a combo on Sub, try to end with 4,2 or uppercut, or something else that knocks him down at a distance. That way, you can jump back and resume your sai zoning. D+4 poking tricks aren't recommended much because a well-timed ice clone will beat it. Never use roll on wakeup unless he's right on top of you. (Instead use EX Telekick). If Sub-zero slides at you, punish it. If he jumps at you, don't even worry about anti-air. Just roll under him to the other side of the screen, and repeat the zoning again.

The only thing Sub-Zero has in this matchup, is that if he finds a way in, and manages to corner Mileena, she can't get out without burning a bar. Even then, she's still kinda close to him so he can try to start his offense. Oh and if you do all this right, you should have enough meter to break his combos and send him far away again. Now, of course, there will be smart SubZeros out there who may make this look much harder than it sounds, but playing the match like this makes it very difficult for Sub to get in. I say it's 6/4 Mileena. without that corner stuff it could've probably been 7/3.

 

[bigmiracle]

Can anyone offer any tips against Kenshi? I'm having a lot of trouble in this matchup, I can't zone with sais and his stupid range keeps me out. Any useful tips?

 

[ZeroEffect]

Uh, well I'm still kind of unfamiliar with this matchup, but here's some stuff I do know.

- Kenshi's combo starters can be crouch blocked, his overheads don't lead to combos that I'm aware of. His F+3 low kick combo starter has a LOT of range. about the same as Mil's D+4. I think he can even hit you at the start of the round if you're not low blocking.

- His regular Rising Karma, or D,B+1 is roll punishable. EN one is safe.

- When you get in on him or you knock him down, Kenshi is rather weak to cross over jumps. Rising Karma doesn't hit behind him. When you do a combo that knocks down, do one that leaves you close to his body so you can freely jump over his wakeup.

- Tele-Flurry, (the move where his spirit combos you), can be ducked, or rolled under.

- Roll is important, because if he's using tele flurry fullscreen, you can duck the move while moving across the screen. Judge your distance so you can roll right up to him safely without getting the move blocked. You can also use this to cross the screen to avoid the downward slash moves. He can hit you if he does the close version, but he has to guess that you will roll and can't do it on reaction.

- I have no problem using sais. I use them while on the move. Like, don't sit at full screen just doing sais over and over. I do a couple iAS, then dash forward and block to bait his downward slashes. I might get about half screen and jump away from him using air sai as I land. If he blocks this throw another.

- ALSO, if you use a sai at the max range of your roll distance, and Kenshi reflects, you can roll under the reflected sai and punish him. Just as if he threw his own projectile. (This might work with NW too, not sure)

that's about it, I think. Still don't like the matchup, so take from it what you will.

 

[ZeroEffect]

bumping thread to keep new ones on this same topic from being made

 

[ZeroEffect]

A matchup thread was created a while ago. Please post any further responses in either the original Mileena Matchups thread, or the Matchup chart thread we have stickied from here on out.