I was rewatching some of the matches I lost and I just understood what MK11 was about gameplay wise and why I lost the matches that I lost. It's about being patient, playing defensively and punishing. The one thing I was never really good, or the type of tactics I never use because my mind works this way: they're not blocking? PUMMEL THEM. They're blocking? PUMMEL THEM. They're hitting me? PUMMEL THEM. I'm a very offensive player.
That's why the emphasis isn't on long juggles like it was in MKX, MK11 is not an offensive game. That's why most of the character's combos and specials are unsafe, the game wants you to punish and punish BIG. Remember when there was a big debate on which game should you play to prepare for MK11? Here's the answer: the game of patience friends.
Take Kabal for example, his KB on Hook Slam (db4) leads to major damage and the requirement is that you need to use it raw, not in a combo, on Kounter or Punish. So literally ALL you have to do is be patient and wait for the opponent to throw something unsafe, and BAM you get yourself a 35-50% combo punish. This is not helping me be less hyped about the game, do you have ANY idea how excruciating this is going to be until the second I can finally get my hands on Cassie? I'm dying inside, which is ironic since the whole point of this post is to be more patient.
If anyone wants to improve and isn't looking at the game footage from their losses, get on that now. This has been a PSA.