Zoidberg747
My blades will find your heart
This thread will provide a variety of terms you may hear when competitive MKX is discussed. Please post in the thread if there are terms missing that you would like to know about.
How moves are listed- Because both systems have different buttons, most players will use console neutral terms to describe moves: 1=X or Square 2=Y or Triangle 3=A or X 4=B or circle.
2 in 1 special cancelable- This has been used in patch notes and is much simpler than it sounds. It simply means that you can cancel a move into another move(for example, after the patch Kitana's rising fan became 2 in 1 cancelable, meaning she could cancel it into an air fan).
50/50- A 50/50 is a situation where your opponent is guaranteed either an overhead or low attack, and it is not possible to defend both of them at the same time. This means you must guess whether to block high or low.
Active frames- This refers to when a move is still active, meaning it will still hit you. Some moves that have unusual active frames may be very hard to whiff punish, as even if they seem to be over the active frames will still cause you to be hit. (An example would be Scorpion's Hellfire move).
Anti-Air(AA)- This is when you knock your opponent out of a jump or jumping attack. There are many ways to anti-air in MKX which will be discussed below, but the most basic anti air in the game would be an uppercut.
Air to Air- Similar to an Anti-Air, an Air to Air is when you knock your opponent out of the air with a jumping attack of your own. An exmaple of this would be using a njp to stuff another characters j1.
Armor- Armor is a certain move property that allows players to take one or two hits and still continue attacking. For example, if you do an armor move and the opponent tries to counter poke you, your armor will blow through the poke and still hit the opponent.
Armor Breaking- This refers to getting rid of an opponent's armor by using a quick hitting move with multiple hits. Certain armor moves have two or more hits of armor, so they are less likely to be broken(Tanyas EX Rekka and Goro's EX Punchwalk for example).
Backdash- A backdash is performed by hitting the back directional input twice. Backdashes are invincible(meaning attacks will sometimes miss if they are done right when the opponent is backdashing. Backdashing takes half a bar of stamina.
Balance- A criteria for judging fighting games. In essence balance is judged by how many tournament viable characters there are. If over half the cast is considered unviable, the game may be consideed to have poor balance. If the entire cast was viable, the game would be said to have good balance. (Note: Balance is very subjective and can mean different things to different people.)
Block Advantage- When looking at frame data, block advantage is how much frame advantage or disadvantage you have after you block a move. For example, if a move is plus ten on block you will be guaranteed a nine frame or faster move. If a move is minus 10 on block your opponent can punish you with a 9 frame or faster move(there are exceptions to this that will be discussed later).
Block Breaker- Done by holding L2 and R2 while holding forward. Like a breaker except it can be done when blocking attacks.
Block string- This is attacks that can be chained together. In every characters movelist you will find these are the attackswhere you press two or three buttons in succession. This also refers to some pressure in the game that does not have gaps. For example Dvorahs F112 Wasp Cancel into a D4 is a block string, because you must block the entire thing and it cannot be interrupted.
Block Stun- After blocking an attack, this is the period where you cannot move or retaliate. Block stun varies from move to move, but if the move has a very long blockstun it will make it harder to punish because you must wait a few extra frames to attempt your punish.
Bread and Butter(BNB)- A combo that is used most often for a certain character, usually because of its reliability and ease of execution(relatively at least).
Breaker- Done by Holding R2 and forward. Requires two bars of stamina and meter, and stops your opponent from hitting you or finishing their combo.
Buffering- Inputting a move during blockstun so that it comes out on the first possible frame. This can punish moves that can have gaps depending on when the move is input(Tanya's tonfa pressure, for example).
Cancel advantage- Like block advantage except that it applies to after a move has been canceled. This would mostly apply to run and dash cancel moves in MKX.
Chip Damage- This is damage you receive when blocking an attack.
Command Grab- Like a normal grab move except that it cannot be teched.
Corpse Hop- Switching sides when your opponent is on the ground, forcing them to reverse their wakeup inputs. Reptile can do this by using his dash special when an opponent is grounded.
Counterpick- When a player picks a character that they think does better against their opponent's character than their mains.
Crouch block- When you hold down and block at the same time. You must crouch block to block low attacks. It should be noted that it takes one frame to stand up after crouch blocking(making some low moves harder to punish than mids or overheads).
Crossovers- When your opponent jumps over you. They may do a crossover jump punch or an empty crossover jump.
Damage Scaling- In combos, damage scaling refers to moves doing less damage the longer the combo is. So if your combo looked like this: Launcher, F44, F44, F44, damage scaling would cause the F44 to do less damage every time. Damage scaling prevents you killing your opponent with only one or two combos.
Dash- Like a backdash except you press forward twice. These are not invincible and cannot be canceled into anything until the dash is over. They do not cost any stamina.
Dash cancel(FDC)- Certain moves can be canceled into a dash. An example would be Liu Kang's fireball, which would be referred to as a fireball dash cancel(also known as FDC).
Delayed wakeup- The act of holding down when on the ground, causing you to delay getting up. Unlike the name implies you cannot do a wakeup attack if you do a delayed wakeup.
Footsies- Many players have different definitions for this term, but at the most basic level it is putting yourself at the right range and being able to counter any of your opponents possible moves. That means you put yourself in a position where your farthest attack will hit, your opponents farthest attack will whiff, or you can easily anti-air any possible jump ins.
Frames- Frames are like stillshots of the game. So if a move was 10 frames, that means it would take 10 of these "stillshots" to startup. For reference, MKX runs at 60 frames per second. This is how cancel, block, and whiff data are found.
Frame Trap- A tactic to trick your opponent by making them think they have enough of a frame advantage to punish when in reality they will get stuffed if they try to retaliate. An example would be if you used a move that was -2 and had a 7f move, they would not be able to do anything but armor through.
Grab Immunity- A move property that makes command grabs and grabs whiff. Best example is if a move is considered an airborne move, it will most likely have grab immunity(unless it is an anti-air grab being used).
Low profiling- Using low pokes to make certain moves whiff. This is easiest to do with high attacks but can also be done against some mid attacks and even jump in attacks. The reason these low pokes low profile is because they lower a characters hurt box, making the opponents moves whiff.
Hard to blockables- This is when an overhead and low attack hit at almost the exact same time, making it very difficult to block. An example of this would be when Quan's low bat and b2 OH hit at almost the exact same time, they must be blocked high low or low high very quickly.
Hard Knockdowns(HKD)- Knocking down the opponent where they cannot tech roll. An example would be Tanya's Overhead Flip Kick.
Hit box- The area of the screen where a certain move will hit. For example, Kotal Khan can JI1 and still hit you even if it does not appear that his fist touches you. This is because his hitbox extends slightly past his fist.
Hurt box- Like a hit box except it refers to the area of a screen where you will get hit by a move. For example, some combos may work on big characters while not on smaller ones, because the big characters have a bigger hurt box. It is important to note that females tend to have smaller hurtboxes than males.
Hit confirming- When you see that a move has hit and cancel it into an attack, usually for a full combo. This can be important because certain moves you cancel into could be unsafe, so you have to confirm that the move has hit before you cancel. Some moves are harder to hit confirm than others.
Hit stun- The same as block stun except it is the amount of frames you are stunned when you are actually hit.
Instant Air Moves(IA Moves)- Doing an air move as soon as you get off the ground. This is especially important for projectiles as it makes them able to hit on grounded opponents.
Meaty attacks- When your attack hits on the very last active frames. This gives you bigger frame advantage, and is usually done by attacking your opponent on wakeup(they will stand up and the move will then hit on the later active frames).
Mixups- Mixups are making your attack become much harder to predict. They are similar to 50/50s but your options are usually not guaranteed. They can sometimes be even more dangerous however because you actually end up having to keep track of even more options(like having to guess whether your opponent will do a low, overhead, or throw).
Negative Edge- Something you should always turn off before you play MKX. Go to your controller layout and make sure it is turned off.
Neutral game- This refers to when neither player is at a notable advantage. With such diverse movesets it can be harder for the neutral game to be prominent in a game like MKX, but it is still there. When players are in the neutral you will often see them baiting their opponent or using their better footsie tools to try and attack. The easiest way to think of the neutral game is thinking of the beginning of the match where neither player has a distinct advantage over the other(although there are even exceptions to that).
Okizumi(zeme)- Attacking a grounded opponent. This could be anything from continuing pressure as normal, applying a 50/50, or using an armor breaking move to attempt to stuff any armored wakeup attempts.
Option Selects- Inputting a button sequence fast enough that the game will choose the more favorable options to perform. An example would be Raidens B22/B2 shocker option select. If done correctly the b22 would come out on hit and the b2 shocker would come out if the first b2 was blocked(b22 is highly negative). There are also some defensive option selects like being able to backdash on wakeup if your opponent attacks or stand up if they dont. Option selects are usually done by inputting a move and if they are blocked inputting a directional input. The directional input will remove the cancel and stop the button sequence short, preventing the punishable move from coming out.
Off the Ground(OTG)- In terms of MKX this refers to moves that pick your opponent up off of the ground like Tremor's EX Quake move.
Priority- When some moves come out at the same time but one always hits and out-priotitizes the other. This is usually do to one move having a bigger or ghost hit box, or due to one move having invincibility frames on startup. One example would be some characters d2s being beaten by Kotal Kahn's j1, as it has an extended hitbox and therefore outprioritizes some D2s.
Pushback- When a move pushes you back further when blocked. This can cause some moves that would otherwise be punishable to be more safe. Some moves pushback certain characters more than others.
Pseudo-Block infinite- A term to describe you being able to do the same thing over and over until the opponent is dead. This technically does not exist in MKX, although some characters can do certain things 8 or 9 times or have very limited options to get out of certain characters pressure, hence the term "pseudo" block infinites.
Reading- When you successfully predict what your opponent is going to do next. For example, if you think your opponent is going to do an armored wakeup and you do an armored breaking move, you would be making a read on your opponent.
Recovery- The time it takes for your character to recover after whiffing a move. For example, Kenshi's teleflurry has such a long recovery that if whiffed, he cannot move for 50 frames and opponents can often run up and punish him.
Reversal- Doing a move on the first few possible frames as a method of retaliating against your opponents pressure. The best example would be doing a back throw on the first possible frame after blocking your opponents pressure. The game will tell you if you have done a reversal by the word "Reversal" appearing on the screen under your life bar.
Run- Done by holding the block button and tapping forward. A run is faster than a dash and can also be canceled into a move. The only downside is it costs stamina to perform.
Run cancel(FRC)- Like a dash cancel but done by canceling into run instead. This is usually better than a dash cancel because you can cancel into other moves and run canceling usually gives you better frame advantage. THe basic way of referring to run cancels is FRC, or fireball run cancel.
Rushdown- A playstyle that involves getting in on your opponent and pressuring them endlessly. The most aggressive playstyle one can employ, MKX has been said to be very rushdown oriented due to the run button.
Safe- Moves or tactics that cannot be punished.
Stuffing- Beating out your opponents move with your own, usually due to your attack having more priority.
Stamina- The resource used to perform runs, run cancels, backdashes etc. Your stamina replenishes based on what you have used it on. If you use it on a breaker it will take 8 seconds to replenish, for example.
Standing reset- When a move allows you to finish a combo leaving the opponent standing, taking away their ability to wakeup.
Teching- Stopping an opponents throw attempt. This can be done by pressing 1 or 3 if the opponent is going for a back throw, or 2 and 4 if they are doing a forward throw. There is a guessing game but there are certain situations where it is more obvious what throw they will do. If they are cornered they are most likely to do a back throw because it will put you in the corner, so to tech the throw would be 1 or 3.
Tech rolling- Done by pressing a button as soon as your character touches the ground. Causes them to roll backward on wakeup.
Tick throws- When you can cancel a move into a command grab on either block or hit. An example would be Erron Black who can cancel into his command grab from almost any point during his 22112 string. Tick throws can be very tricky due to the fact that they punish you for blocking, but they can typically be avoided by either jumping, backdashing, or armoring.
Tier- Where a character stands in comparison to the rest of the cast. High tier characters are generally considered some of the best in the game, while lower tier characters are considered the worst.
Time Out- When the game clock reaches zero. This has never happened in MKX.
Trade- When two moves hit at the same time. This mainly applies to projectiles in MKX, specifcially when two players use two different projectiles that both hit. Usually the projectile with more hit stun would allow the player to shoot their projectile again first, which would be considered a good trade for that player.
Trip guarding- Making an opponent whiff an air attack allowing you to punish. This is usually done by walking back outside the opponent jump attack range or backdashing their jump in.
Turtling- Waiting to see what your opponent does before you do anything. This may not be the best strategy in MKX due to the fact that the game has a lot of 50/50 situations and characters with really good pressure.
Unblockables- When an overhead and low move hit at the same time. This does not happen in MKX, because the game will not register one of the moves if it happens on the exact same frame.
Vortex- a situation where a player can do a 50/50 attack and if it hits then restand or cancel into amove that allows them to setup another 50/50. Quan Chi is the best example as he can always cancel into trance and go into another 50/50 if you guessed wrong on the last one.
Yomi- Getting inside your opponents head and knowing exactly what they are going to do. This is easiest against players with patterns, as they can be more predictable than others. Yomi is essentially the act of making multiple good reads in one game.
Wakeup- Doing a move to get off the ground, usually a special move or backdash.
Whiff- When a move does not hit the opponent.
Zoning- Another term that is defined in many different ways. The most basic defintion is a playstyle that revolves around keeping your opponent at a suboptimal distance, usually at fullscreen using projectiles.
If I missed any terms you want to know about or want to correct any misinformation, just post in the thread and I will respond as soon as possible
How moves are listed- Because both systems have different buttons, most players will use console neutral terms to describe moves: 1=X or Square 2=Y or Triangle 3=A or X 4=B or circle.
2 in 1 special cancelable- This has been used in patch notes and is much simpler than it sounds. It simply means that you can cancel a move into another move(for example, after the patch Kitana's rising fan became 2 in 1 cancelable, meaning she could cancel it into an air fan).
50/50- A 50/50 is a situation where your opponent is guaranteed either an overhead or low attack, and it is not possible to defend both of them at the same time. This means you must guess whether to block high or low.
Active frames- This refers to when a move is still active, meaning it will still hit you. Some moves that have unusual active frames may be very hard to whiff punish, as even if they seem to be over the active frames will still cause you to be hit. (An example would be Scorpion's Hellfire move).
Anti-Air(AA)- This is when you knock your opponent out of a jump or jumping attack. There are many ways to anti-air in MKX which will be discussed below, but the most basic anti air in the game would be an uppercut.
Air to Air- Similar to an Anti-Air, an Air to Air is when you knock your opponent out of the air with a jumping attack of your own. An exmaple of this would be using a njp to stuff another characters j1.
Armor- Armor is a certain move property that allows players to take one or two hits and still continue attacking. For example, if you do an armor move and the opponent tries to counter poke you, your armor will blow through the poke and still hit the opponent.
Armor Breaking- This refers to getting rid of an opponent's armor by using a quick hitting move with multiple hits. Certain armor moves have two or more hits of armor, so they are less likely to be broken(Tanyas EX Rekka and Goro's EX Punchwalk for example).
Backdash- A backdash is performed by hitting the back directional input twice. Backdashes are invincible(meaning attacks will sometimes miss if they are done right when the opponent is backdashing. Backdashing takes half a bar of stamina.
Balance- A criteria for judging fighting games. In essence balance is judged by how many tournament viable characters there are. If over half the cast is considered unviable, the game may be consideed to have poor balance. If the entire cast was viable, the game would be said to have good balance. (Note: Balance is very subjective and can mean different things to different people.)
Block Advantage- When looking at frame data, block advantage is how much frame advantage or disadvantage you have after you block a move. For example, if a move is plus ten on block you will be guaranteed a nine frame or faster move. If a move is minus 10 on block your opponent can punish you with a 9 frame or faster move(there are exceptions to this that will be discussed later).
Block Breaker- Done by holding L2 and R2 while holding forward. Like a breaker except it can be done when blocking attacks.
Block string- This is attacks that can be chained together. In every characters movelist you will find these are the attackswhere you press two or three buttons in succession. This also refers to some pressure in the game that does not have gaps. For example Dvorahs F112 Wasp Cancel into a D4 is a block string, because you must block the entire thing and it cannot be interrupted.
Block Stun- After blocking an attack, this is the period where you cannot move or retaliate. Block stun varies from move to move, but if the move has a very long blockstun it will make it harder to punish because you must wait a few extra frames to attempt your punish.
Bread and Butter(BNB)- A combo that is used most often for a certain character, usually because of its reliability and ease of execution(relatively at least).
Breaker- Done by Holding R2 and forward. Requires two bars of stamina and meter, and stops your opponent from hitting you or finishing their combo.
Buffering- Inputting a move during blockstun so that it comes out on the first possible frame. This can punish moves that can have gaps depending on when the move is input(Tanya's tonfa pressure, for example).
Cancel advantage- Like block advantage except that it applies to after a move has been canceled. This would mostly apply to run and dash cancel moves in MKX.
Chip Damage- This is damage you receive when blocking an attack.
Command Grab- Like a normal grab move except that it cannot be teched.
Corpse Hop- Switching sides when your opponent is on the ground, forcing them to reverse their wakeup inputs. Reptile can do this by using his dash special when an opponent is grounded.
Counterpick- When a player picks a character that they think does better against their opponent's character than their mains.
Crouch block- When you hold down and block at the same time. You must crouch block to block low attacks. It should be noted that it takes one frame to stand up after crouch blocking(making some low moves harder to punish than mids or overheads).
Crossovers- When your opponent jumps over you. They may do a crossover jump punch or an empty crossover jump.
Damage Scaling- In combos, damage scaling refers to moves doing less damage the longer the combo is. So if your combo looked like this: Launcher, F44, F44, F44, damage scaling would cause the F44 to do less damage every time. Damage scaling prevents you killing your opponent with only one or two combos.
Dash- Like a backdash except you press forward twice. These are not invincible and cannot be canceled into anything until the dash is over. They do not cost any stamina.
Dash cancel(FDC)- Certain moves can be canceled into a dash. An example would be Liu Kang's fireball, which would be referred to as a fireball dash cancel(also known as FDC).
Delayed wakeup- The act of holding down when on the ground, causing you to delay getting up. Unlike the name implies you cannot do a wakeup attack if you do a delayed wakeup.
Footsies- Many players have different definitions for this term, but at the most basic level it is putting yourself at the right range and being able to counter any of your opponents possible moves. That means you put yourself in a position where your farthest attack will hit, your opponents farthest attack will whiff, or you can easily anti-air any possible jump ins.
Frames- Frames are like stillshots of the game. So if a move was 10 frames, that means it would take 10 of these "stillshots" to startup. For reference, MKX runs at 60 frames per second. This is how cancel, block, and whiff data are found.
Frame Trap- A tactic to trick your opponent by making them think they have enough of a frame advantage to punish when in reality they will get stuffed if they try to retaliate. An example would be if you used a move that was -2 and had a 7f move, they would not be able to do anything but armor through.
Grab Immunity- A move property that makes command grabs and grabs whiff. Best example is if a move is considered an airborne move, it will most likely have grab immunity(unless it is an anti-air grab being used).
Low profiling- Using low pokes to make certain moves whiff. This is easiest to do with high attacks but can also be done against some mid attacks and even jump in attacks. The reason these low pokes low profile is because they lower a characters hurt box, making the opponents moves whiff.
Hard to blockables- This is when an overhead and low attack hit at almost the exact same time, making it very difficult to block. An example of this would be when Quan's low bat and b2 OH hit at almost the exact same time, they must be blocked high low or low high very quickly.
Hard Knockdowns(HKD)- Knocking down the opponent where they cannot tech roll. An example would be Tanya's Overhead Flip Kick.
Hit box- The area of the screen where a certain move will hit. For example, Kotal Khan can JI1 and still hit you even if it does not appear that his fist touches you. This is because his hitbox extends slightly past his fist.
Hurt box- Like a hit box except it refers to the area of a screen where you will get hit by a move. For example, some combos may work on big characters while not on smaller ones, because the big characters have a bigger hurt box. It is important to note that females tend to have smaller hurtboxes than males.
Hit confirming- When you see that a move has hit and cancel it into an attack, usually for a full combo. This can be important because certain moves you cancel into could be unsafe, so you have to confirm that the move has hit before you cancel. Some moves are harder to hit confirm than others.
Hit stun- The same as block stun except it is the amount of frames you are stunned when you are actually hit.
Instant Air Moves(IA Moves)- Doing an air move as soon as you get off the ground. This is especially important for projectiles as it makes them able to hit on grounded opponents.
Meaty attacks- When your attack hits on the very last active frames. This gives you bigger frame advantage, and is usually done by attacking your opponent on wakeup(they will stand up and the move will then hit on the later active frames).
Mixups- Mixups are making your attack become much harder to predict. They are similar to 50/50s but your options are usually not guaranteed. They can sometimes be even more dangerous however because you actually end up having to keep track of even more options(like having to guess whether your opponent will do a low, overhead, or throw).
Negative Edge- Something you should always turn off before you play MKX. Go to your controller layout and make sure it is turned off.
Neutral game- This refers to when neither player is at a notable advantage. With such diverse movesets it can be harder for the neutral game to be prominent in a game like MKX, but it is still there. When players are in the neutral you will often see them baiting their opponent or using their better footsie tools to try and attack. The easiest way to think of the neutral game is thinking of the beginning of the match where neither player has a distinct advantage over the other(although there are even exceptions to that).
Okizumi(zeme)- Attacking a grounded opponent. This could be anything from continuing pressure as normal, applying a 50/50, or using an armor breaking move to attempt to stuff any armored wakeup attempts.
Option Selects- Inputting a button sequence fast enough that the game will choose the more favorable options to perform. An example would be Raidens B22/B2 shocker option select. If done correctly the b22 would come out on hit and the b2 shocker would come out if the first b2 was blocked(b22 is highly negative). There are also some defensive option selects like being able to backdash on wakeup if your opponent attacks or stand up if they dont. Option selects are usually done by inputting a move and if they are blocked inputting a directional input. The directional input will remove the cancel and stop the button sequence short, preventing the punishable move from coming out.
Off the Ground(OTG)- In terms of MKX this refers to moves that pick your opponent up off of the ground like Tremor's EX Quake move.
Priority- When some moves come out at the same time but one always hits and out-priotitizes the other. This is usually do to one move having a bigger or ghost hit box, or due to one move having invincibility frames on startup. One example would be some characters d2s being beaten by Kotal Kahn's j1, as it has an extended hitbox and therefore outprioritizes some D2s.
Pushback- When a move pushes you back further when blocked. This can cause some moves that would otherwise be punishable to be more safe. Some moves pushback certain characters more than others.
Pseudo-Block infinite- A term to describe you being able to do the same thing over and over until the opponent is dead. This technically does not exist in MKX, although some characters can do certain things 8 or 9 times or have very limited options to get out of certain characters pressure, hence the term "pseudo" block infinites.
Reading- When you successfully predict what your opponent is going to do next. For example, if you think your opponent is going to do an armored wakeup and you do an armored breaking move, you would be making a read on your opponent.
Recovery- The time it takes for your character to recover after whiffing a move. For example, Kenshi's teleflurry has such a long recovery that if whiffed, he cannot move for 50 frames and opponents can often run up and punish him.
Reversal- Doing a move on the first few possible frames as a method of retaliating against your opponents pressure. The best example would be doing a back throw on the first possible frame after blocking your opponents pressure. The game will tell you if you have done a reversal by the word "Reversal" appearing on the screen under your life bar.
Run- Done by holding the block button and tapping forward. A run is faster than a dash and can also be canceled into a move. The only downside is it costs stamina to perform.
Run cancel(FRC)- Like a dash cancel but done by canceling into run instead. This is usually better than a dash cancel because you can cancel into other moves and run canceling usually gives you better frame advantage. THe basic way of referring to run cancels is FRC, or fireball run cancel.
Rushdown- A playstyle that involves getting in on your opponent and pressuring them endlessly. The most aggressive playstyle one can employ, MKX has been said to be very rushdown oriented due to the run button.
Safe- Moves or tactics that cannot be punished.
Stuffing- Beating out your opponents move with your own, usually due to your attack having more priority.
Stamina- The resource used to perform runs, run cancels, backdashes etc. Your stamina replenishes based on what you have used it on. If you use it on a breaker it will take 8 seconds to replenish, for example.
Standing reset- When a move allows you to finish a combo leaving the opponent standing, taking away their ability to wakeup.
Teching- Stopping an opponents throw attempt. This can be done by pressing 1 or 3 if the opponent is going for a back throw, or 2 and 4 if they are doing a forward throw. There is a guessing game but there are certain situations where it is more obvious what throw they will do. If they are cornered they are most likely to do a back throw because it will put you in the corner, so to tech the throw would be 1 or 3.
Tech rolling- Done by pressing a button as soon as your character touches the ground. Causes them to roll backward on wakeup.
Tick throws- When you can cancel a move into a command grab on either block or hit. An example would be Erron Black who can cancel into his command grab from almost any point during his 22112 string. Tick throws can be very tricky due to the fact that they punish you for blocking, but they can typically be avoided by either jumping, backdashing, or armoring.
Tier- Where a character stands in comparison to the rest of the cast. High tier characters are generally considered some of the best in the game, while lower tier characters are considered the worst.
Time Out- When the game clock reaches zero. This has never happened in MKX.
Trade- When two moves hit at the same time. This mainly applies to projectiles in MKX, specifcially when two players use two different projectiles that both hit. Usually the projectile with more hit stun would allow the player to shoot their projectile again first, which would be considered a good trade for that player.
Trip guarding- Making an opponent whiff an air attack allowing you to punish. This is usually done by walking back outside the opponent jump attack range or backdashing their jump in.
Turtling- Waiting to see what your opponent does before you do anything. This may not be the best strategy in MKX due to the fact that the game has a lot of 50/50 situations and characters with really good pressure.
Unblockables- When an overhead and low move hit at the same time. This does not happen in MKX, because the game will not register one of the moves if it happens on the exact same frame.
Vortex- a situation where a player can do a 50/50 attack and if it hits then restand or cancel into amove that allows them to setup another 50/50. Quan Chi is the best example as he can always cancel into trance and go into another 50/50 if you guessed wrong on the last one.
Yomi- Getting inside your opponents head and knowing exactly what they are going to do. This is easiest against players with patterns, as they can be more predictable than others. Yomi is essentially the act of making multiple good reads in one game.
Wakeup- Doing a move to get off the ground, usually a special move or backdash.
Whiff- When a move does not hit the opponent.
Zoning- Another term that is defined in many different ways. The most basic defintion is a playstyle that revolves around keeping your opponent at a suboptimal distance, usually at fullscreen using projectiles.
If I missed any terms you want to know about or want to correct any misinformation, just post in the thread and I will respond as soon as possible
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