NRS Speaks and Confirms MK11 is Officially Done

[Deleted member 5032]

It's all good, let's please move on.

 

[theotherguy]

I do think your general thought process on the game's mechanics, i.e. Krushing Blows, Breakways, wake ups, etc. is really spot on. That they're very strategic, and well thought out design concepts that make both players' decision making more meaningful, but that all these concepts were, sadly, not executed well in the actual game.

I agree with this. IMO part of the reason of these mechanics is to make people think more about what's going to happen 2-3 moves ahead and be wary of their and their opponents meter/KB's, rather than i'll pull out this 45% combo and then do it again.

If your opponent has breakaway then you should be either forcing them to use it or defensive bar so you can get that 50% breakaway-able combo. Otherwise take the risk to do it, but don't complain when they then use it putting you at a disadvantage because you gave them the opportunity.

Sure that may not be "the way it's supposed to be done", but it's in the game so you play taking that into account. It was one thing to complain when the game was still in active development, but now it's just a waste of time.

People can bitch about the game as much as they want, but it it's not going to change the way it plays, because that's up to the player - especially now that the game is done.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

I agree with this. IMO part of the reason of these mechanics is to make people think more about what's going to happen 2-3 moves ahead and be wary of their and their opponents meter/KB's, rather than i'll pull out this 45% combo and then do it again.

If your opponent has breakaway then you should be either forcing them to use it or defensive bar so you can get that 50% breakaway-able combo. Otherwise take the risk to do it, but don't complain when they then use it putting you at a disadvantage because you gave them the opportunity.

Sure that may not be "the way it's supposed to be done", but it's in the game so you play taking that into account. It was one thing to complain when the game was still in active development, but now it's just a waste of time.

People can bitch about the game as much as they want, but it it's not going to change the way it plays, because that's up to the player - especially now that the game is done.

For real, it's just more opportunities to strategize. You can't just go full flow-chart and expect to win. You have different optimal options depending on:

1. I have breaker and my opponent has full meter
2. I have breaker and my opponent has 1 bar
3. I don't have breaker and my opponent has full meter
4. I don't have breaker and my opponent has 1 bar
5. I'm on offense with meter and my opponent has breaker/wakeup
6. I'm on offense without meter and my opponent has breaker/wakeup
7. I'm on offense with meter and my opponent does not have breaker/wakeup
8. I'm on offense without meter and my opponent does not have breaker/wakeup
9. I want to use String A, which has a gap, my opponent has meter, but I can bait into parry/arm cannon/move that punishes flawless attempts
10. I want to use String A, which has a gap, my opponent does not have meter
11. etc

That's not an extensive list, but is a solid example of the kind of strategic gameplay that this system allows for. You've got to be on top of all of this info if you want to play at a high level. It's easy to get mad at breaker and wakeup rolls, but at the same time, you have all the info you need to make informed decisions about what your opponent will do next. I think that's pretty awesome.

 

[Law Hero]

My issue with Fatal Blows is how half baked the idea seems to be. Why do some characters have extra utility and not others. I love that Joker and Johnny can cancel theirs, and how Jax gets max Heat when his lands. We needed more ideas like that. Erron being able to put his FB on cooldown to instantly reload his rifle, Kabal puts out a larger healing cloud etc. Just add some actual decision making to this mechanic. Make you actually think before you yolo it out.

Another thing I've always said about MK Supers is they need to have Super Flashes like every other fighting game, even Injustice. That would drastically reduce their viability as a "fuck it" tool

Honestly, I feel a lot of people's questions and wishes regarding many of the game's mechanics can be easily explained away as a result of a harsh deadline. This isn't an all-compassing excuse, and there are many questionable decisions that cannot be written off as a result of crunch; however, I get the feeling NRS was quite ambitious with this game, but WB stood firm with their deadlines.

Anyway, as far as Supers go, I really wish Mortal Kombat would get supers more like Marvel/Anime games. By that I mean supers that aren't just cinematic animations, but instead allow both players to to actually play the game after activating them. Things like time slows, summoning clones, massive projectiles, gameplay-altering powerups, and other things of that nature. The occasional cinematic super is fine, but they get so tedious after a while, and apart from the few unique ones, their uses are extremely limited. I really want MK12 to mix things up a bit more when it comes to super moves and the like.

 

[Deleted member 66057]

My issue with Fatal Blows is how half baked the idea seems to be. Why do some characters have extra utility and not others. I love that Joker and Johnny can cancel theirs, and how Jax gets max Heat when his lands. We needed more ideas like that. Erron being able to put his FB on cooldown to instantly reload his rifle, Kabal puts out a larger healing cloud etc. Just add some actual decision making to this mechanic. Make you actually think before you yolo it out.

Another thing I've always said about MK Supers is they need to have Super Flashes like every other fighting game, even Injustice. That would drastically reduce their viability as a "fuck it" tool

Both of those ideas are great. I thought making them inaccessible outside of a hit confirm would be fair but then you run into a situation where they become Os’s on block or hit. The injustice approach would have been more fair.

 

[Ashesfall]

Bro... Noob Saibot and Erron Black can stand full screen and mash the triggers, go completely unpunished against the bulk of the cast, wait 10 seconds and do the same thing again.

I totally agree on that.
Only -21/23 AND pushback on top? wtf ...
They should have bin as unsafe is frosts is (-41).
so even on full screen, i can at least get a spear punish (the jump wont hit, just saying)
A totally free super attempt, even tho you know its coming? terrible design

 

[Deleted member 66057]

I totally agree on that.
Only -21/23 AND pushback on top? wtf ...
They should have bin as unsafe is frosts is (-41).
so even on full screen, i can at least get a spear punish (the jump wont hit, just saying)
A totally free super attempt, even tho you know its coming? terrible design

Frosts can be punished and Cetrion can too. These 2 though… geez.… why ?

 

[Juxtapose]

Personally, I don't have a major issue with Fatal Blows, since it's generally a universal move/mechanic that everyone has. I generally just find them as an X-Ray you'll actually use since it doesn't use your Offensive/Defensive Gauge.

Having said that, I absolutely acknowledge that some Fatal Blows are stronger in application than others (i.e. Erron Black, Kabal), but I've also found it's easier to bait them out that way and punish.

 

[Juxtapose]

Mustard posted a video detailing his final thoughts on the game, which you can all view here:

I'm almost done watching it, and I have to say it's pretty spot on. There are time stamps in the description if you just want to watch certain sections, but a lot of it boils down to "excellent ideas that weren't executed as well as they could have been," similar to what @Marlow has expressed.

I found Mustard's comments on casual/single player, Kustom Variations, Throws, and Armour Breaking especially interesting.

With throws, I also found the chat most interesting. The game has a strong reputation of being a strike/throw game, something that's been mentioned in this thread. However he's saying (as was Foxy Grandpa who was in the chat) that that's no longer the case and throws are not as strong anymore. Foxy goes on to say in-chat that throws are actually no good, that you generally shouldn't tech them, and instead hop or micro duck.

As someone who hasn't properly played the game in over a year and has come back to it, I've definitely found in Kombat League that Throws, while still present, are indeed not what they were, and they get punished much more often now.

 

[xKhaoTik]

I can’t believe we’re approaching 2022 and people are still complaining about fatal blows…

 

[Deleted member 66057]

I can’t believe we’re approaching 2022 and people are still complaining about fatal blows…

People go to therapy to complain about problems their therapists likely can’t solve. This is no different; we’re just not paying to get ripped off.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

You know what would help? Not hopping into another abusive relationship with NRS's next title.

 

[Marlow]

excellent ideas that weren't executed as well as they could have been

That's probably the most frustrating thing about the game. I know "one patch away" is a bit of a meme at this point, but if they could have just made the simple fix of:

1. Add 1-2 seconds of knockdown on Breakaway to avoid breakaway punish
2. Fatal Blows go away for the rest of the round after block
3. One last tune up of Abilities in terms of slot cost and conflicts/inputs.

Those simple changes could have pushed this game from IMO a very good game into a great one. Maybe it's more complicated than I'm making it out to be, but it sure feels like this game could have benefited greatly from one last patch. (O god I'm turning into an MK9er.) Harsh reality though is that financially it's probably better to just put the time and effort into a new game than spending too much time on an old one. Patches don't sell new copies.

 

[Deleted member 66057]

That's probably the most frustrating thing about the game. I know "one patch away" is a bit of a meme at this point, but if they could have just made the simple fix of:

1. Add 1-2 seconds of knockdown on Breakaway to avoid breakaway punish
2. Fatal Blows go away for the rest of the round after block
3. One last tune up of Abilities in terms of slot cost and conflicts/inputs.

Those simple changes could have pushed this game from IMO a very good game into a great one. Maybe it's more complicated than I'm making it out to be, but it sure feels like this game could have benefited greatly from one last patch. (O god I'm turning into an MK9er.) Harsh reality though is that financially it's probably better to just put the time and effort into a new game than spending too much time on an old one. Patches don't sell new copies.

Just no break away punish and and fatal blow loss after block or whiff would have made this game much better.

 

[Juxtapose]

Mustard posted a video detailing his final thoughts on the game, which you can all view here:

I'm almost done watching it, and I have to say it's pretty spot on. There are time stamps in the description if you just want to watch certain sections, but a lot of it boils down to "excellent ideas that weren't executed as well as they could have been," similar to what @Marlow has expressed.

I found Mustard's comments on casual/single player, Kustom Variations, Throws, and Armour Breaking especially interesting.

With throws, I also found the chat most interesting. The game has a strong reputation of being a strike/throw game, something that's been mentioned in this thread. However he's saying (as was Foxy Grandpa who was in the chat) that that's no longer the case and throws are not as strong anymore. Foxy goes on to say in-chat that throws are actually no good, that you generally shouldn't tech them, and instead hop or micro duck.

As someone who hasn't properly played the game in over a year and has come back to it, I've definitely found in Kombat League that Throws, while still present, are indeed not what they were, and they get punished much more often now.

Finished watching, and I found his comments on overall balance and affects of the COVID pandemic also quite interesting.

 

[Deleted member 66057]

Let me just say, the amount of times I’ve received the following message is surreal as a Raiden player:

You just spam the same combo over and over again!

Bruh… go talk to Paulo. He only gave me one route…

 

[Juxtapose]

Let me just say, the amount of times I’ve received the following message is surreal as a Raiden player:

You just spam the same combo over and over again!

Bruh… go talk to Paulo. He only gave me one route…

Even if that wasn't the case, the same people would likely still be messaging you to call you a "spammer."

If you're receiving a message like that, it tells me you're doing right.