NRS/WB should bring back the Variation System for MK11 - Here's Why

[LaidbackOne]

Worst idea ever. Variations were one of MKX's bigges faults. Let them burn.

 

[LaidbackOne]

I think it was awesome and it should definitely be in mk11. Essentially we had 90 plus characters.

Also by the final patch, the balance was even better than the current i2 imo.

I remember counting and there was over 40 different variations represented in top 8s after the final patch..

Yes, comparing variations to totaly different characters is a great idea, lol.

 

[The_Tile]

Why they shouldn't: it fucks over characters who have a really powerful variation tool kit and their base moves have to be neutered as a result. It makes them hard as shit to balance. See Sub-Zero, Predator, Erron Black, Triborg.

Why they should: some characters with a great base tool kit and have some fun changes between variations adds a lot of fun and depth to the character and because they are built on a strong base, they can have variations be effective. See Mileena, Reptile, Cassie, Quan Chi.

Overall I'd prefer no variations but I'm glad MKX had them because it was still a cool little stamp to put on. Like Mournful mains wouldn't have had anything close to that because a no variation Kitana would have likely just been a derivative of Royal Storm.

Just playing devil's advocate here but maybe they could make more changes across variations. Have less universal moves and actually make the variations really unique.

With 3 variations this might be a chore but if they cut it down to 2 it would be more manageable. Imagine GM Sub as one variation, then imagine another variation where he doesnt have an OH, has a fast advancing mid and a couple of counter zoning tools so he's more about neutral. Sounds better than just "let's take away klone and give him parry".

Personally though I want them to bring gear back for MK11, I wanna dress up my Quan Chi in a purple thong and change puggles to a flying pig that grunts every time he does a fireball

 

[Invincible Salads]

yeah i say forget variations, just give me 1 well made character, instead of breakin bits an pieces off to create variations -_-.

 

[Hara-Killer]

Next MK will be some kind of Armaggedon maybe?

With MK History variations like

Reptile :

MK 2 - Moveset
Mk 4 - Moveset
Mk 9 - Moveset


Sub Zero :

MK 3 - moveset
Mk 4 - Moveset
MK Deception - Moveset

Scorpion :

MK 2 - Moveset
MK 4 - Moveset
MK Deception - Moveset



FULL Cast 30 chars Plus 12 DLC's

Or Maybe NRS release the Horror Fighting Game or Shaolin Monks 2 before MK 11 , anyways 2019 NRS drop something new for sure...

 

[Eddy Wang]

Next MK will be some kind of Armaggedon maybe?

With MK History variations like

Reptile :

MK 2 - Moveset
Mk 4 - Moveset
Mk 9 - Moveset


Sub Zero :

MK 3 - moveset
Mk 4 - Moveset
MK Deception - Moveset

Scorpion :

MK 2 - Moveset
MK 4 - Moveset
MK Deception - Moveset



FULL Cast 30 chars Plus 12 DLC's

Or Maybe NRS release the Horror Fighting Game or Shaolin Monks 2 before MK 11 , anyways 2019 NRS drop something new for sure...

This will suck

 

[Johnny Based Cage]

Variation system was cancer. You can't get a true grappler by just slapping a command grab on a base moveset that's also geared toward two other playstyles and you don't get an actual zoner by tossing a fireball or two to a character who otherwise isn't one. Actual gameplay variety is always going to be better suited to having a singular, focused vision for each character's individual style than some scattershot, haphazard conglomeration of all-over-the-place styles they have to find a balance between.

They did a really commendable job given the restraints and limitations the system forced upon them but I'd like to see what they can do without shooting themselves in the foot right out of the gate next time around.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

That's where the Variation system in MKX is coming to play (no pun intended). Since each character in the game has 3 Variations, some with minor changes between each and some with drastic ones, it is so much easier to pick the one Variation that you find the most suitable for you to play for your character of choice, and even if you wanna counter-pick to a different character, you can pick your preferred Variation of that character and have a roster of only the Variations that you like the most, or you if you think it's good for you, you can just play all 3 Variations of the same character and cover all of the MU's for that character.

This almost never happened, though. In practice:

• Only certain variations were good, so it became became necessary to just play the best variation(s)
• It was incredibly hard to individually balance 3 variations for a character, as nefs/buffs would affect them all
• In most cases, it was far more effective to switch characters to counter a bad MU than switching variations. If you were losing to Sub, did anybody care which version of Jax you were playing? Not really.
• Some variations were simply too far apart to master all 3. For example, you would almost never see, say a top Shirai Ryu player switch to Ronin because they wanted the projectile. Or a Tarkatan Alien switch to some other variation for a MU. It just wasn't worth it.

I think that overall, the idea is good, but it leaves too many variations to balance effectively, and will never work in practice like it works on paper.

 

[Roy Arkon]

This almost never happened, though. In practice:

• Only certain variations were good, so it became became necessary to just play the best variation(s)
• It was incredibly hard to individually balance 3 variations for a character, as nefs/buffs would affect them all
• In most cases, it was far more effective to switch characters to counter a bad MU than switching variations. If you were losing to Sub, did anybody care which version of Jax you were playing? Not really.
• Some variations were simply too far apart to master all 3. For example, you would almost never see, say a top Shirai Ryu player switch to Ronin because they wanted the projectile. Or a Tarkatan Alien switch to some other variation for a MU. It just wasn't worth it.

I think that overall, the idea is good, but it leaves too many variations to balance effectively, and will never work in practice like it works on paper.

But what if there will be only 2 Variations per character? That should fix the problem as I've explained in the OP.

 

[Generalbit]

I like the two variations a lot. Cuz then I get my 2 favorite things, a blade of osh-tekk and that sweet sweet command grab. The character would be too good with both of those tools in one, and it would be a shame if he lost one to commit to either mix or grabber. They were both fun and it was awesome to switch between them and change the play style without switching off my favorite character. So assuming Ko'atal comes back, forget them totems and just give me the 2 variations that matter.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

But what if there will be only 2 Variations per character? That should fix the problem as I've explained in the OP.

If they were designed as before, I think it'd still be wildly inconsistent. I don't think you're ever going to have that "I can cover all my bad MUs by switching variation" situation in practice.

 

[ismael4790]

Variation system with 2 variations per character might work.

Three variations is a no. Nrs showed and admitted they can't balance that.

 

[Espio]

Variation system was cancer. You can't get a true grappler by just slapping a command grab on a base moveset that's also geared toward two other playstyles and you don't get an actual zoner by tossing a fireball or two to a character who otherwise isn't one. Actual gameplay variety is always going to be better suited to having a singular, focused vision for each character's individual style than some scattershot, haphazard conglomeration of all-over-the-place styles they have to find a balance between.

They did a really commendable job given the restraints and limitations the system forced upon them but I'd like to see what they can do without shooting themselves in the foot right out of the gate next time around.

This, I don't ever wanna see variations again.Then there's a million match ups that nobody was able to learn either.

Characters felt stale and unfocused because of the desire to make three variations instead one cohesive, focused character.

I don't want to see a zoner that has a rushdown variation or someone like Goro who has a zoning variation (lol).

Quality over quantity. Quality definitely suffered as a result. We probably missed out on some additional characters too as a result of that system.

 

[Invincible Salads]

the only way a variation system like that could truly work would be if they made it "MK Online" and were going to support it for the next 10+ years. lmao

 

[dribirut]

I think we can all at least agree that the variation system completely shits on this garbage casual abilities joke of a system.

If you don't agree then you are just clearly biased towards injustice

 

[Rizz091]

I think we can all at least agree that the variation system completely shits on this garbage casual abilities joke of a system.

If you don't agree then you are just clearly biased towards injustice

I agree with that, but still enjoy gear for purely cosmetic reasons. I hope they just do gear with no stats in the next mk.

 

[Generalbit]

I think we can all at least agree that the variation system completely shits on this garbage casual abilities joke of a system.

If you don't agree then you are just clearly biased towards injustice

If there were 3-4 ability moves and 2 slots the same way injustice works, but everyone had them immediately and could actually customize ur character, that could be fun and well done.

 

[ShaolinGunFu]

these games have to be so carefully adjusted to keep the matchups playable, the variations and gear bs were cool in theory but were mkxs downfall. the only cool part was triborg but even that, the cyborgs would be better as separate chars

 

[Edmund]

I like the idea of all of the characters just being base then you pick 2 out of 3 abilities to add.

For example Kitana would have all of her base moves but I have the option to add:
1. Royal Storm's Fan Lift
2. Assassin's Blade Buff
3. Mournful's Shadow Kick

And then I would pick 2 out of those three and you do this every round. It could have a competitive life too imo

 

[Roy Arkon]

I like the idea of all of the characters just being base then you pick 2 out of 3 abilities to add.

For example Kitana would have all of her base moves but I have the option to add:
1. Royal Storm's Fan Lift
2. Assassin's Blade Buff
3. Mournful's Shadow Kick

And then I would pick 2 out of those three and you do this every round. It could have a competitive life too imo

That's actually a cool idea too.

 

[Jynks]

The variation system was fantastic.. but I doubt it will come back... at least ion that exact form. Along with chip, block buttons and Gore a staple of MK is that mechanically it tries new things with every version.

There will be some brand new mechanism in MK11, instead of the variation system. Facts.

 

[Roy Arkon]

The variation system was fantastic.. but I doubt it will come back... at least ion that exact form. Along with chip, block buttons and Gore a staple of MK is that mechanically it tries new things with every version.

There will be some brand new mechanism in MK11, instead of the variation system. Facts.

The PS2 era of MK games all had the Fighting Style gameplay system, MKDA and MKD had 3 Fighting Styles for each character and MKA had only 2, yet each game also included new additional things both in gameplay and content. MKD had the death traps and breakers, and MKA had the aerial combos. If that happened, then it can happen again with the Variation system.

 

[Thingy]

I do not have a preference. All I want from MK11 is the death of the run and stamina feature. Limited back dashes was a damn joke.

 

[Israel]

Nah the variation system should cease to exist. Too much time taken from NRS to find out the buff/nerfs/kinks/glitches for each char and variation. Just make 1 character with the option to pick certain combinations of abilities, as recommended by @Edmund.

My char never got the buffs and hot fixes he deserved because of the V-system. But instead were given to DLC's

 

[Roy Arkon]

Nah the variation system should cease to exist. Too much time taken from NRS to find out the buff/nerfs/kinks/glitches for each char and variation. Just make 1 character with the option to pick certain combinations of abilities, as recommended by @Edmund.

My char never got the buffs and hot fixes he deserved because of the V-system. But instead were given to DLC's

He got them, trust me I know first hand, and the Variation system had nothing to do with this.