[SPOILERS] Why I believe there roster leak is slightly inaccurate (They forgot two...)

[Krunchy]

Hear me out:

If you look at the shape of the roster, and we're presuming there's going to be 6 DLC characters per season, it would make sense to shape it so that it would perfectly fill in the full 42 squares (30 base + 12 DLC).

I think it's plausible that the leaker forgot to mention two of the characters saved for the latest in development.

Without those 2 extra characters, there's going to be two random slots with nothing in them. It doesn't seem like they'd be for "random select" or anything like that since that will probably be bound to X/Square or Y/Triangle.

SO... MY GRAND THEORY:

I think the leaker forgot to include Quan Chi and Kenshi.

Quan Chi:
Almost all of the big baddies of MK have made their way into MK11. I feel like we're going to be revisiting some of the showdowns from past titles. We've got Shang Tsung, Shao Khan, Shinnok, and Kotal Khan. Just as Kotal Khan was MK11's big bad (w/shinnok) I think in this game Cetrion might be the MK11 big bad. It'd be the first female lead villain as far as I'm aware which would be cool.

Having said all this ^, it seems really sad and wrong to not include Quan Chi. They're very clearly going into some of the revenant plotline which Quan Chi is very responsible for. If they do a whole revenant chapter and Quan Chi isn't at least in the story unplayable I'd be shocked.

He's my personal favorite character and I think he absolutely deserves a spot in the MK11 main roster simply for his significance in the MK story.

Kenshi:
Kenshi is Ed Boon's favorite character (iirc) and I noticed a couple things:
edit: Ed Boon's favorite character is Scorpion so nvm on that one

1: We're sort of missing a "sword character" in MK11. I mean, you could argue it's scorpion or maayybee sub/kabal but really it's a missing archetype. I know a lot of people who play fighting games gravitate towards a swordsman type character and I think MK11's roster would feel slightly empty without one.
2: Kung Jin and Takeda got cut from the base roster. However, I think one of them will return to MK11 as DLC and I'm betting it's Takeda. It would be even more perfect to add Kenshi's son as DLC if Kenshi is in the base roster.

With both of my predictions, there's a couple of key factors that I think support their plausibility of being in the base roster:
1: They've both been very significant to the MK story, especially in comparison to other characters people want like Rain, Smoke, Reptile, etc, who have had fairly minor roles in the grand plot lines of MK.
2: In past MK games, both Kenshi and Quan Chi have typically been played as zoners. I would not be surprised at all if NRS decided to wait until all the rest of the characters had been made first before developing Kenshi and Quan Chi to ensure that they would be able to create zoners that wouldn't frustrate the living shit out of the cry baby noobs (i said it) but still be fun for people who like the zoner archetype. Would be smart right?
3: Neither have a HUGE fan base, and typically low player base. They knew they didn't need to reveal them early to build hype, so more reason for why they could have been developed late/post leak.

Things I'd like to know (if any of you have the answers):
Is there a chance that the leak is from over a month ago? In that case, could the last couple of characters have been super in development still and overlooked by the leaker?

Is there any speculation of what team the leaker was working on? It seems to me like he was in development or testing in which case he/she may not have been fully aware of the team's plans for the story/long term DLC plans (note that they didn't attempt to spoil season 1 DLC...)

Hope I didn't break any rules with this post I haven't been on TYM for a few years honestly.

TL;DR: There's a number of reasons why I'm skeptical that the base roster is 28 characters. I think Quan Chi and Kenshi are going to be in the base roster.

Also, just for fun I'm going to attach my roster prediction. The goal was to do an accurate prediction, these aren't my personal preferences for DLC/roster.

I'd like to hear what you guys think.. is the leak a straight fact? Am I totally off base with my reasoning/predictions? Did I get something wrong? Let me know. #QUANCHI4MK11

 

[Sage Leviathan]

Scorpion is Ed Boon's favorite character, and I doubt that will ever change.

 

[Krunchy]

Scorpion is Ed Boon's favorite character, and I doubt that will ever change.

Ill take that out you're right.

 

[KingKhrystopher]

It's likely they will return as DLC. I mean, Mileena isn't on the roster, so I'm almost certain she's DLC.

 

[xXRagingFlameXx]

I mean, Mileena isn't on the roster

 

[SubZeroIce]

I think they're finally moving away from Quan Chi or will make him DLC.

Also in terms of Kenshi, my thought is that they're gonna do something in the story where Kronika/Geras kill him so that Takeda never happens. I do agree the game is missing a Swordsman but according to rumors, Kollector is a big hulking character that uses weapons.

It's likely they will return as DLC. I mean, Mileena isn't on the roster, so I'm almost certain she's DLC.

Mileena & Shang are rumored to be Secret unlockable characters.

 

[Dankster Morgan]

I’d love to see Kenshi or Takeda return

 

[Krunchy]

It's likely they will return as DLC. I mean, Mileena isn't on the roster, so I'm almost certain she's DLC.

The leaker said Mileena is in the base roster, unlockable.

 

[Krunchy]

I’d love to see Kenshi or Takeda return

 

[Krunchy]

I think they're finally moving away from Quan Chi or will make him DLC.

Also in terms of Kenshi, my thought is that they're gonna do something in the story where Kronika/Geras kill him so that Takeda never happens. I do agree the game is missing a Swordsman but according to rumors, Kollector is a big hulking character that uses weapons.


Mileena & Shang are rumored to be Secret unlockable characters.

I like your theory about Kenshi, but it's pure speculation. And I don't think a big tanky sword character really fits the swordsman archetype so it'd still be missing.

And like, elephant in the room, I get that no one likes Quan Chi. His playstyle in MKX was unblockable 50/50s, zoning, and weird setups no one knew how to deal with. But I really think that as a character, his personality is awesome, and I think if NRS does a redesign of who quan is (go back to MK9 roots where the runes/trance are his signature moves) and takes all the bull shit out of his kit and let him be an honest zoner, I think he could be one of the most interesting characters with the custom variation system. They have a lot of creative potential with it.

 

[Steven Farmer]

I was thinking the same things about the 2 missing slots. Smoke and Rain make the most sense to me. They're too beloved and make an obvious story choice. But the slots might just end up being random select.

 

[Krunchy]

I was thinking the same things about the 2 missing slots. Smoke and Rain make the most sense to me. They're too beloved and make an obvious story choice. But the slots might just end up being random select.

This theory gets a 8/10 plausibility from me bc I do think those 2 slots will be filled by someone, that weird "Sonic fox will main: Rain in MK11" thing happened during the reveal stream, and those characters would add some potential story chapters.

The only thing is I have kind of a hard time imagining those 2 not getting leaked. Quan Chi and Kenshi being difficult to design zoners with small fan bases feel like more likely to have been developed late and forgotten by the leaker.

Also Smoke and Rain would sell 3x the DLC as Quan and Kenshi would

 

[Steven Farmer]

This theory gets a 8/10 plausibility from me bc I do think those 2 slots will be filled by someone, that weird "Sonic fox will main: Rain in MK11" thing happened during the reveal stream, and those characters would add some potential story chapters.

Plus we see Rain on the Konquest tab, and there's a Smoke image on a Card as well. Trying not to get my hopes up too high but there's still a chance.

 

[Krunchy]

Plus we see Rain on the Konquest tab, and there's a Smoke image on a Card as well. Trying not to get my hopes up too high but there's still a chance.

Good point. Are all of the other characters seen on similar art pieces playable?

 

[Zev]

If there are people missing form the leak that will be in the base game, Rain will be one of them . . . he's in the menu art, with all the other playable characters.

 

[Steven Farmer]

As far as I know, they've all been. Just like the Souls on the Arena kard foreshadowed Shang Tsung.

 

[Espio]

Kronika is the lead female antagonist, first female boss etc that they've hyped up as such so far. I believe that's a miss.

Quan Chi isn't essential for this game, I think they wrapped up his plot nicely by letting Scorpion and Sonya trounce him since he trolled the entirety of MK9 and a large part of MKX. I'd much rather see Liu Kang, Kitana, Jade, Kabal etc actually stand on their own without being tethered to Quan Chi for a third game in a row.

Scorpion's swords are heavily featured in his gameplay and I can't think of why that would make Kenshi necessary. What would make Kenshi more necessary is his role as one of only a handful of surviving Earthrealm warriors if anything since they're apparently going to the Netherealm to fight Liu Kang and Kitana.

I do agree that I would expect either Takeda and/or Kung Jin to be DLC if they don't make it to the main roster this go around.

 

[SmokeMK]

Of all the characters to predict, Quan-Chi and Kenshi aren’t the best choices.

 

[pure.Wasted]

Quan Chi:
Almost all of the big baddies of MK have made their way into MK11. I feel like we're going to be revisiting some of the showdowns from past titles. We've got Shang Tsung, Shao Khan, Shinnok, and Kotal Khan. Just as Kotal Khan was MK11's big bad (w/shinnok) I think in this game Cetrion might be the MK11 big bad. It'd be the first female lead villain as far as I'm aware which would be cool.

Having said all this ^, it seems really sad and wrong to not include Quan Chi.reasoning/predictions? Did I get something wrong? Let me know.

Your theory about the missing character being Quan Chi is based entirely on two premises:

1. That the Shinnok/Mileena/Shang rumor is true, and
2. That Shinnok being playable means (almost) every main bad guy is playable

Is there any reason to believe the Shinnok/Mileena/Shang rumor?

Also I disagree that Kotal was in any way MKX's "big bad," as his grievances with Earthrealm were pretty legitimate, but that's separate.

If they do a whole revenant chapter and Quan Chi isn't at least in the story unplayable I'd be shocked.

There's gonna be tons of unplayable story NPCs. There's absolutely room for previous-timeline Quan Chi to show up for a minute and then go on his merry way, without ever fighting anyone.

 

[Evil Canadian]

Kotal kahn was a god damn hero he was no villain

 

[xXRagingFlameXx]

I never considered Kotal Kahn as a bad guy tbh. He always seemed to be 'neutral'. Like, he really just wanted to keep Outworld safe the whole time tbh.

He wasn't trying to conquer Earthrealm or anything or do anything super evil.

 

[Krunchy]

Kronika is the lead female antagonist, first female boss etc that they've hyped up as such so far. I believe that's a miss.

Quan Chi isn't essential for this game, I think they wrapped up his plot nicely by letting Scorpion and Sonya trounce him since he trolled the entirety of MK9 and a large part of MKX. I'd much rather see Liu Kang, Kitana, Jade, Kabal etc actually stand on their own without being tethered to Quan Chi for a third game in a row.

Scorpion's swords are heavily featured in his gameplay and I can't think of why that would make Kenshi necessary. What would make Kenshi more necessary is his role as one of only a handful of surviving Earthrealm warriors if anything since they're apparently going to the Netherealm to fight Liu Kang and Kitana.

I do agree that I would expect either Takeda and/or Kung Jin to be DLC if they don't make it to the main roster this go around.

Kronika is confirmed unplayable tho. And I agree that Quan Chi isn't essential but I'd argue none of the other characters people want are either. And obviously they wouldn't make the MK11 story about Quan controlling everyone, they'd do some change the timeline shit with it.

Scorpion is just so entirely scorpion and has so many other non-traditional sword character moves. I'd argue there is a need for a character like Kenshi because right now there's not many zoners in MK11 and NRS always does really creative zoner designs (look how many are in injustice). All of his zoning moves revolve around him swinging a spirit sword which would be awesome.

My bad about Kotal Khan, you guys are right that he's not a bad guy. He's just a new character from MKX that kind of has that "boss" vibe which is what I guess I meant to say. The playable big bad was def shinnok. In this game it's looking to me like Cetrion will be that "playable boss" altho it could be the Kolector too.

 

[Krunchy]

Your theory about the missing character being Quan Chi is based entirely on two premises:

1. That the Shinnok/Mileena/Shang rumor is true, and
2. That Shinnok being playable means (almost) every main bad guy is playable

Is there any reason to believe the Shinnok/Mileena/Shang rumor?

Also I disagree that Kotal was in any way MKX's "big bad," as his grievances with Earthrealm were pretty legitimate, but that's separate.



There's gonna be tons of unplayable story NPCs. There's absolutely room for previous-timeline Quan Chi to show up for a minute and then go on his merry way, without ever fighting anyone.

Personally, I believe Mileena/Shang Tsung/Shinnok are part of the leak. I thought the same guy who leaked the screen shot also claimed he knew the full roster and mentioned them in it.

The leaked roster picture doesn't have every character mentioned in the full roster leak. Some characters had their names written in and some were plain absent. I think the leaker's full list including the unlockables and shinnok his honest attempt to leak the full roster, but doubt they'll leave those 2 slots empty.

And I'm not trying to say Shinnok being playable is proof of anything. The point I was more-so trying to make is that the inclusion of all of those characters in the main roster would make the absence of Quan Chi even more noticeable. Like if it was JUST Shao Khan and Shang Tsung, I would very much understand the lack of Shinnok/Quan Chi/Ermac/etc on premise of like only 1-2 OG MK bosses allowed in MK11. Buuut since they seem to be including bosses from various eras and plot lines, and the revanent characters have been shown in MK11, it seems like Quan Chi would be a logical inclusion from a story perspective at least.

 

[Kroaken]

Kotal will most likely return with his sword. This is definitely the game for it.

 

[pure.Wasted]

Personally, I believe Mileena/Shang Tsung/Shinnok are part of the leak. I thought the same guy who leaked the screen shot also claimed he knew the full roster and mentioned them in it.

There are no references to anything like that in the TYM thread that contains all the actual leaks. Unless you have an actual source that suggests otherwise, I'm gonna say it's no more than a rumor at this point.

Buuut since they seem to be including bosses from various eras and plot lines, and the revanent characters have been shown in MK11, it seems like Quan Chi would be a logical inclusion from a story perspective at least.

Not really? If anything, Quan Chi's presence would undermine the ending of MKX which strongly suggests that Liu Kang and Kitana are the new rulers of the Netherrealm. They don't seem to need him in any capacity.