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Stress and Nerves in Mortal Kombat 11

To revive this thread, I played some Kombat League today for the first time in a very long time. I haven't played Mortal Kombat 11 much since shortly after "Aftermath" launched, and I wanted to further reflect on the above and as I play, pay attention to how the game really makes me feel.

I only played three Sets, and throughout it all, even when I was winning or making a solid comeback, the one emotion that was always at the forefront for me was frustration. I believe I hit the nail on the head above with expressing that I feel like I'm fighting with the game's design.

I started focusing on what aspects of the game were making me feel this way, and overall, I felt the game feels extremely sluggish, especially after months of playing Killer Instinct (2013). My options always felt limited, generic, and much of the game's systems feel unfinished/unrefined.

Things that especially irked me are (in no particular order):

  • The Get Up System
  • The Variation System
  • The Krushing Blow System
  • Limited selection of strings
Basically, I've never liked the Get Up system in this game. Not the fact that it's roughly universal for all, but how it never seems to respond when I need it. Rolls, U+2, U+3's rarely ever seem to come out when I want them to, despite having the appropriate amount of Gauge. While it's possible this is a "me" thing and I'm simply doing the timing wrong, I've seen others complain about this as well and I've never had consistent issues like this before with the previous two game's wake up systems.

I didn't have an issue with Variations in Mortal Kombat XL, it was a complete and proper system with pros and cons, but it felt finished. Here, the Variations often feel inadequate and half-baked. The overall game itself isn't even unified with them, since you can't go and play Unranked without running into Custom Variations and thus moves and situations you'd never encounter in Kombat League or Tournament play. It all feels very unrefined and poorly executed.

The game was never designed to be kombo focused, and Krushing Blows seem to be one of the things designed to "replace" the damage of kombos from previous games. Basically you're spending time in the game meeting conditions or doing set ups to cash out these high damage moves when the timing is right. But just like the Variation system in the game, they feel half-baked and not consistent across the board, with some characters having very simple to execute Krushing Blows, and others struggling to get them off, having ones that are very situational or gimmicky. It's system that, with more time and refinement and balancing could be very cool, but in it's current state it feels poorly implemented.

Many of the strings, at least for the characters I play, feel pretty useless. You typically find only a few of them are good to decent and so you just repeat them in between pokes and Throws. Not very complicated, but also not very engaging either.

After I did these few Sets, I stopped because I simply had no desire to keep playing. I'm not posting this to rant about the game or to crap on those of you who do like it, I'm using this post primarily to order my thoughts better (thus why I'm detailing things that are common enough knowledge to people on this board) and to discuss my own opinions and feelings about the game now that I'm fleshing them out better.

Overall, I'm not done with Mortal Kombat 11 itself, I don't think it's a bad game, but I do think it's very unrefined with a lot of good ideas that are simply poorly executed. This extends even into the "casual" modes of play. For example, if you look at the Living Towers from Mortal Kombat XL, they were quirky with modifiers that were fun and added to the casual nature of the play. They had cool affects and affected both players equally in almost every instance. Here in Towers of Time, Modifiers have been heavily enhanced giving you less time to react, and they also seem to do increased damage and debilitation, but most importantly they rarely affect the AI player. This has made that game mode crazy frustrating to play as well.

It seems to me that the designers took so much that was great about the past two games and have confused making things more frustrating and masochistic with making things more engaging and challenging, which all leads me to feel like I'm fighting with the game itself and brings little enjoyment to the table.

I think that, I am mostly done with Kombat League, and when I do feel like playing the game, I'll stick to Fight Local Sets against the AI, or occasionally private matches with friends. For actual competitive play, for me personally at least, I'll stick with Killer Instinct.
 

Gooberking

FGC Cannon Fodder
I can get super uncomfortable and anxious playing in general. Playing online more is the biggest factor. The more I've done it the less I get uncomfortable. After periods of not playing it can creep back in. A lot of it is being anti-social and having no interest in actually interacting with randos, so killing messaging and mic's so I don't have to think about dealing someone who's freaking out helps.

Not playing competitive modes helps too. I've done KL 4 times I think. I just jumped in during the last 10 days, hit Demi for all the goodies and stop. The rest of the time I just play casual mode, play who I want, as long as I want or they will have me. I've played MK11 online way more than any other game, and it bothers me the least.

I think knowing, liking, and being comfortable with the game is probably a factor. Regardless of anything about how a particular games works, getting run over while dealing with the overhead of not being fully comfortable with what is happening just adds to the mental load. You end up with extra mental pressure and people stress out under pressure.

It's still not unusual for a game or way someone is playing to start to make me feel anxious, so if I start feeling that way I just put the box down for a bit. End up playing frequent short bouts online, or long times with people I feel comfortable with. Until they quit and start playing KI or whatever.
 
I can get super uncomfortable and anxious playing in general. Playing online more is the biggest factor. The more I've done it the less I get uncomfortable. After periods of not playing it can creep back in. A lot of it is being anti-social and having no interest in actually interacting with randos, so killing messaging and mic's so I don't have to think about dealing someone who's freaking out helps.

Not playing competitive modes helps too. I've done KL 4 times I think. I just jumped in during the last 10 days, hit Demi for all the goodies and stop. The rest of the time I just play casual mode, play who I want, as long as I want or they will have me. I've played MK11 online way more than any other game, and it bothers me the least.

I think knowing, liking, and being comfortable with the game is probably a factor. Regardless of anything about how a particular games works, getting run over while dealing with the overhead of not being fully comfortable with what is happening just adds to the mental load. You end up with extra mental pressure and people stress out under pressure.

It's still not unusual for a game or way someone is playing to start to make me feel anxious, so if I start feeling that way I just put the box down for a bit. End up playing frequent short bouts online, or long times with people I feel comfortable with. Until they quit and start playing KI or whatever.
That's the thing though, I'm no stranger to Online competitive gaming. For me, it really is this game in particular. It rubs me the wrong way and works me up. I think I've also been trying to like it more than I do because it is Mortal Kombat and I'm big on the franchise.

I still think Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is a good game, but at least for me, it's not a great game due to many of it's design decisions not meshing with me. I think it'll serve me better to simply play it casual, and focus more thoroughly on other games that I do like better.
 

Gooberking

FGC Cannon Fodder
That's the thing though, I'm no stranger to Online competitive gaming. For me, it really is this game in particular. It rubs me the wrong way and works me up. I think I've also been trying to like it more than I do because it is Mortal Kombat and I'm big on the franchise.

I still think Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is a good game, but at least for me, it's not a great game due to many of it's design decisions not meshing with me. I think it'll serve me better to simply play it casual, and focus more thoroughly on other games that I do like better.
I read the older post too, so I know you are looking for specific variables that are bringing it out of you. I'm thinking you fall under the "I'm into or connecting to the game" part of my comment. It's not fitting you so it elevates those certain feelings. You may be able to pin down what you do and do not like about the game, but all that applies very specifically to you and to what you do and do not like.

You may find people that are bothered by similar things, but they may or not react to them the same way. In the end, your reaction to the game isn't necessarily the game forcing a reaction on you. At least not in the sense that it's forcing the same experience on others. A lot of people might just not be having fun or getting really annoyed playing vs getting anxious.

If deep down you just don't connect/like the game by now, then it's hard to see there being much of anything to do about it. It's very specific in how it plays, and I don't think you should have to feel one bit bad about not liking it just because you liked some other MK games in the past. Sometimes you want to like game, but you just don't. I think that should be an OK thing for people to feel as long as doesn't turn into people demanding a game be what they want it to be instead.

That's where I landed with KI. Game is cool. Love the character design. Loved keeping up on the tournaments when they were a thing. Tried it, hated playing it. Don't think I could hate playing a fighting game more. After 67 hours I think I was happy playing 10 min worth of that time. Seems like a waste not to play it (especially RN) but it doesn't matter how good the game is for others, there just isn't any point in me going there. Also doesn't mean other people can't love it to death. Seems worth liking, so I'm very pro #PlayKI.

I don't actually know if any of that is OT or not. 70% of it is probably just me typing bored.
 

Cobainevermind87

Mid-match beer sipper
I agree with a lot of what @Mikemetroid said.

But yeah, I also feel quite anxious/stressed when playing this game. I've never had this happen with any other NRS game, or any other fighting game I've played. Granted, my experience outside of NRS fighters is rather limited. Played a lot of USFIV, lot of KI but I think that's about it.

I think what makes it stressful for me, is that no round is out of reach, ever. You can make all the right reads, punish everything they whiff, totally outplay them and get yourself out to a substantial life lead, but even when you're up 80% to 20%, you still aren't in a great position. We'll use Jax as an example. Now he has access to FB. He now completely owns the whole midscreen game. It's paralyzing. You're forced to play very conservatively. Press a button at the wrong time, you eat the FB. That gives him full heat and leaves him right on top of you. Now he's loaded up for his forward throw KB, his f221+3 KB, and his f331+3 KB. Press a button at the wrong time during his stagger pressure/fail to neuch/tech the throw, you eat that KB damage. Pray to god he doesn't have two offensive bars stored up, or else the quad grab KB is in play. He can delete a health bar in no time. All that work you did was for nothing. I think we've all experienced it. And I'm not saying they didn't deserve to win, they used to the tools and resources available to them in a smart manner. It's just a bit weird to see it play out to me.

Even when I'm on the other side of it, it just feels wrong. My opponent was at 32% health, I was at 29%. Now I'm lucky one who can confirm a touch into FB into death. I do it because the game tells me to, but it doesn't feel right to me. I only took the game because I had access to a resource my opponent didn't have at the time, because I took more damage than they had taken up to that point (been outplayed). It also cost me no resources to do it. It doesn't make sense to me, and I feel as if I've cheated them by taking it in that manner. Unfulfilling and not fair imo, but that's mk11.
 
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@Gooberking No, your post is great and makes a lot of sense. At this point, resurrecting this thread, I'm mostly using it to sort my own thoughts/feelings constructively and sort myself out with the game.

@Cobainevermind87 Good post as well. Interestingly, for me at least, I don't have a major issue with Fatal Blows. Krushing Blows irk me though.
 

asddgd

Noob
For me, i play Baraka. Doesn’t matter the matchup, i dont care. It gets frustrating at times because all the online bro’s want to play kang and other top tiers, which is within their right. But i’ve literally fought 5 kangs in a row in kl and its very high stress because you have play flawlessly or else you take 1 f4 stagger walkback f4 and doesnt really matter what you’ve done before. Thats why i just play a couple days now and take a few months off. Give me mk9 remaster plz
 

Dr. Cheesesteak

pygophile and podophile
Great thread to read. Not much I can contribute that hasn't already been said. But to @Juxtapose I did find it funny how you mentioned MK11 gives you more anxiety/nerves than KI (and other games). I'm the same way! And I think I know why.

It sounds dumb, but for me it's all the wakeup options in MK11 lol. Not only is there so many wakeup options and I struggle to make the "right" decision, but I absolutely hate their inputs and timing. So many times I mistime rolls or getup attacks to where I instead just jump or stand there not blocking. Then I get wrecked. A lot of it is b/c I mash the inputs, which is bad b/c I need to time it - calmly - with the wakeup frames. Once I master wakeup inputs...I'll be good and probably less nervous! :confused:
 
Great thread to read. Not much I can contribute that hasn't already been said. But to @Juxtapose I did find it funny how you mentioned MK11 gives you more anxiety/nerves than KI (and other games). I'm the same way! And I think I know why.

It sounds dumb, but for me it's all the wakeup options in MK11 lol. Not only is there so many wakeup options and I struggle to make the "right" decision, but I absolutely hate their inputs and timing. So many times I mistime rolls or getup attacks to where I instead just jump or stand there not blocking. Then I get wrecked. A lot of it is b/c I mash the inputs, which is bad b/c I need to time it - calmly - with the wakeup frames. Once I master wakeup inputs...I'll be good and probably less nervous! :confused:
Yeah, as I mentioned, I loathe the Get Up system in Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, more for the inputs and how they never seem to come out reliably. I have no issue deciding to do a Roll or an U2 or U3, but the fact they they work, maybe, two out of every ten attempts?

In recordings of my Matches, you'll see me jump straight up and attack on wake up instead of doing a proper wake up attack. Insanely frustrating.