What is your day 1 hot take?

[Wigy]

H

Have u tried the poke hop meta yet? I havent been online since the beta tryin to finish some single player content first

Yeah d1s can catch you for a full combo. It's not brilliant

 

[OzzFoxx]

Every character in this game would get their ass kicked by any character in mkx. Seems like EVERY character is shit. This means it’s on purpose and that things that used to be important may not be anymore. Who cares about a safe string if I can flawless block? Nobody has good combo starters so punishes aren’t as big a deal. The game is now just nickel-and-diming your opponent to death

 

[Wigy]

Every character in this game would get their ass kicked by any character in mkx. Seems like EVERY character is shit. This means it’s on purpose and that things that used to be important may not be anymore. Who cares about a safe string if I can flawless block? Nobody has good combo starters so punishes aren’t as big a deal. The game is now just nickel-and-diming your opponent to death

To be fair half of the top players and community cried endlessly about mkx being too roided out and fast. Y'all wanted zoning and neutral this is what it looks like

 

[babalook]

Why are short hops a thing? It seems like a really shallow mechanic that doesn't bring much to the meta.

 

[MalevolentFix]

Why are short hops a thing? It seems like a really shallow mechanic that doesn't bring much to the meta.

Except instant low crushing overheads.

 

[babalook]

Except instant low crushing overheads.

Maybe for D3/4's (assuming they are the sort that makes the character's hurtbox disappear like Erron's D4), but most other lows have large enough vertical hitboxes that they will anti-air them. Moreover, shorthops are a rather low-reward /high-risk counter for low pokes considering that if it hits the KND advantage is pretty shit, and if the opponent does any other poke like a D1 or a jab string you could easily get comboed for your trouble.

 

[xWildx]

The skill ceiling for characters seems incredibly low, leading to the characters all feeling somewhat bland and overly simplified.

This is coming from a Kitana player, but she just feels so uninspired. You know a midscreen combo, a corner combo, and that’s it. Air conversions no longer exist like in past MK games, so you don’t have to worry about that. The oki game is basically just rock, paper, scissors with MU knowledge being reduced by everyone having the same tools from the ground.

The fact meter comes back all by itself, is again, an oversimplification. No longer do you have to calculate how you can gain the most meter through strings or specials, reducing depth even more.

I’m incredibly worried that within a month or so characters will begin feeling stale. There’s simply not much you can do with them. Then they limit what you’re able to do even more by not allowing customization in ranked mode.

Couple all this with how there’s SO MUCH content (gear, brutalities, win poses, etc.) that I simply don’t have access to because of the sheer volume of time you must commit to the Krypt and.... honestly, this game is kind of a fucking mess.

 

[dansc93]

Currently, I love the gameplay and how impactful everything sounds. I’m just getting a stronger feeling by the day though that the game was rushed out too soon. I’d love to be able to use all the custom moves, especially when more guides come out and I can actually read what all the commands are. At least the sound design is good enough where I can pretty much get through tutorials by experimenting a bit. I have played a lot of scorpion, and he definitely feels far less complete compared with the last game even.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

Why are so many strings so unsafe or like -6? It kind of feels like i lack ways to apply pressure. I do a string and my turn is always over. The few plus things chars have a gen all highs. This game has no raw armor moves that you can throw out at the end of a string to force an enemy to extend pressure or make them respect it.

It just feels like this game is set on taking turns. You do your string and ill block so you can do yours. Laxks mind games and feels stale. As of now im just thinking mkx was a much better game for someone who likes to rush and apply pressure like i do

Yup, you’ve got to take turns like a proper fighting game now instead of just throwing one thing out after the other for free. You have to think about when to use certain strings instead of just throwing it out whenever because it’s advancing and +7 with a cancel. And you can’t just toss out armor because you’d rather not play neutral or have to block.

The meta has leveled up — now you have to level up to meet it But having to think more is overwhelmingly a good thing. Fundamentals are now given priority over ‘easy offense’ mechanics.

 

[dribirut]

I think it's pretty obvious. They either A) Felt it wasn't balanced or B) Thought that it could be balanced, but felt they didn't have enough to time to carry our that process before launch.

Every year NRS is bashed for having the game be a mess leading up to Evo. We're notorious for people booing the game, etc, and getting a bad rep early on even though the worst issues are fixed over time.

So the move was clearly to play it safe at launch for tournament play. Doesn't mean it'll make everyone happy, but it seems pretty clear why it was set up this way.

You haaaaaave to be some sort of nrs spy or something. I have neeeever heard you be critical of nrs for absolutely anything haha.. it’s okay to point out their mistakes as well as their triumphs you know

 

[DDutchguy]

The skill ceiling for characters seems incredibly low,

Do keep in mind that (though you probably know this), there is much more to character skill than just combos. What do I do if someone spams pokes, should I learn to hit confirm certain strings, if I get outzoned how close should I be for my own zoning to be good again, what are my best footsie normals, etc.

Remember that MKX was pretty light on some of these things (like footsies) due to the run mechanic being a thing. I don't know whether MKX Kitana got most of her skill ceiling from conversions and combos, but if so try approaching this new Kitana differently. See what characters/playstyles usually get you and find ways for Kitana to work around it.

 

[Wigy]

Yup, you’ve got to take turns like a proper fighting game now instead of just throwing one thing out after the other for free. You have to think about when to use certain strings instead of just throwing it out whenever because it’s advancing and +7 with a cancel. And you can’t just toss out armor because you’d rather not play neutral or have to block.

The meta has leveled up — now you have to level up to meet it But having to think more is overwhelmingly a good thing. Fundamentals are now given priority over ‘easy offense’ mechanics.

That's all well and good but the variations are a complete shit show at the moment. Game feels really bare bones.

The new x-rays are also a total shit show

 

[angry bruiser]

Do keep in mind that (though you probably know this), there is much more to character skill than just combos. What do I do if someone spams pokes, should I learn to hit confirm certain strings, if I get outzoned how close should I be for my own zoning to be good again, what are my best footsie normals, etc.

Remember that MKX was pretty light on some of these things (like footsies) due to the run mechanic being a thing. I don't know whether MKX Kitana got most of her skill ceiling from conversions and combos, but if so try approaching this new Kitana differently. See what characters/playstyles usually get you and find ways for Kitana to work around it.

that's a major cop-out if i ever saw one. that part is just learning how to play any char in any fighter, and most of the depth related there is directly related to the versatility of their toolsets (because that's what they use to deal with those situations.)

if the toolset is one-dimensional you won't have a plethora of uses, it'll be the specific things it was designed to do. the tools are so limited most chars wont find any cool tech in 6 months, 100%. and i play MANY 2d fighters, i can easily tell that mk11 is one of the most toned down, restricted and noob-friendly iterations of an fg i've ever played.

mkx to mk11 feels like sf4 to sfv like me. you just have less options at every turn.

 

[ShaolinGunFu]

if you actually want to play as frost go fuck yourself, her head pops off and she has little drill hands, why the FUCK did she make the roster

 

[Zoidberg747]

Every character in this game would get their ass kicked by any character in mkx. Seems like EVERY character is shit. This means it’s on purpose and that things that used to be important may not be anymore. Who cares about a safe string if I can flawless block? Nobody has good combo starters so punishes aren’t as big a deal. The game is now just nickel-and-diming your opponent to death

Most Krushing Blows come off of whiff punishing or punishing moves. I can't speak for all characters but Baraka in particular lives off of whiff punishing and punishing moves with 112 (he also gets like 50-70% on most of his punishes though lmao). I do think a majority of the characters are neutered, but I think KB make the punish game decent for most characters (I don't like them visually though).

 

[Wigy]

Most Krushing Blows come off of whiff punishing or punishing moves. I can't speak for all characters but Baraka in particular lives off of whiff punishing and punishing moves with 112 (he also gets like 50-70% on most of his punishes though lmao). I do think a majority of the characters are neutered, but I think KB make the punish game decent for most characters (I don't like them visually though).

I'd say 99% of crushing blows I've had against me are when I get mashed d2 after I go for a high when I'm plus lol.

Or when I tech wrong and have to eat 30%.. lol

 

[Elias6999]

Day 3 for the vast majority. LOL. Day 6 for me. Day 7 or 8 for a small minority of high level players.

"Trash" is arguably a hyperbole. But have you examined some of the less frequently used variations? For the characters I have been experimenting with,
almost everyone is in agreement that Noob's second variation is vastly superior to his first while Erron Black's first variation is vastly superior to his second.

Some of the variations seem rushed. The moves lack cohesion. They feel randomly unified without a focused gameplay strategy.

I agree with you on the variation stuff, I really want to use Kitana’s second tournament variation, but so far it seems pretty inferior to the first.

 

[liljay273]

Fatal blows are a trash mechanic and ruin the flow of the game

 

[FuhnnyBonez]

Game has its flaws and it plays unlike any other but basic fundamentals can carry you in this version of MK. I feel like when I lose it was due to poor play.

Im a happy camper and Im really enjoying noob saibot. Spacing monster with good pokes, checks, and few strings. All a 2d head needs to have fun. I recomend sf players try him.

 

[TackyHaddock]

I agree with this "incompleteness" to some extent because most characters seem like they should have 1 more base move from their list of variation abilities. For example, D'Vorah should have her bonus combo strings, Noob should have his slide clone, Sub should have his projectile-eating enhancement to ice ball, and Jade should have her air glaive or up glaive. This issue is especially noticeable with the current tournament variations being so damn limited.

Exactly - they should just increase the number of available slots in each variation, whether custom or default. Increase from 3 to five slots

 

[LawAbidingCitizen]

Maybe I'm just ass but machine gun pokes seem a real problem in this. I'm having to like double poke people and then grab to stop the d1 mashing

Pokes are plus on hit but negative on block. If you block thier poke you can return a poke on reversal, if you hit then you are garanteed faster moves as follow up like 7-8 frame mids.
For example if they poke you and you block it and follow back with poke you are negative 4-5 on block this means your 7 frame high will come out 4-5 frames slower making it 11-12 frames startup instead of 7.
If you catch them on hit with poke you are plus so you are able to follow with 9-11 frame mid on frame reversal to keep them from pokeing back.
The poke war is reacting to the poke being on hit vs block and acting accordingly.

No one can d1 or D3 you multiple times if you Block the second one and reversal and if they are just mashing D1 or D3 you will be able to follow up into combo if you reversal fast enough. This has been in MK9 and MKX.

 

[MagicMan357]

@LawAbidingCitizen Thank you for pointing out something that most of these guys couldnt get for over 10 years lmao

 

[DarkSlayerSmith]

Pros;
Meter usage very diverse and unique from any 2D game
Consistents Aanti Airs
Great footies ingame tools
especifics krushing blows requirements on deck leading to high damaging kombos
Flawless block to punish long reach strings and safe strings
Audio and visual cues for Punish,Kounter,Reversal,krushing blows and flawless locks make it very satisfiyng and usefull

Cons:
Very linear and slow paced,movement speed feels very restricted duo to ingame playstyle
dash cacels are effective but backdashing is very poor...hardly felt
juggling kombos very incosistent to land, if the more versatile you try to attempt them

 

[Histrionik]

Hmmm. Well, firstly, for once, the Kitana players are right for thinking their character is ass this time. XD.

Seriously, though, my biggest issue is that things feel overly simple. You take a character like Kung Lao who previously had multiple pressure strings to mix up with and look at him, now. 21212 hits HHH, so easy to punish. He has no OH combo starter. Most strings are not safe on block. Or Kitana. She’s always been “learn one big mid screen Juggle and good to go”, but now, that’s essentially all she has. The Air fans were defining for her. Now those are gone so she can what? juggle for 30% or throw fans? And poor Sub-Zero. Maybe I’m being reductionist, but I feel like a competent player could master Sub in a few days.

Neither of my mains made the roster, so I’m still unsure who I’m playing, but the characters I’ve tried are largely unimpressive with the depth of gameplay available to them.

 

[TackyHaddock]

Flawless blocking is completely new to NRS games and it will take time for people to add it to their overall gameplan. We'll likely see much more of it once people have had more time with the game.

even in the tutorial where they set up the flawless block scenario for you and tell you after which hit you should flawless block, it still took multiple attempts to get the flawless block. Perhaps the frame window is a frame or two too small