10 Tips For Beginners In Mortal Kombat 11 | Game Rant
Fighting games can be difficult to get into since they require a hefty amount of knowledge of your own character, as well as the characters opponents play. On top of that, it's important to grasp the game's mechanics that make it different from other games, and how that should affect a player's play style.
Mortal Kombat 11 is a beginner friendly option with dial in combos, character variations for different play styles, and simple command inputs that don't take too much practice to get the hang of. There're definitely hardcore fans of the series, but it doesn't take too much to be able to put up a good fight.
10 Learn A Mix Up String
Mortal Kombat has a block button so there's no way to cross up opponent's guards, but it's still possible to mix guards up low and high. Every character has a string in their command list that they can use to pressure a low or high guard from their opponent, making it difficult to block.
These strings can be found in the command list for every character as well as a brief description of what it does. Learning two or three of these can go a long way to improve skill.
9 Post A String To The Screen
Mortal Kombat 11 has great resources for learning that other fighting games are still catching up to, like the ability to post moves on the screen during training and single player modes. This makes it easy to learn a character quickly by having their moves right there, instead of switching between menus if forgotten.
To do this, players simply have to open the command list, and press Y or Triangle to display the move during a match or training. Exploiting this is a great start to finding out if a character fits your style or not.
8 Find Out What's Safe
The worst feeling in a fighting game is trying to land that string, only for it to be blocked and then punished with a ton of damage. Mortal Kombat 11 has resources built into the game that tell players if their moves are punishable in terms of frame data. If a move is more than -7, most characters have a way of punishing it.
Keeping things safe goes a long way for new players because it keeps them alive longer against their opponents who might make less informed mistakes. Pay attention to the frame data in the command list just to learn what moves might be leading to death.
7 Find Your Character's Quickest Button
As a beginner, it isn't expected of you to know every character's frame data and what's punishable and what's safe. That knowledge comes over time when learning the game and playing matches naturally against CPUs and players. Learning a character's quickest button is generally the fastest way to figure out if a move is safe or punishable.
If an opponent tries a move and it's successfully blocked, throw out the quickest string the character has to see if it lands. If it lands, that probably means what they did was unsafe, and that knowledge can make a huge difference in the future.
6 Forget Tier Lists
Tier lists have become a hype craze in gaming communities as of late, and they can influence a new player to make a choice they might not normally make. Mortal Kombat is in a better place in terms of balance than it has been in a while, so lots of characters are viable and fun. When a tier list is made, the assumption is usually that all characters are being played to the best of their potential, which just isn't true at low levels in ranked.
Pick a character that seems fun and well-designed, don't worry about their spot on a tier list. In a game with as many unique designs as Mortal Kombat, it's a shame to not pick someone because a top player said they wouldn't win a tournament.
5 Work Around Krushing Blows
Krushing Blows change per variation of a character, and essentially dictate how the character is played. They could be centered around grabs, combos, counter hits, or almost anything else the game's mechanics allow for. Learning what Krushing Blows come with the character they play sets players up for success.
Krushing Blows have limited uses during matches but provide massive damage which can supplement lack of long combos for beginner players. Learning them only makes each character's game plan stronger, so it's a worthy investment.
4 Lows, Mids, And Highs
Each attack in Mortal Kombat 11 has a level of height that they make contact with an opponent. Lows have to be blocked with a crouch block, mids can be blocked standing or crouching, and high attacks can be crouched under. This concept is a bit more complex, but extremely crucial for understanding how certain mix ups work.
To put it simply, players should always try to crouch under high attacks because they can counter them with a launcher, which leads to big damage. The danger of crouching without blocking is that it opens players up to overhead attacks that are designed to hit crouching opponents. The best time to aim for a crouching counter is right after the opponent does something that's barely safe since high attacks are some of the fastest and most damaging moves in the game.
3 Anti-Airs
Beginners of any fighting game love to jump in attack because they lead to some of the highest damage combos. Being able to scout those out and punish them is the first step to leveling up in Mortal Kombat 11. Each character has a down 2 that acts as an uppercut that is built for punishing high attacks and stopping aerial approaches.
On top of the down 2, some characters have specialized moves that lead to combos or favorable situations to stop aerial attacks. These moves can be found in the command list, and they usually say specifically if they're meant to be anti-air attacks or not.
2 Defensive Options
Mortal Kombat 11 offers a variety of things that players can do while they're blocking or even getting hit that go a long way for surviving into more rounds. There's a meter in the bottom corner of each player's side that displays what options are available. For beginner's there isn't too much to be concerned about because it can be overwhelming.
The biggest option to focus on for beginners is the breakaway function. Breakaways are done by pressing the block button and down at the same time while being juggled in the air. If the opponent is performing a long combo that has the potential to do lots of damage, breaking away might just swing the momentum the other way if timed correctly. The breakaway stops the character from being hit any further and effectively can reset the match.
1 Complete The Tutorial
Once players have a general feel for the game, it's always a good idea to see what the tutorial has to say. Netherrealms has done a fantastic job of breaking down the game's core mechanics, as well as what players should look out for, for each character.
The tutorial has lessons for beginner players as well as people who are more seasoned in the franchise and fighting games. Almost everything for improving game play can be found here, and more. This is one of the better tutorials in fighting games out there, and it shouldn't be wasted.
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