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Choosing the right character means being honest with yourself as a player

With MKX only 2 weeks away I'm sure many of you are all pondering who will be the character that best fits you. This thread is hopefully something that can help you when it comes times to make that decision.

Choosing a character is more about comfort level than anything. What does this mean? It means you obviously want a character where you can use your strengths as a player but that does not always equal comfort. Sometimes, no matter how much a character works off of our strengths, we can still be uncomfortable if the character doesn't also help cover up our weakness.

To choose the right character for you, you need to be honest with yourself. You need to be honest with yourself about your strengths, but even more so about your weaknesses. I cannot speak for any one player on their strengths and weaknesses as only that person would truly know. The only person I can speak for is myself so I will use myself as the example.




I am a great fighting game player with a BIG weakness - footsies and/or neutral game overall. It is that weakness that takes me from being a great fighting game player to just being a good one. On my best day I'm about a solid B to B+ in footsies and overall neutral game which is right above average. When I'm not at my best i'm around a B- or even C+ which is about average. This really hurts because the elite of the elite are usually all A/A+/S in this category.

My strengths include being great post knockdown, great at traps overall, great at making reads, I'd consider myself a very smart player, I have a pretty high clutch factor, the ability to play patient/very lame, and great defense. However, my BIG weakness becomes counterproductive to my strengths.



Lets look at my strengths when put up against my weakness:

1. Great post knockdown- As strong as I may be in this area, I am constantly being out maneuvered by strong footsie players. It becomes hard for me to get chances to score those knockdowns to even get my post knockdown game going. If I can't knock you down then I'm stuck playing the neutral and footsie game which is where I am at my most vulnerable as a player. I become too anxious and constantly over commit in an attempt to knock my opponent down. My opponent literally beats me by always keeping me in their range while I always feel they are never in mine. As a result it becomes easy for my opponent to counter all my attempts to approach or run away as I whiff god knows how many attacks.

2. Great trapper - Much like how my weakness hurts my post knock down strength, it hurts here in a similar manor. I am constantly being out maneuvered so it becomes VERY hard for me to even get you in any sort of trap or set up situation. I just can never seem to get started. Not being able to put my opponent in this spot forces me to play where I am at my weakest and most vulnerable, neutral. I again over commit, and again get punished for it.

3. Making great reads - This is where my weakness really kills me. I now seem to make TERRIBLE reads. I am clueless as to how I am going to go about approaching my opponent. I'm very uncomfortable... It feels like the opponent always hits me as I approach but also seems to know when I'm going to back away. I become "mind fucked" for lack of a better term. I mean how the hell can these elite footsie players know when to smack me in the face when I approach while at the same time also know when to come in and attack as I back up? It is because I am so uncomfortable that I become predictable in my movements and I am also no longer trying to make reads. Instead I am desperately looking to trap my opponent or score a knockdown. What my opponent is thinking is no longer a thought of mine, I cannot see past my own moves. As a result I'm no longer thinking about what my opponent will do next, all while they are doing this to me.

4. Considering myself a smart player - This becomes irrelevant because my weakness has me making the dumbest decisions. I'm so uncomfortable that I do some of the dumbest things at the worst times.

5. High clutch factor - This also becomes irrelevant. I'm never really in the fight in the first place so it becomes impossible to pull it out in the end. Instead I end up making bad decisions that makes me more of a choker than a clutch player.

6. Great patience/very lame - As you would expect.. Not being able to get knockdowns or put my opponent in any trap situations eventually wears down my patience. I go from patient/lame to horribly desperate.

7. Great defense - While this is a powerful strength of mine, this eventually wears down. No matter how well you play defense, persistence wears down resistance. This is my last line of defense... I get uncomfortable and, after all else is lost, I begin to convince myself that I'll win by just relying on my defense. The problem is that defense, no matter how good, eventually cracks if the opponent gets enough chances. By choosing to rely solely on my defense the opponent eventually breaks through and then I die.



My weakness counters my strength... I'll be good but will never compete with greats without help. I need the right character to help me mask my weakness so that I can have a high enough comfort level to focus on my strengths. So what is the right character? Most would say "hmm... play a powerful zoner. This way you wont have to play footsies or deal with the neutral game as much". Sounds like good advice except for one problem.. I'm not a zoner either. I am equally uncomfortable sitting across the screen throwing projectiles as I am playing footsies. Though I have strong defense and patience, my strengths of trapping and post knockdown situations are offensive. These strengths usually work hand in hand with strong footsies/neutral, not average footsies/neutral. So now what do I do? Enter the Ice Clone..

With Sub-Zero I have a character that is anti-footsies and he is not a zoner. He is a trapper and all post knockdown. He does all of this because of the Ice Clone. The Ice Clone also negates my opponents ability to out footsies me or even play footsies at all. There is no more neutral as I now control 2 places at once. I no longer need to worry about the neutral game so I am finally comfortable. Now I get to focus only on my strengths.

In fighting games, Sub-Zero certainly isn't the only character for me, but in MK he has the tool set that works for me. Even though he is not the best, he is the best for me. In MK9 I tried better characters and lost. I'd constantly make excuses like "ehh I didn't put much time into the character". The truth is that it doesn't matter how much time I'd have put into the top characters. Though they gave more more tools than Sub-Zero did, what they did not give me was a bigger deal. With Sub-Zero I became one of the best players to play MK9. Without him I was just some roody-poo candy ass standing on the corner of Know Your Role blvd and Jabroni drive.


The moral here is be honest with yourself if you are really looking for the right fit. In our minds we would all like to envision ourselves as greats, but you need to realize that there is no shame in just being good or even just ok. With a character with tools that best fit you, you can be great. But you wont find the right tools needed unless you are honest with yourself.

The fact is... I am not great, I am good. I need help to be great and I'm ok with that.
 
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mr @Tom Brady, out of all persons you are the one who makes this thread? you are the one person who imo picks the wrong characters all the time. you always go with the defensive, tactical guys like Sub or aquaman, even though i think you're a doomsday at heart.
 
People should 100% choose the character that best suits them.

How many average to high level players started busting out "pocket Kabals" in tournaments with dire results in MK9, rather than sticking with their main and grinding a match up out?

I'm sure MK X will have some weak characters, but right now, MOST the characters revealed look very, very good.

For once I feel I am being drawn to the more powerful characters.....LK and Reptile are going to be ridiculous in this game.
 
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Braindead

I want Kronika to step on my face
mr @Tom Brady, out of all persons you are the one who makes this thread? you are the one person who imo picks the wrong characters all the time. you always go with the defensive, tactical guys like Sub or aquaman, even though i think you're a doomsday at heart.
Tom Brady likes characters that break the meta of the game.

He plays Sub-Zero because the clone interrupts the meta or the regular flow of the game. When he finishes a string, instead of the "turn" going to the other player, he throws out a clone, and the "turn" is no longer to the other player - especially in the corner.

I imagine he picked Aquaman because his trait does the same.

EDIT: I just found out that he already mentioned this in the OP.
<--- Smartass.
 
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RYX

BIG PUSHER
i don't know who i like in MKX

in MK9 i could pretty much only not suck if i was using noob, then in injustice it was bane

what do
 
Tom Brady likes characters that break the meta of the game.

He plays Sub-Zero because the clone interrupts the meta or the regular flow of the game. When he finishes a string, instead of the "turn" going to the other player, he throws out a clone, and the "turn" is no longer to the other player - especially in the corner.

I imagine he picked Aquaman because his trait does the same.
and i dont think it fits him.
 

Zyphox

What is going on guys, Ya Boi Zyphox here.
i've said this too myself as well before INJ, my biggest weakness in MK9 was getting zoned and out footsied. with flash all i had to worry about was improve my footsies as a player since he was an anti zoner. and i finally did achieve that 1 year ago at WB and FR and ECT, being able to out footsie players like Jupiter, KDZ, Whiteboi, King etc. I Feel as though i turned a huge weakness into a strength now but as I've said in the thread about your weaknesses i have a linger weakness in the defense department. i think i need a character with a safe armor special "get out of jail free card" character to cover this, that or make sure the character i have can keep out those rushdown characters. i feel like Liu Kang and Takeda are going to be strong in the footsie department as well as have tools to deal with rushdown and also rushdown on their own.

These past few months i've been honing my zoning/footsie game whenever i can. using zoning characters in MK9 and Black Adam in Injustice. i Know i can approach people, getting in is my specialty, but can i keep someone out? can i defend?
 
Lmfao Kenshi can be in 25 places at once and thinks "footsies" is how fast you can enter bf2.

Pressure? Pfft no problem, lets just EXRK.

Try to zone Kenshi? lol thanks for the 10% health brah!

What I am getting at is Go OP'd or go home.

#TierWhore4Life
This does not always work. There are players who couldn't have success in MK9 using a character that just has to touch you once and the match is over. In IGAU they have success using a character with low damage and not seen as top 5 but has a move that goes 3/4 screen, has 2 hits of armor, and is adv on block. Its not always about playing the characters who are the best of the best.
 

Juggs

Lose without excuses
Lead Moderator
Great thread @Tom Brady!

I'm planning to main Scorpion for a lot of similar reasons. I was going to go into those reasons, but I don't really want to give away free information on my strengths and weaknesses.

Anyway, can't wait to have some godlike Scorpion VS Sub-Zero matches with you in MKX!
 

Rajhkeem Beck

Mr. Still Getting it Together
I learned that my biggest weakness sometimes is not being able to do good reads and adapt more to the pace of the fight. I have real trouble against strong rushdown. Im naturally defensive oriented so its hard for me to know when to be more aggressive and find the right openings to respond accordingly. That's one reason I really like the record feature in MKX. It'll help me get used to more of those matchups.
 
This does not always work. There are players who couldn't have success in MK9 using a character that just has to touch you once and the match is over. In IGAU they have success using a character with low damage and not seen as top 5 but has a move that goes 3/4 screen, has 2 hits of armor, and is adv on block. Its not always about playing the characters who are the best of the best.
Translation, doomsday is brain dead and mk9 requires more fundamentals, shots fired.
 
I learned that my biggest weakness sometimes is not being able to do good reads and adapt more to the pace of the fight. I have real trouble against strong rushdown. Im naturally defensive oriented so its hard for me to know when to be more aggressive and find the right openings to respond accordingly. That's one reason I really like the record feature in MKX. It'll help me get used to more of those matchups.
Playing a game defensively sound takes more time imo, it's hard early on in the games lifespan unles they can't dl with zoning.
 

Duck Nation

Dicks with a future
I don't think I actually agree with this post. My growth as a player from scrubdom to being a contender is marked with milestones of things I looked at as being "bad choices." Being bad at something is your first step to learning to be great at it; if you try to find the short way around that you'll never actually improve those skills. Find characters who are not your friends and learn them, beat your head against a wall until they make sense, until they work. Yeah, that's a hugely longer road, but it's going to work out better for you ultimately. There's a very valid reason that the people who bring home the most tournament wins in their preferential game always seem to have a high degree of competency with most of the cast - it's flatly because they do, and because learning that knowledge has served them.

Tom's post rings true to me only inasmuch as it might, in fact, help you win a tournament. He's not wrong about that. If you can band-aid over something you suck at and do it well enough to stymie your opponents, you're still winning. But if you depend on it and somebody rips that band-aid off, you go with it.
 

Fractured_Shadow

Really likes to throw things at you.
This does not always work. There are players who couldn't have success in MK9 using a character that just has to touch you once and the match is over. In IGAU they have success using a character with low damage and not seen as top 5 but has a move that goes 3/4 screen, has 2 hits of armor, and is adv on block. Its not always about playing the characters who are the best of the best.
Damn shits fired at the Cyrax community.