This 26th April is going to be a Kombat session to remember; that’s when Mortal Kombat 11 releases. We’ve already covered the basics on this post here, so let’s offer you fighting game fans and pros something more digestible and technical.

New Ways To Enhance Moves

MK11 comes with three different meters: two offensive bars, two defensive bars, and one Fatal Blow meter. The offensive meter enhances your attacks, while the defensive meter is for your recovery/armor-giving properties. To use the stage’s interactables, you need to spend a bar of defensive meter to do so. To gain armour while using it, you need to spend an additional bar of offensive meter.

One more thing to note: you don’t earn meter by hitting your opponent or anything. It just refills over time.

Amplified/Meter Burn Moves Are Executed Differently Now

Last time in past NetherRealm games, you can pull off a meter burn move by doing a special move’s input and then press the block button (ie: back, forward + Front Punch + Block). Now in MK11, you have to use a unique input this time around.

For example, Scorpion’s amplified trademark spear requires you to press Back Punch alongside the regular input while his Hellport requires an up + Front Kick input.

It feels needlessly complicated though. Hopefully the devs can reconsider this change and make the inputs a little easier.

Fatal Blows Have One-Time Use

Fatal Blow only shows up if a player is at 30% health. These are useable per match, not per round. So if you want to do max damage with these, you should save them at a right time.

Oh, and if it whiffs of if it’s blocked, don’t worry: it’ll revert to a cooldown state. Fatal Blows cash out only if they land.

There Are Only 26 Characters So Far (Including The Unannounced Ones)

Until we get more DLC news, we’ll be using a streamlined roster for MK11 featuring: Sonya Blade, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Baraka, Geras, Skarlet, Raiden, and Shao Kahn. Don’t forget: each character has 3 variations, so technically you’ll be using 78 characters.

Combo Breakers Work Differently Now

Instead of shoving both fighters in a neutral state, Combo Breakers let the victim fall fast to the ground during a juggle. It’s not a guaranteed escape option, but it’ll make the opponent a bit more wary about your wake-up/okizeme game.

Why These Changes?

Ed Boon said he wanted MK11 to be more footsies and neutral game-based than the past fighting games they’ve done. Also, the community has made complaints regarding X-Ray moves not being used because previous NetherRealm Games give players a few bars of meter that’s better used for enhanced moves instead.

Now with these new resources, players have more options to do their combos and even have some defensive option to get out of combo situations.

What We Think

Mortal Kombat 11’s new changes are making the neutral and footsie game a priority. This might be a radical change for some MK9 and MKX players who like to extend their combo and damage output. The upside is that these changes can make the MK franchise a little more fresh and a little more accommodating for newer players.

It also helps that the game looks brilliant, the new character variations may add more to an already-sizeable roster, and the many other staples of Mortal Kombat like its trademark fatalities are veering towards black humour and over-the-top gore instead of the sadistic overtones of the last MK.

In short, Mortal Kombat 11 will turn heads, figuratively and literally. Even if it’s going to change up its gameplay in drastic ways, you can’t fault the new and old-school mentality of NetherRealms to spice things up.