Top Tier:
1.Ashrah- She looks so amazing. With all of her special moves, I'm sure she'll be top 4.
2.Noob-Smoke: MK's first tag team looks Super-Fast, and super-strong. I'd imagine they'll come back with a bang.
3.Hotaru: Something about this guy just reeks of the new classic character; the same feeling I got from Kabal when I first saw him.
4.Liu Kang: There's no way the Mortal Kombat champion won't return with a bang. Since this maybe his last hurrah, I seem him being quite strong.
5.Scorpion- I believe Scorpion will be Tweaked slightly, and will no longer be head and shoulders above the rest. After a character is really broken (Kitana, Mileena, Jax and Liu Kang in MK2, Sub-Zero in Mk3) they tend to get toned down quite a bit in their next appearance. That being said, I think Scorpion's going down a bit.
6.Bo Rai Cho: A top-tier character in MKDA, and I don't see that changing in the near future.
7.Sub-Zero: After being a midtier character in MKDA, I suspect Midway will want to up-the ante for one of their three most famous characters.
8.Tanya- Tanya was the best character in MK4. Anyone who actually played in Upper-level tournament play knows this. I believe she'll come back in style.

ErmacMK5 Wrote: Top Tier: 1.Ashrah- She looks so amazing. With all of her special moves, I'm sure she'll be top 4. 2.Noob-Smoke: MK's first tag team looks Super-Fast, and super-strong. I'd imagine they'll come back with a bang. 3.Hotaru: Something about this guy just reeks of the new classic character; the same feeling I got from Kabal when I first saw him. 4.Liu Kang: There's no way the Mortal Kombat champion won't return with a bang. Since this maybe his last hurrah, I seem him being quite strong. 5.Scorpion- I believe Scorpion will be Tweaked slightly, and will no longer be head and shoulders above the rest. After a character is really broken (Kitana, Mileena, Jax and Liu Kang in MK2, Sub-Zero in Mk3) they tend to get toned down quite a bit in their next appearance. That being said, I think Scorpion's going down a bit. 6.Bo Rai Cho: A top-tier character in MKDA, and I don't see that changing in the near future. 7.Sub-Zero: After being a midtier character in MKDA, I suspect Midway will want to up-the ante for one of their three most famous characters. 8.Tanya- Tanya was the best character in MK4. Anyone who actually played in Upper-level tournament play knows this. I believe she'll come back in style.

Good call, but i disagree with Tanya.. So far we have seen zero noteworthy footage of her. Yea, she was great in MK4, but who cares.. Do i need to remind you of Mileena in UMK3..lol. You cant judge a character by how good they were in past MK's because it alwasy proves to be irrelevant.

I also think Nightwolf and Kobra will be major contenders in MKD.. Still undecided about the rest.

Versatile Wrote: Nah, damage reduction would be activated so it would do about 35-40% damage tops.

Still better than Kano, if we consider her to be a Kano-upgrade for the moment. A 35-40% combo is still interesting enough to me :). I don't see anyone squeezing more out of any character in this game than 50% combos, by the way (no real stable walls, no wall damage), unless by luck.
But I guess time will tell.

Versatile Wrote: I think Kira will be an ok low mid tier character. Aint gonna see much of her in tourney play, but cats will use her just to show their skills vs top tier character, and/or if they have a perverted red head fetish like myself. word up. .

Agreed.
It was about time a readhead entered the MK ring, by the way, heh :).
Oh by the way ErmacMK5, Tanya was very good in MK4, but Jarek was better :).
VQ

Jarek was good, but Tanya, Quan Chi, and Liu Kang outclassed him.

You know, I was thinking... Someone should put the fighting style list from best to worst, the complete list, so newer people to this thread can have an easier time speculating. A quick and useful reference point.

The best Stance is Pi Gua
translation: BUMP

I know you love this thread, but if you don't have anything that really contributes to it, please refrain from bumping the thread. We don't want it closed.
Anyway, looks like the animation for even the newer stances is still crap. Vogel and the animation team need to change the animation style. Through better animation, they can create move properties. Through that, we can derive frame data from matches (In the case that frame data isn't released).
--->
Wait...That was a dream?
...

SST had to idea to make stance tiers for MKD, and I literally told him that's one of the stupidest things I have heard in a long time.
The best stance in MKDA was Pi Gua, the worst stance was probably Netherealm stance. That shit was stupid. Atleast Sai had some UNSAFE low/mid mix ups and annoying range. Netherealm on the other hand was just..stupid...like MKDA.
Animation for MKDA sucked, so will the animation for MKD. I've learned to live with MK's mediocre gameplay. I don't even care anymore. Which is why I stopped making topics/posts about gameplay ideas. When Midway shows interests I will too.
I think Tanya will be low tier. Seems like a filler..like Dairou.

VainQueur Wrote: I don't see anyone squeezing more out of any character in this game than 50% combos, by the way (no real stable walls, no wall damage), unless by luck. But I guess time will tell.

Konqrr will break this game...kombos will exceed 50%...

Konqrr Wrote: VainQueur Wrote: I don't see anyone squeezing more out of any character in this game than 50% combos, by the way (no real stable walls, no wall damage), unless by luck. But I guess time will tell. Konqrr will break this game...kombos will exceed 50%...

Believe it.

*shrugs* well, it could be, of course... :) -- but we'll see.
VQ

VQ I 100% disagree with the idea of being FORCED to use multiple characters in tournaments. That I find just a little bit odd.
A perfect example is me in pretty much any MK. Everyone knows I am a hardcore Sub-Zero player in every Mortal Kombat, and for the most part in tournaments I use him and him only. Sometimes I may switch to somebody else, but that's normally for two reasons and two reasons only.
1. I know I will beat the opponent no matter who I use, so instead of using Sub-Zero I switch to someone refreshing and beat them.
or
2. It's a match up that Sub-Zero gets absolutely raped in, so I use somebody else because using Sub-Zero would most likely result in me getting my ass kicked.
Other than those two exceptions, I play Sub and pretty much nobody but him. I don't think it would be fair that I can only use him once and would be forced to use 5-10 different characters. That's not a test of skill. That's a test of variety.

Tournaments aren't about handicaps. They're about people playing their absolute best on even terrain. Saying a person must use different characters in a tournament is like saying a pitcher can only throw six curve balls and must throw at least three fast balls in the World Series. Why? What does that prove? Same thing with Shujinko. It's why pitchers aren't allowed to hold anything except the ball. Using a customized Shujinko in a tournament is like a pitcher using vaseline in the World Series. It doesn't matter if the guy using Shujinko customized him like crap and can't win and it doesn't matter if the other team knows that the pitcher is using vaseline and can adapt to it just fine. It's just wrong whether it gives the guy an advantage or not. Saying a person who is genuinely good should be able to adapt to using more characters or adapt to fighting Shujinko is like saying that if the Yankees are indeed the team of the century they should be able to adapt to doctored baseballs and the other team using corked bats. Maybe they can still win but even if they do does it make it right? Hell no.

Your analogies are the coolest thing since the ice clone.

Your analogies are the coolest thing since the ice clone.
BTW go red sox

Versatile Wrote: VQ I 100% disagree with the idea of being FORCED to use multiple characters in tournaments. That I find just a little bit odd. A perfect example is me in pretty much any MK. Everyone knows I am a hardcore Sub-Zero player in every Mortal Kombat, and for the most part in tournaments I use him and him only. Sometimes I may switch to somebody else, but that's normally for two reasons and two reasons only. 1. I know I will beat the opponent no matter who I use, so instead of using Sub-Zero I switch to someone refreshing and beat them. or 2. It's a match up that Sub-Zero gets absolutely raped in, so I use somebody else because using Sub-Zero would most likely result in me getting my ass kicked. Other than those two exceptions, I play Sub and pretty much nobody but him. I don't think it would be fair that I can only use him once and would be forced to use 5-10 different characters. That's not a test of skill. That's a test of variety.

Yeah, but you have to admit... it doesn't take much skill to master two or three MK characters.
Now, if MK was a truly deep, complex fighting game, you'd be right. But playing with one character all the time in MK... well, you know just as well as I do that this would result, in case of MKDA, in 99% Scorpion/BRC/Reptile, with an occasional Sonya, Shang or Drahmin. How is that fun?
Also, that still doesn't answer my question: what does winning an MK tournament with only one character prove?
By the way, just to clarify: we over here don't force to take different characters all the time. Usually confrontations between individual players look like this: 10 matches are played between them, and in each of theses, each player picks a character he hasn't picked yet against that player.
But there is also the "arcade mode" in which we just play by simple elimination, and everyone plays with the character they want.
So, our tourneys incorporate both ways at the same time.
---
By the way, just an example to make my theory a little clearer: suppose that you and I meet in a Deadly Alliance tournament. You play with Sub-Zero (your main), and I play with Shang Tsung (my main). I win. Does that make me a better player? Not really. It just proves that my Shang Tsung was, at that time, better than your Sub-Zero. What if I can actually only play well with Shang Tsung, and you're da bomb with Reptile, BRC and Jax as well? But I still won. Does that make me a better player than you? Not at all.
Forcing people to take different characters a test of variety? Sure. A test of skill? Absolutely.
But in a simple arcade style tournament, of course I would pick only one character.
Cheers,
VQ

Versatile Wrote: Your analogies are the coolest thing since the ice clone. BTW go red sox

As are your puns. As for that Red Sox comment, I'll step aside and allow you to hold on to false hope.

Sub-Zero looks very promising. Top Tier.
Jade looks kind of mid tier. Im not sure,.

Who knows how good Jade will be. All I know is she'll be one of my mains!
Li Mei will be the same with more damage. Bottom mid tier.

I think Kang will be good, simply for the fact that they gave his high/low fireball to Kobra and bicycle kick to Hotaru. That means they probably rigged him up with some really good and new moves. =P

VainQueur Wrote: By the way, just an example to make my theory a little clearer: suppose that you and I meet in a Deadly Alliance tournament. You play with Sub-Zero (your main), and I play with Shang Tsung (my main). I win. Does that make me a better player? Not really. It just proves that my Shang Tsung was, at that time, better than your Sub-Zero. What if I can actually only play well with Shang Tsung, and you're da bomb with Reptile, BRC and Jax as well? But I still won. Does that make me a better player than you? Not at all. Cheers, VQ

Actually, it does prove that you're better because the opposing player chose to choose Sub-Zero, he knew how disadvantage or advantaged he was going into every matchup, therefore there really is no excuse. You didn't force him to pick Sub-Zero over other characters. If you guys have faced many times and broke even a lot in tournaments (gaining the top spots), it meant that you played better that day at least.
Generally, in a tournament situation where you want to win, people will pick their best character(s). Just because the opposing player "might have" won using another character really doesn't justify the fact that he still chose X character to play. It's not like you're forcing them to pick a character like in the variety tournament, therefore there is no excuse. That's why you cannot dispute who is better than another person when you allow them to pick the same character multiple times. Whoever is better is whoever won, both chose what to go into the fight with. The argument of whether someone "might have" won if they used another character is only relevant in a tournament that forced players to pick other characters besides the ones that they want to pick.
If someone ever said that they would have won if they used X character instead of the one they chose, I would answer,"Why didn't you then? No one was stopping you." That's why no one ever says that in a tournament. =P

Exactly. Adding stipulations like that will validate people's excuses for losing. Same thing with Shujinko. If people lose a match to him and complain what can you say other than, "You're right. Maybe you would have won otherwise."? Tournaments aren't the place for that kind of randomness.

Tony, Malone, everyone; sign up on the Xbox Live thread if you have Xbox Live =P

Oh yeah, according to DrDogg, Shujinko isn't customizable, at least he wasn't able to change him. Looks like he'll be using Mantis, Shaolin Fist, Dan Tien Dao with launch throw and TKS, Freeze, Spear, Torpedo, etc.

HDTran Wrote: Tony, Malone, everyone; sign up on the Xbox Live thread if you have Xbox Live =P

I have already signed up for the tourney, my gamer tag is listed as I AM YOURDEATH, see you guys online.