MKD is a great game. My only problem is that Smoke is still a robot and not human [I don't like the robo-ninja angle]

I dont have that problem cause I dont suck. heh

i think you speak about TEKEN because that' s what i found anoing about that game( i did not play very well that game[in fact i was sheety at it] and i have been able to beat a budy of mine witch was plaing that game for 3 years ) .
in mortal kombat even mk4(witch by my opinion wasn't very good but first thime is harder every time) from mk1---> mkd if you know how to play YOU NO and a beginner would be nothing in your weake of fire.(ha-ha ..hahaahaaa)

Button mashers haven't been a probelm with me when it comes to MK. Unlike you I dislike Deception over its predesesor.Anyway. I do agree that the combos need to be toned down. Again of the buggest problems I feek with Deception is the lag in next to all the moves ni Deception. So everything in Decpetion is all about counter attacking.. This when someone button mashes all you have to do is wait till the move is finished and counter attack thanks t o all the slow revocert attack times in Deception. I stopped play Deception online wereks ago since (on gamespy PS2 servers anyway,) its laggy and players only do their special moves and or only thriw, or user cheap players like Bo Rai Cho and Baraja when they start to lose. I got a well understanding of Deception fighting system before I want online so dealing some cheap players that didn't know what they are doing has some advantage . In all to avoid button mashing wins wait till they attack and then counter attack.

If you are comfortable with the moves of the characters you use and want to increase your defensive ability the best way to do so offline is by setting arcade difficulty to max and going through that. It really isn't to bad to start, but when you get to the later fighters it should have enough difficulty to practice blocking and attacking after a player missed a combos as previously stated by frost.

Silly question here, but have you tried blocking? Combos are great and all, but turtling will get you much further. This is essentially true for every MK game.

she blocks funny, like she sometimes doesnt block at all
i dont get it at all. the thing is you dont wait for a button masher to just stop with whatever, they never stop mashing buttons down

button mashers never block.
trip em
use the backwards dash
dodge sideways
special move or combo or throw after completing. rinse, repeat.

Your friend doesn't have a clue what hes doing.

Noob-Smoke's alternate costume is the ninja. In a way. His body is composed of smoke.

To kill a masher in MKD, just stay away and throw fireballs at them.
Because they never block you'll hit them over and over.
Easier characters to win with against mashers are the holders. = Scorpion, Sub, Kabal, Ermac, Kenshi, Dairou......

The blocks are very inconsistent. The breakers, for the most part, are accidental. Combo are too much.
It is very inconsistent and unbalanced.
I love playing it, but it does get frustrating sometimes.

My only problem is the fact that time recovery is soooooo slow. Add the annoying broken characters.

Above all other fighting games, MK REALLY punishes button mashers because of a few things:
1. Recovery time. When you do a combo, you had better be sure you know what you are doing, otherwise once you finish, you are screwed.
2. Projectiles: I have said it SO many times...NO other fighting game does projectiles as good, and has as many characters with them, as MK does. Shoot those suckers at button mashers.
I really like that about MKD...the fact that button mashers really can be punished. In this game, you REALLY have to know what you are doing.

ihearthotdogs,
Your problem is that you don't know how to deal with a human opponent. I mean fighting the computer and then fighting another human is completely different. You just have to learn how to distinguish between the two and you should be fine. As for MK:D, I personally think it's an awesome game. (Although I would have given anything for Kitana to be in there but oh well!)

Everyone has a weakness.
-Button smashers don't block.
-Weapons users have a slow recovery time.
-New players use too much special moves.
-Projectile players are easy to defeat if you know how to use Nightwolf or sidesteps.
-What to do with Cheap players, play normally one round and you'll know how they fight.
-Blocking players use badly the breaker.
-With Waiting players, wait for them to attack first. They often try to make you come first by using a projectile or teleport punch.
-With Good players, you need to have a safe distance between them, not too far so you can counter their attack, and you have to be good.
They are so many type of players and i don't have time to remember them all.