I can't vouch for the world, but in every game I have used him in, including this one, I have had alot of luck with Quan Chi. For me, he is better. I can't say rather or not he is higher tier though.

I'd say quan chi. not because hes my fav, but his new broadsword combos make him hella good for quick high percentage attacks. For competing and what not, id use quan chi, but for messing around i like shang tsungs spinning straight sword and his easy but long combos. and stealing ppls souls of course.

whether or not you include the mighty morphing stuff, it still think Shang Tsung is powerful, Quan Chi gets the upperhand on being too damn creepy looking, and sort of the ladies man if you know what i mean (*Eyebrows twitching up and down*) ha, ha, girls like me shouldn't say stuff like that

i HATE QUAN!!! shang is, has, and always will be the best MK sorrcerer ever. Quan is a poser and possibly the worst mistake (other than this game) mk has ever made.Shang is awsome

Quan Chi definitely seems more powerful to me gameplay wise. His dual broadswords are a pain to fight against in Arcade mode. Shang Tsung is very predictable to fight against, atleast to me anyway.

Quan Chi, and i like him a lot to. The only games i though ST was useful was in T, because he could morph.

Depends on which Shang you're talking about.

Old dude in a bathrobe Shang, who is always immune to the sweep attacks you just cheesed Goro to death with? Definitely.

Young dude with a cool hat who turns into Mileena and cheeses YOU to death so throughly you swear it's deliberate revenge? Maybe.

Inexplicably goth dude who chains fireballs while desperately trying to remember all the friggin' transformation button combinations in Trilogy? Unlikely.

Dude who can't even transform, and has John Romero's old hairdo? Absolutely not.

It wouldn't matter which shang it is, Quan Chi could own him hands down gameplay wise. Even though the MK1 Shang would give him a go. Storyline wise, Quan is superior.

as of now i would say quan chi since shang doesn't morph. If shang could morph i will go with shang as the stronger person IF someone knows hows to use him. Why because he can utilize others who have an upper hand agaisnt quan chi's fighting styles.

Shang morphing is not same as Chameleon or Khameleon because they are random. Someone who uses Shang decently basically controls everyone and a whim which is undeniably powerful. With shang and morphing its all about timing and knowledge.

BUT...since shang doesnt moph...quan chi definately has the upper hand in fighting style. I still like shangs fireballs better but i can admit, i dont like quan chi but he is the better fighter right now.

They are both top tier even though shang was around longer but the writers dove deep into quan chi and his involvement with the storyline which makes them both equal in story to me.

Shang is a little more proactive it seems, Quan spends a lot of time running from people and taking cowardly shots at people. I would say Quan is a little more clever and more of a survivor, but at his peak, Shang is much more powerful.

hmm yellowdog I like that post. Anyways, I will admit I like quan chi a little better than shang sung, even though I like them both alot.

Ok so gameplay wise I think its safe to say quan chi is the man.

Now I wanna talk storywise. Remember storywise, shang can transform.
In the deadly allaince intro shang sung is easily bested by liu kang. However with one quick blast, kang is brought to his knees, giving shang the chance to finish him. I think quan chi in a one on one fight with liu kang, would beat him.

Now in the deception intro, raiden is fighting both shang sung and quan chi. However if you watch the intro, you will notice shang sung is always on the ground with quan chi doing basically all the fighting. Then when quan chi and shang sung fight, quan chi easily bests shang sung.

Now for armageddon. Now it has been said that this intro isnt canon so Im taking this intro with a grain of salt. Quan chi bests kenshi in their sword fight and then quan is takin offguard when shang sung throws him off the pyrimid disguised as ermac. Then we see shang sung cause alot of mayhem, blowing away warriors with his fireballs and then easily avoiding shao khans assualt and then finally besting liu kang with ease.

So idk to be honest. They are both very powerful and easily the most powerful sorcerers. I think maybe shang sung is more powerful maybe, but quan chi is easily the more brutal and better fighter.

However can someone answer this for me? Can Shang Sung morph into whomever he wants or does he have to take their soul first?

Well, in the movie, it was implied that he had to take the soul of a fighter before he could transform into them and use their abilities.

However in the game continuity.. I believe it's who ever he chooses. For instance, if you take a look at the openings of certain games ( MKDA: Kung Lao, MKSM: He turned into quite a few of the fighters who were engaged in battles of their own right beside him as he fought Kang. And in MKA: He was Ermac.) He turned into all of those people who were still very much alive and with souls intact.


As to the thread topic: Quan Chi trumps Shang Tsung Easily. Shang my have a bit more power on the sorcerer side of things, but Quan is the better fighter by far. Simply because Quan is more clever in his fighting and takes less chances. Shang tends to be a bit over-confident and that leads to impulsiveness and certain defeat.

This is how I look at it, Quan and Shang have(had) different commanders. Shang was told what to do from Shao Kahn. Quan was commanded by Shinnok. Shinnok is a god and Shao Kahn is just an extremely powerful dictator of Outworld. You do the math. Shinnok has more power to grant to Quan Chi than Shao Kahn can to Shang Tsung because Shao Kahn doesn't neccesarily do sorcery.

Gameplay wise......Shang used to be better when he could transform into people, now he kinda sucks. Quan Chi can do all this killer combos with his broad sword when Shang has come wimpy piece of shit straight sword, and only one. Shang does poking attacks and is less on combos than Quan.

Overall Quan Chi is a better character.

quan chi for sure. i love stomping on ppl lol, and his broadswords rock.