When I first started playing the MKX mobile game, I hated the fucking thing and couldn't wait to get all the costumes unlocked so I could uninstall it and cremate my phone to destroy all evidence of its existence. Even though they have finally worked out most of the bugs, the Faction mode is still plagued with cheaters who max-fused all their gold cards using soul exploits, and total dickfarms who somehow hacked the game to level up their cards far beyond the maximum. I mean, look at this shit:



Mario here has a truly impossibly powerful team. Any one of his cards was about as powerful as all of my non-cheater cards combined, and I have no idea why in the screaming, nonconsensual fuck the game gave me a matchup like this. But as Raiden so bronchitisfully put it, "You can overcome any adversary... no matter how bizarre their powers may seem." And I did win that fight, with some clever card setups and a bit of button-mashing moxie.

Once I started winning these kinds of "impossible" fights and learning how to combine characters and equipment to make nigh-unbeatable "underdog" teams out of relatively weak characters, the game actually became much more enjoyable for me. It's almost like a puzzle to see what kind of bullshit I can pull off to counteract all the other bullshit, and now I can pretty consistently get into the top 1% of the faction leaderboards.

So if you're struggling with this game -- if it's taking forever to unlock Injustice Scorpion, or even if youre just interested in having more fun with the game despite how infuriating it can be -- then take a note from my experience in winning the shit out of MKX Mobile... with no hacks and no shady exploits required.

And if anyone else wants to share their own game-winning techniques, by all means post them here.

Let's get started:

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Tip #1
Seriously, Fuck Blocking

As you've probably noticed by now, the computer is much better at the block-and-punish game than an average human player could hope to be. If you attempt to block-and-punish without expert-level timing, you will probably just get punished even harder for trying. And even if you're a player who can block effectively, it's really kind of pointless: You're taking less damage, but your opponent is still building meter faster than you are, and most debuffs from special moves still hit you whether you're blocking or not. And when you block, it's very hard to break your opponent's momentum and get the upper hand.

The solution? Become unstopppable. Relentlessly beat your opponents down so fast that they barely have a chance to hit you, and blocking becomes totally unnecessary. How? By using...


Tip #2
The Patented "Shock and Awe" Equipment Set

Remember that screenshot above where my ragtag band of underdogs conquered an army of max-fused, god-leveled cheater cards? The main key to my success was the equipment I put on my Scorpion and Kenshi cards. In fact, this is now the default equipment set that I put on as many team members as I can before I head into battle:

1) A weapon with unblockable chance, like Shuriken, Bladed Fan, or Sento Blade
2) The best armor you've got
3) An accessory with power generation boost, like Dragon Essence, Soul Medallion, or Bound Demon

Once you have these items in your inventory, you need no others. Put this set on any Scorpion or Sub-Zero, and now you can do an almost endless chain of spear/freeze abuse and quickly wipe out enemies. Put this set on a Kenshi or Johnny (or Kitana if you're desperate) and abuse the power break special so that your enemy can never whip out their specials. Reptile (or D'vorah, if you're a real masochist about this) can unleash an unrelenting stream of Poison attacks that will suck a health bar dry in no time. Hard-to-use specials like Ermac's slam also work a lot better with the unblockable chance. Using this setup, Scorpion and Reptile become extremely fast killers.

I've found that weapons with unblockable chance let you deal faster damage than weapons with damage buffs, simply because the computer tries to block your shit all the goddamn time and cutting through that shield is far more effective than beating on it harder. Also, you will build meter faster when your attacks actually hit, it's easier to combo into specials, and the computer has a harder time punishing.

Similarly, accessories with power gen boost are more important than ones with recovery (recovery is always a joke against strong enemies) or ones with damage or resistance buffs. Killing the enemies fast before they can even get a shot off is the simplest way to win this game, so forget about defense and get those specials out quick quick quick. Except...


Tip #3
Use Power Breaks Wisely

Kenshi, Johnny, and... ugh... Kitana (if you're willing to put up with some bullshit) have first-level specials that can break the opponent's meter fairly quickly and deal pretty decent damage. But instead of powerbreaking every chance you get, save your meter for when the opponent is dangerously close to building up a special, then use it. That way, you don't waste a whole bar of your meter to burn a small sliver of your opponent's -- and you also save up some juice to powerbreak a tag-in who's been building up a dangerous amount of meter on the sidelines. If you can manage it, always have at least one bar ready for when a fully charged opponent tags in.


Tip #4
Team Building

This should be kind of obvious, but DO take advantage of characters' passive abilities. Silver Cassie becomes a juggernaut when teamed with Johnny and Sonya. Shaolin Kung Jin gives your Scorpions and Sub-Zeros a free power bar. Group a Shaolin Master Kung Lao with a maxed-out Monk (who blesses his teammates with meter when he dies) and an Oni (who hits your opponent's meter when he dies, and makes a handy emergency sacrifice).

Quan Chi + Grandmaster Sub-Zero = Can't Stop That Sub-Zero.

The "Cheater Beater" team in the screenshot above is a fairly easy build. Scorpion and Kenshi can be max-fused with koins, and Shaolin Jin is a somewhat common draw from the Kombat Pack. Everyone starts out with meter because of Jin, so Scorpion can score some flawless victories on his own in some matches, with Kenshi to powerbreak him out of trouble. If you can score a Possessed Kenshi, even better: Have Kenshi tag in from the back row immediately at the start of the match, and he'll automatically set the enemy on fire... then tag Injustice Scorpion back in as soon as you can, since he does heavy damage to burning opponents. Don't waste two bars of Scorpion's own meter to set somebody on fire if Kenshi can do it for free!

I don't have the Ermac card I need for it yet, but my personal dream team is Master of Souls Ermac, any gold Reptile, and Mournful Kitana. The Ermac-Kitana combo allows Ermac to start off the match with a full X-ray in hand, and once he uses it, he also seems to turn invincible for a short time. Reptile can then quickly drown the remaining survivors in acid (so long as he's wearing his Shock and Awe gear, remember).

Anyway, don't just lump random cards together unless you're milking koins out of the Thursday events and it doesn't matter. Lots of crazy-smart combinations are possible.


Tip #5
Scorpion and Sub-Zero Help Everybody

When you land a spear or freeze special and the opponent is stunned (or if Jacqui happens to stun the opponent during a combo) then you can either keep hitting like usual... or tag in another character who has a special built up and land some guaranteed hits. This is great for when you need to pull an emergency powerbreak: just stun the opponent and tag in your reinforcements.


Tip #6
Dealing With Possessed Kenshi and Grandmaster Sub-Zero

Tired of Possessed Kenshi setting your shit on fire? After you've played the game for a while, you kinda get a feel for when the computer is about to tag characters -- the first tag-out of the match is pretty easy to predict. When you suspect that Kenshi is about to tag in, immediately tag your guy out. If both sides tag at the same time, Kenshi's fire attack will miss because there is temporarily no target. This may also work for Assassin Kitana and Raiden, though I haven't really tried this tactic against them yet since neither of them are as scary to fight against as freaking Kenshi. [Edit: It does work against Raiden, but Raiden is very fast and wlll probably hit you with a combo before your tag-in character can move.]

When fighting Grandmaster Sub, if you see he is about to throw his clone at you with his second special, you actually have a pretty wide window of opportunity to tag your character out and, once again, the attack will miss and he'll totally waste his meter advantage.

When Sub is getting low on health, try not to go overkill using your strongest special attacks to defeat him since he's just going to come right back. Save your strong attacks to finish him quickly when he returns -- or use the ice clone delay to safely tag in another fighter.


Tip #7
Don't Put Your Quan Chi Up Front, Dumbass

He's not bringing anybody back to life if he accidentally gets himself killed. Similarly, keep your Possessed Kenshi, Assassin Kitana, and/or Raiden in the back and rotate them in briefly and frequently to take advantage of their savage tag-in attacks.

When you're up against a well-constructed team with Quan Chi safely tucked away in the back, and you're fighting a high-level card that you dread seeing get resurrected -- then maybe hold back a little on your assault and let the high-level card live long enough for the computer to stupidly tag it out and swap in Quan Chi. Then murder Quan Chi as fast as you can.