I'm down. What character should we start with?

Im down as well. Though I only got offfline at the moment, and no real human competition around.

how about we just work our way down the select screen from the top?

Yea, I was actually going to say that. Go across each row of the select screen until we hit the bottom.

That means... everyone's favorite allegedly overexposed ninja goes first. I'll make a longer post about Scorpion later, but for now, I'll direct you to this article that I wrote a couple of weeks back. It's meant to help beginners or people who aren't familiar with Scorpion get comfortable with him. I'll post with more in-depth stuff later.

Alrighty, I'll take a good look tonight.

OK Ill go fiddle with scorpion and give my casual opinion.

This will be my gameplay post dedicated to Scorpion. I want to try to look at all aspects of a character: specials, juggles, what attacks or strings can be canceled into specials, enhanced moves, X-Rays... you get the idea.

- When talking about where attacks hit, there's high, mid, and low... c-high means that the attack will not whiff against a crouched opponent, but they can block it... the game says these are still high attacks though.
- When talking about the speed of attacks, I'm talking about startup. Quick, moderate, and slow will denote these. Use this as a guide to let you know which attacks are good to punish with and which aren't.
- When talking about safety of single attacks, I'll say either safe, 50-50 (unsafe against faster moves and characters but safe against slower targets), and unsafe.
- If an attack has other properties, they will be put in parentheses.
- All uppercuts hit high, are quick enough to punish, but are unsafe.
- Canned combos will only have the location of the hits and safety listed.

NORMALS
FP - 3% damage, c-high, quick, safe
BP - 5% damage, high, quick, safe
FK - 5% damage, c-high, quick, 50-50
BK - 5% damage, c-high, slow, unsafe

DIRECTIONALS
F+BP - 5% damage, c-high, moderate, unsafe
F+FK - 11% damage, mid, slow, safe (overhead)
F+BK - 3% damage, low, moderate, unsafe
B+BP - 5% damage, mid, moderate, 50-50 (launcher)
Sweep - 7% damage, low, moderate, safe (enemy pushback if blocked)
Uppercut - 12% damage

CANNED COMBOS
FP, FP, FP - 12% damage, CH-CH-CH, 50-50
FP, FP, BK - 12% damage, CH-CH-CH, unsafe
BP, FP, BP - 15% damage, H-H-M, unsafe
BP, FP+BP - 9% damage, H-M, unsafe
F+BP, FP, BK - 15% damage, CH-CH-CH, safe on block only
FK, FK, BK - 13% damage, CH-CH-CH, unsafe
F+BK, FK - 9% damage, L-H, 50-50

SPECIALS
Spear - 3% damage
Enhanced - 7% damage, no difference in startup speed or recovery time.
Pros - Somewhat reliable anti-air, gives you free juggle opportunities, can act as a combo starter, in the middle of combos, or as an ender.
Cons - Punishable on block or whiff, can't trade with it, one of the worst projectiles when facing a teleporter because of its recovery time.
Worth Enhancing? - Yes. It provides good damage even when used to end combos. Doing more than double damage as the regular spear makes it worth it.
Grade: B+

Fire - 7% damage
Enhanced - 8% damage, greater horizontal and vertical AOE (area of effect for those unaware)
Pros - Unblockable, ideal move to hit opponents as they get up, good against turtles, good for forcing your opponent to make a move.
Cons - Cannot be comboed unless enhanced, can be jumped, very punishable, impractical up close.
Worth enhancing? - Not really. Only another 1% damage and I don't think it's wise to end a juggle with this move when you can tack on more damage with an X-Ray, more teleports, or a few more punches.
Grade: C

Teleport - 9% damage
Enhanced - 12% damage, adds one hit, but you cannot continue to juggle if you use this flavor of the teleport.
Pros - Decently quick, good damage, effective to juggle with, go-to against projectile spammers.
Cons - The silhouette makes it easy to see coming, extremely punishable, no more hits guaranteed if you hit a standing opponent with this move, cannot be canceled into.
Worth enhancing? - Seldom. The idea of the teleport is to throw it in your juggles to add hits and damage. Enhancing it curbs that perk. If you want to enhance it when countering projectiles, go for it, because it's a better outcome than the standard teleport in that situation.
Grade: B-

Takedown - 10% damage
Enhanced - 12% damage, not any different functionally.
Pros - Hits low, can be canceled into, good choice to counter wakeups since your opponent will have to block low immediately, safe.
Cons - Short range, his sweep is faster (though not as powerful), can't be used in juggles.
Worth enhancing? - Unless you absolutely have to have that extra 2%, no.
Grade: B+

X-Ray - 30% damage
Pros - Teleport, not terribly unsafe if it gets blocked, forces your opponent to be very choosy about how they attack based on how it hits.
Cons - Easy to see coming, damage drops quite a bit if used to end a juggle, cannot be canceled into.
Worth saving up for? - Definitely. Having an X-Ray in hand with Scorpion is a game changer and that's easily worth the drop in damage compared to some other characters' X-Rays.
Grade: A-

CANCELS
I'm going to tell you which canned combos can cancel into which specials in this section, that way everyone can have a little cheat sheet for making their own combos. All cancels are two hits before the special unless otherwise noted. Also note that only specials that can continue these combos on the ground will be considered cancels.

FP, FP -> Spear, Takedown
BP, FP -> Spear, Takedown
F+BP, FP -> None
FK, FK -> Spear, Takedown
F+BK -> Spear, Takedown

JUGGLES
Scorpion has lots of juggle opportunities and the bulk of damage that you will be doing with him will be while the opponent is helplessly airborne. His FP, FP is better for juggling than his BP, FP because a lot of his juggles involve dashing, making it too easy to accidentally input his F+BP and drop the combo you had planned. Unlike on the ground, Scorpion's teleport is certainly in play when juggling, as you have enough time to dash and get more hits in before ending the combo. The battle, then, is getting your opponent in the air to begin with. Scorpion can hit crouching enemies with his B+BP for a launch, but probably the best way to get juggle opportunities is to cancel any of his ground strings into a spear and get your pop-up that way. Also, if you use both neutral JPs and B+BP in your juggles, make sure you do the NJP first; the damage scaling isn't as severe that way. Scorpion's X-Ray makes a great juggle ender, but ensure that you do so at the end of long combos only, since ending a 5 or 6 hitter with an X-Ray will do less overall damage than the X-Ray alone would do. I like to close out 10+ hit combos with it because it maintains its damage pretty well in long combos. Scorpion has the potential to do upwards of 40% with or without an X-Ray in his juggles, so he isn't very reliant on having meter, which is a major plus.

If you have anything else to add to what I have here, please post and I'll make the edits (and give credit, of course).

The thing you could add would be matchmaking.

Compare Scorpions tools vs the other characters. Other than that I think you got it hammered down.

OK, that's going to take a ton of work, but since I have a couple of days off now I should be able to make a post regarding that.

I admit that I haven't played the game enough to be a so-called authority on every character and their matchups, so take these for what you will. If these analyses seem redundant, it's because Scorpion can play most characters the exact same way and come away with a win. Here's what I think about the matchups for Scorpion:

MATCHUPS

vs. Liu Kang
Scorpion isn't usually a zoning type of character, because he doesn't have the best tools to keep people away, but against Liu Kang he might need to get out of his comfort zone a bit. Liu Kang is quicker than Scorpion and for the most part safer, so you'll need to take a more careful approach here. Liu Kang can parry Scorpion's Teleport and Takedown, so you won't be able to spam those as much here. The Spear will be useful in this fight for keeping Liu Kang back, but you shouldn't use it too much because Scorpion can't win a projectile battle against anybody. Your best bet here is to try to take advantage of any mistakes that Liu Kang makes, since you only need to hit 2 or 3 big juggles to win with Scorpion against any opponent.

vs. Kung Lao
Kung Lao poses problems for Scorpion. Lao can counter a lot of what Scorpion can do and he, like Liu Kang, is fast enough to put major pressure on Scorpion. Scorpion must stay out of the corner at all costs, but he must do so without relying too heavily on his teleport because of how unsafe it is. It's much harder to keep Kung Lao away than others because the threat of getting hit with a Teleport throw or pop-up is constantly lingering throughout the fight. Try using your Fire if Lao gets stagnant and use the Spear at varying distances to keep him honest, but by and large Kung Lao is going to try to be on you at all times. Make it difficult for him or suffer the consequences.

vs. Sub-Zero
Sub-Zero is an interesting matchup because both possess enough high damage combos and free hit opportunities to swing the fight in their favor very quickly. Scorpion has the speed advantage here so it's imperative that he play a bit more aggressively than normal to try to force the action. Sub-Zero can't clone if you're right next to him, so try to take advantage of that. The farther away you are from Sub-Zero, the bigger advantage he gains in this fight. In the end, this fight boils down to opportunities. He who hits the last huge juggle combo will probably win this fight.

vs. Sindel
Sindel is effective at any range, so Scorpion has to effectively pick his poison in this fight. Sindel can keep Scorpion at a safe distance with her Hair Grab and quickly build meter by starting a Hover and immediately coming back down. If Scorpion gets in close, Sindel is fast enough to at least match Scorpion in hand-to-hand combat. Sindel also has one of the toughest X-Rays to counter in the game, so once it's all set to go Scorpion must be careful. He can actually counter her X-Ray with his, if both have the meter for it. Scorpion has to make sure that he stays within a half screen of Sindel in order to be most effective on the attack in this fight.

vs. Ermac
Neither fighter is at a big advantage in this fight. Both have teleports, with Scorpion's being a bit faster. Scorpion is slightly better up close, but Ermac dominates any other range between these two. Ermac has the bigger damage potential of the two through juggles, so Scorpion must play a little more carefully than normal so that he doesn't get caught for 50+%. This matchup almost has a "hand in the cookie jar" feel for Scorpion, because he needs to get in, get some hits, and then make sure he doesn't do anything unsafe else eat big damage. That's not to say that Scorpion can't win this fight, because he certainly can.

vs. Reptile
Reptile has a slower walk speed than most characters, and he also prefers to play keep away with lots of forceballs and enhanced acid spits. Knowing this, you need to disrupt Reptile's long range prowess and get in close. The slower walk speed of Reptile makes him more apt to jump your Fire instead of trying to dash out of the way, and you can abuse Force Balls by teleporting to try to land a hit that way and get close. With all of the keep away tools that Reptile has it's unlikely that you'll be able to land anything gigantic unless you can both get in close and cancel the Spear effectively once you do get there. Scorpion does have the edge in this fight, though.

vs. Kitana
Kitana is very fast, but you do have the tools to succeed in this matchup. You just need to stick to your safest attacks and combos (see above post) and avoid the Fan Lift at any cost. Stay out of the corners as well, as Kitana is among the best at corner pressure and doing insane damage once there. Kitana is an overall safe character as well, so your opportunities in this matchup will not come easily. Kitana can't do much about Scorpion's Takedown but to Square Boost over it, so nothing negative comes from that exchange for Scorpion. Kitana's Pretty Kick is unsafe, so Scorpion should expect a Fake Out when that startup animation occurs and block low, or teleport out of the way and hopefully land a quick Spear following that. This is a winnable fight for Scorpion but it should not be taken lightly.

vs. Johnny Cage
Much of what Johnny Cage can do is based on meter. He benefits more from enhanced specials than all but a few characters, because his moves gain extra hits, cover against certain defensive tactics, and do more damage depending on which moves get used. Johnny can't do a lot from outside of a half screen, though, so you can use enhanced Fire at will against him. Once you've got him trained to jump, throw a Spear to try to get a juggle started. Johnny is faster than Scorpion and as such is better toe-to-toe, so the Takedown should be your go-to for maintaining a safe distance here.

vs. Jade
Jade can frustrate any character defensively from projectile range. As a result, your Spear should only be used in cancels. You can't just throw naked spears out there haphazardly like you can against other non-teleporting characters. Jade can be dependent on meter because of her Shadow Glow, which allows her to temporarily gain that boss super armor that we all know and despise, and that will make life miserable for Scorpion because Jade has some damaging combos. If you can stay away from Jade when she has that going on, there isn't a whole lot that can threaten Scorpion in this matchup; he simply has too many options.

vs. Mileena
This is a tough matchup for Scorpion to win because Mileena's special moves pretty much counteract Scorpion's. Her Roll goes under his Spear, she can Telekick away from Fire, and she can punish with her other moves against failed Teleports from Scorpion. Mileena has a pretty short reach, so she has to be able to get inside whatever Scorpion throws out there in order to do damage, but her Roll and Telekick take care of that. Fighting against Mileena is similar to fighting against Sub-Zero in that both can do big damage, both aren't very safe, and both can give Scorpion fits if he isn't controlling the pace of the fight.

vs. Nightwolf
Your Spear is pretty much out of the question in this fight unless you can cancel it effectively, because Nightwolf can absorb it for health. What makes Nightwolf so effective is that he both takes away projectiles and is good at rush down, but he can still beat an opponent without having to mix it up much due to his own long range game. You almost need to let Nightwolf dictate here, as I believe that a "bait and punish" strategy would work best against Nightwolf. Teleport against Lightning or Arrows, Spear his Charge, and don't use the Spear against his Reflect/Absorb. You're going to have a difficult time against Nightwolf, but it isn't a total mismatch.

vs. Cyrax
Cyrax's bombs can frustrate any opponent when placed properly, but Scorpion's Teleport can combat that if it's used as soon as the bomb is dropped, because Cyrax recovers pretty quickly from them. You shouldn't fear jumping in on Cyrax if you are good at doing airborne teleports, because then you won't get caught in his Net or Buzzsaw if you can predict them. This is not to say that you can simply get in on Cyrax and win the fight easily from there, because he and Scorpion are comparable when it comes to quickness of their strikes. Cyrax generally is a character who forces others to think outside the box, and it's no different with Scorpion.

vs. Noob
I like this matchup for Scorpion because a spammer like Noob gets abused by teleporting characters. Scorpion doesn't really need to do a whole lot other than enhanced Teleports and mixing up Fire and more Teleports to counter Noob's wakeups. There's almost no need to try to catch Noob napping with a jump in, a naked Spear, or a Takedown when your spams counter his spams. Just watch out for Noob's X-Ray, because avoiding it is kind of tricky to do. If you can get the life lead early and then play reasonably mistake-free, capitalizing when you can, you won't have a problem with Noob.

vs. Smoke
Smoke's speed and avoidance abilities make this a very difficult matchup for Scorpion. Smoke is just flat out difficult to hit, and many of Scorpion's big damage chances need to be set up with his Spear. Smoke can Shake and parry off of those as well as use his Smoke Towards to go right through it. Smoke's teleport is also fast enough to make anyone play very cautiously, so you need to block early and often against Smoke to not fall behind in the fight (and also get yourself some punish chances). A good way to beat Smoke is to grind the pace of the fight to a halt. If you are more patient than Smoke, you can win this fight.

vs. Sektor
Scorpion and Sektor share the same wheelhouse, and that's juggles. However, Sektor's often require use of meter, where Scorpion's do not. Now, very few characters can keep others from gaining meter (by taking some away) so you need to stay on the offensive in this fight and not allow Sektor to get comfortable firing his missiles at you at will. The idea here is that Scorpion wants to force Sektor to use his meter on breakers as opposed to being able to set up combos with enhanced specials. Stay out of the way of Sektor's Teleport Uppercut and his popups, and you shouldn't have a problem here.

vs. Sonya
Sonya's Arc Kick will give Scorpion fits just by avoiding his Spear, so it's probably better to use the Spear at greater distances in this fight since missing with the Spear in this fashion up close will lead to you taking a hit. Sonya can punish Scorpion with her Cartwheel, but her Air Drop can be nullified with a quick Spear. Fire is sort of impractical in this fight due to the wakeup game that Sonya has, too. Sonya also is fast enough with her normals and ground strings to make Scorpion think twice before going toe-to-toe as well. Much like the fights with Nightwolf and Smoke, patience is a virtue here.

vs. Jax
Jax doesn't pose too many problems for Scorpion because Scorpion can play the zoning game to keep Jax from getting in close. Scorpion is better able to land his attacks against Jax than vice versa since on average, Scorpion's strikes are quicker. Don't turtle, however, as Jax will be able to use his far Ground Pounds to his advantage. Jax gains the upper hand when he has an X-Ray, though, as the toe-to-toe game then becomes undesirable for Scorpion. Keep Jax's at arm's length throughout and Scorpion does just fine.

vs. Kano
Scorpion's Spear stops any kind of shenanigans involving Kano's ball attacks, so Kano will have to try to build meter for his highly damaging X-Ray by spamming knives and trying to get in close for Chokes. Scorpion doesn't have much that can punish Kano's knives, but then again nobody does, so the best he can hope for would be to try to land a Teleport amidst a projectile barrage, but then that is no guarantee. Probably the best thing Scorpion can do here is to take away the knives by getting in close and mixing it up. Again, not an unwinnable fight, but one that will take a different strategy.

vs. Stryker
Scorpion fares pretty well against Stryker because the recovery time of Stryker's projectiles lends itself to being punished by Teleports. If you opt to get in close, you can try to cancel your quicker combos into Spears or Takedowns to whittle away at Stryker's health. Stryker's projectile game gets taken away against just about any teleporting character, and that spells danger for him. To win this fight, simply don't allow Stryker to keep you away, which given what Scorpion can do both at mid range and up close, shouldn't be an issue.

vs. Shang Tsung
Fighting Shang with Scorpion is sort of like fighting Stryker except that Shang has far more tools. Triple skulls can keep Scorpion away unless you can Teleport out of harm's way. Ground skulls can stop your approach to Shang, and a Soul Steal gives him all of your moves, which may be less daunting by comparison, actually. Work your way in by jumping the straight skulls and dashing to avoid the ground skulls. You're going to have to work to get into a viable range for Scorpion in this battle, but if you can pull it off you'll be rewarded handsomely for your efforts.

vs. Baraka
Scorpion doesn't have much to fear in this matchup. A lot of what Baraka does can be countered by Scorpion's Teleport. Baraka's projectile can be countered with a Teleport. Chop Chop can be drawn out by a jump and then countered with an air Teleport. Blade Spin can be blocked and punished with a juggle combo. Anything else Baraka throws your way can be Teleported for a free hit. Scorpion has more options toe-to-toe than Baraka does as well, so you shouldn't be afraid to mix it up with Baraka, either, though it is certainly riskier. Scorpion should win this fight considerably more than he loses it.

vs. Kabal
Kabal can be frustrating because he has both an air and a low projectile. Getting in close sort of eliminates the Plasma Ball in a ground war, but you always have to look out for the Saw. Picking your spots carefully is also a key when Scorpion takes on Kabal as nearly anything that Kabal blocks can then be turned into a Spin and a free combo, and that's the last thing that a Scorpion player needs. Keeping Kabal on the defensive is imperative in this battle because he's such an offensive-minded fighter. Once either fighter grabs the momentum in this bout, it's going to be tough for the other to stop. Whoever blinks first loses.

vs. Raiden
Raiden is an issue for everybody in the cast, but Scorpion certainly feels his fair share of the pain in this matchup. Raiden doesn't have to commit to anything when he teleports, so he can allow Scorpion to dictate the pace and then react to whatever he chooses to do. Scorpion must remain patient in this fight. Allow Raiden to make the first move and commit to something, then try to punish. Always keep it in the back of your mind that you need to only hit three big juggles to win a round, so when an opportunity does present itself, make the best of it.

vs. Cyber Sub-Zero
Scorpion's pressure game is conducive to causing mistakes by his opponent, and against CSZ he really only has to fear getting parried. Ice Bombs aren't a factor up close, the Ice Ball is too slow coming out to matter up close, and CSZ's teleport gives you ample time to block before he can do anything. Air teleports are also your friend here, since CSZ is apt to try to parry you if you jump in, and Scorpion having a somewhat slower teleport is actually to your advantage in this fight since the parry will expire before impact. Scorpion should take the fight to CSZ and not allow him time to set up at a comfortable distance.

vs. Sheeva
Sheeva is another character who is sort of everyone's punching bag, and Scorpion is waiting in line with the rest of them to take his shots. Scorpion has to keep moving due to the threat of Sheeva's teleport and ground Stomps, but he can counter both with well placed jump kicks. When she isn't trying to stomp Scorpion into the ground, he should stay out of the air, else he be caught by an Air Grab. Scorpion can win this fight at any range, though, so feel free to take some chances that you wouldn't normally try otherwise against Sheeva because she doesn't have much to threaten him.

vs. Quan Chi
Quan is all about being deceptive and trying to gain the upper hand through confusion. Eliminate this by disallowing Quan the necessary breathing room to make his best tactics come to life. Get up in his grill and combo him to death. Scorpion should try to make the most of all of his special moves here to really put the burden of confusion on Quan Chi. Scorpion can punish most of Quan's specials at will, too, so he has a lot of tools and options to keep Quan Chi on his heels. Scorpion must take care, however, to always maintain the pressure and to keep dictating the pace of the match.

From what i've seen/played/experienced:

1.Kung Lao/Cyrax: extremely fast, easy (insane in corner) damage, spin, teleport, low projectile, safe pokes. Cyrax is a beast with that unblockable combo.
2. Raiden: Teleport is ridiculous offline, online takes it even further, easy damage output, electric fly has zero start time.
3. Smoke: projectile that launches, fastest tele punch, projectile parry, easy juggles, air throw, good safe pokes.
4. Cage: easy damage, x-ray parry, safe pokes.
5. Kitana: easy damage/juggle combos, fan throw is best projectile IMO, projectle X-ray.

This is just my opinion but these are the best from what I have seen. Looking forward to online PSN coming back so I can further test this.

Don't let this be a monologue for me, people. Talk.

I don't think there's any doubt at this point that Kung Lao is the undisputed top of the top. I'd be willing to say Raiden is up there with him with only Kung Lao being his better.

Raiden teleport online is a mega problem.

Kung Lao has many tools, but if you remember to block low( Ground hat) and to punish the teleport when you see it coming. Then do not ever rush him. He wakes up into spin. If you can zone and punish the teleport he is more human.


Playing as Kano:

Kano has crap combos so rely on a zoning game based on the knife to build meter and the upward roll.

:D thats all I got, I suck lol

Sorry there man, for some odd reason I haven't been keeping up with the discussion, nor have I played MK for a good while (PSN gayness) I'll give this all a re-read and see if I cant get back into the fray here. It's a bit harder considering I'm pretty much alone when it comes to non-online play.

I'm pretty sure we can safely say:

SS Tier
Kung Lao

S Tier
Raiden

... for starters.

I think that Raiden is Nastier than Kung Lao online, but I figured out how to counter most Raiden spam.

Top Tier is Kung Lao

High Tier includes Raiden, Cyrax, Cage, Sub-Zero, Ermac and maybe Nightwolf

Mid Tier includes pretty much everyone else

Bottom Tier includes Baraka

At least imo. For the next few months expect a lot of Kung Lao mirrors or Lao vs. Cyrax matches

Na, they're both getting nerfed in a week or so. Kung Lao should still be good, but Cyrax... people will need to find some new technology to keep him up there.

I don't think Cyrax or Kung Lao need to be nerfed at all. Soon enough strategies will be developed to counter them

I didn't mean it as they should be nerfed, I'm saying they will be nerfed. It's in the next patch.

Ed Boon doesn't care about black people who are also robots.

Hold on, Im gonna let you post again, but Mos3ph had the best post in this thread. Go ahead.

HAY GUISE

I have the online tier list ready to go.

God Tier
Raiden

No one else is worth mentioning lulz.

Kano counters Raiden.