I'll start with Shang Tsung!

Shang Tsung has been my favorite MK character in UMK3 and MK:Trilogy after I grew old enough to appreciate him. (Born in 1996) Because of his morphing ability, I find that special ability to be highly awesome. I didn't really care much for him after MK: Deadly Alliance (morphing gone), but I still liked him (soul powers). In MK9, I'm dissapointed the player-controlled Shang Tsung can only morph into his opponent, but it is still morphing (with a damage boost!), and that's good enough for me.

I enjoy Shang Tsung's playstyle, he's fantastic at zoning, but he's got the moves to be an all-rounder at melee-range, and he can morph into his opponent! My preferred playstyle is ranged (totally didn't realize the characters I chose to be my mains are all at their best at range), but I can make quite a good rushdown player if I want to (totally didn't realize my mains are also varying degrees of good up-close either! All this time and I never knew!). I also know a variety of characters, and if my opponent is playing a character that is not in my secondaries list, I remember at least some of their special moves from when I decided to give 'em a try. And I know enough general strategies with the basic moves every kombatant has to be at least below-decent with them.

Perhaps the reason I really like Shang Tsung is because many years ago, I played a game; Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. The protagonist is a former blood-sucking vampire, turned into a soul-devouring wraith. (I still have that game, BTW.)

I main Mileena. In fact, I don't really know how to play with anybody else.

During a match, I usually play it safe by either spamming IAS's or putting the pressure with one of Mileena's four frame traps.

It's funny, the more I play her, the more I complain about her weaknesses.
Hell, if you don't play Mileena in those two ways, God knows how you win a match against a top player.

I currently am maining Johnny Cage and Kabal.It took me awhile to find the characters that fit me, but I finally did.

Johnny Cage I go full rush down, frametraps and everything. 1,1 and F3 nut punch. I can barely zone with him as he doesn't have that many options, but Cage is awesome. Cage's corner game is impressive, massive traps and great corner combo nut punch resets.

Kabal I usually try to zone, but I also get in and sometimes punish with a full combo to reset, and I dash cancel a lot. I mostly IAgB, low saw etc. I'm still working on my dash cancel resets and have a long way to go to be like REO, lol (Kabal idol :D) and own. I was even considering getting a Hitbox with a ps3 converter for 360, but I don't wanna spend that much money. Kabal is probably the character I have most fun with, and it doesn't look like it's hard to use him, but it is. Learning the dash cancel moves and resets was the hardest part for me. I'm glad it worked out though, Kabal is fucking amazing.

Oh and btw, ^totheark's Mileena is quite a beast. Not gonna lie.

Stryker wasn't one of my favorites back in UMK3 and MK: Trilogy (never played MK3), but I still liked him. I started liking him a little more in MK: Armageddon. In MK9, I view him as MK's own Arnold Schwarzenegger. I think, in MK9's Story Mode, him being able to take on Kintaro and Ermac all on his own, is not only an attempt to make him a likable character by NRS, I think it references the fact he is one of the best characters in UMK3.

Stryker is at his best at range, but if played smart, can also be good up-close. As typed in my previous post in this thread, I prefer a ranged style, but I can be good up-close, and Stryker fits my style. Not to mention I really like him now, so that helps. I never realized all the characters I chose to be my mains are all at their best at range, but are varying degrees of good up-close! Pretty cool. Stryker even beat out Kratos when I was choosing who should be my new main, taking the position that was left by Cyber Sub-Zero.

----------

I didn't like Sektor much back in UMK3 or MK:T, but I still played as him sometimes. I liked him more when he appeared in MK:A. In MK9, my liking of him, like Stryker, has increased. He is an unlikable jerk in the Story Mode during MK1, and he still kind of is as a cyborg. But he, even as a human, has a badass voice! As a cyborg, he does a mean growl when he throws his opponent and when he launches his Massive Missile (X-ray), he has an evil laugh (which I can make a decent impression of) that he does when he does a successful EX Teleport and prepares for a Fatality.

Sektor, is like a little trade around from my other mains, Stryker and Shang Tsung. His zoning (in my opinion) isn't as good as theirs, but he trades some zoning points for close-kombat points. He is at least a little better at close-range kombat than Stryker and Shang Tsung.

Good thread :)

Hmm...where do I begin? Well for starters...I do not like zoners and I do not like grapplers in fighting games or at least I thought I didn't...I main Stryker and Sheeva, it's amazing how I've made an exception for these two lovely people. I'm a rushdown player at heart, always have been.


My 1st and foremost main is Stryker, he has been my main since MK3, any game he is in, he will be as such. I play a mixture of rushdown and zoning, his up close game is downplayed immensely, he can really drill into you with pressure. I use gun cancels into throws and combos, I'm all about mind games with him and mix ups. My Stryker is no zoning turtle unless I have to be, against Cage and other people who like to put you on lock down. Luckily despite Stryker not being as fast and furious as say...Sonya or Liu Kang, his style works for me, he has a balance of everything I want + he has good counter zoning, so he can punish effectively, not to mention his delightful laugh and phrases like, "punk" make it a joy to do well with him. I'm also going to school for law enforcement, so he's like a reflection of my identity.

My Rain is all about suffocating pressure, If I'm not in your face, I'm figuring out a way to get you in my face, so I can start up the roundhouse cancels and bubble resets, his zoning is lacking, so up close is where it's at with him, I feel more limited with Rain, so not only is this a fun challenge, but he gives me my rushdown fix. Not to mention, Rain's my fancy divo guy, he's a nice contrast to my down ot earth Stryker story wise and when I put them on a team, I've got a deadly combination of rushdown and zoning.


Sheeva, my sexy shokan of royal blood, how I do love this character. The fact that she's a grappler and much slower than I'm used to has been both frustrating and a rewarding pursuit, she's just so awesome. Because of Sheeva's speed, sometimes you have to let the opponent set the pacing of the match up, at least in my view. I prefer rushdown, but I will put her 12% meterless fireball to good use when I can and I like to troll with the tele stomp. I also love the fact that I can use a female character who hits like a bloody truck, stick to all those douchy people who always talk about how "weak" female characters are. I love all of her grabs, she's so fearsome.


It worked out perfectly that 3 of my favorite characters in MK history all give me a variety of gameplay: My zoner, my rushdown guy, and my grappler chick.

Sort of hard to explain my style, so if you really wanna know it, play me on XBL. I consider myself pretty good, but definetly not pro or whatever.

When I first started playing MK9 I mained with Cyrax. I used to play him in MK3, so it was a good start. When I play, I try to never spam, zone, or corner rape, because I find all of those to be extremely annoying when people do them. I also decided after seeing so many people using his net, to never use that either. So I end doing a lot of the different combos and a few pop ups (especially the one with the bomb on the back). I usually dont do the long combo that you see everyone online do.

Then I started to pick up kitana. My playstyle with her is pretty much to keep attacking and doing it quickly. I string together as much of her moves as possible and then move around the screen with her up and over fan thing.

After playing the game for a while, I pretty much mained the random select button. I like to play as everyone and have pretty good combos and play styles with almost every character with a few exceptions. I still play a pretty mean kitana and sometimes cyrax, but only when I get them in random select. As far as a general playstyle, one thing that I notice I do is either wait for the other player to come to me or jump over to them. I don't like dashing for some reason. I am also probably one of the few that play with the toggle stick instead of the d-pad.

Alright, my general style in MK9 is rush down. No matter what the character was built for, I always try and stay in the opponent's face.

This is because I enjoy juggle combos. It used to be about how long the combo can be to what looks cool/does the most damage. Since I used to main Sub-Zero, there weren't many options (for a beginner).

Jax is my go to guy. I get in people's faces and never back off (unless cornered) and make the most of a jumping enemy with (what I consider) my infamous "Four Jab & Dash, Double Jab Grab Combo". You don't want to fuck up more than once when you know how I do people if they're airborne.

I hate wannabe zoners, so if I bait out a projectile mid-range and have the meter I EX dash punch and continue pressure with the mixup and low pokes. I especially get a kick out of mopping Kung Lao in his own blood.

Sheeva hasn't been getting the attention I used to give, but is formidable in my hands regardless. Personal witness is ZeroSymbolic.

He also gave me insight to Sheeva's ridiculous damage output. Smug jerks online who like to play projectile tag get a surprisingly powerful EX command grab to put them in their place. I also know sick juggles which she doesn't specialize in. It's all about timing.

Like anyone else, I tend to stay on top of prey with Sheeva, opting out of using too many tele-stomps. People still call me a cheater anyway. *shrug*

Shang Tsung was an unlikely main because I was informed that you had to some to work Shang well. Pish posh.

If someone manages to get far away, then I throw overhead fireballs and straight ones until they close the distance. That's when it's all about a combo I call "Bouncing Soul Ball". Three out of four on the
I actually use the 1, 2, 2, soul steal to punish would-be aerial attackers and god help them if they're using Jax, Sektor, Sub-Zero, Jade, Mileena, Kitana, Cyrax, Kabal, Kitana, Raiden, Sheeva, Rain, Kenshi and especially Nightwolf. Full meter and a Nightwolf transformation = hold block or die.

As you can see from the preceding post, I'm decent with too manycharacters to go in depth with all of them.

Maybe later. Don't misconstrue, I'm no master. Just ok with a cool number of characters.

In fact, I won't post about any other characters unless asked. That way I can decently dissect my properties with them.

I main characters just depending on if I like their personality, looks and style. ill adjust to their game-play later.

i like martial arts so i usually main shaolin/ninja like characters. used to main Rain back in UMK3 but stopped playing him after. play kung lao and 3rmac now. reasons i main kung lao is well bc he's shaolin and has incredible speed. 3rmac just has a nice move-set, massive damage combo's and looks tight.

i mained KL since the first day i played MK9 without knowing he was OP. it was sad to see the hate towards KL, really fucked up my on-line experience. pp stopped playing if u chose KL, and some still do now, lol.

Main character: Kitana


My style of play depends who I'm fighting against. Against characters like Cage, Sonya and Sub-Zero I mostly stay away and throw fans (when they get close it's time for S.O.S. d1s lol). Against characters like Noob Saibot, Kabal, Mileena, Kenshi & Stryker I try to stay closer to them and I'm generally more aggressive. As for Kabal and Mileena in particular, I also stay grounded most of the match, I hardly ever jump (especially in the 1st round) and mostly dash+d1 chase after them.

I try to play footsies too, but you need the nerves of steel and good patience to play footsies well and sometimes I struggle with that. Also, I should use her standing 2 and standing 3 as anti-airs more often, but it is very hard to rely on those online.

I should also improve my hit-confirming of the 2, 1 string and go for an enh. fan instead of constantly going for cutter. And god I hate getting 2, 1 ~ fan (instead of 2, 1 ~ cutter) because of the negative edge.


My no.1 nemesis remains Reptile. I just hate fighting a good Reptile with Kitana. I still struggle trying to punish blocked elbow dashes. His superior mobility gives me trouble as I need to constantly adjust my play style (block & punish/poke/pressure up-close, throw fans from far away) and Reptile himself has a very good zoning and pressure game. I just feel like I'm always 1 step behind in this match and the Reptile player is mostly in control. What also doesn't help here (and generally) is that it's hard to get those iAFs to hit standing opponents online, especially when far away + I need to be extra careful about using square wave boost to move across the arena because of Reptile's elbow dash.



I can also play decently many other characters, however my Kitana is more than a level ahead of the rest of my characters. Also, except for Kitana, I never bothered checking out move properties for other characters outside of the training mode. She's the only one I kind of went a bit more in-depth with. She is one of my two favorite characters in the series after all.

I just beat ass with mileena and stryker or I at least try to.

Dont let him try and lie to you. He beats ass with every character. A force to be reckon with.

Cyber Sub-Zero

I don't mind him becoming a Cyborg, I like playing as Cyber Subby better because of his faster mobility.

He was my first main in MK9, I dropped him a few months later. Fast forward to the present, I decided to pick him up once more. Picked him back up in no time at all, and in a few days, pwned with him like I never dropped him. Then in several weeks, due to the increased Kombat knowledge I gained in the months that passed, I was better with him than the time before I dropped him.

I play him as a sort of rushdown fighter, and some other times I play more defensively with him. Frequently, I forget my Ice Bombs exist, even though they're in his intro, round-win animation and match-win animation! I also seem to forget his Teleport exists, probably because it is unsafe, doesn't have the invincibility of Cyrax's Teleport. Though his low pokes are terrible (NRS gave him terrible pokes for a great instant parry), his D+3 isn't that bad, so I'm able to use a little bit of poking in my Cyber Subby game.

My main is Raiden. I have a very aggresive style with him, that more often than not involves too many teleports and jump ins that make me lose the match. I only play defensive against Kung Lao and Reptile.

The characters that give me the hardest time are Reptile, and Mileena. I know a guy that has an excellent Reptile, if I try to zone him he will use acid spit, if I teleport he will elbow dash, if I try to jump in or jump kick him he will perfectly time 1 as an anti air and combo, I just don't have an answer to him. Mileena always gets me with her mixups, for example when I fight against her I expect a sai cancel after enhanced tele kick, then jump in and throw, u+4, or b+3 b+4, I always block her high but if she uses throw or low mixup I'm as good as dead.

Currently I've found a new pressure tactic that will hopefully improve my playstyle. And now I will get back to use enhanced lightning ball for pressuring knocked down foes (except against Kabal anywhere in the screen with bar, and Kung Lao if cornered with bar).

Me...I main Noob-Saibot, my fave character since UMK3.
He's e-X-cellent(get it?) with long-range (k)ombat, and he has sick combos. Aaaaaannd, his x-ray attack does way too much damage.
People on XBL called it "spamming" when I used to string combos together then go right into my x-ray immediately after the combo(s).I call it "fuck you, get like me!"
Noob-Saibot World Domination Clan(NSWD)
Trans
Worldly
Operations (TWO)!!!!!

I played as Noob Saibot again recently, I was totally caught by surprise when I realized I was very good with him after being away for a few months.

My preferred playstyle is ranged kombat (as can be seen in my sig, in my mains section). But with Noob Saibot, I play him as a close-kombat fighter, but I think my keepaway game with him is good too. I use mixups in his combos (mix it up with slide and charge). Did you know ending blocked combos with shadow upknee makes them safe?

Bronies!!

I main Kung Lao and Johnny Cage. My style is "In Your Face". I will definitely push the pace of the fight. Constantly dash blocking and rushing. I only play defensive against Sub-Zero and Mileena.

I'm an Ermac player mostly. I play him in the typical pain in the ass mid-range zoning + bread & butter. I'm definitely weak against players who are very good at getting inside. I need to play more good Kung Laos and Raidens to step up my game. Little by little I've tried to improve with Liu Kang and Johnny Cage, though.

Honestly, that's my problem with this game. Most everybody is just so awesome that it's hard not to want to dive into new characters. There are certain guys I just can't use, though. My brain ain't wired for the likes of Cyrax, for instance. I can't process half that shit. Easily my biggest weakness with any fighting game is that I have shit execution. So I pretty much stick with "basic" characters in that sense.

Okay okay okay. I'll try to be more specific on what I do.


...I rush in and beat ass. I don't spam, I don't zone, I don't corner (Unless you deserve it). I rush, knockdown, back up to let my opponent get a chance to attack, and rush again.

Kinda defensive. More aggressive. But I haven't played this game in a long time so I'm probably a bit rusty.

I like playing as Liu Kang because I can have two different playstyles with him: Rushdown and zoning.

I can use blockstrings and all that other stuff with him, and if my opponent gets away from me, I can start shooting high and low fireballs and instant air fireballs. Liu Kang's rushdown isn't as good as Johnny Cage's and his zoning isn't as good as Kabal's, but he can do both. He's like a toned-down, balanced Kabal ('cause Kabal can also play rushdown and zoning).

----------

Johnny Cage's is a pretty balanced fighter, in my opinion. He can play rushdown really well, and has good wakeup options. But he doesn't have good high-low mixup options, and has poor zoning and anti-zoning tools. (Eclipse Kick is unsafe when blocked, gets punished by a full combo.)

Johnny has a solid up-close game, but I throw some Forceballs once in a while, to gain some meter. The X-ray counter is my favorite part about Johnny Cage. It can counter anything, even other X-rays, as long as the attack is done close to him. Here's a gimmicky trick I learned in another part of the web: Johnny's b+2 charge attack can be dash-canceled. So picture this scenario:
----------
Johnny Cage hits the opponent with a combo, ends with Nut Punch. Opponent is in stagger state from the Nut Punch, (Johnny has all three bars of meter) Johnny Cage waits for half-a second before charging his b+2. The Opponent notices this and thinks "A dumb charge move? Punish that!", then Johnny Cage dash-cancels his b+2 and activates X-ray. The result is damaging the opponent's genitals severely and breaking their back.
----------
The gimmick part is that this dirty trick will probably only work once on an opponent.