Mortal Kombat 1 players have come together to agree on one thing: Combos last entirely too long. Between a minute-long Shang Tsung combo going viral and people deciding to put their controllers down the moment they get hit, players want some serious balance changes.
Mortal Kombat 1 released to strong reception both critically and commercially, with longtime fans of the series and newcomers alike praising the game upon its launch.
However, as is the case with many other fighting games, the honeymoon phase is a short one. People almost immediately find ways to break the systems in place for fighting games once the masses get their hands on them, and Mortal Kombat 1 is no different.
Players have discovered that combos can be carried out for a ludicrously long time, leading to many complaints from the community about one hit meaning half of your health bar is gone.
Mortal Kombat 1 players infuriated by long combos
Getting combo length balanced out when it comes to fighting games is an extremely delicate affair, and a balance that very few developers nail.
If combos are too short or difficult to pull off, players will often feel unsatisfied with how much they’re rewarded for catching an opponent off-guard or mixing them up. If they’re too long, then the game can feel noninteractive and one-note.
Effective use of Kameos and the right combos on certain characters have players getting wrapped up in combos that last for up to a minute. Even with players taking drastically less damage as combos go on due to damage being heavily mitigated, the sheer amount of time you’re caught in the air can be incredibly difficult to play against.
That, and the reduced damage makes it harder to build meter while you’re stuck in the combo, meaning that it may be even more effective to juggle someone if they aren’t taking damage than if they are, since they can’t build enough meter to break the combo.
This is actually busted. Not because of damage. But because of how long the combo is. The round is gonna be over by the time I touch the ground. And the fact that the opponent only builds a little over one bar of meter for getting hit by it due to scaling is ridiculous. Lol!
— Patient-Impulse (@Patient_Impulse) September 28, 2023
It’s at the point where the community has started making jokes out of the game’s long combos. Not only are players putting their controllers down, they’re making dinner, doing their taxes, getting married, and living a fulfilling life all while they’re still waiting for combos to finish.
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These comments were made in jest, obviously, but it shows how far the community has gone to try and make light of a situation that’s infuriating for many. Especially for those who haven’t put in enough time to learn these extended combos just yet who want to have fun playing online.
Despite the current state of the game and many characters having the ability to carry combos for several seconds, players have been good sports when it comes to joking about it.
“This is great for drinking adult beverages. Once I see Raiden, scorpion, Smoke, Johnny, Baraka, or even Lei Mei, Kitana get the chain going, I get to sit back and relax and take a sip and provide A1 commentary of how I’m getting smacked. Insanely long chains are annoying, however, I’m impressed with the dedication and memory some people have.” Reddit user HumanSmokeMain joked.
“I played someone in Kasual who knew these chains with like 5 characters. I was thinking ‘touch grass,’ but who am I to negatively judge someone who owns the dexterity and memory like an aircraft engineer who moonlights as a professional flamenco guitar player. Impressive honestly.” the Redditor concluded.
That said, there are a fair few players who have been enjoying the flexibility of these combos and the ingenuity required to create them.
Man I love all the cool setups you can make in Mortal Kombat 1, the possibilities are almost endlesswhy yes I do want a full combo, while ending it being at large advantage and being invisible pic.twitter.com/D173wdZjWj
— Rooflemonger 🦍🦧🐵 (@Rooflemonger) September 24, 2023
This isn’t the majority of players, but it’s worth noting that not everyone hates the combo length. It leaves the community a bit split on the issue.
It’s as of yet unclear what would need to be done to fix this issue, or whether NetherRealm plan to try and tackle player frustration that has come from combos that last such a long time.
Tackling the way that combos work is a much more complex and multi-layered task than a normal balance change, meaning that players will likely be dealing with these combos for a while even if the team plans to implement changes.