Board Thread:Mortal Kombat X/@comment-25163804-20150130070850

Rick Astley jokes aside, this is an analysis on the most recent Kombat Kast, which revealed a new character: Ermac, sporting a very similar design to those 'concept arts' we saw way back when, and whose trailer I will forego in favor of showing the rest of his gameplay instead. Also, the stream has mentioned the content in upcoming streams, including



Kitana/Reptile play, which I'll cover later, and a new -ality. Also, Alternate costumes have been confirmed, but in a way that leaves even more mysteries: According to Tyler Lansdown (I think that's his name; the bearded one), some of the costumes we have seen are actually alternate



costumes for characters; which ones are which are, as of today, unknown. Also, disclaimer, as the images shown were taken right from the stream, they are likely not to be as high quality as the others I have used in the past. There is also a trend in these streams to show two characters and at least one of their variations at the start: In the first Kombat Kast, Quan Chi's circles and Kotal Kahn's totems were explained. This time, Ermac and Kung Lao was explained. And finally, the next stream will, according to Tyler Lansdown, feature Kitana and Reptile and their variations. Also, very briefly, I want to point out that there is a 25th square in the character select screen: It's the grey one at the far right. Might this be a 'dlc' square for Goro?



Anyway, onto gameplay analysis. Right away, we can see two new stages have been added to the stage select. One is called 'Destroyed City' and another is named the 'Refugee Camp'. Destroyed City is briefly highlighted before the Kove is selected, and a new addition to the MKX character selection occurs. The characters walk away from each other, with their own animations; Ermac floats away, Sub Zero looks back before walking away, and later, we see several other characters follow suit: Kotal, Kung, Scorpion, Kano and Raiden. We also get to see a different Mortal Kombat X loading screen: Instead of a character render and a bar, we see the Mortal Kombat X logo



and a loading bar. Personally, I preferred the render with the loading bar, but this loading screen is awesome, too.

As the fight begins, we see that the guys at the Kombat Kast have listened to the fans and have kept their mouths shut for all (except for one) intro dialogue sequences, and it will provide a wealth of new information. One of these pieces of information is that Ermac now has Shao Kahn's soul, and while he is free, it would seem Kahn's soul dictates more of his actions than he realizes. Side note: does this mean that Ermac is now the round announcer/sayer of 'Finish Him/Her?' Semi-rhetorical question



of the day. Back on track, the first of Ermac's variations shown is the Master of Souls variation, which can be distinguished from the others by up to 3 soul balls surrounding him. This variation gives him the Soul Ball attack, which, if all 3 souls are orbiting Ermac, can bind the foe briefly, leaving them open to combos. It would seem one gains these souls over time. Ermac's fighting style is very dangerous and some would say 'cheap', due to his hovering, teleports, and many telekinetic abilities. One of the best evasive techniques he has is called 'Vanish', exclusive to this variation, where he disappears for a moment and becomes completely unhittable. However, one can see where he will appear from due to the souls orbiting Ermac's last location, as seen here.



Ermac's Vanish can be used in mid-air as well, and can even be used twice in a row, though the second usage lasts far less than the first one. You can even attack out of the Vanish, which is going to be super annoying. After a brief demonstration of this variation and a short fight, the Kast changes variations and moves to the Jungle, showing off Ermac's Mystic variation. This variation enhances his Tele-



Slam and Tele-Throw attacks. One such enhancement is to be able to hoist the foe into the air, leaving them open to attacks. This is going to allow Ermac to pull off some dangerous combos, including potentially some positively lethal X-Ray combos. The Tele-Throw is enhanced to land two hits and do about 10% damage, which is fairly respectable considering uppercuts and throws do about 12% damage. Also worth noting, but the teleport attack that is in all 3 variations has been largely buffed when Meter Burned, landing a few extra hits for 19% damage.



Ermac has several combo options available. His charging attack from MK9 is remodeled and features several hits at greater range; at one point you don't even see Ermac as he lands telekinetic strikes on Sub Zero. When he fails to finish a foe, he has a kind of 'Soul-Nova' as souls fly around him as Ermac shouts. Talk about being a poor sport. For those keeping track, by the way, there are 13 of 24 characters revealed for Mortal Kombat X (14 of 25 if you count Goro), nine of which are returning characters. The Spectral Variation, shown next, features a glowing spot on Ermac's chest, and replaces his hover with the ability to fly around the arena like Hawkgirl in Injustice. This



allows him to strike from the air, evade many moves launched at him by his foes, and Ermac can even use interactable objects while in mid-flight. This mobility will be useful both offensively and defensively, especially dodging projectiles like Kung Lao's hat and returning fire with an aerial kick to the face. Ermac even has the ability to fly forward a good distance, like an aerial dash, good for covering ground without getting punished. However, like Hawkgirl, Ermac cannot block while flying around, so characters with decent aerial game like Kung Lao or characters with special moves that cover a lot of aerial distance like Raiden will be able to hit him no problem. Ermac's X-Ray is by far one of the strangest I've seen, activated with a move very similar to his Tele-Push, which may confuse your foes. Ramming into your foe and butting heads at such extreme speeds is absolutely ridiculous. The kick to the throat isn't so bad,



and neither is the flip stomp on Scorpion's face, but it's that first hit that turns me away from this fatality. In this Kombat Kast's 'Background Breakdown', the Destroyed City is highlighted, with Kotal Kahn going against Ermac. We also learn that Ermac and Kotal had an allegiance, and Ermac betrays him at some point in order to take the throne to Outworld... seems old habits die hard. One of the first interactibles featured in this stage is one similar to the branch in the Snow Forest, but this time featuring the muffler from a car. A car in the background is shown to be used to



traverse the arena, while a traffic light is used as a weapon, so too with an engine block at the other end of the stage. In the background, while not interactible, we see a survivor fight two rabid dogs... and lose, becoming an instrument of tug-o-war between the dogs. After a quick skirmish, Kotal beats Ermac down, and we see his full non-fatality pose, where he cuts his hand and offers his blood to the gods.

Ermac then gets some TLC while Kung Lao gets his time in the spotlight, where his three variations come into play. Tempest allows Kung Lao to use his hat as a potential projectile shield, though the hat must be in front of him for this to work, leading it to not be the best

defensive option. However, as an offensive weapon, this hat move works really well, especially since the meter burned version's movements are more erratic and feature up and down coverage. While not shown, it is also mentioned that this variation allows Kung Lao to move while spinning. Also shown is his throw in full, which, after a flurry of punches, features a liver strike and a knee to send the foe flying. Also worth mentioning is Kung Lao, when he MB Spins in this variation, doesn't need to hit you to cause problems; the wind caused by this human vortex will actually suck



the foe into the air and do damage, leaving them open to some dangerous combos, including one 30% combo.

After knocking Quan Chi about for a bit, we are taken to the Refugee Camp, a not-so-friendly looking place where Special Forces patrol the area, and a portal opens and likely brings in refugees from the Outworld War, as is shown



here. Kung Lao's new, razor-bladed hat comes into play here as the throws have changed in several ways. the standard throw is slower but it does more damage and stuns for more time. Kung can also use it in a low throw in order to hit the opponent low, or throw it up in order to catch aerial foes off guard. Even worse, Kung Lao can delay his hat's movements briefly by holding the button used to throw the hat, allowing him to run ahead and combo before sending the hat forward to finish the job. Finally, in the Outworld Marketplace, we see the Hat Trick variation,



probably one of the most interesting of the bunch. Here, Kung Lao sets his hat in a trap and he can call the hat back at will. This technique can scare opponents, as making the wrong move will result in a bladed hat to the head or back, and Kung Lao can call it back mid-combo, a deadly asset to this skillset.

After some discussion, and a quick battle between Ermac vs Sub Zero, one of Ermac's fatalities is shown, confirming multiple fatalities into MKX, though was it really a surprise? Anyway, Ermac's fatality is certainly... creative. After decapitating Sub Zero, he shoves it



down through Subby's neck into his gut, which explains the sounds of 'water' in the soundbyte, before ripping the head out of the torso and holding it with his telekinetic powers. Not only creative, but also showcased before; remember the stream tease from yesterday? Also shown was Kung Lao's fatality, in full, but not against someone one would expect at first; Raiden. First, Kung Lao throws down his hat before tripping up Raiden, who gets up and, understandably, wears a horrified expression



on his face. As he tries to back away, Kung Lao steps on his back, and forces him to get slashed in half by the equivalent of a gigantic rotary saw. Jesus, these fatalities are getting dark. And last, but certainly not least, Kung Lao's X-Ray is shown, and is the only X-Ray that requires you to block multiple blows at the start, like Sonya's from MK9, so far. Here's how it goes: Kung Lao kicks three times horizontally, then throws his hat in your face, embedding it in your skull. He then grabs the



hat and slams you down, shattering your spine and ribs, then teleports underneath you as you bounce up and he knees you in the stomach, shattering the organs and spine. After that, he finishes Ermac in the same way as he finished Raiden. And with that, the analysis is complete. As always, thanks for reading, and do let me know what you think. :)

Bonus Picture: Raiden's reaction to what fate awaits him.  