Mortal Kombat 1/Quan Chi

Overview

Strategy

Combos

Synergy

Matchups

Frame Data

Resources

#MK1_Quan_Chi

Introduction

Netherrealm Sorcerer

"Quan Chi was born into hard labor in an Outworld mine. He had no future, just the guarantee of certain death in its dark tunnels. To curry favor with the mine’s owner, Quan Chi informed on fellow workers who were planning a strike. It was broken and many strikers killed. The survivors were not going to forgive and forget. They plotted to kill Quan Chi. Quan Chi’s life was saved by a mysterious benefactor. In exchange for his service, she offered to free him from the mines and train him in dark magic. Quan Chi eagerly accepted. Now a master of the Netherrealm's most vile sorcery, Quan Chi plots with Shang Tsung to conquer the realms. He will not be denied."

Quan Chi is an unorthodox Zoner/Setplay sorcerer with the lowest health in the game (900 HP) as a trade-off for having various oppressive projectile/trap options as well as mixup potential; his S4 is an unsafe but tracking High boot that hits directly behind the opponent at any point onscreen and can be used to convert into kombos/projectiles. Although most of his strings have gaps vulnerable to armor reversals, he has several safe, disjointed and/or long-reaching attacks that can still hit opponents for trying to kounter his various mixups without armor; some of his tools include a jab with a safe Overhead launcher (S13), another jab string full of disjointed Low/Overhead options (213/2144) that can lead to kombos, and a safe forward-advancing Low B3 starter. Unsafe specials such as his armor reversal (EX BF4) and Low 2-bar launch (EX DB4) can also be covered by Kameo assists to remain safe and/or convert into kombos. Quan Chi’s gameplan is built on setting up various “Zone” portals that buff his powers and/or control the screen; two different portals can be placed onscreen and be moved forward or backward. Zone Of Power (DB3) alters his projectile properties, Zone Of Fear (EX DB3) repels the opponent, and Zone Of Waste (DF3) grants him armor by draining their meter; when EX Waste is properly set up, Quan's gap-filled offense closes completely and puts the opponent in an extremely unfavorable position. He can also trap opponents with his directable Field Of Bones (BDF2) which restricts their forward/backward movement even on block and can lead to resets, setups, and/or kombos on hit.

Strengths

Weaknesses

I Am Everywhere: Quan Chi's standing 4 tracks the opponent no matter where they are on screen; when used in conjunction with his projectiles and teleport, Quan Chi can punish at ranges most other characters can only dream of; Skull O'Maniac: Quan Chi has a plethora of fireballs to frustrate his opponents, with straight skulls which can destroy incoming projectiles when enhanced, aimable overhead skulls that reward reading the opponent's movement and an air fireball which fires at an oppressive angle, especially for those who can master the instant air timing. This only gets stronger when he summons his Zone of Power to enhance his fireball game further; Midscreen Monsters: Many of his buttons have excellent range and are disjointed since they are summoned creatures rather than part of Quan's own body; F21 launches a skeleton to keep opponents away on the ground, standing 3 is a tentacle lash which covers a lot of airspace, and B342 is a strong whiff punisher that full kombo launches when confirmed into. Many of these buttons also have the benefit of pushing his opponents back on hit, which keeps them at his preferred range; Trap Setups: Bone Cage can lock down his opponent even if they block, scaring them into attempting to jump out and giving Quan time to run his improved portal game; Portal Kombat: The reworked portals can now be active simultaneously and come with notable improvements, namely with Zone of Fear being given a longer active duration, making his keepout game better than before. Special mentions goes to his new portal: Zone of Waste: A summonable portal that drains meter is already pretty strong but it providing armor if enough is drained (up to three hits' worth when Enhanced) lets Quan Chi create borderline unfair okizeme and mixup scenarios in his favor; it can even give him the equivalent of MK11's Breakaway if he gets the armor while being kombo'd; Meter Advantage: Quan's reliance on special moves means he builds meter especially quickly, with Zone of Waste's drain only widening the gap in the course of a match;

No Panic Button: His basic pokes are uniquely slow, as his D1 is 9F startup and -10 on block; he can get steamrolled if his opponent gets in on him and he can't punish their pokes like everyone else can. This weakness in defense is exacerbated by the next point; Squishy Wizard: He starts at 900 HP, tied with Nitara for the lowest in the game, so he dies faster than any other character in the game for his mistakes. This also affects his choice of Kameos as he may prefer one which gives him extra HP to address this weakness; Dicey Reversal: Much like in MKX, his Enhanced teleport drop has a lot of problems when used on wakeup, as its slow startup and awkward tracking can make it punishable in more situations than other characters will encounter with theirs; Meter Issues: Enhanced Beyond the Fog, (which would otherwise be his main kombo extender) costs 2 bars, which limits how often he can actually rack up large kombo damage. Otherwise, he needs to somehow set up Zone of Power to convert off his enhanced fireball for 1 bar and even then does not gain much damage from it; Gaps Absolutely Everywhere: Quan Chi is the most gap-plagued character in the game, with most of his normals having no gapless cancel options whatsoever; he needs to spend meter in Enhanced Zone of Waste if he wants to make his pressure real.

Quan Chi
Base Health	900.00
Availability

Normals and Strings

Grounded

1

1

File:MK1 Quan Chi 1 hitbox.png

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1

Sorceror Smack

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
8	2	20	17	20	3.00	H	16	0	0	-

A mediocre jab by itself, with average range and recovery but slightly longer startup. Like most of Quan's normals, every single cancel option will leave an armorable gap, including kameo summons. Has two followup routes:

• 122 follows up with slow but massive claw attacks, creating enormous pushback (with a gap). The third hit is a high, but it jails from the mid second hit. Flawless blocking does not appear to affect the pushback or frame data in any way, only mitigating the chip. Superb for creating some space on turn, as long as the enemy does not mash, and it leaves the fighters at 0 on block for a true neutral reset. 12 has curiously long cancel advantage on hit, allowing it to combo into nearly anything - in particular, 12 is one of the only strings that can combo into Cyrax Net by itself, giving Quan all the time he needs for setups. Without Cyrax, 12 can be confirmed into EX Psycho Skull for a less expensive route than EX From the Fog (low tentacle).
• 13 is an overhead that gives a meterless bounce. Crucial for close range punishes and combo construction. Eminently reactable on its own, but can be combined with From the Fog for a rewarding, if expensive and fuzzyable 50/50. Unlike Shao's 12 bounce string it will work on airborne opponents, but the second 13 in a combo will splat the enemy.

D1

D1

File:MK1 Quan Chi d1.png

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Crouching Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

The main reason why Quan's defense is terrible. Long recovery and nine frame startup make this the worst D1 in the game. Disjoint is nice but being -10 on block will nearly guarantee the counterpoke punish, regardless of the enemy character. Also hampers his offensive capability, as he is much more likely to get counterpoked if trying to interrupt on offense.

D1s are generally a non-optional move to use - being the character's fastest mid while low profiling and being special cancellable, it must be applied in certain situations. Do not entirely neglect Quan's D1, but be judicious with its usage.

2

2

File:MK1 Quan Chi 2.png

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2

Standing Back Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Important but flawed jabstring. Solid range and built in 50/50 make it a straightforward starting point for offense. Easy to confirm, but without a kameo the only combo starting option is EX Low Tentacle - a kameo that can combo from the overhead or especially the low will go a long way towards properly establishing the string's threat. While the first overhead comes out much earlier than the low, the second overhead hit will require more accurate fuzzying from the enemy, and Quan can cancel the first overhead kick into Low Tentacle to catch their fuzzy timing. Extreme gap between the first and second hit means it is very easy to mash on, so use it at a distance.

• Like most of Quan's strings, the 2 will have a gap with any cancel option.

21

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Important but flawed jabstring. Solid range and built in 50/50 make it a straightforward starting point for offense. Easy to confirm, but without a kameo the only combo starting option is EX Low Tentacle - a kameo that can combo from the overhead or especially the low will go a long way towards properly establishing the string's threat. While the first overhead comes out much earlier than the low, the second overhead hit will require more accurate fuzzying from the enemy, and Quan can cancel the first overhead kick into Low Tentacle to catch their fuzzy timing. Extreme gap between the first and second hit means it is very easy to mash on, so use it at a distance.

• Like most of Quan's strings, the 2 will have a gap with any cancel option.

2

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Important but flawed jabstring. Solid range and built in 50/50 make it a straightforward starting point for offense. Easy to confirm, but without a kameo the only combo starting option is EX Low Tentacle - a kameo that can combo from the overhead or especially the low will go a long way towards properly establishing the string's threat. While the first overhead comes out much earlier than the low, the second overhead hit will require more accurate fuzzying from the enemy, and Quan can cancel the first overhead kick into Low Tentacle to catch their fuzzy timing. Extreme gap between the first and second hit means it is very easy to mash on, so use it at a distance.

• Like most of Quan's strings, the 2 will have a gap with any cancel option.

2144

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Important but flawed jabstring. Solid range and built in 50/50 make it a straightforward starting point for offense. Easy to confirm, but without a kameo the only combo starting option is EX Low Tentacle - a kameo that can combo from the overhead or especially the low will go a long way towards properly establishing the string's threat. While the first overhead comes out much earlier than the low, the second overhead hit will require more accurate fuzzying from the enemy, and Quan can cancel the first overhead kick into Low Tentacle to catch their fuzzy timing. Extreme gap between the first and second hit means it is very easy to mash on, so use it at a distance.

• Like most of Quan's strings, the 2 will have a gap with any cancel option.

2144

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Important but flawed jabstring. Solid range and built in 50/50 make it a straightforward starting point for offense. Easy to confirm, but without a kameo the only combo starting option is EX Low Tentacle - a kameo that can combo from the overhead or especially the low will go a long way towards properly establishing the string's threat. While the first overhead comes out much earlier than the low, the second overhead hit will require more accurate fuzzying from the enemy, and Quan can cancel the first overhead kick into Low Tentacle to catch their fuzzy timing. Extreme gap between the first and second hit means it is very easy to mash on, so use it at a distance.

• Like most of Quan's strings, the 2 will have a gap with any cancel option.

B2

B2

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An awful overhead on paper, but a plethora of applications when combined with setups gives it more usefulness then expected. Make no mistake though - it is indisputably terrible when used as a conventional attack by itself, being reactable, short ranged, death on block, lacking cheap or safe followups, and having an annoying effect where the enemy stumbles backwards during the reeling animation and causes most kameo followups to whiff. When used by itself, it should only be applied as a rare surprise attack. Don't even think about using the fully charged version by itself - you will eat a full combo for trying it.

Kameos will not exactly improve the reactibility, but will give the safety and reward on hit necessary for B2 to be a usable common option. Attack kameo setups like Sektor Missile will allow B2 to be turned into a cheap combo and pressure on block, while cancelling into a safe ender like Jax Energy Wave or Sub-Zero Shoulder allow him to mostly escape full combo punishment (albeit with an armorable gap). While many summon combo starters will whiff when cancelled from B2 due to the stumble reaction on hit, the ones that do work are absolute godsends and should always be applied instead of EX Low Tentacle. Certain kameo starters will also let Quan incorporate a fully charged B2 into the combo.

The new armor portal (Zone of Waste, DF3) finally gives the fully charged B2 a definitive use outside of combos as an oki tool. On a knockdown with the portal, Quan can charge B2, armor through the enemy's armored wakeup, and then punish them with the fully charged attack for a full combo into the same situation. If the enemy blocks or delays getup, Quan will be +8. The solution to this is to getup with a string, a jump, or a multi-hitting special, but it is highly matchup dependent and Quan can shut that down with Zone of Fear instead.

B2

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An awful overhead on paper, but a plethora of applications when combined with setups gives it more usefulness then expected. Make no mistake though - it is indisputably terrible when used as a conventional attack by itself, being reactable, short ranged, death on block, lacking cheap or safe followups, and having an annoying effect where the enemy stumbles backwards during the reeling animation and causes most kameo followups to whiff. When used by itself, it should only be applied as a rare surprise attack. Don't even think about using the fully charged version by itself - you will eat a full combo for trying it.

Kameos will not exactly improve the reactibility, but will give the safety and reward on hit necessary for B2 to be a usable common option. Attack kameo setups like Sektor Missile will allow B2 to be turned into a cheap combo and pressure on block, while cancelling into a safe ender like Jax Energy Wave or Sub-Zero Shoulder allow him to mostly escape full combo punishment (albeit with an armorable gap). While many summon combo starters will whiff when cancelled from B2 due to the stumble reaction on hit, the ones that do work are absolute godsends and should always be applied instead of EX Low Tentacle. Certain kameo starters will also let Quan incorporate a fully charged B2 into the combo.

The new armor portal (Zone of Waste, DF3) finally gives the fully charged B2 a definitive use outside of combos as an oki tool. On a knockdown with the portal, Quan can charge B2, armor through the enemy's armored wakeup, and then punish them with the fully charged attack for a full combo into the same situation. If the enemy blocks or delays getup, Quan will be +8. The solution to this is to getup with a string, a jump, or a multi-hitting special, but it is highly matchup dependent and Quan can shut that down with Zone of Fear instead.

F2

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Not a bad mid by itself, being disjoint, active, and decently ranged. Useful as a more defensive option to cover space against approaching enemies, or as an a lower-commit oki normal from a distance. Mostly suffers from a lack of decent followups - the F21 string followup, while leaving no gap, is unsafe at point blank and causes next to no pushback, and his natural cancel options are either unsafe or will not combo on hit. A safe, comboing kameo followup will give it a dependable cancel option, but some will whiff if done from too far away. Mid-combo, F21 can be used as a fullscreen ender if F44 would whiff, but the longer knockdown of F44 means that it is usually the better option if applicable - the exception being in some long combos where F21 will deal a tiny bit more damage for some unknown reason.

F21

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Not a bad mid by itself, being disjoint, active, and decently ranged. Useful as a more defensive option to cover space against approaching enemies, or as an a lower-commit oki normal from a distance. Mostly suffers from a lack of decent followups - the F21 string followup, while leaving no gap, is unsafe at point blank and causes next to no pushback, and his natural cancel options are either unsafe or will not combo on hit. A safe, comboing kameo followup will give it a dependable cancel option, but some will whiff if done from too far away. Mid-combo, F21 can be used as a fullscreen ender if F44 would whiff, but the longer knockdown of F44 means that it is always the better option if applicable.

F2

d2

File:MK1 Quan Chi d2.png

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d2

Crouching Back Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Solid antiair if S3 would be too slow. Not as wide as the biggest D2s, but the disjoint is still useful. Quan barely moves his body during the attack, making it less likely to accidentally step forward into the enemy's jump trajectory. If fully prepared to antiair, S3 should be used instead for greater reward.

3

3

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3

Standing Front Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Licc.

One of Quan's best tools - a huge, disjoint attack that sweeps the air and gives easy combo followups. Superb for space covering and whiff punishing. Many of Quan's moves will entice the enemy to jump, chief among them being Bone Cage and Slow EX Skull - S3 completes these moves by giving Quan a highly rewarding, near-incontestable defense against jump-ins when prepared. Also safe on block, and if properly spaced a blocked S3 can lead into another raw S3 to catch overeager enemies.

Being a meterless jump cancel, S3 is crucial for combo pathing and can be used for kara jump cancels, usually to set up a portal with a combo extending kameo. Hold up while in the recovery of S3, and cancel the prejump frames into the desired move. Best used with the Scorpion or Janet kameos, who provide lengthy suspends for additional followups.

B3

B3

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Extraordinarily important string: low, advancing, mostly safe, and confirmable. As such, it is Quan's go-to string for a number of situations - most notably in footsies, where it is Quan's second best whiff punisher behind S3 and the large and disjoint second hit make it itself difficult to whiff punish. Also important as a meaty, as compared to F2 it gives a full meterless combo on hit and plays around delayed getup better. When a Zone of Waste is up, B3 will give better damage than 13 while catching crouching pokes.

In the corner, the height from B31 will allow certain quick recharge kameo summons to combo, including Jax Energy Wave and Frost Ice Krash, fully giving Quan a safe or even plus combo starting blockstring. As Psycho Skull is very slow and interruptible on block, cancelling B31 into one of these summons is a much more attractive option.

D3

d3

File:MK1 Quan Chi d3.png

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d3

Crouching Front Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

A poke that, while better than D1 in many ways, kind of lacks a niche. D1 remains the better choice if Quan absolutely must interrupt, and if speed isn't a priority D4 has superior range, pushback, active frames, and cancel advantage. Technically Quan's fastest recovering crouching poke, but its range is even shorter than D1. Most applicable for applying cancel mindgames from a faster poke than D4, as D3 cancelled into Low Tentacle or Zone of Fear is much more airtight than D1.

4

4

File:MK1 Quan Chi 4.png

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4

Standing Back Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Quan Chi's most important tool, and the most peculiar normal in the game. S4 will track the enemy from anywhere onscreen, including midair and mid-combo, and allow Quan to special cancel on both hit and block. It is the glue that holds the character together, and the key to his zoning, unconventional combo structure, and fullscreen punish ability.

Twelve frames is much faster than any projectile, especially at range. With this startup, S4 gives Quan a punish game that is wholly unique; anything that is -13 or worse is a guaranteed catch regardless of the pushback, fast setup moves like Shao's axe buff can be punished on reaction from fullscreen, and nearly anything can be caught on a read as long as it doesn't move out of the attack's way. The special cancel property also means that Quan can instantly start his gameplan, even on block, and certain kameos will even allow him to get a full combo. The most common special cancel is the bone cage, as it maintains the advantage on hit while still restraining the enemy on block.

Mid-combo, S4 kicks the enemy towards Quan and provides the most damage out of his single-hit special cancellable normals. Certain combo extending ambushes like Jax and Sonya will not work beyond close range, requiring S4 to kick the enemy closer and allow the ambushes to catch. Combos can be ended with S4 cancelled into a spell, allowing him to go for setup combos on both up-close and fullscreen knockdown situations. The kick-towards property is also crucial for Zone of Waste (orange) setups to keep the enemy under the portal on knockdown. With the tracking property, certain high juggles will incorporate an S4 to squeeze out more damage, such as after Sektor's Telepunch or Purple EX Skull.

S4 has two main deficiencies to consider, both relating to using it for zoning: it is easy to avoid by forward dashing or jumping, and it does not hit crouchblocking opponents. These are not minor issues, and they require Quan to approach his zoning with more nuance; still, they can be accounted for. Avoiding S4 requires the enemy to advance, where Quan can cover the space with S3, Low Tentacle, or purple fireballs, and the inability to hit crouchblocking enemies means he must properly represent the threat of Psycho Skull from fullscreen.

S4 is one of the most, if not the most commonly used of Quan's tools. Its ability to give Quan an opening to start his gameplan from anywhere onscreen is crucial to maximizing his opportunities, and cannot be left ignored for a character with a latent health penalty. Apply it whenever possible.

F4

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Exceedingly important for combos, entirely worthless outside of it. Against airborne opponents, F4 will cause a ground bounce while giving early cancel frames, giving Quan definitive routes for kameo extensions and his slower specials. Fatal Blow and Sky Drop will work unless in high gravity (and Quan should be trying to cancel into the Fatal Blow as early as possible anyways), and Low Tentacle will almost always work. Finishing the string into F44 will give a lengthy, fullscreen knockdown and is is Quan's ender of choice when distance is the priority, allowing him to start a zoning gameplan or get a kameo setup.

Don't even think of using it outside of combos; it has almost no range, lengthy recovery when not cancelled, and hits high. The one upside is that F44 is one of Quan's only two natural sequences that has no gap, the other being F21.

B4

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Not a great sweep, especially compared to the extremely powerful sweeps it competes with. Still, it's Quan's fastest standing mid, and applying it is a solid low-risk way to check the enemy when plus. The immediate knockdown is also useful to kill time for Zone of Waste to give armor.

D4

d4

File:MK1 Quan Chi d4.png

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d4

Crouching Back Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	{{{flawlessBlockAdv}}}	-

Quan's best crouching poke, boasting a strong disjoint and surprisingly generous recovery time. Quan's best option to put a low-commit hitbox onscreen, and with a handful of useful buffer options; EX Zone of Fear (DB3) will allow it to safely create space, Low Tentacle will stop counterpokes, and EX Zone of Waste (DF3) is difficult to punish when done at maximum range and immediately starts a dangerous portal situation. D1 is still faster and remains better for interruptions, but outside of point-blank abare D4 is a much stronger option.

D+F+4

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A strange kick, intended as a mid counterpart to S4 but flawed in its practicality. Being even slower than S4, all the ways to dodge that attack are even more applicable against D+F+4, meaning that it's rather difficult to get it to land at all - Bone Cage seems to be the best option. While being able to hit crouchblocking enemies is a boon compared to S4, being unable to special cancel the attack means that its reward on both block and hit is rather limited, and S4 remains a more lucrative option in most situations. The move is still quite new and remains underexplored, but for now it seems like its only real use is as a mid check against an already pinned enemy.

Aerial

J122

j1

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j1

Jumping Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Air string meant for maximum space creation, shoving the enemy fullscreen while pushing Quan backwards. Despite its extremely sick animation it is rarely used, as it can whiff if done at high gravity and J21 into F44 deals more damage with a longer knockdown. Certain routes will incorporate its backwards movement to keep Quan within range of a purple portal to immediately begin zoning, but they are very rare. As J1 has quicker startup than J2 it is a better choice for air-to-airs, but in most combos J21 remains a better filler due to its larger hitbox, the exception being in some very high gravity routes where the slower startup necessitates a J12 ~ Sky Drop instead of a J21.

J21

j2

File:MK1 Quan Chio j2.png

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j2

Jumping Back Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Quan's ground bounce string, also with an extremely sick animation but much more widely used than J122. An important part of nearly every Quan Chi combo, with some of them incorporating it as both starter and ender. The two hits (and especially the first hit from J2) have a surprisingly wide hitbox, greatly widening its applicability, alleviating its on-the-slower-side 11 frame startup, and encouraging its usage as an improvisational extender. The ground bounce means that as long as both hits connect a Sky Drop cancel is guaranteed to work, even in Cyrax chopper throw combos with extreme gravity scaling.

J24, the alternative followup to J2, is intended as a close-range ender but is not terribly useful. J21 ~ Sky Drop will deal more damage, J21 by itself deals less damage but will give a longer knockdown in almost every situation (on top of the special cancel for a better oki situation), and in the corner J24 has a nasty tendency to side switch. Like the rest of Quan's air strings, it does have a very cool animation though.

JK

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A great jumpkick on paper, but Quan is rarely trying to jump in on the enemy. Still, in the rare case that he is looking to jump in (say, he's fighting another zoner and is looking to jump over a fireball), his jump kick will perform admirably. Following it up on hit is a little tricky though; S4 will usually whiff, and the enemy is too far away for F2 or S2 to work. Generally the better thing to do is to cancel the jump kick into Zone of Fear, which will give space on block while stifling the enemy's wakeup options on hit. As always, be prepared to empty jump to bait an upblock - B342 is a fantastic string to punish on a successful read.

Specials

Head Rush (BF1)

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Pretty basic, even mediocre projectile on its own. Quan rarely uses the regular version on its own, though; he can fire it from the air to hit mid, he can do the EX skull to cover the ground, destroy projectiles, and start combos, and he can use the Zone of Power skulls for a fantastic all-in-one zoning tool. The plethora of strong fireball versions means that the basic, BF1-on-the-ground version is largely irrelevant in his gameplan, and he should be looking to apply its various and robust upgrades.

The air skull fires downwards and hits mid. As always in MK, instant air fireballs are the fastest way to create a mid projectile, so be sure to practice them. Be wary of its unusually shallow angle; it can be difficult to apply it against enemies at close or moderate range, further emphasizing the importance of instant air skulls. The fastest way to input them (on a controller) is to do up+back, bring the thumb down slightly to only press back, and then quickly do forward + 1.

EX Skull creates a massive skull with a number of properties. It moves at the speed that Quan dictates, it destroys projectiles as it advances, and it puts the enemy into an elongated, comboable hitstun once it connects. The natural recovery on Quan is too long to combo from a point blank 12 ~ EX Skull path, but from anything beyond point blank it is a functional pickup. The startup is long, but if he can put it up an EX Skull immediately gives Quan total control over the fireball situation, which he can press by putting up a spell or applying additional fireballs to cover the sky (tbc)

Psycho Skull (DB1)

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Central zoning tool, used to discourage jumping. Can be aimed surprisingly late into its startup, so don't just fire and forget - make sure it hits its mark. Causes a fixed ground bounce against airborne enemies, allowing Quan to continue the combo regardless of the gravity (tbc)

Field of Bones (BDF2)

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A cage of bones that restricts enemy movement, summonable at any range. Highly active and plus on hit, and will erupt to restrict movement on both block and hit. No cooldown, so it can be spammed. Central for zoning, setups, and oki.

Bone Cage (tbc)

Zone of Power (DB3)

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The first of Quan's three portals, and probably the weakest. As previously stated, Zone of Power improves Quan's fireballs (tbc)

Zone of Fear (DB3 EX)

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A portal that shoves the enemy away. Quan's only way to safely get enemies off his back, and it still isn't airtight in certain matchups... (tbc)

Zone of Waste (DF3)

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One of the strongest lockdown tools in the game, if not the strongest by itself (tbc)

Falling Death/Sky Drop (BF4)

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Quan's venerable armored option. Technically the best version of Sky Drop that has ever existed, and still pretty bad. As always, its lethargic speed is its undoing; its 25 frame startup is longer than the recovery of most pokes, allowing the enemy to still block the drop as it comes down even if Quan had armored through their poke. Also has an unpleasant tendency to whiff against certain highly advancing moves, such as the gap in Baraka's DF2. Generally too slow and easily anticipated to be an anti-zoning tool, though it's not bad for snagging enemies in flight stances.

Still, make no mistake - as far as 2D MK goes, this is the best that Sky Drop has ever been. On whiff it recovers in a surprisingly quick 19 frames, allowing it to be intentionally whiffed on oki to move yourself next to the enemy and kill time for a Zone of Waste. Kameos will allow it to be turned into a combo on hit or be safe on block. As a combo ender, it will always combo from J21 and kills plenty of time for a guaranteed armor proc from Zone of Waste, but without a zone nearby its reward on hit is mediocre at best and other enders should be applied instead.

From the Fog/Low Tentacle (DB4)

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This move looks absolutely awful on paper, and to a degree it is - extremely unsafe on block, no greater damage (and less hit advantage) than a simple string ender, infamous two bar EX cost, and its notoriously stringent kameo continuation options (only Sektor and Janet, basically). All of these are true; unless going for the riskiest, most expensive, once in a round yolo mixups possible, this is not a useful move outside of enders, and maybe trying to squeeze out a bit of damage in a long combo to secure a round. You should be certain of the EX's necessity before trying it, as its expensive cost will leave you sorely depleted if they're still alive.

From the Fog is not meant to fill these purposes. Instead, its purpose is to give a 100% consistent knockdown situation with a lengthy animation. No matter the circumstances or the combo gravity when landing it, From the Fog will put you at +15, jump distance, and with a long enough animation to guarantee a Jax Ground Pound, a Sektor missile, a Darrius heelturn, or any other ambush kameo that needs time to land. This is especially important for Zone of Waste - From the Fog will always give you enough time for an armor proc to appear, and being +15 allows Quan to armor through the enemy's antiair (tbc)

Overview

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