Mortal Kombat 1/Havik/Introduction

Introduction

Rebellious Anarchist

"A citizen of the realm of Seido, Havik is sworn to take down its oppressive regime and free his people. There, order is prized above all else. Lawbreaking is met with strict punishment. Its citizens live in strictly regulated castes. As a member of Seido’s lowest caste, Havik had neither rights nor privileges. He seethed with anger at the injustice. When he is brutally punished for a minor crime, Havik finally decides to act. He sets out to destroy Seido’s regime and replace it with an anarchist utopia. Once he breaks Seido’s social order, Havik will free its citizens. Together, they will live in blessed anarchy."

Havik is a Brawler/Mixup tnatabmok with Setplay seitilibapac that boasts the highest base health (1100 HP), slow strings and staggers that are safe/plus with Overhead/Low options, and specials with armor or unbreakable properties while still playing neutral with decent movement, advancing attacks, and several ”disjointed” abilities (that are not disjointed but rather alter his hitbox by contorting/mutilating his own body); his gapless 112 string with a 23f Overhead ender explodes his head on hit and is +3 on block, his S3/B4 normals extend their hurtbox by kicking his feet off, and his S22 string with a safe 20f Overhead rips his arm off. Other useful advancing tools include F1 staggers with Low/Overhead options, a fast/safe double-Low (F43), and an advancing Mid string (B22) with 19f Throw/Low options. Helping Hand (DB1) is a launcher that becomes an armored knockdown if Havik is hit during its startup, while Nether Snatcher (DB2) is an unsafe 17f Low launcher that becomes an armored knockdown and +8 on block when Enhanced; DB2 can be used in special-cancels to further enforce his grounded 50/50s while his 15f (Air) EX DB4 launcher can be used to enforce aerial Overhead mix.

Strengths

Weaknesses

High Health: With 1100 base HP, Havik is tied with General Shao as the two most durable characters in the game. With this much HP, he can largely disregard Kameo health penalties and becomes a true boss character with those offering a bonus. His high health is also crucial for his armored attacks and trade centered moves, like Seeking Neoplasm (BF3); Easily Plus: Havik is plus on block from a significant portion of his grounded normals, the most important ones being 11 (+3 with no gap) and 21 (+6). He can also easily make himself plus with EX Neoplasm or Seeking Neoplasm. Mixup Monster: His new low scoop is his meterless launcher and is complemented by a huge air stretch kick that hits Overhead and combos with meter; Berserker Armor: The enhanced low scoop gives him a more standard armored attack to wake up with, while his arm rip has a faster startup, retaining its 3 hits and kombo potential if the armor doesn't trigger; Power for Power: Many of the above changes made in Khaos Reigns add up to increased damage potential and more openings to start kombos with; Safe Kombo Starter: Neoplasm will start kombos if the enemy is in hitstun, giving Havik a safe kombo starter that he can cancel into for one-hit confirms. Beyond its use as a safe kombo starter, Neoplasm is also fantastic zoning tool, EX Neoplasm can be applied for setups, and Seeking Neoplasm lets Havik go for high-reward trades or pressure resets. Unblockable Setups: Havik's most conspicuous tool, EX Blood Bath lets Havik set up an unblockable reset on the enemy, vastly improving his potential reward from an opening. To avoid it, the enemy must take a massive risk with an armored getup, potentially opening them up to an even more severe kombo punish than the reset itself. Certain characters with stubby armored moves do not even have this option and must eat the reset.

Lots of Plus Frames, No Frametraps: Havik's fastest kombo starter Mid is his 15f F4. None of his normals give enough plus frames to guarantee anything more than a D1, making abare with your own D1 a surprisingly effective option for halting his pressure. Sluggish, Committal Attacks: Neoplasm is generally a low commit, but Havik's normals are slow, difficult to place, and easily punished on whiff. Exacerbating the problem is his lack of dependable close-range and long-ranged normals, forcing Havik to play at a highly specific ideal distance where he can be easily mashed if he's too close and easily whiff punished if too far. His primary mid string also remains prone to being low profiled; Khaos Reined In: EX Blood Bath can now only be performed when Havik is below 30% HP; keeping the tether active also now drains his health in exchange for converting it into more meter.