Mortal Kombat 1/Glossary

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•50/50- a mixup between two options (i.e. strike/throw or Low/Overhead) that is unreactable due to their similar startup speed, forcing the defender to read or “guess” correctly while blocking

A

•Abare- refers to a situation of successfully “disrespecting” the opponent’s frame advantage by attacking (often by “mashing”)

•Active- the window of an attack animation during which the attack can connect with the opponent

•Aerial Kombo- a kombo string that can only be performed on hit against an airborne juggled opponent

•Aggression- may refer to the forward movement naturally provided by certain moves/strings that can help characters advance in on their opponent; may also be used to refer to a playstyle that revolves around pressuring and/or chip-damaging the opponent with an onslaught of attacks

•Aggressor- refers to the offensive player who is attacking/pressuring the opponent (commonly referred to as the “executing player” in this wiki)

•Air Dash- a special move or command that can allow characters to dash in a given direction while airborne

•Airborne- refers to being considered “in the air” by jumping, performing certain moves, or being juggled/floated by opponent attacks

•Air-to-Air- refers to kountering an airbone opponent with a jumping attack (not to be confused with Anti-Air)

•Ambush- a category of Kameo assist that can be controlled independently of the lead character as long as they are not in hitstun; some select Ambush assists may be possible to execute while in blockstun (i.e. Jax’s “Gotcha Grab”)

•Ambush Cancel- refers to the ability to cancel an Ambush assist into another built-in assist option, usually at the cost of Kameo Gauge (i.e. Tremor “Transmute” options, Frost “Ice Wall” into “Ice Krash,” etc,)

•American Reset- a reset achieved accidentally by dropping a kombo (ideally in MK with the last connected attack leaving the opponent standing)

•Animality- a Finisher that morphs the winning character into an animal to slaughter the loser

•Anti-Air- refers to kountering an airborne opponent with a grounded attack (not to be confused with Air-to-Air)

•Armor- a property given to some moves that allows them to absorb an attack (indicated by a white flash) and receive its dmg without undergoing its hit reaction

•Armor Break- refers to a situation of absorbing an attack’s armor (by landing as many hits as the move has ”hits of armor”)

•Assist- a move/ability performed by the Kameo Partner

•Autocorrect- refers to a situation of a move that inadvertently switches sides being automatically switched around to face the opponent properly

B

•Backdash- the act of double-tapping Back to move backwards more quickly/farther than a normal backwards walk allows

•Bait- refers to conditioning an opponent into performing a specific movement/action with the intention of kountering/punishing them for doing so

•Balance- refers to the collective strength/weakness of all characters measured against each other to determine if certain character(s) is too overpowered/underpowered in comparison

•Bar- a section of Super Meter (divided into 3) that can be spent individually to enhance abilities or all at once to perform a Breaker

•Block- the act of holding the Block standing or crouching to guard against attacks

•Block Advantage- the frame advantage or disadvantage of a blocked attack (measured in frames)

•Blockstring- a kombo string and/or pressure sequence (ideally without gaps) performed against a blocking opponent

•Blockstun- refers to the effect caused by blocking an attack which disables the use of most moves/assists until the blocking player has recovered

•BnB- refers to a character’s Bread n Butter kombo, a standard sequence mutually agreed upon by the kommunity as being a character’s easiest and/or most optimal kombo

•Box Jump- refers to an attack/assist or command jump that causes the character to jump upwards and then fly forward (i.e. Sonya’s “Square Wave”)

•Breaker- a mechanic that allows players to escape a kombo for 3 bars of meter by holding (Forward + Block)

•Broken/Busted- a term often used by players to describe a character’s/mechanic’s strength(s) as “unfairly” advantageous, to the point of ‘’breaking the game

•Brutality- a Finisher that must be performed as the last attack of the match before the “Finish Him” screen can occur, triggering a unique “mini-Fatality” animation from certain moves if all requirements are met

Z

•Zoning/Zoner- refers to a playstyle/archetype that revolves around attacking from a distance and/or keeping opponents out of close-range (usually with projectiles, long-ranged normals, and/or attacks with pushback)