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

C

•Chip Damage- refers to the reduced dmg inflicted against a blocking opponent

•Command Dash/Run- a special move or command that can grant characters a unique dash (or running stance) outside of basic universal movement, sometimes featuring built-in follow-up options such as attacks or Throws

•Command Grab- a special move or command that can grant characters a unique Throw outside of basic universal grabs; these cannot be teched, may be Enhanced to grab neutral-ducking opponents, and can be special-cancelled after certain attacks on block to cause a tick-throw (as well as used for kombo enders in certain cases)

•Command Jump- a special move or command that allows the player to perform a unique jump that grants them enhanced mobility, pressure, and/or kombo extension

•Command Normal- a Basic Attack or normal performed with a face button and a single directional input

•Conversion- refers to converting an interaction into a kombo/juggle (i.e. anti-air/jab float, Kameo assistance/interruption on certain knockdowns, etc.)

•Cooldown- the window of time undergone by certain moves/assists before they begin to regenerate and/or are available again

•Corner- the furthest edge of the stage/screen where a player can remain trapped by a pressuring opponent

•Corner Carry- refers to a sequence’s ability to push/knock the opponent towards the furthest edge of the screen (usually from midscreen or fullscreen distances)

•Countdown- a unique mechanic/gauge exclusive to Geras which can build 3 “charges” and gain access to new abilities

•Counterpick- refers to a character chosen as a direct option for countering a certain matchup; can also describe the act of ‘’counterpicking itself

•Cross-Over- a movement/action that causes the executing player to move to the other side of the opponent from in front of them (i.e. Johnny Cage’s “Shadow Dash”)

•Cross-Under- a movement/action that causes the executing player to move to the other side of the opponent from beneath them while they are airborne, typically in a juggle kombo to allow a side-switch

•Crossup- a movement/action that causes the executing player to move to the other side of the opponent from above them, typically with an airborne attack, which can be harder to anti-air

•Crouch/Duck- the act of tapping/holding Down to enter a crouching or ducking state, which can be done without Blocking to avoid Highs or allow Blocking to defend against Lows

•Crumple- a unique stun state that causes the affected character to collapse slowly to the floor, which can allow for a properly-timed attack to connect before the character falls down

E

•Empty Jump- refers to the act of landing in front of the opponent from a jump-in without connecting any aerial attack, typically to condition them into blocking and opening them up with a Throw

•Ender- a normal/string or special move used to end a kombo typically by causing a knockdown or restand

•Enhanced/EX- a version of a certain move that receives altered properties by spending meter, typically used to provide enhanced properties (i.e. block advantage, launch, armor, etc.)

F

•Fatal Blow- a desperation super available at 30% HP that can act as a comeback mechanic, providing players with a damaging cinematic attack when they are at lower health

•Fatality- the klassic Finisher of the Mortal Kombat franchise which allows players to input a unique button sequence at the “Finish Him” screen and trigger a graphic cinematic of their character murdering the opponent

•Feint- refers to the act of cancelling an attack (typically on startup by delaying/charging) to fake out the opponent

•Flash Parry- refers to a situation where certain armor moves can absorb a hit and/or be cancelled before becoming active, which can allow the executing player to safely block and/or attack the opponent

•Flawless Block- a Block performed precisely within 3 frames of an attack connecting, which negates pushback and chip

•Flawless Victory- a perfect win achieved without receiving any dmg/chip

•Float- refers to a situation where attacking the opponent during the animation of certain moves will trigger a hit reaction that automatically causes them to enter an airborne/juggle state rather than remain standing, allowing for follow-up kombo conversions

I

•Infinite-

•Input-

•Install- a special move or command that causes a character to enter a powered-up state which enhances their abilities (i.e. Johnny Cage’s “Wowing Out,” Noob Saibot’s “Embrace Khaos”)

•Instant Air-

•Invulnerability- a property given to some moves (indicated by a yellow flash) that allows them to negate the dmg and hit-reaction of an opponent’s incoming attack; some moves may only have invulnerability against a specific type of attack (i.e. projectiles)

J

•Jab- usually refers to a character’s standing Front Punch (S1), typically the fast move of every character’s moveset; can occasionally refer to a faster or similarly fast Back Punch (S2)

•Jail-

•Juggle-

•Jump-

•Jump-in-

•Jump Cancel-

•Just Frame-

W

•Wall Jump- a unique command that allows characters to jump off of the corner or edge of the screen

•Wavedash- the act of quickly chaining dash-blocks together

•Whiff- refers to an attack missing and entering recovery, becoming vulnerable to a whiff-punish

•Whiff Cancel- refers to the ability to cancel a whiffed attack (i.e. jump normals) into a special move

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)