Mortal Kombat 1/Glossary

#

•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

•Cancel-

•Cancel Advantage-

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

•Comeback Mechanic-

•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 and/or 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

D

•Damage Over Time (DOT)- a property of certain moves that inflicts steady unavoidable dmg on the opponent after the initial attack has landed, allowing the aggressor to increase the dmg output of kombos and chip

•Damage Scaling- refers to

•Dash- the act of double-tapping Forward to move towards the opponent more quickly/farther than a normal forward walk allows

•Dash Block- the act of cancelling a dash with a Block to remain defensive while moving quickly across the screen
(see also: Wavedash)

•Dash Cancel- A.) the act of cancelling a dash with an attack, block, crouch, or forward jump B.) the act of cancelling certain moves with a dash or backdash

•Delay- A.) the act of holding a certain attack to prolong or cancel its startup B.) the act of holding Flip Stance when knocked down to slightly prolong the knockdown state

•Dial-a-Kombo-

•Directable-

•Disjointed- refers to a move’s hitbox not having an attached hurtbox which causes the attack to take priority over a non-disjointed move that attempts to trade/kounter it (i.e. swords/weapons, projectiles, spirits/telekinesis, etc.)

•Divekick- a special move or command that causes an airborne character to drop towards a grounded opponent with a unique kick attack, often resulting in a knockdown or launcher

•Dmg- shorthand for Damage

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

G

•Gap- refers to a duration of time between the successive hits of a string/sequence where the opponent is not in hitstun and able to perform certain actions to interrupt follow-up hits (i.e. reversal, poke)

•Getup- also known as a wakeup; a mechanic that allows players to perform certain actions either immediately after being knocked down or during their knockdown state (i.e. Getup Reversal, Delay Getup)

•Gimmick- a term generally used to describe a move, sequence, and/or strategy that can be interrupted, punished, or otherwise negated, but still has potential to catch opponents off guard and open up their defense

•Glass Cannon- an archetype that provides a character with a complete moveset full of various strong tools (generally of the rushdown/mixup variety) in exchange for giving them lower health than the rest of the cast (i.e. 950 HP)

•Grappler- an archetype that revolves around opening up the opponent’s defense with Throws and command grabs

•Ground Bounce- a type of launcher (often provided by aerial attacks) that bounces the opponent flat against the floor & quickly up in the air again, allowing for follow-up kombos

•Guard Cancel- also known as a Block Breaker; a mechanic that allows players to escape the opponent’s blockstring and reset the neutral by knocking them down at midscreen range

H

•Happy Birthday- refers to hitting two characters at once in a team/assist game; although the true definition refers to catching both characters in a kombo/juggle, Kameo Partners can still receive a single hit and increase the dmg output of attacking the lead character

•Hard-to-Blockable- a term used by the kommunity to describe a mixup/setup (i.e. 50/50) that is not necessarily unblockable due to the game’s 5 frames of unblockable protection, but is still visually hard to defend against

I

•Infinite- refers to a kombo/blockstring that allows a player to repeatedly loop a certain attack/sequence and is generally inescapable (except in situations that may allow Breaker to be used), putting the opponent into a Touch of Death situation if executed properly; typically seen as a glitch and/or oversight by players of the kommunity

•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’s “Embrace Khaos”)

•Instant Air- refers to the ability to perform an aerial move on the first frame of a jump to allow for faster startup, lowered hitboxes, and/or potential pressure/mixups between aerial & grounded options (i.e. Instant Air Dash, Instant Air Fireball, Instant Air Divekick, etc.)

•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, jump attacks)

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-

K

•Kameo- the assist fighter or partner character selected after the lead/point character, which can be called onscreen to perform various actions that assist the lead character; can also be used to refer to the Kameo Gauge, a regenerative gauge that determines the expense of a Kameo’s assists

•Kara Cancel-

•Knockback-

•Knockdown-

•Knowledge Check- a term used to describe a move, sequence, or strategy that may require players to have knowledge of the matchup due to seeming powerful but being beatable, as well as not being utilized as often

•Kombo- refers to a kombination sequence in which more than one hit connect against the opponent in succession (indicated by the increasing kombo/hit number-counter onscreen), leaving them in hitstun until the kombo has ended or a Breaker is used; these can be done as automatic strings by inputting certain button-press sequences but can also be started, extended, or ended with various normals, specials, and/or assists

•Kounter- typically known as a counterhit (CH) in other games; refers to an attack that interrupts the startup of an opponent’s attempted attack

L

•Lab- a nickname used to refer to the Practice/Training mode

•Launcher- a move/assist that knocks the opponent upwards into the air on hit, placing them in a juggle state that can be converted into a kombo

•Lead/Point Character- the main Fighter selected initially by players to be controlled primarily in battle (with the help of their secondary Kameo Partners)

•Link-

Longcut-

Loop-

Low-

Low Profile-

M

Magic Pixel-

Main-

Mash-

Matchup/MU

Meaty-

Meta-

Meter Gain-

Meterless-

Microdash-

Microduck-

Mid-

Midscreen-

Mimic-

Mirror-

Mixup

Movement-

U

Up Block-

Unblockable-

Unbreakable-

Uppercut-

V

•Vortex- refers to a situation where a player can enforce a looping mixup situation, usually by landing a restand that can force the opponent to guess correctly on the following mixup

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

X

X-Ray refers to a cinematic feature in recent MK games during certain attacks such as super moves (MK9/X/1) and Krushing Blows (MK11) where the camera reveals the internal damage being inflicted on the opponent (i.e. broken bones)

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)