I played the demo of this game when it came out, and I got really good with Scorpion and Johnny. I think I learned a 63% damage combo with Scorpion or something like that. I finally bought it since I was given an Amazon gift card for Jew-Christmas and now I don't seem to be able to do... anything. I'm aware they patched the hell out of it; Scorpion especially.

Do certain moves very frequently create a pop-up? Are there trends that exist across all characters? I tried searching on Youtube... but for whatever reason every 2014 video I get is either in Portuguese or Russian or is a silent 240p compilation of combos with no instruction.

In the movelist there's a list of Kombos that are a good place to start. It will give you an idea of how moves chain together and what can be strung together with what.

@corevi: Oh I've learned all those for a couple characters. I didn't pick up on how they're supposed to connect to each-other, though.

MK combos are just press the required series of button very quickly without duplicating any of the presses, obviously with juggles you might have to wait for a bit. In general moves that have the same button as the last button pressed in a basic combo are easier/more likely to be chainable. As far as specific combos go you can either look them up or create them yourself. There's nothing as asinine as one frame links or anything, given enough practice almost anyone should be able to learn how to do the vast majority of MK9 combos (MK vs DC is tougher).

For the most part, attacks that pop-up do so consistently. Neutral-jump punch is a pop-up that exist across the entire cast. I can't linky because I'm on my phone but I did a handful of combo videos for the wmfightclub channel we had for a little while so you can search for that. They were right after release so a lot of it may have been patched out but it's better than nothing. Actually the entire crux of the sick 50/50 setups i concocted for Scarlett turned out to be a bug that was patched a few days after she came out so boo. I'll come back to give a more thoughtful post when I'm home.

@development:

Do certain moves very frequently create a pop-up? Are there trends that exist across all characters?

Each character should have, at minimum, one way to generate a pop-up or off-the-ground bounce situation against a neutral-standing opponent. A point blank neutral jumping punch (that is, a punch delivered during a non-left-or-right-moving jump) is a universal way all characters can get opponents off the ground for juggle opportunities. Characters typically have specific standing attack strings which will get opponents in the air or lock opponents in place long enough to deliver a second and third attack string.

Standing attack strings can be found in the pause screen under the move list. While trying to chain attack strings together into larger combos, it’s important to keep in mind a couple of things:

• Special Moves – Mortal Kombat characters are rife with special abilities designed to keep enemies in place. Scorpion's spear is a great, obvious example. Using a simple punching attack string (like Scorpion’s X, X, X/ Square, Square, Square string) and immediately following it with a spear command creates a situation where, if successful, your opponent has taken the damage from the four attacks and is stunned long enough for you to begin a second attack string.
  • Sub-Zero is another great example, since his Ice Ball attacks—obviously—freeze enemies in place.
  • This isn’t just about keeping people rooted to the ground, though. If you can find a pop-up string, you can utilize special moves—like Reptile’s force ball—to maintain a juggle state, giving you ample opportunities for multiple attack strings. A standard flow of a pop-up combo, using Reptile as an example, follows as such:
    • Pop-up string->special move->standard attack string->special move->concluding string.
• Understanding “Dead End” Strings – Some attack strings are designed to be “enders.” They ideally come at the end of a long combo and deal the final amount of damage. These strings often have long “cooldowns,” if you will, where, following the final animation of the string, you won’t have control of your character in time to begin another action until your opponent is on their feet. This means your combo will end after performing the entirety of this string. The game, in the move list, does not delineate between which of these strings are “Dead Ends” and which can link directly into a special move, as stated above. You have to discover for yourself which is which. If you’re finding that it’s difficult to perform a spear after a particular string, it’s likely an “ender,” a “dead end.”
  • You can still utilize Dead End Strings to initiate or maintain combos. Sometimes the first one or two animations of a Dead End string are pop-ups or simple strikes. In these cases, simply consult the move list and compare the command to the animation. If Back + Y, X is a Dead End String that starts with a pop-up but ends in a grab, Back + Y is the pop-up, and X is the grab. Try only hitting Back + Y. Then continue experimenting with your combo. This philosophy holds true for all Dead End Strings. You can almost universally ignore the last button press of a Dead End String and incorporate it into a larger series of commands.

Okay. That’s probably a lot of text to explain two not-so-difficult concepts. You’re probably thinking I’m some kind of weirdo.

Well, you’re not wrong. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have more to tell you:

• Remember! Practice mode is your best friend. I spent more time in Practice Mode than I did in the game proper. Let yourself fail, let yourself experiment. It’ll feel great to nail that massive combo again.

@historyinrust: That was super helpful! For real. Makes it sound really simple. I spent over an hour in Practice just to get some combos down. Ended up consistently landing a 34% combo on a 'hard' opponent with Sektor, which was good enough for me for right now. I got the "spill 10,000 pints of blood achievement," so I must've been in there awhile. I have noticed certain combos end differently, seemingly so you can follow them up with an appropriate teleport or spear or what-have-you.

I feel like I actually have an idea of what I should be looking for, now! Thanks.

Awesome! Glad to be helpful!

When you're feeling more comfortable, or just want to try on some of the more standardized combos to see if they fit, head over to testyourmight(dot)com's character forums. Here's the one for Scorpion, and here's the one for Sektor. Look for combo threads or beginner combo threads. For now, don't spend a ton of time learning wall combos, and spend even less trying to learn tag combos.

I don't know what platform you're playing on, but either way, it's good to know the community's notation for combo strings. They use numbers to represent the face buttons.

• Square/X = 1
• Triangle/Y = 2
• X/A = 3
• Circle/B = 4

A lot of the time they'll separate strings with tildes, but otherwise, it should be pretty self explanatory. With a little practice, you'll be modifying some of their combos into your own.

Last but not least! Most, if not all of these lessons carry over from Mortal Kombat to Injustice. So if you ever feel like trying your hand at another Netherrealm fighting game, you'll enter with a head start.

@historyinrust: Awesome! Thanks again for all the assistance.