Zoners get a lot of hate in the fighting game community, but is it a vocal minority or a common theme?

Welcome to Option Select. The series where we poll the FGC on ‘controversial’ topics for insight into ways players can improve both casually and competitively.

This installment features the infamous zoner character archetype. Zoners are designed to keep opponents at a set distance to make the most of their projectile setups. Projectile users with keepaway playstyles are often mistakenly called zoners. Keepaway focuses more on avoiding the opponent, regardless of their distance.

Why does the MK11 Community dislike zoners?

We sampled a small portion of the Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate community on Reddit:

“There tends to be a strong bias against zoners and projectiles users in the FGC. Do you have any issues with them? Why or not and what's one experience that best conveys your opinion?”

Most community members said their issues with zoners are largely character dependent, while only a handful said “I love fighting zoners.” 

Let’s highlight some responses to learn how we can get better against zoners, then join Open Series pro AWP for our featured Option Select response.

Zoners introduce more character variety and unique playstyles

“Some people have fun with that playstyle. Fighting games are great because of all the diverse characters and playstyles. It would be boring if every character was an unga bunga rushdown character.” - Danger_ _ranger

Zoners and projectiles in general help balance the game’s meta thanks to the additional character and option diversity. As a result, competitive play becomes more entertaining regardless of which side of the stream you’re on.

Outplaying zoners with short range characters is satisfying and good practice

“Honestly (and this might sound masochistic) I do enjoy playing a short ranged character and flawless blocking [Skarlet’s] Blood Tentacles, then outplaying the zoner in neutral and getting my reward. Some might think it's annoying but I kinda enjoy it.” - I invented D3 into Fatal Blow

Winning difficult matchups that you should lose due to character limitations like range can feel far more rewarding than games where you win with less effort. Overcoming brutal matchups is also part of improving. If you struggle against specific types of characters and want to succeed in tournaments, then playing against them is one of the best ways to improve.

But there’s nothing wrong with people that don’t want to bother against projectiles

"I’m just not in the mode for it after coming from work but I wouldn’t really change it." - Violent_ _ _ _stabber

Video games are designed to be fun for different types of players, so you can’t fault anyone that doesn’t enjoy specific matchups. Some people just want to chill and casually play their own way. This versatility widens the game’s appeal.

Remember that the optimal playstyle isn’t always the most popular, especially for players that aren’t climbing the competitive ladder.

Improving becomes difficult if zoners don’t play optimally

"When you pick Zangief you say ‘I'm choosing to have a hard time getting in and every single match against any good player, I'm GOING to get projectile spammed.’ Like if they don't spam you, they are literally playing the matchup incorrectly. And eventually you get to the point where you want your opponent to play the matchup correctly - anything else is sort of a joke/serves no purpose to improve.” - Vergilkilla

This is like when you want everyone in your local community to improve so that you can play stronger opponents and get better. If the same few moves keep working, projectile or not, then the zoner has little reason to do anything else. They'd be unwise to not do whatever is most advantageous for their character. Don’t be afraid to ask them how to adapt and counter their projectiles. You’ll both improve faster.

Most players fail to improve against projectiles due to different goals

“I can definitely say when I was really new/inexperienced/not strong at fighting games I just detested zoning. As I've played more and more FGs and different characters of different styles (both playing as and against) I've gone from being a zoner hater to kind of getting a morbid enjoyment fighting against them. I've even played zoners in some FGs (I have a pocket Robo, etc.).” - Vergilkilla

Fighting zoners requires patience and practice because they don’t fight like most of the roster. Characters designed around projectiles want to keep you at a set distance, or away in general. Meanwhile, the majority of the cast wants to close the gap and start traditional combos. These matchups can be even worse if your main lacks options to get in like counters, additional mobility, or armor. If all else fails, you might want to consider a secondary for tougher matchups.

Keep cool and speed things up to win before zoners can slow them down

"If you’re using a projectile to space me out for a bit, go for some pressure, or kombo, then I’m cool. If you’re constantly running away, then that’s when I find it boring. Zoning and keepaway are very valid playstyles though, so most of the time I’ll just quickly deal with them if I can." - JosephTPG

Zoners often try to slowdown the pace of the game, while their opponent aims to speed it up. Don’t let keepaway tactics ruin your mindset or strategy. It’s better to lose seconds on the clock instead of segments of your health. Get a few quick combo strings and block their projectiles to build more momentum over time. Sometimes a single read is all it takes to turn a game around.

The cat and mouse game isn't always fun

"I think the cat and mouse game is boring. I know there are counters, I know I can improve, I just don't like the full screen-special-moves-game that much. I mean, I take advantage of it too sometimes, but I use it more like a tool to keep a life lead or close out rounds than my whole game plan." - Dangelouss

For some, zoning is more tolerable when it is only part of a playstyle versus the entire strategy. Beyond closing out rounds, that means setups and combos as opposed to a steady stream of projectiles from corner to corner.

What makes zoners more tolerable?

"It honestly depends on the projectile. I don't really count Jade hitting me from across the screen with her triangle thing as a combo, but I think it's cool when characters with unique projectiles do it. I'm not gonna trash on a RoboCop for using projectile combos." - RemarkableDuck79

There's a difference between something like Jade hitting you with a single projectile full screen versus someone like Cetrion catching you with a string of boulders, eruptions, etc. The former requires a few inputs, while the latter requires tons of practice to nail the timing and read opponents. Whether or not that translates into respect from the community is another story.

Zoners like RoboCop are more tolerable because they are generally considered weak in the meta. Everyone loves an underdog.

Others said non-zoners abusing projectiles are even worse

"I think that if the character is meant to be a zoner then it isn’t as infuriating as if they are meant to be a rush down but are abusing their projectiles." - Mayday5-01

It’s easy to feel cheated losing to characters that zone better than those designed around projectiles. Fortunately, you can always adapt and force your opponent to switch tactics, but that doesn’t justify the design.

So is the player or game at ‘fault’ for zoners?

“Hate the player, not the game.” - SquirrelShaver

This line is a classic, but when a character is designed to have the most success played that way can you really blame the player?

Turning to zoners to crush opponents

"Zoners trivialize the gameplay, IMO. I don't hate them, but I sure as hell don't enjoy playing against them.... Unless I'm using Shang Tsung with Shake. Then I thoroughly enjoy playing against them. It doesn't mean I'm not acknowledging it as a playstyle. It's simple honesty: I don't like it, unless I happen to be particularly capable of ruining that strategy :)" - CaptainHideRealQuick

There is a special kind of enjoyment from conquering something you don't like. but when players turn to zoners as pocket characters/secondaries, do they like projectile users more than they let on or is it simply a matter of winning whatever the cost? The answer depends on the player.

Please salt responsibly

"I main Cetrion, so I am a zoner. I enjoy playing against other zoners, but I can’t stand salty zoners. You know em, they switch to Lu Kang or RoboCop because you zoned the shit out of em one round so they spam fireball or shoot their gun THE ENTIRE ROUND. I just leave, have your KL points you salty bitch." - EZZE

This isn’t exclusive to Mortal Kombat. Play enough matches, ranked or unranked, and you can almost sense when the opponent feels you’ve wronged them in some way because their playstyle becomes extremely campy. It is a valid tactic, but is it the best strategy for their character? Probably not.

The ease of zoning makes people feel robbed when losing & bored when winning

"All of the Arksys games have conditioned me into feeling like Zoners should be the hardest characters in the game to master. But for MK the zoning severely lacks versatility."

"So it's really just the style of zoning that we see most often (backdash, projectile, backdash projectile, jump back, projectile) that's less fun to play against. The challenge of flawless blocking mid and low projectiles actually makes it more fun to verse Zoners. But even in games where I'm really successful at it, I still either lose or am near death."

"Long story short, it's very easy for the typical Zoners in MK to be successful with minimal experience. People feel bored when playing them and robbed when losing to them. I think that's why most people dislike them." - Sindelian

Anime fighters like BBTAG or UNICLR have some zoners that might seem OP to casual viewers but in reality, these fighters take some serious ability to effectively use their toolkits. Meanwhile, many suggest MK doesn't have as many diverse options for zoners, leading to a less fun meta with little reward.

What NRS did well with zoners in Mortal Kombat 11

"MKX and especially Injustice 2 had massive issues with projectile spammers. MK11 basically most characters have a teleport or movement option to avoid that. I myself don't find the playstyle enjoyable to play as or against, but getting rid of zoning altogether is not the answer. MK11 did a good thing in giving options to counter it, something previous NRS games lacked" - NotSoSeriousNick

"Beginning I thought 'Zoners are trash, wahhhh' but with time you learn most have ways to counter them. It's just about learning the characters and waiting for your window. But as a life long Scorpion main, I really shouldn't complain, I have a YOLO teleport that a lot of characters don't have." - Ninjagoat123

Zoning is necessary for a healthy, balanced meta, but projectiles should never define the meta similar to how they should never be rendered useless or unviable at top-level play. Every character is designed to have a weakness. Playing around those limitations and taking advantage of your character's strengths is the core of fighting games.

Some characters unfortunately have more weaknesses or strengths than others, although you shouldn't let that stop you from maining your favorite fighter.

How can NRS improve the design of zoners?

The community suggested a few notable mechanics to further develop the zoner meta:

Safe only on hit teleports

"One option would be to give teleport safe only on hit, under every circumstance. Which means the zoner should be able to safely teleport only in a hit confirm situation, giving up potential damage for spacing. That would be fair." - OfficialCasti

Projectiles clash or nullify

"It's not the FGC it's the NRS community. In my opinion this problem would be fixed if they made projectiles cancel each other out like games such as SF, KOF, and GG. However I cannot stand zoners in MK. I'm pretty indifferent to the playstyle, heck I even play Sagat and Mai their games, just MK has found a way to make them particularly way more annoying." - Endusdecadus

Increase projectile recovery

"I don’t mind zoning itself. I hate MK zoning. I think the recovery on a lot of the projectiles in this game is way too fast and even though there are definitely ways to deal with it, it’s the reason you hear people complain about spamming." - Teambooler24

Learn more about fighting zoners from AWP, a pro Sonya main from Europe, in our featured Option Select response, then look forward to our next installment of Option Select on tier lists. Include these extra options in your Open Series arsenal and let us know if you have any feedback or topics you'd love to see in the future!