Sticking to one character will not only help define your personal playstyle but also help you learn and grow as a player. Learn how to master your most played character, or main, and your name will almost always come up in conversation alongside them.
For every mainstay like Scorpion or Kitana, you have newbies like Rambo or even the Joker, who are added as special guests. You never know just who’s going to pop up, which is part of the fun.
While many of the game's core characters have remained the same over the years, there's always a new face around the corner. That means that there's always another character to master. But if you're new to the game, who do you start with? Do you head toward the familiar fighters or seek out newcomers? We've taken away the guesswork when it comes to getting started in Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate.
Whether you’re looking to tune up your skills to eventually take part in tournament play or you just want to be able to hold your own in online multiplayer, these are suggestions you can run with and learn in a fairly expedient manner. These are the best Mortal Kombat fighters for beginners and why you should consider picking one up.
Scorpion
Scorpion has long been viewed by the whole of the fighting game community as one of the simplest combatants to get to know. He represents the Mortal Kombat series as a whole and is practically built to get newbies comfortable with what the game has to offer.
He's well-rounded, with high damage and mobility. Not only is he lethal for up-close punishment, but his projectile makes him a shoo-in for fantastic ranged combat. Thanks to his teleportation, he's also able to block others' projectiles and ranged attacks. He's fantastic for counter zoning as well, which makes him a great character for getting to know all of the building blocks of combat.
One of Scorpion’s greatest weaknesses is that some of his normals are slow.
Easy Scorpion Beginner Combos:
- Hell Port Cancel, (Air) Demon Slam
- Death Spin, Death Spear Kombo, Burning Spear
Liu Kang
Liu Kang is another Mortal Kombat mainstay who's simple to jump into the game with and cause plenty of carnage. Much like Scorpion or Sub-Zero, Liu Kang is a ubiquitous Mortal Kombat mainstay that most players will likely recognize.
His fireballs, bicycle kicks, and kung fu moves make him a formidable opponent, but also an extremely versatile fighter to approach for beginners. His flying kick is great for immediately closing the distance and backing up your opponent into the wall for an immediate string of combos. He's fast, furious, and fiery. If your enemy happens to dodge an attack in one direction, Liu Kang can simply launch another flurry.
His combos are simple to learn as well, so there's very little work to put into that end.
Kabal
Kabal made his debut in Mortal Kombat 3. He’s a great character for beginners because he’s balanced and fairly easy to learn. His normals have a fairly decent range for footsies. Stringing together combos is far less complex than most of the cast with decent damage. Kabal’s Krushing Blow is also reliable and hits hard.
His fast move speed and hooks give him a strong neutral. The one drawback of all his speed is that it only applies to his attacks. His actual movement is fairly slow.
Grasp a basic understanding of the fundamentals to pick up and play Kabal thanks to his straightforward moveset without worrying about some of the franchise’s intricacies.
Easy Kabal Beginner Combo
- Low Spinner, Hook Grab, Gas Blast
Johnny Cage
All Mortal Kombat fans are likely familiar with the egotistic, flashy Hollywood type Johnny Cage. But that has more to do with how simple he is to master as a beginner than his stomach tattoo or iconic black glasses.
He comes out of the gate swinging with powerful physical blows. Though he has less range than some of the other fighters on this list, he makes up for it with quick, damaging attacks like Shadow Kick to finish off a combo chain and Flipkick to meet opponents in the air before they can pull off anything too serious.
Johnny's also a fun character to get to know due to his cocky personality. As long as you don't let that same attitude permeate yourself trying to learn Cage, you'll have a great time settling in with this superstar.
Erron Black
While Erron Black is in no way the easiest character to learn in the game, this is a guide for beginners, and he has one thing that will help any player at lower levels–good projectiles.
He packs a rifle, acid bombs, revolvers, and dynamite. They can all be amplified for different effects and damage. They even help his knockdown game. His normals are fairly quick, although you pay for that with a loss of range.
Erron Black has good mix-ups and because of ranged play strong counter zoning. His pokes are also well above average.
Easy Erron Black Beginner Combo:
- Enhanced locked and loaded, Outworld Gunslinger, Scud Shot
Jax
Jax is an excellent choice for anyone jumping into Mortal Kombat. His larger frame and powerful flurry of attacks make for both unavoidable defensive moves and hard-hitting offensive options. He's a fantastic candidate for stringing together longer combos and coming out swinging at the beginning of each match.
While it's important to hang back and know when to strike with Jax, once you learn the flow of battle a bit better, you'll be able to get in, hit hard, and keep enemies subjected to a variety of moves before they know what hit them. His Fatalities are also extremely satisfying to pull off once you learn them.
A common misconception is that the larger the character, the slower they are, but Jax is a satisfying subversion of the trope. That means he’s great practice for larger characters you may decide to tackle at a later date.
Baraka
Baraka is about as close you can get to an iconic MK character without talking about any of the original fighters from the first game. He debuted in MK 2 and has been a powerhouse ever since, appearing intermittently.
Like every character, digging deep into the Baraka repertoire requires some skill, but he’s good for beginners because of his bread and butter combos (easy moves that define his meta), making him a good choice for learning the game.
Baraka is an offense-based character that deals high damage and has a pretty good projectile, which helps with zoning. His normals are fast and have a good reach. One big drawback, however, is his slow movement.
Easy Baraka Beginner Combos:
- Gutted, Baraka Barrage
- Blood Lunge, Spine Burst
- Leg Kabob, Blade Charge, Baraka-Serker
Cassie Cage
Cassie is a newer addition to the Mortal Kombat franchise, but she's no slouch. Many newer players decide they need a speedier character to make up for the fact that they're still learning, much like newbies do with Chun-Li while learning Street Fighter. The daughter of Sonya Blade and Cassie Cage makes for an intriguing mix of speed, power, and projectile-based zoning moves.
She can close in the distance with her powerful Shadow Kick, reminiscent of her father, but she's also capable of rushdown and militaristic combos that can shake her opponents to their very core. While she can be a bit more difficult than some of Mortal Kombat's other fighters to master in terms of Krushing Blows and the throws she's capable of, she's a great starting point for players who know they're going to want to use her against a wide variety of enemies in the future.
Sub-Zero
Sub-Zero and Scorpion go hand in hand, so if Scorpion is a great choice for beginners, it makes sense that Sub-Zero balances the scales. He is also the only character to have his own spin-off game - Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero.
As a member of the Mortal Kombat old guard, Sub-Zero comes packing a seriously powerful set of icy moves. Sub-Zero's Ice Ball is a menacing frozen projectile that you can slam into an opponent and free them to slow them down. While forcing them to remain in place, you can slide into them and inflict additional damage and combo strings. This is a tried-and-true strategy that evolves as you learn additional moves for Sub-Zero's arsenal, which means you can continue to build on his initial base of moves and Fatalities as you learn more.
His mechanics are simple and he has easy combos. Sub-Zero’s projectile is phenomenal. He also plays well from all ranges, making him one of the best characters that can be tailored to play your way. As you likely well know from other games where ice is involved, freezing enemies to slow them is a worthwhile way to play, because it puts time on your side and runs the clock down.
He has good offensive mix-ups, including a 50/50 low and overhead combo starters. His dash is ridiculously fast, which helps with shimmy bait. Sub-Zero’s neutral is weak to balance these strengths.
Easy Sub-Zero Beginner Combos
- Deep Freeze, Cold Shoulder
- Frigid Storm, Death-Circle Barrage, (Air) Polar Axe
Pick up and Play: Tournament Edition
Looking for a taste of competitive play? The Open Series is the best way to get a feel for Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate competition. Tournaments are free and include prizes simply for showing up. That means there's more to gain than lose.