Feral Tarkatan stance - Emphasizing quick but shorter ranged hand chop slashes, scratches, bites, etc. Pouncing command grabs / parries.

Exotic stance - Provocative stance pose and specials that emphasize her keep-away / zoning. More acrobatic and rhythmic normal strings.

Assassin stance - Neutral game variation that adds longer but slower attack strings with her dual sais as well as good poke / footsie neutral game specials.

Shinnok


Theurgist - Has access to a few enemy debuff spells. These are designed to screw with your enemy's momentum. Vexation and Attenuation cannot be active simultaneously.

Vexation - Very brief control reversal (MB'd to make it a 270-degree button switch instead of a 180-degree button switch and make it twice as long). Somewhat modified version of Zatanna's Puppet Master in Injustice.

Attenuation - A slow draining effect on the enemy's run/object interaction/stamina (not health) bar for a few seconds (MB'd to consume the total amount of the non-MB'd version instantly).

Repulsion - A counter that only works on high attacks, pushes the enemy back a few steps (MB'd to send enemy flying back to 3/4 screen). Modified version of Killer Frost's Frostbite from Injustice.


Demiurge - He'll have an attack or two involving the skeletal arms as base special moves, no doubt. This variation gives him more attacks using them. His zoning variation.

Skeletal Toss (close, medium and far versions) - Summons a skeletal hand from the ground that tosses them in the direction input immediately after the position-specific command. For example: Down, Up + 1; Forward...would conjure a skeletal hand close that would toss them backward into mid range. Down, Forward + 1; Back....would conjure a hand far away that would hurl them forward into mid-range. Meter Burned versions would allow you to toss from far to near or vice-versa, with a Meter Burned mid-ranged hand causing a wall bounce in the direction of your choosing.

Backhand - A simple projectile reflect taking the form of a skeletal hand royally bitchslapping the opponent's projectile back to them. Meter Burned version works on meter burned projectiles only, while non-meter burn works on non-meter burned projectiles only.


Ancient One - Gives Shinnok the ability to alternate between two different melee based fighting styles using the (otherwise cosmetic) Flip Stance button...essentially Gen-mode. His second stance has completely different normals and whatnot, but he only has his base set of special moves in this variation.


Hmmmm....balanced or not?

Note that in all three variations, Ermac has tele-slam and tele-punch.

Mystic:
Telekinetic Push and projectile are added to arsenal for heavy zoning potential.

Legion:
Ermac can activate two separate modes. When the souls are hovering around Ermac, his defense increases; when the souls concentrate into his fist, he gets a damage boost. Activating either mode requires 8 second cooldown.

Repentance:
Tele-punch no longer leads to knockdown. Instead, it leaves the opponent standing with Ermac at heavy frame advantage for rushdown. Ermac is also granted levitation (which can be performed while airborne now), which can be cancelled into tele-punch, slam, or (dare I say) divekick. Yes. I'm giving Ermac a divekick, and it's fucking safe on block with frame advantage. Hold that shit.
I went ahead and copy/pasted this from one of my older posts

Nightwolf

-Native Warrior: This variation gives Nightwolf the ability to use his weapons to deal more damage and is ideal form rushdown attacks

-Wolf Caller: Nightwolf possess the ability to to call upon wolves to act as defensive shields of sorts. Blocking on coming projectiles or countering attacks.

-Shaman Master: Gaining an Aurora around his body Nightwolf's abilities to the spirit world are greatly enhanced. He takes no chip damage and moves slightly faster then normal.

-Variant 1 Aesthetic change: Nightwolf is armed with his Tomahawks and Dagger.
-Variant 2 Aesthetic change: Nightwolf has a slight Werewolf appearance. Hairier arms claws and fangs.
-Variant 3 Aesthetic change: Nightwolf's eye are Ethereal green and has Green Aurora flowing around him.

X-Ray: Shoulder chargers the opponent ending up behind them. Has a werewolf aurora around him and pounces on them from behind biting there shoulder and slams them from side to side and finally slahes at the opponent sending them flying across the screen.

From the Ancestors: Nightwolf takes his ax and impales the opponents chest. As they fall to their knees and attempted pull the spirit ax out, Nightwolf raises his hands and lightening strikes the ax smoldering the opponent leaving a burnt opponent kneeling still trying to pull the ax out.

Odd I haven't made a set for Jade, considering she is my fave. I guess just because I don't expect her to be in MKX, I haven't really thought about it. But here's what I'd like to see:

Razor-Rang:
This Variation makes use of her Razor-Rang.
- She can make it go straight-forward as part of her normal projectile move.
- She can make it move upward for anti-air.
- She can throw it along the ground.
- She can make it return to her after having flow off-screen for an extra hit.
- In this Variation, Jade's staff has bladed tips.

Bojutsu:
This Variation gives her more staff attacks, the ones Nightwing had in Injustice.
- Windmill Spin: She spins her staff very fast for multiple hits. (Nightwing)
- Flying Kick: She uses her staff to propel herself forward in a kick. (Nightwing)
- Polevault: She uses her staff to propel herself upwards in a flip kick. (MK9)
- Overhead Staff: She jumps up and slams the staff into the ground. (MK9)
- Staff Grab: She stabs the staff into the stomach of her opponent and lifts him over her head and into the ground. (MK9)
- In this Variation, Jade's staff glows purple.

Vanishing Winds:
Jade makes use of her teleport move.
- She can teleport away from the opponent.
- She can teleport in front of the opponent.
- She can teleport behind the opponent.
- She can make an axe kick right after she's teleported close to the opponent which makes him bounce up into the air.
- In this Variation, Jade's staff glows green.

...

I also made these two for Tanya and Orchid (Killer Instinct) in other threads:

Tanya:
Sorceress:
Being a master of dark sorcery, Tanya uses her knowledge of magic to her defense.
- Aerial Surging Blast: The fireball hurled diagonally downwards when Tanya is in the air.
- Find Me: Tanya vanishes in dark flames and turns invisible for a short duration of time or until she is hit by the opponent.
- Eldritch Orbs: Tanya conjures two orbs of dark fire which spins around her for a short duration of time and hurt the opponent if hitting her with any punch or kick. Projectiles and other non-physical hits are not affected by this.
- In this Variation, Tanya's eyes are all white and glowing slightly purple.

Backstabber:
Trained in the arts of Kobu Jutsu, Tanya wields her Tonfa Blades to battle.
- In this Variation, Tanya uses her Tonfa Blades instead of punches.

Edenian Warrior:
Tanya has trained alongside the best Edenian Warriors and specializes in stylish kicks.
- Split Flip Kick: In a forward somersault Tanya makes a split kick and crushes her heel down into the ground which knock the opponent out.
- Spinning Flip Kick: Tanya spins forward and does a helicopter kick hitting the opponent two times. (Kinda like Chun Li's Spinning Bird Kick from Street Fighter)
- Downward Spiral Kick: While in air, Tanya makes a diagonal downward Human Cannon Drill. Can be used after Knee Strike for a combo.
- In this Variation, Tanya has normal eyes and no weapons.

...

Orchid
Fire Cat:
Orchid's Blockade Runner and Air Buster will be switched out with her Fire Cat and Upper Cat instead. She will also be able to summon a Fire Cat which runs along the ground.
- Focuses on Special Moves and Enhanced Moves.
- In this Variation, Orchid will have her standard batons.

Killer Instinct:
Orchid's weapons will expand whenever she hits with them, giving her a bit more range and power, like her laser swords in the first Killer Instinct game. She will also gain her Lasaken projectile move, the Spinning Swords move and the Shadow Ichi Ni San.
- Focuses on weapon combos.
- In this Variation, Orchid has laser swords rather than her usual batons.

Acrobatic Rebel:
Orchid will gain several more kicking moves such as the Helicopter Kick, the Whiplash and the Danger Zone air throw.
- Focuses on kick attacks.
- In this Variation, Orchid will have her tonfas instead of the batons.

@ JadedReign

No lie, I do love the idea of Shinnok having a Variation that totally fucks with the opponents gameplay temporarily. It's perfect for such a character.

- Opps meter gain nerfed.
- Opps stamina fucked (depends how stamina works in MKX).
- Opps Control reversed.
- Opps attacks debuff.

The thing is, I can't think if it's balanced or not, but the idea of it sounds God damn delicious though

.

Kabal
(All variations have a few basic moves. He will have his Raging Flash/Nomad Dash, Gas Blast, Sawblades, and Tornado Slam)

Variation 1 - Respirator. Respirator is pretty much a zoning based variation, relies on his gas blast projectile. He will get more than just his standard gas blast in this form. He will have a regular, low, in air, double, and triple blast, the double and triple blasts will be similar to how Shang Tsung's fireballs worked in MK2 and 3. Also the single Gas blast in this form is chargeable, it will go faster and deal more damage the longer it is charged and is unblockable if it manages to be fully charged. I was also thinking about him having a slow and fast gas blast that works like a purple version of Reptile's forceball but im not too sure about it.

Variation 2 - Hook-swordsman. Pretty obvious. Kabal's hook swords are drawn and are his main means of attack besides his basic specials. He will have long combo strings and a few non delayed pop up attacks allowing for plenty of combos. His nomad dash attack will be slightly altered, this time when dashing, he delivers a swift slash from his hooks words causing a small amount of damage but the opponent is still left spinning open for a free attack. I am still trying to think of some more hooksword based specials but this is all I have off the top of my head.

Variation 3 - Speedster. As it suggests this takes advantage of Kabal's speed. He will naturally move a little faster but not much, he has faster start ups for his basic attacks and quicker recoveries for them as well. Not too sure on what his specials would be, im thinking something similar to Flash from Injustice. For the hell of it maybe a punch flurry, where he appears to be doing a nomad dash but instead of going past the opponent and leaving them spinning, he delivers a massively fast barrage of punches that also launches the opponent into the air, leaving them open for a combo. He will also have another special that is the same but with a barrage of kicks instead, this will not lead to a pop up but will cause a TINY bit more damage. Meter burned versions of these are unblockable due to the opponent not being able to react to how fast Kabal is coming at them. If non meter burned versions are blocked Kabal stumbles a little due to going so fast and stopping so suddenly which makes these attacks very punishable if they are blocked.

Lol that's all I have for now. I might come back later and add to this or try to come up with some for a different character.

Nerfing meter gain! I KNEW I was forgetting something!

But yeah, I absolutely love Zatanna in Injustice for the fact that she can screw with a human opponent so well with Puppet Master. Hearing people's reactions on their mics when they experience control reversal for the first time is a HOWL.

I think having all these debuffs in one style could be balanced depending upon a few other things:

- Shinnok's base special moves being pretty...basic.

- His normals being slow (looking like arcane gestures and whatnot)

- The methods in which they are applied being diversified (instantly at enemies location, a projectile, a rune on the ground, etc)

- The durations of the spells being relatively brief.

- One debuff at a time, and no overwriting.

Of course, that's all just conjecture on my part. But oh the deliciousness. The SWEET, SWEET deliciousness. It could also FINALLY give Shinnok a signature "style." He was essentially Shang Tsung in MK4 and it didn't seem like they really, fully delved into his mystical potential in MKA (but it was a start). The guy's a former Elder God, he could quite possibly do anything. Little is beyond his potential. What better way to demonstrate that in matches than to mess with your opponent's parameters?

Those are pretty good. I'd love it if they also gave her a special, similar to her MK9 fatality, where she throws her sais onto the opponent's feet (kinda like Smoke's smoke bomb) and immobilizes him for a few seconds allowing a free hit. Surprised they haven't given her a similar attack since that's what sais are mostly for. I would also love her to have a few more teleport attacks. Not the plain old teleport where she appears behind the opponent. Some variations of her telekick or even her roll. That would be sick

Alright here's what I thought about another:

Nitara:
So before the cheesy vampire love-stories came out, vampires were considered creatures with a bunch of powers in their arsenal. However now it's all about drinking blood and sadly that's how they treated Nitara in MKDA. She could have a bunch of new specials that would fit her race. So let's see..

Improved senses - In this variation Nitara possesses senses much greater than the human. She is a bit quicker, has faster startups and has the ability of divination, through which she can predict some attacks (in this case chip damage coz otherwise this would be overpowered) and not get damaged by them. ->Rushdown variation

Vampiric - In this variation she will be able to launch and bite the opponent and drink his blood. Each biting attack will have a different result, like restore some of Nitara's health, or draining some of the opponent's health bar, meter bar, or stamina bar. She can also hypnotize the opponent with her eyes (CLASSIC vampire power) and confuse them for a few seconds allowing for a free hit. ->This variation will heavily rely on specials

Aerial stance - In this variation Nitara can grow her vampire wings and stay airborne for several seconds. She can perform attacks from the air (similar to Hawkgirl) or even create soundwaves that deafen the opponent, allowing for a free hit. ->Keepaway variation

Nice work dude. I like those a lot. Very fitting of Ermac

Water Diety- Rain is protected by 4 water dragons emerging from his back which immediately reach out and attack opponents who are in the air making them forced to fight on the ground. The dragons will protect Rain from incoming projectiles by using themselves as shields to increase Rains Special Meter.
Appearance: Rain has water dragons protecting him.

Demi God- Rain can strike himself with lighting which deals damage to himself, drains his running meter, and drains one bar to his special meter, but deals chip damage to opponents who are physically attacking him even when Rain is blocking. In this form his water based attacks are conducting electricity making them even deadlier.
Appearance: Rain is coated in lighting.

Flash Flood- Rain can summon walls of water to protect himself from incoming projectiles, and X-rays. The walls can also be used to block, push, and pull opponents for defensive or offensive strategies.
Appearance: Rain is surrounded by thin streams of water that are circulating around him.

I could probably do better, but what the heck.

Art Lean


"Come on Art, Use the Kick!!" - Art does various head kicks, which can be easily countered if you are 8 feet tall with 4 arms.

"Yeah That's it!!" -Art stays low and attacks with several jabs to the mid-section, which is ineffective if you look like a four armed Shaq.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"- Art immediately commits a Hara-Kiri, only to be followed by instant non stop nut-buster punches by Johnny Cage. You are instantly defeated.

Here's my ideal variations for Takeshi from Mace: The Dark Age.


Universal move set.

Please bare with me though. I did not know what the hell he was saying when he did these moves in the game whether it was genuine Japanese or just plain gibberish so I'll give a brief description on what he does with the moves.

Tefuuja

Takeshi swings upward with his katana somersaulting afterwards. This could be used as his anti-air/combo ender/interruption by the way.


Raijinko

Takeshi extends his hand which is surrounded by energy towards his opponent. If the attack connects, you then have to press a button that follows up the attack into a move where he swings his sword at his opponent.

Sword Flurry
acts as Baraka's blade fury.

Variation 1: Bushido

Takeshi's Raijinko has an update exclusive to this variation. Each button after the Raijinko startup has a different technique as a followup to that attack.

left button/triangle/X: Yoshimitsu's toward toward triangle strikethrough move on counter hit basically

up button/triangle/Y: Lunging stab attack throw where Takeshi impales his opponent then kicks them off

down button/X/A: upward slash that launches up his opponent for a free juggle.

right button/circle/B: sweeping slash that trips the opponent

this variation also adds an attack reversal.

Variation 2: Tradition

cosmetic changes: Takeshi's sword has an aura surrounding it

This variation allows Takeshi to cancel any of his moves into another in order to form a devastating combo(that even goes for canceling a special move into a dial-a-combo) . It also adds his moves from the game he was playable in.
Hoping Side Kick
Flaming Slash
retreat & advance slash
crouching sword thrust.


You can only use these moves once in the string. use the same move twice & it will knock down the opponent. This variation basically makes Takeshi play like his Mace counterpart.

Variation 3: Memento

cosmetic changes: Takeshi's helm gets replaced with his brother Ichiro's(who was a secret playable character in that game) hat. This variation's movelists are:

energy hat toss
arcing flame slash.(can be done in the air)


Mace's particular gameplay revolved around combo strings linking from one move to the other. That's the main reason why Takeshi has such a limited moveset. I tried to add a little more tos his arsenal in terms of moves. Variation 2 was basically an attempt to be faithful to how he originally played in his own game. It could've been better I know. I just got through swimming so I'm a little tired from that. It was why I didn't put too much thought into what would be considered suitable for him in terms of playability. I might come back to this once I get better Ideas.

Reptile:

Camouflage- Reptile embraces the stealthier side of his personality. Dresses in his traditional ninja garb. Ninjutsu style melee attacks.
-Invisibility- Reptile's traditional invisibility move.
-Acid Spit- The usual acid spit, and the only time you see his actual reptilian face in this variation.
-Speedy Serpent- Rushdown attack


Acid Bath- More acid based attacks. Melee attacks cause chip damage. Similar style of outfit to his Shaolin Monks costume, acid/slime dripping from his hands.
-Forceball- 'nuff said
-Acid Vomit- Functions similarly to Sub-Zero's ice puddle, Reptile spits a burst of slime onto the floor, gluing the opponent to the spot and setting them up for combos.
-Leaping Lizard- Similar attack to Mileena's pounce, Reptile tackles the opponent onto the ground and spits acid onto their face.


Devolved- Savage, animalistic melee attacks. Utilizes his tail. Shaolin Monks style outfit, albeit more torn-up and scaly, and featuring a fully grown tail.
-Lizard Crawl- Crawls along the ground, tripping up the opponent. Functions as a rolling attack, but with a different animation.
-Slide- Same slide attack from MK9
-Throat Rip- Similar style attack to his Leaping Lizard move, except he worries at their throat and slams them on their head, rather than spitting acid.

Reptile

(Lizard Fury) Adds tongue attacks, swipes, bites to his already arsenal move sets.

(Toxic) Adds poison, acid, reduction to players movement speed if hit by poison or acid attacks.

(Ultimate Defense) Adds camouflage to existing moves, hardened scales allow to take more damage and also allow scale projectiles to shoot from his body.

Noob - Saibot

(Shadow) Adds various clones to attack his opponent/defend himself.

(Stealthy Surprise) In darkened areas he does more damage and increased speed.

(Meld) adds shadow attacks to his move set that incorporate not only his shadow but the opponents shadow as well.

I think Quan's should be Rune magic:zoning with runes made every where imaginable,with of course EN Unblockables!Second would be his B-swords,bring those babies back.Then,for his third,his skeletal buffs,maybe you can even stack them if he has little defense like last time.I really liked earlier in this thread,that someone said Shinnok could play havic Zatanna style.

REPTILE

Design - something like this:



Variation 1 - "Deceiver"
In this variation, Reptile has human skin like the picture above, but retains his reptilian yellow eyes. He has invisibility powers. His combos in this style are different than any other in that once he starts his combos, in mid combo he turns invisible and activates faster combo strings. This style is for those up close and personal fighters.

Variation 2 - "Saurian"
This version shows Reptile with green scaly skin, exactly as he was in his MK9 form. The costume remains the same, only changing his skin tone and texture. Here he fights with a mix up of low and high combos with very mobile specials like his dash attack, which all can be meter-burned. High attack will have Reptile leap over his opponent, tossing them up in the air for air juggles. Low dash attacks will have Reptile sliding and causing the opponent to be in midair state, so that you can follow up with opposite side combos.

Variation 3 - "Zatterran"
This version has Reptile in his most evolved form from human to Reptilian. He has even more noticeable reptile like scales, darker color, and even spikes from his head to tail. This is the only style that adds a tail to Reptiles appearance and fighting style simultaneously. This style focuses more on tail attacks, as well as unique acid special moves, pushing the limits of his reptilian aspects.


Specials that are the same in all forms:

-Slide, (meter burned- causes pop-up)
-Acid spit, (meter burned - half screen length but lasts 1.5seconds like in MK9)
-Force ball fast, (meter burned- larger in scale, faster speed, higher chance of getting hit)
-Force ball slow, (meter burned- larger in scale, slower speed, higher chance of getting hit)
-Dash attack (same as MK9), (meter burned-follows with a second hit) MID ATTACK
-*NEW* special: ground pop up acid attack. Reptile punches the ground with slime emitting from his fist, causing acid to erupt under the opponent from 3 different directions: front, sweep distance, or full screen away. (meter burned causes the opponent to pop-up higher).


X-Ray:

Reptile dashes to his opponent, shoves his claws into their rib cage to grab them, head butts them in their nose.... he then releases them to do his slide attack, once in mid air state (enemy), Reptile leaps into the air from opposite side with a jump kick to their rib cage, which causes them to fall to the floor, and while Reptile is still in midair, he unleashes acid vomit for the final touch.


Fatality:

Reptile removes mask and lashes his tongue to the opponents neck, brings them forward with his tongue... starts gnawing on their skull until the scalp is exposed to brain, then he takes out the brain and eats it while the victim falls to the floor.

Wow many Reptile ideas lol. I have to say out of all 3 I prefer ShaolinChuan's. The rest are doing exactly what I don't want to happen in the game. Taking a character's existing moves and dividing them by 3. That should NEVER happen to ANY character. You can't play Reptile without being able to use acid spit or force balls or slides y'all.
As for Rain, some pretty good ideas there. Just not a fan of the dragons. Water orbs sound way cooler.

Sub-Zero and Raiden pretty much says "fuck what you want".

Sub-Zero's Ice Clone isn't universal
http://testyourmight.com/threads/3-variations-of-sub-zero-discussion.43787/

and it seems that Raiden's teleport may suffer the same fate too since his Teleporting variation was the only thing to show him using Teleports at all.

So if Reptile returns, I expect him to have a whole variation based on acid related attacks including the force ball and acid spit. But just like Sub-Zero, his slide will most likely be universal too.

While his second Variation would probably be rush down attacks like how you could in UMK3 and MK9.

Well Sub-Zero's clone is far from his most iconic move imo. He didn't have it until MK3 and again he didn't have it in MKDA if memory serves me right. I would consider the iceball and the slide his universal moves and I am ok with him having just those 2. Since they added more stuff to his clone it's perfectly balanced to have a specific variation based on that move. Same goes for Raiden. If he has his projectile and superman as his universal moves, that would be fine by me.
A few people here proposed totally breaking down a character's specials which would not be fine by me. I wouldn't want Reptile to have all his iconic moves (acid spit, forceball, dash, slide) split into 3 variations.

Quan - Chi

(Necromancy) Add the ability to create skeletons that will fight for you for few sec, adds skull wall for a defensive/offensive maneuver.

(MKG) adds slowing down time, stopping time, creating a clone, blowing up matter. Think MKG Baraka's ending.

(Angelic Runes) adds elemental damage, curses, hexes depending on which button is pressed or held. for example if is down, diagonal down right, forward, triangle, you press the same input but instead with square he does poison damage or he does different curse. it be randomized just to keep things fresh.

Rock Hard- In this Variation Tremor can cover himself with rocks which will negate some damage from his opponent’s physical attacks including projectiles and X-Rays. The Rock Armor also prevents players from grabbing you due to your heavy height. The rocks will crumble away after a certain amount of attacks have been delivered to Tremor. This variation will drain Tremors running meter faster than normal.
Variation Appearance: tremors belt is made of rocks.

Natures Might- In this Variation Tremor is all about stunning and draining his opponent for offensive opportunities. He can summon large dust clouds to blind his opponents for a brief second. Create deep quicksands to drain the enemies running meter, and rise stalagmites to pierce and drain the opponents special meter to fill Tremors.
Variation Appearance: Tremors hoodie and mask are made of rocks.

Sand Spirit- In this Variation Tremor is about devastating juggling attacks. He can summon large hands made of sand to help juggle his opponents for longer combos. They can also be used to grab enemy players making them vulnerable to powerful juggle attacks.
Variation Appearance: Tremors whole body is leaking sand.

Even though tremor probably wont make DLC, i man can still dream.

Read this at work and almost completely lost it