It depends. I wonder if they do cone back will returning characters have the same variations.

hmmm...gonna be awkward for Jade now...however Jade did use Kitana's fans back in MK2

However if Mileena dies, in MK11 Kitana will get a Joyful variation whereby she uses Mileena's Sai's and some mk fans will dig it.

I'll wait to play the game first before having any saying about the future.

Yeah im going to have to play the game for a while before I decide which I prefer.

It's hard to say going forward. I think if people latch on to the idea like they did for X-Rays they very well could return. But at the same time, I think these variations were created as a direct response to being different from MK9. So I'm not sure I see them drastically overhauling variations for each game.

An interesting but pointless concept because Tiers is a thing.
Almost makes me feel sorry for the company, but this is what happens when you create a Fighting game that purposely forces people to counter-pick. Which no one likes.
All that hard work making three unique styles for characters that will get neglected in competitive play once people find the dominate character.
All that hard work making three unique fighting styles will eventually be for nothing once people find the dominate Variation on each character.
And at the same time of these character development efforts, they're trying so hard to make sure characters have 3 variations while unfortunately showing a bit lack of thought process to their concept. From the means of sampling other characters, to the means of having a Variation that just do ONE thing. But god damn I give them serious props for trying, I can only imagine this being a very tiring idea to pull off.

That is how I feel about the Variation concept.

I doubt we will see this concept again in the future.

In my opinion the idea is pointless. I understand the idea of switching things up, but why do I want (approx.) 33% Scorpion.

I don't need to play the game to know I would prefer a bigger roster. In my head the game is more enjoyable when you play with characters you like. Jade was never top tier, but I found her play style very unique and fun. Every character shouldn't have a 'range mode' or 'defense mode' they should just have a play style that a player needs to understand and adapt to.


This is coming especially after seeing that last variation of Ermac's.

I'm still not 100% sold on the variation gimmick.

But I'm not so much doubtful as I am anxious.

However I am doubtful of variations making a comeback in MK11.....but we'll see.

Even though im not a tournament player and there are sure to be some weak links, im hoping NRS can balance them enough to where the majority of people online aren't only playing the same 4 or 5 characters/variations after the lists come out lol

I wont really mind if that happens since it usually does, but a game that balanced would be amazing.

What is the point of this response?

I like the idea. It kinda feels like they are pulling a lot from the 3d era with this stuff and pulling a redux. Kamidogu realms and 3 fighting styles each. I never really liked switching styles during combat, I never used Bo's sumo. Before is better. I also like how they are character based, not based on real martial arts. For some like kung Lao it's cool because he's Flashy Shaolin. Or Bo Drunken Fist. The balancing must be a nightmare.

Variations over roster size. Any day. Variations are something that can make MK very unique to other fighting games moving forward. A large roster with 25+% shit characters is useless to a good game. 20 characters that all have viable and diverse gameplay options is fantastic.

Imagine MK as a board game of Monopoly where each piece (car, dog, thimble, etc.) has its own gameplay perks. What use is three extra choices if they have no value compared to the other pieces? Thats what needs to be considered here.

-My opinion

I think 2 variations would've made balancing easier. Also can you imagine the PITA if each variation is involved with each character mastery?

You're not going to get 33% Scorpion. You're getting 3 full 100% Scorpions.

Variations are brilliant because you can now choose your favorite character without being locked into a style. If we combined variations, we'd have a roster full of complete characters that are impossible to balance unless:

A) they sterilize certain specials to the point of uselessness (EX: Sub's ice puddle), or...

B) make every character flooded with options and therefore having no stylistic identity. You'd also have a pile of broken characters like the world has never seen.

Making every character broken may seem like a viable approach for balancing, but historically, it has NEVER worked.

The truest shit. Shit's true.

Rather we just have straight up normal move-sets or the variation system, it doesn't change MK. MK will always be MK. So pretty much, whatever the future holds I'll be ok with.

I don't hate the variation system so I wouldn't mind it returning for MKXI.

Pretty much. Can't wait to start battling the same character/variation online all the time after EVO!

But that actually works for a player like me who generally gravitates toward picking up and playing with underused characters (and probably their least used variation in this game). Rarely seen online generally means your prey opponent doesn't know your full potential. Player ignorance is one hell of a weapon.

I'll reply to you the same way I did on Gamefaqs:

The variations have nothing to do with roster size. If they did, we wouldn't get a roster size similar to MK9 like we're getting; we'd be getting 15-20 fighters tops. I doubt they add any significant development time to a character. Variations just take away/add 1-3 specials and sometimes change/add a couple normals. Characters remain 90% the same across their variations in terms of moveset. You're mostly looking at play style changes, really. So taking away variations wouldn't blow up the roster either.

That said, whether variations continue or not depends on their success, and we need to see how things hold up months, maybe a year, after the game releases to be sure of that.

Yeah I've been wondering how they will build off of it and deal with it in future games. I have no idea honestly.

I think its all going to depend on how well they're implemented in this game. They could be really cool, and offer three distinct play styles for each character, or they could all be ultimately meaningless and superficial. Are the three variations really going to be THAT distinct from one another? Will one be so superior to the others that they'll never be used? I have a number of concerns about this new gimmick, but I don't think we'll know until we've had time to play around with them all.

Personally, I think it's an interesting dimension to the fighting genre, and I hope they'll pursue it again in the future.

Im afraid it might be too gimmicky, which is a shame. I guess we will have to see how it fares with the fans and competitive players.

I quite like the whole variation system.

People are already complaining that there will be one definitive variation for each character in regards to a tier list, but I tend to play lower tiers anyway - far more rewarding.

I think people are making the variations out to be this super dynamic game changer, when characters are going to have their normal base specials and target combos (with the exception of mournful Kitana, Lackey Torr, Ninjitsu Scorpion, and whichever Sub uses ice weapons.)

I feel like they will play fairly similar around the board, just with variations to further capitalize on a specific aspect of their metagame.