Mortal Kombat Gets Stealth Update, PSN Kombat Pass Waived

NetherRealm Studios has released a new hotfix for Mortal Kombat to help alleviate some character balance issues. As promised, the developers actually posted patch notes to go along with the silent update.

To activate the server update, all you need to do is start the game while connected to the internet. There is no patch to download. Here are the changes:

• Reduced some of Kung Lao’s combo and overall damage.
• Reduced the damage on some special moves.
• Increased the damage scaling after Kitana’s Enhanced ground fan toss.
• Adjusted some juggle’s damage scaling.
• Reduced the damage on some basic combos that were doing too much damage without using any meter.
• Increased Sheeva’s damage output for several of her moves and attacks.
• Temporarily Changed around some of Sonya’s fighting style properties to reduce her ability to lock someone down in block stun.
• Changed Kano’s Towards Front Kick to a low block.
• Reduced the recovery on Kano’s Upball to be closer to Johnny Cage’s Flip Kick recovery.
• Increased the damage of some of Baraka’s special moves and attacks.
• It is easier to juggle combo after hitting someone with Baraka’s chopchop on the ground.
• Increased the damage scaling on a frozen opponent.
• Baraka’s Away Front Kick, Front Punch combo is now a true popup.
• Reduced some of Reptile’s combo damage.

Many of these changes are quite significant. For instance, Kano’s Upball recovery makes the move significantly more useful now. Baraka was also in dire need of a buff and that’s what it looks like he has. He was easily one of the worst characters in the game. Let’s hope that these changes will make him a more viable character choice.

The reduced damage for a few characters is also a change that I welcome. Reptile in particular was able to do 50% damage combos with relative ease and that just wasn’t right. Kung Lao’s nerf was a given, especially after the character’s performance at the PDP Tournament. It remains to be seen just how significant of a nerf this is to him, but it most likely won’t change his standing as a top character.

Tom Brady, a high level Mortal Kombat tournament player and MK9 tester, revealed some additional details regarding an upcoming patch. It turns out that a few changes from stealth updates are actually just temporary solutions. Sindel, for instance, will soon gain the ability to do her scream from a 2, 1 (back punch, front punch) and her infinite combo will be properly removed. NetherRealm tried to do a quick fix on Sindel when the game first came out but they didn’t actually get rid of the problem. Instead, a few techniques of hers were removed. That’s just one example. There will be many fixes, including one that removes Smoke’s bomb glitch.

The patch is expected to launch in a couple of weeks. Unlike the stealth hotfixes, this will be a proper version update. According to Brady, the online netcode will also receive an upgrade. This was something that NetherRealm recently promised, so let’s hope that the improvements are as significant as they sound.

NetherRealm Studios also announced that the Kombat Pass needed to activate the online functionality in MK9 will be waived until the PlayStation Store is operational again. This is great news for everyone that didn’t get a chance to redeem the online pass before the PSN went down due to the network breach last month. Kudos to NetherRealm for the kind gesture.

Source: Test Your Might, TheMortalKombat