Big Mortal Kombat 11 balance patch nerfs the game's most annoying move

And buffs some of the worst characters.

News by Wesley Yin-Poole Former Editor-in-Chief

Updated on Aug. 8, 2019

NetherRealm has issued a big update to Mortal Kombat 11 that makes sweeping changes to all characters.

The headline for many will be a nerf to Scorpion's Hell Port and air Hell Port, considered by many to be one of the game's most annoying moves. This teleport sees Scorpion appear behind his opponent for a strike that can lead to a high damage combo if it's not blocked. It's such a fast move it's hard to react to, so to combat it you have to predict it, which isn't always possible.

Scorpion's teleport is so maligned it's become something of a running joke among those who soldier through the Kombat League, Mortal Kombat 11's seasonal ranked mode. Scorpion is certainly one of the most popular characters in the game, and at most ranks you run up against him often. And the Hell Port and air Hell Port spam is real.

So, onto the welcome nerf. Both the Hell Port and air Hell Port are now high attacks. This doesn't sound like much on paper, but in practice it means all you have to do to counter the Hell Port is duck (and smash Scorpion in the chin with Mortal Kombat's famous uppercut).

With little sympathy for Scorpion mains, the Mortal Kombat community is already having fun with the nerf.

When your cheap ass move gets crouch whiffed from r/MortalKombat

Other balance changes of note include a nerf to Lui Kang's annoying Dragon's Breath, which now has 10 less frames of blockstun on the first hit with reduced pushback, Cassie Cage, widely considered one of the best, if not the best character in the game, has been depowered slightly, and Geras, whose Crushing Blow requirements are so easy he has been able to decimate his opponents in three hits since launch, has been hit hard.

Or has he?

I think they might've nerfed Geras too hard... from r/MortalKombat

But the most dramatic changes are buffs to the game's worst characters, such as Kotal Khan, Shao Khan, Raiden and Kollector. I started the game with Shao Khan but soon ditched the stacked supervillain for more viable characters. I think with the huge number of buffs to pretty much his entire moveset, I may give him another shot.

Shoa Kahn aftet the patch. from r/MortalKombat

All in all, this balance patch marks a significant update for Mortal Kombat 11 (there are even new brutality win poses for each character), and will hopefully result in a better spread of characters used in the Kombat League. At the very least, we should be able to rinse those Scorpions.