The Science of MKX - Variationless

[@RanOutOfSpac]

I kind of wondered how variations would work “in lore”. Like, would Scorpion just wake up one day and be like “This feels like an Inferno kind of day!”

[@tackwardsfongjump1800]

Goro just randomly gains the ability to shoot fireballs out of his mouth when he feels like it.

[@mattvolonte9026]

"I will casually wear this skull in my belt today. No reason, just fashion". *Reptile saw that and started to wear snakes as belts*

[@juanokug4]

kenshi just forgets to put on his blindfold in kenjutsu

[@professormeme6584]

Jason forgets his machete and instead wears a chain around his neck

[@AUserThatIsDeleted]

Or Reptile waking up one day and deciding that he wants to slow down time

[@DarkTree]

i'll always wish that tremor had at least one variation that didn't change his look at all, both crystalline and metallic entirely change his main colour/material and aftershock removed his mask, which is one of the coolest parts of his design, and i hate it when characters get unmasked, let alone when it's mandatory. makes me want to run him variationless even though it removes some variety since his base look is so cool

[@venomgaming7014]

Well that’s what the neutral variation is for.

[@ankd956]

I would love to watch a MKX variationless tournament!

[@CarbonRollerCaco]

Same, but would you ban Triborg, restrict him to CSZ or base, or leave him unrestricted possibly save base? I mean, variations are his whole point, but he might be OP with them, and base might not be lawful.

[@sophiegrey9576]

@@CarbonRollerCaco Personally I think I'd ban them. They're busted in their regular state as is, but against a variationless cast? Too much.

[@Axel_Xirics_Music]

@@sophiegrey9576 They aren't busted by any means, not at least nowadays. Nowadays even with variations, unless someone smoked bongs in the lab with the nerves to learn every matchup and is a god at reflexes, some of the cast give the borgs a run for their money. And i say that because i play Smoke daily. Tremor for example, or Liu Kang on any of the two popular variations. Always make turtle and think harder for ways to break their offense. I think many would just cut Triborg out directly too, but he ain't busted. Also welcome to the KnM videos binge watching club. Bump on old comments xD

[@sirchris6047]

Cyber Sub only tournament 😂

[@iMorands]

variationless triborg hidden top tier

[@zesty6006]

SaSSolino you mean cyber subzero ?

[@iMorands]

@@zesty6006 really?

[@theace1543]

@@iMorands yes, it gives you cyber sub zero

[@cheribuoy]

@@theace1543 They know that, hes saying really to both of you missing the joke

[@mrowlcow8732]

ZESTY Ace Soul r/wooosh

[@lich.possum]

It's interesting to think that all the characters probably started as variationless and the team slowly crafted the different variation off that one central variation

[@mumble97]

K&M make the most top tier videos hands down.

[@PNDKM]

Thanks so much. I much prefer our formula of videos where they take longer to make, but that's because of the editing required. I'm much more satisfied with our current methods than our older ones. Not to discredit anybody else of course, everyone has their own schedules to meet! - Ketchup

[@al81e]

nerf them

[@yanih7]

This is why I love your channel, you actually post innovative and interesting content. Most of these other MK channels post the same things as each other and go with the apparent trends in terms of topics. I don't want to hate on the other channels as I do still watch them, but you guys are the top for MK in my opinion.

[@PNDKM]

My philosophy for content is always to make videos that I myself would love to watch for other games I don't have much expertise in. That's why we have Science of MKX, MK Meta etc. It's all content I wish would exist for other fighting games I don't understand much about. I don't wanna hate on other channels either. Those folks work hard and everyone has different goals for what they want to achieve. I just like sticking to the videos that excite me personally. - Ketchup

[@yanih7]

Pretty much what I was trying to say with my comment, I can tell the content you choose to create is of a genuine interest/curiosity and goes quite in depth. I'll repeat though, I don't mean to hate on other channels as their style most definitely makes sense (and as I said, I still watch them), I just love this one the most for MK because to me it's the most interesting, creative, and informative!

[@ehabalademi6646]

I thought I was the only one. I see a lot of MK channels popping up (especially around the announcement of every new NRS game) make clone videos of each other with very uninteresting commentary. No hate to them specifically but their channels are quite lackluster in content.

[@darrenbritt34]

I actually play Kitana “Variationless”. I made some combo videos of her but she is actually the only Kombatant I like to use w/o a variation.

[@l750z_6]

Brittboys why would you handi cap yourself though?

[@ShinDarkShadow]

LS SH for fun maybe? 😂

[@l750z_6]

ShinDarkShadow except it’s not for fun.... you just lose half of your specials and strings

[@ShinDarkShadow]

LS SH with friends it could be for fun if you both play variationless, its even said in the video bruh ☺️

[@jadebayoba7073]

Why tho? Royal Storm is literally broken

[@SirTristepin]

So variationless triborg is Cyber Chamaleon? Noice

[@mastermachado]

No its cyber Sub zero

[@jonathanharsh7434]

Joao Gabriel r/wooosh

[@mastermachado]

this hurts a bit

[@erichtsrevenge]

Joao Gabriel Did you watch the same video as everyone else?

[@SirTristepin]

@@erichtsrevenge It was a joke, i said it because of the face, it has like a mix of colors.

[@noxcrab6564]

I like no variation Kano's green glows, but sucks too much to be any useful, even among all other no variation characters... No overhead, no command grab, no zoning. Poor shit.

[@PNDKM]

Kano is the traditional variationless case where he simply has less moves in variationless, so there's zero point picking it unless you're messing about. That's the case for most of the vast though, so I guess it was always designed to be that way.

[@66Styx]

I mean you can gimmick people with instant air kano ball and his knives can give decent pressure.

[@RTOGamingChannel]

I still understand very little of the in-depth stuff on MK having only always played very casually. But the sheer amount of effort and work that has gone into this, I can only appreciate! Great stuff as always! cheers, roli

[@jasegarrett9755]

These are my favorite videos to watch. I love watching people play matches and that's one of the biggest ways I have learned the game, but these are by far the most entertaining for me. Call me a nerd, but I'm a sucker for learning. Be that about lore, combat system, variations, etc. You guys seriously create great content and I sincerely hope you keep it up.

[@AlonHalawi]

I didn't know tri-borg had a (5th) variationless option, nice!

[@williamcolon4070]

Alon Halewi But it’s only available in mods, not the actual vanilla game itself

[@lartts7483]

Doom

[@l750z_6]

Alon Halewi he’s got 4. Not 5

[@MrJJSpazz]

@@l750z_6 if you watched the video you would know he has 5. there is a hidden 5th variation that you need mods to use it.

[@Josie.770]

@@l750z_6 6:50

[@nicksrandomreviews]

Easily the best channel that covers MK's in-depth mechanics. After every video I always feel like I actually learned something.

[@bryson5544]

Great video! Excited to see how the "variations" turn out in MK11. I hope we start with "variationless" and then can add or remove special moves to create the "custom variations." Balancing this would be hard but not impossible! If this is the case, they better have a robot in there which can be customized to have missiles, bombs, nets, and teleporting uppercuts. Could you imagine playing as Cyr-ektor?! Bombs into teleporting uppercut anyone?

[@personwehate2836]

NRS will never add that because nobody can compete against what they don't know it will be a waste of time fighting something like that

[@kakokapolei123]

Oh man if we could create out own variations, then Kreate-A-Fighter should come back from Armageddon

[@FrumbleFoot7029]

Read the steam page for mk11. This is exactly what we’re getting. CUSTOM Variations.

[@mauriciosantillan446]

You predicted it

[@erichtsrevenge]

personwehate 2 This reply aged like fine wine.

[@ThalesAcm]

i think goro's best variation was the one with kintaro's powers but for the nostalgia of mk1 i preferred his green fireball and i didn't liked the looks of his hand weapons or the mask in his face so i played variationless

[@ThePetulantPanda]

I main Tigrar Fury but completely agree that is prefer the green fireball. Variationless Goro is still really strong.

[@thecriticalcracker4833]

New ketchup and mustard video? Sweet! #Triborg4MK11

[@poncermoidicus7513]

M 8 B O I ツ neither of them are jn sorry

[@Cyrax_LK4D4]

This aged well

[@familyneves9777]

Chill out guys. Kombat Pack 3 is yet to come, it didn't get cancelled because of what happened to WBIE. Netherrealm wouldn't abandon Mortal Kombat that easily, really.

[@Dizzle72]

I’m just finding out a about this now?! That’s crazy. Thanks K&M for another informative video!

[@DRUMCANJONES22]

Same

[@sk1llgr]

I hope that NRS will keep variations. MKXL is my favourite MK game because of this feature. I cannot get bored. I just can't. Also MKX shows the love and care that went into it by the devs. 170119 cannot come soon enough...

[@AviLlaJohWil]

It's next week Thursday. Oooooo I can't wait bruh.

[@owent5117]

Variations really need to properly made tho. A lot of variation just gimmick dingus who got trashed in short time. But yeah i like variations

[@swizzywaffles2478]

Why the date? Are they gonna show the first gameplay then?

[@sk1llgr]

@@owent5117 In my opinion it's hard to make all variations for all characters God tier EVO, Gfuel - Red bull winners. But as a Raiden main I use them all to an extend and as I have observed people do get confused because they dont know the match -ups beyond the usuals. So it's a win-win situation because I get to not get bored by constantly changing my movesets and i also get wins where I shouldn't due to the fuss a non common variation creates.✌

[@sk1llgr]

@@swizzywaffles2478 Yeah!

[@grandmastersektor4628]

As always, you made yet another great video. Never thought I'd see the day someone would play as Variationless Triborg, but thanks to you I actually witnessed the... Uh... Beauty of it! Keep goin'!

[@goro31]

Qué!?? tryborg sin variación??? cómo se hace? spanish please

[@goro31]

+Sebastian Carcamo Chew on ps4??

[@alexanderfox6363]

Hi. Please tel me how did you get variationles triborg? I tried to rename triborg's files to raiden but i get cybersub.

[@dayshmacswain5293]

@@alexanderfox6363 you can't be serious 😂😂

[@okieyoshimd9817]

Very interesting topic to cover in a video. I liked the in depth look and breakdown of the characters you covered. Maybe a variationless first to 10 between Ketchup and Mustard in the future for the viewers?

[@colmerator]

Jason is pretty fun, even variationless :P

[@aoyaibaba3090]

After 3 years I would finally tune in to watch Tyler and Derek fighting each other once again in character reviews. Looking forward to it :)

[@adrianlaw3422]

Bro this channel got some amazing mk content, crazy in depth info makes me want to get into it heavy

[@PNDKM]

That's what I aim for! Glad you enjoy them :D

[@foxstep83]

I AM SO EXCITED FOR MK11 AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR ERRON BLACK REVEAL OMGGGGGGGG!!! And nice video !

[@RougeMephilesClone]

What I was trying to say earlier was: great video, and thanks for the heads up about variationless existing!

[@j4ff4c3ks1]

I found it interesting that though Kotal has his scythe parry in two of his variations, implying that it's simply removed by War God, as well as having the scythes in his appearance within story mode cutscenes, he doesn't have it in variationless

[@xuuhhhhh]

i love these video essays.

[@Tanaka_Blake]

This Video Make Us Return to The Klassic MK Days

[@LOWBORN-the-LOATHSOME]

Variationless Kenshi is the best because you can actually USE the sword to fight your opponent instead of maintaining a keepaway game with telekinesis (Kenjutsu), warrior ancestor ghosts (Balanced) or samurai demons (Possessed). I have the same problem with Erron, that he can't actually use his guns properly in Marksman and Outlaw.

[@shirshadas1821]

I had no idea about these. Thank you yet again K&M.

[@killbotjames22]

I was wondering how mkx would be without variations and BAM! Upload.

[@bulma12345678910]

isnt VLess Kitana quite a good pick? i seem to remember her being quite popular

[@DystopianPigeon]

Isn't reptile still good variationless?

[@DankadoodIe]

@@DystopianPigeon variationless reptile was always my go to when picking him cause i didnt like any of his variations

[@teakauhudson9500]

@@DankadoodIe but noxious is literally just a better version

[@DankadoodIe]

@@teakauhudson9500 I know you get free damage up close with noxious, but I just didnt like how the variation looked lol gassy reptile isnt my thing

[@jgmr645]

@@DankadoodIe what about nimble?

[@scorpfs]

What a way to start the week . with the knowledge of the one Of the Mk masters , Ketchup.

[@trashgamer2142]

Variationless triborg is legit hydro

[@BakaryD]

What about having a mix of the three variations

[@shad0wmech]

Thats probably gonna be in mk11 with the whole custom character variation

[@sypno6074]

That would be broke af lmao. Just imagine cryomancer sub with aura, and ice clone.

[@Dxmindreader]

I know this already but glad other people can know this too....good job bro

[@ImJecht]

Lest we forget, Variationless Tremor still has cancels 😵‍💫 making it even still a great character to use

[@brucebatson6151]

What if I make an input error on the character select screen and my opponent whiff punishes me? I might input dd3 u never know

[@engineerheavy1344]

Bruce Batson lol

[@joaquizzletwizzle]

Not gonna lie, being the tank he is Variationless Kotal Kahn can hold his own.

[@RoyArkon]

Great video guys. Very informative like always.

[@GrissosFighters]

No lie, variationless is pretty interesting and now I know HOW to select it. Time to hit the lab!!!

[@livingcorpse5664]

I had no idea you could even do this, looking forward to seeing if the same can be done with MK11.

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

I had no idea this was a thing. I hope MK11 has the same amount of content and hidden stuff than MKX had.

[@TheRicanBatman]

Ninjakilla got a shout out that's cool as hell

[@CringeDetectorBot]

Do it ALL the time with Tremor! Most fun ever

[@thenatural6792]

I like variationless scorpion i think i can still mix people up regardless of hellfires aura restand and extra damage love the video mk11 trip on the 17th can't wait to see a video about the experience there

[@PNDKM]

That's why scorpion is good and inferno isn't even the worst variation in the game. Because Scorpion is by his base kit an effective character, inferno just adds to it.

[@giamagico]

Will K&M return to the commentary of tournaments in MK11? You are the best guys!

[@PNDKM]

You will absolutely see us commentating MK11.

[@giamagico]

Awesome! I can't wait for MK11

[@Kolonite_]

Yo a triborg variation that was a mix of all the colors that had an actual unique style including some of all the variations would have been dope

[@Ilovevidgames123]

I still wish we got Rain as an extra Hydro variation for Tri-Borg.

[@mvyper]

By now MKX still looks better than all the MK11 we've seen so far.

[@Suvraj-ls1kl]

2:46 hearing you say fart was weirdly hilarious...

[@diezel7153]

Will you and your brother be competing in MK11 or do you guys plan on being commentators? Or both? Love your videos :)

[@connorlaoretti770]

You guys NEED to make a roster predictions video before anythings revealed, I'd be interested to hear who you think is going to be in and who you want, the 17th is only 10 days away.

[@JSTNMW]

Did not know variationless existed...

[@sypno6074]

It's been like 4 years lol wut

[@HexusTheGod]

I didn't either

[@firstchushingura]

variationless was a sad moment in MK history

[@georgehofilena5995]

Scorpion and Subzero's variationless move are like their moves in Mkx Mobile (Silver Card) Also variationless

[@popovic28]

What about varitonless triborgs x-ray move?

[@RadioActiV_]

Didnt know mortal kombat mobile silver characters were in the real game

[@MegaAmir46]

I'd imagine Variationless Triborg to be Hydro..seeing ice and electric moves like a Chimera with all their faces

[@NamekJedi]

Good stuff

[@Iqzzy-KO]

Wassup Ryan? Good vid bro! What's variationless Reptile like?

[@disgal6235]

Basically mortal kombat 3 but with crossovers

[@g2theartist]

I wonder if there were any variation less tournaments

[@strykah92]

Variationless Triborg is really bizarre. I expected it would just look like the grey Triborg you see on the character select screen, without Cyber’s Sub misty ice effects lol. Just for clarity’s sake, does it not have an X-Ray either?

[@MegaAmir46]

Still has x-ray....if you press start for alternate costume Cyber Sub comes out chrome/ shiny grey instead of original light blue

[@evanenriquez904]

They should change the background music. Hearing a fighter groan after 3p seconds is annoying but really good video and channel

[@daneshannon884]

All these years and I still don't understand why they had to remove Tremor's mask in Aftershock

[@xSoporific1]

Dope 🔥

[@Albg1]

After 4 years.... 4 fucking years

[@Hatedj]

Couple days after Honey Bee gets mopped by a Variationless Kotal Khan. A video pops up about new possibilities ... Well ok lol

[@PNDKM]

Don't really know what to say about that my dude. These videos take about a week each give or take. Started working on it long before Aztec played against Bee online. I was even talking to Aztec on twitter after this video went live because it sparked conversation. Coincidences exist for a reason.

[@Hatedj]

Bruh.... I like all yall videos.... I was just pointing out the coincidence as well.. It was another helpful video as usual ... Now that i have your attentions for a brief moment..... PNDK&M you 2 with your amazing triborg play or commentary would be a great addition to hear or see in kombay in one of Destroyer's Tournaments!!!! Just give it a though. If you 2 dont mind. Keep up the great contcontent👍😁✌

[@Hatedj]

No... Wtf would i be mad for??? Im a fan not a hater.... Smh tryin to troll me for no reason lol🤣

[@RallyDon82]

If you think you are a good mkx player then try playing and winning with variationless jacqui briggs. Also Kotal in varitationless is damn hard to adjust to, but even if its harder its ultimately fun but once i found this was an option it extended the games life to no end for me.

[@MillzSzn]

so what does a variationless ferra torr look like? Lackey with no moves?

[@PNDKM]

Ruthless but without pain and gain.

[@Withered_viscera_of_an_artist]

Wait... if you include cyber sub-zero... does that mean that triborg.... is "quadborg"?

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

Cyber Sub-Zero was a non canon character in MKX, as Sub-Zero had already returned to his human form. Canonically Triborg was Sektor, Cyrax and Smoke. This is also confirmed by dialogue lines where Triborg introduces himself as being those three combined into one.

[@Withered_viscera_of_an_artist]

@@CidGuerreiro1234 It was kind of a joke lol, but thanks for that

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

@@Withered_viscera_of_an_artist I assumed that but still, lol. Just in case.

[@samurai7273]

Did you get the idea from honeybees video? With the variation less kotal?

[@johnnick4321]

Isnt there an acheivement for getting 5 variations on triborg?

[@lipstickzombie4981]

No.

[@l750z_6]

John Nick no, the 5th One is just a mod, doesn’t exist in game

[@GuamoKun]

Ah CSZ 💙 also Kitana variationless is p good. She gets grounded square wave!

[@nekipeh7373]

So thats some Power Ranger Triborg

[@aramondehasashi3324]

I wonder what the game would be like if all variations were mixed together. Summoner Quan with the armor & meter drain runes 😂

[@Tanaka_Blake]

Variatonless Triborg is The Normal Triborg

[@Belal-nc9um]

Amazing

[@Whiskers922]

I wasn’t around for MKX. So, was Cyber Sub Zero a secret character? How did people discover him and who was the first? I didn’t know he was in til recently lol

[@AviLlaJohWil]

They showed him off for like 5 seconds when netherrealm did a breakdown for Triborg. That's how we found out.

[@AviLlaJohWil]

It's was basically a tease. And a damn good one at that.

[@PNDKM]

We teased him in the Kombat Kast, and the community very quickly discovered that CSZ was picked via variationless.

[@RanmaruRei]

I hope he'll return in some way in MK11. I like CSZ. In fact, I was surprised seeing him in MK9 and how he was similar to LK-52 created for MK Project.

[@idrisboy562]

Hope we get normal Sektor and Cyrax as their own characters in Mortal Kombat 11. I liked how they were in Mortal Kombat 9

[@thebigadam7574]

Hah me and a friend were arguing about that a couple of days ago. He defended the 3 in 1 character while I wanted separate ones

[@Homer___Simpson]

@@thebigadam7574 It really doesn't matter

[@DjStiv3]

Basically variationless is playing mortal kombat pike its 1995 with their old basic movesets. Fuck it, ill have more fun like that anyway

[@valgoria]

Variation less Alien was still at least mid tier when Alien was just so overpowered in general

[@HustleGang20]

MK11 here yet?

[@TheGous]

Isn't it better to first learn a character how he originally is and then use the variations, for me as a beginner or a casual player of fighting games, this makes more sense in my opinion. Weird that they made it like that, i think they first made the characters and then made the variations so it fits into the game and takes out some weakness from the character it has.

[@PyroInferno110]

I like this thumbnail because you have tremor variationless thumbnail Kappa

[@alperenkan119]

how can we get variationless triborg I want to play as grey triborg but it always gives me cyber sub zero you cant see that classic triborg skin in extras too is there any mod for this?

[@Cubelarooso]

Is it possible to use all variations at the same time?

[@JaeEunA]

Cubelarooso It’s not possible, as often some variation specific moves change but share an input with another move. I main Kitana for example, and in one variation her DF1 gives me a horizontal fan in the air. In another however, that same DF1 does a downwards projectile, which changes my mixups entirely. Still, the limits and strengths of each gives a nice range to the styles of play even for just one character.

[@Tanaka_Blake]

Alien without Variation Looks Like A Joke

[@lexless9301]

It's a new form to disrespect oponents

[@xXSglocXx]

I'm that type of player variationless scorpion 🦂 OP reminds me of MK3 scorpion that's all you really need with him

[@micshork]

I want to see a version where you play as a character and ALL 3 Variations are combined into one. Can someone make a video one that? Maybe mod that on PC.

[@PNDKM]

I'm really not sure it's realistically possible because so many variation specials share the same input. Plus combining them would no doubt cause game crashes etc. It's hard enough getting variation swap mods to work on the best of days.

[@micshork]

@@PNDKM I can understand what you are saying, but can't you always change the inputs (At least on a PC Keyboard)? Anyway I hope someone can find a way to make that possible. It would be very fun to play with such an OP/Broken character that has everything mixed into it. Or maybe it could be something like the 3D-Era Stance Changes where you can press a certain button input and instantly change the moveset. Couldn't hurt to try. Just need the right person to make that mod.

[@Break531]

Honestly didn't think of Variationless in that way. Top shit. Also, dat Variationless Kotal has 53% for what, 1-2 bars?

[@PNDKM]

The corner one was two bars because of MB shield toss and MB grab. The shield toss is mostly where Blood God gets so much damage from.

[@Break531]

@@PNDKM Ah, truth be told I've never familiarized myself with Kotal. The only Kotal I've ever seen was Madzin, and was always hyped about the damage Kotal does.

[@Remiel-Sayo]

Didnt know variationless triborg gets a new name which is displacer raiden

[@kfc_ch1cken_destroyer591]

Who else still playing MKX in 2020?

[@BlackSuperman2099]

I'm an OG MK player & I don't really like the whole variation thing. To me it's kind of a lazy way of giving characters more moves. Just give the characters all their moves/abilities, like in most other fighting games.

[@PNDKM]

I really don't follow that train of thought at all. variations give extra moves to characters? Nothing is lost because of it? Scorpion has always had tele, spear and takedown. In most games hellfire as well, but all the variations do is give massive gameplay variety in addition? I don't think that's lazy at all. The opposite if anything.

[@BlackSuperman2099]

@@PNDKM Allow me to elaborate. I'm stating that the character should have all those moves by default. There should be no need to switch styles in order to attain different "variation" moves. It's "lazy" because instead of incorporating all those moves into a single style, you have to select which style you want for the accompanying moves. If anything the variation should be able to change in the middle of battle, somewhat like Shang Tsung's (or Street Fighter 5 Zeku's) transformations.

[@PNDKM]

@@BlackSuperman2099 If characters had every move as default, the game would have been a mess. Can you imagine if Quan Chi was allowed to do his bat zoning whilst standing in sorcerer's armor? Changing mid match/mid round would be interesting but entirely different. I definitely disagree and think "lazy" is not the word to use. A lot of thought and effort went into the variation system and it's by far the game's strongest feature IMO. 3 different ways to play a character means I can revisit Bo Rai Cho in 2019 having never played bartitsu before and have an all new gameplay/learning experience for example. It's a lot of depth.

[@ItsButterBean1020]

God imagine this for MK11

[@vergilsdisciple3057]

cyber sub zero has his own normals and specials tho

[@romantic_garbage]

I discovered that when it was the first day of mk X