You Can Hold X-rays

kaballer

kaballer

New member
Just a quick tip I wanted to share with you guys: you can hold x-rays. For certain characters, if you hold the two trigger buttons, they will actually hold their x-ray starting positions for quite a lengthy amount of time (or until you release them). Altering the timing of the x-ray can be useful to trip the opponent up if they see it coming and perform a quick block. I made an example video to show you guys.


I figured this out while playing around with Sub Zero just minutes ago. If you already knew about this, then sorry for wasting your time. But if it helps at least one person, it's definitely worth a post.

If you figure out any other characters that do this, let me know. : )
 
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I remember finding this out with Sub-Zero in the demo; at first I thought his X-ray was a counter lol. Good post though, some people may not know.
 
Well, I'll be the one person that makes this thread worthwhile lol. I was completely unaware of this, I'll have to look into it...

PS - You picked Johnny Cage as your whipping boy each time lol, not a huge fan?
 
Used to be a Smoke player, not only can you charge his X-Ray but you can Dash cancel it.

Dash cancelling it is very good if deemed unsafe. Btw OP not everyone uses the controller so the better term is holding the FK+BK+Block or 3+4+5.
 
bmsirhc said:
Used to be a Smoke player, not only can you charge his X-Ray but you can Dash cancel it.

Dash cancelling it is very good if deemed unsafe. Btw OP not everyone uses the controller so the better term is holding the FK+BK+Block or 3+4+5.
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I'm assuming that when you Dash Cancel his X-Ray your X-Ray Meter is still depleted...
 
Since I love you all so much I took the time to test the x-ray of every single character on the roster to see who can hold it. The results were quite disappointing.

Baraka - no
Cyb Zero - no
Cyrax - no
Ermac - no
Jade - no
Jax - no
Johnny - no
Kabal - no
Kano - no
Kitana - no
Kung Lao - no
Liu Kang - no
Mileena - no
Nightwolf - no
Noob Saibot - no
Quan Chi - no
Raiden - no
Reptile - no
Scorpion - no
Sektor - no
Shang Tsung - no
Sheeva - no
Sindel - no
Smoke - yes
Sonya - no
Stryker - no
Sub Zero - yes

That's right. Coincidentally, the very first two characters I tried this with are the only ones that can do it. I guess it's a Lin Kuei thing?

For those of you that play Sub Zero or Smoke: both held x-rays can be dash cancelled, but both do still drain your meter if you cancel them. A failed x-ray attempt isn't punishable because your character pushes himself away from the blocking opponent, so I don't really see the point of dash cancelling an x-ray. Might as well go for it.
 
You sweetie pie, you lol. The results weren't terribly favorable, but it was still cool of you to do the legwork.
 
Yeah I figured that one out with subzero. My friend came over and wanted to try out the game. I used the X-ray and held it. He says "Uh what is he doing? Is he gunna move or something..." and then I let go. It's a pretty cool feature.
 
some special moves you can hold too to delay the action. My fav is Kung Lao ground-hat throw. Hold it (hat stays spinning on ground), teleport to other side of opponent and let go when the opponent already forgot the hat is still on hold. At least with that move you can only hold it for a certain period of time before it "let's go" automatically, so you can't hold it forever.
 
kaballer said:
A failed x-ray attempt isn't punishable because your character pushes himself away from the blocking opponent, so I don't really see the point of dash cancelling an x-ray. Might as well go for it.
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Theres a little something called recovery frames. After a blocked X-ray, even if it does pushes away, the recovery time is very slow making you susceptible for a dash attack. One meaty 40% combo could end the match if you misuse one X-ray.

You really think NRS will make a move that safe? lol cmon man..that would be considered broken. And if it wasnt punishable, NRS would have never made the X-ray Dash Cancellable.
 
bmsirhc said:
Theres a little something called recovery frames. After a blocked X-ray, even if it does pushes away, the recovery time is very slow making you susceptible for a dash attack. One meaty 40% combo could end the match if you misuse one X-ray.

You really think NRS will make a move that safe? lol cmon man..that would be considered broken.
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A) I'm aware of recovery frames. I'm also aware that most x-rays are punishable. I was talking about Sub Zero. He pushes himself back an insane length, the recovery time is insanely short, and the opponent still has to get out of block. I want to see a video of you punishing Sub Zero's xray. I honestly don't think its possible. And if it is possible, the reaction time would be in the tens of milliseconds. You would literally have to be holding both controllers and prepare yourself to press a counter combo ahead of time, which doesn't happen in a real match.

B) That wouldn't be broken. It's not like your can just spam an extremely powerful attack without any punishment for the entirety of the round. It takes 3 bars just to unleash an x-ray; that only happens at most twice a round. In MK9, your meter is just as important as your life bar. If you're blocked, being at a 3 bar disadvantage is punishment enough. Not being punished 40% on top of that doesn't make it broken.

And if it wasnt punishable, NRS would have never made the X-ray Dash Cancellable.
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I doubt that's the reason why those x-rays were made cancellable. Using that logic, every other character's x-ray besides Smoke's and Sub Zero's should be unpunishable considering they have no dash cancel. The only reason those two x-rays are able to be cancelled is because they are able to be held. It has nothing to do with punishment.

Btw OP not everyone uses the controller so the better term is holding the FK+BK+Block or 3+4+5.
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My bad! I was filming on a whim and it didn't even cross my mind.
 
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I do that with Sub all the time. It helps quite a bit since he has to lunge into the opponent.
 
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