Since his release as a DLC character in Injustice: Gods Among Us, Scorpion has quickly risen in popularity. This is partially due to him being the most recognizable character from Mortal Kombat, but also because he seems unstoppable. At this point in the game’s life, you’re bound to run into a ton of Scorpion players that are all abusing the same stuff. With this mini guide, you won’t have to just sit there and take a beating from this demon ninja. Instead, give him hell with these tips!
Understanding Scorpion
Scorpion is a high-risk, high-reward character. While many of his key special moves can pay dividends when they work, they also put him in a vulnerable state for an extended period of time. It’s these lapses in judgement that you as the opponent really have to take advantage of. The other key drawback to his game is his damage output. Most of his combos don’t hit very hard, which means he’ll have to open you up many times before he can take the win from your clutches.
The Blocking Trinity
One of the most interesting aspects to Scorpion’s game is that his moves can put you in awkward blocking situations. Let’s start with his spear. You block that move by holding your joystick back. However, if you’re holding back, he can do his teleport punch, which you have to block by holding your joystick the other way. If you want to stop the teleport, the easiest way to do that is by crouching, which will stop the teleport punch regardless of what direction it’s coming from. Having said that, Scorpion can then use his hellfire move to punish the crouch. If you try and get out of crouching to avoid the hellfire, you’re then open to either eating a spear or a teleport punch. When a good Scorpion player understands this concept, it can be very difficult for you to stop them. However, if you understand this concept, you’ll be in a much better position to deal with the onslaught.
How to Deal With The Spear
The classic. With the regular version, Scorpion throws a chain-linked spear out that impales his opponent. He then drags them in and uppercuts them away. With the meter burn version, he pulls them in without a follow-up attack, which allows him to hit you with anything he’s got while you’re stunned.
Most players will never throw this out as an initial attack due to how easy it is to avoid it. Instead, expect them to use this within the context of a combo, which you can’t really do anything about. However, if they do try and get cute and throw a raw spear, get in there and punish him! The spear has a really slow recovery time, which gives you enough of a window to cover most of the screen and hit him with a full combo.
How to Deal With Hellfire
Hellfire is an unblockable move. If you’re standing on the ground and can’t dash out of its attack radius, Scorpion is going to make barbeque out of you. Getting hit with this move isn’t the scary part, as it does minimal damage and doesn’t lead to much in the way of combo opportunities. However, your movements to counter the hellfire only opens you up for his other key moves. If Scorpion misses this attack, charge in and punish with a full combo.
How to Deal With The Teleport
This is Scorpion’s money maker. He leaps from one side of the screen to the next, hitting you from behind. He can also pull this move off in the air, which can send him hurtling at you from weird angles. When he does the meter burn version, he follows up with an upppercut. If you block both, you still can’t punish him because the move is safe on block. Making things even tricker is the fact that if you’re in the middle of blocking one of his combo strings, he can cancel into a teleport, which forces you to change your blocking stance extremely quickly.
It might seem impossible to stop it, but that’s just not the case. First, you should always be anticipating the teleport. Most Scorpion players are going to abuse it, which means you should be ready to deal with it at all times. Be careful of the buttons you press, as any whiffed attacks will leave you open. In particular, when Scorpion is close to max distance away from you, the odds of him performing the move go up dramatically. At that point, be especially ready to block or counter.
The easiest way to block it when he does it from the ground is to simply crouch. Regardless of the direction he’s coming from, you’ll block it, which leaves him spinning in the air for a free punish. Make sure this combo is as big as you can make it in order to discourage him from trying again. With the air version, you’ll have to block high and be blocking the correct side, which isn’t as easy as crouching. However, this is a bit more telegraphed by the virtue of Scorpion having to jump before pulling it off. In particular, look for when he jumps straight up in the air or jumps away from you. In that scenario, there’s nothing really for him to do other than teleport your way. Simply be ready to block and punish accordingly.
Besides blocking it, you can also get out of the way. Forward dashing helps you cover two potential scenarios. One, if he teleports, forward dashing will get you out of the way of the punch, which opens the door for you to punish. If he doesn’t do the teleport, you’ll simply close the gap. This doesn’t work if Scorpion does the spear, though the likelihood of him doing that is slim. The other tactic I like to employ against a teleport-happy Scorpion players is to jump straight up. Whether they’re teleporting from the air or on the ground, I find that I can simply hit medium attack on the way down and hit them over the head. From there, I keep the barrage going for a full combo.
Bring The Pain
Though I’ve mentioned it a number of times in this piece, it is imperative that you are ready to fully punish Scorpion’s mistakes with the biggest combos you’ve got. He in particular can be very difficult to make contact with due to his slippery fighting style, so make every opportunity count!
In Third Person 