Welcome back to the pit
The compatibility patch for MKX‘s XL expansion is live on both PS4 and Xbox One. Even for users who haven’t purchased MK XL, the patch has a few goodies. Chief among them is a new stage (or rather a new version of an old stage), The Pit. Finally, this MK staple is back, and yes, there is a special Pit fatality where kombatants are sent careening off the ledge and into a nasty bed of spikes. I’m told there is also a special stage fatality for the Kove, but I haven’t seen it yet.
The patch also applies the netcode changes seen in the online beta over the last month. Now running a GGPO-ish rollback system, the felt lag only is reduced considerably. I snuck in a few matches earlier today and I have to say I was mighty impressed. I’ve played hundreds of online matches over the past month, and none of them were as smooth as the fights I had this morning; it was like playing a friend on the couch. I’ll want a larger sample of fights just to make sure those great connections weren’t a fluke, but so far it seems like they FINALLY nailed the online experience. I only wish the game had launched like this.
There are also numerous small balance changes to go around. The full patch notes have not been released yet, but the community has already picked apart some of the details. Predictably, the DLC characters Tanya and Tremor were toned down, losing some of their more ridiculous pressure strings and free-damage opportunities (paving the way for the next set of slightly overpowered DLC characters to buy I’m sure). Summoner Quan Chi lost his free ambiguous 50/50s, Kung Lao was slightly nerfed, while Jason was rescued from the garbage bin with a bucket-load of buffs. System changes to the way tick throws work have made grappler variations scarier, and reduced chip damage and meter building on blocked hits should theoretically put a little more emphasis on defense. Mainly though, I’m just happy Kotal Kahn’s projectile will break ice clones and disintegrate freeze balls now — you had it too good for too long in that match Sub-Zero.
New content, better netcode, and seemingly wise balance changes without spending a penny. Nice way to smooth the waters for another DLC pack and predictable GOTY edition. I’ll be spending some time with MK XL over the next week to share my impressions, but so far it’s off to a strong start.
