It’s no surprise that, as a longtime fan favorite with a straightforward playstyle, Scorpion is one of Mortal Kombat 11’s most popular playable characters. But now, even months after the game’s initial release, players grinding their way through the game’s ranked mode continue to encounter Scorpions every step of the way. The issue is a point of frustration among competitive players, since playing against the same character over and over makes for a repetitive gameplay experience. And, with this week’s launch of ‘Season of Time,’ competitive players are likely to encounter the so-called ‘Scorpion Problem’ at its worst.
Scorpion Is The Face Of Mortal Kombat
The problem seems less one of balance and more one of familiarity: As the unofficial face of the entire Mortal Kombat franchise and a popular choice for beginners, it’s easy to understand why some players would quickly adopt him as a main and adapt their play styles to his abilities.
And, at that point, why bother trying to learn an underutilized character like D’Vorah, who many regard as one of Mortal Kombat 11’s least effective characters? This holds especially true in a ranked setting where a player is rewarded solely for their ability to grind long enough and well enough to outrank other players. In a ranked position, the last thing a player wants to do an experiment with a new character.
Rewards Should Incentivise Character Diversity
However, there are a number of solutions to this issue. One option would be to incentivize players to try new characters by offering unique rewards to gamers who choose to play as different characters. Present Kombat League challenges are limited to completing tasks such as connecting uppercuts and fatal blows, regardless of which character a player uses to complete them. Variants could include rewards for tasks that involve switching characters, such as winning matches with five different characters.
Another option would be to simply reduce the number of points allocated for playing the same character multiple times in a row or throughout a designated time frame. The game could also provide unique rewards simply for grinding its less-popular characters, such as a unique Kano skin for players willing to spend time grinding as Kano.
Tutorials Can Help Players Get Better With Lesser-Known Characters
Additionally, the game makers could encourage experimentation by enhancing the game’s tutorial system to include training specific to ranked play. While the game currently has an overall strong system, its character tutorials fail to effectively teach a player about tournament variations and how to use them. Without this, players are either forced to figure them out on their own or go online to look up additional tutorials, which can be a hassle. By improving character-based training, players could easily experiment with new characters and tournament variations in a no-stakes, non-competitive setting.
The Community Can Help
Most of these recommendations task the game’s developers with updates, but there’s another option that relies on the strength of the Mortal Kombat 11 community. The game’s players could make the choice to experiment with other characters and aim to influence others to do so as well. It’s possible that Scorpion players will naturally tire of playing this character over time, particularly as the game continues to introduce new characters. However, given that a game’s community is dependent on the content creators who support that game, these creators could also take it upon themselves to provide more tutorials and guides that highlight other characters and their abilities.
It’s never easy for game makers to create balanced characters that also encourage a wide variety of play styles. And, it’s also a given that players will gravitate to those that are straightforward, familiar and easy to play. But by giving players tools to encourage them to diversify their character selections, the Mortal Kombat 11 team has an opportunity to create a stronger gameplay experience for all.