Mortal Kombat 11 patch notes for 1/21 nerf jump kicks, slow Geras, & more

A new Mortal Kombat 11 update has landed, putting some nerfs on the oppressive jump kick and jump punch game and slowing Geras' monstrous roll.

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With a new year of Mortal Kombat 11 underway, NetherRealm Studios has brought a fresh series of balances and tweaks to the game for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The latest Mortal Kombat 11 patch notes have dropped, and Geras and regular jumpers better beware. The nerf hammer hit hard for the timeless titan, jump kicks and punches, and plenty more in this Mortal Kombat 11 update.

NetherRealms Studios dropped the Mortal Kombat 11 patch notes for January 21, 2020 on the Mortal Kombat support pages of WB Games. Geras was slowed down quite a bit. In many of his moves, the titan now has extra start-up frames, meaning his attacks in these moves take just a moment longer to come out. Moreover, jump kicks and punches took a huge nerf that will affect all characters. On block or flawless block, jump kicks can no longer be immediately followed with air special moves, ground special moves, or ground normal attacks. If jump punches are flawless blocked, then they also cannot be followed up in the above fashion. That means players are no longer going to be able to immediately throw follow-up attacks against defensive opponents after a jump attack.

A big part of Mortal Kombat 11 strategy has been the easy ability to follow up with specials or combos after a blocked jump attack. Not anymore after this patch.
A big part of Mortal Kombat 11 strategy has been the easy ability to follow up with specials or combos after a blocked jump attack. Not anymore after this patch.

Alongside the Geras and jumping attack nerfs, there’s a slew of other notable changes in the Mortal Kombat 11 1/21 patch notes. Cetrion and Skarlet’s far teleports now cost two bars of defensive meter, Erron Black gained some extra blockstun and speed in a couple attacks, and characters with two throw-based Krushing Blows can no longer use both of them in one match. You can read up on the full set of patch notes below.

Mortal Kombat 11 patch notes 1/21/20

Players reliant on Fatal Blows should be aware of the slight extra start-up before the attack in Mortal Kombat 11's latest update.
Players reliant on Fatal Blows should be aware of the slight extra start-up before the attack in Mortal Kombat 11's latest update.

General Gameplay Adjustments

  • Move list corrections
  • Improvements to AI logic
  • Fixed issues with some augments not working correctly
  • Fixed issue with using random select in online matches causing improper display of abilities and variation name
  • Fixed several sources of online desyncs
  • Armor on Fatal Blow attacks now start up in 8 frames (up from 5)
  • Fatal Blow attacks for all characters except Cassie Cage can no longer hit opponent from behind
  • Ducking Front Punch, Ducking Front Kick, & Ducking Back Kick cannot be cancelled into a special move when Flawless Blocked
  • Jump Back Punch has 5 less frames of blockstun on block and Flawless Block
  • Jump Front Punch and Back Punch attacks can no longer be cancelled into air special moves when Flawless Blocked
  • Jump Front Punch and Back Punch cannot be cancelled into normal attacks or ground special moves upon landing when Flawless Blocked
  • Jump Kick attacks have slightly increased damage scaling to match Jump Punch attacks and 4 more frames of recovery when blocked
  • Jump Kick attacks can no longer be cancelled into air special moves when Flawless Blocked
  • Jump Kick attacks can no longer be cancelled into grounded special moves upon landing when blocked or Flawless Blocked
  • Characters that have Escape Failed Krushing Blows on both Toward and Back throws can now only use one throw Krushing Blow per match
  • Fixed an issue that could cause incorrect victim regions for several frames if the character went from ducking to standing and did no further inputs with precise timing
  • Fixed rare issue that could cause a character to get hit by a high projectile if they are duck blocking and release block with precise timing
  • Fixed issue with defensive bar not refilling at the correct rate when a round ends while one bar has been destroyed by "Chip Avoided" and the second bar is not full
  • Added several new Brutalities for players to discover

Kombat League / Online

  • Minor online stability improvements
  • Fixed several rare online desync causes

Krypt

  • Added new Nether Forge Recipes for players to discover

Towers of Time

  • Added support for new upcoming Holiday Towers

Stage Specific Adjustments

  • Shirai Ryu Fire Garden - Fixed issue that allowed stone toss interaction in the left corner to be used while facing the corner
  • Special Forces Desert Command - Fixed issue with cactus needles lingering at an incorrect location after uppercut brutality is performed
  • Kronika's Hour Glass - In Versus Mode, Tournament Mode & 1v1 Online Modes, this Arena will now select from a random list of Background Interactions to be used
  • Chaotian Age - In Versus Mode, Tournament Mode & 1v1 Online Modes, this Arena will now select from a random list of Background Interactions to be used
  • Prehistoric Age - In Versus Mode, Tournament Mode & 1v1 Online Modes, this Arena will now select from a random list of Background Interactions to be used
  • The Kronika's Hour Glass, Chaotian Age, and Prehistoric Age Arenas are no longer disabled by default in Tournament Mode

Character Specific Adjustments

  • Cetrion - Far H2 P0rt now costs 2 bars of Defensive Gauge (up from 1)
  • Cetrion - The visual effects of Hell's Wrath when Amplified now disappear properly when it is projectile destroyed
  • D'Vorah - Fixed a rare camera issue during the Fatal Blow cinematic while on the right side on Kharon's Ship
  • Erron Black - Adjusted the hit region of Quick Shot (Getup / Block Attack Up + Back Punch)
  • Erron Black - Bounty Bash (Back Punch) now recovers 3 frames faster on block
  • Erron Black - Deal In Lead (Back Punch, Front Punch) now has 5 more frames of blockstun and 5 more recovery frames slower on block
  • Frost - Cryogenic Crown now does 3 damage (up from 1), has decreased combo damage scaling, and has 2 more active frames
  • Geras - Titan Charge (Getup / Block Attack Up + Back Punch) now has 9 startup frames (up from 6)
  • Geras - Time Splash (Jump Down + Back Punch) now has 5 less frames of blockstun
  • Geras - The Deathless Giant (Towards + Back Punch, Front Punch) now has 4 more frames of hit advantage, 5 less frames of recovery on hit, and its cancel frame occurs 1 frame later
  • Geras - Matter Of Time (Towards + Back Punch, Front Punch, Back Punch) now has 25 startup frames (up from 20) and recovers 3 frames slower
  • Geras - Sand Trap and Quick Sand causes 5 less frames of blockstun when it is Flawless Blocked
  • Geras - Temporal Advantage hit region slightly adjusted when opponent is in a combo
  • Jacqui Briggs - Fixed an issue with several Kombo Attacks that allowed them to be cancelled into Wall of Justice (Fatal Blow) during their first 3 startup frames
  • Jade - Heaven's Heel (Getup / Block Attack Up + Back Punch) and it has 1 less recovery frame and had its hit region slightly adjusted
  • Johnny Cage - High Forceball & Low Forceball now have 11 startup frames (up from 9)
  • Johnny Cage - Rise And Shine (Getup / Block Attack Up + Back Punch) now has 9 startup frames (up from 7)
  • Kitana - Adjusted the hit region of Fanning Out (Getup / Block Attack Up + Back Punch)
  • Kitana - Purge The Weak (Away + Front Punch, Back Kick) now hits mid
  • Kitana - Fixed an issue with several Kombo Attacks that allowed them to be cancelled into Deadly Game (Fatal Blow) during their first 3 startup frames
  • Kotal Kahn - Mehtizquia Cut now has 2 more active frames, 3 less recovery frames, and causes 5 more frames of blockstun with increased pushback when not Flawless Blocked
  • Kotal Kahn - Fixed rare issue that could cause Kotal Kahn to move quickly across the screen if he cancelled an attack into Coatl Parry with precise timing while in close proximity to an opponent performing a Breakaway
  • Kung Lao - Possessed Hat now throws two projectiles at the opponent
  • Noob - Adjusted the hit region of Wraith Boot (Getup / Block Attack Up + Front Kick)
  • Skarlet - Adjusted the hit region of Bloody Boots (Getup / Block Attack Up + Back Punch)
  • Skarlet - Bloodport Far now costs 2 bars of Defensive Gauge (up from 1)
  • Skarlet - Fixed a rare camera issue when successfully parrying an attack with Dagger Dance
  • Skarlet - Fixed a rare issue that could cause Skarlet to be unable to duck Sindel's Back It Up (Away + Front Kick, Back Kick, Back Punch) high attack in certain circumstances
  • Sub-Zero - Adjusted the hit region of Chilled Heel (Getup / Block Attack Up + Front Kick)
  • Shang Tsung - Screaming Soul Amplify is now correctly affected by projectile destroying moves
  • Shang Tsung - Fixed issue with being unable to perform Spare Time or Lost Time while morphed into Geras after the first round
  • Sindel - Fixed an issue with several Kombo Attacks that allowed them to be cancelled into Edenian Royal Decree (Fatal Blow) during their first 3 startup frames
  • Sindel - Low Star Screamer Amplify is now correctly affected by projectile destroying moves
  • Terminator - Fixed an issue with several Kombo Attacks that allowed them to be cancelled into Chill Out (Fatal Blow) during their first 3 startup frames
  • Terminator - AI will now correctly use "Terminate" ability

It’s possible we may see more changes with the launch of the Joker in Mortal Kombat 11 right around the corner at the end of January 2020, but some of the changes here - like the jump attack nerfs - are things players will probably notice right away. What do you think of the latest changes to Mortal Kombat 11?

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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