I did a poll recently about whether or not to post this but most the people that voted voted to post this, so you can blame them if this is an annoyance to your day. Keep in mind that this is a very general and undetailed (as well a the first ever draft) that I made will little editing and this was just a little bit before the most recent live action film released. I’d love some feedback so don’t afraid to be harsh as long as it’s purpose is for constructive reasons.
How I would make a Mortal Kombat movie
Mortal Kombat
The movie begins at the Shirai Ryu fire gardens with Hanzo Hasashi and his family in 1812. Hanzo goes around and checks on his clan members before going back to his family. Bi Han shows up with the Lin Kuei’s best warriors and a mysterious man. The clan members get into a battle leading Hanzo to come out with a sword and a kunai with a long rope attached. After helping his clan he hears the screams of his wife and kid and rushes back. He is too late however, as Bi Han has frozen them in solid ice. A huge battle that leads the two into the frozen woods outside of the fire gardens results in Hanzo pinned against a tree by a frozen spear and left to die as he hears his clan’s screams in the distance.
Title Card
We then switch over to a small military destroyer heading off the cost of a mysterious island with a green aura around it. It gets attacked after members of the Black Dragon rush on board after a portal opens up on the lower desks, the last thing heard from the vessel was a distress call. Johnny Cage just got done filming part of his new movie, a sequel to the beloved Ninja Mime before going and talking to his agent who tells him about a mysterious phone call. We then get an extended sequence of him, showing off his arrogance and ego. Later that night he gets a call on his private cell phone from someone by the name of Raiden who tells Cage that he has been chosen to fight in an ancient tournament known as Mortal Kombat. Johnny Shrugs off his words and hangs up before getting ready for bed. Sometime in the middle of the night he wakes to a harsh burning in his side. After throwing off the covers he sees a glowing white flower burning onto his skin (Raiden's white lotus symbol). We then go to Sonya Blade, and her partner Jax (human arms), investigating a distress signal from one of their ships that went missing two weeks ago. They trace where the signal was coming from and find out it came from a mysterious island outside of india. They assume that’s where their target, Kano (doesn’t have the metal eye) , leader of the Black Dragon, is hiding. They pack up and get on a plane to India. Johnny Cage, now oddly driven to an island off the coast of India, is on a private jet sipping on a martini before a spontaneous lightning storm causes the plane to go into emergency procedure. After a semi smooth crash landing in the sands of Africa Johnny goes to the back of the plane to try and get some reception. A bolt of lightning comes down and teleports him into a strange temple. Standing in front of him is the thunder god Raiden. Raiden tells him that he has been chosen to fight for a tournament known as Mortal Kombat and that he must fight for the safety of Earthrealm. Johnny tells him that he must have the wrong guy as his movie fights are always choreographed and not actually real (as well as being generally confused). Raiden responds by telling him that he will be a great fighter as was his ancestors. We go on to meet the other champions of Earthrealm. Liu Kang, a Shaolin Monk with a lifetime of training under his belt. Kung Lao, descendant of the great Kung Lao, and the destined champion of the tournament. Chang Chi (original character, and I came up with his name before I knew about Shang-Chi) , a younger champion and master of nunchucks. Smoke, the chosen warrior of the Lin Kuei clan. And finally a native american warrior that goes by the allisas of the Nightwolf. All of them sporting a similar white lotus burn mark. Sonya and Jax were now on a helicopter over the island, scouting the area. A fireball comes out of seemingly nowhere and downs the chopper. They survived, so they collected their stuff and continued their hunt but now with extra caution. The next morning they run into Raiden who proceeds to ask why they are there. They tell him that they are with the Special Forces and that they are hunting down a fugitive named Kano. Raiden tells them that Kano is fighting for the forces of Outworld in the Mortal Kombat tournament and that the only way to kill or capture him is to join the tournament and win a one on one fight. After some thinking, they decide to put Soyna into the tournament but have Jax go behind Raiden’s back to find Kano if things go wrong. There is a small and mostly comedic montage of Johnny Cage being trained to fight by Liu Kang before Sonya shows up. Kung Loa comes to the small dojo they have set up, convinced that she doesn’t know hand to hand combat. Within 4 second of the fight she performs a leg grab ending with Kung Loa, unable to move. The other monks make fun of him for how fast he lost. The tournament starts that day. The champions of Earthrealm stand in front of a stone stage. The circular arena is perfectly fit for fighting. Behind the stage is Shang Tsung, the head of the Outworld fighters. Next to him is Quan Chi, there to oversee the fight. Shang Tsung introduces his champions, starting with Jade, an Edenian survivor turned into an Outworld fighter. Mileena, a female fighter wearing a mostly revealing outfit and a mask. Kano, the leader of the Black Dragon, dealing with Outworld to ensure his “business” stays going. Hsu Hao, Kano’s second in command, and former member of the Red Dragon. And Motaro, a horned, centaur-like creature. Shang Tsung calls up a still confused Johnny Cage up to the stage to fight, and then calls down Hsu Hao to fight him. Johnny doesn’t take it seriously so he starts losing until he comes back and wins. Shang Tsung then commands Johnny to finish him. Johnny refuses, and they move on to the next fight. Kano tells Shang Tsung to put him and Sonya against each other and he complies. Kano beats Sonya and stabs her in the stomach to let her die slowly. After this Shang Tsung takes a break and Raiden comes over to Sonya and heals her (not against the rules as the fight has ended). while Johnny comes over to ask Raiden questions about what he’s gotten himself into. Raiden tells him that he is a very skilled fighter and that he just has to unlock that skill through trial. Sonya gets up and walks off, Johnny follows. On their way out they conversate a little, Sonya being quiet and contracted while Johnny is… well… trying to get a date. Sonya tracks down that ship from earlier and finds it ripped in half on the shore, the back half nowhere to be seen. They both go down to the ship and look around the cargo area where Sonya finds some experimental power gauntlets. Smoke is now at a Lin Kuei temporary holding on the island. There he talks with the legendary warrior Bi-Han. He then proceeds to train using his new found smoke abilities against the grandmaster’s son, Li-Hon Jing. He is seen as ready by the grandmaster and is given his gift of two polished titanium kitantas. Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Chang Chi are all eating at a table and joking about the Outworld champions before Raiden comes in and tells them that the next fight is about to begin and that they should be there. They arrive back at the stage where Shang Tsung puts Kung Lao and Jade against each other. Kung Lao grabs his razor hat and throws it on stage where he teleports to it. Kung Lao defeats Jade but spares her life and moves off the stage. Raiden notices that Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade aren’t there, and neither is Quan Chi. Sonya is testing out her new gauntlets which shoot pink energy rings, and Johnny Cage is looking around the rest of the ship when Raiden appears through his teleport to lecture them. As Raiden tries to bring them back Quan Chi arrives, stopping Raiden using his own sorcery. Raiden questions how this is possible. Johnny Cage and Sonya get into a fight with Quan which causes him to drop something. This lets Raiden get his powers back and he teleports Quan Chi away. Raiden picks up the object that Quan Chi dropped, Shinnok's amulet. Raiden acts unsurprised by this revelation, but it makes him question what other tricks and cheats Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have in store for them. The Earthrealm warriors are doing their best to spare as many of the Outworld warriors as possible, to do the bare minimum to earn their realm’s safety. Smoke is called up to the stage, as well as Sub-Zero, Bi-Han. Smoke looks at Shang Tsung in confusion until a frozen statue appears in the middle of the stage. The sculpture explodes Revealing Bi-Han, in full costume. Smoke questions the betrayal of Bi-Han, threatening to tell the grandmaster. Sub-Zero says nothing. Their fight is an uphill battle for smoke. Neither of them win, as by the end they are both unable to fight. Smoke gets dragged off the stage by Liu Kang and Chang Chi, and promptly returns to the Lin Keui facility. Jaxson Briggs is sneaking up on a building where he hears Kano. After peaking in, he sees a massive green portal, Kano, a few Outworld soldiers, and a terrifying abomination with horrid teeth (Baraka cameo). Kano was selling weapons to Outworld. They all go through the portal. Jax takes this moment to break in and follow after them. Raiden, Johnny, and Soyna teleport back to the Shaolin temple where they meet up with Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Chang Chi. They discuss Quan Chi’s possession of Shinnok’s amulet and what other tricks they have. Sonya, Johnny, and any of the audience that doesn’t know Mortal Kombat gets most of their information. They explain that Outworld can not win another tournament as it will be the 10th and final tournament they need to win before they conquer this realm. They also bring up Edeania, leading Johnny to ask what happened to Edeania. Liu Kang explains. In Shang Tsung’s throne room, he and Quan Chi discuss how they should go about winning the tournament. Shang Tsung tells Quan Chi that if he doesn’t have something soon then he will go back to the emperor and Prince Goro will take his place. Quan Chi then brings up his “Netherrealm Warrior” which intrigues Shang. Quan Chi states that he only needs an hour. Shang Tsung complies. Smoke kneels in front of the grandmaster of the Lin Keui and tells him about Bi-Han’s betrayal and turn into Sub-Zero. To Smoke’s surprise the grandmaster not only knew about this but in fact commanded it. The grandmaster saw that the earthrealm warriors couldn’t win so he decided to put Sub-Zero in as an Outworld champion. Smoke is outraged by this and leaves. Quan Chi is now seen walking through the harsh lands of the Netherrealm. Quan Chi eventually finds his way to the tortured souls where he finds the soul of Hanzo Hasashi, the man killed by Bi-Han so many years ago. Quan Chi gives him the offer that if he gives his soul to him that he will be revived as Scorpion, the undead warrior who has the concentrated powers of Hell itself. Hanzo agrees under the circumstance that the man who killed his wife and child would die. A promise, Quan Chi has no plan to keep. Nightwolf, after some spying, finds out about Quan Chi’s plan and organizes one of his own to counteract it. Before he could do anything though, Shang Tsung puts him to sleep and locks him in a cell. The next day at the tournament stage, Quan Chi arrived with Scorpion. Who is called up to the stage to fight Johnny Cage, and Johnny loses. As Scorpion is about to finish him he stops. He looks over at Sub-Zero who is standing on the side of Outworld. He tries to resist Quan Chi’s control but it comes back to him regardless. However, this gives Nightwolf enough time to kill all of the guards at his cell and escape. He rushes over to the stage and grabs Scorpion at the last second. After a short yet brutal fight, Nightwolf wins and uses his power to release the curse put on Scorpion and give him back his soul. Scorpion, staggered, teleports away and leaves Nightwolf alone. Quan Chi comes from behind him and chops off his arm using a sorcerer's blade. He then grabs Nightwolf’s leg, throwing him onto the ground, and rips it off. He proceeds to beat Nightwolf near death with it. Shang Tsung does the rest as he steals his soul, finishing off Nightwolf at last. He then mocks and threatens the rest of the Earthrealm warriors because of how Nightwolf broke the rules of Mortal Kombat. Jax, now in a world he’s never seen before, is still tracking Kano. He finds him alone sharpening his knife in a small Outworld house. Jax shoots at him but Kano moves out of the way too quickly and tackles Jax. He stabs him in the shoulder and throws him into a table. Jax pulls the knife out of his shoulder and throws it to the side. They have a bloody fistfight with Jax holding his own until a large hammer comes out of the blue and knocks him out after he had Kano pinned to a wall (Reiko cameo). Smoke sneaks back into the Lin Kuei temple but gets caught and has to fight off multiple Lin Kuei ninjas at the same time. After fighting off the ninjas (and killing most of them) he comes across the grandmaster’s son once again. They fight for a good while until Smoke bests him and moves on. He sees Sub-Zero going into a secret portal to Outworld they made and follows him through. On the other side of the portal he doesn’t see Sub-Zero though, he sees Mileena. Wearing a skimpy outfit and attempting to seduce Smoke… this fails. After realizing this wasn’t going to work, she teleports behind him, now wearing a decently armored outfit. She jumps onto him and pulls him through the wall of the building they were in and down a large dune. They fight for a bit. Blood everywhere. Eventually Smoke kicks off her mask revealing a normal mouth filled with horrid teeth. Mileena jumps up to bite Smoke, but he kicks her off. Using one of his katanas he slices open her mouth (think MKX Mileena mouth look). She takes this as her que to leave and teleports out of there.
Smoke comes across Sub-Zero torturing Jax, along with Kano and Quan Chi. He goes back to the rest of the group and tells them about Jax. Sonya gets enraged but Raiden stops her, telling her that they will get him when they can, but for now, we have little time to spare. Johnny gets an idea on how to stop Sub-Zero from killing Jax.
Before the next tournament could fully start, Scorpion shows up demanding Sub-Zero (as all part of Johnny’s plan). Sub-Zero shows up, drawn to Scorpion’s battle cry. Johnny and Sonya sneak into Outworld during this time but run into Hsu Hao on their way. Johnny gets knocked aside and Soyna fights him one-on-one. Going back to Scorpion and Sub-Zero, they have an epic bloody fight that would rival that of every goddamn time they fought in Mortal Kombat trailers. Ending with the classic fatality, ending Bi-Han’s life.
Hsu Hao gets the upper hand on Sonya after disabling her gauntlets temporarily. Hsu Hao gets her into a choke hold that she nearly escapes. Johnny regains a holding on his surroundings. When he does, he sees that Sonya is in trouble but gets attacked by Kano. Johnny gets scared for the first time in a while about another human life. He starts glowing a bright green color and pushes Kano away like he’s nothing and instinctively throws a green force ball into Hsu Hao’s back, blowing out his rib cage, as the force goes through his body, that reveals a barely beating heart, stopping as he falls to the ground. Kano gets enraged so he stabs Johnny Cage in the stomach and pushes him to the floor before tackling Sonya. They get into a fight that lasts a good while until Johnny comes out of the blue and throws Kano away from Sonya, making the fight a 2 v 1. There is also a scene here where we see Mileena cutting off her lips to fully reveal her teeth around this time (think mk11).
We return to Shang Tsung and the rest of the tournament. Shang Tsung, with a level of unmatched confidence, puts Smoke up against Jade and Mileena. Raiden tells him that the odds are not fair, therefore against the rules of the tournament. Shang Tsung tells Raiden that Smoke fought off 25 of the Lin Kuei’s most skillful warriors, making him more skillful than both Jade and Mileena. Raiden reluctantly complies, knowing that the Elder Gods will be too lazy to help at all. Smoke steps onto the stage, and is greeted by Jade’s bright green pole, and Mileena’s sharp, piercing sais. An amazing 10-15 minute fight would occur between the three of them. Near the end of the fight, Jade will be stabbed in the stomach by Smoke and incapable of fighting for the rest of the film. Mileena will get her mask ripped off by Smoke as he knows she is self conscious about her teeth now that they are all revealed (after Smoke sliced open her mouth). By this point it was overall useless as Smoke was so damaged and weak that Mileena bit into neck and ripped out his throat. He falls to the floor and Mileena follows up by tearing into his stomach and pulling out his intestines and killing him for good. After one last look at the crowd around her, the weakened Mileena teleports away, not to be seen for the rest of the tournament.
The fight between Johnny, Sonya, and Kano comes close to an end when Kano gets Johnny into a chokehold and uses him as a human shield, with his knife against Johnny’s throat. With little time to think, Sonya realizes that her gauntlets are back online and takes the chance by firing an energy ring into Kano’s right eye, completely blowing it out as well as the area around it. Johnny escapes his hold and turns around to throw a forceball into Kano, blowing out his back and revealing a load of muscle and spine. Sonya runs over and throws him onto his back as Johnny stomps into his chest breaking his ribs. With one last finishing blow, Johnny plunges into Kano’s chest and rips out his heart. They go back to finding Jax, which they successfully do, but not without issues. Rieko. They unchain Jax and call for Raiden to send them back as quickly as possible. Raiden complies and they escape Reiko in the nick of time.
When they return to Raiden he tells them that the tournament has been moved to Shang Tsung’s throne room. He also told them that they should rest and that shaolin monks will take it from here, ending Sonya and Johnny’s story for now.
On their way to Shang Tsung's throne room, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Chang Chi are approached by 15 outworld soldiers. The soldiers attack as Kung Lao and Liu Kang immediately go back-to-back to work together in killing the soldiers. Chang Chi, now alone, pulls out his nunchucks and single handedly takes out 7 of the soldiers, with only minor help from Kung Lao. Every Time he flings the nunchucks, a load of particle, sparky effects fly out (mostly because it looks cool, but also to hopefully give this original character an amount of personality through his fighting). After the soldiers were killed, they take a moment to breathe when a soldier comes up behind Kung Lao and stabs him with Quan Chi’s blade, which uses magic to weaken him to a degree where he can’t fight, as well as to prevent Raiden from healing him. They figure out that Quan Chi and Shang Tsung must have sent these soldiers knowing that Raiden wouldn't be there to protect them, and possibly weaken one of them enough to keep on out of the tournament, which they succeeded. Kung Lao, being the chosen one, now fears for the outcome of these next few days, now that he did not have enough strength to fight.
The next day, at Shang Tsung’s throne room, Raiden tells the last remaining 2 Earthrealm warriors that they have no choice but to finish their opponents if they want to win. Liu Kang and Chang Chi agree to this and the first fight of the day proceeds. They are put up against Motaro, but they are put up together as of Raiden’s demand. They defeat him and kill him by ripping off his horn and stabbing him through the head. However the next fight wasn't Shang Tsung like they all expected, but instead, Prince Goro. This time, Shang Tsung refused the right to let them work together. Raiden is furious, but is unable to do anything about it, as the protector of the realm, and overseer of the tournament, he is able to do no more than observe the fighting. Chang Chi offers to go first, and although Liu Kang tries to stop him, he fights anyway. Goro beats him ferociously, and after a sufferingly one sided fight between them, Goro snaps one of his nunchucks in half and punches the other out of his hand. He slams the weakened shaolin into a wooden pillar, breaking it. He then rips him in half at his waist, then again through his body and head (similar to Kinatoro’s from mk9).
Shang Tsung calls off the tournament until tomorrow. Goro goes back into the darkness and Liu Kang collects the surviving nunchuck off of the floor before going back to Kung Lao. They both comfort each other in the loss and Liu Kang trains for a bit more, being the last thing stopping the consumption of Earthrealm. At night, he meditates at the circular stage they fought in before, but little to his information, Goro was there as well. Goro comes up behind Liu Kang and smacks him to the side. Caught off guard, a half asleep Liu Kang is forced to fight the four armed Shokan. As Goro gets the upper hand Liu Kang Glows a bright yellow-orange throughout his entire body. He then explodes into a massive dragon made of fire and magma. The dragon bites into Goro and rips off his bottom left arm. Liu Kang then returns to form. Raiden shows up, questioning whether he was too late. He sees Goro on the floor, crawling away, and teleports him back to Outworld. Liu Kang questions what he did and Raiden explains that that was the prophecy, the Chosen One will win the tournament as the dragonous figure.
The next day, we return to Shang Tsung throne room. Kung Lao gives one last wish of good luck to Liu Kang who steps up to the fighting area. Shang Tsung tells Liu Kang that he must fight Quan Chi, but Raiden stops it, reminding Shang that those who act as the realm overseer during the tournament are not allowed to participate. Annoyed but still feeling as if he’d already won, Shang Tsung steps down and releases his robes and reveals a golden armored combat outfit. The fight goes as you’d expect from a fight between Li Kang and Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung turns into Nightwolf halfway through the fight. After some fighting he turns back into Shang Tsung and the fight continues. Liu Kang and Shang Tsung are so evenly matched that all it takes is a slight screw up from either of them and the other wins. That screw up comes from Liu Kang, who gets thrown across the throne room. In his weakest moment, the dragon comes back. Shang Tsung, in disbelief of the prophecy unfolding in front of him, takes a few steps back. The dragon bites down on the sorcerer and through the floor of the throne room and into the cliff it stands on, heating the rock into hot lava. Liu Kang comes back to a Shang Tsung, removed of flesh and on fire, as he drops to the floor. The remaining Earthrealm champions leave the building, just before the cliffside collapses, as it no longer had a solid base to sit on, sending Shang Tsung's throne room into the ocean. We see a short montage of the white lotus symbol disappearing from the remaining champions, signifying the end of the tournament.
Our heroes return to Sonya and Johnny, who are waiting at an evac chopper so they can go home. They congratulate Liu Kang and Kung Lao and get on the chopper to go back home. After a visit, the Elder Gods promise Raiden that Outworld will be punished for multiple violations of the rules of Mortal Kombat. Kung Lao and Liu Kang, along with some other shaolin monks, celebrate their victory, while also respecting their fallen brother. The story ends with the remaining outworld warriors escaping back into Outworld, Quan Chi being the last one out. Our last shot out before the credits is Raiden looking out on the rest of the island, free of Shang Tsung’s rule.
End
This is the vision of this story from a very tired Mortal Kombat fan that didn’t have coffee. This is not an overview/outline of what this story would be/ I cut out a lot of the slower, character building scenes. Actors can be whatever you dream of them being. Feel free to make fun of it. This is no more than a first draft, and it’s less of a script and more of a storyboard… if that makes sense. Yes, it sets up for a sequel but I’m hoping it has enough in this first one to where it can freely stand alone.
Werewolves, Werecats, Vampires, Wendigoes, and other abnormal creatures exist, the Were-people have been deemed Homosapien Transformus or Shifters, this includes Wendigoes but their transformative capabilities are much greater.
Homosapien Transformus people are treated much like the sick or diseased in medical fields, they have deemed it a “disease” due to how it spreads, it somehow transforms your genetic structure when in contact with certain factors like Lunar Waves, for example, these trigger the Werewolf, Werecat, Were-hyena, etc transformations, these lunar waves are called Lunalis Waves. Lunalis waves can be artificially created through a machine that will blast a controlled wave at you, the transformation can be turned off and on at will when using the machine or under a full moon.
Another form of transforming is through a drug called Lunar Wild which enhances strength and pain tolerance, allowing people with the Lunaris gene to enhance themselves tenfold, the side effects are listed below, take at your own risk.
They include but aren’t guaranteed; enhanced strength, pain tolerance, feral mind, Death, nausea, diarrhea, excruciating cramps, loss of personality, addiction, the effects of the drug can last for up to one week depending on the dosage used.
Were-people, also have split minds separated by a human mind, the were-creature, and the creature it’s based on, newbs often become feral if they aren’t lucid dreamers or mentally tough enough as their werewolf mind takes over completely. (This is similar to Naruto and Kurama) With some people their minds come to an agreement and work together, these people are the most dangerous and can use 60% of their werewolf strength in human form.
Some were-people don’t have the restrictions of a full moon and can transform whenever but weaker than they would be on a full moon, although training yourself in it can make you stronger the risks are not worth it.
A certain form of Vampire is known as the blessed curse, the symptoms include having allergic reactions to any harsh light, increased strength, allergic towards steel/garlic, and increased strength this form of Vampire is the worst type to become as others do have immunity towards garlic, light, etc. And because they are the closest to an illness it is curable through specific antibiotics or magic.
The more common form of vampires have pale skin, enhanced strength, speed, agility, etc, they are immune to garlic, holy water, religious text, sunlight, and other things, they aren’t immune to bullets but can regenerate if their heads aren’t blown off. Skinwalkers and Wendigos are the most dangerous out of transformus being able to take out small packs of werewolves single-handedly (A small pack consists of 5-8 werewolves).
Two other kinds of humans were discovered, those who went underground and evolved, and another that evolved underwater three types live underwater. The ones that evolved underwater for 66 million years are next. The ones that look like your typical Merpeople, ones that look more like humanoid fish (Yes they still have the mermaid tails but they don’t have the typical mermaid fashioned torso’s instead it matched their lower portions), and the vicious ones that look like Mileena or Baraka that have the mindset of an intelligent predator, their intelligence is comparable to early humans, they can communicate among each other and the other two groups but generally stay away from the other two.
The next part is about the humans who were sent to live underground around 66 million years ago, they only started to come out of pods 20 million years ago. The ones that live underground have four variations, the first look more like naked humans covered in thick skin, they wear clothes and they developed underground cities. Their height ranges from 4-8ft as a full-grown adult.
The second have thicker skin, long nails, and have small grey eyes, and they do not live civilly, they are more like the rakes of the undergrowth.
The third is more like pale humans that are also vicious predators, crawling on all fours even evolving to the point it looks almost natural like a monkey or gorilla, they don’t have thick skin like their “cousins” but do have a bite force equal to a lion.
The fourth has skin like armor and spikes that protrude from their shoulders and elbows that are bent more like a crocodile but they are much longer, their legs looked more like carnivorous dinosaurs, most are blind no eyes, their ears and noses are as armored as the rest of them, they live closer to magma and warm/heated places a few are born with eye's and can see perfectly mostly because of the light sources they can be born near, although the blind ones prefer to stay in cold dark places near water sources and they aren't adept to drinking magma. Many dangerous creatures evolved in the hollow Earth and most “normal” creatures can take on mid-tier cryptids like Wendigo, vampires, and Chupacabras with low effort.
https://preview.redd.it/g7lttniq59731.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=690b825787a7174e64d555efa8b4fba68e2cd60a What Is The Gauntlet? The Gauntlet is a series of highly challenging towers and boss fights in the Towers of Time. It is made up of 30 stages, each with custom variables and modifiers. It also conceals some of the best skins and character augments in the game.
How do I get to it? In the MK11 menu, head to Konquer, then Towers of Time. By completing the Tutorial for the ToT, you will unlock and complete the first stage of The Gauntlet. From there, each stage will be unlocked automatically after the previous stage is beaten.
Why should I do it? Mainly for the skins, gear, augments, and konsumables it drops. Partly for bragging rights.
Requirements: -At least one main character you know inside and out.
-Decent knowledge of the rest of the Roster's move sets and kits.
-At least some Tower Konsumables.
-A Noob Saibot and Sonya Blade AI setup, each with 30 Kombo and 30 Reversal AI attributes.
Optional But Highly Recommended: -Decent to good character augments for your main(s).
-Progress in the Krypt to where you are now using the 'Restore Chests' function on walls.
-Frame data knowledge.
-In-depth knowledge of the rest of the Roster's move sets, kits, Fatalities, and Krushing Blows.
-Ability to play Scorpion and Sub Zero well. (Stage 12)
Tower Konsumables Needed: -Orb of the Dragon King (Whole Tower - makes Fatal Blow available at the start of the match)
-Cleansing Stone (Whole Tower - disables all weather conditions for the match)
-AMS (Whole Tower - disables all rockets for the match)
-Distilled Magma (Whole Tower - increases damage from fire konsumables)
-Shard of Life (Healing - instantly regenerate 25% health)
-Krystal of Life (Healing - instantly regenerate 50% health)
-Soul RegeneratoFocused Soul RegeneratoHyper Focused Soul Regenerator (Healing - regenerate 30/60/100% health over 10/15/20 seconds)
-Ethereal Armor (Defense - you gain armor for a short time)
-Red Dragon Beam Emitter (Energy Damage - Can be built at The Forge using Carbon Film Resistor and Circuitry Bundle)
-Reiko's Shuriken (Physical Damage - Can be built at The Forge using Bottled Thunder and Outworld Steel)
-Takeda's Kunai (Fire Damage - Can be built at The Forge using Handful of Flux and Synthetic Fiber)
-Spires of Hellfire (Fire Damage)
-Meteorite Core (Fire Damage)
-Napalm Missiles (Fire Damage)
-Fire Gauntlets (Fire Damage on hit)
-Li Mei's Sharpened Kunlun Dao (disables all Energy based modifiers)
-Demon's Book of Spells (disables all Dark based modifiers)
-Skarlet's Pure Blood Vial (disables all Blood based modifiers)
-Static Shield Generator (disables all Electric based modifiers)
Things to Note: -Almost every enemy in The Gauntlet will have increased health, varying from 150%-500% increase. There are a few stages where they have reduced 50% health however.
-You can change your character and konsumables for a single fight (don't have to reset the tower) by changing characters in the pause menu. Note that this consumes the konsumables you had equipped prior to switching.
-If you are about to lose or have lost a fight, press the Menu button and restart the fight from the Menu options instead of waiting for the rematch prompt, it saves time.
-Restarting a fight does not use your equipped konsumables, but completing a fight, changing characters/towers, or exiting to the main menu will.
-Starting on Stage 21, the AI enemies will be a slightly higher difficulty (hard) compared to the rest of The Gauntlet.
The following will contain spoilers for what awaits you in the Gauntlet. The strategies listed are the ones I used or found effective, and may or may not fit your playstyle.
Stage 1 This stage is part of the ToT Tutorial, and walks you through how to use konsumables, and how enemy modifiers work. It is made up of 3 Kombat towers and 2 Boss towers. The enemies are not very difficult to defeat (medium difficulty) and I recommend not using any konsumables unless the game tells you to.
Stage 2 This stage is considered very difficult by most players, compared to Stage 1. It is made up of two Boss towers, the first being Cassie Cage and the second being Jacqui Briggs. In the first boss fight, Cassie has the modifiers of Jacqui assist, Kung Jin's Ancestral Arrow (stuns you) and Rocket Barrage (very high damage). In the second boss fight, Jacqui has the exact same modifiers, but trades her assist with Cassie assist. There are two ways to efficiently beat this fight.
The first way is using your Noob Saibot AI build. When choosing a fighter, scroll over your Noob build and press 1, then select it. This will have the AI fight for you. In addition, equip Red Dragon Beam Emitter (RDBE) and Reiko's Shuriken (RS). Takeda's Kunai (TK) can be optionally added. The AI will use these when being attacked/juggled to lessen pressure. This is going to be the strategy for a few of The Gauntlet's stages, so remember it.
The second way is by playing yourself. Equip RDBE, RS, and TK and simply block and spam these konsumables. This is going to be the strategy for many of The Gauntlet's stages, so remember it. I like to call it the Turtle Strategy. By attacking with this konsumables, it is Aggressive Turtle Strategy.
Stage 3 This stage is made up of 1 Boss Tower. Shao Kahn will have 2 phases - armored and buffed. While armored, he cannot be comboed or juggled. While buffed, he gains 1000% damage, but can be damaged regularly. This Stage can be accomplished using the AI Noob Saibot method. If playing yourself, it is recommended to use your consumables only when he is buffed.
Stage 4 This stage is made up of 1 Kombat tower and 1 Boss tower. The Kombat tower consists of 8 Johnny Cages in a row, each with the Johnny Assist and reduced damage pickup modifier. This tower is easily beaten using your AI Noob OR Sonya. The Boss tower is a single Johnny. Its modifiers are the increased damage pickup and doing less damage while near Johnny. This fight can be accomplished using the Turtle Strategy.
Stage 5 This stage is made up of 2 Kombat towers. The first tower consists of 4 enemies, each with a different floor based modifier. This tower can be beaten using your AI Noob or Sonya. The second tower has the same 4 enemies in order, but are each tag-teamed with Kotal Kahn. Both must be defeated for each fight. The same floor based modifiers are present, corresponding to each enemy. This fight can also be beaten using your AI Noob or Sonya.
Stage 6 DO NOT USE AI FOR THIS STAGE. This stage is made up of 1 Kombat Tower and 1 Boss tower. The first tower consists of 6 Baraka fights. Each fight has 7 tag-teamed Barakas, each with 50% health. With each successive fight, the Barakas will gain increased damage and AI difficulty. To successfully finish this tower, each fight must be fought the same way. The first 6 tagged Barakas can be defeated normally. The seventh Baraka MUST be defeated using a Brutality. Konsumables are not needed for this tower, but can be used for efficiency reasons. It is HIGHLY recommended to use a character you know well, a character with easy Brutalities, or a character that you've unlocked a lot of Brutalities for. If you defeat the seventh Baraka normally, Mercy him (hold Stance Shift and press Down 4 times at mid distance) and try for a Brutality again. If you fail to Brutality even one of the Barakas, the tower will not let you continue to the Boss tower. It should be noted you have one life for each of these fights.
For the Boss tower, you must fight one Baraka normally. Its modifiers are raining heads that deal damage on contact, Baraka's attacks are unblockable, and at low health, Baraka gains armor. He must also be finished with a Brutality. It is recommended to use the Turtle Strategy to bring down his health while keeping distance, then chip him until your Brutality input will do enough damage on contact to kill him.
Stage 7 This stage is one of the most difficult of the Gauntlet stages. It is made up of 4 Boss towers. The first two are against Scorpion and Sub Zero, and can be won using your AI characters. The third tower is the difficult one. In it are Scorpion and Sub Zero as a tag team, each with 50% health. They must both be defeated in one round as a Flawless Victory. The modifiers are disabled blocking for you, poison gas on the floor, and poison rockets that track you. The rocket can be dodged/jumped over, and the gas will not affect you unless you crouch. It should also be noted that on tag-in, the opponent will 90% of the time use a special, usually slide or teleport. It is recommended to jump as soon as they tag in.
There are two good ways this stage can be accomplished. All strategies can be done quickeeasier if you have Distilled Magma equipped.
Strategy 1 - Using the Turtle Strategy. This only works if you have a zoning character to keep the teleports and slides in check. Keep jumping/backing away and using the konsumables. Alternatively, you can also equip Broken Kytinn Wing (awarded earlier in this stage) to become immune to the gas and rockets. This will replace one of your damage konsumables.
Strategy 2 - Using Fire Gauntlets. Equip them with a ranged konsumable (RDBE, RS, TK). Use a character with a fast normal string, such as Erron Black's, Sonya, or Liu Kang. Use the ranged at the start of the match to stun your opponent, then activate Fire Gauntlets. Spam your string until the opponent tags or dies, then repeat. You must either dodge or jump over the rockets when using this method.
The final tower is another Scorpion/Sub Zero tag team, only this one is fought normally. It can be beaten easily using your AI Noob or Sonya, and equipping RDBE, RS, and Broken Kytinn Wing, as all the modifiers for this stage are poison.
Stage 8 This stage is made up of 1 Kombat tower and 1 Boss tower. The Kombat tower has 9 Kanos in a row, each with a different Tracking Rocket modifier. The boss tower has 1 normal Kano, but can spawn any and all of the rockets from the previous tower at any time. This stage is made trivial using the AI Noob and Sonya strategy, and with the AMS whole tower konsumable. The AMS disables all rocket based modifiers, effectively removing all modifiers for this stage. Note that the AMS must be used again for the Boss tower. If you do not have the AMS, Turtle Strategy will also work.
Stage 9 This stage is made up of 4 Kombat towers, each with 3 fights of the same character. The characters are Skarlet, Shao Kahn, Kotal Kahn, and Noob Saibot in order. There are two sets to the tower, each with similar modifiers. Skarlet and Kotal Kahn's modifiers are a damage over time blood rain, a gift or a curse, and a physical damage modifier. Shao Kahn and Noob Saibot's modifiers are a screen blackening cloud, a gift or a curse, and a physical damage modifier. This Stage is made much easier with the Cleansing Stone whole tower konsumable, as it disables the blood rain and darkening cloud modifiers, making the stage much easier. If you do not have enough of or any Cleansing Stones, then use the Turtle Strategy for the blood enemies. For the dark enemies, use a character that you know the combos for backwards and forwards, so you can do them without seeing anything. In addition, by raising the Gamma levels in your video settings, you will be able to faintly see the outlines of your and your enemy's characters, making inputs easier.
Stage 10 This stage is made up of 1 Boss fight, Geras. He has Fire Gauntlets that deal increased damage on hit and ignites you with damage over time. He can be beaten using any of the aforementioned strategies. It is recommended to slightly more on the defense against this enemy.
Stage 11 This stage is made up of 2 Kombat towers and 2 Boss towers. The first Kombat tower has 8 fights, and can be easily beaten using your AI Noob or Sonya, as the only modifier is a Jade assist. The second Kombat tower has 3 fights, each with lasers that deal damage when touching you. These can be ignored by using Li Mei's Sharpened Kunlun Dao, disabling all Energy damage, and then defeated using regular attacks or the Turtle Strategy. With each successive fight the lasers' damage increases. The final fight is a tag team.
Stage 12 This stage is made up of 1 Kombat tower and 2 Boss towers. The first two towers can only be played with Scorpion. The last tower can only be played with Sub Zero. The Kombat tower has 7 fights, with one varying physical damage modifier each. It can be completed using Scorpion's AI the same as Noob's and Sonya's, with normal play, or with the Turtle Strategy.
The first boss fight is against Sub Zero, and has the freezing hail modifier, which will constantly freeze you. It can be negated using the Cleansing Stone, or ignored using the Turtle Strategy. This fight must end with a Fatality.
The second boss fight (Sub Zero only) is against Noob Saibot. It has the black screen modifier. The modifier can be disabled using the Demon's Book of Spells. The fight can also be completed by using the Turtle Strategy and spamming forward 2 4.
Stage 13 This stage is made up of 1 Kombat tower and 2 Boss towers. The Kombat tower has 9 fights, each with one varied buff for the enemy. It can be completed using your AI Noob or Sonya.
The first Boss tower is against Shao Kahn. All of his attacks are unblockable, he is immune to Electric damage, and his attacks will deal more damage as time goes on. It is recommended to use Turtle Strategy, but instead of blocking the whole time, be highly aggressive and don't let him attack.
The second Boss tower is against Scorpion. The modifiers are Sektor's homing missile, Cyrax's energy net, and Smoke's smoke bomb. This fight can be completed using the Turtle Strategy.
Stage 14 This is one of the more difficult stages. It is made up of 8 Kombat towers, 5 with 2 opponents and 3 with 3 opponents. For every fight in this stage, you MUST win with a Fatal Blow. In addition, each opponent has their Fatal Blow available at the start of the fight, they can use it infinite times, it doesn't have a cooldown, and it deals 300% more damage, which for most characters will be a one hit kill on you. It should be noted that you should study the move sets of the characters before fighting them, as some can open you up with mixups then cancel into their Fatal Blow, so you need to know how to block effectively. It should also be noted that all opponents have increased health, and that your Fatal Blow will not do as much damage to their bar as you're used to.
To accomplish this stage, you will use Turtle Strategy. Block at all times, and spam your damage konsumables to win the first round, then chip their health away to the point where you can kill them with your Fatal Blow in the second round. To gain your Fatal Blow, let them chip damage/throw you until you're below 30% health. By equipping the Orb of the Dragon King, you gain your Fatal Blow at the start of the fight, so you don't have to take chip damage in the second round, and can simply finish your opponent when their health is low enough.
Stage 15 This stage is made up of 1 Kombat tower and 1 Boss tower. The Kombat tower has 3 fights, each with Kabal, and has speed modifiers. The first fight has a speed gift, the second fight has a slow curse, and the third fight has both. The boss fight has Kabal constantly sped up, and you constantly slowed down. Simply use Turtle Strategy to complete this entire stage.
Stage 16 This stage is made up of 2 Kombat towers and 2 Boss towers. Each Kombat tower is followed by one Boss tower. The first Kombat tower has 6 fights, all with male characters, and each with a single buff/debuff placed on them. These can be completed using normal attacks combined with Turtle Strategy. The first Boss fight is a tag team of all the characters from the previous tower, each with their corresponding buff/debuff when tagged in. Each character has only 50% health. It is recommended to bring two damage and one health konsumables, and to attack as normal, as the fight is long. The next two towers are set up the exact same as the first two, only with female kombatants.
Stage 17 This stage is made up of 1 Kombat tower and 1 Boss tower. The Kombat tower is 10 Erron Blacks in a row, with each fight having 2 gift/curse pickups. This whole tower can be completed using AI Noob or Sonya. The boss fight can spawn any or all of the gifts/curses from the previous tower at any time. It is recommended to use an aggressive Turtle Strategy for this fight.
Stage 18 It is not recommended to use AI in this stage. This stage is made up of 3 Kombat towers, each with 5 opponents. For each tower, you must perform 5 Krushing Blows. When you do them is irrelevant. You can do all 5 in the first match if you wish. It is recommended you use a character you're familiar with, or a character with easy Krushing Blows, such as Geras, Kitana, Sub Zero, Scorpion, or Cassie. Each of the opponents will have a physical damage modifier, along with a rolling severed head. If the head hits you, you lose health and your opponent gains health. By using Ethereal Armor, you will take damage from the head, but your opponent will not gain any health. By using Skarlet's Pure Blood Vial, you can completely ignore the head. Using aggressive Turtle Strategy along with one of the above konsumables works best for this stage.
Stage 19 This stage is made up of 1 Kombat tower and 1 Boss tower. The Kombat tower has 4 Raidens in a row, each with a different Electric based damage modifier. By using Static Shield Generator, you can completely ignore these modifiers. Any standard strategy, including AI, can complete this tower. The boss fight has Raiden with all of the modifiers from the previous tower available to him. Again, Static Shield Generator makes this fight much easier. If you do not have a Static Shield Generator, then Turtle Strategy will also work.
Stage 20 This stage is made up of 1 Boss tower, Geras. He has the modifiers of Fire Gauntlets and a rocket that will drastically slow you if it hits. Use Turtle Strategy and constantly block low for this stage.
Stage 21 This stage is made up of 1 Boss tower, Johnny Cage. In addition, you can only play as Johnny Cage. The opponent Johnny has constant armor, and lasers sweep across the fightline. This stage has an odd but effective way of beating it. Equip all healing Konsumables and simply wait out the match timer. At the start of the fight, the opponent Johnny will instantly lose 20% of his health. All you have to do is make sure your health is higher than his when the match timer ends. Constantly block and avoid the lasers while healing.
Stage 22 This stage is made up of 1 Kombat tower and 1 Boss tower. This Kombat tower is 3 Frosts in a row, each with one Cyber Lin Kuei damage modifier. This tower can be completed using AI. The boss fight has Frost with all 3 Cyber modifiers, and she also gains armor when her health is low. Turtle Strategy will work for this fight.
Stage 23 This stage is made up of 2 Kombat towers and 2 Boss towers. Each Boss tower follows a Kombat tower. Each Kombat tower has 4 of the same opponent. The first two towers are all Raidens. Each Raiden in the Kombat tower will have one Electric or water based modifier, those being lightning strikes, increased electric damage on hit, a wet spot that causes you to slip, and a Rain bubble that will suspend you in the air. These can be completed using aggressive Turtle Strategy. The boss fight has all 4 of the previous tower's modifiers at once. It is highly recommended to use a Cleansing Stone to avoid the most damaging modifier, and to use Turtle Strategy after that. Also be on the defensive, as Raiden's hits (including his Fatal Blow) do immense amounts of damage.
The second set of towers are all Sub Zeros. Each Sub Zero in the Kombat tower will have on electric or water based modifier, those being a freezing hail storm, a freezing wave, punches that freeze, and a wet spot that causes you to slip. These can all be completed using the aggressive Turtle Strategy, however the hail storm fight benefits greatly from a Cleansing Stone. The boss fight has all 4 of the previous tower's modifiers at once. A Cleansing Stone is required to be able to efficiently complete this fight, so as to negate the freezing hail. From there, use Turtle Strategy and constantly block.
Stage 24 This stage is made up of 3 Boss towers, each one with Skarlet. Each fight will have Skarlet start at 50% of her total health, however she will constantly regain 5% health a second as the fight continues. The goal is to end the fight as soon as possible. A good combination is to use Distilled Magma with TK, and either Meteorite Core or Spires or Hellfire, along with Liu Kang. Activate your konsumables as soon as the fight starts (with some delay, so they don't cancel one another out), then use amplified flying kick to finish her. Another strategy is to use Orb of the Dragon King with a stun konsumable, such as Cyrax's Energy net, to stun Skarlet then Fatal Blow her right off the bat.
Stage 25 This stage is made up of 2 Kombat towers. The first tower has 4 opponents, each with a damage modifier. The first 2 opponents are grounded poison gas and landmines. The second two opponents are falling bombs and a tracking orbital strike. Each modifier is fairly easy to deal with while using most strategies. The orbital strike is the difficult one. To deal with this fight (Sonya), use Turtle Strategy. When the strike locks on with a target on the ground, it will turn from red to green. Once the target is green, the strike locks. As long as the target is warming up, it will follow your position. Only when it turns green will it stop moving. Stay still to lock the laser, then quickly jump/dash away as it fires. The laser will fire for a few seconds, and if you walk or are knocked into it, it will damage you for about 40% of your health. It is best to lock the laser while close to Sonya, so you can back away from it and not have to risk being knocked backwards into it.
The second tower is 2 tag team fights. The first fight has the same opponents as the first two fights of the previous tower, with both modifiers from those fights active. The same goes for the second fight, corresponding with the third and fourth fight of the previous tower. For the first fight, use Turtle Strategy and watch for mines. For the second fight, use the same strategy as for the fourth fight of the previous tower.
Stage 26 This stage is made up of 3 Boss towers, each of them fighting against Raiden. Every fight must be won using a Fatal Blow, and Raiden will have increased damage on his Fatal Blow, with all attributes being the same as Stage 14. To win, use the same strategies as in Stage 14, with defensive Turtle Strategy, chip damage, and patience. Again, the Orb of the Dragon King will make this stage easier, allowing you to ignore your self chip damage on round two. Alternatively, you can use a Cleansing Stone to negate the lightning strike modifiers present in each fight. The final Raiden will also have the Shinnok's Hand damage modifier.
Stage 27 This stage is made up of 4 Boss towers. Each opponent takes reduced damage from attacks, and all ranged attacks deal 300% more damage. This entire stage is easily completed using your AI Noob or Sonya. You don't even need konsumables.
Stage 28 This stage is another one of the harder stages to complete. It is made up of 1 Kombat tower and 1 Boss tower, all with only Kotal Kahn. In the Kombat tower, each Kotal will have a totem with a modifier built into it appear on the arena after about 10 seconds. No matter the modifier, the totem will absorb any attacks done while near it, including konsumables and ranged attacks. If either you or Kotal perform a Krushing or Fatal Blow, the totem is removed, and will reappear again after the same time period. It is recommended to play a character with easy/well known Krushing Blows to remove the totems when necessary.
Totem effects are:
-Fatal Krushing Blows.
-Damage over time.
-Push/pull you across the stage - hitting it reverses the direction.
-Creating a gas cloud when hit.
-Creates ice walls on either side of the arena, that when touched instantly freeze you. Hitting the totem moves the walls closer.
-Speeds or slows Kotal. Hitting the totem switches the effect.
-Creates a radius around itself, and summons a lightning strike. If within the radius, you are stunned.
-Darkens the screen, hitting it brings light back.
-Creates an insta killing fire nova after about 20 seconds.
Most of the totems are easily dealt with using strategies previously mentioned in this guide. The ice wall and fire nova totems, however, have their own strategies. For the ice wall, use Distilled Magma and the flame cloak to light yourself on fire. That way, even when frozen you are dealing damage to Kotal. For the fire nova, have a Krushing Blow ready when it appears. In addition, use Distilled Magma, Meteorite Core, and TK to kill Kotal as quickly as possible.
For the boss fight, Kotal has access to all the previous totems, and can call them at will, except for the fire nova one. Use the same strategy as the ice wall, along with Napalm Missiles. A bit of luck is needed with this one, as the goal is to get the ice walls close enough together so you're constantly frozen, and for the speed totem to show up so Kotal is super slow. Then simply burn him to death using your Konsumables.
Stage 29 This stage is made up of 1 Kombat tower and 1 Boss tower. The Kombat tower has 5 opponents, each with a single elemental based modifier. These include falling boulders, flame pillars, the push/pull totem from Stage 28, a water wave, and a health steal pickup. All the fights can be beaten using AI or the Turtle Strategy, however the push/pull totem might require user intervention.
The boss fight is against Cetrion, with a number of annoying modifiers. They include a flame tornado, an earthquake thump, high force winds, and freezing hail. These don't show up until about 15 seconds into the fight. The flame tornado will track you. The earthquake thump has an audible buildup, and will do 40% damage if you're on the ground when it hits. The winds will periodically change direction. If they are blowing you towards Cetrion, you deal increased damage and Cetrion deals decreased damage. If they are blowing you away from Cetrion, you deal decreased damage and Cetrion deals increased damage. An effective strategy is to use Distilled Magma, along with TK and Napalm Missile or Meteorite Core, along with the Hyper Focused Soul Regenerator. Deal as much damage as possible at the start of the fight, being sure to jump over the earthquake thump when necessary. Then time your damage konsumables with the wind direction to deal the most damage. Use the regenerator when your health is 50-70% depleted to give you more time.
Stage 30 This stage is the final stage of The Gauntlet, and is made up of 1 Boss tower, Geras. Geras has fire fists dealing increased damage on hit, homing rockets that slow you when they hit, and the ice wall totem from Stage 28. This stage is easily completed using Turtle Strategy, however swapping out RDBE and RS for Meteorite Core and adding Distilled Magma will make the fight trivial. Simply spam the damage konsumables until you have defeated Geras.
And that's it, you've done it! You've completed MK11's the Gauntlet! I hope this guide has been useful to you, and I'm eager to see all you Fire God Liu Kang's out there soon!
-TSD
The distilled magma increases fireball projectiles, I’m pretty sure witch blood increases Skarlet in general, the physical one increases your attacks overall. Baraka’s amplified spark does 400 ish damage with distilled magma, Sonya absolutely destroys with the physical increase. They don’t say they enhance anything but konsumables though