What to Expect From Mortal Kombat 1’s Conan the Barbarian

What to Expect From Mortal Kombat 1's Conan the Barbarian



Conan the Barbarian is coming to Mortal Kombat 1 is January, and there are already a couple of things that fans should expect from him. Conan is far from the first action movie icon to enter the Mortal Kombat universe, as Rambo and the Terminator from the last game alone can prove. However, he should bring a unique personality to Mortal Kombat 1 with his appearance. There is only a little bit of footage of him to take into account thus far, but there is enough to give fans at least some idea of what he brings to the table.

Among Mortal Kombat 1‘s DLC characters, Conan will be the fifth guest character to join the game since release, and the 11th character overall. Compared to the other characters introduced so far, he already has a few unique traits. His barbarian aesthetic alone grants him a unique look compared to other characters on the roster. Even among Mortal Kombat 1‘s guest characters, he stands out due to not sharing much in common with the others. He’s neither a current or former supervillain, nor is he a slasher like Ghostface, so if nothing else, Conan is forging a path of his own in Mortal Kombat 1.

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Conan Looks Like a Close-Up, Aggressive Fighter in Mortal Kombat 1

Conan Should Be a Unique Sword User in Mortal Kombat 1

Similar to Mortal Kombat 1‘s Ashrah and Kenshi, Conan wields a sword as his primary weapon. However, that shouldn’t make him derivative of either of those two characters. Ashrah and Kenshi both have supernatural abilities on top of their swordplay: Ashrah can imbue her Kris with both light and darkness, while Kenshi can use Sento’s spirit to fight alongside him or control the sword from a distance. In comparison, Conan’s brand of swordfighting looks to be solely based on his martial prowess with no supernatural elements. That should ensure that his playstyle has its own feel separate from other sword wielders.

Conan Looks to be a Rushdown-Focused Fighter

So far, it looks like Conan’s gameplay in Mortal Kombat 1 is going to rely on getting in close to deliver punishing combos. The gameplay snippet from his sneak peek shows him juggling General Shao with a long string of attacks. Not only that, but it’s shown that Conan can deflect projectiles with his sword to send them back at the attacker. This would be a good compromise if he doesn’t have any long-range options of his own to fight with, and it would be a unique and tactical ability to add to an otherwise brawling-focused moveset.

Conan Can Be a Great Brawler With the Right Tools

The viability of Conan’s moveset will determine his place in Mortal Kombat 1‘s metagame. If Conan has no projectiles of his own, then he will need to rely on his gap-closing ability and tricks such as his projectile reflector against those who do have range. If his tools in that sense aren’t effective, then he could easily lose to a good zoner. Conversely, the ability to keep the pressure on an enemy and keep the upper hand could make him into a potentially top-tier fighter. Mortal Kombat 1 has a large roster, and Conan could conceivably land at any spot in the tier list.

So far, it looks like Conan’s gameplay in Mortal Kombat 1 is going to rely on getting in close to deliver punishing combos.

Players have only gotten a small taste of what the barbarian has to offer, but Conan’s arrival in Mortal Kombat 1 is not far away. At the moment, he seems to be a close-range swordfighter with a slick trick to trip up zoning attempts; nevertheless, it remains to be seen if that strategy will succeed. Conan not only needs his own niche, he needs to be effective in it. Hopefully, Conan will be right at home in Mortal Kombat 1.

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