Best Fighters In Mortal Kombat 11, Ranked

Fighting game franchises hold a special place in the gaming world because ones with a great plot, characters, and gaming mechanics often earn a grand fan base and much-awaited sequels. One of the famous examples of this can be found in Mortal Kombat, the iconic franchise of brutal hand-to-hand combat that first released in 1992 and led to Mortal Kombat 11 a few decades down the road.

With the constant success of the franchise, it’s no surprise that Mortal Kombat 11 remains just as embraced as ever. Alongside the game’s lore, its unique characters are a huge driving force behind the franchise’s appeal. Here’s a list of the top fighters in Mortal Kombat 11 based on the performance results among the game’s most talented players.

Updated on March 10, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat: Although Mortal Kombat 1 is technically the latest entry in the franchise, Mortal Kombat 11 still has its fans, as the game remains one of the most popular games in the series with impressive visual advancements and a massive roster of characters.

Finding the best fighter in Mortal Kombat 11 is probably one of the most frequently asked questions by any newcomer to the game or the genre, and it’s not necessarily a bad question, considering the relatively long learning curve for each character in the game.

17

Kollector

A Slow-Paced Character With Good Melee Range

Unlike most of the popular fighters in Mortal Kombat 11, Kollector is not a fast or versatile character. He is more of a slow-paced fighter that requires the player to lean more on blocking the attacks than evading them.

That being said, Kollector is an impressive melee damage dealer, and he comes with a good melee range as well, especially when using his hiding hands or the lantern as melee weapons. He is one of those fighters that can lock the opponent in a corner and deal devastating damage to them back and forth.

16

Scorpion

Control Placement With Spear & Hell Port

Despite Scorpion having some of the most iconic catchphrases and animations with his grabs and chain, it’s actually his magic and swordplay that shine in competitive play. He’s able to flip which end of the screen he’s on in almost an instant, making him impossible to corner and forcing players to protect their backsides at all times.

In the hands of a master, Scorpion is also brutal when it comes to launching players into the air and killing them before they can hit the ground. Even with a sliver of health left, Scorpion is a threat to drain the enemy of their entire health bar in seconds.

15

Robocop

Slow Moving With Large Arsenal Of Weapons

Players who don’t like to use combos will find that Robocop’s normal attacks are slow and weak, making him impossible to recommend for gamers who haven’t memorized the skills. But gamers that do take this time will find he’s tough to beat.

His combos go between near-instant gunshots to melee strikes with extended range. There are some great mods for the game that can make the game more balanced which is nice because Robocop’s combos in the hands of an AI or a pro gamer are unfair.

14

Kano

One Of The Best Aerial Options In The Game

When high-level gamers need to dominate from the air, the choice is Kano. Great other fighting games usually don’t consider how much of the game is spent in the air, where Kano is at his best. His cannonball attack has persisted throughout the franchise and still strikes fear into the hearts of the opposition.

On the ground, he’s still got a host of ranged abilities and strong blows. Kano can use his moves for mobility in addition to damage, so he’s a top choice for gamers who know how to use the location interactions to their advantage.

13

Geras

Opponents Need To Play Against His Strengths, Rather Than To Their Own

Pro players have a unique knack for countering attacks. Because they have memorized every move from every character, the best gamers can block any incoming strike from a standstill. Most characters settle for blocking and this is where Geras shines; he can immediately counter and grapple in a split second.

Geras is especially unique among professionals. He’s either the “main” pick for pros or not used much at all. It takes a special kind of gamer to know when and what can be countered and grabbed which is why this fighting franchise is so difficult to master.

12

Kabal

Brilliant Mid-Range Game & Positioning

Kabal may not be the most classic choice for fans of the franchise but he’s plenty capable of holding his own against them. Kabal combined blazing speed and teleportation, keeping opponents trying to guess which direction and angle the next blow was coming from.

Pros usually pick up on animations from even the speediest characters but Kabal has a few moves that can be executed faster than this reaction time, making him a top choice for players with heightened reflexes that want to push the action.

11

Liu Kang

Relentless Stagger Capabilities

For a long time, Liu Kang was the default choice among top-tier gamers. His primary melee skills are often countered by ranged attackers but there is still nobody more lethal and able to juggle a foe when getting into melee range.

Beginners learning to play the game should do everything they can to stay out of their grip. Pro players are great jugglers but even intermediate gamers will find that he’s got a few combos that can end the fight as soon as the enemy loses their footing.

10

Shang Tsung

Controlling and Zoning

Going up against a skilled Shang Tsung player is a very frustrating ordeal. He can send out Fire Skull straight in front of him, as well as Ground Eruption to attack from directly below his opponent, and even use Corpse Drop to have a projectile fall from the sky. Nowhere on the screen is safe from Shang Tsung. Players will need to master when to lean into all of these special moves, and when to feint in order to trick opponents to have them right where they want them at all times.

Closing the gap instead of using a Fire Skull is a great way to get a lot of extra damage from using combos. Shang Tsung is not without his weaknesses, with his biggest coming from a very small margin of error. Bad timing opens him up to punishing combos. If an opponent is able to stun or close the gap effectively, it will be hard to keep pressuring opponents with Shang Tsung’s zoning capabilities.

9

Kotal Kahn

Numerous Approaches

Kotal Kahn is a hard character to get a feel for, as they do not have a set way to be played. This works in the player’s favor, as they can approach different opponents with different playstyles. They have a solid mid-range game, but against enemies that try to keep their distance, Kotal Kahn is able to effectively close the gap and prevent them from playing at their most effective range.

Players who try to close the gap a lot can be punished thanks to Kotal Kahn’s long-reaching attacks, allowing him to punish and pressure his opponents to play into their preferred styles. Not having a go-to at all times, and relying on knowing how to play against different opponents’ styles means it will take a much longer time to master Kotal Kahn than other characters.

8

The Joker

Very Hard For Opponents To Read

While most heroes in the game have established their power through the lore, characters are added through DLC that have nothing to do with the Mortal Kombat universe. Even so, they are always immensely fun but unpredictable. The Joker is the most unpredictable of them all.

The Joker won several tournaments for years because his moves were deceptive. He’ll step back and a chair goes flying forward. He ducks and something falls. While experts are no longer fooled by his moves, he’s diverse enough to be a top-five character in any tournament and still dominates the casual circuits.

7

Sub-Zero

Stuns Into Big Combos

Regardless of which engine the series uses, Sub-Zero remains a terrifying visage of ice and death. Being able to use spells on melee attacks as well as medium and long ranges means there is no safe place to go when he takes the field.

But it’s not just the damage that is the issue. Sub-Zero’s attacks have ice and slow opponents down or freeze them outright. Those who haven’t witnessed a tournament may not be aware, but getting slowed or frozen even once is often a death sentence.

6

Fujin

High Mobility

Playing Fujin is fun, but mastering him is no cakewalk. He has some very versatile tricks in his kit, one of the best being his Sky Wakka — this will have Fujin run forward while up in the air. What makes this so amazing is that it can be canceled out in numerous ways.

These include attacks that push Fujin forward while still in the air, a diagonal attack that returns him to the ground, and a tornado that stops him abruptly. Fujin’s greatest strength is his mobility and his range. This allows him to avoid taking damage from enemies and then punish them once they are vulnerable.

5

Johnny Cage

Jack Of All Trades

Mortal Kombat 11 is probably the best game in the series for Johnny Cage fans, as the game comes with two cool Fatalities and up to 13 Brutalities, more than any other iteration of Mortal Kombat.

As a fairly balanced character, Johnny Cage is a fighter that fans of any playstyle in the game can enjoy his moves and combos. The character’s controls feel quite fluid, giving the player the opportunity to take the rhythm of the fight in hand and provide good blocks against incoming attacks while also benefiting from ranged projectiles and some quick moves to shift the tides of the battle.

4

Noob Saibot

A Versatile Character With Impressive Ranged Attacks

A big part of Noob Saibot’s moves depends on his doppelganger that detaches himself from the character and deals some quick attacks on the target. Honestly, these moves cannot be called totally ranged, but they are not totally melee either, which is why this fighter is quite difficult to deal with.

While not as fast as Jade, Noob Saibot is also quite capable of changing the side of the battle and dealing damage from behind in the blink of an eye. He might not have the projectiles of Jade, but he can still defend himself by backing off quickly or performing some jump attacks.

3

Jade

Top Tier Zoner

Jade is able to use projectiles and her staff to shut down enemies that try to close the gap to get in close. This gives Jade a brilliant anti-air game against opponents such as Fujin. The best options against enemies that also capitalize on the zoning game, or try to get distance from Jade, are an amped pole vault or Jade’s Vanishing Winds. Vanishing Winds allows Jade to teleport to the other side of the opponent.

While Jade is an amazing character with a near-flawless kit, her damage output is low enough that enemies that gain momentum against her can quickly catch up. This means there is little room for error when it comes to playing the character. Players who master Jade will find that when everything goes right, victory will always be close at hand.

2

Jacqui Briggs

Great At Closing The Gap & Rushing

Briggs is the strongest counter to the top character used by pros, so she becomes heavily used in tournaments. But she’s not simply a one-counter kind of character, she’s plenty elite on her own for gamers who can master the tricky timing on her ranged skills.

These ranged blows hit like a truck and some character animations aren’t able to close the gap in time before she can unleash her nastiest combos. She’s also not shabby in melee combat, so even players who weather the storm to get up close are in for a tough fight.

1

Cetrion

Can Play And Punish At Any Range

Cetrion has established herself as the premier choice in Mortal Kombat 11 for a solid reason. The Deadly Alliance looks to be on the horizon for the franchise but Cetrion and the Elder Gods have the lead right now. Every character has a counter yet Cetrion challenges that truth as much as anyone.

Her skills are ranged, forcing characters back and to stay back. Head-to-head against other ranged heroes, she’s one of the few who can juggle opponents in the air for what seems like forever. Players who happen to choose a counter such as Jacqui Briggs or Sub-Zero still find they need to play almost perfectly because once they’re knocked off their feet, the fight is over.