An In-Depth Guide to Mastering Rain in Mortal Kombat 1

If you want to truly dominate as Rain in the reinvented Mortal Kombat 1, mastering his expansive combo potential is a must. As a mysterious ninja with powers over water, Rain brings a unique and tricky moveset that can overwhelm opponents through sheer mixup potential.

In this guide, we‘ll break down Rain‘s core combos, advanced tricks, and fatal blow routes in detail so you can unleash aquatic annihilation.

Rain‘s Strengths

• Great ranged normals and specials allow him to pressure from afar
• Fast dash speed lets him move in and out quickly
• Mixup-heavy playstyle with overheads, lows, and throws
• Corner carry and damage with meter
• Comeback potential via fatal blow

Rain is all about mixing up the opponent with his array of quick normals, special move projectiles, teleports, and hyper-mobile dashing. Once the opponent is cornered, Rain can unleash high damage combos utilizing his Water Ball and Lighting teleports. Meter management is key to optimize Rain‘s pressure and damage.

Basic BnB Combos

These are Rain‘s fundamental combos that offer reliable damage in most situations:

• 11~db1 – More starters: 211 (Close Spear), b2 (Back Kick), f21 (Two quick punches), f3 (Quick low kick)
• 114~db3 – More starters: 211, b2, f21, f3
• [4], 211~db3 (enhanced Spear into Water Ball)
• bf4f, ddu[f]f32, j243 (Water Ball, dash under, jump-in punch into kick)
• 3~db3f32, j243 (Water Ball, dash up punch into jump kick)

I‘d recommend memorizing these core combos first as they will account for the bulk of Rain‘s damage, especially when used repeatedly via stagger pressure. The 11~db1 ender is extremely consistent and easy to convert from Rain‘s great pokes.

Optimal Corner Combos

When Rain corners the opponent, he can capitalize with these higher damage combos:

• 211, 114~db3 (Spear into Water Ball)
• 211, 1~f+k, bf[1], j32, 1~db3 – SubZero Kameo (Spear into Lightning, back punch into jump punch, Water Ball)
• f32, j32, 114~db3 – More starters: bf4bf4 (Water Explosion into jump punches, Water Ball)
• bf4b, j1, j32, 2~db3 (Water Ball, jump attack, jump punches into EX Water Ball)
• f21~db1 ex, j32, 114~db3 (Launcher into EX Water Ball in corner, Water Ball)
• f21~db1 ex, j32, f2~f+k, bf[1], j32, 1~db3 – SubZero Kameo (Launcher into Lightning in corner)

With the opponent cornered, Rain can tack on additional damage with wall bounces, meter, and his Lightning teleport shenanigans. I like to condition opponents by ending block strings with Lightning repeatedly, then using it to extend combos when I have them pinned.

Meter Management

Proper meter usage is vital to optimizing Rain‘s offense and combos. Here are some tips:

• Use EX Water Ball (db3+block) to add extra corner carry and damage to combos.
• EX Water Ball amps combo damage by about 6-8% by itself.
• EX Rising Tide (db1+block) launches grounded opponents for extended combos.
• EX Lightning teleports make Rain‘s offense extremely unpredictable.
• Always save 1 bar for breakaways and EX specials though.
• The threat of EX specials makes Rain‘s stagger pressure much scarier.

meter management is key to optimizing Rain‘s pressure and damage.

Optimal Fatal Blow Combos

Rain‘s Fatal Blow launches the opponent up into the air, making it tricky to combo into optimally. Here are some routes:

• starter~fb[4], 211~fb (Basic starter into FB, combo into Spear)
• corner 211, 11~fbf32, j243, f2~fb (Spear into FB in corner, Water Explosion into FB)
• corner f32, j32, f2~fb – More starters: bf4b (Water Explosion into FB in corner)
• corner bf4b, db1, f2~db1 ex, j32, 1~fb (Water Ball into FB ender in corner)
• bf32, b2~db1 ex, j243, 1~fb (Water Explosion into EX Water Ball, FB ender)

The corner FB combos allow Rain to tack on over 35% damage on top of the FB‘s initial damage. This makes his comeback potential from low health incredibly scary.

Rain Advanced Strategies

Here are some more advanced tactics to truly master Rain:

• After throwing the opponent, immediately dash up and go for a throw or low poke mixup. Rain‘s great walk speed lets him stay in their face.
• Delay using projectiles slightly during block strings to bait out Flawless Block attacks. Then punish them.
• Throw in occasional backward dash cancels during strings to create distance and bait whiffs. Rain‘s backdash is very quick.
• After landing a jump-in attack, throw out a same side low poke or grab before the opponent can block.
• Use the Lightning teleports to suddenly switch sides and cross-up the opponent. Condition them to block one way, then surprise them.
• Constantly stagger your strings and specials to keep the opponent guessing. Dash in and out unpredictably between attacks.
• After knocking down the opponent, meaty them with d+2 on their wake-up. It hits low and restands for continued pressure.

Mastering these core fundamentals, combo routes, meter management tactics, and advanced techniques will let you maximize Rain‘s toolkit in MK11. He takes work to truly master, but is incredibly fun and rewarding once you have his combo flow down. A lethal ninja who will wash away the competition through sheer mixup potential.