Introduction
Baraka was sent to quell the uprising renegade race in Outworld's lower regions. After his victorious battle, the nomadic warrior returns to fight on the side of villainy. Under the guidance of Shao Kahn, Baraka will once again pose a formidable threat to his Earthen counterparts.
MoveList
Combos
Auto Combos
1. HP,HP, B+HP, F+HP 4 hits 22%, 31%, 33%
2. HK, HK, LK, B+HK 4 hits 23%, 33%, 34%
2. HK, HK, B+HP, F+HP 4 hits 23%. 33%, 34%
Basic Juggles
1. Blade Spin, Blade Spin, HK, 3 hits 57%
2. In corner: PS, HK, HK, B+HP, F+HP, blade fury, 6 hits 44%
Advanced Juggles
1. Blade Spin, Blade Spin, Uppercut, 3 hits 62%
2. (near corner) Blade Spin, Blade Spin, R, aaHP, blade fan 4 hits 64%
3. (near corner) Blade Spin, Blade Spin, R, (aaHP, B+HP) repeat ( ) for inf and take a small step forward each time
4. Blade Spin, Blade Spin, R, aaHPHP, JK 5 hits 67%
5. Blade Spin, Blade Spin, R, aaHPHP, JK, blade swipe, blade fan 7 hits 100%
(can be done at the start of any round off a blocked teleport punch but not conventional, however requires very little timing and can be adpated if you know where you are on the screen in comparison to the wall)
6. 3. aaBlade Spin 2X, R, aaHPHP, R, RH 5 hits 72% (on most characters, some one HP is better off for 65%)
Special Moves
Blade Spark: D, DB, B, HP
Blade Spin: F, D, F, BL (Tap block to keep it going)
Shredder: B, B, B, LP
Blade Swipe: B+HP
Finishers
Fatality #1 : Back - Back - Back - High Punch (Baraka decapitates his victim. Stand in sweep range.)
Fatality #2 : Down - Forward - Down - Forward - Low Punch (Baraka stabs his opponents with his blades and lifts them off the ground. Stand close.)
Animality : Hold High Punch(Forward - Back - Down - Forward) release (Sweep range)
Babality : Forward - Forward - Forward - High Kick
Brutality : HP - HP - HP - LP - LP - BL - HK - HK - LK - LK - BL
Friendship : Down - Forward - Forward - High Kick
Stage Fatality: Low Kick - Run - Run - Run - Run
The Basics
If you played a lot of MKII, you might find yourself relying far too much on his special moves and zoning, and forget that you can still run jab with him, and that other characters have a bit easier time against his zoning than in MKII. Baraka has a great standing HK, fantastically wicked Round House, a good anti-cross up uppercut, fast sweep, and technically the Blade Swipe operates like a normal since it's just a directional press, but we'll keep that in the specials list. His JP has awesome range, similar to MK3 Kung Lao's. Abuse this, and his JK is excellent as well. Remember the option to use jab lock down after his corner combos, as it sets up perfect positioning for it.
Advanced Strategies
The Blade Swipe cancels is an old favorite returning from MKII and it has no push back this time, ever. You can also perform the move while blocking, without releasing block, similar to using Sheeva's Teleport Stomp for example. The move has some anti air potential in MKT and has good range, with sufficient damage. It's pretty fast and cancels jabs until like in MKII, so you might want to mix that into your jabs for confusion. Remember Baraka can be swept out of the Blade Swipe from extreme distance, so try to use it within, or just a tiny bit outside of it's collision range to snuff counters. And of course, he can semi-infinite with the Blade itself in the corner, and full infinite off alternating jabs to Swipes. Overall, it has some zoning potential. The Blade Swipe has zero usage limitations.
The Blade Spark also makes its return, but doesn't have juggle potential or staggering ability. Opponents seem to recover quickly from it and get knocked down fast, and it might be most useful to counter jumping ack opponents. It hits very high up and is easily sweepable, so be sure to eat a lot of sweeps if you try to spam this move. The Blade Spark has no limitations of use other than connecting it will terminate any combo.
The Blade Fury is as useful as ever. Fantastic anti-air, anti-cross up, and corner combo finish option. Be careful not to use it too much, as it is easily swept during vulnerability and he performs the action for a considerable amount of time. The Blade Fury has no limits, and can even combo into itself near the corner. Follow up hits are possible as well mid screen, like a JP or JK, on run in LK or HK, or perhaps a blockable sweep for a mix up.
The Blade Spin, or Corkscrew, is Baraka's new move for MKT. It's a horrendous, unforgiving creation of violence. Fortunately they decided to limit this move, but apparently not enough. This move can be down twice in a row, does 19% on its own, and does not activate damage protection. It's excellent for anti air anti cross ups, but has alternating collision per side, so you can actually be countered fairly easily during start up depending which side the attack comes from. Baraka can meander about the screen while performing this move and tapping block. It can miss during punishers if you attempt it too quickly, so learn the perfect way to connect it and keep them high, allowing you to connect another one immediately after (or one after any other hit), and then the hit limit has been reached. After that, use the containment properties, which are along the lines of Kitana's air fan, that allow some juggle hits to follow. If you perform the move without tapping block, the collision only happens on each side once, and then stops and Baraka continues to spin much like Kung Lao's Spin, leaving him vulnerable.
