Mortal Kombat 1 best combos, special moves and how to learn them

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You’re looking for the Mortal Kombat 1’s best combos and special moves, and you’ve found us.

Before we begin make sure to have a look at the best Mortal Kombat 1 tips. This will cover how you can combine the best combos and special moves with Kameos and counters – so make sure to brush up on the basics for beginners first. After that, you’re going to be ready to dive into learning the best combos and special moves for each character.

We’re going to include a few of the basic best combos and moves for each of Mortal Kombat 1’s best characters, alongside when we think the best time is to pull them off.

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What are the best combos in Mortal Kombat 1?

It’s hard to qualify what the best combos are in Mortal Kombat 1. Yes – we could just list the longest combo which has the highest damage output, but realistically pulling these off consistently is not very practical or likely.

As there’s quite a few different controller, keyboard, and fight sticks for Mortal Kombat 1 – here’s a key which aggregates them all under one layout:


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PlayStationXboxKeyboardArcadeGeneral
Left D-PadLeft D-PadALeft Joy-stickBack
Right D-PadRight D-PadDRight Joy-StickForward
Up D-PadUp D-PadWUp Joy-StickUp
Down D-PadDown D-PadSDown D-PadDown
SquareXJ11
TriangleYI22
CrossAK33
CircleBL44
R1RB;Kameo
R2RTOBlock
L1LBSpace KeyThrow
L2LTUFlip Stance

We’d recommend having a look at the best controller settings for Mortal Kombat 1 which will help you pull off combos with ease.

Kitana – Best combos and special moves

  • The Comeback – 2, 4, 1, 2
  • Unbreakable – 2, 4, 2
  • Heavy is the Krown – Back + 2, 4
  • Fan-Nado – Down, Back + 1 + Down
  • Princess Pirouette – Down, Forward + 2
  • Wind Bomb – Back, Down, Forward + 4

Mileena – Best combos and special moves

  • Bloody Fusion – Down + 2, 4, 2
  • Ballerenal Failure – 2, 1, 1 + 3
  • Teleport Up – Down, Forward, 2
  • Roll– Back, Forward, 4

Tanya – Best combos and special moves

  • Message from Above – Back + 2, 3
  • Piety – 1, 2, 2
  • Drill Kick – Back, Forward, 4
  • Seeking Guidance – Down, Forward, 3

Rain – Best combos and special moves

  • It pours – 2, 1, 1, 2
  • Waterwhirled – Forward + 2, 1, 3
  • Sudden Wave – Down + 2
  • Upflow – Down, Back, 1
  • Water Gate – Down, Back, 2

Smoke – Best combos and special moves

  • Missing the Toes – Forward + 1, 2, 2, 4
  • Gushing Gash – 2, 1
  • Everywhere – 2, 1, 2
  • Smoke Damage – Back + 2, 3
  • Smoke-Port – Down, Back, 4
  • Vicious Vapors – Back, Forward, 4

How to learn Mortal Kombat 1 combos

If you want to learn Mortal Kombat 1 combos – it’s going to be very well advised that you play through the practice mode in game, while also playing the campaign. You’re going to be handling a range of different characters, each of which you’re going to given a little bit of narrative to bind with the fighter.

We’d recommend first playing through the tutorial – especially the Kombos section – and then heading over to the practice mode. Here, you’re going to be given free reign to fiddle around with your character, while also customising the practice-bot so that you can practice those combos in slightly more tight situations.

We’re going to be keeping this page updated with more of the best combos, though we haven’t had time to fully dive into every last characters best combos. We’re going to keep an eye out and update this page frequently in order to get to the bottom of the characters best combos and special moves. In the meantime, make sure to check out the best graphics settings for Mortal Kombat 1.

About the Author

Amaar Chowdhury

Amaar is a gaming journalist with an interest in covering the industry's corporations. Aside from that, he has a hankering interest in retro games that few people care about anymore.