Mortal Kombat 11 Noob Saibot Guide Featuring MagicTea

Know everything there is to know about your favorite Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate character's ability to stand up for themselves in the competitive world of NRS esports. You might not be looking to defeat SonicFox at Evo this year, but know that everyone had to take their first step at some point. Things like frame data, combos, basic moves, and gameplan can be daunting to take all at once. Not even professional players try to lab characters back to back. Keep your mind sharp then, with just one today.

DashFight is working with various pros worldwide to make sure you are ready to hit the ground running with your favorite character. On this occasion, Martins "MagicTea" Krauklis, with multiple ProKompetition's top 8 finishers in the EU Qualifiers, will help you get to grips with the characters and give you the tools to master it later. You can watch the full video below and follow along with the guide or use the table of content to jump to your desired section upon revisit.

MagicTea's Noob Saibot Guide

Noob Saibot's Best Buttons

The Best Buttons are the key moves for the character. You are likely to want to use or see these in play as players or opponents since they offer the best neutral, anti-air, and pressure value.

• D1 - Mid and his fastest poke, great for interrupting and checking opponents.
• D3 - Low and a longer range, slower than D1, but it can give you an advantage and guarantee that F2 won't be ducked.
• B1 - Good Early damage, but its value becomes apparent thanks to its full string B1, 1+3, 2, a Krushing Blow on a counter or punish.
• D4 - Low with great value as an anti-air option.
• D2 - Universal Anti-Air with a lot of damage behind it.
• F3 - Another good Anti-Air and allows for a juggle after it.
• DB4 - Very reliable Anti-Air, sadly, no good follow-up after.
• B2 - A good range Mid; most importantly, it has armor break and can be canceled out into a special if it armor breaks.
• B3 - Longest range normal, best used with a special right after. It can also provide a nice Krushing Blow if the opponent was blocking.
• F4 - A faster version of B3, good if you think your opponent might be looking to parry you.

Noob Saibot's Best Variation

Since players can now use their custom Variations in tournament settings, there is no excuse not to learn what goes well together. Here is MagicTea's Noob Saibot variation specials ranking:

1. Shadow Slide (BF3)
2. Shadow Portals (R1 after DU)
3. (Air) Tele-Slam (DU in the Air)
4. Spirit Ball (BF1)
5. Sickle Snag (BD1)

Noob Saibot's Best Strings

No one wins on the back of single punches. Having a memorized list of the Best Strings you can use and change throughout the match will vastly improve your chances of coming out ahead.

• 1, 1, 3
• 1, 1, 2
  • Both of these can be used as a mixup alongside Shadow Slide, but it is not a true mixup, so act carefully.
• B1, 1+3
• B1, 1+3, 2
  • You can special cancel after B1 with Amplified Shadow Slide if the opponent blocks the string. Aside from that, It has a Krushing Blow on Counter or Punish and is unbreakable.
• 2, 1, 2
  • Launcher with good special followups and can look similar to a throw, allowing for some mind games.
• F2, 2, 1, 2
  • An advancing string can be canceled into specials, used alongside them, or used for staggers.
• B3, 1+3
  • Not that great on its own, but it can lead to massive damage if you connect with it. But it is better to use the B3.

Noob Saibot's Gameplan

Gone are the days of smashing buttons and spamming that one combo we learned five years ago. If you want to compete or impress your mates, you have to go into each match with a Gameplan to carry through to victory. Here are your key principles:

• Shadow Slide, and its amplified version, are your best friends. It will help you make otherwise unsafe attacks safe, and it can help add even more damage to your combos. This extends to other Specials as well. You will want to practice canceling out of strings with specials a lot since that is where the bulk of your damage as Noob Saibot will come from.
• When it comes to your variant, you will want to pick Shadow Slide in all but then a pick of a combo extender, like Shadow Portal, and a finisher or projectile, like Spirit Ball.
• Noob Saibot is very vulnerable to whiff punishes due to a lot of his attacks having a long recovery. He is also on the slower side of characters, meaning his Dash and walk speed is not great.

Noob Saibot's Bread and Butter Combos

Knowing how to adapt to the changing landscape of a fight is important. That is why Combos play a crucial role in letting you shape it and extract the most out of your inputs. Here are the combos you should be looking to pull off:

2, 1, 2 Starts:

• 2, 1, 2, F2, BF3, R1
• 2, 1, 2, DU, R1, DASH, 1, 1, 3, BF2
• 2, 1, 2, DB1, R1, DASH, 1, 1, 3, DB1
• 2, 1, 2, DASH, F2, 2, 1, DB1, R1, 1, 1, 3, DB1
• 2, 1, 2, S4, DB4, 1, 1, 3, BF2
• 2, 1, 2, S4, DB4, B1, 1+3, DU, R1, DASH, 1, 1, 3, BF2
• 2, 1, 2, S4, DB4, 1, 1, 3, DB1, R1, 1, 1, 3, DB1

1, 1, 3 Stars:

• 1, 1, 3, BF2, R1
• 1, 1, 3, DU, R1, DASH, F3, F2, 2, 1, BF3
• 1, 1, 3, DU, R1, 1, 1, 3 , B1, 1+3, DU
• 1, 1, 3, DU, R1, DASH, 1, 1, 3, DB1, R1, 1, 1, 3, DB1
• 1, 1, 3 DU, R1, FJ2, F2, 2, 1, DB1, R1,  1, 1, 3, DB1

F2, 2, 1, DB1 Starts:

• F2, 2, 1, DB1, R1, 1, 1, 3, DB1
• F2, 2, 1, DB1, R1, FJ2, B1, 1+3, DU
• F2, 2, 1, DB1, R1, B1, 1+3, DU, R1, DASH, 1, 1, 3, DB1
• F2, 2, 1, DB1, R1, FJ2, B1, 1+3, DU, R1, DASH, 1, 1, 3, DB1

F2, 2, 1, DB4 Starts:

• F2, 2, 1, DB4, 1, 1, 3, BF2
• F2, 2, 1, DB4, B1, 1+3, DU, R1, DASH, 1, 1, 3, BF2
• F2, 2, 1, DB4, 1, 1, 3, DB1, R1, 1, 1, 3, DB1
• F2, 2, 1, DB4, B1, 1+3, DU, R1, DASH, 1, 1, 3, DB1, R1, 1, 1, 3, DB1

Noob Saibot Guide Conclusion

Noob has a lot of great tools to start big combos. Furthermore, he has a suite of defensive Anti-Air options that can nullify opponents' advantages in certain matchups. But there undoubtedly is a big-time commitment to learning the best ways to open up your opponent. You have specials, pokes, and strings that can all do great damage, make unsafe approaches safe or interrupt your enemies; But it all relies on you taking the time to learn them. Better start now!