Mortal Kombat 1 Baraka Character Guide: All You Need to Know

Table of Content
Mortal Kombat 1 Baraka Character Guide: All You Need to Know
MK1 Command Inputs
Baraka's Gameplan & Specials
Baraka's Best Kameos
Baraka's Bread & Butter Combos
1. Easy
2. Medium (Cyrax)

Baraka offers a wide range of options as an aggressive character in the MK 1 Roster; his specials offer a good amount of damage to string combos that can catch opponents by surprise. Baraka is a good choice for any player, and although it might not dominate the rankings, it certainly presents a challenge in the right hands.

If you want a pro player to break down the character for you, you can check out our collaboration with MagicTea below to learn how a top player in the NRS competitive scene tackles this character.

BARAKA guide by [ MagicTea ] | Mortal Kombat 1

However, this text guide is intended to give you a wider scope, and teach how to work up your way up with Baraka so you can start taking names in Kombat League.

Baraka

MK1 Command Inputs

Shorthand	MK Commands	PlayStation	Xbox	Switch
Action Buttons
1	Front Punch	Square	X	Y
2	Back Punch	Triangle	Y	X
3	Front Kick	X	A	B
4	Back Kick	Circle	B	A
L1	Throw	L1	LB	L
L2	Switch Stance	L2	LT	ZL
KAMEO	Kameo	R1	RB	R
AMP	Amplify	R2	RT	ZR
Movement Buttons
S	Standing	This means no movement input is given
J.	Jump up	Jump up
Jf.	Jump forward	Jump towards the opponent
Jb.	Jump backwards	Jump away from the opponent
D	Crouch	Crouch down
F	Forward	Move towards the opponent
B	Backwards	Move away from the opponent
U	Up	Press Up, mostly used as part of special inputs

Swipe

Baraka's Gameplan & Specials

Specials

BF1: Range projectile and can be amplified. More importantly, if it lands, it will deal Damage over time and buff chip damage.
DF2: Hardest hitting special, it can be amplified to get a launcher and has an overhead.
J.DF2: good add-on for air combos, or to mix in as a surprise.
BF3: advancing special, good to punish opponents and will go under high projectiles. can be used as a wake-up, and amplified for armor.
DB1: Good anti-air, you can choose the side the opponent is thrown and when amplified it will leave blades stuck in causing the same debuffs as BF1.

Pokes

D4: Good range and safe on block.
D1: Fastest poke but unsafe.
B4: Good Sweep.
B3: Good starter, a good option to hit opponents expecting throws.
B1: flows into a string and can be special canceled.
F3: Overhead that avoids lows and is a launcher on hit.
F2: Good range poke.

Strings

Baraka does not have a lot of good solid strings. Many of them can simply be ducked outside of some limited mixups. His F3 is one of the few overheads he has but it is very reactable.

B3,1: Used in combos, as it contains a launcher. But can be punished.
2,1,2: Can be canceled into specials on the second hit and is safe on block.
1,2,1: slightly faster than 2,1,2 at 7F instead of 9F but very similar otherwise.
4,4,4,4,4,4: Great for chip damage thanks to the multiple hits, you can spend a Kameo to make it safe. However, it's very hard to cancel into specials.
B1,2: Meaty, hits both regular and delayed wakeups
S2,1: Pressure string can cancel into DF2 on confirmed hit.

Baraka's Best Kameos

Because of Baraka's excellent offense, it makes sense to pair him with a Kameo that is capable of supporting that aggressive, pressure-heavy style. Kameos like Stryker, with his stun grenades, and Sareena, who can also extend some of his combos, are two great options to bring into a match. Cyrax and Kano are another set of Kameos worth playing around with.

Cyrax (Kameo)

Sareena (Kameo)

Stryker (Kameo)

Kano (Kameo)

Baraka's Bread & Butter Combos

Easy

B3,1, B3,1, 2,1, DF2
F3, B3,1, DASH, 2,1, DF2
2,1, DF2 (AMP), B3,1, 2,1, DF2

Medium (Cyrax)

S2,1, DF2(AMP), B3,1, DASH, S2,1, DB1, KAMEO, FJ.1,4, DF2
S2,1, DF2(AMP), DASH, S2,1, DASH, 2,1, DB1, KAMEO, FJ.1,4, DF2
L1, KAMEO, JUMP, 1,4, DF2
B3,1, B3,1, F2,1, DB1, KAMEO, JUMP, 1,4, DF2
2,1, DF2 (AMP), B3,1, 2,1, DF2, KAMEO, JUMP, 2,4, DF2