A confidant of Liu Kang in the past timeline, Kung Lao returns to Mortal Kombat 1 with changes to his personality, but retaining his ferocity. Players who’ve played previous Mortal Kombat games will notice that, but they’ll also notice brand-new features previously non-existent in his older incarnation. So, if you are a new player and you want to learn how to fight him, here are all the best Kung Lao moves and combos in Mortal Kombat 1.
Mortal Kombat 1 Kung Lao Moves
Before we proceed I should tell you that Mortal Kombat 1 controls follow a universation notation that you might not understand. As such, I suggest having a look at our linked guide to get an understanding first.
Kung Lao Core Moves
Kung Lao practices Shaolin martial arts, which makes sense since he lives and practices with the Shaolin monks in Earthrealm. As such, most of his core moves have a touch of popular Chinese martial arts movies. Here are some of the important Kung Lao core moves you should know about:
- Dragon Scales: 1, 2
- Shaolin Strike: B + 1
- Body Blows: 2, 1
- Heavy Chops: B + 2
- Human Weapon: B + 2, 4
- Downward Slice: F + 2
- Rising Chi: D + 2
- Knee Buckle: B + 3
- Dip One’s Woes: F + 3
- Shaolin Spin: B + 4
- Calm Palm (air): FU + 1
- Quick Fist (air): FU + 1, 2
Kung Lao Special Moves
For Kung Lao’s special, you have a variety of choices. You use these attacks after you open up your opponents using core moves. So, here is a complete list of Kung Lao specials:
- Buzzsaw: BF, 1 (press the ex for enhanced Buzzsaw)
- Hat Toss: DB, 1 (press the ex for enhanced Hat Toss)
- Direct Up: Hold U
- Direct Down: Hold D
- Shaolin Shimmy: BF, 2 (press the ex for enhanced Shaolin Shimmy)
- Kung-Kussion: DB, 2 (press the ex for enhanced Kung-Kussion)
- Shaolin Spin: UU, 3 (press the ex for enhanced Shaolin Spin, hold 3 to extend the spin, and press B or F to move back or forward)
- Soaring Monk: DB, 4 (press the ex for enhanced Soaring Monk)
- Dive Kick (air): DB, 4 (hold ex for enhanced Dive Kick)
Best Mortal Kombat 1 Kung Lao Combos
So, to perform combos as Kung Lao in Mortal Kombat 1, you’ll first open up your opponent to damage through a core move. Then, you extend them with specials and press the respective button combination to continue the combo. The higher the combo, the better the damage. Here are the best combos you can try with Kung Lao in Mortal Kombat 1.
Best Kung Lao Ground Combos
- Punishing Palm: 1, 2, 1
- Madam El-Bo: 2, 1, 2
- Eight Trigram Palm: 2, 1, 2, 1
- One More time: F + 3, 3, 3
- Focused Footsies: B + 3, 3
- Monastry Mixup: B + 3, 4
- Sweep The Foot: B + 1, 4
Best Kung Lao Air Combos
- Hinge Kick (air): FU + 1, 2, 4
- Split Kick (air): FU + 3, 4
- Spinning Flash (air): FU + 3, 4, 3
Best Kung Lao Advanced Combos
- Bread-and-Butter combo: 2, ex DB, 4, (air) 2, FDash, B+24, FDash, 124 ~ ex DB, 2, 4, DB, 2
- Corner combo: B + 24, B + 24 ~ FJ124, ex DB, 4 ~ 121, BF, 2
- One Meter combo: B + 24, B + 24, FDash, F + 33, ex BF, 2, 4, BF, 2
- Soaring Monk Goro-assist combo: 212 ~ ex DB, 4, J2, Dash, B24, Dash, 121 ~ ex DB, 4, B + K, J124 ~ DB4
- Air-to-Air Kombo: J2, B24, Dash, 121 ~ BF2
And these are the best Kung Lao moves and combos in Mortal Kombat 1. As you learn his basic moves and advanced combos from our guide, you might start using Kung Lao more. Do let me know if you try out Kung Lao and if you main the character in the comments below!
