Rules page 2
Kombos
Kombos allow you to combine a series of attacks into one big assault. The kombo itself counts as an action. Basic attacks, most special moves, most weapon attacks, running, and weapon pulls may be used in kombos. Blocking, Dodging, Kounter Moves, Taunts, Walking, Weapon Pickups, and certain special moves and weapon attacks cannot be used in kombos. There are two types of kombos: Follow-up kombos and Tech kombos.
Follow-up kombos
Certain special moves and weapon attacks allow for a follow-up. That simply means that if the attack hits the user may choose any one attack to hit their opponent with without fear of 
retalliation. The only restrictions to this are: First, the attack that allows for a follow-up (like a spear throw or wind lift) must cleanly hit the opponent. If your opponent blocks or dodges the attack, or if you trade hits that turn you don't get a follow-up attack. Some moves allow a follow-up even when trading hits and they are listed as such in the individual character bios. Second, the follow-up may not be the same attack that allowed for the follow-up. For example, spear/spear is not a valid kombo for Scorpion, but spear/uppercut is. Third, a follow-up kombo may not be used inside of a tech kombo. It's okay to end a tech kombo with a move that allows for a follow-up and build both types of kombos into one larger kombo, but follow-ups don't count when used at the beginning or in the middle of a tech kombo. Also, no attack may be used more than once in the same follow-up kombo.
Tech Kombos
Tech kombos involve using your tech meter to chain together attacks into one big kombo. Except for a few moves which are listed specifically as unusable in kombos, any move may be komboed into any other move in a tech kombo. There are only a few restrictions to these: a hand-to-hand attack may not be used immediately after an attack that knocks the person back without running first (for example, roundhouse/uppercut is not a valid tech kombo but roundhouse/run/uppercut is), and you must have enough tech points to do the kombo. Like follow-up kombos, no attack may be used more than once in the same tech kombo. The number of points needed depends on the number of hits in the kombo. Note that the number of hits refers to the number of attacks used in the kombo:
2 hits . . . 5 points
3 hits . . . 7 points
4 hits . . . 9 points
5 hits . . . 11 points
6 hits . . . 13 points
7 hits . . . 15 points
8 hits . . . 17 points
9 hits . . . 19 points
A few notes about tech kombos: The kombo only works if the first hit in the kombo succeeds. If the first hit is blocked, all the rest of the hits in the kombo are blocked, even moves that are normally unblockable. If the first hit in the kombo is dodged, the whole kombo is dodged. If the first hit of the tech kombo trades hits with your opponent's attack then the kombo ends. All the tech points and moves for a kombo are used up even if the kombo isn't successful.
A follow-up kombo can't be used in the middle of a tech kombo, but it can be used at the end (if the last hit in the tech kombo is one you can use a follow-up after). Running uses up tech points in a tech kombo just like normal, and a weapon pull may be used at any point in a tech kombo provided you haven't pulled your weapon yet.
Maximum Damage
The maximum damage rule is that no kombo can do more than 10 points of damage (half the starting amount). Any kombo that can do more than 10 points of damage is invalid.
AGGRESSOR Meter
The AGGRESSOR meter is a method of rewarding those who take the initiative and are successful in battle with extra strength against their opponent.
Point Gain
Each player starts with zero AGGRESSOR points. You gain points to your AGGRESSOR meter for doing any attack against your opponent. On any turn, if you attack your opponent and the move hits or is blocked you gain points to your AGGRESSOR meter equal to the strength of the attack (4 points for a strength 4 attack, etc). If your attack is dodged or doesn't come out at all because you were hit by your opponent, you only get 1 AGGRESSOR point. Each letter in AGGRESSOR represents 2 points, so the AGGRESSOR meter is full at 18 points.
AGGRESSOR Mode
When any player gets 18 AGGRESSOR points they go into AGGRESSOR mode. AGGRESSOR mode lasts two turns. When you spell AGGRESSOR you immediately get 4 Tech Points and all your attacks will be at +1 speed and +1 strength for two turns. During AGGRESSOR mode you do not gain AGGRESSOR points, and after two turns your point total goes back to zero.
Kombat Kodes
Kombat Kodes are special hidden kodes that can cause both subtle and dramatic effects during battle. At the beginning of every turn each player will have the choice of submitting a kombat kode (and can decide not to if they want). If the kombat kode is one that has no effect, nothing will happen. If the kode is one that does have an effect on the battle, that effect will go into play on the turn after the one in which the kode is picked. Some kombat kode effects are helpful, some are harmful, and some can be either depending on the situation.
Kode Format
All kombat kodes are in the form of 3-digit numbers. Any number from 000 to 999 may be picked. Also, once a player tries a kode, they may not use that kode again until the next time the kode list is changed.
Kode Odds
Out of the 1000 possible kodes, 200 of them will have some effect on the battle. That means every turn you have a 20% chance of getting a working kode. Also remember that kodes that work in the MK video games don't necessarily work in MK Online. For the most part, MK Online uses a completely different set of working kodes. That way, everyone who plays has an equal chance of discovering which kodes can affect the battle.
Kode Changes
Periodically, I will change which kodes have an effect. All players will be notified before the kodes change. The reason for this is so that players can't join MK Online already knowing several of the kombat kodes (by finding them out from other players).
Ultimate Kombat Kode
After a player loses a match I will ask them to enter a 6-digit Ultimate Kombat Kode. The effect of this kode will not be known until it is discovered by some lucky player. Once the kode is discovered the effect of the kode will be permanent on the game and no more Ultimate Kombat Kodes will need to be entered.
Trivia Questions
During each of the first 5 turns of every match, each kombatant will get a trivia question. These questions will be asked by E-mail and can simply be answered by responding to the E-mail with the correct answer.
Trivia Sources
Most of the questions will be Mortal Kombat related and will come from Mortal Kombat games, movies, comic books, TV shows, and anything else related to Mortal Kombat. However, every third question will not be related to Mortal Kombat, but will instead come from some other fighting game (Street Fighter, Tekken, Killer Instinct, etc).
Special Items
When you correctly answer a trivia question, you get to pick a number from 1 to 100. The number you pick will determine which special item you get. Items can be used at any time. Using one doesn't use up an action or a movement, and you can use as many of your items as you want per turn. However, every item is used up after one use. The effects of all items will be explained to the players as they're won. All items when used go into effect immediately.
Validity Issues
I try to check the validity of all questions before I ask them, but if you feel at any time that I'm wrong about the answer to a question, please feel free to E-mail me about it. If possible, I'll try to refer you to source for the question so that the answer can be confirmed. If a mistake was made, I'll correct it.
Character Building
As you progress through different matches and accumulate more wins, you'll be able to "build up" your character and make him/her an even more powerful fighter. There are three ways to build your character, item saving, adding special moves, and changing weapons.
Item Saving
Whenever you win a match and go on to the next one, you may take up to 5 special items with you. After winning a match you'll be asked to choose which ones you want to take. If you have more than 5 items at the end of a match you must choose 5 to take to the next match and the rest are discarded.
Adding Special Moves
One of the best ways to improve your character is by adding special moves. You get to add moves based on your number of wins. On the special moves page there is a chart of all special moves that can be added. These are the only moves you may choose from when adding. The special moves are grouped into 7 levels. After 2 wins you may add a level 1 special move. After 4 wins you may add a level 1 or 2 special move. After 6 wins you may add a level 1, 2, or 3 special move and so on.
Changing Weapons
You may only take one weapon with you into each fight, but after successfully winning a match you can choose to discard your current weapon and instead take your opponent's weapon.
Responding
E-mails are sent out each turn, and the game is played by responding to those E-mails. During each turn, both players in a match have one week to respond with their action (and movement if they want to use one). If a player doesn't respond within one week. Their character will block for that turn if they have any blocks left, and will forfeit if not. If a player doesn't respond for three turns in a row, it will be assumed that that player doesn't want to play MK Online anymore and they will be dropped from the game.
If you want to block on a turn, please respond to the E-mail and say you want to block instead of just sending in nothing. Non-repsonses severely slow down the game.
If there is some reason that you can't access your E-mail at least once per week but still want to play, E-mail me and I'll try to work out something for you.
Other Ways to Play
MK Online is played mainly via E-mail, but if both of the players in a fight agree to it, they can play several turns or even an entire match either in a chat room or over ICQ. If you're signed up and want to play the match this way, please E-mail me to work out the details. Be warned though, ICQ is very buggy and chat rooms don't always work on my system.
Player Conduct
MK Online is meant to be fun for everyone involved. It is a competitive game, but it's meant to be friendly competiton. It's expected that all the players will treat each other with respect. If I find out that any player is harassing another player or trying to cheat in some way, that player will be immediately dropped from the game. Please try to take the game the way it was intended, as a fun E-mail game for MK fans to enjoy.
Rules Changes
MK Online is set up so that changes can be made to the rules when necessary. Whenever a change is made, all current players will be notified by E-mail and it will be noted in the updates section.
Questions
If you have any questions about MK Online, please feel free to E-mail me at [email protected]. Whenever a question is mailed to me, I'll get back to you with an answer in at least two days, but probably sooner. I'll also normally post the question and the answer on the FAQ section of the web site, so if you have a question please check the FAQ section first to see if the answer is already there. If you don't want the answer to your question to be posted in the FAQ section, just tell me when you mail the question to me and I won't post it.
Enjoy the game!
