Frame Data Tutorial
Understanding frame data is essential if you are looking to take fighting games seriously. If you are completely new to fighting games then seeing these numbers might be confusing. This guide will explain frame data and how it works in Mortal Kombat 11.
First let’s try to understand what a frame is. Mortal Kombat 11 plays at 60 fps (frames per second). This means that after every second, 60 frames will have passed by. One frame is the equivalent to 1/60th of a second. We can use this to determine how fast certain moves are in the game.
Start-up
Start-up is the amount of frames a move takes before becoming active.
In this example, we’ll be looking at Jade. If we look at the start-up of Jade’s 
+
, we see that it has a 10 start-up frames. A move with 10 frames of start-up or less is very fast as it comes out in 1/6th of a second. The lower the start-up of a move, the faster that move will be. In contrast, the higher the start-up of a move, the slower it will be.
Let’s compare this to Jade’s 
+, which has a 28 start-up frames. This move will come out much slower than Jade’s +.
Active
Active is the amount of frames a move has while it is in its active state.
Jade’s + has 21 active frames. This move will stay active for quite a while compared to Jade’s + which only has 2 active frames.
Recovery
Recovery is the amount of frames a move has after being used for a character to be able to move again.
Jade’s + has 34 recovery frames. This means that after Jade has used this move, she can no longer block or move until 34 frames have passed. Moves with a high amount of recovery frames are generally unsafe if they miss.
Cancel Advantage
Cancel advantage is the amount of frames a move gives when cancelled into another move. To view the cancel advantage of a move, you must turn on Frame Data in Practice Options and perform the move on hit or on block.
Jade’s +
has 31 cancel advantage on hit. If the opponent is hit by this move and it is cancelled into another move, they won’t be able to move for 31 frames.
Cancel advantage is different on hit than on block. For example, Jade’s + has 31 cancel advantage on hit, but it has 10 cancel advantage on block. If the opponent blocks this move and it is cancelled into another move, they won’t be able to move for 10 frames.
If we look at Jade’s Edenian Spark, it has a start-up of 20 frames. If + is cancelled into Edenian Spark on block, the opponent won’t be able to move for 10 frames, but will be able to move afterwards before the Edenian Spark connects.
This is different from the cancel advantage listed in the Move List. The Move List cancel advantage is the first frame in which a cancel occurs. For example, the Move List cancel advantage for Jade’s + is listed as 21. This means that on frame 21, + will start to cancel into another move.
Hit Advantage
Hit advantage is the amount of frames a move gives after it hits.
Jade’s + has 15 hit advantage. If the opponent is hit by this move, they won’t be able to move for 15 frames.
Block Advantage
Block advantage is the amount of frames a move gives after it is blocked.
Jade’s +
,
,, has 5 block advantage. If the opponent blocks this move, they won’t be able to move for 5 frames.
Most moves however will have negative block advantage. A move that has negative block advantage works in the opposite manner. Jade’s + has -13 block advantage. If the opponent blocks this move, then instead, Jade won’t be able to move for 13 frames.
Moves with a high amount of negative block advantage are generally unsafe. For example, in order to punish Jade’s +, the opponent will need to use a move with 12 start-up frames or faster.
A move with 13 start-up frames will not work here because the move doesn’t become active until the 14th frame, which is the first active frame.
Another thing to note is if a Special Move with 13 start-up frames is done as a reversal, then it will work because reversals have 1 frame shaven off.
Flawless Block Advantage
Flawless Block advantage is the amount of frames a move gives after it is Flawless Blocked.
Jade’s + has -19 Flawless Block advantage. If the opponent Flawless Blocks this move, Jade won’t be able to move for 19 frames.
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Is there a rule against using normals in combos?
For example Scorpion’s standing 2 is +17 on hit and his D1 has a startup of 7, but they don’t combo into each other and the D1 is blocked every time.
Also Tsuka Poke on V3 is +11 on hit, but won’t connect with any of his normals.
The only explanation I can think of is that you aren’t allowed to use them on grounded opponents in the middle of strings/combos but idk
Generally it is not possible to combo a normal into another normal. Combos are only possible when a move is linked into a Special and have enough cancel hit advantage to combo. Since you cannot cancel a normal into another normal, it will not combo. There’s usually a special property put into place that allows the opponent to block after being hit by a move and it is not cancelled. This is mainly to prevent infinites from being in the game.
I appreciate the reply
Would this be the same reason crouching poke -> special doesn’t combo?
Thank you for all the work you have put into this website. It’s the only place I will go to for learning this game
Hi, sorry I wanted to ask you, how many times can I cancel a movement with a special attack?
In the following situation:
If I cancel a move with a special attack and amplify or improve the special attack, does amplifying a special attack count as another cancellation?
Thanks, I wait for your answer.
Thats actually a decent question.You might have to lab it out in training
Hi. A move can be cancelled once. In your situation, let’s say you are using a 1,1 string and cancel the string into a Special Move. This counts as one cancel. If you were to Amplify the Special Move, then yes it would count as another cancel. Here is another way to look at it: The reason this is called a cancel is because you are “cancelling out”, or in other words “abandoning” the initial attack. In this case, instead of just doing the 1,1 string, you are now doing 1,1 -> Special Move. The same applies to Amplifying. Instead… Read more »
Thank you so much for the info. Tired of losing and I wanna get to know the game inside out. This site is really helpful.
Another term I really wanna understand is BlockStun. I see it a lot. What is that? Is it there in MK11? And if it is, how is it calculated?
Hi. I’m glad the site has helped! Blockstun refers to the amount of delay caused after a move is blocked, before being able to perform any action. The blockstun from jab attacks is very little so it may not be noticeable. But if you were to do a jump kick and it’s blocked, you will notice a small delay before being able to press a button. As far as I’m aware, there isn’t a way to calculate the blockstun of a move without using a video editor and manually counting the frames.
I completely understand frame data after a long time of learning the terminology and slowly starting with the frames and ending with a complete understanding of it to where I can apply it to my online play and its made me a much better player and its a mixture of your teachings and and other ppls videos like dink for example but this specific guide is what made frame data completely click with me.
I’m glad this guide has helped!
What do these terms like F2, F1, B2 even mean? Even in your combo list for characters have things like Skarlet-124 BF4. What does that even mean?
Hi. You can find the input translations on the Controls page:
https://www.kombatakademy.com/mortal-kombat-11/controls/
Unfortunately, I currently do not have a way to write PS4/XB1 inputs. Using the 1/2/3/4 system is the easiest way to write out inputs as it is universal. I encourage you to learn this universal notation as it will make reading combos much easier!
How does Cancel Advantage work?
Hey I am a blind player, and I am impressed with the level of accessibility for screen reader users this site has. THanks sooo much. It was difficult to find a site that was accessible.
Wow! I am glad this has helped you as a blind player! We’ll continue to do our best to write guides like this to help players such as yourself in the future.
Wow, this is the best explanation of frame data I’ve seen yet. I only really understood what start up is and that’s it and that if my move has a startup number lower than my opponent, I’ll be able to hit my opponent first if we throw a move at the same time, but I’m actually understanding this alot more. Ever consider doing a video it this? I’m sure it would be even better if you use examples. Just a suggestion. Thanks for this
Glad it helped!