Mortal Kombat
50 Achievements
1,000
300-500h
Ladder Master
Complete Arcade Ladder on max difficulty without using a continue
20
How to unlock the Ladder Master achievement in Mortal Kombat - Definitive Guide
Change the settings to 1 Round, 60 seconds. Start up A Tag Ladder.
Choose Sheeva and Noob Saibot (In that order!)
Pick Expert difficulty.
1 Round for obvious reasons, and 60 seconds instead of 30 because you want some breathing room in case the opponent starts getting in your ass early in the fight.
During every match spam Sheeva's DOWN, UP (D, U) Jump Stomp attack. You can usually land it 75-80% of the time and it does decent damage. Also if your lucky the opponent gets stuck and you can just spam it over and over without them ever getting up! (Unless you take too long)
(*OPTIONAL*)During events where you mess up and accidentally just jump try to hit Y afterwards to throw a overhead punch that usually lands and bounces the opponent off the ground leaving them open for a uppercut.
In events where Sheeva is taken out and Noob is thrown into the fray use his DOWN, FORWARD+A attack. This attack has some range and will bring down the opponents health pretty well blocking or not.
This may take a few tries but is almost guaranteed to work.
1 round
60 second
Tag Ladder
Pick Sheeva and Kung Lao
Be sure Sheeva is your first fighter, use her move DOWN/UP and as soon as the enemy is about to get up press RB for a throw. Then do her Down/up move again and again, more often than not, your enemy will not get up when you throw them on the ground. If they get up, Down/up again and throw with RB. The Down/up "strategy" also work on the last boss. Only the RB part won't work but if you have the right timing with the spamming down/up it won't be hard to beat him with Sheeva.
Its comparable to the first solution, but Kung Lao is a better back up than Noob Saibot imo. Just use teleport with Lao and spam X and he will grab the enemy everytime, when he doesnt, just teleport back fast or uppercut.
*** Overview ***
The strategy I have written below is a lot easier and quicker than doing the tag ladders (which almost everyone suggests). The strategy I used below took me about an estimated 5 minutes and 33 seconds which I think is pretty good.
To start off, I didn't do tag ladder and I didn't use Sheeva, Kung Lao, Noob Saibot, or even Smoke,
I did the regular ladder and only used Ermac.
Why? Well because Ermac has an insanely effective "Force Port" special move (down, back, B) which can be done in the air catching the AI off guard about 75% of time. The other 25% of the time the AI will block the move and you will either get hit for a bit of health or you will get the chance to simply repeat the same move over again unharmed.
*** The strategy ***
1) Go to options and still set the round to 1 and 30seconds.
2) Start a regular ladder under Expert difficulty and pick Ermac
3) When each match begins, immediately jump back and while you're still in the air, perform his "Force Port" special move (down, back, B).
4a) If the move is successfully, you will hit the AI and can then jump back in the air and perform the same exact "Force Port" special move over again.
4b) If the move is unsuccessfully and the AI blocks, you can either...
* Attempt to uppercut the AI, jump back in the air, and use the "Force Port" special move again (might be 50% successful)
* Simply jump back in the air and use the "Force Port" special move again
5) With this strategy, you should be able to easily handle all matches up to Shao Kahn.
6) On Shao Kahn, the same exact strategy works although the only difference is that you need to slow down a lot and learn his moves if you haven't already.
A safe strategy is to wait for him to either throw his spear or hammer. If he starts creeping up or he uses his shoulder charge special move then you can try to jump in the air and do the "Force Port" special move (down, back, B) but watch out as a missed hit can potentially take you out of your rhythm and Shao Kahn will hit you for quite a bit of damage.
Once he performs his special moves (arrow or hammer), immediately jump back in the air and do the "Force Port" special move (down, back, B).
After the "Force Port" is a successful hit you can either immediately try it again (not recommended) or move/jump back to get more room between you and Shao Kahn and just wait for him to use his special moves (arrow or hammer) again.
It might take a bit of timing while adjusting to his moves but once your used to him its very easy to beat him.
Let me know if this strategy helps out!
*** NEW Updates as of 7/31/11 ***
Shao Kahn Fight: Whenever Shao Kahn taunts you, immediately perform the "Force Port" special move (down, back, B) as it leaves you a little bit of time to perform a free attack on him. If you prefer to be cautious and not get close to him, you can always use his "Force Ball" special move (down, back, Y) when Shao Kahn taunts.
Kintaro Fight: While fighting Kintaro, you need to watch carefully for 2 things...(1) Kintaro's Air-grab move (2) Kintaro's "Jump Stomp" special move. These 2 moves can be easily countered by usually waiting for Kintaro to act first. If he does his "Jump Stomp" special move, wait 1 second, than jump back, it will provide you with a small amount of time to counter back for a free hit or combo start. If you play very aggressive and keep doing the "Force Port" special move than Kintaro will either do his Air-grab move on you (immediately canceling your "Force Port" special move and inflicting damage to you) or he might do his "Jump Stomp" special move and as a result, you will land your missed "Force Port" special move and due to the small delay in responding, you will get hit by his "Jump Stomp" move. Overall, play Kintaro very cautiously and you should be all set.
*** NEW Update as of 8/12/11 ***
Thanks to Lurch9944's comment below, it appears that Scorpion can also be used as an alternative to Ermac since they both have a very similar special move (Ermac's Force Port versus Scorpion's Teleport).
Now if you prefer to take the route of using Scorpion instead of Ermac, then simply follow the same strategy I listed above but instead replace every "Force Port" special move with Scorpion's "Teleport" special move (down, back, A).
Also, when you reach Shao Kahn with Scorpion and you still prefer to play cautious and not get close to him, you can always use Scorpion's "Demon Fire" special move (down, back, Y) whenever Shao Kahn taunts. Following his taunts simply perform the same strategy listed above for Ermac but instead use Scorpion's "Teleport" special move (down, back, A).
*** NEW Update as of 8/13/11 ***
Per burymagnets' comment below, it might be best to just stick with using Ermac for the strategy above as Scorpion's "Teleport" special move can sometimes go over the AI's head if they are moving around a lot (which on Expert difficulty they are).
Now this scenario can still occur with Ermac but it is pretty rare and of course it also depends what characters you are put up against.
The only scenario where I really experienced the problem (of jumping over the AI's head) with Ermac was on the Shao Kahn fight and only when he used his shoulder charge special move so typically with Ermac this won't even be a problem.
I'll definitely write more solutions if it looks like its helping people out!
edit* the noob way works on expert but it is a pain in the ass when you finally make it to the final round since it has unlimited time.
Then I tried some other characters and found out Smoke is the best character with his down back B, down back Y and how he can fade forward and backwards by back forward A, forward back A.
This strategy works all the way until the last round
Last round strategy: now you may have noticed just playing on other difficulties he is a pain in the ass due to sometimes when you hit him he doesnt flinch, but theres a trick, always stay far back from him and 95% of the time he throws a hammer or spear when you see it in his hand if its a spear quickly do down back B, but if its a hammer..do it a bit slower or risk getting smacked by the hammer and ruining everything. I learned this from my experience of playing and it may not work the first few times (especially if your not accustumed to thhe character) but in the long run it is very effective
The down/up method mentioned above with Sheeva really works quite well if you immediatly perform a throw which leaves your opponent on the ground for a few seconds 40-50% of the time. Then continue to spam down/up. Immediately jump away or down/up if the other guy gets up, rinse and repeat.
This method can be trouble for the Kintaro/Goro fight, he always seems to block the grab and throw so either jump away and block or up/down again. Thats why I used Smoke as a backup. Once I whittled Kintaro's health down a ways, he usually knocks Sheeva out of the fight. Just play cautious and spam Smoke's teleport attack if and when that happens (can't remember the combo) and you should be fine.
Depending on your play style, you should be able to spam Noob's, Kung Lao,, Ermac's or Scorpions teleport attacks as well. I tried using Noob as my backup but his attack kept missing on Kintaro.
With Shao Khan, I may have been lucky. Once again I spammed the down/up with Sheeva, immediately spamming it again. If you are quick enough, as I was, you'll be just out of the way of his following attack to slam him into the ground over and over again. Once in a while he will block the down/up so jump over his head and down/up again. I got a flawless this way, which other than Shang Tsung may have been the easiest battle of the ladder.
-Go to options and set it to 1 round and 30 seconds per round.
-Then go to Tag Ladder and pick Ermac and Scorpion in that order.
-Set the difficulty to expert, obviously.
Now all you have to do is back away at the beginning every match and wait for the AI to start an attack. As soon as you see them start a combo or start throwing a projectile, teleport. I usually jump back and teleport in mid air because for some reason the AI tends to get more offensive when you jump, making it easier to interupt them when you hit them from the opposite side with the teleport.
For those who don't know the attacks:
Ermac teleport - Down, Away, B
Scorpion teleport - Down, Away, A
After you land the teleport attack, immediately do an uppercut or quick combo (if you know any). I recommend the uppercut though, as it is safer and deals a good amount of damage. Sometimes the computer will block your attack and that's okay, but don't stick around trying to land combos. If they block, jump away if you get the chance, and if you see them start up another attack, teleport right away. You basically just have to keep your distance and wait for them to go on the attack and interupt them with the teleport, it's all about timing.
Also, don't switch characters, no matter what. Even if Ermac has like 10% health left, keep him in. The AI will switch out characters eventually and all you have to do is damage each one a little bit to win. Even with most of Ermacs health gone, if the two AI players have a little health taken out, they will lose when the timer runs out. And if Ermac dies, don't give up. Try your best not to take too much damage as Scorpion and keep at it with the teleport method. I lost my Ermac in two different matches and still managed to win even though Scorpion got hit a few times and the other two players were still alive with a little less than half health each.
As for the bosses, just keep using the teleport method. A lot of people say it's easier to use Scorpion against the bosses, but since Ermac and Scorpion's teleport attack are pretty much the same, there's no need to switch. In fact, I beat both Kintaro and Shao Kahn with Ermac alone.
Also, keep in mind that the final fight with Shao Kahn has no time limit, so you can't just do some damage, stay back and let the timer run out. Just keep your distance, if you get too close he'll ram you to death. Everytime you see him taunt, or go to throw the hammer or spear, teleport and uppercut him.
I did this at 4 in the morning when I was bored and couldn't sleep, and wasn't really even expecting to get it. And If I can get it using this method under those circumstances, anyone can. Hope this helps, it worked like a charm for me.
Sheeva and........Smoke. (1 round/60 seconds)
The first one, as many of us know, is very good with the down-up stomp.
Smoke is a good charachter against goro/kintaro and shao kahn, his teleport move with 2 hits in a few time, allows you to hit shao when he tries to launch his hammer or the spear.
I tried many times with other fighters, such as Noob, ermac, kung lao or others with teleport moves and always failed.
With this tag team, i completed the ladder at max difficulty immediatly the first time I've tried.
I used Noob on Solo Ladder. Got this on my third attempt after many MANY tries using all the suggestions above.
Set 1 Round, 60 secs. All I did for 90% of the matches was jump away from the opponent then Down -> Up. Noob will teleport up through the floor and hopefully grab the opponent. The move does 10% damage iirc. I used Noob over Sheeva because he can do this move on ground & mid-air giving yourself less chance to miss it. If I got hit, I would spam Down -> Up and usually get out of trouble. You can also try to uppercut the opponent away (works about half the time).
EDIT: Don't forget about your X-ray move (LT+RT). It can bring you right back into the fight if your behind. Noob's shadow will run out from the side and grab your opponent. As long as they don't jump over it, you'll get them from nearly anywhere on the screen.
Depending on your list of opponents, you may have to judge when to use the move. Kitana can be tricky cos she has the fan move that pretty much teleports her across the screen quickly. I can only guess Mileena is tricky as well because of the similar move list. Kano was the hardest opponent I came across cos of his rolling attacks. I just hoped I didn't get him.
Any opponent who tends to fire projectiles alot are easy especially if you can get them looping it constantly.
Shang Tsung is very easy when he's in his own form. He only had enough time to transform once (into Nightwolf) and I ended up getting Flawless. For Goro, I constantly kept jumping away waiting for him to do his flame move, then Down -> Up. You can also get him when he fires his fireball. Shao Khan is cake. Because he loves his projectiles, you can get him alot and even when your move doesn't grab him, he's so slow you can spam the move straight away and likely not get hit.
I hope this helps out anyone else who is struggling with this achievement. Good luck!
I just was spamming the teleport move and every match until Shao Kahn was too easy, now on Shao Kahn I lost on my first attempt but I got the achievement on my second attempt, the only think that you need to remember is that on Shao Kahn you need to press the teleport when he taunts (laugh at you) and after you see the spear at his hands, no another good advise is with his throwing hammer, when you see the hammer press the teleport when he already throw it because if he stills hold it (I don't know why) but he hits you after the teleport and he is not taking that damage....
That's all I had to say Good Luck on getting this one :D
My strategy is easy to realize but is based on timing, counters and defense
- Pick Ermac, Solo Ladder, Expert difficulty, 1 round and 60 seconds
be ready to block at every moment, jump back all the time to evade and wait for the counter, don't be too agressive (you'll get blocked and punished if you are), engage the sequence only if you see the opponent start moving to hit you, you 'll get the counter most of the time
The main sequence i used is jump back, then in the air, down, backdown, back, B and follow with an uppercut (down, Y)
To resume, you jump back all the time and start the sequence to teleport behind the opponent and counter him as soon as you are in the air and see him start engaging a move
If the strategy doesn't work for you against some characters (like Mileena), load a new ladder and hope they won't appear
Luck, Counters, Defense and timing are the key to success here
Hope this helps
Once ingame you'll mainly want to do nothing but spam Sheeva's stomp ,, This move is unblockable and the A.I. doesn't do a great job of trying to avoid it, and you can easily defeat enemies on MAX through timeout.
Only Shao Kahn should give you much trouble, but it's very easy to projectile spam on Kahn even on MAX so use either Sheeva's fireballs or if your tag partner has a projectile use that instead.
This is a tricky one and may take you a few tries. This must be done on EXPERT difficulty and I would suggest setting the options to two rounds with a 60 second time limit, as this allows you to win the match even if you lose a round. Just make sure that you don't lose the overall match at any cost.
Use Sheeva and Noob Saibot (select them in this order) and spam their teleport move ( ). Block as much as you can to avoid taking a lot of damage and you should be fine. Projectile moves such as Sheeva's Fireball and Noob's Energy Orb and Shadow Charge also help. Sheeva's X-Ray move also can come in really handy as its unblockable when the opponent is on the ground and the chances of you connecting are pretty high, so make the most of it whenever you can.
Once you beat Shao Kahn, the trophy will unlock.
This can be done on either Arcade Ladder or Tag Team Ladder.
ParoXysm QC suggests:
Start a tag ladder and choose Sheeva and Noob in that order. As soon as the fight starts, use Sheeva's attack repeatedly. If Sheeva dies use the same move with Noob. Occasionally the computer will stay on the ground while you perform the Sheeva's attacks so they're easier to kill. And it's easier to kill Shao Kahn with Noob than with Sheeva.
This is one of the hardest trophies in the game BY FAR. You can set up the fight at 1 round, 30 seconds and use some strategies posted HERE. Scorpion is maybe the best option to tackle this hard one.
Thanks to StOrMtRoOpErMx19 for the video showing one of the easiest ways!
YouTube - Mortal Kombat / Ladder Master Trophy
2) It’s difficult to use Shiva’s teleport against goro, because he constantly uses special techniques that make him invulnerable for 1 hit - that is, after the teleport we run the risk of getting hit. He uses them for a long time, which is why this shield hangs for a very long time.
3) Shao Kahn is simpler than Goro because... he spams skills almost always. That is, having knocked him down once, we just wait for him to get up and use the jump. After his skill, there is enough time left to fly from above and the so-called shield (which he, like Goro, has during each special attack) just ends.
Now for Noob Saibot
1) It is best to kill Goro with it if you have already decided to play Tag. Because after his teleport, hitting the shield, we do not fall to the ground immediately, but spin in the air before falling. In the case of Shiva, after the teleport I often immediately received damage from Goro’s jump, but I myself didn’t hit him, hitting the shield
2) Now the most important observation. Enemies often block the expert. This doesn’t bother Shiva, but when playing as Noob Saibot, I did the following - I teleported after jumping on the spot. The main thing is not to jump on the enemy, but on the spot, then he removes the block and we use the teleport in the air.