Mawk's Heroes and Villains Guides: Ki-Adi Mundi

Ki-Adi Mundi: Force Guide

Overview: Ki-Adi is a very strong character. His health is normal. His saber strength is just above normal. His dash is very powerful and knocks down most of the time. His force powers are saber throw and force pull.

Ki-Adi's run speed is normal. This makes it easy for him to catch up to the slower villains. He doesn't officially need to do this due to pull, but if you are going no force on him, it's very beneficial. His normal pace makes it so his sprint speed is normal.

Ki-Adi's dash is extremely powerful. When you begin the dash, he starts doing head over feet flips while slamming his saber down. Now this is continuous as long as you have endurance. What I mean by this, is you can keep clicking and you will continue flipping and slamming your opponent until you run out of endurance. Even if it is blocked a few times you can still penetrate a block if you relentlessly continue slamming into the enemy (they have to change directions they are facing or run out of endurance).

Depending on the villain's health, you should be able to kill them in 2-3 slams, sometimes even one if you catch them at half or lower. The best time to use this dash is NOT after pull, like so many Ki-Adi's wind up doing and dying. The best time to use it is when the enemy is facing away. When they are facing away it takes a maximum of 3 hits and is over in seconds. What you want to do is sprint until you are a few steps behind them then click to begin the dash. Do not wait until you are right on top of them because he lunges forward a bit before he begins to flip. Usually what you want to do while you are flipping is hold your backward key down, this keeps you in a relative close distance. If you keep pushing forward you will most likely fly right by your enemy and end up dying. His dash can start in just a small space but the good aiming is harder without a distance to work with.

There are specific things that need to happen if the enemy starts moving. You can move your flips to the left, right, or forward at any time with your directional keys. If you do not get the back slam off, or they are facing you with block on, try moving the direction that they are moving (they will not just stand there if they are smart). Usually the enemy will either drop block to try and attack you and you will finish them, or the flip slams will penetrate block. This is a tough skill to use well and it takes some time to perfect it. Sometimes switching directions makes the enemy confused and you can get them. I have had many non force Ki-Adi kills just by going left and right when I'm around the villain. They can counter your dash easily by trying to get behind you though, so be careful. Also be wary of backhands.

Also as a side note on his dash. If you don't use pull and an enemy is jumping up to your level, you can begin a dash and sometimes just kill them in the air. The enemy is weaker in the air so if you are able to dash them as they are landing this is very good too.

As described in the overview, Ki-Adi's saber is classified by me as just above normal strength. What I mean by this is the time it takes to compelete a combo. When looking at the other Heroes, Mace has the fastest finishing combo so he has a very strong saber. Ki-Adi's is just a bit slower than Mace's, but still is decent. His combo is a few swings that finishes with a spin around hit. It can be very good when you are outnumbered (and you will be outnumbered as a puller) due to its quickness. You can kill fast and then escape if needed. The weakness of his combo comes at the beginning. The few starter swings do not do much damage if you are going head on against someone. I've noticed primarily against Vader it is very difficult to complete the combo when he is swinging at you. Another thing I've noticed about most combos in general, is that once you start the combo against an enemy who is blocking, they are almost frozen in their block for a second. When I play Vader I notice this and it tends to happen when I am standing still. So as Ki-Adi if you begin a saber combo against a player who is standing still and blocking, continue the combo because they will be stuck blocking a bit. When they unblock to try and get you, you will most likely be on your finishing blow. The finishing blow by the way is a killing swing. So if another enemy comes into your fight on your last swing, you can kill them with one hit. Many will note this happens with most normal or above normal combos. Weaker combos like Obi-Wan and Anakin this doesn't happen with.

I described pull in detail with Aayla, so I won't go in to too much with Ki-Adi. I will say however that you won't be picked on as much as an Aayla is. This makes it so Ki-Adi can get a great kill death ratio. When you pull with Ki-Adi, don't do the aerial thing I mentioned with Aayla, the reason will be described a bit later. Be sure to double pull if they are at a longer distance, triple pull if they do a mid air jump. If you pull them after they have jumped, it is like the system resets itself to the first pull, so you have to do a third to stun. You will get lots of complaining, which I will again suggest to ignore. Or just say "well if 1 pull did the job I'd do that." One pull CAN do the job, on short distances or if you time a good backslash. If they are closer to you, I would say within dash range, then you can single pull. This works best if you are on the same level as them. If you are on a roof and a choker is below you, be sure to block yourself with on object or get out of the way (especially against Vader).

Many people think when they are below you on the ground they are safe. This is far from the truth, especially if you are Ki-Adi. The best tactic in this case is get at an angle where they are not blocking (use minimap or peek over) and pull them. Make sure you are on the edge so you can drop down as you do your combo, if you pull them at the right time they will not go very high. When you first begin a pull, the enemy is in a mid-air stun. If you do it at such short distances like this, you can actually have them dead by the time they get unstunned. I wouldn't try this on the taller roofs, but the shorter buildings this works well. So make sure you are on the edge and pull them, instantly start your saber combo and drop over the edge as they fall back down to the ground. They will be dead by the time they land, and if they aren't you can saber combo against because they will be just recovering from the stun. The best pullers are usually Ki-Adi Mundi, and usually have the fewest deaths.

Ki-Adi's aerial attack is a joke. When you do an aerial attack on him, he does this double jab thing that only does a little damage. This can be done mid air or when you are landing on someone. If you are landing on someone who is paying attention to you, you will most likely die. After Ki-Adi does his aerial attack while landing he can't move for half a second. Due to this you will most likely die. If you jump up and land an aerial attack on someone facing away, you will must likely be able to start your saber combo and finish them off. Sometimes its easier to just jump up when they aren't looking and then saber combo them instead of the aerial attack.

Ki-Adi vs. The Fetts: Quite simply, pull them. They will complain about pulling a Fett, but they chose to play it. A smart Fett keeps away from pullers as much as possible. Ki-Adi can dash them quite well because they do not have block. So lets say a Fett flames you then drops to the ground and starts running. If you can't get a pull off, catch up and dash them. Sometimes it's just fun to kill them without pull, but be aware that they will escape if you try his aerial attack.

Ki-Adi vs. Maul: Your pull range is almost double Maul's push range. To survive, keep your distance and wait for his block to go down. Many inexperienced mauls just go out in the open, and you will find that they will be the easiest kills as a puller. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT attempted a head on saber fight with Maul. His saber is weak but it penetrates block. There are only a couple characters that can take Maul in a saber fight and Ki-Adi isn't one because of the beginning of his combo.

Ki-Adi vs. Chokers: With Vader primarily you need to keep your distance if you want to succeed. Vader can dash you in the blink of on eye and float-choke you without you getting a chance to pull. Do not think you can kill everyone with double pull, because if they float you may not get a chance to saber combo. Make sure they are at your feet stunned before you begin your combo. When going through open areas, be sure to sprint or roll, because you can't be choked while doing either. I would stay away from roll though because as soon as your roll finishes you can still be choked. If they start choking while you roll, you will take damage and then as soon as it finishes you will be choking.

I feel that Ki-Adi is the most versatile Hero to play, but it is also very easy to play due to pull.

Ki-Adi Mundi: Non-Force Guide

I will forgo talking about dueling in these guides from here forward, I haven't spent much time dueling so I feel that I won't give it credit that is due. Plus since CB has become popular I have found dueling to be nearly pointless. That being said:

Ki-Adi Mundi is a highly balanced character. He has a good dash, a good combo, a good aerial attack, and his movement speed is normal. In No Force play he is the type that can handle any opponent with the tools at his disposal.

The first thing that anyone will notice about Ki-Adi is his dash. He does forward flips attacking with the saber from above. The damage on this is high and you clan flip for roughly 6-8 times (depending on your timing). Your number of flips depends on when you click compared to the server lag. If you are new to Ki-Adi, I'd play him in single player a bit to learn the timing of the flips. Your goal is to learn when to stop the flips and also learn when to continue them. Be wary of Ki-Adi's flips though, they can be backhanded and "nulled".

Once you get the timing of his dash down, you'll be able to decide how to utilize it best. In many situations, a single flip will work just fine. In other moments it may take the full range. His flip does have a stun capability too, so this is an added bonus.

Single flip situations are pretty easy to spot. Generally they are one on one moments where the person is right in front of you and is a character with the normal health. The best tactic is to surprise them with just a quick sprint and a single click for one roll. This can kill them in one go, or it can stun them and you can finish off after your flip is done (1-2 upswipes of Ki-Adi's saber). If it a higher health character, you will probably want to utilize the quick multi-flip.

The quick multi-flip is where you click fast and pretty much just barrage your opponent with your saber. If you happen to get the jump on them this is very useful because you just keep hammering them until they die. I use this one mainly on Vaders and Grievous' when they are not looking or paying attention. If you do it quick enough there is also not much chance of them backhanding you.

The slow multi-flip has gotten popular of late due to FFA servers and the possibility of many enemies around you at once. The trick to the slow multi-flip is to change your directions while spacing your time out better with your clicks. If you zig-zag or do a 180 turn, you are less likely to be stunned while more likely to do the stunning and damage. You will find on the FFA servers that Ki-Adi's tend to go on the flat roof and just do this. It can be beaten pretty easily by a well timed dash or combo, so you'll have to keep your eyes open if you use this tactic.

One final trick I enjoy using with his dash is to start a dash a bit away from someone while they face you. There is a good chance they will attempt to backhand you so time the first flip to not be in range. Go to their side or do a 180 with the first spin and you will avoid their backslash. Quickly after this aim for them again and hopefully hit. They usually stop their backhands if they don't connect in the first couple and turn to wonder where you are. In other words this is a common fake-out, yet used with Ki-Adi's dash.

The next thing we'll need to look at as a tool to use, is Ki-Adi's aerial attack. His aerial attack is extremely deadly and if you practice it, you can gain many kills by surprising your opponent. A good portion of the general SWBF2 population forget that Ki-Adi's aerial is powerful and dangerous, so you can use this to your advantage

.

When you're using his aerial you want to remember it has two points of damage (sometimes 3 if you're a bit laggy), and all are when he lunges his saber at a downward angle. His aerial is not a slam (though it can be used like one) so you can use it in the air a couple times if you wish. If you are meeting an enemy in the air, remember to angle toward them (kind of sideways) so that way your saber does the most damage. You will also recieve less if you are facing them sideways. Be sure to click just before they reach so the forward lunge hits them, not the drawback.

Once you get used to his aerial attack when it does damage you can use it as a slam, similar to Vader and Dooku's slams. You will want to time the second damage just as your feet are about to land. This can usually stun and a good portion of the time also kill. So if you are leaping toward an opponent and they aren't ready, click just as your saber is above their head. By the time you land on them the damage will hit them. Now if they are facing you they will likely try to protect themselves with the classic backhanding of the aerial. If you see them preparing for this take an extra jump and you should land pretty close to their attack being done. It takes some timing and you may just have to jump away again knowing that you will not succeed. A good portion of Ki-Adi's attacks are based on picking the right moments, and knowing when to not blindly rush into a fight.

Ki-Adi's single click is also a deadly weapon. It can be used as a fakeout or a "null", and it is generally the first line of defense for a good Ki-Adi player. If someone is charging toward you, simply sidestep and single click. A good portion of the time you will stun them, or at least avoid being stunned with minimal damage. You can then follow up with a kill or if you do not stun them, you can dash them while they are in recovery mode from their own dash. Also if someone is trying to fake you out, a single click is much faster to recover from than a combo.

Ki-Adi's combo is similar to Luke's, as I mentioned in the force guides. It starts off with a few little swings and then finishes with a powerful final swipe. Your final swipe is a killing blow most of the time, but if they are higher health or not close enough, it can just do damage or stun. The proximity the enemy is to you definitely is a factor with Ki-Adi's combo, so keep that in mind. When you are right up on them and you start the combo, they usually can't do anything. However, if you are further away and start the combo the gap between the last little swing and the final swipe you are vulnerable and can be backslashed. Keep in mind also that sometimes the first few swings can actually make someone recover faster, rendering you an easy target for a backslah. I tend to start those little swings away from the opponent and time it so the final swing is when I'm right on them. With his combo you can also combine the aerial to really trip someone up. Lets say you start a combo toward an opponent but miss (or they block or whatever), follow it up quickly with a straight up aerial, because most of the time they think they have you and will start a combo. If it is timed well you can slam them mid combo for an easy kill.

In regards to map tactics as Ki-Adi, I find that ambush tactics are the best to use. You want to utilize an unaware enemy at all times. Good moments are if you are on a roof and they are below you: try a dash off the edge and pummel them, If you are on a dome and they are on the roof: do a quick single or double dash and stun/kill them or start your combo from the dome and move forward for the final hit, If someone is jumping up to your level: dash and combo them while they are in a vulnerable state (before they land), and If you are below and they are coming down to you: quickly dash away then back toward them or do an aerial as they are dropping down.

Though he does move at normal speed, his dash slows him down, so never underestimate an opponent in front of you sprinting away. Let say you dash someone in front of you but they are sprinting away, they can easily outrun you and turn around and come at you when you are recovering from the dash. If you are facing the really good ground level dashers, especially the characters that can center dash, try to avoid a ground level battle with no means of escape. You will always want an exit point as Ki-Adi, especially if your dashes miss.

Just remember to change up your tactics. Many tricks these days can be spotted a mile away.