Rain is kind of a weirdo in the Mortal Kombat universe. He’s a prince, but he’s a jerk. He’s a demigod, but he’s frequently a jobber in the story mode. When NetherRealms announced Mortal Kombat 2011 Rain as the third DLC character for the game—following Skarlet and Kenshi—the community split down the middle. Half the people were screaming for the purple prince because of nostalgia for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, while the other half wondered why we were paying for a "palette swap" when characters like Fujin were still on the sidelines.
But then people actually played him.
The 2011 reboot (often just called MK9) was a love letter to the 2D era, and Rain’s inclusion was the first time the developers really figured out how to make him feel distinct from Sub-Zero or Scorpion. He wasn't just a guy who shot water. He was a high-mobility, technical nightmare that rewarded players for having actual execution skills. Honestly, if you look at the tournament meta from that era, Rain remains one of the most interesting "what if" scenarios because he arrived late to the party but brought some of the most broken, beautiful tools in the game.
The Mechanical Identity of the Purple Prince
Most characters in MK9 have a very specific "thing." Scorpion is about the vortex. Cyrax is about the reset. Mortal Kombat 2011 Rain was about screen control and forcing you to make a mistake. His Water Bubble—the move where he traps the opponent in a sphere of water and can move them around—wasn't just a stun. It was a positional tool.
You could move the opponent closer to the corner or higher in the air to extend a juggle. It felt fluid. Pun intended, I guess.
His lightning strike was another standout. Unlike the versions we saw in later games like MK11, the 2011 version felt snappy. It was a tracking move. If you were playing against a Rain who knew his frame data, you couldn't just jump around. You’d get zapped, launched, and then sucked into a Water Bubble before you even touched the ground.
Then there was the Geyser Kick. It’s an iconic move, sure, but in the 2011 engine, it served as a primary combo ender that looked incredibly stylish. It’s important to remember that MK9 was a game defined by "touch of death" combos and massive damage. Rain fit right in. He could easily push 35-40% damage without breaking a sweat, provided you didn't drop the somewhat tight timing on his bubble cancels.
Why Mortal Kombat 2011 Rain Was Actually Top Tier (Almost)
If you ask pro players from the 2011-2013 era, like REO or Perfect Legend, they'll tell you Rain was a monster. He had a few things going for him that made him a nightmare in the right hands.
First, his projectile was fast.
Second, his movement was slippery. He had a dash that felt faster than it had any right to be.
Third, he had the "Weather Machine" move. This was a buff that made his next lightning strike or bubble more powerful. In a game where the meter burn (EX) system was already powerful, having a built-in buff made his chip damage and pressure scenarios scary. He wasn't quite at the level of Kabal or Cyrax—nobody was—but he was comfortably in that A-tier bracket where he could win a major tournament if the bracket fell the right way.
The problem? He was DLC.
In 2011, NetherRealm was still figuring out the balance between "cool new character" and "fair for the competitive scene." Rain had some glitches early on. There was a specific issue where his projectiles would behave weirdly with certain hitboxes, and his gravity scaling in combos was a bit more generous than the base roster. He felt like a premium product. He felt expensive to play against.
The Lore Shift: From Traitor to Demigod
Before the 2011 reboot, Rain’s story was a bit of a mess. He was an Edenian traitor who worked for Shao Kahn because... well, he was a coward. In MK9, they leaned much harder into his heritage as the son of Argus.
He isn't just a ninja. He’s a prince who feels entitled to a kingdom he never ruled. This arrogance is baked into his animations. When he wins a round, he doesn't just pose; he looks down on the opponent. He’s disgusted by them. This personality shift was vital because it separated him from the "Lin Kuei" or "Shirai Ryu" archetypes. He wasn't a soldier. He was royalty.
The Combo Structure: A Technical Breakdown
If you're going back to play MK9 today—maybe on an old PC build or a backwards-compatible console—Rain is one of the most rewarding characters to lab.
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His basic strings, like 1-2-3 or 2-1-4, are fine, but the real magic happens when you start incorporating the Water Port. This wasn't just a teleport; it was a momentum shifter. You could use it to escape the corner, which was notoriously difficult in MK9 because the corner pressure in that game was oppressive.
- The Bubble Trap: You land a starter, go into the Water Bubble, and then wait. You have a split second to reposition. Most players just let the move finish, but the pros would walk forward just a pixel or two to ensure the next hit of the combo wouldn't whiff due to pushback.
- The Lightning Reset: You could use the lightning to catch people trying to tech roll. It required a hard read, but it made Rain feel like he was playing a different game than everyone else.
- The X-Ray: Rain’s X-Ray, the "Rain Check," was... okay. It wasn't the best in the game, but it was a great way to punish someone for throwing a careless projectile from across the screen.
The damage scaling in MK9 was always a bit wonky. Rain suffered from this less than someone like Sub-Zero. His hits were meaty. When he kicked you into a geyser, it felt like it had weight.
What Most People Get Wrong About Him
There’s a common misconception that Rain was just a "guest" character or a last-minute addition. That’s not really true. Ed Boon and the team at NetherRealm had been teased with Rain for years. He was famously a "fake" character in MK3 (appearing in the attract mode but not playable) before becoming real in UMK3.
By the time Mortal Kombat 2011 Rain came around, the developers had a chip on their shoulders. They wanted to prove he wasn't a joke. They gave him a design that traded the flat purple spandex for a more regal, armored look. They gave him a moveset that was arguably more complex than 70% of the base roster.
Another thing people forget? His fatalities were actually pretty brutal for the time. "Bubble Burst" where he forces water down the opponent's throat until they pop? That was classic MK dark humor. It showed that despite his royal upbringing, he was just as sadistic as someone like Shang Tsung.
The Legacy of the 2011 Version
When Mortal Kombat X came out, Rain was a "NPC" (non-playable character). Fans were furious. He was in the story mode, he had a model, but you couldn't play him. This sparked the "Rain for DLC" memes that lasted for years until he finally returned in MK11.
But here’s the hot take: the MK11 version of Rain, while visually stunning, didn't have the "soul" of the 2011 version.
The 2011 Rain was a speedster. He was a combo machine. He was built for a game that allowed for more creativity and brokenness. The later versions felt more "balanced" and "contained." There was something about the raw, unrefined power of the MK9 engine that just suited a demigod better.
If you look at the frame data for his kicks in 2011, he had some of the best reach in the game. His standing 4 (the roundhouse) was a tool of beauty. It could poke people out of their own pressure. It made you feel like you were actually controlling the space around you.
Practical Steps for Players Returning to MK9 Rain
If you’re dusting off the game and want to actually win with him, stop trying to play him like a traditional zoner. He’s not. He’s a "mid-range specialist."
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- Master the Dash: Rain’s dash is his best friend. Use it to bait a poke, then backdash and punish with a Water Bubble.
- Don't Overuse Lightning: It’s tempting to just spam it, but the recovery on a whiffed lightning strike in MK9 is huge. Smart players will jump it and full-combo punish you. Use it as a tool to check people who are playing too defensively, not as your primary offense.
- Learn the Corner Juggles: Rain in the corner is terrifying. If you can land a Geyser Kick into a series of 1-2 pokes, you can keep the opponent in the air for what feels like an eternity.
- Meter Management: Save your meter for EX Water Bubbles. The armor on the EX version is a lifesaver when you’re being pressured by someone like Johnny Cage or Kung Lao.
Rain represents a specific era of NetherRealm's growth. He was the bridge between the old-school "color-swapped ninja" and the modern "unique character archetype." He wasn't perfect, and the game he lived in was famously "broken" in many ways, but that’s what made it fun.
The 2011 version of the character remains the gold standard for how to take a forgotten character and make them essential. He wasn't just another fighter; he was a statement that every character in the MK lore had the potential to be a main. Even the guy in the purple suit.
To truly understand how he functions, you should spend time in the training room focusing on his "cancel" windows. The timing between a landed string and the activation of a special move is tighter in MK9 than in modern fighters. Practicing these links for thirty minutes will do more for your win rate than any guide could. Once the muscle memory kicks in, you'll start to see why this version of Rain is still the favorite for many long-time fans of the franchise.