Skip To...
The evil turn of Bi Han in Mortal Kombat games has echoed darkness on Earthrealm in many timelines. Each time the the Lin Kuei warrior has lost faith in good for a reason, but he has always been a unique kombatant thanks to his shadow-dark custom. However, Noob Saibot is not an OP character in all Mortal Kombat games rankings, and his design has evolved and changed many times in the past three decades.
Notice! The ranking list below contains the Noob Saibot versions of the mainline Mortal Kombat games only.
Mortal Kombat 4
Noob Saibot remains a mysterious character in Mortal Kombat 4, where you have to choose him in the Hidden section of the game. But as long as power level goes, he’s basic. Goro was the one that players tend to not use in MK4 tournaments and even friendly PvP games as I remember.
Mortal Kombat 4 was the first game in which we had our first look at the 3D version of Noob Saibot. His glowing blue eyes and outfit stand as one of the best in the MK series. But as his powers and abilities go, he doesn’t have his signature vanishing special move, nor the blocking orb that would leave your opponent defenseless. Those easy combos from UMK3 are also gone here.
Mortal Kombat 9
MK9 resets everything that Midway Games had built from 1992 to Armageddon, and that includes the origin story of many of the characters. Now does that mean Noob Saibot’s creation is any different here? Nah, he’s still “perfected” by Quan Chi here; only if Outworld’s bald sorcerer knew the meaning of perfect.
In gameplay, this version of Noob Saibot is really slow in Mortal Kombat 9. Noob Saibot’s moves are easily punished, he doesn’t have meta-special moves, and his combos aren’t the best even when you corner the opponent if potential. The only reason that puts the character higher than its MK4 variant is the unique design and moves. Noob has got a hoodie over that dark Sub-Zero mask with nothing too exaggerated.
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
The final battle of light and darkness in the original Mortal Kombat games timeline features one of the best Noob Saibot versions in the series. His Monkey style comes with some of the best combo starters and launchers in the game combined with versatile special moves from teleport grabs to creating a black hole that’d amplify your ongoing combo.
However, the one thing that puts Noob Saibot on A and not the S Tier in the MK: Armageddon ranking is his speed. Most of Noob’s combos give your opponent a breaking chance, and there are fewer mid-attacks to rely on. That said, the Noob Saibot outfit in MK: Armageddon and Deception is one of the finest in the series.
Mortal Kombat 11
Noob Saibot is kicked inside a Soulnado by Night Wolf, causing the character to die during the events of Mortal Kombat 9. That’s why we don’t see Noob in MKX, but he’s later somehow alive after almost a decade in MK11. The Mortal Kombat 11 version of Noob Saibot is not designed after his MK2 ninja style, giving the character a completely new look instead.
Noob Saibot’s teleport grabs combined with different combos is a real pain if you master the character. However, since many of Noob Saibot’s combos start with a high punch/kick, you’ll be open to counter-low attacks as punishment. However, he did receive some buffs for his special moves to amplify them. Later with the updates the limitations on using different special moves were also removed by allowing players to use custom variations, which became a lifesaver for Noob Saibot in this game.
Mortal Kombat: Deception
Mortal Kombat: Deception is a special playground for Noob Saibot as he’s the only character in the game that has a tag team partner, Smoke. The teleporting combo starters combined with unblockable grabs are the bread and butter of Noob-Smoke in MK: Deception, putting this deadly alliance an S Tier of the game’s power ranking.
Having two fighters in a game that is designed for a single kombatant with 3 fighting styles doesn’t give you 2 separate HP bars. However, Noob-Smoke combos and transitions from one character to the other are the meta. On top of that, Noob has his invisibility power which was super meta in the 3D era of Mortal Kombat.
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Noob Saibot is first seen in Mortal Kombat 2 and 3 as an unplayable character. The dark mysterious ninja of Mortal Kombat emerged as a secret boss only if you beat 50 warriors in the game. However, UMK3 changed this rule by allowing players to play as Noob, and oh boy is he a broken fighter in that game.
In order to clarify how powerful Noob Saibot is in UMK3, I only mention 3 things: 1. The shadowman throw that launches the opponent in the air. 2. The projectile that leaves the opponent defenseless while they can not deal any damage to you. 3. Walk in the park combos by pressing the same button 4 times!
Mortal Kombat 1
Liu Kang did his best to prevent evil from his new era, however, the multiverse demands the old path. As Shang Tsung and Quan Chi became the sorcerers they once were, it looks like Bi Han has chosen his dark path of becoming Noob Saibot, again.
The new variation of Noob Saibot looks completely different from the previous iterations, giving the character a new dark greenish look. Gameplaywise Noob has got his shadow and teleportation to rely on, while his invisibility power seems to be gone. Regardless, MK1 is giving Noob Saibot a meta chance by granting him high mobility – compared to MK11 – and heavier combos to drain half of the enemy’s HP with.
Noob Saibot is set to return to Mortal Kombat in the MK1 Kombat Pack 2, launching alongside the Khaos Reigns story DLC.
