This is a small update (almost more of 1.4.9.1) that aims to smooth out some aspects of DI assist along with a few other character specific issues.
Notes with this label 1.4.10 hotfix were added in a hotfix on 4/16.
Notes with this label 1.4.10 hotfix 2 were added in a hotfix on 4/19.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 While watching a replay, press Y to take control of the camera. Pressing LB or RB will change the camera’s movement speed. Camera shake is now disabled in this mode.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Dev mode replays now save correctly.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Turnaround-special window length while grounded reduced from 16 > 8. This prevents wavedash back Nspecials from automatically turning around.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Hit lockout now takes the extra hitpause from the purple kill effect into account.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Aldor can no longer taunt while lifting off or landing. Instead, he will politely wait until he is done before taunting.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 The start and back buttons can now be used to accept or decline popup messages (to make sure keyboard can always use the F2 shortcut to revert their controls, even when accept and decline keys are unbound).
1.4.10 hotfix Holding up while exiting hitstun will no longer buffer a double jump when tap jump is turned on.
1.4.10 hotfix Pets purchasable with coins will now save correctly.
1.4.10 hotfix Projectiles should now collide correctly with ground (this should only be noticeable in very niche cases, such as Sylvanos seed colliding with the corner of a platform).
Weak DI Assist knockback thresholds changed from a constant 10 knockback to a linear progression (scaling from 6 knockback at 20 degrees to 12 knockback at 70 degrees). 10 KB at 20 degrees is actually very strong, while 10 KB at 70 degrees is fairly weak. This new linear progression is a more accurate representation of what is weak/strong.
Strong Knockback DI Assist removed. Out of the 4 types of DI Assist, Strong KB DI Assist was the one with the most obvious drawbacks. In general, it made stocks last longer due to players being very likely to accidentally get perfect DI on surprise kill moves. It also made it much harder to get half-DI with instant inward drift on moves that send at 45 degrees (very common).
DI Rounding threshold increased from: 10° > 23°. DI Rounding is the part of DI Assist that rounds your DI angle to a perpendicular angle if it’s within X degrees of perpendicular. A value of 23 means that you can perfectly DI every move in the game even with only 8 unique input directions.
Spike DI Assist removed due to being made redundant by the above changes. If the DI Rounding threshold is 20 degrees or higher, Spike DI Assist is no longer necessary.
For clarity’s sake, here’s what DI Assist now looks like:
If your DI angle is within 23 degrees of perpendicular DI, it will get rounded to be fully perpendicular.
Holding directly out when being hit by “weak” knockback moves with an angle between 20 and 70 will automatically give full DI out.
All strong attacks now have 10 frames of hit lockout to avoid being interrupted by bubbles. Ustrong previously had 4 on the normal version and 0 on the puddle version. Fstrong previously had 0 on both versions. Dstrong already had 10 on both.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Linking hits of Nspecial will no longer produce the purple kill effect.
1.4.10 hotfix Dash attack hurtbox fixed.
Fspecial cooldown is now only applied on the frame before the projectile is spawned. This prevents the full cooldown from being applied when the projectile is destroyed immediately.
Attacks that wrap will no longer create the purple kill effect.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Pillar breaking will no longer send wrapped opponents into pratfall.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Rock shards will no longer become inactive after hitting a player or other objects.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Fspecial cooldown indicator will now only activate after the clone is destroyed.
1.4.10 hotfix Charged Nspecial cloud hitbox now has the same KB properties as the lightning bolt Both Charged Nspecial hitboxes hit lockout: 10 (Removes double hit Charged Nspecial).
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Linking hits of Uspecial will no longer produce the purple kill effect.
Spirit Flame no longer sets hitpause to 0, instead it just doesn’t apply hitpause. This bug caused it to kill the momentum of anyone hit while already in hitpause.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Linking hits of Uspecial’s poison spin will no longer produce the purple kill effect.
1.4.10 hotfix Getting interrupted after tonguing bubble will no longer make the bubble noninteractable.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Linking hits of Uspecial will no longer produce the purple kill effect.
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Linking hits of Uspecial will no longer produce the purple kill effect.
Nspecial collision is now a circle instead of a rectangle, meaning it will collide more naturally with the corners of platforms (visible in training mode).
1.4.10 hotfix 2 Linking hits of Dstrong will no longer produce the purple kill effect.
1.4.10 hotfix Dair’s projectile protection hitbox can no longer hit Eid on Tower of Heaven. This should fix a bug that killed his vertical momentum if hitting Eid right before hitting a player).
Dynamo charge is now lost when hit by Orcane’s bubbles.
You might have noticed that our latest buddy, Aldor, is a bit different than the others. And we don’t just say that because he can fly.
Aldor is special because each purchase goes towards Gamers on The Edge, a gaming charity making a difference in the lives of sick kids. This new buddy is available exclusively through their website at Buddy4TheKids.com.
While we sincerely appreciate everyone who sends their support online, we’re also providing a prize for Gaming on The Edge’s upcoming local charity tournament – a travel voucher towards the waterpark event Smash’N’Splash 5.
If you’re near Clearwater, FL (or can travel) we highly recommend checking it out. Thank you to everyone supporting charity through gaming!
In a collaboration between Tuxedo Esports and Rivals of Aether, you can now obtain the slickest version of Ranno that has ever set foot in Aether.
Ever since Tuxedo won our Rivals Rep Icon Contest, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to create this brand new skin with them. We hope you enjoy the results!
Features Include:
Ranno fights without his patented poison sash in order to look more dapper.
He fires roses with thorns instead of poison darts.
He wears a tuxedo! Every sprite has been redrawn with suit and tie.
When he taunts, he throws a rose! It reminds us of something…
Proceeds from this skin are split 50/50 between Tuxedo and Rivals of Aether Esports. If you’d like a way to get a sweet skin and support competitive Rivals at the same time, this is a great way to do both.
Happy April Fools’! Enjoy a special announcement on our favorite holiday of the year:
Now is not the time for war. Now is the time for love! The homecoming dance is tonight and you need a date pronto. Spend your school day talking to the students at Aether High. All the original characters from Rivals of Aether are in attendance. It’s up to you to decide who you would like to take the the homecoming dance.
Get to know each character by talking to them and asking questions. But the school day is not all about lollygagging. You’ll have to attend classes, take a pop quiz, give a book presentation and play a game in the computer lab. At the end of the day, will you have a date to the dance? Play the game for free on Steam to find out!
Features include:
Less words than War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy! Don’t spend the rest of your life reading the words in this game.
Orcane is a pranskter! Do you like pranks? Then you’ll love Orcane.
Use your mouse and click stuff. Or use a touch screen and poke stuff. Or use your eyes and look at stuff. Or use your wallet and buy Rivals of Aether.
Every character is some kind of animal. Someone told me that is an important feature for a dating game, but I have no idea why.
Calm relaxing gameplay. Unlike in a fighting game, no one is out to destroy you and make you wish you never picked up a controller. You can talk to characters at your own leisure and enjoy the elaborate lore of Aether High.
Sylvanos will help you get ripped. Follow his natural path and you too can obtain beautiful longtoids.
Learn about all the drama that went down last night at the Ding Dong Tree. Who will you believe?
An amazing soundtrack that will remind you of the fighting game with these characters so maybe you’ll buy that game for all your friends after playing this game.
This patch is a big one with tons of balance and “quality of life” changes. In addition, it also happens to fall on one of our favorite days of the year. Read on for all of the changes included in patch 1.4.9.
Walljump is now restored on death.
Characters in a state where they can’t tech can also no longer ledge cancel. This change is to help moves like Zetterburn Down Strong link into the final hit, since it could easily force the opponent to ledge cancel the first hit.
Airdodging upward within 4 frames of double jumping will restore your double jump (the same way that Up Special does). This allows tap jump users to airdodge upward without wasting their double jump.
Turnaround special window length increased from 8 > 16 (Turnaround special is performed by hard-pressing backward then pressing special within this window).
Ceiling teching added.
Missing a ceiling tech will now send you downward at half of your original upward speed (previous it set your vertical speed to zero).
During the hitpause of the purple kill effect, moving platforms can no longer move the hit player.
Added DI assistance:
For weak moves (under 10 KB) that send between 20 and 70 degrees, holding straight outward will perform perfect DI out.
For strong moves (over 10 KB) that send between 20 and 70 degrees, holding straight inward will perform perfect DI in.
For moves that send between 250 and 290 degrees, holding straight inward will perform perfect DI in.
If your DI direction is within 10 degrees of full inward or outward DI, it will become full-strength DI.
This change is meant to allow keyboard players and newer players to get the correct DI more easily.
Two new CPU DI options added in training mode: Left and Right (works well with the new DI assistance mechanic).
Players will now instantly respawn in training mode.
Press F2 while in the main menu or any character select screen to revert all keyboard controls to default.
Starring online replays from the results screen now functions properly.
Dev mode updated to version 0.6: Lots of dev mode bug fixes. Don’t ask us what they are specifically.
Hold dodge during Up Special’s startup to Orcahop even when you have a puddle out.
Ftilt endlag decreased from 9 > 8 (14 > 12 on whiff).
Utilt sweetspot damage increased from 5 > 6.
Dstrong back hit damage increased from 8 > 9 (to match front hit).
Puddle Forward Strong and Up Strong now reach as far inward as the non-puddle versions.
Tilts can no longer be jump cancelled after being parried.
Dash Attack will now go into parry stun correctly if it ends in the air.
Wrastor’s neutral air has been redesigned to be a 2 hit move. The first hit sends at a low angle with low hitstun. The second hit lingers for a while and has relatively strong knockback that decays drastically over time, allowing for varied usage depending on how you land it. Linking the first hit into the second hit is easier with the help of slipstream, especially at higher percents.
Fspecial can now be destroyed by attacks. The slipstream is also destroyed and the move goes on 50% of its normal cooldown (for reference, parrying Fspecial puts it on 75% of its normal cooldown).
Fspecial cooldown now applied 1 frame earlier (prevents Wrastor from getting the half-cooldown if interrupted on the frame that the projectile comes out).
Fspecial cooldown icon added to the bottom HUD.
Grounded Dspecial endlag on whiff: 21 > 28.
Uspecial last few frames of hurtbox fixed.
Pratfall aerial drift acceleration: .5 > .4.
Dash Attack can no longer be cancelled into jab/tilts after being parried (required hitting another player/object at the same time as getting parried).
Fstrong damage: 10 > 18.
Ustrong damage: 4, 10 > 6, 16.
Fair damage: 10 > 11.
Press dodge during the first 5 frames of Nspecial to use rockless Nspecial.
Grounded Rockless Nspecial hurtbox fixed.
Going into pratfall from pillar breaking under you will now cap your horizontal speed (prevents extreme speed boosts from interrupting moves like Ori’s Dstrong).
Fspecial will no longer lose its hitbox when getting hit the frame before transitioning from ground to air or vice versa.
All players will now go into a 30 frame landing lag state when falling from a broken pillar, just like Kragg.
Ranno, Elliana, and Shovel Knight Uspecial landing windows are no longer immune to pratfall after a pillar breaks under them.
Fstrong and Ustrong can no longer be cancelled into jab/tilts after being parried (required hitting another player/object at the same time as getting parried).
Fspecial cooldown icon added to the bottom HUD.
Buddies will no longer follow Forsburn when he has a clone out or is behind smoke.
Uspecial can no longer drop through platforms after being parried.
Lily will no longer detect respawning players.
Cloud kicks now start to lose power after 7 frames until the end of hitpause (total KB loss is -1.5 BKB over 5 frames).
Charged Nspecial is no longer destroyed by the plasma field (it already hit through it, so this is mostly just a visual change).
Jab 3 damage: 6 > 8.
Fair armor will no longer have whiff landing lag after armoring through an attack.
Armored strong attacks only gain super armor if half-charged or more. At less than half charge, they gain weak armor that gets stronger as it charges (starts at 10, ends at 25. Fair armor is 12 for reference).
Armored Dstrong startup changed (6 pre-charge + 8 post-charge > 8 pre-charge + 6 post-charge). These changes make the super armor come out later, since the armor doesn’t start until post-charge.
Armored Fstrong damage: 2 + 16 > 4 + 14.
Armored Dstrong final hit damage: 12 > 16. Previously, armored strong attack damage was inconsistent when compared to the unarmored versions. Now, the damage is always unchanged for the linking hit and 4% stronger on the final hit.
Armored Dstrong sourspot is no longer techable (matches non-armored version).
Dspecial walljump is now possible with tap jump.
Grounded Dspecial startup: 5 > 13.
Window between rising hit and falling hit: 24 > 16 (does not apply when Dspecial is used in the air).
Dspecial rising hit base knockback: 10 > 8.
Dspecial rising hit hitstun modifier now scales from x1 to x2 over the span of the active frames.
Dspecial rising hit can no longer be crouch canceled.
Dspecial falling hit height: 70 > 80 (reaches further upward). Hitting with the later frames of Dspecial rising hit was punishable on hit every time (because of low hitstun and too large of a window between the hits). These changes make it link into the final hit more reliably on bad DI, while also making it safe on hit.
Parrying Dspecial’s shockwave is now treated as parrying a projectile, meaning you can cancel the endlag of the parry.
Jab combo damage: 2, 2, 4 > 3, 3, 6.
Dtilt angle flipper removed.
Dtilt is now a 3-hit multihit.
Fair damage: 3, 4 > 4, 5.
Uair damage: 6, 4 > 7, 5.
Dair damage: 8, 9 > 10, 12.
Ori no longer gains extra double jumps when cancelling Dair with Uspecial.
Spirit Flame no longer causes parry stun when parried.
Charged Flame sweetspot removed.
Sein now overheats if he’s charging Charged Flame when Ori is hit.
Fspecial can now charge for the full charge duration instead of stopping 1 frame short (increases damage at max charge by 1 and slightly changes the max throw speed and angle).
Ftilt damage: 3, 3 > 4, 4.
Utilt damage: 7 > 9.
Dtilt damage: 5 > 7.
Fstrong damage: 4, 8 > 8, 12.
Ustrong damage: 6, 7, 8 > 8, 10, 13.
Dstrong damage: 8, 9, 10 > 10, 11, 14.
Fair damage: 7, 7, 7 > 7, 8, 9.
Bair damage: 5, 7 > 6, 8.
Grounded Dspecial endlag window: 24 > 15.
Dspecial meditation now kills all momentum immediately on startup.
Dspecial meditation gravity reduced.
Dspecial meditation now stalls momentum completely for a short duration the first time it’s used in the air.
Fstrong damage: 8, 10 > 9, 13.
Ustrong damage: 7, 8, 11 > 7, 8, 13.
Dstrong damage: 8, 10 > 9, 13.
On hit, Fspecial can now be cancelled into attacks even when aerial (previously could only be cancelled into jump or airdodge).
Whenever Fspecial is cancellable into attacks, it can now be cancelled into specials.
Successful Dspecials remove Maypul’s mark and Elliana’s mine.
Dspecial cooldown icon added to the bottom HUD.
Jab 2 hitbox extended 10px inward to match jab 1’s inward range.
Jab 3 and 4 endlag: 27 > 18 (Jab 5, 6, etc endlag is still 27).
Jab Special can now be used after jab 1 or jab 2.
Utilt multihits angle: 75 > 70 (Makes them connect more reliably into the final hit).
Fstrong hits 1 and 2 hitstun modifier: 1.0 > 1.2.
Ustrong damage: 8, 9, 10 > 10, 14, 18.
Uair hit 2 scaling: .65 > .7.
Dair damage: 6, 8 > 7, 10.
Grass on cooldown is no longer destroyed when a nearby flower is destroyed.
Flowers can now be placed right next to walls.
When the ground below a flower disappears, it now only snaps to ground within 32px instead of 100px.
Hitting a flower now deals half of the normal hitpause.
Fspecial can now eat his own flowers (not enemy flowers) and cancel the move as if it hit a player for the next 20 frames.
Grounded Uspecial now instantly digs if special is held. Tapping special still makes Sylvanos leap into the air.
Utilt’s claw now has a persistent hitbox around it, instead of creating a hitbox when near a player. This means it can hit multiple players (while only grabbing one), break projectiles, will no longer whiff against fast-moving opponents, and has 1 extra active frame on the end.
Utilt changed to a 2-part attack (like Etalus Uair).
Utilt will now release all heat when firing the opponent. The move’s KB scaling scales from .6 to 1.1 based on how much heat was released. When overheated, it will always count as full heat. Hold the dodge button to not lose any heat.
Utilt total damage: 7 > 12.
Nair damage: 5, 6 > 6, 8.
Bair damage: 5, 8 > 7, 11.
Nspecial will now only get buffed if the fist itself hits the mine, not if only the explosion does (this was to fix a bug where shooting the mine with the fist would cause the explosion to only be buffed on its 2nd active frame, meaning it would hardly ever be buffed at the time it hit the opponent).
Dspecial’s mine can no longer break Kragg’s pillar.
Dying will no longer destroy mines that are currently exploding.
Enemies will now be hit at the same frequency whether stuck in one or multiple steam clouds.
Steam clouds now ignore players during the first 8 frames of hitstun.
Steam clouds no longer produce a small explosion effect when hit (Shovel Knight can no longer bounce off steam clouds with Dair by clanking with the hitboxes either).
Parried steam cloud will now be outlined with the color of the player who parried them.
Jab endlag: 14 > 12 (21 > 18 on whiff).
Jab hurtbox fixed when transitioning from Nair on landing.
Dash Attack damage: 7 > 8.
Dash Attack scaling: .5 > .4.
Dash Attack angle: 50 > 60.
Dash Attack sourspot added after the current active frames.
Dash Attack endlag: 19 on hit, 29 on whiff > 15 on hit, 23 on whiff. Adding a sourspot naturally changed the endlag, but it was also shortened a bit beyond that.
Dash Attack hurtbox fixed during the last few frames of recovery (Shovel head had a hurtbox).
Ftilt angle: 36 > 361 (original angle was a typo).
Ftilt/Fair damage: 4 > 5.
Ftilt/Fair hitboxes extended 20px inward.
Utilt can now hit treasure piles.
Dtilt final hit damage: 6 > 8.
Dtilt final hit angle: 80 > 90 (still hits rocks at angle 80).
Dtilt hitstun modifier: 1.0 > 1.2.
Uair sourspot scaling: .45 > .55.
Dair’s non-spike hitbox is now stronger and has a lower angle for the first 2 frames of the move (to give Shovel Knight a much-needed DI mixup in the air).
Dair endlag: 14 > 10 (21 > 15 on whiff).
Dair now has a new hitbox that can only hit projectiles, protecting his body and making bouncing off projectiles much more consistent.
Dair now bounces off Orcane’s bubbles.
Ustrong sweetspot damage: 10 > 11.
Ustrong has a new hitbox with the same properties as the sweetspot, effectively making the sweetspot slightly larger.
Hitting an opponent with fully charged Ustrong will no longer send the rock in a strange direction.
Hitting Kragg’s rock with Ustrong should now behave the same as hitting Shovel Knight’s rock.
Dstrong final hits damage: 7, 4 > 10, 7.
Dstrong final hits scaling: 1.2, 1.1 > 1.3, 1.2.
Uspecial back hit sourspot KB: 8+.7 > 8+.8.
Uspecial back hit sweetspot KB: 9+1.0 > 9+1.1.
If the ground disappears from under him after landing with Uspecial, all endlag will be cancelled.
Dspecial activation time (once settled in the bottom blastzone): 40 > 20.
Treasure pile duration: 5 seconds > 10 seconds.
Can only have one treasure pile active at once.
Ghost Glove damage: 3 > 4.
War Horn sweetspot damage: 10 > 12.
Dynamo Mail now gets charged when bouncing off of anything with Dair, not just players.
Purchasing an item makes it free the next time you want to repurchase it (this is not reflected in the shop menu, since all Shovel Knight players share the same shop menu).
Moneybag final positions will now always rest above the main platform of the stage and within the camera’s natural bounds.
