» Category: Esports

Rivals Update 2.1.8.0 – A Lot to Unpack

By SBS — July 15, 2024

We’re here in 2024, a full 10 years after Dan’s first trailer for Rivals of Aether. I don’t think anyone ever thought this game would carry on as long as it has. We’re excited to present a new balance patch to kick off the second half of 2024!

We intend to catch up the Switch version of the game in the coming weeks. Updating the console can be tricky due to a number of reasons so a hard date is not guaranteed, but rest assured, we are working diligently to bring it up to date!

Without any further adieu, let’s dive in:

 

Now that development on Rivals of Aether is slowing down, we have heard many new fans asking about skins. We have been releasing skins for events for years. Many are inaccessible now that there is not an active RCS running and others have been retired for a long time. We want these new players to be able to obtain these skins while celebrating the long-term players who got them when they were new.

Therefore we are introducing Skin Packs to Steam. There are nine new packs that contain a varying amount of skins at a deeply discounted price. If you own a skin through a Skin Pack instead of the original skin, then you will get a much less prestigious cardboard box icon on the Character Select Screen instead of the standard premium star icon. This way you can pick up packs for just the skins that you missed while still feeling like the veteran star that you are when using your original skins.

These skin packs are available as Steam DLC today and are even on sale for 30% off for launch! But if you are a completionist and still want your stars for any remaining Steam skins, we are leaving the individual Steam skins up until the end of July so you have one last chance to grab them.

Here are the 9 new Skin Packs that you can grab today:

ARCADE SKIN PACK

  • Includes all Arcade skins originally created for summer events.
  • Includes Arcade Clairen, Mollo, Maypul, Elliana, plus the Kraggling Buddy.
  • Each skin has a unique taunt and look.
  • Some Arcade taunts are playable minigames!

CHAMPION SKIN PACK

  • Pack includes all Champion Skins created since 2016 (16 total) excluding guest characters.
  • Includes Champion Mollo, Clairen, Zetterburn, Forsburn, Pomme, Wrastor, Absa, Elliana, Olympia, Sylvanos, Maypul, Kragg, Hodan, Orcane, Etalus, and Ranno.
  • The Champion skins for our two guest characters have been added to the game for all players, free of charge.
  • Each skin has a unique taunt and look.

COMMUNITY SKIN PACK

  • Includes various Community event character skins, buddies, plus a stage skin.
  • Includes Excalibur Zetterburn, Grassroots League Orcane, the Tony Tailslide buddy, the Frostbear cub buddy, and the CEO Ring Stage Skin.
  • Each skin has a unique taunt and look.

GENESIS SKIN PACK

  • Includes all Genesis skins originally created over 7 years of Genesis events (Genesis 4 – X).
  • Includes Genesis Clairen, Etalus, Forsburn, Hodan, Kragg, Sylvanos, and Zetterburn.
  • Each skin has a unique taunt and look.

HEAT WAVE SKIN PACK

  • Includes Heat Wave Clairen, Forsburn, Olympia, Wrastor, plus the Sunbert Buddy.
  • Each skin has a unique taunt and look.

LEGACY SKIN PACK

  • Includes hard-to-find skins from a wide range of events.
  • Includes Shine Zetterburn, Tuxedo Ranno, High Roller Absa, Dreamscape Forsburn, and Collegiate Wrastor.
  • Each skin has a unique taunt and look.
  • Tuxedo Ranno features a full resprite so he’s suited up in every sprite, not just his taunt!

POOL PARTY SKIN PACK

  • Includes all Pool Party skins originally created for summer events.
  • Includes Pool Party Etalus, Kragg, Orcane, Pomme, and Ranno.
  • Each skin has a unique taunt and look.

STEAMPUNK SKIN PACK

  • Includes all Steampunk skins originally created for Rivals esports events.
  • Includes Steampunk skins for Absa, Orcane, Sylvanos, and Zetterburn, plus the Loxobot Buddy.
  • Each skin has a unique taunt and look.

SUMMIT SKIN PACK

  • Includes all Summit skins originally created for early Rivals esports events.
  • Includes Spangled Wrastor, Summit Orcane, Summit Kragg, Panda Maypul, and Panda Etalus.
  • Each skin has a unique taunt and look.

 

  • NEW Tower of Heaven music from flashygoodness to celebrate a decade of Rivals of Aether development. This song can be found in menus by normal means, but it can be found in-match by clicking the Aether High variant of Tower of Heaven rapidly five times, then selecting Endless Abyss to play a new platformless variant of Tower of Heaven that features the new song.
  • The game now attempts to force GPU usage instead of the OS defaulting to integrated graphics, which should help lower end PCs run the game better.
  • Bug Fix: Fixed a visual bug with Golden Etalus’s sprite on the Custom Colors menu.
  • Bug Fix: Fixed Arcade Mollo not using the unique explosions when using a custom color.
  • Bug Fix: Fixed a visual bug with Orcane’s portrait in Story Mode leaderboards.
  • Workshop: Added the variable “ignore_camera” to players, which makes the camera not follow them.
  • Workshop Bug Fix: Fixed a bug making certain palettes of certain characters unselectable.
  • Workshop Bug Fix: Fixed a bug when searching workshop characters while selecting one for a CPU.
  • Workshop Bug Fix: Fixed the workshop mod list appearing to cap at 999 per category.
  • Hotfix Added the script “pre_update.gml” to players. This runs before most other per-frame update code.
  • Hotfix Added the script “set_state.gml” to players. This runs every time the player’s state is changed.
  • Hotfix Fixed Dreamscape Forsburn being available to everyone with the bundle stamp.
  • Hotfix 2.1.8.1 Fixed some skins not being included in bundles.

Wrastor is one of the strongest characters in the game, with a unique and expressive combo game that we love to watch. We took the opportunity to really dive into some of his most problematic behaviors and take a crack at making his disadvantage state just a bit more punishing.

  • Walljump: Horizontal and vertical speeds changed, 6 hsp 7 vsp > 7 hsp 6 vsp. to make Wrastor’s Walljump less viable as a recovery option when other resources are depleted
    • There’s something disheartening about seeing a Wrastor use every jump and airdodge just to walljump backair onto stage without committing to a resource. We are putting the heart back into Rivals of Aether.
  • Forward Special: If Wrastor is hit by a physical attack or by a projectile that does 8% or more damage while in his own air current, the current is destroyed and Forward Special’s remaining cooldown is set to 2.5 seconds. (this has been updated in the hotfix listed below)
    • This change aims to make Wrastor a little more careful with his slipstream usage due to the risk of losing his resource. This will also help attacking enemies keep Wrastor offstage since he will lose his airspeed boost the get back quickly.
  • Hotfix 2.1.8.1 Increased the cooldown on Wrastor’s Forward Special if destroyed early, 2.5 > 5.0 seconds
  • Hotfix 2.1.8.1 Fixed a bug where multihits would repeatedly destroy Wrastor’s windcurrent.

  • Bug Fix: Fixed a bug in which nairbouncing restored double jumps.

  • Bug Fix: Fixed a bug in which landing on the pillar for one frame before it breaks would restore airdodge but not double jumps.

  • Down Air: Landing lag changed to previous values, 8 > 6
  • Down Air: Lowered Hit 1 and 2’s hitstun modifier, 0.8 > 0.7
    • These changes will bring back the speed associated with comboing the early hits of Ranno Down Air, while reducing hitstun on opponents to allow for better escape options than they had before the initial endlag nerf a few patches ago.

Shovel Knight is getting a couple fun additions to his kit this patch with a way to secure previously unattainable treasure and a cool new way to combo off of dust knuckle.

  • Neutral Special: Getting a purple screen on a guaranteed K.O. while you have the Coin Capture Neutral Special now auto-triggers it at triple range to help collect offstage gems.
    • This buff will help Shovel Knight line his wallet and purchase items quicker since a lot of his K.O.s come from ledge and offstage combos, where gems would be previously unattainable despite a well timed strike.
  • Forward Tilt: Shovel Knight can now cancel Forward Tilt into other tilts and jab on hit while maintaining a small amount of momentum.
  • Forward Air: Shovel Knight can now cancel Forward Air into other aerials on hit while maintaining a small amount of momentum. This does not cancel into Dynamo Mail strong attacks.
    • Because Shovel Knight has a single hit jab that often knocks away, we wanted to add more variety to his punish game through dust knuckle. He also gets a fun movement tool and new combo trees for Shovel Knight mains to master.
  • Hotfix Fixed being unable to cancel Forward Air into Back Air via the right stick if it’s set to Strong.

Mollo is getting some help with his up strong connectivity and a small QoL for dealing with Kragg’s rock.

  • Up Strong: Added a body hitbox to the final hit to help it connect better in some cases.
  • Jab 1: Angle changed, 40 > 361
    • This change allows for rock shards to be sent directly forward, while keeping the utility of the move against opponents.
  • Bug Fix: Fixed a crash involving using the paint bomb abyss rune while online.

Hodan is in a pretty good spot overall right now, with players like Plushy Panic! really pushing him to his boundaries. This patch is primarily focused on making his sweatwhirls more useful, while squashing a few bugs along the way.

  • Forward Special: The Level 2 and 3 sweatwhirls are now projectile-immune.
    • While the upgraded versions of Forward Special add utility as multihits, we wanted to make them feel more powerful for Hodan. These projectiles will no loger break to weak projectiles such as Maypul’s seed and Elliana’s default missiles.
  • Forward Special: Reduced cooldown, 10 > 5
    • Since removing Hodan recovery infinites once and for all, we realized the previous cooldown to Forward Special could be partially removed. The new cooldown allows Hodan players to buffer the next throw during endlag, while making sure the move itself is not too spammy in neutral or edgeguarding.
  • Bug Fix: Fixed a bug where walljumping out of Up Special would not destroy a grabbed spirit in some cases. This also causes Down Special to properly remove spirits when moving through a sweatwhirl.
  • Bug Fix: Fixed the ability to instantly cancel Neutral Air on hit in certain frame windows.
  • Bug Fix: Fixed a crash when a sweatwhirl gets bashed as it is created.

  • Jab 1: Angle changed, 35 > 361
    • This change allows for rock shards to be sent directly forward, while keeping the utility of the move against opponents.
  • Down Strong: Hitbox extended slightly lower so it now break cancels.

Pomme has been a difficult one to balance when it comes to her projectiles. In this patch we are attempting to rework Neutral Special to be more fun for her AND her opponents.

  • Neutral Special: You now only lose notes on hit if charging or firing them, similar to Ranno needles.
  • Neutral Special: After throwing a note or losing notes, there is a 30-frame cooldown before you can summon more notes.
    • This note rework is an attempt at making notes more committal to use, while reducing the spammyness often associated with them. Pommes will no longer have to fear losing charges to stray hits, but they will lose the ability to dominate an edgeguard with a constant stream of music.
  • Bug Fix: Fixed notes not being knocked off when hit by Orcane bubbles.
  • Hotfix 2.1.8.1 Fixed a bug that would not apply Neutral Special cooldown properly on single note throws.

Categories: Community, Esports, News, Patch notes | Comments: 0

Season 8 Rankings: #10-1

By SBS — May 24, 2024

Welcome to the North American RCS Season 8 Top 50! Each year we look back on the previous competitive season and the players who influenced our scene by creating a Top 50 Players list. The rankings are created by a community panel that considers data from across the season to construct a comprehensive list that highlights our top players and their accomplishments.

View more articles in the Season Eight NA Rankings Series:

10. Sparx21

Kicking off the prestigious final day is a familiar face, making his first Top 10 appearance since Season 4. It isn’t often that the Top 10 is so neatly separated from the rest of the pack, but from this point on we have an entirely different caliber of player. Sparx21 attended seven events with three Top 4 finishes and never placing below 9th at even our most challenging events.

Standing out among his events was a seemingly impossible TAPS 6 run where an early loss to OoDa would allow Sparx21 to win seven straight sets over the likes of Danzello, Giga, ZeeBee, CheesyPotato, and Penguin before eventually falling to CakeAssault to finish 2nd. Sparx21 looks forward to continue piloting his mech in Rivals 1 while dabbling with Loxodont until his true main’s eventual return in Rivals 2.

 

9. elkiies

“The world is your toilet. Lock in peep game. New Shadow Style: Dsmash in neutral.”

Next up we have a name that has been slowly climbing the rankings throughout the years, finally breaking into the Top 10. Elkiies has been on the grind since Season 1, winning an Online RCS event in 2018 and taking huge sets over her competitive career. Season 8 was a different story though, with elkiies becoming a household name and making Top 8 finishes something to expect from her by the season’s end.

On top of her fantastic season, elkiies won the Grassroots League Invitational in April without dropping a single set, even in the Round Robin pre-bracket. Elkiies wants to push herself in Rivals 1 to claim a Top 5 spot but also hopes to become a strong contender in Rivals 2 as the grind will seemingly never stop!

 

8. Wai

“Hey! It’s me, Wai!”

Wai had yet another impressive season, making a deep run at Riptide 2023 and winning CREST 2 over elkiies and Cork_xx. Throughout the season, Wai was consistent in his performance, only losing a single set to a player rankend outside of the Top 13 while attending eight different events. Wai’s favorite moment of the season was Soulrifle211 winning Genesis X and beyond Season 8, Wai intends to continue playing Rivals for the foreseeable future.

 

7. ZeeBee

“A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous.”- Hamilton

A familiar face in the Top 10 makes another return, sporting a cycle of four different characters depending on the matchup and what his opponent can handle. ZeeBee managed to take sets off of CakeAssault, Kusi, and CheesyPotato while finding 2nd and 3rd place finishes at the July Online RCS and Hitfall 2 respectively.

In addition to his impressive RCS wins, ZeeBee was able to transfer his Rivals 1 and other platform fighting experience over to the first Rivals 2 public bracket at Genesis X. His first place finish on the Sunday stage capped off a dominating run where he only dropped two games in his 9-0 run for the crown. ZeeBee looks forward to a brand new Rivals meta with the sequel, where he hopes to show everyone what the game has to offer!

 

6. darai

“What a view.”

The mastermind behind the Sunnyshore series and a big contributor to the Grassroots League Invitational, darai weighs in as the top Ranno of Season 8! Darai managed to secure a 1st place finish at Major Upset and, over the course of the season, collected wins against the likes of Soulrifle211, Kusi, Penguin, and many more. His overall performance was nearly perfect, missing Top 8 just twice out of the 10 events he attended, and outside of one poor placement with a few uncharacteristic losses, only losing sets to current and former Top 15 players. Subscribe to his YouTube for more Rivals content!

 

5. Penguin

“Doubles is cool. :)” -Emily

Almost symbolically, the upper echelon of our final day are simply built different. From this point forward, these players were nearly unstoppable for those ranked below them and any blemishes on their records are only perceived that way as a result of the unnaturally high level of competition our Top 5 brought to the table this Season.

Penguin marks a second year in a row as the 5th Ranked player in North America, taking down Soulrifle211, CheesyPotato, darai, ZeeBee, Wai, elkiies, and Sparx21 in an impressive collection of Top 10 wins – only failing to beat CakeAssault while somehow never colliding with Kusi in tournament. It wouldn’t look that way to the untrained eye, but Penguin claims she accomplished her Top 8 appearances at all but one event with little to no practice. Her main drive for attending events in Season 8 was to hang out with friends and have a good time. Penguin once again exemplified what top level Rivals play looks like and we’re grateful to still see her in the community after all these years.

 

4. CheesyPotato

“What a view.”

Jumping up four spots from Season 7, CheesyPotato seemed like an entirely new beast as she attended an astounding 14 different events, finishing in the Top 8 in all but Rivals Recess Major 3. CheesyPotato won three different GRL events and finished 2nd at two different RCS tournaments. We saw nothing but improvement as she was able to win sets against almost every player she faced and came remarkably close to taking down a long time bracket demon of hers on three separate occasions. Everything came to a head as she attained a 4th place finish at the RCS Finals, outlasting the likes of Seggo and Penguin to do it.

“Filling out this form for what might be the last time is making me a little emotional… I’m forever grateful that I had the opportunity to travel to so many events this year and make so many memories with so many friends. I hope this community never dies, I’ll be here till the end :)”

 

3. Kusi

Kusi flies in at third place this season, doing so while winning his first and 2nd RCS majors and never placing below 3rd in any of his eight events. Kusi’s switch to Wrastor took many by surprise, as his classic bait and punish game cranked up to 11 to win our 2nd most stacked event of the season over CakeAssault. Kusi has a playstyle that can feel insurmountable at times while precisely punishing every misstep in neutral.

Kusi is an incredibly talented player, showing a deep understanding of top level play and exhibiting mastery in multiple platform fighters at once at major events. True to form, he carried his Wrastor into the Genesis X Rivals 2 bracket and placed 2nd on our biggest stage. We hope to see Kusi continue the grind, especially after watching his performance at GOML X last weekend.

 

2. Soulrifle211

“Don’t forget what it takes” – Caulin_26546

Coming in 2nd this year in an extremely close race is our Genesis X champion! Soulrifle211 picked up a 1st place finish at our biggest event, double eliminating CakeAssault in what might have been the most clean Rivals 1 gameplay in the history of the game. On top of his Genesis win, Soulrifle211 collected 1st place victories in all three GRL events he attended and placed 2nd after a Grand Finals reset at Heat Wave 6. The race this year was tight and given more time we could have easily seen Soulrifle211 snatch the crown.

“I’m looking forward to competing in Rivals 2. Now that I have a lot of competitive experience I hope to dominate Rivals 2 until I win a major with every character.”

 

1. CakeAssault

The prodigal son returns. CakeAssault at the top of our list may not seem like much of a surprise to some onlookers, but to those keeping track of the grueling RCS race of Season 8, they know that this could not have been any closer. CakeAssault finished 1st in four RCS events and two GRL events, placing 2nd in both RCS majors he did not win and 2nd/3rd in his remaining two GRL events.

Over the course of the season, CakeAssault had only two losses to players outside of the top 3; in both cases he got his revenge in the rematch later in bracket and then proceeded to win the tournament. While the race may have been too close to call, CakeAssault took the reins and proved time and time again this season that he is on another level. This marks CakeAssault’s 5th first place ranking out of the eight seasons the RCS has ran. Long live the king.

 

 

 

 

Categories: Announcement, Community, Esports, News | Comments: 0

Season 8 Rankings: #20-11

By SBS — May 23, 2024

Welcome to the North American RCS Season 8 Top 50! Each year we look back on the previous competitive season and the players who influenced our scene by creating a Top 50 Players list. The rankings are created by a community panel that considers data from across the season to construct a comprehensive list that highlights our top players and their accomplishments.

View more articles in the Season Eight NA Rankings Series:

20. Chompers

“Rev up those fryers!”

Chompers opens up the Top 20 this season as a solo Etalus main that has a passion for pushing the character as far as possible, all while focusing on having a good time. Chompers had strong showings at all four of his events, only dropping sets to players ranked above him in a season full of stiff competition. His wins over elkiies, OoDa, Danzello, and Bucket along the way highlighted him as an ice cold divider and gatekeeper of the Top 20.

 

19. Moosseff

“Shine on benevolent sun.”

Making his first Top 50 appearance in stylish fashion is a fan favorite that has taken Wrastor to new heights. Moosseff says that difficult to master expressive characters remind him of playing an instrument, another of his passions. He shined in Season 8 with a 5th place at RCS December Online and a 2nd place finish at The Reef, picking up wins against the likes of Sparx21, MSB, Bagel, and much more. Moosseff loves the community and hopes to see future Rivals 1 competitive seasons even if Rivals 2 takes the spotlight.

 

18. elpe

“I really enjoyed my time playing rivals 1. Being my 4th time on the top 50 in a row I’m happy to be one of the few who stuck around and enjoyed the game since it came out in early access in 2015. I made a lot of memories and friends through it and I’m glad to have had the experience of competition in my life which formed me into who I am today. I feel like this was a great season to close off rivals 1 with for me. This game has been in my life for almost 9 years now which is unbelievable to say and it was always a goal of mine to be ranked so being there for 4 years in a row is incredible.”

 

17. OoDa

One of the most active players of the season, ringing in at nine events, OoDa once again proved to be a player that can beat anyone on a good day – even an Etalus this year! OoDa had several Top 8 placements this season, with two wins over Sparx21, a victory in the ditto against Guard, and much more. He mentions that a highlight of the season was being able to hang out with friends and other players outside of events instead of only planning around Rivals brackets. We are excited to see his grind continue into Rivals 2, which he plans on focusing on when it releases later this year.

 

16. Bagel

A Top 50 mainstay and Rivals veteran, Bagel attended 10 different events this season while TOing GOML 2023. True to his form Bagel was extremely consistent, with single digit placements in all but two tournaments. Bagel managed to only drop sets to current and former Top 20 players while punching above his rank on numerous occasions. By the time this article comes out, GOML 2024 will have just finished, and you can thank Bagel among the greater GOML staff for making it happen. We love to see his commitment year after year and hope to see him flourish in the future.

 

15. Plastic Dinos

“yeah dude”

The commissioner of the Grassroots League Season 2 and one of the community leaders out of Arizona comes in at number 15 this year. Plastic Dinos was in every single Top 8 he attended this year, either as a player or holding down the mic as one of the best player/commentators dual threats in the business. His Clairen particularly shined in GRL events, securing a 2nd place at Super Sunnyshore and 5th place finishes at both TAPS 6 and Major Upset. While he did not quite achieve his goal of Top 10 this season, he looks forward to continue his quest in both iterations of the game. On the T.O. side of things, he played a major role in the execution of Heat Wave 6 and spearheaded the fantastic GRL Finals invitational sendoff. We can’t wait to see what he and the rest of the AZ have cooking when Rivals 2 makes its way onto the scene.

 

14. PlushyPanic!

“Changing is our normal state. Even if we’re not changing on the outside we’re changing on the inside constantly. There’s some stuff about me that I’ve been ignoring for a long time. I’m afraid of that stuff. But it’s part of who I am. As long as I know the shape of my soul, I’ll be alright.” – Jake the dog

PlushyPanic! is a long time player that has dedicated herself to improvement and achieved the status of a top player. She had a stellar showing at GRL events, placing 4th or better at all three tournaments she attended. Not to say that her RCS events were bad by any means, as she placed 9th at Riptide 2023 and 7th at RCS December Online, never placing below 17th at even the biggest stage. PlushyPanic! is the highest ranking solo Hodan, bringing what many claim to be a weak character to the highest levels of competition.

 

13. Guard

“Never give up because great things take time.”

An exciting addition to the Top 50 this year comes as a result of his phenominal 3rd place finish at RCS December Online, securing a flight voucher to Genesis X and allowing him to qualify for Top 50 at the Season 8 Finals. Guard is a Clairen legend that rarely gets to leave his home state of Florida. While we saw him place well at both Florida events and both Online events he attended, seeing him compete at Genesis for the first time was an absolute treat. As the highest ranking Clairen, Guard has proven yet again that he is a force to be reckoned with.

 

12. MSB

“that’s what they called me in high school”

We’ve mentioned a few times that players have been well traveled… well none as much as MSB in Season 8. MSB has been a Top 10 threat since the very first RCS, and he continued to push boundries while picking up an all new character in Olympia and attending a shocking 15 tournaments this season (including every single RCS bracket). MSB took down multiple Top 10 players while earning Top 8 finishes in eight different events, peaking with a 2nd place at Major Upset. On Top of his Rivals 1 accolades, MSB placed 9th overall at the Genesis X Rivals 2 bracket, showing that his skills will absolutely transfer over to our sequel.

 

11. Giga

“Prism never dies. Wouldn’t be here without y’all <3"

In a stark contrast attendance-wise to our previous player, Giga was only able to attend four events. The tournaments he was able to make however, were consistently top level showings. Giga placed 7th at Heat Wave 6 and TAPS 6, and 9th at Riptide 2023 and Hitfall 2. His wins consisted of Wai, ZeeBee, Squanto, Bagel, and much more while balancing his Sylvanos and Hodan picks throughout the season. Giga looks forward to pushing the Rivals 2 meta in weird and crazy ways for his characters, just like he did in Rivals 1.

 

 

 

 

Categories: Announcement, Community, Esports, News | Comments: 1

Season 8 Rankings: #30-21

By SBS — May 22, 2024

Welcome to the North American RCS Season 8 Top 50! Each year we look back on the previous competitive season and the players who influenced our scene by creating a Top 50 Players list. The rankings are created by a community panel that considers data from across the season to construct a comprehensive list that highlights our top players and their accomplishments.

View more articles in the Season Eight NA Rankings Series:

30. Qunne

“I lowkey wash bucket’s lack of a father figure in rivals “

Kicking off the Top 30 is a player who spent his first season competing just wanting to break into the rankings, but who quickly found his rapid improvement could propel him into being one of the best out there. Qunne shot onto the scene like a cannonball this season, bringing players like Kusi to tense game 5 sets multiple times while taking down the likes of Danzello, Lattim, and even Penguin. Qunne’s competitive drive doesn’t stop here, as he hopes to continue entering brackets with his eyes set on the crown.

 

29. Omar

“ONWARD”

Omar lands at 29 as the only Shovel Knight main on the Top 50, showing a masterclass of the character throughout the season as one of the few players capable of piloting him at a high level. Coupled with strong showings at Genesis X and Riptide 2023, Omar secured 9th place finishes at The Reef and the extremely stacked July Online RCS. He plans on moving on to Rivals 2 following Season 8, but is excited to try out the new characters and find a main he can VIBE with all over again.

 

28. Onesy

“It’s still Onesy in the onesie B)”

If you have attended a Rivals Major in recent years, you may recognize Onesy as the guy that wears the onesy to brackets (crazy right?!). This Oklahoma Kragg main loves hanging out with friends and meeting new people after brackets conclude, citing the people in the community as his highlight for events. While he dipped his toes into the world of Maypul this season, occasionally bringing her out in high stakes sets, his Kragg was just as dangerous as ever, helping him land at 9th at GOML 2023 and at 17th at both of our most stacked events of the year, Genesis X and Riptide 2023.

 

27. Rakai

“Put your best foot forward in anything you do.” – my grandmother

Rakai had their breakout tournament at Heat Wave 6 this season, placing in the Top 8, one year after their first ever offline major at Heat Wave 5. Their run was nothing short of electrifying as the historically brutal event ran them into CyberHex, Ahntye, Seggo, and fellow Heat Wave 6 breakout star – Spyker. Outside of their impressive Heat Wave run, Rakai’s favorite moment of the season was watching Soulrifle211 win Genesis X. Rakai aims to become the best Wrastor in Rivals 2, a difficult yet attainable goal after seeing what just one year of offline competition brought to the table.

 

26. Games & Flames

“The second you lose track of me, you realize you’re dead.”

The keyboard player that could makes his second appearance in a row on the Top 50, looking more dangerous than ever at LAN events, perhaps held back only by his tight schedule causing Cinderella runs to be cut short by bracket DQs. Games & Flames only dropped sets to Top 30 players this season, with a potential deep run at Heat Wave 6 cut short due to an early flight. Games & Flames has continued to surpass all expectations and aims to become a top level Fleet in Rivals 2.

 

25. Bucket

“Wrastor is broken” – Qunne’s mom

An online powerhouse that has slowly made his way to more and more LAN events this season lands at our halfway point of the Season 8 Top 50. Bucket stood out this season with a 5th place finish at The Reef and a 9th place finish at RCS July. Along the way he was able to earn victories against ZeeBee, elkiies, Guard, and OoDa in a display of Orcane prowess that drove him to become the only Orcane main on the Season 8 rankings. Bucket hopes to take this momentum into our sequel as he aims to make the first ever Rivals 2 rankings after the game releases.

 

24. Danzello

Danzello had a volatile Season 8, making a deep run at Hitfall 2 and impressive showings at TAPS 6 and Riptide 2023. Along the way he proved that he could take down virtually any player on the right day, with wins over Wai, MSB, Starbos, and more. Danzello is looking forward to the new meta Rivals 2 has to offer and the discoveries made along the way.

 

23. Lucius

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”

Another well-traveled player this season, Lucius attended seven events and only missed two RCS tournaments. Lucius credits his strong mindset for his performance and overall enjoyment of Season 8, easily achieving his goal of a Top 30 appearance. Outside of the game, Lucius is a surgical coordinator and voice actor with the goal of voicing a fighting game character/playing as them. He’s also excited to show off his full fursuit upgrade at future majors when Rivals 2 drops later this year.

 

22. Codek

“Attaining one’s dream requires a stern will and unfailing determination.”

Codek secured Top 8 placements at the July Online RCS event and Hitfall 2 this season, where he experienced the highlight of his career through his run with the crowd cheering him on against Danzello. Codek has been on the rise for a few seasons now and plans on carrying this momentum full steam into Rivals 2 when he gets the chance. Be prepared to see him more often as Codek is about to finish his Bachelor’s degree in CS, which he hopes will put him in a prime position to attend more events than ever before.

 

21. Tabski

“Pomme carries me and I carry Pomme”

Closing the door on what seems to be the block of character specialists, Tabski carried Pomme to the very top of our third day of reveals. Tabski has been a notorious Pomme pilot (LOL), known for his defensive and unapologetic playstyle. His character expertise came to a head after several rounds of Pomme nerfs, taking down MSB and CakeAssault to place 3rd at TBH 11, solidifying himself as the best Pomme main to date. As Rivals 2 gets closer, Tabski is excited for an influx of new players to reignite some of his competitive drive later this year.

 

 

 

 

Categories: Announcement, Community, Esports, News | Comments: 1

Season 8 Rankings: #40-31

By SBS — May 21, 2024

Welcome to the North American RCS Season 8 Top 50! Each year we look back on the previous competitive season and the players who influenced our scene by creating a Top 50 Players list. The rankings are created by a community panel that considers data from across the season to construct a comprehensive list that highlights our top players and their accomplishments.

View more articles in the Season Eight NA Rankings Series:

40. Oneoutkast

“I like winning or losing, failing or succeeding on my own merit.”-CM Punk

Day two of Top 50 kicks off with a mainstay in the PNW Power Rankings, Oneoutkast! His events overall were relatively strong, and he was able to rack up back to back 9th place finishes at The Reef and RCS December, securing wins against a slew of current and former Top 50 heavy hitters such as Omar and MattyIce. Oneoutkast was also able secure a 4th place finish on his home turf at CREST 2, taking down Mystery Sol and TaiTheGuy along the way. Oneoutkast says he is excited for Rivals 2 but still intends to compete in Rivals 1 as long as there is competition to conquer!

 

39. JLindy

“Buff maypul bair that move isn’t good enough.”

As the Canadian invasion continues, JLindy is another new face to the Top 50! While his appearances were largely online this season, JLindy made an appearance at GOML, where he was excited to meet the local community and top players in person. Rivals of Aether has been JLindy’s first dip into competitive play, showing he has what it takes to grind and improve at a rapid rate. JLindy was able to secure 13th placements at both Online RCS events and throughout the season, only lost sets to players ranked above him. In a bit of a contrast, JLindy says he does not expect to continue his competitive drive with the release of Rivals 2, but is looking forward to being a part of the community.

 

38. Ahntye

“Maybe the real kill move was the friends we made along the way…”

Making her return to our Power Rankings is the SoCal T.O. and Grassroots League leadership member, Ahntye. She has been a member of the community since 2018 and has been running locals almost as long, including running Super Sunnyshore as a GRL event in Season 8. Ahntye is one of the most prolific commentators in the scene and can often be found holding down the mic anywhere from North American majors and Workshop Top 8s to overseas online majors – chances are, if you watch competitive Rivals, you have heard her voice.

Ahntye is one of the most knowledgeable Ori mains to ever do it, helping with balance and niche bugs on the official beta team. On the competitive side of the game, she was able to secure wins on players such as OoDa and Qunne while consistently making the top cut of every LAN event she attended.

 

37. Cork_xx

“I graduated High School 2014 and have been playing Rivals since 2015 so it is not wrong to say this game has been a pillar in my adult life so far. Thank you everyone!”

<.< A long time top player and enigma of a competitor lands at 37 this season! Cork is a player that can take down top 10 talent, play random on a whim, or take the wrong week off of work for a major in his own region. Cork is a joy to be around and fight against, making competition a blast for everyone around him. His RCS events this season were a bit weak compared to his incredibly strong GRL events, where he secured a win over elkiies at CREST 2 and placed 1st from winners side at COST 2023. Overall, Cork's results are a bit all over the board, landing him a bit lower than you'd expect with his stellar peaks this season.

 

36. JohnJake

“Pardon my egress. You’re on your own now.”

JohnJake is a Forsburn player that made a big splash in Season 8, attaining his first ever RCS Top 8 at TBH 11 and drawing large crowds in his game 5 sets against Pity and Farbanti at Riptide 2023. JohnJake was relatively consistent in his placings, never dropping below 25th place at his 7 events while securing wins against the likes of elkiies, Brunch, and more along the way. His competitive mindset has taken a shift in the off-season, with rock climbing and learning Japanese in preparation for studying abroad later this year.

 

35. Akashi

“Prota said it’s my turn to be the second best Absa.”

Akashi took a step back from his hardcore Top 10 player grind to focus more on his commentary skills this season. Despite putting competition on the back-burner, he was able to place no lower than 25th in his six events, including a 9th place finish at Hitfall 2 and 17th place finish at the incredibly stacked Riptide 2023. Akashi is looking forward to both Rivals titles being at events and expects to play Fleet in our sequel while he waits for Absa to make her electrifying appearance.

“If I could say anything at this point, it’s just that I’m proud of everyone who made it this season. I’m grateful for all the friends I made in the community, and I’ll keep on playing until the heat death of the universe though. This game is so much fun, and I honestly can’t wait to play Rivals 2 Absa.”

 

34. Adam

“Just turned down a job offer to be Mr.Electric from Shark Boy and Lava Girl cause I’m too Electric.”

Adam is a returning Top 50 player who spent Season 8 with the goal of focusing on other platform fighters while attempting to still make the rankings. Adam’s goal was soundly achieved as he secured a 9th place finish at RCS December, collecting wins over the likes of MSB and JLindy. Adam’s season consisted of four events where he only lost sets to current and former Top 20 players.

 

33. rillabel

“I refuse to believe you watch VODs, you play the most crackhead Etalus I’ve ever seen.” – @GigaDragonPlus

Rillabel began playing Rivals during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but does not compete often. This season, rillabel attended four events with relatively consistent placements until a massive run at TBH 11 where rillabel went on a run beating Cork_xx, JohnJake, Skooli, and MSB to secure a 4th place finish. Rillabel is excited for Rivals 2 and hopes to attend some tournaments when the game comes out later this year.

 

32. w0wells

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BILLY – Ahntye

W0wells was a well traveled Wrastor main in Season 8, attending seven different events with the goal of making an upset on a top player. His GRL events were particularly strong, with Top 8 placements at CREST 2 and Two Day War, where he achieved his upset against MSB. W0wells mentions that traveling to so many events in the future may be difficult with school taking priority, but he still plans on practicing Rivals 2 in his free time, so don’t be surprised to see him come out of nowhere and take names in the future.

 

31. Spyker

“When you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom, then there’s only one way to go from there. That way is up!” -unknown (i forgot)

Closing out our second day of reveals is an extremely volatile player who made big WAVES at Heat Wave 6 and Super Sunnyshore. Spyker has been on the rise for several seasons, seemingly making a breakthrough of sorts by earning his best RCS placement ever and proving that his Forsburn is a technical force to be reckoned with. We unfortunately may see less of Spyker as he prepares to begin work on his Master’s degree in the Fall, for which we wish him the best of luck!

 

 

 

 

Categories: Announcement, Community, Esports, News | Comments: 3

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