News

Season 5 Top 50 Update

Rivals Rankings in an Online World

Last season following Genesis 7 and Frostbite 2020, we were excited to unveil the fiercest Top 50 list to date, culminating the accomplishments of players from RCS Majors to smaller grassroots Regional events. This year, everything pointed to an increasingly more powerful ranking, stemming from results in the upcoming Season 5. A brand new Grassroots League season was about to begin, and the highly anticipated RCS was in the planning stages for an intense fifth year. This is where things took a turn.

CakeAssault securing #1 on the season 4 Top 50. Simpler times.

As everyone is well aware, the pandemic shut down life as we know it across the globe. It was a time of uncertainty as we weighed our options moving forward. It was obvious that we could not allow our players to put themselves and others into harms way. Online events would be the responsible option.

We launched our first ever online circuit, the Rivals Online Championship Series (ROCS), with bi-weekly events in North America, Europe, and Australia. At this point, the severity and duration of the pandemic was still shrouded with uncertainty, so the call was made to have the ROCS Finals stand above the six qualifiers leading up to it. The event was announced to both carry the same weight as one of our upcoming scheduled offline events, and have a grand prize voucher to the RCS Season 5 Finals (or $500 should the pandemic continue).

The ROCS, originally planned as a stopgap to fill the void of our canceled offline events.

Fast forward to the ROCS finale. It was obvious that offline events would not be back anytime soon and, with the Definitive Edition around the corner, we wanted to make sure competitive Rivals players could get the attention they deserved. We determined that it was time to move our sacred RCS series to an entirely online format, jam-packed with four community and developer supported themed events and a January Finals.

So Where Does This Leave the Top 50

It was always our intention to cultivate a fifth Top 50 list. While the year has been full of turmoil and unpredictability, this vision has not changed. We will in fact be releasing a North American Online Rivals Top 50 list following the January Finals event, curated with the same attention to detail as the previous years.

Top 50 this season will be judged solely off of the ROCS Finals event, the four Elemental Majors, and the January RCS Finals.

We feel that these six events are without a doubt, indicative of competitive Rivals for this season. Each event has been given special indication of their importance well in advance, with the ROCS Finals initially counting towards the planned offline season and the RCS events donning the name of our most prestigious tournament series. Each event to date has seen over 400 entrants with cash and DLC prizes up for grabs, and players will need to have competed in at least two events to be considered for our upcoming rankings.

Season 5 Ranking Events
ROCS Finals
RCS Fire
RCS Air
RCS Earth
RCS Water
RCS Finals

All events eligible for ranking.

We understand that online rankings are often subjected to skepticism, but we truly want to reward the players who help breath life into our community day in and day out. While this season’s rankings won’t be directly comparable to previous years, it’s still important for us to record this season in our history. Without a dedicated competitive player-base, Rivals as we know it could never exist.

We hope this confirmation can bring excitement to the community, while rewarding those willing to compete in unprecedented circumstances. Three events remain, and it is far from too late to make your mark on the world of Rivals. Good luck!

Rivals Championship Series Mid-Season Review

A look at the North American league as we near the finish line.

Last month we crossed off yet another event in our elemental themed RCS Season 5. So far, a few familiar faces have emerged victorious in our first three online majors. Each event saw over 400 entrants, with a record setting 536 competitors in November vying for the crown with several fierce competitors making repeat appearances in both Top 8s. Coming up on the 12th , we have our next installment of the series, RCS Water. Let’s take a look at how our season has gone thus far.

RCS Fire

After the first ever online focused series, it was clear that the online meta was only just developing. A lot of questions remained unanswered, and with the Rivals of Aether Definitive Edition around the corner, the first ever an entirely online RCS Season was ready to take off. RCS Fire saw a familiar battle, as top players Penguin, CakeAssault, Xaro, and Kusi made appearances in Winners’ Semi Finals. CakeAssault’s patented fire characters appeared unstoppable, beating Penguin 3-1 and shutting out Xaro to punch his way into Grand Finals. Xaro however did not stay down for long, with a 3-2 Losers’ Finals win over Penguin, and a grueling 3-2 victory over CakeAssault to force a bracket reset.  Xaro was able to ride a wave of momentum into the second set of Grand Finals, where he was able to return the favor from Winners’ Finals, and shut out CakeAssault in a decisive 3-0. Xaro had finally triumphed over both CakeAssault and Penguin to win a Major.

Tournament Champion: Xaro

Elemental Champion of Fire: CakeAssault

Check out RCS Fire replays here:

RCS Air

With Definitive Edition finally out, we set our sites on the first RCS event since the release. Heat Wave 3 Champion, Blue, made his first online major appearance after entering the previous day’s weekly, winning the event without dropping a set. As the Air Major progressed, 6 of the same top 8 players from the Fire Major had punched their return tickets, with some key differences. Winners’ Semi Finals had been noticeably shaken up with Xaro, Blue, ZeeBee, and CakeAssault in the running. Kusi and Penguin both found themselves playing for 7th place after suffering early upsets to Blue and GoTE | Flarey respectively. Top 8 of the Air Major turned into the most exciting event of the season, with 5 of 10 sets going to their final game, and only one shutout. Winners’ Finals consisted of two entirely new competitors, Blue and ZeeBee, who were both fresh off of game 5 victories over the Fire Major’s Top 2. Blue was able to replicate his Air Weekly’s success, and beat ZeeBee to appear in Grand Finals from the Winners’ side. Meanwhile, Losers’ bracket was teeming with intensity, as the Fire Champion began an impossible run. Xaro beat Squanto 3-1, Penguin 3-2, and ZeeBee 3-2 to claw his way back to Grand Finals. Xaro once again emerged victorious from losers’ to fight an elemental terror, but this time, there was no reset. Blue’s immaculate Wrastor displayed a punish game unlike anything we have ever seen, winning the Air Major without dropping a single set.

Tournament Champion: Blue

Elemental Champion of Air: Blue

Check out RCS Air replays here:

RCS Earth

As RCS Earth approached, a lot of questions loomed. Blue’s sudden appearance shook up the Rivals Online culture considerably, and it was clear that his dominating performance at RCS Air was no fluke. In addition to community excitement and player speculation, major upgrades were made to our streaming experience. This month coupled the Steam Fighting Game Sale over the same weekend of our event, and we introduced our first ever multi-broadcast to Steam and Twitch! RCS Earth broke our record entrants at a stunning 536, with top tier talent once again flooding the event for a chance at a $2000 prize pool.

It seems that each previous Elemental Major has motivated a new champion to make a deep run – RCS Fire with CakeAssault, and RCS Air with Blue. RCS Earth was no different, as top player MSB broke free of his online bracket woes and took his signature Kragg all the way to Winners’ Semi-Finals, where he would eventually fall to Kusi and Xaro for a 5th place finish. While MSB may have proven Earth dominance in bracket, all eyes were on Blue and Xaro to have a hotly anticipated rematch of the Air Major’s Finals. What no one expected was a series of upsets to send three of the tournament’s top 4 seeds into losers before Top 8 even began. Blue fell to Levin to place 17th, CakeAssault lost to Kusi in Winners’ Quarters, and Xaro fell to ZeeBee in a last hit stunner in Winners’ Quarters. The fated rematch would have to wait.

Top 8 of RCS Earth noted considerable shake-ups with MSB, Kusi, ZeeBee, and Penguin in Winners’ Semi-Finals, and CakeAssault, Levin, Xaro, and hoppyKnitz in Losers’ Round 1. Penguin held strong and yet again proved his strength to deny both ZeeBee a second trip to Winners’ Finals and Kusi a Top 2 finish. With Penguin waiting comfortably in Grand Finals, it was once again Xaro’s turn to storm through Losers’ bracket, winning five straight sets over Seggo, hoppyKnitz, MSB, CakeAssault, and Kusi to meet Penguin in yet another elimination match. While Penguin aimed to secure his first RCS victory of the season, Xaro’s resolve proved infallible as he completed the bracket reset and the decisive Grand Finals reset over Penguin with set scores of 3-1 and 3-1. Xaro’s Earth Major win mark’s his second RCS victory in Season 5 and continues his Grand Finals appearance streak in official events, dating back to ROCS 6 in June of this year.

Tournament Champion: Xaro

Elemental Champion of Earth: MSB

Check out RCS Earth replays here:

Where Do We Go From Here?

These tremendous stories have set the stage for a wild ride to close out the season. There will be one final major before we reach our RCS Finals in January. Let’s take a look at what’s to come!

RCS Water

December 12th promises to be yet another exiting tournament, as our Water Major is poised to bring back the best competition in the world. Players will have one last chance to earn RCS points towards skipping Phase One of our Finals event and an all new name color and trim. As it approaches, Xaro looks to bear a clear favorite to hit the jackpot as Blue did in the Air Major, but it won’t be easy. Penguin is fresh off a second place at RCS Earth and is surely looking for revenge.  Blue recently won Kingpin 4 from Winners’ side with the debut of his fabled Zetterburn, beating Penguin for the first time while also collecting wins over ZeeBee and Kusi. The list of threats goes on, and the event is teeming with possibilities, be sure to check out the details and sign up here to join the action. If watching top Rivals gameplay is more your speed, you can check out our livestream on our Twitch and on our Steam Store page on December 12th at 4 P.M. PT / 7 P.M. ET!

RCS Finals

While we won’t have our signature Genesis season finale, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be a lot on the line. At the time of writing this, the community has raised over $13,500 and our sponsor, Hit Box, has contributed a staggering $2,000 for the RCS Finals. This event is slated to be a monumental showcase of the Rivals Meta, and is definitely one you won’t want to miss out on. More details regarding this event are coming soon, so sit tight and stay focused on our next Elemental Major!

With just two events remaining, and competition becoming even more fierce, we are incredibly excited to watch them unfold.

Rivals Definitive Edition リリース日

「Rivals of Aether(ライバルズ・オブ・エーテル)」のDefinitive EditionをNintendo SwitchとSteam向けに、2020年9月24日より配信開始します!

私たちの開発状況を見守り続けてくれたみなさんには、本当に感謝しています。開発がどのように進んでいたのか、なぜここまで開発に時間がかかったのか気になる方は、プロジェクトリーダーのDan Fornaceが書いたこちらのmedium記事をどうぞ(英語)。

「Rivals of Aether 」のDefinitive Editionではたくさんのコンテンツを楽しむことができます。これまでにリリースされた全キャラクターに加え、新たに開発した機能やモードなどの新要素がバンドルとなって実装されます。ゲーム本体やゲストキャラクターのDLC、そしてすべての新要素がひとつのセットになったDefinitive Editionは、3,000円で購入することができます。

Steam上ですでに「Rivals of Aether 」を所有している場合、無料で自動的にDefinitive Editionへとアップグレードされます

Game Features

12体のオリジナルキャラクターに加え、インディーゲームからはショベルナイトオリとセインがゲスト参戦。エレメントの力を自在に扱うキャラクターを操作して、「ストーリーモード」でエーテル大陸に起きた混乱の謎を解き明かしたり、フレンドと協力して影の軍勢が襲い来る「アビスモード」を攻略したり、オンライン対戦で世界中のプレイヤーと戦ったりしましょう。

New Modes

「Rivals of Aether 」のDefinitive Editionではアビスモードのアップデートに加え、「テザーボール」というスポーツ風の新モードが登場します。キャラクターを操作して対戦相手やボールを攻撃し、ビーチの王者を目指しましょう!

Upgraded Online Mode

またDefinitive Editionでは、オンライン機能が大幅にアップグレードされます。プレイ可能人数が2人から4人へと増加し、2体2のチーム戦や4人で戦うデスマッチを楽しむことができます。また「アビス 対戦モード」や「アビス エンドレスモード」、「テザーボール」もオンライン機能に対応します。

Unlockable Milestones


Definitive Editionでは「マイルストーンシステム」と呼ばれる新しい機能が実装されます。特定の条件をクリアすると、特別な報酬をアンロックすることができます。内容についてより詳しく知りたい方は、こちらの動画をどうぞ(英語)。

Infamous Skins

Steam上でゲームをすでに所有している場合、9月24日にDefinitive Editionへと自動的にアップグレードされます。DLCキャラクターを購入している場合は、限定スキン「Infamous Skin」をそのキャラクターで使うことができます。「Infamous Skin」の見た目が気に入った、だけどまだ「Rivals of Aether」を所有していないという人は、ぜひ9月24日までに購入してください! Definitive Editionリリース後にこのスキンを入手する手段はありません。現在、Switch版では「Infamous Skin」は購入できません。

Steam Workshop

そしてSteam版をプレイしているみなさん向けにうれしいニュースです。Steam ワークショップがベータテストを終了し、「Rivals of Aether」の正式コンテンツとして実装されます。またWorkshop Skinという新機能では、キャラクターの見た目だけを変更するベーシックスキンと、見た目と実際のゲームプレイを変更するアドバンススキンが追加されます。現在、Switch版はSteam ワークショップに対応していません。

Definitive Editionの画像一式をダウンロード

「Rivals of Aether」Definitive EditionはSwitchとSteam向けに9月24日より配信を開始します。コミュニティの一員としてサポートし続けてくれたみなさん、本当にありがとうございます。そしてSwitch版から「Rivals of Aether」をプレイし始めるみなさん、私たちのコミュニティにようこそ!

Definitive Edition Release Date

The wait is finally over! The Definitive Edition of Rivals of Aether is coming to the Nintendo Switch and Steam on September 24th, 2020.

For those of you who have been following our progress, this has been a long time coming. If you’re interested in a behind-the-scenes look at development, you can read this medium post from project lead Dan Fornace on why it took so long to get here.

The Definitive Edition of Rivals of Aether is loaded with content. New features, modes, and extras are all bundled up with our full cast of characters from the entire span of Rivals’ development. Instead of buying our original and guest character expansions separately, the game is now one complete package with everything included for $29.99.

Players who already own Rivals of Aether on Steam
will be automatically upgraded to the Definitive Edition for free.

What’s Included

Twelve original characters plus indie guests Shovel Knight and Ori and Sein battle it out in this pixel perfect platform fighter. Harness the power of the elements and unravel the mysterious conflicts of the planet Aether in Story Mode, band with friends to take on shadowy creatures in Abyss Mode, and bring your combat skills online to challenge players across the world.

Brand New Modes

The Definitive Edition of Rivals of Aether includes updates to fan favorite modes like Abyss, along with a new game mode – Tetherball. It’s a sports battle mode that allows players to use their character skills to compete in a best-of-three beach tetherball game!

Improved Online

The Definitive Edition also features a massive upgrade to the online functionality in Rivals of Aether. The player count is going up from 2 to 4 players max which introduces 2v2 and Free-for-All to Online Play in Rivals of Aether. We are also introducing online support for Abyss Versus, Abyss Endless and Tetherball.

Unlockable Milestones

The Definitive Edition has a great new system called the Milestone System for unlocking cosmetics. We could explain how it works but no one can explain it better than Adam Carra.

Infamous Skins

Everyone who currently owns the game on Steam will be upgraded to the Definitive Edition for free when it comes out on September 24th. Everyone who has purchased a DLC character will also unlock an exclusive Infamous Skin for that character. If you are looking to grab the game on Steam and like the looks, you have until September 24th to grab your Infamous Skins. After that date, your chance will be gone. Infamous skins are not currently available for the Switch version of the game.

Steam Workshop

Finally for those playing on Steam, Steam Workshop is graduating from beta branches to a part of the base game of Rivals of Aether. We are also introducing Workshop Skins in both the Basic and Advanced varieties. Basic Skins are just visual changes to characters while Advanced Skins feature gameplay changes along with visual changes. Steam Workshop support is not available for the Switch version of the game.

Download New Definitive Edition Media

We hope you check out Rivals of Aether on September 24th on Switch and Steam. Thank you to our fans so far for being a part of our community, and we welcome the next generation of Rivals players joining for the first time on Switch. We will be looking into bringing the Definitive Edition to Xbox One later in 2021.

Australian Rivals Championship Series – S5

RCS Season 5 Goes Down Under

Following our recent announcement of the North American RCS, and coming fresh off the heels of a record breaking tournament series in the ROCS it is time to bring back the beloved Rivals Championship Series to Europe and Australia!

We’re going Infamous for Season 5!

Format and Schedule

Similar to the North American Series, the Australian RCS will play host to four elemental themed Majors followed by a Finals event over the course of five months with similar incentives detailed below.

We understand that some will miss the frequency of events and the lower stress environments provided by the ROCS qualifiers, so we have something in store for those looking for more chances to play with lower stakes. Each month leading up to our January finals will play host to weightless bi-weekly events every other Tuesday in the Australian Smash Discord. These events will begin giving out rewards in September, so be sure to hop in the Discord for more information!

Here is our official schedule:

Event Date Region
Fire Major September 19th Online (AU)
Air Major October 17th Online (AU)
Earth Major November 14th Online (AU)
Water Major December 12th Online (AU)
RCS Finals TBA Online (AU)

More information introducing events to Europe and North America can be found in our recent News updates.

Monthly Themes

Season 5 continues to evolve as we introduce elemental themed months with a plethora of prizes for competitors and spectators alike! Starting in September, each month leading up to our January finals will have a special theme that will affect how the community interacts with the series including special bundles from our newly updated shop, a chance to acquire brand new and previously retired champion DLC skins, and even unique prize opportunities for competitors participating in each major and the less competitive weekly events hosted through the Australian Smash Discord.

When each month’s major event comes around, we highly encourage players to record every character used on their tournament runs. The highest placing competitor to exclusively use rivals matching the month’s elemental theme will receive an item from the Season 5 RCS shop. If a player happens to WIN the monthly major using only Rivals matching the month’s elemental theme, they will be awarded a special controller from us by our friends at Controller Chaos.

The season opens with Fire, so start practicing your Zetterburn!

Australian Season 5 Reward Structure

As mentioned above, there will be special rewards for the highest placing player(s) using only rivals matching each month’s elemental theme, but that’s not all. Each month will have a prize pool of up to $100 and our finals will have a prize pool of up to $500, all funded by new and updated goals in our shop. On the DLC front, we are bringing out a Brand New Name Color and Trim, which will be awarded to every player in the top 16, by points, after the Water Major in December.

Finally, this season we are happy to introduce Champion Skins for the remainder of the cast (including our guests!) in addition to chances to earn every single one of our previous Champion Skins as well! Check out the details below.

September – The Month of Flame

  • All participants that make it to phase 2 of the Fire Major will receive a brand new Champion Clairen Premium Skin.
  • All participants in the Fire Major will receive a Champion Zetterburn Premium Skin.
  • Bi-Weekly tournaments ran through the Australian Smash Discord will provide all first time participants with a Champion Forsburn Premium Skin.

October – The Month of Air

  • All participants that make it to phase 2 of the Air Major will receive a brand new Champion Elliana Premium Skin.
  • All participants in the Air Major will receive a Champion Wrastor Premium Skin.
  • Bi-Weekly tournaments ran through the Australian Smash Discord will provide all first time participants with a Champion Absa Premium Skin.


November – The Month of Earth

  • All participants that make it to phase 2 of the Earth Major will receive the extremely rare Champion Maypul Premium Skin.
  • All participants in the Earth Major will receive a Champion Kragg Premium Skin.
  • Bi-Weekly tournaments ran through the Australian Smash Discord will provide all first time participants with a Champion Sylvanos Premium Skin.


December – The Month of Water

  • All participants that make it to phase 2 of the Water Major will receive a Champion Ranno Premium Skin.
  • All participants in the Water Major will receive a Champion Etalus Premium Skin.
  • Bi-Weekly tournaments ran through the Australian Smash Discord will provide all first time participants with a Champion Orcane Premium Skin.


January – Finals

For the RCS Finals we plan on spreading the wealth of our collective prize pool. Prize money will be distributed to players beyond just our champion! The exact payout structure will depend on numerous factors, but we pride ourselves on spreading compendium money to a reasonable extent at each of our RCS Finals, and that won’t change here!

To reward players for consistently placing well throughout the season, we are bringing back a familiar prize introduced during the ROCS. The top 6 players, by points, of the four elemental Majors with be automatically advanced into the second phase of bracket!

  • All participants in the Finals will receive a Champion Ori Premium Skin.
  • All participants that make it to phase 2 of the Finals will receive a Champion Shovel Knight Premium Skin.

Links!

We are aware that this post has a lot of information to digest, so please refer to all relevant links in this one convenient spot!

Registration is now OPEN for all events!