News

RCS summer events are off to a great start with Hyrule Saga hitting a record-breaking 162 entrants. As we see live event attendance continue to rise, we want to help distinguish the biggest and best events that the community is turning up for. That’s why today we’re happy to announce that local RCS events with large turnouts will now add a new twist to the circuit:

This means that along with the prize money, circuit points, and everything else that being the champion brings, top competitors can now also lock themselves in early for a spot at the RCS finals. This is great for aspiring players as well since not only does this add more vouchers to the circuit, it also frees up voucher slots to be earned through circuit points!

We wish the best of luck to everyone competing at Hyrule Saga this weekend. For those watching from home, we hope to see you joining us on stream at twitch.tv/RivalsOfAether. Full Hyrule Saga schedule below:

Some details: Players can earn no more than one travel voucher. In events where the first place finisher already holds a voucher, it will be passed down to the next highest placing player without one.

This is true for the 6 vouchers awarded at the end of the season as well in that they will be passed down the standings to the next eligible player.

Indie fighting game RIVALS OF AETHER is now available in Japanese! We’re excited to announce that our first localization efforts are complete, allowing players to switch from English to Japanese text through the in-game options menu.

インディー格闘ゲームRIVALS OF AETHERが日本語対応になりました！今ゲーム初めてのローカリゼーションを完成した結果、メニューに日本語／英語のオプションが入ったのでご利用ください。

GameMaker Studio 2 Migration Complete

It’s our first patch on an upgraded engine – that’s right – we’ve completed our move to GMS2! This is good news as you’ll see some immediate benefits like texture updates and other optimizations to help gameplay run smoother. This also sets us up further down the road to bring Rivals to more platforms.

If you have trouble launching the game, graphical issues, or controller problems on the newest patch please run DXDiag and send us some information about your PC by using the “Save All Information” button. To run DXDiag simply type ‘DXDiag’ into your start bar.

Moonwalking

We’ve added even more movement options to Rivals this patch with the advent of moonwalking. This advanced tech is great for microspacing or when you just want to show off.

Japanese Localization

RIVALS OF AETHER is now available in Japanese! We’re excited to announce that our first localization efforts are complete, allowing players to switch from English to Japanese text through the in-game options menu.

Character Specific Notes

• Forward Special now has double the endlag if it whiffs, but only if it was started on the ground (or within 32px above ground) and was not reversed.

• Clones will not jump for 10 frames after you release the Special button.
  This change is to make it possible to command super clone to attack offstage while still preventing his jump, since previously he would jump on the frame that you released special.

• Last patch 3 frames of extra endlag were added to Absa’s Up Special. This endlag now only happens on whiff, instead of always.

• Armored Up Strong final hitbox position changed to match non-armored Up Strong.

• Down Air can now be cancelled with Up Special (at the same time that it can be cancelled by jumping).
• Charged Flame sweetspot knockback scaling decreased from 0.75 > 0.6.
• Bug fix: Ori can no longer issue orders to Sein while teching the ground.

• Forward Special now checks 32px downward to determine if it will be cancellable.
  This prevents Clairen from doing short hop instant Forward Special to avoid the endlag of grounded Forward Special.

• Off-grass landing lag multiplier decreased from 2x > 1.5x.
• 10 frame hit lockout added to Up Strong, Down Strong, Back Air, Down Air (spike hit only), Forward Special, and Up Special bite (to prevent Neutral Special from cancelling their knockback).
• Solo Up Air2 Base Knockback increased from 7 > 9.
• Forward Air endlag increased from 10 > 12 on hit.
• Forward Air landing lag increased from 6 > 8.
• Sweetspot Forward Air base hitpause increased from 6 > 10.
• Jab 1 endlag increased from 12 > 15 (still cancellable on same frame).
• Jab 2 endlag increased from 12 > 18 (still cancellable on same frame).
• Forward Tilt now reaches 8px farther inward.
• Up Tilt hits 1 and 2 angle adjusted to 90 > 75 inward.
• Dash Attack endlag increased from 16 > 19 on hit.
• Forward Strong knockback scaling increased from .95 > 1.05.
• Down Strong knockback scaling increased from .8 > .85.
• Back Air endlag increased from 18 > 25.
• Up Special startup increased from 4 > 8.
• Down Special now activates grass attacks radially away from Sylvanos instead of all at once.
• Bug fix: Up Air2 sound effect fixed.
• Bug fix: Up Special no longer crashes the game when breaking the walls on Aether Frozen Fortress.

• Up Air endlag increased from 16 > 20.
• Steam Strong attacks now have real hitboxes that accompany the steam.
• Strong attack cooldown removed.
• Charged Forward Special knockback scaling increased from 0.7 > 0.9.
• Up Special rebuild time increased from 24 > 32 frames.
• Using Up Special now destroys Down Special’s mine.
  Elliana now has to sacrifice her Down Special to use Up Special as a combo breaker or recovery tool. This gives the opponent a strategy once they’ve been stuck: get Elliana offstage so she has to Up Special.
• Down Special’s mine explosion will now remove the mine from stuck players.
  This makes it impossible to stick someone with Down Special while they’re trapped in the Down Special explosion. Elliana can still stick opponents immediately after the 3rd explosion hits (making the required timing a little more precise).

Cutting down the list to only 10 players this year, the European Top 10 is finally here to let you know what names to keep your eyes peeled for when looking for top contenders in this lesser known region. This ranking was made in a similar fashion to NA’s Top 50 list, but with a smaller set of 5 panelists who were handpicked based on their activity, skill and involvement in the competitive scene.

These panelists are:

• Slime Mage
• Kaos
• Sir FROGZY
• Junkyards
• Pat

Before we hop into the main list we have a number of people that came close, or would have been close with higher participation:

Honourable Mentions

• Neylax
• Hidde
• FireIcey
• FullMetalEU
• Bert in Cyberspace

Now without further ado, I have been your host Slime Mage, and here is Europe’s top 10!

#10 – Junkyards

One of ye olde kings of Exhibition, Junkyards got properly introduced to the community in October of 2017 where he quickly solidified himself as a force to be reckoned with. He secured 4th place in his first online tournament, Aethernity 16, winning solidly over Frogzy, Zluchs, OddBod, and taking a game off of Hukon and Neylax.

His style of Kragg was honed on the fields of exhibition and has become even more refined since joining the competitive scene. Plenty of new tricks have been added to his arsenal like break cancelling, in addition to the strongest side special usage seen in the European community.

#9 – Pat

Be it in a Rivals match or while interacting with other players, Pat is one that is hard to impress. Overall a very consistent Kragg player, Pat deals with his opponents with an imposing ability to combo and precisely edgeguard. He is not the type of Kragg to rely on rock, instead focusing on finding an opening with his infamous usage of Fair which led him to strong tournament results this past season.

However Kragg isn’t the only character he’s packing. Pat’s Orcane also has game, as shown when he ended up being a surprising yet effective counterpick vs Slime Mage’s Clairen at Destination Fight 4 to snag 3rd place.

#8 – Yam

One of the strongest Absa players in Europe, Yam now also sports one of the quickest Rannos on the continent. Yam impressed everyone this year with stellar results in his own Aethernity series as well as in RCS Season 2. He was able to land multiple top 6s with strong wins against competitors such as Frogzy, Slime Mage, Kaos, and many other strong contenders.

Yam’s movement is still a sight to behold as he makes it feel unsafe to throw out a move no matter the distance. On the TO side of things you can look forward to Andromeda being held this June in Valenciennes, France where I’m sure you’ll get to see even more of Yam’s nimble frog legs.

#7 – Beurette

Beurette is an enigma. He came out of nowhere with barely any playtime and took the community by storm with his stellar performance at SuperNova 3. He tore through losers bracket from round 1 all the way to losers finals where he went through Junkyards, Hukon, Hidde, and LZGPom.

His play is methodical and patient, playing a game of leap frog to get his opponent to commit to vital mistakes and turning the situation lethal as he gets in. Some would call Beurette a prodigy, I would call him French.

#6 – Slime Mage

Jacks of all trades and master of many, Arctic Fury’s Slime Mage is one of these rare players who can play any character with a high level of skill. Among his best characters are Maypul, Forsburn, Clairen, and Kragg, with which he got strong results all year long during tournaments. Leaning towards Clairen in the last months, he quickly rose to be the best player with the sword wielder in Europe, recently winning SuperNova 28 with her – even though he switched to Fors during the grand finals, a winning move according to himself.

Slime Mage also has impressive results on LAN. Three months ago, at Destination: Fight 4, he took the 4th position, losing to Pat and his surprising Orcane. He’s also one of the only two European players who went to Genenis 5, where he got a 25th position with his Maypul, taking a game off LBO and beating DankRamenBoy during the tournament.

#5 – Hukon

The Norwegian powerhouse, Hukon is still around and as strong as ever. While people have started figuring out more of his tricks over the last year, he’s still enhanced his abilities to be able to stay consistently at the top. Hukon claims 5th in the top 10 with a very fundamentally sound Orcane that will keep you on your toes with his switch over to a more bait and punish heavy playstyle from his typical bubble heavy gameplay seeing great success.

#4 – LZGPom

A star among Zetterburn players, LZGPom is a player with a methodical but overwhelming approach, controlling space and punishing any mistake in his opponents’ approaches. More than looking for flashy plays, LZGPom brings to the field the unstoppable and ruthless strength of the burning lion, putting his opponent under the constant fear of the flame-powered smashes.

His performances in tournaments reflect his consistent and powerful style: over the last months in the season, he never lost once against any player that is not part of this current top 10. He has also achieved a 7th place in RCS tournaments at the end of the season.

#3 – Sir Frogzy

Having climbed to his rightful throne at 3rd place, Hound’s Sir Frogzy has come back stronger than ever this last season. With an amazing mindset for improvement and the hottest Zetterburn on the continent, Frogzy has claimed some close calls with Kaos and Transco, as well as wins over the majority of the European top scene. With no signs of wanting to stop, Hound’s top dog is looking to do all it takes to reach his much wanted spot of number one in Europe.

#2 – Transco

Once more the “Old God King of Europe” Transco sits at the upper echelon of the European playerbase. Having taken a tournament over Kaos, getting 2nd place at Destination: Fight 4 as well as placing 4th overall in RCS, he earned this second place spot with his ferocious Kragg that will make most tremble in fear.

One touch can lead to a kill when coming from someone with mastery of Kragg’s combo tools like Transco. He’ll make your DI feel useless as he pummels you in any which way that he desires. His preference for Dair as a combo tool shows creative use with what is considered by some to be Kragg’s worst combo aerial.

#1 – Kaos

You know him, you love him, the Titan from EU remains seated at the top of the pack with overwhelming results not only on his own continent, but overseas as well. Consistently placing 1st at events in EU with the exception of one tournament dropped to Transco the entire season, getting a solid 5th place at Shine 2017 and 7th at Genesis 5, as well as 1st at Destination: Fight 4.

Kaos does not simply play a character, he plays the game. Being able to play any character he picks up due to his incredibly strong fundamentals. He has shined over the years with a large cast of different characters, but the ones that have given him most success this season have been Etalus and Maypul. With unrelenting pressure and combo game, Kaos strikes fear into his opponents like few others ever could. With no signs of stopping his dominance Kaos is standing tall over the rest of Europe going into RCS Season 3.

This week we’re counting down the Top 50 players during season 2 of the NA RCS circuit. For more information about the methodology and how rankings were decided, check out the S2 Top 50 Introduction post. To enter free Rivals of Aether events online and play in season 3 of the circuit yourself, head over to smash.gg and register.

Other Articles in the Series

• S2 Top 50: Introduction
• S2 Top 50: Honorable Mentions
• S2 Top 50: #50 – 41
• S2 Top 50: #40 – 31
• S2 Top 50: #30 – 21
• S2 Top 50: #20 – 11
• S2 Top 50: #10 – 1 (you are here)

#10 – AZCards

Mentality’s AZCards had a strong showing last season, with 9 top 8s or higher and a finish just outside at Genesis 5. This kind of consistency is something that only a first-class player could achieve, netting AZCards the 10th spot on our top 50 list.

Though his rock solid fundamentals have carried him this far there are still a few players that he has yet to beat. If he can improve that this season (maybe with the help of his new secondary) he can further solidify his Rivals legacy.

#9 – Penguin

Even though Penguin clocks in at #9 on the list, he might be one of the most dangerous players on it. The undisputed best Absa player has multiple wins over almost every player above him, and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before he ascends. The only thing holding him back right now is his slightly lower than expected results at offline events.

Playing on stage is a skill in itself and once Penguin masters that he’ll become even more of a serious threat. We don’t expect him to have too much trouble getting to finals day this season, so he should get plenty of practice.

#8 – Kaos

For the second year in a row, Kaos is the only player on our top 50 list from outside North America. His legacy as the #1 player in Europe has stood up to the test once again with wins over some of NA’s best like Dunk, AZCards, Penguin, DolphinBrick and more. His results are based off of just two tournaments (Shine and Genesis 5) but his performance gave our panelists enough confidence to rank him as one of the top threats who played in the circuit.

#7 – Windows

Arctic Fury’s own Windows has been on an absolute tear this year. Known as just a solid player at the beginning of the circuit, he’s fought his way all the way to the top 10 with consistent stellar performances. His patience combined with his preference for a scarcely used character gives him an edge over his opponents, and it’s rare to see a game where he doesn’t seem to be in control.

His rise was rudely interrupted by the end of season 2, and his offseason results at Frostbite have shown that he’s ready to continue the climb to the top in season 3.

#6 – MSB

Some players are so good at a character that they become synonymous with its name. MSB is one of those players, and THE Kragg player who’s helped pioneer the Rival to where he sits today. His insane recovery, edgeguards, and just all around consistent performances have brought him to a great spot in the rankings.

In addition to his high placings, MSB is also a fan favorite who’s willing to travel often and bring the hype. Recently he’s started to help lead a local scene (make sure you check out First Impact!) in addition to his Academy involvement. He’s a competitor who won’t be satisfied until he’s the best, so we’re looking forward to seeing him in season 3.

#5 – DolphinBrick

Tuxedo’s DolphinBrick is easily the best solo Orcane main in the game. He plays the character to perfection, mixing killer combos with tricky plays to defeat his opponents. He’s grown throughout the season and has taken wins over Ralph, MSB, FullStream, and more to confidently secure himself a spot among the greats.

In addition to his strong finishes this year, he’s also started to travel for more events which has certainly helped contribute to his growth and top 5 finish at Genesis 5. DolphinBrick is already booked for some of the biggest events this summer where he’s planning to go for the gold.

#4 – LBO

LBO is an explosive player with fast combos, exciting edgeguards, and a dominant playstyle. We mentioned players who are synonymous with a character earlier, and LBO should be the first on your mind when you think of Zetterburn.

Aside from being the coolest Zetterburn in the game (your Zetterburn probably wants to be LBO when he grows up) he’s also one of the co-founders of Tuxedo Esports. This team started with Rivals as their foundation and is continuing to grow within the FGC and other 1v1 games. LBO had a fantastic performance this year, overcoming some of his hurdles at live events to take himself to his highest heights yet.

#3 – MrLz

MrLz has a way with platform fighters, known far and wide in the PM, Melee, and Rivals of Aether communities. He doesn’t have many losses and his fundamentals combined with Maypul’s speed and punish game make it clear that he’s playing the game on a completely different level than most. His 3rd place at Genesis 5 this year along with his history have cemented his place among Rivals’ greats.

#2 – CakeAssault

Season one saw T2Esports’ CakeAssault prove that he had what it takes to compete with the best, and this year he brought his game to a whole new level. His first place finish at Shine and losers side win over FullStream at Genesis 5 have catapulted the young prodigy almost to the top of the competitive scene. CakeAssault’s mastery of Forsburn is unparalleled, and his playstyle makes any stock from almost any set look like something from a combo video. We can’t wait to see more of him in season 3!

#1 – FullStream

FullStream secures himself #1 for the second year in a row. With an insane amount of first place finishes around the country, he’s shown his dominance in almost every region and done it with multiple characters. His smart, optimal playstyle seeks to take advantage of his opponents and the game itself.

FullStream’s passion and skill have also landed him a spot on Panda Global where he plans to continue his Rivals dominance. We’ll have to wait and see where season 3 takes us since this is the first time he’s had people so closely at his heels!