News

With The Bigger Balc coming up this weekend we wanted to put in some changes we’ve been working on before the big event. Though most of this patch was catching up on bugs, we’ve made some changes that will affect competitive play as well as big improvements to keyboard controls. We’ve also added the Champion skins that people earned last Saturday during the Road to Shine. Read on for the full patch notes.

Stage Updates

Several of the new stages have been tweaked with competitive play in mind.

• Tempest Peak – Platforms now indicate when they are about to move with visual cues on the air council statues. The platforms also move less often. Top blast zone reduced by 16px and side blast zones increased by 16px.
• Aethereal Gates – Players now start the match further apart.
• Endless Abyss – The huge space, lack of platforms, and massive blast zones really limited approach options and caused some slow play that was uncharacteristic of Rivals. We’ve reduced the size of this stage all around, taking 36 pixels off the sides and decreasing the total ground width by 160.

Skins

New promo skins are on the way as we get ready for summer events and season 2 of the Rivals Championship Series.

• New Seasonal Colors: Summer – In honor of the beautiful weather and summer themed events coming our way, a new set of summer colors are available for each character.
• New Champion Skins – Champion Kragg and Champion Wrastor have been added to celebrate the start of season 2 of the RCS. Earn these by playing in free online RCS events. You can sign up for NA, EU, and AU events on smash.gg.

Miscellaneous

• Team Spawns Updated – Spawn points for team matches have been made more symmetrical. Teammates now also spawn on the same side of the stage so that players can no longer start in an advantageous position below their opponent.
• Keyboard C Stick – Right stick buttons have been added to the keyboard controls.
• Sound Test Menu – You can now listen to the Rivals soundtrack in-game, accessible through the ‘Sound Test’ menu.

Bugfixes

• Zetterburn’s Fstrong hit 1 is now properly untechable again
• Etalus can no longer pull frozen enemies through moving platforms
• Fixed an Etalus shader issue that caused him to become oddly shiny in playtest
• Etalus Freeze can no longer cause an invincibility bug on the Aether version of Air Armada
• Players are no longer able to be frozen when standing on ice after a successful parry of hit 1 of Etalus’ Dspecial
• Orcane’s puddles now behave properly on platforms
• Strong attack press no longer makes Maypul Fstrong to the right in playtest
• Throwing a rock down now pops Kragg up the same amount whether he is on the ground or a platform
• Fixed a parry invincibility bug discovered by Arcanine:

• Fixed a crash that could occur when equipping runes and switching characters
• Fixed a playtest issue that produced a fatal “Out of Bounds” error
• Fixed a crash with Etalus ice in online playtest
• Fixed a crash involving Abyss XP Piñatas
• Fixed a replay desync issue involving custom controls
• Stage data corrected on stage select menu
• Hitboxes can now correctly hit both a rock and a pillar, instead of just one or the other
• Red team is no longer invincible to lightning on the Aether version of Tower of Heaven
• Cleaned up stray pixels on Absa’s character art
• Corrected menu issue where the cursor didn’t work for some players in the Custom Color menu

This is part of an article series on the top 50 players in Rivals of Aether drawing data primarily from NA competitions.

Articles in the Series

• #50 – 41
• #40 – 31
• #30 – 21
• #20 – 11
• #10 – 4

For more information about the methodology and how rankings were decided, check out the Rivals Top 50 Introduction Post.

To enter free Rivals of Aether events online, head to the Rivals Championship Series 2 Smash.gg page.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
3	99.00
5th	5th	79th	1st
Summary

Ralph was the undisputed best at the game for almost all of early access, seeming to play on a completely different level than his opponents. With the help of his impressive Melee background he was able to win every event he attended before the RCS began.

Once our online league started he secured enough circuit points for his travel voucher to Genesis 4 by showing up to just the events he needed, calmly taking first place, and fading back to watch the others fight. After a brief stint away, Ralph is coming back to play in season 2 and see how he stacks up against the upstarts that have risen after our full launch.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
2	99.30
2nd	2nd	N/A	N/A
Summary

MrLz is another young pro that first became known in the platform fighter scene through Project M and Melee. He brought his skills to bear playing Maypul, one of the quickest and most technical characters in the cast. MrLz was dominant in the season one RCS events and finished people off with style (and more than his fair share of taunts). Since he was one of the only players people thought could stand up to Ralph, he was a heavy favorite at Genesis 4.

MrLz is on hiatus while recovering from a heart condition, but we know he’ll come back stronger than ever. The entire Rivals community wishes him and his family health and a speedy recovery!

Rank	Rating	Rivals
1	100
1st	1st	1st	1st
Summary

Though our other top 3 have history as high level players in smash games, FullStream is all our own. He began his platform fighter career in Rivals and rose to the top early in season 1, ultimately finishing our online circuit at #1. Going into Genesis 4, the question on everyone’s minds was would he be able to take down the titans that were Ralph and MrLz. Coming into the top 8 from winners’s side certainly gave him an advantage though he had a bit of a scare narrowly beating Arcanine in game 5 of their set. After that, the rest is history as he cleaned up MrLz 3 – 0 to take the trophy and the title of the first RCS Champion.

FullStream doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon either. You can see him and some of his crew members in Ace and FlySociety at the Bigger Balc next weekend as the first major in season 2 of the RCS kicks off.

Thanks to everyone who stayed with us during this series. We’ll be publishing an EU version soon put together by their community, and an honorable mentions section for this list so stay tuned for that. To enter our first s2 online monthly and receive a free Champion Kragg skin when you participate – head to the Rivals Championship Series 2 Smash.gg page.

This is part of an article series on the top 50 players in Rivals of Aether drawing data primarily from NA competitions.

Articles in the Series

• #50 – 41
• #40 – 31
• #30 – 21
• #20 – 11
• #03 – 1

For more information about the methodology and how rankings were decided, check out the Rivals Top 50 Introduction Post.

To enter free Rivals of Aether events online, head to the Rivals Championship Series 2 Smash.gg page.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
10	96.00
17th	2nd	1st	1st
Summary

Though Kisuno played during season one of the RCS with solid results, he’s now approached a level of skill that truly rivals the top players. Recently taking 2nd at CEO Dreamland, Kisuno also holds a ridiculous 91.7% win rate after over 120 NCS matches. Other players recognize this dominance and even though he has few season one results, our panelists voted him unanimously into the top 10. Many top players have been dormant after Genesis 4 but Kisuno has clearly been on the grind and will definitely be coming for the throne in season 2.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
09	96.10
9th	17th	3rd	2nd
Summary

MSB is a top Kragg player with impressive results from Rivals events across the country. He most recently secured 3rd place at CEO Dreamland on the big stage, but also has great results from Super Smash Con, Garden of Gods, and Genesis 4. His presence in the online scene as both a player (and more recently a TO and mentor) has earned him many fans. MSB was recently picked up by Fable eSports and is looking forward to the opportunities to travel provided by the team. He will definitely be a player to watch out for at Bigger Balc, which is quickly turning into our most stacked tournament since Genesis 4.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
08	96.50
4th	9th	9th	4th
Summary

Zetterburn is seen frequently in tournaments these days and LBO took no small part in pioneering many aspects of top Zetter play. A fan favorite during the RCS online streams, LBO’s aggressive offstage play and sheer dominance secured him a travel voucher to Genesis 4 by placing him firmly in the top 6 of the RCS standings. He’s looking forward to returning to online play in season 2, starting out with an impressive undefeated streak in the NCS so far this year. LBO is also a frequent streamer and you can catch him on his twitch channel here.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
07	97.00
6th	7th	2nd	2nd
Summary

AZCards is a rock in Rivals, and not just because he plays Kragg. Even though he’s not known for his tech skill or flashy combos, AZCards’ consistency is mind boggling. He is constantly able to tangle with the best players in the game and is rarely upset, holding a solid 81.7% win rating in NCS events this year with over 80 games played. AZCards secured himself 7th place at Genesis 4 earlier this year and was recently picked up by VexX Gaming. He’s excited to be a part of their team and will be a force to be reckoned with at Bigger Balc next week.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
06	97.10
1st (EU)	5th	N/A	185th
Summary

Kaos was the European RCS champion and certainly had a lot to prove when he came to Genesis 4. No stranger to the big stage due to his experience as a pro Brawl player, he did not disappoint – defeating Kenneth, Turquoise, AZCards and others on his way to 5th place. Kaos is a multi-character main, changing characters as patches came out in early access updates. Now that the game has settled he tends to play Etalus and Zetterburn. Even though he was only here for a short time, players were obviously impressed with his skills and impact on the scene for global Rivals, as he was unanimously placed in the top ten on our panelist ballots.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
05	97.50
15th	3rd	24th	1st
Summary

Arcanine is an impressive wildcard player that could potentially be in the top 3 with just a few more victories. He doesn’t regularly participate in the online tournament scene, but trains within the ICE crew and is a lab monster on his own. Since many top players don’t have tons of experience against him they’re never sure exactly what they’re going to get during a tournament – only that they should be afraid. Responsible for sending CakeAssault to losers bracket early at Genesis 4, Arcanine also defeated Ralph and Kaos before eventually falling to FullStream. He’s excited to travel again to the next big tournament, since he’s quite familar with getting 1st place at mid-sized events but still wants to prove it on a national level.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
04	98.00
3rd	4th	1st	21st
Summary

CakeAssault had some of the most surprising results this past year. Whispers about how good the young player was started after he took first place at Super Smash Con and made it look easy. Then he started to win online RCS weeklies, defeating FullStream with a character the viewers had never seen him play before – Wrastor. At Genesis 4 CakeAssault solidified his legacy with one of the most epic losers bracket runs in Rivals history. After losing in game 5/last hit to Arcanine, he was able to rally and defeat Handbutt, Turquoise, LBO, DolphinBrick, and eventually eliminate Ralph from the event. This level of mental fortitude bodes well for CakeAssault’s future career as he’ll definitely be a player to look out for in season 2.

This is part of an article series on the top 50 players in Rivals of Aether drawing data primarily from NA competitions.

Articles in the Series

• #50 – 41
• #40 – 31
• #30 – 21
• #10 – 4
• #03 – 1

For more information about the methodology and how rankings were decided, check out the Rivals Top 50 Introduction Post.

To enter free Rivals of Aether events online, head to the Rivals Championship Series 2 Smash.gg page.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
20	90.00
N/A	N/A	40th	480th
Summary

Grace is an oldschool Absa main, responsible for bringing to light some of her more broken aspects back in the days of early access. He prefers patient play over flashy up-special canceling, instead opting to simply use her air speed to his advantage. His Etalus is also a force to be reckoned with due to his powerful punish game and movement options. Recognized on our ballot as one of the best, he plans to make strides in the competitive scene soon once again.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
19	91.00
N/A	17th	6th	4th
Summary

First getting into the competitive scene just a few months ago at G4, Turtlebox is a great Kragg player and rising star. He plans to continue climbing the ranks this season and hopes to one day be as consistent as players like AZCards or FullStream. Starting from the Ace crew, he was recently sponsored by FlySociety and is looking forward to attending more local events as a result. He says he’s become the player he is today thanks to everyone in Ace and FlySociety.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
18	92.00
N/A	N/A	17th	164th
Summary

Atma is unanimously considered one of the best, coming in as the highest rated player without T1 results on our panelist ballots. With the new monthly RCS schedule, he looks forward to playing in season 2. He approaches the game from a more laidback perspective, coming back because he loves the game and finds Orcane the most fun and satisfying character to combo with.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
17	92.10
27th	9th	20th	48th
Summary

Even though Kenneth is a hard player to pin down and his results can vary from event to event, he trends near the top. He’s proven that he’s not someone to sleep on when he secured 9th place at Gensesis 4. Kenneth is a technical player and is also talented in design and programming, creating the rivalsrankings website as well as the custom /r/rivalsofaether styling.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
16	92.50
23rd	5th	4th	106th
Summary

ProDoubleSushi has been a Forsburn main since day 1, and his depth of knowledge on the character is unparalleled. ProDoubleSushi has that rare talent that allows him to teach as well as he plays. A long time mentor and guide creator, his friendly attitude brings people into the scene through streams and exhibitions. This has paid off for him as he was recently picked up as FlySociety’s streamer.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
15	92.70
13th	N/A	53rd	98th
Summary

PikaThePikachu came out in force during season 1 by being one of the first players to take games from FullStream when he began his reign of dominance. His Zetterburn is one of the best, a trend that can be seen in other Zetterburns from the Rise crew. He says he plans on being around for a very long time, and that we better watch out for him in season 2.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
14	93.00
7th	17th	16th	375th
Summary

Though Handbutt is a long time player from Early Access, he first became well known for his victory in RCS #12. Defeating CakeAssault, LBO, TheFailWhale and more, he tore through the losers side in a flurry of upsets to take first place. Handbutt has also done well at several local events and has recently joined the NCS crew in helping TO the online community series. He plans to play in the Road to Shine series and other season 2 events. Though he could not be reached for comment on the upcoming tournament, he most likely would have said, “Watch out it’s going to be like RCS 12 all over again.”.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
13	93.50
12th	13th	2nd	N/A
Summary

Turquoise is an oldschool Orcane player who pioneered the character in many ways. Akin to “The Duo”, players call the ftilt to upspecial combo on Orcane “The Turq”. Turquoise prefers local events and teams with FullStream in doubles whenever he can. The “Fullquoise” pair is currently undefeated in any major doubles event, including Genesis 4 and Garden of the Gods.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
12	94.00
8th	9th	11th	12th
Summary

TheFailWhale was a fan favorite to watch on stream during season 1 due to his smooth movement and dominant playstyle. One of the best in the ICE crew, he secured 9th at Genesis 4. He (along with Nevereatcars) is the lead TO for the community run National Championship Series. Hosting hundreds of Rivals events from early access to today, his work provides players with countless hours of enjoyment.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
11	95.00
10th	7th	11th	13th
Summary

DolphinBrick is another player that was recently sponsored, getting picked up by VexX gaming. His results speak for themselves back from even before season one, as he took second place at one of the first organized Rivals events ever – narrowly losing to Ralph at GDC. He’s continued to prove himself since then, culminating with a top 8 at Genesis 4. In addition to tournament play DolphinBrick is also a favorite streamer and video creator in the community.

This is part of an article series on the top 50 players in Rivals of Aether drawing data primarily from NA competitions.

Articles in the Series

• #50 – 41
• #40 – 31
• #20 – 11
• #10 – 4
• #03 – 1

For more information about the methodology and how rankings were decided, check out the Rivals Top 50 Introduction Post.

To enter free Rivals of Aether events online, head to the Rivals Championship Series 2 Smash.gg page.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
30	80.50
26th	N/A	13th	14th
Summary

Guyron is one of the strongest Orcanes in the central region. Primarily an online warrior, he has many upsets under his belt including ProDoubleSushi, Handbutt, and even Ralph. Since he’s not able to attend local events, he plans to continue to play in RCS online monthlies and hopes to achieve his goal of a first place finish during season 2.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
29	81.00
14th	13th	7th	197th
Summary

Tandori is one of the OGs of Rivals and has traveled far and wide to play at events. Though in the past his consistency has been his demon, he’s proven that he can take sets from some of the best including MSB at Genesis 4. His most recent finish includes a solid top 8 at CEO Dreamland – a great sign for his performance coming into season 2.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
28	84.00
N/A	25th	9th	14th
Summary

Geqqo’s style is so unique that you can tell you’re playing him even without tags on. One of the most ranged focused Kraggs, Geqqo prefers to pummel people into submission from afar and capitalize on their mistakes with his parry heavy playstyle. He was able to secure 25th at Genesis 4 with this strategy and is a terrifying opponent to come across on the ranked ladder.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
27	85.00
42nd	N/A	25th	559th
Summary

Protagify is a veteran Absa player and pillar of the community. A member of TSMSB, he can go toe to toe with the best of the crew and the West Coast Rivals as evidenced by his results in the WCS. For as much lightning charged punishment as he dishes out, he gives back to the players equally by running the Rivals mentoring discord. New players who are just starting, amateurs who want to improve, or anyone that’s a student of Rivals is welcome to join!

Rank	Rating	Rivals
26	86.00
40th	9th	7th	8th
Summary

Another great Absa player, Ceztellz is currently dominating the online scene. With over 100 games played in the NCS, he holds close to a 70% win rate at rank 7. As a Florida local, he attended CEO Dreamland and finished 9th after falling in an extremely close set with Aurecia.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
25	86.40
37th	17th	34th	27th
Summary

TheDuoDesign is another OG Maypul player, playing in some of the first local Rivals events ever with the rest of the ICE crew. He is such an OG that the act of using a tetherless Up Special to KO your opponent is nicknamed “The Duo”, as he pioneered using it in the early days.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
24	88.00
N/A	N/A	5th	3rd
Summary

TheEvets is a dominant Zetterburn player in the NCS and was highly touted on the player ballot. Defeating players such as TheFailWhale, AZCards, and Handbutt in online events shows that he has potential to compete at the top. He was absent from season 1, but has plans to take his skills into the RCS for season 2 and see if he can make his mark. He says players like RiskyCB and LBO were some of his biggest influences and his goal is to become a top 6 player.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
23	89.00
59th	5th	12th	N/A
Summary

Aurecia is widely recognized to be one of the best Absas in the game. A long time player and crew leader, Aurecia has given back to the community many times over. Though he prefers online events and doesn’t travel to local tournaments much, he recently had a great showing at CEO Dreamland – competing on the big stage and securing 5th place after eliminating Tandori.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
22	89.30
22nd	4th	15th	9th
Summary

Windows is one of the best Wrastors out there right now and is improving every day. His choice of controller is unique to most top players as he uses a mechanical keyboard. Windows is a frequent teammate of MSB and the pair landed 2nd place at both Garden of the Gods and CEO Dreamland. Dreamland was a good weekend for him in general as he also made his debut on the big stage for the finals that same weekend in singles, securing 4th place. Windows has said by the time season 2 is over he’ll be coming for the top 10.

Rank	Rating	Rivals
21	89.90
15th	2nd	4th	167th
Summary

RiskyCB is a player with a flair for style both in-game and out of game. His fast paced play made him a viewer favorite in RCS season 1 as he slid through the bracket and dunked his opponents. He has big plans in store for season 2 and will definitely be a player to look out for as this year’s tournaments unfold.