News

New Alternate Stage Art – The CEO Ring

CEO Dreamland is coming up soon and we can’t wait to head to Florida to play. If you’re unfamiliar with the CEO series, it’s a huge fighting game tournament with a wrestling theme. Top players even have their matches in the middle of a wrestling ring. This year organizer Alex Jebailey is showing his love for the scene with his take on a platform fighter/brawler specific CEO event – and that’s where CEO Dreamland comes in.

Since Rivals will be a main event at the tourney we wanted to show our support with an awesome stage skin you can pick up in the compendium right now – The CEO Ring.

Full CEO Ring alternate stage skin

 This stage skin replaces the Rock Wall with brand new art, animations, and even has a remixed version of the Rock Wall theme music by flashygoodness.  The majority of the funds also go straight back to the players as a pot bonus for the Rivals bracket, so it’s a great way to support the community.

If you’re able to make it we’d love to see you at the event, so make sure you stop by the Rivals area and say hi! Stay tuned for more announcements this month including the full launch of the game on PC with brand new game modes, stages, and more.

Rivals of Aether Community Forecast

Hey everyone,

We want to share a few announcements today regarding Aetherboards and where we’re focusing our community efforts during 2017. Read on and let us know what you think of the news.

Aetherboards

We will officially be retiring Aetherboards at the end of this month (2/28/2017).  With the full game launch on the horizon we want to focus our community efforts and meet you where you’re most active.

You don’t have to worry that closing Aetherboards will make it harder to get in touch with us. We have quite a few popular hubs that we frequent that are also teeming with players. Check out the communities below if you want to discuss Rivals or find players.

Discord

Rivals Discord Splash Screen

Our discord server is a great place to find opponents and meet other players.  It’s growing exponentially, and just this week we were selected for the official discord partner program. This means we get a few perks to buff our awesome community like VIP voice servers, custom invite screens, a sweet partner badge, and a couple other extras to make us stand out.

A big shoutout to all of our players who call the server home, Zam who founded it and the rest of the mod team who keeps it from being buried in memes.  We’re just shy of reaching 2k members so hopefully we’ll reach that milestone soon. Discord is also home to a bunch of other great Rivals communities like the RoA Academy, NCS Tournament server, EU Rivals, and too many more to mention. Check out the #rules-and-about channel in the main discord to find your way to the other discord servers.

Official Discord Partner

https://discord.gg/RoA

share this link to invite your friends

 

Reddit

Rivals of Aether Subreddit

Most of the dev team are redditors so you’ll definitely be able to find us over on /r/RivalsOfAether.  Our sub normally has the most up to date news and events and looks beautiful to boot with a custom Rivals design by /u/kenxftw.

Steam Forums

Rivals Steam Forums

Our Steam forums have always been active and we don’t expect that to change any time soon. With Aetherboards leaving the picture, we’re taking this opportunity to reorganize the Steam forums and bring over some of our useful posts from Aetherboards. We’ve recently added subforums and our news and announcements will continue to be cross-posted in Steam News. If you’re a lover of traditional forums we hope you’ll make the move over to Steam.

Xbox Clubs

Rivals of Smash Bros Club

Xbox players are always welcome anywhere, but if you’re looking for an Xbox specific group then check out some of the Xbox clubs on your console or the Win10 app. Just search for “Rivals” and it should give you a list of the top ones to join. Our favorites are the ‘Rivals of Smash Bros’ and the ‘Rivals Competitive and Casual Club’. There’s tournaments, LFG, clip sharing, and more.

Other Channels

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Wrapping it up, I don’t want to leave out the obvious social networks but also don’t think you need an example of what Facebook is at this point 😉

Rivals Facebook/ Twitter / YouTube / Twitch

We’re always keeping a watch over all of these channels and make a point to answer your questions and help troubleshoot issues. You can also contact us directly at [email protected]. Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you online!

-Etalus

Love is in the Aether – Valentine’s Update 0.15.9

Edit 2/24/17: This patch is now available on Xbox One with all of the 0.15.9 features and additional 0.15.10 hotfixes! This post has also been updated to reflect the 0.15.10 changes (listed with a 0.15.10 hotfixe note).

Rivals of Aether Valentines Day Patch 0.15.9

Hey Everyone!

Love is in the air today, even in the world of Aether, and we’re back with our second update of 2017. Now you can grab your best friend or lover and hop online to battle against other players! We’re adding several cool additions this patch (including team battles) which have long been a requested feature. We’re also tweaking the balance after our amazing Genesis 4 tournament as we gear up for the full launch on Steam next month.  You can find the major features in patch 0.15.9 below. There won’t be very many more updates before 1.0 now!

Teams

 

Teams Showcase

 

Team battles are here! You and another friend at your computer can now play 2v2 online by going to Online > Team Match. If you’re comboing alone this Valentine’s day you can also play with a CPU partner (we’ve programmed them to be extra romantic this patch). This mode is in beta so please make sure you let us know about any bugs/issues you encounter so we can get them fixed up.

 Steam Profile Info

 

Steam Profile Link in Rivals of Aether

You can now view the profile of your opponent with a simple press of a button under their name on character select. This will open up their profile in a separate browser window. While it doesn’t sound like a big deal, this will make it way easier to add a friend and keep playing with them if you’re enjoying an opponent you found online.

Seasonal Skins

 

Valentines Day Skins Rivals of Aether

The Genesis 4 seasonal skins have been rotated out to make room for Valentine’s Day skins and the entire cast is looking extra lovey-dovey.  If you’ve ever wished the world of Aether had more fluorescent animals, then this is the update for you. Read on for all the fine details on character balance and engine changes.

 

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  • You and another friend at your computer can now play 2v2 online by going to Online > Team Match.  Note – this mode is in beta so please make sure you let us know about any bugs/issues you encounter so we can get them fixed up.
  • The Genesis 4 seasonal skins have been rotated out to make room for Valentine’s Day skins.
  • You can now view the profile of your opponent on Steam by opening up their profile page in a browser with a simple press of a button under their name on character select. This will make it easier to add a friend if you enjoy playing with someone.
  • Hitstun duration is now slightly more dependent on weight. Lighter characters will have a few more frames of hitstun, heavier characters will have less. The change is fairly minimal, so don’t be too worried.
  • 0.15.10 ASDI can now be performed with the right stick (takes precedence over the left stick)
  • 0.15.10 ASDI strength is now 10 (was 8 in 0.15.8 and 14 in 0.15.9)
  • 0.15.10 Fixed a bug where characters wouldn’t go into parry stun if they landed while being boosted upward
  • 0.15.10 Random Stage Option added to Invited Team Matches.
  • 0.15.10 Bug Fix: Stage Striking now transitions to Stage Banning in Teams Exhibition and Invites.
  • 0.15.10 Bug Fix: Prevented Phantom P3 from joining regular matches. Please post here if you still see the issue.

SSDI hotfix note: We do like the goal of Single Smash Directional Influence (SSDI) but since most of our competitive play is online, it’s just too hard to be consistent with SSDI right now. In light of this, we’ve reverted back to ASDI and tweaked a few of the problem moves. We also re-evaluated some of our multi-hit attacks to make ASDI more important and to create more variety.

 

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Zetterburn’s charged Neutral Special is pretty hard to deal with and doesn’t exactly line up with the visual. So we are tweaking it to make it feel better. We are also making Forward Strong a little bit faster to promote using it along with his other strong attacks.

  • Charged Nspecial sourspot hitbox removed
  • Charged Nspecial sweetspot active frames increased from 2 > 3 (effective active frames 7 > 3 after sourspot removal)
  • Charged Nspecial size increased from 160 to 170 to better match the visual
  • Forward Strong startup decreased from 15 > 13 frames.
  • 0.15.10 Zetterburn Neutral Air no longer pulls toward the center of the move.
  • 0.15.10 Zetterburn Neutral Air hits separated by 2 frames instead of 3 frames.

 

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We have a new animation for Forward Special and a new hitbox to balance out the move at both high and low level play.

  • Forward Special (non-puddled) now has a smaller hitbox, making it harder for opponents to cover/punish multiple distances with a single parry, but also harder for Orcane to hit with. This gives the moves more strength as a high level recovery option while stripping some of its power away from low to mid-level play where spamming it is a decent strategy.
  • Bug Fix: Jab 3 hurtbox now lines up with the animation again.
  • 0.15.10 Orcane Up Tilt lower hitbox made bigger.
  • 0.15.10 Orcane Down Air no longer pulls toward the center of the move.

 

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Wrastor is a powerful character but he takes skill and good spacing to be successful. We are stripping away some base knockback from the sour spot of Up Strong to reward good spacing more.

  • Ustrong sourspot base knockback decreased from 7 > 6
  • 0.15.10 Wrastor Tornado ASDI Modifier 1.0 > .8 to make it back to old ASDI values.

 

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Kragg’s hitstun gravity in the last update was pretty insane. Making him a monster in teams as he rarely dies off the top. We like the idea of him being heavier but wanted to find a middle ground. We also buffed his Forward Tilt and Forward Air because he likes to knock things forward.

  • Kragg Hitstun gravity decreased from .55 to .525 (.50 in 0.15.7)
  • Ftilt startup decreased from 12 > 10
  • Fair hitbox extended 10 pixels inward
  • Fair knockback angle changed from Sakurai Angle (40 ground 45 air) to 35. This makes it KO earlier but also reduces the amount of Fairways to Heaven.
  • 0.15.10 Kragg Neutral Air hitbox properties changed. Now knocks away mostly instead of being a washing machine.
  • 0.15.10 Kragg Forward Air Base Knockback 8 and .7 Scaling to Base Knockback 6 and .85 Scaling. This will reduce early KOs while making it an even stronger KO option after 110%.

 

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Forsburn has the biggest changes in this update. He has been sneaky for so long but not this time. First of all, we did not like how the empowered specials were playing out as really only Combust and Super Clone actually felt worthwhile of a new “attack”. We have decided to keep those attacks the focus of getting smoke while removing charged Up Special. To balance out his recovery, we are letting him wrap through walls with more leniency on Up Special. Finally, we have tweaked some of his damage and knockback angles to spread power around his kit.

  • 0.15.10 Down Air hit 1 knockback scaling remains at .5 (briefly increased to .6 in 0.15.9)
  • Down Air hit 1 knockback angle changed from 40 > 35
  • Down Air hit 2 knockback scaling increased from .5 > .7
  • Combust knockback scaling decreased from 1.0 > 0.9
  • Combust sweet spot added with knockback scaling 1.1.
  • Forward Strong hit 2 damage increased from 8 > 12.
  • Up Strong hit 2 damage increased from 8 > 12.
  • Back Air sweetspot damage increased from 10 > 13.
  • Down Air damage increased from 10 > 12.
  • Up Special vertical leniency now allows for more maneuverability 50 > 96.
  • Up Special landing lag increased from 16 > 20.
  • Up Special landing lag reduced to 10 frames if you reappear in the air.
  • Empowered Neutral Special and Up Special removed.
  • Getting parried now removes your smoke charges.
  • Super Clone now leaves 4 clouds of smoke when destroyed.

 

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For such a rushdown character, Maypul can use Lily to camp pretty effectively. We have decided to prevent Maypul from freely moving Lily around after placing her and made some downtime for when Lily gets parried.

  • Can not plant a new Lily when one already exists (as a result, Fat Lily had to be removed).
  • Parrying Lily’s attack now puts Lily in a stunned state for 4 seconds. Lily still disappears after being parried.
  • 0.15.10 Lily lifespan reduced 12 seconds > 10 seconds.
  • 0.15.10 Lily will attack if Maypul is in hitstun again. It was way too unpredictable to work well for the opponent.
  • 0.15.10 Maypul Down Strong Hit 1 Art and Hitbox adjusted to match. Art reduced, hitbox expanded by 2 pixels.
  • 0.15.10 Maypul Up Strong Art and Hitbox adjusted to match. Thinner near maypul wider at the top.

 

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Forward Tilt has been a contentious move since Absa was added to the game. We think by redesigning it to a two part attack we have a chance to make it useful both at short range and long range.

  • Forward Tilt changed into a two-part move. Seeing the first part will be a good tell for dodging the second.
  • Down Strong endlag decreased from 21 > 18 frames (on hit: 14 > 12).
  • Waveland friction lowered slightly for longer wavelands.
  • Down Special charge reduced from 45 > 35 frames.
  • Absa Charged Neutral Special Hitstun factor increased from .6 > .7.

 

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For Etalus, we wanted to tweak his Armor to make it more reliable. The Super Armor comes out earlier on his Armored Strongs but he also loses his Armor when his Forward Special is parried now. Finally we buffed Down Air as it is one of the least used moves in the game.

  • Etalus Armor Strongs – Armor now comes out on frame 7 (11 > 7) on Up Strong and Forward Strong and frame 9 on Down Strong.
  • Jump Squat reduced from 6 > 5 frames (now the same as every other character)
  • Down Air final hit base knockback 4 > 6
  • Down Air final hit knockback scaling .6 > .5
  • Down Air Damage increased from 2,2,8 > 4,4,8
  • Etalus can now hold down to prevent Down Air from stalling his momentum
  • Forward Strong hit 1 hitstun modifier 1.0 > 0.5 (only matters if hit 2 doesn’t hit). Allows players to escape if the attack does not connect.
  • Down tilt second hit angle changed from 65 > 75
  • Down Tilt hitbox heights increased from 20 > 30 and 30 > 40.
  • Etalus now loses armor as intended when his Forward Special gets parried
  • 0.15.10 Etalus can now air dodge out of Up Special while traveling up as well.

Thanks as always and please let us know of any new issues you encounter here or in the reddit thread!

Etalus Joins the Plush Roster

Etalus Plush Preorder Announcement

If you didn’t hear the news at Genesis 4 – Etalus is now available in adorable plush form! Just like our Orcane plushy, he’s crafted by Symbiote Studios and comes with an exclusive skin code for PC. Boasting the same large size and super soft minky fabric, he’ll be available initially through a pre-order run. This approach lets us make the plushes you want and not end up with too many, but it also means you’ll need to get in early to snag yours.

The plush is available here and is expected to ship in May of 2017. It will be available worldwide for all pre-orders. Let us know if you’d like to see other characters join the plush roster in the comments.