Rivals of Aether II News

[p]As season one of the Rivals 2 Championship Series nears the final stretch, we wanted to share all of our Winter events in one place (aside from the circuit page), so players in contention for the top of the leaderboard can plan out their remaining trips. [/p][p][/p][p]Amazing events have been popping up left and right, with a few more than we originally anticipated joining the circuit this year. However, in the spirit of competition we are locking in our final tournaments and setting our eyes on the finish line. Read on for coverage of both NA and EU events:[/p][p][/p][h2]North American R2CS Winter Schedule[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Online Events[/h3][p]While we had to shuffle some of our online schedule due to admin availability, we still have the same number of onlines planned as we originally announced before the season ends. Make sure to check out Platfight Gaming Championships Online, followed by The Cashbox: GX3 Qualifier #1 both this December, especially if you're a player that can't attend in-person events![/p][p][/p][h3]Local R2CS Events[/h3][p][/p][p]We previously posted that there would be just one final LAN event leading up to GX3. This was the original plan, but we simply couldn’t resist including TWO of our favorite events from 2025 in our circuit to ring in the new year. [/p][p][/p][p]First, we have Let’s Make Big Moves 2026 in New York, New York. This event was outstanding in 2025, with glowing reviews from attendees and an electric Top 8, making us wish the R2CS was already in full swing. Luckily, we have a jump on it in 2026, so be sure to check it out this January in The Big Apple.[/p][p][/p][p]Next we have another huge event from 2025 that is absolutely legendary in the world of fighting games. Frosty Faustings hosted Rivals II for the first time in 2025, and the Rivals bracket had a breakout year with an amazing first reception. This year they're running it back, with an unmatched number of games open to attendees. Be sure to sign up there for the last regular season circuit event of the year, and maybe check out one or two of the MANY other fighting games on display.[/p][p][/p][p]Lastly, make sure to come out to GX3 for the series finale! Genesis X3 will host the first ever R2CS championship final, with the best players across the country and beyond duking it out to take home the crown. Genesis has long been home to the Rivals Championship Series Finals, and we’re excited to close out the first ever Rivals II circuit at a familiar place, with an unprecedented race for number 1 coming to a head.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]European R2CS Winter Schedule[/h2][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]Just two events remain in the EU schedule so we can work on coordinating travel for the EU pointsleader to GX3. The final Online event is 29 November, with the EU team at the helm to keep things running smoothly. This event is free to enter and has some crucial points available for the top competitors.[/p][p][/p][p]For offline events - Somnio Noctem was originally set to be our final EU event for the year, but we were excited to welcome one final tournament to the circuit earlier this fall. No time to Tilt brings the R2CS to Deutschland this December and will be the final EU event in the circuit.[/p][p][/p][h2]Points Race[/h2][p][/p][p]On the North American side of things, the Rivals of Aether GOAT, CakeAssault has been a consistent frontrunner, with a recent surge from Stango challenging the crown at the highest level. The NA R2CS has seen eight different tournament champions crowned over the year, and has only been more competitive as time has marched forward. CakeAssault holds a strong point lead, but does he have what it takes to finish the season on top?[/p][p][/p][p]The European R2CS has similarly been a close affair, with four unique champions crowned since July. Sitting at the top of the pecking order are Dia and Neylax, who between them have won four of the six brackets up to this point. [/p][p][/p][p]You can keep up to date on the real time standings at start.gg/R2CS/standings as well as individual event signups at start.gg/R2CS/schedule[/p][p][/p][p]We hope you've enjoyed playing in and watching all of the events this year so far![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

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• [p]Fixed some rare cases that could cause no audio to play after the previous patch.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the countdown to next event not always properly loaded when you opened the Events store.[/p]
• [p]Fixed values scrolling too fast in the Settings modal on Character Select Screen for any controller that wasn’t Player 1.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3]New Feature - Audio Output Device Setting[/h3][p]Added an option to select your audio output device in the settings menu. We expect this new feature to be very useful for offline tournament organizers and livestreamers who have been struggling with some game controllers stealing the audio feed all the time.[/p]

• [p]The default value (“default device”) will output sound to the device selected in Windows audio settings.[/p]
• [p]The other values are your individual audio peripherals.[/p]
• [p]When using the default value, audio hotplugging is still active: if the device selected in Windows audio setting changes, then the game will output sound to that new audio device. In short, the same behaviour as before this update.[/p]
• [p]When using other values, audio hotplugging is disabled and sound will stick to the device you had selected in the game settings, even if Windows audio settings change.[/p]
• [p]The setting is saved in the savedata.[/p]
• [p]Please note that audio hotplugging is always disabled in the special tournament builds, including for default value.[/p]

[h3]Other General Features[/h3]

• [p]Temporarily disabled the Low Poly sound effect filters[/p]
• [p]Visual fixes for the new Retro skins[/p]

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• [p]Bug fix: Successfully parrying will no longer unstick her cloud from herself[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Audio Updates[/p]

• [p]Fixed a bug that caused the Low Poly sounds to become more distorted as the master volume increased.[/p]
• [p]Added a volume slider for ambient sounds.[/p]

[p]Miscellaneous Fixes[/p]

• [p]The emotes tab will now open to the Favorites page instead of page 1.[/p]
• [p]Orange Low Poly Ranno is no longer missing in the store.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that caused certain articles to reverse hit when they shouldn't.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an additional bug that caused hurtboxes to shift unintentionally when a character rotated around their center when facing left.[/p]

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• [p]Fixed a bug that caused his articles (like his Bubble) to be invisible on most skins.[/p]

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• [p]Genesis Orcane skin is no longer muddy.[/p]

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• [p]Fixed a bug that caused some of his ice effects to be opaque.[/p]

[h3]‘Super Rivals 3D’ - November Event[/h3][p]Dust off your cartridges as the beloved Rivals 3D event returns on its one year anniversary! This time experience the next dimension with SUPER Rivals 3D. [/p][p][/p][p]The paid bundle includes 3 new Low Poly skins - Low Poly Etalus, Low Poly Orcane, and Low Poly Olympia with their own Low Poly icons to match, plus coins and bucks. The free event track includes the Low Poly Zetterburn Skin and Icon, the Low Poly Platform, Orcane emote, ‘Game Over’ critical hit effect, plus coins and bucks.[/p][p][/p][p]All Low Poly skins also include a custom victory jingle, with stylistic bitcrush effects in their sound effects and voice overs! [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Players equipping any event skins above, or any previous Low Poly event skins, will receive 20% Bonus EXP on the event track. Speaking of past event skins - we're also excited to share that the old Low Poly Ranno skin has gotten a graphics update to bring him up to the SUPER Rivals 3D level. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]New Stage Skin - Low Poly Fire Capital[/h3][p]Give Fire Capital a retro makeover with its brand new Low Poly stage skin. The Low Poly Fire Capital bundle is just $4.99 in the Featured Shop and includes an exclusive icon. You can also pick up the stage skin by itself in the bucks shop for 1000 AB, or for 100k coins in the Featured Shop.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h3]New Crews Functionality in Lobbies and Local Modes[/h3][p]After our rollout of crews a few weeks ago, we are happy to bring lobby and local functionality for Team of One to crews! This means you can now play as multiple Rivals as a single player offline or in lobbies, just like you could in the 'Team of One' queue. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]New Audio Feature - Ambient Audio [/h3][p]Stages now have ambient audio! This means beautiful environmental audio is now included on every stage to bring even more life to the world of Aether. For example, in Merchant Port you can now hear the ocean, birds, and the sound of raindrops hitting the deck and water. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]November Ranked Shop Addition - Orcane[/h3][p]Champion Orcane has been added to the Ranked Shop! This includes a skin, two emotes, and two icons for the adorable Puddle Jumper. Get these with your medals that you earn from playing ranked. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Other November Shop Additions[/h3]

• [p]Midnight Abyss Loxodont[/p]
• [p]Yellow Smokeclan Forsburn[/p]
• [p]Black Spotted Olympia[/p]
• [p]Orange Axolotl Orcane[/p]

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• [p]Orange Low Poly Wrastor[/p]
• [p]Orange Low Poly Ranno[/p]

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• [p]Freyden Icon[/p]
• [p]Firefang Icon[/p]
• [p]Porcuber Icon[/p]
• [p]Maypul Up Air Emote[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3]New Quality of Life Feature - Backfill 4 Player Matchmaking Queues[/h3][p]When someone leaves in Casual 2v2 or FFA mode, the matchmaking server will now automatically find more players via our new backfill feature. [/p][p][/p][h3]November R2CS Events[/h3][p]November is kicking off with a bang and a blitz week! Three events are happening in quick succession: [/p]

• [p]This weekend the circuit visits the legendary Port Priority 9 in Seattle on 11/8 - 11/9.[/p]
• [p]Followed by a brand new Hungrybox Online Qualifier on 11/12 with a voucher to Genesis X3.[/p]
• [p]Then returning to the storied grassroots Rivals major, Heat Wave 8 in Phoenix on 11/14 - 11/16![/p]

[p][/p][p]Esports Palettes[/p][p]Rep Port Priority 9 with the all new Port Priority Lovers Zetterburn palette, available now in the Featured Shop:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Similar to the previous Hungrybox Qualifier Events, participants will receive the HungryBox Baseball Clairen palette for free. Registration will be available soon for this event in a separate post: [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Finally, the Heat Wave Baseball Clairen is here to celebrate the tournament’s 8th installment. The event is on the cusp of breaking yet another attendance record, so check it out if you want something a bit more focused on Rivals of Aether![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]General Gameplay Changes[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

• [p]Right stick down/backward on ledge will now be processed after left stick down/backward and grab.[/p]
  • [p]This makes sure the right stick input results in an aerial if it is in the buffer at the same time as the left stick input or grab. Previously, the right stick input would be processed first, causing the character to drop from ledge without performing an aerial.[/p]
• [p]Joystick downward hard press inputs will now be cleared when entering the Land state.[/p]
  • [p]This prevents an extremely niche bug where a frame-perfect fastfall input that is held for exactly one frame directly above a platform would cause a buffered platdrop after landing.[/p]
• [p]The input buffer will no longer be cleared when ledge canceling a waveland.[/p]
• [p]Grab trades will now restore all resources for both characters.[/p]
  • [p]This prevents situations such as Etalus Up Air trading with another grab and leaving him with no Up Special resource.[/p]
• [p]Anti-infinite pushback velocity is now capped at 48 cm/frame. Sorry :([/p]
  • [p]This prevents some weird situations where holdable moves like Galvan's Jab finisher could build up enough momentum to teleport through solid objects, like Kragg's pillar.[/p]

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• [p]Bug fix: Critical Hit Effects and Death Effects selections for your profiles will now be saved properly between game sessions. [/p]
• [p]Bug fix: Fixed a bug that prevented characters from being grabbed if they were performing a throw.[/p]
• [p]Bug fix: Getting bounced off the ground by an untechable spike will no longer retain that untechable status after bouncing.[/p]
  • [p]Ground bounces are always supposed to be techable. This was a very niche situation, but could happen with attacks like Forsburn's Ledge Special.[/p]
• [p]Bug fix: Fixed a bug that caused hurtboxes to shift unintentionally when a character rotated around their center.[/p]
  • [p]For example, Galvan's Forward Special was more disjointed when angling it upward and vice versa. Now it should be consistent regardless of his rotation.[/p]
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• [p]Added a low-reaching hitbox to his standing grab.[/p]
  • [p]This helps prevent it from whiffing against shorter characters that are extremely close to him.[/p]

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• [p]Added a hitbox to the center of Up Special that reaches higher than the other hitboxes.[/p]
  • [p]This allows Galvan to break a rock on a platform above it.[/p]
• [p]Bug fix: Up Special can now ledge cancel before going into the Special Fall window.[/p]
• [p]Bug fix: Aerial Down Special can now be ledge canceled properly.[/p]
• [p]Added a low-reaching hitbox to its standing grab.[/p]
  • [p]This helps prevent it from whiffing against shorter characters that are extremely close to it.[/p]

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• [p]Drills can now only hit the player that activated them or their teammates.[/p]
  • [p]This prevents a weird situation in doubles where Galvan's teammates could get hit by a drill after knocking an opponent into it.[/p]
• [p]Drill hitbox radius: 60 > 75.[/p]
  • [p]This makes it less likely for a drill to detect a player and then fail to hit them, since the hitbox is now larger than the detection box.[/p]
• [p]Galvan's head hurtbox is now intangible during Forward Special's active frames.[/p]

[p][/p][p]That's all for this update! As always, feel free to drop any suggestions for new features over on our nolt board. Make sure to join the discord to chat all things Rivals, report bugs, and keep up with the latest events! [/p]