Rivals of Aether News

Heat Wave was a lot of fun, but now it's time to start getting ready for a cooler season. This patch is a mix of changes we've been holding on to as well as some newer updates like adding mouse support, normalizing some framedata, and other quality of life changes. Read on for the full notes below and have a happy Halloween!

• Keyboard controls can now be set on the character select screen.
  
• Mouse buttons can now be bound to actions in the character select screen.
  
• Rolls, Airdodges, and Techrolls have been normalized. New framedata:
  
  
  
  • ROLLS:
    
    
    
    • [3 startup frames - 14 active frames - 12 recovery frames]
      
    
    
    
  • AIRDODGES:
    
    
    
    • [2 startup frames - 12 active frames - 12 recovery frames]
      
    
    
    
  • TECHROLLS:
    
    
    
    • [20 invincibility frames - 14 recovery frames]
      

• Fixed a bug that made players get caught on ledges.
  
• Crouch is no longer locked out of dashing for 3 frames.
  Instead, crouching now clears the dash buffer.
• Fixed a bug that caused a crash during the intermediate offense tutorial.
  
• The missed tech state can no longer be longer than the full initial duration of your hitstun.
  
• Purple kill effect formula now takes SDI into consideration when checking for collision with walls/platforms/pillars/rocks.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused heavy characters to be stuck in 1 extra frame of landing lag on aerials with 6 frames of landing lag compared to patch 1.4.0.
  
• You can no longer wall-tech when first getting grabbed by Ori's Down Special. You can still wall tech after getting thrown.
  

• Up Special multihits now force flinch.
  With 1 less frame of flinch state than normal, so it doesn't true combo into Dstrong.

• Up Air no longer keeps moving during hitpause.
  
• Orcane's roll framedata has been normalized to [3 - 14 - 12] from [3 - 11 - 16].
  
• Orcane's airdodge framedata has been normalized to [2 - 12- 12] from [2 - 12 - 14].
  

• Up Air angle flipper changed from 0 > 6.
  This makes it so that the move always sends left if your opponent is on the left side of you, and vice versa.
  
• Wrastor's roll framedata normalized to [3 - 14 - 12] from [3 - 15 - 16].
  
• Bugfix: Dying now restores Wrastor's ability to charge a strong attack.
  

• Rocks will no longer hit enemies in the wrong direction when bouncing off of a wall on the first frame the rock is created.
  
  

• Forsburn's techroll framedata has been normalized to [20 - 14] from [19 - 14].
  
  

• Neutral Special hurtbox corrected.
  This move was using the wrong kind of collision detection making it much bigger than it seemed.
  
• Up Special can no longer break Kragg's pillar if it trades with it 1 frame before Kragg lands on the pillar.
  
• Absa's roll framedata normalized to [3 - 14 - 12] from [3 - 10 - 14].
  
• Absa's airdodge framedata has been normalized to [2 - 12 - 12] from [2 - 11 - 10].
  

• Up Special will no longer lose armor when getting hit on frame 1 by a move that sends into the hitstun land state.
  
• Up Air hit 1 hit lockout increased from 0 > 1.
  This prevents moves like Forward Special from interrupting the throw.
  
• Nair sourspot angle flipper changed from 0 > 6.
  Now matches the flipper of the sweetspot.
  
• Etalus' roll framedata normalized to [3 - 14 - 12] from [3 - 15 - 12].
  

• Ori & Sein's techroll framedata has been normalized to [20 - 14] from [18 - 16].
  

• Utilt angle flipper changed from 0 > 6.
  This makes it so that the move always sends left if your opponent is on the left side of you, and vice versa.
  
• Dash Attack tipper hitboxes adjusted to match the art better.
  

• Up Air range reduced by 16 pixels for hit 1 and 18 pixels for hit 2.
  This change is intended to make Up Air less oppressive as a sharking tool.
• More changes are planned for Sylvanos that didn't make it into this patch. We're taking a good hard look at his strengths and weaknesses so that we can build him up after stripping frustrating parts of his kit. Our goal is ultimately to make him both more fun to play against and more balanced and fun to play as.
  

• Back Air's fist is now disjointed.
  
• Charged Forward Special now slides along the ground instead of being destroyed by it.
  

• Jab endlag decreased from 16 > 14.
  
• Back Air multihit hitstun modifier increased from .5 > .65.
  Enough to make it good on hit without letting it confirm into Forward Strong.
  
• Dash attack startup decreased from 10 > 7.
  
• Dash attack damage increased from 5 > 7.
  
• Dash attack knockback scaling increased from 0.35 > 0.5.
  While dash attack is still a pretty niche move, these changes will give it more utility.
  
• Ustrong endlag increased from 16 > 18 (24 > 27 on whiff).
  
• War Horn hitstun modifier decreased from x1 > x0.9.
  
• Releasing the right stick as the shop becomes active will no longer cancel the shop.
  
• Dynamo Mail's outline color now overrides the outline color change when on fire.
  

In honor of our RCS October monthly winner, here's some of our favorite highlights from their best games! Join in the competition to meet new players and earn exclusive Champion skins next month right here: smash.gg/RCS-NA-November


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxJ3GTnSNXY

This Summer we introduced a new type of distinction for local events called the Make Your Mark series. Events with this banner award a prize like no other – a chance for the first place finisher to create their own skin with the developers, custom taunt and all.

After a hard fought battle at Xanadu's Elemental Rivalries, our first MYM victor stood tall. To immortalize Penguin in Rivals of Aether history we present without further ado - Penguin Absa:



Penguin's victory is everyone's victory, and this skin is now available for free on Steam. Download and enjoy it today right here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/941241/Rivals_of_Aether_Penguin_Absa/

Keep your eye on the Steam announcements page to look for more upcoming Make Your Mark events if you want your own chance to get a skin in the game.


Along with Penguin Absa, we're also releasing 4 additional skins for the first time on the Steam store. These skins were originally made as a way to support community events and have helped fund player travel reserves and prize pools at over 7 tournaments.

Now that their time in compendiums is over, we've decided to move them to the Steam store due to popular demand from players looking to spend Steam balance on skins. Arcade Elliana, Shine Zetterburn, Summit Orcane, and Arcade Maypul are now available on the Steam store for $2.99 each. In addition to these changes, our 3 other skins released during Early Access are going up from $1.99 to $2.99 to standardize skin prices.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/915090/Rivals_of_Aether_Arcade_Elliana/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/670840/Rivals_of_Aether_Shine_Zetterburn/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/539240/Rivals_of_Aether_Summit_Orcane/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/630663/Rivals_of_Aether_Arcade_Maypul/

Now that players have gotten some game time with our latest character, Shovel Knight, we have a few updates we wanted to squeeze in before our next major event. This includes a new way to spend your Aether coins along with some balance updates. Stay safe during any upcoming Heat Waves and read on for the full notes below.


You can now shop for profile icons with all those Aether coins you've been hoarding! In any online mode, scroll through your icon pages to see purchasable ones designated by a golden lock. These feature non-playable characters you might recognize from story mode and even others you might not be so familiar with from throughout the world of Aether.



Whew this one's pretty pricey. Who is that guy anyway?



You might have noticed these snuck in during a hotfix, but if not, our Halloween skins are here to begin their reign of terror for the Halloween season. You can choose these skins in any game mode (including ranked) where these colors will be available until the next season rotation.

• Your Double jump is now restored if interrupted on the very first frame; aka Double Jump Protection: 0 > 1 (was 6 before 1.4.0).
  
• The last 5 frames of tech options can no longer be cancelled into jumpsquat.
  
• On hit, the last 5 frames of landing lag can now be cancelled into jumpsquat for all moves, not just moves that have the same landing lag frames as the character's natural land frames.
  
• Frozen players will now break free and go into prat fall when the ground under them disappears.
  
• Bug Fix: Jumpsquat can now be cancelled into Uspecial.

• Forward Special can now interrupt attacks again.
  
• Wrastor Fspecial now deals no hitpause/hitstun against crouching opponents. It also has a new sound effect on frame 1 to make it more reactable.
  
• Prat Land time after Neutral Special reduced from 24 > 18. Prat Land time after Up Special remains at 24.

• The Rock will now hit enemies in the direction that it's moving.
  
  This fixes the weird reversal issues that could occur when The Rock hits someone after bouncing off of something else.

• Down Air hit-2 hitbox now matches the animation better.
  
• Combust hitstun scaling decreased from 1.0 > 0.8.

• Forward Air hitbox now matches animation better.
  
• Forward Special will no longer auto-reverse after reversing a tether to an opponent.

• Forward Smash scaling increased from 0.7 > 0.8.
  
• Down Smash scaling increased from 0.7 > 0.8.

• Dash attack sweetspot hitpause increased.
  
• Ori can only cancel dash attack after hitpause is over (adds 2 frames before you can cancel).

• Forward Special will now follow moving platforms.

• Clairen has a new tipper visual effect!

• Forward Tilt projectile now only deals knockback if the opponent is already in hitstun (similar to Ori's Spirit Flame).
  
• Multiple Forward Tilt projectiles can now exist at the same time.
  
• Forward Tilt projectile damage increased from 1 > 2.
  
• Forward Tilt hit lockout increased from 3 > 4.
  
• Down Smash scaling increased from 0.85 > 1.0.
  
• Forward Smash scaling increased from 1.05 > 1.15.
  
• Forward Smash angle adjusted from 361 to 45.
  
• When Sylvanos hits an opponent with both hits of his Up Air, the second hit's hitstun scaling is now 0.85 (down from 1.0).

• Down Special Mine now arms properly on parried enemies.
  
• Neutral Special now causes parry stun.
  
• Elliana will now rebuild her mech after breaking free from Maypul's wrap.
  
• Elliana will no longer gain invincibility when parrying steam that has already been parried.

• The dirt block created by Up Strong will no longer cancel respawn invincibility when it's destroyed.

It's been a wild summer packed with plenty of Rivals events and announcements, and we don’t plan to stop anytime soon. Strap in and and get ready for the largest patch we've had all year with a brand new guest character, fresh stages, updated animations, and lots more!




The wielder of the legendary Shovel Blade joins the roster as our final guest in a collaboration between Dan Fornace LLC and Yacht Club Games. Shovel Knight is available now for $4.99 on Steam, which includes Shovel Knight himself and the standalone Troupple Pond stage.



As always, you can try Shovel Knight for free in our character tutorial section.


Two completely new stages have been added featuring areas from both Sylvanos’ and Elliana’s story. You can unlock these stages yourself by purchasing (or already owning) the Sylvanos and Elliana character DLC.

Fight in the deadly undergrowth of the Aetherian Forest on “The Forest Floor”. Make sure you keep an eye on the local flora in Aether Mode, or you’ll find out firsthand the reason the Tree Dwellers never venture below.


Visit the Steampunk town where Elliana built her infamous mech. Fight on the city skyline and across an ongoing delivery operation in the bustling city of “Julesvale”.


As our stage list grows we’ll continue to evaluate its competitive impact. In line with that goal, we’ve also added an additional stage ban this patch (upping the bans to three) along with these exciting new locales.


We've been hard at work on a game engine upgrade all summer, and are pleased to announce that GameMaker Studio 2 is back. Once again, this should provide immediate improvements to help gameplay run smoother for most players, as well as set us up for future upgrades and additional platforms.

If you have trouble launching the game, controller problems, or any other issues 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.

• Moonwalk duration increased from 18 to 24.
  
• Moonwalking is locked out for the first 2 frames of initial dash (makes keyboard/dpad moonwalking equal to joystick moonwalking).
  
• Double jumps are no longer restored when hit within 6 frames of double jumping.
  
• Reflecting projectiles doubles their base hitpause.
  
• Being put into the flinch state will now restore your airdodge.
  
• Bouncing off the ground after missing a tech will no longer restore your double jump.
  
• You can now parry during respawn invincibility, but you become vulnerable when doing so.
  
• Kill move shockwaves have been replaced with a new effect.
  If the move will kill with no DI or inward DI (ignoring drift and obstacles) then you will get the standard burst effect. If the move is a guaranteed kill (ignoring ledge tech, but taking drift and obstacles into account) then you will get a 20 frame burst effect with a special background that covers the entire screen.

• Forward tilt hit 1 now pulls enemies inward during hitpause, allowing hit 2 to connect more consistently.
  
• Burn is now removed on parry.
  
• Bug fix: Forward Strong/Down Strong hit 1 now moves enemies during hitpause when connecting with the last frame of the hitbox.
  

• Down Strong endlag increased from 19 to 21 (29 > 32 on whiff).
  
• If Nair is held, it now bounces off the ground if you land while the hitbox is active.
  
• Forward Air and Down Special bubbles spawn/move in preset patterns instead of randomly.
  

• Down Air semi-spike hitbox angle flipper removed.
  
• Forward Special no longer interrupts attacks.
  
• Forward Tilt hitboxes adjusted in size and position. These first two hitboxes now additionally pull inward to make connecting the third hit more reliable.
  
• Neutral Special disjoint removed.
  
• Neutral Special hit lockout no longer applies to the final hitboxes of the move. This fixes a bug where they would miss due to the last multihit hitboxes hitting late.
  
• Down Strong will now bounce if connecting on the frame before landing.
  
• Down Special changed into a two-hit attack (to prevent it from heavily winning trades).
  
• Up Special sweetspot angle flipper removed.
  
• Prat fall air acceleration multiplier increased from 0.25 to 0.5.
  

• Forward Air landing lag increased from 6 to 8 (9 > 12 on whiff).
  
• Angle flipper removed on rockless Neutral Special.
  

• Removed invincibility from clone creation.
  
• Shortly after starting Forward Special, it will now go on a cooldown. This makes it so you can't Forward Special again immediately if it's interrupted.
  
• Forsburn no longer retains smoke charges when super clone dies from the bottom blastzone.
  
• Parrying clone explosion now allows you to cancel parry's endlag, like other projectiles.
  
• Forsburn can now use regular Down Special immediately after the clone explodes.
  
• Forward Air decreased in size to match animation better.
  
• Up Air active frames decreased from 16 to 10. Endlag added so that it's the same on hit, but has more whifflag.
  
• Getting interrupted while performing Forward Special or Neutral Special while fully charged now causes you to lose all smoke charges.
  

• Forward Special and Neutral Special Cloud Pop will no longer hit Absa if parried near her.
  
• Fixed a bug that made Up Tilt 1 frame faster on hit than it should be. Increased from 8 on hit, 14 on whiff to 9 on hit, 14 on whiff.
  

• Forward Special hitbox size increased to make hitting with and parrying this move more consistent.
  
• Neutral Special now gains armor 1 frame earlier so that trading with the move doesn't stop it from getting armor.
  
• Down Special is now walljump-cancellable when done near a wall.
  
• Enemies can no longer be frozen during the respawn state (fixes a bug that turned enemies invisible).
  

• Hitpause removed from Sein taps when they do no knockback.
  
• Bashing rock on the frame it hits the ground should no longer crash the game.
  
• Sein's Team-up Down Strong hitboxes increased in size inward to stop the move from whiffing opponents in the center.
  
• Team-up Forward Strong back hitbox now carries opponents into the front hitboxes.
  
• If a projectile is destroyed while being bashed, Ori will now be launched upward instead of going into special fall.
  
• Charged Flame will no longer hit Ori when parried near them.
  

• Neutral Special endlag scales from 18 to 12 based on how many needles were thrown. Endlag was previously 12 for aerial needle and 18 for grounded needle.
  
• Getting hit during Neutral Special now causes Ranno to lose all needle charges.
  

• Forward Tilt endlag increased from 12 to 15 (18 > 23 on whiff).
  
• Dash Attack endlag increased from 13 to 16 (20 > 24 on whiff).
  
• Down Special will no longer create a plasma field if the counter attack is parried.
  

• Tail removed from hurtboxes (except during the active frames of Forward Tilt).
  
• Solo Up Air2 base knockback decreased from 9 to 8.
  
• Forward Tilt startup increased from 5 to 7.
  
• Forward Tilt projectile now comes out 2 frames later so that trading with Forward Tilt will always prevent the projectile from spawning.
  
• Up Tilt startup decreased from 8 to 6.
  
• The first hit of Down Tilt (both hitboxes) now has 4 extra frames of hitpause for the opponent, making it link reliably in most cases.
  
• Down Special will stop spreading if Sylvanos is hit.
  
• Holding taunt while emerging from Up Special now cancels Up Special into a taunt.
  
• Sylvanos no longer creates grass while rolling or tech rolling.
  
• Grass on cooldown will now be removed on death.
  
• Down Special will no longer hit Sylvanos when parried near him.
  
• Bug fix: Forward Tilt projectile hitbox height increased to match the visual.
  

• Once per airtime, hovering in the opposite direction of your horizontal momentum will give you a boost in the new direction (the same boost other characters get when they double jump). Going into hitstun resets this ability.
  
• Uncharged Forward Special knockback increased from [6 BKB .1 Scaling] to [7 BKB .2 Scaling].
  
• Uncharged Forward Special cooldown increased from 0 to 20.
  
• Charged Forward Special knockback scaling increased from .9 to 1.0.
  
• Charged Forward Special hitpause increased.
  
• Up Special will no longer hurt Elliana when parried near her.
  
• Elliana's mech now moves with moving platforms when left behind with Up Special.
  
• Down Special's mine now takes 100 frames to become active when stuck to a player, unless they're in parry stun.
  
• Up Special's mech now only explodes when it's overheated.
  When deployed, it will automatically build up heat. This change adds 30 frames of startup time if you have 0 heat built up, while keeping the startup the same if you're overheated.