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Rivals of Aether II

 
Patch 1.2.4 Notes & Food Fight Event LIVEJun 3, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsFOOOOOOOOOOOOOD FIGHT! We're heading somewhere delicious with the new June event. This month’s update comes with a lot of sweet & savory treats that we can’t wait to serve you. Get ready for a feast as we detail the June cosmetics and general updates below. Keen observers may notice that there aren’t any balance changes this time around. This is something we wanted to address as we’ve heard plenty of feedback regarding patch frequency. Our next helping of balance changes coming in our Mid June patch are quite spicy indeed, with several major changes coming before our mid-summer events get into full swing. Food Fight | June 2025 Event The Food Fight event is here! Our June event has BBQ Wrastor, Flavorburn Zetterburn, and Diner Maypul as the featured skins with new icons to match. Diner Maypul and Root Beer Orcane have new custom SFX, and BBQ Wrastor has custom SFX and taunt/victory lines! The new cosmetics are paired with 25,000 Aether Coins and 250 Aether Bucks. Our free track for June contains the Diner Maypul Emote, the Food Fight death effect, Food Fight platform, and the Root Beer Float Orcane skin and icon. Players equipping any event skins above, or the Chef Loxodont skin will receive 20% Bonus XP on the event track. There’s also a brand new Black Chef Loxodont palette in the in-game shop! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/2ef21c8d0f90628ed576fb324d00f43add6d4712.png CEO Soccer Kragg Palette {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/e0bac3810b19b04fedac0b865840f00aaf2be581.png CEO 2025 is our second LAN event of the Rivals 2 Championship Series! Rep the event and show your support with the brand new CEO themed palette for Soccer Kragg. If you buy the bundle but already own the base skin, you’ll receive an Aether Bucks refund to make it even just like with our other bundles. Keep an eye out for more circuit palettes in the future as summer events start coming in hot! This palette is FREE for all players attending CEO 2025. Make sure to mark your calendars for June 14th and 15th to catch the stream. Stay tuned for more details on when and where to watch as we get closer. Plushie Orcane Skin {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/831e5f80259587c80616d6a1a51615d6ea66fe28.png Introducing a cute and cuddly new skin line! For those of you familiar with our huggable real life plushies produced by our friends at Symbiote Studios, we’ve historically gifted a golden skin or special buddy in Rivals of Aether 1 to people that would purchase a stuffed Rival. Now, with Symbiote Studios beginning to release modern versions of the characters, we've crocheted up something all new for Rivals II. This squishy looking Orcane, and any future plush skins with their associated character plush, can be redeemed for FREE with codes included with our new plush line. The Rivals II Orcane plush, Plush Orcane skin, and a cute Orcane pin are available in a single package RIGHT NOW over at Symbiote Studio’s site. Ranked Shop Update Champion Kragg has been added to the Ranked Shop! This includes a skin,...Next Rival Revealed - AbsaMay 26, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsJust yesterday at Combo Breaker 2025 we revealed Absa as the next playable character for Rivals II! See the first look here in her official reveal trailer: Absa joins the roster this summer in our third FREE character update. Mark your calendars for the Storm Architect to return on July 1st. Introducing Absa's Voice Actress Mae Claire brings the storm! Please join us in welcoming Mae as the voice of Absa in Rivals 2! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/26fb75ebfcca635b7637d2fbf0ddec7e57fcaf69.png Rival Backstory Learn more about Absa's past: A brilliant mind who embodies both the calm before the storm and all of its fury. Absa was a little girl when the avian members of the Air Alliance splintered off to form the militant Air Armada. The Air Elders of the Archai Mountains taught detachment and nonaggression, keeping their people to the mountaintops. Absa, being a prodigy, developed the storm-summoning techniques that now enshroud Tempest Peak and protect the Air Alliance from all aggressors below. However, Absa secretly developed a version for personal use against the wishes of the Air Elders. She felt a dark presence lingering beneath the mountain. While powerful, she knew she would be no match for it, and she did not trust the idle Air Elders to act upon it. She then left the safety of Tempest Peak and the guidance of the Elders to seek out a new master - one who would open her eyes to new martial forms and more options to protect her homeland. But while Aether looked very small and manageable from on high, she will learn it’s a much bigger and more dangerous world than she imagined. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/30090ac7ba9b2ad306dc2560233dd0ad4fe8a38d.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/5a843d9edd8755e222dbc5731e44e24931dfed82.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/961b96bf2926c4e72d91ec2933cdf4f7a29b4817.png Keep up to date with more early looks at Absa before her release by following us on your preferred social media channels here. Hotfix Patchnotes 1.2.3.1May 21, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsGENERAL Babydash cooldown is now reapplied if you try to perform a babydash while it's on cooldown. Babydash cooldown is now reapplied if you perform a dash dance while the cooldown is already active. These changes prevent certain control schemes from bypassing the babydash cooldown, while keeping the functionality unchanged in most normal situations Babydash cooldown is now applied if you perform a backwards dash out of a pivot (i.e. Dash right, press left for 1 frame, then press right again to start a new dash) This action allowed players bypass the new 7 frame babydash cooldown without even starting a dash in the opposite direction MAYPUL Wrapped opponents will now have their ECB bottom frozen The addition of dynamic ECBs made it impossible to floorhug while wrapped, so we're fixing that by treating the ECB as grounded. Patch 1.2.3 Notes and May Mid-Month UpdateMay 20, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsWe talked to the weatherman and it seems that Spring is here to stay… at least for a little while longer. Our mid-month skin for May is the brand new, (earthy?) take on the Fire Prince, Dandelion Zetterburn. Full disclosure, we think maybe he saw the lion part of the word and signed up for the job without reading the full terms & conditions… BUT hey! He’s here and he looks GREAT so let’s see what he’s got! Dandelion Zetterburn | May Mid-Month Bundle See the Fire's Roar get flowery with the latest bundle that includes the Dandelion Zetterburn skin, emote, icon, and the Dandypoof Death Effect. Bundle also includes 25,000 coins and 250 Aether bucks. This Epic level skin also features brand new custom themed SFX and VFX, including a custom sound for Flame Puddle, custom Fiery Grass hits, and a custom win jingle. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/2be44447b9c766a5a35504f7de222a3a6a17789a.png Tune into Combo Breaker 2025 This Weekend The first LAN event of the Rivals 2 Championship Series is this weekend! Top talent featuring CakeAssault, Stango, BioBirb, and many more are competing for the crown in a massive 256 entrant event. The event will be playing on the previous patch, so today’s changes won’t affect competition last minute - remember, you can opt into the previous patch through Steam Betas if you want to get some last minute practice on 1.2.2.2. Check out the schedule below and catch the stream HERE. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/81075b07b817789ca7343657f1c9690597619f59.jpg Player Feedback Survey We’ve been listening to the playerbase diligently since the launch of Rivals II through Discord, Nolt boards, Reddit, Steam Forums, Blue Sky, X, YouTube, in person, and pretty much ANYWHERE else we could. Today we’re launching an in-depth player survey geared towards some more specific feedback from our community, and we need your help to get some answers! To access the survey and help shape the future of Rivals of Aether II, simply click the below image OR launch the game and select the survey in our main menu news section. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/8cc0ef555dba512ad10860feb541b86a869d8b73.png New Shop Items We’re adding three new palettes and seven new player icons to the shop this patch. These are a mix of common palettes and rare icons you can grab with coins or bucks: Purple Goliath Kragg palette Mint Cow Loxodont palette Yellow Cupid Fleet palette Birder Terry icon Springbound Zetterburn Icon Avatar icon Line - Avatar icons for Orcane, Zetterburn, Kragg, Wrastor, Zolt, and Pluffel from Creatures of Aether {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/e0dd8fc7ca9e124e9f9f576399cbf705b66de740.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/7c47e77c04b572e974cf9da060d5106aada1ffd4.png Balance Changes We don’t have a lot of balance changes for our mid-month patch, but we do have a few general changes, as well as a few bug fixes and quality of life adjustments. Note: We will now be specifying quality-of-life (QOL) changes in the patch notes to make it clearer to understand when a change is t...Hotfix Patch 1.2.2.2May 13, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsWe've pushed a few small hotfixes since May 6th to this patch primarily focused on performance and menus. Those changes are collectively as followed: Miscellaneous localization UI tweaks. Etalus HUD offset fixes. Extra players no longer show up briefly in match results. Fixed a crash when tabbing out in Training Mode. Fixed a bug that would prevent inputs from being processed after quitting out of a replay. Fixed purple husky Fleet's empowered bow color The Frame Advance button was added back to the Replay pause menu (1.2.2.1). Fixed a bug that allowed Maypul to cancel a failed pummel into an Up Special (1.2.2.1). Fixed a bug that prevented Olympia from performing Gem Dash if the Special input was buffered more than 2 frames ago with a neutral joystick (1.2.2.1). Fixed a bug that allowed Olympia to cancel a failed pummel into a Neutral Special (1.2.2.1). We have a few character specific changes for today's Hotfix Patch 1.2.2.2: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/32bd068213acedac4908c13fd97b375b6740b0c7.png Fixed a visual bug when spawning bubble with Down Special. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6ca77c1db1b870ae3d6ae4c094c4735d510fbcd1.png Bug fix: Wall cling will now be consumed if it is interrupted by any attack after 5 frames of clinging. Bug fix: Holding your joystick toward the wall while using Tap Walljump will no longer initiate a walljump if your wall cling resource has been consumed. Non-Special attacks that can cancel into Tether can now only do so in the first 3 frames. This prevents accidental tethers, especially when using the alternate Special+Grab and Special+Strong inputs. Previously, attacks could cancel into Tether a maximum of 8 frames into their startup window. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/b7fb1c812dce9b653b7cb646654ecf8a1832c310.png Neutral Special's gem projectile will now go into the Broken state when trading with another projectile instead of being instantly destroyed. This bug allowed Olympia to throw another projectile instantly. Non-Special attacks that can cancel into Gem Dash can now only do so in the first 3 frames. This prevents accidental Gem Dashes, especially when using the alternate Special+Grab and Special+Strong inputs. Previously, attacks could cancel into Gem Dash a maximum of 11 frames into their startup window. Patch 1.2.2 Notes and Springbound Event LiveMay 6, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsYou know what they say - April showers bring May flowers, and as it turns out, they’re being tended by Loxodont this patch! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/ef7ffff8f52998da1c2ef5809c5631bf7248bc8a.png Springbound | May 2025 Event The Springbound event is here! Our May event has Rainy Day Clairen, Birder Maypul skins, and Gardener Loxodont as the featured skins with adorable clay art icons to match. Gardener Loxodont comes with custom victory and taunt lines, while Rainy Day Clairen has a new victory line. The new cosmetics are paired with 25,000 Aether Coins and 250 Aether Bucks. Our free track for May contains the Rainy Day Clairen Emote, the Springsplosion death effect, Spring Egg platform, and the Easter Egg Kragg skin and icon. Players equipping any event skins above, or the Honey Etalus, Bee Kragg, or Ladybug Kragg skins will receive 20% Bonus XP on the event track. There are also brand new Honey Etalus, Treefrog Ranno, Blue Tang Orcane, Doberman Forsburn, and Husky Fleet palettes, plus plenty of new icons in the in-game shop! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/3d32c2253b78a14618abb46d0568624cf6b3d4b0.png Combo Breaker Zetterburn Palette {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/abba199478f3c7215d270733b5399e5328e4f813.png Combo Breaker 2025 is our first LAN event of the Rivals 2 Championship Series! Rep the event and show your support with the brand new Combo Breaker color themed palette for Lovers Zetterburn. If you buy the bundle but already own the base skin, you’ll receive an Aether Bucks refund to make it even just like with our other bundles. Keep an eye out for more circuit palettes in the future as summer events start coming in hot! This palette is FREE for all players attending Combo Breaker. Ranked Shop Update Champion Wrastor has been added to the Ranked Shop! This includes a skin, two emotes, and two icons for everyone’s favorite bird. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/007a8f130674aa6fd9d77987058187bbacd6df7d.png Lobbies and UI We’ve got a bunch of lobby updates and improvements in this patch for players to help things run a bit more smoothly. Training Mode Menu has been updated with Input Recording and Playback! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/0ed6f2f4810920ece1c7461f2ffbd13a5a856ca9.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/ace14316222ffa13786dccba5782ac1575564304.png The Rock, Paper, Scissors screen has been completely revamped! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/82893b7637a921554a4b2c7319efd843e6d146d7.png The stage striking UI has been updated! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/9ff17620a74802a5f5a8f58e0df034250c66a0a6.png The Pause menu has been given a brand new look! The critical Hit effect has been given a visual upgrade. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/14119bf64a3ffb92c20b42d6054591e9cdd8b1b6.png Localization Localization has been added for the following languages: German, Spanish (LATAM), Spanish (ES), Portuguese (Brazilian), Japanese, French. Balance Changes This time around we've got a hefty amount of changes coming to the game, so let's dive in! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6fd...1.2.1.2 + 1.2.1.3 Hotfix NotesApr 25, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsHey everyone! We have a new Hotfix out today and are posting the notes for a tiny one posted on 4/18/25 as well. Hotfix 1.2.1.2 (4/18/25) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6fd9f9202f25816abe013a2383ac93093237b78f.png Dying during the end of an Arcade Mode match will no longer preserve your damage after taking your stock. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/b7fb1c812dce9b653b7cb646654ecf8a1832c310.png Bug Fix: She can no longer stop her Neutral Special gem after it gets parried Hotfix 1.2.1.3 (4/25/25) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6fd9f9202f25816abe013a2383ac93093237b78f.png Fixed a bug that would allow floorhugging aerial non-tumble spikes if you landed on the first frame Fixed a bug that prevented instant wall techs in very specific situations (i.e. Zetterburn could not instant wall tech on Fire Capital). Training mode CPUs will no longer always tech in place when the tech option is set to Random. Hotfix Patch 1.2.1.1 NotesApr 17, 2025 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6fd9f9202f25816abe013a2383ac93093237b78f.png Fixed a bug that caused characters to slide further horizontally when spiked diagonally while grounded. Inputs that carry over through hitpause will now use the entire 6 frame buffer when the input starts being tracked. This fixes the Zetterburn tap jump Neutral Special change that was added last patch, while also making Loxodont Forward Tilt part 2 and Etalus Dash Attack jump cancel more lenient to input. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/23dc9abcf3c0ec54b2a05561690db80b97d24479.png Adjusted Neutral Air's Environmental Collision Box (ECB) so that he can hitfall the move without the 2nd hit coming out again. Adjusted Up Special's ECB when teleporting into smoke so that he ends up grounded if the smoke is near the ground again. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/b7fb1c812dce9b653b7cb646654ecf8a1832c310.png Up Special can no longer fall until after the final active window. This prevents Olympia from falling after bonking her head on Kragg's rock while rising with Up Special. Patch 1.2.1 NotesApr 15, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsHere's what's new in patch 1.2.1: Badger Co. Bundle Badger Co. Olympia comes out today in our latest midmonth bundle. This includes the Badger Co. Olympia skin, emote, icon, and the Deconstruction Death Effect (+ coins and bucks). This skin also includes unique voiceover lines for her taunt and victory sequence. This skin was originally revealed live during the Twitch Rivals (of Aether II) Team Battle event. Check out the VoD to catch 4 teams of creators led by Rivals pros battle for the crown. A Little Main Menu UI Update The Main Menu now shows your most recent platform used in tandem with character and skin. This actually snuck into a recent Hotfix but we wanted to make sure it got listed in the official notes too. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/7d2650597c745c96751a3cefa2c5b64d5d4b0f78.png Gameplay and Balance Updates {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6fd9f9202f25816abe013a2383ac93093237b78f.png We recently added dynamic Environmental Collision Boxes (ECB) to the game, which allows characters to behave more naturally when interacting near objects and the ground. While we initially did a lot of testing, we knew the change was too broad to catch everything off the bat. A decent amount of the changes to general mechanics and characters this patch involve corrections related to the ECB changes. Beyond the ECB fixes, we have some changes to chaingrab protection, a few changes related to landing interactions, and a few character updates. Chaingrab protection will now last for an extra 5 frames after being disabled, unless you start an attack. This allows you to start an action without instantly making yourself vulnerable to chaingrabs. This is especially useful when landing before getting grabbed again, since doing nothing will leave you in the Hitstun Land state longer than if you cancel it into another action (Kragg Down Throw often forces this interaction). You can now land while rising near the peak of your trajectory arc. This prevents situations where you could pass through the ground if your Environmental Collision Box (ECB) bottom collided with a platform while you were still rising and then never went above the platform again. Fixed a bug that would cause characters to fall through platforms when they end up right above a platform while falling as their ECB gets taller. ECB bottom can no longer go lower than the character's origin. This prevents players from falling through platforms if their ECB bottom unfreezes on a frame where it was below the character's origin. Landing while in non-tumble hitstun will now give a maximum of 8 frames of Hitstun Land. This makes it less punishing when landing after weak/medium hits. This does not apply when you are spiked into the ground (i.e. Orcane Dair) and will mostly only affect extremely low angle moves (i.e. Zetterburn Neutral Special or Loxodont Forward Tilt hit 1). Bug fix: Non-tumble spikes on aerial opponents will no longer reduce their hitstun by half. There were a lot of cases where opponents right ab...Hotfix Patch 1.2.0.5Apr 8, 2025 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/bf59dd6daa97eb4e6f6e1ade8bd25c780cbea319.png Zetterburn can now cancel his Down Special with the Grab/Parry buttons if the Air Grab/Parry Setting is set to Airdodge. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/b7dd14ccb8acd3afd8f6b31257553bb3d9213766.png Can now cancel his Neutral Special rock pickup with the Grab/Parry buttons if the Air Grab/Parry Setting is set to Airdodge. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/9f39c5bd5061caa1c4e3f06e0739027a7e68dba7.png Up Special ledge grab box lower edge raised 15cm. This prevents it from reaching lower than his ECB bottom, which allowed him to grab ledge when landing on stage. Up Special will now cancel if the Shield button is down at any point during the startup instead of needing to be held down on the teleport frame. Orcane can now cancel his Up Special with the Grab/Parry buttons if the Air Grab/Parry Setting is set to Airdodge. Canceling Forward Strong into Up/Down Strong during the first 2 frames will no longer get rid of his puddle-empowerment. Hotfix Patch 1.2.0.4 NotesApr 7, 2025 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6fd9f9202f25816abe013a2383ac93093237b78f.png Fixed a bug that would allow a non-timed floorhug if the character had just landed in non-tumble hitstun. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/b7dd14ccb8acd3afd8f6b31257553bb3d9213766.png Hitting pillar now requires the player's Environmental Collision Box (ECB) bottom to be 20cm below the top of the pillar. Previously, they could hit it as long as they were below the top of the pillar at all. This caused Kragg to break his own pillar when rolling off of it with Forward Special. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/b7fb1c812dce9b653b7cb646654ecf8a1832c310.png Fixed a bug that allowed her to cancel her Down Special more than once per airtime when using the new double tap cancel method. Hotfix Patch 1.2.0.2Apr 4, 2025 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6fd9f9202f25816abe013a2383ac93093237b78f.png Fixed a bug that would cause characters to teleport to the edge of the stage when performing certain actions near a ledge while touching a wall. Fixed a bug that would cause characters to teleport in weird directions when their Environmental Collision Box (ECB) was reactivated inside of a wall while near another solid object, such as Kragg's pillar. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/0d3c62f8c7d9f5d3289603c61f20645fe6ffe841.png Down Throw will now freeze his ECB bottom for longer, preventing him from landing on platforms above him. This makes it behave essentially the same as it did pre-patch. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/9f39c5bd5061caa1c4e3f06e0739027a7e68dba7.png Up Throw will now freeze the opponent's ECB bottom, preventing them from landing on platforms above him before the bubbles can hit them in most cases. This makes it behave essentially the same as it did pre-patch. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/b7fb1c812dce9b653b7cb646654ecf8a1832c310.png Bug fix: Pressing Taunt 2 will now perform the correct taunt when it is unlocked. Olympia can now cancel Down Special by double tapping the joystick horizontally. Hotfix Patch 1.2.0.1Apr 3, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsWe hope everyone is enjoying our big patch from yesterday! We have some hotfixes this morning that have been pushed live to improve the experience. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6fd9f9202f25816abe013a2383ac93093237b78f.png Airdodging will now unfreeze your ECB bottom. This prevents odd collision quirks when trying to ledgedash. Bug fix: Bot Match will no longer place you in doubles-only stage variants. Fixed a bug that would soft lock the game in the Beginner Defense tutorial if Orby shot a projectile into the blastzones. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/75dae4161d00c91e0abc8d6daa9fce66ac839b0c.png Missing from previous patch notes: Forward Strong's late hit is now auto-floorhuggable. This makes it consistent with other weak projectiles, like Zetterburn fireball, Ranno darts, Wrastor slipstream, and Orcane droplet. Bug fix: Pressing jump frame-perfectly at the peak of a jump will no longer cause Fleet to slow fall instead of double jump. Removed the new voice line on Forward Special. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6ca77c1db1b870ae3d6ae4c094c4735d510fbcd1.png Bug fix: Down Air's root is no longer breakable This was an unintended side effect of making it breakable by Clairen's plasma field. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/b7fb1c812dce9b653b7cb646654ecf8a1832c310.png Neutral Special's projectile is now auto-floorhuggable This makes it consistent with other weak projectiles, like Zetterburn fireball, Ranno darts, Wrastor slipstream, and Orcane droplet. Bug fix: Olympia can now grab her gem field with Forward Special when Team Attack is turned off in Doubles. Bug fix: Crystalized opponents can no longer tech the ground if they land on the same frame the crystalized state ends. Bug fix: You can now get Olympia's "Double Terminated" achievement by using Special Pummel against a crystalized opponent. The Olympia Update - Patch 1.2.0Apr 2, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsBuckle up because we’ve got a huge update in store for you today! New Rival - Olympia, The Amethyst Fist Our biggest update since launch includes our latest free character - Olympia, The Amethyst Fist. Olympia is tiny, tough, and doesn’t pull her punches. If you’re looking for a close-range fighter that comes out on top during a scrap - give her a shot. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/eef045aaa1d9548a814d8337b1d5f76d2fdfba96.png In case you missed it, check out her official reveal trailer here. If you’d like some extra practice before jumping on ranked with Olympia make sure to: Watch Olympia’s 101 tutorial by MSB. Hop into her new arcade mode, and/or try her Target trial! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/f8972bd7ee8d050a6491dd32e365a6bbb8eb1cbd.png Lovers Homecoming Event April Fools’ Day has a special place in our hearts. In case you missed our completely normal presentation yesterday, you can see our Rivals Micro Direct here. During our longstanding tradition of sharing (mostly) real news, we revealed the in-game event for April is Lovers Homecoming! Take a break from fighting because class is back in session! Reunite with some of your favorite classmates and collect new Lovers-inspired cosmetics from 4/2 to 5/6. Each Lovers skin also has both custom victory and taunt voice lines. All Lovers skins provide an XP bonus for the free event track, including the Lovers Zetterburn skin previously available. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/7200000986c1c5f3a657a6baca88dfa476c8521b.png Ranked Revamp: Full Ranked Mode Season 1 Today we are moving from the “Ranked Lite” system we had in place at launch into Full Ranked Mode. Season 1 starts now and includes some of the original features we envisioned for ranked before launch. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/63fec7f1e4a58623a10af4b56ca033bd1b265965.png The biggest features coming with this update are Ranked Rewards and the Ranked Shop. You can earn medals by playing Ranked matches and moving up the ladder. Spend these medals to get exclusive skins, icons and emotes and we’ll keep adding more items throughout the year. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/60bfda9a1b688ece9d17c4f9fa7350e22926ba28.png The new Ranked mode also features an overhauled leaderboard and seasonal updates. We’re planning to do a soft reset every 3 months as a new ranked season starts. When you finish your placement matches, you’ll earn a bunch of medals for new rewards so there’s tons of reasons to come back each season. A New Look for an Old Battlefield - Crystal Oasis Stage Skin Introducing Stage Skins! These give stages a whole new look, and this one turns the Rock Wall into Crystal Oasis, Olympia’s home stage! You can pick up the fresh look for Aether Bucks, coins, or in a new bundle. New stages (as in new layouts) are still on our roadmap, but our goal is to keep the competitive stage list at 10 stages and swap less popular layouts out of rotation. You could also see any of the stage skins that we release including Crystal Oasis as a new stage layout in ...Rivals Micro Direct Wrap UpApr 1, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsTHAT'S A WRAP. The Rivals Micro Direct is now in the history books. Thanks for tuning in for our silly April Fools' tradition. We have a long and storied past of presenting (mostly) real news from Aether Studios in absolutely ridiculous formats every April 1st. In case you missed the livestream, here's a breakdown of everything we went over: The Rivals Micro Direct First off, if you want to see the whole direct in it's glorious true form, here's the entire thing as one video. Join Clairen, Wrastor, Zetterburn, Ranno, Olympia, and more as they give their final presentations for Aethernomics in a short return to Aether University. Warning: Spoilers ahead once you skip past this part. Lovers Homecoming Event Trailer The first project presented to the class was our teaser trailer for the April monthly event! Take a break from fighting, because class is almost back in session. Reunite with some of your favorite classmates and collect new Lovers-inspired cosmetics starting tomorrow from 4/2 to 5/6. Elaborate Ding Dong Tree lore not included. New Feature: Separated Ranked Mode Getting your brain split in half sounds like a bad idea until you realize you weren't using most of it anyway. Check out our latest educational video on a *barely* invasive surgery we recommend for getting the most out of ranked mode in your favorite online game. All of the announcements in this Direct are real except for one. We won't tell you which one. Animation VERSUS Crossover Icon Our friends with Animation VERSUS are working on a new fighting game featuring your favorite stick figure characters from animator Alan Becker! If you're a fan, you can get a crossover icon in Rivals 2 for supporting their project: Dev Update: What's Up and What's Next Here's one with some real substance. Let's talk about how things have gone and where we're headed in our latest roadmap update. Join studio lead Dan Fornace for a dev update looking at Rivals of Aether II now that it's been 5 months since launch. Dreams of Aether SURPRISE - Dreams of Aether, a new game in the Aetherverse, is available for FREE for 24 hours to celebrate April Fools! Dive into tons of Aether-flavored microgames, where everyone is trapped in a never-ending nightmare! This game is led by our friend Giik and his team at Lepioid with music by flashygoodness and RESOFORCE. Punch, Flap, and Swing your way through the dubiously-canon story, and see how far you can get in endless modes! THIS IS A REAL GAME YOU CAN GET ON STEAM RIGHT NOW, CHECK IT OUT HERE. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3463050/Dreams_of_Aether/ This project was a ton of fun to make, and we can't wait for the very real HUGE free update tomorrow for Rivals II. In the mean time, make sure to check out Dreams of Aether and don't fall for too many April Fools' pranks!Patch 1.1.5 - Pirate Maypul Donation BundleMar 18, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsAvast friends, rest a spell! Have you ever heard of the Pirate Queen Maypul? Legend has it she's terrorizing the high seas with her seedy crew. Turns out she's looking for a new first mate to aid in her conquest, do you have what it takes? New Mid-Month Bundle: Pirate Maypul Maypul and her plant companions Lily, Terry, and Poppy are all decked out in swashbuckling gear and ready to send your opponents to Davy Jones' locker. This month we're also partnering with Snail's House ferret rescue! 25% of profits from the Pirate Maypul bundle from 3/18-4/15 will be donated to the rescue. Pirate Software operates the rescue out of Washington State, caring for animals brought in from all over the country. The rescue specifically seeks out animals that have dire medical needs, are victims of abuse or neglect, or cannot otherwise be taken care of by their owners. Please click HERE if you are interested in learning more about the foundation, and please do yourself a favor and click here for a 24 hour Twitch live feed of the ferrets. After the first month donation period ends, this bundle will be become purchasable with Aether Bucks as usual. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/6fd9f9202f25816abe013a2383ac93093237b78f.png Fixed a bug that prevented players from progressing stages in Arcade Mode in certain scenarios. Airdodge rounding angle: 20 > 12 The change from 1.1.4 made to held with wavedash and waveland rounding had some adverse effects on certain box configurations. The new values should achieve the same goal as 1.1.4, while working better for the aforementioned box configurations. Audio Updates Last patch we made broad changes to all character hits to make them sound more clear and balanced. We're pretty happy with the overall direction and have made a few extra adjustments in the patch. We have also adjusted specific characters that were affected negatively by the previous changes. Hit Changes: Hits now cut better through the mix, so we slightly lowered their volume. A few hit types got some extra attention in the mix (characters most affected were Zetterburn, Ranno, Forsburn and Clairen). Some multi-hit attacks now sound snappier (ex: Clairen's Up Special). Character Specific Audio Changes: Maypul now has a custom vine wrap sound for seeded enemies. Terry now has a sound when he goes back into the ground. Other Changes and Notes: There is a new critical hit (purple screen) SFX in the game. This was a heavily requested change that we are excited to add. The new Pirate Maypul skin has the biggest number of custom SFX to date, both with layered sounds and completely new ones. Hotfix Patch 1.1.4.1Mar 5, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsWe have a few changes following yesterday's big patch. This hotfix is primarily bug fixes, with one change from 1.1.4 reverted, and a new skin palette added to the shop. Fixed a bug that would cause the camera to behave oddly in ultrawide resolutions after certain characters' victory animations. The pause menu will no longer automatically open in an uninteractable state when viewing a replay Midnight Abyss Clairen added to the shop. Reverted: "Medium hitstun will no longer force the player to face the opponent." This caused some inward-sending moves, such as Forsburn Forward/Up Strong and Loxodont Forward Tilt, to turn opponents around, which was worse than the original problem this change was intended to solve. Bug fix: All cooldowns are now reset upon death. Bug fix: Fixed a few Fleet voice lines. Patch 1.1.4 Notes and Aether Legends Event LiveMar 4, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsAether Legends Event The Aether Legends in-game event is live and runs from 3/4 - 4/2! Earn iconic cosmetics tied to the legends and history of Aether by progressing the free event track, or grab the Legends bundle in the shop for a pack of storied skins, icons, coins, and bucks! The paid bundle includes Ranger Fleet, Demigod Orcane, and Dark Future Loxodont as the featured skins with associated icons to match. The Demigod Orcane and Dark Future Loxodont skins both feature custom Voice and sound effects when equipped. Check out the event trailer below: Our free track for March contains the Dark Future Loxodont Emote, the Four Legend death effect, the Ranger platform, and the Smoke Clan Forsburn skin and Smoke Clan Forsburn icon. Players equipping any of the new event skins, any Abyss skin, or Ranger Clairen will receive 20% Bonus XP on the event track. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/7ee9ece31fd65c19b8e3757688b10b63ca629d1e.png Training Mode Updates Phase 1 Training Mode is getting some new features! While this is only the first phase of improvements, we have been taking feedback from the community via our Nolt Board. Thank you to everyone that has left constructive feedback regarding training mode, we plan to continue implementing your feedback as development continues. Here is a list of new options added in today’s update: Set player percent Grab option (action when cpu grabs you) Ledge option Counter option air (air dodge or do an attack on the first actionable frame in the air) Counter delay (delay counter action by a number of frames) Floorhug Throw option Pummel option {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/2caeb5817e69159e3146f595180320c08aee9395.jpg Character Art Update Etalus’ character model has been given a visual upgrade to really show off his scruffy fur. This update is being applied to every skin except for Honey Etalus. Check it out: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/df1b1abf1e6161ce9c074e270ec5f947265c17fc.png Audio Updates We have some audio updates addressing feedback from community members and a fix for a Stereo audio bug that appeared in a recent patch. There is a new sound for Perfect Shielding an attack making it easier to distinguish in-game. Victory Sequence Audio has been improved for all characters! Game default volume adjusted to make the slider more usable. The top end of the slider was too loud overall. This adjustment may make the game sound quiet, since the settings will still be set to the same number, so be sure to go in and adjust your audio settings as you see fit! Bug Fix: Definitively fixed a bug with Stereo audio. This was an elusive fix that took a few patches to get right. Now we are happy to have a true fix in the game coupled with extra adjustments to make it sound even better than before! A New Ranked Season is on the Way! We’re excited to announce the conclusion of “Ranked Lite” is coming soon, with a reset and a brand new system and season on the way. Fear not, the end is not here, only near! We have added a neat little in...Next Character Revealed - OlympiaFeb 19, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsLast weekend at Genesis X2 we revealed that Olympia will be the next playable character for Rivals II! See the first look here in her official reveal trailer: Olympia joins the roster in our second FREE character update later this Spring. The Amethyst Fist returns on April 2nd. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/827693569c9e048281279ea7c87e43a90f7e87c7.png ^The crowd seeing the reveal live at GX2. Olympia is a traveling fighter from the secluded Crystal Oasis. Hidden from the world, Olympia and her people trained diligently to master their control over crystals and gemstones. While she searches for clues on her personal mission, guided by ancient knowledge, she tackles each adversary and obstacle with legendary gemstone power. Her wanderlust has led her eastward where she became a student under Hodan, as shown in her reveal trailer above. Olympia's Voice Actress Olympia has always had a warrior spirit tempered with focus and discipline. Now, her voice carries that same resolve. Please welcome Chloe Taylor as the voice of Olympia in Rivals 2! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/b61ce8cf193c2d2349faf101216572a2194d97a3.png Keep up to date with more looks at Olympia before her release by following us on your favorite social media channels here. Patch 1.1.3 Notes: Post-Genesis UpdatesFeb 18, 2025 - Community AnnouncementsOur mid-month patch for February promises to be a doozy. We have new game modes, a new skin bundle, new palettes per popular request, a healthy serving of balance adjustments, and more! Let’s dive into the new features first, then those of you hungry for data can get all the numbers in the following section. Tailslide Wrastor The most radical version of Wrastor debuts today - check out his trailer below! This skin is a throwback to one of our favorites from Rivals 1. New 'Trials' Game Modes We've added some new trial training exercises, including making Target Test its own mode per popular request! You can replay these as many times you want, so be sure to hone your skills and maybe even aim for a high score. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/2b6ed5acd78d0994f91677a0a2e42b4c81db9929.png Three trials have been added: Target Test - Break the targets as quickly as you can. Now a standalone mode outside of the Arcade mode. Edgeguard Training - Practice edgeguarding with rapidfire scenarios. Adjust the difficulty with CPU levels. Eye Break - Defeat abyssal watcher eyes on the stage of your choice. You have 1 minute to break as many as you can! White Tiger Skins New white versions of the tiger palettes are now available in the buck/coin shop by popular demand! This includes White Tiger Zetterburn, Clairen, and Etalus. We’ve also added a White Genesis Orcane palette as an homage to a classic Rivals of Aether skin. You can pick up this palette if you own Genesis Orcane - which can be purchased to support the Genesis prize pool here. Other Features 3D Skin Preview now added to the store. Players can now fully view a skin before purchasing it! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43889344/87b9d85c5460325ddfeb6be68024c7355116d38e.gif Offline skin support - Skins that players own can now be selected when offline. This feature has been in the pipeline for a while, and was not an easy task since the items are distributed via our servers. Now local players everywhere can enjoy their favorite skins at any time! Abyss Medal Difficulty Adjusted - In Arcade Mode, obtaining Abyss Medal on Medium or Hard Difficulty grants you the Abyssal Palette. Previously, this palette was only obtainable in Hard Difficulty. Players who already meet the new requirement will automatically obtain the palette after logging in! New Wrastor Voice Lines & SFX Wrastor was one of our earliest recorded characters, so we took the opportunity to go back and fill in the gaps on some lines he was missing. We also recorded custom audio featured in his new Tailslide skin. Newly recorded voice lines for the successful parry action for the following characters - Etalus, Forsburn, Kragg, and Wrastor. Balance and Gameplay Changes These changes have been in the works for a bit, however, we wanted to hold off on these until Genesis had passed to ensure competitors had ample time to prepare for the big stage. In addition to containing balance changes to nine Rivals, Patch 1.1.3 notably reworks hurtbox locations, adds accelerat...

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