Two days ago we unveiled our brand new Buddy System. Unlike the typical buddy system that’s supposed to prevent you from drowning in a lake or whatever, ours lets you bring small creatures from Aether into action-packed battles! These buddies will primarily be used to support Rivals players and events throughout the 2019 competitive season.

Read on for a little more information about them as well as some additional bugfixes we’ve fit in with patch 1.4.7.



Buddies are now available in-game, with the first being the adorable Frostbear Cub. This new feature lets you choose creatures from Aether and beyond as companions during local and online matches. Buddies are cosmetic additions similar to skins in that they don’t affect gameplay, but instead each bring their own personality as they tag along.

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

Another thing to mention about most buddies (one of the best things in fact) is that funds raised go towards supporting Rivals players and events. More are planned for release throughout the year, so make sure to let us know in the comments which buddies you’d like to see.



You can pick and choose your buddies on the character select screen. They even have their own taunts. You can also optionally disable them online in the "stats and options" online menu.

A new Genesis 6 color palette has been added as the latest seasonal skins for all characters. Genesis 6, our Championship Series World Finals event, begins in just about 2 weeks.

Rep the event and make sure to tune in for the stream on ShowDown and VGBootCamp. Full viewing schedule to be announced soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC4H_G4oyH4

• The purple kill effect now functions correctly when below any stage floor.
  
• Etalus’ Down Special will no longer create the purple kill effect when freezing an opponent.
  
• Ori & Sein’s Down Special now ignores Eid (the guy in the window on Tower of Heaven).
  
• Sylvanos’ Upward-angled Bair now maintains grass the same as the other angles.
  
• Elliana’s steam can no longer create the purple kill effect.

The Rivals Championship Series finals are approaching fast at Genesis 6! Tune in from Frebruary 1st - 3rd to see the best players from around the world go head to head over 3 days of competition. With the title of the Season 3 Champion and over $12,000 on the line, this event is a must see for Rivals fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC4H_G4oyH4

If you'd like to join these players (and many more) there's still time to sign up. Register or find out more about the event at https://smash.gg/G6

We are still hard at work on netcode and matchmaking changes but before we can release those, we wanted to give players a chance to experience our new Ranked Mode updates. We have reworked the progression and rewards and are excited for players to progress! We also have some balance changes targeting our three newest characters who came out earlier this year.

• We have replaced Ranked Score as the main progression in Ranked Mode with a Ranked Tier system. There are 6 Ranked Tiers which each have 5 Ranked Levels inside their Tiers.
• Players progress through the levels by earning Stars. Each star that you earn progresses you higher into the Ranked Level. You'll need 5 Stars to complete a Ranked Level such as going from Bronze 5 to Bronze 4.

• There are three different ways to earn stars:
  
  • Winning: Each set win gives you one star.
  • Win Streaks: While on a win streak of 3 or more, you earn 1 extra star. While on a win streak of 5 or more, you earn 2 extra stars.
  • Tier Difference: If you play an opponent who is a higher tier than you, you'll earn 1 star for each tier they are above you.
• Each Tier has its own rules and rewards:
  
  • Bronze Tier:
    • Rules: You cannot lose stars.
    • Matchmaking: Bronze, Silver, Gold
    • Rewards: Player Icon
  • Silver Tier:
    • Rules: You cannot lose stars.
    • Matchmaking: Bronze, Silver, Gold
    • Rewards: Player Icon, Tier Border
  • Gold Tier:
    • Rules: You cannot lose a star to drop a Ranked Level.
      (ex. from Gold 3 to Gold 4)
    • Matchmaking: Bronze, Silver, Gold
    • Rewards: Player Icon, Tier Border, Ranked Color Palette
  •  Platinum Tier:
    • Rules: You cannot drop below Platinum 5.
    • Matchmaking: Platinum, Diamond, Master
    • Rewards: Player Icon, Tier Border, To be Decided
  • Diamond Tier:
    • Rules: You cannot drop below Diamond 5.
    • Matchmaking: Platinum, Diamond, Master
    • Rewards: Player Icon, Tier Border, To be Decided
  • Master Tier:
    • Rules: Your Master Score is your position on the Ranked Leaderboard. You no longer win or lose stars.
    • Matchmaking: Platinum, Diamond, Master
    • Rewards: Player Icon, Tier Border, To be Decided

• Ranked Mode still uses Ranked Score (ELO) behind the scenes for every set even before reaching Master. This score is used to calculate your leaderboard position.
• We have lowered the Disconnect Rate punishment from 35% to 20% so players with high disconnect rates will have low Master positions.
• We now have a system to reset the Ranked Level and Ranked Score of repeat cheaters. Please report cheaters WITH their Steam Profile URL to contact@rivalsofaether.com and we'll investigate the reports.

• While playing Ranked Mode, you can level up your characters from 1-10 by playing Ranked Matches.
• Each win will earn you more experience than a loss but just playing a single match with that character will net you some experience!
• Here are our current plans for rewards:
  
  • Character Mastery Level 3: Character Emote Unlock.
  • Character Mastery Level 7: Character Emote Icon.
  • Character Mastery Level 10: To Be Decided

• Ranked and all the other online modes benefit from the introduction of a new Emote System.
• Players can now share pre-built messages with each other while matched in a game lobby. The messages vary from greetings to questions to small suggestions.
• If you progress your character mastery levels, you can unlock fun messages to send your opponent while matching your favorite character.
• Let us know on the subreddit or discord what kind of new Emotes you would like to see added to the game!

In concert with the ranked progression changes above, we're moving forward into the 4th season of Rivals ranked play. To make the start of this season even more exciting we’re announcing the return of a fan-favorite special event, the Rivals Rep Icon Contest, where you can help your favorite featured team get a skin in the game!

To find out more details on this community competition read the full post here.


Tis the season! Err... or at least close enough. Your Halloween colors have been replaced with festive Christmas skins. As always, these are usable in all game modes and can be accessed simply by rotating through your Rivals' colors on the character select screen.

• Landing no longer clears the right stick's buffer. Instead, it turns it into a normal 6 frame buffer instead of the 8 frame right stick buffer.
• Tilt stick will no longer allow you to cancel a jab into a backward tilt.
• Purple aether kill effect logic adjusted: now checks all even numbered DI angles (19 total) instead of just checking 7.
  
  • OLD:
    
    • check full DI in
    • check no DI
    • check full DI out
    • check 12 degrees in
    • check 12 degrees out
    • check 6 degrees in
    • check 6 degrees out
  • NEW:
    
    • do all old calculations
    • check remaining even numbered angles (12 different angles)

• Jumping during the hitpause of Nspecial will always buffer a jump after hitpause ends.
  (This is useful for jumping after hitting a pillar or activating the purple kill effect)
• Uspecial's final hitbox now has knockback staling: BKB starts at 7 and goes down to 5 (the current value) by the end of movement. This makes early hit Uspecial stronger.
• Dspecial's spike hitbox is no longer techable and forces a missed tech instead of bouncing the opponent off the ground.

• Standing on overlapping puddles will no longer cause Fspecial to fail to absorb the puddle.

• Hitting Ranno's bubble and Sylvanos' flower with Fspecial now only lets you jump cancel for the next 20 frames instead of indefinitely.

• Clone will no longer get locked out of exploding if his first explosion is interrupted (such as pillar breaking under him during the move's startup).

• Can no longer hit himself when throwing a rock with Uair.
• Can no longer fastfall while being hit during armored Uspecial.
• No longers gets the benefits of being on ice when standing under low, ice-covered platforms.

• Can no longer bash Lily when she's being despawned.
• Double jumping while trying to use Uspecial while it's unavailable will no longer cause Ori to superjump.

• Bubble knockback will no longer reverse for outward hitting moves if the attacking player is facing left.

Sylvanos is getting a minor rework where we looked at his entire kit and wanted to balance out some of his annoying tendencies and distribute power elsewhere. We reworked his final two jabs to make them more varied and to differentiate Jab Special more from Neutral Special. We also took a look at the Neutral Special Flower to open up some creativity in how Sylvanos players choose to use grass instead of just coating the bottom platform with grass as often as possible.

• 
  
  • Jab 1 range shortened.
  • Jab 3 replaced with large repeatable jabs.

• Jab special now spawns lower and travels a very short distance, allowing Sylvanos to place flowers on the ground underneath platforms. It will now also combo if the opponent DI's jab 2 inward.
• Ftilt projectile now deals no knockback ever.
• Ftilt startup: 7 > 5 (reverted to pre-1.4.0).
• Utilt startup: 6 > 8 (reverted to pre-1.4.0).
• Sylvanos no longer jumps upward during the startup of Utilt, making the move significantly better as an anti-air.
• Dstrong angle: 55 > 50.
• Uair solo hit2 removed.
• Uair 2 base knockback: 7 > 8.
• Uair 2 knockback scaling: .5 > .65.
• Nspecial multihit damage: 2 > 1 (total damage: 14 > 10).
• Can now have 3 flowers out (when 3 flowers are active, the oldest flower is colored differently from the other two).
• Flowers only grow a small area of grass instead of the full platform (they still prevent the whole platform's grass from dying when Sylvanos is away).
• Flowers now destroy the grass around them when they are hit.
• Flowers no longer have a single tile of grass missing.
• Grass no longer ages while Sylvanos is in hitpause from hitting an opponent.
• Jump cancelling Fspecial locks him out of airdodging for 10 frames.
• Uspecial's bite is now invincible until the hitbox comes out.
• Dspecial now has a visual to show the howl's range.
• Grass on the left edge of a platform will no longer die when using Dspecial.

Elliana is getting a couple buffs but she might have more in store down the road. She is a unique character with a meta that is still developing so we want to be careful when it comes to buffing and nerfing this hothead.

• Dash attack endlag: 18 > 16 (27 > 24 on whiff).
• Ftilt startup: 9 > 7.
• Fair hitbox size increased.
• Fspecial will no longer trigger the purple kill effect if the opponent is stuck.

Shovel Knight is FUN! Just like in his own game, the character is very fun to play as and against. The buffs we have for him are to make him more effective when he is playing well. By racking up damage a bit faster, he can start going for his unique kill options earlier.

• Jab/Nair damage: 5 > 6.
• Ftilt/Fair damage: 3 > 4.
• Utilt damage: 5 > 8.
• Utilt will no longer break Kragg's pillar after it loses its hitbox.
• Dair damage: 6 > 7 (normal hit) and 7 > 10 (spike hit).
• Dstrong strongest hit hitpause scaling: 0 > 1 (bug fix).
• Mobile Gear now gets destroyed at the bottom blastzone instead of slightly above it.
• Uspecial's spike hitbox is no longer techable and forces a missed tech instead of bouncing the opponent off the ground.
• Dstrong's spike hitboxes force a missed tech instead of bouncing the opponent off the ground.

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.

It’s true! Everyone’s favorite spade-swinging protagonist will be joining the Rivals cast this September! We could not be more excited to bring Shovel Knight to the game, and have been working like crazy to ensure that he not only lives up to the hype, but is true to the character you know and love.



In fact, we want to do something we’ve never done before, and take you on a little behind the scenes journey into the process of bringing Shovel Knight to life as a Rivals character. Rather than just describe the process, we want you to hear directly from the folks who made this all possible. So, we asked some of our awesome team to share their own experience in developing our latest guest character.

In this article, you’ll hear from:

Dan Fornace - Creator, Director, Designer
Trevor Youngblood - Programmer, Designer
Ellian - Pixel Artist, Animator
Marc Knelsen - Illustrator, Concept Artist


The answer here is, of course, “because he’s awesome!” However, Dan had a bit more insight on what makes the character an ideal choice as a guest character. To him, there were three main draws to Shovel Knight as a playable fighter:

• “His abilities are perfectly set up to be in a platform fighter considering he has a wide array of tools in his own platforming adventure.”
• “The global appeal of Shovel Knight is off the charts. He is likely the most recognizable Indie Game character in the last 10 years and we wanted to create a moveset that fans have been asking for.”
• “The development team at Yacht Club Games is awesome. After meeting them at a few events during Rivals of Aether’s development, I knew I wanted to collaborate with them somehow and a character is the ultimate collaboration.”

Of course, once the team chose to make Shovel Knight playable in Rivals, they had to actually, y’know, make him.

Making a guest character is a collaborative process. Since the team is borrowing a pre-existing character from a popular franchise, Shovel Knight’s original dev team needs to make sure that the soul of the character remains intact when translating him into a brand new genre.

Trevor said, “Shovel Knight’s shop mechanic came around after we tried two other designs first, and I think it’s by far the most interesting of the three.” That iterative process was important, because the team needed to find a way to make Shovel Knight fit within Rivals’ unique gameplay while still making fans of his original game feel as though they were playing the same character.

Dan explained that this was particularly difficult with Shovel Knight because he is essentially the “Mario” of his series. “He is the balanced, traditional character that balances against the rest of the Shovel Knight cast. That would be great if we were doing a roster of indie game characters where Shovel Knight could be one of the main mascots and have a traditional moveset. But because we wanted a character that stood out from the rest of the Rivals with a new mechanic, we had to come up with ideas that gave him a unique style while also pulling from Shovel Knight for inspiration”



This is where the Shop design came in. It retains the soul of Shovel Knight’s progression and access to a wide array of tools, while making him a completely unique character within the Rivals roster. Of course, Rivals is still a fighting game, and some items that are wonderful in a platformer could have been problematic when ported to a platform fighter.

“A lot of Shovel Knight’s relics are projectiles,” said Trevor, “which didn’t really fit our vision of him, since we didn’t want another projectile-focused zoner. The task became a lot easier when we started adding Custom Knight’s relics to his moveset. Some relics, however, would be extremely busted if we kept their original functionality, like the War Horn or the Phase Locket, so we took some liberties and tweaked their properties to fit Rivals better.”

While the character design team is busy playing with all of Shovel Knight’s moves, the art team has its own unique challenges. Someone unfamiliar with Rival’s art direction may think that Shovel Knight would be a simple character to translate to Rivals. After all, they’re both pixel art games!

Indeed, translating an existing character does speed up the concept process. The designers and artists can more easily communicate about how each move should look, because they have plenty of direct reference material from which to pull. However, Shovel Knight’s particular aesthetic presented the team with a new, but familiar challenge.

Ellian said, “it's the fact that he has armor that was the biggest challenge. As for Elliana, in pixel art it's really hard to animate "non-organic" elements while retaining the smooth animation style that characterizes Rivals. I just didn't want it to feel like those old retro games, where it's just different layered parts that moves independently. But I think we managed to avoid that without losing our style. The coolest part (and the hardest!) was being able to add Shield Knight as a summon parry. It might be the animation we spent the most time on, because we wanted her to be perfect!”



Throughout their interviews, the team could barely contain their excitement for Shovel Knight. So, we decided to just let them gush about their work for a bit.

Dan: I think the coolest aspect is probably the simplest. His Down Air is his Shovel Drop and that move just opens up so much more of his gameplay. Whether its bouncing off projectiles or using it with the Dynamo Mail to trigger Aerial Strong attacks, there is so much you can do with Shovel Drop in both Shovel Knight and Rivals of Aether.

Trevor: I was impressed by how many different references we were able to fit in. Almost every single move is pulled from something in Shovel Knight’s game (down tilt is the only one that isn’t a reference to anything). Also Shovel Drop is just an incredibly fun move that I’m glad we could port almost directly from Shovel Knight.

Ellian: My favorite aspect of doing Shovel Knight for Rivals is how DOPE it was to work on such an iconic character. I get to make my own take on it! That's wild! Yacht Club's main feedback was "just make sure it fits Rivals, that's the most important", and having such freedom was great.

Marc: I think the only thing I can say, on my side, is that it's been really fun to draw him “interacting” with the other Rivals characters, getting to explore reaction from both him and the other characters. And that obviously I feel honored to be involved in any way with such an iconic character, being someone who played Shovel Knight as soon as it came out on 3DS years ago and really enjoying the game.


We cannot wait for you to get your hands on Shovel Knight. To stay up to date on the latest news, make sure to join our Discord and follow us on Twitter. While you’re there, let us know what about Shovel Knight has you most excited!

Shovel Knight is joining the Rivals of Aether roster this fall! In a collaboration between Dan Fornace LLC and Yacht Club Games, Shovel Knight has been adapted to compete against the other Rivals. Shovel Knight will be available in September on Steam as a $4.99 DLC addition. It comes with the playable character Shovel Knight as well as the Troupple Pond stage from his game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4SFvmJ9NPE

Shovel Knight comes with a huge array of tools from his game and puts them all to use in Rivals of Aether. His attacks knock gems out of his opponents which he can collect to increase his treasure. By taunting, Shovel Knight can summon Chester and spend his treasure on upgrades. This allows players to customize each fight to their needs and experience even more of Shovel Knight's abilities.



We are incredibly excited to bring such a well-known and beloved character to Rivals of Aether. We are even more excited about the unique playstyle that he brings to the table. Many of his attacks seem simple on first glance but have intricacies in how you can use them, similar to his abilities in his own game. Shovel Knight's signature Shovel Drop is a big part of his game plan in Rivals of Aether and sets up for his combos.



While Shovel Knight is the last planned character addition to Rivals of Aether, the road does not end here. The team is gearing up for a Definitive Release in early 2019. This will come with all the characters, more online features, and Abyss Mode customizations for every character. We are very excited to be bringing the Definitive Edition to PC in 2019 and plan on bringing it to more platforms as well. Keep your eyes here to see where else you'll be able to grab Rivals of Aether in 2019!

Thank you for checking out Rivals of Aether. Let's get Shoveling!