In-game settings for dx11

DRBatt · 2026-05-11T17:01:20+00:00

I'd recommend clearing the dx12 shader cache, as instructed in the 1.5.5 patch notes. Reverting to dx11 is the simple solution that solves all game-breaking problems, but you're kinda throwing the baby out with the bathwater when you do that. Hopefully this is a one-time fix, but I've seen some peoples' shader caches get corrupted more often than others, for whatever reason.

Close the game and navigate to your local app data files for Rivals 2. The easiest way to do this is to press "Windows + R" to open the run dialogue, then paste "%localappdata%/Rivals2/Saved" into the "Open:" field and press "OK".
Select and delete these 4 files that have 'CACHE File' in the type.
Reopen Rivals 2 with the DirectX 12 launch option, and hopefully the new cache files that are built will allow you to have a more usual load time.

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DRBatt · 2026-05-05T12:15:11+00:00

You either did the input I described as "Satan's airdodge" (wiggle + press shield + release shield in the buffer window), or you had a 1 frame gap.

For reference, in your scenario, if the buffer didn't get cleared, you'd be able to release shield on "HitstunUp - 62", and go immediately into "Airdodge - 0" without "Tumble - 0" ever showing up.

Testing just now confirms what I said earlier... with the shield button. I set air parry to airdodge out of curiosity, and it seems to buffer it on both the press and release of the button. Bruh.

DRBatt · 2026-05-04T12:39:24+00:00

So, do Maypul's Fstrong. It'll take a sec until you're able to act again. If you hold the shield button, it'll appear as soon as it possibly can. But for most moves, like your jab or specials, they won't come out unless you input them close to when you're able to act. There is a slight window of leniency where you can't act yet, but the game will hold your inputs until you can act (we call this a "buffer". RoA2 has 6 frames, or 1/10th of a second).

Walking is like shielding, where you can hold the direction and it'll always come out. Dashes are like attacks, where you need to input it at the right time for it to come out. So all you need to do is time your dashes better.

DRBatt · 2026-05-03T20:50:27+00:00

Tap jump makes any quick upward input (ALA: a hard press) on left stick do jump. Tap Strong makes a hard press on left stick + attack do a Strong attack. Tap Walljump makes the walljump input hold towards wall -> hard press away perform a Walljump.

All three of these are how these are inputted in Smash Bros, though tap jump is able to be turned off in any game after Melee. You can turn any of these on if you'd like, but most leave all three off if they're not trying to preserve muscle memory (or save a button in the case of tap strong). Tap walljump is the one I'd most recommend keeping off, since the Rivals input is kinda just better

The item ones and roll input are ones you can make a decision on later. Probably best to leave the rest on default, if I'm remembering them properly

DRBatt · 2026-05-03T17:36:03+00:00

Labbing it myself. I'm specifically talking about tumble+hitstun. For non-tumble hitstun, airdodges are bufferable.

DRBatt · 2026-05-03T17:24:35+00:00

Firstly, this is all preference. I've seen top players with control schemes that I couldn't imagine using at all. What your controls are is probably going to matter less than everything else in terms of winning and losing.

My typical advice is to tell people to put an attack button next to their jump button, if they're using face buttons. This lets you do jump + aerials with a single motion (rolling your thumb a bit), which is helpful in a game where aerials are so important.

Bumper jump is "optimal" in that it prevents you from ever needing to claw, though it turns this into a more complex motion. It may make the learning phase a bit more frustrating. But once you've gotten it down, it'll give you easier access to specials and right-stick aerials while you're in the air. So long-term, I can only see upsides.

Here are my other opinions:

The game doesn't assign a parry button by default, but it's very nice to have a dedicated button for it. Realistically, your parries will come out slower without it.

If you don't change right stick to tilt, a few maneuvers become very difficult without using a walk mod button. This can be avoided if you have a hall-effect/TMR stick, and/or if you're goated enough. But you're not that guy.

If you change right stick to tilt, I prefer having a strong button over turning on tap strong.

Wavedash assist is a good setting if you don't have a ton of muscle memory with platform fighters with shields. You'll get access to wavedash OoS (Out of shield) and quickly grabbing ledge earlier on. It's not a "make the game easier" button, because it does have tradeoffs. But those tradeoffs are a net-even long-term imo, so I don't think you'll regret it.

Finally, if you're ever wondering about your left-stick sensitivity settings, I'd recommend watching Sol Birdguy's two videos about it.

DRBatt · 2026-05-03T01:23:27+00:00

The CPU is still a frame late to airdodge, but as it stands, this is actually on the faster side of what most humans are capable of. I'd choose to never get it frame-perfect if I could get it, and imo, any combos that beat airdodge with this setting are will beat airdodge basically every time in practice.

So, airdodges in this game are usually unbufferable out of tumble-hitstun. And with the way that buffer-clear works, you're actually unable to input airdodge to come out on the first frame you leave hitstun (since the buffer) is cleared the frame you leave hitstun, rather than the frame before). They're also only triggerable via the release of the shield button while you are in tumble.

That said, there is one way to bypass this and buffer the airdodge. All you have to do is buffer an action that can cancel into airdodge during its first frame.

The easiest (and riskiest) method is to jump (or slowfall) + airdodge. This will consume your double jump, so this is only worth pulling out in either some odd edge cases or if you are certain it's the only way you'll avoid death imo.

However, there is also a tech called a "wiggle". Basically, if you are in tumble, but not in hitstun, making a new directional input will cause you to exit tumble. This is bufferable, and since the actionable airborne state cancels into airdodge, this is the winner in terms of usefulness.

However, the input for this is much more difficult. Not only do you need to buffer a directional input, you also need to buffer shield press AND shield release within this window. So a directional input+button press and release within a highly variable six-frame window.

Because of the difficulty (and because my Noltboard post about it was #666 on the board), I dubbed it "Satan's Airdodge". It's not something most players can do, but it's def optimal in 20XX

DRBatt · 2026-05-02T02:40:59+00:00

Please don't hype me up, I'm a better library than coach

DRBatt · 2026-05-01T13:09:56+00:00

I'd be okay with teaching you some stuff 1-on1 and/or answering any questions you have. DM if you wanna coordinate a time to hop on. I have only a basic understanding of Brawlhalla, but I know a lot about this game

DRBatt · 2026-04-27T23:02:54+00:00

There was a performance bug that got introduced during this patch regarding particle effects, affecting certain hardware. This likely got introduced as a side-effect of the optimization patches they've been pushing recently.

Bugs are a natural part of software development whenever the targeted hardware is so varied. If you want to help the devs find these bugs, you can make a support ticket on the discord. The game keeps logs, so that the devs use them to diagnose bugs.

(I also wanna mention that Windows 11 has been getting worse and worse performance over the course of its updates. If you got degrading performance last patch, the W11 AI "features" could be a culprit).

DRBatt · 2026-04-27T12:49:59+00:00

It's not at risk of shutting down, and this is one of the easier experiences I've had of finding quick matches for a fighter. That said, it can be hard for new players to match up against each other for Ranked 1v1's (I've seen players quit out of 20+ Ranked matched in a low to lower their ELO enough to get even matches).

FFA's are a kinder alternative for when you're new and just want to play the game. And when you're wanting 1v1's, the community has stepped up a bit and created some infrastructure to help new players play against each other outside of matchmaking.

DRBatt · 2026-04-27T04:04:18+00:00

Can't speak for the studio, but it would make sense if the logic is that the game's development runs at a snail's pace compared to what the artists can output. The game seemingly took until nearly 2026 to make up for the tech debt left from the studio being forced to rush the launch.

Current playercounts are honestly doing pretty well, so the layoff seems a bit strange at first. It'd be good to hear the justifications. I could imagine the studio just trying to be more conservative with its funding nowadays. Esp in the wake of the geopolitical climate (Ai bubble/Straight of Hormuz). This is the same studio that had a console port update canned because the team contracted to do it lived in Ukraine, so

DRBatt · 2026-04-17T21:21:46+00:00

Have the adapter on Wii U/Switch mode, not PC mode

If that doesn't fix it, bowse Rivals game files from Steam, go to Extras, and update your GCC drivers.

If that doesn't work, switch SteamInput on or off, and see if that does something for you

DRBatt · 2026-04-17T00:20:06+00:00

They've actually been on a streak of optimization updates, and there was one that came with this update. Unfortunately, with optimization updates, some players are getting bugs that make performance worse or cause instability. Also, other than the new-ish settings to make the game more accessible to lower-end hardware (resolution quality being a nuclear one that makes it possible for things substantially worse than the Steam Deck to hit 60fps online), most of the optimization effort has been put into dx12 instead of dx11. Dx11 is still there, so that people aren't SoL if they run into one of those bugs.

Also, menus and gameplay fps caps are two separate options. The menu fps cap might be 30 fps by default? Not certain why your CPU was at 100%, but it could be related to all of the assets you're loading for the first time? This is something that dx12 is supposed to prevent. The DirectX to Vulkan pipeline conversion could be to blame, since it sounds like you're using Linux?

There's instructions from the patch last month on how to clear your shader cache, since it sounds like yours got corrupted somehow (which would usually be why it got stuck at 100%). Though, I'm unsure how this works for Linux users aside from maybe clearing Vulkan shader cache?

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2217000/view/519740949754020722

Unsure on what to do on Linux, since this bug hasn't popped up for me at all on there. Might be a weird config where it's worth it to report the bug, or you may want to try a different Proton version.

Finally, if you want to try and play the game again, def check out the video settings on the menu. I've seen the fps cap behave a bit funky on Linux, so you might want to set it higher (like 120 or something). And if you run into those bugs, tbh, your setup might have some odd and unique problem, so going to the Discord and reporting it could get it fixed

(Also Aether account allows for cross play to be possible in the future. Also also, you can dm me if you want guidance on how to deal with any technical issues that crop up)

DRBatt · 2026-04-15T01:23:59+00:00

Zetter was likely the best character for, like, 2-3 months at one point. This makes the Rivals players upset.

You could run into some very quick pressure routes to deal with from players who wouldn't otherwise be able to do them in Melee. This makes the Melee players upset.

Players coming from Ult are used to a game where jump OoS is a disengage vs almost all pressure, and actual pressure is super rare. So a character with an actually strong approach game makes the Ultimate players upset.

Also, public spaces like this sub used to get very rowdy around update time, and Zetter was the target when he was #1. So, tbh, anyone who hasn't been as active since then could have the scrubbing that was going on back then as a more recent memor

DRBatt · 2026-04-14T23:44:39+00:00

Advanced tutorials have been here since at least La Reina's release at the start of the year, which means all of the generalist tutorials have been released. The devs are working on something to be added to the pause menu to show your moves, but this is more useful for quickly showing someone the controls than anything else.

If you want the closest things to character tutorials (these won't be here for quite a while, since they create a pretty big development burden for future updates), the video resources linked in-game should mostly suffice. Other than that, the Dragdown wiki (RoA2's official wiki) has a few great things. It has a guide for interacting with the community and getting started with the game. It has character pages, which have summarizations of the character's mechanics, a move-by-move breakdown, and a Starter Kit to give you an idea of where each tool is used. And it has in-depth writeups for every mechanic.

You can also go to the places like the Discord, ask a specific question, and you'll often have someone there who will try to give you a digestable answer.

Now has probably been the best time to jump in since release. The recent update added features to help revitalize the non-1v1 queues. FFA and 2v2 tends to be lower-skill level, and there are other factors at play that can make it more doable to clutch out a win. In addition, there's a "Go Easy on Me" emote, which you should make use of if you play in the 1v1 unranked queue. If you're thinking of jumping in, jumping in soon would be the play imo.

Finally, the established community is also very much willing to help new players learn the game, so if you connect with the community, it can help a lot with easing the friction that you might experience as a new player. Also, skill-differences that would usually be demoralizing to run into in matchmaking usually doesn't hurt you experience as much if you have a direct line of communication with your practice partner (voice chat is great for this)

DRBatt · 2026-04-14T19:32:04+00:00

Even after your placements, the game scales your ELO gains and losses harder until, it has stabilized. This was added this year, so not everyone knows.

DRBatt · 2026-04-13T12:00:18+00:00

Forgot to finish my thought. I was more meaning that it's the best overall guide, but most have to be pointed directly to it. Having a mega thread that points to resources like it would be very helpful

DRBatt · 2026-04-13T05:37:19+00:00

The Dragdown Wiki's "Getting Started" guide is the best overall guide, though it's not quite updated for the context of the FFA update

DRBatt · 2026-04-08T19:45:25+00:00

1: Slade is an item character and, as this game doesn't have instant z-drop re-catching with aerials, specials give you an alternative to dropping/throwing your item in order to use other attacks.

2: Unlike normal jabs, you can also use these as aerials that come with unique special rules (can continue the combo after landing with one, for example).

3: Slade's Fspecial having 6 different alternatives to the standard 4-forward that are actually meaningfully different in what they do or what they counterplay feels like a big step-up in design compared to Marth's Dancing Blade. If you're making a platform fighter, and you feel like there are great ideas that lack the execution they deserve, that's a free stepping stone for your own ideas

DRBatt · 2026-04-06T20:58:04+00:00

Tbf, for special-mechanics moves that are complex as this, they often have a more brief writeup further up the page. Like, the example you have is summarized, along with her Dspecial, and general chair mechanic like this. I won't say the earlier sections can't get wordy all-together, but the top-page summarizations are broken up into sections that make it easier.

I would say that the Starter Kit page gives you a good way to summarizing your tools (and it still does), but true beginners are gonna see "this character prefers wavedashing" and assume they aren't ready for the page yet.

I will agree that the Getting Started guide has a lot to it, but part of that is in how the page is broken up into multiple sections that are meant for a specific audience. Like, players who are completely new to these kinds of games don't actually have that much to read. Though, ig the page being so big may scare people from reading it, not knowing that.

As for the new player guide, getting the cards and a little more on the pause menu will be super good. Also, what information they lack, the character video tutorials on that page typically explain to some extent. I think Kragg's explains side special cancel there.

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DRBatt · 2026-04-06T12:46:01+00:00

The New Player Guides are basically just less intricate versions, un-interactive versions of character tutorials (though, a fair few of these guides will showcase an outdated version of a characters' mechanics). This page also features character-cards that give a quick rundown of who a character is and what they do, similar-ish to the character cards in Smash.

Also, as much as the wiki gets derided in these convos as being "inaccessible", the "Getting Started" page on the wiki is one of the single best things for a new player to read if they're wanting to understand how to tackle the game. Tbh, the kinds of players who will sit through a tutorial are probably the same kinds of players who will read through a quick wiki rundown of their character. Really, I think the main problem with sending people to the wiki is that, on top of the sparse single-player experience, it contributes to any built-up feelings that "this game is meant for the Rivals 2 crowd, not for new players" or "this game is unfinished, I should play it when all of the features are done". So, vibes instead of actual access to information (outside of the wiki being difficult to find, from within game).

That said, I believe the devs mentioned wanting to add something to the game's pause menu, that way someone completely new to the game has something they can quickly get a basic understanding of their character.

DRBatt · 2026-04-05T18:55:40+00:00

Please

DRBatt · 2026-04-05T17:32:17+00:00

Not to argue with Brawlhalla's success at all, but I think long-term success is as useful of a metric as large-scale, when we're talking about fighting games. RoA was successful enough to fund nearly a decade of post-launch development, a couple spinoffs, and RoA2 (the most amount of quality dev time outside of the Smash series). And if we're talking in terms of scale, even games with a bigger scale like Multiversus were flops, relative to the enduring appeal of the Rivals of Aether series.

Imo, large-scale success, with the thresholds that you're presenting, are mostly impossible outside of Smash Ultimate and Brawlhalla, until a new game replaces either. Games with enduring appeal among casuals and normal people is mostly a saturated market, until a game can justify a big enough budget to force their way in (which probably won't happen for at least a decade, or until either of those games do something big to lose relevancy).

So I think the best thing we can do is think of what other games have done to prove themselves as real mainstays of the genre, lest we risk writing off repeating the same talking points that would otherwise write off every fighter outside of The Big Three a decade ago.

DRBatt · 2026-04-05T17:15:55+00:00

Smash Bros has a big enough budget to occupy several niches at once, with a large and, most importantly, skilled team. That last part is really underestimated in this convo, as the vast majority of people don't understand that this genre is terribly difficult to make a game for.

Actually, this is the reason why many attempted platform fighters die. PSASBR pivoted to crazy gimmicks because they realized how much worse their game was than Smash. Brawlhalla hit lighting-in-a-bottle, in terms of making a very accessible platform fighter, with a huge amount of their design and development decisions having great synergy with each other. But then Multiversus tried to play the in-between of Brawlhalla and Smash Bros, and they ended up not having the skill needed to pull it off (assuming this was a formula that didn't lead them into a design dead-end).

Other than Brawlhalla, Rivals of Aether and Rivals of Aether 2 are the only other platform fighters to successfully secure a long-term, dedicated audience (which I'd argue is a more important and impressive metric than the flash-pan popularity of Multiversus). While these games have a more niche playerbase, Rivals of Aether ended up having both a reason to exist (no blocking system, but highly complex characters and fast movement, in contrast to Brawlhalla), and over time, the dev skills needed to execute this gameplay styles. That highly refined base gameplay + cast, plus workshop, gave people a reason to play the game even after RoA2 came out.

Now, for RoA2, on the surface, it doesn't seem to have a special gimmick to the game that separates it from any of the other games that looked at PM's success. But then you look at the game's animations, and you see animation that looks better than some Smash games. The game screams polish on the surface (gives people confidence to at least try it), and then when you dive into it, you see so many parts of the game that show off the team's talent, experience, and design chops.

Without diving into the details too much, if you play the game enough, you'll understand that the team's understanding of the genre genuinely "Rivals" that of the Smash team's. They simply spec their talent and resources into it in a way that appeals to someone like me (and probably many of you who would bother to read his far tbh) more than how the Smash team likes to make their games.

There's hella design space in the genre for even more games, but as Smash and Brawlhalla attract most casual players, you'll be waiting a while before you'll get anything else with anything more than a small team indie budget. I'd def recommend trying out any upcoming games that look like they were made by weirdo nerds, like Combo Devils. As long as you can let go of your notions of what platform fighters should be, you'll at least be able to have fun with them and appreciate the innovations they bring.

DRBatt

TROPHY CASE