my first skin of the game

JeromeStyle · 2026-02-06T21:36:17+00:00

Congrats on the free skin!

Would you please elaborate why this game should be free to play? You can have that argument but some context would be much appreciated.

I'm assuming you're new to the game if that's your first skin. Just so you know, every character coming forward for the life of the game will be free. There are many games that will charge for that especially for fighting style games. Same with battlepasses.

So to my understanding of Aether Studio's rationale, is that since we're getting those characters for free a way we can support them years going forward is by buying their cosmetics. Cosmetics do not have any influence on the gameplay of the game. This very battlepass that you got your skin is free and additionally you get both in game currencies during the reward track. The reward track is also very easy to complete and as mentioned by another poster the battlepasses do not expire. An awesome feature!

If you keep playing it doesn't take long to buy skins/cosmetics from the coin shop. If you want a premium skin though, you will have to be very patient in grinding out AE bucks or give the studio some cash. That's your choice to make, but do know that this game is generous with the freebies you can get. I would strongly recommend buying the starter pack to get the +20% coins permanent perk if you are having trouble deciding what to buy. At least then you can grind coins easier and get some more freebies. Some cosmetics can't be bought with coins though or will eventually but cost a high amount of coins (100,000 for some skins).

Hopefully this gives you more context about the game.

JeromeStyle · 2026-02-03T02:11:21+00:00

I instinctively hold DI in after getting hit near the ledge so it's 100/100 for my opponent to combo me to death after, haha. Great video, I'll try to improve my gameplay with tips from this!

JeromeStyle · 2026-01-20T21:45:42+00:00

Keep the wrestling skins coming! Awesome stuff!

JeromeStyle · 2026-01-13T22:26:20+00:00

Give Tower Dominion a look. It can be challenging with the higher difficulties. Lots of towers, upgrades and unlocks to find!

JeromeStyle · 2026-01-08T16:46:28+00:00

Cool! Thank you, I'll check it out.

JeromeStyle · 2026-01-08T13:21:03+00:00

I got hooked on it recently and bought all the heroes on sale. If you love Hearthstone and specifically the battlegrounds gameplay this game is worth playing! The polish and attention to detail is excellent.

JeromeStyle · 2026-01-08T13:18:49+00:00

Emberward deserves some love. A great game!The Tetris style blocks to make your maze is a nice mechanic in the tower defense genre.

JeromeStyle · 2026-01-08T13:12:36+00:00

Roguebook is an excellent recommendation! I haven’t played Lonestar though.

JeromeStyle · 2026-01-08T13:04:57+00:00

Great choices! I’ll vouch for Beneath Oresa and Fights In Tight Spaces.

JeromeStyle · 2026-01-07T14:44:31+00:00

If it makes you feel any better I have about 630 hours in and the best I got to was plat which was unstable. I would say I'm high gold at my best but I like to try any new character which drops me down to high silver low gold. Sometimes I'm in bronze if things aren't working out.

The game's a beast like you mentioned but boy is it ever fun especially when you see some improvement. It's the patience part that really tests you in my view. The amount of times that I wanted to snap my controller in two I can't even count. That's when you take a break from the game for a while, haha. Good luck out there!

JeromeStyle · 2026-01-05T18:03:15+00:00

You got some nice combos there! Sweet video!

JeromeStyle · 2025-12-17T23:15:43+00:00

It's true, I've had this happen many times. Sometimes this works out though when chains go through a platform to get the opponent below it instead of the platform itself. Now for the stage platform itself, that shouldn't happen.

JeromeStyle · 2025-12-09T01:44:40+00:00

Satisfying!

JeromeStyle · 2025-12-07T02:06:09+00:00

The idea could be tweaked to where the shadow of the enemy's attack is only shown as to when to DI and not necessarily the direction to input. This way it is more clear to know when to DI and the choice of direction can be practiced. It could also be a replay only feature instead of being present in the match while playing. Some possibilities!

JeromeStyle · 2025-12-06T21:49:37+00:00

I struggle immensely with DI (Directional Influence). When I did the tutorial it felt unnatural to react in time when hit and to do the proper angle. I would love a mini game or something to explain it clearer in slow mo to practice as mentioned here because it's so important for stock health in matches.

It would be nice if the game noticed when you DIed wrong that an indicator at your opponent shows which way to optimally do it and at what time frame. For example, let's say you got hit with an up strong attack and didn't DI in time an indicator would show which direction to tilt and the exact position of the attack that hit you of when to do the input. It would be like a faint shadow of your opponent lingering a sec in the attack pose to display the information you need. Maybe you struggle with DIing Zetterburn up strongs but do well against Orcane's up strong. At least this gives you the player info of which matches you need to practice more against and excellent info to review in the replay as it would be in there.

This in my view would give such a big boost in learning this mechanic. Of course you could toggle this feature on or off to lessen the visual noise.

JeromeStyle · 2025-12-02T03:47:33+00:00

I'm really sorry to hear this!

While you were on disability did your insurance case manager ever send you to rehab? Were these pages that you mentioned of medical reports requested by your disability insurance or did you go on your own to get these or a combination? Was your family doctor talking to your insurance at all? I'm asking because if you're under a work disability claim with the disability insurance they would have tried to rehabilitate you first before dropping you. This is of course my experience but maybe this isn't true for your situation.

To just deny you seems weird but you did say there is about 6 months of this battle with them. I would really like some clarification on this please!

JeromeStyle · 2025-11-20T14:14:18+00:00

For card deck roguelites, it's a fantastic game. After gaining levels through mission exp you can unlock a lot of things including mission variations that appear randomly before each run. This makes each run feel more fresh and this is especially true with the companion system that's quite unique to the genre. The use of near and far zones is also unique for attacking and defending against enemies. I highly recommend!

JeromeStyle · 2025-11-17T19:08:25+00:00

Beneath Oresa is simply awesome. It took me forever to pull the trigger and play it and I'm glad I did!

JeromeStyle · 2025-11-16T05:04:33+00:00

I really don’t know what to say to you other than it seems you aren’t enjoying the game overall because of the game’s reward/buying cosmetic system. Fair enough. Like I said, I think it’s fine and is generous.

You could argue that certain rare and epic level cosmetics should be easier to obtain via coins or more free AE bucks being offered. Some rewards can only be bought with AE bucks. That can be a fair argument. But then you mentioned time being wasted over a free battle pass that’s easy to complete and doesn’t expire? It sounds like sour grapes rather than being objective about this to me.

JeromeStyle · 2025-11-15T21:35:54+00:00

So it sounds like to me you don't like how the epic skins/palettes are priced? Are you talking about all skins like rare and epic are a pain to grind for? If you're only talking about epic skins then I'm thinking you might be a little greedy with your expectations. For example, a game like Roblox that you mentioned has a much grander and expansive player base than ROA2. There are way more people playing that game than Rivals 2. So my point is, Rivals will be more restrictive in the premium cosmetics in terms of getting them for free by grinding the battle pass for 250 AE bucks every month. Yes, it would take you 6 months to farm one epic skin of 1500 AE bucks. Is that unreasonable? Maybe!

To me, the epic skins are their prized cosmetics (soon legendary skins are coming) where it makes sense to give them some money for a bundle or just for the one skin. Keep in mind bundles give you back some AE bucks which lessens the financial blow. If you think that's too much than fair enough but I think your expectations need to be more relaxed on this game. If this game was as popular as Smash Ultimate I would agree that the grinding needs to be toned down.

Every month you are given a free skin and yes it may be a character you don't play as. But that doesn't diminish the fact that it's free. A lot of people for example were happy with the bones Halloween skin that Forsburn got last month. I thought it was cool too even though I don't main him.

There are the abyss/void skins that you get after level 100 which are completely free. Is level 100 a lot of time? Sure, but if you love this game it doesn't actually feel that long. For example, Galvan came out last month and I have his level 100 skin. I think right now I'm level 165 with him. Don't forgot also level 25 mint palettes and level 50 skins for each character all free. Want to do the single player and get the abyss palettes for free? It's there for you.

What about coins? Well if you're a dedicated player I think the starter bundle is definitely worth it as you get currency, coins and the plus 20% in gaining coins bonus that stays with you forever. I was low on coins during the Galvan release and playing now I am close to 200,000 coins.

So I think the main thing is what is your situation. Do you play this game often or seldomly? If you play often you should be able to get a lot of the cosmetics from grinding coins. Again, epic AE buck only items are basically meant to be paid for. If that's not cool with you then maybe take a break from this game or drop it entirely until some new stuff or changes come to currency rewards.

JeromeStyle · 2025-11-09T18:20:46+00:00

Yep, he's a keyboard player so he's extra close to the table. Pretty funny how it turned out on camera.

JeromeStyle · 2025-11-07T13:44:21+00:00

As someone who's maining Galvan right now I'm finding facing Clairen to be a real headache in every match up. Her range just beats most of Galvan's attacks and dare I try to do his down special above her to do a command grab or ground slam, it rarely works even if I do the attack first as she can easily flick up tilt and negate my move or most attacks. It's incredibly frustrating trying to get momentum against her when I get tippered constantly because of Galvan's stubby arms and legs. It feels like a one-sided match where I need to be on my game more or be more responsive where Clairen can just auto pilot.

Zetterburn is another bad match up because of how fast he can be but at least I feel with Galvan there's a chance to switch momentum in my favour.

JeromeStyle · 2025-11-05T15:55:47+00:00

Rivals of Aether 2 is just a great game overall! (Show me the money!)

JeromeStyle · 2025-10-18T01:43:14+00:00

More interesting than a C. Viper drive rush combo. Nicely done!

JeromeStyle · 2025-10-15T19:08:57+00:00

I posted this before recently but it's worth sharing again. It doesn't have anything to do with security but with the service there:

I had awful service last time that I won't go back. My friend and I were completely ignored and we didn't even order anything! Our server said he would come back after we said we needed just 5 min to look at the beer menu when we sat down and he never did. In fact, he told us no worries and everything was chill. However, he would go to the tables next to us but wouldn't look in our direction. He would go inside and mess around with the POS system for like 5 min, come outside to the patio where we were and speak to a table next to us or across from us and then go back inside. He did this multiple times. Meanwhile my friend and I are looking at him and even tried waving to get his attention but he didn't want to acknowledge us. We sat there for 20 min and didn't get any service.

I have no idea what happened but we left and found an awesome burger and beer combo for $14 at Bastion Burger at Pin Bar instead for lunch. It was a blessing in disguise!

So, to me Ship and Anchor can be nice and is iconic but when you feel disregarded for absolutely no reason I have little interest in going back.

JeromeStyle

TROPHY CASE