2.0 Patch Notes

2.0 Patch Notes

New Features

  • UI revamp, including a new title screen, redesigned character select interface, and snazzier battle loading screen.

  • Lobbies!

  • Comprehensive character-specific command lists have been added (via the pause menu in Training Mode or local PvP modes).

  • Planet Earth: Tower arena has been added as a select-able stage.

  • The combo count announcer can now be toggled through Audio Settings.

New Combat Mechanic: Controllable Recovery

  • “Soft knockdown” recovery system has been reworked, giving the juggled/downed player more agency and interactivity in how they recover, (based on their directional input). This change should make these knockdown situations more intuitive for both the attacker and the defender. (In previous versions, characters knocked down automatically performed a backflip or pop-up recovery, arbitrarily.)

The defensive options available include:

  • Quick recover: while landing from a soft knockdown, the player can choose to immediately recover in place or perform a retreating backflip upon landing, determined by the directional input they are holding. Down (↓) to pop up in place, back (away from the enemy) to perform a retreating backflip.

  • Normal get-up (also known as a “delayed wake-up”): this is automatically performed by the character if the directional control is left in neutral (i.e., no directional input at all). The character will fall and lie on the ground, invulnerable to all attacks for a brief period, before defaulting to their in-place pop-up recovery.

    • It is possible to manually perform one of the two recovery options (in-place pop-up and retreating backflip) at any point during this brief downed period, affording the recovering player a chance to throw off the aggressor’s attack patterns.

  • (Note) “Hard knockdown” attacks in Battle for the Grid refer to moves like Tommy’s forward medium, Gia’s Super, and all other attacks that inflict wall bounce or sliding knockdown. “Soft knockdowns” refer to all other knockdown and juggle states.

Universal Combat Adjustments

  • Meter gain has been reduced across the board by roughly 30%, mitigating “touch of death” potential at the beginning of a match.

    • Meter gain for successfully guarding Swap Strikes and EX Attacks increased dramatically. For example, successfully blocking a wake-up Swap Strike or EX Attack, the blocker is rewarded with up to half of a Super stock for successfully baiting out the opponent’s invincible reversal.

    • Meter gain for the victim being successfully hit by an EX Attack or Swap Strike increased slightly.

    • These changes are aimed to emphasize decision-based meter management.

  • +100 health added to every character to make it a bit more difficult to KO off of a single combo, although still possible, with skill and proper resources.

  • Swap Strike invulnerability window decreased.

    • Invincibility period now ends 1 frame before the attack’s first active frame, making them “beatable” with well-timed attacks.

Throw System Tweaks

  • All forward throws and back throws now have 8 frames of startup, up from 6, with 3 active frames, down from 5, making it ever-so-slightly easier to react with a throw break.

  • Throw breaks separate the two combatants slightly farther apart.

  • Back dash now has throw invincible properties for the first 13 frames. Additionally, back dash can be used as a reversal option from recovery wake-up states (see Controllable Recovery).

Improvements and Fixes

  • Visual and audio effects improved.

    • Visual effects have been added to several character intros.

    • EX Attacks are now accompanied by uniquely colored effects, making them visually distinct from Swap Strikes.

    • Guard impact effects improved, with distinct sizes relative to the strength of the attack being blocked.

    • Camera effects for EX Attacks, Swap Strikes, and Megazord Ultras added.

  • Assist and Assist Takeover

    • Fixed an issue with assists facing the incorrect direction during the enemy’s KO state.

    • Assists no longer “auto-correct” their facing direction upon landing, making the overall behavior more intuitive in most situations.

    • Assists are easier to use in certain corner combos and setups.

    • Assist takeover functionality and timing normalized across most characters.

      • Characters with ground-based assist attacks (such as Gia Moran, Cenozoic Blue Ranger, Kat Ranger, etc.), can now cancel their assists on any frame of their attack upon assist takeover.

      • Characters with assists that go airborne (Tommy, Drakkon, Ranger Slayer, Shadow Ranger) can now cancel their assist attacks with jump attacks, with proper assist takeover timing.

  • Guarding no longer prioritizes successful block over failed hit. This means if you’re blocking an assist and on the same frame you fail to block a jump attack, you’re now guaranteed to receive the hitstun and hit reaction of the jump attack.

    • This also means it is impossible to block an overhead plus a low attack on the same frame, allowing skilled players to set up unblockable sequences.

  • Characters hit by multiple sources now enter an appropriate hit reaction state. Generally, this results in cleaner and more predictable outcomes when hitting an enemy with multiple attacks from multiple characters on the same frame.

    • For example, launching a grounded enemy while they’re being struck by an assist will always force the launching reaction over leaving the victim grounded.

  • Training Mode: Assist Recovery settings no longer break when activating Megazord Ultra.

  • Tutorial Missions: Performing Super no longer causes a soft lock on the player’s character.

  • Combo’d throws no longer reset the assist cooldown timer prematurely.

  • Fixed an issue that occasionally caused incorrect button bindings to be set.

  • Fixed a rare soft lock issue in story mode, when calling a certain assist before a break point.

  • Fixed an issue with character weapons not displaying properly.

  • Fixed an issue where certain assists were invincible during their incoming landing frames.

Known Issues

  • Episode banners 6-15 will unlock for players based on their episode 5 standings. This will be fixed in the next client update.

Tommy Oliver

  • Neutral special (Dragon Fire): final hit now causes a spinning knockdown effect (unlimited).

  • Assist can now be takeover-canceled with air attacks.

Gia Moran

  • Forward heavy (Overhead Slice) now shares an OTG bounce limiter with Saber Strike.

  • Neutral special (Double Whip): first hit spinning knockdown hit reaction changed to unlimited type.

  • Forward special (Saber Whip): adjusted to juggle more consistently.

  • Airborne special (Saber Strike): air hit now causes a sliding knockdown.

  • Reduced juggle limit penalty across most attacks.

  • Standing medium 3 is less likely to whiff at point blank range.

Ranger Slayer

  • Buffed airborne special (Double Time Bomb): the two bombs deployed can no longer be destroyed by successfully striking their owner (Ranger Slayer).

Lord Drakkon

  • Assist can now be takeover-canceled with air attacks (within the brief window that Drakkon is airborne).

  • Fixed an issue that allowed Drakkon to cancel forward special > heavy (Wrath) with forward dash.

Kat Manx

  • Back special > special (Cunning Charge): reduced blockstun considerably and increased recovery, making it punishable when guarded within range. First active increased to frame 2, up from frame 1.

  • Forward special (Catwheel): forward momentum inheritance reduced (i.e., dash-canceled Catwheel no longer travels full screen).

  • Standing medium and crouching heavy can now properly be kara-canceled (kara throw momentum enabled).

  • Forward dash acceleration rate normalized.

Magna Defender

  • Back special (Avenger) parry effect: improved effects on successful parry, accompanied by a spicy VO line. Successful parry follow-up can now be canceled into neutral special (Magna Blaster).

  • Magna Blaster hit consistency improved (any hit guarantees a sliding knockdown).

  • Fixed an issue where canceling forward special (Hot Steel) into crouching heavy caused Magna Defender to wildly slide across the stage.

Goldar

  • Corner juggle states adjusted, fixing accidental “cross-up” issues when juggling a cornered Goldar.

Mastodon Sentry

  • Forward throw: damage and scaling normalized to match other combo-able throws.

  • Standing heavy 2, standing heavy 3 damage slightly reduced.

  • Fixed an issue with several normal attacks inflicting block damage.

Cenozoic Blue Ranger

  • Airborne special (Air CenoCharge) can now be canceled into Air Portal on hit.

  • Fixed an issue where Cenozoic Blue Ranger would execute Cenoblast (unbuffed forward special) instead of Cenoball (buffed forward special) while instilled with his Cenocharge effects.

Udonna

  • Airborne special (Hail Storm): Udonna now descends slightly earlier during the attack, giving her more advantage as she fires her last projectile while descending. Forward jump and dash jump versions of Hail Storm forward momentum decreased, making offensive Hail Storms safer and easier to use. Third snowball air hit now causes a spike knockdown effect.

  • Back throw is now cancelable into forward special (Icicle Strike).

  • Jump heavy hitbox height improved, making it possible to hit crouching opponents when using a dash jump heavy sequence.

  • Udonna descends slightly farther behind the leader when she’s summoned as an assist.

  • Fixed an issue where the assist version of Ice Ball would trigger juggle limit effect.

Dragon Armor Trini

  • Neutral special and assist (Mega Beam): juggle consistency and knock-up effect improved.

  • Crouching heavy ground hit reaction now causes a pop-up effect when hitting grounded enemies.

  • Corner juggle states adjusted, fixing accidental “cross-up” issues when juggling a cornered Trini.

Trey of Triforia

  • Crouching medium: hitbox height improved.

  • Fixed an issue where juggling with crouching medium ignored the juggle limiter system.

Jen Scotts

  • Back special as leader (Forecast: Rain): projectiles are no longer destroyed when their owner is successfully hit. Slightly improved hitbox size and tracking properties of both leader and assist variants.

Lord Zedd

  • Super (Paragon of Evil) can now hit enemies during their juggle and OTG states, causing a “reverse launch” effect.

  • Fixed an issue EX attack (Hail of Ire) missing certain characters after successfully launching them.

  • Corner juggle states adjusted, fixing accidental “cross-up” issues when juggling a cornered Lord Zedd.

Anubis Cruger

  • Super (Shadow Saber) now always guarantees inflicting crumple stun.

  • Neutral special (Shadow Slash): second slash no longer requires connecting with the first slash. First slash can be canceled into back special or forward special (on hit).

  • Airborne special (Saber Slash): second slash no longer requires connecting with the first slash. Minimum height restriction lowered.

  • Neutral special > medium (Shadow Upper): first hit is now considered an anti-air.

Eric Myers

  • EX attack (Acceleration Mode) normalized with other EX attacks. Now inflicts partial unscaled damage, whereas before in previous versions, all of its damage was scaled.

  • Forward heavy (Dome Breaker) and back heavy (Prop Up) now properly inflict block stun.

  • Super (Quantum Power): buff duration reduced to 14 seconds, down from 16.

  • EX during Quantum Power (Finish Sequence): no longer totally unscaled, dealing less damage overall, particularly as a combo finisher.

Dai Shi

  • Super (Ultimate Dai Shi): now partially deals unscaled damage, making it more effective as a combo finisher. Voice line altered, as Dai Shi technically isn’t a Symbiote.

  • Jumping medium and jumping heavy attacks now inflict appropriate damage.

  • Fixed an issue where Dai Shi would remain on screen after taking over to an assist during his Swap Strike animation.

  • Wall clinging light attack (Stalker Slash) no longer ignores juggle limiter.