Month: August 2017

Shown off at the Rivals of Aether panel at Super Smash Con, Dan Fornace revealed one of the DLC fighters coming to the indie platform fighter. Acting as the third water-based character alongside Orcane and Etalus, Ranno is an amphibian monk who uses toxic darts and poison bubbles to bamboozle his enemies.

As a hybrid zoner/rushdown character, Ranno’s combat gimmicks are his Poison debuff and his Bubble attacks. Most of Ranno’s projectile attacks apply a special debuff, noted by the green dots floating above a character’s head. Not only do this toxin apply damage, it also determines the length of Ranno’s special Bubbled state. You can get rid of the Poison debuff by attacking Ranno, but you take damage for every attack you land. While his air speed is lacking, his fast aerials are perfect for walling out an enemy that’s trying to approach. As a new mechanic in Rivals, Ranno has a Super Jump which can be performed by crouching and then doing a full hop.

Ranno can summon a giant green bubble with his Neutral Special, which floats around the screen until either you or your opponent fall into it. Once inside the bubble, players slowly float through the air, leaving Ranno time to rack up damage. You can influence your direction while in the bubble and it will eventually pop after a short time. The more stacks of Poison you have, the longer you’ll remain suspended in Ranno’s trap. Ranno’s Down Special has him licking up and spitting out opponents inside a bubble, so don’t get too close if you are at four stacks. If he isn’t near an opponent, Ranno’s Down Special has him catapulting himself into the air using his tongue.

His Side Special are his Poison Darts, which work similar to Sheik’s needles in Super Smash Bros. You can charge these projectiles by hitting Dodge during the dart charge, with Ranno being able to fire four in a single barrage. His Poison Spin Up Special has him doing an upwards Poison Kick, which can then be followed up with either a Poison Dart barrage, or a dive kick by pressing Down Special.

Ranno is set to launch later this year, alongside three other original characters. Another guest character from an indie game is planned to be released in early 2018, bringing the Rivals roster up to 14. For those still waiting to play as Ori and Sein from Ori and the Blind Forest, the duo will be launching on Steam and Xbox One on August 23rd — meaning that console players finally have access to the full game. If you are attending Super Smash Con, both Ranno and Ori will be playable on the show floor, with Ranno being playable in tomorrow’s doubles tournament.

Source: Rivals of Aether