Category: News

Killer Instinct’s next update won’t be all about rock-slinging and beautifying mummies. It will also bring with it numerous balance changes for a large portion of the cast, including season two’s newest character Omen.

According to new patch notes released on the Ultra-Combo forums, various cast members will see damage reductions to a handful of moves and the game will be further improved with quite a few bug fixes. For a complete look at what ver.2.4 brings to the table, check out the details below.

Please note that if a character isn’t listed, they have received no changes.

System Changes

• Opener-Ender situations are no longer capable of cashing out Potential Damage. They can still be broken as usual, though. Nothing else about them has changed.
• Fixed a bug that allowed characters to block during forward or backward dashes after landing from a neutral jump.
• Fixed an issue that could cause a Shadow Opener to act as a Shadow Ender if the opponent was in a knockdown/getup state.
• Counterbreakers are supposed to remove hitstop on your opponent and enforce a maximum number of hitstun frames to ensure they are punishable. A bug was causing the grounded version of Counterbreaker to not remove hitstop, leading to a few safe Counterbreaker setups across the cast. This is now fixed.

Sabrewulf

• Overpower damage reduced by about 20%.
• Instinct Damage Bonus reduced from 20% to 10%.
• Greatly enlarged the attack boxes on the Claw Uppercut Enders to ensure that it works against all opponents, even when crouching.

Spinal

• Damage reduced on Searing Skulls by about 20%.
• Damage reduced on Shadow Searing Skull by about 30%.

Fulgore

• Damage dealt has been reduced by 10-15% on Special Moves, Linkers, Auto Doubles, Shadow Moves (excluding Devastation Beam), and Enders.
• Fixed a broken “Piano” or Kara input check for Devastation Beam. This move should be much more reliable to input again.
• Fixed a broken “Piano” or Kara input check for Power Charge during Instinct. This move should be much more reliable to input now.
• Fixed a bug causing Fulgore to misalign with his opponent when performing his throw against a cornered foe.

TJ Combo

• Fixed a bug that caused HK auto double to not combo if pressed later after a Heavy Knee Linker.
• Fixed a bug preventing players from inputting auto doubles or shadow moves during Flying Knee linkers until TJ touched the ground.

Maya

• Maya’s Dagger Toss special moves award a little less meter on block, and a lot less meter on hit.
• Maya’s Rolling Dagger Toss projectiles now bounce off the opponent on hit instead of falling straight down.
• Fixed a bug that caused Maya to become invulnerable completely while turning around to face the other direction for about 4 frames.

Kan-Ra

• Sand Spikes launch players ever so slightly less high, so that juggles directly into Whirl are no longer possible against Sabrewulf, Riptor, Omen, and Aganos.
• Clutch has more recovery on whiff to avoid option select situations in which even jumping away from the grab successfully leads into a Whirl recapture from a Swarm.

Riptor

• Flame Carpet can no longer hit opponents in their jump or pre-jump frames.
• C.HK and Tail Flip Enders cause longer hard knockdowns.
• Standing HP and Crouching HP and Back HP have much less hitstun and blockstun to avoid Predator Cancel loops.
• Flame Arc (Predator Dashing HP) hit advantage reduced to 8.
• Fixed a bug that made Flame Blitz (Dashing HP) unbreakable at all times.
• Fixed a bug that made Flame Blitz (Dashing HP) strike 2 times on hit and 4 times on block. This now hits 3 times either way, while damage and hitstun have been adjusted to compensate. Additional recovery has been added to make sure that most Shadow Counters work against this move now that it hits only 3 times on block.
• Fixed a bug that made Flame Arc (Predator Dashing HP) unbreakable at all times, and prevented it from tagging Opener, making the next move unbreakable too.
• Fixed a bug that caused Riptor to immediately exit out of her intended recovery from Shadow Clever Girl if her opponent was in the air.
• Fixed a bug causing Standing Heavy Punch attacks to be missing their counter-hit windows.
• Fixed a bug that let Riptor block out of the startup of Run Back LP and MP.
• Fixed a bug causing Run Back LP to play the Medium version, and Run Back MP to play the Heavy version.
• Fixed a bug preventing Light Talon Rake linker from causing blowouts.

Omen

• Fixed a bug that caused the auto double break window on Medium Punch doubles to end prematurely.
• Fixed a bug preventing Shadow Furious Flurry from playing the linker version in many situations.
• Removed the camera motion on Omen’s Ultra Ender as it allowed you to see outside of the level geometry in some circumstances.
• Fixed a bug that caused Omen’s Stage Ultra on Downtown Demolition to whiff in some situations.

Killer Instinct will be updated this Friday, February 27.

Source: Ultra-Combo

As with many major tournaments, this past weekend’s Winter Brawl 9 contained a variety of storylines that combined to form the event’s overall narrative. Two of the biggest went down, naturally, in Ultra Street Fighter IV and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

While maybe not as heavy-handed as the feuds of the past, trash talk between players on the west and east coasts still finds a home in competitive Street Fighter play. This rivalry reared its head at Winter Brawl 9 in a big way, as strong competitors from California, such as Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis and Chris Tatarian, made their way to the hostile territory of Philadelphia.

The east coast snatched early victory away from the west through an intense team exhibition, but it would be the visiting players who had the final laugh. In the singles tournament, Snake Eyez would narrowly edge out Guile powerhouse Kevin “Dieminion” Landon to take first place for his home state, with Tatarian coming up in third ahead of notable players like Sanford Kelly of The Steam Co., Team PIE’s Zeus, and fellow California native Ricky Ortiz of Evil Geniuses.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, on the other hand, featured the return of longtime competitor Kyohei “Marlinpie” Lehr, still representing BROKENTIER with his capable C. Viper skills. Many would dub this tournament a new era for the incredibly talented player, but someone else stood on the first place dais when all was said and done: PAG|Cosmos.

No doubt a skilled player, Cosmos once again showed that teams comprised of Morrigan, Vergil, and Doctor Doom are still to be feared throughout his entire tournament run.

But enough from me–what were your favorite stories from Winter Brawl 9? Feel free to sound off in the comments and check out Team Spooky for more replays. Full results can be found in our coverage hub.

Source: Team Spooky

As Killer Instinct continues to grow, with new cast members, stages, and more added on a regular basis, Microsoft Studios and Iron Galaxy Studios have also done a great job of giving players a ton of customization options with regards to how their characters look.

As part of the upcoming Aganos update, Killer Instinct’s Kan-Ra will gain his very own retro costume, giving him a more classic mummy look as well as several accessory packs that switch things up even further. If you’ve ever wanted to deck the ancient sorcerer out with welder equipment or a top hat, you’ll finally be able to after the next patch hits.

This update will be applied to Killer Instinct on February 27.

Source: Ultra-Combo

Though far from perfect, DC Comics current run of Mortal Kombat X comics are a ton of fun, especially when you’re sitting around on a Sunday afternoon dreading the coming work week. As part of their Digital First promotion, this lead-up to NetherRealm Studios’ next fighting game provides a perfect bite-sized chunk of pulpy narrative before being collected into larger volumes every month.

Yesterday’s issue, however, did something wrong. Very wrong.

Please be warned, spoilers and graphic content follow below.

See, there’s currently a war going on in the Netherrealm between forces controlled by Kotal Kahn (fresh from his escapades introducing human sacrifice to our world) and Mileena. Shokan prince Goro recently betrayed the former to join up with the latter (who he also plans to turn on eventually), and ended up killing Kotal’s father K’etz as he led a group to punish him for his treason.

Thanks to a little help from Rain (off-screen help, mind you), who used his abilities to call forth a storm and shut down K’etz sun-derived powers, Goro was able to easily dispatch the threat, causing Kotal to fly into a rage and head off to take care of him alone.

Upon arriving at the battlefield, Goro once again commanded Rain to block the sun. Unfortunately for the Edenian royal, however, Kotal controlled even greater powers thanks to his new status as a blood god (yeah, I have no idea), calling forth a scorching ray of light that…well, completely jacks Rain up.

While I can’t really call myself a huge Mortal Kombat fan, I’ve always had a soft spot for Rain thanks to his stylish purple garb and the developers’ riff on the famous Prince album. He, along with Ermac, were typically my go-to characters whenever I sat down with 2011’s Mortal Kombat, and I was hoping beyond hope that he would eventually be announced for Mortal Kombat X.

Sure, this isn’t any indication that he won’t be playable in the upcoming title, seeing as just about everyone in the franchise has been dead at one point or another, but it certainly made my stomach sink seeing him introduced for only a split second before being reduced to a charred corpse.

What have been some of your most memorable or least favorite moments in the Mortal Kombat X comic thus far? Let us know in the comments!

Should you be averse to importing fighting games from Japan before they officially arrive in other regions, you’ll be happy to know that Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late is now available in North America.

Developed by French-Bread and Ecole Software of Melty Blood fame, Under Night brings together a cast of both original characters and guest stars in a unique fighting system that incorporates a tug-of-war-esque shared meter. But don’t let its fresh mechanics and anime aesthetic fool you–this title draws a lot of its playstyle from more traditional, ground-based franchises.

For a more complete look at what Under Night brings to the table, be sure to give some love to guest writer Aevee Bee’s excellent write-up from last November.

As a rather niche title, you might have some trouble finding this fighter in stores. Fortunately, you can always grab the digital version through PlayStation Network, where it is currently discounted to $33.99 (or $23.79 if you happen to be a PlayStation Plus subscriber).

Source: PlayStation Network

Following in the footsteps of Community Effort Orlando, the folks behind NorCal Regionals 2015 have started a Teepspring campaign in the hopes of gathering up a bit of extra money to throw towards players who do well at the upcoming tournament. Proceeds from sales of the official shirt (pictured above) will be given to the games with the most entrants.

If you’re interested in helping out the Northern California community or perhaps just want a new piece of clothing to add to our fighting game collection, give the link below a click. As they’ve already met their original goal, there should be no worry on your end about whether or not the shirt will make it to printing.

Source: Teespring

As with all of their most recent events, ticket demand for the Evolution Championship Series was incredibly high this year. So high, in fact, that passes to the main tournament hall during Sunday finals have sold out a little over three weeks after registration opened.

Part of the reason for this, the organizers say, is because the venue they booked at the Bally’s / Paris in Las Vegas can only hold about half the attendees as the hall they had in 2014. But don’t worry! There are still a few options open to you if you missed out on grabbing one of these badges.

In addition to the main ballroom, there will be a separate viewing hall to hold additional spectators, complete with a live broadcast of the ongoing matches and live commentary. Luckily, direct feed footage is set to be shown in this secondary area, so there won’t be any delay between what folks see there and what is happening on stage.

Evo 2015 competitor registration is still very much open as well, so don’t let this turn of events keep you from taking part in the largest fighting game tournament in the world.

In closing, the Evo staff had this to say about the situation:

“Evo always does its best to secure the largest possible hall at the best location, but competition for ballrooms in Vegas is very intense and 2014’s Westgate ballrooms were not available this summer. Players gave very high marks to Evo 2013 at Paris/Bally’s, and it was a fantastic event, but the floorspace is divided differently and the main hall is not as large.

We’ve been blown away by the demand this year, and as a result, the spectator passes to the main hall on Sunday have sold out in a record 24 days. Registration for all tournaments, and all events are still open to anyone–it is only spectator access passes to the main hall on Sunday that are no longer available. New registrations are still able to attend the Sunday finals in the Viewing Hall, with a live, zero delay broadcast of the event, which will include live commentary alongside the matches. The game tournaments, panels, exhibitions, and other special events are also all still available to new registrations. These spots are also going quickly, so we encourage anyone interested in Evo 2015 to sign up as soon as they are able.

We’re also proud to announce that in only 24 days, both Ultra Street Fighter IV and Smash Bros. Melee have surpassed 1000 registrations.”

Evo 2015 is scheduled for July 17-19. More information is available through the official website.

People are spoiled for choice nowadays when it comes to custom balltops for their arcade sticks, with companies offering a multitude of different designs, such as clear, mesh, and even briarwood options. For those who prefer old-school American style battops hover, choices have been somewhat limited…until now.

First announced at Japan Amusement Expo 2015, Sanwa Denshi’s new LB-30N-CW clear battops are coming to the United States courtesy of our friends over at Arcade Shock.  These battops sport a transparent, nearly glass-like look that should add a touch of class to any arcade stick.

Additionally, these use a new mold that features the standard size screw hole, not the larger one of past Sanwa battops, meaning that it’ll fit in most Japanese style arcade levers, including the company’s own JLF, without the need for an adapter.

Sanwa’s LB-30N-CW clear battop will be available from Arcade Shock this Friday, February 27. More colors are planned to follow. In the meantime, check out these images of the clear stick below and let us know what you think.

Source: Arcade Shock, thanks to MarkMan for the tip.

This weekend, some the best Ultra Street Fighter IV players from Singapore and Hong Kong will once again face off in the fourth Singapore vs. Hong Kong team tournament. Presented by Tough Cookie and Beast of the East, this event will bring together forty competitors in total, twenty to each side, to decide the stronger region.

While Singapore has won the last three outings, the scores have always been close, with the Lion City only winning by one point each time. Will Hong Kong, led by Humanbomb, finally get their win, or will Singapore, with players such as Evolution 2013 champion Xian and his Razer teammate Gackt, triumph once again?

Find out this Sunday, March 1, by tuning into Tough Cookie at 4:00 PM Singapore time (12 AM PST, 3 AM EST).

Source: Beast of the East

With an April launch planned for BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, retailers are starting to ramp up promotion with a variety of exclusive pre-order items. While many are offering items like posters, tapestries, and accessories for lobby avatars, online vendor AmiAmi is making a special item available to their customers.

In case you’re confused or maybe just don’t speak Japanese, here’s a quick breakdown: that’s an Azrael mousepad.

While tie-ins like this typically utilize a character’s physical attributes to make them more appealing (in fact, one such mousepad of Azrael already exists), it’s cool to see Arc System Works attach a more conventional bonus item to their upcoming title, one that you wouldn’t have to answer any embarrassing questions about if, say, your parents came across it during a holiday visit.

BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND is scheduled to release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita on April 23. If you’re interested in grabbing this rather common mousepad with your game, you can do so through AmiAmi for ¥6080 JPY (~$51 USD).

Source: AmiAmi via Zerochan