I only got Rivals an hour ago, so I haven't got to play it much yet, but I have a few things I want to talk about now that I've at least used it more than I had previously, which was none. Since than I've gotten some info on the new character, Absa, and I have a few gripes about the controls. It is important to note that the game is still very much in development. It's only early access, and it's only been released to the public for about a month, so all of these things will likely change.
The game hasn't officially been released, yet there are already some obvious top tier characters. These two characters are Kragg and the newly introduced Absa. Kragg has an incredible amount of tools, and Absa is the same. Kragg has his pillar which is not only great for recovery, but it also has great combo potential. There's an easy kill combo involving down smash. Absa has amazing set up opportunities involving her specials. Any character can become very dangerous once mastered. But I have a problem.
As I've spoken earlier, I know that Rivals and Smash are different. But these games are far more different than I imagined, in ways I wouldn't imagine. For example, I knew that there wasn't any grabbing or shields, but that changes the game far more than I thought. I found myself holding the "Dodge" button trying to shield, and I found myself trying to grab. With this, it is annoying that settings can't be saved. So if you change your color or strong attack setting, you'll need to re-input them every time you play. But the hardest part to get used to (Which I still haven't gotten used to) is the fact that tilts and aerials have been separated from the smash attacks. I'm really hoping that they will create an option to do this in later updates (And if there already is, please tell me how to do it.) Update: This feature has been implemented. It's been there since I made this post, and I actually saw it but I just now found out that it works. It can be found by entering a battle and pressing the settings icon by your player icon. There you will see a "Strong attack" option. Turn this on, and you're set.
I've been playing a lot of Orcane, and I'm really enjoying him. But I hope to pick up some other characters too, but before I can do any of that, I have to learn how to play in the first place. Tips in the comments are appreciated.
I believe Avirella is the dwarven word for... Oh crud, I'm falling off the keep from this lightning bolt.
-GIR