The first major update for ARMS has finally arrived, delivering on Nintendo’s promise of providing more playable content for free after launch. Most notably, the new update brings Max Brass—a new playable fighter—into the fold, but it also adds a whole wealth of other things, such as a new game mode, a new stage, a few new Arms, and various other tweaks and improvements.
Here’s the full breakdown of what’s being included:
- ARMS League Commissioner Max Brass added as a playable character.
- New ARM “Nade” added.
- New ARM “Roaster” added.
- New ARM “Kablammer” added.
- New stage “Sky Arena” added.
- New versus mode “Hedlok Scramble” added.
- Punch or touch the capsule containing the Hedlok mask to become Hedlok for a period of time.
- This can be selected in Versus, Friend, or Local and it will also appear in Party Match.
- ”Stats” added to the Top Menu.
- Check stats such as your most used fighter, best stage, and ARM accuracy.
- ”Events” added to the Top Menu.
- Here you can set whether or not you want to join official online events.
- Snake Park has been swapped out for Sky Arena in the Ranked Match stage roster.
- Raised highest rank in Ranked Match to 20.
- Increased the penalty for disconnecting during Ranked Match play.
- Shortened the amount of time necessary for the following ARMS to return after being extended, making them easier to use: Megaton, Megawatt, Revolver, Retorcher, Boomerang
- Increased movement speed of the Guardian.
- Improved visibility during charge attacks for the Popper and Cracker.
- Increased the amount of time necessary for the following ARMS to return after being knocked down, increasing risk: Popper, Cracker, Hydra
- Increased the amount of time it takes to recover when a grab is deflected with a single punch.
- Decreased the amount of damage when the Hydra’s rush connects with multiple consecutive hits.
- Decreased the distance Kid Cobra travels when jumping.
- Fixed issue where in some instances Ribbon Girl could remain airborne for an overlong period of time while continually attacking.
- Fixed issue where Ninjara would not destroy the light boxes on the Ribbon Ring stage when getting up.
- Fixed issue where the time necessary for the Triblast to return when deflected was shortened.
- Fixed issue where ARMS such as Blorb and Megaton would catch on the ground and fail to fire.
- Fixed issue where explosive ARMS would sometimes fail to explode when receiving an attack.
- Fixed issue where the Slapamander would sometimes fail to hit Helix when he is extended.
- In online play, fixed issue where the appearance or non-appearance of items could differ between devices.
- In online play, fixed various issues with V-Ball including an issue where the ball would remain grounded and play would not proceed.
- In online play, fixed an issue where sometimes Barq would continually defend against an opponents’ rush attack for a set period of time.
- In online play, fixed issue where sometimes pillars in the Scrapyard would not be destructible.
What do you think? Will you be taking advantage of all this new content? What else would you like tosee added to the game? Drop us a comment in the section below.
[source en-americas-support.nintendo.com]
Comments 39
Oh wow, it's good to see they are working so hard to keep things balanced!
I'm glad they are nerfing grabs a little. They feel so strong.
The concept of adding more content for free to Arms is really cool to me because the game will constantly evolve with new tactics and strategies. It'll definitely keep things fresh competitively.
The new content and balances sound great, I'll definitely be checking this out tomorrow.
I agree with most of the changes. The only thing I'm not sure about is the, "Increase the time it takes to recover when a grab is deflected by single punch". Seems really exploitable. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
I can't wait to play Super Macho Ma- I mean... Max Brass!
Seems fairly substantial, and each of those changes seems fair to me. I'll have to go check it out myself. I'm glad to see Nintendo put such time and care into balancing this game.
Post-play note: I played through Grand Prix with Max Brass, hoping they would have a new character as the final boss. Nope, it's just an alternate-colored Max Brass. Bummer; putting the next DLC character as the boss would've been awesome.
I'm actually quite happy that Nintendo notices the flaws in some of the characters and abilities. One thing I do wish happened is that the grab mechanic would be nerfed in many different ways.
The first issue is the infinite grab loop. You know what I'm talking about. Most of us who have the game have done it once or twice. It is when you land a grab, throw your opponent, and, as soon as they get up, you grab them again. I feel like they should increase the invincibility time when recovering.
The second is the speed. I feel like the grabs should go at 75% the speed of the normal arms. This potentially could give players a chance to dodge the grabs easier.
Then, finally, is the damage. Not much to say here, but I feel like grabs should be used as a way to get some distance between you and your opponent, rather than using it as a spam-like technique to do ridiculous amounts of damage.
Well, the update seems pretty solid. The other balancing patches were very necessary. I even agree with the kid cobra nerf even though he is my main
EDIT: Forget about kid cobra. Max Brass is great!
Still not available for me yet. I got a news update though to tell me it's available though.
@OorWullie Have you tried pressing x on the game icon in the menu and selecting "check for update"?
New characters ??
Where ??
@The64Master Getting a "grab loop" isn't as easy as it seems; you can vary your getup by going to the sides which works pretty consistently. You can also delay it slightly by not touching any buttons. As it is, getting a grab on someone getting up requires perfect timing and a hard read. Not much different from most fighting games: someone like Zangief is all about piledriving you over and over again if you let him scare you into blocking.
The speed of grabbing is pretty reasonable, too. Especially if you're using slower, indirect arms like dragons, you want something relatively quick and direct to get people off of you, as you described.
And the damage... it's really only slightly higher than a sequence of punches, especially when they're upgraded. And you have to work to land them since they're easily deflected by punches and other grabs. Mummy, in particular does a lot more with his since he doesn't have mobility advantages like others.
ARMS is not really my thing but I love to see how much love it's getting. So happy for all the fans out there!
Nerf Ribbon Girl's jumps.She jumps so high above you that your arms cant reach her but she can for some reason, especially when the distance is just right in front of you
NO MORE SNAKE PARK IN RANKED THANK YOU
@The64Master Ah I've got you. I just done it and it's updating now Deleted my last post.
Just finished level 1 and 4 difficulty with brass. Thought it would be more interesting at least textwise. Last boss was also boring. The game is just no fun anymore. But considering its a fighting game i played it for quite some time.
If this is the kind of updates this game will get it wont change anything for me. So far i just want a story mode.
@Jhena You don't want to play online? It's supposed to be a competitive game.
Yay:
-"Stats” added to the Top Menu.
These are nifty!
The Boomerang was my gateway to the Thunderbird, that's when the boomerang weapons finally clicked.
My final Version 1 Stats, I guess.
-"Events” added to the Top Menu.
Ooh! I can't wait to join an official online tournament. Japan already had one, apparently, on release weekend.
-"Increased the penalty for disconnecting during Ranked Match play."
I'm not even sure what the penalty is, but great! Though I hope the problem isn't not on my end. I have the LAN adapter, so I should be good. And I sometimes check the connection tool in the System Settings to make sure my speeds are okay.
-"Shortened the amount of time necessary for the following ARMS to return after being extended, making them easier to use: Megaton, Megawatt, Revolver, Retorcher, Boomerang"
Yes, indeed! The Megaton/Megawatt leaves you so open. I guess We'll be seeing more Master Mummies from now on.
-"Increased the amount of time necessary for the following ARMS to return after being knocked down, increasing risk: Popper, Cracker, Hydra"
Yeah, those Cracker/Poppers were way too fast. I had to go dual Parasol/heavy against dual Cracker/Poppers just to compensate.
-"Fixed issue where explosive ARMS would sometimes fail to explode when receiving an attack."
I thought something was weird when playing against Homie/Seekies. I know my Thunderbird usually hits both arms, so there should have been extra damage and a knockdown against charged Homie/Seekies when they blow up. Just like against Max Brass.
Nay:
-"Decreased the distance Kid Cobra travels when jumping."
I thought it was part of the character, but I can see how this could be annoying. Still, I'd rather they left it alone.
What?:
-"Increased the amount of time it takes to recover when a grab is deflected with a single punch."
I hope this does what I think, because sometimes my Arm is on its way back after punching through a grab that didn't do damage, yet the grabber already recovered and is punching back.
Oh, come on!:
-"Snake Park has been swapped out for Sky Arena in the Ranked Match stage roster."
I really don't get the hate against this stage! I think the Snakeboards are fun to use, it can even block incoming attacks if you jump at the right time. However, through unspoken body language of not getting on the board, if your opponent is cool with it they won't use the Snakeboards, either. But, I really liked Snakeboard vs. Snakeboard duels. And apparently, Snake Park is my best stage!
sigh RIP Snake Park.
@Jhena "Just finished level 1 and 4 difficulty..."
Sounds like you're taking it too easy. Turn it up to 5 or 6 if it's getting too boring
@LiberatedAnimal it adds more risk to throw spammers. Which is good, there's too many players that just spam throwing and, while you can deflect them with punches, currently it didn't discourage that tactic enough, it was still too easy to dodge after your throw was interrupted. Now players must be more decisive with their throws.
I actually haven't done ranked yet as I haven't felt skilled enough to do that yet (plus I want all my arms unlocked first and idk if leveling up Arms affects ranked), so in a way disappointed I'll never know Snake Park on ranked... yet at the same time, Snake Park quickly was my least liked stage, the snake board physics feel wonky (maybe with enough practice on that one stage a player can get used to them but that's a lot for one stage when it's otherwise completely irrelevant) and a player riding one is harder to hit so most players migrate towards them... like, if there's that many players that like them, maybe they can a snake boarding mode, but I understand why it'd be cut from ranked.
@Jhena it's never getting a story mode, they've made it clear from the day this was announced that it is a multiplayer (competitively aimed) game, why'd you buy this if you wanted to play solo? Or did you not read anything about it before release? If you wanted to play by yourself this was never the game for you.
@invictus4000 Likewise!
Sweet! No more Snake Park in ranked!!!
This update and the Splatoon2 beta will be deciding factors in which game I keep. Anyway, great update I'm looking forward to Hedlok mode.
I'm still playing Zelda haven't even opened this yet, in a way kinda glad because I mind they gave splatoon its first big patch (not new stages) to change parts. After playing so long it felt jarring everything feeling different, even though for the best in long run
Very solid first update, sounds like it addresses most of the issues that I know about. It'll probably be a few days before I get to try it out, but I'm looking forward to it.
The Popper, cracker, and Hydra got nerfed. I'm glad they realised those are the most popular arms being used
@Kalmaro Of course i tried it but i had to realise its not my cup of tea.
@masterLEON I find normal difficulties to be more fun than harder. Still thanks for the tip.
@ShadJV I never said my wish was realistic. NL asked what id like to have added and i answered. And i never said i wanted to play solo. I wanted to play all the game had to offer. Sure i knew beforehand that the content would be poor. But i still was optimistic enough id get my fill of fun. And in the end i got it. Also i couldnt predict the online mode wouldnt be for me. Its just that a game that was once a little bit of fun can get boring after a while. Its the case with this game.
Phew, Ninjara did not get nerfed! Love throwing haymakers coming out of hyperspace!
Great update. Thanks Nintendo.
Glad there's no more snakepark in ranked, it can be fun but overall I prefer not to play on that level
Wow, this is more than I expected and I'm glad they're tweaking the game for fairness.
Max Brass is a great addition to the roster and I love the new Headlock mode (it is frantic fun and chaotic) for non-ranked play.
Snake park could be abused at high level play in ranked using kid cobra (all of top ranked japanese players won using kid cobra on skate park - hoverboards and jumps made him nearly untouchable) so it was removed from rank play.
Here is the link for the interview with producers on balance changes
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-07-11-arms-new-mode-allows-you-to-play-as-hedlok
Kind of disappointed that Ribbon Girl was not nerfed alongside the Hydra, since one of the main reasons people were using the Hydra so much is that it's one of the few arms which can reliably hit an airborne Ribbon Girl. Still, this is a step in the right direction and I'm sure they'll keep working on balance updates through future patches.
Guardian buff is especially exciting to me since they always seemed really unique and fun to use but just didn't quite cut it.
@HAL9000 Ah, that would explain why they took it out.
Looking forward to trying out this update and excited for what comes next.
Loving new character max brass! And his new arms. His roaster gloves though look so cool. I didnt realise at first that they were the roasters. Due to there purple aura! thought they were brand new title of glove and element! Sadly not though.
Hedlock mode is lots of fun
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