Handicap options: stock control, knockback, starting percent, etc.#40

I don’t know if this has been requested on this forum before, but I would really enjoy some options for handicaps on RoA2.

I have been playing competitive platform fighters for 11 years and I LOVE playing them so much. However, it can be hard to play with newer or casual friends of mine, due to the intense skill disparity that can be present in platform fighters.

All I’m looking for is some handicap options within the game. Stock control is the biggest one that I want. Right now, the two main options as someone wishing to handicap themselves are:

1. Self destruct, however many times you may need, to get to the desired stock count
2. Quit out of the game after your alloted stocks are taken

This works but it can ruin the flow of games. For the first one, neutral starts can be more difficult, and it takes more time to setup a match. For the second one, it is not nearly as satisfying for the non-handicapped person to take the alloted stock amount, as you must wait for the handicapped to quit out or self destruct to see the victory screen.

Controlling the amount of knockback or damage a player gives and receives is another option as well. It isn’t my favorite option (Smash 64 handicap worked this way as well), but it does work. More options are always nice.

Finally, starting percent is another great handicap option. Similar to stock control, this can help the non-handicapped player still feel like they’re winning interactions and force the handicapped player to play safer. Presently, this is impossible to do in RoA2 that I know of.

There are likely many other ways to tackle handicapping players as well that I cannot begin to even think of as I am not a game designer, simply a player.

Of course, this option should only be available in private and local games – preferably with an obvious indicator that the handicap option is on.

Thanks for reading. I love Rivals of Aether 2 and it is my favorite platform fighter I’ve played. I want to play it more with my casual friends, but sometimes the skill disparity makes it hard to impossible for us both to have an interesting match. I still wish for the matches to be stimulating for both me and my casual friends, which is hard to do right now without stronger handicap options.