
Much alike to its support for Splatoon 2, Nintendo has pledged to support ARMSwith an ongoing series of balancing tweaks, new ARMS, new stages, and new characters over the course of roughly a year from the time that it launched. The last major update most notably saw the introduction of a new playable character with Max Brass, and now another, smaller update has gone live.
Even if there isn’t any major content expansion here, the update is still fairly significant. New exercises and difficulty levels have been added to the training mode and several facets of fighters and arms have been tweaked and balanced. Here’s the full breakdown:
· Moved “Training” to the top menu.
· Added five exercises to “Training”, and added difficulty level indications.
· Adjusted the way the rush gauge fills, decreasing the amount gained for punches that do not connect with the opponent.
· When 3-4 players start a battle, instructions on how to switch targets will now be displayed. A cursor will also be displayed above the current target for a set time.
· Adjusted hitbox sizes for fighters, improving issues where hits were not registered despite looking like hits.
· Changed the pause, results, and replay menus in “Training” to be more convenient.
· For “Best Stage” in Stats, made it harder for less frequently played stages to be selected, even if you have a high win ration on them.
· Corrected issue that caused the game to hang-up when the ending was skipped at a particular time.
· We have made the following adjustments for some fighters and arms:
Fighters / Arms |
Adjustments |
Master Mummy |
Increased dash speed. Increased movement speed when jumping. |
Mechanica |
Increased movement speed when jumping. |
Kid Cobra |
Adjusted floatation when performing a jump attack. |
Byte & Barq |
Trained Barq to get up quicker. |
Boomerang |
Increased speed when throwing in a wide curve. Increased extension speed. Increased homing. |
Coolerang |
Increased extension speed. Increased homing. |
Revolver |
Increased extension speed. Improved curving performance. Increased retraction speed. Shortened the time needed from starting a rush to firing the first shot. |
Retorcher |
Improved curving performance. Increased retraction speed. Increased expansion rate when extending. |
Parasol |
Increased expansion rate when extending. Increased retraction speed. Decreased expansion rate for charge attacks. |
Megawatt |
Improved curving performance. Increased retraction speed. |
Slamamander |
Increased homing |
Tribolt |
Increased extension speed. Decreased rush damage. |
Triblast |
Increased speed of charge attacks. |
Homie |
Increased rush damage. |
Guardian |
Made it so the electric shock when a charge attack connects lasts longer. Corrected odd behavior that occurred when a rush attack connected with a wall or platform. |
Blorb |
Corrected odd behavior that occurred when a rush attack connected with an opponent that was not targeted. |
Seekie |
Increased retraction speed. Made it so the electric shock when a charge attack connects doesn’t last as long. |
Ramram |
Increased retraction speed. Decreased expansion rate for charge attacks. Decreased speed of charge attacks. |
Cracker, Popper, Hydra |
Increased retraction speed. |
Bubb, Buff |
Decreased extension speed. Decreased expansion rate when extending. |
In addition to this, Nintendo of Japan confirmed that the next update to go out will bring a new character and arms, although it will likely be a number of weeks before that lands.
What do you think? What kind of new character would you like to see next? What do you think of the blaacning tweaks? Drop us a comment in the section below.
[source en-americas-support.nintendo.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 71
Just can't bring myself to by buy this game yet. Not sure what I'm waiting for, but when Pokkén comes out I'll be all over that anyway.
"Trained Barq to get up quicker"
I need to get back into this. I was just getting into it then Splatoon 2 came out and I haven't touched it since. I basically done what I said I wouldn't do. It should have launched at the end of April instead of MK8D.
Even after playing Splatoon 2 though, I'd still say ARMS is Switch's best exclusive.
New character soon! I wonder if it can move me away from mechanica...
I am a little disappointed that no new playable character was not revealed on this update, but glad to know they will announce soon. However feel like im getting burnt out. ARMS has been my most played game on the switch, despite also juggling Splatoon 2. I hope some of the people come back those rank match wait times are too long, i just get impatient and end up doing party mode.
They're really working hard on this game by the looks of it
Sounds good. My nephew was just freaking out over the hit box issue.
Hopefully the latest rumour about New Characters will come true...
@Joelols then take a break from the game. I did so I avoid getting burnt out on games. Honestly, I hope they don't announce the character until the update too, I like surprises.
@IceClimbers I noticed that too. xD
Great for people who still play ARMS but when does that VC come out???
"Parasol - Increased expansion rate when extending. ..."
Ouch.
Edit: Oh wait, that's a good thing
@OorWullie Yeah. The same thing has happened to me. They are both superbly designed games, though so I am not sure which I would say is better. I would like to see more content in both, though.
Anyone who owns a Switch and hasn't bought ARMS yet is missing out. If you're a fan of Nintendo's first party games, this is as good as it gets. It would be like if you skipped Splatoon or Zelda or Mario Kart 8... ARMS is Nintendo at their best.
I played like an hour of ARMS.
I haven't touched it since.
I'll run back into ARMS when I feel the need. Right now I don't feel the need.
@ShadJV How is that going to solve the long wait times in online matches? lol.
Fact is, ARMS is just not very popular and a very niche game.
The eShop rank list pretty much reflects this. It has been consistently in the bottom of the rank list ever since release (it has even been completely off the rank list in some weeks). Even Zelda is still ranked higher in the sales list after all these months.
Splatoon is still on number 1 spot after three weeks, with Mario Kart 8 and Minecraft closing the top3.
Just like Splatoon, ARMS relies on enough people playing the game to keep online matches going. When this doesn't happen, the game is practically done for.
When people have to wait too long for an online match, they get burned out and quit... and so only increasing the problem and progressing the demise.
@ShadJV i think i may im just waiting for mario rabbids and tommo phantom trigger. This should hold me over till the next big update. Cannot recommend this game enough, it has so much potential. I would even go out on a limb and say its similar what overwatch has done to the FPS genre but for fighters. After playing this game i am even considering pokken tourney, that coming from person who dont usually like this genre.
RIBBONISSA
@Kalmaro get it it's amazing. I wasn't sure about it before buying but went for it and I'm very pleased I did
@Jeronan I rarely have to wait more than a few minutes tops for a match. Not that it matters, I'm not going to play one specific game all of my free time to keep the wait time down for others, that's insane, if I wanna take breaks from a game I will, that's Nintendo's job to keep the game selling. Not to mention the way Nintendo is slowly dropping out consoles means of course a new IP relying on online won't have taken off yet, pretty sure the promise for steady new content is to make it an evergreen title, and the release of new content will bring many players back after breaks. If you're having trouble finding people to play with, I'm sorry but it's not my problem, I'm content with the game as it stands and I'm not about to tell people to play until they're burnt out just to keep the servers active, heck that'll be WORSE for the game in the long run, players playing the game until they're sick of it and never wanna come back to it...
Not to mention you're rather foolish if you think a completely new IP on a console less than 6 months old (therefore still within the "launch window") would be a top seller. Splatoon had a couple years to gain followers in the first one before the seque (and quite frankly was a lucky hit off the bat), Mario Kart has literally had 9 releases now over the years to build a huge user base (and let's be honest, there wasn't much else out yet when it came, I know people who don't play online games who got it to have something other than Zelda and don't even bother playing it online, casual players who don't play online games still get Mario Kart but not Splatoon or Arms), and comparing sales to Zelda is ridiculous because that's one of Nintendo's most popular franchises and was such a driving force for Switch sales that for awhile more Switch copies of Zelda had sold than Switch CONSOLES. Nobody would honestly expect Arms to match any of those three games in sales, if it's lucky maybe it'll match Splatoon 2 by the time we get an Arms 2 (though once again, the constant release of new content make it clear it's being pushed as an evergreen title which means Nintendo is not intending it to be a top seller, they're expecting it to grow over time, if they wanted the servers to be packed so soon after release they would've waited until the Switch was a year or two old when anyone can walk into a store and find the console).
@Joelols I know what you mean, it's a great game, just don't burn yourself out. I took a break for a couple weeks to dive into Splatoon 2 but given I'm not sold on Mario & Rabbids I may be putting more time into this over the next couple weeks. Honestly I also was hoping for the next character before I jump back in, but that might be too far off still, this patch gets me excited though because a lot of these tweaks were needed - that Mechanica change makes me real happy, her hover is good but needed a tiny boost in speed as much of the time jumping long enough to hover left her too stationary, especially against fast players (fighting ribbon girl will seriously give me an aneurysm one of these days)...
Once all the expansions come out for this game, the big question is, will it still fit on the switch internal memory? Or will you need to get an SD card specially just for this game...
I hope these kinds of updates get added to future catridge runs.
@ShadJV Sorry to burst your bubble. I can understand you are passionate about the game and that is fine.
Facts, sadly don't lie.
Splatoon1 was an instant hit right out of the gate! I played it on the WiiU together with my son for over 2 years and we always had pretty much instant queue times for online matches. Always!
ARMS on the other hand. I tried the play weekend and both me and my son got bored within an hour.
The game just felt very repetitive. This is not just my opinion. Plenty of people feel that way when they tried the game during those play weekends.
@Jeronan It had sold around 1.2 million at the beginning of last month. It will continue to sell decent numbers over the course of this year and next and will likely have passed 2 million by Xmas. For a new IP I think that can be considered a success.
First, i'm new here so i would like to apologize for my bad english, it's not my mother-tongue and i don't practice english to often around my place. So please don't be to harsh to me on gramatical faults
I just was wondering, what the difference between "Increased extension Speed" and "Increased expansion rate" is. Perhaps someone, who knows the game and has great english skills, could explain that... for my understanding, it's all the same.
Thanks a lot in advance!
Edit: Filled in a missing word.
A nice set of changes here, nothing seems out of place at all.
Also, to anyone finding ARMS boring, please keep going until you can beat level 6/7 CPU's. I wasn't playing much ARMS until I started doing well in Ranked, and now it's my favorite Switch game.
@Maruel My guess is that extension speed means how fast an Arm movies forward and expansion rate means how fast the umbrella at the end of the Arm opens up.
I'm looking forward to new stages and I would love to see new gamemodes, just more minigames, the ones included are good fun and I'd love to see more in this game.
@Jeronan just so we are clear, those are not facts they are opinions, I play tons of arms single player and have had over 30 hours of family local PvP which is great fun, at least in our opinion. See how that works. Opinions differ fact remain facts.
Yeah had some funny hit box situations so good they've tweaked that.
They also really needed to let people know how to change targets. I've benefitted from ignorance on that point for far too long!
mostly buffs, nice going Nintendo!
Hooked on Splatoon 2 right now but I'll get back into this game when the update with the new character arrives. ARMS is a fun game, wish there was a little more for those of us who prefer single player but what's there is great. I like how Nintendo is handling DLC for both this and Splatoon 2.
So glad they left Ninjara alone; he's my main. Great Nintendo is attending to ARMS post-release to polish it up. It's a great game that I will dive back into after a little more Splatoon 2. BTW, after the testfire, I've had no problem connecting to matches and I like how the types of battles are mixed up. My favorite is ganging up on Hedlock!
Meh. I quit playing ARMS once Splatoon 2 came out 😛
@ShadJV Mechanica is life.
I wish they would to something about the multiplayer in Party Mode. I wanted to love that mode sooo badly, but the fact, that you spend half your time being just a spectator **** so hard, that it really turned me off that mode, and in turn, also turned me of the game a fair bit.
It's not like I don't enjoy it anymore or don't play it anymore, but my enthusiasm just got severely hurt by all that sitting around and spectating when playing in multiplayer.
If I join the game in local 2-player mode, why does the game continue to keep throwing only ONE of us into 2-player party mode matches? Hell, I'm not even sure, why it keeps throwing you into 1-on-1 matches, though I would be willing to accept that as part of the deal, but having to play alone in a two player match is kinda pointless. It just creates so much down time .... sigh
It's especially galling, because the presentation of the party mode is the best Nintendo ever did for online mutliplayer, and the gameplay itself is so much fun. But then again, it's a Nintendo game, so I think artificial barriers to my enjoyment were to be expected unfortunately =(
@Gamer83
Ya, I migrated over to Splatoon 2 for the moment but, Arms is still an incredible game, and I'm nowhere near being done with it. Next update with the new character I'll be playing for sure.
Got that Hori fight stick, played some Ultra Street Fighter II with it... man... first time in 20 years I've used an arcade stick layout, and it feels so good. Now I understand why people buy these things.
So Monster Hunter XX demo drops tomorrow, and the game is out on the 25th... but I doubt you care about it like I do... BUT. What about Mario Kingdom Battle? Has that one sold you yet? Cause it has me
Seekie is my favorite arm to use in Grand Prix. (Level 7) Looking forward to testing it out and noticing a difference there. The Ram Ram got nerfed a little bit. I'm a little concerned because that one I like to use quite a bit
Although I'm playing more Splatoon 2 right now, I think I prefer ARMS overall. I hope the new characters renew everyone's interest, and by the Splatoon will have been out a bit longer.
Stopped playing Arms way before Splatoon 2 hit. Game feels too basic compared to other fighting games where characters have different reaches, grapplers, etc.
Dont regret supporting the new IP though.
@OorWullie AGREED! I also think ARMS is the best exclusive on Switch. In fact, I'd say it's tied with MK8D as the systems best game after Breath of the Wild. Splatoon takes fourth. Next... bring on Super Mario Odyssey!
Another great patch for a great game.
@JaxonH
Mario Kingdom Battle is turn based gameplay, and that style just doesn't really click with me too often so I'm going to give it a miss. Monster Hunter will be on my radar if Capcom announces a Western release date but for right now, I think the next big Switch releases I'm going to buy are Sonic Mania and Super Mario Odyssey. And there's a lot of great indies hitting the e-shop week after week, so I'll probably be getting some of those. Sine Mora I think is out soon and hopefully Shakedown Hawaii isn't too far away. There's also Uncharted and Yakuza Kiwami that I'm getting for PS4, this month is crazy. As far as the Switch is concerned, I think is the best first five months I can remember for a console in a long time. Certainly the Wii U, 3DS, Vita, PS4 and Xbox One didn't get off to same kind of starts.
We were finally able to pickup a Switch the week after Splatoon 2 came out so we bought Splatoon 2 with our system. I've been sitting on a $50 Nintendo Card for a long time and I'm thinking about using it. Arms has tempted me but I fear some of these comments. Some people say they played it for 1 hour and never touched it after that. Others are saying it's one of the best on the Switch.
....before anyone says to buy Zelda, I'm waiting to buy that in physical form.
@Gamer83 Too many games and not enough time!
I'm soooooo knee deep into Splatoon I can't imagine spending the time I'd like to on Arms again, which is a shame, because it really is a great game. But launching it 4 weeks before Splatoon just seemed like the worst possible timing for getting it its wings.
@dkxcalibur
Arms is amazing. Idk if I'd say it's equal to Splatoon, but both are right up there as best new IP in several generations. It's one of the best games on Switch, and now when I think of mainstay Nintendo MP games, I think of Arms right alongside MarioKart and Splatoon and Smash. It's 100% worthy. Thumbs up grip all the way. Way more fun- takes a little bit to get used to and you will have to endure a slight learning curve- but don't give in to the temptation to switch to pure analog movement and you will be rewarded.
@Gamer83
Ya I have both those ordered on PS4 also, but with Splatoon 2 and MHXX and Mario Kingdom Battle and Sonic Mania and Mario Odyssey and Fire Emblem Warriors and Xenoblade 2 and Skyrim and all those indies you speak of... Idk if I'll have time for anything else. Plus I'm jumping on the sports game bandwagon- particularly FIFA 18, just because games are so much more fun on Switch, and there's on-demand MP and I used to love soccer. Wish The Show was on Switch. I'd buy it if it were.
when is the event thing going to do a thing?
Megawatt got a buff. Nice.
Slamamander fot a buff. Damn.
(This is subjective based on my play style)
I just like that Barq was 'trained' for his buff.
@NEStalgia
Everybody was crying there was not enough games to play when the Wii-U launched. I understand the point that you're making with Arms being launched right before Splatoon, however, I'm on the other side of the fence (lol), I like Arms better than Splatoon. With more games we both get to eat our cake. I say let it rain down games! Now how about sending me a friend request. : )
@dkxcalibur
Yup. Not a bad problem to have though. Congrats on the purchase by the way. I'd give ARMS a recommendation but I always suggest renting games first if you're on the fence. If you haven't played it, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is probably the best game on the system after Zelda and Splatoon 2. That game is a must buy.
@JaxonH
Eventhough Sony is the only one making baseball games these days, I don't think there's any deals in place stopping Nintendo or MS from also being able to make their owns series if they want to. Years ago Nintendo announced Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball for Gamecube, then cancelled. It seemed like a very real missed opportunity not to have it on the Wii. Now would be a great time to bring it back. I'm a huge fan of the sport so I'd love to have an actual good baseball game on Nintendo and Xbox as well as PlayStation.
@Manjushri As a fellow fighting game fanatic from way back, I got to say that fighting with Pokémon still interests me more. Even if Pokkén is not balanced as well as Arms.
@Bengals76 Good timing, I just tagged you in another post!
Only thing with Arms launching just before Splatoon is, I think it shares a large portion of the user base, so when everyone migrated to Splatoon, the Arms servers kind of drained out a bit. It would have been nicer having Arms as the "big" game for the general audience for more than 4 weeks so it could have grown deeper roots. I feel like I was just getting to know it when the Splatoon addiction fired up again.
Though that goes back to comments I made earlier on Switch's launch that it was a mistake to front-load the major first party lineup with big online-only games month after month (MK8D May, ARMS June, Splatoon 2 July, Pokken Sept, but at least interrupted by Rabbids Aug.) With the low install base of a new console launch all those games cannibalize each other's audience somewhat. It would have been nicer to see it more balanced with single and multiplayer games rather than May-Sept = Online only, and Oct-Dec big huge solo games only.
@Gamer83 A love Mario Kart 8. It was my favorite game on the Wii U; but I'm not sure I can buy it again at full price knowing that I already own the same game. I know it has the battle modes but it's the principle.
As for MLB video games, outside of retro style games like RBI, I think Sony has exclusive rights to MLB video games. I too own The Show '17. It's very good but I stopped playing it because of other games!
Arms is a competitive game that lacks a competitive feeling. I feel that Nintendo really needs to release a game-specific app for Arms to detail ALL stats much like Splatoon. I'm also not sure why there is an events sign up without any events. Arms really needs a monthly event where you can earn perks. The ability to get different costumes instead of just changing color would also add to the game.
"A cursor will also be displayed above the current target for a set time." Relieves so much anxiety that I'm gonna hop back into the game tonight. My hands are aching from gripping too hard on Splatoon (need a Pro controller I guess).
@Kalmaro It's good fun but kinda light on content right now. Maybe wait until it has more content updates released and get Pokken first if you want it more.
@3dsgeek333 I can agree with that!
Keep adding characters to the game...that's really what people will go back to the game for.
I can't wait to try out Boomerang and Coolerang
Bought this game a few weeks back. It's pretty fun for the single player content that I played. Have not gone online with this yet, but it's just a matter of time that I will.
@SuperWeird I want to believe that, but I'm not so sure. Maybe it's because I'm too used to traditional fighting games, but as I'm starting out in Arms, I can't shake the feeling that I'm just grinding for arm parts and reaching a certain level, with no real incentive since single player is too basic. I'm still giving it a chance, but so far I can't say I'd personally recommend it to anyone without them first trying it out. Splatoon 2 on the other hand, has me hooked since day 1, and I've never played any form of online game before.
@MegaTen If it's anything like Splatoon 1, the content was all already made prior to launch, they're just activating it in waves to manicure and groom the online environment. For Splatoon one much of the drip feed of content was actually on the retail disc at launch, it just was unlocked in a controlled way like an event. I doubt they put the content on-disc/cart this time after hackers revealed everything that was up-coming for Splatoon. So it's "sort of on disc" but you can't use it online until it's ready.
I do think they've kind of boxed themselves in with Arms post-Splatoon launch though. Splatoon is one of the best online games there is, and Pokken comes out right after which has brand power (and arcade history.) ARMS just gets kind of lost with all that.
I tested out the RAM RAM and the Boomerang. The RAM RAM is a little bit slower but not gimped. The Boomerang is a bit faster and basically the speed of what the RAM RAM used to be. I had time to defeat a rank 13 Ninjara with Parasol / Coolerang. Then switched to RAM RAM
@Jeronan work on reading, as I said exactly what you're saying. Splatoon WAS an instant hit and abnormally popular. To expect Nintendo to swing that with two new IPs in a row is unrealistic. Arms isn't doing bad if they plan to make it an evergreen title, and any game without launch window tends to have that goal as the system doesn't have a good install base yet for instant hits. Not to mention, as previously mentioned, hearsay is opinion, saying it "felt repetitive" to you or any other specific players is opinion as plenty of people feel otherwise. I feel Street Fighter is repetitive and I'm sure there are people who disagree. Just because Arms isn't the next Splatoon doesn't mean it failed or the servers are doomed.
As blaacning goes, it isn't bad!
@MegaTen
I wouldn't be concerned if I knew the updates were small, but even on the Wii U, several updates for boxed games took up over a gigabyte on the system. And you HAD to install them if you wanted to play online. Or in some cases if you wanted to play at all, as the system was of that "always online" variety, and would check if the update was installed.
One thing is games releasing with content still cooking, but forcing meaty mandatory updates on players when your system is very limited on memory is inexcusable.
Actual notes on changes! Good for them. They need to do that kind of thing for Smash. "Improved gameplay" or whatever that garbage they put as an update.
@Jeronan Maybe I should get back to playing ARMS ranked matches; because I can get a lot of work done while waiting...
I want this game to do well; it is innovational.
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