Ninjala Season 3 Arrives, Adds New Arena, Weapons And Spectator Mode

As had been previously promised, Ninjala's third season is now live and brings plenty of new content along for the ride.

Major new additions include Special Collections and the all-new Spectator Mode, but there are the usual gameplay tweaks and new weapons to enjoy, too. You can find the full (and very lengthy) patch notes below...

Ninjala Season 3 | Theme: dragons!

Season Schedule

Oct. 28, 2020, 19:00 (PDT) - Jan. 06, 2021, 17:59 (PST)
29 Oct. 2020, 02:00 (GMT) - 07 Jan. 2021, 01:59 (GMT)
29 Oct. 2020, 12:00 (AEST) - 07 Jan. 2021, 11:59 (AEST)

Ninjala Story Pack: Chapter Two

The Ninjala Story Pack: Chapter Two featuring Berecca is now available as DLC!

New gum weapons: Pop Eye and Cerberus join the fray!

Two new weapon types, Pop Eye and Cerberus, have been added!

A new stage appears: Croissant Arena!

Get ready to do battle in a giant sporting stadium! This new stage, Croissant Arena, is packed with fans ready to cheer on your ninja moves!

New Features

- Items available for purchase in the in-game specialty shop will be displayed in rank format, and new Special Collections will be available for purchase.

- A all-new Spectator Mode has been added for Room Battles.

- The UI and layout of the base screen has been revised to make it easier to review ninja missions you’ve undertaken.

- A non-combat area has been implemented for the Team Battle standby dojo.

- A Ninjala Code feature to claim special presents has been added to the Options Menu.

- Increased the number of registerable favorites in the Closet to 20.

- Buying a NInjala Pass will make it so that Ninja-Gum will never be consumed for the duration of the season.

- Four types of stickers useful for communication have been added to the group of stickers selectable from the start.

Gum Weapon Parameter Adjustments

The Ninjala development team is dedicated to ensuring that players can enjoy a wide variety of battling styles.

After careful observation of winning percentages by gum weapon and weapon popularity, we have implemented a host of balance adjustments.

At the core of our adjustments this time, we strengthened the following weapons which were posting low victory rates: Iron Noise, Drum Beat, Mellow à la Mode, and Trick Ball. In addition, we made refinements to the following, which boasted disproportionally high usage and win rates: Ninja Yo-yo, Shinobi Spinner, and Utsusemi Master.

We have also adjusted various gum weapons so that new combos and tactics can be discovered and employed.

We hope these refinements will allow players to continue to enjoy diverse styles of play in Ninjala battles.

IPPON Katana	Scroll Blade

- Attack combo time for normal, back, and wide attacks has been shortened.

- The attack cancel timing against Charging Slash when a Gum Break connects has been quickened.

With this adjustment, combo time has been shortened, so it will be possible to defeat your opponents faster.

Drill Beast	Corn Bat

- Attack combo time for normal, back, and wide attacks has been shortened.

- Changed the number of back attack hits from 3 hits to 2 hits so that it is not as easily affected by lag issues.

- Increased back attack damage.

- Wide attacks have received the following adjustments:

　 Changed to rise during attack for the second attack

　 Increased the duration of hit detection for the third attack

- “Here and There” has been adjusted so that movement is possible immediately after diving into the ground.

- The attack cancel timing against Here and There when a Gum Break connects has been quickened.

In this adjustment, we have made various enhancements, including adjustments to “Here and There”

Combo time has been shortened, so it will be possible to defeat your opponents faster.

By reducing the number of hits for back attack, it will allow combos to finish faster.

While the number of hits for individual combos will be reduced, rest assured that this adjustment will result in greater overall damage-dealing potential with back attacks.

SK8 Hammer	Sushi Axe

- Wide attacks have received the following adjustments:

　 Accelerated the occurrence of attacks.

　 Adjusted combo hit count and damage dealt.

　 You can now cancel faster when proceeding to your next action after a hit connects.

　 Distance traveled when attacking has also been increased, making it easier to land attacks.

　 Increased damage resulting from normal attacks.

　 Reduced ninjutsu gauge rate of increase.

In this adjustment, we have strengthened wide attacks for these weapons.

It will now be possible to attack faster and land hits more easily than before.

Iron Noise	Drum Beat

- Normal attacks have received the following adjustments:

　 Accelerated the occurrence of attacks..

　 Accelerated the occurrence of sonic bullets.

　 Distance traveled when attacking has also been increased, making it easier to land attacks.

- Back attacks have received the following adjustments:

　 For a set duration during attacks, it will now guard against normal attacks.

　 Increased the duration of hit detection

- Wide attacks have received the following adjustments:

　 Accelerated the occurrence of attacks..

- The following adjustments have been made to “Echoing Scream”:

　 Accelerated the occurrence of attacks..

　 For a set duration during attacks, it will now guard against normal attacks.

With these adjustments, we have strengthened this weapon overall.

By speeding up normal attacks, it will now be easier to attack with sonic waves when facing an opponent. Furthermore, back attacks and Echoing Scream may now be used to guard against normal attacks, allowing you to cut into your opponent’s attack and attack for yourself.

Echoing Scream has also been sped up, allowing it to be used more effectively in various combos.

Ninja Yo-yo	Shinobi Spinner

- The first through fourth hits of wide attack combos have received the following adjustments:

　 Yo-yo Leap may now be canceled.

　 When the attack misses, it can now be canceled by jumping or with a Gum Boost.

　 The yo-yo will no longer be set when canceled early.

　 Hit detection range has been reduced..

- Damage for the first hit of wide attacks has been reduced.

- Distance traveled with follow-up attack hits 2 through 4 has been increased.

Distance traveled when attacking with Gum Breaks has also been increased, making it easier to land attacks.

- The following adjustments have been made to “Yo-yo Leap”:

　 Cancellation timing at unleashing has been delayed.

　 Attack speed at unleashing has been delayed.

　 Homing ability has also been reduced.

　 Increased downtime when pulling back yo-yo.

　 Changed the reaction when pulling back yo-yo with a Gum Break.

　Cancel timing when a warp attack lands has been sped up.

After careful review, we determined that Yo-Yo Leap was overpowered, as pulling the yo-yo back skillfully could allow players to defeat opponent one-sidedly and without risk, even without anticipating for S-Bursts.

By increasing downtime, it will no longer be possible to perform follow-up attacks when pulling back multiple times. Furthermore, a blowback reaction has been added when taking a gum break pullback.

Although the strength of "Yo-yo Leap" itself has been reduced, we have strengthened the wide attack to compensate, allowing for new attack strategies.

With the wide attack, by cancelling after a miss, you can reset your yo-yo and recover more easily. Also, by cancelling after a hit, you will be able to chain it into Yo-yo Leap for a combo.

Mellow à la Mode	Trick Ball

- Normal attacks have received the following adjustments:

　 Distance traveled when attacking has been increased, making it easier to land attacks.

　 Shortened attack combo time.

- Back attacks have received the following adjustments:

　 Cancel timing when an attack lands has been sped up.

　 Cancel timing when an attack misses has been sped up.

　 Reduced damage for direct hits, and increased damage when a blast connects.

　 (Total damage has been reduced for big weapons only)

- Wide attacks have received the following adjustments:

　 The second hit will initiate earlier

　 Cancel timing when an attack lands has been sped up.

　 Cancel timing when an attack misses has been sped up.

- Beyond the Gum

　 Hit reaction has been altered so that immobilization will occur right in that place.

With this adjustment, combos using "Beyond the Gum" will now be sure to connect.

Furthermore, gaps in attacking have been reduced overall, which should make it possible to defeat opponents more quickly than before.

Matsuri Board	Camu Camu Plate

- Reduced immobilization on your side when guarding the 2nd to 4th hits of wide attacks.

Home Run Surfer	Ninja Calibur

- Distance traveled with the first hit of a normal attack has been increased.

-The following adjustments have been made to the 2nd hit of normal attacks and back attacks

　 Changed the number of hits from 3 hits to 2 hits so that it is not as easily affected by lag issues.

　(This adjustment will not affect total damage done by the combo.)

- When the first hit of a wide attack is guarded, immobilization on the opponent’s side has increased

Tenchi Muyo

- Hit detection range has been reduced..

Gum Kunai

- Cooldown time has been reduced.

Gum Kunai is not particularly effective on its own, but when combined with other attacks or used together with teammates, it becomes a highly effective Gum Shoot. To this end, we sped up its cooldown to allow it to be more efficiently linked with other attacks.

In addition, though it has low penetration, allowing it to be overcome by other gum shoots, it allows for quicker recovery in the event that it is overpowered.

With these adjustments, the Scroll Blade and Iron Noise have been enhanced.

In particular, Iron Noise will have a greater chance of approaching allowing players to reap the benefits.

S-Energy

- The rate at which S-Energy is naturally recovered has been increased.

Utsusemi

- If you suffer damage, guard, or parry after pressing the Utsusemi button and before entering the transformation, the Utsusemi will no longer occur.

Utsusemi Master

- The time duration until the Utsusemi breaks after being set has been reduced.

After careful review, we determined that Utsusemi Master was overpowered in that it allowed players to counter by using Utsusemi immediately before being hit with an attack. This adjustment will make it more difficult to use Utsusemi as a counter.

Combos using Utsusemi to directly attack opponents will still be possible.

Utsusemi Master remains an extremely powerful Shinobi Card, and we intend to closely monitor how it is used going forward in light of these adjustments.

Matching Adjustments for Ranked Matches

With this update, we have adjusted the matching algorithm to prevent new players from being matched with intermediate and advanced players. Specifically, players of the Apprentice, Adept Ninja, or Vanguard Ninja ranks will only be matched with other players of the same or similar rank.

For players from the Elite Ninja to Ninja God ranks, priority will be given to other players of the same or similar rank. However, in the event that such opponents cannot be found, matching will be conducted with players of divergent ranks.

For ranked Team Battles, matching will be conducted based upon the average rank of each team, with opponent teams of a similar average rank being selected.

- With Free Matches, quick matching will be given relatively higher priority compared to Ranked Matches.

Rating Calculation Adjustments

With this update, we have fundamentally overhauled the rating calculation system. In particular, to this point, when a high-ranked player lost to a low-ranked player, or in team battles with extreme rank differentials, decreases in rating were excessive. With this update, high-ranking players will see less severe rating drops in these situations. Furthermore, with Team Battles, rating fluctuations will now be unified for all team members regardless of placing.

Matching Adjustments

- Frequent exits from the lobby will now be addressed by a temporary restriction on matching.

- For Rank Matches, we will also be observing the situation and considering a rating penalty for players who exit excessively

Resolution of Known Issues

- Fixed an issue where network or router environment could result in matching not being possible.

- Various adjustments and bug fixes have been implemented to ensure a smooth and enjoyable gameplay experience.

Phew! We told you it was a long one!

Do you spend much time on Ninjala? Let us know how you've been getting on in the comments.

Thanks to Ninjalaislit for the tip!