Rivals of Aether 2: Best Characters, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• New characters with specific playstyles and strengths are added to Rivals of Aether 2’s roster, providing unique gameplay experiences.
• Each character in Rivals of Aether 2 has strengths and weaknesses that affect their overall performance and gameplay style.
• Fleet, the fox character, stands out as the best fighter in Rivals of Aether 2 due to her versatile moves and powerful tornado abilities.

Rivals of Aether 2 is the second installment in the platform fighter universe of Rivals of Aether. The game features a cast of colorful characters that clash similarly to Super Smash Bros. Each character has their own set of attack styles and elemental focus.

New and returning characters arrive on the roster of Rivals of Aether 2, each one with specific playstyles that come with their strengths and weaknesses. There’s a possibility of more characters being introduced in the future, so this list will rank all the current characters based on their overall performance.

10 Loxodont

The Emperor of Flame

• Elemental Powers: Molten Boulder, Molten Charges
• Weight: Heavy
• Ground speed: Slow
• Aerial speed: Normal
• Strengths: Unusually fast with axe swings, has decent ranged damage, and molten charges tend to annihilate.
• Weaknesses: Somewhat slow recovery after basic attacks, and has a large hitbox.

Loxodont is a newcomer in Rivals 2, and great for newcomer gamers of Rivals as well. He’s a villainous elephant wielding a two-handed axe with great range. He also has the ability to launch Molten Boulders as a neutral special, which can throw his opponents off guard. Similar to Kragg, Loxodont is massive and deals awesome damage.

Loxodont’s down special leaves behind lava pools that he can stand within to gain up to three charges of Molten Charge for a bonus to damage. Loxodont’s downside is how heavy he is— his recovery tends to lack, especially when he gets combo’d off the edge.

9 Kragg

Defender of the Aetherian Forest

• Elemental Powers: Rock Hurl, Defense Ball, Earth Pillar
• Weight: Heavy
• Ground speed: Slow
• Aerial speed: Slow
• Strengths: Super heavy and hard to kill, strong attacks and aerials hit absurdly hard.
• Weaknesses: Fast faller, most attacks are a bit laggy, and is vulnerable while holding rocks.

Kragg is known for his hulking weight and ability to survive longer than most characters. He’s a massive beetle with a moveset that deals tons of damage and knockback upon successful combos. His special attacks can manipulate the stage in spectacular ways, like summoning a massive pillar of earth beneath him with his up special.

Kragg can also use his neutral special to dig up a square rock that can be thrown, and upon contact, shatters and knocks back anyone in the way. Due to his beetle-like qualities, Kragg can curl up into a spikey ball and roll across the stage. Kragg can deal massive damage and has an outstanding edge-guarding game, but his downside lies in vulnerable moments like holding the rock or falling faster due to his weight.

8 Orcane

The Orca Panther Trickster

• Elemental Powers: Puddle Teleportation, Bubble Evaporation, Water Amp
• Weight: Normal
• Ground speed: Fast
• Aerial speed: Slow
• Strengths: Super safe Down Tilt, good combo hitter, and great reach.
• Weaknesses: Few long-ranged air attacks, virtually no recovery if puddle is used up.

Orcane is a trickster of an orca, capable of manipulating puddles and bubbles to annihilate opponents and dominate the stage. Orcane doesn’t do a lot of damage with basic attacks, but if players master his puddle teleportation, he becomes too slippery to catch up to. Orcane’s combo game is impressive, with a great way of starting them through his sweeping tail attacks which knock enemies up.

Orcane’s aerial game is effective, and timing his hovering bubble stream is essential in dodging opponents and dealing damage at the same time. His strong attacks, when charged, bursts water with enough strength to K.O. at higher percentages. Orcane doesn’t have many long-ranged attacks and his puddle teleportation can be punished, so he requires more movement and careful timing to counteract.

7 Forsburn

The Combusting Smokey Hyena

• Elemental Powers: Smoke Screen, Decoy, Consume/Combust
• Weight: Normal
• Ground speed: Normal
• Aerial speed: Slow
• Strengths: Amazing combos on ground and in air, powerful Charged Down Special (Combust)
• Weaknesses: Lacking projectiles and smoke clouds are fragile.

Forsburn is an excellent assassin, a smoke-based hyena who is best at playing patiently and capitalizing on any mistakes his opponents make. He controls the pace of the game by throwing smoke out that both conceals him, acts as a space to teleport to and emerge from, and to consume to gain combust charges. His overall damage is low, but his combo game is strong enough to rack up damage fast, with many of his attacks flowing well into each other.

Forsburn has great mobility and attack range, wielding a dagger with awesome wide-ranged aerials and long-ranged strong attacks. If his smoke clouds aren’t placed well, they can be destroyed easily by other projectiles, and his up air smoke teleportation can be punished if too predictably used.

6 Ranno

The Slippery Master Martial Artist

• Elemental Powers: Poison Stacks, Toxic Trap, Poison Spin
• Weight: Normal
• Ground speed: Normal
• Aerial speed: Slow
• Strengths: Toxic trap enables deadly combos, effective Forward Aerial, and awesome long-lasting attack hitboxes.
• Weaknesses: Can be trapped in his own bubble, and some moves are sluggish, giving room for punishment.

Ranno is a poisonous dart frog martial artist with two powerful methods of attack; short-ranged aerial combos and toxic trap techniques. His poisonous bubble and poison darts are his methods of poisoning, with poison stacking up to 4 times. Each stack adds 1% of damage for every move the opponent makes, lasting until opponents parry him or land a hit to remove a single charge.

Ranno’s awesome forward special toxic tongue attack pulls his enemies in, swallowing them and spitting them out into a poisonous bubble that consistently damages the unfortunate contestants within. Ranno’s combos pairing close-range attack combos and toxic traps enable him to shred health quickly to set up for a K.O. His biggest vulnerability is how sluggish some of his attacks are if he misses, and he can be trapped in his own bubble if not careful.

5 Wrastor

The Aerial Ace

• Elemental Powers: Winged Flight, Wind Current, Aerial Ace
• Weight: Very light
• Ground speed: Slow
• Aerial speed: Fast
• Strengths: Strong Attacks can be used basically any time in the air, and good speed buffs.
• Weaknesses: Requires expert skills in combos, very light and easy to K.O.

Wrastor is a falcon who dominates the air space, performing strong attacks in the air instead of on the ground, making him a uniquely powerful character. Most of his moves hit opponents into the air, allowing him to continuously attack using forward or up strong attacks or neutral specials as easy finishers. Wrastor’s Froward Special is also useful as the slipstream it casts creates a line for him to follow that increases his overall speed.

Wrastor’s neutral special spins him around, turning into a tornado for a few seconds, making it an effective move in combos and dealing damage in a decent-sized area. Holding the button down moves him upwards, which allows Wrastor to dodge most projectiles and carry away any opponent in his way. His only weakness is his projectile cannot be repeatedly used and does no real knockback or damage, but he makes up for this in his aerial combo skills.

4 Maypul

Tree Whispering Guardian of the Aetherian Forest

• Elemental Powers: Watcher’s Mark, Wrapped Up, Sling Shot
• Weight: Light
• Ground speed: Very fast
• Aerial speed: Fast
• Strengths: Super agile all around, can wall cling, and great K.O. abilities.
• Weaknesses: Lightweight and easy to K.O., and awkward recovery skills.

Maypul is the self-appointed Guardian of the Aetherian Forest, an agile ferret-raccoon wielding two leaf blades with the best movement speeds in the game. Her most vital tool is her netural special, the Watcher’s Mark ability, a quickly thrown seed that marks opponents and allows her to sling-shot herself to them for extended and devastating combos.

Maypul also has seeds she plants with her down special, which grows into a plant that wraps an opponent, locking them in place. Her strong attacks involve flinging her vines, dealing great damage, or wrapping up marked opponents. While Maypul is somewhat difficult to learn, mastering her moves will allow gamers to juggle their opponents easily.

3 Clairen

Warrior From The Future

• Elemental Powers: Ionized Tip, Plasma Echo, Energy Field
• Weight: Normal
• Ground speed: Normal
• Aerial speed: Normal
• Strengths: Creates a force field to destroy projectiles, grab cannot be punished by parries, large attack hitboxes, and ability to stun.
• Weaknesses: A lot of moves leave openings to be punished.

Clairen is a black panther from the future, wielding a flaming sword with the ability to stun opponents with precise attacks. Clairen is possibly the easiest character to learn and master, as her sword is fast and versatile. The tip of the sword does extra damage, stuns, and knocks back opponents.

Clairen’s recovery is effective in gaining ground and dealing damage, as her up special can be used twice in a row. Her forward special teleports her forward while leaving behind a plasma burst that heavily damages enemies caught within. Her down special counters attacks by preventing all damage and sending opponents flying away.

2 Zetterburn

The Courage Of Fire

• Elemental Powers: Burn Damage, Wild Fire, Fire Amp
• Weight: Normal
• Ground speed: Fast
• Strengths: Amazing combo game, high damage across the board, and highly useful Forward Special.
• Weaknesses: Easily parryable projectile, bad recovery, and weak neutral attacks when compared to other characters.

Zetterburn is a beast with a flaming mane and blasts his enemies away with fiery combos. His deadly close-range combos paired with long-range fire projectiles make him a challenging opponent. Zetterburn’s moves set his enemies aflame, dealing damage over time while getting hits in. His specials can throw a wall of fire out to buff him and control the stage.

Zetterburn’s strength lies in his explosive combinations, with many sweeping attacks like his up tilt that launches opponents upwards. His neutral air makes him flip into a cartwheel with a wide attack radius, and his down air slams him and anyone in the way straight down for great damage. He may not have the best neutral attacks compared to other characters, but his burning attacks and amazing combo game keep him locked as one of the best fighters to play.

1 Fleet

The Robin Hood of Aether

• Elemental Powers: Float, Tornado Arrows,
• Weight: Light
• Ground speed: Normal
• Aerial speed: Fast
• Strengths: Can float in the air, powerful tornado buffs, and amazing combo game.
• Weaknesses: Tornado effect can be transferred back, and float is once per jump.

Fleet the fox is a powerful and nimble character wielding a bow and tornado powers. She can float for several seconds upon jumping to keep herself safe and control the rhythm of the fight. Her neutral special has five charges and empowers her normal attacks with a potent tornado ability. Once her special hits the target, it eventually launches them upwards with a gust of wind. The only downside here is her opponents can transfer the tornado effect back to her before the timer runs out.

Fleet can jab her tornado-powered arrows up close as well, making her an extremely versatile character at all ranges. She can shoot a moving tornado with her side special that throws her opponents off-guard. Her up special has great recovery and can also be used up close for an awesome K.O. With her timed tornado abilities and insane buffing powers, Fleet easily ranks as the best character in Rivals of Aether 2.