With all the news this week around BlizzCon 2018, as well as the Nintendo Direct yesterday for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, have gamers really hyped for 2019. Across the board, gamers are excited for this particular iteration of the extremely successful fighting game franchise. Whether it’s due to the 100+ stages, 70+ fighters, or whatever, fighting game fans will be spending a lot of time playing Smash on the Switch once this game drops.
A particular set of announcements from Nintendo this week are even more exciting, especially to the competitive scene for Smash. Nintendo announced a variety of new game modes coming with the launch, including a new Spirits Battle singleplayer mode, but there’s plenty of online and multiplayer offerings.
In terms of online matchmaking, the game will have tons of customization to find the perfect match for you online. The rules settings will allow players to filter by various rule selections online, including the match type, stage selection, and whether or not you’d like to play with items, and much more. Although these selections are held less favorably compared to geography by the matchmaking algorithm, in an effort to reduce lag.
Anyone who plays online, and begins winning matches, will earn “Smash Tags,” these customizable cards are essentially a status symbol, but there’s another stat that’s far more important, and that’s the Global Smash Power (GSP). GSP is your online skill level, and will rank you on global leaderboards along with other players.
In terms of online modes, there’s a fair bit of new and old stuff coming for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For starters, For Fun and For Glory, the two different game types from the previous Super Smash Bros. games on 3DS and Wii U, are no more. And there’s a new mode called Elite Battles. These high-stakes matches will be exclusive to the players at the top of the GSP rankings, so you better get ready to start practicing a lot of Smash.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is set to release on the Nintendo Switch on December 7.
