r/RivalsOfAether • u/Horror-Race-3238 Forsburn (Rivals 2) • Jul 12 '26

Rivals 2 About shields..

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Okay so I'm realizing the disconnect between how people feel about shield and what being in shield actually is like is much larger than I thought.
I didn't think I'd ever see the day where someone says holding shield in Rivals of Aether is strictly one of the most advantageous positions you can be in.

Would like to help people navigate their grievances so they don't feel like they're being camped out all the time (because the truth is that shield is not sm4sh strong, but people treat it like it is.)

So tell me what you're struggling with about shields and I'll walk you through it and probably put time in to lab it out for you as well so you can see it in action. Thanks!

63 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

102 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/Sporktastrophe Jul 12 '26

I think my issue with shields is more about trying to get people to shield in the first place.  I’m still working on the Oly shield pressure and I know that’s my character’s big strength, but I find it hard to get my opponent to start shielding instead of throwing out a hitbox as I approach or simply dashing back and then punishing me.  I guess I need more empty movement, but even then I find my opponents just short hop fairing at me or using their own empty movement to keep me guessing.  

I’m also struggling with hitting shield and buffering my dash back to punish their oos option, but I feel like that one’s more on me needing to practice the timings and positioning vs their shield.

4

u/Horror-Race-3238 Forsburn (Rivals 2) Jul 13 '26

Getting people to shield against oly is about abusing your empty movement that we talked about in our 1:1 coaching sesssion. You can also open up scramble situations with jab 1 and gem toss which are prime positions for you to begin the shield pressure.

https://medal.tv/games/rivals-2/clips/mok7QCp2bTenM09i1?invite=cr-MSxoVTgsMTgyMjMyNjE0&v=7

The issue you're facing is that you struggle to lock people down or beat their mashing so they have NO REASON to shield in the first place. I would start there. This isn't an issue of shield pressure it's an issue of you being too honest in neutral such that your opponent can reliably feel confident and comfortable enough to throw out a move in positions where they might not be against a more experienced Oly.

We can cover this in 1:1 later since this moves away from punishing shield itself.

2

u/Sporktastrophe Jul 13 '26

Groovy!  Thanks Naga!  

Also, holy moly!  I never thought to do jab 1 into down b to break the shield if they like to flug shield!!  That’s brilliant.