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Controls

Currently, Rivals of Aether II officially supports Xbox, GameCube, and keyboard controllers. Other controllers outside of these options may still be usable, with the help of Steam Input.

Menu Navigation

Below is a table for menu navigation controls. These inputs cannot be rebound.

Xbox / GameCube Keyboard
Start / Pause /
Navigate Menu Left Analog Stick &
/ / / &

/ / /

Confirm /
Cancel /
CSS Player Tag /
Misc. Menu 1
/
CSS Player Config. /
Misc. Menu 2
/
Menu Tab Left /
Menu Tab Right /

Custom Control Bindings

In the character select screen, the player may create a player tag; once selected, the player may then modify all controller preferences to their liking. This custom control scheme is automatically saved to that particular tag.

CUSTOMIZE CONTROLS are the first option listed in the controls menu. Buttons on your controller can be re-assigned to basic fundamental actions performed in-battle:

  • JumpDefault Controls
    Xbox:
    GCN:
    KB:
    - Performs jumps. Can perform both short hops and full hops, depending on how quickly the button is pressed.
  • AttackDefault Controls
    Xbox:
    GCN:
    KB:
    - Performs various light attacks, including Jabs, Tilts, and Dash Attacks.
  • StrongDefault Controls
    Xbox:
    GCN:
    KB:
    - Performs Strongs.
  • SpecialDefault Controls
    Xbox:
    GCN:
    KB:
    - Performs Specials and various Special commands.
  • GrabDefault Controls
    Xbox:
    GCN:
    KB:
    - Performs a Grab.
    • May also be executed with ShieldDefault Controls
      Xbox:
      GCN:
      KB:
      + AttackDefault Controls
      Xbox:
      GCN:
      KB:
      .
  • ShieldDefault Controls
    Xbox:
    GCN:
    KB:
    - Performs Shielding and Dodges.
  • ParryDefault Controls
    Xbox:
    GCN: / +
    KB:
    - Performs a Parry.
    • May also be executed with ShieldDefault Controls
      Xbox:
      GCN:
      KB:
      + SpecialDefault Controls
      Xbox:
      GCN:
      KB:
      .
  • Short Hop - Same as JumpDefault Controls
    Xbox:
    GCN:
    KB:
    , but will always perform a short hop, regardless of how long the button is held.
  • Full Hop - Same as JumpDefault Controls
    Xbox:
    GCN:
    KB:
    , but will always perform a full hop, regardless of how long the button is held.
  • Walk Mod.Default Controls
    KB:
    - The walk modifier. While this button is held:
    • Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      Dashing/running will not register; horizontal movement becomes strictly walking.
    • Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      Dropping through platforms will not register; a downwards input will always crouch on platforms.
    • Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      Fastfalling will not register.
    • Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      If TAP JUMP turned is ON, any upwards input will still never perform a jump.
    • If AUTO-WALK is turned ON, Walk Mod.Default Controls
      KB:
      has the opposite effect: walking becomes dashing/running, crouching on platforms becomes platform drops, etc. See section on AUTO WALK for further details.
  • All Taunt - Performs a Taunt. The particular Taunt performed depends on the direction held when pressed.

The following table lists the default bindings for in-battle actions:

Xbox GameCube Keyboard
JumpDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
AttackDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
StrongDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
SpecialDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
GrabDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
ParryDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN: / +
KB:
-
Short Hop - - -
Full Hop - - -
Walk Mod.Default Controls
KB:
- -
All Taunt - - -

On Xbox and GameCube controllers, movement is inextricably tied to the left analog stick.

Keyboard controls are exclusively given an extra set of customizable key bindings:

  • MOVE UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT are bound to their corresponding arrow keys by default. Keyboard directional inputs equate to full-speed taps on the left stick; combined with Walk Mod.Default Controls
    KB:
    , they become slight tilt inputs instead.
    • / / / = Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      / Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      / Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      / Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
    • Hold Walk Mod.Default Controls
      KB:
      + / / / = Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      / Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      / Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
      / Default Controls
      Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick
      KB: / / /
    • If AUTO-WALK turned is ON, tap/tilt inputs become flipped. All keyboard movement instead default to tilt inputs, and Walk Mod.Default Controls
      KB:
      movement becomes tap inputs. See section on AUTO WALK for more details.
  • RIGHT STICK UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT are not assigned to any keys by default. These will input the equivalent of tilting the right analog stick on a gamepad, in the given direction. The setting for which action the RIGHT STICK performs is given its own submenu.
  • TAUNT 1/2/3/4 are assigned to , , , & respectively, by default. These will input four distinct taunts if they are available. If Taunts 2/3/4 are not unlocked, they will default to Taunt 1.

Other Settings

Outside of the CUSTOMIZE CONTROLS menu, there are further controls settings to change the input methods of certain mechanics, change thresholds on stick sensitivity, and turn the controller's rumble on or off.

TAP JUMP

  • OFF by default

Enables jumping by tapping up Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
. Replicates the default behavior in Super Smash Bros. titles.

TAP WALL-JUMP

  • OFF by default

Enables wall-jumping by tapping away Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
from the wall tangent to the player character. Replicates the same input for wall jumps in Super Smash Bros. titles.

TAP STRONG

  • OFF by default

Enables Strongs by tapping in a direction Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
and pressing AttackDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
, foregoing the need to bind a button/key to StrongDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
. Replicates the same input for Smash Attacks in Super Smash Bros. titles.

RIGHT STICK

  • STRONG by default
  • ATTACK
  • SPECIAL
  • ADAPTIVE
  • REVERSE

Determines the behavior of tilting the right analog stick in a given direction, outputting the equivalent of a directional input + some setting; e.g., if set to SPECIAL, moving the right stick down performs a Down Special, i.e. Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
+ SpecialDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
simultaneously.

ADAPTIVE enables Strongs when grounded, and Tilt Attacks when airborne. REVERSE enables the opposite: Tilts when grounded, Strongs when airborne. This is relevant to players who switch between characters with aerial Strongs (i.e. Wrastor) and characters without.

STICK SENSITIVITIES

A dedicated submenu for adjusting the left and right analog sticks.

LEFT STICK DEADZONE

A visualization of the resulting cross deadzones on the left stick, at 50%, 100%, and 300%.
  • 100% by default
  • Range from 50-300%

Determines the size of the cross-shaped deadzone on the left analog stick. 50% is half the default size; 300% is 3 times the default size.

This setting will determine the threshold in which the X coordinate of the left stick position will be set to 0.000 when approaching the vertical axis. The higher the percentage, the further the stick must be tilted away from the vertical axis before a non-zero X coordinate is registered. The same applies to the Y position and the horizontal axis.

In other words, this setting determines how easily the left stick will "snap" to the vertical axis, the horizontal axis, or dead-center, as opposed to a diagonal. The higher the percentage, the more easily this "snapping" to coordinates will occur, and the harder it is to (mis)input a diagonal.

Increase this percentage if you need more consistency in strictly-vertical or strictly-horizontal inputs; OR, if the in-game cursor is "drifting", or moving while the stick is in a neutral position. Decrease this percentage if you need more precise diagonal angles without snapping straight to a hard horizontal/vertical angle; OR, if you need quicker responsiveness from the stick's neutral position, i.e. if you need smaller nudges of the left stick to register inputs in-game.

LEFT STICK SENSITIVITY

  • 100% by default
  • Range from 50-200%

Determines the minimum/maximum value coordinates of your left stick input, when the stick is tilted all the way to the left/right or down/up. At the default of 100%, the min/max value for the X/Y coordinates is ±1.200. At 200%, this value is double that of the default, at ±2.400. At 50%, this value is half the default, at ±0.600.

This setting influences the ease of registering a tilt versus tap input on the left stick. The default HARD PRESS THRESHOLD setting requires flicking the stick past ±0.800 within 4 frames for a tap input. Thus, 50% theoretically makes it impossible to register tap inputs Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
. In comparison, 200% takes only a slight nudge to cross the ±0.800 threshold quickly, registering the tap.

Increase this percentage to make dashing and other "quick flick" analog inputs more feasible. Decrease this percentage if you frequently find yourself dashing / dropping through platforms / fast-falling by accident. This setting should be used in conjunction with HARD PRESS THRESHOLD to fine tune to your tastes.

HARD PRESS THRESHOLD

  • 80% by default
  • Range from 50-95%

Determines the threshold for a tilt versus tap movement input, e.g. walking versus dashing, or crouching versus platform drop.

At the default 80% setting, the left stick must reach a coordinate value of ±0.800, within 4 frames, for a tap input Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
. At 50%, the coordinate value threshold is ±0.500; at 95%, the coordinate value threshold is ±0.950. This, in conjunction with LEFT STICK SENSITIVITY, determines the feasibility of inputting dashes, platform drops, tap jumps, and so on.

Note that it is possible with improper settings to strictly make it impossible to ever perform directional taps. For example, a HARD PRESS THRESHOLD of 61%, combined with a LEFT STICK SENSITIVITY of 50%, makes it so the minimum/maximum possible coordinate on the left stick is ±0.600, and the requisite threshold to tap is ±0.610. Care should be taken to avoid this scenario.

Decrease this percentage to make dashing and other "quick flick" analog inputs more feasible. Increase this percentage if you frequently find yourself dashing / dropping through platforms / fast-falling by accident. This setting should be used in conjunction with LEFT STICK SENSITIVITY to fine tune to your tastes.

RIGHT STICK THRESHOLD

  • 35% by default
  • Range from 5-95%

Determines the threshold the right analog stick must surpass in order to register an input in-game. 5% is barely nudging the right stick to perform right-stick actions; 95% is tilting the stick almost all the way to perform actions.

Decrease this percentage if you want quicker responsiveness from the stick's neutral position, i.e. if you want smaller nudges of the right stick to perform actions in-game. Increase this percentage for the opposite.

RUMBLE

  • ON by default

Will cause your controller to rumble if it has rumble technology in it. In-game, your controller will rumble with varying degrees of intensity in response to delivering and receiving blows, as well as upon deaths.

ADVANCED CONTROLS

A dedicated submenu for esoteric control options.

DPAD MOVEMENT

  • OFF by default

Enables movement via the DPad. The behavior of DPAD MOVEMENT mirrors that of normal movement on keyboard; that is to say, the DPad will always tap in a given direction Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
/ Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
unless Walk Mod.Default Controls
KB:
is held.

Turning this setting ON will necessarily disable the default input for Taunts on gamepad, in which case you may want to consider binding ALLTAUNT.

If AUTO WALK turned is ON, tilt/tap movement is reversed; the DPad will always tilt in a given direction unless Walk Mod.Default Controls
KB:
is held. See section on AUTO WALK for more details.

AUTO WALK

  • OFF by default

Tapped directional inputs become impossible: all quick flicks of the left analog stick, as well as all DPad and keyboard movement, will register as slight tilts of the left analog stick:

  • Default Controls
    Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
    KB: / / /
    / Default Controls
    Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
    KB: / / /
    All left and right movement becomes walking. Dashing is not possible.
  • Default Controls
    Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
    KB: / / /
    Inputting down on a platform results in a crouch. Dropping through platforms and fast-falling are not possible.
  • Default Controls
    Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
    KB: / / /
    If TAP JUMP is turned ON, inputting up will still result in no jump.

In this state, while Walk Mod.Default Controls
KB:
is held down, all movement becomes tap inputs instead: any left and right inputs will dash, any down inputs will always platform-drop and fastfall, and any up inputs will perform jumps with TAP JUMP turned ON.

Practically speaking, this setting requires an assigned Walk Mod.Default Controls
KB:
button/key; without it, many fundamental game actions are locked away. For players who intend to generally move around quickly, this setting would necessitate holding down Walk Mod.Default Controls
KB:
for the vast majority of playtime.

Turning AUTO WALK ON is only recommended to keyboard or leverless controller users who truly prefer walking as the default behavior.

AIR GRAB / AIR PARRY

  • NAIR on AIR GRAB by default
  • NSPECIAL on AIR PARRY by default
  • AIRDODGE
  • ATTACK
  • STRONG
  • SPECIAL
  • NONE

Determines what happens when attempting to perform GrabDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
or ParryDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN: / +
KB:
, respectively, while airborne.

Setting this to NAIR will force a Neutral Aerial, completely ignoring the left analog stick in terms of directional input. Likewise, NSPECIAL will force a Neutral Special. This is especially useful for executing Neutral Aerials / Neutral Specials while horizontally drifting mid-air, without concerns of performing unwanted side aerials/specials instead.

AUTO SHORTHOP AERIAL

  • OFF by default

Pressing JumpDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
and AttackDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
together will automatically perform a shorthop aerial, regardless of how long JumpDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
is held. This replicates the behavior found in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, in which JumpDefault Controls
Switch: X/Y
GCN: X/Y
+ AttackDefault Controls
Switch: A
GCN: A
unavoidably results in an automatic shorthop aerial.

This setting is explicitly marked as "not recommended" in-game. The possible reason for this is that turning this setting ON makes instant aerial attacks out of fullhop (e.g. a rising fullhop Nair as Ranno) immensely more difficult, requiring very precise timing of the JumpDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
and AttackDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
inputs.

It should also be noted that Short Hop and Full Hop are already bindable actions, arguably making AUTO SHORTHOP AERIAL an obsolete setting from the get-go.

One odd quirk of turning this setting ON is, at any point while AttackDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
is kept held down, a grounded jump will always become a short hop without fail, with no regard of the duration of the JumpDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB:
press.

Turn this setting ON only if you are a veteran SSBU player who prefers the muscle memory of the guaranteed shorthop aerial macro. Otherwise, leave this setting OFF.

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