Skullgirls 2nd Encore news & patch notes

Hello, A small update today to address reports related to spectating since the last patch.

Steam Networking Update

• A small additional change to the last update to, hopefully, address issues being experienced when spectating fights.

(Version 3.7.13)

Hello, This update contains one major upgrade to Skullgirls 2nd Encore's networking on Steam and a small handful of bug fixes. Read on for more details:

Steam Networking Update

There have been some elevated reports of connectivity issues with the Steam version of the game. This included, but wasn't limited to:

• The game disconnecting in the middle of gameplay after playing with the opponent for some amount of time. Usually a handful of rounds.
• The game disconnecting in between rounds or when loading into the very first round from the character select screen.
• Other issues where connections can’t reliably be established between two players for whatever reason.

Hoping to address these issues and future-proof Skullgirls, we have upgraded the underlying Steam networking code to the latest version. This means Skullgirls now leans more on Steam to find and establish the best possible connection between players, either via direct connection or via Steam's datagram relays. As part of this update, we've also updated the in-fight connection indicator. The "connection bars" have been replaced with a ping display. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/fb0c42dc7ccb73d9acd01440b9394e7651729e30.png This ping display operates using the same logic as the ping previews that exist in lobbies and quick matches. The color of the ping reading may change from green to yellow, or yellow to red, depending on ping and the jitter which is calculated in the background. You can keep the in-game ping display on during the entire fight by using the Steam launch option -showping Also in this update, ping times are averaged over a shorter duration of time compared to before. Small adjustments and hiccups in your ongoing connection will make a bigger difference on the ping display, whereas before they may have not been reported. We have high hopes that all these changes will improve the online experience of Skullgirls 2nd Encore, but any issues can be reported using the following channels: Discord: https://discord.com/invite/skullgirls Skullheart Forums: https://skullheart.com/

BUG FIXES

COMBAT

• Fixed an issue where getting hit on the last frame of Pushblock could result in strange fighter velocities.

MISC

• Fixed an issue where Double's 4th Trial was Incompletable
• Fixed an issue with Umbrella's 1st Trial where the incorrect inputs were being shown
• Fixed an issue with the Diamond Dynamo tutorial in Brazilian Portuguese

(Version 3.7.12)

Hello everyone! With Combo Breaker 2024 and the 2024 Skullgirls Championship Series concluded, the long awaited balance adjustments update for Skullgirls 2nd Encore is now available on all platforms! This update also includes Valentine's new cross design and other recent updates from the playable Beta on Steam. Check out the full details here: https://bit.ly/skullgirls-may-update At this time, the Skullgirls 2nd Encore beta launch option is also being closed down. We thank everyone for all the feedback they provided during the crucial beta periods! Sincerely, Hidden Variable Studios (Version number 3.7.10)

Hello Today's update resolves a small bug for Eliza, and contains some miscellaneous fixes.

MISC

• Fixed translation errors for recently updated tutorials.
• Updated the 2D version of Hilgard's Castle (Nightmare) to match the recently updated 3D version.
• Fixed a visual artifact on the floor in the SGCS 2024 stage.
• Added a few more pieces in the Art Gallery with Valentine's new design.

ELIZA

• Fixed a bug where using Crimson Scourge from Eliza form would sometimes have invincibility last too long on Sekhmet.

(Version number 3.7.9)

Hello This morning's update contains some minor bug fixes and tweaks to last nights update.

PARASOUL

• Egret Dive no longer has an invisible health bar when taking projectile damage, and will block an unlimited amount of projectiles. (... It was extremely rare to cause the move to end early from projectiles in the past. Now that the dive lasts longer, it is more common to trigger, but was confusing and unpredictable.)

UMBRELLA

• Fixed a bug where Umbrella's new Taunt while used when Starving would not activate if pressing LP before pressing LK.
• Reduced total animation time for Umbrella's new Taunt while Starving.

(Version number 3.7.8)

Hello Today's beta update contains final tweaks and bug fixes to prepare for releasing this balance update on consoles soon. This is likely the final patch for this balance patch cycle. Full update notes will be compiled on our official forums closer to the release date after Combo Breaker 2024.

MISC / ALL

• Reduced saturation and improved visibility on Hilgard's Castle Nightmare per player feedback.
• Minimum scaling for starting a combo at max Drama (Undizzy) is now 45% instead of 35%. (... Crossing over into max Undizzy during a combo still immediately scales damage to 55% just as before in Retail)
• Reverted armor damage reduction experiment from last update back to retail values. (... The differentiation is as follows: Armored normals take 100% incoming damage, and armored Special Moves and Blockbusters take 50% of the incoming damage. An exception is being made to Painwheel's Buer Overdrive Blockbuster so that she can reflect the full incoming damage back at attackers. Eliza's cHK and Sekhmet also do not follow these rules as an exception.)
• Fixed a bug where the Drama / Undizzy bar would not update properly in rare occasions when Undizzy switched from a negative value to a positive value if both values had the same absolute value.

BEOWULF

• While without his chair, The Hurting, he no longer takes damage from blocking bursts.
• cMK no longer interacts with projectiles - Ms. Fortune's head no longer blocks the body from being grabbed off the ground by this move.
• Mid-air finishers from Grab Stance no longer apply hitpause to Beowulf when hitting nearby assists. This ensures consistent timing when doing finisher + assist call combos, even if another enemy assist is nearby and struck by a finisher.

BLACK DAHLIA

• Increased delay between the two hits of Ice Shot, making it more advantageous on block and freezing the opponent for a little longer.
• When the first hit of jHK connects against a point character, the second hit will launch assists less high. (... This helps shots fired after jHK connect against the point character instead of having the assist character absorb the blow. Big Band is big (and band) and will likely still block shots from time to time.)

DOUBLE

• Updated all moves that feature Valentine with her new updated design. Impacted moves: cHK, sLK, jMK, Nightmare Legion.

ELIZA

• Fixed a bug where hitting Sekhmet with an outtake would not have her bounce off the wall after the last update.
• Fixed a bug where Squigly's Daisy Pusher would not work correctly after hitting Sekhmet in the last update.
• Fixed a bug where using Eliza's taunt with specific timing could cancel a friendly assist call.

MARIE

• Extended sLK hitbox all the way down to the floor, to prevent it from whiffing against characters on the ground.
• Improved Marie Go 'Round hitbox by extending it downwards towards the floor.
• Improved sMP hitbox by extending it downwards towards the floor.
• Reduced Marie Go 'Round (M) startup by 2F.
• Fixed an issue where Marie was using some old temporary unfinished art when being bounced off the ceiling from Black Dahlia's Buck Shot.

MS. FORTUNE

• Air Throw now properly starts Ms. Fortune off at IPS Stage 3 instead of Stage 2, which was not working correctly last update. This now only occurs if Ms. Fortune has her head removed.

PARASOUL

• Reduce how long the Egret stays on the screen by 13F, when using Egret Dive.

ROBO-FORTUNE

• When Robo-Fortune explodes from Systemic Circuit Breaker, her body double lands 6F faster to ensure she is safe from "PBGC" attempts which were made easier as a result of the Reaction Shot (pushblock) changes.

UMBRELLA

• s.F+HP (Grow) damage reductions: 250x3, 400 → 200x3, 300
• s.F+HP (Slam) damage reductions: 1100/1400/1700 → 1100/1250/1500
• Slurp n Slide is now +1 on block when Umbrella is Satiated, down from +2. (... Reminder that Umbrella does not have a buffer to attack as soon as possible after this move ends.)
• When using Tongue Twister or Salt Grinder in the same combo where the Hunger Meter was already raised, these moves deal 20% less damage.
• When performing Taunt while Umbrella is in the Starving state, she will now feed Hungern a snack and enter the Satiated state. (... Unlike other taunts, this taunt cannot be cancelled - it is intentional.)
• The following moves now launch heavier characters higher than before: Bobblin' Bubble, jHP (Overstuffed), Salt Grinder (Overstuffed).
• Reduced the range of the initial command grab hitbox of Tongue Twister.
• Reduced duration (80F → 40F) of Wishmaker capture when done while Ravenous.
• Reverted a change where Umbrella would dismount further forwards when doing Slurp n Slide while Ravenous, since it was making some combos harder than intended.
• Fixed a bug where the Satiated version of Slurp n Slide did not receive the damage boost listed in the last update notes.

VALENTINE

• Reverted 4F increase in hitstun on jHK back to retail values.

(Version number 3.7.7)

SGCS Curtain Call's feature the strongest Skullgirls competitors from around the globe. Watch them compete for a trip to Combo Breaker and the Skullgirls World Championship.

• Europe - 12PM US Central Time ( Local: 6PM British Summer Time, 7PM Central European Summer Time, 8PM Eastern European Summer Time)
• South America - 4PM US Central Time (Local: 4PM Colombia/Peru/Ecuador, 5PM Chile, 6PM Argentina)

SGCS Curtain Call's feature the strongest Skullgirls competitors from around the globe. Watch them compete for a trip to Combo Breaker and the Skullgirls World Championship.

• Brasil - 2PM US Central Time (Local: 4PM Brasilia Standard Time)
• North America - 6PM US Central Time (Local: 4PM US Pacific Time, 5PM US Mountain Time, 7PM US Eastern Time)
• East Asia - 10PM US Central Time (Local: 12PM Sunday 5.5.24 Japan Standard Time)

Hello, Today's update includes more tuning and bug fixing, as well as updates to tutorials to reflect some of the latest changes. Note that translations and new text is only in ENGLISH for now - but please let us know if you spot anything missing or incorrect! This is very close to a potential version that could be finalized and released on consoles sometime after COMBO BREAKER 2024 (May 24th). Please let us know if you see issues, bugs, or have feedback about this patch. Bug reports are best left in the #2e-bugs channel of the official Discord: https://discord.gg/skullgirls Feedback is best left on our official forums: https://skullheart.com/

BLACK DAHLIA

• Expanded hurtbox during generic air hitstun (the one that restands) and hitstun from "trip" style attacks.
• Fixed a bug where the visual placement of special ammo during Another Round (M) and (H) didn't align with where the ammo was loaded in a gun.
• Fixed a bug where the second hit from Ice Shot was still breaking armor.
• Fixed a bug where Black Dahlia could cancel into a Special Move while getting hit during the recovery of cMK, and ignore the incoming attack.

CEREBELLA

• Cerebella is now closer to her "origin point" when falling in an knockdown animation.
• Dashing or button dashing from the recovery of j.D+MP now buffers the dash instead of LP.
• Fixed a bug where Diamond Deflector would fail to hit an enemy if the enemy previously armored through a stagger hit (unchained sMP), and hadn't been hit again since.
• Cancelling from Cerecopter into Diamond Dynamo will now only prevent autocorrects if done after the final hit. Dynamo cancels from before the last hit of Cerecopter will autocorrect as before to allow combos that rely on that side switch to work.

MARIE

• Fixed a bug where Hilgard would vanish awkwardly if Marie died and the round was over.
• Using jMK now puts Marie in a super jump state, preventing assist calls.
• Using Hilgard's Haymaker or Hilgard's Howl during a super jump state will now restore less momentum after the summon finishes.
• Adjusted hurtboxes during knockback animation.

MS. FORTUNE

• If hitting with the landing hit of Feral Edge against an opponent behind Ms. Fortune, that hit will now knock the opponent down and in front of her. (... This still doesn't allow for a great combo opportunity, but she does not get punished on hit anymore.)
• After failing to activate the last hit of Feral Edge, or blocking the final hit of it, Ms. Fortune can no longer command her head until the attack ends to make it easier to punish. This also now happens if the enemy blocks the last hit of Cat Scratch Fever when she is headless.
• Landing air throw against an opponent with full Undizzy will now force the combo stage to start at stage 3.

PAINWHEEL

• Reverted collision behaviour on Buer Reaper back to retail. Painwheel has collision when delivering the final blow of Buer Reaper and prevents victims from sliding through her, and she herself can be pushed around. (... The follow-up Buer Reaper hits already have increased hitboxes from last update, so they should still be more reliable at hitting opponents.
• Reduce Buer Reaper bonus metergain from last update from 2% to 1%.
• Hatred Install
  • Minimum scaling for level 1 Blockbusters during Hatred Install is now 37.5% instead of 30%
  • Hatred Install Buer Reaper no longer deals less damage than regular Buer Reaper. It still scales to 50% instead of 70% (like in Retail) when Hatred Install is used as a DHC.
  • Reverted increased Hatred Install recovery back to Retail values.
• jLP is now only 2F faster when done from flight.
• Reduced length of L Buer Reaper hitbox slightly, but it is still longer than Retail.
• Pinion Dash and Buer Overdrive no longer end early when touching the edge of the screen or corner.
• Once per combo, landing Buer Thresher will refresh Painwheel's flight, ensuring that she can always convert off of it even if flight was previously used.

PARASOUL

• Reduced the speed at which Egret Dive moves forward back to retail values. He still takes longer to land and travels farther as a result of that.

ROBO-FORTUNE

• Fixed a bug where using Danger! Flailing Arm Hazard! (M Danger) would sometimes not stagger if done very low to the ground after using an air normal.
• Fixed a bug where Catastrophe Cannon could not hurt Double while she was transformed into a Barrel.
• Magnetic Trap can no longer pull Double while she is performing the beginning Nightmare Legion.

UMBRELLA

• Reduced hitbox range of cMP while in Ravenous even further.
• Reduced jump distance forward when using d.F+MP (Overbite) during Ravenous.
• d.F+MP (Overbite) start up increased in Ravenous: 16F → 17F
• Salt Grinder and Hungern Rush now have physical hits that increase Hunger Meter when used against Boss Marie, so that she doesn't get stuck in the Starving state against her.

(Version number 3.7.6)

Hello, Today's beta update includes balance changes, Valentine's new cross redesign, and fixes for an ancient defect with character lighting. UPDATE: A new patch (3.7.5) has been released after these update notes were initially posted. This patch includes a few bug fixes, which are as follows:

• Fixed a bug where Umbrella's puddles would vanish instantly in some circumstances.
• Fixed a bug where Umbrella's jLK and jLP could not be buffered during prejump.
• Fixed a bug where Lenny could still hit assist characters after they leave hitstun (during their landing frames) which was not intended.
• Fixed a bug where Hatred Install had extra recovery even when used as a point character.

VALENTINE

The long awaited updates to Valentine’s crosses are finally here! Why did she get these changes? You can read the full explanation here, but the short version is Valentine’s original red crosses presented a potential legal issue, and were very hastily changed to fuchsia a few years ago. Skullgirls is bigger than ever, and now that the characters in the Season 1 Pass are complete we can finally spend the time to update her design with proper care. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/b919360520f349faf61255fecc3b77d060864d54.png This update us primarily focused on getting her in-game sprites into the beta, so don’t worry if you see some old style crosses in the Art Gallery.

CHARACTER LIGHTING

We've tuned character lighting to resolve some graphical issues that have always been present wherever the bottom of a character's sprite meets the open air. This is most noticeable on stages like New Meridian Streets. To resolve this, we tweaked the math used for these lighting calculations, and then also readjusted each stage's lighting manually to keep parity with the old version. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/4616c4ead3c5e723bf82d7654d41314bdc4baa67.png (Example before and after of the issue colloquially known internally as "5 o'clock shadow bug")

HUD

As you probably know, characters that are Counter Hit lose some amount of Drama (Undizzy) depending on the strength of the hit. This can push a character's Drama into the negatives. In this update, negative amounts of Drama are now displayed on the HUD using a blue fill instead of a green fill. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/6902af6d92ae3c6dea15e9a35cf076da982c9b28.png

MULTIPLE CHARACTERS / SYSTEM

• When using a burst against a combo that started at max Drama (Undizzy), it is no longer guaranteed to be safe and invincible during the recovery, and it can be baited. However, Undizzy is preserved and does not drain when bursting in this situation, but will drain when being punished since it is a Counter Hit state. (... Instead of there being zero risk for the defender to take the burst in this situation, the burst can be baited per usual with reduced reward.)
• We've standardized armor damage reduction so everyone consistently takes 100% of incoming damage instead of reducing it. Big Band, Cerebella, Fukua, and Marie now take 100% damage during their armor moves - Umbrella, Robo-Fortune, Painwheel, and Beowulf already took 100% damage. Eliza's cHK still takes 50% against projectiles, and Sekhmet takes 75% damage, both as intentional edge case exceptions.
• Adjusted some "OTG" hurtboxes for characters to make it less likely for low hitting attacks to slip under them. This impacts Ms. Fortune, Robo-Fortune, Filia, and Fukua.

UMBRELLA

• Umbrella can now cancel jMK into any normal on whiff (if floating) or contact, just like her sister Parasoul.
• Fixed a bug where Tongue Twister only added 15 Drama (Undizzy) instead of the usual 20 from Special Moves.
• Extended cMP hurtbox. Reduced hitbox range in Ravenous.
• Overstuffed sHP armor now starts 3F later than before.
• Increased Tongue Twister hitbox to make it easier to hit airborne targets without spending OTG. (... It also ends up being tall enough to destroy Peacock's sHP and BANG BANG BANG! (H) projectiles now.)
• When using Retina Reflector in Ravenous, it now has 2 extra hits and lasts longer, like in retail.
• Overstuffed Damage Tuning:
  • Hungern Rush: Reduced damage from 800/800 to 500/600. Adjusted knockdown on the final hit to require OTG to continue a combo.
  • sMP (2nd Hit): 500 → 400
  • Bobblin' Bubble: 700 → 600
  • Salt Grinder: 1100 → 1000
  • jMP: 850 → 750
  • jHP: 1100 → 1000
  • cHP (2nd Hit): 750 → 650
• Bobblin' Bubble Damage (Satiated): 600 → 650
• Slurp n Slide damage (Satiated): 650 → 750
• Slurp n Slide damage (Satiated, puddle boosted): 750 → 900
• In Satiated, Slurp n Slide is now +2 on block again instead of -2.
• In Ravenous, Slurp n Slide dismounts with more speed forwards.
• Ravenous can now use bubble Special Moves (Cutie Ptooie, Bobblin' Bubble, Wish Maker), but with worse properties.
• Overstuffed no longer loses Hunger Meter for using bubble Special Moves, or using Under The Weather. (... Entering Overstuffed now requires that you commit to playing the mode in neutral for a short while instead of immediately exiting it by using Bubbles.)
• Increased Satiated and Overstuffed Hunger Meter drain over time.
• When entering Satiated or Overstuffed in a combo from an "eating" type move, Hunger Meter will continue to drain instead of freezing for that combo, at a reduced drain rate.
• When using "eating" type moves in Ravenous, Hunger Meter will fill a little over halfway into the Satiated section, instead of at the max of the Satiated section. (... This last two changes should make it a little bit easier to stay in the bottom half of the Hunger Meter if desired, for more Ravenous opportunities.)

PAINWHEEL

• Adjusted almost every hitbox Painwheel has to bring them in line with more recent characters. Many are simplified, and some attacks have more range than before. Adjusted attacks are as follows:
  • sLP, sLP, cMP, cLK, cLP, cMK, sHK, sHP, jMK. Death Crawl.
  • s.F+HK (each hit has more range than the last, to ensure all blades connect easier)
  • sMP (improved hitbox, but also reduced hurtbox height before active to help anti air)
• Buer Thresher (QCF+KK) has a larger hitbox for the first active frame. (... This is the hitbox that is covered by hitstop, making it post flash unblockable if you were not already blocking, and preventing reversals from coming out immediately. Buer Thresher is now much less likely to get Painwheel immediately countered by reversals and such and must be respected more than before.)
• Buer Reaper
  • Increased size of the physical hit performed at the end of Buer Reaper, to ensure it hits characters when assists are nearby and trying to block Painwheel.
  • Painwheel is no longer pushed around by nearby characters when delivering the ending hit of Buer Reaper, to prevent her from being pushed out of range.
  • (L): Reduced recovery by 5F on whiff/block, and increased blockstun by 1F.
  • (All Buer except L): Reduced recovery on whiff/block by 4F.
  • (L): Extended hitbox range.
  • (H): Removed extended hurtboxes before active frames, making it a much better anti air.
  • When using Buer Reaper, Painwheel now gains an extra 2% meter, like most throw type moves.
• cMK now pivots forward to help connect from longer cLK ranges.
• cLK: Reduced startup by 1F.
• sLK: Startup reduced to 7F, giving her a 7F normal like every other character.
• sMP: Startup reduced by 1F.
• jLP: Startup reduced by 2F. Hitstun and blockstun increased by 2F to maintain frame advantage. (... This also hastens her fastest possible overheads from Flight.)
• jHP: Reduced knockback vs airborne opponents to prevent victim from falling out between hits. Hitstun on the last hit increased by 3F.
• cMP now pulls the victim down for all hits except the final one. (... Last hit still knocks them up and away, so cancel before it if you want to stabilize a ground confirm. This mostly prevents them from falling out unexpectedly in between two hits.)
• When using fully charged Hatred Guard normals, armor has been extended one frame to fully protect her from potential trades. (... This was an intended change made several updates ago before this current beta cycle, but it wasn't working correctly without this.)
• Reduced startup of Gae Bolga Stinger (L) by 3F.
• When using Pinion Dash (L) as a Stunt Double (Alpha Counter), it is now a knockdown hit. (... Previously she was +1 right against the opponent, which is a bit awkward for her with her slow buttons and lack of movement.)
• Hatred Install (QCB+KK)
  • When used as a DHC, Buer Reaper hits deal 10% less damage, and scales to 50% instead of 70%.
  • Level 1 Blockbusters no longer scale to 55% during Hatred Install, and now scale to 30%.
  • Increased recovery by 8F when used as a DHC.
  • Increased damage per hit on Death Crawl during Hatred Install to match the regular version of Death Crawl (220).
  • When used while Painwheel is the point character, she has an additional 3 seconds (216F) of uptime regardless of health, but cannot exceed the old max duration of 1300F.
• Accidental Flight:
  • Adjusted air Buer Reaper inputs so that ending in an upwards input when inputting the QCF motion doesn't extend the window the motion can be entered. This was causing situations where the same QCB used to input Flight (autocorrecting towards the opponent) could be used to trigger air Buer Reaper on button release (negative edge) giving an unintended Buer Reaper input.
  • Painwheel will now never turn around to auto correct when using jLK. If super jumping past the opponent, pressing LK early could cause her to perform an autocorrect jLK, which then turned a QCB into a QCF and performed Buer Reaper. From now on, you can use jLK as your button to input flight and ensure this never happens. Of course, jLK no longer autocorrects, but hopefully that is alright!

VALENTINE

• Fixed a bug where the last hit of EKG Flatliner would not play the finisher effect right away if the last hit killed an opponent.

FUKUA

• Inevitable Snuggle and Tender Embrace now grant Dramatic Tension (meter) for whiffing them, like all other Special Moves.
• Holding Forever a Clone (Shadows) now drains health again, but does not drain red life.
• When Shadows successfully hit a character, Fukua heals for the amount of health that they drained.
• Successful hits from Love Dart now heal Fukua up to 200 health, from health that has been removed from holding Shadows.
• When Fukua heals, she now briefly glows.
• The amount of life that Fukua restores (from recoverable Shadow drain life) when using certain has been increased.
  • Twice Shy: 55% → 100%
  • Inevitable Snuggle: 33% → 75%
  • Taunt: 20% → 50%
• Hitting, or being hit by an Outtake (Snapback) will now remove all potential recoverable health from drained Shadows.

BIG BAND

• When using the following Big Band assist options, the first portion (31F) of his assist taunt is now a Counter Hit state. Note, this doesn't extend the recovery of any of his assists or change them functionally, it only extends the duration of the window where you can counter call or attack the assist and still benefit from bonus counter hit damage.
  • Take The 'A' Train (M and H strength)
  • Beat Extend (All strengths)
  • Brass Knuckles (H strength)
• Previously, when Big Band caught an assist with Beat Extend, the assist would drop to the ground sooner than the point character to make it trickier to combo both at the same time. This has been adjusted further in this update.
  • Assists drop 4F sooner than before.
  • Assists drop with more velocity towards the ground than before.

ANNIE

• Reduced Crescent Cut (H) start up by 2F.

PEACOCK

• Argus Agony pellet damage increased. Max damage increased from 1350 → 1440.
• Lonesome Lenny no longer has a hit when placed that interacts with assist characters. Instead, Lenny's explosion will never hit airborne assists that are recovering from hitstun. (... These changes have always been aimed at removing a particular reset against assists with Lenny, and this is a different approach at that.)

PARASOUL

• sLP: Increase hitstun on both hits by 3F.
• s.F+LP: Increase hitbox height to match the animation.
• Extended ground throw hitbox slightly.
• Inferno Brigade (QCB+PP): Now pulls victims down into the barrage of bullets if they are too high above Parasoul.
• Egret Dive jumps further and is active for longer. When landing, he recovers and exits the screen faster than before.
• Egret Charge
  • Speed (before grabbing) increased from 30 to 31. This makes him fast enough to grab Big Band miscreen from most Egret Charge combos.
  • Reduced period (20F → 17F) where the Egret will continue with the grab even if Parasoul gets hit during the start up.
  • Fixed a bug where the grab would scale to 50% instead of the intended 55%.

MARIE

• Extended hurtbox downwards during knock up frames, to ensure Double's Beast of Gehenna grabs her correctly after Robo-Fortune's magnetic trap.
• Adjusted physical collision during "OTG" frames to prevent some characters from being able to slide under her.
• Hilgard's Haymaker (L) no longer scales follow-up damage to 70%.
• Increased taunt recovery by 10F.
• The Dust Bunny spawned from Hop To It no longer jumps infinitely if Marie has taunted. It now jumps a maximum of 3 times.
• Adjusted Marie's ground throw against Black Dahlia to ensure Marie Go 'Round connects without spending OTG in the corner.

BLACK DAHLIA

• Fixed a bug where Parting Gift could sometimes not be detonated if it fell off of an assist character that died while on the stage.
• cMK
  • Now triggers shortly after the point character enters hitstun.
  • If hitting a character after the point has entered hitstun, damage scaling is set to 50% to lower the reward of the follow-up combo.
  • Reduced hitstun by 5F.
  • No longer teleports characters to the position of the trap
• Empower no longer can hit characters that are dead.
• Ice Shot is now two hits, has tweaked damage and chip damage, and no longer breaks armor.
• Rail Shot now breaks armor and has had hitstop on successful hit increased by 8F.
• Order Up! (H) now places special shots in the 3rd and 5th position of her gun, instead of 3rd and 6th.
• Order Up! (M) now places the special shot in the 2nd position of her gun, instead of the 3rd.

CEREBELLA

• Fixed a bug introduced last update that made jHP no longer hit overhead in some situations even after gliding.

DOUBLE

• Fixed a bug where the projectile hits from jHK could allow the opponent to burst even if first hit connected below 240 Drama (Undizzy).

ELIZA

• Reduced crouching height so that she can duck Robo-Fortune's Theonite Beam (H). She's now the same height as Black Dahlia when crouching.

(Version number 3.7.4, but then it became 3.7.5 in the same day.)

Hello, Today's update features a new debug feature for those using debug replays, and continued balance changes for characters. In case you missed it, our last update featured a large rework for Umbrella. You can read the update notes for that update here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/245170/view/7817760904371395868 EDIT: A small update was released to resolve an issue with Umbrella's Overstuffed Tongue Twister. The version number is now 3.7.3.

DEBUG REPLAYS

• Everything below assumes you are using the debug launch option command: -enablereplays
• Added a new debug feature, "Replay Takeover", which can be used to temporarily take over controls for a character when watching a replay. You can use this feature to test how to escape or win against certain situations that are difficult to recreate in training mode, use it to test if there was a better combo or conversion you could have done, and more!
• Press SELECT to activate Replay Takeover and assume control of P1 for 10 seconds. You can take over P2 by holding RIGHT as you press Select.
• After a brief pause, the replay will continue and your inputs will control the character you have selected.
• Pressing SELECT will jump back to the point where you started Replay Takeover. This also occurs if the match ends while Replay Takeover is active.
• Holding SELECT will end Replay Takeover and carry on as normal.
• As a refresher, here are the controls available in replays: (... Apologies, at this time we don't have availability to update replays with proper UI.)
  • LP: Toggle Hitboxes
  • MP: Toggle Health & Attack Data Display (Currently bugged, will be fixed next update)
  • HP: Rewind time (Hold LEFT to rewind even further)
  • LK: Toggle Input Display
  • MK: Toggle Slow Motion (See also: -debugkeys launch option to advance frame by frame)
  • HK: Fast forward (Hold RIGHT to fast forward faster)
• While we'll try and address any critical bugs found with this feature, our time spent supporting this feature will be limited. Please let us know if you find any issues in our official Discord, in the #2e-bugs channel.

UMBRELLA

• Reduced Ravenous Hunger Meter drain by 40%.
• Overstuffed Hunger Meter drain now matches Ravenous' new value.
• Ravenous and Overstuffed drain at half speed when the opponent is in hitstun.
• Ravenous and Overstuffed drain at half speed when Umbrella is in hitstun or blockstun.
• Hunger Meter no longer drains during a "Double Snap" or "Assist Kill" situation.
• In Ravenous, df+MP (Overbite) jumps much further towards the opponent.
• df+MP (Overbite) now carries momentum before the jump happens, if used while moving forwards.
• cMP in Ravenous is now a low again. (... In Ravenous, cMP is a low again and df+MP has extended range. Between these options and a surprise Tongue Twister, she should be threatening from further away.)
• Slurp n Slide (Back, Forward + MP) no longer activates if holding Down + Forward at the end, to avoid overlap with df+MP (Overbite).
• Hungern Rush and Salt Grinder no longer increase the Hunger Meter when used as an assist. (... Tongue Twister still does, for now)
• Tongue Twister is never a command grab when used as an assist, and can always be blocked.
• Tweaked launch trajectory of Overstuffed Hungern Rush to leave the victim closer to Umbrella. As an assist, the second hit launches victims less high.
• Fixed a bug where using punch normals would drain Umbrella's Hunger Meter faster, which was supposed to be removed last update.
• If Umbrella is struck with an Outtake, all bubbles summoned from Under The Weather (QCB+KK) will pop immediately.
• Fixed a bug where Overstuffed Tongue Twister didn't apply forced damage scaling when used as an assist.
• Fixed a bug where Umbrella wasn't using the proper reversal window timings out of blockstun and hitstun.

ROBO-FORTUNE

• Tweaked the beginning frames of Robo-Fortune's normal jump animation so that she doesn't tuck into a ball the moment she leaves the ground. This is the same change Ms. Fortune received.
• Reduced active frames on cMK by 6.

PEACOCK

• Removed extra recovery when placing Lonesome Lenny which was not working correctly most of the time last patch.
• The red flash on Lonesome Lenny before he is about to explode now starts earlier.

ELIZA

• Sekhmet's JH (Signature Attack, AKA "Cartouche") now avoids the extra landing recovery from last update if it successfully hits the point character.

CEREBELLA

• Fixed a bug where jD+MP (Unbreakable Elbow) had more start up than intended from the last update.

(Version number 3.7.3)

Hello, Today's update focuses on bug fixing and tuning from the last update, and introducing a fairly substantial "rework" for Umbrella.

SYSTEM

• Fixed a bug where characters would take no chip damage during the last frame of a Pushblock, and attackers would behave as if the hit did not connect. (... This fixes a bug where Umbrella connecting with Slurp n Slide on this frame would have her slide much longer than she should have, for example)
• Fixed a bug where Pushblocking in between two attacks before hitstop for the first hit ended would prevent the Pushblock from happening. Pushblocking during these scenarios should feel drastically more responsive. (... This happens most commonly when pushblocking in between a point character hit, and a secondary hit from a projectile or an assist.) (... Please let us know if you see any weirdness or issues with pushblocking and report them to us in our official Discord in the #2e-bugs channel, thank you!)
• When assists counter hit another assist, damage scaling will be set to 90% on them instead of the new 70% to ensure "counter calls" are as damaging as before.

UMBRELLA

We're making Umbrella more consistent in all of her Hunger States without relying on entering and maintaining Ravenous for the entire match. This means buffing how she handles in Satiated and Overstuffed, and nerfing some of the most egregious parts of playing Ravenous. We're also making changes to how she adjusts her Hunger Meter up and down so that Umbrella players are forced to engage with all of the different Hunger States more often. Lastly, since we're buffing many elements of Umbrella's kit, we're also nerfing some of the more frustrating parts to play against when facing her. If you need a quick refresher on her terms, Starving is when the bar is empty and purple, Ravenous is when the bar is low and red, Satiated is the middle section that is yellow, and Overstuffed is the blue section when full. When we mention her Hunger Meter going up or filling, that means it's closer to Overstuffed. When we mention her Hunger Meter going down, draining, or being empty, that means it's closer to Starving. KNOWN ISSUES

• Umbrella's "eating" assists (Tongue Twister, Salt Grinder, Hungern Rush) will now raise the Hunger Meter on success, which is a change in behaviour that may not be desired.
• Tongue Twister, when in Overstuffed, does not apply any scaling when used as an assist.
• It is difficult to predict where Umbrella's damage and routing will take her after all of these changes. Please expect damage tuning depending on how things shake out.

HUNGER METER / HUNGER STATES

• Umbrella's Hunger Meter drains during most actions now instead of freezing momentarily during Special Moves, Normals, etc.
• Umbrella's Hunger Meter no longer drains faster for landing hits with "punch" (Hungern) normal attacks.
• Tweaked Hunger Meter loss rate in different Hunger States individually. In Satiated, it is drastically faster than before for example.
• Hunger Meter no longer drains naturally over time in any combo where it increased. Landing Salt Grinder for example will halt all Hunger Meter drain for the rest of the combo.
• Hunger Meter will also freeze when a combo starts if Umbrella is in the Overstuffed state.
• Creating Bubbles with Cutie Ptooie, Bobblin' Bubble, Wish Maker, no longer drains Hunger Meter, except when used during the Overstuffed state.
• Under The Weather no longer drains Hunger Meter unless it's used in Overstuffed.
• Umbrella can now transition from Overstuffed into Satiated during a combo, instead of needing to wait for it to end.
• Increased how much Hunger Meter is lost from taunting, and shortened the minimum time that Umbrella must perform her taunt before being able to stop. (... To drain Hunger Meter quickly, you'll have to taunt instead of looping Bobblin' Bubble like before.)
• Ground Throw and Air Throw no longer adjust Hunger Meter.
• Major eating moves (Salt Grinder, Hungern Rush, Tongue Twister, and Feeding Time ) all force Umbrella up one single Hunger State on success, regardless of chews, chomps, etc. (... In Starving or Ravenous, she will always become Satiated. In Satiated, she will become Overstuffed. We're doing this to force Umbrella to commit to cashing out and changing Hunger States when the Hunger Meter is low.)
• When using Cutie Ptooie (QCB+LK), the butterfly can no longer be spared or eaten manually by holding LK, and it no longer adjusts Hunger Meter. (... With the removal of being able to eat the butterfly to fill the Hunger Meter, entering the Starving state is very bad news for Umbrella. When enjoying the benefits of playing in the Ravenous state for a prolonged time, Umbrella will need to keep a close eye on how much time she has left before she must land a "eating" style move to prevent the Starving state. Note that as before, the Ravenous state will not enter the Starving state during a combo, so take your time once you've landed a hit! We may add another method of gaining Hunger Meter during the Starving state if needed, but for now we're trying to introduce an element of risk and urgency.)

BLOCKBUSTERS

• In Ravenous, Under The Weather performs an underwhelming version.
• In Ravenous, Retina Reflector is no longer improved with an extra two hits.
• Changed Blockbuster inputs:
  • Retina Reflector: Contact Lens is now QCF + PP.
  • Retina Reflect is now QCF + KK.
  • Under The Weather is now QCB + KK.

GENERAL / OTHER

• Added a new normal, down forward + MP, called "Overbite". This is an overhead that can be used in every state. It's faster in Ravenous, and slower in Starving and Overstuffed. (... We're giving Umbrella an overhead to increase her consistency and power level across all Hunger States without relying on being in Ravenous to open the opponent up.)
• Slurp n Slide is now -2 on block when done in Satiated. (... We're delegating Slurp n Slide pressure on block exclusively to Ravenous, since Ravenous has lost other tools and is mostly about sticking close to the opponent.)
• Ground Throw has been adjusted to only chomp the opponent once, and then trap them inside of a bubble much like Air Throw. Ground Throw damage has been adjusted.
• Tongue Twister
  • Is now only a command grab for a single frame when used up close. After that, it is a hitgrab.
  • After victims bounce off the wall, you can combo opponents easily off the ground when the land. (... You can use this in combos now and confirms for far away hits, and it can still catch people by surprise just as before. However, it is no longer a command grab at those ranges, so it can be blocked and should be a bit less frustrating to deal with. She can now perform combos afterwards without using Retina Reflector in exchange for these changes.)
  • Reduced damage and number of chomps based on Hunger State. Chomps are now automatic instead of requiring LP+LK presses.
  • Reduced the speed that the tongue retracts, increasing recovery if it was stretched far away.
  • Adjusted hitbox.
  • If used for the second time in a combo, the opponent will become invincible and the combo will end.
  • Fixed a bug where the wall bounce hit applied an extra hit of damage scaling despite doing no damage. Damage scaling is now properly 55%.
• Set priority of taunt input above Salt Grinder.
• Increased Salt Grinder active frames by 1F, and expanded hitbox.
• When Starving, Umbrella's red life now drains faster than before.
• jMP: Reduced hitbox size in all states.
• cHP: Start up of the second hit is reduced by 1F if the first hit whiffs, to help it connect after far cMP hits.
• sHK
  • Improved hitbox.
  • Increased start up by 2F.
  • Landing recovery on failure is now fully vulnerable.
  • Damage increased: 975 → 1200.
  • Doing it a second time in a combo performs a worse version.
• sLK: Now slides forward slightly, and has a slightly larger hitbox.
• cMK: Added vulnerable hurtboxes under her while she jumps, and removed throw invincibility.
• cLK: Increased hurtbox height, and reduced hitstun.
• Air Throw: Reduced hitbox horizontal reach.
• Hungern Rush: Reduced start up in all hunger states, except for Starving.
• Adjusted stagger hurtboxes to be closer to idle.
• Increased hurtbox size during some air hitstun and air knockdown states so that she is easier to combo.

RAVENOUS SPECIFIC

• Bubble creating moves (Cutie Ptooie, Bobblin' Bubble, Wishmaker) no longer work in Ravenous.
• Hungern Rush is now fully invincible (instead of strike invincible) when in the Ravenous state.
• Hungern Rush is no longer unblockable while rising (when Umbrella is the point character) unless she is in Ravenous mode.
• Dash forward, dash backwards, and dash jump are now faster in Ravenous.
• Reduced Feeding Time (LV3) damage in Starving and Ravenous from 6750 → 6000.
• cMP: In Ravenous, this is no longer a low hit.
• jMP: In Ravenous, now starts up slower than before. (... Instant jMP in Ravenous no longer reaches crouching characters after these changes)

OVERSTUFFED SPECIFIC

• In Overstuffed, sHP now has armor that starts up a little bit into the move.
• Fixed a bug where the wall bounce hit of sHP (Overstuffed) applied an extra hit of damage scaling despite doing no damage.
• Salt Grinder, when Overstuffed, now performs a powerful damaging bite that staggers, instead of a throw type hit.
• Hungern Rush, when Overstuffed, now starts up faster, and now hits again on the way down with a powerful knock up hit. This can be cancelled into Blockbuster on HIT only.
• Tongue Twister, when Overstuffed, now pulls the victim towards Umbrella and trips them, instead of eating them. (... The trick is that while this hit does not do any damage, it doesn't force any combo scaling, giving Umbrella some scary combo damage from a command grab when she's up close.)
• Adjusted all Overstuffed normals:
  • They are now much faster than before, and are only two frames slower than their Satiated versions. (Exceptions exist on sHP and jMP which are still slower than 2F, but still faster than before.)
  • Reduced hitpause on almost all hits, to speed up the general flow of attacks and combos.
  • Fixed a bug where sF+HP was not any slower in Starving or Overstuffed.
  • Reduced jMP damage: 950 → 850.
  • Reduced jHP damage: 1200 → 1100.
  • jHP jumps less high and falls faster.

MS. FORTUNE

• Adjusted jLK hitbox enough to hit all crouching characters in the corner when done from a headless instant air dash.
• Decap attack damage 100 > 200. (... This alone increases Ms. Fortune's headless corner combo damage quite a bit.)
• sHK (headless) damage: 950 → 975.
• Feline Allergies cooldown reduced from 80F to 60F. (50F in retail).
• Head lockout from hitstun: 60 → 35. (15F in retail).
• Cat Scratch metergain (head on) per whiffed swipe: 1.5% → 1%.
• Cat Scratch metergain (head on) per swipe contact: 4%/3%/2% → 3.5%/2.5%/1.5%.
• El Gato and Cat Slide when cancelled from Cat Scratch (head on) have reduced metergain for whiffing (1%) and reduced metergain for making contact (2.5%).

CEREBELLA

• jD+MP (Unbreakable Elbow) no longer floor bounces when done as an instant overhead, but now always starts in "IPS Combo Stage 1", and it now has a 5F buffer into light normals after it finishes to help with confirms.
• Pummel Horse now leaves Cerebella a bit closer to the victim, to help with some confirms on some characters.

ELIZA

• Sekhmet Axe (air) damage: 900 → 1000.
• Sekhmet jump: Reduced start up 6F → 4F (back to retail values).
• Sekhmet landing: 6F recovery → 7F recovery.
• Sekhem Rebound (backflip) is no longer impacted by extra landing recovery, the frame data on this should be back to retail values.

ANNIE

• Increased air hitstun hurtbox size to make it easier to combo Annie.
• Adjusted knockdown on the star spawned from charged sHP, in Star Power.
• Reduced blockstun on large stars summoned during Star Power.

BLACK DAHLIA

• Lowered the position of Dahlia during her air knockback hitstun animation to fix some combos not working against her.

PEACOCK

• Lonesome Lenny
  • Lenny now flashes colors right before he is about to explode.
  • Fixed a bug where Peacock could not DHC out from this move in some situations which was introduced last update.
  • Lenny now hits assists further away with a different type of a knockdown. (... It should be a bit harder to call an assist as you place Lenny down to continue a combo on two characters at once.)
  • Lenny now always has increased start up and recovery when being placed. This is the same frame data from the last update when Lenny was placed after BANG! (M).
  • If using Lenny from BANG! (M) on successful hit, it uses the old placement and recovery speed from retail to allow for the old BANG! (M) x Lonesome Lenny, Argus Agony conversions.
• George now properly flashes on Mac and Linux systems if Peacock is hit while they're out.
• Adjust how long it takes for George to explode if Peacock goes into hitstun.
  • L: 60 → 50.
  • M: 15 → 12.
  • H: 20 → 15.

(Version number 3.7.1)

Hello, A small patch to address two outstanding issues that have been reported by the community. If you are still experiencing the issues described below, you can report bugs in our official Discord or on our official forums. Discord: https://discord.com/invite/skullgirls Skullheart Forums: https://skullheart.com/ ACHIEVEMENTS

• Fixed an issue preventing the Toil and Trouble achievement from triggering.

PERFORMANCE

• Further performance optimizations for some new graphical effects that were implemented in the last update.

(Version 3.6.11)

Hello, Today we are continuing with some experimental balance changes for the cast. This is just the first update of many, and more system / character changes should be expected. Characters that have gotten changes may still receive more of them later. Characters that have no changes are most likely still being worked on, such as Black Dahlia, Umbrella, Painwheel, etc. While we do our best to monitor all hot spots of discussion around character balance, the best place to discuss these changes where we can see them is our official forum. Feedback in Discord and Steam Forums / Comments for example are seldom checked. Bug reports are welcome in the official Discord and our forum! Discord: discord.gg/skullgirls Skullheart: https://skullheart.com/

SYSTEM / ALL

• Counter hit assist calls now scale combo damage to 75%, instead of the 90% in retail. (... Most notably, this slightly reduces the reward off DP assist calls and requires a cleaner hit for characters to reach their max damage potential.)
• Starting a combo on a character that has 240 Drama (Undizzy) or higher will now scale the combo damage immediately to 35%. (Hits against opponents at entering or starting at 240+ Undizzy continues to scale to 55% just as it does in previous versions)
• When using a Burst to escape a combo that started at 240 or higher Undizzy, that Burst will be forced to a Super Gold Burst. (... Super Gold Burst is the one denoted by gold Burst sparks, which keeps all of your Undizzy on activation, and can not be punished. Currently it triggers when a Burstable combo goes on for longer than 90F, or when activating a Burst against a throw that started a new chain... that one! It doesn't have a name, so let's try Super Gold Burst?) (... Carrying on the tradition of adding more layers to IPS and Undizzy systems when they are not protecting players effectively, we are stepping in and stopping sluggish, long, looping combos at 240+ Undizzy that end in a Burst Bait / Throw (back into itself) in a pretty heavy handed way. Consider a different strategy that is more "two player" and interesting for players and spectators.)
• Fixed a bug where characters could perform a dash out of punch normal assists when they were used as a Stunt Double.
• Fixed a bug where the OTG bounce color on sliding knockdown would sometimes show a red bounce ring instead of a blue bounce ring.

ANNIE

• Star Cancel is input now LP + LK instead of LP + LK + One other button, in addition to the existing 3K and 3P inputs. This should be easier to trigger with all input devices.
• Star Cancel can no longer be done unless Annie is attacking.
• Star Cancel can no longer be done for the first handful of frames of LP and LK normals to prevent accidental use.
• Increased cHK slide recovery (without making contact) by 7F.
• Reduced hitstun on jMP against airborne opponents only by 2F.
• Reverted most damage nerfs, new damage values compared against RETAIL are as follows:
  • cHP: 1200 → 1000.
  • sfHP: 1300 → 1200.
  • Destruction Pillar : 1100 → 1000.
  • Meteor Strike: Forced 50% scaling on DHC still, from last patch.
  • Star Power damage from stars on normals is increased to old values. 550 for jHP, 650 for others.
• Added VO to the Star Power version of Re Entry.

BIG BAND

• Tympany Drive
  • The very first hitbox frame has been shrunk, for a single frame. (... This is the frame that is post flash unblockable if you were not already blocking before the Blockbuster started.)
  • The two landing frames from Tympany after Big Band blocks are now in a counter hit state, and tracked by frame data display in training mode. (... It's now more obvious if the move was punished or not, and using the counter hit bonus is more reliable.)
  • Reduced blockstun of the looping hits before the final hit.
  • Added 6F of extra recovery to the move if it was blocked. (... Up close, Tympany is now -19. Previously, Tympany could be made safe by hitting with the last active frames of one of the looping hits before the final hit, since the looping hits had significantly higher blockstun. Using this strategy is still possible, but it will only be -14 now at best on block.)
• Noise Cancel (Parry)
  • Parry window (tap): 17 → 15.
  • Parry window (hold): 12 → 10.
  • Parry window (leaving hitstun, blockstun, wakeup, etc, tap): 18 → 16.

CEREBELLA

• Unbreakable Elbow (jD+MP)
  • Fixed a bug where pressing down + MP on the exact frame Cerebella left the ground from a jump would cause jMP to start instead of jD+MP.
  • When jD+MP is performed as an instant overhead after leaving the ground, it will now floor bounce for a combo that is easy to convert from, which doesn't use OTG. (... In place of the often discussed JHP overhead conversion, jD+MP is becoming a more powerful overhead instead as a compromise.)
• jHP: Now an overhead if done after a glide of any length, or if done while not ascending.
• jHP: Increased max glide speed by 20%.
• jHP: Increased momentum Cerebella keeps after gliding by 50%.
• If Cerecopter successfully touches the enemy point character, cancelling into Diamond Dynamo will never autocorrect to avoid Cerebella turning around unintentionally and getting punished for it. Does not apply on whiff or when hitting assists.

ROBO-FORTUNE

• H Beam: As an assist, it can only do a maximum of 4 hits (the amount of hits it does when far away) regardless of her range to the opponent.
• H Beam: Increased recovery as an assist by 26F.
• Magnetic Trap is no longer unblockable while rising when done as a DHC.

ELIZA

• Eliza can now use Crimson Scourge without being in Sekhmet form, after performing her taunt, Scarlet Ladies. Most notably, this gives her a powerful DHC option that allows for combos afterward.
• Crimson Scourge no longer drains life or creates blood droplets if it connects with a character that has no life.
• Taunt (Scarlet Ladies) no longer pulls in nearby blood droplets.
• Osiris Spiral now pulls in blood droplets, using her old taunt behaviour.
• Throne of Isis now performs a red bounce instead of a blue bounce, allowing OTG pickups.
• Sekhmet
  • Sekhmet can now be counter hit out of attacks if she is hit with an armor breaking move. She will take bonus damage, and lose Drama (Undizzy) appropriately.
  • Increase Sekhmet jump landing recovery by 6F.
  • Increase Sekhmet jump / super jump startup by 2F.
  • If Sekhmet sH (Axe) is blocked by the point character, Sekhmet can no longer use Sekhem Rebound (backflip) even if it hit an assist or some other object like Lenny.
  • Adjusted jM damage: 1000 → 900.
  • Adjusted sH damage: 1100 → 900.

DOUBLE

• Catellite Lives (Cat Heads):
  • Reduced knock up on forward advancing hits.
  • Increased hitstun by 2F. (... Both of these changes combined should make it much less likely for the victim to fall out of the hits for longer range Catellite Lives confirms.)
• Flesh Step projectile invincibility starts 3F earlier, and it now builds a small amount of meter like every other special move on whiff.
• Hornet Bomber : Increased height of the physical collision box, and hitbox, during the first hit of the move. (... This move should be more consistent about hitting opponents right in front of Double and less likely to whiff or pass over the opponent in awkward ways.)
• Luger Replica
  • L: Knockback against air reduced to 11, from 12. (Leaves victim closer)
  • L: Knockup against air increased from 12 to 12.5. (... These values are half way between the older versions of Luger, and the last version of Luger live in retail, for context.)
  • M: Increase blockstun by 4F.
  • H: Decrease blockstun by 2F. (... M Luger is now +0 on block like H Luger was before, and H Luger is now -2 on block. The powerful combo starting bullet ends Double's turn more consistently, and the lower reward bullet can be spaced to be plus if she is playing her range effectively.)

FILIA

• cMK: Adjust pattern of alternating between push back and vacuuming, such that the final hit is now the vacuum hit.
• Increased the landing DHC window after Fenrir Drive by 3F, to make it a little easier to get the full damage off this Blockbuster without accidentally missing the DHC window.

FUKUA

• Forever a Clone (QCB+K) no longer drains Fukua's health while she is holding her shadow. (... We'll start with this experiment for now and see if we need more changes at a later date.)

MS. FORTUNE

• Adjusted Ms. Fortune's normal jump animation. Her feet are now stretched downwards for a handful of frames (like almost every other character) after she leaves the ground, to prevent her from tucking into a tiny ball on the very first frame prejump is completed.
• Adjusted Cat Scratch (QCF+P) metergain for whiffing each strike, when the head is on: 2.5%x3 → 1.5%x3.
• Adjusted Cat Scratch (QCF+P) metergain per swipe: 5%/5%/5% → 4%/3%/2%
• Head
  • When Ms. Fortune's head is struck with a light attack and Decap Attack triggers, it will launch the opponent less high, and has 2F less hitpause on contact, compared to M and H normals. (... With this, head loops should be effectively removed, and headless Decap Attack pressure with cLK, etc, is slightly less powerful on block.)
  • Fixed a bug where Feline Allergies (Sneeze) could be used shortly after Ms. Fortune was in hitstun.
  • When Ms. Fortune goes into hitstun, the head immediately goes into hitstun even if it was performing or recovering from an attack. This does not apply to Sneeze once it has started. (... This notably removes the ability for Ms. Fortune to trade with the opponent while also hitting her own head, and getting a full combo off the Decap Attack trade.)
  • Increased head lockout time on Feline Allergies from 50F to 85F.
  • Increased head lockout time when hit by opponent non-projectile attacks from 15F to 60F.
  • When Ms. Fortune's head is near the camera edge or corner, the hurtbox will be wider. This only applies when it's idling, on cooldown, or being hit. (... This should make it easier to hit the head with moves like cLK when it's right under and behind you, and it is easier to lock the head repeatedly.)
  • OMNOMNOM now triggers a blue bounce instead of a red bounce, preventing OTG follow ups.
• Damage Tuning:
  • Headless sHK: 1050 → 950
  • Head on sHP: 1000 → 975
  • Airborne El Gato: 900/1000/1100 → 800/950/1000
  • Grounded El Gato (From Cat Scratch / Headless): 1100 → 975
  • Final Cat Scratch Hit: 950/1100/1250 → 800/900/1000
  • Decap Attack: 300 → 100
• Fiber Upper
  • All versions are now only strike invincible when the head is on, and fully vulnerable when the head is off.
  • Added 2F of extra recovery to M Fiber Upper, and 4F of extra recovery to H Fiber Upper.
  • Adjusted pushback on block.
  • On whiff only, Ms. Fortune must wait an additional 2F to jump away from M Fiber, and 4F to jump away from H Fiber.
• Cat Strike (Head Bowl)
  • Increased invincibility by 1F to prevent it from trading.
  • Increased the window for the head to stagger the opponent, fixing issues where the first hit would connect but the second hit wouldn't stagger.
  • Lowered the hitbox height for the initial strike to make it easier to evade by jumping.
  • Forces 75% scaling.
• jLK
  • Adjusted hitbox to have a smaller hit region directly under her.
  • Can no longer hit cross up in any circumstances.
  • Increased recovery by 4F.
  • Is now a mid while rising, instead of overhead.
• sLP
  • Added two frames of recovery
  • Added a hurtbox to match the hit region during active frames.
  • Reduced range of the hitbox slightly.

VALENTINE

• Fixed a bug where Acquisitive Prescription (counter time stop) against Sekhmet would not revert Sekhmet to Eliza form when Sekhmet was hit afterwards.
• All versions of Savage Bypass (Air) will now produce a hitbox for at least one frame, improving consistency and ensuring the move always hits when opponents are nearby. (... This does allow for new routes, especially in the corner, and may require damage adjustments.)
• cHP
  • Increased physical extent height to prevent Valentine from sliding under airborne opponents and whiffing.
  • cHP will no longer move Valentine forwards if the opponent is right next to her.
  • Slightly extended the top of the hitbox backwards. (... We're sacrificing some of Valentine's niche cross under resets with cHP to make the move more consistent and a better anti-air.)
• cLK: Increase hitstun by 1F to make it combo into the second hit of cMK, in the event the first hit of cMK whiffs.
• cMK: Second hit now vacuums back towards Valentine.
• cMP: Reduced startup by 2F.
• jHK: Increase hitstun on the first hit by 4F.
• jLP: When performed from a backdash cancelled into air dash (BDAD), it now has a taller physical collision box to prevent her from crossing over the opponent, much like Filia's jLK.
• sMP: The first slash downwards now pulls opponents down further.
• sMP: Increased hitstun on the first slash, and the follow-up sawing hits slightly, to prevent unlucky cancel timings into other moves uncomboing.
• Added 4F of hitstop (up from 0) to the final hit of EKG Flatliner so that there's a longer window to perform a DHC on the final hit without performing an unintended side switch.
• Extended the hitbox of Forbidden Procedure backwards a little bit so it's possible to revive every character when they are dead in the corner if Valentine's back is to the corpse.
• Vial Hazard Type C, AKA: Orange Vial.
  • Input delay values per level are reduced - Lv1/2/3: 4/6/9 → 3/5/7 frames of delay respectively.
  • The level 3 version now goes away if Valentine is hit at all, and no longer requires her to be hit with a Blockbuster.
  • The level 1 and 2 version now go away if Valentine blocks a hit. (... We are giving Valentine some reasonable buffs and "QoL" while reducing the effectiveness of looping Orange Vial on victims. If a victim under the effects of input delay manages to fight back against Valentine while she's in control of the situation, they are rewarded for their bravery more than before.)

PEACOCK

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/a58616febedb1396b3a8ca8a90f1f3b81702cf91.png
• Added a new intro! You can force it to happen by holding two punches or two kicks during the fight loading screen.
• Victims gain more meter from blocking or being hit with Peacock's projectiles, equivalent to how Robo-Fortune's lasers work. This impacts Item Drop, Georges, and BANG! BANG! BANG! (H).
• Reduce damage of Argus Agony bullets: 180 → 150. Max damage 1530 → 1350.
• Reduce block advantage on cHK by 3F.
• Shadow of Impending Doom will lose its hitbox if Peacock goes into hitstun, to prevent it from trading in her favor long after she is hit.
• Georges
  • Reduce advantage of L George by 2F on block. Now -4 on block.
  • If Peacock is hit with a physical attack (non projectile), all active George bombs will begin to blink and count down to an automatic explosion. (NOTE: There is a known issue where the blinking is not visible on Mac and Linux - we're working on it!) The time it takes for each type of George to explode varies and is as follows:
  • L: 60F.
  • M: 15F. (... Due to the speed at which Boxcar George travels, this still may be too long...)
  • H: 20F.
  • If George hits an opponent after these timers have started, it will force 50% combo scaling. (... Using George early to cover Peacock has always been a huge part of her defensive game, and using George to force a trade or making the opponent back off is still possible even after these changes, but when this does happen, the reward has been reduced in the form of forced scaling. Calling a M/H George a single frame before going into hitstun however will no longer save her, and L George will no longer walk across the entire stage to interrupt a combo. Let's experiment with these changes and see if this is a reasonable middle ground.)
• BANG! (M)
  • Now has 8F of extra recovery in any situation where it does not successfully hit the enemy point character.
  • Reduced blockstun by 3F.
  • Now pulls the victim towards her if they block it while grounded.
  • Reduced the length of the hitbox slightly.
  • Increased Peacock's hurtbox after active frames so it's slightly easier to punish her. (... These changes, combined with the Lenny frame data changes when done from M Bang described below, should make this definitively unsafe as other DP type moves. No more awkwardly hitting them with the tip of the sword and having it be awkward to punish, no more whiffing M Bang and doing another one if they aren't in position to whiff punish, no more cancelling into Lenny at will to reduce the risk, etc. The powerful zoner needs to commit to her reversal, and if it doesn't work, she should be punished, full stop.)
• Lonesome Lenny
  (... After reading discussion, we opted to give Lenny numerous adjustments while still keeping it a level 1, rather than leaving it as is and making it a level 2.)
  • Damage: 3800 → 2750.
  • Chip: 800 → 600.
  • Lenny will hit nearby assist characters and push them away when placed, forcing them to drop out of the combo in most situations.
  • No longer deals any bonus damage on counter hit.
  • Reduced how far forward Lenny moves when hit by allied attacks and projectiles by 15%.
  • Peacock now builds zero meter while Lenny is out and she is the point character.
  • Peacock has more startup when the move is canceled into from BANG! (M).
  • Peacock has more recovery when the move is used as a DHC or when cancelled into from BANG! (M).

(Version 3.7.0)

Today's update is a small patch to address a few issues on Steam since Marie's full release. If you are still experiencing the issues described below, you can report bugs in our official Discord or on our official forums. Discord: https://discord.com/invite/skullgirls Skullheart Forums: https://skullheart.com/ ACHIEVEMENTS

• Fixed an issue where achievements were not unlocking for Steam.
• Verified achievements should be re-triggerable.
  • Most achievements track progress in the game's save file. Doing the action associated with the achievement should prompt it to unlock if the criteria have been met. EG: If you should have "The Kitchen Sink" achievement unlocked, hitting an opponent with Peacock's "Shadow of Impending Doom" once should retrigger the achievement.
  • Some achievements don't track progress in the save data and must be completed again. We apologize for the inconvenience.

STORY VO

• A specific situation with legacy Steam DLC could cause Story VO not to play. This issue has been fixed.

PERFORMANCE

• Optimized performance for some new graphical effects that were implemented in the last update. Even further optimizations are arriving in one of our next updates.

(Build version 3.6.10)

Hey everyone, It has been a LONG road, but the final character of the Season 1 Pass is finally here. Marie makes her grand official release simultaneously on all systems TODAY Tuesday 26th March! Read on for the full details of this release, including features that were previously only available in the Beta builds on Steam, and updates on the remaining contents of the Season 1 Pass.

MARIE

If you own the Season One Pass, or purchase Marie’s DLC individually, here's what you get:

• NEW STAGES

  The Skullgirl herself arrives with not one, but TWO new stages! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/cae62057bc20cb0e0731cf45d8a5298b70c4a027.png Hilgard’s Castle is the former home of Marie, but its once majestic walls have crumbled and been overtaken by nature. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/5004773ef3994dcf836af5d63703a275f600e223.png The Nightmare version of the stage reimagines the stage in unsettling shades and is haunted by the ghosts of Marie’s past.

• NEW MUSIC TRACKS

  Each of the new stages comes with their own music. Hilgard’s Castle is accompanied by “All That Remains”, and the Nightmare stage wails with the guitars of “All That Endures” Both tracks were composed by Darren Malley and can be listened to on our Youtube channel.

• STORY MODE

  The impossible has happened: the Skull Heart has been destroyed while Marie has been spared. Where will Marie's new lease on (un)life lead...?

• PALETTES

  A maid of Marie’s high standards can’t just have one outfit - she comes with 29 color palettes!

• TUTORIALS/TRIALS

  Become a master of the undead in Marie’s personalized tutorials & combo trials.

SEASON ONE PASS EXCLUSIVES

For those who have purchased the Season One Pass you also get:

• ALTERNATE "GOTH MARIE" VOICE PACK

  Let the bodies hit the floor with this exclusive alternate voice pack!

• SEASON ONE BONUS PALETTE

  An extra bonus palette is available for Season One Pass holders.

OTHER CHANGES

• NEW PALETTES

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/e4934c7836839b8942395cfb2a779c371d7ea79d.png New palettes first introduced in Skullgirls Mobile have been added to 2nd Encore with this update! Double, Robo-Fortune, Cerebella, Squigly, Parasoul, Filia, Annie, Umbrella, Ms. Fortune, Peacock, Valentine, and Beowulf all get new colors.

• STAGE UPDATES

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/379ac15abccd79e47a5e99308ddb1c2bb8b6b3ad.png Over the years many stages have been added to 2nd Encore, including alternate versions of existing stages. To make it easier to scroll through the full stage list, stages that share the same music but with slight visual differences are now selectable by pressing UP or DOWN on the stage selection screen. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/0594650059fc39c51c0a10926ea55d0fe51671a5.png Speaking of alternate stages, to celebrate the launch of the Skullgirls Championship Series 2024, a new stage has been added! Additionally the stage "SGCS Arena (2021)" can no longer be rolled when using RANDOM to select a stage. You can still select it manually by going to the NMO Arena Stage and using the new Up/Down buttons.

• NEW SOVIET ANNOUNCER VOICE PACK

  As a replacement for a voice pack that was removed last summer, enjoy a brand new “Soviet Announcer” voice pack by none other than the voice of the TF2 Heavy himself - Gary Schwartz!

• SOUNDTRACK AND DIGITAL ART COMPENDIUM

  The Soundtrack has been updated with the new track "All That Endures", from Hilgard’s Castle (Nightmare). You can get the soundtrack here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1542600/ The Digital Art Compendium has also been updated with all of Marie’s thousands of animation frames, concept art and other production art. We recently made the Compendium completely free if you own Skullgirls 2nd Encore on Steam, so download your copy today! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1549100/

COMBAT

• Added new visual effects to "Push Block Guard Cancels" to indicate when a PBGC window is possible, and when it is successfully activated. Watch out for the green shield flash here: https://i.imgur.com/GpbUjIQ.gif
• Fixed a bug where some characters were not using idle hurtboxes during landing frames. The following characters are impacted: Beowulf, Big Band, Eliza, Annie, and Umbrella.
• Updated VFX for Valentine's Vial Hazard special move to now use different art for the three debuff types. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/e32c21d6007f16ab1596b658c98cf75ad6f5876c.png
• Adjusted visual effects and lighting when characters are impacted by palette adjusting VFX, such as Parasoul's fire effect, Annie's galaxy space dust effect, Robo-Fortune's electrification effect, Black Dahlia's freeze effect, etc, to no longer be impacted by stage lighting conditions. Flickering lights involved with these effects should be less distracting.
• Integrated some previously unused voice lines for old characters when fighting against Marie, both for her boss form and her playable form.
• Fixed a bug where Black Dahlia would not flinch like other characters when being hit during some throw attacks, like Cerebella's Pummel Horse.

MISC

• Added a new section to the Art Gallery for Marie, with new unlockable art.
• When declining a match in Quick Match, or recently finishing a match with a player, you will no longer match with that player again for a few minutes.
• Kicked players can no longer rejoin the lobby that they are kicked from.
• Adjusted the position of the timer on character select when playing online, to prevent it from covering up Marie's newly added square.

THE FUTURE

As we mentioned in the 2024 Roadmap Post, with the SG2E Season 1 Pass winding down, the obvious question is - what comes next? While it’s tempting to dive right into a Season 2 Pass - we’ve instead opted to pause for a moment to step back and recalibrate our efforts a bit. What does that mean exactly?

ADDITIONAL VO

In addition to what’s already been released (including free bonus voice packs for Umbrella, Black Dahlia, and Marie), there is still a significant amount of VO that we were planning to include in the Season Pass that has not been added yet, including:

• ANNIE ALTERNATE VOICE PACK (English)
• SEASON PASS CHARACTER STORY MODE VO (English)
• SEASON PASS CHARACTER COMBAT VO (Japanese)

As it turns out, the logistics for all of these has proven to be a bit more involved than we had originally anticipated. As such, in order to ensure that everything is done to the quality level that we (and the community) expects, we unfortunately are NOT planning to release this content in 2024. Nonetheless, while the timetable isn’t what we originally hoped for, we take our commitments seriously, and we are still planning to release it in 2025. As always, we appreciate your patience, support, and understanding!

FREE SGM PALETTES

As noted earlier, some palettes first introduced in Skullgirls Mobile have been added to 2nd Encore with this update. While the release timing is a little up in the air, we are planning to provide future Mobile palettes FOR FREE to every Skullgirls 2nd Encore player too!

BALANCE PATCH

Now that Marie has been released we’ll be taking a look at some of the rest of the cast and making some balance adjustments. Keep an eye out for updates to the Beta build on Steam soon!

NEW FEATURES / CONTENT / CHARACTERS

Although we don’t currently have news on what to expect on this front at this time - just know that we are still intending to support both the console and mobile versions of Skullgirls for years to come. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months!

SKULLGIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

The Skullgirls Championship Series 2024 is fully underway! Compete in online regional events to qualify as one of the 8 lucky competitors to be flown out to Combo Breaker 2024 to compete in the Grand Finals! Check out start.gg/sgcs2024 and be sure to register for one of many events in your area! Interested in hosting an SGCS point earning event? Check out the site for details - it’s easier than you might think! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/daf569fe36bfa0a4f4b883536f86c48c74639c98.png

LIVE EVENTS & GIVEAWAYS

We are currently planning to attend two live events this year – Combo Breaker (Chicago area, May 24-26) and Evo (Las Vegas, Jul 19-21). If you’re planning to attend, be sure to swing by the Skullgirls booth to meet us in person and score all kinds of FREE booth exclusive giveaways and prizes. We hope to see you there! Just in case you missed it, we recently announced that brand new characters will be added to Skullgirls Mobile this year as Guest Stars - summonable Assist type characters that can help out in fights. The first of these Guest Stars will be the adorable Minette! https://i.imgur.com/JDPaZIP.gif Rough animation of one of Minette's Guest Star attacks.​ Guest Stars are currently planned for SGM only, but there’s always a chance they may make their way to SG2E one day! It’s been an incredible journey, but after 3 years the final character in the Season 1 Pass is complete! We absolutely could not have hit this milestone without the support of our fans and players. A sincere thank you to everyone who’s stuck it out with us for 12 years of Skullgirls! Here’s to many more! Stay tuned on our social media pages (Twitter, Facebook) for the latest info on all things Skullgirls! - All of us at Hidden Variable Studios and Future Club <3 (Steam Build version 3.6.9)

Today's update is a very small patch to address an issue regarding online spectating on Steam. If you feel you are still experiencing this particular issue, you can report bugs in our official Discord, or our official forum in the Marie section. Discord: https://discord.com/invite/skullgirls Skullheart Forums: https://skullheart.com/ SPECTATING

• Fixed an issue where spectating online would sometimes disconnect abruptly before a match ended.

(Build version 3.6.8)

To ring in the new year, we’re excited to share these FREE gifts for everyone in the community! NEW SOVIET ANNOUNCER VOICE PACK As a replacement for a voice pack that was removed last summer, enjoy a brand new “Soviet Announcer” voice pack by none other than the voice of the TF2 Heavy himself - Gary Schwartz! The new announcer pack is now available in both versions of Skullgirls 2nd Encore available on Steam (Retail & Marie Alpha), and will be coming to console platforms with Marie’s full release. NEW PALETTES Many of you have seen some of these palettes in Skullgirls Mobile, now you can enjoy them in Skullgirls 2nd Encore! The new palettes are in both versions* of the game on Steam (Retail & Marie Alpha), and will be coming to console platforms with Marie’s full release. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/6a7b84c68d2385b68d930f9745dcf93259aeae11.png * For now, the new Double and Filia palettes will only be available in the Marie Alpha due to technical limitations. NEW STAGE - SKULLGIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES 2024 In celebration of the Skullgirls Championship Series starting up again in 2024, the NMO Arena is now gilded in gold! Try out this new stage first in the Marie Alpha build along with a small update to the stage selection system - stages that share the same music are now grouped in the stage selector, and you can press UP and DOWN to select from different variants of the same stage. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/d76749db505a3fb6deb354ccb0d8a8f7b0ffec35.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/ea3953b04c8e0c1ec0e28e11046c9ae22d50b1f1.png DIGITAL ART COMPENDIUM Many players (including those who purchased the Season Pass on other platforms) have asked us about how they can get access to the DAC. We've decided to make the Digital Art Compendium on Steam FREE for all players! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1549100/Skullgirls_Digital_Art_Compendium/ (Note: You must own a copy of Skullgirls 2nd Encore on Steam to access the Art Compendium.) Thanks so much once again for an amazing 2023 – we can’t wait to reveal everything we have in store in 2024 and beyond! Here’s to a new year of Skullgirls from all of us at Hidden Variable and Future Club! The full update notes with other changes can be found below: UPDATE NOTES:

3.5.16 (Retail)
• Added a total of 10 new palettes across multiple characters.
• Added new Soviet Announcer voice pack.
3.5.17 (Beta)
• Added a total of 12 new palettes across multiple characters.
• Added new Soviet Announcer voice pack.
• Added Marie’s Tutorials and Trials (English Only).
• Added the new SGCS 2024 Stage.
• Added a new Lobby Title for Black Dahlia.
• Added a new Lobby Title for Marie.
• The Hilgard Castle stage now has different variants for the animals and weather present.
• Stage Selection Sets
  • Updated stage select to now support stage sets.
  • Stages in the same set are now accessible using up/down inputs.
  • Stages in sets are identifiable by up/down arrows around the stage name.
  • The following stages are impacted: NMO Arena, SGCS Arena (2024), Evo Arena, SGCS Arena (2021), Little Innsmouth, Little Innsmouth (Night), Lab 8, Lab 8 (Empty), Grand Cathedral, Grand Cathedral (Night).
• Updated the look of the PBGC visuals that hint when a PBGC is possible.
• Characters now flash green again when performing a successful PBGC.
• Fixed a bug where Annie's Star Power music wasn't playing on activation.
• Fixed a bug where Annie's Gravity Crash still required 1 bar of Dramatic Tension to activate mid air.
• Fixed a bug where some characters were not using idle hurtboxes during landing frames. The following characters are impacted: Beowulf, Big Band, Eliza, Annie, and Umbrella.
• Marie
  • Hilgard's Haymaker now has higher priority than Hop To It, if inputting QCF + LP/MK, etc.
  • Fixed a bug where Marie's intros that were not the piano intro were not playing.
  • Increase Suction Obstruction (whiff) recovery by 4F.
  • Reduced Marie Go 'Round armor hits from 2 to 1.
  • Repetitive Skeleton Impact provides better protection from "while rising" unblockables after being avoided.
  • Reduced damage by 50 on the following moves: jMP, sMP, Marie Go 'Round (H), sMK, sLK, sHK, jMK, cLK, cHP.
  • Reduced cHK damage from 1100 to 1000.
  • Reduced Hilgard Haymaker damage from 700/950/1200, to 650/850/1000.
  • Hilgard Haymaker now forces a minimum of 70% damage scaling on hit.
  • Hop To It
    • Reduced number of hits from 9 to 7.
    • Reduced initial launch distance from Marie's vacuum on the M and H strengths.
    • The bunny jumps less far.

(Version 3.6.7)

This update addresses 2 bugs in the Marie Early Access Release MARIE DLC

• We addressed an issue where Marie was not properly unlocking for users who purchased Marie's individual DLC.

ANNIE

• Updated Annie's command list to better reflect Star Power changes.

(Build version 3.6.6)

Hey everyone, Marie is now entering her Early Access phase! This is a huge development milestone as it means she is on the final road to full completion. Here’s a preview of what to expect below:

• MARIE
  • Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Early Access
  • Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Full Release
  • Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Story Updates
• VFX & CHARACTER ADJUSTMENTS

Enough intro! IT’S SHOWTIME!

MARIE

SKULLGIRLS 2ND ENCORE - EARLY ACCESS

Skullgirls 2nd Encore character development usually falls into four distinct phases:

Pre-Alpha: Work is being done on the character, but is not fit for public release. Alpha: The character is now publicly playable in an Alpha build on Steam, though they are still unfinished. Probably missing lots of animations, sound design, etc. Early Access: The character is now mostly complete, but still needs final balance tuning and other polish. Full Release: The character is fully complete, including all additional features like their Story Mode.

We have now moved onto Early Access, so we’re approaching the finish line of Marie development!

HOW COMPLETE IS MARIE?

Marie is now 100% animated and colored. No more sketchy black and white animation frames! She also has all her voice lines and sound effects fully tuned. She also gets a bunch of new palettes! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/eab67986c22d088f5f68ca25eae4a6b5d79e01a0.png For the remainder of Marie’s development we'll be focusing on final balance adjustments and bug fixes. You can give balance feedback and report bugs in our official Discord, or our official forum in the Marie section. Discord: https://discord.com/invite/skullgirls Skullheart Forums: https://skullheart.com/

HOW DO I SELECT MARIE?

Now that Marie is in Early Access, her individual character DLC is available to purchase on Steam! If you own EITHER the Season 1 Pass or the individual Marie DLC you will be able to try her out. Once you have the Season 1 Pass or Individual DLC, launch the game in BETA mode by pressing the green PLAY button on Skullgirls 2nd Encore from your Steam library page, then selecting "Skullgirls Beta (Marie Alpha)". You can also launch the game in BETA mode by navigating to the in-game Options menu, and pressing "Switch To Beta". In BETA mode, you can pick Marie on the character select screen as normal! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1557981/Skullgirls_Season_1_Pass

SKULLGIRLS 2ND ENCORE - FULL RELEASE

Once Marie is fully completed, she will be released on all systems roughly simultaneously. We’re aiming to release Marie in Q1 2024. Full Release will come with all the usual bells and whistles:

• Marie will be fully complete!
• Marie’s new Stage(s?) will be fully complete with final music.
• A brand new story mode for Marie.
• Final Marie balance pass.
• A full set of 30+ palettes.
• Character tutorials.
• A new alternate voice pack.

SKULLGIRLS 2ND ENCORE - STORY MODE UPDATES

When Marie gets her full release she will come with her own Story Mode that delves deep into her relationship with the Skull Heart. After Marie’s story mode is released all of the Season 1 Pass character story modes will be updated with full voice acting in an independent update. The full voice update will not be until after Marie’s release because we are still organizing recording sessions for the LARGE returning cast that we need to voice the myriad of characters that appear across Skullgirls 2nd Encore’s 18 Story Modes.

VFX + CHARACTER ADJUSTMENTS

Note that these changes only apply to the BETA version of the game. EFFECTS We've got some new effects entering this update to help highlight and demonstrate an advanced mechanic known in the community as "Pushblock Guard Cancel" (PBGC). If you're not sure what that is, you can check the in-game tutorial to refresh yourself, which will be updated at a later date to reference these effects. Our goal is to make it more clear to new players where PBGC windows are, and when they are being successfully executed. This should also make the mechanic easier to explain to new players. When a PBGC window is available, green sparks will fly by the character, seen below. This effect will only show itself if performing a PBGC would have actually reduced the amount of time spent in blockstun. https://i.imgur.com/GpbUjIQ.gif When performing a successful PBGC, a force field effect will appear on the character, seen here: https://i.imgur.com/DW6MuJ1.gif MARIE

• Fixed a bug introduced in the last update where "Suction Obstruction" command throw (QCF+LP+LK) was starting a combo at IPS stage 3 instead of stage 2.
• Fixed a bug where Marie's Air Throw would start a combo at IPS stage 1 instead of IPS stage 2.
• Marie Go 'Round no longer reduces damage and removes the stagger opportunity when used more than once in a combo. This allows Marie to perform a grounded Marie Go 'Round and stagger even if the airborne version connected in the same combo. You can still only stagger an opponent once per combo, per global rules.
• Reduce active frames of "Weight of our Will" (QCB+PP) when landing and exploding.
• Tweaked hurtbox during falling hitstun frames to make Double's Cilia Slide routes (and other combos) slightly more consistent on her.

VALENTINE Valentine has new effects for her different Vial Hazard types so that you can easily distinguish which type of vial she is loading, beyond just looking at the color of it. This is especially helpful for colorblind players. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/f7f227a79b2cf29b9c8e64ed0104f57fe111c696.png ANNIE While we'd normally prefer to release balance changes for multiple characters at once, Annie's Star Power rework has become intertwined with Marie's Early Access release due to engine and code changes required to support its parallel development. As such, Annie's balance changes are arriving early and will be available in this update. Please note we have balance changes coming down for the pipe for other characters beyond Annie, but those changes aren't finalized just yet. You can expect more patches soon with additional balance changes in a future update!

• Crescent Cut
  • The projectile will now end if Annie is interrupted before the attack goes active. After the attack is active, it will still trade and stick around even if Annie is hit.
  • Crescent Cut adjusted from +0 to -1 on block, point blank.
  • Crescent Cut adjusted from +4 to +2 on block, point blank.
  • Crescent Cut start up increased by 6F. (... We're lowering the effectiveness of throwing out a Crescent Cut while near the opponent in a variety of situations, and lowering the odds of Annie receiving an extremely favorable trade. For H Crescent, we're electing to only adjust the start up of it to keep it just as effective as a neutral and approach tool as she chases behind it.)
• Star Power
  • Star Power now costs 3 meter to activate.
  • Star Power now works off a timer instead of draining Annie's meter to perform attacks. Metergain is reduced to 33% during Star Power. When Annie performs a move that is boosted by Star Power (summoning a star or performing a boosted Special Move), it drains a large chunk of her remaining Star Power time. Annie's rainbow shadow silhouette effect will shrink and pulse faster as time runs out. Similar to Painwheel, Star Power will not run out of time if Annie is performing a combo, for now.
  • While in Star Power, and only once, Annie can perform a new move, "Star Cancel", to cancel an attack at any point and quickly enter an idle state. This can be triggered by simultaneously pressing three punches, or three kicks, or LP + LK plus one other button.
  • Star Power activation no longer ends super freeze early when used as a DHC, making it considerably safer and easier to DHC into.
  • Annie can now use all of her other previously disabled Blockbusters (Sagan Beam, Meteor Right, etc) during Star Power.
  • Star Power deactivation, "Gravity Collapse" knocks up higher than before, and no longer costs any meter to use while Annie is the point character. Using it as a DHC costs one bar.
  • Annie's normals no longer produce stars by default. All heavy attacks (except cHK) can be charged to summon stars by holding HP or HK. Charging adds extra start up to the attack.
  • Adjusted various visual effects related to Star Power and stars.
  • cHK will always cause a red bounce instead of a blue bounce if Annie is in Star Power.
  • The following Special Moves have new properties:
    • Crescent Cut hits three times, and will not vanish even if Annie is hit out of the start up.
    • North Knuckle follow-up slam deals bonus damage, hitpause, and will wall bounce the opponent.
    • Re Entry performs a new type of kick that starts faster, travels faster, hits overhead, and performs a hit on landing.
    • Destruction Pillar can be used in the air, and will always knock down even when used for the second time in a combo. Destruction Pillar (ground and air) will not drain any additional time off Annie's remaining Star Power timer.
  • Photo Bop can now be used at any time, for 5 meter. The input has been changed back to the older version, using the same input as her taunt but with two punches instead of one.
  • Photo Bop deals slightly more damage, and has an added camera flash that deals a hit.
• Other
  • Adjusted hurtbox on cLP.
  • Destruction Pillar
    • When blocked as an assist, Annie will stop moving forward to ensure she lands in front of the opponent instead of behind them.
    • Once Annie is airborne, the hitbox size is reduced, similar to Filia. Initial hitboxes unchanged.
  • Damage Tuning
    • cHP: 1200 → 1000
    • cLP: 300, 300 → 150, 150
    • jHP: 875 → 750
    • jMP: 250x4 → 180x4
    • fHP: 1300 → 1100
    • sHK: 950 → 750
    • sMK: 400, 500 → 400, 300
    • sLK: 200, 200, 300 → 100, 100, 200
    • sLP: 300, 300 → 300, 200
    • Destruction Pillar : 1100 → 1000
    • Meteor Strike: When used as a DHC, scaling is set to 50% instead of 70%.
  • If Annie has used all three of her Re Entry kicks in a combo and is airborne when the combo resets, her next Re Entry kick will be the first one, instead of the worse version that prevents combos.
  • Tweaked palette 7 and 30 rainbow colors to be consistent with all other Annie palettes.
  • Tweaked star colors on all palettes.

That’s a wrap for today! We’re excited to see what you can do with Marie now that she’s on the road to full completion! Don’t be shy on leaving us feedback on any of these changes on the Discord or Forums. We want to know what you think! Thanks so much again for all of your support, and stay tuned here and on our social media pages (Twitter, Facebook) any upcoming news and events. - All of us at Hidden Variable Studios and Future Club <3 (Version 3.6.5)

Today's update is primarily focused on an Mac bug fix with a few other small bugs being addressed as well. MAC CRASH FIX

We have found and addressed the issue caused by the macOS version increase in the last update. Users experiencing crashes on older versions of macOS (v12 and older) should now be able to play Skullgirls 2nd Encore again. We appreciate your patience as we investigated the issue.

MARIE

• Hilgard, when spawned from Hilgard's Haymaker, spawns a little closer to Big Band, to prevent some unintended drops, such as cHP Hilgard's Haymaker using OTG against him.
• Hilgard, when spawned from Hilgard's Haymaker, has a maximum distance he can spawn from Marie, to prevent some situations where he would appear too far behind.
• Fixed a bug where Dust Bunny could activate Undizzy in the middle of its hits in some edge cases.

GENERAL

• Fixed a rendering issue with ASG Lab's when playing with Big Band with 2D Backgrounds enabled.

(Build version 3.6.4)

Today's update focuses on a Mac requirement update and Marie combat bug fixes. Mac OSX Required Version Increase

As of October 31st, 2023, Apple requires us to update some of our tools used to build the Mac OSX version of the game. This has resulted in us needing to increase the minimum Mac OSX version required to run Skullgirls 2nd Encore from 10.9 (Mavericks) to 10.13 (High Sierra). Since 10.13 (High Sierra) is the lowest version supported by Steam as of September 2023, we are hopeful this change will not make the game unplayable for any current Mac OSX users. If you experience any new bugs on Mac OSX as a result of this, please report them in our official Discord or Forums. Thank you! Discord: https://discord.com/invite/skullgirls Skullheart Forums: https://skullheart.com/

MARIE

• Suction Obstruction (QCF+LP+LK) when used to start a chain at max Undizzy now triggers a burst.
• Reduced Carpel Pummel (QCF+PP) damage from 2500 to 2000.
• Reduced Repetitive Skeleton Impact (QCF+KK) base damage from 800 to 650. (As before, each new slam adds an additional 100 damage than the last.)
• Reduced Air Throw recovery on whiff.
• Fixed a bug where Dust Bunny (QCF+P) would add wrong (15) Undizzy amounts and activate Undizzy in incorrect situations.
• Hilgard's Haymaker
  • Fixed numerous bugs where Hilgard could not be defeated if attacked (with or without armor) during the end of his punch from Hilgard's Haymaker.
  • Hilgard spawns further backwards if Marie is close to the opponent, and the distance Marie has to be to the opponent to be considered "close" is more lenient now. After performing a sHP or jHP that make contact, he spawns even further backwards.
  • Hilgard continues falling towards the floor more reliably even when performing an airborne punch.
  • Hilgard slows down from his charge towards the opponent more reliably now if he's in range to punch.
  • Hilgard retains a bit more of follow-through momentum when punching.
  • Hilgard will spawn further backwards if there is a wall in front of Marie.
• Tag In
  • Marie now travels faster while riding the vacuum.
  • Marie now has to wait a little longer before she can manually dismount early (press P or K) from the tag in.
  • Fixed a bug where Marie could go off camera with tag in some cases.
  • Marie dismounts earlier than before if she approaches the stage edge while riding.
• Tweaked VFX on Marie Go 'Round (QCB+HP) to be larger and easier to see.
• cLP (first hit only) blockstun reduced by 1F, increased recovery by 2F.
• Fixed a bug where Hilgard could follow Marie's position and float up with her if she cancelled quickly into Weight of our Will after he appears.
• Removed screen darkening effect from Weight of our Will (QCB+PP).
• Fixed skeleton voice lines getting cut off when Marie blocks hits or performs a pushblock.
• Made numerous improvements to the flow of how Hilgard performs his win pose, and fixed a bug where he could fly away off screen during it.
• Fixed an issue where Marie could cancel into a Blockbuster on the frame she is hit with an armor breaking move, when using Marie Go 'Round .
• Fixed a bug where Air Throw wouldn't kill opponents unless the first three hits did enough damage to kill.
• Adjusted crouching hurtboxes during idle, block, and hitstun to be slightly larger. (Ms. Fortune's sHP x L Fiber confirm is now universal again)
• Fixed a bug where Marie couldn't get as close to walls when dashing into them compared to other characters.
• Fixed a bug where using Repetitive Skeleton Impact (QCF+KK) with Marie's back too close to the wall could cause some odd behavior on larger characters.
• Fixed a bug where the second hit of jHP could activate Undizzy unexpectedly if the first hit started a chain and filled the victim's Undizzy bar.
• Fixed a bug where Dust Bunny could be oddly rotated during its (not so secret) win pose.
• Fixed a bug where Marie could trigger the Dust Bunny to fly forward with cLK from unintended ranges.
• Carpel Pummel (QCF+PP) now has higher input priority over Weight of our Will (QCB+PP).
• Marie Go 'Round (QCB+LP) no longer causes preblock.
• Fixed a bug where Marie did not make a noise when landing during a sliding knockdown.
• Fixed a visual bug where two versions of Marie could show up rarely if dashing towards the opponent after dashing away from them.
• Fixed secret bugs for secret behavior of a certain standing heavy normal.

(Build version 3.6.3)

Today's update aims to address some networking bugs that were discovered after yesterday's Steam Client update released, which prevented some players from playing online. CHANGES

• Fixed a bug where some players would not be able to connect to one another, and would disconnect as soon as the round started.
• Adjusted logic for displaying connection bars and their colors (for Steam only), which are present at round start for online fights.
  • Green bars are direct connections, where the number of bars filled represent different methods of forming a direct connection.
  • Yellow bars are relay server connections used as a fallback when Steam can't establish a direct connection.
  • A single red bar means an error has occurred.
• Added a new launch option, -disableHueShift, for disabling all rainbow color changing effects. This affects Double palette #19 & Marie palette #29. (-disableRainbowDouble still works and should have the same affect.)
• Fixed a bug where loading screen text was not translated to match the chosen language.

(Version 3.6.2)

Hey everyone, This update is focused on addressing some issues discovered in Marie's initial Alpha release, and also brings Marie's Alpha to Linux and Steam Deck platforms. Thanks for your patience!

Other

• Adjusted vsync settings to fix an issue where some players were experiencing performance and screen tearing issues in the Beta mode.
• Attempted a fix for an issue preventing Beta mode from launching on Windows 7/8.1.

Marie

• Reduced blockstun on jLK, jLP, jMK, and jMP.
• Added missing chip damage on Marie Go 'Round (QCB + P) and , and Carpel Pummel (QCF + PP).
• Carpel Pummel's giant fist no longer clashes with projectiles, losing its active hitbox.
• Fixed a bug where the armor frames were not displayed correctly for Marie Go 'Round (QCB + HP) in the frame data bar when Attack Data was set to "Advanced" in training mode.
• Fixed a bug where Marie would get stuck in her summoning animation as an assist if Hilgard was attacked and defeated before he could finish certain animations.
• Fixed a bug where Marie could get stuck in her commanding pose if the hand from Repetitive Skeleton Impact's (QCF + KK) grabbed opponents with 1 life.
• Fixed a bug where Marie was not considered to be in a counter hit state after throwing the orb from Weight of our Will (QCB + PP).
• Fixed a bug where the second hit of jHP and sHP could trigger a burst in the middle of a chain if the first hit caused the Drama bar (Undizzy) to fill up to 240 or above.
• Fixed cMP, sHK, and jMK having lower than intended metergain.
• Fixed jHP granting slightly more meter than sHP.
• Reduced jLP metergain.
• Reduced Hilgard's Haymaker (QCF + K) metergain.
• Added metergain to Hilgard's Howl (QCB + K), since it was zero before.
• When an opponent blocks Hilgard's attacks (QCF or QCB + K), they gain bonus meter.
• Fixed Marie Go 'Round (QCB + P) strength granting far more meter than the strength.
• Suction Obstruction (QCF + LP + LK), Ground Throw, and Air Throw now correctly grant meter.
• Fixed a bug where Marie can could cancel the start up of JHP into JHK before JHP hit, if bones from a previous JHP were still visible and hitting an opponent.

Thank you to everyone who has been reporting bugs so we can get them fixed in a timely manner. We hope you're all enjoying Marie so far! (Build version 3.6.1) 10/20/023 2nd Attempt at fix for an issue preventing Beta mode from launching on Windows 7/8.1. No new version number.

The Skullgirl herself is finally here - Marie is now playable in her Alpha state for Season Pass holders! NOTE: The Linux version of Marie's Alpha is not available just yet due to some final bug fixing and polishing that is needed for that build. As soon as that build is ready, Marie will be available on Linux too. Thanks for your patience. In classic Skullgirls tradition, Marie will arrive in an unfinished state with a few work-in-progress "sketchy" frames. As mentioned in our "State of the Game" post shared earlier, Marie is much further along compared to previous characters due to her fully releasing on Skullgirls Mobile first before the Steam alpha. Read more details about her release and other changes below! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/cc2de3f61a6a11cca5b7184f573c4d48423eb4b3.png

HOW COMPLETE IS MARIE?

Marie has all of her moves, voice acting, and sound effects in this build. Some of her moves still don't have fully cleaned up frames, but everything should be pretty functional. We expect she will need additional tuning, bug fixing, and balancing just like every other character during their Alpha period. You can report bugs in our official Discord, or our official forum in the Marie section. Discord: https://discord.com/invite/skullgirls Skullheart Forums: https://skullheart.com/

HOW DO I SELECT MARIE?

Characters in their Alpha phase are currently only available to Season 1 Pass holders. If you don't own the Season 1 Pass DLC, you won't be able to use Marie yet. You can pick up the Season 1 Pass here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1557981/Skullgirls_Season_1_Pass Once you have the Season 1 Pass DLC, launch the game in BETA mode by pressing the green PLAY button on Skullgirls 2nd Encore from your Steam library page, then selecting "Skullgirls Beta (Marie Alpha)". You can also launch the game in BETA mode by navigating to the in-game Options menu, and pressing "Switch To Beta". In BETA mode, you can pick Marie on the character select screen as normal!

HOW CAN I BUY HER DLC SEPARATELY?

Once Marie's Alpha phase is over, her individual character DLC will go live in Early Access on the Steam store. This will allow you to play Marie during her Early Access Beta phase without owning the Season 1 Pass. For Marie, we expect her Alpha phase to end and her Early Access (Steam only) phase to start once all of her animations are fully complete and colored. We're currently targeting December 2023 for this date.

WHEN WILL MARIE BE FULLY RELEASED ON ALL PLATFORMS?

While we were originally targeting December 2023 for Marie's full release on all platforms including consoles, it is likely that her release will be pushed back to sometime early in the new year of 2024. The finalized version of Marie with all her bells and whistles needs to be submitted to all console platforms much earlier than December 1st in order to have a chance at releasing before the holidays, since most platform support teams will be unavailable. It's very unlikely that all of her art will be fully finalized by that date, so Q1 2024 is our anticipated release date at this time.

WHEN WILL BALANCE PATCH CHANGES START?

You may have noticed a lot of buzz about balance changes on our official forums or in various online communities. The balance patch discussion is humming along and we're making changes as we speak to prepare the first build that will contain them. We don't have enough of these changes ready at this time for a substantial first balance patch build, so we're going to wait a little bit longer until we have more changes to release all at once. You can expect to see changes start to arrive before the end of the month.

Full Update Notes

Marie

• Added Marie as a playable character.
• Added 19 color palettes for Marie, with many more to arrive in future updates. (... Note that since palette 7 is unlocked by completing her story mode, it cannot be obtained at this time, and is just a duplicate of her original palette for now.)
• Added Marie's stage, Hilgard's Castle.
• Added Marie's stage music, "All That Remains" composed by Darren Malley.

Other

• Adjusted visual effects and lighting when characters are impacted by palette adjusting VFX, such as Parasoul's fire effect, Annie's galaxy space dust effect, Robo-Fortune's electrification effect, Black Dahlia's freeze effect, etc. Flickering lights involved with these effects should be less distracting, and character's themselves are no longer impacted by stage lighting conditions. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/10a7f7ef3e0ee56196a1bc9740b2eb558c2460ce.png
• When declining a match in Quick Match, or recently finishing a match with a player, you will no longer match with that player again for a few minutes.
• When kicking a player from a lobby, kicked players can no longer join the lobby again immediately after.
• Integrated some previously unused voice lines for older characters when fighting against Marie. Some are used for boss Marie, playable Marie, or both.
• Fixed a bug where Black Dahlia would not flinch when getting punched in the face by Cerebella during pummel horse. She's tough, but not THAT tough.
• Adjusted the position of the timer on character select when playing online.

(Build version 3.6.0)

Hey everyone, It’s time for an update on all the Skullgirls projects we’ve got cooking currently, specifically some details on Marie’s upcoming releases! Here’s a preview of what to expect below:

MARIE

• Skullgirls Mobile
• Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Playable Alpha
• Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Full Release

OTHER 2ND ENCORE UPDATES

• Balance Adjustments
• Story Mode Updates

SKULLGIRLS GLOBAL DOMINATION

• Skullgirls Championship Series 2024
• Eighty Sixed Merch
• Skullgirls x Webtoon

Enough intro! IT’S SHOWTIME!

MARIE

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/63ef42f88f1bdc710bbbd3fa40ba0fe1cfcebd31.png Have you been following our daily Marie development posts on our socials? No? Why not?! There’s over 100 days of behind the scenes animations, gameplay, concept art, development insights, and more for you to read up on! Find all our socials here. Updates on our socials are great and all, but I’m sure you really want to know one thing: When is Marie being released? For every character in the Season 1 Pass, we’ve been experimenting with different development schedules to see what works best.

• ANNIE released first on Skullgirls Mobile, then went straight to Full Release a few months later on 2nd Encore.​
• UMBRELLA had a full Alpha, Early Access and Full Release in 2nd Encore before she released on Mobile.​
• BLACK DAHLIA started her Alpha very early, followed by her SGM release, then her Full Release in 2nd Encore.​
• MARIE will launch first in SGM, followed by her Alpha, then her 2nd Encore Full Release.​

As you can see for Marie we’re going to be running a similar development timeline as we did with Annie. Why are we doing it this way? If you recall from way back when we developed Annie, Skullgirls Mobile characters require less overall development time than 2nd Encore. This is because they require significantly fewer completed animations and general attack data compared to their more technical cousins in 2nd Encore. Over the course of the Season 1 Pass we have found that it makes the most sense for us to prioritize the Skullgirls Mobile character releases, then switch fully over to Skullgirls 2nd Encore where we can give their playable Alpha the full attention it deserves. However, if you’ve been following our socials, or visited our booth at Evo this year, you’ll have seen that plenty of work has been done on Marie for 2nd Encore! Skullgirls 2nd Encore and Skullgirls Mobile run on such similar engines and pipelines that we actually implement everything at a basic level in 2nd Encore first, then port that work to Skullgirls Mobile where it is further tuned and polished. This means that even though some parts of Marie are much further along than Black Dahlia or Umbrella were in their early Alphas, other parts are not developed enough to be released as a publicly playable Alpha. With that said, here is our current plan for Marie’s rollout:

SKULLGIRLS MOBILE

Marie is currently planned to release in September on Skullgirls Mobile! In addition to Marie, we’ll be ramping up the Skullgirls Mobile reveals in the coming weeks with trailers and posts about all of the new stuff coming in the 6.0 update. Be sure to keep an eye on our socials for all the latest! Download the game today to get yourself ready for her big release! If it’s your first time playing, or you haven’t played since before 5.4 released there’s a big free package for you too!

SKULLGIRLS 2ND ENCORE

PLAYABLE ALPHA

A time honored tradition in Skullgirls is the playable Alpha! During this phase of development, an unfinished build of Marie will be playable on the Beta branch of Skullgirls 2nd Encore of Steam. This build may feature unfinished ‘sketchy’ animation frames, and much of her combat data will be untuned. This playable Alpha phase allows players to get their hands on Marie early and give feedback on how she’s shaping up. We’ll be releasing frequent updates to the Alpha with new art and gameplay tuning as time goes on. The Marie Alpha will start sometime soon after Marie’s release in Skullgirls Mobile. Stay tuned for more info! What will be included in the Alpha:

• Marie will be partially complete, with some temporary art and not completely tuned gameplay.​
• A partial set of palettes.​
• A new stage (with music!) - Hilgard’s Castle.​
• Additional features will be added to the Alpha over time.​

The playable Alpha is exclusive to Season 1 Pass holders on Steam, so pick up yours today!

SKULLGIRLS 2ND ENCORE

FULL RELEASE

Once Marie is fully completed, she will be released on all systems roughly simultaneously. We’re aiming to release Marie around mid December 2023. For full transparency, there is a chance this date will slip into 2024, but for now that is the date we are targeting. Full Release will come with all the usual bells and whistles:

• Marie will be fully complete!​
• The new Stage - Hilgard’s Castle - will be fully complete with final music.​
• A brand new story mode for Marie.​
• Marie will be available as stand-alone DLC separate from the Season 1 Pass.​
• Final Marie balance pass.​
• A full set of 30+ palettes.​
• Character tutorials.​
• A new alternate voice pack.​

OTHER 2ND ENCORE UPDATES

BALANCE PATCH

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/7ac9d8ab73d0257b69747a233a6b6de44b24403c.png We want to give the other characters in Skullgirls some attention too, and so we’re planning to do a general balance adjustment for the rest of the cast in the near future! As we mentioned in a previous State of the Game post, juggling multiple console releases, character development with Marie, plus additional general balance adjustments has been a challenge. We’re excited to finally dig into this in the coming months. We are currently planning to start general balance adjustments at the same time Marie’s Alpha starts, or shortly after. We’ll announce more details about these adjustments in the near future. Thank you for your patience and feedback!

STORY MODE UPDATES

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/439fb982e5e86183e5ea2aabfa8b678868aa420d.png When Marie gets her full release she will come with her own Story Mode that delves deep into her relationship with the Skull Heart. After Marie’s story mode is released all of the Season 1 Pass character story modes will be updated with full voice acting in an independent update. The full voice update will not be until after Marie’s release because we are still organizing recording sessions for the LARGE returning cast that we need to voice the myriad of characters that appear across Skullgirls 2nd Encore’s 18 Story Modes. Also please note that due to ongoing actors strikes in the US there is a possibility that any story mode recordings may be very significantly delayed. Marie’s English combat voice over will not be affected as it has already been completed.

SKULLGIRLS GLOBAL DOMINATION

Aside from direct updates to the games themselves, we have lots of other Skullgirls projects in the works!

SKULLGIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES 2024

During our Evo 2023 Community Showcase, we were finally able to announce the return of the SKULLGIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES! We’re partnering with a completely new production team, and the SGCS is going to be bigger than ever! We’re excited to share more news in the future, but take it from us that 2024 is going to be BIG for competitive Skullgirls! Be sure to follow our socials for updates about these events!

EIGHTY SIXED MERCH

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/19d5388ff9baf5faac1c6ca29f1ac21d4baf035f.jpg Are you looking for official Skullgirls merch and apparel? The fine folks at Eighty Sixed have you covered! They already have an expansive Skullgirls collection available, but there’s even more new additions on the horizon!

SKULLGIRLS X WEBTOON

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4987548/2acefcc110122132c2808c3b4c668fc641cfd40c.jpg The Skullgirls series on Webtoon has released 20 episodes so far. Due to some scheduling challenges, production of each new chapter has taken longer than expected. We’re currently on an extended hiatus while we build up a backlog of episodes so that when the series returns we will have plenty of episodes ready to go without interruption. When the series does return it will also come with a Webtoon Fast Pass, meaning everyone gets the latest episode for free every week, or you can spend Fast Pass Coins to read three episodes ahead. We can’t give a firm date yet, but we’re aiming for a return in September! Catch up on all the previous episodes here before our big return here or search for Skullgirls on the Webtoon app! That’s a wrap for today! We’re aiming to release these State of the Game posts more frequently going forward just to generally keep everyone apprised on the goings on in the world of Skullgirls. Thanks as always for your support, and we’re excited to get Marie into everyone’s hands as soon as possible! Keep an eye out for those updates in the very near future!

- All of us at Hidden Variable Studios and Future Club <3

Skullgirls Content and Revisions Update As part of a global Skullgirls content update, we have adjusted several art assets in Skullgirls 2nd Encore and the Digital Art Compendium on all platforms. You can find the full list of changes in this update here: Skullgirls 2nd Encore Content Updates Notes You can read the full details and rationale behind these changes here: SKULLGIRLS CONTENT UPDATES & REVISIONS (Build version 3.5.13)

Hey everyone, We're happy to announce that the Digital Art Compendium & Soundtrack are getting updates today, releasing a lot of new content related to Black Dahlia. We know this usually comes out when a character gets their full retail release, and we apologize for the delay. But there's so much new content to enjoy!

BLACK DAHLIA

• Character Art, which includes a wealth of behind-the-scenes move concept sketches.
• Character Poster
• Bunny Burrow 2D Stage Art + Development Concepts
• Exported Frames - Nearly 3,000 individual frames!
• Story Mode Art - New Fullscreen Cinematics & Talking Heads

PRODUCTION ART

• Black Dahlia Stream Art
• Umbrella Stream Art
• Valentine Redesign Announcement Art

SKULLGIRLS MOBILE

• Bookie App Icon
• Dahlia Relic Shard Icon
• Lots of new mail banners
• Lots of new Relic images, including Dahlia's Character Relic!

Soundtrack

• "Down The Rabbit Hole" track added.

Hey everyone, This update is focused on addressing some small issues discovered in Dahlia's release.

BLACK DAHLIA

• Dahlia will no longer be poisoned if she counters Valentine's Counter Venom or Vial Hazard
• Dahlia's Counter, Strike! after image and some aspects of her teleport should now always have the proper PalFX if she is affected by something like Valentine's poisons before starting the move.
• Made improvements to the reliability of ice shot's hitstun scaling when used multiple times in a single combo.
• Fixed an issue where Dahlia's Parting Gift detonation could cause a soft lock during the round reset of 1v1 matches.
• Fixed a bug where Parting Gift's stagger hit vs airborne targets didn't have enough hitstun to reliably guarantee the character would land and become staggered before the hitstun ran out.
• Fixed a bug where Parting Gift wasn't reliably igniting oil and/or the oil barrel when in the corner.
• Fixed visual issues with Dahlia's Railgun VFX on palettes 8, 28, & 30

MISC

• Fixed some reported typos in Black Dahlia's story.
• Fixed some missing characters for Japanese news items.
• Updated Dahlia's TH for the news feed.
• Fixed a small graphical issue with Dahlia's banners on the various arena stages.

These combat changes and minor fixes will be heading to PS4 and Switch as well very soon, with a few additional bug fixes specific to those platforms. (Build version 3.5.12)