The second update for Mario Strikers: Battle League has gone live as of September 21st and with it came some changes and some new things. First, lets take a look at the patch notes.
The notes were gathered from:
https://www.gematsu.com/2022/09/mario-strikers-battle-league-version-1-2-0-update-now-available
General
Adjusted the behavior so that CPU teammates mark opponents more quickly.
Adjusted the order of characters when you switch characters.
Adjusted the charge time of Perfect Free Passes and Perfect Free Lob Passes.
Increased the amount of Coins and tokens you earn depending on the results of a match.
Changed the period of time for a rule in Strikers Club, which states that a Club will not be allowed to join a season if no member of a Club has been online within a certain amount of time, from 90 days to 30 days.
Changed the number of ? Blocks that are thrown to the losing team at kickoff from 2 to 1 when the difference in score is 2 points.
Adjusted the match-making system in online matches.
Made several other adjustments to game balance and fixed several other issues to improve the gameplay experience.
Based on the notes here, looks like some things were nerfed and/or adjusted. I can confirm myself that the timing for free perfect passes and lobs are different. It's harder to do now as the timing window is now later than what it was. The ? block item boxes change is also true. No longer will a player get two items blocks at kickoff after being scored on and being down two goals. They will start getting two item blocks once a player is down three. This is a very welcome change.
Additional Content
Added “Pauline” as a playable character.
Added “Diddy Kong” as a playable character.
Added the “Planetoid” stadium.
Added the “Barrel” gear set.
Added Features
Added “Striker Rankings” to the Main Menu. Compete by comparing your individual ability over a fixed period of time with “Skill Score”, which varies with your performance in online matches (excluding Battle Friends).
Added the following content to “Strikers Club.”
You can now customize supporters in the stadium. Access this by going to “Club Management” → “Stadium” → “Supporters.”
You can now use Coins to view fireworks and confetti when you score a goal or when you win a match. Access this by going to “Club Management” → “Match Celebration.”
Now on to the new stuff...
Yes, Diddy Kong and Pauline were added to the game! As seen in my predictions post a while back, I did say that Diddy was pretty much a lock to get in and I strongly believed that Pauline was going to be in. I WAS NEARLY SPOT ON WITH DIDDY'S STATS IN MY PREDICTIONS! But, I was waaaaay off when it came to Pauline's.
Like I mentioned, I was REALLY close to getting this stat spread correct. When it comes to his actual play, he's pretty much Toad and can be played just like him. When you look at the exact stats, Toad is one point faster and has two more points in shooting. Diddy has the extra point in passing and has two points in technique. So, for those that like to run max speed, being that that is the meta, slightly different gear might have to be used to get the idea stats you'd want since Diddy needs nine points instead of eight like Toad. He's small and doesn't have the size, therefore having a bad tackle, so he is an offensive playmaker, just like Toad. Unlike Toad, there's only one Diddy on your team, obviously.
I couldn't have been more off when it comes to the mayor of New Donk City but, the singing star of Super Mario Odyssey and first girlfriend of Mario (that was rescued from a young Cranky Kong) comes to the game packing a serious punch. She's the game's strongest character and overtakes Waluigi as the game's best defender. She shares his tackle range, with a similar animation, and can be built, and played, like Waluigi. Her stat spread, believe it or not, allows her to be built in other ways to where she can play any position with strength to spare. She also boasts a strong hyper strike, as well, adding to her very good skillset. She also has probably the game's best theme and fitting celebrations. Even her upset animation is one of the better ones. "I'll get you next time!"
The new stadium skin may be my favorite.
While there are still no hazards to speak of, this new look is probably my favorite. Combined with the music that plays (there are two songs that can be heard), I really like playing here. I will admit, I was surprised that something themed around New Donk City wasn't chosen since Pauline seems to be the star of this update (Like Daisy was in the first one) but the planet-like theme does fit the Super Mario Odyssey theme.
Like the last update, the newly added Barrel set has been added and can be used to tweak the characters to the more desired build of your choice. The set is based around shooting and passing.
I had Mario model this gear and you can see what it does to his stats. He nearly maxes his shooting with it while costing him technique. This is what the full set does to a character's stats:
Strength: - 4
Speed: - 4
Shooting: + 8
Passing: + 5
Technique: - 5
With each piece doing different things to the stats, there are many different ways to equip the characters as well as mix and match this set with others. There are no requirements to unlocking these, outside of spending 300 coins per piece when selecting it on a character. Just like the previously released Knight set.
Striker Ranking is the most notable addition when it comes to additional content. While I have yet to try this mode myself, it is effectively a weekly ladder type ranking where your ranking is kept after you play. Something like this has been requested by the community so, this should see a lot of popularity online.
The managing of the Striker Club with the celebrations and supporters is a nice touch but, it is all cosmetic and, even worse, much of it has been unlocked and/or purchased with coins. Combine that with the 300 per piece cost of the Barrel gear set, players will be looking at having to grind out coins to get the things they want.
There is one final update planned for 2022 after this one. Early guesses have the update coming in November before Thanksgiving. The update will likely follow the two updates before it with two characters, a new skin for a stadium, a gear set with some QoL changes and bug fixes. Maybe an additional way to play will be added since Striker Rankings were added in this one. There is no way to know. So, we know that we'll have at least 16 characters by the end of the year. Will there be any updates given in 2023? Most people are pessimistic believing that something will be coming. But some are hoping since the datamining suggested 20 characters at least being in the game. I don't blame the pessimists, quite honestly. The big surprise this time around was Striker Ranking (as well as Pauline's strength stat). But still, the game is going to feel like a let down as a whole despite the outstanding gameplay itself. I am going to go out on a limb and say that one of the following combinations will come with the last update for the year:
Bowser Jr. + Birdo + additional fixes/mode/QoL/stadium skin
Bowser Jr. + Petey + additional fixes/mode/QoL/stadium skin
Bowser Jr. Koopa Troopa + additional fixed/mode/QoL/stadium skin
At this point, Bowser Jr. has to be a lock to get in. But, who knows. I feel most comfortable about him with Birdo, even though Petey makes the most sense to me since that would round out all the captions from Mario Strikers Charged. The update overall is positive, however, and now we wait to see if Nintendo/Next Level Games builds on this or drops the ball.
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