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Harmonix Details Upcoming Changes To Rock Band Rivals
Harmonix has been vigilant about updating its flagship title, Rock Band 4, making the game even better as the months and years roll by. Even after the launch of the Rock Band Rivals expansion last year, the studio behind hits like Dance Central and Fantasia: Music Evolved continues to refine the core experience of Rock Band 4.
The next update overhauls the popular Rivals Mode, which pits crews of up to ten players against each other in a meta-competition to climb tiers from Bronze to Bloodstone and reach XP milestones. Taking cues from titles like Rocket League and Gears of War 4, Harmonix is bringing seasons to Rivals Mode, and changing the promotion/demotion system. Seasons will last for eight weeks and each season will reset all crews to Bronze-tier. However, crews will no longer be demoted if they fail to pass an XP threshold during any given week. You can get promoted, but never demoted, except for the seasonal reset.
The upcoming update will also close some more scoring loopholes, and Harmonix is weighing its options on how it should handle dealing with the tainted leaderboards of affected songs.
The update doesn't have a release date yet, but Harmonix promises that more information is forthcoming.
For more on Rock Band Rivals, check out our review of the original Rock Band 4 release, as well as details on Rivals's March Update, which brought Sterling Archer, of all people, into the game. Finally, see GI's review of the latest entry in the series, the Oculus-exclusive Rock Band VR.
[Source: Harmonix]
Our Take
Even after all these years, Rock Band remains an evergreen party game for casual players and hardcore score-chasers alike. The community may not be as large as it was back in 2008, but it's great to see that Harmonix is still loyal to their small-but-dedicated fanbase of video game rock stars.
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