city Sandalphon - gamebastion.com

Version 2.00 has arrived for the popular fighting game Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, and it might just be the largest content update the game has seen since its late 2023 launch.

Headlining the Version 2.00 update is the addition of a new playable character in Sandalphon. Easily one of the Granblue Fantasy mobile game's most popular characters, it's great to see him finally arrive in Rising.

Sandalphon is the first of five characters to be added as part of Character Season Pass 2 which players can purchase now. He's set to be followed by Galleon (Spring 2025), Wilnas (Summer 2025), Meg (Fall 2025), and Ilsa (Early 2026).

Battle Pass Round 7 has also been added, offering a huge amount of free and premium rewards including new character colors, titles, music, and an all-new 'Arbitrator of the Shore' skin for playable character Zooey. Zooey's also my main in the game, so this is a pass I'll definitely be grabbing (as well as hoping for some much-needed buffs for the character).

Crucially, Version 2.00 has brought plenty of new content to Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. There's a new Survival mode, which tasks players to progress through as much of a 100-fight gauntlet as possible, earning rewards along the way. Hopefully, it's going to be a chunky offline timesink, especially as buffs unique to Survival mode should offer it some nifty roguelite elements.

A new online training mode feature has also been added, letting you hop online to practice combos or fundamentals with a friend or coaching buddy. This is a feature that's quickly becoming standard in many of the best fighting games, so I'm happy to see it finally arrive in Rising.

Of course, it wouldn't be a major new version without significant system and character balance adjustments, and developers Cygames and Arc System Works have managed just that. Full balance changes are available to view now over at the game's official website. Key takeaways here include the rebalancing of powerful universal skills such as