GungHo has adjusted the Ninjala ranking system to allow players to “gain ranks more easily,” however, players have quickly reported that the changes are disappointingly insignificant. Pre-update, highly ranked ninjas would expect a handful of rank points - perhaps two - for defeating a similarly ranked team. Since the update, players have reported receiving amounts ranging from four to five. For scale: a ninja must earn 1,200 rank points before earning the Elite Ninja title, and an additional 500 (so a total of 1,700) to reach the following one. Needless to say, many fans feel that the update is insufficient.

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Although the issue had gone relatively unnoticed by lower-ranked ninjas, those reaching the upper ranks, like Elite Ninja, had been finding it increasingly difficult to earn rank points since the game’s turbulent release. Before the July 9 update, an upper-ranked player would often find themselves walking away from victory with (literally) a single rank point, whereas new players would earn upwards of 20-30 points upon a win. This discrepancy also came coupled with an unforgiving penalty system, which would tax a losing player anywhere between 1 and 80+ points.

As evidenced above, this confusing penalty system actually results from the fact that: rewards and losses in Ninjala Ranked Matches vary depending on the difference between both teams’ ratings. So, for example, a losing team will face a much larger penalty if their opponents had relatively lower ranks. This brings clarity to the oddly harsh penalties, but offers little hope to aspiring ranked players, given Ninjala’s confusing multiplayer interface and whimsical match pairing system.

Although larger issues, like the one of consumable cosmetics, remain unaddressed, GungHo is clearly hoping to keep the post-launch buzz going with hasty, albeit small, adjustments to its new bubblegum brawler. Four points may not be a huge increase, but as some utilitarian fans are pointing out, it is still technically four times more than one.

Ninjala is available now on Switch.

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Sources: GungHo Entertainment