In Iron Galaxy’s battle royale brawler Rumbleverse, you can find Books during a match that will allow you to learn and equip powerful Special Moves, such as the Giant Swing and the Superkick. You can only equip two moves at once, however, so sometimes it can be hard to know whether you should keep the skills you currently have, or trade them in for something else you found that might be better. Well, fear not! We’re here to help you by laying out all the Special Moves in Rumbleverse in a definitive tier list from S to D, telling you which ones are worth your time and which Books to burn.
*All damage calculated with base stats, and does not include potential fall damage
V: Vicious (unblockable, low priority)
S: Strike (blockable, medium priority)
P: Power (blockable, high priority)
Rumbleverse Special Moves: S Tier
These are the best of the best, the absolutely busted skills that can demolish an opponent in mere moments. Enjoy abusing these Special Moves while you can, because they will almost certainly be nerfed in future seasons.
Javelin Tackle (V, 330 DMG) – If you’ve ever found yourself screaming at this game, it’s probably because of Javelin Tackle. This is easily the most popular move in the Rumbleverse meta right now, and for good reason. It’s an unblockable tackle that does incredible damage and has very quick start-up, making it hard to avoid. While the move description claims this move to be “High Risk”, it’s really no more punishable than any other Vicious Attack. The only exception is that if you miss your grab and run into a wall, you will splat and fall back as if you’d been Irish Whipped, leaving you vulnerable for a brief moment. Still, this is easily one of the most oppressive Special Moves in Rumbleverse currently. You should probably pick it up every time you see it, if only to keep other people from using it against you.
Omega Uppercut (P, 20+180 DMG raw, 5×10+180 DMG charged) – We’ve previously mentioned how important attack priority is in Rumbleverse, so it should be no surprise that a Power move like Omega Uppercut is in S Tier. This can defeat every other Special Move in a head-on collision (besides other Uppercuts, which it will Clash with instead), making it one of the safest moves in the game. It also does decent damage and is great at launching enemies off of buildings for extra fall damage, or wall-splatting them so that you can catch them with a follow-up in the air.
Cozmo Shot (S, 200+10 DMG) – One of the flashier looking moves in the game, Cozmo Shot kicks your opponent into the air and then follows up with a flipping kick in the air to send them flying. It takes away a decent amount of health once you factor in fall damage, and is very useful for when you want to put some space between you and an opponent. If you kick the opponent into a wall, rather than splat against it, they will bounce off of it back towards you, which can make it easier to continue your combo. You can also dodge-cancel after the first kick to use it solely as a launcher, allowing you to combo them in the air. Last but certainly not least, after the second hit you can immediately press the button for your Vicious Attack. The timing can be a little finnicky, but most of the time you will home in on the opponent and immediately hit your standard Vicious Attack for some extra damage. This works even when you’re in Superstar Mode, allowing you to combo directly into your Super for a potential touch-of-death combo.
Atomic Punchline (S, 300 DMG) – The only non-Epic move in this top tier, Atomic Punchline is an explosive punch that does wicked damage and even has a small AOE that can catch multiple opponents at once. Its in-game description describes it as “slow”, but much like with Javelin Tackle this is a very overstated downside: Atomic Punchline feels on par with most Special Strikes in the game, if not slightly faster than some of them. The greatest strength of Atomic Punchline however is that despite its high amount of damage, your opponent will not be invulnerable after a wall splat! This makes it very easy to abuse, since you can quickly follow up with a second Atomic Punchline to do even more damage and make your victim quit playing the game forever.
A Tier
These skills are still incredibly strong, but aren’t quite as easily abusable as those in S-Tier. Maybe they’re slightly more situational, or take a bit more skill to use effectively, or maybe they just don’t do as much damage. Nevertheless, these are all still excellent Special Moves to come across in any Rumbleverse match.
Vicious Mist (V, 20 DMG) – A Common skill that does barely any damage, how could this possibly belong in A Tier? Well, Vicious Mist is incredibly useful as a combo-starter. It’s one of the fastest Vicious attacks in the game, and on hit it briefly stuns the opponent, allowing you to follow up with something much more painful. When done in the air, you will spit the mist downwards instead of simply ahead of you, which gives it excellent utility as an aerial mix-up. When someone sees you jumping down on them, they’ll generally block in anticipation of an Elbow Drop. Vicious Mist will catch many of your foes off-guard and then, they’re yours for the pounding.
Diamond Crusher (V, 316 DMG) – Sometimes, all a move needs to do is a heavy amount of damage. That’s Diamond Crusher, a Vicious kick to the opponent’s gut followed by pulling them down face-first to eat pavement. There’s no real combo potential with this one, so save it for the end of whatever elaborate string you have in mind. Even hit completely on its own though, trust us, this one is gonna hurt.
Spear Tackle (V, 300 DMG) – This is good for all the same reasons as Javelin Tackle, just does a little bit less damage is all.
Tackle (V, 270 DMG) – Honestly, the Tackle moves are so strong that even in its weakest form, A Tier is pretty much as low as you can put this.
Dolphin Dive (S, 120 DMG) – In the very beginning of this season, you could find this Special Move laying around everywhere; nobody wanted it. People have since started to see the potential combo value in this volleyball-style dive that launches your opponent into the air. No, it doesn’t do a lot of damage, and yes, when you miss you are left quite vulnerable. But it’s got quick enough start-up to catch some folks sleeping, and on hit you have the option to jump-cancel your recovery animation. This means you can immediately follow-up attack on your opponent, regardless of whether they splat into a wall or are still sailing through the air. Some particularly talented Rumbleverse players can pull off insane combos with this move. It’s far from the easiest move to master, but the rewards are well worth the effort.
Super Sumoslap (S, 4×10+80 DMG raw, 8×10+80 DMG charged) – If there’s one thing you can say about the Rumbleverse meta right now, it’s that Rumblers be blocking. A lot. And in this block-heavy environment, Super Sumoslap is an excellent tool to have. Not only are these multiple quick palm strikes useful for slamming opponents into walls for follow-up attacks, they also significantly reduce your opponent’s Stamina, even if they block. Reduce your opponent’s Stamina to zero and they’ll suffer a Stamina Break, leaving them completely unguarded and open to attack. The Sumoslap Special Moves are also the only ones in the game that knock your opponent away without knocking them down. This can allow you to quickly catch them off-guard by running in for a Dropkick or throwing an item at them, letting you remain on the offensive for longer. The only real downside of this move is that it doesn’t do a lot of damage, so try to pair it with something beefier like a Diamond Crusher.
Bionic Uppercut (P, 20+160 DMG raw, 20+180 DMG charged) – Bionic Uppercut does less damage and launches the opponent less than its S-Tier cousin, but that Power priority is so valuable that it’s hard to turn your nose up at this one when you stumble across it in a match.
Giant Swing (V, 50 DMG to grabbed, 3×90 DMG to surrounding) – Giant Swing does not do a great deal of damage to the opponent you grab (though it’s worth noting they will likely take additional fall damage). It does, however, throw them very very far away, which can come in handy when you just want to get away so you can heal up. It’s also safer than most Vicious Attacks to use when dealing with multiple opponents, since you will damage and knockback anyone in the surrounding area while swinging your victim around. Most importantly though, the Swings are the only Special Moves in the game that you can aim in any direction you like. This means that when you’re close enough to the edge of the map, grabbing an opponent with this move is an instant KO, since all you need to do is point them towards the open waters. The only thing keeping this out of S Tier is the fact that despite the small amount of damage this move does, throwing an opponent into a wall with Giant Swing renders them invulnerable in the same way as much more powerful movies like Tackle, preventing any follow-up attacks.
Rumbleverse Special Moves: B Tier
These moves are, you know, pretty good. No they’re not as shiny and exciting as the stuff in the two tiers prior, but they still get the job done. Don’t even think twice about picking up one of these Special Moves if you see them in a match, just be ready to exchange them for something better should the opportunity arise.
Superduper Kick (S, 195 DMG raw, 10×2+220 DMG charged) – The Superduper Kick does a healthy amount of damage for a Strike and can send your opponents flying off of buildings for fall damage, or splat them against walls for a follow-up attack. It has fairly quick start-up as well, though obviously that is less true when charged. Fully-charged, it can launch opponents far enough that it allows you to make a quick getaway if necessary. Nothing particularly outstanding about it, just a really solid move all around.
Skyrocket (S, 120 DMG raw, 3×50 DMG charged) – Very unique among Special Moves in the game, Skyrocket can hardly even be called an offensive move. It does damage if the opponent happens to be near, yes, but primarily its purpose is to quite literally rocket you up into the sky. This can be very useful for when you just want to get out of a sticky situation to catch your breath and eat some Chicken. Or for the less cowardly, you can use it to get higher above opponents to make your Elbow Drop do more damage and hit a wider area. Worth noting that while charging this attack glows red like a Vicious Attack, but it does not seem to possess any of the other Vicious qualities re: priority, blockability. Definitely not a move for everyone, but it has its uses.
Rocket Jump (S, 100 DMG raw, 120 DMG charged) – Since the main draw of Skyrocket/Rocket Jump is their upward mobility, a small reduction in damage does very little to make Rocket Jump less pickable than Skyrocket.
Punchline (S, 250 DMG) – This weaker version of Atomic Punchline still packs quite a wallop, but losing the AOE effect definitely makes it a little less of a threat. Nevertheless a very solid option, and a Punchline into a wall splat into another Punchline still significantly hurts your opponent’s HP and their pride.
Poison Sumoslap (S, 4×10+60 DMG, plus poison) – In terms of pure damage to the opponent’s health, Poison Sumoslap is probably stronger than Super Sumoslap. The amount of damage that poison does is hard to calculate exactly, but it seems to be something like 10 DMG per second for around 15-20 seconds. However, there are plenty of other moves you could choose if you want pure damage. The lack of Super Sumoslap’s extra charged hits and the accompanying Stamina damage make this just slightly less useful.
Uppercut (P, 160 DMG) – On the weaker side as far as damage goes, and lacks the charged version that brings you up into the air with your opponent. But a move that can beat almost any other move in a clash will always have its uses.
Omega Cyclone (S, 2×10+140 DMG raw, 4×10+140 DMG charged) – Omega Cyclone does not do a particularly impressive amount of damage, however it is one of the only AOE attacks in the game that covers a significant range (particularly when charged). Unfortunately while it launches opponents, it does not cause wall splats, which limits its usefulness in larger combos. When fully charged, the multiple hits are useful for the extra Stamina damage that might open up an opponent to a Stamina Break.
Emerald Crusher (V, 280 DMG) – If all that Diamond Crusher really has to offer is doing a hefty dose of damage, Emerald Crusher doing slightly less damage naturally makes it a little less appealing. Still nothing to sneeze at.
Super Chokeslam (V, 230 DMG raw, 250 DMG charged) – Super Chokeslam does a solid amount of damage, and like the Sumoslap moves it also significantly reduces the opponent’s Stamina. This makes it a little more viable than other Vicious moves that do similar damage, since you have the added likelihood of causing a Stamina Break and thus immediately being able to hit the opponent with another big move or combo-starter. However, despite being unblockable it is ironically not quite as effective of a guard-punishing tool as Super Sumoslap, since most guarders will dodge out of the way when they see the red flash of the move.
Rekt Shot (S, 180+10 DMG) – Rekt Shot has a lot of the same utility as its rarer relative, but it unfortunately lacks the tracking Vicious Attack follow-up that makes Cozmo Shot such a nasty piece of work. It also doesn’t kick the opponent quite as far away, and kicking an opponent into a wall will result in a regular wall splat instead of a bounce.
C Tier
These are the Special Moves that are not so special. They’re all fundamentally inferior to pretty much everything listed above, so don’t expect any miracles. But at the end of the day, they’re better than nothing.
Great Izuna Drop (V, 250 DMG) – Great Izuna Drop is one of the coolest looking moves in the game: you grab your opponent, jump up into the air with them and spin like a drill, driving them headfirst into the concrete and…doing a decent amount of damage. That’s it. You certainly can’t start a combo with this, and it doesn’t launch them away from you or greatly reduce their Stamina. While there is potential to do this move off of a building or onto a bouncy surface for increased damage, the lack of any way to aim makes this somewhat impractical and hard to rely on. If all you’re offering is a lump sum of damage, that damage has to be big enough to be worth it. A lot of the time, Great Izuna Drop is not.
Ruby Crusher (V, 250 DMG) – Everything said above about Great Izuna Drop applies to Ruby Crusher as well. It’s just a little more acceptable coming from a Common-level Special Move like this rather than a Rare one.
Volley Dive (S, 100 DMG) – A slight drop in damage doesn’t do much to hurt Volley Dive’s viability, but the lack of Dolphin Dive’s jump-cancel on hit severely reduces its combo potential. You can dodge-cancel out of a Volley Dive on hit so it’s not completely useless, but the added Stamina cost of a dodge can leave you vulnerable to a Stamina Break. Unless you’re very good at managing your Stamina during a Rumbleverse match, this is a hard one to recommend.
Sumoslap (S, 4×10+60 DMG) – No poison or extra charged hits make Sumoslap less appealing than its two big brothers, however the potential of getting that Stamina Break can sometimes make it worth holding on to this one even later in the game.
Chokeslam (V, 210 DMG) – For much the same reason as with Sumoslap, Chokeslam’s reduction to your opponent’s stamina can occasionally make it worth holding onto despite its mediocre damage compared to other Vicious Attacks.
Superkick (S, 175 DMG raw, 200 DMG charged) – Superkick launches the opponent a much shorter distance than the Superduper Kick, making it less useful when you need a getaway. However, when fully charged it can still usually wall splat an opponent or send them flying off a building. No shame in picking this one up when you can’t find something juicier like a Punchline or Uppercut.
Goal Shot (S, 170 DMG) – Goal Shot differs a fair bit from Cozmo and Rekt, in that you only perform the first kick that launches the opponent. It also launches them significantly more forward than the launchers of the other two Shots, presumably to make up for the lack of a second kick. Like with Cozmo Shot, kicking an opponent into a wall will result in them bouncing off of it back towards you, allowing you to catch them in the air with a follow-up attack. It feels like there might be some untapped combo potential with this move, but until that tech is discovered it’s simply an unremarkable but solid launcher.
Super Cyclone (S, 10+130 DMG raw, 10×2+130 DMG charged) – This is borderline D Tier to be honest, but the lack of many other AOE attacks and the decent height that a fully charged Super Cyclone launches your opponent just manage to get it across the line into C. Still, it does pretty weak damage and has surprisingly little combo potential. There are usually better options than this one.
Big Swing (V, 40 DMG to grabbed, 3×90 DMG to surrounding) – Big Swing throws the opponent a significantly shorter distance than Giant Swing, maybe only half as far. Considering how little damage it does and the fact that you cannot combo someone after swinging them into a wall, this makes it a great deal less useful. Can still come through in a pinch for some easy KOs when you’re close to the water though.
Rumbleverse Special Moves: D Tier
These moves are practically useless. Your only hope with these in your arsenal is that your opponents will be too busy laughing at you to defend themselves. Avoid these Special Moves unless you’re already so good at Rumbleverse that you need to add some extra challenge.
Bad Breath (S, 20 DMG, plus poison) – Bad Breath is significantly different from its more common twin, Vicious Mist. Unfortunately, it is also significantly worse. Bad Breath is not a Vicious Attack, so it can actually be blocked. It does not stun the opponent like Vicious Mist does, instead it instantly knocks them down, which prevents you from getting any significant follow-up attacks in. One arguably positive quality it has over Vicious Mist is the ability to charge the move, letting you run around while spraying mist continuously for a short time. However, this is not particularly useful seeing as your opponent can simply block the mist when they see it coming. Ultimately, if you want to play with poison, there’s absolutely no reason to take this instead of Poison Sumoslap, which at least is more likely to get you a Stamina Break.
Cyclone (S, 120 DMG raw, 2×10+120 DMG charged) – Weak damage, doesn’t hit as wide as Omega Cyclone and doesn’t launch as high as Super Cyclone. If someone is open to a Strike, you’re better off just going with your standard Basic Strike Combo.
Good Izuna Drop (V, 225 DMG) – More like Bad Izuna Drop am I right? When all you have to offer is one big hit of damage, that damage should be significantly more than the amount that your regular Vicious Attack can do. Just not worth wasting a slot on.
So now you know which Special Moves to seek out in a Rumbleverse match, and which ones to leave where you found them. We hope this helps you the next time you drop into Grapital City. Javelin Tackle and Atomic Punchline your way to that championship!
