Multiplayer is live: duel a real person, or take your chances with a bot

Multiplayer is the update people have been asking for since the day the game went up, and it is finally here. You and one other player get identical starting boards, the same weapon spread, and a countdown. Every match you make fires a volley at their health bar, every match they make fires one at yours. There is no clock and no time limit — a duel ends when somebody is knocked out or somebody walks away, so you cannot win one by simply staying healthy.

Your rank comes into the arena with you. It is not just a badge in a duel: a higher rank buys you more health and a bigger damage bonus, worked out from your lifetime experience exactly the way it is in the campaign. Two players at the same rank are an even fight. Two players four ranks apart are not, and that is on purpose — the ladder should mean something when you step into it.

The lobby is a real place with real people in it. You can see who else is waiting, challenge any of them directly by tapping their name, and watch the invitation land on their screen with a countdown on it. If nobody is around and you have been searching a while, the game quietly seats a training bot across from you rather than leaving you staring at a spinner. The bot is not a pushover — it cascades, it uses its boosters, and it will absolutely beat you if you are half asleep.

For playing against someone specific, every player now has a permanent challenge link. Send it to a friend and they land in the arena with a challenge already addressed to you. The link does not expire, so it works whether they open it in ten seconds or next week — it just waits until you are both around at the same time.

One thing we were careful about: a duel pays out properly. Coins and experience from a multiplayer match are in line with a campaign level of comparable difficulty, so the mode is not a side attraction you play for fun and lose progress on. It is a real way to advance.