If you want to battle against the best players in the world, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has something just for you.
Elite Battles are a part of a unique online matchmaking system that’s unlocked after a player reaches a set amount of GSP, the ranking system that Ultimate uses for its online player base, on each character.
The GSP needed will always increase as more players pick up the game, so while at launch you only needed a GSP of 400,000 to make it into Elite Battles, you now need over one to two million GSP to entry the fray.
Once it’s unlocked, you can face off against other high-ranking players online, which means you won’t be fighting any rookies or new players.
Elite Battles also let Nintendo look at the top competitive players and see which characters are doing well. The system could potentially help the company with future patches when it comes to buffing and nerfing certain characters.
Other than playing against players of a better skill level, however, not much really changes when you enter Elite matchmaking. You’ll still be fighting against other opponents with different rules and items, and you won’t get a true one-vs-one no-item experience that a lot of players crave.
The only way to go about getting games with no-items is to enter Battle Arenas and create a lobby with set rules. Nintendo could change Elite Smash Battles in the future, but for now, this is as good as it gets.
