Ranked mechanics guide published; circuit page split into confirmed vs unannounced; patch anchors advanced
Content ops pass 2026-09-19. (1) New /guides/ranked-mode/ documents the mechanics Patch 2.5 actually shipped—ten badges across Beginner and Master, placement before a badge, sets recorded as 3/5 with character lock, rank points around 1000–2000, Story XP held separate from rank, and the separate matchmaking queue behind “Ragequit Jail” (>20% disconnect/quit rate). The page links back to /tier-list/ and continues to publish no badge names, thresholds, or season windows. (2) /competitive/pro-bending-circuit/ now splits its record into Confirmed vs Not announced rows: qualifier calendar, stop count and regional split, qualification slots, entry rules, and broadcast plans are recorded as unannounced instead of left blank, and the event FAQ was expanded for the “pro bending circuit / how do you qualify / how many stops / when does it start” query shapes. (3) Patch anchors on fighter practice goals, the combos high-demand section, the unlock guide, and the CEO training note move from the August 5–6 window to the Patch 2.5 (2026-09-02) build, with August 5–6 kept as labeled history. (4) Early Ranked weeks are treated as a thin-pool caveat on the new guide (rematches common; not a balance signal). (5) Xbox store copy still points at the legacy “preorder-bundle” URL slug while the listing itself is the released product; the platform record now says so explicitly.
Ranked + Xbox status flip: Ranked Mode 1.0 live, Xbox SKU purchasable, September window logged
Status pass 2026-09-15. (1) Ranked: Patch 2.5 (2026-09-02) shipped Ranked Mode 1.0, so the site-wide “Ranked remains unshipped / Begins Soon” language carried since launch is retired across /game-modes/, /tier-list/, /updates/, the guides, the FAQ set and the platform/homepage copy. Lobbies and spectator mode stay upcoming-patch. (2) Xbox: the 2026-09-13 storefront recheck no longer shows the “Release date 9/3/2026” or Pre-order lines recorded on 2026-08-30; the bundle’s individual title is listed with a standard $29.99 price plus Xbox Play Anywhere, Xbox Cloud Gaming and PC / Series X|S platform rows. /platforms/xbox/ moves from upcoming to available and the Microsoft-vs-Paramount conflict block is retired (the conflict entry was removed from the /updates/ open-questions board). (3) September window: Patch 2.5 lists an updated Zaheer move (the announcement line is truncated in this site’s recorded note, so no move name or behavior is published) plus training-mode Flow blocking, and the same-day September Content Schedule names Spectator Mode, Public Lobbies, Ozai Reimagined, localization and Story difficulty / Trials / trophy fixes for upcoming patches. /characters/zaheer/, /characters/fire-lord-ozai/ and /guides/combos/ are re-anchored on the Patch 2.5 build. No Ranked tiers, placement counts, season structure, or Ozai change details are published.
Patch 2.5 ships Ranked Mode 1.0
Official Steam post, 2026-09-02: Ranked Mode 1.0 shipped. The recorded patch text describes ten rank badges across two named bands (Beginner and Master), placement before a badge is assigned, sets recorded as 3/5 (best-of-five) with character lock, rank points recorded around 1000–2000, Story Mode XP held separate from rank, and a separate matchmaking queue for players whose disconnect/quit rate runs above roughly 20% (the mechanism players call “Ragequit Jail”). The same patch lists an updated Zaheer move (exact move name not reproduced here—the recorded announcement line is truncated) plus training-mode Flow blocking. Badge names, point thresholds, season windows, and the disconnect measurement window are not in the recorded note and stay unpublished. Ranked’s shipped status is the single largest status change on this site since launch; editorial rankings[] on /tier-list/ stay empty until a method and a named sample are published together, and the recorded mechanics are documented on /guides/ranked-mode/.
September Content Schedule posted: Spectator Mode, Public Lobbies, Ozai Reimagined named for upcoming patches
Second official Steam post in the same 2026-09-02 window: a September Content Schedule listing Spectator Mode, Public Lobbies, Ozai Reimagined, localization, and Story difficulty / Trials / trophy fixes for upcoming patches. No dates are attached to any item, so this site records the named list only and keeps Public Lobbies and Spectator Mode as upcoming-patch rows rather than live features—Replay Takeover practice tooling is not spectator lobbies. Together with Patch 2.5 this replaces the earlier recorded patch-anchor set, which ended at July 29 plus the August 5–6 content window.
Xbox Sept 3 clock: Xbox Wire + store agree; roster queries still landing on homepage
Ops pass 2026-08-30 (GSC window 2026-08-01–08-28): clicks 0 / impressions 113 / CTR 0% / avg position 15.06. Homepage takes 101 of 113 impressions at position 16.04; roster queries (avatar legends roster / fighting game roster) all attributed to the homepage at positions ~40–71 while /characters/ has 0 GSC impressions. Wiki query also attributed to homepage (position 37). Best-ranking URL is /competitive/evo-france-2026/ (9 impressions, position 6.56). HTTP homepage 301s to HTTPS. Live /updates/ meta still said “CEO ~2d opening-check” after CEO results were already filled—stale snippet, now rewritten. Xbox Store HTML still Release date 9/3/2026 Pre-order; Xbox Wire Next Week (2026-08-28) names September 3. Steam news API latest official community announcement remains Game Update — July 29, 2026; Steam store still “The First Ranked Season Begins Soon.” GA4 24 sessions are 100% Direct at ~6s—too small for an SEO cause; not treated as a content ship. No invented Top 8, usage %, or Ranked ship.
P1 traffic check: GA4 decline is concentrated in Direct
GA4 period comparison supplied for the 2026-08-27 ops pass: sessions fell from 99 to 26 (-73; -73.74%), active users from 94 to 26 (-68; -72.34%), and screen/page views from 125 to 27 (-98; -78.4%). Direct sessions fell from 97 to 25 (-72; -74.23%), accounting for 72 of the 73-session net decline; all non-Direct channels combined moved from 2 sessions to 1. This supports a Direct-concentrated diagnosis, not a blanket SEO attribution. Direct key events were 0 in both periods, so the supplied data shows no measured key-event count change but cannot establish conversion impact without event-definition and conversion-rate detail. Direct engagement rate rose from 12.37% to 20%, while bounce rate fell from 87.63% to 80%; traffic volume deteriorated, but these rate movements do not support claiming engagement quality also fell. Core-page impact remains unconfirmed because the action-card extract contains no landing-page or page-path breakdown. Next GA4 drill-down: compare Direct landing pages across the same periods, then segment key events by landing page and verify channel-group attribution before assigning a page, campaign, or SEO cause.
Post-CEO demand pass: Evo France watch, physical-copy FAQ, Ranked/Xbox/Steam recheck
Demand + ops pass (2026-08-20): GA4/GSC still tiny (120 users / 4 GSC clicks; wiki/roster/tier still homepage-attributed). Google Trends US 7d: avatar fighting game 27, brand 6, tier list 1. Rising for discovery term: ceo avatar +900%, ceo 2026 +700% (cooling vs Aug 18 +2550%). PAA still released/where/PS5/worth it; new also-search: physical copy, controls, roster. Community: Ranked still missing (Reddit split—some want it, some like the gap); YouTube newest is high-level Zaheer/Azula sets + combo/beginner; TikTok web still login-walled. Steam news API latest official hub post still July 29; Steam store still “Ranked Season Begins Soon.” Xbox Store HTML still 9/3/2026 Pre-order $29.99/$49.99. SuperCombo still ~30% / patch table 1.01 (2026-08-06); no new EventHubs Avatar article after Aug 17 Circuit. New page /competitive/evo-france-2026/ for the next named major (featured title; evo.gg date strings conflict Oct 09–11 vs Oct 10–12; Avatar rules TBA). FAQs added: physical copy (Paramount “October” vs retailer Oct 28), Zaheer is launch-unlocked, keyboard remapping shipped July 29. No new patch, no editorial S–C, no Kuvira winner, no invented Circuit calendar.
P1–P3: homepage intent links, FAQ schema, GA4 events, Xbox recheck
Follow-up ops (2026-08-18): Homepage first-screen now links unofficial wiki, full launch roster, tier list, Nightmare Korra unlock, CEO results, and Ranked status so GSC wiki/roster/tier queries are not trapped on a pairing-lab CTA. FAQPage JSON-LD added on pages that already show those questions. gtag events guide_open / store_click / outbound_click wired for seo-skill conversions. Live Xbox Store recheck still 9/3/2026 Pre-order $29.99/$49.99. Live sitemap.xml returned 200 on recheck (earlier 500 treated as transient). Kuvira recorded as Year 1 vote option + Trends Breakout, not a winner. SuperCombo remains the frame-data wiki; this site keeps status/results/unlock pages.
CEO 2026 results filled, Pro-Bending Circuit logged, Ranked still unshipped
Content ops pass (2026-08-18): (1) /competitive/ceo-2026/ moved from pre-event to post-event. EventHubs standings + start.gg operator listing used as citable sources: Xcaliburbladez (Zaheer) 1st after a grand-finals reset over SLAM|Doza (Korra); Zane (Zaheer) 3rd; Mikeand1ke (Kyoshi) 4th; STiLL (Katara) / ProDoubleSushi (Azula) 5th; BarBarXII / CWang|Red (Azula) 7th. No invented usage percentages. (2) New /competitive/pro-bending-circuit/ for the official Aug 15–17 circuit teaser: worldwide stops, id="root"00,000+ prize pool, one champion, World Finals 2027—qualifying events not named. (3) Ranked/lobbies/spectator still unshipped after CEO weekend; Steam “Begins Soon” language unchanged in this pass. (4) Demand scan: Google Trends US past 7 days averages avatar fighting game 27 vs avatar legends fighting game 6; related rising “ceo avatar” +2,550% and Kuvira Breakout; PAA clusters on released / platforms / PS5 / worth it / ranked / Xbox Sept 3 / Nightmare Korra unlock. SuperCombo wiki last edited 2026-08-13 (~30% complete; patch 1.01 2026-08-06). GSC still homepage-heavy; wiki/roster/tier queries remain weak. Unlock guide Track B now names the mutually corroborated IGN/EventHubs/Reddit menu sequence instead of a vague “mode family” only.
CEO ~2d opening-check: 32-pool stages, dual clocks, ceogaming.org/tv
Content ops pass (2026-08-12): /competitive/ceo-2026/ days-out refreshed 4→2 (August 14–16 still the window). Added opening-check only—no 707 rewrite: start.gg stage structure 32 Pools → 4 Pools → Top 24 → Top 8; events readout 8/14 12:00 PM EDT and overview readout 7:00 AM PDT (dual clocks, confirm live TO page—not a locked station time); official watch hub named in text as ceogaming.org/tv; primer pools already public, official pools lock Thursday morning (confirm TO). start.gg still ~706 attendees; EventHubs 707 stays the 2026-08-10 as-of. Watch-notes template tightened. resultsLog still empty (no odds, no invented Top 8). Ranked still unshipped, so this offline window remains the methodology sample watch. Pre-event VOD context (not odds): ParagOnline #3 Top 8 ~11.9K in the last 3 days; #2 Top 8 ~19.1K in the last week; 8/11 Zaheer vs Katara FT10 still circulating; local-circuit Top 8 VODs continue. 24h fill SOP waits until after 8/14–16.
CEO ~4d final registration 707, wiki/roster hub SEO, Diaphone ease sample
Content ops pass (2026-08-10): (1) /competitive/ceo-2026/ — as-of 2026-08-10 pre-event (~4 days to August 14–16 Orlando): EventHubs final-registration report Avatar Legends = 707, start.gg attendee readout ~706 (confirm live TO page); registration treated as closed/final-count window; watch-notes template + 24h post-event Top 8/usage fill SOP strengthened; resultsLog still empty (no odds, no invented Top 8). (2) /wiki/ + /characters/ hub SEO for GSC-weak wiki/roster intents — Unofficial wiki hub + full launch roster (12 + unlock variants) language, funnel wiki→roster→unlock→beginner→tier/CEO, method transparency vs frame-data wikis. (3) /guides/beginner-guide/ — labeled Diaphone ease-of-use community sample (EventHubs 2026-08-05 record: Azula multi-support difficulty variance, Toph entry-friendly notes) layered under learning-surface; characters.difficulty stays null; rankings[] untouched. Ranked still unshipped in recorded sources.
CEO pre-event thicken, unlock guide, tier Ranked-not-live CTR, Kyoshi Training path
Content ops pass (2026-08-08): (1) /competitive/ceo-2026/ — registration-scale context without exact entrant counts, start.gg/CEO schedule verification checklist, watch checklist, and 24h post-event Top 8/usage results slot still empty (no odds). (2) New /guides/unlock-characters/ for Nightmare Korra (Avatar State Korra) and Avatar State Aang — Story Chapter 6 “A Cold Welcome” + Arcade/Training/Local Versus-class main-menu shortcut from mutually corroborated launch media; no invented codes; variant pages note August 6 Wildfire Splitter Hard Knockdown re-check. (3) /tier-list/ SEO title/description + FAQ sharpened for method transparency and Ranked still unshipped vs competitor “Yep ranked” copy; rankings[] still empty. (4) Kyoshi multi-phase high-force punish Training path (media C-tier ≠ unlearnable); optional Ozai lighter path. Ranked ship and CEO results remain watch items only.
August 5–6 content window: controller support, Replay Takeover, multi-character adjustments; Ranked still not shipped
Second post-launch content window after the July 29 Steam note. Research pass 2026-08-07 records: (1) August 5, 2026 controller / handle support disclosures in EventHubs and official-channel coverage; (2) August 6, 2026 package covering Replay Takeover plus multi-character adjustments (practice paths for Azula, Sokka, Toph, Zaheer, and Aang marked for re-verification; system-level hurtbox standardization may affect old BnB language). Ranked, lobbies, and spectator mode were not announced as shipping in this window. Steam store Ranked language remains not-yet-live (“Begins Soon” style)—still not a ship note. Tier-list Week 2 community snapshot patch anchor raised to post–August 6 (sample freeze still 2026-08-02; rankings[] still empty—no invented S–C letters). Updates, game-modes, and fighter Training paths re-anchored to this window.
CEO 2026 Avatar Legends event page opened (pre-major; no invented results)
Published /competitive/ceo-2026/ as an independent fan log for CEO 2026 (August 14–16, Orlando) Avatar Legends as a listed large offline major. Page states: unofficial, PS5 ruleset context, registration/schedule live on official CEO / start.gg tooling (named in text only—no new outbound registration links from this site), Ranked still unshipped so offline majors matter for methodology samples, and relationship to /tier-list/ lab (no auto-loaded ranks). Top 8 / usage logs reserved for post-event 24h updates from citable sources only—no odds or fabricated placements. Homepage and wiki hub link in.
Batch 2: Azula Training path, Week 2 consensus v1.1, Ranked/Xbox re-check
Fighter pages: community difficulty labels stay non-official (difficulty remains null); Azula gains a five-phase dual-mode Training-room path (Lessons → Focused → Firelord → aerial labels → clip audit). Combos guide adds priority Azula path. Tier-list Week 2 community snapshot revised to v1.1 (sample freeze 2026-08-02; clearer lab vs snapshot vs rankings[] separation; Aang execution row; competitor full-list note). Ranked/Xbox: onlineFeatureWatch documents official priority list (Ranked/lobbies/spectator still upcoming; keyboard remap shipped July 29); Steam news set still ends at July 29 with no Ranked ship note; Steam Ranked language remains not-yet-live (“Begins Soon” style); correct third-party “Ranked already live” claims. Xbox dual-source conflict unchanged (store snapshot Sept 3, 2026 vs Paramount July 23 framing).
Correction: Ranked is not live; Xbox window still conflicted
Editorial correction pass against secondary pages that describe Ranked as already available. Recorded primary stance: launch newsletter prioritised Ranked/lobbies/spectator for upcoming patches; July 29, 2026 Steam update shipped Samurai Appa skin, keyboard remapping, Deluxe colors, and fixes—not Ranked. No newer developer Steam news in our source set announces Ranked shipped. Steam store feature wording for Ranked has used not-yet-live “Begins Soon” style language—still not a ship announcement. Xbox: re-checked dual-source disclosure; Xbox Store research snapshot still points at about September 3, 2026 while Paramount overview uses broader July 23 multi-platform framing; secondary media has described Xbox as delayed/blocked without a single verified lock date—prefer live storefront. If Steam news posts Ranked, update /updates/, /game-modes/, and /tier-list/ within 24 hours.
Week 2 content pass: wiki hub, tier sample, training paths
Published /wiki/ hub aggregating existing roster/guides/updates/sources routes. Added Week 2 community/creator consensus snapshot on /tier-list/ (as-of 2026-08-02, post–July 29 patch; rankings[] still empty). Expanded beginner/combos guides with learning-surface bands and Training checklist; fighter pages gained practice goals (Azula dual-mode focus). Xbox dual-source comparison clarified; Ranked still not recorded as shipped after July 29 Steam note.
Ranked window + Xbox conflict re-check stance
Ranked: still treated as prioritized upcoming feature from the launch newsletter; July 29, 2026 Steam update did not deliver Ranked/lobbies/spectator. No newer Ranked ship announcement is recorded in this site’s Steam news source set as of 2026-08-06—if Steam news posts Ranked, update /updates/, /game-modes/, and /tier-list/ methodology within 24 hours. Xbox: keep dual-column conflict (Xbox Store snapshot Sept 3, 2026 vs Paramount July 23 framing); do not write a single definitive Xbox date while unresolved.
P0 research pass: tier methodology + combos guide
Full research (GSC tier list / wiki / brand website intents; Google Autocomplete for tier list, roster, combos, ranked, supports, Game Pass/Year 1; YouTube guide/combo/character clusters; TikTok hot-take/combo clips without Creative Center metrics; Trends 429). Expanded /tier-list/ methodology and FAQ without publishing fake ranks. New /guides/combos/ for Training/Flow/Energy practice. Steam re-pull: Very Positive (~2,429 reviews), ~3,062 concurrent snapshot, Standard $29.99. Memo: docs/research/2026-08-03-avatar-p0.md.
Steam store & news re-check
Steam US still lists Standard $29.99 and Digital Deluxe $49.99 with no active discount. Review summary Very Positive (~2,429 reviews). Concurrent players snapshot recorded at re-check. Latest developer Steam news remains the July 29, 2026 game update.
First post-launch Steam update
Official Steam news: Samurai Appa support-character skin, keyboard control remapping, Deluxe Edition colors, plus smaller bug fixes and QoL. Ranked / lobbies / spectator were not announced as shipping in that note.
Launch day (Steam / multi-platform claims)
Game launched July 23, 2026 on verified platforms. Launch newsletter prioritised Ranked, lobbies, spectator mode, and keyboard mapping for upcoming patches.