TheGreatMightyPoo
Banned
Totally disagree.
The Ranked modes are a great alternative and a lot of fun but Splatoon was built around the Turf War mode.
I always go back to it.
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Splatoon 2 Squid Research Lab (news updates on the game)
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The Ranked modes are a great alternative and a lot of fun but Splatoon was built around the Turf War mode.
I always go back to it.
Spiritreaver
Member
People say the same about 2Fort in TF2 and yet I spent nearly all my playtime on that map.
The modes are fun but I just hate the added pressure and stress of the rank counter lol. I quit playing ranked entirely immediately after reaching S+ over a year ago
Turf mode is the best shooter mode created this generation. That the meta is about both controlling both your gun ink pattern and literal map space combines for a very zen experience. Ranked's mutations of King of the Hill and capture the flag are nice, but by no means the reason this game is so compelling.
Splat Zones is the best version of KotH I've played. It's a genius twist to change the mode from controlling a zone from being inside it, to keeping it inked. The way control of mid shifts suddenly, when the pushing team ends up 'flipping' a zone, and it turns 100% in their color is one of the interesting interactions enabled by the turf mechanic. And these interactions create depth and strategy. The turf mechanic adds decision making of when to try contest the zone versus going for a kill or chasing. The ability to control an zone while outside the zone plays into the positioning in setting up defensive hold. You can cover chokes, and utilize stealth, but if you spread too thin, then the enemy can easily set up pick offs and push you out. No one wants to die inside the zone because doing so usually leads to the flipping of the zone, however, the zone usually has important pathways, and you often have to risk being inside the zone.
Every mode in Splatoon utilizes and benefits from the turf mechanic. Each puts a unique spin on the concept as well.
While I think the modes, themselves, are amazing, they could've benefited a lot from a better map selection that exemplifies the unique mechanics and 'feeling' of each mode, as well as better special and gear ability balance. The Splatoon dev team have proven themselves by making really smart balance and design changes over time. Especially with the changes they are making in Splatoon 2.
In Splatoon 2, the rainmaker's attack is now worse at getting surprise kills and worse at painting, but is better at supporting teammates. If you look at the new ink pattern of the attack, it creates a thin trail of ink and then a huge circle of ink at the sight of the explosion. It's better at creating useful, usable turf at mid to long range, supporting the teams turf coverage, as well as better at creating dangerous zones during teamfights and traps and pincers. The delayed explosion, coupled with the ability to lob a shot, allows you to smoke out common "sharking" locations, by actually forcing movement from behind cover or from platforms they were planning to drop down from. The thin path still allows you to create short paths of ink to swim in, but given how narrow they are, even with a max charge, it will only be useful for sneaking in when there are no enemies or making that final climb to the goal. The removal of zooka, bubble and kraken will remove 'free' ways to stop the push.
The tower control changes are brilliant. The tower path is shorter, and the checkpoints are located at interesting intersections of map design that highlight both the towers vantage against drop downs and its ability to serve as the only means of getting onto enemy-side platforms. It gives the pushing team time to set up map control, and it hopefully will prevent 'meat-grinder' locations on the tower path, where its generally impossible to set up enough control, by the time the tower reaches said location, which almost always ends up in the tower getting wiped by a drop down roller or shooter, or a set up blaster. Of course, it was previously possible to either stall the tower manually, or to farm an invuln special for those locations, but the learning curve for 'stalling' the tower ran counter to what the game seemed to be communicating, which lead a lot of people to adopt a simplistic mindset of "NO ONE IS PUSHING THE TOWER" and suicidal play style when it came to TC. The punctuated nature of the towers movement, if paired with level design, should serve to smooth out the learning curve of the mode, and incentive good play. The shorter tower path will make it easier to avoid designing "hail mary" sections of certain tower path designs in Splatoon, like the final stretch of Bluefin, Urchin Underpass, or Camp Trigger fish. The problem with those final sections, are that they get so close to the enemy base, that they don't offer the enemy team a way to set up vision or pressure on drop down locations. The only way to get reliable way to get a KO in a lot of TC matches is to get a wipe near the end or to stack krakens. These issues were present with the mode since the beginning, but the QRSJ exacerbated all these issues.. The main issue with TC was that it was by design heavily reliant on circumstance. Given the speed at which the tower moved, you needed to win several teamfights in a row reach the threshold to start gaining points from mid. With the QRSJ meta, the defending team could essentially delay the tower so much that the only way to get a good advantage was to get several wipes on the push. After getting this advantage, which is highly dependent on circumstances of the game when the 'play' happened, the winning team could delay the tower themselves using QRSJ. QR has been heavily nerfed, and SJ has been removed. Towers move faster now, and the path is shorter. Not only that, due to the 1 time per checkpoint system, your previously successful pushes give you a large advantage in terms of time for the rest of the game. It's now much more likely that after winning a fight, you will be able to approach your previous score, and put actual pressure on the enemy team. If you manage to break through all checkpoints in the early and mid game, then the chances of getting a KO are real.
Every mode in Splatoon utilizes and benefits from the turf mechanic. Each puts a unique spin on the concept as well.
- SZ has you focusing your turf control and battles in mid, and has a timer counting how long you had 'control'. The capturing mechanic of the zones puts an interesting twist on that map control, as capping a zone makes it cleanly your color, and puts pressure on the enemy team in terms of coverage and movement.
- TC is like other payload modes, except the tower provides interesting cover as you push into the enemy's side. It exemplifies the platforming elements of Splatoon, by serving as a jumping pad to reach otherwise unobtainable elevated platforms and vantage points. Pushing it also slowly builds your special meter which further illustrates that the tower itself helps support your push.
- Rainmaker gives the carrier reduced mobility and CQC. But all rainmaker maps have multiple paths to the objective. The rainmaker is designed to be poor at inking paths for itself, so the carrier relies on the team to create pathways for it while it provides long range support. At the mode's best ( and most fun), the carrier jukes enemies and avoids even firing the weapon, while teammates provide the very paths to swim in as well protect the rainmaker from flanks. It reminds me of rugby or American football. The vulnerability of the carrier is similar to CTF, but the dependency of the carrier on its team for its very movement, which of course is linked to turf control adds distinctive layer to this mode.
While I think the modes, themselves, are amazing, they could've benefited a lot from a better map selection that exemplifies the unique mechanics and 'feeling' of each mode, as well as better special and gear ability balance. The Splatoon dev team have proven themselves by making really smart balance and design changes over time. Especially with the changes they are making in Splatoon 2.
In Splatoon 2, the rainmaker's attack is now worse at getting surprise kills and worse at painting, but is better at supporting teammates. If you look at the new ink pattern of the attack, it creates a thin trail of ink and then a huge circle of ink at the sight of the explosion. It's better at creating useful, usable turf at mid to long range, supporting the teams turf coverage, as well as better at creating dangerous zones during teamfights and traps and pincers. The delayed explosion, coupled with the ability to lob a shot, allows you to smoke out common "sharking" locations, by actually forcing movement from behind cover or from platforms they were planning to drop down from. The thin path still allows you to create short paths of ink to swim in, but given how narrow they are, even with a max charge, it will only be useful for sneaking in when there are no enemies or making that final climb to the goal. The removal of zooka, bubble and kraken will remove 'free' ways to stop the push.
The tower control changes are brilliant. The tower path is shorter, and the checkpoints are located at interesting intersections of map design that highlight both the towers vantage against drop downs and its ability to serve as the only means of getting onto enemy-side platforms. It gives the pushing team time to set up map control, and it hopefully will prevent 'meat-grinder' locations on the tower path, where its generally impossible to set up enough control, by the time the tower reaches said location, which almost always ends up in the tower getting wiped by a drop down roller or shooter, or a set up blaster. Of course, it was previously possible to either stall the tower manually, or to farm an invuln special for those locations, but the learning curve for 'stalling' the tower ran counter to what the game seemed to be communicating, which lead a lot of people to adopt a simplistic mindset of "NO ONE IS PUSHING THE TOWER" and suicidal play style when it came to TC. The punctuated nature of the towers movement, if paired with level design, should serve to smooth out the learning curve of the mode, and incentive good play. The shorter tower path will make it easier to avoid designing "hail mary" sections of certain tower path designs in Splatoon, like the final stretch of Bluefin, Urchin Underpass, or Camp Trigger fish. The problem with those final sections, are that they get so close to the enemy base, that they don't offer the enemy team a way to set up vision or pressure on drop down locations. The only way to get reliable way to get a KO in a lot of TC matches is to get a wipe near the end or to stack krakens. These issues were present with the mode since the beginning, but the QRSJ exacerbated all these issues.. The main issue with TC was that it was by design heavily reliant on circumstance. Given the speed at which the tower moved, you needed to win several teamfights in a row reach the threshold to start gaining points from mid. With the QRSJ meta, the defending team could essentially delay the tower so much that the only way to get a good advantage was to get several wipes on the push. After getting this advantage, which is highly dependent on circumstances of the game when the 'play' happened, the winning team could delay the tower themselves using QRSJ. QR has been heavily nerfed, and SJ has been removed. Towers move faster now, and the path is shorter. Not only that, due to the 1 time per checkpoint system, your previously successful pushes give you a large advantage in terms of time for the rest of the game. It's now much more likely that after winning a fight, you will be able to approach your previous score, and put actual pressure on the enemy team. If you manage to break through all checkpoints in the early and mid game, then the chances of getting a KO are real.
Posting in here where we can do the heavy lifting safe from discussion of the nature of sequels:
Female hair choices:
Ninja squid and stealth jump are back- not sure if that was known. But look at the OOOx2 ability! Assuming it multiplies each sub x2 and the values are the same as the first, that means you can have a custom build of sub-only abilities with 3x2x9=54 total points. But I've got no clue about the green lines- anyone? Also not sure about that respawn disc- if it were recon, why is there an upward arrow?
I'll leave it to others to GIF the weapons and specials. But I'm in love with all of the new weapons: mini rapid blaster, funky roller, stealth charger, Mr. Steed umbrella. And Bubbler lives! Its DNA has been passed to two (three if you count the bubble maker) new specials. And people thought invuln specials were gone- muahahahaha.
Female hair choices:
Female legwear choices:
Weapon screen 1:
Weapon screen 2:
Abilities:
Ninja squid and stealth jump are back- not sure if that was known. But look at the OOOx2 ability! Assuming it multiplies each sub x2 and the values are the same as the first, that means you can have a custom build of sub-only abilities with 3x2x9=54 total points. But I've got no clue about the green lines- anyone? Also not sure about that respawn disc- if it were recon, why is there an upward arrow?
I'll leave it to others to GIF the weapons and specials. But I'm in love with all of the new weapons: mini rapid blaster, funky roller, stealth charger, Mr. Steed umbrella. And Bubbler lives! Its DNA has been passed to two (three if you count the bubble maker) new specials. And people thought invuln specials were gone- muahahahaha.
Weapon screen 2:
lol, the big baller brand luna
Incitemaybe
Member
Looking forward to that bubble weapon
Also if you look at the aerospray and one of the chargers, there are two bomb rush specials with bombs different than the sub! But is this just a placeholder for the generic bomb launcher special?
I'd be more worried about both gals with invuln...
Me too, but I think it's a special.
Ninja Squid is back, but none of those icons are stealth jump. There's the two dotted-line arrows but who knows what that might really mean.
The ability with the green lines, to me, resemble the "Finish!" tape-banners that cross the screen at the end of battle, but I don't know what that could do for you. More exp gained per match? Odd. There appears to be an ability that briefly gives you thermal vision after dying, as well.
It's going to take some time to chew through just how useful any of these are or aren't, and some of the new stuff I'm not so pleased to see, but we'll find out once the game launches.
After some discussions on discord the general consensus is that the finish tape is some kind of Last Ditch Effort replacement and the Spawn Pad is Opening Gambit. At one point in the Direct they show gear with a Spawn Pad logo sub ability so it appears to be stackable whatever it is.
JershJopstin
Banned
Ink armor only completely tanks the first hit. You're still splatable. And there was no mention of baller granting any defense, assuming that's the second one you're referencing. Even if it does, my favorite part of the bubbler was that it didn't take my main away from me. Baller, if invincible, is more like a single-hit kracken with a larger hitbox.
That said, I'll be completely happy if the classic squiffer is back with point sensors and ink armor. I put waaaay too much time into that weapon and will gladly do it again lol.
I can't imagine the Baller not being invulnerable, given what a huge target it is. The key difference between it and bubbler/kraken is that you seem to have no real offense while it's active (unless you can run people over with it, I guess). The large hitbox for the ball itself will make it easier to bully and push around than the old kraken was, so you won't be able to just YOLO with it very effectively.
JershJopstin
Banned
I edited just after you wrote this.
Absolutely. I pretty much played the first game entirely without a group.
Though SplatGAF is always welcoming new faces
It's 1080p docked
It was already shown in a piece of promo art that surfaced about a week-ish ago. It's still around, don't worry.no more Inkbrush
1080p docked and 720p handheld is already confirmed.
SinCityAssassin
Member
Free her.
Seems likely that's a new icon for stealth jump. It's the super jump landing indicator in "stealth colors."
Also I spotted it as the main on a pair of shoes (clearly not absolute confirmation):
That's definitely supported by this image showing Green Lines as the main on a hat that used to offer Last-Ditch Effort:
I feel like I'm playing a euro board game for the first time, trying to learn the notation of the symbols.
That black outline symbol definitely seems most like Stealth Jump with the landing symbol... But it's weird that they would change the icon if they didn't change the ability in some meaningful way. Ninja Squid has the same symbol as before, for example.
The OOOx2 symbol, I wonder if it's a main ability only and only applicable to the piece of gear it's on? It doesn't make much sense from a math perspective (assuming the same point values) if it applied to all 3 pieces of clothing... You'd basically be trading 10 main points for 27 free points in subs. You could argue people wouldn't do it for "build complexion" but it's 17 free points of ability. But if it's just for one piece of clothing, couldn't you just achieve this with Murch? Just make a piece of clothing with 19 points of Swim Speed or whatever. Could it be used for x2 exp on leveling up subs?
That ability where you can see people through walls after damaging sounds amazing. Especially on a map like Port Mackerel or Musselforge Fitness.
The three weapons that jumped out at me most were the Luna, Tri-Slosher, and Splattershot Jr. The Jr. kit feels like they're trying to recreate the first one with a less obnoxious push-special. The super armor feels like a quick charge-forward kind of special, unlike Bubble. It's a really obnoxious special for chargers to deal with.
We'll still have to deal with that Luna Blaster Neo kit. The ball seems like more of a movement option than an offensive one, so maybe it'll turn out okay. The ball looks like it might be too big to push the Tower, though.
Tri-Slosher with Burst Bombs feels like it'll live in a weird world between the old Carbon and vanilla Slosher. Won't combo as well as either, but could be disruptive in the short game. Missing the slosh after a burst bombing in won't happen as much with the tri-version.
Respawn Punish is going to really hurt.
That black outline symbol definitely seems most like Stealth Jump with the landing symbol... But it's weird that they would change the icon if they didn't change the ability in some meaningful way. Ninja Squid has the same symbol as before, for example.
The OOOx2 symbol, I wonder if it's a main ability only and only applicable to the piece of gear it's on? It doesn't make much sense from a math perspective (assuming the same point values) if it applied to all 3 pieces of clothing... You'd basically be trading 10 main points for 27 free points in subs. You could argue people wouldn't do it for "build complexion" but it's 17 free points of ability. But if it's just for one piece of clothing, couldn't you just achieve this with Murch? Just make a piece of clothing with 19 points of Swim Speed or whatever. Could it be used for x2 exp on leveling up subs?
That ability where you can see people through walls after damaging sounds amazing. Especially on a map like Port Mackerel or Musselforge Fitness.
The three weapons that jumped out at me most were the Luna, Tri-Slosher, and Splattershot Jr. The Jr. kit feels like they're trying to recreate the first one with a less obnoxious push-special. The super armor feels like a quick charge-forward kind of special, unlike Bubble. It's a really obnoxious special for chargers to deal with.
We'll still have to deal with that Luna Blaster Neo kit. The ball seems like more of a movement option than an offensive one, so maybe it'll turn out okay. The ball looks like it might be too big to push the Tower, though.
Tri-Slosher with Burst Bombs feels like it'll live in a weird world between the old Carbon and vanilla Slosher. Won't combo as well as either, but could be disruptive in the short game. Missing the slosh after a burst bombing in won't happen as much with the tri-version.
Respawn Punish is going to really hurt.
I think you may be on to something here. Going from 57 to 54 total points in the name of customizability makes sense in principle, but having 18 ability points on an item makes no sense when the standard is 19 and every sub ability is present as a main as well.
Thermal imaging is probably the biggest meta announcement we've seen so far. It (and the cold-blooded style counter ability) are main only; there are no fragments on Merch's screen. The real question for me is how gloriously will it pair with blaster and slosher?
The tri-slosher and .52 gal kits are the most tantalizing kit reveals for me. After the big burst bomb patch, the dev-intended combo of one burst bomb followed up by one shot became more solid. And I believe this kit will combo exceptionally well, using the range to initiate and splash radius to hold them for the follow-up. Throw in support gameplay plus tank refill burst bomb shenanigans and you've got a beast. EDIT: however, if they go with the previous damage values and no way to modify them and you're stuck with 62(tri-slosh)+35(indirect BB) = 97 damage/combo, then you've got a kitty cat.
But I can feel my heart rate rise thinking of a .52 gal with point sensor and an invulnerability special. Obviously we need to see more of the armor and the hamster ball. I wouldn't assume the hamster ball can be batted around so easily as post-patch Bubbler either.
JershJopstin
Banned
Not sure if it was posted in another thread, but you can read details on all sub weapons, special weapons, and abilities in the World Premier demo.
Ah, thanks. I was still playing around with the movement in the tutorial.
So that actually is Stealth Jump, but it only hides it from players at a distance. No more rollers slamming down right on top of you anymore. Makes sense, given you can Splashdown with it.
Another good tweak, Nintendo! *thumbs up*
OOOx2 is indeed tripling subs for that piece of clothing. Seems kinda pointless in the long term, but short term might be an easy way to get 18 points on one piece of gear.
Could be situational for Sloshers (over certain walls), but man is this a boon for blaster players. Can totally see this becoming the new Echolocator that becomes the early meta that inevitably gets nerfed.
tonyh24613
Member
This pic from official site, the third stage is "mystery zone".
Place holder?
Turf Wars is surprisingly deep and fun. It's a great mode.
BlueSilver
Member
Turf War with a group is insanely good. I can see solo ranked being better than solo turf though.
StAidan
Member
Would be interesting if this meant, say,
- 1/3 chance of map #1
- 1/3 chance of map #2
- 1/3 chance of any of the other maps not currently in "rotation"
It would maybe address complaints about playing the same 2 maps for an entire rotation.
that would be cool
BlueSilver
Member
Heck, it'll address the issue where it feels like a one map rotation because lol RNG.
JershJopstin
Banned
That'd be cool, but given that it's a Splatfest screen, I think it's just the 3rd map.
lifetimeofnot
Member
I put over 130 hours into splatoon 1 and I never played with a group. Grouping up would make ranked mode easier but it's not required. I got to B+ rank fairly easily and I wasn't very good at some of the game modes.
It also features splat fests which break up the player base into two teams. These events happen every month or so and allow you to feel like your part of a team without having to actually manually group up with anyone.
The image that appears to be a counter to thermal ink isn't- it's Haunt. However thermal imaging may not be as OP as I feared; it doesn't seem to track squids under the ink.
Green lines are indeed Last-Ditch Effort and spawn disc is Opening Gambit.
Splashdown range is "wider if used from an elevated area." Ink armor protects allies regardless of proximity. You can detonate the hamster ball early.
Tentatek splattershot (splatbomb/inkjet), not vanilla, is loaded on the Splatfest demo. Lulz.
Green lines are indeed Last-Ditch Effort and spawn disc is Opening Gambit.
Splashdown range is "wider if used from an elevated area." Ink armor protects allies regardless of proximity. You can detonate the hamster ball early.
Tentatek splattershot (splatbomb/inkjet), not vanilla, is loaded on the Splatfest demo. Lulz.
Haha I agree!
"It's a community channel Nintendo, we would be getting coverage for maaaany Nintendo fans"
tonyh24613
Member
So the double sub ability is exclusive to splatfest T-shirt.
This pic from official site, the third stage is "mystery zone".
Place holder?
Maybe it's a stage actually called mystery zone.
At least I want it to be.
I'd really kill for a stage that's really "out there".
Isn't double sub technically inferior to everything because you have less points? Assuming the same method is used.
Yeah, you end up with one point less than if you used a regular main ability. Sub doubler being exclusive to splatfest shirts makes sense because it isn't an ability you'd ever want on your normal gear.
That crown looks suspiciously much like the crown of Pearl.
Are we able to scrap the subs whenever we want? Or does it cost something?
It might be worth just constantly scrapping the subs in the splatfest shirt over and over again if the shirt is just going to get taken away.
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