I'm trying new weapons every now and again, to keep myself as fresh as possible. The Octoshot Replica is another weapon that seems effective when used against me, so I equip it to give it a go in Turf Wars. How about that, not trying a new weapon in Ranked. I'm learning.
The Octoshot is just a reskinned Splattershot, with different sub and special. I'm not a big fan of the Inkzooka. Other squids seem to splat me with unerring accuracy with it, but I seem to just get pushed back with the recoil in to opponent ink, and stuck. Or, in this case, splatted from behind by a roller.
The roller then squidbags as a celebration. I find that really peculiar. Whatever floats your boat, but I'm not sure attempting to goad someone is a good use of your time.
Despite the squidbagger, the Octoshot seems like a decent enough weapon. It has an average range, a decent rate-of-fire, and feels useful enough. Even in a losing battle, I rack up 876p. That's not shabby. The other side certainly seemed to be hitting their marks more than we were, though.
Bypassing the Rainmaker to splat some squids becomes a more obviously good strategy at the start of this battle on Bluefin Depot. It looks clear, so I try to burst the shield, but the opponents catch up with my fast movement and splat me from behind. So it goes. I soon get back in to the battle, and push forwards with the Rainmaker.
I noticed, or hopefully just remembered, from a previous game that extra inkable blocks allow for a shortcut up to the opponents' raised base area. It's not straightforward to get to, the Rainmaker slows you down a bit, and, as I show, chargers and other weapons get a good view of you coming, but I try to get the Rainmaker up via that route. When it doesn't work the first time, I try, try, try again. Maybe I should be dissuaded by my many failed attempts.
It's worth noting another type of added block and its use. When the charger splats me on my first attempt at getting to the raised area, he inks the top of a small block and squids in to it. These are extra blocks in Ranked modes too, added on grills that are otherwise for access only. Squids fall through grills, which is good for access to whatever's below, but not good for movement. You have to run, which is slower than squidding, and you can't recharger your ink either. This is a clever way to make some routes unfavourable, but denies some turf control in Ranked battles. The small extra blocks alleviate that problem, by converting a small section of the surface to allow for recharging your ink, whilst keep the majority of it more difficult turf to traverse.
Highlights of the battle include a pain of a Gold Dynamo Roller, but one who jumps backwards in to water a couple of times whilst splatting. I running in to a Splat Wall, which is less fun, as is bouncing off the Rainmaker's shield in to water. But that last one is pretty hilarious.
It's not a win for us. We get close, but maybe we would have got closer had I not persisted in an obviously difficult route. I shall learn from this!
More Rainmaker on Urchin Underpass. Sticking with the Tri-slosher Nouveau, I enjoy how quickly I can ink and move and take a secondary role at the start of the match. Instead of bursting the Rainmaker's bubble, I skirt around it to ink some turf and, more importantly, deny their squids access to the Rainmaker. It almost works. Whilst I splat a squid and ink some turf, I am also out of the battle by doing that. Still, my squidmates are with me, and we re-gather the Rainmaker and push ahead.
Getting firmly in the opponents' half of the map and up the ramp towards the podium is well worth sending out a 'Nice!' That last bit of turf is going to be the hardest to cover, with the opponents compressed and respawning near the Rainmaker, and us under heavy inking and having to cover most of the map to get back. The task isn't made easier when a squidmate grabs the Rainmaker and moves backwards.
I find out that we've retreated when I super-jump to the Rainmaker and land behind an ink-resistant wall. My squidmate has gone further back than that. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's to deny the other team the Rainmaker, trusting that we can keep a solid lead for the rest of the battle. Or he could just be holding on to the Rainmaker until reinforcements arrive. It certainly seems like the latter is possible when he starts forwards again when it's clear I'm with him. But, by then, the Rainmaker counter has dropped quite low. If it reaches zero, it explodes.
The Rainmaker explodes. I think he was just trying to buy us some time after all. Not the best strategy, really. Then, neither is picking up the Rainmaker and getting splatted. A better strategy is to grab the Rainmaker and make a dash forwards, particularly if it is mostly through your own ink and not whilst being hassled by the opponents. My squidmates catch up with me and really help me out in getting to the podium. Some ink is spread, and they form a squid shield from incoming shots.
A blast with the Rainmaker towards the podium turns out to be very handy indeed. Even though the path to the podium isn't clear, a small jump to where the Rainmaker inked the podium gets me the last few feet, and a knockout victory! Woomy!
The map for Urchin Underpass has some amendments for Rainmaker battles. The normal map has a pinch-point to enter the opposition's side of the map. There are three ways out, but only one way in, because of ink-resistant walls. This is good for preventing domination from slight skill differences, but detrimental to the battle when the goal is to get in to opposition territory. Extra blocks are added to allow passage along different routes, and the blocks are noticeably different to the normal objects in the map. That helps them stand out, which is needed in the mayhem of the battles. I still don't always notice them, though, which is why I bumped in to an extra block kinda by accident in a previous battle.
The extra blocks also help your team to get to the action more quickly. I make use of one after I first get splatted with the Rainmaker. Good for me, too, because I often forget that block is there, only seeing it after taking that route to the centre of the map by inking my normal way there. Not this time! A flanking manoeuvre works better than expected, mostly by my squidmates having splatted our opponents by the time I get there. That lets me get splatted holding the Rainmaker again. It's okay, I'm used to it.
I'm not sure I'm a fan of playing against squids that have spent so much currency on getting their equipment matched so well. I really don't take the game that seriously, and neither do I want to. It's just a really fun game for me. But Ranked battles are meant to match squids of similar skill level, and as long as I get competitive matches that aren't stressful I'll keep playing. Those more serious players can rise higher and play with similarly dedicated squids.
A fairly standard game. No knockout, but a fairly decisive victory for our side.
Rainmaker is as much about turf control as it is moving the Rainmaker. If your ink covers the turf, you have free movement and your opponents don't. This doesn't help directly with the goal of dunking the Rainmaker, but it denies your opponents access to and movement with the Rainmaker, and allows your own team to move freely forwards once the Rainmaker is picked up. This is why there is often a fair amount of inking away from the apparent action. This is what the squid with the Dual Squelcher is doing when he jumps up towards our podium when the Rainmaker is in our control.
It can be quite important to cover your opponents' ink as a priority, instead of heading for the Rainmaker. If you don't, and they get the Rainmaker, it could be possible for their side to make a swift movement across most of the map. This is why I take time not just to splat the Dual Squelcher, who is inking a potential future path, but also cover his tracks. If they want to come this way, they will need to ink it over again.
I don't really do much fancy in this game of Rainmaker, my first of the evening. I am trying a new weapon too, of sorts. The Tri-slosher Nouveau is the same basic weapon as the Tri-slosher, so it's not new in that respect, but the sub and specials are different. I often don't remember what my sub does, not using it as a result, but having the Echolocator as the special is normally useful in any game mode. This should be clear when I get a triple-splat at around the two-minute mark. I'm happy if that's my main contribution to the battle, particularly as I outflank the enemy to achieve it.
It's not a win for our side, but we get closer than I expect, given the start. I shall persevere with the Tri-slosher Nouveau too. I like the weapon quite a lot.
Back to the Tri-slosher in Rainmaker. Hopefully a familiar weapon will help lead us to a victory. I feel a bit outclassed almost immediately, as shooters and a charger close me down at the Rainmaker, and although I can throw ink and squid fairly quickly, it's no match to a shooter with a decent fire rate. Funnily enough, it's the N-ZAP '85 that catches me first, a weapon I tried out myself recently.
Trying to catch up with the Rainmaker doesn't work so well when trying to avoid its blasts, or when trying to squid through the opponents' ink. They get pretty close to dunking the Rainmaker as a result. One point away is pretty close! I think I get the splat that stops them, but even then I see the charger closing me down, and its range easily beats the range of my bucket.
From their excellent position, it's almost a formality for the opposition to recollect the Rainmaker and dunk it on the podium, which I see from our base where I'm respawning. It's a really quick and authoritative victory from our opponents, and included here because the loss drops me down from A rank to A-.
Another new weapon I'm trying out, this time the Zink Mini Splatling. A smaller version of the Splatling, with a much quicker charge time but shorter range. Again, we're battling for the Rainmaker on Mahi Mahi Resort, and again I have little idea where the water is and where the water isn't. But I think I get to grips with the Zink Mini Splatling fairly quickly. Good thing too, with the orange team getting so close to dunking the Rainmaker so early.
My main problem with the Mini Splatling is realising when it has stopped shooting, mostly when others are shooting around me. I'm sure I'll get used to it.
There's a great comedy moment at 1:36 or so, when I stop the Rainmaker's advance and, remembering that the shield will bump me off the platform, I try to squid around it to safety. It doesn't quite work as planned, though, and my attempts to squid around the Rainmaker just end in my squidbutting it, to my own disgrace.
It's a tough ask to beat an early lead that gets to within three points of winning. Needless to say, we don't manage it. But at least we stop further progress by them too. I think the main lesson to learn from this is to use new weapons in Turf War first, then take them in to Ranked battles.
I've not got the hang of the Mahi Mahi Resort map. I played it a bit when released, but whenever it's come in to the general rotation since I just find myself jumping in to the water. I don't know if having the water level drop is mucking up my mental map, or if I just don't have a good feel for it yet. I don't suppose playing Rainmaker in Ranked really helps with trying to learn the map either. I should try to spend some time in Turf War, where the goal is to run around the whole map and ink it, instead of finding optimal routes to the other side. If I don't know the map, how can I know a good route to take?
It also doesn't help having platforms above water and a Rainmaker's shield that expands and bumps squids away from it. I get thrown in to the water more than once for getting too close. Not that I know how I can stay away whilst staying on solid ground. I'll get the hang of it at some point.
It's a fairly frustrating battle for me, given the number of dunkings I take, but I'm enjoying the N-ZAP '85 still, and I'm sure I'll get used to the map at some point.
Recording my battles in Splatoon was mostly to allow me to replay my games for me, and I have enjoyed watching them back. I get to relive the silly moments, see details I have missed, and just enjoy the great design of Splatoon. But it has had another effect, in that I am motivated to use more than just my staple weapons. I got comfortable with the Splash-o-Matic to the point of using it exclusively in Turf War, and the Tri-slosher works great in Tower Control. That I managed to work out how to use a charger and the Splatterscope is just a bonus from a friendly player on reddit.
But uploading video after video of the Splash-o-Matic may be boring for others, even if I enjoy the games. As a result, I am trying out some of the other weapons available. And I won't lie, my motivation for picking the other weapons is mostly based on how effectively they have been used against me. Although I've tried them in the past, it's generally for a game or two and deciding that I'm better with the Splash-o-Matic and go back to that. Of course, what I need is practice, and recording my battles gives me the encouragement to git gud.
In this battle, I try out the N-ZAP '85 again. It has a longer range than the Splash-o-Matic, which most guns do, and a decent fire rate. The Echolocator special should be good in most battle modes, as it highlights your opponents' positions. Maybe not quite as useful in Rainmaker, as the Rainmaker carrier is visible on the Gamepad map, or highlighted in the ink. Still, I would like to be able to feel comfortable with more weapons, giving me greater choice in battles, both in the weapons themselves and the subs and specials they offer.
Rainmaker on Museum d'Alfonsino is a bit tricky. The large open space in the middle is fine, although the spinning platforms can obscure movement, but the compressed space when getting close to the podium and opponent's base makes for some frustrating but manic battling.
I manage to be quite evasive at times, run right in to the opponent at other times, but overall give a good impression of myself during the battle. We don't win, but that's not the point of Ranked play. The point is to get a challenging battle against equally skilled squids, and that's what we got.
Rainmaker is a fun mode for Ranked battles. It takes a little explaining, but once you have the basics it's all pretty simple. There's a special weapon called the Rainmaker, which has its own shield. You need to throw loads of ink at the shield, at which point it bursts with ink of the colour that burst it. You need to watch out for that if your opponents are about to burst the shield. The Rainmaker then becomes available for use, by any squid. If the Rainmaker is lost, its shield comes back.
When you pick up the Rainmaker, you become visible on the Gamepad map when you walk, and you glow in the ink when you're a squid. But you also get to use its power. The Rainmaker acts like an Inkzooka, but one that needs to be charged up for each use. But don't get caught up trying to splat other squids, because there is also a counter, and once that counter gets to zero the Rainmaker explodes. To stop that, you need to get the Rainmaker to its podium, conveniently placed close to the opponents' base.
Of course, not only are you heading deep in to opposition territory, but you're doing so with the objective in your tentacles, and glowing as you do. And you can't use your weapon, or your sub, or your special. That's what squidmates are for. They need to help ink a path for you, or you can use the Rainmaker to do that, and you need to dunk the Rainmaker to get a knockout victory. If neither team dunks the Rainmaker, victory goes to the team that gets it closest to the podium.
In this battle I'm using the Tri-slosher. I like the weapon, but maybe in other modes more than Rainmaker. It does well anywhere, though. You can see how far the Rainmaker has been moved by the gauge at the top of the screen, and on-screen tips show who has the Rainmaker and if the lead is taken or lost.
Rainmaker is a really interesting battle, given the dual vulnerability of the carrier of the Rainmaker and its potency as a weapon, the importance of carrying the Rainmaker but the equal importance of inking turf to allow ally movement and denying opposition movement. Having multiple paths to the podium also allows for some diversions away from the opposition.
In this match, we lose the lead and don't look like taking it back. But a late move at the end has my taking the Rainmaker in to opposition territory, and avoiding a Killer Wail bumps me in to an inked block that is not normally there in Turf War, and from there a squidmate carries the Rainmaker forward in overtime for the win. Quite a turnaround!
