Rolling a squid down in Rainmaker (10-7, Carbon Roller Deco)

Whee, three Rollers! This can't go wrong. It goes well immediately, when the blue team ignore the Seeker trails, allowing me to get one slightly lucky splat, and roll around the container to get a second. The blue Roller eludes me, but is splatted by a squidmate, allowing us to get started on the Rainmaker. It's a short push, but a positive start none the less.

Sadly, the blue team regain control, thanks to some good inking and a bit of arsing around by a green squidmate. My ink-resistant shoes don't let me catch up with the blue Rainmaker quickly enough, and he's up and over the block to take the lead. We get the Rainmaker back, but my attempt to help the push goes awry when I'm only followed by a canny blue inkling.

I don't think resetting the Rainmaker is a good move, not with the centre of the warehouse covered in blue ink. Sure enough, the blue team get control again, but at least my Seeker Rush charges, sending the Rainmaker backwards first, then stopping the push, and inking a decent amount of turf.

We grab the Rainmaker back, and again I get a little ahead of everyone else. But I get in to a good position all the same, and another Seeker Rush helps consolidate our immediate position. Better still, I can move in, grab the Rainmaker, and take the lead just before the blue Roller throws himself at me.

Hmm, that inkling on our base doesn't look good for us. But we can't linger on that, so I move on. I don't manage to ink the tiny block at my feet, so look to get rid of some incoming blue ink rather than stop the Rainmaker. I help a little. And, yeah, that inkling is out of action. That's unfortunate, but it happens. At least I make it up that tiny block this time.

The Rainmaker is stuck in our side corridor. That's actually not so bad for us. It's not too difficult to defend, as long as we aren't flanked, so I keep myself moving to protect the direct route. I miss an Inkstrike in progress, sadly, but catch the super-jumper, and a squidmate moves the Rainmaker back in to the open after that, making some good progress that I don't quite help with, despite my efforts.

I manage to stay just far enough away from the Rainmaker's bursting shield, but with an Inkstrike hitting behind us we have to move forwards. A pair of Seekers helps with this, although I do accidentally pick up the Rainmaker as a result, which doesn't go well. And our absent squid is gone now. That doesn't seem to matter too much, though.

A blue inkling is looking to force us backwards, but as he keeps me cautious, a squidmate has grabbed the Rainmaker and taken it most of the way to the podium. Nice! All that's left to do is defend. I sit and watch the Rainmaker's progress, getting a Seeker splat accidentally, and move to strike with enough precision to end the battle. Woomy!

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Tags: carbon roller deco, console, rainmaker, splatoon, walleye warehouse, wii u

Splatty Resort Rainmaker (17-9, Tri-slosher)

A bit of a pause and a good Disruptor throw gets me in to a great position for some early splats, and I move forwards aggressively enough to get splatted soon after. We have the lead, though. Puddle-hopping my way back looks like it's going to work, but a bit of bad timing nearly gives me a heart attack as I reach the teal team.

Some more patience, as the Rainmaker moves tentatively forwards, finds more opportunity, but pushing for a third splat puts me in another inkling's sights. A flanking move nearly works on my return, but my ink gives me away a little too early. I try to cover our rear as the Rainmaker is grabbed, but the teal inkling goes for a swim instead. That works for me.

I have to turn around from a push to help defend again, which is just as well, as I was pushing in the wrong direction to the Rainmaker. But my position lets me get the jump on the teal Rainmaker, before I'm blasted back to base. The Blaster doesn't last much longer either, himself a victim of the water.

The Splattershot is a tempting target on the block. It's a pity she moves, and that I lose track of her. So it goes. I take the long route back to the Rainmaker, nearly losing sight of it, and catch up just as the carrier is splatted. I don't think I need to work on the shield, so I turn to look for splatting opportunities. A couple super-jump, which is nice, and my squidmates start pushing the Rainmaker again.

As we get over the perilous ledge, I pop my Bubbler to help our survival. It works quite well, and we carry the Rainmaker a bit further than before. Not all the way to the podium, though, and I have to turn as the teal pressure increases, and sensibly sneak around the Rainmaker for protection. The teal team pull out a Killer Wail, though, as my squidmates super-jump in. At least the Rainmaker shield splats two of them.

The teal team cross the resort quickly, but we get to them quickly too and stop the current push. But rather than return the Rainmaker, a squidmate decides to hold it for protection. That doesn't always work, and can be risky. As the battle enters extra time, with the Rainmaker at the bottom of the main corridor to the podium, I hope this won't backfire on us.

I get a couple of splats in defence, but the teal team still splat the Rainmaker, and as a Killer Wail is pulled out I get a little concerned for our lead. But a squidmate has clearly got in to a good position, forcing an adjustment of the Killer Wail, and almost certainly dropping down nicely to grab the Rainmaker to end the battle. Woomy!

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Tags: console, mahi-mahi resort, rainmaker, splatoon, tri-slosher, wii u

Punitive splats in Rainmaker (10-7, Tri-slosher)

That's a nice Disruptor to start the battle, but I don't count on there being two other inklings supporting the Disrupted one. And we're already being infiltrated by the time I am back in the battle, giving us some housekeeping to perform. At least the Rainmaker doesn't get too far.

I grab the Rainmaker at just about the wrong time, and my aiming with its blasts doesn't help much. I do well to burst its shield on my return and be cautious of the purple inklings around me, but my confidence in getting a splat means I don't use my Bubbler. I really should use it regardless, though.

There's a disappointing sight as I come back. A purple inkling has decided that the best tactic is to deny us access to the Rainmaker. That's unsporting, and against the spirit of inkling battles. I don't care how effective it is. These people need to be splatted.

I make a beeline for the Rainmaker, and even though it self-destructs before I get there, returning itself to the middle of the depot, I am in a good position to punish the purple inklings for allowing this. The Roller is first to face my punitive bucket, swiftly followed by two more of the three inklings that all swarm out of their base at once. I get the feeling they were all around the Rainmaker when it exploded.

The Roller comes back for more, so I mete out another punitive splat, and don't really mind that I get splatted in the process. My squidmates took the lead already. I come back to Disrupt the Rainmaker, discouraging any quick progress, and follow that up by splatting them, after which I get myself in to a position to show my displeasure with the purple team.

Surviving the next splat catches me a little by surprise, by with it comes a charged Bubbler. I also realise that the Rainmaker is being carried in the wrong direction, and turn around, but just as it is stopped by my squidmates. Now what do I do. I track back and splat it completely unexpectedly, that's what.

Some more tracking around, laying down green ink, gets me back to the contested Rainmaker. The Shield splats one inkling, and a squid around the back gets two splats for myself. I give the Rainmaker another carry, gladly increasing our lead a little, but am stopped soon enough. There's a good tussle for the Rainmaker in that corner for a bit, but the purple team carry it out eventually, sending the battle in to extra time.

My eagerness to splat the Rainmaker and end the battle gets me splatted, and the purple team get close to snatching the lead back, but my squidmates secure our victory. Woomy! Maybe the purple team should have made better use of their earlier time with the Rainmaker.

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Tags: bluefin depot, console, rainmaker, splatoon, tri-slosher, wii u

Staying the course in B+ Tower Control (10-0, Tri-slosher)

Nope, not one more battle in B+. After that last victory, we had a loss, then magikarp turned up again, on my team no less, stacking another loss. But I wield the bucket with vigour, and I am once again close to being back in the A ranks.

I feel bad that I have dropped down to B+, mostly because of the really long streak of losses that put me there, and because I know I can do better. I'm a bit disappointed in myself, I suppose.

At least this battle helps to convince that, although I may not be that skilled a player overall, I have learnt enough that I probably should be in A-rank battles. Hopefully I can use that to keep my confidence up whilst actually in A-rank battles.

It's an emphatic victory for me. No being splatted, and being on the Tower at the goal. I can compete when I put my mind to it. Maybe a few more battles with the Tri-slosher, and perhaps the Carbon Roller Deco, before I try some different weapons again.

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Tags: blackbelly skatepark, console, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

Lots of splats in the lower ranks of Tower Control (15-5, Tri-slosher)

My losing streak/skill degradation/poor choices continue, and not even switching to the Tri-slosher can stop my falling in to the B+ rank. Still, I'm confident the bucket can get me back out of there pretty quickly.

I'm helped a little by one inkling apparently trying to tank his ranking, turning up to battles but flopping around or standing in a corner somewhere for the entirely of the battle. He even takes the appropriate name of magikarp.

The useless floundering by magikarp helped when he was on the other team, and I was one win away from heading straight back to A-, when he ended up on my team. We did our best, even making a decent comeback, but it all went wrong again and we lost by a knockout. Oh well, so it goes.

I left magikarp, just in case, and got back to battling proper. I don't want to hassle B+ inklings too much, and would like to get back to where I think I will be more competitive, and, I suppose, more challenged. But it was being challenged that got me down here. So I dunno.

Maybe it's my desire to go back up a rank, or my experience of the higher ranks, or just plain ego, but I feel I have a better idea of what I'm doing, in general and with the objective, than the other inklings.

The margin of victory may not be huge, but I feel comfortable in the battle, and have time to do a victory dance riding the Tower at the end. Hopefully just one more battle to go.

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Tags: console, piranha pit, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

Disrupting in Tower Control (11-6, Tri-slosher)

I quite like scoped chargers, mostly when I'm aiming to flank them. They don't know I'm coming until the ink hits, and then it's too late. My position after hitting the E-litre 3K is good for clambering on to the Tower too, as the other purple inklings aren't around. I don't get too far, but it's a start.

I aim for the other flank next, which is a bit more involved and makes me more vulnerable. But it is also a little less expected, as shown by running in to an inkling coming the other way. But the vulnerable nature of the route is obvious when a returning inkling splats me. I get the E-litre 3K at the same time, at least.

Going back the conventional flank finds a Slosher, and dropping down bamboozles him a little. I aim for the perch again, where there appears to be just a Beakon, but the E-litre 3K is hiding. He squids away, I chase and Disrupt, and he sensibly super-jumps away. The Slosher returns, and shows what a bigger bucket can do.

The Tower's moved a bit more, which is good, so I hang back to clean up some purple mess, and move up to push back the E-litre 3K, before moving right around to finish the splat. A squidmate pushes the Tower again, which is good, and I hold back to see if anyone comes over the block. Not yet.

I move to head around the other way. I see it now, but not during the battle, but a super-jumper heads behind our lines. I'm sure they have a long-term plan, but our control of the Tower isn't being stopped as they ink our side of the dome. I head over to support the push, helping it get a bit further, but also get distracted by the chaos of being so close to the goal, that the Tower is cleared and trundles back the way it came.

My path takes me along the route of the purple interlopers. I have the chance to splat her, but my sloshing lets me down, and I become double-teamed. I see our charger is concerned about the inklings still on my return, so I move to help, and get an opportunistic splat. The other inkling has a Bubbler for protection, but a bit of movement and luck, and I clear our side of the dome.

There's still lots of purple ink around, but my squidmates help well with clearing that up. I hit the flank again, destroying some Beakons, and although my Disruptor hits, the Slosher has enough ink in the tank to splat me back. But that's okay. There's little time left in the battle, and our lead sticks. A win for our team. Woomy!

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Tags: console, kelp dome, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

Hitting the sides for the knockout in Tower Control (10-4, Tri-slosher)

Ooh, a charger on the other team. Can I surprise her on the usual perch? Nope, doesn't look like she's there. There are inklings beneath me, though, and I have a bucket. My sloshing doesn't quite work out as intended this time. But I get back on the grating to help stop the Tower, not that my squidmates need help with that, and get one splat. My ink hitting an inkling makes me push for a second, but my ink runs out as I find the Splatterscope.

Not my best start. But hitting the flank a second time goes a bit better, running in to the back of one inkling immediately. I have to use my Bubbler to get a second splat, which is fine, and I lose track of another inkling, but I'm off the mark now.

The Tower starts moving forwards, so after a little ink to discourage teal inklings from coming our way, I move ahead to support it. A little light flanking gets a couple of neat splats, and a third at the expense of my own splatting. I'll take it, as the Tower continues moving.

I super-jump back, hopping off the Tower to push for splatty support. But that doesn't work when we all hop off. It helps to prevent being splatted, which we do, and then we get back on the Tower to push it forwards again. Me and another inkling, yep, which means I can hop off again to provide sloshing support.

My flanking goes well, sneaking to the side of a Splash Wall to get a nice double splat, and although I don't survive at the end, the other team are fully splatted as the Tower trundles on. I like to think that helps, particularly as the Tower hits the goal before I can even super-jump back to it. Victory to us, woomy!

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Tags: console, kelp dome, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

It's all a bit quiet in Tower Control (8-3, Tri-slosher)

That slightly extended intro seems ominous, but I think little more of it, seeing chargers on the blue team, and make a beeline towards the usual perch. There's a charger there, but they drop, or fall, so I have to give chase. Or wait a moment, and she pops up. No one else is around, so I hop on the Tower and, well, there remains no one else around. For quite a while.

Finally, the chargers find me and start taking potshots, which I manage to avoid with a bit of dodging. I splat one of the chargers but run out of ink for the other, recharging my tank by popping the Bubbler not really helping. And I have to chase the Tower now, as no one else has got one. Where is everyone else?

I push the Tower a bit further, splat one of the chargers again, but am picked off by the other. Everything looks very green from our base. Maybe an inkling is missing, but it's hard to know who. I squid here and there, sticking with the Tower Control battle, and keep mostly out of trouble, until the Roller catches me sloshing for a charger.

I would have thought a couple of good sloshes would splat the Tower rider, but the Kraken transformation is triggered first. There's not much I can do about that, so I wait. Then I splat the inkling. I follow that with the Roller, and chase the other charger around the corner, and think about the Tower. But it's playing its merry jingle, so a squidmate is on there. I move to support instead. My Disruptor hits, but the E-litre 3K's aim is good.

The Tower keeps moving, and I squid along the side and over the ramp to support it. I head on to the walkway and, thanks to an Echolocator, see an inkling coming my way. A few sloshes splats that threat, and I move down the ramp to help the Tower. It doesn't need my help, but I like standing on it as we reach the goal anyway.

It looks like both teams lost an inkling early, hence the empty feeling of Kelp Dome. I'm not sure who had the advantage. It feels like we did, as the other team lost an Aerospray to leave two chargers and a Roller, but we were left with a charger, Hydra Splatling, and my bucket, which is hardly a lot of ink power. Either way, it was an interesting experience.

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Tags: console, kelp dome, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

Very splatty Rainmaker (11-8, Zink Mini Splatling)

Not focussing fully on the Rainmaker's Shield generally helps, as splatting an opposing inkling will reduce the incoming ink from the other team. I get a nice splat in this vein to start the battle, and move up to find a second splat as I hear my ink hit something. I move up a bit too much, to be honest, but I get the splat and survive. The team gangs up on a super-jumper, then we're on the move.

The Rainmaker support gets further than the Rainmaker, and lasts longer, but together we take a commanding lead, even when too many bombs of different types fly in. Pushed back, the yellow team's ink is quite concentrated, so I ink a new path for us on my next return. That leads me to the inklings with a charged Bubbler, which gets me a couple of splats, stopping the Rainmaker in the process.

I decide to carry the Rainmaker, being next to it, and, after a bit of trouble with a wall, push it back to a decent position, but not too far. I super-jump back but, as I start the jump, I see an Inkstrike aimed at where I'm landing. I think I'm a gonna, but I guess the ink swirls outwards, and I land in the eye of the Inkstrike. I survive! Not for long, but longer than I expected.

Yeah, I chose completely the wrong time and tactic with that jump towards the Rainmaker. I dunno what I was thinking. I come back to ink the third path, for convenience, which again finds me a yellow inkling to splat and the Rainmaker to recover. I find another splat on the flank, and push forwards, Bubbler popped, in support of a Rainmaker that has already been dropped. It's good that I neutralise the Suction Bomb, but I'm still in the wrong place.

I go back to be in the right place, and take a direct hit from an Inkzooka in support. That probably helps a lot more than my still poor Disruptor throws. I grab the Rainmaker again, but don't get far. The Inkzooka easily beats the Rainmaker's blast for speed, but I get some revenge with the impressive range of a charged Rainmaker.

With ten seconds to go, we just need to keep the Rainmaker out of yellow tentacles, and that happens even without my help. A pretty convincing victory for us.

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Tags: console, hammerhead bridge, rainmaker, splatoon, wii u, zink mini splatling

Good moves and bad in Rainmaker (10-8, Zink Mini Splatling)

That Disruptor throw wasn't too bad a move. Running backwards in to the Splat Bomb was pretty bad, though. Trying to splat the Inkzooka would be a good move, but not when she's on our team, and doing so lets the other team burst the Rainmaker Shield, splatting us both. That one's one me.

Flanking the green team as we recover the Rainmaker works well, and forging a path ahead isn't such a bad idea. It's a terrible idea of my squidmate to head up the side corridor, though, as it forces you down one route, which is also a choke-point. Of course, we lose the Rainmaker and are in a horrible position.

It's a good idea to ambush the super-jumping inkling, but maybe I could have squidded down early to hide in the ink. The splat goes the wrong way. I like that side route, and will keep using it. Running in to a really obvious Suction Bomb isn't going to stop me either. Directly supporting the Rainmaker has me diverting, though.

I don't know where the Rainmaker goes. I would turn back to look for it, but I have my tentacles full keeping the path ahead purple. I am trusting my squidmates to recover the Rainmaker and make use of the ink I'm spreading. I even get a couple of splats, assisting a squidmate with a third. But the Rainmaker was grabbed by the green team and moved in the wrong direction.

We get the Rainmaker back nice and quickly, and I head back to the other side of the underpass nice and quickly, getting two splats nice and quickly too. It helps that a green inkling was launching an Inkstrike, and I imagine his splat puddle covered his squidmate a bit. But still the purple Rainmaker is reluctant to squid forwards. Why, squidmate, why?

My timing with the Mini Splatling may have been a bit off when going back for the Rainmaker, but the Bubbler was popped at just the right moment. I help burst the Shield and move to grab the Rainmaker, to push it forwards aggressively for once, but a squidmate beats me to it. And then heads up the side corridor again. Dammit.

The move fools the green team briefly, but as soon as he reaches the chokepoint he is quickly splatted. I move up the short route to try to recover the Rainmaker, and although I stop the green push my aim lets me down against a silly jumping inkling long enough to be stopped myself. At least I stop the jumping too.

Time is running out, but at least we have one last push with the Rainmaker, and it's taken out of that corridor. But it's still not pushed forwards. Maybe the green team are just really good at defence. Either way, with only minor frustrations, it was quite a fun battle.

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Tags: console, rainmaker, splatoon, urchin underpass, wii u, zink mini splatling