Topic: Splatoon 2

Is it just me, or is Spawning Grounds way easier to win in than Marooners Bay? I win almost every time in the former, but die constantly in the latter. It's pretty darn annoying, because I feel way less motivated to play Salmon Run on that map if I know there's a good chance I'll lose and have my experience/level bar go down. Maybe I just need to learn the ins and outs of the map a little more, but there definitely seems to be something about it that makes me lose a lot more.

Also, the Octobrush is really growing on me. It made hitting A- in Splat Zones a lot easier. Definitely gonna be trying it out in the other modes.

@KirbyTheVampire Definitely. Spawning Grounds is a very average level; it has its difficulties, but Marooner's Bay's a far worse. The only way up to the top is through the long way or through those fan platforms, which are difficult to coordinate amongst your teammates no matter how mindful you are. Plus, when the tide is high, I keep falling into that pitfall right next to the basket. What a place for it!

But this is all a recurring theme of Salmon Run, it's supposed to feel like that cruddy job with the greedy manager who plays creepy music and won't ever meet with you in person. Nothing is comfortable or convenient, you're given only whatever tools are lying around. You're not even paid by the hour or per comission, but by a weird reward system based on your overall performance. Everyone in Inkopolis Square probably judges you for walking in. This is all reflected on the levels too, which are places that probably weren't intended for what you're doing right now.

And let me just say, the weapons right now, except for the splat roller, they're all terrible! The blaster especially, can't handle the little guys and a lot of the bosses, and can't handle being surrounded. If I could voice chat with these randoms, I'd tell one of them him to stick with me at all times to mow down the little ones while I shoot.

Well so far my best mode has been TC as I've lost once half way through B-. Haven't played much of either of the other modes as of yet but my worst last time was TC.

Also picked up a pro controller yesterday as Toys R Us sent me a coupon for 10$ off for spending more then 75$. 60$ was easier to swallow. Haven't had the chance to use it much but boy do my hands feel better. Even if you have small hands like I do I recommend you get one if you can just for this game. With all the quick movements this game requires those small joycons just don't cut it.

This ranking system is getting more weird. I hadn't played Splat Zones before today, I won all of my C- matches and got automatically promoted to B (bypassing C, C+ and B- ranks).

@Spoony_Tech In general if you're using TV mode enough the pro controller is a must have accessory, not just for Splatoon 2.

@Nicolai Most people don't realize they can ink the sides of the fan platforms when they're raised up, so that they don't have to be on it to climb. The real difficulty of the Bay is simply high tide, where half of the stage is grates that force you to walk.

And there are,of course, many complaints over Salmon Run's limited availability... but frankly, the game in it's current state is simply not cut out for extended play. To make it freely available would mean cutting out the rewards, and doing that would drastically cut the amount of players, those who are more interested in making progress in multiplayer. They'd mostly only play Salmon Run as a diversion for a round or two.

The game just needs to be fleshed out a lot more in terms of progression, mechanics and stages before it can truly stand on it's own two feet.

Has anyone else tried out the Dualie Squelchers? I fricking love them. They just seem very good all-around, and the extra range more than makes up for the loss in fire rate. The sub and special are also pretty good, though I think Burst Bombs would make an excellent sub for them.

I also got a three-slot shoe with Drop Roller, so I really don't need to add slots anymore.

Anyways, I'll change my name to NL Nintendoer if we're still doing a clan, and I'll probably add some of you guys either way. So, are we still doing a clan?

Oh, and Team Mayo for life. Ketchup is gross.

Has anyone of you ever been to a real-life Splatoon event/tournament?
Yesterday I went to one in Berlin. Sadly it was too late for me to register (accidently found out about it the day before), all players from the four teams were present.
But it was interesting to see all the Inklings in real life and talk about the game. There was one kid, some teenagers, one or two older guys but mainly people in their 20's. And it was almost balanced gender-wise. One of the female players even came in cosplay, even with a handmade inktank!

The event was TW-only, limited in weapon choice and sub abilities were turned off.
Obviously they set up a room in the shoal. What didn't work well though: Many matches had to be repeated because often players would disconnect. It didn't really work how Nintendo showed it in their ads or at E3.
Also, apparently there's no spectator mode in local rooms. Which begs the question: did Nintendo hold the Splatoon2 tournament at E3 in online mode?

From what I saw, I don't think many of them could compete with our NL players though. Apparently most of them prefer to play TW over the ranked modes and not everyone had played the original either. But it was still interesting getting to know some squids in real life.

Yeah I'll change my name now. Nice drawing btw! 👍
By 'Sheldon's testing ground' you mean just the regular testing ground that's also available in your inventory, right?

@Maxz Yeah Splatoon contains a lot of micromanagement. You have multiple tasks to choose from during each match, which probably makes it so fun and exciting. I think making the right decision/choice in every given moment is basically what determines whether you win or lose. I can't think of any game that comes close to this...

@Spoony_Tech Totally agree, the Pro Controller is a must for this game! Some might be content with the Joycons, but once you've played with a Pro Controller, there's really no going back.

@Nintendoer I just bought the Dualie Squelchers a few hours ago, haven't tried them in a real match yet. But at the shooting range they felt just like the Dual Squelcher, which is lovely.
This could become my main (again), just have to get used to the doge roll. It threw me off several times when I tried the Dualies because my Splatoon moveset/hand-eye coordination just doesn't include my Inkling rolling when I hit 'jump' while shooting. ^^

I just don't like the Tenta Missiles, personally I find them pretty useless. I almost never get splatted by them myself and they take way too long to take effect. I prefer specials like the Splashdown that take effect almost immediately.

@Octane Well I guess you love the Tenta Missiles then? IMHO They basically work the same way as the Inkstrike did.

@shani Is that the jetpack one? What's the N-ZAP paired with in Splatoon 2?

@Octane Nope, that's the Inkjet (which I also like).
These are the Tenta Missilies. The only difference - due to the lack of a second screen - is that you have to aim at enemies in sight (although they can still be far away, even near their own base) and that you can target multiple enemies at once.

From now on, enemies shall only see [NL] shani when they get splatted by me.

@shani I'd absolutely love to go to a Splatoon tournament, but I doubt I'd have the time to and there's no tournaments near me at all.

You should really try the Dualie Squelchers out. They take my favorite part of the Dualies, the roll, and pair it with the Dual Squelcher's range for an awesome combo.

I guess it's settled then. My enemies will now see me as NL Nintendoer.

Edit: Scratch that name thing. My username is apparently too long to also fit NL in it.

@Octane N-ZAP '85 has Suction Bombs and Ink Armour, which is okay with me. Don't think there are any other sets yet.

Started playing Ranked last night and got a jump from C- to B- in Rainmaker. I've been using Respawn Punisher, which is an interesting ability. It might be a dubious choice with its double-edged effect (although I understand why they did that - mutual kills are common), but I just like knowing every kill I get counts a bit more. I wonder though, if "assists" count towards the kill counter, do they also count for activating this ability?

@Nintendoer Yeah I'll definitely do that this evening! The Dual Squelcher was one of my three favourite weapons in Splatoon (and #1 in lifetime ink coverage ahead of N-ZAP '85 and Custom Jet Squelcher), so it could easily become my main again.
So far my Splatoon 2 favourites - in decending order - have been the Splattershot, Splattershot Pro and Tentatek Splattershot. But that's only because I didn't really have much opportunity to play with my beloved Squelchers yet.

@Nintendoer Might I suggest NLntendoer? Or NL N-doer?

I'm learning new things every day!

I wonder if Nintendo Life will do something for EGX this year. They did tournaments for 2013-2015 (maybe before then too, my first EGX was 2013 so I don't know), 2015 of which had the big tournament being Splatoon but of course Nintendo's presence at EGX last year was nonexistent (I didn't go but noticed this was the case).

Has anyone else read the salmon run employee manual yet? It's pretty much perfect.

@Nicolai Maybe I'll try NLtendoer, but I might just keep it as is.

@Zyrac Respawn Punisher doesn't affect those you splat, it affects those who splat YOU. Therefore I find it works best for those who like to support from the rear; the extra time the opponent takes to seek you out and eliminate you could very well lead to their undoing. Oh, and in addition to taking longer to get back in the fray, you also lose more special gauge when affected by this.

Wasn't sure whether I missed an important feature or you didn't know that it was available in the inventory too. ^^ It was same in the original, btw.

Huh, apparently Splatoon 2 was also present at ComicCon?

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/891091754019049472

Being able to scrub the splatfest tee for a reduced price is amazing! Looks like I'm going to grind turf wars this week to get ability chunks.

@shani I live in a small town so there aren't really any tournaments or anything of the sort near me. And my Splatoon team is all European for the most part anyways
Also the tournament at E3 was through LAN by the way so that they had a secure connection. (And spectator)