Topic: Splatoon 2

@GoldenGamer88 And that's time spent not playing Salmon Run, since that doesn't level you up. I'm at level 32 myself, and I used XP multipliers pretty consistently up until level 30.

It didn't take too long for a few people to hit 99,999 VR in MK8D, either. And I remember the devs were quite surprised at how quickly folks reached level 20 in the original Splatoon. I also seem to encounter the same few high-level players every time I play Super Bomberman R... every game has people who seem like they play it 24/7!

@Nicolai Brilliant! Thanks, that'll really help a lot - much appreciated!

@Nicolai Never used those but I've spent almost all of my G multipliers since I was scrubbing so many abilities at that time.

@NaviAndMii
The right abilities on your gear can really make a difference. I'll share my thoughts on which abilities are worth a slot (in my opinion). Some abilities seem good at first but may turn out dissapointing when you find out their effects are mediocre at best.

-Ink Saver (Main):
This ability deserves 1 or 2 regular slots. Unlike the Ink Recovery Up ability it isn't very versatile.
-Ink Saver (Sub):
Useful ability if you often rely on your subweapons.
-Ink Recovery Up:
Hands down one of the best abilities. You should consider spending one main slot on this ability. You splat, you swim, you recover. You want to keep moving around during this proces. Ink Recovery Up prevents you from having to stay at one place for too long.
-Run Speed Up:
Garbage. This ability does not work while you roll or shoot. Only improves movement speed when you walk around like a duck doing nothing at all.
-Swim Speed Up:
Very useful ability. Move faster to your destination. Can be used for strafing around opponents.
-Special Charge Up:
One of the better abilities. Also deserves 1 or 2 regular slots. Using your special more often is good, do I need to say more?
-Special Saver:
Not bad, but not as versatile as Special Charge Up.
-Special Power Up:
It slightly alters how your special works:
http://bit.ly/2idA9ac
I rather spend my slots on Special Charge Up.
-Quick Respawn:
Not bad. Most players will get splatted two or three times each match. Quick Respawn saves a few seconds.
-Quick Super Jump:
A Super Jump shouldn't be used carelessly. I only jump 1 or 2 times each match. Don't find this ability particularly useful.
-Sub Power Up:
It slightly alters how your sub weapon works:
http://bit.ly/2uP8Ska
This really depends on the subweapon you're using. My preferred subweapon is the curling bomb and I like how it's a tiny bit faster.
-Ink Resistance Up:
Superb ability. Stop being a weakling and start being an unstoppable inkling. A friend of mine always complains about how I can take so many hits. Well, this is how. I've spend two main abilities on Ink Resistance Up. The mobility when walking through enemies ink is also nice but situational.
-Bomb Defense Up:
If you don't have at least one slot equiped with this ability you will always be insta-killed by bombs. So it's also worth having.
-Cold-Blooded
Are you constantly annoyed by sensors that reveal your location? No? Neither am I

I'm not going to discus every single unique ability. Most of them have their uses. The only abilities that you should avoid are Tenacity, Respawn Punisher and Object Shredder. Here's how each of these abilities work, should be self explanatory: https://rankedboost.com/splatoon-2/abilities/

Hope this helps!

You might want to check again. Last time I tested this in the testing area, it made running while shooting faster, which makes it pretty viable depending on your weapon.
It makes no difference when rolling, though.

According to the in-game description, it only takes effect after two consecutive death, and only after not splatting anyone. Seems garbage to me, unless anyone here can make a case for it.

Also, I'm curious about why Respawn Punisher isn't viable. i don't know too much about it.

@Sir_Anthony Ink Resistance doesn't let you take more hits, at least not directly. It only reduces the passive damage you take from standing in enemy ink.

@Nicolai I'm a bit confused now over how Respawn Punisher works. The game says it affects opponents who splat you, but Inkipedia now specifically denies this and says it applies to opponents you splat. Either way, the fact that it affects you too makes it a bit dubious. It seems as likely to cause a loss as a win.

http://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-announces-splatoon-2-u...
To all the UK squids here: I so envy you! ^^

@Zyrac Yeah I'd also like to play other games from time to time, but it's just impossible because of Splatoon.

@Sir_Anthony Hm, actually I disagree on some of your remarks (but most of them are spot-on 👍).

Special Charge Up isn't really worth it if your weapon has a high firerate (or a high output like the Sloshers) anyway or if you don't like your special that much. On the other hand, it's definitely useful for weapons with a higher special activation threshold (like the Inkjet).
Special Saver is useful for those weapons that save less than 50% of your special meter when you get splatted - unless they removed this feature in Splatoon 2, idk.
Bomb Defense Up is not bad, but I don't think it's very useful. You'll get splatted by Suction and Splat Bombs anyway unless you had 100% health (which is rare in a fight). I wouldn't waste a single subslot on this ability.
And are you kidding me? Tenacity is one of the best abilities IMHO, probably even the best unique ability in the whole game. Whenever your team is one (or more) squid down - which is constantly the case in Ranked - your special charges up a lot faster. It's way more useful than Special Charge Up because you don't have to do anything for your special to become available.
E.g. while you're in a fight (or standing on the Tower), you can't just ink the ground (instead of shooting at your enemy), you'd be splatted instantly. But Tenacity will fill your special meter up for you and then you can activate your special during that fight and defeat your opponent.

Yeah it definitely speeds up running while shooting, so it's very useful for many or even all weapons.
It's also a must for carrying the Rainmaker IMHO (though Swim Speed Up is even more important, of course).

Well, there goes my use for this ability. Had two spots for it planned but after reading this, I'll have to redo my plan for my gear.

@shani It seems they standardised special gauge loss and instead made the points required to fill the gauge dependent on main weapon. This should even out the usefulness of Special Charge Up a bit, although it's probably still best for slow weapons. I prefer it over Special Saver anyways, because I'd rather just, y'know, try not to die.

Wow! Thanks so much everyone - genuinely really helpful!

@Zyrac mentioned that, when it comes to grinding for these abilities (ie. ability chunks), different in-game clothing brands will commonly roll certain abilities...I did a bit of research & came across this really handy table:

...on this list, when it says 'uncommon' - does that mean '2nd most common'? ..or 'least common'?

(Sorry for all the newbie questions! ..really appreciate all your help!

@NaviAndMii Least common. There's one ability with a high chance, one with a low chance, and the rest are all equal. I shoulda mentioned that.

@Zyrac That's great! I'll have to mull all this info over and go shopping for certain brands for grinding! Haha! Thanks a lot!

I finally got to S rank in a mode, and it's somehow in my worst one, Splat Zones. I'm also very close to Level 30 after 75 hours of playing, so that's fun. How are people Level 50 yet?!

@Nicolai @Zyrac Basically anyone you splat takes longer to respawn and they lose even more from their special gauge than they normally do. The down side is if you get splatted you also take long to respawn and lose more in the special gauge.

I find Respawn Punisher very useful... if you are using mid to long range weapons. This can be a god send in ranked if you act as support instead of going directly for the objective. Having this ability will effect the entire enemy team as long as you splat them and only you (unless you have a teammate using it as well). It is a great trade off if you ask me.

Edit: I won't lie, I don't know how viable it is in the S ranks yet since I'm spending time getting chunks and clothes, as well as a fresh looking piece of gear with punisher on it. As long as you are confident to get more splats than you'll get splatted then it is good to use.

@Nicolai
Odd, I've watched two videos analysing Movement Speed Up in Splatoon 2. Both of them confirmed it doesn't activate while shooting, there was even a side by-side-video! Now I'll have to see this for myself.

Btw Respawn Punisher increases your own respawn time as well as the enemies you splatted. It is a lose-lose situation

@Zyrac
Is that so? I really got the impression I can take a few more hits with this ability equiped. Maybe because I was standing in enemy ink lol

@shani
I misunderstood the effect of Tenacity. Actually that does sound very useful!

Thanks for correcting me guys, guess I learned some new things as well.

@Sir_Anthony I think you are thinking of the ink resistance video where it shows people walking through enemy ink.

Edit 1: Hmmm, I did find this though. I'll have to do more research.

Edit 2: According to Inkipedia it affects run speed while shooting and while you are just running around.
Link

@Sir_Anthony
Always great to talk about gear abilities and get into detailed discussions/conversations about it.
I think this is the part of Splatoon I always nerded out about the most. ^^

BTW in addition to what I wrote above, AFAIR Tenacity also applies when one of your teammates disconnects and you're short-handed the whole time.

Yeah anything else would've really disconcerted me. Not only have I excessively tested this with various weapons in Splatoon 1, I also did the same in Splatoon 2 and the effect is quite noticeable.

@shani I always thought it affected your regular run speed but people always told me it only took effect while shooting. I never really took time to test it, but I used it for strafing while shooting anyway. Now I know it has the bonus effect of carrying the rainmaker and just running around on uninked ground at the beginning when I'm being sneaky or on unikable ground.

Quick Super Jump is useful if you use beakons, or have Splashdown as your special. Does it stack with the Sub Power Up's little known ability to increase the jumping speed for all players using enhanced beakons?

When it comes to whether to use either of the Ink Savers or Ink Recovery, it all comes down to how you use your gear. If you heavily use either your main or sub, savers will save you more downtime in the long run. Only if you use BOTH pieces heavily will Ink Recovery serve you more.

Quick Respawn is pretty much only there for newer players having trouble with the game. Because as seen in the first game, implementing it in any other way just turns it into an arm's race of who equips more and respawns faster.

Bomb Defense can be handy for those who prefer to take vantage points where few mains can reach or are otherwise set on defense. It won't ever prevent fully lethal blasts, but it can mean the difference between giving up a position entirely or only having to nudge slightly.