Topic: Splatoon 2

@Tsurii Well, considering Run Speed Up also increases your running speed while shooting, I'd consider it rather important to have but then again, I'm building a set I literally dubbed 'Mobility Set' and it's got not a single slot in there lol. Swim Speed Up, I, personally, consider pretty useful to have. As you certainly have already noticed, Turf War is basically a race for the central area. It's also rather useful for dodging enemy fire or quickly closing on unsuspecting opponents.

In times like these, I'd highly recommend you look up the stats on loadout.ink. I think I already mentioned it to you before but it's really great for looking up the stats and thinking about your best gear set without wasting your precious ability chunks.

@NapalmPsalm I'd love for Mahi-Mahi to return, it's one of my favourite stages! Also Flounder Heights definitely has to return. And Urchin Underpass, Camp Triggerfish, Hammerhead Bridge (although Manta Marina is somewhat similar), Museum d'Alfonsino, Piranha Pit and Ancho-V games.

I'm really glad that Moray Towers is part of Splatoon 2. And while Port Mackarel and Kelp Dome never were my favourites, I'm glad they returned too.

@NapalmPsalm Saltspray Rig has always been my favorite in Splatoon 1 and I really hope it returns. Camp Triggerfish, too. Such great memories. Never've been to Mahi Mahi Resort since I stopped playing around the time Hamerhead released so I can't say much about the ones past that. I really should return to Splatoon 1 before the servers inevitably shut down. Wonder if anybody still plays that.

@NapalmPsalm I neeeeed Camp Triggerfish.

@shani Except we still have Squid Beakons. Inkstrike could easily have worked the same way.

I have to say, I really hated the Kraken. If you got too close to someone who had it ready, you were just dead. That's no fun, and the nerfs didn't do all that much to help it. The special weapons are the number one reason I consider Splatoon 2 to be better than the first game.

@GoldenGamer88 Oh man, I forgot about Saltspray Rig! I feel like that stage got a lot of unnecessary on the webz. It was such a rat race to take control of the large area in the back. It was always fun to try and hold that down.

@shani So basically you want every stage back? But you are right. A lot of fun memories on all those stages. I actually fully expect Walleye Warehouse to make a come back since it seemed to be a fan favorite.

@NapalmPsalm I mostly camped down in the lower quarters, especially that little square to the south, inbetween the two spawns. But the upper area brawls were fun, too.

My top favorite is Starfish Mainstage. I love how the side paths are right by the center area, and I feel that the stage layout works great for all ranked modes. My other favorites are Sturgeon Shipyard and Kelp Dome. I like Moray Towers as well, but just not for turf war. Never liked The Reef, though.

And yes, Camp Triggerfish needs to come back! Wouldn't mind Saltspray, either.

@NapalmPsalm Hehe yeah most of the stages, that would be lovely. And tbh I don't see any reason why not. The more the merrier, having ~ twice as many stages would definitely enrichen the experience. Besides, most of the new Splatoon 2 stages feel very one-dimensional and similar to each other - or just less 'experimental' as someone here once put it.

@Tsurii Yeah that's the one. I used to dislike Mackarel a bit, but now I like it, the changes they made definitely improved it. And Kelp Dome is definitely one of the better stages, there are just so many others (from the old game) that I like even more. ^^

@Zyrac That's true, but they had to change Superjumping anyway. Still, if I'm not mistaken there are less weapons with beacons than in the first game and that could partly be because of the lack of a second screen.
But I wasn't 100% serious anyway. I mean I did actually believe that it was the only reason before the game was released, but after playing it I too believe there are multiple reasons and not just one.

Interesting, which weapons did you use in Splatoon 1? I found the nerfs of the Kraken to be very effective. Before the nerfs it was just as you described it, but after those (maybe after the third or so) it became just a normal special and not that many people used it anymore. At that point I started using the Kraken for the first time (with the Custom Jet Squelcher) and it was great, but never felt overpowered. You were quite vulnerable with the Kraken in its final form if you played against skilled people who knew how to counter it.
And tbh the Baller is almost the same as the Kraken, except it can't spin and can explode, but only once.

And I disagree on the special weapons in general. Most specials in Splatoon 2 are dull and useless to me (not that I loved every special in the first game, but there were more than one or two that I liked)...

I hated Moray Towers when I started playing, but now it's one of my favorites. MT and Port Mackerel always seem to have the most dynamic matches. All the stages are good in my opinion. The only one that doesn't do anything for me is Kelp Dome. It's too broken up for my liking.

@shani I'd love to get almost all the old stages back, maybe that way we could at least get a three stage rotation.
I'm going to have to side with @Zyrac on the specials. The first game's specials were essentially "click to splat/win" and "get out of jail free cards" because they had little to no time for start up. The shield would get you and other out of trouble instantly, same goes for the kraken minus teammates. Yeah you could get pushed back, but if that happened you could turn and leave and not get punished. With ink armor and baller, the equivalents, could be broken and punished, or punished before they went active since they have longer start ups. Plus the baller only gets one chance to splat people. Inkstrike covered a large area that you didn't have to be close to. Its equivalent, the tenta missiles can be manipulated by the target and takes more time to shoot off with less ink coverage. I'd also say the splash down is an equivalent that you have to get right in peoples face to use. So yeah, they aren't nukes now but they are now used to support your set instead and require better strategy which I find more fun and less frustrating. I guess you could say they fit into the pace of the game better now... I just went on a rant and don't even remember what I was trying to say now. Yeeeeeeep

Edit:Okay, so basically I sit in the middle of you two.
TL;DR - They are more "dull" but they add a better pace to the game in my opinion.

@shani I used chargers, squelchers and especially the N-ZAP in the first game. Admittedly, I wasn't as good back then, but I felt the Kraken nerfs never did that much to mitigate the "get near me and die" factor. Sure, the Baller provides the same immediate invincibility, but it doesn't kill you for being there when it happens. Indeed, one key difference is that none of Splatoon 2's specials will kill you before you even see them coming. And I don't think they're dull at all. On the contrary, they're more interesting because you actually have to use them intelligently.

While I reject that notion in general, it only applied to the Bubbler (a weapon for cowards ) and the Kraken at best. Painting all the first games' specials with the same brush seems pretty harsh when it only applies to 2/10 specials (and only if people were using them wrong).

Besides, the same could be said for the Baller and Ink Armour. The small delay doesn't prevent them from being used as a panic button, you just have to activate them a little earlier (or move away an inch before activating them).
And just as the Baller and the Armour, Kraken and Bubbler could be countered, so it's not like they were invincible. You could totally punish anyone who misused the Bubbler and Kraken as a panic button by just being better at the game than them. If they're panicing, they probably don't know what they're doing, therefore it's easy to push them back (as long as you have a high-firerate weapon) or to just evade for a few seconds until their special runs out and then surprise-splat them (they never expect that).

I find the baller way more dangerous than the Kraken. You don't even have to stand next to it to be splatted, whereas the Kraken could only splat you in close range.
Meanwhile, yeah the Tenta Missiles are pretty useless, but it's not like the Inkstrike was a killer special. Apart from Turf War I found it pretty useless too...

I really don't mean this in a condescending way - after all, I don't consider myself to be a top Splatoon player at all - but that just sounds like you never learned how to deal with the Kraken. I baited Kraken-players numerous times in the first game and easily splatted them because of their overconfidence in that special. If an opponent feels invincible, it usually means they they're the most vulnerable and become an easy target.
I actually enjoyed splatting Kraken-players a lot, but it was only possible after the Kraken was nerfed several times. Just take a look at the version history:

1.3.0
▼ The Kraken can now be pushed back by firing directly at it to add counter play towards it.
2.2.0
▼ Increased the amount of turf needed to be inked for filling the Special Gauge: 180p → 200p
▼ Added a period of 0.75 seconds before players can attack again after using Kraken.
▼ Increased the area that Kraken takes damage according to the size of its body.
▼ Increased the amount of knockback when Kraken users are hit from above or below.
2.9.0
▼ Base duration: 6 seconds → 5 seconds
▲ Maximum extra duration added by Special Duration Up: 40% → 60%

And as a very late Kraken player I can assure you that misusing the Kraken as a panic button never leads to success (at least not in the higher ranks).

@shani Yeah, I inked (kill me) those specials as a whole in a pretty broad brush. I'll admit that. That is also why I put the ""s there, implying a little hyperbole(oxymoron much?). I have yet to be able to use ink armor as a panic button though. My teammates might get it, but I end up getting splatted before I even get the armor. Bubbler saved my butt a lot. Not saying you can counter it, but think about it. Bubbler is used so I continue to shoot at them pushing them out of range so they can't get me but I could easily be flanked. That will last the entire time the bubbler is out unless you push them off a ledge. Now do the same thing with ink armor. Instead of being pushed back they their armor breaks and you splat them right away and you don't have to worry about your 6 like you did with the bubbler. Granted, everyone will get the ink armor so you have to worry about that.
Sure, the baller has the wider range to kill but you get one shot and you have to stop moving. Kraken can get one person at the bottom of a ledge, then get the person at the top of the ledge, and move on. Yeah you can push it back, but what the person is sneaky with it(like how you have to be with the baller) and not using it as a panic button? I've seen many team wipes with the kraken. The baller? I haven't seen one yet personally, and it is most likely only going to happen if everyone is grouped together on a tower in TC. Same example as the bubbler here, you can push the kraken back but you have to do it the entire time of the special but at least the baller will break(though that is a lot harder to do now).
I don't think you're giving the tenta missiles enough credit. In ranked it is great for distracting and make the enemy team scatter from the objective. I'm not gonna defend the bubble blower though as I think it is the "worst" special.
Edit: The inkstrike was great for instantly taking a splat zone, clearing the tower, or cutting off the rainmaker.
Edit2: I don't feel like I'm defending the new specials like I set out to do.

I haven't fully read everyone's comments yet - I'm a bit pushed for time but I'll get round to it - but I just wanted to say I'm pretty firmly in the the pro-new Special camp, especially in their new 1.30 form.

The maps, I feel are more intelligently designed, but less exuberant and imaginative. I'm hoping they'll get a bit more ambitious as time goes on. I think the industrial yard one is my favourite. It's a good balance of solid, basic design, with a few interning gimmicks thrown in to spice things up (sponges and moving platforms).

Looking back on the original stages, there are actually a few that I hope don't return. I'm not a fan of SS Rig - it felt way to easy to hang onto the Splatzone forever there (and did it even have a Rainmaker map?). I also didn't really like the resort, as it was generally way too exposed in the centre. I think my favourite way the apartment block one, which has similarities with The Reef (but felt completely different). The under/over section at least appears in both.

I also think Manta Maria should be given some credit for bucking the trend of levels that, while well designed, play it a bit too 'safe'. I think it's really fun and interesting and well balanced. I can't wait to see what the new level is like when it drops. I quite like the aesthetic. It reminds me of a certain scene in Terminator.

@NapalmPsalm Bubbles are great for shielding teammates from enemy fire, and with proper support and grouping they can take splat zones in a blink. Of all the specials it is the one most reliant on teammates to get the most out of, but that doesn't make them bad.

@Maxz Flounder Heights, you mean?

I'm a bit iffy on Bubble Blower. They're a more technical special than the other Specials, which are usually pretty simple to use, but also offers some pretty decent advantages.

We have a Splatfest, people! From October 7 to 8 16:00-16:00 CEST we have .... (and no, I wish I was kidding) .... Toilet roll should hang IN FRONT versus Toilet roll should hang BEHIND! Seriously ... this is what they went with? I don't even hang up my toilet paper, it sits on a shelf next to the toilet. Umm ... in front is more pleasing to the eyes and I'd be supporting my Pearlie. So yeah, I think it's pretty dumb. That's europe only btw, don't know about NA.

Hoping for a sp00ky Halloween Splatfest for NA.

Favorite stages:

-Kelp Dome: Love the dynamic levels in this place. There's a high risk vs. reward dynamic going on.

-Manta Maria: Up and over. This map has lots going on for vertical cover, but never feels unbalanced toward defending or attacking teams.

-Port Mackerel: The narrow hallways and sponges are lots of fun for close and long range alike.

-The Reef: My favorite of the new stages. Dense with narrow halls and wide openings. I like the layered effect with the bridge and area with the car. Plus, there's drink machines right at spawn.

I'd like to see Urchin Underpass next.

Oh yeah, I saw that one.
http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/768279-luigis-death-stare

@Tsurii Yeah, I hate to put in on, too. But that discount on ability scrubbing (20000 to 2000) is worth it. You should be getting loads of Ink Resistance Up from that tee, Splatfest Tees are from Squid Force.