Topic: Splatoon 2

When does the update go live? 3/2AM like usual?
Speaking of Clam Blitz. We have to see if brushes really have an advantage. If there's a goalkeeper with a middle-long range weapon they probably will have a hard time. Depening on the map of course.
Ink Mines will help a lot. Placing them at entrance points to the goal.
I personally wouldn't rely on Chargers as Goalkeeper. If Brushes are on their way, you would really need a competent player.

@Caldorosso-E Maybe not as a goalie, but perhaps a charger could watch over known clam spawn points to both deny them to the enemy and cover teammates moving to grab them. A Splatling would probably be better suited as a goalie, particularly the Heavy Deco.

@Caldorosso-E @meleebrawler Yeah, I think chargers should probably be mids so they have a little more room to move around. That way you can turn around to protect the goal and pic off anybody trying to stop your forward. I can see squiffers being great goal keepers though.

@meleebrawler Playing goalie with the Heavy Splatling Deco is exactly the strategy I was thinking of going for myself.

Here's an official Tumblr post that explains the mode a bit more and includes a demonstration video. The real shocker here is that the L button actually does something.

Are positions such as 'goalkeeper' actually assigned, or are people just expected to assume them and play to that particular role?

@Maxz Nah, we're just talking strats. "Goalkeeper" is no more a position than "charger aiming at the Splat Zone". You can and should be flexible, of course, but everyone has their Plan A.

@Zyrac Thanks for posting that link! That did feel fairly staged though, unless only one team can have a power clam at a time or only one side can open the goal at a time. I understand if it was "staged" though, can't have too much going on if you are trying to teach people to play.

@Maxz Yeah, no actual position. And positions won't work playing with randoms 90% of the time. Strategies will eventually become a thing. I'm pretty excited.

Other note: Regular clams will hide in your ink with you, but not the super clam. Team wipe could mean a quick death, but not as fast as a quick game of rainmaker. And like Zyrac said, L for throwing clams which means you can use your subs... I figured they would do it this way though.

@NapalmPsalm I think the match in the video is, indeed, pretty obviously staged for the sake of clarity. I imagine real matches getting pretty chaotic, with stuff happening on both ends of the stage at once - something none of the other ranked modes have.

The Baller can be expected to be a great Special in CB. Create a path right to the goal, clear the Goal Keeper.

Oh right, knew there was a reason I wanted to keep this wednesday open from university stuff. Wednesday, what a weird day for an update.

Can't be the weekend, there's a Splatfest.

@Caldorosso-E Oh right, you guys are having Splatfest! And next weekend is Christmas. Busy weekends I see. Well, beggers can‘t be choosers. Hope I remember to play Splatoon instead of Xenoblade tomorrow. Better I replace the cartridges right now.

I wonder if randoms will either waste time back-and-forth passing clams, or hog them?

@meleebrawler I can see people playing hot potato with the super clam. May the trolling begin.

Interesting. The goal is closer to the middle of the map than I thought. Expected it somewhere near the spawn where the Rainmaker goal is. In hindsight that was a stupid thought. That would make the mode totaly slow.

It has a very rugby-like play to it. Can't wait to try it out for real.

I like the idea of a push/pull sort of dynamic that's not centered around one spot/object.

We probably all knew it was coming, but now it's finally confirmed; Off the Hook to get their first live show in February!

And it looks like 'that other pair' might be making a guest appearance too.

With regards to Clam Blitz, I'm starting to get the hang of it. I've just made it out of C- (into B), so it'll be interesting to see how things develop tactically the further up the ranks you go.

It's got a pretty interesting rhythm to it; it seems useful to play somewhat defensively while collecting the mini-clams, so you can actually accumulate enough for the mega-clam. But once you've got the mega-clam, you need to drill a pretty big whole in the opposing team to be able to successfully deliver it and then capitalise on the open basket.

It definitely seems like one of the modes where Voice Chat would be particularly useful, but not to the extent (as I was worried) that it doesn't work without it.

Also, the claims that Splatoon 2 is really just 'Splatoon 1.5' are now looking pretty weak. New PvE mode, new competitive mode, new and massively improved story mode, League Battles, all new Specials, new subs, new weapons, new gear, new gear abilities, new stages, new customisation options, etc. And more to come too.

It really is a fantastic game.

Clam Blitz is slower than expected. It's probably the slowest of all Ranked modes. But if you don't pay attention the game can turn pretty quickly.
I had 3 team members in front of our goal that couldn't stop an enemy to burst the goal and throw some clams in it... for some reason. lol (B Rank) On the other hand I was able to sneak in and burst the enemy goal. We won with 1 point lead with 15 seconds left +overtime. ^^
Love the new mode. Voice chat would be great but only with a team you know. Best tactic would be to stack 9 clams and get the last one at the goal. Talking is very important. With strangers it would probably be chaotic, especially in Europe where not everyone is speaking English fluent enough or at all.

Slosher Deco and Walleye Warehouse are coming tomorrow.

Official English announcements have been much more timely as of late, which is nice. Would be even nicer if they said what sub and special that thing has, though.

Played Clam Blitz for a bit but haven't quite gotten out of the C ranks yet. It's a slightly frustrating task given that half the players have no idea what they're doing. A mode with rules this complex could really use a proper tutorial; you can't trust people to learn by themselves before jumping in.