Topic: Splatoon - OT

@Rexcalibr: I can't really say this for sure since I have little experience with rollers, but I assume it would make more sense to learn it with a shooter weapon since - I think - a roller doesn't require as much precision as a shooter does. But maybe a roller expert like @TheXReturns for example can say more about that.

Japan's next and first Splatfest of the year has been announced!

Which do you want more?
A perfect body or a perfect intellect?

@shani @DreamyViridi I hope so... As of this post I'm at A 66 (yeah, I dropped another rank. If that's not enough, I got as low as A 50 before things started to kind of work out for me). A Rank is kind of easy, really (because I'm more skilled than the average A rank player) so at least I can chug along and eventually get to A+ Rank (and even to S).
The problem I have with Splat Zones is that it doesn't really seem to work well with my weapon of choice (if it does, then somehow it doesn't work with the stage... sometimes). Sometimes I like to stay back and defend our zone (unless it's one zone, like in Hammerhead Bridge) because I can get too reckless and get splatted if I force myself in (well, I do it when I have backup and other players with me, but you can never really rely on them). And it's really hard to get a comeback in Splat Zones. You can't even be happy when you take the lead at the beginning of the SZ matches because that will not even matter in the long run. Rainmaker allows you to use the whole stage in your favor; no chance of breaking out when the enemy keeps coming? Try to get the Rainmaker and head for the nearest out-of-bounds area. Even with the current score, it gives your team another chance to start all over. In Tower Control, moving the tower a bit towards the goal can actually help a lot... since the tower moves back to the center is just like moving the Rainmaker to the OoB area... which is like a fair chance for the team that is lagging behind. SZ doesn't have any of that. Of course, it's difficult to gain a comeback across all modes in general; I just think SZ is just a do-or-die affair. It's no more a game of "secure the zones!" but "push the other team back to their spawn point!"
That's just what I think about it.

@Vee_Flames: Yeah that's true, comebacks are a lot easier in the other two modes. But it's still possible, that's what I was trying to say. Actually I kinda like that because it's a harder challenge to come back. So while the probability may be lower, it feels more rewarding when it works.
From my experience when you don't have the zone(s), you're in a big disadvantage and have to give everything to get it back. But once you're able to keep it for more than just a few seconds, you're team gains the big advantage and gets "stronger". So the threshold of gaining control of the game is really higher than in the other modes. But as always, everything stays possible. If the other team is leading and gets even a little complacent or focusses on the wrong things (or maybe the map is big and offers ways around to ambush the enemy), you have to be there to benefit from that. It's still hard but doable.

And when there are two zones, it really depends on the map (and the current situation, of course) how to play it.
On some maps, Walleye Warehouse for example, it makes sense that one player stays at your team's zone while the rest is attacking. Although when you see that the enemies don't break through to your zone and your teammates get in trouble, it makes even sense to abandon your zone temporarily. And of course, there may be times when the enemy's attacking where you need at least a second player to defend your team's zone.
On other maps like Camp Triggerfish, it makes more sense to split up into 2x2. Although on Camp Triggerfish I also have been able to defend my team's zone alone for almost the whole match while the other three were attacking the enemy's zone. If one player finds a good spot that offers cover and let's him defend one zone alone, the other three can constantly keep the pressure on the other zone. That forces the other team to defend their zone all the time. So even if your three players only take the other zone occasionally for a few seconds, slowly you can advance the score, as long as you don't lose both zones and get the penalty on the timer.
That's also something one should always consider, the losing-the-zone(s)-penalty. One shouldn't see it as an obstacle (yes, it is an obstacle, but that's not my point ), but rather as a tactical element. Sometimes there are situations where you just have to risk everything and even let yourself get splatted along the way, just to win the zone temporarily so that the enemy gets the timer penalty. If there wasn't a timer, it wouldn't make sense to take all that risk to take the zone. But sometimes you just need to disrupt the game of the opponents (e.g. when your team struggles to take over control and gets splatted too often) and if you're lucky, you keep it even longer and it will gain you an even bigger tactical advantage that you planned for. But surely, since there's more risk involved, it doesn't work all the time.

Of course all of this is only taken from matches that I played and doesn't apply to every single match. I could be wrong in several instances, hell, I'm not even rank S. ^^ But since I have played an awful lot of SZ (I don't know why, maybe because I had played too much RM after that mode was released - I think it started when Hammerhead Bridge came out), I thought I'd share my experience.
There also are random factors that I left out like how both teams behave, who makes what mistakes etc.

I feel like with SZ it's even more important to read the game and make the right assessment. Keeping an eye on the map and on everything that is happening generally is always important, but it seems like it's even more important in SZ.
And yeah, I think it's best to have a weapon for every single map/mode combination.

@Shani You do know I've never used the Gyroscope, right? XD

@Rexcalibr I've made it to S rank without the Gyro, and this is the first shooter that I've actually gotten into, so it's not as if I have a great history with them. I'd hardly call myself a roller expert, but three tips for improving your game: First, you'll have to accept that Rollers will be nothing more than acceptable in Splat Zones. Rainmaker is where Rollers truly shine, so try to improve at that mode. Second, I'd suggest switching to either the vanilla Carbon Roller, or the vanilla Splat Roller, as both of them offer much more range than the Krak-on is able to offer, with Burst/Suction bombs respectively. Thirdly, try to get Stealth Jump. It's surprisingly effective, when Super-Jumping into enemy territory for a sneak attack. You may also want to run a Quick Respawn/ Quick Super Jump build, to minimize fallback from your deaths. (As a roller, you will die quite often). Hope it helps, and keep on rolling.

@shani: Ah well... I kind of considered Aerospray RGs to be idk... "newb" bait as many people who use the weapon not because they like its traits but because they think it's an automatic insta-win. That, along with previous experiences with its users, made me iffy on it. I now realise that not every Aerospray RG user is someone who is blindly following the ol' bandwagon.

Also, like XReturns, I'm a control-stick using S Ranker btw.

@DreamyViridi: The Aerospray RG was my weapon of choice for months,I swore by it.It felt like whenever I tried something else it was vastly inferior to that bad boy.Eventually though I tried the .52 Gal Deco and loved it,it felt just right,perfect for the way I play.I even went back to try the Aerospray again but it didn't feel right no more.I felt considerably weaker with it.Now though I use the Octoshot Replica,I think I'm just going to stick with that now even if I'm not a lover of the Inkzooka,it can be more trouble than it's worth sometimes.If only it had the Inkstrike it would be the perfect weapon for me.

@OorWullie: Yeah, of the Gals; the .52 Deco's my favourite. The mix of fire rate and damage is just right for me as far as the longer range shooters go but I don't like Splash Walls so I tried the .52 Gal Deco and had a good time. I agree on the Octoshot Replica. I will be using it regularly just because I really like its design but a different Special wouldn't have hurt, right? It'd be perfect for me if it had the Bubbler; total bias since the Splattershot Jr. is more or less my main to-go weapon.

I ranked up twice...and only won one game in the process. I believe I'm starting this fest right!

@TheXReturns @DreamyViridi: Interesting, I didn't know that! From what I had read online, I assumed it would be impossible. Seems like its not.

I didn't have time to play much. Almost at defender. From what little I seen it seemed like teams are about even in both popularity and wins. This one might be close.

I hate the fact I haven't been able to play online since summer. I live by myself and I only have my mobile that I use to share the internet since it's so much cheaper. Does anyone know if there's a way to use mobile tethering to play online on Wii U? I have unlimited data (like most in Finland), 50 download, 20 upload but I guess there's something that prevents me from playing online with my 4G connection. I can download updates, receive current map rotation info, etc. but when I try to play it says "Unable to connect to partner's device". I have been able to play a couple of Smash Bros. random 1 on 1 battles online on my 3DS and I found two guys when I tried Mario Kart once, both with no lag. There was one time I could find people in Splatoon too but those were both from Finland like me (at least they had Finnish names) and the match didn't start since there were only 3 players. I have no clue what stops me from playing online. Does anyone have a clue?

Team Past has been destroying me...so Future might lose

Team Past won.

http://mynintendonews.com/2016/01/17/here-are-the-10th-north-...

I knew going in future would most likely lose but I didn't care. I always choose the side I feel most comfortable with except the one time I picked Science over Art. That one I was thinking more kids would choose Art so I didn't go with what I wanted.

The one thing I appreciate about Splatoon is that it puts fun as its highest priority and not content, graphics, etc. While those can be important, I think fun is ultimately the biggest factor in me liking a video game (aside from maybe music because I'm a huge music guy).

With that said, I had fun playing Team Future despite losing 15 matches in a sitting

This is one of the few games I can still have fun while losing.

I wanted this to happen ever since the first Splatfest. Probably won't ever happen, but I hope they stop counting popularity as well. It's cool to see which team was more popular, but I don't think it should count in the final score.

@NintyMan: Yeah, Nintendo needs to fix that. It's ridiculous.... Marie never wins Splatfest anymore, and I'm surprised Nintendo hasn't done anything about it.
I don't care what they do... Remove popularity, leave popularity... Just do something that makes Splatfest more fair instead of just leaving it as Calliefest.

I doubt Nintendo can do anything about that. Should they punish a team for winning?