Online Co-Op in Splatoon 2's Salmon Run Will Be Limited to Specific Times

So they're still at this rotation lark from the first game.

Salmon Run offline requires 2-4 players, not just 4.

I kinda wish they didn't do that. I'd rather just hop on and play when I want.

HOWEVER

You can unlock exclusive content just from salmon run so if the gear is good enough I won't mind the limitation much. Plus, I can always just play with my friends offline.

WHY?

To me it just sounds strange... I mean is there a real reason for this? The only thing I can think of is that they want to have fresh new maps for each session... but couldn't they start with few and expand ?

Hopefully they add it as a full time thing later

seriously never understand this its not exactly a free game.

This is beyond silly!!!!

My biggest issue with the game so far is this. I would see myself probably play Co-op more, but with limited times. Meh. Guess they don't want people to dillute the Turf War, by only playing co-op?

They're doing it to ensure that there are enough players waiting for a game that there will be short matchmaking times.

Splatoon 3 will only be playable on Thursdays.

@Mechageo There won't be. This isn't a good excuse especially since this game will be popular for sure this time around. This excuse doesn't fly this time around.

That time-based limitation is frustrating.

@Anguspuss Good point. Online will be paid for soon and they'll be denying you access to play some of the modes at all times. Plus you've paid for the game. Imagine said you can only play Zelda: BOTW every second day.

I'm super hyped for this game, but after showing off at Treehouse Live, and to now find out it is like splatfest with a limited schedule, is incredibly disappointing. Almost infuriating really, after putting it in our faces like that. Granted you can play locally, like they were doing during the demo, but no one specified that online play would be limited. This will be perfect for my best friend and I, who live in entirely different states...

At least they seems to last at least 24hours, not some stupid 3-4 hours windows that ends up being 3 in the morning in some regions. Unlike, you know,.. the first Splatfest...

@Mechageo Poor and terrible excuse. It's a new mode in a popular online game. There will be people.

Did I understand right that I am not able to play split screen online or offline matches on one console with a friend who doesn't own a switch or the game?

It's hard enough as it is, to get four buddies together at a fixed time without interruption to play something like this - if the scheduling is done by Nintendo though .... I gotta say that is not going to cut it for me.

Still going to play the game, still going to love it (probably) but this is another totally arbitrary and pointless instance of Nintendo screwing with its' customers. I want to say it is disappointing, but I've been at this long enough to fully understand, that Nintendo is never going to go about something straightforward. Every other thing they do comes with a caveat, and for everything great they do, they also demand that we deal with some b*s* laid out in the fine print.

I just wanna - once again - say this: sssiiiggghhhhhh

I don't really see the big deal here considering that unlike Splatfests Salmon Run is much more frequent judging by the schedule they showed in the direct. Also part of me thinks its done to prevent easy farming via save scumming which was a big problem in Splatoon 1

@Mechageo

This game is going to be a smash hit. Being conservative like this is frustrating, and quite frankly, classic Nintendo afraid to even take a minor/non-existent risk.

Umm....but why??

A disappointing and baffling decision.

Hey all,

Though I do agree it's a shame that you can't play it whenever you want , it might be one of the following reasons ;

This is me trying to figure out nintendos thinking, not my opinions . Apologise for the length novel in advance !

1. Possibly the rewards are some of the best , and nintendos thinking is by having it only available it will help with players coming back to the game often to get , at certain times to get that upgrade they really want.

2. To ensure that players come online mostly altogether for salmond run . By knowing it will be on a certain day , they believe that more players will be online, and friends can arrange, to make games easier to find, waiting in lobbies less ?

3 It seems that it is going to be really hard on the higher difficult settings , so I guess like point 2, they want people to know when to be on and arrange with their friends for groups, to avoid loads of failed runs which quickly result in people leaving half way through ; if you have ever played a mmo doing a raid you will know what I mean?
4. Maybe something to do with the server and or capacity ; as the app etc and voice chat will be new , limiting times might be a roll out thing to test the waters for this mode with its dynamic weather etc.
I have no idea if this might require maintenance in between etc

5. Themed runs , like Halloween and holidays etc on certain days , plus maybe the weather , time cycle etc has something to do with this .
6. Part of the overall story for the game, some how this method will tie in with the updates, reveals and spoilers . One can hope .

7. Going in the screen shot from the direct, at least it seems that the runs will be on often - maybe 30 - 50 percent of the time , which at least is something.

8. Best guess is it will be similar to the town hall events in Pvz garden warfare 2 , which opened curtained days and then often had new elements introduced or different objectives ; maybe certain days boss fights only to earn a special piece of gear or cosmetic reward.

9. Then again Nintendo being Nintendo ? If the local offline mode is exactly the same then none of it makes any sense to have it at certain times . Though the local mode may be more like a practice run / limited reward play through which only allows you to select a handful of stages and does not have all the features of the online one .

Better be a decent reason though as people , including myself were stoked for this and a lot of people with commitments just get to play a few minutes here and there

To be clear, is this going to be irregular like Splatfest, or part of the rotating set of modes like the Ranked modes? The latter wouldn't be too bad, the former would be a major letdown.

If it really is only irregular like Splatfest, I'm concerned Splatoon 2 might not have enough to distinguish it from the original. We have a new campaign, new weapons, and proper local play, but without more modes to choose from or some other big features, this doesn't seem much better than the annual reiterations of certain other series of shooters.

Well that's incredibly stupid.

They have to start differentiating between ad hoc multiplayer (everyone in the same room, but with their own gamecard and system) and local multiplayer (one system with multiple players).

Sadly, local co-op and salmon run were my main interests in this game.

I'm fine with it at certain times, stops dead servers and stuff

Do they not have enough servers or something? : S This sounds so stupid

it's wording seems a little confusing, have you guys reached out to Nintendo for clarity?

As a shift worker this is incredibly disappointing as even catching the likes of directs is an issue for me and was looking forward to this mode as a stand out from the first game. Also only switch player I know likely to invest in this game lives in NI while I'm in Scotland so local not really an option. Also assuming split screen with my partner is not an option?

I don't really understand this, but maybe it'll turn out okay. Might make Salmon Run a bit more enjoyable if you can't play it whenever you want.

Hopefully, Salmon Run is available for more than 1 hour a day.

Local play to me is sitting in the living room with my wife or freinds or family to play something....on one console. My wife would love to join me but not for an additional $360.

@Salnax It's more like the latter, though on it's own rotation.

Odd decision, but it appeared to be frequent enough that it won't be super deterring.

For the record, this was known before this direct. Neogaf and Reddit have been discussing the limited times for a while.

This is bs.. it's not convenient to have poo timed exclusively for co-op play.. it's downright farcical.. why be limited? Heck I'm sure most would rather jump onto Gears of War / Horde Mode rather than this bs

I suppose it would be preferred that they locked the rewards away behind paid dlc then!

...................Yeah I'm done with Splatoon 2...one reason the first game got super boring, limiting modes to specific times. I was so ready for this game, this just killed it for me...

It's ridiculous enough that online Salmon Run will be a time limited event; but if it's going be as rare as a Splatfest, that's an absolute outrage.

Also, if you can play 2 player Salmon Run offline, then why not 1 player~? I mean, why not??

Playable at limited times only? It's like our electricity in the UK back in the 1970s.

I CANNOT BELIEVE you need multiple switches for Salmon run locally. That is so completely, arbitrarily anti-consumer that I am definitely not supporting this game. If Nintendo is going to market Switch as a home console how about treating it like one? Smh

I may just cancel my pre-order. I wasn't even looking forward to Salmon Run as much as some of the other modes, but the idea that Nintendo would lock players out of an entire game mode except for select times is just insulting. And we'll be paying for this kind of service next year?

Edit: I read elsewhere that Salmon Run sessions are 24 hours at a time, multiple times a week. I was envisioning 4-hour blocks only, like the old stage rotations. So...I'm a little happier.

How is this news? This was known for a while now.

@Waifu4Laifu Exactly... this makes no sense.

@AyanamiReign They probably don't have servers at all. Every game so far, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, uses peer to peer.

sucks

@ninkza Judging by a lot of comments here, it's news to a lot of people.

I'm still totally going to get the game, I would have bought it without this mode at all because I loved the first one. However, this seems like an odd move. Maybe Nintendo is doing this because the switch is new and has a relatively small user base. They don't want to have everyone jump on the new mode and have the competitive lobbies be empty.

"Have fun only when we tell you."

I still intend to buy Splatoon 2 and enjoy it. I don't really think Salmon Run will be restricted to certain times at launch (especially after hearing people's angery -intentional spelling error there- response) and even if it is, it won't affect me that badly.

Still, I can see this is actually a huge problem (just because I'm apathetic to the issue, doesn't mean its not still a problem) considering how we're paying money only to be restricted from a certain aspect of the game. Maybe it'll be "unlocked" completely once the story mode is finished? That it has to be earned? It looks like its being used to encourage local co-op more than anything else. But yeah, I don't think this is quite the way to do it, if so.

Double post - that music from Marine and Pearl was amazing. I almost cried at my desk at work today because it was so good. Also, anyone else notice how Marine is an Octoling? Like... What's up with that? Lol.

I'm guessing the whole point of Salmon Run is to have an alternative to Splatfests so it's not the same boring turf war every single event. I don't think it was designed as a standard mode as much as a different kind of "special event" to make the fest cycle less boring.

I am actually not buying this game any more, because of this.

I was borderline from the beginning - it looked fun, but kinda more of the same, in a world where Overwatch now exists and fills my team-based shooter needs.

But a PVE mode? That seems novel enough, that seems fun. And it looked challenging too, in the E3 videos.

But now you're telling me that, if me and my friends, who struggle to coordinate our own schedules across several time zones, can't also happen to meet up during whatever times Nintendo allows, we don't get to play together online? Because we don't live in GLORIOUS NIPONLAND where everybody lives close together like a bunch of sardines in a can?

If the concern is in-game loot or something, why not just allow us to play the game normally for some meager currency reward, and then make special time-limited "jobs" for better loot?

Go ink yourselves, Nintendo.

Wasn't all that interested in the game, and the saving grace for mii is limited to 3 waves and certain play periods...welp, hope anyone else enjoys it.

Not a deal breaker for me. Salmon Run looks really fun, reminds me of firefight from the halo games. There's also a ton of other modes to play to occupy my time.

@Alikan Yep, I don't see how a potential issue with one mode is a big deterrent when the rest of the game is very much a bigger, better version of the first (and only keeps growing). Any problems can easily be fixed with enough feedback and demand, in the form of vocal PLAYERS.

No love for split-screen co-op?

I'm a bit disappointed, since I've heard that this mode is one of the more engaging features in the sequel. Seems like another unfortunate instance of Nintendo's enforcement of artificial scarcity, but it's not a big deal - just disappointing.

More offline the better for me lol

Nintendo pulling a Nintendo yet again

https://m.imgur.com/BBBqdHR

According to this image, Salmon Run occurs every other day or two, for an entire 24 hour period. Not too bad, though still nowhere close to ideal.

I think if this mode is more popular, it will be available more frequently.

I can't believe there isn't split-screen co-op. They're basically cornering consumers into convincing their friends to buy Switches and/or games.

reminds me of EASHL Playoffs, I dont mind times things or things to look forward to in games

If it's 24 hours, several days a week, it's not that big of a deal.
What it is a big deal, at least for me, is if the game don't have a split screen co-op mode like MK8 or ARMS. That'd break the game for me. To me local multiplayer is playing with people in the same room on the same console. That's one of the big selling points of the Switch, and they're scrapping it for this game? Disappointed is an understatement.

Curious. What happens when they stop supporting the game? Does the mode just become completely accessible at anytime online? Or... do we lose the mode entirely? That needs to be explained in detail.

Wait.. "just like splatfests?!" Splatfests hardly ever happen in my opinion. I'm very disappointed.☹️
This is probably to promote getting together with friends though.

From their example, it seems like it's available for most of the week, with some days skipped.

For those expecting local co-op, did you miss ANY of the trailers, TV commercials (the montage ones), E3, the previous direct featuring Splatoon and ARMS, the Switch event starting in January, and even the reveal trailer in October? I didn't. There was not one millennial or kid that I saw playing Splatoon split-screen with each other. To be honest, I do not expect it to be there on day one, and I'd temper my expectations if they don't add it down the line. Regardless if they had the Dojo in Splatoon 1.

Sure, the other consoles/PC have Call of Duty and other shooters, but those are more powerful systems and, to be honest again, CoD doesn't have to keep track of as much information as Splatoon does and the Switch is not as powerful a system as a PS4/XBOX One/PC.

Think about the entire map, walls and floors covered in ink, including all projectiles because every ink drop is an object in play until it hits a surface (Splatoon is not a hit scan game like CoD and Battlefield), updating roughly 18~20 times a second for 8 players in standard online and 4 in Salmon Run (going off Splatoon 1's performance, it might be better with 2, but I don't know the exact number, sorry). That's a lot of info to handle if the Switch needs to push that out 60 times a second, for the screen refresh (meaning packet updates and screen refresh is about 1:3) to a split-screen, plus online players! Plus all those Salmonids (spelling?) that are inking the stage as well? Yeah, that's too much to deal with unless Nintendo drops the frame rate to 30FPS. Which happens in 4-player Mario Kart and ARMS. But that is an advantage that Nintendo has over the other consoles, they like their multiplayer games, or their games in general, to run at 60FPS if at all possible.

I feel it is not a good compromise to drop the frame rate or even split the screen, because you can't have both, to get local multiplayer online in Splatoon because it lowers the quality of the game and Nintendo doesn't want that. Lowering frame rate will drop the playability of Splatoon, a game that needs to keep the player informed all the time as fast as possible. Split screen will just chop off visual information, vertically or horizontally, preventing the players from receiving necessary information in order to play the game well. They can potentially bring down the entire team, and that's not fun for anyone. So, reel in those expectations, folks! We may not see what you want until Nintendo releases a more powerful dedicated home console and not a hybrid.

@ThatNyteDaez Considering you can access the game offline, that won't be an issue. But I would assume after not supporting the game by themselves anymore, they either unlock the online or set an automatic timer.

This is why I just can't get behind Splatoon, despite how cool the premise is. Absolutely shoddy online implementation for a multiplayer game.

I'd rather only get to play a few days a week than wait 10 minutes for matchmaking, only to have half the players disconnect.
Though hopefully enough people buy the game to justify having Salmon Run available all the time.

@Salnax But there's NOT 'proper local play'. Nintendo have apparently completely nixed split-screen local play...even though it was there (albeit in a limited fashion) in the first Splatoon. I will still buy and njoy this game...but my excitement for it was actually DULLED by this Direct...not hyped up.

@Fazermint Lool your comment made my day XD

@masterLEON I don't care about local pus online...I just wanted local split-screen offline matches that I could play against mu daughters. They showed they could do it in Splatoon...but not in 2? I was very disappointed to hear this.

Kinda adds to the immersion, I guess. The world of Splatoon has always felt somewhat alive.

I'm against this decision, though.

As annoying as that 'time slot' thing is, it wasn't the deal breaker for me. For me the deal breaker on this game was the lack of split scren multiplayer. Though I do enjoy playing games online I also enjoy playing with friends/ family on games like Mario Kart, Arms & Bomberman when they come over to visit or vice versa. I only know one other friend who has a Nintendo Switch and its highly unlikely my other friends will get one of their own.

I see people posting about how local multiplayer is dead or how they have no need for it. This is fair enough, but also keep in mind not everyones living situation is the same and people enjoy playing their games in various ways. What works for you may not work for somebody else . Though I am sure Splatoon will be fun to play online as I did very much enjoy the 'Splatfest' over the weekend, Im going to have to vote with my wallet on this one .