OVERTIME
A guide by Emil
A guide by Emil
Ever found yourself panicking or losing a game in the last seconds due to the opponents getting just that last splat zone point or wiping your team next to the rainmaker? This guide will explain the idea behind initiative and the mechanics behind overtime. It too will hopefully help you see when to sacrifice yourself for that last point and when not to. The mechanics and tips concern all ranked game modes. Initiative isn't relevant for turf war.
Definitions and mechanics
A team is said to have the Initiative when it just made significant progress concerning the objective and was the last team to do so.
Under significant progress falls:
Splat zones:
Initiative is important because the team having the initiative will always have a chance to win.
If the losing team is holding the initiative the moment game time is up, the game will go into extra time and the losing team will have a chance to secure the victory.
If the winning team or neither team has the initiative, the game is over and no extra time is awarded.
Initiative will last for between 5 and 15 seconds after a team loses control depending on the mode, along with for as long as the team is controlling the objective. For TC initiative lasts 5 seconds, for SZ it lasts 10 seconds and for RM it lasts 15 seconds. This means that, after the team holding both zones loses one or both zones, it has about 10 seconds to regain control of all zones until it loses the initiative.
Any time the team holding the initiative regains control over the objective in tower control or splatzones, the "initiative counter" is reset, meaning it can lose control again for another 5 to 15 seconds before losing the initiative.
In any ranked mode, initiative is important regarding extra time since the team holding the initiative can force the game to go into extra time if they have a worse score than the opposing team. This, however, is not the only importance regarding initiative in SZ and TC.
Splat zones:
Here, initiative is gotten by securing both zones. If the other team had secured both zones before, that team will recieve a penalty, usually a bit less than (100-their score). In the picture below, the team gets a penalty of 18 which is a bit less than (100-78)=22. I believe no explanation is required as to the importance of this penalty as it adds a large hurdle to the opponent's score.
A team receiving a penalty after the other team gains the initiative.
Tower control:
The mode with the shortest time to keep the initiative, Tower Control is still affected by initiative. A pushing team controlling the tower will keep the tower moving forward. If the team is no longer on the tower but still has the initiative (it lasts 5 seconds), the tower won't push further but it will not fall back to the middle either. After the 5 seconds are over it will start moving back to mid unless someone jumps on the tower.
Nobody is on the tower but the tower doesn't fall back as purple still has the initiative
If your team has a worse score and only a few seconds are left on the clock, it is essential to gain and keep the initiative. If your team loses the initiative it will mean an instant loss, so try to keep it at all costs.
Rainmaker:
Even many experienced players I know seem to struggle with the rainmaker mechanics, so be sure to read the initiative bit on this well. Both killing an opponent holding the rainmaker and grabbing the rainmaker yourself gives your team the initiative. This means that dying with the rainmaker gives the opposing team the initiative. As a result, ten seconds before the end of the match, grabbing the rainmaker is a big mistake when ahead! This gives the opposing team a good chance to kill you, seize the initiative and come back! Better is to keep the bubble in a state as shown below. This forces the opposing team to draw close and spend decent time popping the bubble. Of course if you're ahead and in overtime, grabbing the rainmaker gives you the initiative and as a result an instant win.
When ahead, forcing an opponent to grab the rainmaker just before closing time and getting the kill on him is often a safer option than grabbing the rainmaker yourself. Always assess the situation to see if the other team has a possibility to kill you when you grab the rainmaker close to extra time.
Splat zones:
The team with both zones can lose one or even two of their zones and still keep the initiative as long as the other team doesn't get to control both splat zones. After losing one or both zones, the team has the possibility of recapturing both zones at the same time for ten seconds until they lose the initiative during extra time. Ten seconds is enough to travel between spawn and a zone on (almost) all maps. Try and count to ten seconds in your head starting when control over both stages changes so you'll know when the initiative of the controlling team ends. If your team does not have the initiative, you could try and "neutralize" one zone for ten seconds since it kills the other team's initiative. If you are the team that's down in overtime and needs to keep initiative, capturing a zone after ten seconds can be more crucial than getting one or even two kills. Always be aware of the ten second timer and remember that capturing a zone at this time crucial as it will ever be.
Tower control:
Since the initiative counter for tower control is only five seconds and the other team can grab the initiative at any time by getting on the tower, it is essential that at least one person of the team trying to keep the initiative stays on the tower at all times during overtime. Falling off the tower can take more than five seconds to get back up again at higher-up places so be wary of those. If your squid on the tower dies it's usually game over while having initiative so try and kill any rollers/chargers that serve as a threat to a possible teammate on the tower. On the tower it's often a good idea to hide behind the middle pole since it can block shots, though this varies from map to map.
While trying to defend against opponents coming up in overtime be aware of the fact that killing everyone on the tower gives your team an almost immediate victory. A special can be decisive and so can an ambush from two sides. Try to coordinate with your teammates and otherwise keep a safe distance while splatting away at the tower.
I hope you found this guide helpful and learned something about the extra time mechanics and about the initiative. Good luck!
Splat zones:
- Controlling both zones
- Controlling the tower
- Holding the rainmaker
- Killing an opponent holding the rainmaker or forcing an opponent holding the rainmaker to jump off the map.
Initiative is important because the team having the initiative will always have a chance to win.
If the losing team is holding the initiative the moment game time is up, the game will go into extra time and the losing team will have a chance to secure the victory.
If the winning team or neither team has the initiative, the game is over and no extra time is awarded.
Initiative will last for between 5 and 15 seconds after a team loses control depending on the mode, along with for as long as the team is controlling the objective. For TC initiative lasts 5 seconds, for SZ it lasts 10 seconds and for RM it lasts 15 seconds. This means that, after the team holding both zones loses one or both zones, it has about 10 seconds to regain control of all zones until it loses the initiative.
Any time the team holding the initiative regains control over the objective in tower control or splatzones, the "initiative counter" is reset, meaning it can lose control again for another 5 to 15 seconds before losing the initiative.
Importance of initiative
In any ranked mode, initiative is important regarding extra time since the team holding the initiative can force the game to go into extra time if they have a worse score than the opposing team. This, however, is not the only importance regarding initiative in SZ and TC.
Splat zones:
Here, initiative is gotten by securing both zones. If the other team had secured both zones before, that team will recieve a penalty, usually a bit less than (100-their score). In the picture below, the team gets a penalty of 18 which is a bit less than (100-78)=22. I believe no explanation is required as to the importance of this penalty as it adds a large hurdle to the opponent's score.
A team receiving a penalty after the other team gains the initiative.
Tower control:
The mode with the shortest time to keep the initiative, Tower Control is still affected by initiative. A pushing team controlling the tower will keep the tower moving forward. If the team is no longer on the tower but still has the initiative (it lasts 5 seconds), the tower won't push further but it will not fall back to the middle either. After the 5 seconds are over it will start moving back to mid unless someone jumps on the tower.
Nobody is on the tower but the tower doesn't fall back as purple still has the initiative
Examples of strategy concerning initiative in-game
If your team has a worse score and only a few seconds are left on the clock, it is essential to gain and keep the initiative. If your team loses the initiative it will mean an instant loss, so try to keep it at all costs.
Rainmaker:
Even many experienced players I know seem to struggle with the rainmaker mechanics, so be sure to read the initiative bit on this well. Both killing an opponent holding the rainmaker and grabbing the rainmaker yourself gives your team the initiative. This means that dying with the rainmaker gives the opposing team the initiative. As a result, ten seconds before the end of the match, grabbing the rainmaker is a big mistake when ahead! This gives the opposing team a good chance to kill you, seize the initiative and come back! Better is to keep the bubble in a state as shown below. This forces the opposing team to draw close and spend decent time popping the bubble. Of course if you're ahead and in overtime, grabbing the rainmaker gives you the initiative and as a result an instant win.
Splat zones:
The team with both zones can lose one or even two of their zones and still keep the initiative as long as the other team doesn't get to control both splat zones. After losing one or both zones, the team has the possibility of recapturing both zones at the same time for ten seconds until they lose the initiative during extra time. Ten seconds is enough to travel between spawn and a zone on (almost) all maps. Try and count to ten seconds in your head starting when control over both stages changes so you'll know when the initiative of the controlling team ends. If your team does not have the initiative, you could try and "neutralize" one zone for ten seconds since it kills the other team's initiative. If you are the team that's down in overtime and needs to keep initiative, capturing a zone after ten seconds can be more crucial than getting one or even two kills. Always be aware of the ten second timer and remember that capturing a zone at this time crucial as it will ever be.
Tower control:
Since the initiative counter for tower control is only five seconds and the other team can grab the initiative at any time by getting on the tower, it is essential that at least one person of the team trying to keep the initiative stays on the tower at all times during overtime. Falling off the tower can take more than five seconds to get back up again at higher-up places so be wary of those. If your squid on the tower dies it's usually game over while having initiative so try and kill any rollers/chargers that serve as a threat to a possible teammate on the tower. On the tower it's often a good idea to hide behind the middle pole since it can block shots, though this varies from map to map.
While trying to defend against opponents coming up in overtime be aware of the fact that killing everyone on the tower gives your team an almost immediate victory. A special can be decisive and so can an ambush from two sides. Try to coordinate with your teammates and otherwise keep a safe distance while splatting away at the tower.
Conclusion and specials
Specials deserve a 'special' mention in this guide for being able to seize the initiative at any time. The bubbler and kraken, most notably, can both paint and kill opponents while being indestructable. Controlling a tower/zone or killing the rainmaker is possible at any time with these specials and can be game-ending if used correctly during extra time. Saving one up might be a good idea near extra time even though it can weaken your position if your team has a sufficient lead. It can secure a victory. Even the terrible excuse for a special called inkstrike can often force the opposing team to lose control over the objective for a second, handing you the initiative. The killer wail and inkzooka can kill specific people on the tower or carrying the rainmaker making them good finishers for those modes. Echolocator and bomb rush don't give you a guaranteed initiative on most maps and modes but can also aid in forcing your opponents away.
I hope you found this guide helpful and learned something about the extra time mechanics and about the initiative. Good luck!
