Are you in favor in a rank reset? Save rank on Nintendo server/no rank gain in squads

[モモコ]

I never said that someone's rank is a "status symbol" nor did I ever imply such a thing. I don't think it's a "status symbol". Trust me, I'm not ****y like that. It's probably just my sense of justice that I know most people don't share. I don't think it's fair to punish everyone on Splatoon because a few people chose to cheat. Why invalidate someone's hard work and tell them they don't deserve their rank because someone else cheated the system? That's hardly fair at all and I don't see how anyone can feel it is fair to do so.

Honestly... I would probably get tired of Splatoon if we reset our ranks every 2-4 months. I mean... Why bother? Your progress won't matter. Your work won't matter. Nothing will matter. Everything will be gone in a few months anyway. As someone who is a perfectionist, it would bother me to have my progress wiped away and I would tire of it. I would tire of Splatoon because there would no longer be much of a point to Ranked. It would become boring and tedious to play Ranked knowing that your rank and progress will disappear over and over and over and over again. It just makes the entire thing seem completely pointless and tiresome.

I wouldn't be happy to have my progress wiped away but I would accept it once and only once. The idea of wiping our ranks every 2 to 4 months is absurd. If the system is changed and our ranks are stored to the servers, one rank reset is more than enough. Anything more than that borders upon absurd.

EDIT: I do agree about squads of course. I wish none of the ranks gained points. I often feel bad squadding with some of my friends because I feel like I've accidentally carried them to a rank they didn't deserve. I feel bad when I see my friends struggling because I feel it's my fault. So I would love for Nintendo to change it and make it so no rank gained points within a squad. It would be much more fair that way.

explain how this is a punishment if you do not want to cling to it like it is a status symbol? What is punishing is seeing these skill gaps and people in ranks that do not belong in them. What is punishing is how it was greatly reflected in this splatfest, something needs to be done.

Why do you bother to play now if all you care about is your S+ letter? It would not be a punishment if you did not care about it so greatly.

If other games do it, what makes this one so bloody special in not to? I can prove my skill without needing a flippin letter next to my name or need some reinsurance what my skill is. I know what I am good at, I know what I am weak in and that is what matters most, no letter rank wiping is going to delete that progress.

Let me ask you the same question you asked, why bother playing now? just because there is S+ next to your name?

Oh, sorry, I hadnt checked out that post yet.

Yeah we get that fiber optic lag-free perk.

As for team mates, they seemed even-ish. Nothing out of the ordinary. At times I was a weaker member of the team but others I tended to dominate, pretty standard relative to how my ranked matches usually go.

I will say that, due to S+ being lumped into S, my gameplay on my S main was a little rough. I definitely felt like a useless team mate at times. Whereas on my A+ alt things seemed to be a lot more balanced/geared to my personal skill level (mid-S, I fall out of S a lot but also spend a lot of time in S 50 range).

ya that is another thing they can do, S+ and S def need different starting scores, after they fix the other rank status problems...

If they can't find like ranks make sure the teams are split evenly, I/e 2 S+, 2 A vs 2 S+, 2 A (this is prob why some of the find games took so long, cuz it did not try this)

 

[Anaru]

explain how this is a punishment if you do not want to cling to it like it is a status symbol? What is punishing is seeing these skill gaps and people in ranks that do not belong in them. What is punishing is how it was greatly reflected in this splatfest, something needs to be done.

Why do you bother to play now if all you care about is your S+ letter?

It looks better and gives us more money. It's not really a skill thing, it's more of a completionist thing. Like, imagine if you were playing zelda, and every 2-4 months, your gold skulltulas or masks reset. It wouldn't be fun any longer to keep getting them back just for the sake of a "perfect" game file. In Splatoon, if you wanted to max out your money, level, gear, and rank, it would take a very dedicated player a long time. Why punish him/her even more by resetting their rank every few months. Making it so squads can't level and so ranks are server side is fine, but rank resetting doesn't make any sense at all. Just because you are suddenly C- rank again doesn't mean you play like a C- again. It will just be a boring grind back that you shouldn't have to do, and it will make ranked mode impossible for players who actually play at C- level, since they will be getting absolutely destroyed by the A/S players who are way better than them. It honestly hurts the low ranked people the most, and is just an annoyance to high ranked people.

 

[Airi]

explain how this is a punishment if you do not want to cling to it like it is a status symbol? What is punishing is seeing these skill gaps and people in ranks that do not belong in them. What is punishing is how it was greatly reflected in this splatfest, something needs to be done.

Why do you bother to play now if all you care about is your S+ letter?

Perhaps it is just me I suppose. I think telling someone their hard work is meaningless and they need to start over because someone else cheated is punishing. It's like telling a student they won't pass a test because their classmate cheated. That's punishing the student for their hard work because a classmate decided to cheat. It's the same concept here. Someone worked hard for their rank and you're essentially telling them it doesn't matter and they get to fail anyway because someone else cheated. I guess it might just be only me who sees the injustice in that.

I agree that something needs to be done. I agree with that and as I've already said, I wouldn't be happy but I would accept a one time rank reset. Anything more than that is completely absurd and uncalled for in every single way shape and form. Once the system is changed, there is absolutely no need to continuously reset people's ranks and take away their progress.

You are assuming quite a lot about me and this conversation while also subtly looking down upon me. Please feel free to be my guest and continue doing so. This conversation is over, however, as you'll just keep assuming the worst about me. I never said I only cared about my S+ rank. I never said it was a status symbol. I never said anything that wasn't directly stated in my comments. If I wanted to say it, I would have directly said it.

Why do I play now? I still play because I have friends. Frankly, they're the only things keeping me coming back to Splatoon. However, if we constantly reset our ranks, I would probably cease playing solo Ranked as there would be absolutely no point to it any longer. I would still play squads but I wouldn't waste my time going solo when it's pointless anyway. Also... Still a completionist. Still a perfectionist. There's more to complete in Splatoon than just Rank. :)

Anyway, I won't be responding anymore since I don't feel like continuing this conversation. I'm done here.

 

[birdiebee]

I can kind of see both sides of the reset argument. I don't think resets are completely pointless. To reset is to balance out the skill gaps intermittently, as Momoko said, but also, it doesn't really diminish anything that you've earned. Besides, you could motivate yourself to climb the ranks faster each time. That in itself is a unique objective/goal you could set that you can't currently do. It'd add another dimension to ranking up. Each time it resets, climb faster than before. Perhaps it could even save your records so it wouldn't be like "erasing" it.

But on the other hand, staying in S rank is itself a challenge. And having that stripped away periodically could be grating. I enjoy being able to play tough matches consistently without worrying about falling back down to the bottom and tearing through the noobs again. It helps me stay polished and continue to improve.

I don't think anyone is going to change anyone else's mind on the issue, though. Both stances have their advantages and drawbacks, so its really a matter of preference. I think each side makes valid points.

 

[モモコ]

It looks better and gives us more money. It's not really a skill thing, it's more of a completionist thing. Like, imagine if you were playing zelda, and every 2-4 months, your gold skulltulas or masks reset. It wouldn't be fun any longer to keep getting them back just for the sake of a "perfect" game file. In Splatoon, if you wanted to max out your money, level, gear, and rank, it would take a very dedicated player a long time. Why punish him/her even more by resetting their rank every few months. Making it so squads can't level and so ranks are server side is fine, but rank resetting doesn't make any sense at all. Just because you are suddenly C- rank again doesn't mean you play like a C- again. It will just be a boring grind back that you shouldn't have to do, and it will make ranked mode impossible for players who actually play at C- level, since they will be getting absolutely destroyed by the A/S players who are way better than them. It honestly hurts the low ranked people the most, and is just an annoyance to high ranked people.

I do not understand such comparison, I assume you are talking offline status? I just do not get how there is any comparison.

This is more accurate:
I win gold medal in London 2012, does that automatically mean I can compete in rio? No I have to go about qualifying again. I want my matches to be enjoyable and challenging, not rolling the dice to see who has rank carried and see who stomps who. (course that is how past splatfests where but now if they insist using rank, and seeing all this skill gap, clearly there is something wrong with the current system.

This is also why a reset is a good idea, because now people that just get S and basically quit (because they think like your example, they do not play as much but get put in top ranks in splatfest and just a mess. Unless you have a better suggestion of fixing rank because of all the carrying and savescum I like to hear it cuz I see no other way, some of these people that got carried or got to their trophy S or S+ do not play anymore and yet they play as top starting rank in splatfests.

@Airi ; @birdiebee

I just want the game more enjoyable, all I want, I do not think that is asking for much, I do not need letter, and as birdiebee said there can be fun challenges you can try doin. Like every once in a while I ethernet pull myself to c- and try to see what I can get up to on a new weapon just using that weapon. I was not trying to insult, just trying to understand the way of thinking XD

 

[MrL1193]

So your proposed solution to broken matchmaking... is to throw skill-based matchmaking out the window entirely?

 

[モモコ]

So your proposed solution to broken matchmaking... is to throw skill-based matchmaking out the window entirely?

what? it isn't skill based anymore! too many savescum/carry making large skill gaps within same ranks. That is what I'd like to change.

 

[Anaru]

what? it isn't skill based anymore! too many savescum/carry making large skill gaps within same ranks. That is what I'd like to change.

But how is your suggestion fixing that at all? Actual C players won't be able to play fair matches for at least a few weeks after the reset! Resetting won't throw out bad players from the higher ranks or else how would they have even gotten there in the first place! The changes you suggested about do NOT need to be complemented with a reset, the cheating/carried players will eventually de-rank anyways!

 

[モモコ]

But how is your suggestion fixing that at all? Actual C players won't be able to play fair matches for at least a few weeks after the reset! Resetting won't throw out bad players from the higher ranks or else how would they have even gotten there in the first place! The changes you suggested about do NOT need to be complemented with a reset, the cheating/carried players will eventually de-rank anyways!

as said:

Somehow a person on youtube keeps regaining S then losing it on his own (since I guess you only need be lucky and have your team carry you for 3 matches?) so I have my doubts (like what is considered B skill now) will lose enough to fall back down there, if Nintendo simply took out the ability of gaining ranks in squads and letting savescum working.

But I guess nothing wrong with small steps, see if having rank store on nintendo server and not letting rank change in squads and see if it truly happens?

However, I still do not get why RL things or other games have season "resets" and no one is mad about them.

 

[MeTaGross]

I stopped reading the later posts because I'm in a hurry...

I got the game in July last year and played well for a while, but things got more difficult. When I reached level 10 I tried ranked and didn't do very well. I kept playing casually in ranked, I don't know where I was, but when tower control was added I got more serious. With S ranks available I tried harder, the matches did too. When rainmaker was added I loved it and eventually reached S rank. This was back in October or November and I am still trying to reach S+. I have just reached S 81 since being S 30ish after the update. I want to reach S+ to say I did it, and I want to know if I am an S+ player or just an S. If the ranks reset I will easily reach S, I've reached it by level 20 once, but I will stay there for 2-4 months, and it will reset, and so on. If it resets I will literally be trapped in S rank forever.

Now let's say we did reset the ranks. What does that do for us?

Nothing. It wastes everybody's time and makes rank complete hell for the weeks after. All the savescummers are going to get back to their ranks without trouble. They just win a battle and save, and they can keep doing that because everybody wins some battles by chance. The carried players will get back too, as they will still have their carrier to get them there.

We need to change the way ranking works and how ranks are stored, this would cause the problem people to fail naturally, or to stop bothering us in ranked. Reseting only brings more problems to the already problematic matchmaking.

 

[モモコ]

Is there a way you think, if people did not play for a while they get lower starting scores in splatfest? or have rank tw? what are the feelings of having all modes for use in rank and non rank?

Also what if squads where used more to ladder systems where they do reset after a while to have a true ranking competitive system and public is left alone? (going off idea that someone posted about having separate ranks for squads)

 

[Award]

Honestly.... I would be completely livid if my rank was reset. I'm at S+ 38 and it would make me angry for it to be reset. Yes, I could probably make it back up to S+.... But why do I deserve to be punished? I never cheated and it seems highly unfair for Nintendo to punish us because some people are deciding to cheat. That's honestly an absurd notion. I have to agree with what someone said before. The people who savescummed their rank will fall naturally. If we store the ranks on the servers, there is no need for a rank reset. The people who cheated their way into a certain rank will fall naturally. There is absolutely no need to punish all of us for it.

Resetting our ranks would only anger the community and make lower ranks a complete hell for months on end. Has anyone even considered how this would affect the lower ranks? They wouldn't be able to play and would probably grow to hate the game if those of us at a higher rank and skill level were put back with them. It wouldn't be fair to the lower ranks nor would it be fair to us.

One thing to keep in mind is that periodic rank resets are *NORMAL* for the majority of ladder rank scored games. Especially the most competitive among them. Somehow in the Splatoon community there seems to be this attachment to "I earned my rank and want to maintain it forever" - but that's part of what is broken. The meta changes constantly in any competitive game. People who earned a given rank in one meta are not necessarily that rank in a later meta and you end up with ranks filled with people playing on all different meta's. The result is a mess unless everyone comes up through the same meta.

If we look at some other very dominant ladder based systems, there is a ladder reset almost arbitrarily for Starcraft II - the resets coincide with Blizzard's tournament schedules. Sometimes it's every 4 months, sometimes it's in 2 weeks. Diablo III resets quarterly. Halo resets monthly. Battlefield resets quarterly. Not sure about COD, I know they reset, I don't know how frequently. Even card/board games do it in a slightly different way. Someone was telling me about a Magic the Gathering competition and pointed out they changed the allowable "versions" or "system" to the newest one, obsoleting all old ones, so the knowledge and collections of playing the old "meta" are now irrelevant in their competitions...a ladder & meta reset.

The point is resetting the ladder on schedule is normally a part of any functioning ladder. But it's a perception issue. Splatoon players have been taught that rank is a "title you've earned until you lose" while in other games players have been taught to perceive it as "this is the highest I've achieved for the current cycle" - HOWEVER that's why I advocate for a progressive ladder replacement entirely. Those games work that way because upward movement is favored over downward movement, so you play each "season" to see how high up the ladder you can climb before the season ends, not to try to prevent yourself from dropping down too far. For the people that like preserving their status and defending their title there are usually awards/trophies/titles handed out for 3x champion etc (e.g. you achieve your S+ for 3 seasons, you get a special title for that, etc. It actually gives more goals to achieve rather than trying to tread water in S+ forever and ever and helps the game "stay fresh." Technically many Splatoon players do that anyway - with alts. Instead of creating 5 alts for 5 weapons and aiming to get S+ they'd just try a new weapon next "season."

So both sides are right. I agree, I'm SOOO close to getting my S back on my main. I'd be kind of annoyed if I finally got it back only for them to follow my suggestion and reset me. But if they do resets it must NOT be with the same scoring system we have in place. It would have to be a new ladder scoring system to accommodate being a progressive seasonal ladder. It wouldn't affect the lower ranks any differently then the majority of other wildly popular highly competitive games (Starcraft, Diablo, Battlefield, COD, Halo, etc.)

However, yes, even though I'm advocating for it, I'd also be kind of upset losing my S in a reset should I get it back soon.

I really wouldn't care if my rank was reset, since just recently I challenged myself to get to S+ with only chargers, and it took me 5 days, probably like 10 hours or so. People need to calm down about rank a little bit. As far as the Splatfest, I had a pretty bad time on Sandcastles, partially since I couldn't find any matches, but the teamwork I experienced was pretty bad too.

I have NO idea how you managed to get through the lower ranks on chargers. Granted I don't have my scopes on my alt yet, so my aim is a little wonky, but I could not get ANYWHERE in B+ yesterday with even unscoped eliter. The team couldn't push worth anything, so I'd have to jump on the tower, and of course with the sniper on the tower half the time, things aren't going to go so well.... I ended up with exactly the same point total I started with in B+. The lesson I learned is: Don't take chargers into the B's. (To be fair the map was the ungodly triggerfish TC where the tower is stupidly over water the whole time...I'm sure that didn't help.)

I do not know the proper time since I am unfamiliar with such things, I just know they exist like that. I know be harder then now since everyone would be put back to c- but like that video I shown, the truly super S skilled people could make it in 6-11 hours (assuming they had other people playing around the times they do otherwise A- vs Bs may be a crawl, but they do it based on average team rank anyway. Anyways there be some crazy people make it to S+ in 1-2 days even under such conditions, that is why I shown the video, making S ranks appear to be effortless just as long as her teammates went completely worthless. I really do not know a good time window for a reset but the oppistie effect can happen to, give some people a reason to play and not sit on 1+ million coins and 100+ snails.

Does 6 months sound better? idk

You hit one one good point though - we're focusing on alts and scummed/carried players, but we should not omit the matchmaker's culpability in all of this mess. Keep in mind if they base things on an average rank, just using the Splatfest Power numbers for EXAMPLE, for ranked, if you have one team of A- that have an average rank of 1300, and each member is 1300, versus another team with an average rank of 1300, but you have one member that's an 1800, and 3 members of 1060 - that is going to be a VERY bad match for team B. It's not that they were carried, it's that the matchmaker willfully pairs overall bad teams against overall good teams because "the numbers even out." Even though the gameplay does not. That is as big, if not a bigger issue.

Something you said yesterday about "the alts get paired with the alts" in another thread clicked with me while I played yesterday. I'm working on my alt, stuck in B+ ATM. Before the 10:00 map rotation my problem was weak teams that could not push the tower AT ALL. Ok, it's B+, that's expected. (but why is my team ALWAYS the one with the weak team??) But after 10:00 I found something different. At first I thought it was other alts. Then I realized it was the whole lobby. The entire LOBBY of all B+ players suddenly played WELL above normal B+. They played identically to an A+/S match. IDENTICALLY. The speed, pace, accuracy, map strategy (zones) were, in every way, exactly what I'd expect to see on my main account at A+94. it felt like the challenge match before S (except I won...I seem to always lose in OT on that darned A+94 match :P ) It wasn't just one alt. It was all players. The whole LOBBY was playing at A+/S tier. And they're all B+. It happened in the following lobby as well! And the following lobby after that! We're talking double digit kills for all but one or 2 players in the lobby. None of my normal mains (that I play in A+ & against S/S+ in squads regularly) were actually getting the job done. I had to, like in Splatfest, go Tentatek meta (which I NEVER play!) just to compete and play at full capacity 150%. In B+. Were these complete lobbies of alts? Did the system KNOW we were all alts and paired us together? OR does B+ genuinely play the same as A+/S now?

I'm starting to fear part of the problem is that the active player base of Splatoon is presently very small, and that most of the people playing (in all ranks) are just alts for people who are already in the high ranks. So all ranks are really largely the same rank, at least above the C's. And particularly at different times you either get the handful of "real" B+ players, or you just get a bunch of S alts and call it "B+". Though a reset would flush that out as well...

Why do I play now? I still play because I have friends. Frankly, they're the only things keeping me coming back to Splatoon. However, if we constantly reset our ranks, I would probably cease playing solo Ranked as there would be absolutely no point to it any longer. I would still play squads but I wouldn't waste my time going solo when it's pointless anyway. Also... Still a completionist. Still a perfectionist. There's more to complete in Splatoon than just Rank. :)

Taking a page from other games with reset's there's still a point. Think of "Mirror Mode/Master Quest" and "Hero Difficulty" in Zelda games for example. The ladder resets basically preset a new challenge each reset - like a new randomized campaign. Or like starting a new 100 Mario Challenge in Super Mario Maker after you complete one (troll levels and all.) And with "badges" or rewards for defending a title, etc, it kind of gives you a new game to play each reset (like making an alt, except fair.) There's good and bad, but there's definitely positive ways of doing it too. And like Splatefest they could make an event/tournament out of it with prizes for getting a rank etc. Because it's Nintendo...why do a DB reset when you can have Callie give a fleek speech about it too? :)

I can kind of see both sides of the reset argument. I don't think resets are completely pointless. To reset is to balance out the skill gaps intermittently, as Momoko said, but also, it doesn't really diminish anything that you've earned. Besides, you could motivate yourself to climb the ranks faster each time. That in itself is a unique objective/goal you could set that you can't currently do. It'd add another dimension to ranking up. Each time it resets, climb faster than before. Perhaps it could even save your records so it wouldn't be like "erasing" it.

But on the other hand, staying in S rank is itself a challenge. And having that stripped away periodically could be grating. I enjoy being able to play tough matches consistently without worrying about falling back down to the bottom and tearing through the noobs again. It helps me stay polished and continue to improve.

I don't think anyone is going to change anyone else's mind on the issue, though. Both stances have their advantages and drawbacks, so its really a matter of preference. I think each side makes valid points.

Implementing a seasonal reset must must must must MUST include an overahul of the whole scoring/points system. The current system doesn't work for a reset system, it's too punitive. It needs to favor upward movement with skill check barricades between ranks. It should be easier for an S to get to S, and harder to lose the S, but require more overall games played to move between ranks, because now there's a timer on how long you have to achieve it and maintain it. With the addition of the time based objective, it does not need to punish losses so severely which it's right now using in PLACE of a reset system.

I stopped reading the later posts because I'm in a hurry...

I got the game in July last year and played well for a while, but things got more difficult. When I reached level 10 I tried ranked and didn't do very well. I kept playing casually in ranked, I don't know where I was, but when tower control was added I got more serious. With S ranks available I tried harder, the matches did too. When rainmaker was added I loved it and eventually reached S rank. This was back in October or November and I am still trying to reach S+. I have just reached S 81 since being S 30ish after the update. I want to reach S+ to say I did it, and I want to know if I am an S+ player or just an S. If the ranks reset I will easily reach S, I've reached it by level 20 once, but I will stay there for 2-4 months, and it will reset, and so on. If it resets I will literally be trapped in S rank forever.

Now let's say we did reset the ranks. What does that do for us?

Nothing. It wastes everybody's time and makes rank complete hell for the weeks after. All the savescummers are going to get back to their ranks without trouble. They just win a battle and save, and they can keep doing that because everybody wins some battles by chance. The carried players will get back too, as they will still have their carrier to get them there.

We need to change the way ranking works and how ranks are stored, this would cause the problem people to fail naturally, or to stop bothering us in ranked. Reseting only brings more problems to the already problematic matchmaking.

Right, like I said to Birdiebee, the reset system would HAVE to be accompanied by a change to a progressive ladder. Like every other reset ladder game has. Using the current scoring system would be DISASTROUS.

And as Momo said (Sorry, can't tag you - no kana on MY keyboard ;) ) it would also need the rank data on the server side to cut off scumming once and for all (gear scumming too, because why not?)

And I still don't believe in "carrying" - I've yet to see a carrying effect in matches I've played in squads. Even on my alt - if I was going to carry someone it was shut off fast by being put against S & S+ players as always. I was well matched even as a fake B. We lost more than we won. At least for twins...

But no argument to just changing how ranking works....

 

[birdiebee]

Implementing a seasonal reset must must must must MUST include an overahul of the whole scoring/points system. The current system doesn't work for a reset system, it's too punitive. It needs to favor upward movement with skill check barricades between ranks. It should be easier for an S to get to S, and harder to lose the S, but require more overall games played to move between ranks, because now there's a timer on how long you have to achieve it and maintain it. With the addition of the time based objective, it does not need to punish losses so severely which it's right now using in PLACE of a reset system.

I agree, and thats a wonderful point. Also not something likely to happen in this game.
Speaking to a friend of mine who plays Hearthstone, I learned that in that game, seasonal rank resets are staggered based on your previous performance rank, so it's something of a pseudo-reset where your score goes back down to 0 but you're placed in groups of people who performed similarly to you and work up competing with them. So in a way, you still pick up where you left off, if I'm understanding correctly. I wonder how well this system would translate over into Splatoon. I'm still trying to learn more specifics about the ranking mechanics used by other games as my comprehension is admittedly quite limited. Sometimes I wonder if all of this pondering is completely pointless and I'm better off sticking to my original response of "eh, either way is fine." :p

 

[Award]

I agree, and thats a wonderful point. Also not something likely to happen in this game.
Speaking to a friend of mine who plays Hearthstone, I learned that in that game, seasonal rank resets are staggered based on your previous performance rank, so it's something of a pseudo-reset where your score goes back down to 0 but you're placed in groups of people who performed similarly to you and work up competing with them. So in a way, you still pick up where you left off, if I'm understanding correctly. I wonder how well this system would translate over into Splatoon. I'm still trying to learn more specifics about the ranking mechanics used by other games as my comprehension is admittedly quite limited. Sometimes I wonder if all of this pondering is completely pointless and I'm better off sticking to my original response of "eh, either way is fine." :p

I'd have said it probably won't happen this game, but 2.6 showed us they're definitely willing to make big disruptive changes still, which utterly floors me.

One thing that 2.6 confirmed as fact: Most of the problems we're seeing are due to shortcuts and "rounded corners" due to having too small a player population. As they learn things aren't as bad as they feared, they might be willing to take bigger risks for what they REALLY wanted to implement. When they made the game it was a new, unproven IP they thought they were sending out to die on a failed console. Instead it took off and drove console sales. They thought it was Code Name Steam and instead it was Kart.

That system DOES sound promising for Splatoon. Or a modified version.

2..6 also seems to prove that musing on Squidboards seems to draw nintendo's attention. They seemed to address a lot of things we mention here. Someone here is Trinnen's alt. :p

 

[Skoodge]

I have NO idea how you managed to get through the lower ranks on chargers. Granted I don't have my scopes on my alt yet, so my aim is a little wonky, but I could not get ANYWHERE in B+ yesterday with even unscoped eliter. The team couldn't push worth anything, so I'd have to jump on the tower, and of course with the sniper on the tower half the time, things aren't going to go so well.... I ended up with exactly the same point total I started with in B+. The lesson I learned is: Don't take chargers into the B's. (To be fair the map was the ungodly triggerfish TC where the tower is stupidly over water the whole time...I'm sure that didn't help.)

If you want to see all of C- to A- check out this stream I did, I will upload it to YouTube also: https://www.twitch.tv/skoodge_/v/54313872
2:56:30 is where B+ starts. I used Kelp Splat Charger the whole time, and carried really hard in earlier ranks. I don't know what to suggest, but practice hitting people on the tower a lot, that is what helped win so many games.

 

[Award]

If you want to see all of C- to A- check out this stream I did, I will upload it to YouTube also: https://www.twitch.tv/skoodge_/v/54313872
2:56:30 is where B+ starts. I used Kelp Splat Charger the whole time, and carried really hard in earlier ranks. I don't know what to suggest, but practice hitting people on the tower a lot, that is what helped win so many games.

I don't get it. You didn't have to ride the tower non-stop, yet the tower moved forward. I had to try sniping the enemy team from on the tower because the tower didn't move more than 93 unless I did it. Your enemeies moved slow, in the open and in straight lines. My enemies flanked, strafed, janked about like in the A's.

What you played is what I remember TW from 3 months ago playing like. Is ranked just that much harder than it was then, or do I play at the wrong time of day? (Or does the matchmaker hate me :p )


I didn't watch your higher tier battles, I'm sure they're much more familiar....but I just can't believe how calm those B+ battles were for you :p I can get team wipes and 3/4 kills and nobody STILL rides the tower, so I just have to go do it. Or when I do get teams that do it, both teams are excellent and moving waaaay faster than anyone I see playing against you in the B+ range. I did have one match that my opponents behaved as yours did....I could actually snipe a few from on the tower. This is depressing. The matchmaker truly punishes me for some reason. :p

 

[yokokazuo]

I've always seen my rank as a skill level (that is also what it is called in Japanese ウデマエ) and compare it to a game like Mario Kart. In all online Mario Kart games (and actually several other online Nintendo games) you gain and lose points depending on your performance in each match. The higher you are, the more likely you are to be matched up with other players of a similar skill level and your points aren't reset. I personally prefer this because no matter when I play the game I will still generally play with others who are close to the same skill level.
I will say though that the only game I've played with a seasonal ranking system is Rocket League. I do kind of like how the ranking system is in the current system. After 10 matches it will give you a rank depending on how well you did and match you up with others who have a similar rank.

 

[Award]

I've always seen my rank as a skill level (that is also what it is called in Japanese ウデマエ) and compare it to a game like Mario Kart. In all online Mario Kart games (and actually several other online Nintendo games) you gain and lose points depending on your performance in each match. The higher you are, the more likely you are to be matched up with other players of a similar skill level and your points aren't reset. I personally prefer this because no matter when I play the game I will still generally play with others who are close to the same skill level.
I will say though that the only game I've played with a seasonal ranking system is Rocket League. I do kind of like how the ranking system is in the current system. After 10 matches it will give you a rank depending on how well you did and match you up with others who have a similar rank.

I do think there's a Japan vs. West mentality on rank that creates a different perspective. The west views it like a "title that has been earned" and the Japanese don't seem to.

But I think where it differs greatly from Mario Kart and such is because of the team scoring. It works there because your score is your own, it's what you've demonstrated. Splatoon has a very punitive point system but scores on team results where you may not be the most deciding factor on the team. I think that tends to muddle the ranks a lot more than a team scored on solo ranks. And once the player pools become muddled it drives them to become even more muddled. I also think the matchmaker "rounding the corners" to accomodate the small player pool (B+, A-, A, A+, S all being matched together before 2.6??) in addition to all the carrying/scumming/alts issues has created kind of a mess. Also the VERY small sample size of games that represent one rank creates some chaos. Especially with team rating it should be many more games that measure a rank (much less points for winning/losing.)

I'd love to consistently get games at my skill...but which skill is mine? S, the highest I've earned and I frequently fight in squads? A+ where I seem to land often? A- where I seem to get kicked with frequency? B+ where my alt currently is and seems to be getting identically challenging games as I get in A+? :) That's what's kind of broken now. The rank doesn't actually represent a given skill level at all. It's supposed to, but it seems like it doesn't.

 

[Rockenberg]

Put it on Nintendo Server side, save scummers will naturally fall. Rank reset wouldn't solve anything making lower ranks an hell for months.

Agree with this 100%. I have no problem with ranks resetting as climbing back up in Rank wouldn't be much of an issue (for the already high rankers), but save scummers could easily just save scum their rank again. So, putting the ranks in Nintendo's hands would definitely make more sense.

 

[xXShadeXx]

At this point, with all the scummers and carriers (and alts to a degree), it's kind of hard, for me that is, to say a rank represents my skills. When I'm constantly put in matches of people who are equal rank to me, but their playstyle and such is that of a new player or something. Getting the RM and bringing it back to base, not helping escort the carrier, or doing anything useful. In zones, inking everything except for the zone. And in TC, Seem to have towerphobia or something as they refuse to get on the tower at all, or fail to notice the opponents is on it.

To me it's just a letter. It doesn't mean much to me as I thought it would. I've been an A for months, and I mean months. But between the people who were carried and can't seem to do much, to the scummers, then the others who seem to play higher than their letter says, where do I fall? Am I truly an A player? Or was I just carried there, which explains why I've been stuck an A for so long? But if that was the case, I wouldn't be able to consistently stay where I am. Just because I pulled myself up to an A, doesn't mean anything to me. If I lose it, okay. Sure, maybe I'll be upset, but that doesn't represent my skill as a player. If by some magically unfortunate events booted me down to a B-. That doesn't mean I play at that level.

The only thing bad about it is that yeah, your rank determines the people you play with. And we happen to be judged on our letter. But not everyone plays like the letter they have. Some people take ranks of any form way to serious, which explains the cheaters. But in all honesty...to me it's just a letter. And it took me of playing 3 hours of Rank RM, getting a splitting headache to realize it. Going 22/4 and still almost losing really says something.

But yeah, if Nintendo was to take the servers and actually keep an eye on everything, the scummers and everything would disappear, and maybe rank could actually be fun to play. Playing TW does get a little dull after awhile.