Seeing as I've been playing the game almost nonstop since I got it I havent had the time to check up on the forums to find threads appropriate for some of the neat stuff Ive been learning, so instead of trying to find the right threads for each thing I'm just going to post everything I know en masse here. (also apologies in advance if I break any rules about amount or size of images, I tried to look that up but didn't find anything ;3; )
Singleplayer:
Misc:
Staaaay fresh!
Singleplayer:
- The Singleplayer acts as an extended tutorial at times and you shouldnt put off playing it too long (dont feel required to do it all before playing Multiplayer though).
- Beating the Singleplayer nets you two sets of gear, one of the Hero Suit and one of the Octoling Armor. Both sets are 2-star which can be very nice for low-mid level players.
- Fire-Rate and Ink Capacity are the two most important things to upgrade, in that order. Most players are going to probably want Level 4 or 5 Fire-Rate before fighting the final boss, but Ink Capacity can be helpful early on.
- You do not unlock anything new by collecting Sea Scrolls, they are just there to provide fun lore. You do earn new weapons (to purchase) by beating bosses though.
- The Amiibo unlocks are in this order: Head Gear, Torso Gear, Foot Gear, Arcade Minigame, Weapon Skin.
- The Amiibos are a really good way to boost your early-game Multiplayer stats. I recommend beating the first boss in Singleplayer asap, then completing the first three Amiibo challenges. This will net you a quick 2-star Head Gear as well as a decent chunk of coins to use on purchasing weapons.
- The Amiibo challenges in general net you a lot of coins the first time you do them, and make purchasing new weapons and gear pretty easy.
- The Amiibo weapon skins don't seem to be anything special. The Charger is exactly equal to the first charger you can get for multiplayer, including its sub and special weapons (and I assume the other Amiibo weapons are the same). It's really just a skin.
- For Charger challenges it can be a lot easier to get hits on bosses by just rapid firing close-up instead of charging up from a distance.
- Power Eggs earned in Amiibo challenges carry over to Singleplayer, but Singleplayer upgrades don't carry over to Amiibo challenges.
- Walls do not count towards match points, but steep ramps seem to.
- There is a balance to be found between going only for large areas and focusing on small areas. Various thin ledges and behind-spawn areas can be considered "permanent" turf due to people ignoring them (and spawns themselves have an ink shield preventing their areas from being converted). The problem with going for small areas of course is that they do not count for much match points. Saltspray Rig in particular is of note due to its large spawn area and the fact that the lanes connected to the spawn cannot be reached from below, making any ink placed there effectively permanent except to ink-strikes and clever uses of artillery.
- Being cognizant of your teammates is very important. Always be aware what they are doing and try to plan your strategy in relation to them. This is such an important thing that my next few tips will all be about ways to incorporate this thinking.
- If you notice your teammates are being fairly aggressive and pushing into enemy territory, consider hanging back and covering ground they didnt paint. This can be very helpful if you have special weapons like the ink strike or enemy locator, since you can make a notable effect on the battle from long range.
- Similarly, if you notice teammates hanging back to cover ground, consider charging in more aggressively, or setting up chokepoint traps to hold back any intruders.
- If you notice a teammate is charging into the enemy base, consider going with them and assisting an assault. Co-op attacks on the enemy base can be much more effective, as long as youre spread out enough to not both get taken down at once.
- If you notice several teammates in the same spot, consider leaving. Like seriously, I've lost a few battles because three of us were all in the same spot and the enemy team had the chance to spread out and take other points of the map easily. This can also be a side effect of following teammates when you shouldn't (whenever I tried to go somewhere else my whole team went there too...). Moral of the story is you probably should never have more than two people in the same spot at once, spreading out is actually good.
- Conversely, if you notice that the enemy team has deserted an area of the map, possibly because they're in an ink fight with your allies, take the opportunity to convert the area on your own. Ive had many instances where Ive been able to get into a deserted enemy base and steal the whole thing for our team. It's a fun feeling.
- Similarly, it can sometimes be of notable effect to attempt to create something of a fort in an enemy base by sneaking in and hiding in ink puddles. Many of my games on Urchin Underpass involve going up our side lane/sniper spot then making a mad dash across the central area to the enemy side lane/sniper spot and setting up shop there for a bit until finally moving into the base and setting up shop again. Be a snekky squib.
- Not a sniper? Divebombing can be effective. Ive spent many matches in the Skatepark capturing the central snipe spot and diving in on enemies trying to push in. A few times this has led to teammates ransacking their base while I shut down anyone who tried to get into ours.
- Be on the lookout for new areas you didnt notice before. For instance on Saltspray Rig you can get up the cargo boxes, ride a crane platform, and even slip behind containers on the ledge, all of which allow for sneak attack opportunities.
Misc:
- There is a "color lock" toggle in the options meant to help things be easier to see. Turning it on will make Multiplayer be Orange vs Blue and Singleplayer Yellow vs Purple.
- Ordering gear from Spyke costs about 1.5x to 2x the amount that it would to buy the same gear from a shop.
- Gear's main ability is always the same for that piece of gear, meaning for example every Squid Hairclip has faster swim speed as it's main ability. Sub abilities are random.
- Certain abilities cannot be acquired via random ability unlocks, generally ones that dont make sense to stack, like stealth jump, which makes you max stealthy by just having the ability once.
- There are Jellyfish friends hidden in many places in Multiplayer maps
- The Splatoon Universe has a genre of music called "Squidcore", as mentioned in the Sea Scroll texts. It can be assumed that all of Splatoon's music is thus now called Squidcore.
- You can cover Capn Cuttlefish with ink if you so please. He shakes it off after a while though.
- The Octoling Singleplayer stages seem to showcase Multiplayer levels that have not been released yet.
- Most of the Singleplayer stages take place underground, the sky is actually giant display panels. A literal Sky Box!
- Refighting the final boss gives different dialogue!
- When going into the gear shops, its slowest to go into the hat store due to both Moe and Annie talking to you.
- There's a few graffiti spots in the plaza that are out of bounds (but still viewable). One particular one is in Callie and Marie's studio behind Marie, and with proper positioning you can make it appear as if the girls are saying Miiverse posts. Fun for screenshots!
- You can get up to Callie and Marie's studio and the 1-on-1 battles quicker by climbing up the vending machine near Spyke
- The transition between Squid and Kid is horrific, to say the least.
- If you want to change your player color in the plaza (not that it does anything useful) you can do so by entering the 1-on-1 dojo and then exiting back out. It'll give you a random new hair color.
- YOU CAN POST SCREENSHOTS IN-GAME. Most WiiU games have a screenshot function (except when multiplayer stuff is happening or any other time the WiiU Home Menu is unavailable) which can be accessed by the following method:
- Press the HOME button on the WiiU GamePad
- Select Internet Browser
- Click the Bookmarks button, in the upper left
- Find the WiiU Image Share bookmark
- Set up your accounts and post your image (the upload file button will allow you to pick whether you want to post your TV screen or the GamePad screen).
And another tip for that (which might sound much more complicated than it is, and if so should just be ignored): If you're going to post a lot of screenshots leave the browser on the "Your Image Has Been Posted" page, the one with the [return] button in the center of it. If you leave the browser on the upload page it will usually get a connection timeout before you use it again, so its nice to have the return button there to make sure the upload page is always functional when you got to use it. Yep, I have meta WiiU system tech. Get on my level.
- Mods are asleep; Time for Pepe
Staaaay fresh!