Making map pools for tourneys in Splatoon 3 really sucks. Yeah sting ray in Splatoon 2 made RM frustrating, but now you got soda on TC. In Splatoon 2, TC Shipyard was a staple in map pools, you would get zero complaints about it except for those weirdos who wanted moray. But in Splatoon 3, TC Shipyard is seen as too snowbally.
To account for this, map pools started shrinking in Splatoon 3. Proving Grounds was one of the first tourneys to go with only 4 maps per mode for a total of 16 (4/16). InkTV took it a step farther with a 3/12 map pool. Low Ink took awhile, but I've managed to get it down to a comfy 5/20 which I think is fair considering it is a 2 day tourney with counter picks. Now you see a lot more tourneys starting to do the same, smaller pools focusing on just the "best" maps. The trick to make sure players don't complain about maps feeling too repetitive is to limit maps from appearing in more than 2 modes. Yes you could use Hagglefish, Museum, Mako, and Academy for 3 or some in all 4 modes, but limiting them to just 2 helps the players feel like things are more diverse despite the smaller map pool.
The problem is TC and RM suck. It's almost impossible to find more than 3 maps in those modes that everyone will agree on. I always joke about how teams constantly counter pick TC Academy, but really there aren't many alternatives if you want to play TC.
So here is a challenge to you, squidboard person. Make a tourney map pool and post it below. Rules are:
~ must include 5 maps for all 4 modes, 5/20
~ cannot repeat any map in more than 2 modes
~ cannot use any map that a top level player has tweeted about in a negative way (if you missed a tweet then you officially suck as a TO, I don't make the rules)
Best map pool will be used in Low Ink for February.
To account for this, map pools started shrinking in Splatoon 3. Proving Grounds was one of the first tourneys to go with only 4 maps per mode for a total of 16 (4/16). InkTV took it a step farther with a 3/12 map pool. Low Ink took awhile, but I've managed to get it down to a comfy 5/20 which I think is fair considering it is a 2 day tourney with counter picks. Now you see a lot more tourneys starting to do the same, smaller pools focusing on just the "best" maps. The trick to make sure players don't complain about maps feeling too repetitive is to limit maps from appearing in more than 2 modes. Yes you could use Hagglefish, Museum, Mako, and Academy for 3 or some in all 4 modes, but limiting them to just 2 helps the players feel like things are more diverse despite the smaller map pool.
The problem is TC and RM suck. It's almost impossible to find more than 3 maps in those modes that everyone will agree on. I always joke about how teams constantly counter pick TC Academy, but really there aren't many alternatives if you want to play TC.
So here is a challenge to you, squidboard person. Make a tourney map pool and post it below. Rules are:
~ must include 5 maps for all 4 modes, 5/20
~ cannot repeat any map in more than 2 modes
~ cannot use any map that a top level player has tweeted about in a negative way (if you missed a tweet then you officially suck as a TO, I don't make the rules)
Best map pool will be used in Low Ink for February.
