Difficulty Discussion

[Mallum]

Heyo, I'm trying to understand what it takes to be decent at Splatoon at this point in time. I'm curious to know:

• How many hours have you logged in Splatoon 3?
• What's your highest rank in Anarchy mode and/or X Battle power?
• What does your ratio of wins/losses usually look like?

I've logged 435 hours in Splatoon 3 (and about 500+ in Splatoon 2), most of which was at the game's release. I've just started playing again in the month leading up to the Grand Fest. At first things were perfectly fine at I resumed as a solid player, but the more I've played, especially now that the Grand Fest has ended, I feel like a higher ratio of the regular players are simply at a skill and experience level that makes playing against them almost futile. My win/lose ratio used to typically hover around 50/50, with occasionally good runs where I'll be at over 30 wins to less than 15 losses. But recently, post Grand Fest, it has been dropping lower and lower, currently sitting at 16 wins to 30 losses in Anarchy mode, and I'm sitting at over -600 points at S+0, unable to dig my way out after repeated series losses. I've done a fair amount of research on strategies and tactics to try to improve, always have since Splatoon 2 where I was a much stronger player, but nothing seems to help at this point in time.

I can't help but feel there's an insurmountable wall in skill and experience at this point in time, with my opponents often being players with badges indicating they've won thousands of matches, had massive win streaks, or have achieved impressively high X ranks, who I can barely do a thing against. I love Splatoon, but as a working adult with a busy life outside of video games, I feels like at this point in time, I've been left too far behind to catch up and be a viable player again who wins more often than they lose. I'm hoping to get the perspective of others on this matter.

Does it really take a level of investment I simply don't have to be good at this game at this point? Or do even players with high achievements have patches where they can't seem to catch a break? Do other players have strings of bad luck, or if you're genuinely good at this game can you consistently win regardless of what your random teammates are like?

Thank you to anyone who replies after taking the time to read all of this!

 

[takoyakispl]

Heyo, I'm trying to understand what it takes to be decent at Splatoon at this point in time. I'm curious to know:

• How many hours have you logged in Splatoon 3?
• What's your highest rank in Anarchy mode and/or X Battle power?
• What does your ratio of wins/losses usually look like?

I've logged 435 hours in Splatoon 3 (and about 500+ in Splatoon 2), most of which was at the game's release. I've just started playing again in the month leading up to the Grand Fest. At first things were perfectly fine at I resumed as a solid player, but the more I've played, especially now that the Grand Fest has ended, I feel like a higher ratio of the regular players are simply at a skill and experience level that makes playing against them almost futile. My win/lose ratio used to typically hover around 50/50, with occasionally good runs where I'll be at over 30 wins to less than 15 losses. But recently, post Grand Fest, it has been dropping lower and lower, currently sitting at 16 wins to 30 losses in Anarchy mode, and I'm sitting at over -600 points at S+0, unable to dig my way out after repeated series losses. I've done a fair amount of research on strategies and tactics to try to improve, always have since Splatoon 2 where I was a much stronger player, but nothing seems to help at this point in time.

I can't help but feel there's an insurmountable wall in skill and experience at this point in time, with my opponents often being players with badges indicating they've won thousands of matches, had massive win streaks, or have achieved impressively high X ranks, who I can barely do a thing against. I love Splatoon, but as a working adult with a busy life outside of video games, I feels like at this point in time, I've been left too far behind to catch up and be a viable player again who wins more often than they lose. I'm hoping to get the perspective of others on this matter.

Does it really take a level of investment I simply don't have to be good at this game at this point? Or do even players with high achievements have patches where they can't seem to catch a break? Do other players have strings of bad luck, or if you're genuinely good at this game can you consistently win regardless of what your random teammates are like?

Thank you to anyone who replies after taking the time to read all of this!

Hi there, mid level competitive player here! I have about 2000 hours in splatoon, and i don't really have a good representation of my peak x rank because i don't play x, mainly i stick to scrims, tournaments, and competitive queue systems, but I am around luti div 4 level. First thing I want to mention is that stats like win ratio are arbitrary towards your skill level, and depend more on luck and other factors like who you're fighting against on average. Your perception of your skill as a player is very prone to being judged poorly as you are perceiving it through the lens of your own skill level, meaning even if you improve you may not realize it. It's also important to take not of *why* you feel the need to improve. Obviously everyone wants to improve at things they enjoy, but try considering your enjoyment of the game first. If the reason you want to improve is so you enjoy the game more, you may want to reconsider your motivations. People usually improve at games *because* they love them, and simply being good at something won't make you enjoy it more. Even amazing players have patches where they feel terrible, and it's important to learn to have fun even in a rut. If you're able to get plenty of enjoyment out of the game regardless, then it's totally reasonable to wish to improve! I find that i only really feel improvement at the times where I can accept getting my *** beat consistently and enjoy it and laugh regardless. If you do want to improve, it's important to take it slow and understand it's not immediate. Watch your own replays and note things that you tend to die to a lot, and practice improving in that area. If you do want some 1 on 1 vod review/coaching, feel free to add me on discord (@takonyakii)! I do coaching (for free) for low level players and teams and have helped a lot of folks out.

 

[briank913]

I get where you're coming from but try to focus more on having fun and relaxing with the funny little squid game than trying to be "good." It's probably hard to have fun in SoloQ for so long so if you can, try playing with people you know! There are Discord servers with people looking to play with others too that I'm sure can also help you get better at the game!

Otherwise, it's about learning from your mistakes or learning from other people who play weapons you like! Experiment and see what works well with your playstyle and try to have fun as always.

 

[DzNutsKong]

Put simply, what it takes to be good at this game is going to depend from person to person. I know some people who are stuck in the B-Ranks but I got to S+ within the first two weeks of playing Splatoon 3 despite not touching Splatoon 2 at all. That's not a satisfying response to read though so to answer all of your questions...

Heyo, I'm trying to understand what it takes to be decent at Splatoon at this point in time. I'm curious to know:

• How many hours have you logged in Splatoon 3?
• What's your highest rank in Anarchy mode and/or X Battle power?
• What does your ratio of wins/losses usually look like?

I have 1500 hours in Splatoon 3. My highest anarchy rank is S+15 (?) although I could've gone way higher last season had it not been for me mostly avoiding Anarchy Series. My win/loss ratio is usually between 60-70% wins, but it can bounce to 50 or 80 if I'm feeling especially bad or good or if I had a scrim session recently. I've only played X battle on like five different days but my peak X power is 2400 and I'm on a div 6 team if you're aware of what that means.

It's worth noting that a lot of this had changed before Sizzle Season 2024. The Decavitator turned out to be my weapon and I didn't really have something like that before. Around there, my win rates usually bounced between 40-60%, my peak anarchy rank was like S+5 and my peak X power was 1900 (although again, didn't play much of that). Also worth noting that I've played competitive Pokemon and Smash before starting and I think my experience in the latter translated to me catching onto a few important things that other people won't have at first, which basically resulted in me skipping all the way up to S+ when the game came out.

I don't think the average skill level of people in the game has changed lately. Competitive games place a lot of importance on your mental though. If you think you're going to lose then it makes it A LOT easier to lose, plain and simple. Don't overexert yourself if you find yourself thinking negatively towards your own play or else you'll just have a horrible feedback loop where you think you'll do bad, do bad, and continue thinking you'll do bad when in reality you're a better player than your results might imply. Try to understand that perfect consistency in a game like this is exceptionally difficult to get and it's normal to have highs and lows that can last a pretty long time.

Also, I don't think spending so much time with a job will ruin your ability to improve at the game. It's just about knowing what you're doing wrong, knowing how to approach implementing changes to your gameplay, and then actually going and applying that when you are able to play. I knew people in the Smash community who would grind those kinds of games like crazy and get nowhere because they were just throwing themselves in and hoping change would happen. Conversely, I also knew people who never played but understood how to do all three of those things very well and were godlike. One of the best Smash for Wii U players in my state? Yeah he never even owned a Wii U! He just took what little time he had at tournaments, around four hours per week, and maximized it to a crazy degree.

So, tl;dr - don't give up on yourself. Try not to be too negative about your gameplay, hitting low points in a game like this is normal and so is improving despite having very little time for it.

Also the definition of "good player" is entirely relative I know people who think I'm good at the game but a top player would think I'm terrible

 

[Mallum]

Thanks for replying, folks, I appreciate the perspective! Takoyakispl, I appreciate the offer for review/coaching. I will mull it over and possibly reach out on Discord if I think that’s the right move for me and is worth asking you for your time.

I would say I inherently enjoy playing Splatoon, but there are 2 things that detract from that. One is loss streaks. After 10 losses in a row, it gets pretty hard to have fun anymore. The other is getting completely overwhelmed and unable to do even a single thing, especially if it happens repeatedly just like with losses. I imagine no one enjoys playing a game when they get completely shut out, splatted over and over again as soon as they spawn by a team of expert Dualies, Blasters, Splatanas, etc.

I love Splatoon—the vibrancy, the music, the character design, Salmon Run, the DLC story lines (they’re my favorite parts of 2 and 3), and even the combat as well. It’s definitely worth me working on my perspective, and trying to be more accepting of my losses by putting a more critical eye to trying to improve in strategy and technique, to put a healthy spin on things even if I’m struggling.

Of course, I’m still curious on what even more people’s experience levels and achievements/struggles are like, so if anyone else wants to share, show off, or commiserate with me if they’ve had similar experiences, then I’ll be happy to hear it!

 

[Azhdarcho]

I have about 2100 hours in S3, and 1100 in S2 and the highest I’ve ever climbed is S+8 and ~2100XP.

One thing I’ll advise is, don’t worry at all about your W-L ratio. You’re going to see wild swings in it over time, and early-season S+ is ROUGH, because everyone here is people who could get here early.

The other thing I advise is that the time/skill growth curve grows exponentially – it takes more and more time to eke out a little more skill. But that time shouldn’t all be play time. Watch film, read critique, and use that information to play thoughtfully. I work full-time and I’ve gone back to school part-time, so I only have a little time to play anymore, but I can watch clips and such and take those lessons back with me to get the most out of my play time.

 

[RetroShark]

Hello there
Don’t worry… if you feel that you’re bad the game… I’m worse (usually)! I’m S rank… current win to loss ratio thingy is 28 - 16 (Its usually much lower) and I’ve got 150 hours in-game (I started playing in December)
oh and I’m solely play Blob… because yes

Don’t worry ‘bout grandfest… I also sucked at it :(
And don’t worry if you feel you’re bad at the game… there’s always someone who’s worse (and that’d be me!)

 

[electronvolt]

hello
I have an embarrassing amount of hours in splatoon 3 and I'm only A rank (so you may want to take my advice with a grain of salt). I think if you focus on winning matches above all else, the game will become less fun. I know it's not a good habit to blame teammates, but frankly the overall outcome of a given game isn't really in your control, because you're only 1/8 of the players in the match. If you want to improve, it might be better to focus on your own performance during a game, and, like takoyakispl said, identify one thing at a time to improve on.

For example, "i want to be better at splatoon and win more games" is a huge goal without an obvious way to improve at it, "i want to get better at not swimming into bombs by accident" (my current goal) or "i want to improve my accuracy" is much smaller and more manageable. If you have a goal like these, even when you lose, you can say "i avoided bombs well that game" or "my shots were more on target", so you're still learning.

(also if you're getting really frustrated at the game, the best thing to do is just to take a break)

 

[SAMICOM]

Heyo, I'm trying to understand what it takes to be decent at Splatoon at this point in time. I'm curious to know:

• How many hours have you logged in Splatoon 3?
• What's your highest rank in Anarchy mode and/or X Battle power?
• What does your ratio of wins/losses usually look like?

I've logged 435 hours in Splatoon 3 (and about 500+ in Splatoon 2), most of which was at the game's release. I've just started playing again in the month leading up to the Grand Fest. At first things were perfectly fine at I resumed as a solid player, but the more I've played, especially now that the Grand Fest has ended, I feel like a higher ratio of the regular players are simply at a skill and experience level that makes playing against them almost futile. My win/lose ratio used to typically hover around 50/50, with occasionally good runs where I'll be at over 30 wins to less than 15 losses. But recently, post Grand Fest, it has been dropping lower and lower, currently sitting at 16 wins to 30 losses in Anarchy mode, and I'm sitting at over -600 points at S+0, unable to dig my way out after repeated series losses. I've done a fair amount of research on strategies and tactics to try to improve, always have since Splatoon 2 where I was a much stronger player, but nothing seems to help at this point in time.

I can't help but feel there's an insurmountable wall in skill and experience at this point in time, with my opponents often being players with badges indicating they've won thousands of matches, had massive win streaks, or have achieved impressively high X ranks, who I can barely do a thing against. I love Splatoon, but as a working adult with a busy life outside of video games, I feels like at this point in time, I've been left too far behind to catch up and be a viable player again who wins more often than they lose. I'm hoping to get the perspective of others on this matter.

Does it really take a level of investment I simply don't have to be good at this game at this point? Or do even players with high achievements have patches where they can't seem to catch a break? Do other players have strings of bad luck, or if you're genuinely good at this game can you consistently win regardless of what your random teammates are like?

Thank you to anyone who replies after taking the time to read all of this!

Don't look at me, I'm a bad example. After around 600 hours in spoon 3, I haven't gotten past A- Rank, I don't use weapons above B tier often, and I am REALLY BAD in soloq. My W/L ratio is like 2-1. Ouch. Hell, I only picked up motion 3 months ago, so it's different for everyone ig

 

[Mallum]

Thanks to everyone who has replied since my last post here. I appreciate the community support, and I’m definitely having a much easier time being accepting of my losses. Right now I’m trying to work on making a list of my shortcomings and what I have to improve on. I’m also following electronvolt’s advice and trying to focus on improving one thing at a time. I’ve started by trying to focus on getting splatted less. I’ve always been a very aggressive player, and while that worked well for me in the past with Sloshing Machine, it seems that these days, regardless of my weapon choice, it just isn’t smart to risk it so much. Gotta stay alive to do anything, after all. I’m doing great on that front in Turf War, but it’s been a lot harder to implement in Anarchy.

I feel like the dynamic I’m struggling with right now is balancing trying to stay alive while also pushing to take more control over the map. Getting closer to the enemy means a higher risk of getting splatted, and since I’m mostly playing Range Blaster it’s especially risky. I’ve yet to figure out how to consistently push with Range Blaster without getting splatted in the process. It feels like there are so many short range weapons and Dualies and other headaches for me that just steamroll me most of the time once I start trying to fight on the enemy’s side of the map where it’s easier to get flanked.