does anyone actually ever go negative in points?

[Deleted member]

when my dad plays yes

 

[youre_a_squib_now]

And why, WHY does it rank every player down at the start of every season?! THEY'VE ALREADY CODED IT IN AS AN OPTIONAL FEATURE

Rank inflation. Consider that a lot of players that think of themselves as a certain rank don't actually reach that rank until around the last month of the season, because all the good players left the rank they're trying to enter, so it's not as difficult as it was at the start of the season. The same thing happens with X powers, especially after the change. If there weren't rank resets every season, everyone would be S+ after a few years. not great.

People go into the negatives because they get soft carried through their rank-up battle, cannot keep up with their new competition, and don't want to rank down themselves because being at S -303 030 is still better than being A+ 1000. All that matters is the letter rank.

Yup, definitely been there.

Nintendo needs to stop fixing what isn't broken.

I didn't play Splatoon 2, but S1's system was kind of broken. Not because of inflation but because the rank distribution was just not good (see this link I posted a while back) so I think the new ranking systems were attempts to fix that.
Not that how they did it in 3 was a good idea. But there is at least some justification for not using the old system.

 

[Bennet]

Rank inflation. Consider that a lot of players that think of themselves as a certain rank don't actually reach that rank until around the last month of the season, because all the good players left the rank they're trying to enter, so it's not as difficult as it was at the start of the season. The same thing happens with X powers, especially after the change. If there weren't rank resets every season, everyone would be S+ after a few years. not great.


Yup, definitely been there.


I didn't play Splatoon 2, but S1's system was kind of broken. Not because of inflation but because the rank distribution was just not good (see this link I posted a while back) so I think the new ranking systems were attempts to fix that.
Not that how they did it in 3 was a good idea. But there is at least some justification for not using the old system.

I have to agree with you on that

 

[OnePotWonder]

Rank inflation. Consider that a lot of players that think of themselves as a certain rank don't actually reach that rank until around the last month of the season, because all the good players left the rank they're trying to enter, so it's not as difficult as it was at the start of the season. The same thing happens with X powers, especially after the change. If there weren't rank resets every season, everyone would be S+ after a few years. not great.

A fair problem, but a much better way of going about this, if you ask me, is maybe not making it completely free to break even in rank?
I understand not wanting ranks to get inflated, but a good starting point is not making C and B ranks a joke. Genuinely, there's no penalty for losing an anarchy series in C- rank. It costs zero points. Almost every C rank player I've met is only there because they never touch anarchy battles.

Also, we have fifty tiers of S+ for a reason. I see no excuse for ranking players down automatically other than as a crutch for a system that makes ranking up too easy otherwise.

I didn't play Splatoon 2, but S1's system was kind of broken. Not because of inflation but because the rank distribution was just not good (see this link I posted a while back) so I think the new ranking systems were attempts to fix that.
Not that how they did it in 3 was a good idea. But there is at least some justification for not using the old system.

I didn't play much Splatoon 1, but Splatoon 2's rank system was essentially fine.
Your wins and losses were tracked separately, with wins filling a player's rank meter, and losses causing it to crack, and eventually break.
Depending on how many points you have when your meter breaks, you either stay in the current rank, or go down by one with the rank meter already partly filled. (If it wasn't obvious, by the way, filling the meter causes you to rank up.)

This system was honestly great. Breaking even kept you in the same rank, under-performing dropped you down a rank, and with slow and steady improvement, you could climb up to the next rank. The only excuse for scrapping it, if you ask me, is because it wouldn't work with an anarchy series. Actually, it basically was anarchy series.
Now that I think about it, they follow a very similar model. The biggest difference is that it required about six or seven losses to break the rank meter, while it only takes three losses to lose a series.

That and they didn't port over the ability to rank down like a player could in S2.

 

[Arigato!]

i cannot comprehend how that is even possible unless you specifically try to be in the negatives.

wouldn’t you have to throw so many series for that to happen? and even if you do go into the negatives, can’t you just lower your rank at any time? that would be the perfect way to get back into the swing of things a little easier and start winning more consistently, so if you didn’t do that, you have to be specifically trying to stay in the negatives, right?

and can negative point players still be matched with positive point players? because dear god that would be terrible, but it would be a good explanation as to why i occasionally see people who do not seem like they should be matched with me. either we absolutely obliterate them or i see teammates that still actually roll with the roller to paint or are using gear that makes no sense, like the cursed drop roller e-liter or respawn punisher sploosh.

also splatoon 2’s rank system was way better, it dropped your rank automatically when you weren’t cut out enough for that rank, instead of making you feel terrible with rank points debt and then you have to lower your rank yourself.

major edit: i am not trying to say people are bad at the game, and i am sorry if it came off that way and possibly made you feel like a bad player for being in the negatives.

i was trying to say that the problem where people go into the negatives is a problem with this rank system, it isn’t actually the fault of the player and here is why i think that which i have replied to many comments saying so i might as well put it here:

i think people get lifted up by players who are improving faster than them, and that puts them in a rank where they are forced to improve by that much now because of the players they will start facing. this stops people from being able to learn and grow at their own pace.

the game puts them into a situation where it is unnecessarily difficult for them to learn and improve, and then it makes you feel bad by giving you a negative number and making you rank yourself down. the old rank system did this for you already.

so yeah i dont like splatoon 3’s rank system that probably should have been the focus of this post instead of the negative point thing and i am sorry

Uh, it happens sometimes? Once I got into the negatives for series battles, and it was by alot. I had to reset my rank because of it. It was a combination of dumb teamates(Like teamates intentionally forcing overtime, throwing power clams off of ledges ,etc) and splatoon's absurd matchmaking.

 

[Bennet]

Uh, it happens sometimes? Once I got into the negatives for series battles, and it was by alot. I had to reset my rank because of it. It was a combination of dumb teamates(Like teamates intentionally forcing overtime, throwing power clams off of ledges ,etc) and splatoon's absurd matchmaking.

I feel you, I had one dumb teammate during a Rainmaker Series and he brought the rainmaker all the way to our goal and then I had to take the matter into my own hand, and then I beat my old record that I set for the fastest time to get a K.O in Rainmaker in S3

 

[Arigato!]

I feel you, I had one dumb teammate during a Rainmaker Series and he brought the rainmaker all the way to our goal and then I had to take the matter into my own hand, and then I beat my old record that I set for the fastest time to get a K.O in Rainmaker in S3

Nice! (I mean beating your record)

 

[Bennet]

Nice! (I mean beating your record)

thanks! I just hope no one else beat it already, because if they did, then I am going to have to win some ***** up for dinner

 

[Squidilicious]

i think the “play against higher level players to improve” is a little bit flawed (edit: that doesn’t mean higher level players can’t teach things to lower level i think that is a good idea). it can work for some people, but you still have to be high enough of a level to actually be able to learn and grow from them. and that clearly isnt working if it is attempted and you still end up in the negatives

i think people get lifted up by players who are improving faster than them, and that puts them in a rank where they are forced to improve by that much now because of the players they will start facing. this stops people from being able to learn and grow at their own pace.

you can’t improve solely by playing against higher level players, you have to know enough about the game to realize what they are doing right and what you are doing wrong, which can’t happen if what i described happens you. i think this is how people get into the negatives, and then they don’t reset their rank because they feel like they would lose something that defines their value as a player when in reality, they will become a better player in the long run.

and if the rank reset puts you too far back, it should be easy to get back to the point where you can improve at a comfortable pace. the stupid thing is that the old rank system did that for you, splatoon 3 makes you feel terrible with debt and forces you to lower your rank yourself.

Yeah I think you also improve by playing against people at the same level or a little worse bc then you have bc then you have the breathing room to experiment a little and find new strategies and you gain some confidence...as long as you are cognizant of the fact that you should still be trying to improve and not just playing lazily bc it's easier.

You probably need a little of both, playing better people and worse people, which is what you get with a system that allows you to rank up and down. If going down a rank is really so much easier for you, then you'll rank back up really fast. And if it's not that much easier, then maybe it's where you belong. Removing the ability to rank down by force was a braindead move by Nintendo