Does ranked mode favor aggressive players too much??

[Kikaioh]

At the beginning of the match I like to aggressively work at controlling the center of the map, and then try to defensively push towards the enemy's side of the map or the goal. Regarding aggression, deaths really do affect the outcome of matches, and a lot of the time the losing team is also the one that got splatted the most. If your team keeps dying one or two teammates spaced out after the other, you'll constantly have a situation where your team is continuously smaller than the enemy, which is a recipe for disaster both in terms of turf control as well as 1:1 fights with the enemy weighing in their favor. When the chips are down you really need your team working together to push back to the center, which I think works out better if done defensively.

 

[binx]

I only play Splatoon these days, but I played go quite a lot on the Internet, and a bit IRL too (tournaments and such).

Well I didin't read everything, but it sure is important not to be passive. Being overagressive and being passive are two different mistakes. But if you have to choose one, the first style is better, as it's win-oriented. Nothing good can come from a passive style, and you should avoid that style becoming an habit. Of course I'm making a distinction between sneaky or defensive plays (and so on), and passive play... Cause being calm and assessing the situation is an important skill and will help you to avoid meaningless deaths.

 

[Nero86]

From my point of view it depends on your weapon and mode you're playing. I could be a defensive/support player on Splat Zones when playing as a Gold Dynamo on Two Splat Zones maps, defending the closer zone and keeping other players away. But those victories depend on the team I was playing, I had to be lucky to have other 3 agressive/balanced players to invade the other zone.

If you're playing squad with your friends it's ok to set a strategy to fit you on defensive/support roles, but if you're playing random ranked you'll have to adapt whatever team you're into that means sometimes you'll have to be agressive to advance.

If I were to resume all this, I would tell the same as the posts above: The most adaptive wins.

 

[Award]

From my point of view it depends on your weapon and mode you're playing. I could be a defensive/support player on Splat Zones when playing as a Gold Dynamo on Two Splat Zones maps, defending the closer zone and keeping other players away. But those victories depend on the team I was playing, I had to be lucky to have other 3 agressive/balanced players to invade the other zone.

If you're playing squad with your friends it's ok to set a strategy to fit you on defensive/support roles, but if you're playing random ranked you'll have to adapt whatever team you're into that means sometimes you'll have to be agressive to advance.

If I were to resume all this, I would tell the same as the posts above: The most adaptive wins.

I'd add to that, specifically regarding split zones with a fast weapon like Carbon roller (which is one of @Miirisa 's weapons) I play SZ super defensively since the mode itself is really specifically about defense of a "mid" (or "mids") , but I always assume that both zones are mine to defend. As such I will generally race back and forth between zones leading to a defensive/offensive role in swatting the enemy away wherever they may be trying to attack. The only maps that presents a more serious problem with are Triggerfish since it's a long route between them, and (though I've not had Mackerel in SZ rotations I've played) I know the zones are extremely far apart and that approach would not work there.

 

[Silver]

I do actually push the objective. I often take the rainmaker or paint the splatzone. The problem is that I can`t fight other players without my teams support. While I can splat enemies my team has ignored the objective and gone for kills. Not always tho.

Please be careful with multiple posts before anyone else. Try to keep it all in one message. Thanks :)

 

[Elecmaw]

I personally don't think it favors agressive players, far from it.

It's kind of worrying that untill you hit rank S the game essentially teaches you that the best way to win solo queue is to try to splat as many enemies as you can so your team has as little chance to screw it up. This becomes slightly troubling when they are outnumbered, they finally face chargers who can easily take down mobile targets or players who don't bunch up all together and have the awareness to stop their approach before they can even take anyone down. 0-5 K/D or more usually comes from these overly agressive players who keep dropping into situations without a clear strategy in mind, who also fail to become a backbone for their team because they can not guard, gain map control and keep dropping specials while giving their enemies more specials to work with.

I'd rather have someone who hangs back when they are the only one left, takes map control and splats enemies ocassionally than someone who keeps charging into the enemy field as far as it can before it gets splattered, over and over again.

 

[Award]

I personally don't think it favors agressive players, far from it.

It's kind of worrying that untill you hit rank S the game essentially teaches you that the best way to win solo queue is to try to splat as many enemies as you can so your team has as little chance to screw it up. This becomes slightly troubling when they are outnumbered, they finally face chargers who can easily take down mobile targets or players who don't bunch up all together and have the awareness to stop their approach before they can even take anyone down. 0-5 K/D or more usually comes from these overly agressive players who keep dropping into situations without a clear strategy in mind, who also fail to become a backbone for their team because they can not guard, gain map control and keep dropping specials while giving their enemies more specials to work with.

I'd rather have someone who hangs back when they are the only one left, takes map control and splats enemies ocassionally than someone who keeps charging into the enemy field as far as it can before it gets splattered, over and over again.

Unless they're holding the Rainmaker, in which case, PLEASE, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF THE GREAT ZAPFISH, PLEASE CHARGE INTO THE ENEMY FIELD AS FAR AS YOU CAN BEFORE GETTING SPLATTED!" :D I suck at rainmaker, and somehow I can understand this. Why can they not? :)

What you say is mostly true, though the 0/5+ k/d I think comes more from simply not being good than being overly aggressive. The over aggressive ones get 12/15, and are generally on the same team as the 0/10. You know you had the over aggressive team when you had a bunch of players with double digit kills, some with double digit deaths, and you lost to a team with single digit kills and double digit deaths. They held the map WITHOUT stopping to kill everything that moved.

I think with the chaos of ranked it's harder to tell the nature of your teammates than TW. Because everything is in motion and there's this constant moving warzone, it's difficult to evaluate during play if a team is too aggressive or just reacting to need. TW makes it more clear since there's so much room for so much strategy that you can tell the ones who are just running out to get themselves killed, easily enough.

Personally in ranked, I think a lot of the problem comes down to the fact that the game never explains the rules, never tutors you in the campaign on how to play it, doesn't even have hints from Judd, and the only stat they give you is your k/d. How could any player NOT think the goal is killing things? It took me most of the C's to even figure out how the scoring works, and I had to read online how the penalty clock in SZ works (and I still can't say I understand it fully.) Add in "Make it Rain" and it's a recipe for widespread confusion.

I believe i read somewhere at some point (no source, sorry) that Splatoon was initially supposed to be only TW (possibly with a ranked mode of course.) I think the ranked modes were a last minute addon which explains why they're so derivative of other shooters compared to the uniqueness of TW, and why the campaign that was designed meticulously as a game tutorial, only teaches you how to play TW and not any other mode.

 

[Tuff]

Usually more aggressive players are close-range skirmish types, and tend to have faster and more precise movement. It makes 'em hard to hit and they can pressure you pretty hard if they know what they're doing. However I think good charger players can lock down just as hard. But since most people favor closer range shooter weapons, the best players in that class are usually aggressive and can pressure really well with good movement and situational awareness. But if they're not adaptive they'll lose to any strategy that is. If they just charge all the time they'll get killed by someone who can predict where they're gonna be and easily pick 'em off. If they hang back all the time, they'll get hit by a stray bomb or inkstrike or Inkzooka because they'll always be in the same general area. Fluidity and adaptation are def the most important thing that high level players have.

 

[Ansible]

@Elecmaw, A 0/x splat record meanwhile could mean a number of things besides overly aggressive or target practice. A player could have spent the entire match jumping on the tower because the others wouldn't. Or making sure that splatzone is clean while the rest of the team has a five-minute drunken brawl. Or even using that Hydra Splatling to constant suppressing fire and making a path for the rainmaker bearer. Normally the overly aggressive sorts will have double digits in both splats and splatted, even ending up with a near 1:1 ratio at the end.

@Tuff, I think the easy learning curve and quick results are why we see so many close range shooters. Either as a player's personal main or their weapon of choice for rank. But you are spot on.

@Award, rank mode does give you the rules BUT I found out by accident! When I thought I pressed "Y" for recon mode I had pressed "X" instead. (After all, how many people read a manual on anything?) Other than that and text on the screen during a match, there really is no in-game tutorial of how rank matches operate.

Yet if any player was told or tutored how a particular ranked match works beforehand, would that even halt many of them from playing by team deathmatch rules instead?

 

[HypernovaSoul]

I understand where you're coming from, although it sounds like Ranked may just not be the mode for you, at least not for now. It is aggressive because it is competitive, and intended as such. As other people have mentioned, close quarters combat and confrontations occur much, much more often in Ranked modes than Turf Wars, and this is something you'll need to adapt to both in play style and weapon/gear choice. If that's something you still don't enjoy or feel prepared for, you may want to stick to Turf Wars awhile longer to experiment with different options.

If you're having trouble approaching with the Krak-On because of range issues, I'd suggest trying out a different set with more offensive subs, like the vanilla Splat /Hero Roller. As a roller user myself (albeit usually Dynamo, which is a different ballgame), it's important to know your options for closing in, because that's of course where most rollers shine. You may want to consider abilities like Swim Speed Up or Ninja Squid, because they can work wonders for safer approaches/retreats. Defense Up can be helpful too to give you some protection as you approach. Try out different ability/gear builds, and see what you're most comfortable with.

A lot of people also have the right idea in terms of "aggressive defense," which is actually critical in many situations. Rollers are primarily offensive though, so if you aren't into flanking, close combat or stealth attacks you may want to look into different weapons.

 

[Tuff]

^ Yeah, Krak-ons usually excel at flank offense and punching holes in the enemies defense and territory. Unless you're really good at avoiding shots up close you're gonna lose straight fights against p. much any gun. I kind of view Krak-on as an Offensive Support because of Beakons being able to get your team behind enemy lines or to vantage points quickly. So if you're more defensive and don't like flanking you could try the Custom E-Liter since it has the same kit but is a more defensive lockdown style weapon that can also set up beakons to help your frontlines shooters get close.

Also, @Ansible, yeah, since the first weapon everyone plays with is a Shooter, most people are used to it and either stick with it or fall back to it. Not to mention close range rushdown styles are very popular in any competitive game, too. They're easy to learn but trickier to master so they just have a huge following and I can understand why people feel locked out when they can't beat those styles easily.

 

[Award]

0/x splat record meanwhile could mean a number of things besides overly aggressive or target practice. A player could have spent the entire match jumping on the tower because the others wouldn't. Or making sure that splatzone is clean while the rest of the team has a five-minute drunken brawl. Or even using that Hydra Splatling to constant suppressing fire and making a path for the rainmaker bearer. Normally the overly aggressive sorts will have double digits in both splats and splatted, even ending up with a near 1:1 ratio at the end.

Nah, the ones that get NO kills are generally just incompetent in general (or squid partying.) I'll sometimes (sometimes foolishly) take risks like getting on the tower when I shouldn't, or staying on the zone in dangerous situations, or suppressing with a hydra....but half the time you'll ACCIDENTALLY get a number of kills even if your deaths are way higher. The ones that go 0 were simply not shooting in the direction of anything living within range. :) But you're riht about the aggressive ones going 1:1 almost.

@Award, rank mode does give you the rules BUT I found out by accident! When I thought I pressed "Y" for recon mode I had pressed "X" instead. (After all, how many people read a manual on anything?) Other than that and text on the screen during a match, there really is no in-game tutorial of how rank matches operate.

Yet if any player was told or tutored how a particular ranked match works beforehand, would that even halt many of them from playing by team deathmatch rules instead?

Oh, that's interesting. I bet most people missed it. That's pretty neat. If only games came with printed manuals still.... If there was a tutorial on ranked modes, it wouldn't prevent the team deathmatch squiddos, but it would probably fix the fact that so many squids have NO idea where the zones are or what to do with them, are terrified of riding the tower or how the scoring works (losing a lead to try to get a knockout because they probably think they have to. And certainly solves the ones that run the RM to their own base! And the ones hat think he countdown is how long they need to hide it.

 

[Miirisa]

I understand where you're coming from, although it sounds like Ranked may just not be the mode for you, at least not for now. It is aggressive because it is competitive, and intended as such. As other people have mentioned, close quarters combat and confrontations occur much, much more often in Ranked modes than Turf Wars, and this is something you'll need to adapt to both in play style and weapon/gear choice. If that's something you still don't enjoy or feel prepared for, you may want to stick to Turf Wars awhile longer to experiment with different options.

If you're having trouble approaching with the Krak-On because of range issues, I'd suggest trying out a different set with more offensive subs, like the vanilla Splat /Hero Roller. As a roller user myself (albeit usually Dynamo, which is a different ballgame), it's important to know your options for closing in, because that's of course where most rollers shine. You may want to consider abilities like Swim Speed Up or Ninja Squid, because they can work wonders for safer approaches/retreats. Defense Up can be helpful too to give you some protection as you approach. Try out different ability/gear builds, and see what you're most comfortable with.

A lot of people also have the right idea in terms of "aggressive defense," which is actually critical in many situations. Rollers are primarily offensive though, so if you aren't into flanking, close combat or stealth attacks you may want to look into different weapons.

Thanks for the tips! I play mostly turf wars because I feel like I do stupid stuff in ranked xD

 

[Ansible]

Thanks for the tips! I play mostly turf wars because I feel like I do stupid stuff in ranked xD

But that's what makes ranked so much fun (at least for me)! =p

 

[Elecmaw]

@Elecmaw, A 0/x splat record meanwhile could mean a number of things besides overly aggressive or target practice. A player could have spent the entire match jumping on the tower because the others wouldn't. Or making sure that splatzone is clean while the rest of the team has a five-minute drunken brawl. Or even using that Hydra Splatling to constant suppressing fire and making a path for the rainmaker bearer. Normally the overly aggressive sorts will have double digits in both splats and splatted, even ending up with a near 1:1 ratio at the end.

I'm not talking about those kind of players. I'm talking about the kind of players who are so needlessly agressive that they constantly charge straight at the enemy team, no matter the odds.

 

[Squix]

I'm not talking about those kind of players. I'm talking about the kind of players who are so needlessly agressive that they constantly charge straight at the enemy team, no matter the odds.

You mean everyone on my teams?

 

[TheReflexWonder]

Well, getting a splat takes a player out of the relevant match area for ~10 seconds and you can't be sure where an enemy's special bar is if you can't see them. The game is generally won or lost in the neutral position, where neither team has a significant advantage happening. As a result, accounting for as much as possible and preventing yourself from being in a position where you get steamrolled by a convenient Kraken or Inkzooka is what allows you to be consistent. There are too many times where we lose someone in neutral because a person decided that they absolutely needed to get on the tower even when it's in a world of enemy ink, or they push forward to quickly stop an enemy's team's offensive and get wiped without taking any precaution. The mere potential presence of an enemy is sometimes enough to stave a team off.

These points are why it's not as simple as saying "focus on the objective." A lot of things come together to allow you to push, and splats are among the most significant.

 

[Award]

Well, getting a splat takes a player out of the relevant match area for ~10 seconds and you can't be sure where an enemy's special bar is if you can't see them. The game is generally won or lost in the neutral position, where neither team has a significant advantage happening. As a result, accounting for as much as possible and preventing yourself from being in a position where you get steamrolled by a convenient Kraken or Inkzooka is what allows you to be consistent. There are too many times where we lose someone in neutral because a person decided that they absolutely needed to get on the tower even when it's in a world of enemy ink, or they push forward to quickly stop an enemy's team's offensive and get wiped without taking any precaution. The mere potential presence of an enemy is sometimes enough to stave a team off.

These points are why it's not as simple as saying "focus on the objective." A lot of things come together to allow you to push, and splats are among the most significant.

Very good points, and all very true, though I think it's that kind of logic, when not understood, that causes the "bloodthirsty buccaneer" players that tend to dominate ranked (usually at the cost of winning.) I'd say that most read this and think their focus should be on splatting. They end up with double digit kills (maybe double digit deaths to match, but sometimes not even that) and they still lose. I think WISE splats are more important than splats.

I still suck at RM. I avoided it forever, and just got back into it this week, almost as a noob. But out of all the rounds, most of them bad, I played yesterday when it came up, the only ones we won, I was the one who won them. The one I got it to 1pt, got shot as I was on top of the goal cone. Had no escort either. The other I got it ONE point closer than the other team on the side grate of moray. I'm the one that shot the RM carrier each time he got close to closing the lead. Yet on the stat screen, I had an awful score. 5/12 or so. My teammates had wonderful scores in contrast, 15/10, 12/13, 11/11. They sure did a lot of killing. But the trouble is they didn't actually kill the RM carrier...nor its escort, every time it approached the lead. I'd end up running kamikaze right at the team of 3 to take out the carrier every time, I'd bring the RM back (or jump off the cliff with it to reset it back to middle.) If I picked up the RM, occasionally I'd have a pathmaker escort for half of the trip. Usually I was alone. Granted, like I said, I truly suck at RM still and just really started with it, it was the mode I ignored until now, ideally I wouldn't go 5/12 even if I do have to solo the objective. But some TC logic still applies, and in this case, the teams get so focused on brawling with enemies in the middle, they don't even notice there's an objective going past them and they ignore it.

Very often I see the team with single digit kills (even with double digit deaths) end as the winning team. The team with the 3 players with double digit kills is more likely to lose. You can tell from a mile away these guys were just going splat happy. Killing to kill, with the belief that the best enemies are respawning enemies and not taking into account pushing the objective in risky gambits that won't make your kill stat look too good was actually the winning strategy.They'll pat themselves on the back for their never-ending kill streak on the tower riders without noticing that the endless chain of enemy tower riders keeps nudging it closer and closer: Jumping out and getting splatted is WORKING! Eventually I realize the pattern and just hop on on a suicide run myself just to force the thing back to mid to keep them from nudging the lead.

SZ, in warehouse with hydra. I was able to dominate the whole zone alone....all I needed was for the enemy to be kept out of range. My team got lots and lots of splats. Out in the side areas. But they kept ignoring the inkbrush and TTK that would take turns hiding in the corner taking out the hydra that was endlessly reclaiming the zone. Had they fortified that area, at the cost of racking up their splats, we'd have had easy victories. Not to mention the never-ending torrent of killer wails coming at me. If they were splatting so much, how did the enemy keep charging their specials?

My guess is, in most places the splats the aggressive "buccaneers" rack up aren't the whole enemy team. They pick on the weakest members of that team, or keep ganging up on a support weapon, and keep taking turns splatting him because it's easy. Meanwhile the more formidable/sneaky members of the team will relentlessly bear down on the one defender non-stop almost uncontested. As a result, their kill scores look great, but their match performance was awful because they weren't really focusing on the objective.

Not to disagree with your point, I understand and agree with it. But I think many read that kind of advice and see something different from what you're saying. In fact, I think most do! Which is what Miirisa was referring to with the friend with constant double digit kills (still in the B's.) Sadly those players seem to make up much of all ranks.

Splats are helpful, but they don't win the match if they didn't splat the RIGHT opponents in the right place.