Hammerhead Bridge Analysis

[TheMH]

This map... oh wow, this map... it's the first map in Splatoon I kinda felt lost when playing the first rounds. Its basic layout feels like Warehouse, but the center area is the biggest clusterfuck since Skatepark. There are so many possibilities to flank, but also a lot of places to get trapped if you fail to time your flank correctly. I'm not sure if I love it or hate it yet ( :D ), but I'll have to practice this map a lot more than other maps.

It's not as large as the last few maps, too, which is a good thing imo.

 

[SleuthMechanism]

So this is what hell for brushes looks like. Pretty fun for splat zones though.(but still, don't bring a brush)

 

[Joseph Staleknight]

Gotta say, the versatility of Splash-O-Matics still works wonders here. At least, so far it's better than my experience using Carbon/Krak-On Splat Rollers and the Slosher so far. I guess it helps that I was in a group that really knew their stuff to back up for the weaknesses.

 

[aceofscarabs]

There's places to climb onto the bridge from the low ground and some high ambush spots that can be a real pain in Rainmaker near the middle. Also I've seen players stick their Beakons off to the side of the center behind some cover.

Hammerhead if anything is more claustrophobic and vertical than Flounder Heights, ironically :D

The low ground is all narrow spaces encaged in walls and tarps/inkproof metal surfaces, and the high ground is mostly exposed to the underside, with peek-a-boo columns to let people climb up, and has huge patches of no-man's land.

 

[Zero Revolution]

I have to say, this is actually one of my favorite maps so far. It feels like a much more open version of Walleye Warehouse. The grated floors on top are very useful too, I always try to stay on top when I can in ranked battles.

 

[SkyBlue]

Decided to derp and use a dynamo(after some matches I find that I like the gold more), and they work really well here. The wide/long rage of the dynamos flick really benefits from the limited movement options.

Even when teams spread out they're relatively still close together. Probably stick with dynamo for this splatfest. Get some more practice with it, been enjoying it so far. (I've hated facing dynamos so much that I kind of forced myself to never really use one, but I'm coming around >w> )

 

[Ametrine]

As the map is very huge, I believe beakons will work very well with this map.

 

[Joseph Staleknight]

No kidding. They're especially useful if you can blow through the middle into enemy territory and plant the beakons nearby. As long as your team can continue to put pressure on the others, they'll be incredibly handy for complete domination. I've been on teams that used this tactic well, and I had to face off against those who also did. Needless to say, whichever team used the tactic better usually won.

 

[Phobos]

Really enjoying this now - the compact spaces and tight corners make for lots of surprise, scrappy, close-quarter encounters, and so the short range + high mobility weapons can really thrive.

 

[Power]

Perspective from a 3k main:
I really have played below my level in this map (may be from just a loss of aim). The fact that it is new means that I can't quite get a grasp at it. I feel that trying to mount a comeback with a charger is very rough as there are lots of walls where someone can hide behind or climb. I just don't know how to play this yet, I Feel that the regular charger(boozler or squiffer even?) would be more suited here, not quite sure though. I would really love to here more accounts of this map from you guys.

 

[aceofscarabs]

Perspective from a 3k main:
I really have played below my level in this map (may be from just a loss of aim). The fact that it is new means that I can't quite get a grasp at it. I feel that trying to mount a comeback with a charger is very rough as there are lots of walls where someone can hide behind or climb. I just don't know how to play this yet, I Feel that the regular charger(boozler or squiffer even?) would be more suited here, not quite sure though. I would really love to here more accounts of this map from you guys.

Using the Heavy Splatling, I found that there are some alternate nooks and crannies in the side paths on the raised sections that facilitated my suppressing fire, they might be useful for snipers too.

It's dangerous to stand on the boxes that sit on the grating that forms most of the high ground, both the large central platform and the small obstacles/cover that sits on the sides of the grates. There's narrow high perch on the right side-path that could be used to cover the base area.

In general, watch for enemies that ink up the walls/platforms to reach the bridge section in your half of the map, they might be gunning for you.

 

[Kaliafornia]

Perspective from a 3k main:
I really have played below my level in this map (may be from just a loss of aim). The fact that it is new means that I can't quite get a grasp at it. I feel that trying to mount a comeback with a charger is very rough as there are lots of walls where someone can hide behind or climb. I just don't know how to play this yet, I Feel that the regular charger(boozler or squiffer even?) would be more suited here, not quite sure though. I would really love to here more accounts of this map from you guys.

Not speaking with any real authority because although I'm an S player, I'm not an S E-liter, however in an effort to "git gud" at E-liter it's been my main throughout Splatfest on both my accounts (previously got to B+ with it on my other acct before dropping it for awhile) so I've played Hammerhead quite a bit with it.

I know that mode matters for positioning (especially since there are boxes on the sides in ranked that aren't there in turf) however I will say that if your team is pushing and keeping map control in mind (instead of shooting straight to the enemy base) you can hold pretty well with it as long as you stay mobile. There isn't one position like in other maps that is super optimal for chargers, however a lot of the boxes are inkable so its good for getting out of sticky situations or getting a quick kill then retreating. I've had success following teammates (not past mid) and saving them from being flanked.

In my experience I had better games with 3k scope than regular splatterscope, the range really comes in handy when trying to make a long shot through grating. Plus since there are tons of walls and hiding places burst bombs are more useful if you end up getting flanked. Although there are a lot of boxes if you think about it this map is pretty much if Walleye had a second floor, a lot of it is long so when you do have a clear shot you often need the range of a E-liter rather than a shorter charger.

Again, take it with a grain of salt but just my experience.

 

[Power]

Not speaking with any real authority because although I'm an S player, I'm not an S E-liter, however in an effort to "git gud" at E-liter it's been my main throughout Splatfest on both my accounts (previously got to B+ with it on my other acct before dropping it for awhile) so I've played Hammerhead quite a bit with it.

I know that mode matters for positioning (especially since there are boxes on the sides in ranked that aren't there in turf) however I will say that if your team is pushing and keeping map control in mind (instead of shooting straight to the enemy base) you can hold pretty well with it as long as you stay mobile. There isn't one position like in other maps that is super optimal for chargers, however a lot of the boxes are inkable so its good for getting out of sticky situations or getting a quick kill then retreating. I've had success following teammates (not past mid) and saving them from being flanked.

In my experience I had better games with 3k scope than regular splatterscope, the range really comes in handy when trying to make a long shot through grating. Plus since there are tons of walls and hiding places burst bombs are more useful if you end up getting flanked. Although there are a lot of boxes if you think about it this map is pretty much if Walleye had a second floor, a lot of it is long so when you do have a clear shot you often need the range of a E-liter rather than a shorter charger.

Again, take it with a grain of salt but just my experience.

Yeah I had done some recon on the map and noticed that the sides can be the most optimal areas as you can't really be attacked from all angles. Not sure if Custom 3k scope (when it comes) would be useful, considering a loss of echo. I found it easy to get from side to side if I stayed back a bit. I feel like the right side is stronger for chargers than the left side, although I need more experience on it.

Using the Heavy Splatling, I found that there are some alternate nooks and crannies in the side paths on the raised sections that facilitated my suppressing fire, they might be useful for snipers too.

It's dangerous to stand on the boxes that sit on the grating that forms most of the high ground, both the large central platform and the small obstacles/cover that sits on the sides of the grates. There's narrow high perch on the right side-path that could be used to cover the base area.

In general, watch for enemies that ink up the walls/platforms to reach the bridge section in your half of the map, they might be gunning for you.

Definitely dangerous to just be sniping as if you were safe in the central. Good callouts, echo, and paranoia are necessary I am guessing if you want to survive in the central grate area.


All in all, needs more playing time and unfortunately splatfest limits us to turf atm.

 

[Of Moose & Men]

So, I've just recently gotten to queen in Splatfest, and before today, I'll admit, playing splatzones on this map is, dumb to say the least. The way the splatzone itself is shaped is absolutely stupid. And from what I have noticed, inkstrikes just don't cut it like they do in literally every other iteration of the game mode. They don't cover enough ground to stop the clock, and it's just over all very unfortunate. Still managable though. With that said, what I have come to notice, through splatfest, and my 30 win streak, is that Heavy Splatling is borderline broken in Hammerhead Bridge. At least in turf wars. I was walking out of there with 15-20 kills and about 1200p+ a match, just by making sure no one comes within reach of our side. With the stage as narrow as it is, and the center piece being as high as it is, the heavy splatling is absolutely ridiculous capable of taking people out all the way to the right of the stage. It's honestly one of my favorite maps now as a Heavy Splatling main.

 

[Zero Meddler]

I like this map but it's more close quarters than I thought it would be. I wouldn't recommend using a long range Charger or shooters since in my experiences, they have a bit of a hard time on this map. Squiffers and possibly Bamboozlers have a better time (then again that's from what I've seen). I haven't REALLY played enough Ranked on it to give my thoughts for Tower Control, Splat Zones, or Rainmaker. I will say, spawn trapping is EXTREMELY effective. Stupidly effective if I may say (if you get control of the map that is).

Overall, a pretty nice edition to the map line-up. Now if only we can get a third map in the rotations...

 

[LMG]

Using the Heavy Splatling, I found that there are some alternate nooks and crannies in the side paths on the raised sections that facilitated my suppressing fire, they might be useful for snipers too.

It's dangerous to stand on the boxes that sit on the grating that forms most of the high ground, both the large central platform and the small obstacles/cover that sits on the sides of the grates. There's narrow high perch on the right side-path that could be used to cover the base area.

In general, watch for enemies that ink up the walls/platforms to reach the bridge section in your half of the map, they might be gunning for you.

While the sides do seem useful, I still found myself often just setting shop by the pillar on my team's side and holding back the enemy from there. That said, it did get annoying if they reached the pillar (especially from below )

 

[Power]

Yeah, it definitely was some getting used to of hammerhead bridge that's needed.
(S rank Solo Queue Experience w/ 3k incoming)
I just absolutely dominated and won around 95 % of my matches on hammerhead today. I stuck to the sides early on (I mostly went right to start off the match) and when decent map control was established, I moved on to the central area. From there it was easy to pick off people and the echo really helped. If you aren't reckless, you should be able to survive on the sides, the only problem is not being able to contribute if you miss your shots. People going through the upper level is practically death for the opponent if you have a watchful eye. Once control is established, it is pretty hard to lose it as the routes are obvious and leave the enemy exposed.

I wish I could post a video, but my recording device made my new screen flash at weird points so I couldn't. next time when I play on my regular tv though.

 

[Flipz]

Splash wall is AMAZING on this map for Splat Zones--as long as you have decent map awareness, you can throw down the wall along any one of the main access paths and completely shut down the enemy approach, or if you're lucky you can throw it across the middle of the zone and have an entire half of the zone all to yourself.

 

[Of Moose & Men]

Yeah, it definitely was some getting used to of hammerhead bridge that's needed.
(S rank Solo Queue Experience w/ 3k incoming)
I just absolutely dominated and won around 95 % of my matches on hammerhead today. I stuck to the sides early on (I mostly went right to start off the match) and when decent map control was established, I moved on to the central area. From there it was easy to pick off people and the echo really helped. If you aren't reckless, you should be able to survive on the sides, the only problem is not being able to contribute if you miss your shots. People going through the upper level is practically death for the opponent if you have a watchful eye. Once control is established, it is pretty hard to lose it as the routes are obvious and leave the enemy exposed.

I wish I could post a video, but my recording device made my new screen flash at weird points so I couldn't. next time when I play on my regular tv though.

This is pretty much word for word what I wanted to express when it comes to the Heavy Splatling. I would start out on the sides, then set up shop on right outside their spawn point, and pick them off as they left. It was absolutely insane. Of 25 or so matches on Hammer Head Bridge,we lost about 1. The rest was a landslide. Usually landing myself anywhere from 15-25 kills a match and near 1400-1600p of turf (after the 300 win bonus). I'm not huge on turf wars, but considering it was the only thing during Splatfest, I didn't have much of a choice. That map is VERY clearly geared towards ranged weapons, like, super ranged weapons, the chargers and Splatlings to be most accurate. With how narrow the stage is, how far Splatlings shoot, and how strangely open everything is, Heavy Splatlings and Chargers have a field day on this map, and it is most certainly something I appreciate.

 

[aceofscarabs]

I guess we can call this Splatling Bridge if Moray Towers is E-Liter Towers :D