Splatoon 2 How To Be Terrible @ Splatoon 2: Turf War and Weapons (Lesson 1)

[NerdiestNerder]

Welcome inklings to the first lesson of HTBM@S2, where I'm terrible at making acronyms or even standing out from the million of Splatoon 2 guides already on the website. Regardless, maybe one poor, unlucky soul will stumble across this series and maybe gain a thing or two as a Splatoon player. Oh well.

What is HTBM@S2?
Nothing special. I've seen many other guides on this website feature complex ideas that would take hundreds of hours to complete, and unprecedented amount of order to maintain. COUGH COUGH SPLATOON UNIVERSITY COUGH COUGH WHEEZE. These are simply unrealistic, and the ones that have already played out end in failure, and by failure, I mean failing to teach anything to its readers.
Hopefully, this is different. As you can tell from the title, I'm not going to make it a "get rich quick" scheme, or anything ordered and important, just some personal tips I've experienced as a player. I don't consider myself a pro, merely someone who's been in the competitive field since the launch of Splatoon 1 on the Wii U. Hopefully you learn something out of this.

What is this lesson about?
This lesson is about something that I see Splatoon players mess us with ALL THE TIME. And it's damning to the team in the whole in most scenarios. What is this mistake, you ask? Players trying to use their weapon for something its not made for. I see this in Ranked, League battles, but most importantly, Turf War, so I'll be focusing on that.

Is this lesson Splatoon 1 compatible?
Yes! I have only recently gotten the second one anyways, so I have a good understanding of both. Since this is a pretty simple and broad topic, I don't think anything will be different for players of different games. Please correct me Splatoon 2 or 1 players if I miss something or say something that you don't have.

What is the poll for?
I want to see the numbers of each type of fighter, and its always been somewhat of a curiosity of mine to see if the Inkters really were the biggest group. I would really appreciate if you filled it out, as it would mean a lot to me!

-<>LESSON ONE | TURF WAR AND WEAPONS<>-​

Have you ever seen a splat roller trying to go for kills? Or a charger going into enemy territory to ink the turf? Perhaps a slosher or brush hiding from the fight in their own territory? If you own the games, you definitely have. I'd say in every other game, I see at least one of these instances, and this is the biggest cause of my rages.
What's more frustrating than a charger that isn't doing his job? Have you ever wondered if you were the inkling doing the wrong job?
Because unless you're a Splatoon god, you probably have.

Teams = A Jigsaw Puzzle
Teams are some of the most delicate things in the universe. Therefore, I like to make it like a completed jigsaw puzzle. Every single team member has a job and responsibility in the group, and if one person doesn't do it, then the entire group falls apart. That's why in the following section, I'm going to discuss some simple facts about a team.
First of all, let's discuss the dream team in Splatoon; in other words, a group that (if everybody does what they're supposed to do) can in theory never lose a match. Here are the components...
1 Splatter (A splatter is someone who's weapon is designed to kill or to offend. These are mostly chargers, long-range guns and some sloshers and paint brushes)
1 Inker (An inker is someone who's weapon is designed to spread ink. These are mostly splat rollers and most sloshers and paint brushes)
2 Inkters (An inkter is someone who's weapon is balanced in between the Inker and Splatter range. These are most splattershots, guns, miniguns (you get the idea))
In the beginning cutscene when you first start a fight, when you see your teammates, if you see the above combination, then you already have an automatic advantage. If you see that your team is all splat rollers, then you should do the following...

Flexibility
This is where the puzzle analogy begins to fall apart. If your team (including you) is four Inkers, then you need to have flexibility. This means that in this, and ONLY THIS, scenario, can you go to other sides of the spectrum. Let's continue with the roller example.
Instead of going everywhere to ink, you need to find strategic positions to attack the other team, focusing on furthering the front line, something that would usually be for the Splatters.
Overall, this small section is a light touch, but it is the most important. Knowing to observe the players around you and adapting to that scenario is necessary before you can became a pro.

Splatter's Responsibilities in Turf War
My personal favorite type of weapon, the Splatter, has the first action in an order of maneuvers that is vital to winning in Turf War. Before I tell you it, however, I should go over the Splatter's strength and weaknesses.
One would think that a Splatter would be a waste in Turf War, a game about inking turf, something most Splatter's are bad at. Turf War isn't a game about killing players... or is it?
In most reviews for the game, I hear the reviewers say that killing inklings is not the target of the game. While it is technically true, if you're competitive player who happens to be a Splatter, this is NOT TRUE FOR YOU. In fact, in theory, that is your job. To splat inklings.
The job of a Splatter is to make the Inkter's feel comfortable. (NOTE: Being a splatter can be frustrating, because if the team does not work together, then you're useless...) You do not advance the front line, you merely give the opportunity to advance the front line.
You do this by going head strait into enemy terriortory a sniper's perch and begin to take out the enemy that's at the current front line, even hitting them as they hopefully retreat farther back. If you do your job well, then the Inkter's have a chance to do something that would other wise be nearly impossible, which brings me into the next topic...
Wait a second, then what to you do after and while the rest of the team does their job? Rinse and repeat. Make sure that you're continuing to advance it. It should go back and forth like the following:
Spaltter's give the chance,
Inkters and Inkers do their job,
Splatters give the chance,
Inkters and Inkers do their job,
I think you get the idea.
Now we can get to the next topic...

Inkter's Responsibilities in Turf War
Next up in the course of action is the good-ol balanced out assortment of weapons. Assuming that the Splatter's have done their job (if they have not, then you must take a chance. Hopefully you're skilled enough to get through it) they have now passed the stick down to you.
In a way, you're the string that connects everything together. If the Splatter's don't do their job, you can't advance the front line, and if the Inker's don't do their job, then the front line is weak and will most likely be advanced by the enemy. Admittedly, you are the most important part of the team, though at the cost of dependency.
Think about it, you are dependent on both sides to make sure you win. This means that if you're not that much of a trusting person, the Inkter job isn't for you. I personally hate being an Inkter because I feel a loss of importance to the team when my success is dependent on theirs. But that's just my opinion.
Anyways, your job is to actually advance the front line. And, before I move on, I should clarify something:

Why is the front line important?
The front line is important because it is what determines who wins. If you look at any map after a game of Turf Wars, there is a visable line down the map, usually near the middle that determines the winner. Whoever gets the line farther down the opposite side wins the game, because in most scenarios, it is very difficult if not impossible to breach the line because of Splatoon's map layouts.

Now, once the Splatter's have given the opportunity, you must act fast. Do not procrastinate and instead just jump into action, spreading ink everywhere to make sure that the line is clarified. If the Splatter's miss a person and you happen to run into an enemy, make sure that you DO NOT die. Run away rather than go through the long journey back to mid. Keep in mind that their is preferably only two Inkters per match, so you can't risk dying.

Inker's Responsibilities in Turf War
Last but possibly least, we have the Inkers. I've seen so many Splat Rollers jumping into the front lines with the Inkters that it actually pains me to think about it. Unless you're a Dynamo Roller or a far-ranged, high damage slosher or brush, you need to stay right behind the Inkters, because in the end, you were not meant for battles.
Instead of trying to go into new territory, make sure that you secure the area on your own side of the map. Because the Inkters are in a justified rush, they may miss spots that could easily be used by the enemy. Make sure that you destroy these patches and increase your team's overall paint coverage.
Honestly, there is not must else to say about this. Just find spots to ink up, as long as they're behind the front line. However, this does not mean that you can just spend all your time two seconds away from spawn 100%ing the area close to home. You still need to stay close to the front line, right after where all the action is happening.
Also, make sure that you have a clear escape route in case the Inkters are destroyed, so you can retreat safely. One thing that I've in the past is helpful in this scenario:
Let the enemies break through the front line and head deep into your territory before running to the front line and cutting it off again, trapping the enemy deep inside your easily-fixable area, ready to be picked off by the Inkters or Splatters.
And this goes for the Inkters too; when you find an opportunity to advance the front line, don't just go deep into the enemy territory where you can easily be overwhelmed; instead try to make sure every step of your advancement is secure or else you're wasting your time.

Overview and Closing Comments
Overall, we learned that each type of player (Inker, Splatter, Inkter) has a specific role in his or her team of preferably one Splatter and Inker but two Inkters. The Splatter's job is to give the opportunity for an advancement of the front line (a major part of Turf War), the Inkter's job is to advance the front line, making sure to avoid conflict and to secure every single advancement. Then, seeing the Inkter's have succeeded, the Splatter gives the opportunity again, creating a cycle. Throughout all of this, the Inkers are securing the area behind the front line and looking for/preventing any breachers. Most importantly, though, we must ALL BE FLEXIBLE is one person does not do their part.

Thanks for reading this, as it really means a lot. If no one wants a Lesson 2, then just shout it out below. If you're dying for a Lesson 2, then shout it out before. Anything in between is supported too. Honestly, this is a "you" thing. If you guys don't learn/enjoy it, then I'll stop. However, that can't be possible if I don't have feedback. Also, give me some suggestions on future lessons or some additions to the lesson in the thread. I'll make sure to notify you if I make the lesson/edit the lesson!

Finally, you should really go ink up the battlefield right now!

 

[NerdiestNerder]

Sorry guys, I didn't know there was a guide section to this website... I'm re posting it there...

 

[CloudMarioGamer14]

Thanks for the guide I think I would like being a splatter most, or maybe a inker, either sounds fun!

 

[NerdiestNerder]

Yeah, I would suggest Inker, because you're the least dependent on the other groups if you are. Plus, you get the most points.

 

[Hiro Protagonest]

Um... there's only one weapon that is made really for painting and not fighting, and that's the Splattershot Jr. And when I say not fighting, that's not exactly accurate as flanking and pressuring are still things to do. Build special, toss bomb, get armor or throw storm, and push.

Rollers are not painting weapons. Brushes are definitely not painting weapons.

 

[Либра]

I feel putting weapons into categories like "painting" and "splatting" are crazy misleading. Most weapons can - and WILL paint whenever they have the opportunity, because map control is crucial to most modes (and the winning criteria in turf), but it's also advised to go for splats with almost any weapon, because having a more-or-less consistent player advantage is key to winning in any mode, even the casual one.

If you really want to dig further into roles, I think Saber has written up a really nice essay on different player archetypes that you can put weapons into. Ah yeah, there it is

Like, just by reading this "Have you ever seen a splat roller trying to go for kills? Or a charger going into enemy territory to ink the turf?" there's already two things that are wrong. Splat Rollers are actually pretty good slayers, more so than painting, especially in higher levels of play, and there are chargers who can and should push to mid when there's the necessary area control for that. And Bambis and Squiffs, arguably the two fastest of them, have all the rights in the world - just by weapon, not skill :D - to pull that off if they can. If you've been raging about them, then they were most likely not that good. Just my guess, really.
Now on the entire camping thing (your example, sloshers), I agree, unless you're falling back in a ranked mode for a moment to regroup first, that's pretty darn useless.

Now for turf war, since that's the mode you are focusing on, I'll give you a funky little example.
"I splat. But I also paint. I paint a lot. I move around the map a lot. Sometimes, I'm the top painter on my team with a decent overall K/D. Who am I?"

Spoiler

... A Charger.

While I agree that some weapons paint better than others, there's more or less a reason why most weapons that can only paint, and have little to no killing capacity are less favored, even in turf nowadays. Because all that paint in the world is worth nothing if the enemy team has a consistent player advantage over you and will just paint over. On the same coin, if there's only dedicated slayers on the team who forget they're playing turf, they're in for a bad time as they probably forgot to paint critical areas.

The key takeaway: Look how your team is faring after ~30 seconds of the Turf War, and adjust your playstyle accordingly. They don't splat enough? Do the splat thing. They can win fights but don't paint enough? Paint a bit more to compensate for that. Unless you're a RB, in which case, good luck. Pffft.

 

[NerdiestNerder]

Girls, girls, calm down.

Um... there's only one weapon that is made really for painting and not fighting, and that's the Splattershot Jr. And when I say not fighting, that's not exactly accurate as flanking and pressuring are still things to do. Build special, toss bomb, get armor or throw storm, and push.

Rollers are not painting weapons. Brushes are definitely not painting weapons.

I feel putting weapons into categories like "painting" and "splatting" are crazy misleading. Most weapons can - and WILL paint whenever they have the opportunity, because map control is crucial to most modes (and the winning criteria in turf), but it's also advised to go for splats with almost any weapon, because having a more-or-less consistent player advantage is key to winning in any mode, even the casual one.

If you really want to dig further into roles, I think Saber has written up a really nice essay on different player archetypes that you can put weapons into. Ah yeah, there it is

Like, just by reading this "Have you ever seen a splat roller trying to go for kills? Or a charger going into enemy territory to ink the turf?" there's already two things that are wrong. Splat Rollers are actually pretty good slayers, more so than painting, especially in higher levels of play, and there are chargers who can and should push to mid when there's the necessary area control for that. And Bambis and Squiffs, arguably the two fastest of them, have all the rights in the world - just by weapon, not skill :D - to pull that off if they can. If you've been raging about them, then they were most likely not that good. Just my guess, really.
Now on the entire camping thing (your example, sloshers), I agree, unless you're falling back in a ranked mode for a moment to regroup first, that's pretty darn useless.

Now for turf war, since that's the mode you are focusing on, I'll give you a funky little example.
"I splat. But I also paint. I paint a lot. I move around the map a lot. Sometimes, I'm the top painter on my team with a decent overall K/D. Who am I?"

Spoiler

... A Charger.

While I agree that some weapons paint better than others, there's more or less a reason why most weapons that can only paint, and have little to no killing capacity are less favored, even in turf nowadays. Because all that paint in the world is worth nothing if the enemy team has a consistent player advantage over you and will just paint over. On the same coin, if there's only dedicated slayers on the team who forget they're playing turf, they're in for a bad time as they probably forgot to paint critical areas.

The key takeaway: Look how your team is faring after ~30 seconds of the Turf War, and adjust your playstyle accordingly. They don't splat enough? Do the splat thing. They can win fights but don't paint enough? Paint a bit more to compensate for that. Unless you're a RB, in which case, good luck. Pffft.

The roller (with the exception of the Dynamo) is not meant for fighting. Sure, can it survive a fight, yes. But against most other weapons in most scenarios, the range and overall lack of fighting power make it weaker then say, a charger. I'm not saying that you can't fight with splat rollers, sure you can! But I am saying that because the splat roller has some disadvantages, it should have a different strategy then a weapon like a charger.
About brushes, that's true. A 1-2 brushes are weaker though, with smaller ranges. I will admit though that most brushes are not in this category.

Also, of course every weapon should ink turf! As a charger myself, if I see no enemies on the battlefield, I'll make sure to pump out a few shots to the area, spreading my ink. In fact, this should always be in the back of your mind in TW. However, when in a combat scenario, each type of weapon will do its own thing.

Thanks for the link. I'll definitely check it out.


Remember that I also said "be flexible"? This is key in my guide. Yes, Splat Rollers can make good fighters (rarely) but that does not mean that that should be their main goal. Because they are better at painting then chargers, they should take that opportunity and spend more time inking turf. Unless, of course, the situation needs them elsewhere.
About special types of each weapon that are on the verge of Splatters and Inkters/Inkters and Inkers or downright in another category (you mentioned the squiffer) by all means go ahead and do what your weapon calls for. Unfortunately, I care too much about my time to list where every singly weapon exists on the spectrum.
Speaking of, I should probably clarify in the guide that Splatters, Inkters and Inkers are not three separate categories, but an intertwined spectrum. A Eliter Scope Sniper should act a lot more like a Splatter then a Kelp Splattershot or Squiffer.

Your personal experience is touching but does not add to your argument. I'm assuming that you're a pro, but this guide is targeted at mediocre players who maybe aren't as good about moving out of their spectrum. Admit it, the more you move into the other side of the spectrum as a charger, the harder and harder it is to maintain your position. You have the ability that others just don't have.

The last point is an example of the failure of most Splatoon players, and why I made this guide in the first place. Because of the failure of Splatters and Inkters, I find that the population of Inkers disappearing too, and the few that remain are taking a more Inkter stance or messing up. This isn't there fault, more of the fault of untrained Splatters and Inkters who try to do things that they are not skilled enough to do.

Again, did you read the guide? I'm not even going to make a new paragraph, instead, I'll give you the source material:

This is where the puzzle analogy begins to fall apart. If your team (including you) is four Inkers, then you need to have flexibility. This means that in this, and ONLY THIS, scenario, can you go to other sides of the spectrum. Let's continue with the roller example.
Instead of going everywhere to ink, you need to find strategic positions to attack the other team, focusing on furthering the front line, something that would usually be for the Splatters.
Overall, this small section is a light touch, but it is the most important. Knowing to observe the players around you and adapting to that scenario is necessary before you can became a pro.

-------------------
I know my attitude may seem like I don't approve of the criticism, but truly I am happy about this, as it has made me rethink and add upon my own theory. I encourage you and others to continue to call me out on errors in my judgement so I may build my theory up from rubble.

Good inking!

(Also, thank you Libra for being a charger. I encourage you to continue to splat those damn rollers)

 

[Либра]

Girls, girls, calm down.

Last time I checked, all the users who have replied so far, are male.

The roller (with the exception of the Dynamo) is not meant for fighting. Sure, can it survive a fight, yes. But against most other weapons in most scenarios, the range and overall lack of fighting power make it weaker then say, a charger. I'm not saying that you can't fight with splat rollers, sure you can! But I am saying that because the splat roller has some disadvantages, it should have a different strategy then a weapon like a charger.

Given the Rollers I tend to run into, I beg to differ. Naturally, you would assume that they are at an disadvantage due to their range, but learning to close the gap and getting into your effective range using the area control I mentioned earlier, or positioning yourself accordingly (right-side peeking and under perches come to mind) are key to learning this weapon class. Putting the Dynamo as the only killer wep out there when there's plenty of Carbon Ninjas out there raking up splats like nobody's business is a rather nearsighted mindset, imo. Especially now with the introduction of the vertical flick, while it requires better aim, increases the effective, and lethal range of the weapon class overall, it's just a plain wrong assessment to say that they are inept at fighting when in fact they are. Now this is with a certain skill floor in mind, and naturally most shooters have a much lower skill floor to be more effective at the job, but you should never discourage beginners or mediocre players from picking up this weapon, and learning to slay with it. This is about as counterproductive as the overcomplicated guides you were critizing earlier.

Speaking of, I should probably clarify in the guide that Splatters, Inkters and Inkers are not three separate categories, but an intertwined spectrum. A Eliter Scope Sniper should act a lot more like a Splatter then a Kelp Splattershot or Squiffer.

You raise a good point. The spectrum of how much a weapon should focus on either is more fluid than it initially seems, and some weapons require getting more splats in order to be effective. You listed the E-Liter (scoped one, but both fall into this), which is one of those weapons that not only require a high skill floor, so they are already off hands for the mediocre players you're trying to teach, but also fall flat on their faces if they miss more than 50% of their shots. Now on the other hand, the Squiffer has a similar high skill floor for a different reason. Now it charges faster, but the short range require it to act more on mid and as a front liner, meaning you have to make sure you land your hits consistently in order to be effective. And even more so, you'll need your team to back you up on the painting department to remain flexible in your movement patterns, so you can retreat without being trapped in ink in an unfortunate time.

Your personal experience is touching but does not add to your argument. I'm assuming that you're a pro, but this guide is targeted at mediocre players who maybe aren't as good about moving out of their spectrum. Admit it, the more you move into the other side of the spectrum as a charger, the harder and harder it is to maintain your position. You have the ability that others just don't have.

Oh, I'm far from a pro. I'm just your average clumsy sniper who has put lots of hours into his craft and is still striving to improve. And yet, personal experience is very important. While my experience may not line up with the majority of the players, I mean, it shouldn't - everyone's personal experience is important for them to make decisions on where they want to go as a player. Do they feel more comfortable on the front lines? Are they more comfortable picking less fights, and securing area control with painting, and beakons? Even if my personal anecdotes don't line up with where they want to go, I just wanted to make a point - the point that while weapons have a "common" way to be played out, due to the genius simplicity of how the game is built as a whole, a lot of different playstyles are possible within the same weapon class. Naturally, as you begin to study your weapon of choice more closely, you will err towards one playstyle over the other, but it's still not wrong to share different approaches so people can experiment.

Again, did you read the guide?

*nods with a blank stare*

I find that the population of Inkers disappearing too, and the few that remain are taking a more Inkter stance or messing up. This isn't there fault, more of the fault of untrained Splatters and Inkters who try to do things that they are not skilled enough to do.

I kinda tried elaborating on why that is, but I can do it again. Inkers, as in, pure Inkers, with the main focus of just painting, are gonna have a hard time improving! While it may seem as you can get far in Turf War with JUST painting, nothing could be further from the truth - and you found out yourself for why that is - and that is, because your average Turf War Teammate might end up being inept at winning fights, and as such, you end up with a player disadvantage. And no matter how good you are at painting, if you are painting against 3 people running around and turfing freely while being left untouched, you will not be able to outturf them. This is why I say, most people, when striving to improve, will err towards the role of the inkter, or the splatter. Because securing a consistent player count advantage is key.

Knowing to observe the players around you and adapting to that scenario is necessary before you can became a pro.

...or just a good player in general. Check the map, check the squids, check your teammates positioning, and try to adapt to the scenario and come out on top. Might sound like a solo-Q-warrior (tm) strategy that is too complicated for newbies, and I get that - but at the end of the day, there is no "definite" guide to improving quick.

And nobody will become good, or pro overnight. Those who land consistent top scores in both ranked and league modes, or even compete at tournaments, have spent thousands of hours on the game, and not only playing for playing's sake, but mix in training, scrims and other delibarate practice and analyze their gameplay on a regular basis.

Now, your guide is so people can move from "bad" to "mediocre", and I think it'll do the job. The only issue I find is, that you're trying to teach a rather oversimplified version of the game, and while a lot of these "overcomplicated" guides fail to adress players unfamiliar with most competitive terminology, teaching them that "Rollers can't kill", and that "chargers are the best slayers" are too broad and overgeneralizing. I'd love to say that I get the most picks on average in ranked modes, but I'll be real, I rarely am. That is because frontliners end up having more confrontations and opportunities to splat than I do, and I'm flexing between defensive, and pushing the objective, and depending on the mode and team comps, the kill count will vary hardcore. :D

 

[Hiro Protagonest]

The rollers are stealth weapons. If they sneak up, their OHKO means there's no chance for the opponent to get away. Brushes trade the damage for mobility, flanking wherever they please.

These aren't traits that are very useful in Turf War, where positioning is wild... but I also think they're just straight-up subpar in Turf War.

 

[NerdiestNerder]

Last time I checked, all the users who have replied so far, are male.

It's an expression.

Given the Rollers I tend to run into, I beg to differ. Naturally, you would assume that they are at an disadvantage due to their range, but learning to close the gap and getting into your effective range using the area control I mentioned earlier, or positioning yourself accordingly (right-side peeking and under perches come to mind) are key to learning this weapon class. Putting the Dynamo as the only killer wep out there when there's plenty of Carbon Ninjas out there raking up splats like nobody's business is a rather nearsighted mindset, imo. Especially now with the introduction of the vertical flick, while it requires better aim, increases the effective, and lethal range of the weapon class overall, it's just a plain wrong assessment to say that they are inept at fighting when in fact they are. Now this is with a certain skill floor in mind, and naturally most shooters have a much lower skill floor to be more effective at the job, but you should never discourage beginners or mediocre players from picking up this weapon, and learning to slay with it. This is about as counterproductive as the overcomplicated guides you were critizing earlier.

Good point, and since I was a carbon roller once too, I can personally relate to this. Yes, I would try to fight very often, and would win in the battle 50/50 of the time. The thing is, is that while it was definitely possible, it was a hindrance to the rest of the team when I spent time trying to find and then kill the enemies. I'm not trying to say it's impossible for these weapons, but just saying that it would be a disadvantage to the team. And please learn how to kill, because there are sitiutions when you'll be forced to do so. And when did I steer players away from Inkers?

You raise a good point. The spectrum of how much a weapon should focus on either is more fluid than it initially seems, and some weapons require getting more splats in order to be effective. You listed the E-Liter (scoped one, but both fall into this), which is one of those weapons that not only require a high skill floor, so they are already off hands for the mediocre players you're trying to teach, but also fall flat on their faces if they miss more than 50% of their shots. Now on the other hand, the Squiffer has a similar high skill floor for a different reason. Now it charges faster, but the short range require it to act more on mid and as a front liner, meaning you have to make sure you land your hits consistently in order to be effective. And even more so, you'll need your team to back you up on the painting department to remain flexible in your movement patterns, so you can retreat without being trapped in ink in an unfortunate time.

Thank you. I agree with everything in this statement.

Oh, I'm far from a pro. I'm just your average clumsy sniper who has put lots of hours into his craft and is still striving to improve. And yet, personal experience is very important. While my experience may not line up with the majority of the players, I mean, it shouldn't - everyone's personal experience is important for them to make decisions on where they want to go as a player. Do they feel more comfortable on the front lines? Are they more comfortable picking less fights, and securing area control with painting, and beakons? Even if my personal anecdotes don't line up with where they want to go, I just wanted to make a point - the point that while weapons have a "common" way to be played out, due to the genius simplicity of how the game is built as a whole, a lot of different playstyles are possible within the same weapon class. Naturally, as you begin to study your weapon of choice more closely, you will err towards one playstyle over the other, but it's still not wrong to share different approaches so people can experiment.

If they feel comfortable on the front lines, then become an Inkter, and if the opposite is true, then the Inker is good for them. And if you want to be on the front lines while still using an Inker weapon, choose one of the outlying types of weapons. (Such as a Dynamo roller in this instance). And experiment, by all means, but I believe that you'll find that following the above strategy is the best one. Hopefully, it is the most fun too.

I kinda tried elaborating on why that is, but I can do it again. Inkers, as in, pure Inkers, with the main focus of just painting, are gonna have a hard time improving! While it may seem as you can get far in Turf War with JUST painting, nothing could be further from the truth - and you found out yourself for why that is - and that is, because your average Turf War Teammate might end up being inept at winning fights, and as such, you end up with a player disadvantage. And no matter how good you are at painting, if you are painting against 3 people running around and turfing freely while being left untouched, you will not be able to outturf them. This is why I say, most people, when striving to improve, will err towards the role of the inkter, or the splatter. Because securing a consistent player count advantage is key.

I'm going to be blunt and honest here, I'm stumped. I think it'll help the majority of the team if you do my strategy, but on terms of personal growth, I'm not sure. If you have any ideas make sure to post them. Maybe the player could have two mains, one for painting and another for splatting, and they could also use outlying weapons on the spectrum. Again, please give me your suggestions.

*nods with a blank stare*

*I wiggle closer to your warm fur, feeling the heat vibrate off with a fiery sensation.*
*I wrap my tail around you, intertwining our fur together as I give you a playful lick on the ears*
"Floof," I say, exhaling loudly, "I want your floof"
(you wouldn't get it)

...or just a good player in general. Check the map, check the squids, check your teammates positioning, and try to adapt to the scenario and come out on top. Might sound like a solo-Q-warrior (tm) strategy that is too complicated for newbies, and I get that - but at the end of the day, there is no "definite" guide to improving quick.

And nobody will become good, or pro overnight. Those who land consistent top scores in both ranked and league modes, or even compete at tournaments, have spent thousands of hours on the game, and not only playing for playing's sake, but mix in training, scrims and other delibarate practice and analyze their gameplay on a regular basis.

Now, your guide is so people can move from "bad" to "mediocre", and I think it'll do the job. The only issue I find is, that you're trying to teach a rather oversimplified version of the game, and while a lot of these "overcomplicated" guides fail to adress players unfamiliar with most competitive terminology, teaching them that "Rollers can't kill", and that "chargers are the best slayers" are too broad and overgeneralizing. I'd love to say that I get the most picks on average in ranked modes, but I'll be real, I rarely am. That is because frontliners end up having more confrontations and opportunities to splat than I do, and I'm flexing between defensive, and pushing the objective, and depending on the mode and team comps, the kill count will vary hardcore. :D

I'm not advertising that you'll improve quickly. If anything, making sure you don't overextend yourself in battle is something that takes hundreds of hours to perfect. It's something I work on everytime I boot up the game. And mixing in different arts is amazing, given that you change your weapon everytime you change your strategy.

By overcomplicated, I mean huge operations that would take a bunch of people and promised guides that would take dedication that the writer simply never has. Not that they pack a lot of information. Also, sorry that it came off as "rollers can't kill". I didn't really mean for that to be the message. It's more like "roller's should not focus on killing". I apologize for the confusion. About the oversimplification, I would like to provide an analogy...

I'm in my high school's marching band, and one march you have to do is called the "forward slide". Basically, it's where you are walking to the left or right, but your upper body is tilted forward towards the audience. And I don't mean just bending your shoulders, as that would create a bad sound of brass and woodwinds. We start turning at our knees, then continue at our hips, then torso, then shoulders to form a sort of spiral staircase. Something we teach rookies when they first do these is to push their shoulders as far back as possible so that they are no longer facing the audience, instead they face to the side.
Why we do this is because their bodies will naturally begin to shift towards the direction of their feet after beginning to move. That way, when they move, they are lined up perfectly with the crowds. If we tried to set them perfectly strait, then they would shift towards their direction of their feet and be off. It's clever, and I feel like it relates to this guide:

See, I gave really strict standards, and as I said earlier about it taking years to learn to stay in your place, I gave strict procedures that are honestly kind of impossible to follow through with. The players are naturally going to revolt a bit and create the sort of balance that I'm comfortable with. Do you follow me?

With that said, I'm excited to see how you're going to contradict me next! :);)

 

[Либра]

It's an expression.

I think I would earn confused stares if I went up to my dudes with "Girls, GIRLs, calm down."
Fairly sure there's the universal "Guys, calm down". You've earned a confused look from me, but I will not discuss this further.

Good point, and since I was a carbon roller once too, I can personally relate to this. Yes, I would try to fight very often, and would win in the battle 50/50 of the time. The thing is, is that while it was definitely possible, it was a hindrance to the rest of the team when I spent time trying to find and then kill the enemies. I'm not trying to say it's impossible for these weapons, but just saying that it would be a disadvantage to the team. And please learn how to kill, because there are sitiutions when you'll be forced to do so. And when did I steer players away from Inkers?

I think I played Carbon Roller in a couple B+ Zones matches on my alt, and ended up skipping to A+ by just slaying enemies. I painted the objective maybe one or two times, but just sharking under the perch of Ancho-V was enough to keep enemies away from the zone. You know what I'm saying? If a Carbon is amazing at slaying people on their way out to mid, intercepting them - they won't be able to regain area control and will be at a consistent player disadvantage. Failing to do so will put your team in an disadvantage, but that's kinda how the game goes. I'll be dead serious when I say: The teams with the better slayers or flexers will have the upper hand because even if they don't have "inkers" on their team, they don't exactly need them anymore, given they've already painted the area after wiping the enemy team, and all the need to do is keep wiping them to secure the win.

If I'm being perfectly stern: Painters, as in pure painters, are basically dead weight to the team. They don't practice to contribute to pushes, they can't defend themselves, and the moment they're pitched against players who have put the hours in to learn how to slay, they're in for a bad time. Basically all I'm sayin'. Even the backiest backliners should go for the splat if they have the opportunity, and even those should push up and not fall behind eventually. That's why learning positioning relative to the situation and your teammates and your weapon is so crucial while just being content with inking alone will get you nowhere, skill-wise.

I'm going to be blunt and honest here, I'm stumped. I think it'll help the majority of the team if you do my strategy, but on terms of personal growth, I'm not sure. If you have any ideas make sure to post them. Maybe the player could have two mains, one for painting and another for splatting, and they could also use outlying weapons on the spectrum. Again, please give me your suggestions.

It's fairly simple, actually. You go to the testing area and mess around with a couple weapons. Get a feel for the weapon. Which one aligns with you most? Which one seems cool to play with? After that, mess around with it in the practice area for say 15 minutes, then look up videos from Pros playing the weapon to get an idea of how they move, when they strike, and their positioning to get most variables (on what to do wrong) out of the way first, then mix in your own ideas and playstyle. Most people are audiovisual learners, so why never address the simplest way to learn something quick? Why read exhaustive long guides first that teach them nothing on "But, how do I move with MY weapon? Not in general, but MY weapon in particular?". Since you've noticed yourself - every single weapon and kit requires a different nuance. You can't shoehorn them into one or two roles.

*I wiggle closer to your warm fur, feeling the heat vibrate off with a fiery sensation.*
*I wrap my tail around you, intertwining our fur together as I give you a playful lick on the ears*
"Floof," I say, exhaling loudly, "I want your floof"
(you wouldn't get it)

I do not appreciate this furry reference. Cease this bullsquid this instance.

It's more like "roller's should not focus on killing". I

But, we just learned that Rollers are one of the best slayers out there? That's like saying "Chargers should focus on painting", when neither is true, and both can contribute to both roles WHILE focusing on their main rolls. (pun intended) :D

 

[Mar$el]

I'd like to put three terms out there. Slayer, flex, and backliner. No these do not directly relate to inkers, splatters, or, what is it, inkters? The importance of these roles are key in understanding how to go about a competitive match (because this is the competitive discussion) at any level. The concept of the terms you described are really nothing. First of all, turf is not a competitive game mode, and to try and make a guide for it is really quite pointless, because real improvement comes from ranked modes and at a higher level, scrims/tourneys. But this aside I'd like to point out the plethora of misleading concepts and points described in this post. The first flag is raised at the notion that splat rollers should be rolling around painting, rather than going for kills. This is a very very bad habit to get into as you continue your improvement with the game. If you look at any splat roller past B rank, you'll hardly ever see them keep that roller on the ground.


Now, yes I realize this is a ranked mode not turf, blah blah blah he's a pro yeah whatever, but this is what roller mains strive for. Their killing potential is so high and that's the best way to use the weapon. It's not like this is only possible by being a pro - this can be achieved by anyone, and everyone starts somewhere. The reason I bring this up, is because this playstyle is the goal of all roller mains - a slayer weapon (as I mentioned in the beginning). While we're on the roller topic, the dynamo is actually known for its paint output an long range pressure, which makes it a backliner typically (some play it as a more flex role which takes more skill).

Anyways, the point I wanna make, is that weapons aren't classified by "oh this paints pretty well I should just paint for the most part." In reality, everyone needs to kill. If someone is dead, they can't turf, or splat your team, they're effectively dead weight. Is this not the best case scenario for you to put the enemy team in? 1 charger on a team isn't enough killing power to take care of an entire team. In your terms, everyone on the team should be an inkter, if not, a splatter. This kind of gameplay is optimal for winning any match. To help illustrate this, let me give a scenario. You have a team that's really good at painting, against a team that's really good at splatting. Who wins? Even in turf, the splatting team wins because a splatted team can't do anything. I know this from facing folks in turf and in game modes like splat zones and there are players who literally only try to turf, and they're pretty terrible at splatting. All I have to do is splat them easy and they can't do anything. By promoting certain weapons as inkers, you're teaching people to play poorly and develop bad habits as they continue their splatoon journey. While yes in turf you need a balance of turf and killing, killing carries teams great lengths much more than turfing does, so trying to tell people that certain weapons need to be inking the whole time, is telling them to be dead weight and telling them to play like a noob essentially. A roller who turfs is highly regarded as a noob and clearly hasn't figured the game out yet.

TL;DR these roles are formed by faulty reasoning on how to play the game and to follow these guidelines is not gonna help you get better at the game. So yes, this truly is a guide on how to be mediocre at the game.

 

[NerdiestNerder]

I'd like to put three terms out there. Slayer, flex, and backliner. No these do not directly relate to inkers, splatters, or, what is it, inkters? The importance of these roles are key in understanding how to go about a competitive match (because this is the competitive discussion) at any level. The concept of the terms you described are really nothing. First of all, turf is not a competitive game mode, and to try and make a guide for it is really quite pointless, because real improvement comes from ranked modes and at a higher level, scrims/tourneys. But this aside I'd like to point out the plethora of misleading concepts and points described in this post. The first flag is raised at the notion that splat rollers should be rolling around painting, rather than going for kills. This is a very very bad habit to get into as you continue your improvement with the game. If you look at any splat roller past B rank, you'll hardly ever see them keep that roller on the ground.

Alright, I'm open to the slayer, flex and backliner alternative if you give me some straight up definitions. And yes, I am aware that inkters is to similar to Inkers. Anyways, saying that making a guide on Turf War is completely pointless is well, completely idiotic. Sure, physical improvement in the form of ranks comes from Ranked Mode, but Turf War is still something that a player should still be trying to improve at. If I see a problem that can be fixed in Turf War, then I'm going to offer my suggestion on how to fix it, whether it'll improve their rank or not. Turf War is a fundamental part of the game, and the building block that the rest of the modes balance upon. If you throw that at, then everything falls down.
And yes, splat rollers shouldn't necessarily be searching out for kills. they should be painting and if an enemy shows up, then they can splat them. What I am against is for them to seek the kills out and waste the opportunity to paint, such as a game I actually saw yesterday:
The splat roller ran out through enemy territory all the way to a small Inkter who was not doing anything of importance/hinderance of the team and who was in the range of my charger (I was beginning to aim for him) and the splat roller killed him before streaking back to base past all the enemy paint that could have easily been painted. It was a waste of time for the team, because I could have much easier taken care of the sitiution.
Keep in mind, that this is for TURF WAR. Not RANKED BATTLE. In Ranked Mode, yes Splat Rollers should go for kills, but not in Turf War where their main objective is to spread paint across the map.
About the video, I respect how godly that person is at the game, and I'm fine with what he's doing. He obviously knows what's happening and has the main objective in mind. Speaking of main objective, let me remind you that my guide and what I am saying applies to TURF WAR, not TOWER CONTROL. If this was Ranked Mode, I would indeed say that rollers need to sometimes go for kills, but it is not Ranked Mode! I am honestly starting to lose my patience on the issue.

Now, yes I realize this is a ranked mode not turf, blah blah blah he's a pro yeah whatever, but this is what roller mains strive for. Their killing potential is so high and that's the best way to use the weapon. It's not like this is only possible by being a pro - this can be achieved by anyone, and everyone starts somewhere. The reason I bring this up, is because this playstyle is the goal of all roller mains - a slayer weapon (as I mentioned in the beginning). While we're on the roller topic, the dynamo is actually known for its paint output an long range pressure, which makes it a backliner typically (some play it as a more flex role which takes more skill).

Ha. I actually am trying to respond to each paragraph at a time, and seeing what you're saying right here, I think it'll be humorous for you to have seen me complain about the two things you predicted I would complain about. Ha. Just because their killing potential is high doesn't mean they should use it in TURF WAR. The reason I say rollers should usually try not to seek out kills is because someone else could easily do it; the Splatters. Sure, a roller can be a good slayer, but it takes the time out of those who's weapons are much better and fitted at slaying.
And viceverse too! A charger shouldn't run across the map to ink some turf with no people in it. Yes, chargers can make good inkers if the scenario calls upon them, but it's an insult to the rollers, who could have much quickly and easily inked the turf. Though remember, be flexible. If there was no Inkers on the charger's team, then I would implore him to ink the turf.
Speaking of chargers, would you say that goal is to become an inking weapon? And if so, why is the goal of every weapon to become the opposite of what it is designed to be?

Anyways, the point I wanna make, is that weapons aren't classified by "oh this paints pretty well I should just paint for the most part." In reality, everyone needs to kill. If someone is dead, they can't turf, or splat your team, they're effectively dead weight. Is this not the best case scenario for you to put the enemy team in? 1 charger on a team isn't enough killing power to take care of an entire team. In your terms, everyone on the team should be an inkter, if not, a splatter. This kind of gameplay is optimal for winning any match. To help illustrate this, let me give a scenario. You have a team that's really good at painting, against a team that's really good at splatting. Who wins? Even in turf, the splatting team wins because a splatted team can't do anything. I know this from facing folks in turf and in game modes like splat zones and there are players who literally only try to turf, and they're pretty terrible at splatting. All I have to do is splat them easy and they can't do anything. By promoting certain weapons as inkers, you're teaching people to play poorly and develop bad habits as they continue their splatoon journey. While yes in turf you need a balance of turf and killing, killing carries teams great lengths much more than turfing does, so trying to tell people that certain weapons need to be inking the whole time, is telling them to be dead weight and telling them to play like a noob essentially. A roller who turfs is highly regarded as a noob and clearly hasn't figured the game out yet.

Yes, everyone needs to kill but in different levels. A charger should kill much more than a roller in TURF WAR. And yes, killing is good, but rollers have a unique ability that they should take to its highest potential. And about one charger taking care of four people? It is possible, though admit tingly hard. Also, keep in mind that as a charger in TURF WAR I'm not very often faced with the prospect of four people at once. Instead, I only face 2-3 easy kills. And if there are four people, and the charger can't do it all by himself, then the Inkters have to step in and help out, and if that is still not enough, then the Inkers should also help.
Everybody should ink and splat, yes, but in different levels. Let me explain using a demographic:

INKER:
Inks: 75%
Splats: 25%

INKTER:
Inks: 50%
Splats: 50%

SPLATTER:
Inks: 25%
Splats: 75%

See, while they do each task in different amounts, they all add up to 100%, where that means contributing to the team. Of course, if a Splatter doesn't do their job, then the Inkers and Inkters splat level increases. And I am never trying to imply that rollers should never kill, just that it should not be their main objective in TURF WAR. And how is a roller who inks considered a noob? He is merely taking advantage of what his weapon is extremely good at. Sure, he should probably kill a bit more, but you would be surprised about how much noobs like him help a team.

TL;DR these roles are formed by faulty reasoning on how to play the game and to follow these guidelines is not gonna help you get better at the game. So yes, this truly is a guide on how to be mediocre at the game.

I think that the problem is that I'm not clarifying myself correctly, and you're oversimplifying my points. Sure, a few things could have been explained a little bit better in the original guide, but you're taking what I'm saying in a radical fashion, taking everything and making it seem extreme and segregated, when in reality, what I want to form out of a team is a pretty blend of paint, created out of three different colors.

Regardless, thank you for the... compliment?

 

[Elecmaw]

I know this is an alt you can't fool me X

 

[NerdiestNerder]

Excuse me?

 

[Dessgeega]

Excuse me?

It's an in-joke Elecmaw and some others have. X is a person who's, uh, notorious to put it politely. You do sound a little like him.

Anyway, I'm not touching the subject matter (hoo boy), but you've got several people giving feedback and criticism. Perhaps you would be better served taking some of it in if you want your guide to be well regarded and useful.

 

[Flammie]

I agree with Dess, Criticism is good for improvement.

Also i feel this thread is more of a rant than a guide.
Ranting about other peoples problems is not gonna help them improve.
If they cannot realize their own problems, they will barely improve at all.

I learned that the hard way, so whenever i lose a match, i have to go through everything i did in the match, to truly see if i did my best, or if i could do better.

Also sometimes people use Turf to improve with a weapon they have never used, or gears they have never tried before.
The same goes in ranked, sometimes people pick a weapon to try them out, it either works or it doesn't.

If people want to improve, they have to take risks on things they've never tried before, which means sometimes they will fail miserable, and you have to take that into account when playing with people trying things out.

ALL Weapons can turf, ALL Weapons can splat, a weapon that lacks in turf and a weapon that is not exactly splat material can still make a difference in the long run, or right at the end.
I've won enough turf battles and ranked by less than 1.0p or 1p in ranked to know it matters.

 

[NerdiestNerder]

It's an in-joke Elecmaw and some others have. X is a person who's, uh, notorious to put it politely. You do sound a little like him.

Anyway, I'm not touching the subject matter (hoo boy), but you've got several people giving feedback and criticism. Perhaps you would be better served taking some of it in if you want your guide to be well regarded and useful.

Hm. Notorious, you say? Fair enough.

I'm definitely trying to take in some of the criticism that makes sense, but I personally feel like my critics are not actually understanding the point I'm trying to make. However, they finally are getting to the real problems with my theory, and they are reasonable. Though I'm not sure how to change it.
Maybe I shouldn't change it though, as the basic principle of it as stated by the critics is flawed and misleading. I'm tempted to delete the thread (if you can do that on this site), but I've spent too much of my time debating on this forum to want to throw it all away. :D

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I'm pretty sure everyone else looking at this tore it apart already, but what a mess my mans. Three roles of just inker, "inkter" (you just added a "t" into inker), and splatter oversimplify the game especially when it comes to competitive play. Where are playstyles like defense or offense? I guess you would just put them in splatter. I really don't know. There's no accountability for different ranges / mobility based weapons.

Wait a second, then what to you do after and while the rest of the team does their job? Rinse and repeat. Make sure that you're continuing to advance it. It should go back and forth like the following:
Spaltter's give the chance,
Inkters and Inkers do their job,
Splatters give the chance,
Inkters and Inkers do their job,

Okay this is not how games are won in splatoon. Games are usually won by holding map control longer than the other team, or having a better push than the enemy team. Especially for turf war and splat zones, there are only a couple meaningful chances to push. And it's not all up to one player (the splatter) to give your team that chance. Maybe in neutral game this analogy is true, but when you're at a disadvantage, it's really dumb to just rely on the splatter player for your team to even move. And when you're at an advantage, and everything is inked, don't waste your resources, use more than one player to hold the enemy team back.

Last but possibly least, we have the Inkers. I've seen so many Splat Rollers jumping into the front lines with the Inkters that it actually pains me to think about it. Unless you're a Dynamo Roller or a far-ranged, high damage slosher or brush, you need to stay right behind the Inkters, because in the end, you were not meant for battles.

I don't know who told you rollers can't fight, but you've never played splatoon 1 if you honestly think this. Splat rollers and their variants are close combat experts who can punish up close targets with ease. Perfect for sharking tactics. Sure, while the neutral game for them is pretty hard, when their team is at an advantage, you're going to absolutely hate a roller player. Just looking at this game (not splatoon 1) rollers have a lot of options when it comes to close combat. But the main draw is the one shot flick, which is way more forgiving than other one shot weapons like blasters and chargers. And it's an essential part of their kit that makes them insanely dangerous to deal with at close range. No other weapon can just keep one shotting you so consistently and quickly up close.

Even then, rollers have tools to help them in combat, like the carbon deco's burst bombs to help combo into their flicks, or the vanilla roller's splashdown to combo into a vertical flick. Flingza may not be the best roller, but the wall can help establish itself in the neutral game.


Overall, I know this isn't a super serious guide, but just starting off with "How to be mediocre" gave me a really weak first impression.

 

[Elecmaw]

I wasn't going to take this thread 100% seriously seeing as to where it's going, but sincerely speaking kudos to you admitting that you made a mistake. Not many are willing to do that when their topic ends up going bad.

I might aswell pile up my critisism for the OP and other like-minded forumgoers who are invested into making a guide:

Do. Your. Research. There's a ton of free knowledge out there on this game. You don't need to invent your own terms to describe things, there's likely a different commonplace word to describe the same thing you're describing. Splatter stands for Slayer, Inkter stands for backliner(i think) and inker doesn't get described as much because whoever is in charge of that also does slaying on the side. There's no shame in taking info straight from the pros and recompiling as your own. The Inkademy discord channel is a good starting point, likewise there's also plenty of youtube videos explaining ideas to help you out.
If you did this you'd immediately realize that Rollers and Brushes are sharking weapons, not slayers or painters.

Think beforehand the common questions you'd like to have explained to your audience. I assume you tried to go for the newbie crowd with the title? Then maybe you could've posed these questions to the audience: What's the purpose of scoring kills, and who should you go after first(picks)?Why is map control(inking) important aside from it being the main objective in turf? What weapon teaches good habits and what doesn't? What is the meta and what does it mean for you? Why do players sometimes use their weapons differently than what they are intended for? Why is dying a bad thing and why should you still take risks? What abilities are good for you and what isn't? Why isn't it a good attitude to keep blaming your teammates?
Posing these questions to you is a good starting point. You don't need to insert them literally in your text, but it'll help in providing meaningful answers to your audience.

And also, tone down the comedy, or whatever. You can still be respected and come across as smart without cracking jokes. If you don't do it right (I'm mostly pointing at the furry thing) you just come across as awkward. Don't do it if you can't do it, and it's fine if you can't. You can still be interesting without humor.

Normally i let these threads float by, but you seem pretty committed in writing stuff up. That is 100% allright with me, but you need to work on preparing your research before you start to write your guide down.