How to make a successful first push?

[Xehias]

I’m mostly a support player, which means I rarely go straight to the front lines for the first encounter between the two teams. As a result, my skill level in those situations is less than stellar, and when I do try to join the first push, I’m often the first one to get splatted/get a trade. I feel like there’s something fundamental I’m missing.

For example, let’s say I’m using the Tentatek on a game of Splat Zones in Urchin Underpass. My role is obviously to rush to mid as fast as possible and take out the opponents before they get the chance to set up. I just don’t quite seem to grasp how I should go about doing it. Flanking is probably the best option, but let’s assume the enemy team has spread out all across the map—how can I flank if they’re watching all their access routes?

I feel like Saltspray Rig offers a good, straightforward example of this as well: matches generally begin by rushing the top, where both teams inevitably meet. Trying to compete there without a Splash Wall or bomb sub is, more often than not, a pretty bad idea. What determines which team wins this first encounter, assuming everyone has a roughly equal skill level/similar weapon types?

Essentially what I’m asking is: shooters and other offense-oriented players, how do you make your first push? What’s important to keep in mind, and what are some good strategies to put to use in specific maps? What are some mistakes to avoid at all costs? Thanks in advance for helping out.

 

[NovaScienceNever]

While I'm mostly paraphrasing Nintendome's video on positioning and movement, if you want to be the guy who's wiping out the team first, then you need to make sure you have the clear advantage, you have to be the guy who hits first, and is in a good enough position to retreat (have more ink around you). Do not overextend. At least that's what I know, I'm not an S-Rank dude and I haven't payed much attention to how my playstyle works. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[birdiebee]

I'll try to offer some perspective from a Splattershot Jr offensive/support role.

I don't have Tentatek firepower, and tend to get most of my kills from extreme close-range. This means establishing an area in which i have control (have successfully inked, and can comfortably maneuver when it is punctured by enemy ink spray). For the Urchin SZ example, I will often rush to mid, ink the left portion of mid, try to see where the enemies are coming in from and position myself in a stealthy spot so as to not get splatted. Once they're in my area of control, I pounce the prey. Obviously, it's never that simple, and with a zone to tend to, it's not that smooth of a process, either. Which bring me to my next point:

Bombs and zoning. Probably even more important than actually splatting with these subs is using them to draw enemies out from comfortable hiding spots, disrupt their strategies and catch them off guard. I will ALWAYS lob a bomb or two over to the enemy's section of mid just to see if it stirs anything up. Your Suction Bombs are arguably better for this. If you force someone out of their post or intercept their movement, you can splat them with ease; they weren't prepared for this encounter. Getting the most out of this requires a tremendous amount of foresight, map awareness and knowledge of enemy behavior to get down--and I don't claim to be a master myself by any means. You just have to have a grasp on where enemies are likely to set themselves up at the beginning of a match. Knowing these hot spots and how to infiltrate them with bombs is key. Sniper posts are the most obvious. But others are behind small corners, atop vantage points, along flanking routes. Glancing at the Gamepad can never be a bad idea if its safe to do so, but time is valuable.

Finally, I gauge the rhythm of my pushes based on my special gauge, but each special behaves differently and my Bubbler obviously plays a different role than your 'Zooka. But for the start of the match, getting my special is a HIGH priority for me, because it makes that early game push REALLY come together. Bubbler guarantees me the zone first, if teammates are nearby and I share it, they just decimate enemy mid. Bubbler is a fantastic early game push special, but so is the 'Zooka. Because the beginning of the match is the easiest time to find your enemies due to the small amount of ink and things not being shaken up yet, so I'd say a similar principle of charging your special fast applies.

I hope I didn't spout too much obvious info. Maybe it'll get you thinking about a few different elements. Maybe not. D: Good luck and if you have any more questions let me know.

 

[Xehias]

While I'm mostly paraphrasing Nintendome's video on positioning and movement, if you want to be the guy who's wiping out the team first, then you need to make sure you have the clear advantage, you have to be the guy who hits first, and is in a good enough position to retreat (have more ink around you). Do not overextend. At least that's what I know, I'm not an S-Rank dude and I haven't payed much attention to how my playstyle works. Hope that helps a bit.

I actually watched this video before. I seem to have trouble actually putting it into practice, though, which was the reason I posted this thread in the first place. But it never hurts to go over the basics one more time. Thank you!

I'll try to offer some perspective from a Splattershot Jr offensive/support role.

I don't have Tentatek firepower, and tend to get most of my kills from extreme close-range. This means establishing an area in which i have control (have successfully inked, and can comfortably maneuver when it is punctured by enemy ink spray). For the Urchin SZ example, I will often rush to mid, ink the left portion of mid, try to see where the enemies are coming in from and position myself in a stealthy spot so as to not get splatted. Once they're in my area of control, I pounce the prey. Obviously, it's never that simple, and with a zone to tend to, it's not that smooth of a process, either. Which bring me to my next point:

Bombs and zoning. Probably even more important than actually splatting with these subs is using them to draw enemies out from comfortable hiding spots, disrupt their strategies and catch them off guard. I will ALWAYS lob a bomb or two over to the enemy's section of mid just to see if it stirs anything up. Your Suction Bombs are arguably better for this. If you force someone out of their post or intercept their movement, you can splat them with ease; they weren't prepared for this encounter. Getting the most out of this requires a tremendous amount of foresight, map awareness and knowledge of enemy behavior to get down--and I don't claim to be a master myself by any means. You just have to have a grasp on where enemies are likely to set themselves up at the beginning of a match. Knowing these hot spots and how to infiltrate them with bombs is key. Sniper posts are the most obvious. But others are behind small corners, atop vantage points, along flanking routes. Glancing at the Gamepad can never be a bad idea if its safe to do so, but time is valuable.

Finally, I gauge the rhythm of my pushes based on my special gauge, but each special behaves differently and my Bubbler obviously plays a different role than your 'Zooka. But for the start of the match, getting my special is a HIGH priority for me, because it makes that early game push REALLY come together. Bubbler guarantees me the zone first, if teammates are nearby and I share it, they just decimate enemy mid. Bubbler is a fantastic early game push special, but so is the 'Zooka. Because the beginning of the match is the easiest time to find your enemies due to the small amount of ink and things not being shaken up yet, so I'd say a similar principle of charging your special fast applies.

I hope I didn't spout too much obvious info. Maybe it'll get you thinking about a few different elements. Maybe not. D: Good luck and if you have any more questions let me know.

Thank you! It’s kind of sad given I’m a S+ player, but I tend to get impatient and rush in without thinking even though I know better. And I still have trouble remembering to look at the Gamepad while I’m playing. I’m actually thinking of picking up a weapon with Disruptors and/or Bubbler just so I can practice this and make mistakes without actually getting splatted. I’ve been watching high-level Splatoon gameplay too, and noticing that those players tend to stop and look around before acting. They also seem to just know where everyone is at all times, but I suppose that’s just a matter of, as you put it, “a tremendous amount of foresight, map awareness and knowledge of enemy behavior”.

Hmm… Since I’m a supportive/defensive-style player, I’m usually the one to stop first pushes. I should try to use my knowledge of what people like to do early-game to good use on the other end of that. Again, thank you for the food for thought! Honestly, at this point I feel like things should be explained to me like I’m five years old because I’m just that bad at first pushes, so don’t worry about having said obvious things!

 

[Deathwish]

I'm not entirely sure how diverse your play style is, but if you ever feel like getting out there up front, try experimenting by going to places you wouldn't usually go and find the most commonly-used routes players take. (Pay attention to your teammates too, because they might reveal something too.) If you wanna know who might be lurking around the corner, try point-sensors. Sure, they don't ink anything, but they don't require much ink and it's surprisingly helpful at the start because your team won't be rushing in so blindly if you manage to locate a few sneak-attackers before they have a chance to strike.

 

[birdiebee]

I actually watched this video before. I seem to have trouble actually putting it into practice, though, which was the reason I posted this thread in the first place. But it never hurts to go over the basics one more time. Thank you!



Thank you! It’s kind of sad given I’m a S+ player, but I tend to get impatient and rush in without thinking even though I know better. And I still have trouble remembering to look at the Gamepad while I’m playing. I’m actually thinking of picking up a weapon with Disruptors and/or Bubbler just so I can practice this and make mistakes without actually getting splatted. I’ve been watching high-level Splatoon gameplay too, and noticing that those players tend to stop and look around before acting. They also seem to just know where everyone is at all times, but I suppose that’s just a matter of, as you put it, “a tremendous amount of foresight, map awareness and knowledge of enemy behavior”.

Hmm… Since I’m a supportive/defensive-style player, I’m usually the one to stop first pushes. I should try to use my knowledge of what people like to do early-game to good use on the other end of that. Again, thank you for the food for thought! Honestly, at this point I feel like things should be explained to me like I’m five years old because I’m just that bad at first pushes, so don’t worry about having said obvious things!

You're S+! :O here I thought I was talking to a B or A rank.

Yes, take a second to look around before doing things! I only just started doing that recently, and it makes such a huge difference. 2-3 seconds to observe can buy you so much time later on if you take advantage of it correctly.

Bubbler is my savior so I wouldn't advise against that idea ;) Disruptors are nice too. I only recently started working on Zink Mini and decided I'd like it as a secondary main. It's sexy at the beginning of a battle, too.

 

[Minato Arisato]

You're S+! :O here I thought I was talking to a B or A rank.

Yes, take a second to look around before doing things! I only just started doing that recently, and it makes such a huge difference. 2-3 seconds to observe can buy you so much time later on if you take advantage of it correctly.

Bubbler is my savior so I wouldn't advise against that idea ;) Disruptors are nice too. I only recently started working on Zink Mini and decided I'd like it as a secondary main. It's sexy at the beginning of a battle, too.

More love for the Zink Mini. Nice.

 

[Elecmaw]

Splat two people or more in rapid succession without getting shot yourself is a good way to start a push. You can always tack on a quick respawn + haunt set if you're getting used to playing agressively. Having good map awareness, especially in early game where the ink on the map practically tells you where the entire enemy team is, is essential too.

 

[Xehias]

I'm not entirely sure how diverse your play style is, but if you ever feel like getting out there up front, try experimenting by going to places you wouldn't usually go and find the most commonly-used routes players take. (Pay attention to your teammates too, because they might reveal something too.) If you wanna know who might be lurking around the corner, try point-sensors. Sure, they don't ink anything, but they don't require much ink and it's surprisingly helpful at the start because your team won't be rushing in so blindly if you manage to locate a few sneak-attackers before they have a chance to strike.

At this point there are few approaches I haven't tried. Thanks though; it always help to try different things when you're in a rut. Definitely am going to experiment with Disruptors and Point Sensors a bit more.

You're S+! :O here I thought I was talking to a B or A rank.

Yes, take a second to look around before doing things! I only just started doing that recently, and it makes such a huge difference. 2-3 seconds to observe can buy you so much time later on if you take advantage of it correctly.

Bubbler is my savior so I wouldn't advise against that idea ;) Disruptors are nice too. I only recently started working on Zink Mini and decided I'd like it as a secondary main. It's sexy at the beginning of a battle, too.

Yeah haha, I kinda hover between S and S+, but when I drop back to S I can usually get back up without too much trouble. I just feel like my S+ hinges on me playing only in a very particular way, but I want to improve my other playstyles as well.

Splat two people or more in rapid succession without getting shot yourself is a good way to start a push. You can always tack on a quick respawn + haunt set if you're getting used to playing agressively. Having good map awareness, especially in early game where the ink on the map practically tells you where the entire enemy team is, is essential too.

Thank you! To be honest, I still have "why did I do that?" moments, and far more often than I'd like. Really hoping to improve on this.

 

[Xehias]

Okay, so I ranked down from messing around too much in S+, and so I decided to try out some more aggressive playstyles in S. The results were mediocre, getting K/Ds like 6/7 or so at best. After trying out a few different weapons (Splash-o-Matic, Heavy Splatling Deco, Custom/Splattershot Jr. and Dual Squelcher) I said "screw it, I'm going back to my beloved Dynamo".

Sure enough, the Tempered Dynamo made me win all my matches with really good K/Ds (I notably remember a 10/1). I'm starting to wonder if I'm just not made for the front lines, or at least not with weapons that can't get one-shot splats. Whenever I try to play aggressively, I'm too reckless and too cautious at the same time. For example, I'll see a foe get splatted in mid and think it's safe to rush in without first checking for other players, with disastrous results. Or I'll just sit back and play my Splash-o-Matic like I would a Dynamo. It's really annoying that I feel—and am—competent with the Dynamo and Krak-On, but everything else seems to elude me.