How Would You Balance Splatoon 2?

[Elecmaw]

Tenta Missles aren't supposed to splat, they are for zoning people out of the area. There are no true splatting specials in this game- in the first game there were quite a few like Kraken and Inzooka.

But there's another special that is supposed to zone people out, the Stingray! So we can compare the two:
-Both can reach through walls.
-Tenta missiles will readily show you every enemy inkling on the map before firing, Stingray will only thermal mark inklings that aren't currently submerged AND that is only when you're not firing.
-Tenta will let you regain control after launching, Stingray will lock you in the special until it ends. Stingray practically prevents you from walking.
-Tenta missiles will keep marking even while the special ends, allowing you to engage marked targets. Stingray locks you in stingray form, preventing anything of an offensive approach and making you vulnerable.
-Tenta can attack multiple targets, Stingray only one.

It could be that Stingray is just a weak special, but the fact that Tenta can mark through walls OR even show you every inkling on the map gives it a major advantage over stingray or over any special in general. That it keeps marking targets after they get bombarded by missiles make it so much worse.

 

[ThatBerkawitzSquid]

Here's my personal list of buffs and nerfs~

First and foremost, increase the game's tickrate, as that will make speed-oriented weapons so much better due to their hits actually registering when they happen.

Inkbrush: Range 5 -> 15, Fix the issue where its trail isn't wide enough on the left side due to Inklings being right handed, so it tends to force you off the trail when making left turns. I understand that it's a weapon that's meant for sneak tactics and assassination, but between having such awful range, and the game's current tickrate, it can't even do that job well a lot of times. The left side issue is something that simply shouldn't exist and makes using this weapon a pain.

Octobrush: Revert to Splatoon 1 stats, except for the increased spread. As an Octobrush main, I can appreciate the devs' kindness in buffing one of my babies, but I thiiiink they may have gone a little overboard. I just don't want it to become the next Dynamo and be nerfed into the ground because of widespread complaints

Rapid Blaster: Range 62 -> 55. This thing got a massive range buff in this game, going from 45 to 62, but I believe it's a bit much. The facts that it significantly outranges so many weapons, it's the fastest Blaster, and it can hit you around corners like any Blaster all just make it painful to deal with. A range nerf would make it still dangerous, but require a bit more effort to shut other players down like it currently does so easily.

Tri-Slosher: Range 39 -> 30, or just fix whatever they did to it in this game. It's crazy, as most of the playerbase is already aware.

Rollers (and I mean actual rollers, not brushes): Revert fling damage calculation to end-of-Splatoon-1. Rollers just feel so weak in this game. In the first game, after some reasonable nerfs, they required good aim to get the splats, but I never felt cheated out of them like I do now. I feel that without the presence of Damage Up, end-of-Splatoon-1 Rollers will be just fine.

Goo Tuber: Charge Speed 30 -> 45, fix the infinite charge hold exploit. If anyone's curious about that last part, you can technically infinitely hold a charge with any non-scoped charger by exiting squid form, jumping, and re-entering squid form while holding the shot. There's no way they intended this, as it makes the Goo Tuber simply a worse version of the Splat charger, so they should obviously fix this exploit. Also, I feel the Goo Tuber's charge time is much too long for its Bamboozler-level range, regardless of its ability to hold a charge for longer, so it should be buffed to a level just below the Splat Charger.

Clash Blaster: Increase ink spread. That's it. It's just really bad at that. Otherwise, it's fine. :p

Hero Roller Replica: Bring back the Splatoon 1 design so I stop confusing these for Carbons >:c

Ink Armor: HP 30 -> 1. I think the purpose of this should be to protect you from a single attack, no matter how powerful. However, tests have shown that the armor actually has about 30 HP, which means that it can survive a hit from some weapons without breaking. Combined with the game's low tickrate, which causes the armor to have a bit of delay before breaking, this makes the armor too powerful.

Sting Ray: Add aiming reticle, Enable enemy tracking while firing. Just make the thing easier to use, please. Also, a higher tickrate would make the Sting Ray splat targets when its supposed to.

Baller: Decrease time to detonate OR Increase blast radius OR Enable movement while detonating OR HP 100 -> 150. This special just feels too weak. I feel it needs something.

Autobomb: Enable them to be shot to disable their movement, followed by a usual explosion. These are my favorite sub in the game, but even I have to admit they're obnoxious when they're being repeatedly thrown, especially since nothing can really be done about them. This would make it so that when shot (they'd probably have about 20 HP so they'd break from any direct fire), their legs would break down, disabling their movement. You would then have about a second to get away before the explosion happens. This would make them still dangerous, but also easier to deal with.

Ink Mine: Damage 35 -> 50. I get that the mine's primary purpose is no longer to get splats, but I feel a weakened opponent running into your mine should still be a splat, and this would help it do that easier.

Splash Wall: Decrease deployment time. ">throws wall >years pass >i find a wife, have kids >eons pass >humanity is forgotten by the universe >splash wall finally deploys" ~A wise squid. Seriously though, it takes way too long. I get that the Splash Wall was the king of sub weapons in early Splatoon 1, but after its ink delay was implemented, its use dropped off considerably, so I'm not really sure why they had to add a deployment time delay to it. It seems entirely unnecessary.

I realize this is a lot, and I'm sure not everyone will agree with a lot of these. I'm certainly not an expert on game design or anything, but this is just what I'd like to see :D

 

[Savage]

Here's my personal list of buffs and nerfs~

First and foremost, increase the game's tickrate, as that will make speed-oriented weapons so much better due to their hits actually registering when they happen.

Inkbrush: Range 5 -> 15, Fix the issue where its trail isn't wide enough on the left side due to Inklings being right handed, so it tends to force you off the trail when making left turns. I understand that it's a weapon that's meant for sneak tactics and assassination, but between having such awful range, and the game's current tickrate, it can't even do that job well a lot of times. The left side issue is something that simply shouldn't exist and makes using this weapon a pain.

Octobrush: Revert to Splatoon 1 stats, except for the increased spread. As an Octobrush main, I can appreciate the devs' kindness in buffing one of my babies, but I thiiiink they may have gone a little overboard. I just don't want it to become the next Dynamo and be nerfed into the ground because of widespread complaints

Rapid Blaster: Range 62 -> 55. This thing got a massive range buff in this game, going from 45 to 62, but I believe it's a bit much. The facts that it significantly outranges so many weapons, it's the fastest Blaster, and it can hit you around corners like any Blaster all just make it painful to deal with. A range nerf would make it still dangerous, but require a bit more effort to shut other players down like it currently does so easily.

Tri-Slosher: Range 39 -> 30, or just fix whatever they did to it in this game. It's crazy, as most of the playerbase is already aware.

Rollers (and I mean actual rollers, not brushes): Revert fling damage calculation to end-of-Splatoon-1. Rollers just feel so weak in this game. In the first game, after some reasonable nerfs, they required good aim to get the splats, but I never felt cheated out of them like I do now. I feel that without the presence of Damage Up, end-of-Splatoon-1 Rollers will be just fine.

Goo Tuber: Charge Speed 30 -> 45, fix the infinite charge hold exploit. If anyone's curious about that last part, you can technically infinitely hold a charge with any non-scoped charger by exiting squid form, jumping, and re-entering squid form while holding the shot. There's no way they intended this, as it makes the Goo Tuber simply a worse version of the Splat charger, so they should obviously fix this exploit. Also, I feel the Goo Tuber's charge time is much too long for its Bamboozler-level range, regardless of its ability to hold a charge for longer, so it should be buffed to a level just below the Splat Charger.

Clash Blaster: Increase ink spread. That's it. It's just really bad at that. Otherwise, it's fine. :p

Hero Roller Replica: Bring back the Splatoon 1 design so I stop confusing these for Carbons >:c

Ink Armor: HP 30 -> 1. I think the purpose of this should be to protect you from a single attack, no matter how powerful. However, tests have shown that the armor actually has about 30 HP, which means that it can survive a hit from some weapons without breaking. Combined with the game's low tickrate, which causes the armor to have a bit of delay before breaking, this makes the armor too powerful.

Sting Ray: Add aiming reticle, Enable enemy tracking while firing. Just make the thing easier to use, please. Also, a higher tickrate would make the Sting Ray splat targets when its supposed to.

Baller: Decrease time to detonate OR Increase blast radius OR Enable movement while detonating OR HP 100 -> 150. This special just feels too weak. I feel it needs something.

Autobomb: Enable them to be shot to disable their movement, followed by a usual explosion. These are my favorite sub in the game, but even I have to admit they're obnoxious when they're being repeatedly thrown, especially since nothing can really be done about them. This would make it so that when shot (they'd probably have about 20 HP so they'd break from any direct fire), their legs would break down, disabling their movement. You would then have about a second to get away before the explosion happens. This would make them still dangerous, but also easier to deal with.

Ink Mine: Damage 35 -> 50. I get that the mine's primary purpose is no longer to get splats, but I feel a weakened opponent running into your mine should still be a splat, and this would help it do that easier.

Splash Wall: Decrease deployment time. ">throws wall >years pass >i find a wife, have kids >eons pass >humanity is forgotten by the universe >splash wall finally deploys" ~A wise squid. Seriously though, it takes way too long. I get that the Splash Wall was the king of sub weapons in early Splatoon 1, but after its ink delay was implemented, its use dropped off considerably, so I'm not really sure why they had to add a deployment time delay to it. It seems entirely unnecessary.

I realize this is a lot, and I'm sure not everyone will agree with a lot of these. I'm certainly not an expert on game design or anything, but this is just what I'd like to see :D

First off, thanks for posting the range numbers. I knew what weapons got range buffs but didn't know the exact numbers. I can now completely agree to nerf the Rapid Blaster's range. I used it as a fun weapon in Turf War in Splatoon 1 occasionally, but now I can pick it up and do so well with it when I was never good with it. I feel like the Rapid Blaster Pro should have this kind of range, not the base version.

Ink Armor nerf needs to happen. Right now it's dominating the competitive scene and ranked, and I believe it needs to break in 1 hit as advertised. As a Splash o Matic main, it's really annoying how I need 2 shots to break someone's armor, and combined with the tick rate, it's nigh impossible for a team without Ink Armor to beat a team with 2 or more Ink Armor casters.

Everyone agrees Tri Slosher needs a nerf for obvious reasons moving on...

I really want the Goo Tuber to get buffed. I was really hyped for this weapon only to find it completely outclassed by the Splat Charger.

Clash Blaster buff PLEASE. IMO the Luna outclasses it completely.

Octobrush I don't think is OP per se, but I think it needs some tuning. A bit too much range.

Please buff Inkbrush. I never use it seriously myself but it did not deserve this.

I somewhat agree with the Ink Mine buff, it's just that I don't want people to abuse it. Could just be me though.

I don't know who in the dev team thought making Autobombs indestructible was a good idea, but they need to be splatted. Like you said, just obnoxious.

I was in the Splatoon 1 splash wall meta and even I'm saying that those little devils didn't deserve this. Practically useless.

I like the Sting Ray and I can use it effectively, but I do think it needs a buff of some kind, perhaps with the aiming, so I agree.