If I had to say what I missed, I guess it goes to having the game at launch and seeing everything changing. I remember the excitement of playing the full game for the first time, trying out gear, just having fun in Turf and working on hitting Level 10 to contribute to getting Ranked unlocked (because Nintendo didn't give it to us until we had enough Level 10 players). I loved the excitement of seeing Splat Zones for the first time, getting into Ranked and playing a fiercer style of battle and getting out of C- and starting the climb through the ranks. It was great seeing how everything was simple and basic, and seeing the game evolve into something much more complex. With the start of Splat Zones people quickly adopted the Splattershot Pro and .52 Deco, and those weapons were the meta for quite some time because of the Inkstrike and their power. Then other weapons came along like the Tentatek (which never left after), the Krak-On Roller (before rollers were brutally murdered) and the game kept fresh and exciting. You can never experience the excitement and curiosity of these updates ever again and it's a real shame. Seeing announcements for new maps, weapons and modes was so amazing, seeing how they looked, their particular styles and how things would work out when they released. Playing Single Player and getting a glimpse of some multiplayer maps upcoming (Kelp and Bluefin) was so cool too, because it gave you a sense of what was to come and kept you coming back for more.
I was really excited for Tower Control until Blasters were discovered, then the mode fell apart and I hated it :P. Either way there was such a great feeling of community, especially on Twitch as streamers tried out new weapons, new maps, new modes and people asked them what they thought about the weapon, was it any good, and how the new additions were changing the game. Of course you can never quite forget the hype behind the very first Splatfest, and I was in awe of seeing the maps at night, with new songs and being on a team and fighting for victory. Then 2.0.0 came along, and everything changed again, what with Urchin getting a controversial revamp, some maps being tweaked on Ranked, Private Battles and Squads arriving, the Level cap bump, the Rank cap bump, Sloshers and Splatlings arriving, more gear and the promise of Rainmaker looming (with a preview match on GameXplain where literally no-one understood the mode and I was sitting there thinking how it is so obvious what you do lol) all added to the hype. Of all the things I miss, it was the regular patches and updates we were given, reading through the patch notes and figuring out what they meant for the meta and the game itself. Splatoon was treated in a special way, it may have been light on content at start, but they did it deliberately so as not to confuse and overwhelm players (may be a lame excuse, but I think it was good), since the more experience we got the more complex maps and modes got and the more the game developed competitively.
It was just so hype seeing broken things get fixed. I myself was so happy that Blasters splash damage couldn't deal more than 100.0 damage anymore, alongside nerfs to Kraken, Bubbler, Inkzooka (needed some nerfing) and other things like Cold-Blooded. Being able to experience so many different versions of Splatoon was basically like playing a different game each time, as the experience and play style changed with each update and patch. I also remember last November when we were promised Museum and Mahi, and getting super excited for maps with dynamic changes and gimmicks going on throughout the match. It's definitely a by-gone era for the game, and it's a massive shame too, because it gave us all a reason to pick up the game again and experience the new weapon, map, mode, gear and tweaks to abilities and weapons and see the game change for the best. Sheldon's Picks was a nice way to end off support, giving us a few more kits for weapons and more strategies. The thing I definitely miss most is when a new weapon came out and every lobby was filled with it as everyone went to try it out before discarding it for old favourites (especially weapons like the H3). I hope Splatoon 2 is done the same way, so we can get excited for incoming updates every time they're announced, be it new weapons, maps, modes, or balancing/glitch fixing. Definitely the best way to keep the game fresh too, which is why I miss it so much, we may have a balanced game now, but it is starting to stagnate now we aren't being given weekly updates for weapon/map/mode unlocks or balance patching. I really feel for those who got the game later on, and missed out on all sorts, whether it was the terrible old Saltspray Tower route, old Urchin online, Port and Saltspray Tower on Ranked, Blackbelly, Saltspray and Piranha Rainmaker on Ranked or just the old times where we all thought .52 Deco was OP for Ranked and chargers were just flat out terrible :P
