I need advice.

[Mendax]

for the past week, I've been terrible in Ranked. I was offline for a mere 5 days getting some study done, and next thing I know, I'm a total scrub.
I'm always getting negative K/D ratios.
I'm always the one at the bottom of the ladder.
I'm never checking my map, even when I kick myself to remember.
I've ranked down twice.

I've tried as much as I can: switching up weapons, changing my gear, checking out more successful players' setups and trying to imitate them, changing my playstyle...
I know I wasn't anywhere near this bad before I took a break, but now I just can't seem to catch up with myself. I know that it's me at fault, and not my team-mates: simply seeing me play is proof enough.
I can recognize my faults easily, but when it comes to getting rid of them...I feel I can't do a thing.
the only form of success that I've had so far is completely avoiding Ranked unless it's SZ. but that feels like a form of Save Scumming, and even then I still have more losses than wins.
what am I doing wrong?

 

[Vitezen]

Play the game more. Not all failures are on a tactical or mental level. Your instincts and feel for the game have decreased, the only way to get them back is through playing.

 

[dapperlace]

If you want to get better at something, keep playing that specific mode. You may lose your rank, but if you've lost skill due to not playing, then that's normal. The rank is meant to reflect your current skill, after all.

 

[Elecmaw]

What's your main weapon(s)

 

[Mendax]

What's your main weapon(s)

My main weapons are the .52 Gal and Tentatek.

 

[chrisblass1]

I practice in turf war until i feel like im ready to jump on rank. If you play seriously during the turf war matches you'll be playing like your old self in no time.

 

[Elecmaw]

My main weapons are the .52 Gal and Tentatek.

Ah, i see. Both of those are relatively short-ranged weapons, have you ever tried using the longer-ranged weapons like the Jet Squelcher? It'll help when more open maps are in the rotation.

 

[GreenSpiny]

Haha, I have the same feeling as you. I prefer splat zones, but play the others too because "maining" a game mode for rank feels cheap.

I would say use some completely new weapons for a while, in turf war. Even if you don't end up using them in ranked, you get back to your primary weapons with a new perspective. And it gives you some less stressful battles.

Best of luck!

 

[Mendax]

Ah, i see. Both of those are relatively short-ranged weapons, have you ever tried using the longer-ranged weapons like the Jet Squelcher? It'll help when more open maps are in the rotation.

thanks for the info, I'm planning to give the .96 Deco a shot.
also, is the Carbon Roller a good weapon for Burst Cancelling? I'm thinking of giving that a try, as it kills very quickly.

 

[SkyBound]

Carbon is one of the best for burst-cancelling i think

 

[adamjoseph]

Haha, I have the same feeling as you. I prefer splat zones, but play the others too because "maining" a game mode for rank feels cheap.

I totally feel this.

Right now, I'm only ever really successful at ranking up when Splat Zones is in rotation, and whenever RM or TC comes back into play (especially RM... grumble grumble...), my performance takes a nose dive, along with my rank. I'm always so tempted to jump ship and just play Turf Wars or do something else until Splat Zones comes back up, but it feels stupid and cheap. I wish there was something that kept track of your performance in each mode, maybe even just for you to see, but I guess the point is to improve in all modes. Oh well.

 

[GirlyMii]

Give ranked a break for a little bit. Don't be in a rush to get the rainmaker or tower. The teams who push the furthest in rank have he most ground covered in their area and the middle zone. Also fill in where you see your team is lacking.
And yes look at the map. I'm always looking down to see where everyone is. Good luck.

 

[SwiftySquid]

When I want to see how I'm doing currently, I go into Turf War and play a few games. Once I usually win three in a row, I know I'm prepared for Ranked. Cause you know; one day you might be king of the hill and the next day you're a scrub. It happens.

Also, if you feel like you're REALLY off your mark, take a break. Do something else and come back refreshed.

 

[Zolda]

As SwiftySquid said, one good thing to do is warm up in TW if you're not really feeling it right away. Sometimes if you haven't played in a little bit it can be helpful to just take a few casual TW matches to get into your rhythm and get focused. Also, if you really feel like you've hit a plateau with your weapon, give something else a shot. There are so many weapons in this game, there's a good chance you'll be able to find more than one weapon that clicks with you and then you can switch between them depending on mode/map and use whatever will fit that mode/map best.

Also, don't feel bad about avoiding ranked when it's not SZ. If you just don't enjoy the other modes, there's no pressure to play them. I'm that way with maps, if a map I really dislike is in rotation (Arowana Mall especially) I just don't play at that time. It's hard to improve if you're not having fun, as it just becomes frustrating and hard to keep motivated. Of course, I would still encourage you to keep practicing the other game modes, you might find you end up liking them. I used to hate TC, but I just kept at it until I eventually started developing strategies and methods for it that made it really fun for me. After that, I found that I improved significantly.

If you still find that you don't enjoy one or both of the modes you don't play even after more practice, don't feel bad about some perception that your rank is somehow less legitimate if you don't play every mode. Ultimately the only thing that matters is your own enjoyment of it, so just play in whatever way is most fun for you.

 

[Leviathan]

I'm sure a lot of this has been said already but, I was in the same boat as you like a month ago.
I took a 2 month break from splatoon ( moving / no internet / broke from moving) and when I came back I was absolutely terrible . Horrible K/D, bottom of the board, always on the losing team. I decided to switch around my weapon because surely that was the problem. lo and behold I was bad with every weapon I chose. I asked for advice from the reddit community and some old teammates of mine and what ended up being the most solid advice I got was, play a lot of turf war (like it was ranked mode) with the weapon(s) you want to use. Doing this, you will get better at knowing what works with that specific weapon and your positioning. If you play everyday, not worrying about losing rank but focusing on getting better , you will. I went from being at the bottom of my team every game to leading my team to victory and ranking up to S with the splattershot.
I hope this helps you out! Stick with it and you will surely get your wheels rolling again.

 

[Smarty1two]

Never give up Mendax m8!

 

[adamjoseph]

play a lot of turf war (like it was ranked mode) with the weapon(s) you want to use. Doing this, you will get better at knowing what works with that specific weapon and your positioning.

I have to start doing this. I'm always just so hesitant because I know what works well for me in Turf War, and I know that switching it up will mean I'm not going to be a top performer on my team, at least for a couple of matches. Pride must be swallowed for the greater good.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Personally, I don't care about my rank, and neither should you. I just play Ranked as if there was no rank. There's nothing to really gain from having a particular letter over your head in a video game. (I am currently B 40.) It's just like VR in the Mario Kart games or Xbox Achievements.

Of course, I have a negative splat-splatted sum about 90% of the time I play Ranked (my most common seems to be 2-10), but that's because I'm rarely playing when Splat Zones is up (the only mode where I more often get a positive sum), I am terrible at picking people off from the tower, and I aggressively try to claim the Rainmaker.

 

[adamjoseph]

Personally, I don't care about my rank, and neither should you.

It's personal preference. I really like the idea about trying to get my rank up and mastering this game. It's exciting. Sure, it means I get mad during ranked matches where I'm totally blowing it, and my Gamepad is probably sending out SOS's while I'm not home to try and escape my post-game loss wrath, but that's what I find fun about the game. Will I ever make out of B? Who knows, but it's fun to try.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Even then, thinking about that rank is a source of worry and pressure over your head, and I guarantee you'll perform better and win more if you can forget you're being ranked at all.