Really looking forward to when this update hits on 9th March, it looks like they're addressing the final niggles with the game. The most significant part is that they will now organise teams in Solo Ranked based on weapons. This is a huge bonus as we'll no longer end up with matches where one team has all short range weapons and the other has mid-long range weapons, thereby ending disadvantages like this occuring as much. I'm also happy to see the changes to points in Solo when people DC midmatch, since it was unfair that a point compensation only occurred when someone dcd before the match started.
As for the ability changes, these are going to have a significant impact on the frequency of those abilities. I for one cannot wait to use Last Ditch Effort when the update hits, as it finally gets the boost it so desperately needed. The fact it'll kick in once the enemy team's score hits 30 or less really boosts the usefulness of this ability, as well as the fact it'll decrease respawn time and stay in effect even when Extra Time/Overtime starts. Bomb Sniffer looks interesting now it'll act like Defence Up towards bombs and their splash damage. The fact Comeback is having Special Charge Up thrown in and the Run/Swim Speed being boosted to that of 3 mains is incredible and will no doubt have more use as a result. I'm still unsure of Haunt, since it doesn't have a clear explanation of how the Damage and Run speed stat kicks in. Special Duration is also iffy, since it only got a slight boost, though it'll be interesting to see how it negates the cooldown of Inkstrikes and Killer Wails. I think Recon will be seen more in Squads/scrims and possibly tournaments, since it enables a teammate to call out all of the weapons on the enemy team and where they're situated, so it'll be interesting to see how that works out.
Splatfest Power seems like a neat idea, as it means people who are high ranked and skilled will face others of similar skill more often, allowing for matches similar to those in regular Turf. I also approve of the fact it'll speed up ranking up your Splatfest title, since those who aren't crazy about 24hrs of Turf can finish their involvement a lot quicker and do other things whilst they wait for regular servers to return.
I think that the most exciting part of the announcement is the new weapon variants, it may not be new weapons, but it's the next best thing and should encourage more variety within Splatoon, which is always a good thing. Fun fact about the Wasabi Splattershot, its sub and special is that of the gun used in the E3 Build of the game. The Fresh Squiffer has Suction Bombs & Kraken which is a new sub & special loadout and I'm interested to see how this weapon plays out. The Berry Splattershot Pro, whilst it looks great, gets the short end of the stick, it's a very ink intensive weapon and Suction Bombs will not work for it, as they are also very draining on your ink tank as a sub weapon. Add to that it's bomb rush special, and it really will struggle to survive against other weapons. Outside of that, I spotted a brown coloured Bamboozler and a Slosher (regular) on that Sheldon's Picks box, meaning those 2 are getting new loadouts as well. There are also 3 ? present, possibly hinting at the other weapons coming in April, so there's at least 8 new variants coming next month. I have a feeling that this variants will have unlock requirements over Level 20 (unlike all the current weapons) since they are special versions and as such will be harder to access (although most of us are already Level 50 at this point in time). I cannot wait to see how these changes shake up the game, because we are clearly in for interesting times now. I just hope it helps freshen the game up enough, because this will push it onto another level if it does.
