Playstyle differences between ranks

[T.test]

From my experience, even the smallest difference between ranked brackets can have a major skill gap due to the way rank leveling works, so there could be some mindsets or techniques that separate the squids from the kids.For any players that had ascended ranks slow enough to get a feel of each skill level, what playstyle, mindset, teamwork, tech or weapon selection have you noticed that higher ranked players tend to favor?

For me, after getting to B+ and more or less being stuck in there, I've found that a lot more people are using long-ranged shooters: basically Tentatek range and above. Squelchers are much more common and there would be a .96 Gal practically every match, while Aerosprays and Jr.s are rarely seen. One exception to this is the SOM, which is still used due to its Suction Bomb Rush.

 

[1o2]

People who are in the B-B+ range tend to be very good at very specific things, but suck at something else. This usually results in a team being really good, or really bad depending on what each member sucks/is good at. Map knowledge/map control also seemed less important to players when I played at B/B+ (2 weeks ago).

A minus to A+ is basically the range where everyone is at leas decent-goodish in all areas, and team compositions matter more than anything. Most matches you get heavily depend on how well every works together without any sort of communication, silent coordination is key. Of course some matches you get a S/S+ ranked player and get carried for that W.

S- I haven't played much at this rank as I just got it Thursday night. It's essentially like the A range, but instead of decent-goodish players there are goodish-amazing players. Although there are an incredible amount of "manure" players that you run into at the S rank, which is a bit disturbing. Map knowledge (excluding Rainmaker) is also much higher, and people literally spam Splash Walls on Port Mackeral.

Weapon wise, it seems like everyone is spamming 96 Gal deco/Tentatek/E-liter/Splattershot Pros; Basically people are just using all of the better weapons. There are less Silver Aerosprays and JR's (unfortunately there are still some) but all of them are competent players instead of idiots.

 

[picopepin]

S30 and lower play fairly gnar. Its like A+s that really know what they are doing so they tend to fend well.
S31 and HIGHER hower... PRE S70??

Its like we are back in B-B+ range nobody checks the map, everyone wants to super jump without scoping it out first.

S70 higher though is a lot of fun, the matches are usually never knockouts and are pretty great experience!

 

[Shalnark]

B+ players seem to be more likely to overextend and overcommit than A- players, however, they aren't bad. Most of them have good aim, but they sometimes lack awareness or patience. The skill level in A- is slightly higher than that of B+, but not by much. In A to A+, where skill-sets are significantly more balanced, I think team composition is a major factor in determining who wins. If one team has a charger with good aim while the other team has a roller, the charger's team will probably win.

 

[Power]

Still waiting on full S+ lobby, that would be something to see.

Edit: Sorry for no contribution to discussion, but
The higher you go into rankings, the less people suck at overall aspects of the game. Either that, or they are absolutely amazing at one aspect that allows them to get that high. Higher ranked players are less likely to commit huge errors that cost a team the game.

 

[correojon]

A+ and even S players are not that good anymore, there are lots of people who have achieved that rank with their squad, but haven´t learnt the skills they should to be competitive at those ranks. For example, before the August update A+ snipers were awesome, however now I´m finding more and more mediocre snipers who are A+ or S. I´ve even fought against weak S+ players a lot of times, maybe they got to A+99 with their squad and then got carried to S+. I think rank isn´t a way to measure player skill anymore with one exception: players below B+ will probably be "weak", but players above A can be very good, terribad or anything in between. Also, you can find awesome B+ players, but they usually are great in some maps and very bad at others, or don´t know how to fight against some kind of weapons but are awesome against others.

 

[Power]

Well, rank was never a great way to measure skill in the first place. Obviously there will always be the bad players within ranks, but their population is less the higher and higher you go up. It just goes to show that there is still a lot to learn and improve on in this game.

 

[XenoPixel]

Once you get to the A ranks it's more about which team has the better players rather than which team has the idiots that's going to win.

 

[Zero Meddler]

Super Jumping is a clear differencebetween ranks.

I was punished for playing like **** one day in Ranked and was promptly put into a TC lobby with 6 B's and an A. Naturally, the A was put on the other team (I was an A too). The game started and MY GOD, B ranks don't know how to Super Jump! They would ALWAYS jump to whoever was close to the tower and promptly die. The tower never really left mid, only getting to the threshold of our territory at most. B ranks seem to jump to those who are close to the objective rather than taking their safety into consideration.

 

[Bottlecapn]

S30 and lower play fairly gnar. Its like A+s that really know what they are doing so they tend to fend well.
S31 and HIGHER hower... PRE S70??

Its like we are back in B-B+ range nobody checks the map, everyone wants to super jump without scoping it out first.

S70 higher though is a lot of fun, the matches are usually never knockouts and are pretty great experience!

May I ask how you made that picture in your signature? It's really great :)

Since I've been through *most* of the ranks, here's what I've got.

(C-) don't really know what to do most of the time after getting a kill. Just learning the basics of combat and the game modes.

(C) A little better, but still basically C-.

(C+) By now the players have a basic grasp of teamwork, but are still poor combat wise.

(B-) Better weapon selection, learning slightly more advanced movement. Not much map awareness and still can't use their weapons to their advantages.

(B) A bit more map awareness, weapon choice still average, starting to get a feel for their weapons. Beginning to be more stealthy about their actions instead of just "spray-and-pray" all the time.

(B+) This is by far the hardest barrier to break in Splatoon. Many people cap out/plateau here, thus making them the absolute best at their current rank, but still poor in comparison to A-. These players tend to be a lot more sneaky, and have a decent grasp on their weapons. This is the area where people start to blame teammates for mistakes a lot, and there is still a lack of objective focus. Players incorrectly use their specials and subs often.

(A-) This is the epiphany, the big "Aha!" moment. After playing a few matches, suddenly everything zooms into focus and you now understand more advanced combat, use of sub weapons, and have better map awareness and objective focus. Still a ways to go!

(A) You now are a master of your weapon of choice, but your fundamental skills are still "decent" when they could be "great". Much better objective focus around this area. However, this is also the place where everyone tries to carry the game solo. Not a good place to stay at for too long, luckily, this rank is easy to pass.

(A+) You can play a variety of weapons with a good amount of skill to cover all the maps and modes, and your map awareness is great. However, you still find that you are losing matches "because of your teammates". This is another hard to break barrier, but not as much as B+. There are still some errors made here, such as knowing when or when not to advance.

(S) You can play a variety of weapons with great skill, your combat is top notch, and you've got the objective focus and map awareness down pretty good. You understand the advantages and disadvantages of all the weapons and know a good number of ways to counter them. You can find creative new tactics and routes, and your movement is fluid and precise. However, there's still something lacking...

(this last one is from personal experience facing against these players. I've never been to S+, still in S.)

(S+) You can now find new ways to overcome obstacles in almost any circumstance, and you constantly and consistently check the map to see your teammates positioning and always know the right angle to strike. Accuracy is dead on, timing on point, you're a near perfect team player. But as with everything, no player is ever perfect. There is still room to improve.

Sorry for this massive wall of text. Hope it's helpful.