Pointers for competitive play?

[Juhlel]

Hi.
I've recently discovered this game after shortly quitting cod competitive. I love this game's mechanics and its fast-paced style.

Long story short, after a day of using motion, I can pretty much say that I'm used to the controls, and ready to apply that to any meta/techniques I find.

I am currently B+. It was fairly easy. Struggled a bit in B-, but everything above was smooth. But, I'm struggling now. Every game is either close or a shut out. I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

I just want to know what are some ways to better myself. Current meta?
My main gun is the Spalttershot.

 

[SwimShady]

Hey man! Welcome to the scene! You're in for a heck of a ride!

The first thing I would recommend, and I say this because you mention coming from a CoD background, is you have to forget a LOT of what you know about shooters. This game is drastically different from other shooters and you have to treat it as such. I came into Splatoon from a background in TF2. I did well enough until the B ranks using what I knew about shooters based off TF2, but to keep going, I had to ditch a lot of what I knew from TF2.

One difference: You have to move CONSTANTLY. Watch some good, high-tier players. They almost never sit still. I recommend watching videos from ThatSRB2Dude (I've noticed Dude only likes to sit still to set up for stealth kills), Nintendome (a lot of good meta stuff here), SquidKids (also good meta stuff) SquidsNextDoor, Name Subject to Change (one of the best, if not THE best, competitive teams out there right now), and, not to shamelessly plug or anything, but the other captain of my squad, Aristeia, is a fantastic player (far better than me). You can see some of his awesome gameplay on our channel Watch The Whiprays.

Another big change is that due to the fast, aggressive type of game it is, it's VERY hard to "carry" a team in the higher ranks in Splatoon, especially once you weasel your way into the A and S ranks. Almost every single time you're going to have to have a good, coordinated team backing you up. That being said, you can't get in the mindset of blaming your team every time you lose. A LOT of people do that and it's unhealthy and unhelpful. Everyone has a different play style. Even if 2 people are playing the same weapon, they may play it very differently. So when you play ranked and lose, remember that it's likely due to your teams' play styles not meshing well. Which is a big part of why once you get into the higher ranks, especially S, a lot of people join or create squads. If you have a dedicated team you play with all the time, it gets easier to coordinate and do better.

A note on play styles: Like I said, 2 players playing the same weapon their play style may be drastically different. That's another big deviation from the typical shooter motif. In TF2, if you played Scout, you were pretty much saying "I'm going to run around with a shotgun and a baseball bat and play fast, aggressive offense". If you were playing Sniper, you were saying "I'm going to pick out one or two secluded places to shoot from and only engage 1v1 in really tight situations, I'm here for support/defense". In Splatoon, these concepts of "roles" go out the window. A Gal player can choose to play aggressively OR defensively, depending on their gear and play style. A sniper may be moving constantly and have NO fear of getting aggressive and engaging 1v1. 9 times out of 10, what you expect to see from a particular weapon is not EXACTLY what you'll get. There are certainly specific things within the meta of the game that are far more common than others (things like Run Speed Up on Splatlings, Damage Up on Sloshers, many Shooters, and even some Brushes, Quick Super Jump and Stealth Jump on Tower Control maps, Dynamo Rollers running Defense Ups, are all things you will see a LOT) But never go into a match think you know EXACTLY how it's going to go down because you don't. And you never will. And that's the beauty of Splatoon. It's not predictable or monotonous.

And of course that means that picking up one weapon does not glue you to one play style. Mess around! Have fun! Try playing hyper-aggressively with a slosher. Or play more defensively with a splattershot. Pick up weapons that are weird or intimidating to you. If you liked semi-automatic weapons in CoD, you might really enjoy the Nozzlenose series. It's tricky to pick up, but terrifying when played well.

Really, the best advice I can off you is to watch high-tier gameplay and don't get stuck in your old FPS mindset. You're in a whole different world now, honestly. Take your time. There's no rush to get to S+ or anything. And the Pro-Comp scene for this game is still pretty small. If you're interested in going pro, you've got time to unlearn what CoD taught you and learn everything that Splatoon has to offer.

Good luck and keep on splatting!

 

[Juhlel]

Hey man! Welcome to the scene! You're in for a heck of a ride!

The first thing I would recommend, and I say this because you mention coming from a CoD background, is you have to forget a LOT of what you know about shooters. This game is drastically different from other shooters and you have to treat it as such. I came into Splatoon from a background in TF2. I did well enough until the B ranks using what I knew about shooters based off TF2, but to keep going, I had to ditch a lot of what I knew from TF2.

One difference: You have to move CONSTANTLY. Watch some good, high-tier players. They almost never sit still. I recommend watching videos from ThatSRB2Dude (I've noticed Dude only likes to sit still to set up for stealth kills), Nintendome (a lot of good meta stuff here), SquidKids (also good meta stuff) SquidsNextDoor, Name Subject to Change (one of the best, if not THE best, competitive teams out there right now), and, not to shamelessly plug or anything, but the other captain of my squad, Aristeia, is a fantastic player (far better than me). You can see some of his awesome gameplay on our channel Watch The Whiprays.

Another big change is that due to the fast, aggressive type of game it is, it's VERY hard to "carry" a team in the higher ranks in Splatoon, especially once you weasel your way into the A and S ranks. Almost every single time you're going to have to have a good, coordinated team backing you up. That being said, you can't get in the mindset of blaming your team every time you lose. A LOT of people do that and it's unhealthy and unhelpful. Everyone has a different play style. Even if 2 people are playing the same weapon, they may play it very differently. So when you play ranked and lose, remember that it's likely due to your teams' play styles not meshing well. Which is a big part of why once you get into the higher ranks, especially S, a lot of people join or create squads. If you have a dedicated team you play with all the time, it gets easier to coordinate and do better.

A note on play styles: Like I said, 2 players playing the same weapon their play style may be drastically different. That's another big deviation from the typical shooter motif. In TF2, if you played Scout, you were pretty much saying "I'm going to run around with a shotgun and a baseball bat and play fast, aggressive offense". If you were playing Sniper, you were saying "I'm going to pick out one or two secluded places to shoot from and only engage 1v1 in really tight situations, I'm here for support/defense". In Splatoon, these concepts of "roles" go out the window. A Gal player can choose to play aggressively OR defensively, depending on their gear and play style. A sniper may be moving constantly and have NO fear of getting aggressive and engaging 1v1. 9 times out of 10, what you expect to see from a particular weapon is not EXACTLY what you'll get. There are certainly specific things within the meta of the game that are far more common than others (things like Run Speed Up on Splatlings, Damage Up on Sloshers, many Shooters, and even some Brushes, Quick Super Jump and Stealth Jump on Tower Control maps, Dynamo Rollers running Defense Ups, are all things you will see a LOT) But never go into a match think you know EXACTLY how it's going to go down because you don't. And you never will. And that's the beauty of Splatoon. It's not predictable or monotonous.

And of course that means that picking up one weapon does not glue you to one play style. Mess around! Have fun! Try playing hyper-aggressively with a slosher. Or play more defensively with a splattershot. Pick up weapons that are weird or intimidating to you. If you liked semi-automatic weapons in CoD, you might really enjoy the Nozzlenose series. It's tricky to pick up, but terrifying when played well.

Really, the best advice I can off you is to watch high-tier gameplay and don't get stuck in your old FPS mindset. You're in a whole different world now, honestly. Take your time. There's no rush to get to S+ or anything. And the Pro-Comp scene for this game is still pretty small. If you're interested in going pro, you've got time to unlearn what CoD taught you and learn everything that Splatoon has to offer.

Good luck and keep on splatting!

Thank you so much.

 

[Hikaru54]

Hey man! Welcome to the scene! You're in for a heck of a ride!

The first thing I would recommend, and I say this because you mention coming from a CoD background, is you have to forget a LOT of what you know about shooters. This game is drastically different from other shooters and you have to treat it as such. I came into Splatoon from a background in TF2. I did well enough until the B ranks using what I knew about shooters based off TF2, but to keep going, I had to ditch a lot of what I knew from TF2.

One difference: You have to move CONSTANTLY. Watch some good, high-tier players. They almost never sit still. I recommend watching videos from ThatSRB2Dude (I've noticed Dude only likes to sit still to set up for stealth kills), Nintendome (a lot of good meta stuff here), SquidKids (also good meta stuff) SquidsNextDoor, Name Subject to Change (one of the best, if not THE best, competitive teams out there right now), and, not to shamelessly plug or anything, but the other captain of my squad, Aristeia, is a fantastic player (far better than me). You can see some of his awesome gameplay on our channel Watch The Whiprays.

Another big change is that due to the fast, aggressive type of game it is, it's VERY hard to "carry" a team in the higher ranks in Splatoon, especially once you weasel your way into the A and S ranks. Almost every single time you're going to have to have a good, coordinated team backing you up. That being said, you can't get in the mindset of blaming your team every time you lose. A LOT of people do that and it's unhealthy and unhelpful. Everyone has a different play style. Even if 2 people are playing the same weapon, they may play it very differently. So when you play ranked and lose, remember that it's likely due to your teams' play styles not meshing well. Which is a big part of why once you get into the higher ranks, especially S, a lot of people join or create squads. If you have a dedicated team you play with all the time, it gets easier to coordinate and do better.

A note on play styles: Like I said, 2 players playing the same weapon their play style may be drastically different. That's another big deviation from the typical shooter motif. In TF2, if you played Scout, you were pretty much saying "I'm going to run around with a shotgun and a baseball bat and play fast, aggressive offense". If you were playing Sniper, you were saying "I'm going to pick out one or two secluded places to shoot from and only engage 1v1 in really tight situations, I'm here for support/defense". In Splatoon, these concepts of "roles" go out the window. A Gal player can choose to play aggressively OR defensively, depending on their gear and play style. A sniper may be moving constantly and have NO fear of getting aggressive and engaging 1v1. 9 times out of 10, what you expect to see from a particular weapon is not EXACTLY what you'll get. There are certainly specific things within the meta of the game that are far more common than others (things like Run Speed Up on Splatlings, Damage Up on Sloshers, many Shooters, and even some Brushes, Quick Super Jump and Stealth Jump on Tower Control maps, Dynamo Rollers running Defense Ups, are all things you will see a LOT) But never go into a match think you know EXACTLY how it's going to go down because you don't. And you never will. And that's the beauty of Splatoon. It's not predictable or monotonous.

And of course that means that picking up one weapon does not glue you to one play style. Mess around! Have fun! Try playing hyper-aggressively with a slosher. Or play more defensively with a splattershot. Pick up weapons that are weird or intimidating to you. If you liked semi-automatic weapons in CoD, you might really enjoy the Nozzlenose series. It's tricky to pick up, but terrifying when played well.

Really, the best advice I can off you is to watch high-tier gameplay and don't get stuck in your old FPS mindset. You're in a whole different world now, honestly. Take your time. There's no rush to get to S+ or anything. And the Pro-Comp scene for this game is still pretty small. If you're interested in going pro, you've got time to unlearn what CoD taught you and learn everything that Splatoon has to offer.

Good luck and keep on splatting!

Well said Shady... I enjoyed reading that because it's all true!

 

[Flamelord054]

First, practice like hell, second try to learn how to support your team rather than go for kills, most people try to be a killer but there are more roles to be filled, or try to be one of the few like me that can fill every role by playing lots of weapons (Like how I play every Shooter, Charger, and slosher)

 

[Lucas]

I was in the same boat as you and I also made a thread about this. They helped me a lot in that thread, so check it out! (Thread: http://squidboards.com/threads/needing-some-insight-in-ranked.22728/)

My advice is to learn how to strafe between left and right. This makes it easier to survive and dodge ink pellets. As you get to the B+ and above ranks, you'll see a lot of players do that.
Another thing is try to outrange your opponents. This is VERY crucial. If you see a Luna for example, don't go head on. The Luna's range is terrible. Assuming you are using a Splattershot (since you said you use it), just back away from him and shoot. The only thing the Luna can do in that situation is either back off or throw a bomb. By the way, this isn't just for Luna's, so keep this in mind if you outrange other weapons.
Finally, try out other weapons. I also just used the Splattershot (Tentatek), but now I use the Wasabi, Berry Splattershot Pro and other weapons. Just keep in mind that it doesn't hurt your playstyle using other weapons. Splatoon is a diverse game, so using other weapons is very important. Who knows, you may find better success with other weapons.
Also another thing which people have mentioned already, watch some videos of people using a weapon you are using. You can gain some insights just by watching other players play.
Just remember, it takes time. Don't get frustrated of losing. Once you lose a match, you can't do anything about it. Brush it off and analyze the wrongs in that match. Learn what you did wrong and why you did that in that last match. Realizing your mistakes is what makes you a better player.
Hope this helps!

 

[splooshlover]

Hey man! Welcome to the scene! You're in for a heck of a ride!

The first thing I would recommend, and I say this because you mention coming from a CoD background, is you have to forget a LOT of what you know about shooters. This game is drastically different from other shooters and you have to treat it as such. I came into Splatoon from a background in TF2. I did well enough until the B ranks using what I knew about shooters based off TF2, but to keep going, I had to ditch a lot of what I knew from TF2.

One difference: You have to move CONSTANTLY. Watch some good, high-tier players. They almost never sit still. I recommend watching videos from ThatSRB2Dude (I've noticed Dude only likes to sit still to set up for stealth kills), Nintendome (a lot of good meta stuff here), SquidKids (also good meta stuff) SquidsNextDoor, Name Subject to Change (one of the best, if not THE best, competitive teams out there right now), and, not to shamelessly plug or anything, but the other captain of my squad, Aristeia, is a fantastic player (far better than me). You can see some of his awesome gameplay on our channel Watch The Whiprays.

Another big change is that due to the fast, aggressive type of game it is, it's VERY hard to "carry" a team in the higher ranks in Splatoon, especially once you weasel your way into the A and S ranks. Almost every single time you're going to have to have a good, coordinated team backing you up. That being said, you can't get in the mindset of blaming your team every time you lose. A LOT of people do that and it's unhealthy and unhelpful. Everyone has a different play style. Even if 2 people are playing the same weapon, they may play it very differently. So when you play ranked and lose, remember that it's likely due to your teams' play styles not meshing well. Which is a big part of why once you get into the higher ranks, especially S, a lot of people join or create squads. If you have a dedicated team you play with all the time, it gets easier to coordinate and do better.

A note on play styles: Like I said, 2 players playing the same weapon their play style may be drastically different. That's another big deviation from the typical shooter motif. In TF2, if you played Scout, you were pretty much saying "I'm going to run around with a shotgun and a baseball bat and play fast, aggressive offense". If you were playing Sniper, you were saying "I'm going to pick out one or two secluded places to shoot from and only engage 1v1 in really tight situations, I'm here for support/defense". In Splatoon, these concepts of "roles" go out the window. A Gal player can choose to play aggressively OR defensively, depending on their gear and play style. A sniper may be moving constantly and have NO fear of getting aggressive and engaging 1v1. 9 times out of 10, what you expect to see from a particular weapon is not EXACTLY what you'll get. There are certainly specific things within the meta of the game that are far more common than others (things like Run Speed Up on Splatlings, Damage Up on Sloshers, many Shooters, and even some Brushes, Quick Super Jump and Stealth Jump on Tower Control maps, Dynamo Rollers running Defense Ups, are all things you will see a LOT) But never go into a match think you know EXACTLY how it's going to go down because you don't. And you never will. And that's the beauty of Splatoon. It's not predictable or monotonous.

And of course that means that picking up one weapon does not glue you to one play style. Mess around! Have fun! Try playing hyper-aggressively with a slosher. Or play more defensively with a splattershot. Pick up weapons that are weird or intimidating to you. If you liked semi-automatic weapons in CoD, you might really enjoy the Nozzlenose series. It's tricky to pick up, but terrifying when played well.

Really, the best advice I can off you is to watch high-tier gameplay and don't get stuck in your old FPS mindset. You're in a whole different world now, honestly. Take your time. There's no rush to get to S+ or anything. And the Pro-Comp scene for this game is still pretty small. If you're interested in going pro, you've got time to unlearn what CoD taught you and learn everything that Splatoon has to offer.

Good luck and keep on splatting!

This is great advice. I would add that you have to know what maps/modes are good for you and which will almost always cost you points. I used to play ranked no matter the maps/mode but am now limiting my play to favorable matchups. Also, don't go on tilt. If you sit down and lose 4 in a row, odds are you will keep losing so go have fun trying out something new in Turf.

 

[Cuttleshock]

I would add that you have to know what maps/modes are good for you and which will almost always cost you points. I used to play ranked no matter the maps/mode but am now limiting my play to favorable matchups.

I'm aware that I'm clearly worse on certain map/mode combos, but I try not to let that affect whether I play or not. There was only one occasion when I really refused to play on a selection of Ranked games, namely the first time I scrambled up to S with stupid Bubbler victories in TC and thereafter didn't play anything but (but still lost virtually all of my S games...).

Since then, though, I've tried to be indiscriminate because... I figure that, although a high Rank should be a goal of sorts, it's also something meaningless unless it's an honest descriptor of your calibre of play. It's plausible that I could've hit S+ by now (though no doubt come back down) if I'd purely played good stages on good days, but I play stages which I know I'm likely to lose and I play when I know I'm tired because I'd rather be 'struggling through S' than be 'S+ on a good stage, on a good day'. I can't do well in tournaments if I'm only on par in two thirds of matches.

 

[Dessgeega]

I'm aware that I'm clearly worse on certain map/mode combos, but I try not to let that affect whether I play or not. There was only one occasion when I really refused to play on a selection of Ranked games, namely the first time I scrambled up to S with stupid Bubbler victories in TC and thereafter didn't play anything but (but still lost virtually all of my S games...).

Since then, though, I've tried to be indiscriminate because... I figure that, although a high Rank should be a goal of sorts, it's also something meaningless unless it's an honest descriptor of your calibre of play. It's plausible that I could've hit S+ by now (though no doubt come back down) if I'd purely played good stages on good days, but I play stages which I know I'm likely to lose and I play when I know I'm tired because I'd rather be 'struggling through S' than be 'S+ on a good stage, on a good day'. I can't do well in tournaments if I'm only on par in two thirds of matches.

It's fair enough if that works for you, Cuttleshock, but there's no shame in choosing your battles. This is a silly leisure-time squid simulator after all, and depending on the person some stages can be akin to pulling teeth. For those not interested in tourneys and such, if it's not fun to them, not playing it is alright. Looking at you, Tower Control Kelp Dome...

Lots of good advice here. I will second the "never stop moving" comment, though with some caveats. Camping DOES work, but you have to be pro-active about it. Splatoon's a game where every second counts, so be ready to move if a given spot isn't advantageous anymore. Also, strafing and hopping in and out of your ink while sniping or just firing from a good spot can pay off: Doesn't always work but it CAN throw off the aim of errant inkzookas and chargers you didn't anticipate. Cheesing off the snipers into trying to hit you and failing for a match's duration is a valid tactic :D

 

[SkyBound]

cod competive is a thing?

 

[Hikaru54]

cod competive is a thing?

You know what MLG is?

 

[Cuttleshock]

It's fair enough if that works for you, Cuttleshock, but there's no shame in choosing your battles. This is a silly leisure-time squid simulator after all, and depending on the person some stages can be akin to pulling teeth.

Oh, yes, I do agree; in my own case, getting better at the game constitutes 'fun', even if it gets tortuous on the way, and I certainly understand those who'd rather just, like, enjoy battles. I based my response off the title (referring to 'competitive play', not 'Ranked play'), however, for which I'd imagine it's important to be capable of playing everything (unless you can tag in and out with squadmates in tourneys).