Secrets of S Ranked? (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Splat Bombs and Ask for Help)

[splooshlover]

Just a little update:

Took me a long time to get there, but I made it. I think the mental part of the game was obviously what I was missing. I blamed my teammates for every loss. The more I started really analyzing the games though, the more I realized it was usually my fault. I started repeating my mantra before every match ("just don't die") and I tried to play whatever role my team needed instead of always playing kamikaze. Thank you to everyone for your tips, and now I'm off on my journey hopefully to S+!

 

[Elecmaw]

Good job! Hope you'll keep your S rank, lost mine pretty quick the first time i got it. S is a whole different story from A+...

Have you tried Heavy Splatlings yet? None of the long-ranged weapons are easy to master, but this one is the most user-friendly as far as i know. As always, practise first in turf war and then take it to ranked. It's good to try out different weapons of all kinds so you know their weaknesses/strengths in depth when you have to take them down with the Sploosh.
But then again, you're doing fine as is right now. Good luck in future ranked endeavours, and stay salty!

 

[splooshlover]

Good job! Hope you'll keep your S rank, lost mine pretty quick the first time i got it. S is a whole different story from A+...

Have you tried Heavy Splatlings yet? None of the long-ranged weapons are easy to master, but this one is the most user-friendly as far as i know. As always, practise first in turf war and then take it to ranked. It's good to try out different weapons of all kinds so you know their weaknesses/strengths in depth when you have to take them down with the Sploosh.
But then again, you're doing fine as is right now. Good luck in future ranked endeavours, and stay salty!

Thanks!

 

[Green Waffles]

After a year of mastering the art of woomy, I have learned the secret.

Do whatever you want to.
Everything works if ya do it well (well, not right ;P)

WARNING!!! Big long post ahead, skip if you think reading long posts sucks too.

I personally have played all them blasted weapons in every ranked mode, because I kinda like being that one guy who brings in new weapons straight out of ammo knights, to ranked the second they are released and (generally) still do just dang fine with it while the enemy is still trying to figure out exactly what the new weapon does.

For a brief recap of my... climb? (It's probably more like a drunken square dance)

I started off going from C- to B+( or A-? I dunno) with CUSTOM splattershot jr. mhm let that sink in.
Of course this was waaaaaay back when splat zones was just released and apparently no one had ever heard of ambushes sooooo.

Next I learned that the .96 regular DIDN'T suck to high squid heaven and you just needed to aim. Also Echho-locator was OP because everyone was still running ninja squid like a bunch of NOOBS!! (hehe, we all were though xD) That got me to a nice A rank.

Then Tower control came along and I fell down back to B- because I was STOOPID and couldn't figure out how to not die to the legion of undead carbon rollers whilst riding a friggin' magical grenade magnet that plays the muffin man song.

and then

E-liter (pre nerf)

Oh the beauty, oh the rage at anyone else using it better. I got back to A.
Then I decided to be a filthy hipster because everyone with a charger seemed to have e-liter.
I went to splatterscopes(both kinds).

Then I saw that a guy got to S+ with inkbrushes, which I had previously relegated to turf wars and splat zones.
I then saw that the splatoon MLG gods were a lie and no order existed.

I picked my previously unused rapid blaster deco, put on my yellow basics,cream basics, and white headband and boldly stepped into ranked lobby.
(I got to A+ using this)

Many weapons and one rank roller coaster ride later, I'm sitting comfortably in S+.... until I decided to get better with H3
Now I'm S again <_>


I made it to S+ by going all over the place and then doing it again.
My squad mates however did it with (mostly) one weapon (One guy for each; Zapper 85, .52 deco, aerospray RG, splash-o-matic, and e-liter)
Each of my squad members mained one of these and crammed their way up to atleast A rank. Thankks to my influence tthough, they havee branched out a bit more =] =] =] =] =] =]

Thus back to how this post should have ended:
Do whatever, everything works, just be sure to have fun.

PS: I HATE gettin flanked by a sneak-butt, tentacle-chewinng, lag kraken-ing, scum-sucking sploosh, so yeah. Anyone who says sploosh stinks is talking like a big noob dummy =)

PSS: anyone talking like a big noob dummy: I wear cereal boxes on my head to make people laugh . . .

woomy

 

[KayB]

A+ thread title, can I just say


As a side note, I think one of the biggest differences between S and A+ is map awareness. You can get to S rank getting away with just coming up with strategies on the spot, but if you don't have a solid game plan and objective for nearly every map and mode (including knowing choke/flank points, points of power/weakness for your weapon and for others, etc), you'll have much less consistency.

 

[SyMag]

A+ thread title, can I just say


As a side note, I think one of the biggest differences between S and A+ is map awareness. You can get to S rank getting away with just coming up with strategies on the spot, but if you don't have a solid game plan and objective for nearly every map and mode (including knowing choke/flank points, points of power/weakness for your weapon and for others, etc), you'll have much less consistency.

See I kinda thought knowing how to improvise your strategy was more valued than just relying on one strategy per map/mode combo. But this actually makes more sense

 

[Zahntavier]

Random thoughts:

I think improvisation becomes easier when you have a good understanding of the strategies available to you at different points in the game.

For example, as a charger main on tower control, I try to know the best perches when we're defending against a push, when its basically at mid, and when we're pushing into their territory (aggressive/risky perches). Once you know how to utilize your weapon during these three stages, you can improvise while positioning yourself where your team needs you.

When I first got to S, my game fell apart specifically when we were getting pushed back. S players know when to push an advantage. I would rush to mid-right into the enemy, get tilted, get punished for risky moves.

I started checking the map more, anticipating their routes, and planned for their weapons. It took some time to add all that in, but it helped.

Knowing when to bail on an attack is crucial.

 

[WiseSquid]

Imma just gonna put this here. Really sneaky like.

http://squidboards.com/guides/weapons-that-teach-you-nice-things.202/

Might help somebody

 

[KayB]

See I kinda thought knowing how to improvise your strategy was more valued than just relying on one strategy per map/mode combo. But this actually makes more sense

Improvisation is good so long as you don't rely on it too much. And it goes without saying that certain weapons favor improvisation more than others, so the mentality doesn't always work. That being said, playing with no improvisation can stagnate your progress and make you easier to predict.

In other words, improvisation should be more of a supplement than a baseline. If it works, there's no reason not to keep sticking to a game plan even if it isn't that elegant. But very few times will there be a game plan that works 100% of the time, and in those cases it requires improvisation to build around. But if there's no solid plan as a foundation, then the utility of improvisation lessens significantly.

 

[SyMag]

Well I guess this means back to the drawing board for me. I'll have to look up how various high-tier squads strategize in any given situation. But that explanation made a lot of sense, so thank you! :D

 

[Skoodge]

I think one of the biggest differences between S and A+ is map awareness. You can get to S rank getting away with just coming up with strategies on the spot, but if you don't have a solid game plan and objective for nearly every map and mode (including knowing choke/flank points, points of power/weakness for your weapon and for others, etc), you'll have much less consistency.

Then I think the difference between S and S+ is reading your opponents, implementing strategies much faster, exploiting small weaknesses, and using your advantages better. It is the sum of all the smaller elements, that add up to a large difference. Even with the big difference between S and S+, I still see a ton of tunnel vision in S+, which you want to avoid at all costs. I totally agree though that you need a plan, even if it doesn't work, have a plan, and change it for various factors in each match. As for planning:

For example, yesterday I played a lot on the rotation with Flounder Heights TC. I was playing Custom Hydra, and I had a very clear strategy, and gameplan, that won my squad many matches. It consisted of few, but effective main positions, which included:
1. Play defense from snipe/air conditioner, keep the enemy off tower at that really good choke point right at the start of the tower's path
2. Charge bubbler, then get map control with team, then push tower
3. Keep people from killing team on tower, or ride tower myself
4. Bubble on tower at the choke point if need be

Then as other people mentioned in this thread, you need to improvise, the next parts were fairly improvisational, since they depended on individual actions from every player. I would generally stay on tower until rushed, then jump off, let my teammates jump to me in their street, while defending the jump, and killing enemies approaching tower, also stalling tower. In general I would also plan with my allies to chain invincible specials, but that was my gameplan.

The improvised portions were all strategic in the moment, based upon previous knowledge, and that is the main difference between the ranks: experience. I was able to improvise because of this experience, and also know plans/strategies before the match even began. So the secret is still unfortunately, get gid, in a positive way though, just as always, practice makes perfect, you can't expect to get to S+ with little experience in the game, just like a hobbyist musician can't expect to play with a symphony orchestra. This is why I laugh at ZackScott, who still isn't level 50, and thinks he somehow deserves S+, there is just no way that he has enough experience to be S+, mainly since he hasn't played that much ranked.

 

[Inkling Ash]

TLDR: GIVE ME YER CASH (ER… SECRETS ON HOW YOU REACHED S)!

My Splatoon Story

Chapter 1: The Past

I played a lot of video games as a kid but have not played much the last 20 years (I have a pretty time-consuming job and three kids and a bunch of other hobbies). I got a WiiU for Xmas though and bought Splatoon as I wanted my 6 year old to have the same fond memories of childhood video games that I did. I quickly realized this was not a game for 6 year olds (though she does not average better than 500+ in Turf Wars with a couple splats, not bad for a kindergartner, despite very limited play).

I fell in love with this game from my first splat. It is a lot of fun and so much more strategic than it first appears. Like most new players, I just grabbed a roller and went nuts. I never played Ranked until I reached about Level 30 because I was having fun just mindlessly rolling around without regard to strategy, gear, or anything at all really. One day I decided to try Ranked. I was the guy running around with the Rainmaker with no idea what I was supposed to do with it. I got killed but it was a lot of fun.

I kept playing Ranked and moved up to the B’s despite limited understanding of strategy. I wore gear I thought looked fresh that had no effect on my abilities. For example, for a long time I wore the Rockenberg 18k aviators, black leather jacket, and black moto boots even though their main abilities basically did nothing for me. I spent lots of money on weapons/gear I have basically never used. I did not understand the maps and had basically no awareness of what other players were doing.

Chapter 2: The Present

One day when I was mired in B hell, I decided I wanted to get better. I read some stuff on here and other sites and started building a set that better fit my main weapon and play style. By this time, I had realized that my Carbon Deco Roller was not going to get me to S (though I know some people are disgustingly good with it). I started experimenting with weapons. My daughter had been using the Neo Sploosh because she liked how it looked. I thought it was ugly and useless. Then I played with it once.

I loved it. It fit the way I like to play as I like to be very aggressive. I got good with it over the course of a month. Good with the Sploosh is a relative term though. When I was on fire (3:1 splat ratio or better), my team always won. When I was mediocre or bad, we sometimes still won because I was just so annoying to the other team (and sometimes I got carried by others, of course) but we usually lost. I got to A- and was feeling good about my play. Then I hit a brick wall and could not climb further.

The problem was not exactly me, per se. I could take over a game if the conditions were right. Many times I grabbed the Rainmaker at the outset and took it to the house or rode the Tower all the way, splatting dudes in the face when they climbed aboard to take me out). However, I still wasn’t playing strategically. I was a kamikaze. My team probably did not like it very much when I would rush in without them and get sent back to the spawn point (which happened a lot). I came to a conclusion.

The problem with the Sploosh to me is that it is not a good team weapon in my opinion. If I am put with other short range shooters or brushes/rollers, we are either going to kill ‘em all and get a quick knockout or lose ugly. I can’t tell you how many times my team has ran the clock down to 5 or taken the Tower or Rainmaker to mere inches from the win only for us all to then get killed and unable to stop the other team after they get into strategic position. I decided I would try other weapons to see how I would fare.

I experimented with brushes/sloshers. I just do not like them. I did not give them the chance they probably deserved as I have seen many accomplished players with them. I just didn’t like the way they felt. I was terrible as a sniper/charger. Not only do I not want to put in the time to learn them right, they also do not fit the way I like to play. I tried all the other shooters and weird weapons. I had some success with the Splattershot Pro and Tentatek but just moved up and down in the Bs for about a month.

Chapter 3: The Future

Finally, last night I went back to the Sploosh. Amazingly, I won about 10 games in a row in Splat Zones (not exactly the Sploosh’s forte though I do think it is underrated in Tower and Rainmaker). I think playing with the other weapons helped me think more like players who use those weapons. The result was I was stealthy as a ninja. I finally felt like I knew where my opponents were or would likely be, and I also felt like I tempered my aggression enough to support my team and let them provide cover for me.

I was dominant, even putting up a 14:1, my best game ever. I climbed from B+ to 77 in A- before losing two games and hitting the hay. I finally have gear that suits my weapon and style (golf visor with run main, stitch tee with swim main, and blue boots with ink resistance – all with subs that help my style). I was very mobile and very deadly when I played smart. The couple games I lost were due to mismatches for the most part, though I did make a couple of bonehead aggressive plays costing us my last game of the night.

My question now is: can I take the Sploosh to the top?

I have seen a couple videos (yes, I am addicted) of people who are ridiculous with it, but it generally seems like a rare weapon in Ranked. Seems to me like I need better map/player awareness to take it to S Rank, but I also wonder whether I should keep playing with other weapons as I feel like that was the key in improving my Sploosh play. Is there a certain weapon that is excellent for forcing you to focus on the controller screen and tracking your team and opponents in order to improve your awareness?

Or should I just forget about the Sploosh and switch to a weapon more common in S and master it? I hate Dynamos as they kill me a lot. Should I invest time in Octo Valley to get it and become what I hate? I also would love to get better with bombs as I feel like I am always getting killed with them. Is there a good weapon for learning how to use bombs? Maybe the new Berry Pro? What gear should I be using? I’ve never tried some of the unique ones, like Tenacity and Coldblooded. Will they help me advance?

What say you Splatgods? How did you do it? Tell me your story!

If you did not watch some of thatsrb2dudes videos for someone to look up to. I would use ,,and.Also just keep on practicing don't give up and like everyone else says learn from your mistakes . Find friends because like everything else in life you do something for a reason.

 

[splooshlover]

After a year of mastering the art of woomy, I have learned the secret.

Do whatever you want to.
Everything works if ya do it well (well, not right ;P)

WARNING!!! Big long post ahead, skip if you think reading long posts sucks too.

I personally have played all them blasted weapons in every ranked mode, because I kinda like being that one guy who brings in new weapons straight out of ammo knights, to ranked the second they are released and (generally) still do just dang fine with it while the enemy is still trying to figure out exactly what the new weapon does.

For a brief recap of my... climb? (It's probably more like a drunken square dance)

I started off going from C- to B+( or A-? I dunno) with CUSTOM splattershot jr. mhm let that sink in.
Of course this was waaaaaay back when splat zones was just released and apparently no one had ever heard of ambushes sooooo.

Next I learned that the .96 regular DIDN'T suck to high squid heaven and you just needed to aim. Also Echho-locator was OP because everyone was still running ninja squid like a bunch of NOOBS!! (hehe, we all were though xD) That got me to a nice A rank.

Then Tower control came along and I fell down back to B- because I was STOOPID and couldn't figure out how to not die to the legion of undead carbon rollers whilst riding a friggin' magical grenade magnet that plays the muffin man song.

and then

E-liter (pre nerf)

Oh the beauty, oh the rage at anyone else using it better. I got back to A.
Then I decided to be a filthy hipster because everyone with a charger seemed to have e-liter.
I went to splatterscopes(both kinds).

Then I saw that a guy got to S+ with inkbrushes, which I had previously relegated to turf wars and splat zones.
I then saw that the splatoon MLG gods were a lie and no order existed.

I picked my previously unused rapid blaster deco, put on my yellow basics,cream basics, and white headband and boldly stepped into ranked lobby.
(I got to A+ using this)

Many weapons and one rank roller coaster ride later, I'm sitting comfortably in S+.... until I decided to get better with H3
Now I'm S again <_>


I made it to S+ by going all over the place and then doing it again.
My squad mates however did it with (mostly) one weapon (One guy for each; Zapper 85, .52 deco, aerospray RG, splash-o-matic, and e-liter)
Each of my squad members mained one of these and crammed their way up to atleast A rank. Thankks to my influence tthough, they havee branched out a bit more =] =] =] =] =] =]

Thus back to how this post should have ended:
Do whatever, everything works, just be sure to have fun.

PS: I HATE gettin flanked by a sneak-butt, tentacle-chewinng, lag kraken-ing, scum-sucking sploosh, so yeah. Anyone who says sploosh stinks is talking like a big noob dummy =)

PSS: anyone talking like a big noob dummy: I wear cereal boxes on my head to make people laugh . . .

woomy

Great post! I have been mixing it up in ranked and playing with random weapons. You are so right that it is FUN! Not great for your rank but I could care less as I am improving and having a good time. I find when I go back to the Sploosh (usually after ranking down) I am magically better. I have a "Costanza" strategy where I now know a bit better where my opponent thinks I will go so I just do the crazy opposite and get the splat. And yes, I now only attack from behind (that's what he said). I hope you never see me until I have splooshed all over you.

 

[splooshlover]

A+ thread title, can I just say


As a side note, I think one of the biggest differences between S and A+ is map awareness. You can get to S rank getting away with just coming up with strategies on the spot, but if you don't have a solid game plan and objective for nearly every map and mode (including knowing choke/flank points, points of power/weakness for your weapon and for others, etc), you'll have much less consistency.

You are so right. Once I stopped trying to Sploosh every mode and map I realized how stupid I was before. I still love aggressive play, but did some N-Zap 83 today on splat zones at Salt Spray and wondered what the heck I was doing ever playing Sploosh there. I need to branch out even more and just mess around with different weapons.

 

[splooshlover]

Improvisation is good so long as you don't rely on it too much. And it goes without saying that certain weapons favor improvisation more than others, so the mentality doesn't always work. That being said, playing with no improvisation can stagnate your progress and make you easier to predict.

In other words, improvisation should be more of a supplement than a baseline. If it works, there's no reason not to keep sticking to a game plan even if it isn't that elegant. But very few times will there be a game plan that works 100% of the time, and in those cases it requires improvisation to build around. But if there's no solid plan as a foundation, then the utility of improvisation lessens significantly.

Good post. Many times you see a team win by just executing the obvious strategy. The higher in rank I have gotten though the more I also realize that a game that seems in hand can be flipped by one unexpected move. You have to know what they expect you to do in order to surprise them by doing the opposite. I think I am still learning what they expect me to do!

 

[splooshlover]

If you did not watch some of thatsrb2dudes videos for someone to look up to. I would use ,,and.Also just keep on practicing don't give up and like everyone else says learn from your mistakes . Find friends because like everything else in life you do something for a reason.

Your last sentence was - for lack of a better word - superawesome.

 

[splooshlover]

If you did not watch some of thatsrb2dudes videos for someone to look up to. I would use ,,and.Also just keep on practicing don't give up and like everyone else says learn from your mistakes . Find friends because like everything else in life you do something for a reason.

Also, thanks for the build! Is defense up worth it? I have tried to study all the stats on abilities and was unsure about it as damage and defense up have such confusing stats. I have lately forsaken speed gear for stuff with special abilities (primarily saver as I still tend to die more than I should) or ink resistance depending on the mode. Ink resist is so weird. I don't feel like it does much yet I seem to play so much better with it.

 

[Hikaru54]

(I'm on my phone right now so I'll make this a short post)

Defense up allows you to win 1v1's easier. It bumps the Splattershot from a 3 shot to a 4 shot. You'll need to have at least 1 main and 3 subs. Because 1 mains isn't that reliable. Also, defense let's you tank splash damage too. Ink resistance really boosts your mobility in enemy ink. And mobility is key, especially with the Sploosh. Although I would go with something else, Ink resistance is still viable. Same with run speed and swim speed. Gives you more mobility.

You should try the Sploosh 7. The 7 has ranged options which should help you out in 1v1's. You can also use the Inkzooka for instant splats when you flank opponents.

That's what I have for now though. Hope I helped you out!

 

[splooshlover]

(I'm on my phone right now so I'll make this a short post)

Defense up allows you to win 1v1's easier. It bumps the Splattershot from a 3 shot to a 4 shot. You'll need to have at least 1 main and 3 subs. Because 1 mains isn't that reliable. Also, defense let's you tank splash damage too. Ink resistance really boosts your mobility in enemy ink. And mobility is key, especially with the Sploosh. Although I would go with something else, Ink resistance is still viable. Same with run speed and swim speed. Gives you more mobility.

You should try the Sploosh 7. The 7 has ranged options which should help you out in 1v1's. You can also use the Inkzooka for instant splats when you flank opponents.

That's what I have for now though. Hope I helped you out!

When I heard there would be a new Sploosh I got excited, but I am so bad with the inkzooka. Honestly, as much as I love to Kraken, I would have ideally liked to see a bomb with echolocator. I love it when my team has an echo but I suck with all those weapons.

 

[Inkling Ash]

Also, thanks for the build! Is defense up worth it? I have tried to study all the stats on abilities and was unsure about it as damage and defense up have such confusing stats. I have lately forsaken speed gear for stuff with special abilities (primarily saver as I still tend to die more than I should) or ink resistance depending on the mode. Ink resist is so weird. I don't feel like it does much yet I seem to play so much better with it.

The defense up just allows you to tank things, like countering damage up that snipers have. It helps you survive bombs and helps a little bit with ink resistance. As Hikaru mentioned it does make some other weapons more shots to kill, making you have a better 1v1 in some situations. Btw it's okay that you are dying a lot with weapon if you want you can add some quick re spawn in there.