So what happened to ninja squid?

[drwatson]

I think they should make it so that you don't have ripples while swimming up walls. It makes sense and might give it a bit more of a draw for some.

 

[Creator438]

Oh yes, back in the day when I used to main the Splattershot Jr. in ranked, I used the "triple threat" that I sometimes see people using to this day (that brings back memories of my Splatoon past): the Paintball Mask, the white Anchor Tee, and the Crazy Arrows, which give you a combination of Comeback, Ninja Squid, and Stealth Jump. Sometimes instead of the Paintball mask, I'll see the Special Forces Beret, which gives you Opening Gambit instead of Comeback. I used to think Ninja Squid was the end all be all of shirt abilities, then I realized that it sucks if you don't have swim speed up. This was around the time when I started obsessing over swim speed up; I started to realize that going into the middle was extremely important (because all I played back in the day was Turf War and Splat Zones, I always hated Tower Control and tried to avoid it as much as humanly possible lol), and I found that I was just too slow with Ninja Squid. That gear set that I used to run stopped working when I hit A-, and that was around the time where I picked up the .96 Gal Deco and when I learned that Cold Blooded was really good (same with Ink Resistance Up).

In short, people still use this ability. Mostly Carbon Rollers if nothing else. They'll usually throw on Swim Speed to mitigate the reduced swim speed (and you basically have to), and it's rather annoying, but it could be much worse. I actually used Ninja Squid with the Carbon Roller in the kill challenge once and I think it worked out quite well.

 

[Creator438]

Maybe it’d be more useful if it actually hid other things, such as the origin of an Inkstrike/Echolocator when you use it, or the sound of the weapon/of swimming through ink?

No, you can't do that. Hiding an Inkstrike that's going to hit the center of the map is ****ing ridiculous. That's also devious if you're using them for blocking off areas where people can go in (which is, in theory, one of their best uses; very effective on maps like Urchin Underpass with rather narrow entrances to mid).

 

[Xehias]

No, you can't do that. Hiding an Inkstrike that's going to hit the center of the map is ****ing ridiculous. That's also devious if you're using them for blocking off areas where people can go in (which is, in theory, one of their best uses; very effective on maps like Urchin Underpass with rather narrow entrances to mid).

By "origin of the Inkstrike", I mean the missile itself going up from the Inkling who launches it. It’s easy to see where the Inkstrike user launched the missile from; I just meant hiding that, not the indicator that shows where the missile is going to land. I agree that would be way too OP haha!

 

[fuchsia]

yeah, the swim speed decrease is significant and hurts ninja squid to the point of uselessness. i used to wear ninja squid constantly in turf/splat zones [stealth is essential for brushes] but it was taking me way too long to get back into the action. i'd love for it to be viable again but it became useless pretty much the moment i hit the A ranks.

 

[SupaTim]

yeah, the swim speed decrease is significant and hurts ninja squid to the point of uselessness. i used to wear ninja squid constantly in turf/splat zones [stealth is essential for brushes] but it was taking me way too long to get back into the action. i'd love for it to be viable again but it became useless pretty much the moment i hit the A ranks.

It definitely isn't useless. Just for kicks I recently ran a special saver ninja squid build with the wasabi, and a damage up ninja squid build with the spattershot (both with ink resistance and swim speed). It is still very effective at deception during swim strafing. I was able to effectively swim around my enemy and splat them while they were focused on my last known location. Even the really good players have gotten used to tracking ripples in the ink and were unprepared when I showed up next to them or behind them without warning.

Squid trotting is good, but I can't maneuver very well while doing it. Ninja squid still lets you make fast turns without having to worry about accidental ripples. However, I do think it is VERY map dependent. Piranha Pit and Ancho V both have lots of open space to swim around. In Port or Moray it might not be as effective because you have fewer options to maneuver. Speed is probably more important on those maps.

I am definitely going to work on some different builds with Ninja Squid now. I want an ink saver sub and defense build. Maybe figure out a special duration build somehow.

 

[fuchsia]

It definitely isn't useless. Just for kicks I recently ran a special saver ninja squid build with the wasabi, and a damage up ninja squid build with the spattershot (both with ink resistance and swim speed).

well, yeah, that's just it: my gear needs more abilities than swim speed, so i don't want to take up those slots with swim speed just to negate the effects of ninja squid. i'd rather have an ink saver build or defense or bomb range up. i use stealth jump regularly [when i'm not using a weapon with beacons], which has the same slowing effects, but it's not something i'm using the entire match so it's worth it and not worth stacking quick jumps to negate it. but swim speed is an ever-present concern and i just think there are better uses for my gear than to just balance out ninja squid's effects. but if you think it's worth it, that's up to you. everyone has different play styles and different gear priorities, and that's fine. ninja squid is useless for me.

 

[Jet Squelching]

I think it is because after either the 2.5 or 2.6 patch, the swim speed was reduced even further, making it less usable. If you didn't know, using the perk made your swim speed slightly less. But after that update the swim speed was drastically decreased. I will occasionally use it though on rollers to keep myself hidden if I am trying to be stealthy. On top of that I have one with 3 damage subs, so it would be a crime to not use it sometimes haha.

 

[AbsentPlayer]

I think they should make it so that you don't have ripples while swimming up walls. It makes sense and might give it a bit more of a draw for some.

If it hid you in walls this ability would be overpowered in my eyes. I could give players extra hiding spots which many would overlook. Back when I started playing splatoon, I was terrible for hiding in walls and it worked most of the time.

I'm surprised no one brought up the topic of sound. listening for someone swimming is mostly how I realize i'm being flanked before it's too late (you would think it's gunfire but to me it blends in with the background noise.

 

[Ansible]

I'm surprised no one brought up the topic of sound. listening for someone swimming is mostly how I realize i'm being flanked before it's too late (you would think it's gunfire but to me it blends in with the background noise.

Which is why I desperately desire volume sliders for this game. Music tends to drown out some sounds. Sounds will drown out parts of the music. Or you don't hear enough sounds if your volume isn't up high enough. And sometimes I play my own music which often gets me into trouble when playing with chargers and brushes.

 

[NovaScienceNever]

I think it is because after either the 2.5 or 2.6 patch, the swim speed was reduced even further, making it less usable. If you didn't know, using the perk made your swim speed slightly less. But after that update the swim speed was drastically decreased. I will occasionally use it though on rollers to keep myself hidden if I am trying to be stealthy. On top of that I have one with 3 damage subs, so it would be a crime to not use it sometimes haha.

You're way off on that number. Ninja Squid was nerfed in the 1.3 patch, the second patch made to the game.

 

[TeaBee]

I hardly see the point in Ninja Squid. All it does is make you less agile for the price of moving with no ripples. If you swim slow enough, you have no ripples without that ability. Also, hugging walls or hiding behind objects can be your best friend (says the guy who sneaks around most of the time and does spawn kills).

 

[NotAPerso]

I think the hardest hit to ninja squid was when tracking effects became meta (echo, point sensor, haunt) so the speed nerf ended up hindering while being tracked with zero benefit to the user. I think to alleviate this problem ninja squid should be buffed like haunt so while a ninja squid user is being tracked there is no swim speed loss so they gain full effect of any swim speed boosts for the duration of being tracked.
This buff seems reasonable, in my opinion, to make the ability not suck in a match where tracking is prevalent.

 

[LupusFreak]

The swim speed reduction isn't that hard to counter, all you need is 2-3 swim speed up subs. I personally don't need ninja squid, because I usually use long range weapons like squelchers and chargers, but even if I used short range weapons regularly, i'd rather just have run speed or swim speed up. It's not so much the swim speed reduction, but taking up a whole main slot for something that overall isn't too useful when the game is so fast-paced.

 

[Xanjos]

I've been using ninja squid almost since the beginning, but reading this thread makes me seriously reconsider it.
I guess it's not going to be easy to switch since I'm used to it.

I've managed to reach S+ with it though, so i've must have done something right i guess.
I never though the trail was that visible (i went to check just now), no wonder it gets harder to surprise squids.

 

[SupaTim]

I've been using ninja squid almost since the beginning, but reading this thread makes me seriously reconsider it.
I guess it's not going to be easy to switch since I'm used to it.

I've managed to reach S+ with it though, so i've must have done something right i guess.
I never though the trail was that visible (i went to check just now), no wonder it gets harder to surprise squids.

The trail actually isn't that visible. I've been in plenty of lobbies with S+ people and they have no idea where I go when I ninja squid away. People don't actually notice the tiny indent since 1) it is generally hard to see 2) the glare of the ink typically obscures it 3) the game is too fast paced to study the map that closely in the middle of a firefight.

It is harder to surprise squids because people are more used to patterns now, and therefore more likely to predict which direction you will go. Still, I've noticed that more often than not people shoot at where they saw you last if they didn't see the ripples swim away somewhere else.

Again though, it isn't great for competitive squads because there will always be at least one echo in every squad. You never know what you are going to get in solo queue though.

 

[Xanjos]

The trail actually isn't that visible. I've been in plenty of lobbies with S+ people and they have no idea where I go when I ninja squid away. People don't actually notice the tiny indent since 1) it is generally hard to see 2) the glare of the ink typically obscures it 3) the game is too fast paced to study the map that closely in the middle of a firefight.

It is harder to surprise squids because people are more used to patterns now, and therefore more likely to predict which direction you will go. Still, I've noticed that more often than not people shoot at where they saw you last if they didn't see the ripples swim away somewhere else.

Again though, it isn't great for competitive squads because there will always be at least one echo in every squad. You never know what you are going to get in solo queue though.

I guess you're right, looking for the trail when you know one is there makes it that much more visible.
Still, I'm probably going to ditch it for now, most likely replace it with cold blooded.

Especially since I want to find a squad to play with eventually, that is one of the reasons I joined squidboards.

 

[AspireArt]

I feel that if they buffed Ninja Squid to make wall ripples invisible it would be used again.

 

[Junokue]

I'm an S/S+ player and I actually use ninja squid on a sploosh and a octobrush set. Tbh, a lot of people don't notice me even with the trail. Ninja squid is a great skill to use especially with added swim speed. I think my favorite part about using it is watching chargers hold a charge waiting, while assuming I am hiding in the same spot, then suddenly get decked on from their side without expecting it.

 

[fuchsia]

I feel that if they buffed Ninja Squid to make wall ripples invisible it would be used again.

i would totally use ninja squid again, even with the swim speed nerf, if they did this. as an octobrush, a lot of my time is spent hiding in walls.