Splatoon 2 Splashdown's deceptive range/other problems

[AllToonedUp]

Alright to start off, I don't think Splashdown is "op" or anything like that, but has anyone notice how the indicator is way farther than its intended to be? It's frustrating dealing with people that use it as a panic button and you die even though you're supposedly far away enough to escape it.

I'm aware that you can kill them while they're in the air yet for some reason, sometimes I try to hit the person and there's invincibility frames (or maybe lag) when I try to do so. All I just want is Splashdown to correctly show how far it is at least.

 

[AC1]

If the inkling is inside the circle lines, the inkling will get splatted (unless the inkling has ink armor activated). The no damage radius is probably 2* the splat radius.

 

[Marfie]

xxxxxxxxxx

 

[SilverBrick]

The radius only shows where the Splashdown will one-shot you. If you've taken damage already, It'll still splat you from a distance, which is fair IMO.

There are a few ways to counter this:

First, try to learn which weapons have Splashdown. Whether that's during the match when you see a Sploosh-o-matic using it, or just by learning off by heart, just make sure you know whether an enemy could Splashdown, before you get near them. Once you've figured out who they are, just make sure they don't have their Special charged before you go near them. If they do, attack them from a distance to try and bait out the Splashdown when it wouldn't be effective.

Second, try running Bomb Defense Up. Especially as a Charger or other slow weapon, it can come handy in many different situations, and it also lowers the damage of Inkjet, Baller and Splashdown. 3 subs even lower the minimum Splashdown damage to below 50. Combined with reductions to bomb damage, that should make situations where Splashdown kills you from a distance much less common.



As for Marfie's complaint, I really think they should give it Ink Armor's mechanics i.e. more than 80 damage will pass the remainder to the inkling. That way, an E-Liter could one-shot them (giving it more viability), and other powerful weapons could damage them (and kill them if they're weak; the nerf that Blaster needs). It would emphasise the need to use Splashdown lethally, rather than as an escape tool with a good chance to kill.

P.S. They actually use the Ink Armor visual effect as the Splashdown lands. It lasts around 10 frames after landing based on experience, and you should be able to snipe them when the tornado has mostly dissipated. Just try not to fire too early.

 

[MINKUKEL]

The radius only shows where the Splashdown will one-shot you. If you've taken damage already, It'll still splat you from a distance, which is fair IMO.

I think that's fine, but the distance can be a bit much. Sometimes I'm nowhere near any visible portion of the special and I still get splatted. Like the example posted above, that's just BS. Even if you take that into account (and honestly, taking that much of a distance into account is never going to be fully automatic for me), it's still poorly communicated.

It's also ridiculous that the thing can kill you if you're above the user like the Kelp Dome catwalks.

I actually like that, as it's supposed to be somewhat of an explosion, and it makes it a bit more strategic to use. Also makes it fun to go up to an Inkjet real gusty and use it. But again, that you can get hit from above isn't communicated well by the game.

 

[AllToonedUp]

The radius only shows where the Splashdown will one-shot you. If you've taken damage already, It'll still splat you from a distance, which is fair IMO.

There are a few ways to counter this:

First, try to learn which weapons have Splashdown. Whether that's during the match when you see a Sploosh-o-matic using it, or just by learning off by heart, just make sure you know whether an enemy could Splashdown, before you get near them. Once you've figured out who they are, just make sure they don't have their Special charged before you go near them. If they do, attack them from a distance to try and bait out the Splashdown when it wouldn't be effective.

Second, try running Bomb Defense Up. Especially as a Charger or other slow weapon, it can come handy in many different situations, and it also lowers the damage of Inkjet, Baller and Splashdown. 3 subs even lower the minimum Splashdown damage to below 50. Combined with reductions to bomb damage, that should make situations where Splashdown kills you from a distance much less common.



As for Marfie's complaint, I really think they should give it Ink Armor's mechanics i.e. more than 80 damage will pass the remainder to the inkling. That way, an E-Liter could one-shot them (giving it more viability), and other powerful weapons could damage them (and kill them if they're weak; the nerf that Blaster needs). It would emphasise the need to use Splashdown lethally, rather than as an escape tool with a good chance to kill.

P.S. They actually use the Ink Armor visual effect as the Splashdown lands. It lasts around 10 frames after landing based on experience, and you should be able to snipe them when the tornado has mostly dissipated. Just try not to fire too early.

I'm fine with Splashdown being able to kill you from a distance if you're already damaged, but my point was that I wish the radius would accurately show the minimal damage area because there's no reason why it has to be that far and it's not even displayed correctly. As many others have mentioned before, the "invisible range" this special has is a bit overbearing. And wasting gear slots for a special that you may not even encounter isn't exactly a good fix to this either.

I don't think it deserves a nerf or big change especially since in competitive where bubbles and sting ray pose bigger threats. All Nintendo needs to do is show lines how they're supposed to look like and boom we're good.

 

[MindWanderer]

Yeah, it could easily have a visual effect like Inkstrike did in Splatoon 1: A solid-ink center that's instant death and a striped/feathered pattern outside it that's only partial damage. If there was just a tiny wisp of ink that ran through where I was standing when I got splatted I'd be much less salty.

 

[BirdAndreo]

Deceptive range is the last of this special problems... the main problem, imo, it's the panick button factor, who rewards the user 70% of the times (with a kill or an escape from certain death)... Let's add the invicibility frames after landing and the 0 ending lag frames, who let some 2 weapons do nasty combos... ofc i'm talking about splattershot (i missed you with splashdown? no problem, i have 2 burst bombs to throw at you) and vanilla blaster (i missed you? no problem, i just need to shot randomly and my blaster splash damage will end you). Roller and Sploosh can istant use curling to escape and i think we know well how funny is the sploosh camp base strat.

Taking down the user requires precise aiming, ultra reflex, an huge risk and an extremely small time lapse, so most of the times you see people just give up and ran away... another plus that rewards the panick usage. One safe weapon you can use against them it's the octobrush thanks to the high damage and spread... but what about other weapons with low range, poor accuracy or slow firing speed? how you can counter a sudden splash down with a splatling or a 96.gal who's gonna certainly miss the second shot?

They should remove the invincibility after the explosion, if the user misses to kill you they must be punished, not rewarded with combo potential or a free escape. Or give some ending lag to at least stop cheap combos i talked about earlier. (this is also why blaster and splattershot are so strong right now, thanks to these combos that other weapon can't do)

But no, better nerf the sprinkler, am i right?

 

[AllToonedUp]

Deceptive range is the last of this special problems... the main problem, imo, it's the panick button factor, who rewards the user 70% of the times (with a kill or an escape from certain death)... Let's add the invicibility frames after landing and the 0 ending lag frames, who let some 2 weapons do nasty combos... ofc i'm talking about splattershot (i missed you with splashdown? no problem, i have 2 burst bombs to throw at you) and vanilla blaster (i missed you? no problem, i just need to shot randomly and my blaster splash damage will end you). Roller and Sploosh can istant use curling to escape and i think we know well how funny is the sploosh camp base strat.

Taking down the user requires precise aiming, ultra reflex, an huge risk and an extremely small time lapse, so most of the times you see people just give up and ran away... another plus that rewards the panick usage. One safe weapon you can use against them it's the octobrush thanks to the high damage and spread... but what about other weapons with low range, poor accuracy or slow firing speed? how you can counter a sudden splash down with a splatling or a 96.gal who's gonna certainly miss the second shot?

They should remove the invincibility after the explosion, if the user misses to kill you they must be punished, not rewarded with combo potential or a free escape. Or give some ending lag to at least stop cheap combos i talked about earlier. (this is also why blaster and splattershot are so strong right now, thanks to these combos that other weapon can't do)

But no, better nerf the sprinkler, am i right?

I loathe dealing with people that use it as a panic button as much as the next guy, but the thing is, the special is not overpowered by any means and it doesn't deserve a nerf.

It's very well possible to kill them in the air before the explosion happens and I've seen people do it consistently. Not only that, but you can bait out the person into wasting their special if you play aggressive enough and swim away while they use it and punish them. The panic button """technique""" isn't going to work outside of solo queue and none of the weapons you described are impossible to deal with especially after the Blaster nerf.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I'm fine with Splashdown being able to kill you from a distance if you're already damaged, but my point was that I wish the radius would accurately show the minimal damage area because there's no reason why it has to be that far and it's not even displayed correctly.

^This

That's all splashdown really needs. It's not the best in a competitive environment anyway, since it's extremely one dimensional as a special. "Did you get 2 shots on a vanilla roller player?" Chances are they're going to press right stick in hopes of turning the fight in favor of them. However, what they do from there is extremely predictable. They're going to jump up (for about 50 frames yes I counted) Then come down for another 20 frames for until they regain control again. A lot of weapons can kill a splashdown in under 50 frames, it just requires some precise aim and positioning to do it effectively.

Even then, this special makes the opponent stay in place for a while, so it's rather easy to run away from it, as it can't chase you down. And retreating from the splashdown is rather easy. Swimming in the other direction usually works as well, and most of the weapons can't combo with the damage they chipped you with. The only weapons that I can think of that can combo the splashdown damage consistently are the vanilla splattershot and blaster (thanks to burst bombs and indirects respectfully) Weapons like the hydra, .96 deco, and undercover brella can't simply combo the outside splash damage to guarantee a kill.

Not to mention, the only thing it can do is kill people / provide some paint in a zone. The special is extremely one dimensional. Whenever there's a splashdown weapon on the enemy team, their special isn't going to allow them to make huge team plays. Bubble Blower, Baller, Stingray, and Inkjet are much better suited for that, since they can be used for multiple reasons and allow for a team to play with them. Those specials can help start, or stop a push. Sure, while splashdown can do that at times, it's really only useful for winning 1v1 scenarios, or trying to not die to a certain enemy.

There's just no flexibility in splashdown, making it extremely predictable and easy to counter. Most weapons that have splashdown aren't even that good to begin with, and the special just saw a nerf as well. So, I don't think it needs any more nerfs.

 

[Mar$el]

Yeah @ThatOneGuy summed it up really well. For me, I don't even feel like it's an unfair kill - well I guess I just don't feel bad - if I die to a splashdown. It's like oh well (or sometimes I feel like I totally killed a splashdown but I didn't) may as well just move on. Nothing much I could really do in that scenario and it's not like it happens all the time. Quite frankly every time I see a vanilla blaster or a vanilla splattershot I question what they're doing or if they follow this game outside of just playing because if they did they'd know the power of inkjet and how easy it is to kill a splashdown.

 

[MindWanderer]

I feel like Splashdown is one of those specials that has very different utility based on the skill level of the players involved. At the highest levels, it's not amazing, as it's not that hard to avoid or shoot down, and good players have less need of a "panic button" because they have better situational awareness in general. But worse players can get trapped easily (happens to me all the time) and need to have very good reaction speed and aiming to shoot it down (I can typically do it only if I'm very lucky with a spread weapon of some sort).

(Personally, I hate Splashdown every which way. I think I've gotten maybe one kill with it ever--I get shot down or evaded every time. But it kills me nearly every time. So I definitely see both sides of it.)

 

[vanille987]

I feel like Splashdown is one of those specials that has very different utility based on the skill level of the players involved. At the highest levels, it's not amazing, as it's not that hard to avoid or shoot down, and good players have less need of a "panic button" because they have better situational awareness in general. But worse players can get trapped easily (happens to me all the time) and need to have very good reaction speed and aiming to shoot it down (I can typically do it only if I'm very lucky with a spread weapon of some sort).

(Personally, I hate Splashdown every which way. I think I've gotten maybe one kill with it ever--I get shot down or evaded every time. But it kills me nearly every time. So I definitely see both sides of it.)

Same, the fact splashdown is a ‘panic button’ or ‘free ticket out of jail car’ is enough for my to dislike it.
Let’s just say i have bad memories of bubbler and to an extent kraken, even though splashdown is alot less extreme then these and can be countered if you’re good enough. (Wich i only pull of rarely)

One thing i do like about it is how you can use it while superjumping.
You do need one teammate on a choke-point/tower/zone/enemy territory/... ideally, but enemies usually don’t expect it allowing you to do some real damage (Especially if you happen to use it in a tight space) while usually avoiding being countered.
Your super jump marker could even prove usefull as a decoy to lure unexpecting prey. (Though i assume expirenced players will have second thoughts about a seemly ‘reckles’ jump)
But i feel this ‘trick’ is underutilized in general.

 

[Rinku]

the power of inkjet

I wouldn't really consider the inkjet powerful, it's more like an easy kill. The only time it gets really problematic is in close quarters with one for me.

 

[Mar$el]

I wouldn't really consider the inkjet powerful, it's more like an easy kill. The only time it gets really problematic is in close quarters with one for me.

Well it's a waste of time if you don't know how to use it, but it has the highest skill ceiling of any special right now. Check this set out from the Open last week and not only the general gameplay, but the incredible work inkjet does.
The last set between TOMO and StDx starts at 6 hours and 6 minutes. The set before with TOMO and quantuM is pretty eye-opening as well at around 4 hours and 26 minutes. Inkjet can do some serious damage in the right hands. And those hands are not limited to just competitive players. It's not as easy to pick up anymore but it's certainly doable. I picked up tentatek a while back and got pretty good with inkjet as well. It's a good special that requires skill to use but has lots of benefits.

 

[The Salamander King]

If they added a very thin ring around the splashdown user that showed the maximum range, it would be fine. They should do the same for the Rainmaker shield too. It's not uncommon that I see teams go 3 down in the first 20 seconds because they were too close to the shield when it exploded. Adding a little ring around the shield to show where it will instakill you would make everyone's life easier.

 

[MotorGamer]

Ok, I definitely think you didn’t deserve to get splatted there...but I do agree that at that distance you probably would have taken at least a little damage, and you were already hit by a slosher

 

[Gameboy224]

Agree with @The Salamander King in saying there should be a better visual indication.

The special itself doesn't need a nerf, but the fact you can get splatted from the splash even though you were nowhere even close to the visual of the attack is quite jarring. Something like adding a translucent ring on the ground indicating the splash radius would be nice. This wouldn't be much of an issue if it weren't for how massively large the minimum splash radius is compared to the actual attack itself.