Supportive Roles and Ranked Mode

[dylan_not_bob]

Hey guys,

I'm currently level 42 and rank A. I basically make it to the mid thirties with Turf Wars only, but have been playing ranked more in the past couple months. My main weapon was always the Inkbrush but I liked to dabble in other support-style weapons or load-outs such as Custom Splattershot Jr or N-ZAP '89 where I could focus on covering turf and providing well-timed special strikes.

In my ranked-escapades, I am finding it difficult to bring my experience providing support in Turf Wars to the ranked modes. I am losing way more matches than I win most days, and even when I win matches it seems like I'm always ranked last on my team or have terrible K/D ratios.

Is there a use for support-style play in ranked mode? Am I simply trying to play a supportive role wrong? Or am I going to have to find a weapon or style that is more aggressive in order to contribute to and/or be useful and for my teams?

Thanks!

 

[Dessgeega]

Support can be invaluable. I mean sure, splatting opponents is very important and plenty of people here will tell you that's the end-all be-all of winning tactics, but eh. Having one person who doggedly keeps the zone covered, or rides the tower, or rushes with the rainmaker can win matches.

You might have to adjust to ranked. Support there is pretty different from turf.

I chewed my way to S being support, so it can definitely work.

 

[Elecmaw]

Personally speaking, i wouldn't use N-Zap 89' nor Custom Jr for supporting roles but rather ambush(esp. Custom Jr). I'd rather reccommend weapons like vanilla Heavy or silver Dynamo for support. Vanilla Heavy can safely ink turf from a distance unlike N-Zap which needs to get close or resort to costly sprinklers, can supply itself or allies with Walls, take out flankers prying for vulnerable allies safely with it's sizeable range and inkstrike makes turfing even easier. Dynamo also has sizeable range to ink turf with and a sub that helps to charge it's Echo even better, giving not only you but your entire team complete awareness. Chargers work pretty well as support too, but kind of lack in the inking department.

And don't forget, you can't play support all the time. Sometimes you really do have an opportunity to take out an unaware opponent and you should certainly take it.

 

[SupaTim]

Being able to splat people is really important, but support is also really important. Knowing when to push the objective and being willing to push the objective is also really important. All of those things are necessary.

Echolocators or point sensor spammers are often considered support people. So the Dual Squelcher and Eliter can fill those roles. The new Nzap plays more aggressively, but it is so flexible that you could probably play support with it as well.

Weapons that are good at getting map control are usually support. So the new Nzap is good here. The vanilla splattershot. The neo-splash. The Dual Squelcher is also decent at this (as @Dessgeega can tell you, the Dual Squelcher is probably the quintessential support weapon).

Disruptor spammers are good support people. The Zink Mini and the L-3 are good but difficult to master. The custom jr looks like it would be good at support here, and I've tried to use it that way, but it's lack of range makes it difficult to use. You can disrupt people, but don't have the range to pick them off. You can echolocate, but have to be so close to enemy ink to gain turf that you might die faster than you can get special. It might be waiting to get broken, but I haven't had good luck with it.

I find that burst bombs are a good support tool. If you stack enough bomb range and sub saver you can control areas with burst bomb spamming. You might not get a lot of splats, but that's ok as long as you pressured people away from the zone, or the tower, or gave your rainmaker carrier room to swim. The splattershot is good for this because of burst bomb rush, but the neo-splash might be more versatile because of inkzooka. The carbon roller can do this to an extent, but it is much more forward oriented and focused on ambushing.

As a support person you usually want to hang back and protect chokepoints or pressure the opposing team from a distance. You should always be aware of how many squids are up on both teams. Don't make bad plays by pushing when you are the last one alive; stay back for a safe spawn point for your team. You might also have to be the one who pushes the objective, since you should have the best map awareness. If you see you've got a power play, jump on the tower or get the rainmaker (well, not if you're the sniper, hopefully). Always be inking the map if you don't have control as it gives your team more mobility (this goes for snipers as well as shooters).

I will say this though, playing support in solo queue is very difficult. You can't tell your team where the flanks are coming from, you can't rely on them to kill the person you just tagged with a disruptor or point sensor, and you can't always wait for them to push the objective when you want to sit back and play support. It can be done, but you definitely need to be aware of support's limitations in solo queue.

If you want to see support in action, Hitzel is a top level player that often plays the support role. His twitch is https://www.twitch.tv/hitzelburger

 

[Ansible]

Yeah, I feel your pain. Being the support in rank can be an extreme pain and is a difficult climb. I often feel I should give it the heck up and gung-ho my way through the ladder--but I'm stubborn and often like a challenge.

Okay, what's good that hasn't been mentioned yet I can offer? Playing support is never easy, in anu game, and I applaud you for wanting to take that difficult road.

You may have realised these points already though, but I'm sure they'll be helpful to someone who hasn't yet.

• You need to create breathing spots or stopping points so you can peek at your map.
  
• Try and keep some idea of where your teammates and opponents are at any given time.
  
• Ink over your opponents' major routes and areas, force them to waste time re-inking it or ignoring until it's too late.
• Always hunt for a flank, your own and your opponent's. No one sees either one coming until they're already splatted.
• If a teammate is going for a flank, consider backing them up. Not many players in solo expect to deal with two flankers, especially when both have a special ready.
• Ink paths and perches for your long range users so they can setup quicker.
• Throw ink at a teammate's feet if they're getting bogged down in a fight or trying to escape.
• Turn your teammates' 1v1s into 2v1s where possible. But don't fight near them or you'll wind up stumbling over each other. Fight from another direction or elevation.
• Share your subs and specials with your team when possible. Throw a wall to your frontline fighters, pass a bubbler to the splatling screaming "GET SOME!!", slap a mine down next to your charger, they'll they'll put it to use.
• SOMETIMES when uselessly shooting at an area or someone out of range, a teammate will take the hint and respond accordingly.
• If two or three teammates are respawning, fallback somewhere safe so they can jump to you.
• If a safe jump point becomes contested, toss a sub down for them and hope for the best.
• Be ready to be the the one the either has to push the objective or at least stall it, e.g. jumping on and off the tower to keep it from moving back or grabbing the rainmaker in full view of the charger to keep it in place.

 

[Dessgeega]

Support isn't the easy route, that's for sure, and you might not always get appreciated cause your k/d miiiiight be godawful, but when a victory comes entirely from your actions behind the scenes? Ohhhh that's a good feeling.

Lots of good advice here. And yeah, being support in solo ranked can be dicey. Take stock of your teammates in the first minute of a match - if straight-up support isn't going to work then try to be aggressive. It's great when I can do my usual support shenanigans, but there's always times where I have to go for the throat.

And yes @SupaTim the Dual Squelcher is a versatile weapon that always needs more love :P

 

[xXDR.SWOOCEXx]

I have been playing a lot of Octobrush and Heavy Splatling lately so I am getting used to playing support. First and foremost, it is very hard to succeed with weapons like the Custom Jr. and Inkbrush in ranked battle. Some people may tell you that it is possible to do well with every weapon but you need to improve your Splatoon IQ before that is possible. I would suggest learning the N'Zap 85 or Tentatek before you try to go into ranked with the other weapons you mentioned. The two I listed are a bit easier to learn and utilize properly. In addition, the N'Zap series isn't necessarily made for support. You just need to learn to be more defensive and probably improve your aim a bit. Finally, if you really want to learn more about support, I would suggest trying out the Splatlings. It will teach you to provide turf coverage for your teammates and to have a big impact on the game from afar.

 

[Dessgeega]

And if Splatlings aren't for you, try the squelchers. The Jet Squelcher and the Heavy Splatling really only differ in the firing method, so that comes down to preference.

 

[Ansible]

Do you use any of the inkbrush variants and the octobrushes or just the basic inkbrush?

Either way you have my admiration that you've made it to A with it. After finally breaking into A- on a steady basis I've decided to get back into the swing of using it way more often. Win or lose it's really taxing to out think and out maneuver seven people every match. I've come to learn that movement and map knowledge will often take precedent over swinging my brush whenever.

If you're a fan of slinging large quantities of ink, I suggest looking into the slosher class. Good midrange support multi-tool that can be annoyingly troublesome to the other team's progress.

And if Splatlings aren't for you, try the squelchers. The Jet Squelcher and the Heavy Splatling really only differ in the firing method, so that comes down to preference.

Accurate, but I can see you trying to gain a squelcher convert! xP

 

[Dessgeega]

Accurate, but I can see you trying to gain a squelcher convert! xP

ALL GLORY TO THE SQUELCHERS! :P

 

[Squix]

ALL GLORY TO THE SQUELCHERS! :p

ALL GLORY TO THE H-3!

 

[xXDR.SWOOCEXx]

Either way you have my admiration that you've made it to A with it. After finally breaking into A- on a steady basis I've decided to get back into the swing of using it way more often. Win or lose it's really taxing to out think and out maneuver seven people every match. I've come to learn that movement and map knowledge will often take precedent over swinging my brush whenever.

The Octobrush can bring easy success if you just remember a few general rules. first of all, you have to almost always let the opponents come to you. This may seem like an overly passive playstyle put it usually nets me kill amounts in the mid to high teens. If you continually pursue your opponents you're probably overextending. Every once in a while, try putting a beacon in plain sight. 99% of the time, an enemy will go out of there way to destroy it making them an easy target. As far as abilities go, I highly recommend two mains of damage up to consistently get splats in three flicks. The rest of your slots should be swim speed and special charge up. Again, I can't stress enough how beneficial it is to adopt a passive playstyle. Always let the enemy come to you.

 

[Xehias]

I actually started writing a guide on how to play supportively! Honestly, at this point I’m not sure how much of my playstyle could be qualified as "supportive", but either way, my biggest successes come from being a support player.

All the tips in this thread are great. Going to add a couple of my own: Beakons are extremely useful when used efficiently. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is for a team to recover once their opponents’ push is well underway and Beakons have started popping up all over their side of the map. Also, Sprinklers are incredibly good as defense. I found some sprinkler spots that are really annoying for the enemy team and force them to put themselves in danger to destroy them.

But yeah, unfortunately, you won’t make it up in the ranks if you play exclusively support. Good support only truly shines in S+, and S if you’re lucky.

 

[xXDR.SWOOCEXx]

But yeah, unfortunately, you won’t make it up in the ranks if you play exclusively support. Good support only truly shines in S+, and S if you’re lucky.

I completely agree. I've been getting extremely good k/d's playing support but I can't get teammates who play the objective. I've and a couple of games I went 19/5 and still lost.

 

[dylan_not_bob]

Disruptor spammers are good support people. The Zink Mini and the L-3 are good but difficult to master.

Zink Mini and L-3 are both weapons I have been interested in. Do recommend any good resources for learning the strategies for these?

 

[dylan_not_bob]

I actually started writing a guide on how to play supportively! Honestly, at this point I’m not sure how much of my playstyle could be qualified as "supportive", but either way, my biggest successes come from being a support player..

Cool, I'll check it out!

 

[dylan_not_bob]

Every once in a while, try putting a beacon in plain sight. 99% of the time, an enemy will go out of there way to destroy it making them an easy target. As far as abilities go, I highly recommend two mains of damage up to consistently get splats in three flicks. The rest of your slots should be swim speed and special charge up. Again, I can't stress enough how beneficial it is to adopt a passive playstyle. Always let the enemy come to you.

Would something similar work with the vanilla inkbrush and sprinkler? Lure them with that and have a similar load-out for getting in quick, splatting and firing Inkstrikes as often as possible?

 

[xXDR.SWOOCEXx]

@Hitzel , I hope you don't mind me tagging you. I was wondering if you could post some of your supportive Zimi Play for Bippy.

Would something similar work with the vanilla inkbrush and sprinkler? Lure them with that and have a similar load-out for getting in quick, splatting and firing Inkstrikes as often as possible?

For any brush, I would use 2x Damage Up, 2x Swim Speed, and 2x Special Charge. This will let you have a consistent kill time, good movement, and will allow you to charge your inkstrike quickly.

 

[dylan_not_bob]

Do you use any of the inkbrush variants and the octobrushes or just the basic inkbrush?

Either way you have my admiration that you've made it to A with it. After finally breaking into A- on a steady basis I've decided to get back into the swing of using it way more often. Win or lose it's really taxing to out think and out maneuver seven people every match. I've come to learn that movement and map knowledge will often take precedent over swinging my brush whenever.

If you're a fan of slinging large quantities of ink, I suggest looking into the slosher class. Good midrange support multi-tool that can be annoyingly troublesome to the other team's progress.

I tried octobrush for a bit but I really love the speed of the inkbrush. Tried Nouveau for a while as well, but I found that my inkbrush strategies were mostly about covering turf and the Nouveau didn't really mesh with that style. Have considered pick it back up and learn some more defensive styles with it.

 

[Xehias]

Cool, I'll check it out!

Thanks! Although at this point I have only written an introduction. I hope I’ll get around to finishing it (or starting it, really) soon.