The Kill Debate; Do Kills Matter?

[missingno]

I can end this debate with two words:

Walleye Warehouse.

 

[Fightersword]

Yes, kills are worth it even in turf war. Think about what the opponent is doing and could be doing, and then you can realize the opportunity cost for having died.

For example, let's just use you as an example:
To not think extremely far into the future, we'll divide up what you'll be doing with the present and the future.

Presently can only be one thing, because it is of course the thing you're currently doing. So for the example, let's say there's no one around you know of and you're presently spreading ink.

In the future, you realize the opponents are going to push into the area soon, so you decide you'll be doing one of a few things depending on the need of the moment.
A) Pressuring
B) Punishing (killing people who overextend)
C) covering their backs, so they don't have anywhere to go to (flanking without immediate punishing)
D) covering more turf

Now let's say an opponent charger shows up right as the future is about to become the present, and shoots you.
Now you are forced into what will be labeled as action E for a time: respawning and jumping or moving back up. Essentially, for dying you lose out on your current present and whatever future options you could be making the present that could be crucial to the team for the length of E. A, B, C, and D are all now impossible until you move back up, and may stop being viable options by the time you are able to.

So, to sum it up, when you die you stop contributing what you are doing and many future options become unviable by the time you have completed situation E. so Dying is worse during crucial points when you have more and more important futures or are performing important jobs. The higher the opportunity cost was for the person who just died, the more important the kill was.

Of course, you also must pay an opportunity cost FOR killing, as all the other options you did not pick are lost to the now current present. You essentially pay an opportunity cost to make your opponent take a bigger opportunity cost, and if you screw up and die yourself, then it's even worse, because your opponent didn't commit to the killing option as hard as you did, meaning he would likely have lost less time in which he could be doing other things than you did going for a kill, and are now also losing due to respawn + move up.

an entire team being pushed back to spawn by the entire other team is the extreme result of what can happen if your team is forced to pay several opportunity costs over and over from dying, as they collectively lose more and more compared to the other team until they're backed up in spawn.

 

[Blood]

For now I think going for kills is not optimal, but i dont care because Its pratiCe! Hopefully ranked games will reward kills/skills even more.

Right now the game rewards low skill playstyles, which something i would like to see change.

 

[TheBuzzSaw]

Money doesn't matter, but it certainly helps you live life the way you want to. ;)

 

[River09]

I'd say Whenever you see the opportunity to do so. Yes, kills are not the primary objective of turf wars yet the benefits gained from them is worth it. Don't go around looking for kills but when you have a clear shot just go for it.

Kills also work well when you just want to relieve presure so thats another benefit. Depending on the situation it might be best to kill one of the opponents. Besides, some special/sub weapons are made to kill so not to use them is wasted potential.

 

[Terabyte]

I'd say don't focus on killing, focus on covering the turf. But if you get a good chance, or it can allow you to cover a large area by removing them, go for it!

 

[digiholic]

Dead squids paint no floors.

Kill them and that's 10 seconds they're not covering your ink.

 

[swifT]

Although I dont think I'm able to sany anymore then what others have said I'd still like to include my own two cents on the matter of kils.

Kills however not the main point or overall objective of this game are still very important to how it pans out in the end. The simple fact of the matter is you will come in contact with enemy players and when you do, you should kill them. By doing this you put your opponents team at a disadvantage as they are down a member.

The main way I view killing in this game is that by doing so not only do I set the enemy back it can also give me safe passage to secure the surrounding area, and depending on the map that can make or break a victory. I've found that in Splatoon once you've taken control of an area if you lock it down well enough it is very easy to maintain control of the flow and pace of the game. Keeping momentum in your teams favor is very important.

 

[DatGuyAegis]

I take back my statement kills matter more then I could imagine. If you think about it turf wars are kind of like a big thing of splatzones with the middle being the most important point. Early picks easily help take control of that and flanks on the enemies help keep them back. Keep them in the base and you'll win easy. I did a little experiment and found the matches where I prioritized kills over spraying turf we won (even though my p wasn't high). My point isn't that spraying turf isn't important that's the name of the game. My point is that kills if done right and in succession are really worth it.

 

[River09]

I said it in my previous post but I feel like it needed more emphasis. Some sub/special weapons were designed to kill/give you the advantage to kill. Killer Wail, Krakon, splash wall, etc. If you have the necessary equipment to effectively and efficiently by all means kill them.

 

[Kaliafornia]

Idk I'm torn. I've gotten zero kills and still had the highest score (even without the bonus) but kills definitely do matter and help your team. That said I've also gotten the highest score of anyone (without bonus) 10 kills/2 deaths and my team still lost. I wouldn't go hunting unless there is less than a minute and the vast majority of the board is already covered in my colour.

 

[missingno]

Instead of going out 'hunting', what you should do is patrol high value targets and watch choke points. Think about where you don't want your opponents to go, and make sure they can't.

 

[swifT]

I like the term high value targets used by missingno above.

As the game grows and even know itll be easier to people to remember the setups that people have, and which setups are more important to shut out from their specials then other. Someone using an Inkstrike is a fairly high value target and if you see that opponent and have the option to kill them and set them back you certainly should do so as quick as possible. Not to devalue any specific specials, but killing some enemies are certainly more important than killing others. See my previous reply(3 or so up) for my other reasons nd opinions on kills in Splatoon.

 

[Bormp]

Basically for me, I just focus on not dying, while laying as much ink down as I can. If I come across an enemy, I need to approach him/her safely, otherwise, it is all for nothing. Ensure your victory by turning to squid often. But, all-in-all, as many other people have said, killing is not the objective, getting the most kills is not what wins you the game, spreading ink is. Thus, don't ever camp and try to get kills exclusively. I once saw two players in a corner in squid form in the exact same spot. I had echolocator active, so I knew where they were. As expected, I splatted them both, leaving their team with only two players for a good 15 seconds, allowing for more pushing and ink spreading. So, again, don't camp. The thing is, killing someone increases the amount of ink you can spread and decreases the amount the enemy can. So killing is not the objective, but it is still crucial.

 

[Lyn]

If you're trying to ink an area, yes definitely. If you're playing Splat Zones, yes. Otherwise likely not or they are just neutral. :)

 

[Alus]

Still, the point remains that spreading massive quantities of ink by itself will not mean victory. If you want massive amounts of points, you can just run behind enemies all day. Why, killing them would only dry up your source of points, if that's all you're concerned about!

It's subtle, but there absolutely is a vital difference between what gets you high points, and what actually wins you matches.

Feel this post is relevant.

If there were no kills then the match would be simply a race. Getting kills and controlling territory is the only way to make it any different. When a match ends and you see the map is 70-30, check and see how many kills the lower portion of the winning team has. Of course, the top player also can have all the kills being in enemy territory and all.

 

[masterlettal]

I feel kills are basically necessary for winning in either game type, while spreading ink is obviously the most basic objective kills are vital because they prevent your opponent from taking your territory. For example when I use the .96 gal I focus on one objective, and that is protecting the territory my teammates get and expanding it whenever possible, because it has less inking potential than other weapons, but amazing kill potential, like on saltspray rig il usually throw down a sprinkler on the lower area then make my way to the large upper area and make sure it's secured. This way in preventing the enemy from inking a large portion of the map, while I may not be getting many points or doing much inking, but still making a important contribution to the team

 

[Indy Wolfy]

In Turf Wars, kills is just well there just to be there since you get more points by spraying paint all over. Meanwhile in Splat Zones, kills are important since taking out opponents can give you the chance to push forward and take the splat zone and than u must defend it and to defend it you must rack up kills to slow there progress.

Overall: Kills are viable in one mode and optional in another but since stats aren't out its entirely optional to care about kills

 

[Squid Kid Dekuran]

The way I see it, Kills are not the main objective, but should be done when necessary, which is whenever an enemy is advancing. For me, kills should happen to prevent the enemy from advancing. If you play charger, kills are your job, and supporting your team from a remote point is how you contribute. I mostly play splatter, and I ink ground that isn't our colour whenever I see it, as long as I keep moving toward the center field to kill any enemies making their way into our territory.
Essentially, I think kills should mostly be done to keep the pressure on and restrict the enemy team to their side and push them back. Obscurica said, if the entire team is kept back and the don't have anyone to super jump to, then they will have a really hard time advancing and as long as they can't get past, your team should win, so long as everything behind you is inked.

 

[Ace.]

kills matter by far, I wouldn't chase someone cross-map to get a kill but winning a 1 on 1 fight is crucial to allow you and your team mates to push for turf