The ranked battle system is Stupid.

[Hitzel]

I feel like more ways to communicate with your team would seriously help. As it is right now, "Booyah!" and "C'mon!" aren't sufficient with communicating effectively.

Ever play Shadowrun? It had an amazing D-pad communication system. It gave simple voice commands and waypoints to your teammates based on where you were looking. The options were something like:

Enemy Spotted
Move Here
I Need Help
Defend Here

If you used Enemy Spotted somewhere and there was no target, it would say Area Clear.

It made a big difference. Something like this in Splatoon would be amazing.

 

[Siggykewts]

I'm in B- atm, and I rarely play ranked. I just play it every now and then for fun, but I haven't had any trouble climbing every time I do decide to play. When I do play, I tend to keep the following in mind:

1. Gear. I have a specific set I use for specific weapons I tend to use in Ranked. Look at your gear and see what gives the best abilities for your weapon and the maps on rotation (I look hideous and not very fresh tho ;[)

2. Certain weapons are generally more reliable than others in ranked, regardless of teamcomp. My go-to all around good weapons are the Splattershots (Jr., standard, and pro), the dual squelcher, and SOMETIMES the Krak-On. I find chargers can be more polarizing in Ranked just because more often than not you will be relying more on your teammates.

3. Everyone spams Inkstrikes, but I LOVE echolocator (dual squelcher with this is so good). Knowing where your enemies are in ranked is so much more valuable then in turf wars.

4. Be wary of the maps. Long corridors/straightaways? Bust out a longer range weapon. Close quarters? An automatic/roller is your best bet. Some rotations will have the same features, therefore you can pick a weapon that's good in both.

5. After your team takes the zone, one-two of you should PUSH FORWARD. Stalling the enemy team from returning to the zone is sooooo helpful. You might die more from engaging the enemy closer to their spawn, but that's more time you have control of the zone. Don't send everyone, though; or you will all die and they will rush the zone.

With these things in mind, I find I always seem to carry my teams more (it's even better when you get a good team. Spam that queue with them for continuous wins!)

 

[Hitzel]

Honestly what everyone needs to do is stop complaining about teammates(however hard that might be) and work with them more. This is team based game, so you have to work as one. No team can win without synchronizing their efforts. I've been in A- forever but I also learned to work with my team and now I'm edging closer to A+. I also recommend using weapons with specials which allow you retake the zones(if you're doing splat zones) such as inkstrike and bomb rush. Also, focus on killing the other team's players as much as possible since the downtime between your kill and their respawn will give you time to ink the zone and retake it.

If you die and have to look at the map to see where your teammates are, you know you don't have them in mind enough.

 

[Rellek]

I feel like the best times to rank up are anywhere between 5pm and 9pm Central Time.

That's when all the hardcore japanese are going to bed and the hardcore Americans haven't decided it's dark enough outside to play yet. This is the best time to gain rank :P

 

[K7Sniper]

3. Everyone spams Inkstrikes, but I LOVE echolocator (dual squelcher with this is so good). Knowing where your enemies are in ranked is so much more valuable then in turf wars.

An Inkstrike assisted by an Echolocator is deadly.

 

[correojon]

I finally made it to A- and I'm finding it much easier to win. Having good teammates is a huge help in maps that aren't good for chargers: they take advantage of my supporting work, using the lines I line down for them, team up more, know to take advantage when I use a Killer Wail to cover the places where the enemy will be pushed...I'm not winning everytime because the opposition is terrible, but it's great to play with dudes who understand what you are doing and know what they are doing themselves. Huge difference from B+ where a lot of people just go after the kill count and totally forget the team's objective.

 

[Inkoishi]

I'd expect that's natural; after all, you're playing with others who have gone through the same **** as you have and understand the game better for it.

 

[ThatSrb2DUDE]

Honestly sometimes you can't always blame the teammates, of course there will be times where you'd look at the map and you will say "what the heck is this guy doing". What that means is that you have to work harder so you can achieve the win instead of complaining that the composition isn't the way you want it which will then affect they way you play and make the chance higher for you to lose. If you're a really good player and your able to "carry" as well as winning the majority then you lose, you will eventually make it in to A.

 

[Hope]

That's something which bothers me. In this game I get almost no input how to improve my game. In Mario Kart - which I played competitively a lot - there are time trials and WR ghosts which ship you the best strategies on every track. Then you could improve your lines steadily with immediate response whether you did well or not (times). In Splatoon however is no comparable way to simply practice the game.

Playing Mario Kart competitively is much more then simply lines. There is a reason that people who do pure time trials generally get destroyed in wars. It is often hard to perform in wars without a ton of experience playing with high level players.

Also to anyone who believes that an A rank player can be stuck in C- I would encourage you to watch Bread or srbDUDE's streams. They consistently perform in A- to A+ rooms.

 

[Hitzel]

Also to anyone who believes that an A rank player can be stuck in C- I would encourage you to watch Bread or srbDUDE's streams. They consistently perform in A- to A+ rooms.

I don't think a good player could ever be permanently stuck in C, but they could get stuck in B or lower A depending on their playstyle and luck.

You have to take the gameplay of A-rank players with a grain of salt. You gotta remember that the people they are beating are unorganized randoms that aren't communicating. They are pub stomping. Real matches are against real teams aren't going to look like that and what they're doing probably isn't going to work.

When private matches area released, clan matches and customs are going to matter more than rank. That's how it's always worked in situations like these. The people who feel they can't shine because of the lack of a good ranking system will have the chance to form a squad and prove themselves at that point. Until then, telling people they deserve low ranks is naive and uncalled for, based on my experience with other shooters.

*Edit*

I should probably mention that I'm a regular in Bread's stream and I think he's a good player.

 

[Hope]

I don't think a good player could ever be permanently stuck in C, but they could get stuck in B or lower A depending on their playstyle and luck.

You have to take the gameplay of A-rank players with a grain of salt. You gotta remember that the people they are beating are unorganized randoms that aren't communicating. They are pub stomping. Real matches are against real teams aren't going to look like that and what they're doing probably isn't going to work.

When private matches area released, clan matches and customs are going to matter more than rank. That's how it's always worked in situations like these. The people who feel they can't shine because of the lack of a good ranking system will have the chance to form a squad and prove themselves at that point. Until then, telling people they deserve low ranks is naive and uncalled for, based on my experience with other shooters.

*Edit*

I should probably mention that I'm a regular in Bread's stream and I think he's a good player.

There is a difference between deserving a low rank in solo queue and deserving one in ranked teams true, but it would be naive to think that people who cannot perform in solo queue will suddenly "get good" in ranked teams. People who are B deserve their rank, people who are C deserve their rank. I've had my share of bad teams and JPN lag but I stuck with it and got to A, there really isn't any excuse for not performing in solo queue. Dealing with bad teams and outplaying the enemy team consistantly are literally what the mode is about. It seems like you are trying to make it ranked teams, which it clearly isn't, and then using that to say people deserve higher ranks or are stuck because of the defining aspects of the mode.

I hear people complain all the time about losing streaks and going down whole letter ranks. Well my question to you is why did you keep playing? If you lose a bunch of games in a row it will put you on tilt making you play worse, furthering the losing spree. Take a break after you lose a bunch of games in a row people, you actually have more control over your losing streak than you would think.

Also one more thing that grates my gears. Contrary to what some people here believe, your rank in solo queue will affect your team's performance in team ranked. You learn a lot of strategies and mechanics by reaching A+ 99 that you wouldn't even know about if you gave up at C+. An all A+ team would annihilate a team that got stuck in C and quit. Saying it does not matter is like saying a team of bronzies in League of Legends could beat a team of Diamond players. It simply will not happen. So playing solo queue is relevant and it will matter for team ranked.

 

[Hitzel]

1 - It would be naive to think that people who cannot perform in solo queue will suddenly "get good" in ranked teams.

2 - Dealing with bad teams and solo carrying are literally what the mode is about.

Here are why I don't like these two common statements in this thread:

1 - Saying people need to "get good" implies that they aren't good.

2 - The only ranked mode being like that is inherently a problem.

Random teams and party teams are two entirely different beasts and some people perform differently in them. An absence of an A-rank in solo-que is not evidence of a bad player.

Groups of good players who have been playing together forever and have excellent teamwork and communication will consistently beat teams of players who perform amazingly in solo que but don't have the long-earned chemistry and teamwork to dismantle strong teams. This helps portray the fact that strong teams are individual entities, past the scope of what their players are "in a bubble."

You take individual members of strong teams and place them with people they can't possibly operate with the way they are used to operating, of course they aren't going to do as well. This isn't because they don't have the potential to win, it's because the team they belong to, the entity that they help make strong, is no longer part of the picture and they aren't able to "play for real" or whatever.

...it would be naive to think that people who cannot perform in solo queue will suddenly "get good" in ranked teams.

So yes, I strongly believe that players that rank low in solo que are more than capable of ranking high with their squads in a party que. This is especially true now since Splatoon is a young game, and skills easily transfer to young games.

Of course there are lots of people out there who feel entitled for a high rank who wouldn't do well in a team environment either. Those people aren't the people I'm talking about. I'm not saying that anyone who isn't A-rank in this game deserves A-rank. I am saying:

An absence of A-rank in a solo que is not evidence of a bad player.

You can't look at someone who isn't performing well in solo que and use that as evidence to say they are bad, need to "get good," etc. Those things aren't okay. A bad solo-que rank is simply not enough information.

It's also worth saying that a good rank (that was earned legitimately) is also evidence of a good player.

This post was long-winded and I really hope it didn't come off as rude. It's hard to talk about things such as player skill without stepping on toes. Hopefully you can see why I am defending those who are being put down for their low ranks, and why a lack of party-team ranked matches is a problem.

*Edit*

I see your comparison of Bronze League players and want to clarify, I'm not talking about people rated that low. I don't play League so I don't know what the ratings are, but I'm talking more of people with modest solo que ranks being able to get very strong party que ranks.

 

[K7Sniper]

Ok, but the point still stands. You say the A Ranks deserve to be there, and you aren't talking about the low ones. So that leaves the giant kerfluffle of people in the B ranks who can't hit A rank, correct? Well, there definitely needs to be a group in the middle, as not everyone can be in the A ranks. If you were really good, and deserving of the A rank, then you would have gotten there or are close to it. Yes, there is some rough luck in teams at times, and I do think the Win/Loss point spread could use a slight tweak, but what about all the times that those players WERE on the good teams? Should they be penalized becasue they happened to have good luck, since if we are going to give a bonus to those who lost? It would only be fair to give a hit to those who won to keep it fair. Things have a way of balancing out. That's the nature of the beast when it comes to ranked ratings.

Now you see why I prefer to play TW instead of Ranked. It's a lot more fun when you aren't dealing with things like this. All the rankings do is make people cry and moan on why they aren't higher up, and that everything is broken because they have bad luck every game. Not saying every low ranked person is bad, as I myself am still in the C rank due to only playing a few ranked games because I know how people get in them (yet I win a good 75% of my matches in TW, and have won all but my first in Ranked matches), but those in the higher A ranks tended to get past any luck in the lower levels, or, you know, simply overcame it.

Honestly, I think this system is very good, even with the randomness, as while yea, there is some bad luck involved, those who make it high up got past the system, and it's not made to give everyone a gold star A+ 99 rank. It's also extremely fair, as everyone is in the same boat, and everyone has dealt with the same good and bad with teams. Adding premade teams into this system will actually offset any balance right from the get go, as you have stated yourself, teams that have worked together a lot tend to do better. So, that gives those teams way more of an advantage than someone who queues solo, and that's not very fair now is it?

If they do add a ranked party system, I hope it's a separate rank. Otherwise, it would cause a rather high offset in the balance of the system.

 

[Hitzel]

I think the current system is terrible, not being able to form parties vs parties is too much. The current ranking system is a good solo que, but the ranking system as a whole is bad without party matchmaking. Party matchmaking has been an industry standard since Halo 2 came out. Neglecting it in unacceptable.

My point was that if someone is good at team FPS's they won't necessarily get a good rank in solo que. The people who aren't have a legitimate reason to complain about the current ranking system.

*Edit*

Yeah, party vs party rank should be separate from solo que rank, but it's a stretch to think that Nintendo will ever change the current system.

 

[K7Sniper]

Ok. I have no issue with a party creation system, as long as it is separate from Solo queue. That way, the premades face nothing but premades, and not essentially get free wins over those in solo queue, and rocket up the rank system just because they have an innate advantage over the rest of the people playing.

So, I do agree with that there should be one in the game, I just don't want premade teams to get a free pass up the ladder by trouncing all those who aren't in a premade team.

 

[Hitzel]

Yeah, parties should never match up against randoms.

 

[★Forge]

I lost my s rank and I'm stuck at A+

 

[Mystrite]

I 100% agree with you , that's how I dropped from S to A (that sucked) only to pick up CRB and Dynamo to get back up to S. Just try to keep practicing ( preferably with a squad) you'll sometimes be the sole reason that your team wins. Try to stick to certain weapons for an amount of time for each map and game mode (i.e. e-litre on moray RM) BUT DON'T MAIN THE WEAPON. Main the weapon class. If you stopped playing for a while (to go somewhere) play a few Turf Wars so your aim , focus etc. get back into the flow of Splatoon.

 

[16bitdave]

Yeah since there's no voice chat my brother and I talk on FaceTime while doing ranked team battles.