Thoughts On Tower Control?

[ProfessorKony]

I honestly don't know what to think of tower control. I have very mixed feelings about the game mode. The majority of the time, it's completely frustrating, due to the lack of teamwork. On the other hand, the fact that it takes so much teamwork makes me like the mode. Personally, I feel that people play this game type so incorrectly. Based on my experiences, what most of my team does is that they all hop on the tower and try to take out people as they advance into enemy territory. However, it would be so much easier to have on person on top of the tower, maybe an extra player behind the tower, watching for enemy flankers, and the rest of the teammates pushing forward into the enemy base. I can't get too upset because not everyone is super competitive and thinks strategic, but when teammates are holding you back, it can be quite upsetting.

 

[superman]

When tower control was first released I was extremely frustrated with how my teammates played around the tower but by now most people have learned how to play better, at least on A+
You still see people super jumping like crazy in the worst situations instead of rolling out to mid and setting up a defense. It's incredibly hard for them to push the tower through choke points or even mid if you have control over most of the turf, so much so that I believe playing fairly conservative once you lose control of the tower is the way to go.

I'm not sure what to make if it from a competitive point of view though. I could easily see tower control becoming a stalemate early on and the team who wins the first round of specials run away with the lead in organized matches, especially when teams have means to communicate and cover flanks properly while locking down choke points out of the enemies' base.

Then again we'll have to see how the game evolves once organized matches are available. I hope there's a decent chance to break control to make for interesting gameplay.

Right now you can do little things to help out your teammates that are mostly only focusing on the tower like covering flanks, flanking yourself or setting up defense of mid as mentioned earlier.

 

[ProfessorKony]

When tower control was first released I was extremely frustrated with how my teammates played around the tower but by now most people have learned how to play better, at least on A+
You still see people super jumping like crazy in the worst situations instead of rolling out to mid and setting up a defense. It's incredibly hard for them to push the tower through choke points or even mid if you have control over most of the turf, so much so that I believe playing fairly conservative once you lose control of the tower is the way to go.

I'm not sure what to make if it from a competitive point of view though. I could easily see tower control becoming a stalemate early on and the team who wins the first round of specials run away with the lead in organized matches, especially when teams have means to communicate and cover flanks properly while locking down choke points out of the enemies' base.

Then again we'll have to see how the game evolves once organized matches are available. I hope there's a decent chance to break control to make for interesting gameplay.

Right now you can do little things to help out your teammates that are mostly only focusing on the tower like covering flanks, flanking yourself or setting up defense of mid as mentioned earlier.

Unfortunately for me, I don't think I'll ever reach the A Ranks due to my team always losing. Since most people tend to jump into the tower, my usual role is to play extremely aggressive and head into the enemy base, which I find success in most of the time, but sometimes I change up what I do based on how the rest of my team is playing the match. I'd say I have a pretty good shot, and I'm usually able to take out enemies with ease. However it just isn't enough due to the fact that most of the players I get matched up with aren't so strategic. I don't want to blame my teammates all the time, but sometimes I feel like I have to play everyones' roles.

 

[Agosta44]

Tower Control is fun but I despise Port Mackeral and Saltspray Rig. Not because they're bad, but because randoms have no idea how to ****ing play them.

 

[superman]

Don't be so hard on yourself. Even I reached A+ and my aim is pretty bad. I still have to adapt to playing around the limitations of a gamepad as a long time competitive quake player.
Most beginners in every shooter play far too aggressive. Your enemy scores off you dying so you want to stay alive as long as possible. Similarly most players on your rank overextend they're easy to pick off even with bad aim :P . Retreat when most of your team dies and move in with them. Pay attention to the squids on top of the screen you can coordinate yourself even with a bad team and give yourselves better chances of winning. Of course there's situations where you should go aggressive because it can have a huge payoff you'll learn how to tell when to do what over time! :)

 

[ProfessorKony]

Tower Control is fun but I despise Port Mackeral and Saltspray Rig. Not because they're bad, but because randoms have no idea how to ****ing play them.

I don't think I've played a match of TC on Saltspray Rig yet. Sounds incredibly frustrating already though.

 

[StaffofSmashing]

StaffofSmashing returns!

I like the idea of Tower Control, but I hate Saltspray Rig. The map is so short and if the opposing team is guarding the person riding the tower, you better beg that you can beat.

Port Mackerel is fine, I got 30 kils once on that map :3

Blackbelly Skatepark is weird. The halfpipe is where you need to end up, and people who have that map boiled into their memory will find that path weird.

Tower Control I find also LOVES the Killer Wail. If the opposing team is riding the tower, you can blast whoever is riding it off. I used the Splat Roller one round and saved our team at 3 distance and won from 76 using the Killer Wail.

Also Ink Mines are way to good for Tower Control, infact any bomb weapon in general. Using the Splash-O-Matic when we were riding I was able to Suction Bomb our Tower evey free chance I got and netted a few kills that way.

Snipers suck for Tower Control, as the thing you're trying to shoot is always moving. Rollers are pretty good for being a wall for the other team, and guns are universally good at killing. I've found the .52 Gal, the N-Zap 85, and the Tentatek Splattershot to be awesome (although it's my preference)

Overall, Tower Control is a cool thing, but it seems biased towards some things. I think Rainmaker will be a more balanced mode, but we know nothing about Rainmaker. We just have speculation.

 

[Ryuji]

I like Splat Zones better than Tower Control. While they're both frustrating, TC is too chaotic and relies far too heavily on your teammates for my liking. Alot of times you'll have teams very unwilling to get on the tower in fear of dying, so you yourself are often the who gets the short end of the stick and grudgingly gets on the tower. Even if you have control of the tower, your team doesn't protect you. They don't go ahead of the tower to engage the other team nor do they shoot at anyone in time to keep control of the tower. It's infuriating and I honestly don't want to play TC anymore. It's too easy to lose and you can't win consistently.

The rotation needs to stop too. I don't want to play at scheduled times and have to wait 4 hours until Splat Zones are available again. Nintendo should give us a choice of TC or SZ. Even a random choice of either would be better than a 4 hour wait.

 

[Narayan]

For me, the objective in TC - the Tower itself- is way to small. In SZ you have way more space to move around. It's more about inking than TC.

Something elese that pisses me off is the move-back-function of the tower. I died once in a very frustrated way on Saltspray Rigs (i ***ing hate this map for TC but adore it for TW)

 

[ProfessorKony]

I like Splat Zones better than Tower Control. While they're both frustrating, TC is too chaotic and relies far too heavily on your teammates for my liking. Alot of times you'll have teams very unwilling to get on the tower in fear of dying, so you yourself are often the who gets the short end of the stick and grudgingly gets on the tower. Even if you have control of the tower, your team doesn't protect you. They don't go ahead of the tower to engage the other team nor do they shoot at anyone in time to keep control of the tower. It's infuriating and I honestly don't want to play TC anymore. It's too easy to lose and you can't win consistently.

The rotation needs to stop too. I don't want to play at scheduled times and have to wait 4 hours until Splat Zones are available again. Nintendo should give us a choice of TC or SZ. Even a random choice of either would be better than a 4 hour wait.

These are my thoughts exactly. You couldn't have said it better.

 

[ProfessorKony]

For me, the objective in TC - the Tower itself- is way to small. In SZ you have way more space to move around. It's more about inking than TC.

Something elese that pisses me off is the move-back-function of the tower. I died once in a very frustrated way on Saltspray Rigs (i ***ing hate this map for TC but adore it for TW)

I agree, and this is my opinion... idk about you, but I feel that the maps don't work well together because everything is so tight and close up. I feel that if the maps were wider (more room to breathe), the game mode would work much better.

 

[ProfessorKony]

StaffofSmashing returns!

I like the idea of Tower Control, but I hate Saltspray Rig. The map is so short and if the opposing team is guarding the person riding the tower, you better beg that you can beat.

Port Mackerel is fine, I got 30 kils once on that map :3

Blackbelly Skatepark is weird. The halfpipe is where you need to end up, and people who have that map boiled into their memory will find that path weird.

Tower Control I find also LOVES the Killer Wail. If the opposing team is riding the tower, you can blast whoever is riding it off. I used the Splat Roller one round and saved our team at 3 distance and won from 76 using the Killer Wail.

Also Ink Mines are way to good for Tower Control, infact any bomb weapon in general. Using the Splash-O-Matic when we were riding I was able to Suction Bomb our Tower evey free chance I got and netted a few kills that way.

Snipers suck for Tower Control, as the thing you're trying to shoot is always moving. Rollers are pretty good for being a wall for the other team, and guns are universally good at killing. I've found the .52 Gal, the N-Zap 85, and the Tentatek Splattershot to be awesome (although it's my preference)

Overall, Tower Control is a cool thing, but it seems biased towards some things. I think Rainmaker will be a more balanced mode, but we know nothing about Rainmaker. We just have speculation.

I tried using a charger, since it's my comfort zone, but it's practically impossible. So the N-Zap 85 is usually the gun that I use the most. And in regards to Rainmaker, is there any information on how it'll play? I watched a video on YouTube, and when the person described it, it reminded me of Capture the Flag.

 

[ProfessorKony]

StaffofSmashing returns!

I like the idea of Tower Control, but I hate Saltspray Rig. The map is so short and if the opposing team is guarding the person riding the tower, you better beg that you can beat.

Port Mackerel is fine, I got 30 kils once on that map :3

Blackbelly Skatepark is weird. The halfpipe is where you need to end up, and people who have that map boiled into their memory will find that path weird.

Tower Control I find also LOVES the Killer Wail. If the opposing team is riding the tower, you can blast whoever is riding it off. I used the Splat Roller one round and saved our team at 3 distance and won from 76 using the Killer Wail.

Also Ink Mines are way to good for Tower Control, infact any bomb weapon in general. Using the Splash-O-Matic when we were riding I was able to Suction Bomb our Tower evey free chance I got and netted a few kills that way.

Snipers suck for Tower Control, as the thing you're trying to shoot is always moving. Rollers are pretty good for being a wall for the other team, and guns are universally good at killing. I've found the .52 Gal, the N-Zap 85, and the Tentatek Splattershot to be awesome (although it's my preference)

Overall, Tower Control is a cool thing, but it seems biased towards some things. I think Rainmaker will be a more balanced mode, but we know nothing about Rainmaker. We just have speculation.

Capture the Flag with one player. Don't know if this video is credible, but it's this one incase you were curious.

 

[ILikeKirbys]

I agree, and this is my opinion... idk about you, but I feel that the maps don't work well together because everything is so tight and close up. I feel that if the maps were wider (more room to breathe), the game mode would work much better.

Yeah, quite a few maps just feel kinda odd on Tower Control. I'm thinking of Saltspray Rig in particular with this one; having the tower's path so close to the spawn points makes it a bit too easy to defend your side once you get a lead (and is it just me, or can chargers shoot the tower at damn near any point along its path from the spawn-platforms?). It just seems kinda odd, Maybe I'd like it more if the tower started in the topmost area (seriously, that part is underutilized) and have the paths end where they currently do. Walleye feels kinda weird here as well, since it's so easy to overrun the center, stall out the timer and just win like that, but I'm not sure there's an easy fix for that. Urchin Underpass just ends up being defend-the-chokepoint or keep-them-away-from-our-chokepoint, I don't like it. Port Mackerel is odd too, it's heavily chokepointy, but it has so many avenues to attack from that I'm not sure it's such a problem as it is on Urchin Underpass, but I still feel it's too easy to get overrun. I only played on Arowana a few times before getting random-selected to a different stage forever, but the few games I played on it I didn't really like much, partially because I kept getting pushed into the water by the tower (which travels over water for a bit. Not sure if I like that, but I don't know if there was a better option there, going down along the ramps doesn't seem alright to me for some reason) and partially because my teams kept getting overrun at the last minute. I didn't get enough time with this stage to say I like or dislike it, and my experience on it hasn't been really anything one way or the other, so I dunno how I feel about it.
A few maps are alright by me though. Blackbelly Skatepark feels like what I'd want Saltspray to be like: it's a long path, but it ends close enough to each side's spawn point that comebacks are possible. Also, having the tower start atop the big center tower was a neat idea, I liked that. Bluefin was actually rather fun, despite being chokepointy. Kelp Dome was also nice, its hugeness opens up a number of ways to attack the tower at any point on its path and it ends pretty close to the spawn points. If I haven't mentioned any of the maps here, I haven't played Tower Control on them.
The fact that I can honestly say I don't enjoy playing this mode on some stages makes this definitely my least favorite mode in Splatoon. It's not that I have a problem with it mechanics-wise, though maybe the tower could go back to its center position a bit slower unless the other team's got it, but I hate some of the tower paths on some stages.
Also, is it just me, or are Blasters really good for splatting people riding the tower? Because those get me 90% of the time when I ride it.
Alsoalso, I wish we could choose which ranked mode to play. That's probably only tangentially related, but I thought I should mention it anyway.

 

[ProfessorKony]

Yeah, quite a few maps just feel kinda odd on Tower Control. I'm thinking of Saltspray Rig in particular with this one; having the tower's path so close to the spawn points makes it a bit too easy to defend your side once you get a lead (and is it just me, or can chargers shoot the tower at damn near any point along its path from the spawn-platforms?). It just seems kinda odd, Maybe I'd like it more if the tower started in the topmost area (seriously, that part is underutilized) and have the paths end where they currently do. Walleye feels kinda weird here as well, since it's so easy to overrun the center, stall out the timer and just win like that, but I'm not sure there's an easy fix for that. Urchin Underpass just ends up being defend-the-chokepoint or keep-them-away-from-our-chokepoint, I don't like it. Port Mackerel is odd too, it's heavily chokepointy, but it has so many avenues to attack from that I'm not sure it's such a problem as it is on Urchin Underpass, but I still feel it's too easy to get overrun. I only played on Arowana a few times before getting random-selected to a different stage forever, but the few games I played on it I didn't really like much, partially because I kept getting pushed into the water by the tower (which travels over water for a bit. Not sure if I like that, but I don't know if there was a better option there, going down along the ramps doesn't seem alright to me for some reason) and partially because my teams kept getting overrun at the last minute. I didn't get enough time with this stage to say I like or dislike it, and my experience on it hasn't been really anything one way or the other, so I dunno how I feel about it.
A few maps are alright by me though. Blackbelly Skatepark feels like what I'd want Saltspray to be like: it's a long path, but it ends close enough to each side's spawn point that comebacks are possible. Also, having the tower start atop the big center tower was a neat idea, I liked that. Bluefin was actually rather fun, despite being chokepointy. Kelp Dome was also nice, its hugeness opens up a number of ways to attack the tower at any point on its path and it ends pretty close to the spawn points. If I haven't mentioned any of the maps here, I haven't played Tower Control on them.
The fact that I can honestly say I don't enjoy playing this mode on some stages makes this definitely my least favorite mode in Splatoon. It's not that I have a problem with it mechanics-wise, though maybe the tower could go back to its center position a bit slower unless the other team's got it, but I hate some of the tower paths on some stages.
Also, is it just me, or are Blasters really good for splatting people riding the tower? Because those get me 90% of the time when I ride it.
Alsoalso, I wish we could choose which ranked mode to play. That's probably only tangentially related, but I thought I should mention it anyway.

I agree with everything you said. It's like these maps were not made with tower control in mind. As if the developers said, "eh, don't know what other gamemodes to add, so let's just throw TC in". Now saying this was the case, but it's clear that for the most parts, the maps and the game type don't mesh well together.

In regards to the blasters, YES YES YES. Blasters are extremely good weapons for this gamemode, because for the most part the ink doesn't have to make direct contact with you, if the radius of the blast is good enough, you're pretty much dead. Blasters seriously frustrate me.

and this is unrelated to TC, but I posted a topic on a game mode that I feel would work so well in Splatoon. I really want to know what your opinion is on it! Here's the link to it. http://squidboards.com/threads/search-and-destroy-game-type.3145/

 

[ILikeKirbys]

I agree with everything you said. It's like these maps were not made with tower control in mind. As if the developers said, "eh, don't know what other gamemodes to add, so let's just throw TC in". Now saying this was the case, but it's clear that for the most parts, the maps and the game type don't mesh well together.

Yeah, they really weren't. Especially Saltspray, that tower path placement wasn't a good call. It's kinda weird how both of the Ranked modes we currently have don't use the top part of Saltspray much. And I dunno if I can quantify why I dislike Urchin on this mode, but I do. And that's weird because Port Mackerel doesn't feel like it has this problem. Having said that, Mackerel has the problem that controlling the area in front of the knockout zone pretty much wins the game for your team. I want to say there's another stage with that problem, but I can't come up with one right now.
It's a shame too, if they'd implemented it better Tower Control might be my favorite mode, but as it is I don't want to play like half the current stages on it.

In regards to the blasters, YES YES YES. Blasters are extremely good weapons for this gamemode, because for the most part the ink doesn't have to make direct contact with you, if the radius of the blast is good enough, you're pretty much dead. Blasters seriously frustrate me.

Ah, so that isn't just me being bad. Luna Blasters in particular are why I never ride the tower unless it's been lost or I take it from the other team (or the other team doesn't have one). On the flip side, they can't really do much when they're riding the tower since they have such a short shot. Something the regular (and Custom) Blaster can do, though it isn't quite as good because of the smaller splash.
Also, Rollers are good at that too. Especially the Krak-On, since it has Kraken to take the tower while splatting anyone standing on it.

and this is unrelated to TC, but I posted a topic on a game mode that I feel would work so well in Splatoon. I really want to know what your opinion is on it! Here's the link to it. http://squidboards.com/threads/search-and-destroy-game-type.3145/

Yeah, that looks nice. It would have to be implemented carefully though, I wouldn't want it to end up like I feel Tower Control has.

 

[ProfessorKony]

Yeah, they really weren't. Especially Saltspray, that tower path placement wasn't a good call. It's kinda weird how both of the Ranked modes we currently have don't use the top part of Saltspray much. And I dunno if I can quantify why I dislike Urchin on this mode, but I do. And that's weird because Port Mackerel doesn't feel like it has this problem. Having said that, Mackerel has the problem that controlling the area in front of the knockout zone pretty much wins the game for your team. I want to say there's another stage with that problem, but I can't come up with one right now.
It's a shame too, if they'd implemented it better Tower Control might be my favorite mode, but as it is I don't want to play like half the current stages on it.


Ah, so that isn't just me being bad. Luna Blasters in particular are why I never ride the tower unless it's been lost or I take it from the other team (or the other team doesn't have one). On the flip side, they can't really do much when they're riding the tower since they have such a short shot. Something the regular (and Custom) Blaster can do, though it isn't quite as good because of the smaller splash.
Also, Rollers are good at that too. Especially the Krak-On, since it has Kraken to take the tower while splatting anyone standing on it.


Yeah, that looks nice. It would have to be implemented carefully though, I wouldn't want it to end up like I feel Tower Control has.

The problem with Tower Control is that it's way to hectic. The S&D game type would theoretically be slower.

 

[Nihabz]

Tower Control is a gimmick mode and will most likely be phased out once competitive Splatoon finally takes off next month.

 

[Dragmire]

I agree with most of what people are saying, but there is a reason for Nintendo making it a rotation between SZ and TC. Remember the first Japanese Splatfest? Basically everyone chose rice, so rice players were waiting for ages to get into a match. This issue was basically fixed now that players who voted the same way can have a match, but they can't do that with this. They want to make sure that no-one has to wait more than they should, which is understandable, especially when more modes come out and one starts to prevail as the fan-favourite. The playerbase in Splatoon honestly isn't large enough to make being able to choose a mode fair yet, but hopefully when it begins to become as large as the other FPS games, a choice could be implemented.

 

[TheMH]

The one thing which bugs me in TC is that the tower moves back to the center once you leave it for a moment - Nintendo, WHY? As long as no enemy re-captures the tower it should just stay at the point. This is so frustrating. Almost every time when I have to jump off the tower to defend it (if I stayed on it I would get splatted right away), none of my teammates feel obliged to replace me D:

Other than that I like TC a lot. If it wasn't for the "pull-back to center", it would be my favorite mode. I still have to play every map, though. Map AND mode rotation keep being annoying...