Value of having a dedicated Recon member?

[Lamsaturn]

This is something I've been considering while making use of the Recon skill. In a more competitive setting, what do you guys think the possibility of having someone just wait at base with Recon is? The Recon member of the team could simply act as a coach or the captain of the team, telling the rest of the team exactly where the rest of the team is, where they're coming from, when they're in danger, etc. I see this having less use in Splat Zones where you always have a pretty good idea where the opposition will be. (the splat zone, duh) In the larger maps of Turf War, however, the team can often lose from factors they can't really be blamed for not knowing about. Looking down to the Gamepad to see where help is needed can often lead to deaths, in my experience. Maybe the absence of player could be made up for by a captain that could give the team more direction. Thoughts?

 

[River09]

Hmm. Not too sure to be honest. Unlike most regular shooters a recon ability would prove absolutely powerful but in Splatoon the map also shows then ink which has covered the map. If you can see ink being spread from somewhere on the map, someone is going to be there. You could probably predict what weapoon they are using as well. Rollers have wide paths of ink, chargers have long, straight paths, etc. Even the sub/special weapons could be predicted. Most of the time I believe recon to be, for the most part, redundant. By no means do I think its useless just less advantageous.

 

[flc]

might work on the defensive, especially if there's someone who isn't necessarily needed to lock down a point once you've taken control of it (usually this would be your ss pro/96 gal, since tentatek + squiffer/blaster + scope is about as strong as a lockdown team can get). you might run recon + sj speed x2 (or something like that) and call out how the enemy is moving.

that said, I don't know how it interacts with cold-blooded. if cold-blooded blocks this, recon is useless. if it doesn't, it's the only way to reliably see where the enemy team is since cold-blooded will be ubiquitous.

 

[ILikeKirbys]

that said, I don't know how it interacts with cold-blooded. if cold-blooded blocks this, recon is useless. if it doesn't, it's the only way to reliably see where the enemy team is since cold-blooded will be ubiquitous.

Cold Blooded shouldn't matter here, since it works by reducing the time you can see them for after they're hit by a Point Sensor, Echolocated or Haunted; since Recon doesn't directly affect the enemy team like those do, it shouldn't have any effect (at least I don't think so, never bothered with Recon so I can't say for sure).
As for whether Recon is useful... Maybe if they ever add voice chat, but right now I don't see the point of knowing where enemies are when you're on the spawn point, since you can't show your teammates like an Echolocator or Point Sensor would, and you won't know if enemy positions change after you get off the spawn point.
As a matter of fact, even if you can communicate with your teammates, the fact that enemies might move after you leave the spawn point and you wouldn't know about it kinda makes me doubt Recon's usefulness in general.
Plus, as a final question, wouldn't your Recon guy be more helpful helping you attack the enemy team, or at least charging up an Echolocator or wearing a shirt with Haunt on it so you can see one of the other team's guys when they get wrecked or something?
Also, one more final question: Recon only shows enemy positions on the Recon guy's map, right?

 

[Hinichii.ez.™]

The description of cold blooded specifically states, that it shortens the time tracking applies to you. Considering recon has no time limit... I think someone would need to give this a test.

 

[Draayder]

I can confirm that cold blooded does not affect recon, you get full sight of everyone as long as you're standing on spawn.

Having constant knowledge of where opponents are is super useful, but you're going to have to play pretty flawlessly to keep a splat zone locked down 3v4. I think it'll be useful without having to be 'dedicated', the recon member can go and fight and when need be jump back to spawn or just give updates after they get splatted. It is worth remembering that it doesn't work while you're respawning and only kicks in once you're actually able to move, so that limits its effectiveness somewhat.

 

[TheMH]

I think it's not worth it. Even and especially in competitive matches you will need every teammember right where the action happens. Assuming everyone is equally skilled, a team of 3 will still lose against 4, even if they know where everyone is located. IF they know - that in itself is a problem. As everyone moves rather fast in this game, the "recon player" probably can't update his team with all the information he gets fast enough to leave a profit.

 

[UnLucky]

Nah, this isn't Natural Selection here, your team isn't better off without you. Recon just isn't enough to warrant that style of play. If you counted as inactive while at the spawn (for the purposes of Tenacity), or it worked while reviving, or en route while jumping back to spawn, then maybe. You'd definitely have a case if it worked as a permanent Echolocator for your team, but even flawless communication can't match that. Even still, I'd imagine a 4th member who did nothing but actual reconnaissance without Recon would be of more help. I'm talking spamming Point Sensors and Echolocation, or simple turf coverage while watching the map the entire time and avoiding all confrontations.

All I see Recon being good for is targeting Inkstrikes if you routinely jump back to spawn to do it safely. Granted, it can be helpful, but hardly best in slot.

 

[Hinichii.ez.™]

Ehh
I can see it working like this. Have recon + stealth jump + maybe super jump spd. Kill 2+ enemies at once. As they spawn or even right after, jump back to base. Call out what route they are using to get to the zone and have your team ether prepare for them or destroy them. After that, come back to your team/beacon. If this player is doing something like this, its not a 3v4 like others have said. For maps with more than one route to the zone, I can see this being a viable option, once teams are out.