What Differentiates an A+ Ranked Player from an S Ranked Player?

[GameGalaxy64]

I recently made it into the realm of S Rank in Ranked Battle. However, I'm getting my butt kicked, whereas in A+, I was the butt kicker. Any tips to help me get better in this new environment?

 

[Aweshucks]

Not that much, to be honest. There are plenty of A ranked players that play better than S ranked players, and vice versa. It all comes down to putting a lot of time into the ranked battle system rather than doing private lobbies and such.

 

[Kaze]

''how to reach S+ rank'' either be a really good player or just be super lucky with team mates and get carried all the way :p

( which explains why some A ranks are better then some S ranks... )

 

[TheMH]

The problem with S rank is that it's huge. You can have one player at S/20 and one at S/85 and they are probably farther away from each other than a B and an A player, just because the point distribution gets so much more strict (and unfair from S/70 onwards) in S. At the same time all these people are grouped together in one lobby which results in even more inconsistent teams than in B+ back then. This makes playing in S really hard and different from A+ in my opinion.

 

[GameGalaxy64]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! Guess I have to cheat the system then. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Boolerex]

Like everyone said ; not much. Often see A+ player that are as good as some S player.

 

[WrongShoe]

I've been bouncing between A+ and S also. But I've gotten better and when I do derank I can rank back up fairly easily. The big difference I notice between A rank rooms and S rank rooms is the speed of the game. When I'm making my decisions a bit slow I play like an A+ player. When I'm adjusting and making the decision of when to push and when to retreat quickly is when I'm solidly playing like an S rank.

Some of that has to do with Map+Mode+Enemy Team Weapon Composition. Certain combinations of those things, I'm less comfortable with and it makes me think more and react slower.

Max rank S 80.

 

[MakesDream]

The difference between A+ and S players is that S players don't know what beacons are

If you want to succeed in an s room play how you see everyone else in the s room play, not the way you used to to in A+ rooms

 

[Kaliafornia]

The difference between A+ and S players is that S players don't know what beacons are

If you want to succeed in an s room play how you see everyone else in the s room play, not the way you used to to in A+ rooms

I see plenty of beacons in S still as well as plenty of SJers for that matter which is worse than beacons imo...

Beacons can be a good strat (in non knockout situations) to distract opponents as either they have to waste time taking them out or be paranoid that someone may come to them, especially if you have 2 users with them. (Not a top tier sub by far but still has its uses).

 

[ZartanPlaysSplatoon]

''how to reach S+ rank'' either be a really good player or just be super lucky with team mates and get carried all the way :p

( which explains why some A ranks are better then some S ranks... )

It just doesn't happen that way, you need to have skills.

 

[Mondrae205]

The biggest difference between someone who can keep S and someone who can't is that the person who can keep S has no clear cut weaknesses. For examle you might be really good at movement and weapon knowledge but you have bad map awareness. A good S rank player has all of those, he might not be great at all of those but he doesn't have a hard time with it.

 

[1o2]

as plenty of SJers for that matter which is worse than beacons imo.

You trying to talk smack about the best weapon in the game Kappa?

Anyway the biggest difference I've noticed is that people are a lot more willing to work with their teammates. What I mean by this is that people understand that even though they think they would be better at riding the Tower in TC, they shouldn't if someone is on it because it would be inefficient. Another thing I've noticed is how well people protect the flank. Now I'm not saying people won't get flanked, but they tend not to be nearly as devastating in S rank. Instead of team wiping from behind, generally you'll get one kill and trade with the second person, if that. In A+, on with SZ+Bluefin Depot I would always just flank and kill 3 enemies and claim the zone. I would often do it twice in a match. Unfortunately, that never happens anymore, I don't even bother going for the full flank on Bluefin. It's better to just sneak up on an E-liter and murder them over and over again instead of going for the team wipe.

 

[ThatSrb2DUDE]

In the simplest way I can think of it is that an A+ player can consistently hold a 50% win rate where an S player can hold a 60% - 70% (not really sure with this one)

All I know is that in S+ you have to win 70% - 80% of your games. Basically don't lose.

 

[Kaze]

It just doesn't happen that way, you need to have skills.

Trust me it happens and of course if you're skilled you will have a easier time winning, but remember that teams are random in ranked which mean luck is involved, so if the 3 best players in the lobby end up on the same team the 4th player on that team will get a free win regardless of their skills.

You have to also take the random weapon distribution into account too since a team of 1 Charger, 1 Krak-On Roller & 2 Tentatek Splattershots will have a easy time against a full team of 4 Carbon Rollers because of the range advantage & better weapon distribution on the team, but that's just my view of things. :)

 

[Albatross]

Biggest problem I see with some lower ranks is

Spacing: They get too close before they're ready to commit to killing someone [also falls in with Security]
Awareness: They commit and end up in a position where they're fighting multiple people
Security: They don't leave themselves an out, they'll make a straight line through your ink to get to you and then have nowhere to go

In the end though you can't attribute a single weakness or strength to a single rank as each player is different regardless of their rank.

 

[Ryuji]

I don't know about the difference between an A+ and S, but I definitely know that S+ players generally are more tactical, sneakier, and patient. Sneakier in the sense that they lie in wait in inconspicuous areas for unaware opponents and jump out and splat them assassination style, most likely shifting the camera to do so. They tend to have a whopping amount of kills by the end of the match. Basically, smart play while also minimizing the amount of times they die.

 

[MasterYoshidino]

S onwards get more multi splats that help carry a team by making the start of match easier and save the team when the rest of their teammates are in respawn limbo.

 

[Shalnark]

I have the same problem. I easily got out of A+ rank on both of my nnids and carried so many teams, but in S, I'm sometimes the one getting carried with my negative KDRs. I think good S players simply have less exploitable weaknesses. A majority of my time in ranked was in tower control, the mode that least rewards good movement imo. As a result, I got to S rank twice without learning how to consistently win neutral 1v1 fights.

 

[Fightersword]

Think of rankings in splatoon to be (Ideally) like a set of filters, All at set intervals in a big pipe that dirty water goes through. As players get poured down the pipe and through the filters, more and more can't make it through, and only the players with the better playing habits, mindset, and mechanical skills, or the *cleaner* players can get through. Players in lower rungs have to shed dirt to get past another filter.

Basically, the numbers game helps ensure people can get a middling rank without being able to easily get to the top of the ranking system. A player needs to go a little better than 50% to move up. Players that hit that ratio or better in lower areas move up and face other players who have done the same, and players who get better and better conquer more 'filters'.

So this is how it all ties in with the S-rank area. S rank is only really another rung on the ladder, or another filter in the pipe, but players in S have to do consistently better than the ones in A to get there, meaning you'll on average find better players in S than in A just like you would in A than in B and so on. The players will also likely have more experience and less bad habits, meaning tricks that worked even in A rank will not work in S rank. A to S may also have a harder filter than B to A, meaning its a larger skill jump.

I'd be lying if I said that splatoon's ranking system was good: it really isn't and it's just for fun, but it does have a filtering effect on players even in its imperfect state. Keep playing and soon you'll get to the S player's level and greater.

And don't mistake me for saying there aren't bad players in S: there most certainly are. And the longer splatoon is around, the more bad players will end up in S, which is one of the main problems with Splatoon's system. However, for now a lot of them are quite good, and you'll be able to use them to identify what works and what doesn't work against fairly decent players. This information can be used to refine your playstyle and eventually end up as the milestone other new Ses have to reach to become truly "good".

 

[Charlight]

What I've noticed personally is that, as an S rank, I can read the average A+ player a lot easier than the average S players. By that I mean, predict what they're going to do.