What Ranked mode is best?

[Eli-Monk]

All ranked modes allow interesting strategies, but which is the best at playing in? Let me know in poll!

 

[Cuttleshock]

I haven't got a strong opinion on this but I would like to read what others think. I'm surprised that TC is presently leading the poll - I hear countless complaints of how Blasters have an unfair advantage on a good deal of TC maps. Is that not so much the case, or are some advantages just more pronounced elsewhere?

 

[Xehias]

I haven't got a strong opinion on this but I would like to read what others think. I'm surprised that TC is presently leading the poll - I hear countless complaints of how Blasters have an unfair advantage on a good deal of TC maps. Is that not so much the case, or are some advantages just more pronounced elsewhere?

The way I see it, TC is the most balanced mode.

Splat Zones, depending on the map, has some issues. For example on Saltspray Rig, most matches end with a knockout, and on Walleye Warehouse it’s relatively easy to keep the enemy team on lockdown if you’re well-organized.

Rainmaker is a huge glitchy mess, although the patches have helped fix most of the issues like out-of-bounds or being able to superjump with the Rainmaker if your connection is slow enough. It has other issues: for example, a bold player can easily make a mad dash to the goal and make a lucky break through the enemy defenses, either forcing a good team on the defensive or straight-up getting a knockout within the first minute. I can’t count the number of times I rushed in a dangerous situation to get the Rainmaker away from our goal, scoring a ton of points in the process. For example, I grabbed the Rainmaker in Kelp Dome on the left of our spawn, went up the ramp and dropped on the right in mid, and swam over to the enemy’s left side unchallenged. Their score was in the 30s and I managed to bring ours from 100 to the 70s just in that one unassisted push. Not to mention how wonky Rainmaker is on Saltspray Rig and Blackbelly Skatepark.

Tower Control, however, doesn’t involve being campy or dealing with a fast-moving objective. Blasters are good in TC, sure—just like weapons that ink a lot of turf quickly are good in SZ, and weapons with good mobility are good in RM. Unlike the other modes, there isn’t a clear issue inherent to the way the mode plays.

 

[Eli-Monk]

The way I see it, TC is the most balanced mode.

Splat Zones, depending on the map, has some issues. For example on Saltspray Rig, most matches end with a knockout, and on Walleye Warehouse it’s relatively easy to keep the enemy team on lockdown if you’re well-organized.

Rainmaker is a huge glitchy mess, although the patches have helped fix most of the issues like out-of-bounds or being able to superjump with the Rainmaker if your connection is slow enough. It has other issues: for example, a bold player can easily make a mad dash to the goal and make a lucky break through the enemy defenses, either forcing a good team on the defensive or straight-up getting a knockout within the first minute. I can’t count the number of times I rushed in a dangerous situation to get the Rainmaker away from our goal, scoring a ton of points in the process. For example, I grabbed the Rainmaker in Kelp Dome on the left of our spawn, went up the ramp and dropped on the right in mid, and swam over to the enemy’s left side unchallenged. Their score was in the 30s and I managed to bring ours from 100 to the 70s just in that one unassisted push. Not to mention how wonky Rainmaker is on Saltspray Rig and Blackbelly Skatepark.

Tower Control, however, doesn’t involve being campy or dealing with a fast-moving objective. Blasters are good in TC, sure—just like weapons that ink a lot of turf quickly are good in SZ, and weapons with good mobility are good in RM. Unlike the other modes, there isn’t a clear issue inherent to the way the mode plays.

Agreed, as you can't make crazy pushes in Tower Control without everyone doing a great job of guarding it, or not terribly fast, as the Tower moves slowly, and having 4 people on it is risky, etc. Rainmaker has easy pushes just by swimming, and Splat Zones? Just a good defense can keep the game the same.

 

[Eli-Monk]

The only time when Tower Control gets serious is when people are 'Chain Jumping' to the Tower. However, you never see this in solo-ranked, and in squads, few people risk their abilities for mostly and. I sometimes do, though. Not to mention few people know about what the technique is.

 

[Lucas]

The way I see it, TC is the most balanced mode.

Splat Zones, depending on the map, has some issues. For example on Saltspray Rig, most matches end with a knockout, and on Walleye Warehouse it’s relatively easy to keep the enemy team on lockdown if you’re well-organized.

Rainmaker is a huge glitchy mess, although the patches have helped fix most of the issues like out-of-bounds or being able to superjump with the Rainmaker if your connection is slow enough. It has other issues: for example, a bold player can easily make a mad dash to the goal and make a lucky break through the enemy defenses, either forcing a good team on the defensive or straight-up getting a knockout within the first minute. I can’t count the number of times I rushed in a dangerous situation to get the Rainmaker away from our goal, scoring a ton of points in the process. For example, I grabbed the Rainmaker in Kelp Dome on the left of our spawn, went up the ramp and dropped on the right in mid, and swam over to the enemy’s left side unchallenged. Their score was in the 30s and I managed to bring ours from 100 to the 70s just in that one unassisted push. Not to mention how wonky Rainmaker is on Saltspray Rig and Blackbelly Skatepark.

Tower Control, however, doesn’t involve being campy or dealing with a fast-moving objective. Blasters are good in TC, sure—just like weapons that ink a lot of turf quickly are good in SZ, and weapons with good mobility are good in RM. Unlike the other modes, there isn’t a clear issue inherent to the way the mode plays.

I seriously agree. Rainmaker has got to get fixed because on certain maps, the counter just jumps when taking certain pathways that are shorter than other ones. Moray Towers is one of the biggest examples. On one of the walls with the grates on them, you just climb that wall which takes such little time and the counter jumps like 30-40 units (not sure on the exact number, but it's seriously unfair considering it's the shortest path to the Rainmaker Beacon and you gain the most distance out of it). There are a lot more cheesy maps as well, but I don't want to spend all day just talking about it.
I feel like what makes Rainmaker unbalanced is definitely the distance counter. It lowers way too quick compared to the other gamemode counters which makes it seriously unfair when a team has a winning push. It's like you have a huge winning push (like 90 units apart) and suddenly in 30 seconds, they make a huge comeback. I mean, it's awesome that they managed to pull of a super hard push, but it's really hard to intercept and defend the Rainmaker holder from getting to the beacon sometimes since the counter is going down super quick. They have got to fix it somehow, but let's not get a bit too off topic here.
But yes, Tower Control is definitely one of the most balanced gamemodes right now.

 

[WydrA]

Hmm looks like the community needs to have the discussion about rainmaker, consistency and why the above "problem" doesn't make it uncompetitive again...

Anyway, I would say that they're all equally competitive, if it weren't for the fact that the tower is basically RNG. Its inconsistency means I have to put it a little below in competitiveness. There's way too much random jank, and it has definitely cost me many games.
If that problem was fixed, then I would say it's very difficult to objectively say which mode would be most or least competitive.

 

[Xehias]

Anyway, I would say that they're all equally competitive, if it weren't for the fact that the tower is basically RNG. Its inconsistency means I have to put it a little below in competitiveness. There's way too much random jank, and it has definitely cost me many games.

What do you mean?

 

[SquiliamTentacles]

I would say that they all are competitive (heck, I say turf wars can be competitive), yet I feel the best mode is Rainmaker. Splat Zones has a static objective, giving weapons that move less an advantage. Tower control is dynamic, but the towers movement is slow and easy to track. Rainmaker gives us a fully dynamic objective, and holding and guarding the rainmaker provides an interesting strategy. Since the rainmaker carrier can move about anywhere, Rainmaker uses much of the map, and still emphasizes the importance of spreading ink through the need for mobility. It feels more teamwork oriented, since about a third of the time, you try to actively defend one of your players from an onslaught of enemy fire. Plus, since the gameplay combines both the importance of map control and splatting and slowing down opponents, most weapons can be viable. While some people complain about the speed of pushes, I think part of it is your team's responsibility of being aware of your opponents and how to block them from gaining ground. Rainmaker just feels like a faster paced, more exciting game in my opinion, and the frequent turnarounds make it more fun for me to watch.

 

[ZainreFang]

It's really difficult to pick considering the BS that goes on in all the modes.

Splat Zones can be really frustrating since there's a lot of spawn camping going on, but that's about all. Lack of coordination/communication results in people lining up into a blender of enemies and getting destroyed for it.

Tower Control a lot of the time boils down to who's the best at Luna Blaster, or who can pull the Kraken on the Tower the most. I get PTSD from being in that position in Kelp Dome where the whole enemy team is on the final stretch to my base on the Tower, with Inkzookas and Krakens flying everywhere. Seems virtually impossible to counter, but that's just my perspective.

Rainmaker can be getting wiped and knocked out incredibly quickly, or people camping the timer out, as well as Rainmaker hitboxes that don't work (I literally hear the hit noise from the game sometimes and don't get kills).

Splat Zones makes the most sense.

Edit: In addition, if i'm not mistaken, Splat Zones is the only mode where you can play on all maps.

 

[sammich]

splat zones is probably the "cleanest" mode, but honestly i get the most upset when playing it (particularly dynamos). even if you're having a good day, it gets boring fast, though... and the zones often become a clusterfuck of bomb rushes which makes aiming a nightmare through all that lag.

TC is probably the least balanced, but even with the advantage to blaster players i tend to really enjoy this mode.

rainmaker probably ought to be more balanced if it worked right. there are major upsets, like when people just happen to slip through at the beginning... but honestly this mode is can be the most enjoyable on the right stage, and i don't tend to notice one weapon doing better than others much except maybe the kraken.

to be honest,
i think any mode could be improved by removing or weakening specials. specials to me are like a slightly more reasonable version of final smashes in smash bros (more reasonable in that everyone can get them at certain, measurable times... but still ridiculously powerful). keep dat **** in TW.

 

[Edgy Page]

I'm usually that kid who starts bubble huddles in TC but if our team can't manage to get to the choke point where I can effectively activate my bubbler then I'm kind of useless for that whole match which will then usually end in a loss. When that kind of TC loss happens, I get really annoyed and whine that we could've won had we gotten to the choke points at the right time (emphasis on the we).

I don't whine nearly as much after a SZ loss because that mode can't be cheated so easily. When I lose in SZ, I can think back on the match and think on things which I could've personally done to control space better, boost k/d, and whatnot. The losses feel more like they're my fault as opposed to, oh, I don't know, scared teammates who don't know what it means when a bubbler equipped weapon spams C'mon! on the tower near a choke point.

It's a really close split between the two modes for me so I'd say that Tower Control is my favorite mode but that Splat Zones is the most consistently fair mode (outside of Saltspray Rig).

 

[chubbypickle]

i honestly like all 3 games and here come the but, rainmaker will drive you nutz if your teammates just don't have a strong concept even at S level's. Splatzone for me is campzone for many weapons and if you get a very unlucky gun composition like no rage and the other team does well.... it can be a pain. So now tower control i just find in general TC keeps the game moving it's hard to mess up the concept and for me just the more closer games. Win or lose i honestly just like having competitive games.

 

[StayPuft]

I like splat zones cause even though I'm terrible I can still shoot into the splatzone and make it seem like I know what I'm doing :)

 

[QueenSplat]

Splat Zones! It's so fun to use the rapid fire weapons.

 

[blu]

I kinda like Tower Control. Its always a heated tug of war getting that tower to where you wanted, or stopping the other team from pushing it past your mark. Rainmaker is kinda cool too since you can push the rainmaker solo instead of relying on your teammates. I would do it more, but that mode is kind of a gamble, lol. :P

 

[Hero of Lime]

For me, the balance of each mode depends on the weapons used on each team. I'm sure we've all had those ranked matches where one team just has a real advantage/disadvantage in terms of weapon composition. Range being a huge factor just as an example.

This especially applies to Splatzones I feel. For example, I dread having to face an enemy team with a Dynamo and E-liter in a zones match, which I swear happens way too much. Unless I have team members who can counter them, I get discouraged, since I don't really use weapons that can counter them easily without relying on a special like an inkzooka. And the last thing you want to do is rely on specials alone to win a match.

The same goes for the other two, but to a lesser extent I think. I feel like rainmaker and tower control allow for less solid weapon compositions to make things run smoother. But the more varied and solid the team's weapons, the better, usually anyway.

 

[Kowai Yume]

For solo: Splat Zone since it only requires DM skills.
For squads: Tower Control since it requires coordination.

 

[WydrA]

What do you mean?

I'm sure everyone has seen the situations where there are four team members all shooting at the tower, but none of them hit the person sitting on it. That's completely due to jank/RNG.
Also when someone tries to get on the tower, but it moves prematurely and they end up falling off or to their deaths.
Also people using spamming spinklers so people can't hit them while they're on the tower.
Also the fact that due to the height and sizing of the tower, you often have to go to specific areas on each map to get people off
tower control is without a doubt the most jank and random mode of them all. Even more random than turf war (though that's less competitive for other reasons).

there are more, but i got stuff to do. I don't wanna be here all night.

 

[Spicy Succ]

I enjoy Tower Control and Splat Zones more (mostly because I'm better at those modes). I tend not to play Rainmaker because no one ever gets the Rainmaker and if I get it, no one focuses on helping me gain ground. In the other modes, everyone seems focused on the objective so that makes it a little easier.