Why I hate Ranked

[techton]

I really dislike ranked. It's pretty messy as I see it, and the ranking system was thought up well, but poorly executed. All of ranked has a shortcoming of team and weapon division, which makes up for some pretty low-quality and overall unfair matches.

Clam Blitz
Clam Blitz is an interesting Ranked gamemode, and I love it for it's change of pace in Splatoon gameplay. It's satisfying to pick up clams from a player you splatted, and to throw a power clam at the opponent's barrier, but also hate it for it's primary objective that confuses new players that never bothered to read the rules before playing.
Clam Blitz is a huge frustration in the lower ranks of C, mostly because of level 10-15 teammates not knowing what to do as a result of not reading the rules. I'll see teammates, or even an opponent, sitting near the opposing team's basket pressing random buttons because they don't know how to throw the clams.
Because of this, it can be extremely hard to climb up from the C ranks, and like a metal pole covered in lube, it's much easier to fall down the ranks than it is to climb them. (Oh, come on, it's a perfect analogy!)

Tower Control
Now theirs no avoiding the fact that some weapons do better in certain gamemodes, and Tower Control is no exception. Blasters are strong in this gamemode as it bypasses that stupid pole in the center of the tower where some players will hide behind to avoid enemy fire and even entirely nullify damage from bombs if in the right position. I hate that freaking pole, by the way lol.
Similar to Clam Blitz, I tend to lose a lot like I do in all of the other gamemodes. My teammates and I aren't bad or anything. The enemy team is just way more experienced than we are, probably because they dropped down the ranks after losing so many times as well.
It's not like a fun, fair, and clutch match that we barely lose. It's a total crushing defeat that only lasts an average of a minute.

Splat Zones
This is probably my least-favorite ranked gamemode, primarily because of the weapon pairings between teams. Similar to how blasters are great on Tower Control, long-range weapons are great for Splat Zones, as the entire match is focused on one space, so everyone is usually in one small area.
Problem in this gamemode is what I mention earlier; the weapon pairings between teams. There will be a couple of cases where the other team will be wielding mostly Chargers, Splattershot Pros, and Squelchers, and my team will be running Brushes and Blasters. Not a very good combination.

Rainmaker
I like Rainmaker, too. Can be lots of fun clearing paths for your teammate that has the Rainmaker. Picking off important targets in the way, ink paths leading to the enemy base, it's just fun on the bun.
Once again, though, most of fun is ruined by matchmaking. Being matchmade with super-skilled players that slide down the ranks, having DC'ers on your team, or your teammates just being straight-up bad.
Not much else to say about this.

--

I don't know about League, though. I really want to play it, but I'm absolutely horrible with VC because of the phobia I have that tags along with it. I mean, VC is what makes League mode, league mode. I've heard many mixed opinions on voice chat in S2, like how having both game sounds and voice chat on at the same time can be a pain to accomplish, or how putting your phone to sleep or exiting the app can disconnect the conversation.

I don't know to be honest. I'm running out of options.
#****ranked

 

[Elecmaw]

The easiest way to climb up in CB (for me, at least) is to be agressive and collect clams asap. Drop your aggressiveness if you have 6-9 clams and make it a main effort of collecting them so you'll have a power clam at the ready. Enemies can't steal a power clam, so dying won't be that punishing anymore.

But really, if you want to rank up fast, start slaying. The only time when you should be defensive if the enemy got 1-2 power clams ready or your shield's down, and even then you can be aggressive to take clams away from them.

 

[Red_Hero]

My main play style is defensive and supportive. I was able to climb up pretty quickly in clam shell by quickly rolling over the opposing force frequently. ( Would slowly build up clams this way as well. ) but my main idea is that they can't win if they can't score...while I wait for the others to figure it out >.< only need to score once to win.

 

[Hero of Lime]

I notice I start out super aggressive in CB, and over the match I either get more defensive once we have a lead, or really try to push to get power clams in should we be losing. All of this depends on whether or not any of my teammates have decided to be goalies or not. And should there be no player playing goalie, while we have a good lead, I'll take that position as it's a pretty easy role to play usually. You just wait around and shoot anyone on the opposite team when they come close.

As much fun as I've had in this mode despite some glaring issues with it, I and many others have encountered a lot of DCs and match throwers while playing. There seems to be this school of thought among some players that the moment the other team scores, you may as well give up for some reason. I find that mindset ridiculous, as CB is one mode where you can gain/lose the lead in moments due to how it functions.

 

[Blu2th]

I personally enjoy Clam Blitz because it's a game of cooperation and it's not like Rainmaker where you count on one person (the person with the shield) to climb the team. It's a game that really requires the full team to join in and threw the clams into the net. Also, it tends to get quite aggressive.

My weapon of choice is the inkbrush because you're able to ride across the stage with it without having to submerge yourself into the ink to collect the clams. Without the team noticing, I've been able to equip the football and ride my inkbrush straight to the barrier to expose the net. Sure, sometimes I get splat or nobody's able to throw clams in, but I do it as a way to boost up the team and get us points.

A great stage in my opinion for CB is the Shellendorf Institute. I like to swim though those ink-machine thingamajigs to ride across that overhead platform with the football and throw it right in. Nobody really seems to check the top either.

On behalf of what you said about the level 10-15 folks not knowing the rules, that mode in particular is still very new. It was just released a few weeks ago. It's not like the other three that have been around since the first Splatoon, but I get what you're saying. I mean, after all, that's what the Recon button is for. I use it sometimes whenever a new stage is released to get an idea of what the deal is. I did the same for CB as well.

My advice is to just keep playing and as you keep playing, hopefully you'll find success in teaming. As the mode grows of age, after a few months, most of us will understand the basis of CB. Good luck!

 

[techton]

I just can't climb up the ranks. Can't even get past B-. I just keep on losing and losing. After about 30 matches of pure Clam Blitz, I went on the Splatnet app to calculate my win/loss ratio. Out of the 30 matches, I only won 7. Still pretty comparable to my win/loss ratios in other ranked gamemodes. Don't get me wrong, Clam Blitz can be fun as hell in the right conditions. It's just the matchmaking that ruins everything. Worse than Splatoon 1's ranked matchmaking to be honest.

I know it's not me. I'm sometimes the only one that ever throws anything at the opponent's basket. I'll pick off important targets with the Squiffer and make clear paths for my teammate holding the power clam, and they'll just camp in the middle of the stage despite 3/4 of the enemy players still in the process of respawning. Very common, honestly.

I know it's a relatively new gamemode, but that still doesn't give new players that didn't read the rules an excuse.

I hate ranked, and I don't have any friends who play Splatoon 2, let alone even own a Switch. So I might just quit ranked all together. I rarely have fun playing it anyways.

 

[cm250]

I hate ranked, and I don't have any friends who play Splatoon 2, let alone even own a Switch. So I might just quit ranked all together. I rarely have fun playing it anyways.

Kind've explains your profile picture:/

 

[Dark Sage Walker]

Oh grumpy Jigglypuff...cheer up my round, pink friend! Things are not as bad as they seem! Clam Blitz has been cleaning up lately. I waited to jump onto the Clam Blitz train until it was no longer the new kid on the block. Now that it has settled into the rotation nicely, it has become much more stable and finding teammates who will actually try is not impossible anymore. I am sorry that your experiences with ranked mode have been largely negative though. Sometimes the game likes to make you feel pretty awful. Then there are the times when "that guy" is on. We all know who "that guy" is. The one that likes to hang out by spawn and spam "This Way!" as though he were trying to help. The one that likes to follow you for no reason other than to shoot you in the back of the head. The one who will play well for a minute or two and then stop in the middle of the battlefield to gently lie down and drool on the floor. Y'know, "that guy." Don't let your experiences be determined by the actions of "that guy" and report someone like that whenever you can!

 

[Saber]

@techton
First off, you have my respect anyone who uses a squiffer deserves the respectfor the time put into using it.

If you ever need some tips for S+ especially clam blitz I can give adivce

First off if you are using any charger make sure to have 4 to 6 clams on you at all time, so you can easily pick up clams and form a power clam to toss, or in later ranks toss clams to your teammates so they can generate a Power Clam.

Second, in any solo queue game don't get invested, you can control the outcome nor the other players, focus on what you can work on.

Third, do something stupid honestly if you want to get fun out of a game, sometimes you just have to do something silly.
I played the Spy Brella and got 5+ kills using inkmines, I played stealth roller and kept sneaking around and toss power clams each time they pushed. Heck I even put on all run speed and did a no swim challege with a splat roller once.
Again doing something silly just helps you not to get too serious and get a few laughs out of the game.

 

[techton]

Oh grumpy Jigglypuff...cheer up my round, pink friend! Things are not as bad as they seem! Clam Blitz has been cleaning up lately. I waited to jump onto the Clam Blitz train until it was no longer the new kid on the block. Now that it has settled into the rotation nicely, it has become much more stable and finding teammates who will actually try is not impossible anymore. I am sorry that your experiences with ranked mode have been largely negative though. Sometimes the game likes to make you feel pretty awful. Then there are the times when "that guy" is on. We all know who "that guy" is. The one that likes to hang out by spawn and spam "This Way!" as though he were trying to help. The one that likes to follow you for no reason other than to shoot you in the back of the head. The one who will play well for a minute or two and then stop in the middle of the battlefield to gently lie down and drool on the floor. Y'know, "that guy." Don't let your experiences be determined by the actions of "that guy" and report someone like that whenever you can!

Okay, I believe you.

I'll try again, and maybe use different weapons, because I mostly play Charger in Ranked.

 

[Ansible]

My proposal that I came up with is to force a tutorial on all ranked gamemodes for players trying a said gamemode for the first time, or at least force them to thoroughly read the rules first. Kind of like the Salmon Run tutorial, these short gamemode tutorials will show the basics of the objective and what you have to do to win.
Rank C and B are both messy right now because of the lack of tutorials, and forcing tutorials on new players would probably tidy up a majority of the mess.

It mi~ght~♫! But Salmon Run has a mandatory tutorial yet still some of the random employees are questionable, even the ones that are let's players. ¬¬

But hey, you're on Squidboards and that means there's a menagerie of players who can probably league with you from time to time.

Meanwhile, solo climbing Clam Blitz as a charger... that's never gonna be easy. Maybe until B+/the A's you'll often find yourself having to do the heavy lifting. Which means you might end up having to initiate pushes and do the major scoring yourself from time to time. But an overall goal you can strive for is just removing clams from the enemy team's stock while adding them to your team's stock.

One method you can try as a squiffer/charger player is highway robbery: Splat whatever foe has clams and take them, especially if they have a lot of clams. If an enemy has a power clam, splat them, wait for one of their teammates to rescue the power clam, then splat them and scoop up their individual clams. When your team breaks the enemy barrier and it goes back up, wait for a foe to pick up the free power clam, splat them, wait to see if one of their teammates tries to rescue it, splat them and take whatever individual clams they had. The clams/power clam you collect can be pass to teammates or you can haul them to the basket yourself. In fact, once you have a power clam you can also use it as a lure to pull enemies to you, splat them, toss your power clam away/to a teammate, then pick up the individual clams from the splatted foe.

And instead of pushing yourself to play an entire rotation, stop after two or three defeats in a row. Call it an end for that rotation or take a 15~30 minute break then continue on if you want. Give yourself time to repair and prepare rather than drag yourself down further into the mire when you're on a losing streak.

 

[Goont]

Clam Blitz is, as Valve would infamously say, "too confusing for new players". Initially I was lost for the first week of playing it. Then it slowly started to click. And well, that's just the design of the gamemode. It's take some time for it to sink in, then all of a sudden- you get it, and improve quite a bit. I think forcing a tutorial on players would be off-putting, as explaining its mundane and complex rules would shoo off new players. I know if I was greeted with a long explanation of clams I wouldn't have given this mode much of a chance. I actually really hated Clam Blitz until I started to realize what it was and how its played. If there's any way to sum up confusion, I'll say this. I initially thought it was a soccer-based sport mode, and it sort of is, but ultimately Clam Blitz is much more deathmatch-y. I'd argue that Clam Blitz isn't "pick up and play" like other gamemodes as it has no core objective. There's no tower, no rainmaker, no splatzones, instead the elements to winning a round are scattered all about, and with players. So instead of everyone grouping together to head to the "key objective", everyone's running around the map scattered and collecting or fighting for clams. It's a bit odd, but it just takes time. Once you really start to run rapidly around the map, splat some players and grab some clams, and continue a mad-dash from opposing players to get to that goal, it's a thrilling run that none of the other gamemodes can replicate.

 

[*★Nebula★*]

I love Clam Blitz! However, I can relate with you on the early struggle with it in the starter ranks. I think my teams lost 7 or so matches in a row when I first played it... and it was really frustrating because I felt like each time I was carrying my team's weight being the only person throwing Power Clams. I think it's just the nature of the game, since people of all ages and experience play (just like with cruddy Salmon Run partners).

For me, once I got out of the lowest rank it was just a gradual climb. What works best for me is to use the inkbrush and collect clams as fast as I can to get a power clam, sneak around and hit their basket, and then super jump back home (just in case they attack our side... we can defend and get a free power clam and the cycle repeats) or leave an ink mine and run/get splatted (worth the sacrifice lol). Throughout the match sometimes I'll find a safe spot and see where people are at (with the ink colors changing) and go after clams maneuvering with the brush or in squid form. As Blu2th said, Shellendorf Institute is a great stage to work with for Clam Blitz, so if you still find yourself struggling, maybe hold out on jumping into matches and spend some quality time doing recon so you can figure out paths that work best with the weapon/strategy you have in mind. Hope you'll get some more luck with good teammates too!

 

[Dark Sage Walker]

@techton Thank you for being willing to give it another try. It is my favorite of the ranked modes and one that I have recommended all of my Splatoon playing friends to try out! But I think that @Goont has a point.

Clam Blitz is, as Valve would infamously say, "too confusing for new players". Initially I was lost for the first week of playing it. Then it slowly started to click. And well, that's just the design of the gamemode. It's take some time for it to sink in, then all of a sudden- you get it, and improve quite a bit. I think forcing a tutorial on players would be off-putting, as explaining its mundane and complex rules would shoo off new players. I know if I was greeted with a long explanation of clams I wouldn't have given this mode much of a chance. I actually really hated Clam Blitz until I started to realize what it was and how its played. If there's any way to sum up confusion, I'll say this. I initially thought it was a soccer-based sport mode, and it sort of is, but ultimately Clam Blitz is much more deathmatch-y. I'd argue that Clam Blitz isn't "pick up and play" like other gamemodes as it has no core objective. There's no tower, no rainmaker, no splatzones, instead the elements to winning a round are scattered all about, and with players. So instead of everyone grouping together to head to the "key objective", everyone's running around the map scattered and collecting or fighting for clams. It's a bit odd, but it just takes time. Once you really start to run rapidly around the map, splat some players and grab some clams, and continue a mad-dash from opposing players to get to that goal, it's a thrilling run that none of the other gamemodes can replicate.

This is not they type of game mode where every player is going to rally behind one objective all the time. The objectives are here, here, here, here, here, here, everywhere! What this means is that Clam Blitz works in three distinct sections to come together as a whole.

The Neutral Game

This is the section of the game where no one's goal is broken and everyone is clamoring (see what I did there?) for clams. This section of game play is usually the most chaotic as everyone is trying to find clams and is willing to do what it takes to get them. There are a few things you should be looking for when this is the part of the game you are at. How many clams does your team have? How many does the enemy have? Do either of our teams have any Power Clams? Simply put, you want to make sure that your team is gathering clams while your enemy is having clams taken away from them. This seems obvious, I know. But it's how you go about it that makes the difference. Will you go in guns blazing to make sure that no one on the enemy team can get to any clams, Charles Bronsan style? Will you speed through it Sonic style with an Inkbrush and use a combination of speed and stealth to collect your clams before they can? Do you prefer to sit back and defend your team while they collect clams like a statue with a gun? The Neutral game is where the most time in Clam Blitz will be spent so make sure your tactic is both viable and fun. Try a few things and feel free to change it up between rounds if you think one will not work out as well as you thought! Once your team has a Power Clam, this opens the door for the second division of Clam Blitz...

The Offensive Game

Now your goal changes. You are still looking for clams, but now it's to score more points for your team. Once you break their goal, every inkling in the are should come running. One side will be there to make a hefty Clam deposit. The other to try to deny such deposits in a loud and meaningful way. If your team is making such a deposit into the other team's hypothetical bank, this is the Offensive phase. From here until their barrier is restored the whole dynamic changes. First of all, accept that someone on your team is going to get splatted in the defense process (if not everyone depending on how things go). It will become a mess over there. Secondly, a little math. A Power Clam breaks the barrier and is worth 20 points to sink into their goal. Individual clams are worth 3 points each however, so it becomes a better idea to simply grab and throw individual clams instead of trying to form another football. Thirdly, your team is going to be all around the enemy goal. This is a good time to Super Jump to them to offer support and to score some points for your team! If it looks like you won't be able to make it before their barrier is restored, then treat it as if you were in Neutral and try to get yourself another football in order to keep the offensive cycle going. Protect your teammates as best as you can during this offensive phase! Once you have thrown your clams, dedicate yourself to keeping the enemy off of your backs and allowing other teammates to sink some baskets, or at least be an effective distraction! But what if you aren't the one being offensive? What if *gasp* they managed to score a barrier break?

The Defensive Game

Once again, things will change here. If you see that your barrier breaks while you are out gathering clams, then it is best to stop what you are doing and get to your goal ASAP to stop the transferring of clams into your basket! This is as simple as it sounds, but often messy and just as chaotic as when you are on the offense. Once again, every Inkling in the area will come running in order to do their jobs, but this time you are trying to keep them from scoring as best as you can. Obviously, individual weapon strats come into play here, but the goal is to minimize their scoring potential and keep the pendulum from swinging too far in their direction.

All three phases have a different mindset, but there are some general tips to keep things moving along in your favor.

Tips

In Neutral, make sure that you are doing your best to help others as you go along. If you see one of your teammates has formed a football, try to follow them along and help out if you can. Defend that teammate, create paths for them, do what you can to escort them. Put simply, treat them as if they were carrying the Rainmaker.

When you are gathering clams out in the wilds remember that not every clam is going to be waiting for you to pick it up. Become the highwayman of legend and get the drop on an unsuspecting enemy and steal their clams to supplement your growing appetite for them! Take from the rich and give to the you!

If an enemy has a football (you can see this on your map by the way) then you should try to stop them before it ever gets to the defensive phase. Just remember that once they drop it, it takes a bit for it to disappear and can still be picked up by one of their allies. Keep watch over it until it fades away and then continue with your plans. I guess you could say that you are ................................................................... Overwatching it! Ha ha! Thank you, I'll let myself out.

Similarly, you should be quick to snatch up a fumbled football if one of your team members drops one. This can be easier said than done and if it seems like the enemy team is badly punning your team's literal dropped potential, then ignore it and continue forming your power clam as best you can. Remember, they can't pick up your fumbled football and vice versa. The only reason to stick around is to set a trap for an unsuspecting Inkling.

If you seem to be in trouble, remember that the 'Throw Clams' command isn't context sensitive. Use that to your advantage and throw your clams to another player who looks to be doing better or is at least in a better position. If you can see that they are one or two clams away from a football, offer them one or two of yours and make the push together! Throw away your clams to keep an enemy from taking them if you feel that the worst is inevitable. Throwing your clams at the right time is just another layer of strategy in this mode, so take full advantage of it!

This is all I can think of right now. Thank you for getting this far into my latest text wall rambling. Hopefully you found it insightful! If not I could always use more tomatoes for my traveling salad bar.

 

[techton]

@techton Thank you for being willing to give it another try. It is my favorite of the ranked modes and one that I have recommended all of my Splatoon playing friends to try out! But I think that @Goont has a point.



This is not they type of game mode where every player is going to rally behind one objective all the time. The objectives are here, here, here, here, here, here, everywhere! What this means is that Clam Blitz works in three distinct sections to come together as a whole.

The Neutral Game

This is the section of the game where no one's goal is broken and everyone is clamoring (see what I did there?) for clams. This section of game play is usually the most chaotic as everyone is trying to find clams and is willing to do what it takes to get them. There are a few things you should be looking for when this is the part of the game you are at. How many clams does your team have? How many does the enemy have? Do either of our teams have any Power Clams? Simply put, you want to make sure that your team is gathering clams while your enemy is having clams taken away from them. This seems obvious, I know. But it's how you go about it that makes the difference. Will you go in guns blazing to make sure that no one on the enemy team can get to any clams, Charles Bronsan style? Will you speed through it Sonic style with an Inkbrush and use a combination of speed and stealth to collect your clams before they can? Do you prefer to sit back and defend your team while they collect clams like a statue with a gun? The Neutral game is where the most time in Clam Blitz will be spent so make sure your tactic is both viable and fun. Try a few things and feel free to change it up between rounds if you think one will not work out as well as you thought! Once your team has a Power Clam, this opens the door for the second division of Clam Blitz...

The Offensive Game

Now your goal changes. You are still looking for clams, but now it's to score more points for your team. Once you break their goal, every inkling in the are should come running. One side will be there to make a hefty Clam deposit. The other to try to deny such deposits in a loud and meaningful way. If your team is making such a deposit into the other team's hypothetical bank, this is the Offensive phase. From here until their barrier is restored the whole dynamic changes. First of all, accept that someone on your team is going to get splatted in the defense process (if not everyone depending on how things go). It will become a mess over there. Secondly, a little math. A Power Clam breaks the barrier and is worth 20 points to sink into their goal. Individual clams are worth 3 points each however, so it becomes a better idea to simply grab and throw individual clams instead of trying to form another football. Thirdly, your team is going to be all around the enemy goal. This is a good time to Super Jump to them to offer support and to score some points for your team! If it looks like you won't be able to make it before their barrier is restored, then treat it as if you were in Neutral and try to get yourself another football in order to keep the offensive cycle going. Protect your teammates as best as you can during this offensive phase! Once you have thrown your clams, dedicate yourself to keeping the enemy off of your backs and allowing other teammates to sink some baskets, or at least be an effective distraction! But what if you aren't the one being offensive? What if *gasp* they managed to score a barrier break?

The Defensive Game

Once again, things will change here. If you see that your barrier breaks while you are out gathering clams, then it is best to stop what you are doing and get to your goal ASAP to stop the transferring of clams into your basket! This is as simple as it sounds, but often messy and just as chaotic as when you are on the offense. Once again, every Inkling in the area will come running in order to do their jobs, but this time you are trying to keep them from scoring as best as you can. Obviously, individual weapon strats come into play here, but the goal is to minimize their scoring potential and keep the pendulum from swinging too far in their direction.

All three phases have a different mindset, but there are some general tips to keep things moving along in your favor.

Tips

In Neutral, make sure that you are doing your best to help others as you go along. If you see one of your teammates has formed a football, try to follow them along and help out if you can. Defend that teammate, create paths for them, do what you can to escort them. Put simply, treat them as if they were carrying the Rainmaker.

When you are gathering clams out in the wilds remember that not every clam is going to be waiting for you to pick it up. Become the highwayman of legend and get the drop on an unsuspecting enemy and steal their clams to supplement your growing appetite for them! Take from the rich and give to the you!

If an enemy has a football (you can see this on your map by the way) then you should try to stop them before it ever gets to the defensive phase. Just remember that once they drop it, it takes a bit for it to disappear and can still be picked up by one of their allies. Keep watch over it until it fades away and then continue with your plans. I guess you could say that you are ................................................................... Overwatching it! Ha ha! Thank you, I'll let myself out.

Similarly, you should be quick to snatch up a fumbled football if one of your team members drops one. This can be easier said than done and if it seems like the enemy team is badly punning your team's literal dropped potential, then ignore it and continue forming your power clam as best you can. Remember, they can't pick up your fumbled football and vice versa. The only reason to stick around is to set a trap for an unsuspecting Inkling.

If you seem to be in trouble, remember that the 'Throw Clams' command isn't context sensitive. Use that to your advantage and throw your clams to another player who looks to be doing better or is at least in a better position. If you can see that they are one or two clams away from a football, offer them one or two of yours and make the push together! Throw away your clams to keep an enemy from taking them if you feel that the worst is inevitable. Throwing your clams at the right time is just another layer of strategy in this mode, so take full advantage of it!

This is all I can think of right now. Thank you for getting this far into my latest text wall rambling. Hopefully you found it insightful! If not I could always use more tomatoes for my traveling salad bar.

Lordy, that's a lot of info! Thanks for taking the time to explain all of this. Just a couple thinks I fail to execute in-game on this post. I managed to rank up to B- and it seems like most of my teammates are much more cooperative and dependable than in C.

 

[Spaceswitchmars]

I’ll add to that list of tips that it’s best not to form a football very far away from the enemy’s basket as you will be hunted down before you ever get close. That is, of course, unless one of your teammates is close to the basket. In that case, it’s fun to form a football really far away, get your enemy heading in your direction and superjumping to your much closer teammate for the big score.

 

[Dark Sage Walker]

I’ll add to that list of tips that it’s best not to form a football very far away from the enemy’s basket as you will be hunted down before you ever get close. That is, of course, unless one of your teammates is close to the basket. In that case, it’s fun to form a football really far away, get your enemy heading in your direction and superjumping to your much closer teammate for the big score.

This. I've won Clam Blitz matches doing this exact thing! It is so freakin' exhilarating to get this to happen! It also proves something I was trying to get at with my last post. Teamwork in Clam Blitz is far more subtle than it is in the other ranked modes. It's more about positioning than it is about grouping up on a single point and, if you can play with a team of some sort with the ability to voice chat, communication is critical here. Otherwise the use of "This Way!" and "Ouch..." will still help. Teamwork makes the dream work after all!

 

[Spaceswitchmars]

This. I've won Clam Blitz matches doing this exact thing! It is so freakin' exhilarating to get this to happen! It also proves something I was trying to get at with my last post. Teamwork in Clam Blitz is far more subtle than it is in the other ranked modes. It's more about positioning than it is about grouping up on a single point and, if you can play with a team of some sort with the ability to voice chat, communication is critical here. Otherwise the use of "This Way!" and "Ouch..." will still help. Teamwork makes the dream work after all!

It’s one of my favorite modes, but it’s also the one mode I’m done with playing solo now that I hit S+. League is just so much above and beyond better. Communication MAKES this mode.

 

[Ansible]

Communication MAKES this mode.

*occasionally plays Clam Blitz league without communication as much as with communication*

*laughs, cries, then laughs while crying*

 

[Goont]

*occasionally plays Clam Blitz league without communication as much as with communication*

*laughs, cries, then laughs while crying*

Playing Clam Blitz alone is really when it becomes a "fend for yourself" deathmatch. I just recently played it with a VC League team and it was truly exhilarating. Communication controls the whole battle: when to go defence, offensive, when to save clams and when to let teammates grab clams, etc. I think both types (VC and non VC) are a ton of fun, they are just very different ways of playing the game. Sometimes I want that thrilling voice-chat filled flurry of clam action...othertimes I just want to splat some players and break some barriers without all the tension.