Sticking with Moray Towers lets me combine strategies from the previous battles, hopefully to good effect. This apparently includes how to fall off ledges.
An early scuffle for our Splat Zone sees the other ream take the lead, but we fight back to take control of the Splat Zones, and we equal their score, for a split second at 2'24".
I have to admit, I have a couple of good splats after that, but both have my succumbing to the lure of the void. One shot sends me falling backwards, and not learning from that, another has me leaning a little too far forwards.
Three chargers on our team for Moray Towers Splat Zones. That may not be so bad, as they cover a lot of turf quite easily. As long as we can dictate range, which is quite possible on Moray Towers, we should compete well enough.
I think the main problem is working out who plays support and who moves to take the opponents' Splat Zone. So, of course, my aggressive self decides that I should give it a go. That's cool with me!
It looks like an impass. We are holding our own Splat Zone well enough, but they are covering the central area too well for us to reliably cross it and ink their zone for any amount of time. A new approach is needed.
I find the new approach. Rather than head directly to the Splat Zone, take the indirect route. It doesn't seem to be covered, and this late in the game they probably aren't expecting it to be used. And I can get there through our own Splat Zone, once it's made safe.
It works! We get the Splat Zones in our own ink, and start the clock counting down, just before we take the battle in to overtime. But the other team regroup quickly, and I fail to notice the squid coming up behind me. Oh well, still not A+ rank for me.
My previous battle got me in to some tight spots. This time, I'll try to keep more at my Splatterscope's optimal range. This should be a little easier when paired against an E-Litre charger.
I think I do well, at least for the first three minutes of the game. Then my sense of invulnerability, coupled with our taking the lead, gets the better of me. But my boldness I think is justified, given our position.
Moray Towers is in the rotation, which would be time to break out the Splatterscope, but the other map is Hammerhead Bridge. Well, if I can make it work on Kelp Dome, I can see what I can do on the Bridge.
I look for a perch of relative safety that can cover at least a good portion of the Splat Zones, and set myself up. It seems to be a good place, and I keep the ink around me covered, as well as lobbing a decent Splat Bomb around a Splash Wall.
I suspect my squidmates are contributing a bit more to the battle than me, though, mostly because my other games on the Bridge go rather worse. But I'm here to learn.
And a second video: Trying my best in Splat Zones
Here we go, Moray Towers Splat Zones with the Splatterscope. I should be in my element. Apart from being in Splat Zones.
A nice, early splat for me. That should settle my nerves. Keep an eye out for yellow squids trying to flank me. And get knocked off the ledge by a super-jumping ally. That's actually pretty funny!
A quick pause as the helicopter passes overhead, and it's time to get bold. I look for an avenue to exploit the Splatterscope's range against the opponents' Splat Zone. I think I find one, but I don't last long. That's okay, now I can alternate between them.
That's the plan, at least. And I certainly can't stay at our Splat Zone when we're so far behind in the battle.
A pair of exemplary splats right at the start of the battle put me in a good mood. A couple of snatched shots make me look like a skilled charger, so I have to spend most of the rest of the battle proving that wrong.
I find it hard to resist the lure of the tower when I am playing a support role if my squidmates appear to be almost completely repulsed by it. But with my example, they see that the tower doesn't hurt, and they give riding it a fair shake.
Not enough to win, obviously, but habits can be built up with time.
Note that when I take initial control of the tower, there are three purple squids, at least, contesting the central area, and only me representing the yellow squids. A look at the gamepad, as I have time during respawn, shows them to be faffing around at the edges. It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off.
Nope, we're stomped, resoundingly. Time for a silly weapon change, I think.
And a second video, as that one is so short: Only moments of competence in Tower Control
2-10 with the Splatterscope. To be honest, I wasn't expecting that much. Hammerhead Bridge is a map I'm not overly comfortable with normally, and I've equipped a charger. But I'm not going to reach A+ rank tonight, so I may as well experiment a little.
I ought to practice squidding up walls on grates too. And not forcing myself to ride the tower when I have a charger equipped, probably. I can't help myself!
A pretty dismal game for me and my team. I have to shoulder some of the responsibility here. I'm pretty useless for most of the battle. But what about the two splats I did get? Consecutive moments of brilliance! And, yes, I did spot that second squid diving in to the ink, it wasn't a purely speculative shot.
My only other moment of competence is right at the end, when I grab control of the tower to end the battle. I like to think it's the little things that count.
A change of weapon to the Splattershot Jr, to see if I can improve my performance in Tower Control. The map moves back from Hammerhead Bridge to Kelp Dome, but that shouldn't matter. I'm hoping the Bubbler will help me out.
What would also help is knowing what's happening. I completely lose track of the tower at one point, literally having to stop in my tracks and re-orientate myself. I think it's in our control, heading to their base, but I just can't find it. Even checking the gamepad doesn't help!
I even forget my Bubbler most of the time. Thank goodness I sort myself out for the final minute, and that my squidmates were on the ball for longer than that.
My previous Ranked battle pushed me up to A 97 rank. Will this evening see me reach even higher, up to A+ rank? Well, maybe the title of this video gives away the ending.
In this battle, I learn that I can't do a backflip off a wall on to the tower, and bodge the landing too. I also forget that the Dual Squelcher has a longer range than the Tri-slosher.
Tower Control doesn't get much simpler than this. Go to the tower, ride it to the base. It's like Ice Cube telling us what to do.
It's good to see every squid spamming 'Nice!' as we reach the goal.
Let's have a second: Can we make it in Tower Control?
After early forays along the Hammerhead Bridge, I thought I had the hang of the map. But every time it has come up in the rotation, I just find it a little claustrophobic. Maybe it can play differently in Turf War and Ranked battles. Either way, I refuse not to play it, and just try to get a better feel of it.
I'm running with the Dual Squelcher for its range. I think I'll need it on the Bridge, but that's not to say I'll make good use of the range. Either way, we make good progress up to the half-way point, including a pre-emptive celebration, until a Killer Wail puts paid to that. Can we get any further?
This battle doesn't start out well. The different turf textures make me misjudge a jump, and it's straight in to the water. I hope my squidmates aren't relying on me.
The splats just keep on coming. And not my splatting them, but my being splatted. At least I lay down a good portion of blue ink between splats, and that my squidmates are on point.
The number of beakons I squid past, and the time it takes me to squid to the Splat Zones, you'd think I'd realise the benefits of super-jumping occasionally.
