More Tower Control on Piranha Pit

A good push at the start from us, with the whole team working together, albeit on different fronts, to advance the tower. This is soon turned around by the other team getting organised and pushing back. It looks like we have a whole bunch of inkling s who enjoy the battles and know how to play Tower Control.

I really like the Tri-slosher for Tower Control. I like riding the tower, which gives me a little vantage point for sloshing ink from above, and when the other team has the tower I have a big platform to aim for, which is great for the indiscriminate inking nature of the Tri-slosher. Getting the triple-splat in the middle of the game highlights this nicely. It would be nice if it didn't use so much ink, but I could perhaps be less slosh-happy on occasions.

The Bubbler is also good. Having a short period of invulnerability is great, and being able to share that with squidmates is better. I like popping the Bubbler on the tower, spreading it to my squidmates, then squidding forwards to clear the way, knowing that I'm safe for a bit. Of course, the other team can have their own Bubblers, and this is the case in this battle. It is surprisingly frustrating to be on the other end of an invulnerable opponent when you are using the same tactic, so it's good to have a sense of perspective.

The battle goes in to extra time, with the opposition trying to beat our lead with control of the tower, whilst we just need to get them off the tower to win. One other feature of the Tri-slosher I like is how many splats it can get me in the average game, even if it means I get splatted a lot.

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Tags: console, piranha pit, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

Buckets of fun on Tower Control

Camp Triggerfish's long, open spaces suit shooters and chargers well, but I still really enjoy throwing buckets of ink around with the Tri-Slosher. I find it suits me well in Tower Control in particular, as there are plenty of vantage spots to rain ink down from above. Running in to a Seeker isn't a great idea, though. They seek, for a start.

Splash Walls are a bit annoying too. They prevent your ink from passing through, whilst allowing the opponents' ink. If you hit them, they run out of ink more quickly, but you can only do that by exposing yourself, and the weapons with Splash Walls typically have a decent range. I suppose technically I could throw ink over the top, but I would have to get close and, well, it's the same problem of being expose. So I stop and wait, deciding what to do.

I spread a bit of ink, then go past the evaporated Splash Wall, splat the owner, and take his place on the tower. A Blaster threatens me and a squidmate, also now on the tower, so I hop off to deal with it. And a charger that is also threatening us. I don't think they saw me coming. The Roller did, though, but that's okay. I think I came out quite well in that exchange.

The Roller covered up some ink, but a squidmate over-inks that purple mess, letting me get right back to the action with only a little bit of sloshing required. Again, I splat the Blaster and charger, which is very satisfying, and dispose of the Splash Wall sneakily thrown on to the tower itself. I think about making the leap to the tower, but I can't squid on the grate to get more speed, as I'd slip through in to the water, and an inkling can't run too fast. I decide against it.

They get control of the tower, and I think it a good idea to spread some ink along the side channel, for easier defence. I see the tower coming, but misjudge my appearance. I'm not in range and the Blaster splats me. My fault. At least I dodge the Killer Wail that flies my way.

After that, it's attacking up the middle again, this time with my Bubbler charged and ready to be popped for defence. This, plus the handy falling ink from my Tri-slosher, gets us the tower really close to the goal. After that, it's just a matter of not making any mistakes. I quite like seeing the Kraken get pushed off the tower in to the water, but only because it splatted me earlier.

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Tags: camp triggerfish, console, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

Sensible bubbling on Tower Control

The Tower trundles its way around Piranha Pit playing its little jingle in quite a tight circuit, which pushes all the squids together for frantic splatting. Hurtling for the objective only ends up with my being splatted. Again. Maybe I should learn from this. Perhaps I ought to be a bit more wary to start with and secure the objective rather than blindly jumping on.

A less direct route is taken next, mostly because I spot that Roller rolling behind me. That seems to set the scene for the rest of the battle, where I take on the role of support, keeping the opposition at bay and away from my squidmates riding the tower.

The occasional jump on to the tower helps us keep going forwards, as well as letting my share my Bubbler with the others. Pop the Bubbler, share it with the inklings on the tower, and jump off again to throw ink at the other side with impunity for a few seconds. Keeping your squids from being splatted with good use of a Bubbler special can tip the battle.

We get really close to the goal, close enough to have to really make a mess to lose the battle. Not even jumping straight in to an Inkstrike will get my spirits down. In fact, we get the tower back and ride it all the way to a knockout victory anyway. Woomy!

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Tags: console, piranha pit, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

Tower Control is slippery sometimes

I like to get to the objective quickly, and riding the tower is excellent fun. Being able to move quickly with the Tri-slosher is a good skill too. But when the other side can move as quickly as you, you get splatted. Never mind! Back in to the fray, and I squid past a thrown Splat Bomb, splat the thrower, and move forwards to disrupt and splat a charger. Good work for a short-range bucket!

Rather than head down the side channel, I learn from the previous mistake and go straight down the middle to support my squidmates riding the tower. This lets me hit a couple of inklings head-on, and let the tower go further forwards. I do quite well until a stray Splat Bomb from a Bomb Rush explodes on a ramp I can't see down.

Back to the heart of the fray and on to the tower. The Tri-slosher probably shouldn't be this good against a charger, but the circumstances are good. I can throw ink upwards and he can't aim downwards too well. This lets us take the tower really close to the goal, but not quite there.

We lose the tower and our opponents get it moving back past the centre. But, again, my Tri-slosher helps, tossing ink down from above, splatting the two inklings on the tower. My turn again! I take the tower past the centre and, well, fall off it. It's a bit slippery. It's more slippery when you're surrounded by a bubble, particularly when a charger shoots you. The Bubbler may make you invulnerable to ink, but not the force of the ink hitting you. I skid backwards.

The two dunkings in to the water are not a disappointment. We did plenty in the early stages of the battle to get the lead, and after that it's mostly a matter of preventing the other side from getting a tentacle-hold. The most effective way of doing that is controlling the tower, which we do.

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Tags: camp triggerfish, console, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

Warming up to Tower Control on Piranha Pit

It takes me a little while to get my bearings. The map is still quite new, the changes from Turf War to Tower Control take some getting used to, and sometimes I'm just a bit rusty. My early attempts to ride the tower don't last long at all, but that doesn't put me off. I like riding the tower. It makes music.

Running headlong in to trouble isn't the best strategy for the short-range Tri-slosher. I need to be more cunning, and come in from the side. I'm not always that cunning or subtle, though, which is why I rush in head first. But when my squidmates have the opponents' attention, that's when I can get my splats.

I like to make good use of the Bubbler as well, spreading it around as much as possible to protect the tower, then jumping ahead to keep the opposition at bay. A couple of splats to regain control of the tower, coupled with a timely Bubble, nets me a bunch of successive splats. Although I don't splat all the opposition at once, I must have splatted them all within ten seconds or so.

That little flurry of ink when taking the tower past the opponents' base gives us enough of an advantage to push the tower to the end. It's a knockout victory for us, and a good number of splats for me. And our Splat Charger inkling is clearly on form.

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Tags: console, piranha pit, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

Running out of ink on Tower Control

The Tri-Slosher can be a thirsty beast, particularly when I mash the trigger continually. That may end up being my downfall on this Tower Control battle on Camp Triggerfish. That, and forgetting that I have a Bubbler special.

I uncharacteristically ignore the tower to start with to get a couple of opportunistic splats, which works well. I run back and around the side, ostensibly to provide cover for the tower, but I think that's a tactic that works mostly in Rainmaker. The opposition aren't likely to take that route when they have a more direct one available.

I cross back to the central corridor, my Bubbler having charged, and either forget it or don't realise as a Blaster takes potshots at me. After that splat, it's a bit of a battle of attrition, right up until I run out of ink as the opposition take the lead. Had I kept some ink, or not have been running over the rope bridge, and so not able to refill my ink tank, I could probably have stopped them a bit earlier.

At least I have a rare death-from-below splat with the Tri-slosher after that. And the battle itself is a lot of fun, with some good back-and-forth play.

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Tags: camp triggerfish, console, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

Tower Control on Piranha Pit

My first Ranked battle on Piranha Pit, and it's on Tower Control. I grab my current favourite weapon for the game mode, and get throwing ink around with the Tri-Slosher. It's easy enough to get to the tower, but its path doesn't go far from the centre of the map. Along with the conveyer belts in the middle and the various paths and obstacles, Piranha Pit Tower Control makes for a frantic and tight battle.

Short and sweet for Tower Control, helped by a nice bit of Bubbling as we go past the opposition's base. After I share the Bubble around, I squid off the tower and press forwards. This generally pushes the opposition back, as they either evade me, waste ink pushing me away, or get splatted, whilst my squidmate on the tower keeps it trundling on. In this case, it works a treat.

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Tags: console, piranha pit, splatoon, tower control, tri-slosher, wii u

First look at Piranha Pit on Turf War

Not much of a first look any more, as Piranha Pit was released at the end of December, but it's my first game on the map. Rather than head directly in to Ranked battles on unfamiliar terrain, I pop on to Turf War first. It's a bit more relaxed, less focussed on a point on the map, and gives a chance to take a look around. And before that, I have a quick recon too, which lets you run around inking the map by yourself.

Piranha Pit looks to be a decent map, with lots of open space, and there are conveyer belts that whiz you around. Having the conveyer belts as ramps in the middle of the map will be interesting, and those at the edges push you in a certain direction, but can be squidded along the wrong way, albeit slowly.

The central part of the part of the map is the obvious place to engage other inklings, and most of the contested turf will be there. This makes the lower level less-travelled, which means it is some easy turf to ink, but also easy to overlook, either on your side or theirs. It's also worth noting that the conveyer belts are essentially one-sided for the sake of inking, which negates any problems with which face is up when the total turf inked is counted at the end of the battle.

As for my first battle, I'm going in with my old faithful, the Splash-o-Matic. I get a whole bunch of splats, which in part look to be because the other inklings are unfamiliar with the map. Recon mode has its benefits!

One squid disconnects at some point, so maybe this first battle isn't totally representative of Turf War on Piranha Pit. But 1534p ink turfed, and going 6-1 with the Splash-o-Matic gives me a positive impression of the new map.

I go straight back in to Turf war. My second battle on Piranha Pit pits me against low-level squids. That doesn't stop me getting splatted in a couple of silly ways early on.

I get a good score again, but it's not really cricket. I'll head in to Ranked battles soon, to get a fairer battle. I think I've got a handle on this fun new map so far.

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Tags: console, piranha pit, splash-o-matic, splatoon, turf war, wii u

Trying the Custom Dual Squelcher in Turf War

I'm giving another weapon new to me a go. This time, it's the Custom Dual Squelcher, a shooter that has perhaps the longest range that isn't a charger. I should probably use that to my advantage, although the habits from playing so long with short-range weapons will probably take a while to shake. Instead of heading straight in to Ranked battles, I'm taking my own advice and trying the Dual Squelcher in Turf Wars first. It looks like we have a healthy bunch of new players after Christmas, with this battle being from 27th December 2015. That makes it easier to play with new weapons.

The battle is on Museum d'Alfonsino, one of the newer maps. I think I have a handle on it, but playing it mostly in Ranked battles, where extra blocks are added to increase movement options. Generally, crossing to the opponents' side is restricted, or just impossible after a certain point, just to prevent spawn camping to an extent, giving inklings more options for getting out of their base than there are to get in to it. But these restrictions cause bigger choke points in Ranked battles, and so extra blocks are added. Moving back to Turf War and playing the same map can be confusing initially, as you look for a block that should get you somewhere, but end up looking at an ink-resistant wall.

Once I remember that there is only one path, I cross to the opponents' half using the central column, and pressing forwards sees me get a good opportunity to Splat on a Roller. He can barely reach past his tentacles, I can hit from a mile away. But I run out of ink, and an emergency recharge then sees me run in to the Roller and not backing away whilst shooting. That's my old tendencies at work.

The Custom Dual Squelcher has the Killer Wail special, which has been used to great effect against me on many occasions. I get at least one splat with it in this battle, which isn't great, but the Museum has so much open space that the Killer Wail is fairly easy to dodge. Even so, I quite like the Custom Dual Squelcher. It doesn't run out of ink as quickly as I suspected it might, for its range. If I can unlock its potential, it could become another favourite.

The last half of the battle is spent trying to work out how to get to the opponents' base. I know it can be done, and I'm sure I saw a gif posted to reddit showing how to do it. But it's not obvious, and I flounder a few times. I finally work it out, with seconds left in the battle, but I doubt I'll forget it again now. And at least I wasn't neglecting my ink-turfing duties, as a healthy 1308p score shows. It was against mostly new players using Rollers, but at least I wasn't concentrating on splatting them.

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Tags: console, custom dual squelcher, museum d'alfonsino, splatoon, turf war, wii u

Pushed back in Splat Zones

Part of my motivation for trying different weapons is because they often seem so effective when used against me in certain battle modes. This is one of those games.

The .52 Gal weapon splats with a couple of hits, and has a fairly long range. Its sub weapon is the Splash Wall, a curtain of ink that stops incoming fire for a while, whilst letting your own ink through it. Normally, you manoeuvre away from the Splash Wall, as you can't engage effectively. But I tend not to do that normally, and in you back off in Splat Zones, you effectively hand over control.

I need to remember that my Suction Bombs can be thrown over the Splash Walls. Or in to them, as the walls are being thrown. Just before we lose the battle, I get a lucky throw that hits the Splash Wall before it unfolds, and it explodes to catch the inkling with it. That's the sort of timing I'd like to take credit for.

But, yes, we lose the battle. I blame my lack of caution mostly. The other side having all mid-to-long range weapons against our all-but-one short-range weapons is another factor. That, and Splat Zones is the Ranked battle mode I'm least comfortable with.

I should probably pick up the .52 Gal, or similar, and give it a go. I'm sure the Splash Wall isn't as easy to use as it looks, particularly as it probably uses a lot of ink from your tank. But it would give me an appreciation for the weapon I often face and lose to.

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Tags: camp triggerfish, console, splash-o-matic, splat zones, splatoon, wii u