It's not my first game of Tower Control for the evening. Even so, I'm impressed by how smoothly I'm running with the Tri-slosher, getting to the central column and on the tower in no time. What I notice next is that I splat Eddie, then I splat Eddie again. As a main problem with curating so many Splatoon gameplay videos is coming up with titles, seeing Eddie splatted twice so quickly gives me the title I need. To hell with accuracy, it's good enough and helps me differentiate the games. That's all that really matters.
I get to editing the video. Trim the edges first, to get rid of extraneous footage. This lets me see, at the end of the battle, I've got fifteen splats. Fifteen! First, I love how the tri-slosher can bag me so many splats so consistently. Second, can I really title a video 'Having it in for Eddie' if I get so many splats that aren't him? Of course I can! But I review the footage anyway, just to see how many times I actually splatted him.
I review the footage because it gives me two options. I can either excuse the title as being something that's difficult to conjure and I just noticed Eddie as being the victim of my first two splats. Like above, essentially. Or I can point out that, even with fifteen splats to my name, with four squids on the other team, Eddie was perhaps incidentally my target more than the others. What I didn't expect to find was that I splatted Eddie nine times. Nine times. If I splatted him any more, he'd barf up a lung.
Amusingly, the ninth time I splat Eddie is when the battle's over. Sorry, Eddie. It's nothing personal.
I can move fast with the Tri-slosher, but not Inkbrush-fast. The only problem with the start is us bumping in to each other. Having to deal with long-range weapons like the Squelcher, when I'm wielding the short-range Tri-slosher comes in second, though.
Our early lead is protected, and then I go in to denial-of-squid mode. Denial of squids can be a good tactic, as long as your team is tending to move forwards, and ours was. The less time they have squids up and squidding, the less pressure there is on us, and hopefully the us that is on the tower.
Flanking works quite well on Blackbelly Skatepark too. The tower head down one of the side channels, and that channel is often focussed on by the defending team. It's easy to do, because there is a direct route from the base where you spawn, and going the long way around could be costly. But coming from the other direction doesn't cost too much time, and has the opportunity to pay off quite well.
In this case, no one seems to notice a rogue squid coming from the side. This is made more fun by having that one squid run on the grate above me without apparently noticing me, until he's splatted. From there, I catch the others by surprise as they think they've pushed us back. Top kek, as they say.
The final push works well. I pop my Bubbler and share it with those on the tower, then press forwards off the tower. The other squids can push the tower forwards, and with my bubble I am better off clearing the other team out of the tower's way. I may get splatted, but I get my feet on the tower for the victory.
I'm really getting the hang of inking and squidding with the Tri-slosher. I get to the tower in no time on Blackbelly Skatepark, and then use the Tri-slosher's damaging falling ink to my advantage against a charger, and avoid a pesky Luna Blaster using the tower's pillar. If only I could keep up this good start, I could be dangerous. But the other team have the blasters that are a common sight in Tower Control, and which continually seem to catch me unawares. It's quite pleasing, in that case, that a bit of misdirection by me causes a blaster to be looking in the wrong place as I come around a corner, for me to get the splat.
I'm a bit out of the way, though, as my team are doing well riding the tower. I move up to help them out, pressing ahead of the tower to act as suppression and protect my squidmates. My Bubbler special really helps out here, protecting me from squidding headlong in to a blaster. We don't quite make it to the goal, but we have a great lead that will be hard to beat. Now it's just a matter of protecting our lead, which, sensibly, my squidmates don't take merely to be stopping the opponents. The best defence is a good offence, and we aim to keep control of the tower still.
There is quite a tussle for the tower, with lots of splatting going on, which works in our favour. The other team is either suppressed well enough by us, or distracted by aiming to splat us to go for the tower. Our lead is never really in danger. And the Tri-slosher continues to bag me plenty of splats, even if I get in harm's way quite a lot too.
Tower Control on Camp Triggerfish, and I have to deal with blasters and chargers. Both are weapons that I'm not good with, and both are weapons that are excellent in the right suction cups. Blasters are indirect-fire weapons, which are only effective at their optimal range, making them tricky to use but brutal when used well. Chargers can pick out squids at long ranges, but take time to charge each shot, and have a laser sight always active to give warning about their presence. Again, tricky to use, but brutal when used well.
Admittedly, the start of the battle goes poorly, being pushed in to the water by, of all things, the tower itself. But that suicidal splat was actually a pretty good move. That earned me a double splat, and I rush back in to the fray, pressing high in to the opposition territory, and get a second double splat. Then it's back dealing with blasters and chargers. But they have to deal with my Tri-slosher too, so it all evens out, really, particularly when the netting on Camp Triggerfish gives me a height advantage, and the Tri-slosher's ink does all its damage when falling on squids. This works really well when more than one squid is riding the tower.
It would have been nicer if circumstances had evened out a bit more than they did. My 'Nice!' at the end is not so much because I think my last-minute ride on the tower is going to net us the win, but because of a squidmate taking out the blaster. That another takes his place is just what happens sometimes, and I couldn't quite ink enough turf to charge my Bubbler special for a final push. Still, a fun and enjoyable battle!
Just a little note: on Camp Triggerfish, it's worth inking that little patch of metal on the top of the closed gate. When inked, it lets you squid up to the top of the gate, then squid and jump quickly to the wooden planks to continue moving ahead. Without that little patch of metal inked, you slow down to a crawl.
Huh, the opposition have three Luna Blasters in their team. This can't bode well. They may be one of the shortest-ranged weapons in the game, but they are devastating when in their range. Rather than needing a direct hit, blasters send out a bubble of ink that explodes, hitting anything around it. That makes them very effective in Tower Control, when squids are clumped around a single point.
The Luna Blaster may be effective at close range, but it doesn't stop our team from taking an early and good lead. We'd have to muck up quite badly to lose this battle, or the other team make good use of their blasters. Or they just need a couple of them to press high in to our territory in a bid to prevent us reclaiming the tower.
Denying us territory works quite well. Not only do we have trouble trying to get even to the half-way mark on the map, but the presence of opposition squids distracts us in to engaging them rather than splatting those on the tower. It's probably better to stop the tower moving than splatting any squid not on the tower too, but an effective distraction is just that.
Thankfully, we manage to deal with the distractions and, as they have over half the map to travel to begin making nuisances of themselves again, or super-jump and give away their positions, we stop the tower before the situation looks bleak. And my sloshing to clear the tower, to keep it clear from the super-jumpers, and protecting my squidmate riding the tower back, gets me a 'Nice!'. That's always good for morale.
When we have positive control of the tower, it's time to use their tactic against them. I press high up the map and try to deny the opposition territory. That only works for so long, and they get the tower back, and their distractions are back in place. But by this time, we're on top of the situation. They ride the tower a bit further, but we regroup and end the battle firmly in our favour.
This is an odd route to the tower that I take. I think it's prompted by my starting position on the base. That happens. I prefer to have multiple options open at the start of any battle, on any map, and the one I choose can be dictated by the lower likelihood of causing disruption to my squidmates. Still, going down and up the ramps, then up the full height of the central column, is not an efficient route to the tower, even if it gets me there first. It is better, even with a bit of squid-on-squid bumping and maybe even some blocked ink, to take the more level route just to the left.
Naturally, as I squid straight for the tower, I get splatted early. Respawning has my heading in a different direction, partly to get more turf inked to help generally with movement, partly because it looks like the tower is heading that way. Doing so, I notice some green ink landing at my heels. I love this game. You can't move freely without laying down some ink, and laying down some ink is a tell-tale that you are heading in a certain direction. I know an opponent is behind me.
I squid down our ink a bit further, to give myself some room, and turn to confront the green squid, getting the jump on him. That leaves me free to continue to intercept the tower. I head directly up the wall, which I only recently found out was a viable route. For ages I inked up the side, to the left, and then headed up the ramp to get to that top ledge, until I noticed a squidmate in one battle ink and squid directly up the wall. It's good to see what others know that you don't.
I know the power and range of the Inkzooka, that squid didn't have to show me. But I get my revenge soon enough. A couple of times, in fact. It feels good. I also find out that the potential shortcut behind an opponent wall doesn't work, by bumping in to thin air. Fair enough. We can't quite protect our lead, despite our best efforts to wipe out the whole opposition team at once, but keeping them distracted with my sloshing in the centre of the map allows my squidmates to ride the tower even further. Good job, everyone!
The battle starts well. I ink and squid nice and quickly with my Tri-slosher, and take control of the Tower, splatting a pesky charger as it starts moving. Then it all starts to go a bit awry, mostly with my squidding in to a Suction Bomb. And then super-jumping to entirely the wrong squid. That takes me by surprise, and my floundering outside my ink is because I'm looking at my gamepad wondering what I did.
Avoiding the Kraken was a decent move. It can't get on the grate, being a squid, albeit bigger, as it would fall through and in to the water. But the pesky charger rears his head again. That's okay, really, as my short-range Tri-slosher doesn't really stand a chance against the long-range charger. And the Tri-slosher comes in to its own when facing three squids on the tower, and my having a height advantage.
Taking down three squids and reclaiming the tower just in time to save a knockout would mean more if we were able to re-take the lead, but even a late move to get it past the half-way mark, forcing the game in to overtime, isn't quite enough to reclaim the victory.
11-11 with the Tri-slosher is pretty decent, though, particularly on the rather open Camp Triggerfish map against an opposition with mostly long-range weapons.
Sticking with the Splattershot Jr for now, and so a different tactic than with the Splash-o-Matic. I don't try to cross in to opponent territory as soon as I can to cause some disruption, but ink up as much turf as necessary to charge up my Bubbler special to start with. That way, when I have the Bubbler ready, I can run in to opponent territory and have some protection ready when I do it.
The plan goes a little awry when it becomes obvious a charger is waiting for me over the ramp. It doesn't stop me, although maybe it should, just delays me as I pause to think. I jump over, pop the Bubbler, and have it run out before I can find the charger. He retreats effectively and picks me off as I head in the wrong direction.
After that, I take a bit more care with my situational awareness. Trying to to charge directly in to engagements I am likely to lose, I ease myself in to them, preferably from the side. It's not always successful, but the added caution, plus some effective evasion from threats, helps to turn the battle around for us.
Keeping the Bubbler charger as much as possible, and popping it when under threat, really helps keep me from being splatted, which itself enables me to ink more turf. I end the game with an excellent 1346p, and 8-3 splats. That's a great result, and a good indication of how effective the Splattershot Jr can be.
Another new weapon to try. Well, maybe not a new weapon, but one I've not used in a long time. The Splattershot Jr is one of the first weapons available, and is a good reason why many squids overlook it once they can get their tentacles on many more weapons. But I wouldn't say the Splattershot Jr is overlooked. Many veteran players can be seen to use it, so there must be something for the little shooter.
The Bubbler Special of the Jr always works quite well when used against me. Activating the Bubbler gives the squid a spherical shield that protects against all attacks (but not water), although being hit by ink still gets you pushed back, and pushed back more than normal. But the shield can also be shared. Bump in to an ally whilst the Bubbler is active, and that ally gets the shield too. This makes it a good choice in Ranked battles, where the action is often focussed and squidmates are bunched up.
My initial impression of the Splattershot Jr reminds me of why I opted for the Splash-o-Matic for so long. The shots are sprayed without much accuracy, which catches me out for the first splat. But that's not really detrimental to the weapon. Most shooters have a fairly wide spray of ink, and the Splash-o-Matic and its variants are the exception. This is just a feature I need to adjust to. Or back to. And I get used to it pretty quickly. A fairly wid spray works quite well in inking lots of turf quickly, which is good design, really. And you just need to get closer for more shots to hit an opponent.
I kinda feel sorry for the squid that super-jumped to my position when I was hiding from the squid with the squiffer. I tried to jump out to provide a distraction on landing, but it didn't work. At least, by Grabthar's Hammer, I avenged my squidmate. My final result is pretty decent, given I'd not used the weapon in months, and the top scorer is using the same weapon. I'm sure I'll be adding it back in to my weapon roster.
Let's give the Splattershot Jr another go, again in Turf War. Better to get used to a weapon in Turf War, where you can squid around inking turf, rather than Ranked battles, where the objective is more focussed.
The map this time is Flounder Heights, one of my favourites. I take my usual back route to start with, and a squidmate gets up to the top of the building at about the same time, to gang up on an opponent. Good start! Of course, I get splatted myself pretty soon after that, and on respawning I get about to inking around our base.
My Bubbler special charges, but there is no point in using it with no opponents around. But when an Inkbrush appears and looks to be lining me up, I pop the Bubbler to splat him. What I don't realise is that he wasn't about to line me up, and the sound of a special being activated actually came from behind me. My Bubbler saves me from the Kraken I didn't see, and for long enough to see him return to being a squid. Not quite enough to save me, but my squidmate splats him to avenge me, and I give him a 'Nice!' for that.
The Splattershot Jr is a nice and versatile weapon. One feature I like is just how little ink it seems to use. You can ink and ink and ink and rarely do you hit the capacity of your tank. Even if the range is quite short, the Bubbler helps with close-range engagements, and the ink efficiency means that you are not often caught short.
One battle is hardly enough to assess a weapon. That hasn't stopped me in the past, as I have occasionally tried something new, not liked it as much as the Splash-o-Matic, and gone straight back to that. I know I ought to spend more time with a weapon to get accustomed to it, but when one option works so well it doesn't always make sense to force a swap.
I give the Octoshot Replica another go in Turf War all the same. Even though I started recording my Splatoon games primarily so that I could enjoy watching them myself, I realise that they are available for others to see. This is encouraging me to make changes and keep the videos fresh, rather than simply rehashing the same battles with the same weapon time and again. That's a nice little side-effect for my enjoyment of the game.
Flounder Heights is a great level. So many inkable walls and different routes to take. I go around the side for my favourite starting strategy, which then opens up more options. Straight ahead to drop down in the middle of opposition territory, or still further around the side to maybe outflank some of them. Let's go around the side and see what happens.
One splat, then splatted. I get noticed pretty quickly, it seems. That's another great feature of Splatoon. Advancing necessarily alerts the other side of your movements, because of the spread of your ink. It's possible to be outmanoeuvred, but it's so much easier to be aware of your surroundings too.
It doesn't look good at the one-minute-to-go mark, with us pressed back in to our own territory and blue ink everywhere. I try to sneak away around the side and get some orange ink spread where it may go unnoticed, and the strategy works quite well. Sure, there was a disconnect on the other team, but he seems to stick around for most of the battle. Those two Splattershot Jrs certainly look effective too, getting over 1000p each without the 300p bonus. I should try them out next.
