The sea snails do one of two things. If you have a piece of gear with less than four abilities, you can add another ability. If your piece of gear has four already-unlocked abilities, you can reroll the last three all at once.
I agree that the gear “treadmill” is really poorly documented. I spend more time looking things up on my phone than learning them in game.
The early clothes only have a primary effect and one secondary effect. You want to upgrade your clothes so they have one primary and three secondary effects. Ideally, you probably want to focus on a piece of gear with the same three secondary effects as the primary to max the total effect on your play.
I have a hat, shirt and shoes that each have a primary and three secondary slots now at Level 17. My best piece of gear is my shoes. They have a primary and three secondary effects that all lessen the amount of Super Ability meter I lose when splatted. This is useful to me especially in ranked where I want to Ult as the kids say as often as possible.
How did I get all slots the same? Luck. So that pair of shoes I will never mess with, but I have a shirt that had a primary of faster run speed that has two of three secondary slots with faster swim speed. Ideally, I’d like that last slot to have faster swim speed too. I could use a sea snail to scrub it and let it re-roll after playing some games to level it up OR I could wait to scrub it until I have enough ability chunks to pick exactly that secondary effect. The latter could take a lot longer, but it would also guarantee that I get the secondary effect I want.
How do you get ability chunks? Scrub your gear at Murch (all this is done with Murch). When there’s a Splatfest again, wear the tee and keep scrubbing out the secondary effects and you’ll gather up ability chunks! When there isn’t a splatfest, just keep on playing Turf War with gear you want to level and try to get lucky like I did while scrubbing gear when you don’t.
Hopefully that helps. These effects aren’t overpowered, but they do seem to help! You want to take advantage as you play more ranked.
For all of you are new, to start getting on that gear treadmill you need to first gain levels so that you can actually buy gear that has all the ability slots unlocked!
so… a few questions
Yes, go talk to Murch. He will clear your gear for a price and those cleared abilities will end up as “ability chunks”. After you get as few as ten chunks (or as many as like 20 or 30), you can then use those to put that exact ability into an empty secondary slot.
And yes, secondary abilities are just that. They do not have the same effect as the primary one. I’m sure someone has done a more detailed analysis on the numbers of that. In fact, here’s info from the original game that is likely to be somewhat similar to the sequel…
https://splatoonwiki.org/wiki/Ability
Also, Spyke would re-roll things for you in the original for a price.
I play this every evening right now. I don’t know how many of you got the Switch App for your phone, but SplatNet2 is in there and it’s worth your time. It’s got stats, communicates when events are happening, what stages are currently in rotation and most importantly, it’s got Anniezon! Annie from Splatoon moved her shop from the Plaza online. You can get some quality gear available only through the app. I’ve already ordered a couple things. You pick them up (and pay) with Murch in game. It’s almost instantaneous too.
So I know it’s been a month now which means I’m the only one left playing this game here but I can’t help myself because I’ve never had a game quite so dominating where my team lost so completely and utterly. In hindsight, maybe one of my teammates left early? God, I hope so, because this was ridiculous. I know that one of the other players was trying pretty hard because he and I got the Rainmaker close to the goal a couple times, but seriously… look at my score…
Yes, that’s 23 splats. 23 kills! I took out their entire team twice and three of four at least once more. There’s no way we should lose that game! RIP ME!
That’s how you lose in style, Dave. Very good effort!
I’d be playing this too if it wasn’t for Switch stock shortages. I actually got to play it yesterday for the first time when my friend brought his over. He just dropped me straight into Salmon Run with a friend and after shaking the rust off I was doing pretty well. Now I want more, buckets more.
Oh, I’m playing it all the time, mostly during my lunch breaks. Portable Splatoon is just about the greatest thing ever. And I’ve been meaning to write in to to thank you, Dave, for the app tips. I’ve had it on my phone since day one, but I had no idea you could order merchandise from there!
How do you all like to play the game in handheld mode? I find it really difficult to aim with the joy con sticks, yet I still can’t really get used to motion controls.
If you use standard non-motion controls, did you adjust the sensitivity levels at all?
I play with motion controls, but, in handheld mode, I’ve found I have to hold it in an awkward position to give me the default view that I like (I have to point the top of the Switch slightly towards the floor). I actually brought by Splatoon Pro Controller to work today so I could have a more comfortable experience.
I picked this up over the weekend. They really botched the motion controls. In Zelda, I can aim with the right stick and fine-tune my shot with a quick tilt of the controller before I fire. In Splatoon, I can’t aim up/down with the right stick, all it does is turn my character. Why did they do this? They were so close… just do what Zelda did…
Otherwise my son and I are having fun. It’s kind of BS that they make you do your first couple multiplayer games with a garbage weapon. I don’t get the point of making you level up to unlock the real weapons.
You willlearn to love the motion controls in splatoon 2 so much that you will miss them in other shooters, but there is an adjustment period.
The motion controls in Splatoon 2 are the same as they were in the original, which is to say: fantastic. I hate thumbstick aiming so they were a total revelation to me. It basically meant I was able to play a console shooter without feeling hobbled.
That said, I know what you mean about it feeling weird that you can’t aim up or down with the R stick. This didn’t sit right with me at first either but you’ll start to appreciate why it is the way it is.
You shouldn’t really be using the R stick to aim, it’s just for turning to assist horizontal motion aiming. Tilting up and down quickly and easily covers the vertical axis while turning the controller will cover most of the horizontal axis comfortably too. The R stick helps you spin quickly to turn and retreat or track fast moving targets.
Here’s a useful video explaining the system:
I’ve been using motion controls since day one with the original Splatoon and I love them. It has the precision of the mouse with the comfort of the gamepad. My best suggestion is to play for an extended period with them and they will just click. You’re really only using the right stick as a means to turn around left or right, not to aim. It becomes second nature after awhile. Again, really love them.
I also play primarily on the TV using the Pro Controller. I think that’s the best method available but I realize it’s also a pricey proposition. When I have played portable, I didn’t mind the motion controls. I just am sure to set the view properly before I start playing so I’m not at a hard angle with the screen to make certain shots.
Also, for @Wallapuctus, the Splattershot Jr. is anything but a “garbage weapon” in Turf War. It’s actually right behind the Aerospray MG as a gun option for covering serious territory. I used it nearly exclusively until I got the Aerospray. I was earning 800-1000p each round with that weapon and getting lots of wins. You also get a Splattershot pretty quickly which is better for outranging the serious number of Aerosprays you will be up against in Turf War. The level 3 weapons are the first charger and roller IIRC and rollers are good in Turf War but Charger players are a sure sign of a losing team in Turf War matches. They simply don’t cover enough of the map and kills mean next to nothing in Turf War. That’s important to remember if you are trying to level up and win at Turf War. Your goal is map coverage, not kills. Kills are opportunity decisions, not mandatory goals.
Ah, I knew there was something else I forgot to address! Thanks for mentioning this.
Yeah, but a good charger player who shuts down the opposing team so that your team can go crazy covering the map can be pretty effective. It’s just that such players are not as common as Aerospray Squads (of which I am a proud member).
I’m not feeling it. There’s another gun we got at level 3 that is more rapid-fire and has a waterballoon grenade that consumes less ink, and has a useful super. It just feels like an overall better gun.
I’ll give the motion controls another shot, but for my son they’re a no-go right now. I did play my first 3 games with the motion controls and it never felt as good as Zelda. With Zelda, it was instinctive. I was busting out headshots on horseback and accurately firing off arrows between melee combos. Again, they should have just copied Zelda, or at least made that an option.
Today will be my 2nd day with the game so maybe I’ll come around!
So many people want to play with Chargers but can’t hit the broad side of a barn. It’s an epic fail.
Turf War is both a fine place to use them and a fine place not to. When you’re looking to gain levels and freshen up your guns (your weapons level up for Turf War too…), it really sucks to have a Charger player on your team because you’re probably gonna lose. When you want to practice with a Charger, Turf War is the best place to do that because the overall “loss” is much less than in a ranked match. It’s a tough call.
Anyway, as my game up above shows, you can splat the hell out of the other team and still lose. Splatoon’s greatest strength is that it’s really focused on a specific win condition. It’s also sometimes it’s greatest weakness when you play great and your team can’t figure out how to use your great play to win.
Man, I had some really frustrating teams in Salmon Run last night. I also had a couple of the best I’ve ever played with including an epic last second salmon basket bagging that gave us 8/8 where I ignored all danger and slammed that sucker in there as the clock ticked 0. I know it won’t happen, but people really need to start understanding the bosses and what weapon works best against them. Also, KILL THE GD FLYFISH! Really! Those things must die fast!
I mean, seriously… fuck these guys…
I hate those guys. I just can’t aim my bombs precisely enough while also dealing with an onslaught of salmonids. I also have a hard time with the worms that have the weak point on top of their head that turns into a bomb. The period where you can shoot it feels like just one second too short sometimes.
