A new update will be coming to the third-person shooter video game “Splatoon” on August 6 that will bring two new matchmaking modes, new types of weapons, add 40 pieces of gear, and increase the level cap, all for free.
Nintendo made the announcement of the upcoming new content on July 27 which promises to bring a large amount of new content to “Splatoon” on Wii U.
The new content will enable players to create a winning strategy and fight to be the best and most battle tested squid squad around, notes the Nintendo UK website.
The two matchmaking options that will be introduced in the August 6 update are the Squad Battle and the Private Battle. In Squad Battle, players can join in Ranked Battle rule sets with friends instead of being merely teamed up with other players through a random selection.
Once a player creates his squad, friends can then be recruited to form a team of two to four Inklings. Friends will always play together on the same team and battle against other squads at random.
Meanwhile in the Private Battle, friends can splat it up in private and customizable matches. The battle can accommodate from two to eight friends who shall battle together by selecting their preferred map, mode, and weapons. Teams do not have to be even so if the host chooses, he can do battle against four or two or any other combination of players.
Raising the level caps
Polygon notes that after the update, Regular Battle and Ranked Battle modes will see their level caps raised from 20 to 50, and players will be able to reach a maximum rank of S and S+, both of which are higher than the current A and A+ ranks.
While Inklings around the world are enjoying and mastering the current arsenal of weapons in “Splatoon,” two new weapon types will be available with the update, adding a new layer of strategy to the game. The two new weapons are the Slosher and the Splatling.
The Slosher is a bucket-like projectile that hurls paint forward at great distances and will be useful for splashing enemies in sniper perches. The other weapon is the Splatling, which is Splatoon’s equivalent of a rapid-fire Gatling gun.
In terms of gear, the update will also bring everything from a leather jacket to a sushi-chef costume and shall be available in various in-game shops in “Splatoon.”
Amid its size and scope, the massive August update to “Splatoon” is not the end of the splat-tacular free content coming to the first-person shooter video game. It is expected that more content will continually roll out through the rest of the summer and into autumn including the Rainmaker Ranked Battle mode, additional maps, and new weapons.
Positive reviews
“Splatoon” was developed and released by Nintendo on the Wii U in Japan on May 28, 2015, in North America and Europe on Many 29, 2015, and in Australia on May 30, 2015. The game focuses on the characters known as Inklings, beings that can transform between humanoid and squid forms, and hide or swim through colored ink sprayed on surfaces using a gun or brush-based weaponry.
In humanoid form, Inklings can shoot ink in their team’s color, which can be used to cover the environment or ‘splat’ opposing players or enemies. Transforming into a squid allows players to swim through the ink of their own color, even up the wall and through grates, hiding from the enemy and replenishing their ink supply in the process.
Conversely, enemy ink is much slower to move across in humanoid form and cannot be swum through in squid form. Players can use the ink to try to splatter their opponents which send them back to their team’s respawn point while also providing a large splat of ink.