Major Splatoon update detailed, releasing next week

On August 6, the major Splatoon update fans were promised will go into effect, bringing new matchmaking modes, weapons, gear, and an increased level cap.

The most important features are the matchmaking options. Many have given Nintendo a lot of guff about not being able to create custom matches, and being forced into battles with random team even when playing with friends. That changes with this update.

Finally our rankings are free from the scourge of randoms.

Squad Battle will allow players to create a 2-4 inkling squad by recruiting friends. Your squad will then compete against other randomly selected squads in Ranked Battles. This means you might finally be able to crack A rank without having to play like Squid God or hoping your opponents are worse than your teammates.

The mode we've all been waiting for.

That's not even the most anticipated change to matchmaking though: Private Battle will allow 2-8 friends to make matches in any manner they want: Rule set, map, and teams can all be chosen freely. Finally, we can 2v4 some friends to show them how strong we've gotten from carrying them.

The new weapons are coming.

We've already seen how the new weapons look, but now we have confirmation on how they work. The Splatling gun is indeed a subtype of the charger family. To see it's real power, players will have to charge it like the windup on a minigun. On the other head, the bucket-like Slosher will allow players to lob volleys of ink around, sort of like a mobile mortar.  It has impressive range, can be used to hit enemies on the high ground, or lob ink over a wall to take out an unwary opponent.

What good are new weapons without looking fresh while you dominate, though? Not much should be your answer, unless you're a scrub.  Well, good news for those of us with a sense of style: There will be over 40 new pieces of gear to mix and match to create the freshest load outs.

Sam Axe would be proud, if he weren't long dead by the events of Splatoon.

You better make sure you're outfitted well, because the level cap increases to 50 with this update, as well as a new S rank tier for Ranked Battles. Nintendo looks to keep fans playing with more free updates throughout summer and into autumn with new maps, new weapons, and the new Rainmaker match type.