If you can only afford to maintain one of the islands, keep the left one under tighter guard.
The left island offers the quickest way for the opposition to access your base, which demands that they cross a grated ramp to reach the floor above the middle area. As such, you want to force them into predictable infiltration strategies that you can more effectively act against – namely, where they take the island on the right and must travel along the bulk of the horizontal stretch. At the same time, it’s unwise to keep four players guarding the same island – if they all get splatted, both islands will be open for the taking. Keep an eye on the map and ensure there’s at least one person on both sides of the field so that Squid Jumps can be made when danger presents itself.
The ramp on the bottom layer is good for surveillance and quick assists.
In Turf Wars, the only way to access a particular island is by jumping down from the main floor. You can’t jump back and forth between the two islands without doing some wall-scaling and taking a U-shaped movement pattern. In Splat Zones, that procedure changes with the addition of a sloped ramp on the island opposite to the one where the zone is located. This is both an opportunity for quick travel and a great spot for a player equipped with a Charger-type weapon to be stationed. It’s also a good hiding spot if you want to jump in for a quick assist during a control war, because anyone who moves into your view will have their backs turned. Additionally, for anyone carrying a weapon with an Inkzooka for a special, the ramp gives you a great vantage point from which to safely attack distant enemies.
In all these cases, staying here will put you in a vulnerable position. Really, your main concern is the people who occasionally trudge through that quieter area of the field (as a result of the zone being on the other side). If you stay alert and pull back whenever fire comes your way, the slope will absorb most attacks coming from the opposite end, allowing you to return to your offensive position when it’s safe. Your back is more of a target than your front, making it important that you cover parts of that island with paint of your colour to minimize the likelihood of surprise ambushes and offer quick escape opportunities. Chances are, though, you’re better off leaping forward in that case and either taking the first exit out (i.e., the wall on your right) or running ahead all warrior-like.
Now that we’ve done our research on the Bluefin Depot and its architecture, you’ll be in a better position to pass your evaluations. But don’t forget your homework: Be in tune with your teammates and discover strategies that fit your style to ensure your side will be victorious. Class dismissed!
Attention, students! We hope you had a comfortable swim to the campus today. If you’ll all take your seats, we’ll begin with the lesson.
Today, we’ll be profiling the Bluefin Depot in preparation for our class field trip – yes, the very same depot that opened for business last month. Now, remember: For your practical, you’ll need to organize yourselves into teams of four. The team that makes the biggest mess of the depot will clear the first part of the evaluation. For the second, you must accumulate points by controlling an area on the lowest part of the depot, the precise location of which will be at the manager’s discretion.
Take note that each evaluation has its own considerations, its own elements that must be worked into your team’s strategy. Now, if you’ll hold all your questions for the end, we’ll begin with a dossier on five tips to ensure your team is successful out on the field.
The 2nd Floor offers a lookout role for defensive players.
The depot’s top floor is where your spawn point lies, and from here the path splits in three directions: heading down the middle will lead you to a grating, followed by a set of stairs; but if you’re a swimmer, you’ll want to head left or right to get down to the same level at a faster rate. In either case, it’s from this landing point (i.e., the 2nd Floor) that you’ll have a lookout’s view of things. Staying in this area will allow you to fend off the side alleys without sustaining many scratches; watch the state of both islands and prepare yourself for invading enemies; and thanks to the series of gratings, you’ll also be able to fire downward shots at the horizontal stretch below, with enough opportunity to pull back safely if the threat demands it. If you, as a defensive player, stay on or near this floor, you can essentially serve as a moving Squid Beakon and yell for your comrades to Squid Jump to your location with minimized fear of inviting swift punishment.
Barring immediate threats, focus projectile-focused specials on the floors preceding the bottom layer.
The idea behind this strategy is to take the opposition away from the action on the islands. With good aiming (and possibly a Bomb Range Up gear stat), you can lob projectiles at the upper floor and slow down the enemy’s established paths of assault during Bomb Rush. Inkstrikes work well in the first section just after the opposition’s base (i.e., the 2nd Floor), especially since it’s more taxing to remove paint from the stairs than flat areas. In the case of the Inkzooka, activating it while on the bottom layer will allow you to push back forces that approach the entry points to the islands. In all cases, the objective is to create enough push-back where your team will have an opportunity to take control of both islands.
Standalone alleys make for ideal Squid Beakon locations.
On the far left and right of each team’s multi-floor base, you’ll find narrow alleys that poke out into the convergence points along the bottom layer. When playing Splat Zones, all four alleys can be accessed from the bottom layer by traveling up a painted wall. But in Turf Wars, there is an important distinction to be made: the right alley has a wall that can be scaled, whereas the left alley does not. Because of the added work this makes for the opposition to reach – they’ll need to instead scale a wall closer to the middle and travel several more steps – the left alley is a great place to plant Squid Beakons (reminder: do more than one on the same go).
