Search KoopaTV!

Translate

Friday, March 3, 2023

Thoughts on Version 3.0.0 of Splatoon 3!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - I don't have that much time to talk... there's a Big Run going on now!

At the start of this week, Splatoon 3 players are asked to update to version 3.0.0 for the new Fresh Season 2023. This brought new content and balance changes.

The biggest change, in my opinion, is that there is a jukebox in the lobby. For 100 currency units, you can change the song that plays in the lobby (though only when you're not queueing up for a match), and the song maintains through the two-hour rotations, but isn't maintained if you turn the game off and then back on. The jukebox also tells us the name and performer of all of the games's songs, including those in story mode, so I have updated my Which Music Plays in Which Alterna Kettle in Splatoon 3 article accordingly. Not far behind that change is that we can now play Tableturf Battle...ONLINE, versus other players! And I've already done this with a KoopaTV reader while listening to Seep & Destroy on the jukebox. Highly positive experience.

Splatoon 3 Tableturf Battle online multiplayer DRAW result Lakefront Property
It's been a while that Lil Fruini showed himself around Ludwig since he wrote a guest article saying to boycott KoopaTV.
This screenshot is being nice; Ludwig won a majority of the time. But draws ARE rather rare and worth showing off.
The number of squares you ink up is the amount of experience points you earn.


A less positive experience is the existence of the Splatoon 3 Expansion Pass (for 25 USD)...which I actually went and purchased. Besides access to Inkopolis (which is just a model swap of Splatsville), you also get access to a whole bunch of drink tickets and MONEY. In-game money. That's appreciated for all of the new gear that the Fresh Season has brought us.

Splatoon 3 Expansion Pass DLC Rewards drink tickets cash Marie Callie banner
The cash here is very nice. The drink tickets are pretty much useless. (Not even any cash drink tickets.)
Oh, and there's a Squid Sisters banner you can use for your Splashtag. I'm not gonna use it though.


The Inkopolis DLC actually really upsets me. Not just because its value is approximately nil, but because the Train Station to travel there is permanently on your user interface even if you haven't gotten the Expansion Pass and have no interest in doing so. If you do select it from the menu, you'll be brought to the Train Station and prompted to buy the Expansion Pass from the Nintendo eShop. That's very similar to the scummy tactics of Mario Kart 8's DLC, which got me to stop playing Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, and the badwill was enough for me to never buy Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch, either. The only difference here is that I actually trust that the Side Order story DLC will be worth $25, and I want to do something with Inkopolis for March 13 for this website.

The Kraken Royale Special Weapon is fun to avoid when an enemy uses it, but not at all fun when playing Tower Control and an invincible Kraken is on the tower. I think that it should be patched to accelerate the depletion of Kraken Royale's duration while on the tower, similar to using Big Bubbler on the tower. Meanwhile, no one knows how to use Super Chump effectively.

There were many efforts in the patch to increase counterplay against the Crab Tank without actually touching the Crab Tank directly. Crab Tank is the dominant special weapon in the metagame, which was very apparent to me while watching the livestreams of the last Nintendo competitive Splatoon 3 event a few months back. They also added a bunch of signs and random barriers in many of the stages to reduce the effectiveness of long-range weapons like the Crab Tank and Chargers, and they're kind of ridiculous:


Splatoon 3 version 3.0.0 barriers signs Eeltail Alley maps block long range distance weapons
This barrier wasn't here before version 3.0.0.
It blocks Chargers, Splatlings, Crab Tanks, and my Trizooka from having a good shot from this spot.
There are many barriers like this in other maps. At least it's more places to throw a Sprinkler?


It's aesthetically unpleasing, and while it does help dislodge perched backliners if they want to actually be able to see in front of them, the better solution would be to change the fundamental map design to be less linear and provide more flanking opportunities. The new map, Um'ami Ruins, doesn't really provide this.

Right now, there is a Big Run going on. And I've played enough to encounter Horrorboros. It's a giant flying and long monster that shoots out big bombs from its mouth. Similar to Steelhead, if you shoot the bomb enough, it'll explode in Horrorboros's mouth and it won't be able to attack for a little while, and it'll also do some damage. Horrorboros ought to appear in normal Salmon Runs after Big Run is over, and may appear instead of Cohozuna at times. Right now, my Big Run 2 record is 120 golden eggs, but I know that won't be anywhere near enough. They also will have a Salmon Run event called Eggstra Work, but I'll write about that separately when the time comes.



Ludwig wants to go back to playing more Splatoon 3 right now. Let him know if you'd like to challenge him to a Tableturf Battle or something. There is also a new feature called Pools, but he hasn't gone too much into it and he won't make one for KoopaTV.


Ludwig published an article for MAR13 Day 2023 using the Inkopolis DLC.
Ludwig published his thoughts on Eggstra Work here.
One quarter later, and 4.0.0 is out with the Sizzle Season 2023.

2 comments :

  1. I also got the DLC, and I got really disappointed that the Squid Sisters don’t bring the news. Nintendo had a chance to do something right from the very start, but I guess they’re gonna save it for next season as “improvements” that should’ve been there from the FIRST day the game came out. Why couldn’t they add the option to change your weapon between anarchy battles?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't understand the purpose of being able to visit the Squid Sisters yet get no news dialogue from them!
      All of the shopkeepers do get their own dialogue, however. But Shelly reuses Sheldon's weapon explanations.

      Delete

We embrace your comments.
Expect a reply between 1 minute to 24 hours from your comment. We advise you to receive an e-mail notification for when we do reply.
Also, see our Disclaimers.

Spamming is bad, so don't spam. Spam includes random advertisements and obviously being a robot. Our vendor may subject you to CAPTCHAs.

If you comment on an article that is older than 60 days, you will have to wait for a staffer to approve your comment. It will get approved and replied to, don't worry. Unless you're a spambot.