Splatoon tips, tricks and hints to help you stay fresh | Technobubble

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Want some extra money? How about that Hero Suit or the cool-looking Octoling armor for online play? Maybe you just want to be the Handsome Squidward of your team and stand out. Well, buddy, here's all you need to know — well, almost all you need to know — to get you on the right track with Nintendo's new colorful shooter Splatoon.

Camera control: Splatoon's default controls let you control horizontal camera movement with your right stick but not vertical movement, which is done via motion with the Wii U tablet's gyro. Personally, I find this quicker for aiming but folks who are used to traditional console shooters might prefer having full camera control on their right stick. Well, that and the fact that using motion controls for the camera might make people with shaky hands puke from motion sickness. You can change camera control by either turning motion controls on or off under options.

Fly on the wall: Painting walls are great for reaching other areas of the map. Just don't obsess over coloring them as walls do NOT count toward your painted area totals.

Cat's meow: Splatoon's cat judge Judd ain't only good at falling out of trees while grabbing a coconut (as sassy Inkling hosts Callie and Marie like to say). He's also got deep pockets and likes to share coin to good, little Splatters via a daily reward. Talk to him after you're done battling online and he'll give you some moolah based on how well you perform. You can get a sense of how you're doing via your "Vibe Meter," which is that green bar that shows whether you're "Chill" "Toasty" or "Smokin'," for example.

Stack Ability: Speaking of the ever-so-helpful Judd, did you know that you can stack ability effects by equipping multiple pieces of gear with the same ability? At least that's what everyone's favorite fluffy feline says. You get diminishing returns on the power of the effect, however, so Judd says it's usually better to equip different effects instead.

Nice threads: Gear for the story and online modes are typically separate in Splatoon. But did you know that you can get some free clothing that you can use online by finishing the story campaign? I got the Hero Suit and the Octoling ensemble — the gear worn by those elite Octarian assassins — after dispatching the last boss so make sure to wrap up the campaign, too, for some extra style options.

Service Spyke: On the east side of the Plaza, you'll see an alley with some dude sporting a sea urchin-type hairdo. That guy is Spyke, and he can actually hook you up with some neat stuff despite looking a bit sketch. Talk to him and you'll be able to start ordering the clothes worn by other folks in the plaza. Eventually, he can start adding ability slots to your gear, too, for some added boosts in battle.

Super Jump: Properly utilizing your super jump can spell the difference between a loss and a runaway win or even a comeback victory. The Super Jump allows you to teleport to a teammate's location by tapping on their squid icon on the Wii U tablet map. Although this is commonly used by respawning players so they don't waste time getting back to the front, I also use this to switch locations once I'm done painting one area and want to get closer to unpainted or enemy territory for added efficiency. I also use it to back up teammates or as an option to leave an area if too many of my teammates are in the same spot, which leaves large sections of the map susceptible to enemy control. Remember, time is money in online battles. Just keep in mind that super jumping can occasionally leave you open for an ambush if you land close to an enemy. For the campaign, you can use the super jump to move to kettles you've already unlocked.

Turning point: Mobility is a big deal in Splatoon, whether it be getting to places quick or ensuring proper positioning in a battle. To do a quick turn while swimming through ink in squid mode, let go of the ZL button, quickly push the directional stick where you want to turn then quickly press ZL again. This works in any direction, including going backward.

Stick and move: Going back to "time is money," a good strategy for covering lots of ground quickly during turf battles is to shoot ink then swim through it all the way to the end then resume shooting unpainted areas (or areas in your foes' color) and repeat the process. This lets you paint more ground faster in online turf battles. For rollers, if you're in the same area as a teammate who's painting ahead of you, just swim through the paint until you reach an area that needs painting and resume your rolling duties. Remember, you don't get points for inking over areas painted in your team's colors.

Tanks a lot: See that tank behind your back? In addition to looking cool, it also provides a visual representation of how much ink you've got left. So make sure you check it after extended inking to make sure you're ready to submerge when you're almost out.

Inking of you: Ink isn't only good for moving fast or making a fast retreat when you're overmatched, you can also use it to be as sneaky as John Turturro in Mr. Deeds and ambush unsuspecting foes. Add the Ninja Squid ability and you can start doing some Mr. Burns-level evil hand rubbing. Just be smart when doing so as you don't want to be waiting in one spot while rubbing your tentacles and snickering like a movie villain, only to find out the opposing team overwhelmed your allies and painted three-fourths of the map while you were waiting and not checking your tablet map.

Pop and splat: If you hold the ZL button to hide in ink and then press the ZR button, this'll allow you to pop up and shoot enemies then immediately hide back into cover when you let go of ZR (while ZL is still pressed). This is especially useful in the campaign when you're facing several Octarian octopus baddies at the same time and quickly need to hide your presence quickly after popping off a shot.

High life: Elevated spots aren't only good for picking off foes below for ranged weapons, they're also great for painting areas below as it makes your paint splats spread better.

Tentacle retreat: If things are looking fishy during a battle with a foe, there's no shame in retreating to regroup and reposition. If you're low on friendly ink, just spray a quick escape route and dive away. Ducking into corners can help, too.

Roller derby: As someone who has taken down my fair share of rollers by using ranged weapons and also being an avid user of the darned thing, I can say from experience that the roller is not OP. To beat a roller from medium to relatively close range, the most common tactic is to simply walk backward while shooting at them. You can also use ink bombs and mines depending on the situation. Charge weapon users might have a harder time at closer range when facing a roller who's good at dodging but a well-timed bubble shield can help you out. Otherwise, charge weapons own rollers from long range, especially from an elevated position. For roller users, don't neglect your splat attack, which is that move you do the first time you put the roller to the ground. This actually gives you some much needed splat range and lets you take out fellow rollers without having to do a double suicide. It's also great for getting paint on the high points of walls and also splattering foes on elevated positions if you're right below them.

Nice shortcut: Exploring the Splatoon town hub is nice and all but don't forget to use the shortcuts on your Wi U tablet display to get to certain places or modes faster. These include the various stores as well as the campaign and online modes.

Autograff-iti: Wanna have your Miiverse posts show up in-game? Just enable the use of Miiverse tags as graffiti under options. You can also post straight to Miiverse by clicking on the mailbox in the town plaza.

Exsquidsite makeover: Not digging your Inklings complexion, eye color or even its gender? You can change those in a jiffy by going to the Options menu and tapping on the Inkling box on the lower left.

Hola, Amiibo: Wanna get some extra mileage from your game? Then try to get your grubby tentacles on Nintendo's Splatoon-themed Amiibos. Each of the Amiibos (Inkling Girl, Boy and Squid at launch), can be used to unlock special challenges, gear and other goodies. The question of course is if you can find them, given how quickly non-mainstream Amiibos sell out.