Splatoon 3 (Comet Gaming, Inc.)

Splatoon 3 is the third installment in the Splatoon series, released for the Nintendo Switch. The game is intended to place a much greater emphasis on competitive play as well as cater to more casual players. The game will be released worldwide on October 26, 2018, and receive planned content updates throughout the rest of 2018, 2019, and possibly 2020. 
==Gameplay==
Splatoon 3 retains the essence of the series' gameplay. Standard matches feature two teams of four players competing in a timed match to be the first to accomplish an objective; the specific objective varies based on the mode. The game will return the four primary modes used in the two predecessors, as well as introduce an undetermined number of new modes.
The game's single-player campaign will be similar to that of Splatoon and Splatoon 2. Several new levels will be added as well as a brand new storyline. This will not be very different from the previous two entries in the series, as Comet Gaming, Inc. is focusing on expanding the multiplayer modes. However, all levels from Splatoon and Splatoon 2 will be available, to be unlocked following completion of the new levels. The levels from the Octo Expansion from Splatoon 2 will be incorporated, as well, creating a large multiplayer campaign with a total of 161 levels.
===Compatibility with Splatoon 2===
If players have Splatoon 2 save data on their Nintendo Switch console, they will be able to import over certain items. These include Super Sea Snails, certain pieces of gear (but not weapons), and more.
===Leveling===
As in the previous two iterations, players have a level, which increases as experience is earned. All players start at level 1 and can go until level 99. The ability to reset at level 99 back to level 1☆ does not work anymore, as players will max out at level 99. However, the experience amount scales accordingly rather than the flat 100,000 experience per level from 50 to 99 in Splatoon 2. At the end, nearly as much experience is needed to go from 50 to 99 in Splatoon 3 as 50 to 99☆ in Splatoon 2. As a reward for the steep experience climbs, players receive large rewards upon leveling up above 50.
==Regular Battle==
Regular Battle is the first of the two primary game modes, aimed to be more of a casual experience when compared to the competitive Ranked Battle mode.
===Turf War===
==Ranked Battle==
Ranked Battle is the second of the two primary game modes, aimed to provide a competitive experience. Unlike Regular Battle, players have a rating based on their performance.
All ranked modes involve the attempt to make a counter go down to 0 from 100. In any mode, if the countdown reaches 0, then the game instantly ends, with the team that reached 0 winning. Otherwise, the team with the lowest amount left on their countdown after five minutes wins. Certain conditions, varying by mode, can trigger an overtime period.
 	Description
Splat Zones 	1-2 different Splat Zones are placed on a map. If there is 1 Splat Zone, it is at the center of the map, while if there are 2, then they are both close to the center, but separated from each other, with one being closer to each team's spawn. If a team manages to control all Splat Zones (by covering them ink), then the timer will begin counting down. If it reaches zero, the team wins a knockout victory. If the timer is stopped by the other team and they proceed to take control, then a penalty is applied to the other team's score.
Tower Control	
Rainmaker 	
Clam Blitz 	
An additional mode called Zapfish Chase was initially in development early on in mid 2017. However, the release of Clam Blitz in Splatoon led Comet Gaming, Inc. to scrap the mode, as Zapfish Chase had very similar rules. The two modes were then essentially combined to form the current Clam Blitz.
==Arena Battles==
A new form of battle will be the Arena Battle, which diverges from the usual format involving two teams of four. Instead, players will be split into four teams. There are two forms of Arena Battles based on team size.
*Large Arena Battle (shortened to LAB) involve four teams of four, creating a total of sixteen players per match. Maps are usually enlarged by at least 50% to accommodate for so many players and come with new structures and passages to facilitate gameplay.
*Small Arena Battle (shortened to SAB) involve four teams of two, creating a total of eight players per match. The size of maps do not change as they are normally built for eight players. However, as before, new structures and passages will be constructed to facilitate gameplay.
Arena Battles are so large in scale that they frequently involve more than one objective, causing significant gameplay shakeups in each mode. See below for an index of how each mode will vary during an Arena Battle.
 	Changes
Splat Zones 	In Splat Zones, there are now a larger number of zones, always in odd numbers. Stages which normally have one Splat Zone now have three, and stages which normally have two now have five. These numbers are not true for every stage (Moray Towers has seven), but this rule is generally true. A major change is that each Splat Zone has its own individual timer, and once that timer reaches zero, the zone permanently remains under the control of the team that owns it. There are several victory conditions.
*If any of the four teams zeroes out a majority of the zones (2 of 3, 3 of 5, 4 of 7), they automatically win a knockout victory. 
*If this does not happen, then victory is determined by the total amount of completely captured zones. For example, a team with two captured zones will win if the others only have one.
*If two teams tie for the total number of captured zones, the tie is broken by the teams' timer for each zone. The team with the lowest sum of their timers in all zones wins the match.
*If all zones on the map end up being completely captured (by different teams), then the game automatically ends as the rankings are already determined.
Tower Control	
Rainmaker 	In the Rainmaker mode, there will be two different Rainmakers and four total pedestals for a total of three that a team can target. One major gameplay change is that after a team makes it to the opposing pedestal, the Rainmaker will return to the center. This creates a variety of victory conditions.
*If any of the four teams secures a knockout at all three opposing pedestals, they instantly win.
*If this does not happen, victory is determined by the total amount of knockouts for each team. A total of twelve knockouts are possible (three for each team). For example, a team with two knockouts will win if all other teams have only one.
*If two teams tie for the total number of knockouts, then the tie is broken by the goal distance for each team. The goal distance for all pedestals is added up, and the team with the lowest distance wins the tie.
*If no team secures a knockout, then the tie will also be broken by goal distance.
Clam Blitz 	
Like in Ranked Battles, players receive a score for their performance in Arena Battles, split up by Small or Large Arena Battles. As in Ranked Battles, these range from C- to X.
==Squad Battle==
Squad Battle returns, serving as a combination of Squad Battle from Splatoon and League Battle from Splatoon 2. Players can form groups of 2, 3, 4, or only for Arena Battles, 6 and 8, to participate in Ranked/Arena Battle modes. Possible pairings differ by mode.
As in League Battle, players can receive a tracking of their Power Rating. The section on Power Rating below will go into more detail on how this metric is tracked.
==Power Rating==
The game will feature a very extensive tracking of "power level", a concept touched upon in the previous two iterations. In Splatoon 3, a player's power level is determined by an internal algorithm analyzing a player's performance in a match independent of the match results. In short, a player's rank in Ranked or Arena Battles is a rough indicator of their overall team performance, while Power Rating is very individual.
Another difference from rank is that overall Power Rating is not tied to any mode. Instead, it encompasses the player's performance over all matches.
Teams used in Squad Battles also have a Power Rating tied to them, although this rating only holds for the exact same combination of players. For example, if players A and B are playing a Squad Battle and hover around a rating of 1800, and then player C joins the two, leading to a rating hovering around 1900, this new rating will not hold if player C leaves the room. Instead, it will revert to the ~1800 rating.
Power Rating	Rank
<1200 	C
1200-1600 	B
1600-2000 	A
2000-2200 	S
2200-2400 	S+
>2400 	X
Unlike in the previous games, players can check their Power Rating at any time, as it is displayed near the player's rank. The player can also check a graph of their all-time Power Rating, with the x-axis interchangeable between real-world time and the number of matches played. 
Ideal matchmaking will involve players with Power Ratings within 20 points of each other, although this is not always the case. The most allowed in any case is a 100 point deviation between the highest Power Rating in a lobby and the lowest.
Every month, Comet Gaming, Inc. will release statistics related to Power Ratings among active players (i.e. players who have played at least 1 match within the last 30 days). Among the statistics released are the mean, median, and quartiles. Additionally, the top 500 players will be ranked every month. Players who make this list have a higher chance of being invited to officially sponsored tournaments.
==Weapons==
A majority of weapons from Splatoon and Splatoon 2 will return. Each weapon comes with an included Sub Weapon and Special Weapon, the majority of which will also return from the prior two games. New weapons will be included in the game, as well.
===Weapon Promotions===
A new feature included in the game are Weapon Promotions. In the previous two games, abilities could be unlocked through gear (hats, shirts, and shoes). Splatoon 3 retains gear but also allows the ability to unlock special, weapon class-specific abilities. For example, a majority of chargers can receive promotions that slightly increase range. Promotions are earned in a specific order by inking a certain amount of turf using the weapon.
The Weapon Promotions for each specific weapon class are listed below. 
# 	Turf 	Shooters	Chargers 	Rollers	Splatlings	Dualies	Brellas	Blasters
1 	1,000 	 	+1% damage 	 	 	 	 	
2 	2,000 	 	+1% mobility	 	 	 	 	
3 	5,000 	 	+1% range 	 	 	 	 	
4 	10,000 	 	+2% range 	 	 	 	 	
5 	25,000 	 	+2% damage 	 	 	 	 	
6 	40,000 	 	+3% mobility	 	 	 	 	
7 	50,000 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
8 	100,000	 	+4% range 	 	 	 	 	
9 	200,000	 	 	 	 	 	 	
10	500,000	 	 	 	 	 	 	
===Main Weapons===
===Sub Weapons===
===Special Weapons===
Most Special Weapons from Splatoon and Splatoon 2 will make a comeback, for a total of fourteen returning weapons; Ink Armor and Bomb Rush are omitted, although the function of the latter is essentially replicated by Bomb Launcher. New Special Weapons are planned, as well.
Name 	Image	Description
Baller 	 	
Bomb Launcher 	 	
Bubbler 	 	
Bubble Blower 	 	
Echolocator 	 	
Inkjet 	 	
Ink Storm 	 	
Inkstrike 	 	
Inkzooka 	 	
Killer Wail 	 	
Kraken 	 	
Splashdown 	 	
Sting Ray 	 	
Tenta Missiles	 	
==Stages==
A majority of stages featured in the original two games will return; some will be modified as well. An undetermined number of new stages will also appear in the game.
===New stages===
TBA
===Returning stages===
Image	Name 	Available
 	Flounder Heightsfrom Splatoon 	Launch
 	Mahi-Mahi Resortfrom Splatoon 	Launch
 	Wall-Eye Warehousefrom Splatoon 	Launch
 	Manta Mariafrom Splatoon 2 	Launch
 	Musselforge Fitnessfrom Splatoon 2 	Launch
 	Shellendorf Institutefrom Splatoon 2	Launch
 	Museum D'Alfonsinofrom Splatoon 	November 30, 2018
 	Moray Towersfrom Splatoon 	December 21, 2018
 	Humpback Pump Trackfrom Splatoon 2 	January 11, 2019
 	Bluefin Depotfrom Splatoon 	February 1, 2019
 	Camp Triggerfishfrom Splatoon 	February 22, 2019
 	MakoMartfrom Splatoon 2 	March 15, 2019
==eSports==
Splatoon 3 aims to foster the growth of an eSports scene. Both Comet Gaming, Inc. and Nintendo will host official tournaments semi-annually.
Comet Gaming, Inc.'s tournaments will take place primarily in the spring and fall. Qualifying rounds take place in late May/November, in which players who wish to participate will play in a variety of officially held tournaments, organized by small. The qualifying round takes the form of a round-robin tournament, in which each team plays many other teams in a best-of-three round, with a map/mode combination determined prior to the start of each round. 
At the end, the teams with the highest overall round victory counts will advance to regional finals in early June/December. These regional finals typically group several countries together, aside from the larger ones which have many participants (such as the United States and Japan). The regional finals are held in the same format as the qualifying rounds. 
The victorious teams then advance to international finals in mid June/December and are seeded in a sixty-four team bracket based on their records in the preliminary and regional rounds. The tournament is single-elimination and the format changes to a best of five until the quarterfinals, where it changes to best of seven. The winning team wins the equivalent of $250,000 plus miscellaneous prizes. The second, third, and fourth placing teams win $100,000, $50,000, and $25,000 respectively, with all other teams winning a $1,000 compensation.
Category:Comet Gaming, Inc.
Category:Lumoshi's Games
Category:Splatoon (series)
Category:Shooter Games
Category:Third Person Shooter Games
Category:Nintendo Switch Games
Category:Fan Games
Category:2018