I’ve been playing Splatoon in a very relaxed fashion since its release, finishing the single player, doing some Amiibo challenges, logging on for Splatfests, that sort of thing.  I saw people at the level cap of twenty within its first week of release, but I didn’t see any reason to emulate them.  Just playing in a relaxed fashion was about to slowly grind my way up the levels.

Then Nintendo released the August patch notes, which include a level cap increase from 20 to FIFTY.

This comes with a new scoring system, cribbed from the Splatfest system, and I’m not fond of it in the least.

Right now, it’s pretty easy to get about 900 points in a round of Turf War.  I have games where I can hit the 1200 mark and some where I get shut down, but let’s average at 900.  With a win, there’s a bonus of 300 points – an extra 33%.  This is a pretty good perk, but it’s nothing to rant about if you don’t get it.

In Splatfest scoring, you get 2 points on a loss – assuming you’ve done a bare minimum – and 5 points on a win.  That’s an extra 150% win bonus, and it makes losses REALLY sting.

I’m pretty sure I’ll never have the drive to hit level 50.  That said, I wanted to at least TRY to get to 20 before the patch…

…and made it with a couple of days to spare, even, thanks to a string of really good teams.

Splatoon has been a genuinely new experience for me – it’s the first time I’ve ever gotten in to a multiplayer-focused game from the ground floor, and it has been a ton of fun to watch the game evolve.  I’m a little anxious about what the Big Dang Patch is going to bring – the level cap increase also comes with a bunch of map tweaks and special weapon changes – but it’s been a fun ride so far. 🙂