Why Splatoon 3 Has NO META (And What It Means) 

By the way if you enjoy this video I would recommend these. I talked a bit more about the negatives and kit problems this game has here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jwg7ksZMcqg.htmlsi=Vfvcg4GhhMHH4nRu I talk about good meta weapons and how they work here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Vd4M6Tc0DBw.htmlsi=WC9XMq0EbADutaSI

I see it as splatoon really putting “chaos” in the game because your constantly switching it up and having fun i think that’s what makes splatoon special.

I think this is the best time for casual and competitive players alike to try new weapons which is really good for the game. It's easy to try new weapons bc very few are REALLY weak to where u can't use them

I know from being a hardcore Masters Overwatch player that it's not too unheard of for some pro players to prefer when there's a clear defined meta, even preferring mirror match ups sometimes, but personally I love the stages of meta discovery and uncertainty in games. I do agree the lack of team playstyle diversity in current Splatoon high levels sucks but I think the oversimplified maps are also partly exacerbating that issue. Having clear defined comps with unique functioning playstyles is extremely fun, but also being able to play to your natural strong suits and what parts you like is extremely fun too. Ideally you get a little bit of the best of both

Honestly, after not playing for over 3 weeks, getting back to seeing so many weapon varieties in solo, turf, and rank, it's a breath of fresh air. Cause, let's be honest, comp affects solo one way or another

Now this is true splatoon, where everything is unpredictable but filled with fun and enjoyment. I personally do not hate or dislike metas but having no meta feels better. Also why does this feel like Order vs Chaos

I honestly love how there is no meta. I want more games like this with high variety. Literally the "Meta" is your weapon/unit/class and how you play it. This has been so much fun!🔥🔥🔥

I really hope this "no meta" game sticks. having a variety of options that can work, is honestly very refreshing, and players won't have to be as worried about whether they can survive with the weapons they like to play. I know this status of the game will probably go away with the next update, but a guy can hope

I'm playing aggro scoped E-liter and it's working. Splatoon's meta is at it's peak

If competitive players can play the weapons they like playing and get good results with it, that sounds great. I hear it’s easier to enjoy a game when your playin*it in a way you enjoy

can’t wait to see how the meta and viable weapons shake up in the new season!

You know, I am curious on where Pencil is gonna end up by next season. Now that it’s getting another kit (and a more defensive one at that) I wonder how much further exploration the weapon will get as a result as Pencil has been a rags to riches story completely uncommon for most weapons

I know that the meta is very important to competitive Splatoon, but I love the idea that this current ‘meta’ is mainly surrounding each individuals playstyle and preferences. It’s nice to know that nobody is gonna get forced into a weapon they don’t have fun with :D

As a casual player, this is great, 'cause it's not like I can make a comp with my random teammates anyway. I can definitely see how this isn't as great in a team environment though- while playing solo you just have to be strong alone, in a team it makes sense to have synergy between weapons, not just individually being strong with your weapon.

I am jealous of how much freedom and innovation the Splatoon Balance team gets. It seems fun to try and balance, unlike the sinkhole that is COD games

I wonder if the lack of playstyle diversity compared to weapon diversity is because of tacticooler. From what I understand it favours fast comps with how its designed so if you have it on your team you are going to play fast even if you have something like a tent on your team. So, what if it was given some more minor benefits alongside a reduction in special saver? Doing things like making the arrows not show up for players that have ninja squid when they're moving slowly would let weapons that played stealthily before tacticooler 'meta' like the rollers be able to use ninja squd more, giving them more playstyle options. For options against tacticooler, making the Haunt and Respawn Punisher abilities add 1 second to your respawn timer and take more of your special when you have the tacticooler buff should make those options useful again without hard-countering Tacticooler. Hopefully the new splattercolour screen will mix things up as well by somewhat controlling the pace of the game. Of course the fact that so many weapons are viable is great, but it would be nice if we had more playstyle options

we are living in a joyous and whimsical era for the next 2 weeks until the season patch drops and then theres *probably* gonna be a meta again enjoy it while you can folks

Wasn’t trizooka the meta like a month ago

Maybe its just being naive but when watching tournaments, I could still see differences in playstyle (FTW’s agressive comp vs fiesta’s special oriented comp) and I think some buffs to comp changing weapons like brellas, rollers, and blasters could push the meta into a very varied era. Also a nerf to tacticooler would help 😭

3:38 i just love how *broken* kraken is😂

i prefer a game with no meta than a game with an overwhelming meta. I played mk8dx during the time where walugi wiggler was everywhere and it wasn't pretty or fun. we saw what splatoon with a defined meta looks like in splatoon 2, too, and it was samey, stally, uninteresting and made entire WEAPON CLASSES AND PLAYSTYLES completely nonviable. i like that you can choose basically any weapon and make it WORK as opposed to splatoon 2 where some weapons were straight up unusable.

The irony is the competive scene was complaining that there are options that are too strong. Now it sounds like they are complaining there aren't options strong enough over anything else. I guess yiu can't please these people, lol.

You should have just made the thumbnail the Megamind meme XD "No meta...?"

I feel like the main effect of a clearly defined meta is consistency. Something that's only really a plus if you're a pro player and want to be able to plan your team to either utilize or counter the meta. But for your average player? Having a very set in stone meta mostly feels oppressive. Plus if you're in solo queue, you don't really have any options to engage with the meta in an interesting way, because so much is up to the whims of matchmaking. I also doubt this state of affairs will last. I'm sure certain weapons and tactics will naturally float to the top. It might just take a while if the best options aren't as far ahead. There will be a meta - it is an (often unpleasant) inevitability. But if it's a more diverse meta that isn't oppressive? Well, that leaves a lot more room for interesting rogue strategies to still succeed. Hopefully we don't see some bad balance changes happen that throw things into a more oppressive meta.

So there is so much good option that nothing is overwhelming in the meta

I think my thoughts are summed up by “every comp has holes in it” and that right there is the “meta” of Splatoon 3. Every team has their weak points no matter what gear or weapon and using that knowledge to gain an advantage on the opposing team is where the strategy lies. I don’t know why anyone would want to throw themselves at an infallible team comp. It’s not that nothing is good in the game it’s that nothing is TOO good so people can just cling onto that to rake in wins.

Its important people know this is a COMPETETIVE issue, not a solo issue. (So please dont start complaining about it when you lose a solo game)

All of this is happening because of cooler. A good cooler player negates most if not all of the risk of playing something experimental because there’s little to no risk of losing a fight. It’s also the reason everyone has the same play style right now, because the strategy is just wait for cooler then go, it doesn’t matter what weapon you pick because no matter what you choose you’re going to wait for cooler and then go.

As someone who wants to at least try to be "casually competitive" I love this state of the game. I can be competitive and do good without having to use weapons I don't like.

"There is no Easter Bunny, there is no Tooth Fairy, and there is no splatoon 3 meta"

*Video talks about team who got decent results with the weapons they liked* Goo Tuber mains: "So you're saying there's a chance?"

Meta: Exists Competitive Players: OMG everyone is using the same thing, this makes the game so predictable and boring! Meta: stops existing Competitive Players: OMG everyone is using different things, this makes the game so unpredictable and boring! ... I can't understand you people...

"No diversity" my ass. It's no diversity when everyone is playing the same exact team comp just because it's broken. Weapons aren't suddenly playing drastically differently just because they aren't OP. Just means we aren't seeing teams all using the same few weapons all the time. That IS more diversity. I understand high level players wanting consistency, but they can just say that instead of basically lying about the definition of "diversity" to get people to agree with them.

variety is one of my favourite things about splatoon. in a lot of other shooter games you're expected to play a specific set with a specific play style. more flexibility & freedom is a lot more fun as a player AND a viewer

I love how there are many powerful weapons and it makes the game fun.

No meta?

Bro, the whole “people playing weapons they enjoy” is SO cool. There’s no “since this weapon is meta, you’ve gotta learn it,” just whatever you think you’re strongest with is what you pick. Such a good time for the game, hopefully some special doesn’t get buffed ridiculously and push the game into a bad time

no meta is the best for those who want to develop skill and those with skill to flourish the most. it is also good for those want to start out because NOW you do not HAVE to go for a specific comp. which is hard to get in solo queue for example. this may seem bad at first for tournaments BUT its the dream state of any developer for the over all player base. and for right now i can only say this to that one tweet: "homogenized? no. it's just skill issue on your part. GIT GUT"

That’s the thing though: from a casual standpoint (aka most of the playerbase) this is an absolute win. I understand why this is a problem for competitive players, and I’m sure there’s a workaround somewhere, but for now, I’m personally fine with this.

Finally, the evil has been defeated, i've always had the opinion that having a meta can be very detramental for individuality in competitive games, feeling like you have to play a certain way just to have even standing instead of finding your own niche and enjoying it, i am glad recently the meta is nothing but a thing of the past, let's just hope it stays that way

The notion of there being a big variety of weapons but not a lot of variety in play styles makes a lot of sense actually. The main constant being cooler basically forces every team to play around cooler to some extent (aggro) Im hoping for a cooler change next patch

Finally i can play my sub power up based hyper agressive vunder gear set without being judged!

"No one has found a composition that can stand up to everything" Is that supposed to be a bad thing? I mean I kinda get the argument, that because there are no meta comps then there are also no counter meta comps so it sorta doesn't matter what the enemy team has because it all kinda evens out instead of the more dynamic shifting to other comps to counter the enemy team's comp, but still it seems like a self countering argument as you want both a balanced game *and* a distinct meta? Doesn't the mere existence of a "meta" imply imbalance?

Honestly it's good that the game has no meta, because truly, "meta" is basically just "everyone uses this thing," which can make the game really repetitive and boring. Obviously, some weapons in this game are better than others, but you can use almost anything and still perform well.

I agree with the idea that Splatoon 3 suffers from a lot of really weak kits, though. The Jet Squelcher and Big Swig are stuck with 2 kits consisting of very weak subs paired with supportive specials. The Sploosh is burdened with two kits that do nothing to alleviate the weapon's fundamental flaws. The L-3 Nozzlenose has to choose between having a good special and a bad sub, or a good sub and a special that does very little for the weapon. There's weapons like the Classic Squiffer and Krak-On Splat Roller whose sub-special combos seem to prioritize being a cute reference to Splatoon 1 over having fluid synergy with their respective weapons. There's weapons with good kits, don't get me wrong, but there's a *lot* of stinkers, even moreso than previous games imo.

I literally don't understand what the criticism of this current state of the meta is. To me, it sounds like people are saying "Bad news guys, this meta isn't literally solved by a single weapon. Now, you have to play a variety of weapons you enjoy while trying to keep good team fundamentals. Who would want that, right?" Like, me? That sounds rad, actually. The problem with FLC's critique is that the previous metas were not innovative at all. They all filtered into dominant strategies, usually surrounding multiple of a shooter with a meta special and a bomb. The meta would deadlock because often the best answers to the meta weapons were the meta weapons themselves, which is the terminal point of stale, immovable metas.

Nah im sorry but calling being able to pick whatever weapons homogenized is crazy. Imo only being able to pick splash and machine is homogenized asf

You knw what's funny? A single player's set-up right now could almost never be OP unless you're just some GOD at splatoon, but MULTIPLE set ups would be over power as HELL! It feels almost like actualy TEAMWORK, IS the most overpower option.... Sucks for people like me who have no friends that play Splatoon as much as I do though..........RIP! :(((

I mean, its true, if I were a comp player and there was no true best weapon, then I'd use what weapons I'm good with. I'd rather play dark tetras then Naut, because I have more experience with dark tetras. But, that's just my take, I am in no way a comp player nor do I have the skill to be one.

My thoughts sparked from Jared's and FLC's perspectives: In a game where mechanical skill and objective difference in quality of options both play a significant role, what we think of as being "Meta" is the options that are so strong that a poorer mechanical performance with a good option is better than a stronger performance with a subpar option. If at top levels of play, teams can find success playing what they want to be good at and not just the numerically strongest options, while there still being room to choose options that synergize with their teammates., then I'd say that's the ideal scenario. Especially for a game which wants to work in both a solo-que setting and for organized teams. The truly perfect scenario would be literally any teamcomp being viable at top play if the team plays to their strengths juuust right. More realistically, the stage right before the tipping point where something becomes strong enough to be required by the meta, but playing to the individual player's strengths and preferences still matters a bit more than playing the optimal composition seems like the best place you can get to be.

They did it. They made the most chaotic game

Love that there's more scripted content than gameplay clips, I know It's pretty difficult to keep up the quality and to not drop quantity so mad respects to you man. You're becoming one of my favourite youtubers 🙌

I think this is true right now but it might not matter once it hits like mid December when people get more used to splatcolor screen. Splatcolor screen is a new special, and if another weapon gets it other than undercover, it could be very imp active on the meta!

The reason I love ProChara make these type of analysis videos focused around the meta is because he actually gets evidence and opinions from other people like Jared and FLC. That way, I'm not just watching a guy rant about some random hot takes and thoughts he has about the game. ProChara makes videos around the community, rather than just rant about opinions with little to no evidence that could support his statement. This is why ProChara is one of the best Splatoon player out there.

Time to try and make Hydra work again

I sort of saw this coming as more and more kits came out. I don't think a lot of the kits in s3 are super bad, but it's just seemed like the devs have been trying to introduce more weapon diversity with the kinds of aggressive and defensive kits they've been making for all the weapons. We finally got an aggressive blob lobber, something I've been desperately wanting. We're also, finally, getting a more utility-based, defensive [or at least semi-defensive] undercover. We got a more passive but semi-aggressive big swig. These are all things I was really happy to see, because it means more people who like those weapons will be able to try them out and might be able to find something to fit their style. And that also bleeds into comp play too. I think it was Pika's team, but I remember there being one team that said, basically, that they 'would never put a trizooka weapon in someone's hands if they aren't comfortable using it, just because it has trizooka.' And I really liked that. I wished more teams played like that, around each other and everyone's strengths and weaknesses. _Not_ just the strong or weak kits. When you have a team that can pick up on your weaknesses and strengths and make up for what you lack, or play around your styles and vice versa - idk. I just think that's really cool. And this 'no meta' state we're in right now kind of pushes that up more.

I have never been to the competitive scene in any of the 3 game and I'll probably won't get involved. But, in my opinion, the "no meta" problem exists because teams don't know how to have a unique playstyle. It's easy to pick the "meta comps" and get good with them, but picking the weapon that is the best for YOU and has synergy with ALL members of YOUR team is preaty hard. It needs dedication from all the members because you need to fine-tune it to all of your playstyles. And that needs a team that won't break after 3 months. Personally, I LOVE this era of Splatoon! I'm going online and having fun! I have something like 12 weapons that I'm picking to play! It's amazing!

VIDEO 30!! of commenting on charas videos til crb releases

I feel like the "no meta is bad" discourse is the sort of thing that can almost only exist up from a certain level of play, and is gonna inevitably confuse 95% of us relative normies, even with attempts at explanation. Notions I'm hearing here, such as that comps should be able to cover everything or that there are no good kits in the game (not sure if meant as cause and effect) and nothing feels good to play, and that there is apparently a lack of playstyle diversity, is so far out there for me, that I feel like I just have no concept of what any of what is said there actually means. It feels like an entirely different world, man. As a probably average player who likes to think I'm at least decent, discussion of such a topic feels very exclusive and I could only observe it, because I don't understand it on a deep enough level. I may or may not be overcomplicating in my head, but that's just the feeling I get from it all.

I feel like what would improve this unique and strange position the game is in is if more specials were as viable and impactful as Cooler, Jet, Crab, Inkjet, and the others. While, of course, each special has a niche to occupy, it would make more options viable and change _how_ teams play from match to match.

Am I missing something? Players get to pick the weapons they are comfortable with the most and can enjoy their weapon choices, right? So why does it feel like there's a complaint in the video. I am lost. Even if there is a defined meta and clear weapons to run, the teams still need to play their best, adapt, and use their mechanics to outplay the other team. Now that there's more freedom, shouldn't the teams just try to see how to master their weapons even further, develop new coordination strategies, improve communication, and other things to improve in this new environment, rather than complain about there not being a defined meta? I don't know, maybe there wasn't a complaint about no meta in this video. I just felt the vibe that there was a complaint. I'm the type of person that values more options over less options. So I got confused.

Don’t understand why people are acting like being able to play any weapon you find fun as long as you’re sufficiently skilled rather than being forced to play a super narrow meta is a bad thing 💀

I’m a little confused about meta (like everyone playing trizooka or crab or three of one weapon on a each team) isn’t considered homogenized, but freedom to play whatever weapon you want… whenever you want.. is considered homogenized? I get the idea behind not knowing what team will blitz through the opposition, but Meta Team vs Meta Killer team will always result in Meta killer team winning which sounds boring to me. With Meta gone you never know who’s going to win and I feel like that’s half the fun. A close match feels better than a knockout. Either way this feels more in line with the games style (random matchups) and the theme of the 3rd game (chaos).

You used Tent as an example because you wanted to show that clip didn't you...

I won't say there's absolutely no meta until someone finds a competitive use for aerospray

Honestly quite like it. It means theres less of dealing with the same over and over again, and allows for experimentation and ones personal preferance to have a chance. If anything the real thing that'd need tweaking from here is obviously the maps, so that we can work around it and the obstacles it'll bring to find strategies with weapons for each that are viable. Of course maps have been an issue for a while with Crableg and Shipshape being good steps in the right direction but they and Flounder are still the exception in this game rather than the norm.

Fuck the meta. Let the chaos of Splatoon 3 reign supreme.

¨the only choices left are in you play style¨ soooo like what really good sports are? that you can do you and win? wow yeah that sounds terrible flc

Splatoon 3 does have a meta, but most players nowadays don't wanna get into the competitive scene due to the toxicity.

Much rather have no meta than 4 shooter never engage unless you have special meta

I played 2 competitively for a bit and have followed 3, I genuinely can't understand wanting meta is Splatoon after a majority of the metas we've had are garbage for the game's health (trislosher, crab, etc), I think what we need is a bolstering of playstyle diversity. On top of that, I also think part of this is people are addicted to overwhelmingly strong options in Splatoon. Now that a lot of weapons are usable, it's harder to option select things and have the strongest option guaranteed, which I feel competitive players unwittingly prefer. This all goes to why all competitive players aren't game designers, they have their biases.

Video 7 of commenting on Chara videos till brella gets fixed

I do really think that this meta is still very much developing. Though Trizooka's strength in the meta and the subsequent semi-falloff into this meta confusion state following 5.1 is something that probably should be studied under a microscope lol, it's so weird

Meta this, Meta that Have any of y’all meta girl?

I really like how there really isn't a meta anymore, sure we have objectively better weapons and kits but we get to see more varieties, the big competitive teams played what they were comfortable with and I think this goes to show how the game is probably in its best state yet!

Ok, im just gonna say this from my casual point of view, i think youre really reaching to find a bad thing about the no meta, considering this no meta means that people can just have fun playing a weapon they like, id rather be on the same level as everyone else as a brella main if it means sacrificing my original playstyle. If it means every weapon gets a chance then im all for it! A really light meta would be perfect, i think a couple changes to some specials and it could make the game feel really good!

I can’t speak much to play styles but I can say as a dualie squelcher player, I am thriving for two reasons: - the game allows for an aggressiveness that came naturally to me but didn’t fit in splatoon 2 - the ranking system actually allows me to rank up (In splatoon 2, I never escaped A+ except for in splat zones. In 3 I passed A+ in two days.)

It’s about nothing more than aim and strategy

do we perhaps have multiple "sub-metas"? as in remember when blaster counter'd brella, countered shooter? yeah that, but with entire metas or comps? maybe cooler > crab > zooka?

I think what this lack of Meta really means is we're at a point where nothing aside from maybe Tacticooler is in serious need of a nerf. However, there are still plenty of weapons in need of BUFFS.

Now that all weapons are equally balanced, let's make the map design and mode design more chaotic! Also, it's kind of crazy that Splatoon, not any other shooter before it, accidentally made the most balanced META in the world.

flc is just wrong flawwed comps are good

I actually miss playing Kshot in 2, when LDE and Missiles were so broken. Sure, it created a "toxic" meta, but at least there were weapons that had an answer to everything. I've experienced way more matches in Splatoon 3 where it genuinely felt impossible to win because every weapon in this game is, frankly, too weak.

Hell yeah, I'm about to usher in bamboozler meta >:)

I'm not caught up with competitive because I never know when their events are happening, so just on a level of principle, I'm more excited by weapon choice being more unpredictable, variable, and based on personal favorites over viability. I think it's just fun to see what everyone truly likes to play-it's like getting a glimpse into their core identity!

cools

I think I prefer it. I like not feeling locked into a weapon and being stuck playing one single mindset for weeks on end. Granted, I don't play in a highly competitive aspect, but I am playing in the competitive-casual area. . .Admittedly I'm not a very strong player, and while I've picked up VShot recently for Trizooka and Zap for Cooler. . . I still like knowing my team at least isn't going to be furious with me for wanting to randomly pick blob for a map or something I don't consistantly play while I'm trying to expand my weapon pool (Still working on Naut which I am very bad at for example. . .because I can't for the life of me play ballpoint effectively).

Nearly everything about this sounded like a good thing to me. The lack of playstyle diversity being the one big downside, but I didn't see a ton of that even in previous metas.

I'm glad there are no metas right now. But I noticed a strange surge in gold areospray being ran a lot since this October. I wonder if due to there being no meta right now people are just looking for something to spam until chill season.

I'm sorry, but any competitive players complaining they have to win now with skill instead of playing with/around op meta stuff are dumb. Players should absolutely have the freedom to play the weapons they like and to beat others through mechanics/strategy. I cannot take anyone whining about this seriously.

Heya Chara, I always hear about how tourneys like this happened, but I never know when any of them are happening beforehand as someone who's trying to get into the competitive scene. Can you recommend a way people newer to the tourney scene like me can keep tabs on what's coming up? I'd really appreciate it!

"SPLATOON HAS NO META" we literally had full teams of Splash and even Ballpoint. But is true right now the game feels more balance and you see a lot of different weapons

You're still locked into picking something that works with cooler and has a good killing kit. This is the most unga bunga caveman meta the game has ever had even compared to s1 where no one had good comms

Does anyone know where I can watch a vod of 20XX?

I love that this meta feels like anarchy which also has tie-ins with the anarchy themes of Splatoon.

So basically, it's more like Ranked solos but with team coordination.

Yugioh is in a similar situation right now, a bit different, besides the part about it being a card game instead of a 3rd person shooter. The exact reason is a bit different, instead of everything being underwhelming, it's just that there's a large number of things that are good. To the point where you can't account format everything. Snake-eye Rescue ace, Snake-eye infernoble, unchained, Mannadium, purrly, some kind of dragon link horus deck, I'm pretty sure I heard PK horus. The format is all over the place, and as I said, you can't really account for everything.

Luci, if youre reading this, I'm absolutely loving throwing in the Xenoblade music

I just wished it was balanced. The bottom 50% of the weapons are just not worth using. Who’s picking explosher or undercover and getting results?

'Meta' should always be avoided when possible, its such a damaging thing to player expression, especially at top level play where the opportunity for individual skills to come through are at an alltime high. People keep talking about how while the weapon pool is very diverse, the playstyles havent followed suit. The problem with that statement is; how diverse were they before exactly? How diverse were crab meta playstyles compared to now? Cooler meta? Pretty much the same. I'd much rather see teams pick weapons they personally love using and can do some truly crazy stuff with, even if the comps don't feel 'strong'.