New Splatoon ranked battle mode comes out tomorrow, 7pm PST

As if last week’s Splatoon update didn’t add enough new content to the game, tomorrow at 7 p.m. squid kids everywhere will be excited to jump into the new game ranked battle mode, Rainmaker.

The goal of Rainmaker is simple: grab the Rainmaker cannon and escort it to the enemy’s base. As soon as the battle begins, players will have to rush out toward the shielded Rainmaker before the other team does. Once an inkling on the team grabs it, it will be their job to carry the giant gun toward the enemy’s spawn point. Sounds simple… right?

The Rainmaker looks like a dragon head attached to a fish body

Unfortunately, escorting the Rainmaker isn’t as simple as carrying it to your enemy base. Beyond the threat of the enemy team trying to splat you to Davy Jones’ Locker, the Rainmaker itself will stop players from using the Super Jump while carrying it. Players will have to work as a team to make sure their teammate that is carrying the Rainmaker doesn’t get turned into calamari.

Thankfully the Rainmaker-bearer has some defenses of their own. The Rainmaker itself is a weapon that fires ink much like the Inkzooka. Unlike the Inkzooka, however, the Rainmaker can be charged up to fire an even more powerful shot, as seen above. The longer you hold the charge, the bigger the shot!

The Rainmaker-bearer has to be careful though. If you backtrack toward your own base too much then the Rainmaker will explode, causing players to have to fight over the shielded superweapon once more.

One last possible feature of tomorrow’s update can be spotted on in this picture here. Found on the official Splatoon Tumblr page, an image of the rumoured Hammerhead Bridge can be found. The map – whose name was found by data-mining the last update – takes place on a suspended bridge. It had been showcased during a Japanese commercial for Splatoon, however, it has yet to be released in the actual game.

Could this mean that Hammerhead Bridge is now ready to play? Will it be released with the Rainmaker patch?

I hope all you splat-battlers are ready for this upcoming patch! Remember, the patch will be coming out tomorrow at 7 p.m. PT (that’s 10 p.m. for ET players). What are you more excited for: the Rainmaker battle, or the new Hammerhead Bridge map? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below and we’ll see you in Inkopolis tomorrow!