Splatoon 2 details X Rank and 3.0 update changes

Move over Ride to Hell, we got a new 1%

Via the game’s Tumblr account, Nintendo have revealed some details on the upcoming overhaul of arena-shooter Splatoon 2. These include details on the all new X Rank and other notes on the game’s 3.0 update, all of which should come into play late-April.

X Rank will become the new top-tier for online play. All players who are currently S+10 and above will be re-registered as X Rank once version 3.0 goes live. To put that in perspective, as of February, only 1% of all Splatoon 2 players fit into that category, so it’s going to be a pretty exclusive club.

X Rank players will have a new target, as the standard Rank meter will be replaced by the awesome-sounding X-Power meter. Players with the highest X-Power at the end of the month will be proudly announced on SplatNet 2, then the meters will be reset for the following month.

In other 3.0 news, there is the possibility that the weekly weapons will be dropped in favour of multiple weaponry arriving in batches monthly. No reason has been given for this, nor a date for when the new delivery method will roll out. Stage rotation is also being tweaked in Ranked mode. Rather than having 20 stages rotate across four types of battle, now only 8 stages will rotate, with the selection being replaced by another 8 from the pool each month. This is done as the team believe it was taking to long for stages and modes to get back to the “front of the queue”, so to speak.

It’s an exciting time to be a Splatoon 2 player. Adding to all these tweaks is the Octo Expansion DLC, bringing with it lots of new content. Hopefully this will all keep the ink wars alive and well for the rest of 2018 and beyond.

Splatoon 2 X Rank and Ver. 3.0 changes [Official Tumblr]