On October 20th, Splatoon's update 2.2.0 will be made available for download. This update contains a long list of changes and overhauls to everything from weapons to stages and rulesets. It aims to rebalance the game and create more even gameplay for its players.

Nintendo has made the full list of Splatoon patch notes available here. Some notable changes detailed include significant adjustments to over 25 different weapons. The roller weapons have decreased in power, now requiring players to hit their opponents with the center of the roller in order to splat them in one hit. Players can also no longer splat in one hit when the roller is out of ink.

The free inkbrush DLC has seen a useful buff and will now use 10% less ink whilst running, allowing players to go longer without having to recharge. Also, the special Inkzooka weapon will now require a 0.92 second cooldown period in between uses which is going to feel very long to players who are used to the current 0.55 second wait.

Ranked Battle has also seen several game adjustments. The gamemode Splat Zones will now allow the leading team's Special Gauge to charge, even when the counter for both teams is stopped, however it will charge faster when the counter is active. On Tower Control, the team that currently has control of the tower will gradually charge their Special Gauge, regardless of who is in the lead. As ever, once a team has a full Special Gauge, they can unleash their Special Weapons.

The ranking system has been changed in order to make ranked matches more even overall. S+ rank players will now be partnered up with other S+ ranks more frequently. S rank players will be matched with the higher S+ ranked players less often than they currently are and will also gain more rank points than those players in an effort to allow for easier climbing in the rankings. Players will also generally gain more rank points for a win and lose less for a loss than they did previously, allowing players to gain ranks faster and making it easier to retain them, once earned.

This update will hopefully see a more balanced Splatoon experience for all. The popular shooter has received much praise for its improvements since its launch earlier this year and only appears to be getting better with each update. With the additions of extra maps, multiplayer modes, and weapons, the game keeps on growing and the community is still extremely active. This is further helped by the themed Splatfest events that occur from time to time such as the recent Transformers themed fest.

All things considered, this 2.2.0 update seems like a huge overhaul to Nintendo's popular first-party title. Since its release, the company has not stopped releasing more content for the already positively reviewed title and this patch will hopefully only serve to further people's opinions of the game.

Splatoon is available exclusively for the Wii U. Update 2.2.0 will be made available on October 20th.