Why do people play Ranked in Splatoon?

I stopped playing Ranked in Splatoon after reaching A-. It's not that I didn't have the confidence to go higher. It just wasn't fun.

But most people who play a lot of Splatoon - the people that still stream to this day, and a lot of high-levels who still play today, still play Ranked. As someone who didn't enjoy Ranked, I wondered why, and I have finally come up with a hypothesis.

The appeal of Ranked shares aspects with gambling. With public Ranked matches, you don't know what kind of teammates you're going to get. You can try all you want, but if your teammates aren't using the right weapons, someone disconnects, or someone is not doing the right things to win the game, you won't win.

There is something at stake in Ranked, namely your Rank. Even if you reach max-rank, it can still go down, and so it remains addictive to those addicted to Ranked. That 'high' of staying on top, or staying high, coupled with the danger of losing Rank, must be very addictive to some people.

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