Nintendo's hit multiplayer game Splatoon will be taking a breather before Update 2.6.0 goes live tonight. News comes by way of Splatoon's Tumblr which announced that Splatoon will be offline today (March 8, 2016) from 4:50 - 6:30 PM PST. Afterwards, players will be able to grab the new version, announced in last week's Nintendo Direct.

What can you expect in Update 2.6.0? Check out the patch notes below for full details:

Version 2.6.0

Stage Adjustments:
  • Arowana Mall - [The Arowana Mall Turf War layout will be similar to the layout in Splat Zones, but the grates that connect between the high platforms in each team’s area in the central area will be removed.]
  • Moray Towers - Changes to the layout in Turf War to match the layout in Splat Zones.
Matchmaking and Team Assignment Adjustments:
  • Until now, team assignments in Ranked Battle were completely random, but some consideration will now be given to equipped weapons when assigning teams.
  • Ranked Battle Matchmaking will be changed so that players of the following ranks are not matched together.
    • S+ and S
    • S and A+
    • A- and B+
    • B- and C+
    • This change may be subject to further adjustment depending on changes to matchmaking times that occur as a result.
Changes to Rank Points:
  • During Ranked Battles, when a team plays at a disadvantage due to unavoidable issues such as teammates being disconnected, and then loses, the winning team’s points will be decreased by an amount proportional to the time they benefited from the above conditions.
Gear Ability Adjustments:
  • Adjustments have been made to the efficacy of certain Gear Abilities. More info
Splatfest Changes:
  • During Splatfests what was previously the Vibe Meter will now display your Splatfest Power.
    • Initial Splatfest Power level depends upon your current Ranked Battle rank.
    • Splatfest Power level will change depending on wins or losses during Splatfest Battles.
    • The player with the highest Splatfest Power on the winning team will receive a slightly larger boost to their Splatfest Power than their teammates after the match.
  • Until now, Splatfest matchmaking favored grouping players with similar play styles. Players will now be more likely to play with those of similar Splatfest Power level.
  • The higher a team’s average Splatfest Power level, the more Splatfest Points they will earn after winning.
http://splatoonus.tumblr.com/post/140657609109/psa-to-prepare-for-the-splatoon-version-260