Know your weapon's effective range - really helps when using backline / mid-long range weaponry like splatlings and chargers
Know your matchups - what is your weapon effective against? what is it not? How can you combat the enemy if they approach you and you know you can't fight them.
Play around your team's weapon composition - how many mid range weapons do you have? what about short range? no backlines? Try and compensate for that by learning when to keep up the aggression and when to back off. A push is good when you get the objective far (ex. rainmaker or tc), but a great push is when you do that, and then know when to back off to regroup and keep up the aggression.
For cods sake, learn when to target the shield and when to just let the enemy pop - self-explanatory, but I'm annoyed 'cause I keep gettin' teammates that only go for the pop despite having multiple enemies right in front of them. Just let me deal with the shield, I'm a Tri-Stringer, I have the largest amount of object damage, AND I'm wearing Object Shredder. Like please team, I can't splat them 'cause if I stop then the shield gets popped and we ALL get splatted. [yeah this rotation sucked, im only in B+ (was B at the time) and im trying to rank up using only tri-stringer despite playing better on other weapons.]
[Ok wtf Tri-Stringer is actually really fun to play
like legit I just tried it a couple hours ago and it was the most fun I've had playing a weapon since I discovered dualies in Splat 2. And that was at launch. like holy damn is it fun. the kit's are stupid tho]
Hey, This is a LONG POST of my ramblings and opinions on my mains for ink sports, so beware. [Topic/s: Splatoon, Splatoon weaponry, a lot of Splatoon topics.]
This is just me putting my thoughts on weapons, mainly the V Splattershot, V Dualies, and Chargers (mainly V), into a post.
[*'s will be brought up at the bottom of the post and in order from being mentioned]
V = vanilla / original kit
V Splattershot -
The standard shooter that is simply the more all-rounded version of the Splattershot Jr. (imo) and what most people transition to if they're new/newer to Splatoon. I'm going to be honest here and say that I didn't actually start with the Splattershot after the Jr, I actually started with chargers [all the back in Splat 1], but after hitting a certain level of freshness [don't remember] I switched to special spam Aerospray, yes I was that kid in your matches.
Anyways, the Splattershot is what most people consider the "All-Rounder" weapon. Otherwise known as the "Jack of All Trades, master of none." It can do pretty much everything, but cannot do what other weapons are built specifically to do. An example is that it can ink turf and shoot people (duh), but it can't shut down an area like a Charger or Splatling can. Honestly, I do not see the Splattershot as this. Yes it can do these things, but has much better synergy when used correctly and, specifically, as a slayer*. I'm specifically referring to the Splatoon 3 V Splattershot here. The Suction Bombs help to compliment shutting down small areas or entryways/exits and the Trizooka helps to compliment its lack of long range capability, as well as being a nice shut-down tool.
Using a Splattershot has many pros and cons but personally, playing as a slayer allows it to utilize a lot of its potential and has good synergy with a lot of other weapons. Unfortunately this does not mean it has great synergy with other weapons, it is why it is often called the Jack of All Trades after all.
I would say that currently, the V Splattershot is in a very good position compared to other weapons, as it may not have a large or prominent playerbase (as I've seen, haven't encountered many, if any, V Splattershots in my time playing) but is still a weapon that can cause chaos and can definitely ruin someone's match.
Ability Recs:
If you're going for a slayer playstyle, like what I use, then I would recommend running Ninja Squid, Ink Saver Sub, and either Swim Speed Up or Run Speed Up for Main Abilities and some Sub Power Up and Ink Saver Main for Sub Abilities, the rest is free for you to choose. The reason I choose to run these abilities is for a multitude of reasons, mostly personal preference, but there are logical reasons behind it as well. The Ink Saver Sub is to counteract the high ink cost of Suction Bombs and the Speed Up's are for general speed increases, which can help immensely in a game as fast-paced as Splatoon. I do not have any other recommendations for other playstyles, as I am unfamiliar with them and therefore incapable of providing good advice.
Salmon Run:
The Splattershot is a very good weapon for Salmon Run, as though it doesn't excel in anything, it is good for everything (J.O.A.T*). I would recommend that when you have the Splattershot, to adapt a playstyle that targets easier to kill* bosses, such as: Scrappers, Fish Sticks, Flipper Floppers, and if you're close-by, Big Shots or Steel-Eels. Additionally, if you have time on your hands, I would recommend either inking turf for your shift-mates to use or clearing ads*.
V Splat Dualies -
The Vanilla Splat Dualies (gonna shorten it to S.D) are a somewhat niche and underused weapon in Splatoon 3. The kit is dogsh- somewhat alright, but compared to its kit in Splatoon 2 it is nowhere as popular or good. Suction Bombs and Crab Tank. Just. Who thought of this. I wanna stab 'em. I don't have much to say on it like the Splattershot I just really dislike the state that the devs put it in.
Apart from that, the playstyle that I use for the S.D is similar to how I play Splattershot but with some tweaks. The major difference is that I'm looking to engage in more fights and am constantly trying to break up enemy coordination (intentional or not). This style is called a Skirmisher*. The S.D mobility allows it to perform stunts and utilize its dodge-rolls in ways that make it almost impossible for the enemy to predict just what your next action is going to be (in terms of movement).
Ability Recs:
Use Quick Respawn and/or Quick Super Jump. Q.S.J is if you're planning to jump back in or out a lot, it just really helps. Q.R. is self-explanatory for a skirmisher, as you plan to take a lot of fights and can often go down without splatting anybody, so it helps to have that shortened respawn time to get back in and help your team.
Salmon Run:
The S.D are not a weapon I would recommend for Salmon Run. The mobility can help in some situations but overall it's just a worse version of the Splattershot, and has a hard time dealing with swarms of common enemies, which is very common in higher hazard levels. The only positive I see from using S.D is its shooting mode after using a dodge-roll can get rid of Steelheads (when you get in a good area, such as having high ground), and Big Shots somewhat easily.
Chargers -
Chargers are the kind of weapon that you see almost every match, doesn’t matter if you’re in Turf War or Anarchy. Most chargers fit into the anchor* role, allowing them to effectively take control of an area or to shut down others from entering theirs. This attribute is shared with Splatings but I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout those here. Again, I don’t have much to say playstyle-wise or on the certain kits, but I would probably recommend learning what your effective range is as a charger, especially if you are looking to really take those long-range engagements.
Ability Recs:
I know a lot of people are going to hate on me for this, but Respawn Punisher is extremely useful when playing as an anchor as it basically tells people to not mess with you, especially if you have good aim, as you have the overwhelming ability to take them out of the match for an extended period of time. A different ability I would recommend is Object Shredder. It may seem weird to put on, but using your time to get rid of a pesky Beakon or an annoying Splash-Wall is actually a really effective use of your time and ink, as it not only helps your team but prevents the enemy from taking steps to remove your position.
Salmon Run:
Chargers are an extremely useful weapon-class in Salmon Run, especially for dealing with Steelheads, Horrorboroses and Steel Eels. The weapon-class is also extremely helpful for dealing with Grillers or Motherships, as the long range allows you to take a more defensive position while still dealing a lot of damage.
Anyways, this has been my rant on the weapons I generally use in ink sports and my thoughts on them, I didn’t really go too in depth as I can provide my more ranty thoughts for posts that exclusively talk about those weapons.
- E signing off!
*Slayers are a playstyle that are usually what people refer to when someone is going for splats / looking for splats to help the team. I'm not an expert on this though so do proper research for the actual terminology.
*Jack Of All Trades, shortened
*Bosses that are able to be killed fairly fast upon appearing, with no set-conditions, such as a Steelhead blowing up its bomb or a Fly-Fish opening its containers. Not all bosses mentioned might be considered Easy To Kill by all players though.
*Common enemies, such as Chums or Smallfry or Grunts in Titanfall.
*Skirmishers are a playstyle that focus on taking fights and breaking up coordination, again, not an expert so go do your research.
*Anchors are a playstyle that focus on effectively shutting down or taking control of a certain area of the map.
