Sloshing Machine Neo: Analysis and Thoughts

[HappyBear801]

We end off the Slosher class with this new release, the Sloshing Machine Neo! Like the normal Sloshing Machine, the main weapon is a powerful Slosher with the appearence of a washing machine, except this comes with a "new" decor. It sends forth powerful vortexes that can kill at both the center and the side. However, this loadout on this variant is a more precision-based set, featuring the Point Sensors to mark enemies and the Inkzooka to kill them quickly. Like the other two weapons with this sub and special kit, definitely a set for those who can make every shot count.

Shop Description: The Sloshing Machine Neo features a special sticker from the manufacturer. The Point Sensor sub weapon leads you straight to the enemy, letting you unleash twisty destruction! And if you feel the need for more range than the main shot can offer, that's where the Inkzooka comes in!

Shop Cost: 28,500

Sub Weapon: Point Sensors

Special Weapon: Inkzooka

So, that having been said, please leave your thoughts on the Sloshing Machine Neo.

 

[SupaTim]

Well, I only gave this a test run behind Sheldon's shop, and only because I love the vanilla sloshing machine so much. I wasn't really feeling it. Maybe because I'm so used to splat bombs, and I'm horrible with inkzooka (didn't used to be...darn you nerf), but I didn't like this version much. It felt hard to charge inkzooka, and while I love the point sensor, I didn't really like it here.

Meh, I'll try to test it out more, but first impressions aren't great.

 

[HappyBear801]

Well, I only gave this a test run behind Sheldon's shop, and only because I love the vanilla sloshing machine so much. I wasn't really feeling it. Maybe because I'm so used to splat bombs, and I'm horrible with inkzooka (didn't used to be...darn you nerf), but I didn't like this version much. It felt hard to charge inkzooka, and while I love the point sensor, I didn't really like it here.

Meh, I'll try to test it out more, but first impressions aren't great.

Since this is a big-time killer, this is the type of weapon that one can only get the hang of in a real battle. Definitely test it out more.

 

[Award]

Updates since my other thread: I have mixed feelings about it just as I do about the original slosher. Unfortunately they picked Museum and Warehouse to unveil it tonight. And Warehouse is quite possibly the single worst map to demo this thing considering it consists of exclusively high pressure CQC, which is pretty much everything this weapon isn't right for.

Its hard to analyze the kit for it because the oddness of the main weapon stands out so much that it's not defined by it's kit as much as many other weapons. On either build I don't find I use the sub nearly as much as on most other weapons. That said, that makes a perfect fit for point sensors to probe enemy ink, so I think that's a good fit. Personally I don't use the sub much on ANY slosher since the main weapon of the class really defines the battle alone.

I still feel inkzooka is the wrong special for it. It takes too long to charge as Tim H said, and while I've scored a few splats and one of my best sprees of the night with it, it just feels wrong. Inkstrike or wail would still have complimented it more.

Ultimately it doesn't end up feeling all that different from the vanilla. It has the worse special but the better sub, so it's a trade that probably doesn't matter much. I happen to love point sensors, so for me it's the clear winner, though. It's just a shame we had to test it out in the crummy warehouse where even point sensors aren't all they can be!

I'm also having a hard time classifying the role of the sloshing machine in general, aside from which variant. The speed and damage seem very much like rapid blaster but with an arc. I'm a fan of RBD, so it's hard for me to get a feel for how to use this differently.

Unfortunately, in addition to the crummy map (and I got warehouse 6x for every run of museum) matchmaking was weirder than usual. When TW paired me with lv10-35 players it was too easy and I could dominate very easily with this weapon, 15/0 and top ink was common for me. I was impressed. The they started pairing me in pure S rank matches where I went 0/6 to 1/5 depending on he round where i felt I could have ended better with almost any weapon but this one. It's hard to analyze it with almost all matches were either too easy or too hard with little between.

The one definite conclusion I can make is that it the main weapon (slosher but without splat bombs) is a much better inker for TW than it seems. It feels charger-like in it's splat pattern, and yet the ease with which it's the #1 or #2 inker doesn't feel possible compared to how little I feel I inked. For those worried about reduced coverage without the splat bombs of vanilla worry not, it's still an excellent turfing weapon (even if it doesn't feel like it until Judd says so.)

 

[Yellowkirbyguy]

I think the sub/special combo is an interesting choice for the Sloshing machine Neo. With the Splatbomb rush, you're keeping all your opponents away in a barbaric manner keeping them away from the objective and perhaps splatting a few squids too, but now with the Inkzooka it's time to sharpen your aiming and get some more accurate splats that can be much less forgiving if you miss a shot. And replacing Splat bombs with Point sensors will be interesting, I've never used Point sensors all that often so i'm not very good with them. Maybe it's time i changed that.

I haven't tested out the weapon, and i may be wrong here, but wouldn't Walleye and Mueseum be good "demo" stages for the Sloshing machine Neo? The main weapon itself is as versatile at shooting as the normal Slosher, it just requires a little more precision for the 2 hit splat. So its great for any stage.

As for Point sensor, my experience with it is virtually naught. But a mini echolocator (As some call it) would prove to be a valuable tool, in such a big stage like Museum, i would think that they would be a big help in keeping track of enemies whereas with the vanilla machine you would have to spend a sizable portion of your ink in trying to flush your enemies out. In Walleye, i would think that Point sensor would be used to keep checks on the two flanks (the left and right side of the mid section) so that you (and your team) wont easily get flanked.

Inkzooka however, is a bit of an annoyance to use on Museum because of all the rotating platforms. A good thing to keep in mind is that if the top of the Inkzooka's "Tornado" is blocked by a wall, then the whole "Tornado" vanishes (this is also true for the Rainmaker by the way). It's usually impossible to hit anyone who is under the main rotating platform in the midsection because the tornado is simply too tall to go underneath the platforms (unless you're aiming from the slopes) or the platform itself eats away the bottom of the tornado thus being unable to hit anyone directly under it.

I think a good strategy for the 'Zooka on Museum would first to target Chargers and/or the Hydra Splatling in sight so that your team is not under their fire as these sorts of weapons are good at picking off squids and holding them off from a particular area respectively. Get rid of them temporarily and it should help you and your team make progress on the objective at hand, then you can fire away at other squids of importance.
Walleye is pretty much point and shoot then snarl at the ones hiding behind the crates/walls xD.

That's how i think of things from my experience. I'm really eager to play this weapon and give it a shot just like the Vanilla Machine.

 

[Award]

I haven't tested out the weapon, and i may be wrong here, but wouldn't Walleye and Mueseum be good "demo" stages for the Sloshing machine Neo? The main weapon itself is as versatile at shooting as the normal Slosher, it just requires a little more precision for the 2 hit splat. So its great for any stage

Nah, those two are terrible for it. Museum is actually good for showing off the main weapon, but since this is a Neo version, its not really about showing off the main weapon, and its the worst map for the special. Ok for the sub I guess.. Walleye is just awful for both the main weapon and the kit. You correctly note the issue with 'zooka on Museum, it just never works well. Its fine for picking off a lone sniper or so but its hard getting much more than that so it's a one hit weapon. I admit I'm not the most adept at utilizing the 'zooka, but this map doesn't provide enough opportunities for it.

The bigger issue is point sensor. These two maps along with Mall don't provide too many "large seas of enemy ink" Most of the time the action is fast and ferocious in both maps by forcing everyone into CQC at mid, and point sensors aren't too helpful in either map since you're generally going to know where everyone is already anyway, and most of them will be visible and shooting all the time. Neither is a map that really lends to camping in wait like Flounder, or Triggerfish, or Skatepark might do where the "flush 'em out" strategy of point sensors is really needed. It's not that they NEVER come in handy in these maps, but the point should be to show off what the weapon can do. Also, in walleye, it's hard to land point sensors reliably. If they snag a crate on the way down they explode in the air and can miss the inkling under them, so you can't really rely on an area being safe in that map just because you threw a disruptor. Piranha was a much better demo earlier today. Lots of open space where enemies are likely to camp out and not too many obstructions for the PS to snag on. That was a much more fun test!

Unfortunately it also highlights how slow it can be to charge the 'zooka on the sloshing machine. It's a pretty good turfing weapon, but compared to the likes of carbon, ttk, aero, octobrush, it charges way too slowly without dedicating some special charge gear to it. I still believe with something like wail this would have been more menacing. I know there's no one who will ever complain about an inkooka on any weapon, but I still feel that given the slow charge time and the fact that the sloshing machine already has a decent ranged option on the main gun, it doesn't add the same advantage it adds on the close range weapons it normally is associated with. Wail would have let it pressure more often. With point sensors and wail or kraken it could have been a sniper/camper hunter rather than making it offensive.

I don't dislike the new kit. Point sensors is one of my favorite subs. But so are splat bombs so it makes it really hard to choose between the two without a standout special. I never quite got along with the vanilla and was hoping the second one would have a little more synergy.

Inkzooka however, is a bit of an annoyance to use on Museum because of all the rotating platforms. A good thing to keep in mind is that if the top of the Inkzooka's "Tornado" is blocked by a wall, then the whole "Tornado" vanishes (this is also true for the Rainmaker by the way). It's usually impossible to hit anyone who is under the main rotating platform in the midsection because the tornado is simply too tall to go underneath the platforms (unless you're aiming from the slopes) or the platform itself eats away the bottom of the tornado thus being unable to hit anyone directly under it.

I think a good strategy for the 'Zooka on Museum would first to target Chargers and/or the Hydra Splatling in sight so that your team is not under their fire as these sorts of weapons are good at picking off squids and holding them off from a particular area respectively. Get rid of them temporarily and it should help you and your team make progress on the objective at hand, then you can fire away at other squids of importance.
Walleye is pretty much point and shoot then snarl at the ones hiding behind the crates/walls xD.

Since I'm not an amazing inkzooka user (I'm good at aiming, I'm a charger main! But WHEN to activate it always trips me up. I try to save it so I know I can get enough targets to justify it, and that seldom happens. I now get happy if I get one splat with it :p It's great when I get 3 by accident.) But those are good tips on its use. Museum really sucks the life out of the inkzooka. Handy for snipers, but you can't pressure the field with it at all!

 

[HappyBear801]

Nah, those two are terrible for it. Museum is actually good for showing off the main weapon, but since this is a Neo version, its not really about showing off the main weapon, and its the worst map for the special. Ok for the sub I guess.. Walleye is just awful for both the main weapon and the kit. You correctly note the issue with 'zooka on Museum, it just never works well. Its fine for picking off a lone sniper or so but its hard getting much more than that so it's a one hit weapon. I admit I'm not the most adept at utilizing the 'zooka, but this map doesn't provide enough opportunities for it.

The bigger issue is point sensor. These two maps along with Mall don't provide too many "large seas of enemy ink" Most of the time the action is fast and ferocious in both maps by forcing everyone into CQC at mid, and point sensors aren't too helpful in either map since you're generally going to know where everyone is already anyway, and most of them will be visible and shooting all the time. Neither is a map that really lends to camping in wait like Flounder, or Triggerfish, or Skatepark might do where the "flush 'em out" strategy of point sensors is really needed. It's not that they NEVER come in handy in these maps, but the point should be to show off what the weapon can do. Also, in walleye, it's hard to land point sensors reliably. If they snag a crate on the way down they explode in the air and can miss the inkling under them, so you can't really rely on an area being safe in that map just because you threw a disruptor. Piranha was a much better demo earlier today. Lots of open space where enemies are likely to camp out and not too many obstructions for the PS to snag on. That was a much more fun test!

Unfortunately it also highlights how slow it can be to charge the 'zooka on the sloshing machine. It's a pretty good turfing weapon, but compared to the likes of carbon, ttk, aero, octobrush, it charges way too slowly without dedicating some special charge gear to it. I still believe with something like wail this would have been more menacing. I know there's no one who will ever complain about an inkooka on any weapon, but I still feel that given the slow charge time and the fact that the sloshing machine already has a decent ranged option on the main gun, it doesn't add the same advantage it adds on the close range weapons it normally is associated with. Wail would have let it pressure more often. With point sensors and wail or kraken it could have been a sniper/camper hunter rather than making it offensive.

I don't dislike the new kit. Point sensors is one of my favorite subs. But so are splat bombs so it makes it really hard to choose between the two without a standout special. I never quite got along with the vanilla and was hoping the second one would have a little more synergy.



Since I'm not an amazing inkzooka user (I'm good at aiming, I'm a charger main! But WHEN to activate it always trips me up. I try to save it so I know I can get enough targets to justify it, and that seldom happens. I now get happy if I get one splat with it :p It's great when I get 3 by accident.) But those are good tips on its use. Museum really sucks the life out of the inkzooka. Handy for snipers, but you can't pressure the field with it at all!

I think the sub/special combo is an interesting choice for the Sloshing machine Neo. With the Splatbomb rush, you're keeping all your opponents away in a barbaric manner keeping them away from the objective and perhaps splatting a few squids too, but now with the Inkzooka it's time to sharpen your aiming and get some more accurate splats that can be much less forgiving if you miss a shot. And replacing Splat bombs with Point sensors will be interesting, I've never used Point sensors all that often so i'm not very good with them. Maybe it's time i changed that.

I haven't tested out the weapon, and i may be wrong here, but wouldn't Walleye and Mueseum be good "demo" stages for the Sloshing machine Neo? The main weapon itself is as versatile at shooting as the normal Slosher, it just requires a little more precision for the 2 hit splat. So its great for any stage.

As for Point sensor, my experience with it is virtually naught. But a mini echolocator (As some call it) would prove to be a valuable tool, in such a big stage like Museum, i would think that they would be a big help in keeping track of enemies whereas with the vanilla machine you would have to spend a sizable portion of your ink in trying to flush your enemies out. In Walleye, i would think that Point sensor would be used to keep checks on the two flanks (the left and right side of the mid section) so that you (and your team) wont easily get flanked.

Inkzooka however, is a bit of an annoyance to use on Museum because of all the rotating platforms. A good thing to keep in mind is that if the top of the Inkzooka's "Tornado" is blocked by a wall, then the whole "Tornado" vanishes (this is also true for the Rainmaker by the way). It's usually impossible to hit anyone who is under the main rotating platform in the midsection because the tornado is simply too tall to go underneath the platforms (unless you're aiming from the slopes) or the platform itself eats away the bottom of the tornado thus being unable to hit anyone directly under it.

I think a good strategy for the 'Zooka on Museum would first to target Chargers and/or the Hydra Splatling in sight so that your team is not under their fire as these sorts of weapons are good at picking off squids and holding them off from a particular area respectively. Get rid of them temporarily and it should help you and your team make progress on the objective at hand, then you can fire away at other squids of importance.
Walleye is pretty much point and shoot then snarl at the ones hiding behind the crates/walls xD.

That's how i think of things from my experience. I'm really eager to play this weapon and give it a shot just like the Vanilla Machine.

Sorry that it's taken me a while to reply here. XP But, question, now that more maps have been in rotation, what think you now of this weapon?

 

[Award]

Sorry that it's taken me a while to reply here. XP But, question, now that more maps have been in rotation, what think you now of this weapon?

I think it fares a lot better in other maps. Pretty much ANY other map. I found it frustratingly difficult to gauge my own use with it since I'd get either much too easy (all C rank players) or much too hard (all S rank players) TW battles, so I'd alternate different rotations going all 12/0 or 1/6.

Oddly, it's the first weapon that's made me question my love of point sensors overall. I even went back and tried New Squiffer and original Sploosh. They suddenly seem so situational. for a while the biggest danger was camping brushes and rollers, but the past week or so most battles seem to have players out and attacking enough that I never seem to actually need a sensor. And warehouse is one place that really needs them on the sides, but I've found them too unreliable in that map. The frequency of which it gets caught on an obstacle you're throwing it over/around and doesn't give a reliable reading is too high. At a minimum, they're map dependent.

Inkzooka still just feels wrong here. A well ranged weapon just doesn't need a 'zooka. I know I'm in the minority, most players will drop everything for any weapon with a 'zooka. It's meta now, but we all know that will change. It just can't charge it enough, and SHOULDN'T be charging into situations that benefit from it most.

I might be preferring the original, but this one has its use on some rotations. Piranha & Skatepark? Yes, Neo's the way to go! I'm not sure I'd take it on Zones though. The 'zooka's useful for TC, but a good old fashioned splatbomb rush never hurt anyone there either.

I can say when I went back to my regular weapons and specifically eliter I was splatted by a few sloshing machine neo users, but always by the main weapon, never their 'zookas,

Keep in mind the grain of salt though, I've never found the kit to be as big a part of ANY slosher class weapon as most others. The main weapon is the main attraction for all of them, to me, and I don't need the sub all that much. It just isn't a concerted 1-2 punch as much as how the kit of, say, the RBP/RBPD defines the way you play it. So in that context a point sensor sloshing machine alt is more interesting to me than the trislosher alt with seekers in place of disruptors. I didn't use the disruptors much, and I wouldn't use the seekers much. I didn't even buy the alt. At least this updated sloshing machine gives me a reason to choose it versus the more utilitarian vanilla in some cases.

 

[HappyBear801]

I think it fares a lot better in other maps. Pretty much ANY other map. I found it frustratingly difficult to gauge my own use with it since I'd get either much too easy (all C rank players) or much too hard (all S rank players) TW battles, so I'd alternate different rotations going all 12/0 or 1/6.

Oddly, it's the first weapon that's made me question my love of point sensors overall. I even went back and tried New Squiffer and original Sploosh. They suddenly seem so situational. for a while the biggest danger was camping brushes and rollers, but the past week or so most battles seem to have players out and attacking enough that I never seem to actually need a sensor. And warehouse is one place that really needs them on the sides, but I've found them too unreliable in that map. The frequency of which it gets caught on an obstacle you're throwing it over/around and doesn't give a reliable reading is too high. At a minimum, they're map dependent.

Inkzooka still just feels wrong here. A well ranged weapon just doesn't need a 'zooka. I know I'm in the minority, most players will drop everything for any weapon with a 'zooka. It's meta now, but we all know that will change. It just can't charge it enough, and SHOULDN'T be charging into situations that benefit from it most.

I might be preferring the original, but this one has its use on some rotations. Piranha & Skatepark? Yes, Neo's the way to go! I'm not sure I'd take it on Zones though. The 'zooka's useful for TC, but a good old fashioned splatbomb rush never hurt anyone there either.

I can say when I went back to my regular weapons and specifically eliter I was splatted by a few sloshing machine neo users, but always by the main weapon, never their 'zookas,

Keep in mind the grain of salt though, I've never found the kit to be as big a part of ANY slosher class weapon as most others. The main weapon is the main attraction for all of them, to me, and I don't need the sub all that much. It just isn't a concerted 1-2 punch as much as how the kit of, say, the RBP/RBPD defines the way you play it.

I kind of see where you're coming from, well, I think the Tri-Slosher's are the exception with the Nouveau just being so different (only weapon in the game with its loadout). But I'm wondering (I've been off for a couple days; dang upcoming midterms) has Camp Triggerfish SZ been in the rotation yet since this weapon came out? That seems like the ultimate map/mode combination for this weapon, maybe along with Port Mackerel on SZ.

 

[Award]

I kind of see where you're coming from, well, I think the Tri-Slosher's are the exception with the Nouveau just being so different (only weapon in the game with its loadout). But I'm wondering (I've been off for a couple days; dang upcoming midterms) has Camp Triggerfish SZ been in the rotation yet since this weapon came out? That seems like the ultimate map/mode combination for this weapon, maybe along with Port Mackerel on SZ.

I don't think it has been, or at least hasn't been when I've been playing. Triggerfish was in TW once or twice, and I think it was in ranked at least once for TC. But I don't recall it for SZ.

Triggerfish SZ would definitely be a good use for any point sensor weapon, and the loadout here would definitely be a good choice. My only fear is, the odds of it being paired with a second map where its ideal doesn't seem likely.

Mackarel has a similar problem with point sensors as walleye. There's so many things for the sensor to get caught on and give unreliable readings. You can easily get a false negative, and charge in painting only to get jumped by the lurking camper the sensor missed. If you have to probe with ink anyway, why waste the ink on the sensor?

IMO, sensors are great in places like Triggerfish, Kelp Dome, Underpass, Piranha, Skatepark, Depot, Flounder. They're situational in places like Museum, Mall, Bridge, Moray (useful if you're up against serial campers, not if you're against aggressive types). They're possibly a liability in Warehouse, Port,

So of course what maps have been coming up again and again since they launched this weapon? Warehouse, Port, Bridge, Museum. (Also others but of course every time they'd come up I would get stuck on Warehouse or Port 3/4 rounds or had already changed back to chargers.

 

[HappyBear801]

SO SORRY for being late to the Sloshing Machine Neo party; upcoming midterms in a couple weeks are keeping me busy with schoolwork! However, now I have finally had a chance to try out the Sloshing Machine Neo. I enjoy this weapon, but it's not my favorite of defensive types. The main weapon is always a fun powerhouse and can ink in a neat manner very efficiently. Since the main weapon isn't great in enemy territory, Point Sensors mark whatever enemies could be there, and are also great for determining aim (and team support of course). The Inkzooka pinpoints the definitive kills and majorly helps this weapon in it's defensive style, but one MUST only use it if safe from long ranged fire. A good defensive kit, and I have a feeling that this will be very ability based. Here are my own recommendations:

Stackable:







Main-Exclusive:

(very important IMO)

 

[Yellowkirbyguy]

Well, since i'm in the midst of a losing streak that put me down to A rank, i'll label what not to do or challenges that this weapon may face.

With the loss of Splatbombs, CQC (Close Quarters Combat) is almost obsolete against many (if not all) short range shooters and any roller that isn't the dynamo. You might not even get a Splat for Splat trade depending on circumstances. The main thing is to not let them get the jump on you, as in, sneak up on you. That's why you have a point sensor, to make life easier so they don't sneak up on you.

Brushes are tricky opponents for the Sloshing Machine. Again, with the lose of splatbombs you can't really expect to defend yourself that well if the brush is at their optimum range. But as far as i can tell -and correct me if i'm wrong- , brushes operate on assasin like splats, an assasin wouldn't want to give his position away too easily. Point sensoring brushes should make their stealth go out the window meaning your whole team (including yourself) has the chance of defending against a brush user fairly easily.

 

[HappyBear801]

Well, since i'm in the midst of a losing streak that put me down to A rank, i'll label what not to do or challenges that this weapon may face.

With the loss of Splatbombs, CQC (Close Quarters Combat) is almost obsolete against many (if not all) short range shooters and any roller that isn't the dynamo. You might not even get a Splat for Splat trade depending on circumstances. The main thing is to not let them get the jump on you, as in, sneak up on you. That's why you have a point sensor, to make life easier so they don't sneak up on you.

Brushes are tricky opponents for the Sloshing Machine. Again, with the lose of splatbombs you can't really expect to defend yourself that well if the brush is at their optimum range. But as far as i can tell -and correct me if i'm wrong- , brushes operate on assasin like splats, an assasin wouldn't want to give his position away too easily. Point sensoring brushes should make their stealth go out the window meaning your whole team (including yourself) has the chance of defending against a brush user fairly easily.

Oh yeah this is all about staying back and pinpointing exactly where the enemy is. Rushdowns or jumping headfirst into enemy territory are never recommended, because that's just asking for a flank/long-ranged kill.

 

[Hawk Seow]

My personal experience with this weapon in TW is that...it is absolutely a killing machine (not the #1 for killing, but it is definitely a killer in my eyes). I prefer it over the vanilla version for the most part, except for maps where Inkzooka is a lot harder to use (Eg. Museum).

Weaknesses:

Needs a lot of inked turf for you to maneuver about and flank/get the jump on enemies. The weapon itself inks quite decently but you most likely won't be pulling off the crazy maneuvers that Splooshes tend to do.

The weapon also consumes ink like crazy so figuring out a good loop (how many shots before you start swimming to recover ink) is vital. This will vary based on how many (if any) ink savers/recovery you decide to equip.

Range is decent but you're generally not able to deal with any weapon that outranges you head to head. Yes the same tends to go for other weapons but due to SMN taking a decent amount of time to earn the kill, it really needs a secondary approach in these situations.

Due to the sub not damaging in any way, assuming you're not being backed up by a team mate with the correct situational weapon, you generally mark dangerous opponents and hope some other team mate deals with him.

Eg. You might come face to face with a long range weapon that keeps you at bay, mark the fellow and go deal with some other squid if possible. If you have an Inkzooka ready, congratulations! :)

Strengths:

It acts like a blaster in a way but IMO it's superior to regular blasters (apart from Luna which is also a close range beast) in one distinct area; this weapon has a much easier time aiming at close range because you are literally lobbing the projectile into the enemy + the vortex does good damage.

Using blasters in close range you either get the critical hit or you die, with the SMN I could still manage to hit squids that got up to my face. With Blasters if you miss, the ensuing blast is typically too far away to deal the splash damage that the SMN can rely on.

The other aspect where it's superior to blasters (also it's unique point) is the arcing shot. Blasters typically fire over short obstacles and hope for the blast radius to do damage, the SMN can just lob shots like short range artillery and a (lucky) critical hit is around 70+ damage; assuming the enemy has no Bubbler-esque special, you can quickly move in and land another hit to seal the deal within a reasonable amount of time.

It's also fantastic for lobbing shots onto popular sniper ledges :D

This is probably common knowledge: With the SMN (put at least 1 damage up Sub so that you can 2HKO 3x defense up). Now that you have guaranteed 2HKO, you tend to have 2 choices when facing opponents: Landing the critical hit first, then follow up with a roughly aimed vortex hit or land a rough vortex hit in a path they're likely to run in and then follow up with a critical hit.

I mention the vortex hit because, even in the event you only damaged them for around 30+ point, you inked the turf underneath their feet which means they're slowed down to be a lot easier to hit with the critical.

Inkzooka helps to take out snipers (common problem) and sometimes deny narrow paths but otherwise it's really just a bonus IMO. I get most of my SMN kills by using the sub to locate and then hunt them down accordingly or I just straight up murder them in close range; after landing one shot (direct or otherwise) typically I move backwards and fire the next shot to finish them.

 

[HappyBear801]

UPDATE: So I got to try this weapon in more than 3 matches today XD and I got more of a feeling about how it should be played. First of all, I learned, DO NOT LET THE ADVERSARIES GET CLOSE. You're as good as dead if they do, so keep at a distance where both the main and special weapons (and even the sub to some extent) will be most effective. If there's nothing you can do about it, quickly Point Sensor the person before he/she kills you to create a sort of pseudo-Haunt so the rest of your team can track the person down (unless you already have Haunt equipped), and if you're out of ink, then, well, (I tried this out on a lot of enemies tonight and it worked wonders). Also, for Ranked play, I discovered I am not so versatile with this weapon there because it is not forgiving in the case of poor aim. Like the other two weapons with this loadout, the Forge Splattershot Pro and the H-3 Nozzlenose D, not one shot can be missed here. Make sure when learning this weapon that you dedicate yourself to having pitch-perfect aim and can make each shot count, because otherwise this kit won't be effective. This isn't an easy weapon though, so I'd expect that to be a given. :P

 

[Award]

Like the other two weapons with this loadout, the Forge Splattershot Pro and the H-3 Nozzlenose D, not one shot can be missed here.

For some reason I've been remembering the H3D to have disruptors! I think I owe @JFL an apology in another thread where I was defending the H3D Still a good close range killer, but not as good as I'd remembered.

I'll have to give the SMN a try again after I'm dong messing with CHydra (new potential main has to take precedence over toys!) I DID get double digit kills pretty reliably with it, but all the opponents seemed pretty scrubby, so I considered it a fluke. Maybe it's really just that good. I never liked sloshing machines with the original. The kit just didn't compliment it.

But how are you not good with a weapon that relies on solid aim - you're an eliter/carbon main - the titans of pitch perfect aim! And with a blaster bent, I'd think precision aim is your forte! SM should be more forgiving than RBD and certainly eliter since its AoE occurs along the entire ark rather than only in the blast radius at full range.

@Hawk Seow I'd agree that I love the SM's ability to do damage near or far if you're not as perfect in zoning as blasters require. But I'd say it competes more with the RB/RBP range than the normal blasters. The RoF, and 2hko along with narrow ink trails and narrow AoE are all RB/RBP competitors. Regular blasters are much slower with thick trails but have that ohko potential and huge AoE. I think it's a shame to call the SM a slosher when it has almost nothing in common with sloshers other than button mashing and arc and has much more in common with RBs. I'd also consider RB/SM its own category apart from blasters and sloshers.

 

[Hawk Seow]

I'd agree that I love the SM's ability to do damage near or far if you're not as perfect in zoning as blasters require. But I'd say it competes more with the RB/RBP range than the normal blasters. The RoF, and 2hko along with narrow ink trails and narrow AoE are all RB/RBP competitors. Regular blasters are much slower with thick trails but have that ohko potential and huge AoE. I think it's a shame to call the SM a slosher when it has almost nothing in common with sloshers other than button mashing and arc and has much more in common with RBs. I'd also consider RB/SM its own category apart from blasters and sloshers.

Personally, I'm almost always an aggressive player in any game I play. With that said, RB and RBPs perform better at outright denying areas. Sloshing machines are really good up close IMO (provided you aren't already under heavy fire). To give you an example of my playstyle, I'l land one hit first and aim the second according to which type of first hit I got (critical or non-critical).

Let's say I got the critical, I start swimming and go towards either side of the opponent and throw a rough shot using my familiarity with the SM's vortex width to catch the opponent and splat he goes. You can't really do that with any blaster, if anything you either have to get a perfect aim with the second hit or you need to distance your shot so that the explosion catches the enemy correctly, both of which I consider more difficult than what is basically a flamethrower burst (SM's vortex).

In conclusion, I think it's fine to compare the weapons to each other (comparing SM to something like a Splattershot for example, I'd talk about roughly how long it takes to kill at optimal ranges and turfing efficiency etc.). As long as the comparison helps to give you some insight on how to better handle a given weapon, then I'd say it was a good thing :)

 

[Award]

Both have AoE and a 2hko/3-4ako and a similar firing rate though. There's definitely a similarity, though, yeah, the blasters might a higher skill floor due to the very pinpoint nature of the AoE blast - you have to know the tip of your range perfectly. SM is a lot more forgiving there, though it's still a fairly high skill floor weapon.

I play it fairly similarly to what you describe, same with blasters, though with those I'm more prone to work my way from the outside in - fire at them using the AoE, and if they panic into my view, get the ohko, if they don't keep hammering them with AoE until they splat or flee.

I'm somewhat partial to blasters and couldn't get a fix on the original SM but part of it is the finger mashing that makes me pass up the trislosher, too :(

 

[Hawk Seow]

Both have AoE and a 2hko/3-4ako and a similar firing rate though. There's definitely a similarity, though, yeah, the blasters might a higher skill floor due to the very pinpoint nature of the AoE blast - you have to know the tip of your range perfectly. SM is a lot more forgiving there, though it's still a fairly high skill floor weapon.

I play it fairly similarly to what you describe, same with blasters, though with those I'm more prone to work my way from the outside in - fire at them using the AoE, and if they panic into my view, get the ohko, if they don't keep hammering them with AoE until they splat or flee.

I'm somewhat partial to blasters and couldn't get a fix on the original SM but part of it is the finger mashing that makes me pass up the trislosher, too :(

I probably need to try this weapon out vs a whole bunch of S+ ranked players or something because I almost always get at least one critical hit on anyone with my playstyle (a reckless one at that), which means that I usually earn 2HKOs with this weapon, 3-4HKOs probably means you were dealing all your damage via vortex hits.

For the blasters I think the main difference is that they perform differently based on their designated range whilst the sloshing machines perform well throughout their entire range (as long as you aren't getting taken by surprise) and the blasters don't do as well over vertical obstacles.

Not saying you can't deal damage over them, but if your blaster is a longer ranged one you need to space yourself first whilst for the sloshing machine you just need to change your vertical angle and sometimes getting a lucky critical which informs you that the enemy is one more hit away from death: RUSH THAT SQUID DOWN!!!

I'm a master-masher because after starting out on the Splat Roller, I went to the Inkbrush, then L-3, then H-3, then some slosher then sloshing machines :P

 

[HappyBear801]

I probably need to try this weapon out vs a whole bunch of S+ ranked players or something because I almost always get at least one critical hit on anyone with my playstyle (a reckless one at that), which means that I usually earn 2HKOs with this weapon, 3-4HKOs probably means you were dealing all your damage via vortex hits.

For the blasters I think the main difference is that they perform differently based on their designated range whilst the sloshing machines perform well throughout their entire range (as long as you aren't getting taken by surprise) and the blasters don't do as well over vertical obstacles.

Not saying you can't deal damage over them, but if your blaster is a longer ranged one you need to space yourself first whilst for the sloshing machine you just need to change your vertical angle and sometimes getting a lucky critical which informs you that the enemy is one more hit away from death: RUSH THAT SQUID DOWN!!!

I'm a master-masher because after starting out on the Splat Roller, I went to the Inkbrush, then L-3, then H-3, then some slosher then sloshing machines :p

Wait do the Sloshing Machines have more range than the Range Blasters?