Hello! I'm here to help educate you on how to use your roller in a more effective way, whether it be for Competitive or Casual. Just a few notes:
So, the roller itself is an almost completely melee orientated class. Other than your paint flings, you are essentially a kamikaze, armorless tank. You aren't the fastest, and your firing hate is definitely the lowest out of any weapon, but you have power. Your strongest move is your paintfling/roller smack attack, being able to oneshot with all classifications of roller, your second strongest attack being hitting people while "driving" your roller. However, utilizing these is not an easy thing to do. Since each roller has a different swing speed and movement speed, I'll go more in depth with each roller's stats individually.
-Splat Roller-
So, the Splat Roller is the most basic roller there is, and will be used as the base template for the other rollers. It's also the overall best balanced roller, nice speed, nice fling range. It's also pretty good for covering Turf, so use it to your advantage. You can easily run over people as long as their back is turned to you. You could also tempt their luck/accuracy by charging at them full force, but I do not recommend it. In fact, for all rollers, don't charge headlong at the enemy. Even if they're relatively new to the game, they can still probably take you down before you reach them. Which is where your handy dandy fling comes in. At it's furthest range, the Splat Roller's fling takes two swings to kill a foe, so, some quick squid maneuvers between flings is the best strategy.
If you're being chased by an enemy, don't both turning around, especially another roller. Throw your suction bomb to the floor right in front of you, and keep trucking. When you do hit your own ink (this scenario being imagined your are in the middle of enemy territory) utilize your squid form to either A: Chase off/kill the attacker, or B: Run to your team for cover. Don't try to be a hero, because you'll most likely end up dead, and that could be a victory to your team. You can also use those suction bombs to scare off camping enemies.
What if that camper is an E-Liter/other long ranged Charger user? That's where your special comes in handy. If you're pinned to a corner, and get out due to a charger, that killer wail will be your saving grace. It can go through walls, so you can hide behind your cover and wail away without risking your life.
Overall, a fantastic way to start using the roller. It's well balanced, with a diverse secondary and special. For really solid training, the Inkling Boy amiibo's levels are perfect. Plus, you get that sweet, Hero Roller for completing all challenges for the amiibo. You can buy the Inkling Boy amiibo everywhere (I think), as he is the least popular amiibo out of the three Splatoon amiibos.
-Krack-On Splat Roller-
For the most part, this Krack-On sponsored roller is statistically identical to the normal Splat Roller, with a different set of secondary and special. It is unlocked at level 7.
The Krack-On gets Beakons and Kracken. Beakons are very team orientated, only useful if you and/or your team knows how to use them. Beakons are temporary warp points. You can squid jump to them, and one or two can get your whole team from one side of the map to the other. Place Beakons behind walls, or atop higher ledges, places the enemy can't easily destroy them. If your team is holding off an area, throw down multiple beakons, from 3 to 30 (not kidding when I say 30) so they can be both a forward spawn point for your team, or a distraction for the enemy. Needless to say, a few well executed beakon placements and the match can be yours.
The Kracken is the big selling point of the Krack-On. You become invincible, can spread some thin ink here and there, and your jump can one shot your enemies. However, don't rely solely on your kraken to survive. A kracken can easily be thrown off course by a well timed bomb throw, or thrown off walls by some accurate shots. The kraken, if anything, is meant to be a decoy for the enemy. You can scare them off, and if you catch them, you can easily kill them. But it's invincibility and good speed and overall scary appearance make you a Grade A decoy/distraction for your team to push forward. You can even climb walls to scare/kill those pesky campers, so utilize this OPed squid.
Overall, the Krack-On Splat Roller is a support based roller. The beakons can quickly move a team, and the kraken can lead a fast, forward push. Utilize both of these tools to your advantage to really help your team out.
-Carbon Roller-
I personally don't consider brushes and rollers to be the same weapon type, but for those of you who do, the Carbon Roller is the lost link between roller and brush. It has the fastest speed of all rollers, at the cost of it's hit-and-run power. It still has it's one shot capabilities when you smack people with it, so utilize your squid form when you get into a fight with an opponent. However, as stated before, the Carbon Roller's main purpose is it's speed. However, you can only get the speed boost whilst "driving" the roller, so really, smacking people should be the least of your concern.
You get burst bombs as your secondary, and with a full tank, you can throw off at least two. If you hit someone, and they swim away, instead of giving chase, throwing a burst bomb. It'll usually finish them off, and save you the time of chasing them. Other than that purpose, they're kinda useless, so use 'em as a distraction, or just covering more distant ink.
The Inkzooka is your special, and, for a roller, works similarly to the Killer Wail for the Splat Roller. Use it to pick off the pesky campers, or if you're in a tight synch, full frontal destruction. You unfortunately can't really hide behind cover and hit foes, so you'll have to be a tad bit risky, but it can be quite the useful tool.
Overall, this thing is for speed more than power. Be fast, and always keep track of your opponents.
-Carbon Roller Deco-
TBA, though the Seeker Swarm sounds like hella fun
-Dynamo Roller-
AKA "I could've been gold but I wasn't good enough". I personally dislike this weapon, simply because it's hard to utilize it's full potential with it's secondary and special. Dynamos are slow to begin with, their biggest downfall, but make up for that almost everywhere else. They have a tsunami when you fling ink, capable of one shotting even at it's farthest reach. However, it's fling is very slow, so capable timing is key for taking out even the slowest of foes. You do use up a lot of ink as well, so keep in mind of that. Squid form is a must to use this weapon to it's full potential, or else you'll be the slow turtle in the back, cleaning up the scraps your team leaves for you.
The sprinkler with such a slow weapon has ups and downs. Ups, as it can help build up special with a well executed throw, and downs, as its more effective on a faster weapon. I personally don't use the sprinkler when I do use default Dynamo, but I believe there are a few guides lying around for optimal sprinkler usage, so use those.
Echolocator is very much support, odd for a tanky weapon like the dynamo. It does tell you where hiding enemies are, so time your flings with that newfound info. It also is really good for your team to help find opponents.
Overall, this variant of the dynamo roller isn't the best in my opinion. I'm certain someone out there can easily prove me wrong.
-The Gold Dynamo Roller-
AKA "I love it with all my heart and is perfect in every way". This is my absolute favorite weapon in the game, and have slain many foes. It's combat is exactly like the silver dynamo.
It's secondary is the standard grenade. Nothing special, but it can save you if you get cornered. Throw the sucker at any upcoming wall and pray that physics is on your side. I also use it as a distraction, as any throwing projectile should.
The special is the inkstrike, a nice cash in for painting the grounds. Cover any open spaces, and don't worry about killing folks with it.
Overall, I love it to bits. I'm biased towards this iteration, but for it's slow speed, a far ranged nade and an infinitely ranged inkstrike. They aren;t the most effect, a good distraction at most, but they're quite balanced together, creating a beefy, powerhouse rolling machine.
As more rollers are added to the game, I'll add them to the guide. Feedback is appreciated.
Sponsored by the Git Gud Guild.
- When I share my opinion on something, it will be blunt. There are times I do and don't beat around the bush, and may be found to be "rude".
- I have some dyslexia, so words might not make sense, please be wary of that.
- I won't cover brushes, and I consider tho their own class of weapon. Sorry brush folks.
So, the roller itself is an almost completely melee orientated class. Other than your paint flings, you are essentially a kamikaze, armorless tank. You aren't the fastest, and your firing hate is definitely the lowest out of any weapon, but you have power. Your strongest move is your paintfling/roller smack attack, being able to oneshot with all classifications of roller, your second strongest attack being hitting people while "driving" your roller. However, utilizing these is not an easy thing to do. Since each roller has a different swing speed and movement speed, I'll go more in depth with each roller's stats individually.
-Splat Roller-
So, the Splat Roller is the most basic roller there is, and will be used as the base template for the other rollers. It's also the overall best balanced roller, nice speed, nice fling range. It's also pretty good for covering Turf, so use it to your advantage. You can easily run over people as long as their back is turned to you. You could also tempt their luck/accuracy by charging at them full force, but I do not recommend it. In fact, for all rollers, don't charge headlong at the enemy. Even if they're relatively new to the game, they can still probably take you down before you reach them. Which is where your handy dandy fling comes in. At it's furthest range, the Splat Roller's fling takes two swings to kill a foe, so, some quick squid maneuvers between flings is the best strategy.
If you're being chased by an enemy, don't both turning around, especially another roller. Throw your suction bomb to the floor right in front of you, and keep trucking. When you do hit your own ink (this scenario being imagined your are in the middle of enemy territory) utilize your squid form to either A: Chase off/kill the attacker, or B: Run to your team for cover. Don't try to be a hero, because you'll most likely end up dead, and that could be a victory to your team. You can also use those suction bombs to scare off camping enemies.
What if that camper is an E-Liter/other long ranged Charger user? That's where your special comes in handy. If you're pinned to a corner, and get out due to a charger, that killer wail will be your saving grace. It can go through walls, so you can hide behind your cover and wail away without risking your life.
Overall, a fantastic way to start using the roller. It's well balanced, with a diverse secondary and special. For really solid training, the Inkling Boy amiibo's levels are perfect. Plus, you get that sweet, Hero Roller for completing all challenges for the amiibo. You can buy the Inkling Boy amiibo everywhere (I think), as he is the least popular amiibo out of the three Splatoon amiibos.
-Krack-On Splat Roller-
For the most part, this Krack-On sponsored roller is statistically identical to the normal Splat Roller, with a different set of secondary and special. It is unlocked at level 7.
The Krack-On gets Beakons and Kracken. Beakons are very team orientated, only useful if you and/or your team knows how to use them. Beakons are temporary warp points. You can squid jump to them, and one or two can get your whole team from one side of the map to the other. Place Beakons behind walls, or atop higher ledges, places the enemy can't easily destroy them. If your team is holding off an area, throw down multiple beakons, from 3 to 30 (not kidding when I say 30) so they can be both a forward spawn point for your team, or a distraction for the enemy. Needless to say, a few well executed beakon placements and the match can be yours.
The Kracken is the big selling point of the Krack-On. You become invincible, can spread some thin ink here and there, and your jump can one shot your enemies. However, don't rely solely on your kraken to survive. A kracken can easily be thrown off course by a well timed bomb throw, or thrown off walls by some accurate shots. The kraken, if anything, is meant to be a decoy for the enemy. You can scare them off, and if you catch them, you can easily kill them. But it's invincibility and good speed and overall scary appearance make you a Grade A decoy/distraction for your team to push forward. You can even climb walls to scare/kill those pesky campers, so utilize this OPed squid.
Overall, the Krack-On Splat Roller is a support based roller. The beakons can quickly move a team, and the kraken can lead a fast, forward push. Utilize both of these tools to your advantage to really help your team out.
-Carbon Roller-
I personally don't consider brushes and rollers to be the same weapon type, but for those of you who do, the Carbon Roller is the lost link between roller and brush. It has the fastest speed of all rollers, at the cost of it's hit-and-run power. It still has it's one shot capabilities when you smack people with it, so utilize your squid form when you get into a fight with an opponent. However, as stated before, the Carbon Roller's main purpose is it's speed. However, you can only get the speed boost whilst "driving" the roller, so really, smacking people should be the least of your concern.
You get burst bombs as your secondary, and with a full tank, you can throw off at least two. If you hit someone, and they swim away, instead of giving chase, throwing a burst bomb. It'll usually finish them off, and save you the time of chasing them. Other than that purpose, they're kinda useless, so use 'em as a distraction, or just covering more distant ink.
The Inkzooka is your special, and, for a roller, works similarly to the Killer Wail for the Splat Roller. Use it to pick off the pesky campers, or if you're in a tight synch, full frontal destruction. You unfortunately can't really hide behind cover and hit foes, so you'll have to be a tad bit risky, but it can be quite the useful tool.
Overall, this thing is for speed more than power. Be fast, and always keep track of your opponents.
-Carbon Roller Deco-
TBA, though the Seeker Swarm sounds like hella fun
-Dynamo Roller-
AKA "I could've been gold but I wasn't good enough". I personally dislike this weapon, simply because it's hard to utilize it's full potential with it's secondary and special. Dynamos are slow to begin with, their biggest downfall, but make up for that almost everywhere else. They have a tsunami when you fling ink, capable of one shotting even at it's farthest reach. However, it's fling is very slow, so capable timing is key for taking out even the slowest of foes. You do use up a lot of ink as well, so keep in mind of that. Squid form is a must to use this weapon to it's full potential, or else you'll be the slow turtle in the back, cleaning up the scraps your team leaves for you.
The sprinkler with such a slow weapon has ups and downs. Ups, as it can help build up special with a well executed throw, and downs, as its more effective on a faster weapon. I personally don't use the sprinkler when I do use default Dynamo, but I believe there are a few guides lying around for optimal sprinkler usage, so use those.
Echolocator is very much support, odd for a tanky weapon like the dynamo. It does tell you where hiding enemies are, so time your flings with that newfound info. It also is really good for your team to help find opponents.
Overall, this variant of the dynamo roller isn't the best in my opinion. I'm certain someone out there can easily prove me wrong.
-The Gold Dynamo Roller-
AKA "I love it with all my heart and is perfect in every way". This is my absolute favorite weapon in the game, and have slain many foes. It's combat is exactly like the silver dynamo.
It's secondary is the standard grenade. Nothing special, but it can save you if you get cornered. Throw the sucker at any upcoming wall and pray that physics is on your side. I also use it as a distraction, as any throwing projectile should.
The special is the inkstrike, a nice cash in for painting the grounds. Cover any open spaces, and don't worry about killing folks with it.
Overall, I love it to bits. I'm biased towards this iteration, but for it's slow speed, a far ranged nade and an infinitely ranged inkstrike. They aren;t the most effect, a good distraction at most, but they're quite balanced together, creating a beefy, powerhouse rolling machine.
As more rollers are added to the game, I'll add them to the guide. Feedback is appreciated.
Sponsored by the Git Gud Guild.
