Premise
There are loads of new weapons in Splatoon 2, and all of the familiar ones from the original are back with new kits.
In this guide I'll be commenting on the changes to the weapons and their new uses, and explaining whether I think that they'll fit into the new meta, and why.
Key:
STK: Number of Shots to kill
TTK: Amount of Time To Kill
Shooters
Splattershot
Kit: Burst Bomb + Tenta Missiles
The Splattershot was a basic weapon from the first game, with average range for a shooter and Burst Bombs and Bomb Rush for escaping easily, securing kills or pressuring areas, such as a splat zone from a longer distance than its main weapon can handle. With the new kit, this theme is continued, as it retains its burst bombs, thus retaining its ability to pressure from long distances, and has the new Tenta Missiles, which provide more long range attack, and give the Splattershot support capabilities it didn't have in the first game (with Tenta Missiles, you can see the positions of all the enemies).
Tenta Missiles will also probably be effective in securing it a place in competitive play, as it will have the ability to call out the positions of enemies for an allied charger. The Splattershot may have issues though - depending on the damage values of the weapon and the burst bombs - with the removal of damage up as an ability, as in the original Splatoon, it was quite reliant on Damage up to get kills with the burst bombs from its sub and special. This could be mitigated with the new Sub Power up ability, depending on its effect with burst bombs. However, many of the new gear abilities are so powerful (Respawn punisher and Thermal ink) that I'm not sure the use of Sub Power up in place of these will be justifiable.
Splat Dualies
Kit: Burst Bomb + Tenta Missiles
The Splat Dualies bring with them a radical new move - the roll. The roll can be used by holding a direction and tapping B, and it's the separating factor of the Splattershot and the Dualies, other than, of course, the range and STK (3 for the Splattershot and 4 for the Dualies). The main function of the roll will probably be short term mobility and juking, as you are pinned in place for a moment after your roll (unless you cancel this with a second roll). Additionally, the roll also provides a burst of quick firing, which can significantly decrease TTK if you target right.
Demonstration -
The kit which Nintendo provided the Splat Dualies is, similarly to the Splattershot, great for covering the areas outside your short range, and increasing your area of threat at the cost of big chunks of your tank or your entire special gauge. With the increased mobility, this means that the Dualies will be a big competitor to the Splattershot, and with the roll levelling the Dualies and Splattershot's TTK, I think that the Dualies - or their Custom counterpart - will be the weapon of choice for close range combat.
Custom Splat Dualies
Kit: Curling Bomb + Ink Jet
This kit for the Dualies is an interesting one. With the Curling Bomb, again, the Dualies has access to longer range combat, but in my opinion, it doesn't serve it as well as a Burst Bomb, as you don't have the ability to attack areas over walls, or up them. This means that on maps like the very vertically based Inkblot Art Academy and Starfish Mainstage. However, the addition of the Ink Jet, this may be less of a problem, as it will allow the Custom Dualies to pressure on vertical maps, with its fast cover rate meaning it can get the special quickly. However, I would wager that the Custom Dualies will probably be more suitable for flat, horizontal map such as Port Mackerel, as it will be able to easily break through the corridors, as the Curling Bomb will be used to create a path to follow, like a seeker, which, when combined with the roll, will give the Dualies incredible mobility. The question is, will the Dualies just outclass their Custom counterparts, as they have the Burst Bombs, which have proven themselves to be very strong in the original Splatoon. The Tenta Missiles also provide long range cover fire, without the risk of exposing yourself to enemy chargers, so we will have to see if the mobility and aim of the Ink Jet is worth the recon and range of the Tenta Missiles.
There are loads of new weapons in Splatoon 2, and all of the familiar ones from the original are back with new kits.
In this guide I'll be commenting on the changes to the weapons and their new uses, and explaining whether I think that they'll fit into the new meta, and why.
Key:
STK: Number of Shots to kill
TTK: Amount of Time To Kill
Shooters
Splattershot
Kit: Burst Bomb + Tenta Missiles
The Splattershot was a basic weapon from the first game, with average range for a shooter and Burst Bombs and Bomb Rush for escaping easily, securing kills or pressuring areas, such as a splat zone from a longer distance than its main weapon can handle. With the new kit, this theme is continued, as it retains its burst bombs, thus retaining its ability to pressure from long distances, and has the new Tenta Missiles, which provide more long range attack, and give the Splattershot support capabilities it didn't have in the first game (with Tenta Missiles, you can see the positions of all the enemies).
Tenta Missiles will also probably be effective in securing it a place in competitive play, as it will have the ability to call out the positions of enemies for an allied charger. The Splattershot may have issues though - depending on the damage values of the weapon and the burst bombs - with the removal of damage up as an ability, as in the original Splatoon, it was quite reliant on Damage up to get kills with the burst bombs from its sub and special. This could be mitigated with the new Sub Power up ability, depending on its effect with burst bombs. However, many of the new gear abilities are so powerful (Respawn punisher and Thermal ink) that I'm not sure the use of Sub Power up in place of these will be justifiable.
Splat Dualies
Kit: Burst Bomb + Tenta Missiles
The Splat Dualies bring with them a radical new move - the roll. The roll can be used by holding a direction and tapping B, and it's the separating factor of the Splattershot and the Dualies, other than, of course, the range and STK (3 for the Splattershot and 4 for the Dualies). The main function of the roll will probably be short term mobility and juking, as you are pinned in place for a moment after your roll (unless you cancel this with a second roll). Additionally, the roll also provides a burst of quick firing, which can significantly decrease TTK if you target right.
Demonstration -
The kit which Nintendo provided the Splat Dualies is, similarly to the Splattershot, great for covering the areas outside your short range, and increasing your area of threat at the cost of big chunks of your tank or your entire special gauge. With the increased mobility, this means that the Dualies will be a big competitor to the Splattershot, and with the roll levelling the Dualies and Splattershot's TTK, I think that the Dualies - or their Custom counterpart - will be the weapon of choice for close range combat.
Custom Splat Dualies
Kit: Curling Bomb + Ink Jet
This kit for the Dualies is an interesting one. With the Curling Bomb, again, the Dualies has access to longer range combat, but in my opinion, it doesn't serve it as well as a Burst Bomb, as you don't have the ability to attack areas over walls, or up them. This means that on maps like the very vertically based Inkblot Art Academy and Starfish Mainstage. However, the addition of the Ink Jet, this may be less of a problem, as it will allow the Custom Dualies to pressure on vertical maps, with its fast cover rate meaning it can get the special quickly. However, I would wager that the Custom Dualies will probably be more suitable for flat, horizontal map such as Port Mackerel, as it will be able to easily break through the corridors, as the Curling Bomb will be used to create a path to follow, like a seeker, which, when combined with the roll, will give the Dualies incredible mobility. The question is, will the Dualies just outclass their Custom counterparts, as they have the Burst Bombs, which have proven themselves to be very strong in the original Splatoon. The Tenta Missiles also provide long range cover fire, without the risk of exposing yourself to enemy chargers, so we will have to see if the mobility and aim of the Ink Jet is worth the recon and range of the Tenta Missiles.
