About this guide
When looking at the discussions on the forums, most of the attention seems to go to the Main Weapons. This makes perfect sense. After all, you should be counting on the main weapon to get stuff done. However, all weapons have weaknesses, and when you’re dealing with a situation where your main weapon won’t be much use, good knowledge of your other options will be crucial. This guide will list all Sub and Special weapons available to the player, and gives a nice little description and some advice on using it.
As of this writing, the game has not yet been released. As such, most of this guide has been cobbled together from pre-release footage, forum discussions and plain ol’ speculation/guesswork. Please feel free to dive into the comments to tell me exactly how wrong I am about everything, as I intend to keep this guide up to date with the current meta. Or lack of one, as the case might be right now.
Changes made since publication:
-Added "Changes made since publication" sub-section
-Corrected some factual mistakes on the Suction Bomb and Special Weapons in general, plus some adjustments to the tactical advice to reflect this information.
-Assorted grammar fixes.
-Added images showing the weapons in question.
-Kraken confirmed to break Bubbler shield. Added this info in the respective sections.
Sub Weapons:
Splat Bomb:
Your basic time-detonated grenade. If you are familiar with shooters (or read DNE’s guide to shooter basics, which you totally should have), you probably already know what to do with this.
The Splat bomb is designed to deny your opponent the use of a small area for a few seconds. Once thrown, the Splat Bomb will explode after a second, splatting any opponents in the blast radius and covering the ground with ink. You can imagine that, before the blast, your target will try to be anywhere but the blast radius, and the ink spread will prevent him from simply returning without covering the ground themselves first. The bomb uses an awful lot of your ink, though, so make it a point to shift to squid-form and restore your charge after throwing, so you can properly follow up on the advantage you’ve just created.
The arc at which the Splat Bomb is thrown will allow you to throw it over walls, making it the ideal tool for flushing out any opponents hiding in cover. Just chuck it over the wall, recharge, and wait for your opponent to run back into your sights. Your victim will try to get away from the bomb via the shortest route possible. So if the bomb lands to the left of them, expect them running to the right. Predict their movements correctly, and you’ll have the advantage in the firefight that follows.
You can also use it to cover your retreat. Throw the bomb between you and your pursuer, and you’ll have greatly discouraged them from giving chase. Or you go in the opposite way, and have it cover your advance, making the foe scramble while you run in to ruin their day. Or chuck one towards any suspicious patches of enemy ink in places where you don’t expect it to give any would-be ambushers a nasty surprise.
All in all, a very versatile weapon. Learn to use it well, and you’ll have greatly improved your play. Keep the ink cost in mind, practice throwing it in arcs behind cover, and you’ll do quite well for yourself.
Suction Bomb:
A can of paint with a suction cup attached. Yeah, that kinda game.
The suction bomb functions much like the Splat Bomb. The biggest difference you'll notice in play is the detonation time, which is about twice as long. On the one hand, this allows the enemy more time to escape, which makes splatting them even more unlikely. On the other hand, people are still very much unwilling to get near one, so you'll be able to deny them the area for a few seconds longer.
Another big difference is the suction cup, which allows the bomb to stick to any surface, horizontal and vertical alike. (Not characters, though, because that would be silly.) A creative player could use this feature to set up some cunning traps. For example, you suspect an enemy is about to come around the corner. You stick the bomb on the wall just above their field of vision (which is about the height of one-and-a-half character. People don’t often look directly above them), and you might just get yourself a nice splat for your Youtube channel.
The trade-off for this is that the Suction bomb will stick to the first surface it touches. Since the Splat Bomb will bounce a little before coming to a standstill, this effectively reduces the range you can throw the Suction Bomb by a bit.
Basically, it's a Splat Bomb with less killing potential, but more area control and a few options for creative traps. Not a bad thing at all.
Burst Bomb:
A water balloon filled with ink.
This weapon looks a lot like the Splat bomb at first sight, but is functionally quite different. Where the Splat Bomb functions as area denial, the Burst Bomb is made for more direct combat. It has a smaller blast radius, and it will take at least two hits to splat a foe. To balance that out, the throwing range is further, the bomb explodes on impact, and the ink cost greatly reduced to the point where you can easily throw three at a time.
Use the arc to get to those places that are hard to hit by simply shooting, such as up or down a ledge. You can also use it against opponents that constantly peek out of cover. When you see someone pulling the peek-a-boo on you, stop shooting and throw a pair of these instead. You’ll either splat or scare the enemy, and they’ll stop shooting either way.
In a more open firefight, you can use these bombs to restrict the opponent’s movement. While smaller than the Splat Bomb’s, the blast radius still leaves a considerable puddle of your own ink. Some tactical bombing could leave your victim with little room to run from your wrath. Just don’t go overboard. It’s really easy to mash the button too much and suddenly find yourself with no ink left.
The big question you should ask yourself is “wouldn’t simply shooting them be easier?” While the Burst Bombs have a reasonable blast radius and kill easy, the rate of fire of your main weapon will make it easier to actually hit anything if the target has enough room to dodge out of the way. Use burst bombs to restrict enemy movement by placing large puddles of ink, or to get direct splats in tight corridors.
A nice sub-weapon for the more aggressively-minded player, trading bunker-busting for direct firepower.
Seeker:
A cute little roomba that leaves behind a trail of ink.
The seeker is a bit of a unique weapon. Basically, you press the button and target an enemy. Once released, your little robot buddy will home in on the target, and explode on contact, splatting your victim. Costs a lot of ink, but it can be worth it. Heck, you can release it without a target, and it might still be worth it.
The Seeker has a rather poor turning speed, and explodes on contact with anything, including walls. Once spotted, swimming away should be enough to elude it, and less risk-averse players might even just jump it. Still, an enemy that is preoccupied averting certain death is an enemy not currently shooting at you. The seeker can easily buy you some time that you can use to duck behind cover or walk into range, which is all you need to win a fight.
Another use of the seeker is as a trailblazer. The seeker leaves a trail of ink and moves at roughly the same speed as your squid form. If you release it without a target, it will move in a straight line, and you can swim right behind it for fast travel. This is particularly useful at the start of a round, allowing your team to get to the frontlines and take up position before the opposing team does, handing you a distinct advantage.
Whether it’s a sneaky splat, a quick distraction, or blazing a trail, the Seeker can provide you with just the edge you needed. Just try to keep it from running into walls.
Point Sensor:
A black box with purple protrusions. Doesn’t exactly look like something you’d throw, if you ask me.
The Point Sensor is not so much a weapon as it is a support tool. Throw it, and any enemies in the large area of effect will be marked, allowing you and your team to see them wherever they go, even behind walls.
While not as satisfying as something that can provide a more immediate advantage, the Point Sensor can be real handy. Knowledge is power, and knowing from where you opponent is going to approach will allow your team to ready themselves and stack the deck.
The ink cost is also not much, so do use the point sensor whenever you think you can’t get away with just shooting them.
Ink Mine:
I assume you all know what a mine is and why you’d want to use one.
The ink mine can be placed on the ground and concealed in your own ink colour. It will explode after a short delay once touched by the enemy or painted over. Place it in your foe’s most likely line of advance. Preferably around a corner, so they won’t detonate it from afar while covering the ground in their ink.
You’ll definitely get a few funny splats, and a few of those should make the opposition a bit more wary about approaching. You can only place one at a time, though, so make sure that you place it where it matters.
Sprinkler:
It’s a sprinkler.
Don’t you just hate it when this happens? You’re moving towards some objective, and you run past a nice patch of unoccupied ground. So now you’ve got a choice to make: do you keep moving to the objective where you are very much needed, or do you stick around and cover the ground for free points and Special Gauge?
Now you no longer have to choose! Let the Sprinkler (™) do the inking for you! Just place it on the ground, and within a decent amount of time, it will have covered a large area for you and your buddies to play around in! Order now!
The Sprinkler is useful if your main weapon isn’t very good at inking, or if you’re just in a hurry to get somewhere. It doesn’t deal much damage, but it will cover the area where you place it quite expertly over time.
Though the Sprinkler can be destroyed, it is not exactly a priority target, so another use is to place it just behind your front fighters, to ensure them an area in which they can safely retreat.
Not exciting, but useful, like the true support tool it is. Keep in mind that you can only place one at a time, and placing a new one will destroy the old.
Squid Beacon:
A tiny radar dish.
A very interesting tool in any team’s arsenal. If you place the Squid Beacon somewhere on the map, it will allow you and your team to super jump to that location. This can open up some very interesting tactics, plus some quick movement to wherever you need to be.
This tool will be particularly useful on Splat Zones, where large portions of the stage will go
ignored in favour of an all-out brawl in a central location. Place the beacons somewhere inconspicuous to keep them from getting destroyed, and call in some friends to push from an unexpected angle.
You can only place two at a time, and they are one-use only, so make it count. Some coordination with your team will be required for the best effect.
Try this with your friends when able, if you use voice chat: place two beacons near each other in a good spot. Agree that one beacon can be used by the team, while reserving the other for whoever places them. Call out whenever you use one. Whoever places the beacons can respond by superjumping himself and refreshing the beacons.
This was only an example, and not a particularly efficient one, but it might just give you a starting point to develop a plan allowing you to effectively move up the spawn point.
Splash Wall:
A weird shower of sorts.
Do you like cover? How about carrying cover around in your pocket? Place the Splash Wall in front of you, and it will form a curtain that instantly splats opponents trying to walk through it. Opponents cannot shoot through it, but you can, giving you a distinct advantage. Sure, your foe can walk around it, since it’s not very wide. But the time spend on such is time in which you get free shots.
Use it in tight corridors, or in combination with “actual” cover for the best effect. Uses a lot of ink, and I’m sure nobody is surprised to hear that you can place only one of them. With some crucial timing, you can really blow a hole into whatever plans the opposing team might have.
Disruptor:
A bottle of mysterious liquid. Hopefully not some sort of squid-jarate.
Most subweapons are made to give you an advantage of sorts. This one is specifically made to disadvantage your foes. Throw the bottle, and any opponents in a large area of effect will become greatly weakened. They won’t shoot as well, they walk as if stuck in enemy ink, and they might even receive more damage, though I’m going to have to confirm that last bit. Basically, you are setting them up for a very easy splat.
Don’t get too ****y, though. They’ll shoot badly, but they can still shoot. Dying to a disrupted enemy is still possible, and also way too embarrassing. So if you get stuck in a 3v1 and manage to disrupt a pair, consider that your opportunity to get out and fight on more even ground... for a certain definition of “even”, of course.
Uses little ink, so there’s no reason not to start off all firefights with this. If you want to play fair, try chess.
Special weapons
Before we start on this, a little bit of general advice on the use of special weapons, because I got tired saying this on every entry. Special weapons work on a “use it or lose it” basis. If you have a full Special Gauge, but get splatted, you will lose a good chunk of your charge then and there. While all Special Weapons will do great in specific situations, waiting for the perfect moment to appear might result in you never actually using your Special. Remember, people: a true soldier does not die with ammo in their chamber. Better use it now than never.
Inkzooka:
It’s a bazooka, loaded with ink. What did you expect?
Fires powerful tiny tornadoes that travel very far and reach really high. Projectile speed is a bit lacking, and the load doesn’t go very wide, but enough to instantly splat someone not expecting it.
Very much a weapon you use to get splats, though it does do well in the coverage department. Think of it as a charger that doesn’t need charging, but with slower projectile speed. A pretty scary prospect. People counting on a height advantage to stay alive will also be in for a rude awakening, since the projectiles reach pretty much to the ceiling. If you can see them, you can splat them, making this one of the premier pushback weapons.
But, as my mother used to say, pretty songs don’t last long. You get unlimited shots for a very limited time. Try to make sure that you are in the right position to deal the most damage before activating this weapon. That means high ground in the open, preferably with some targets in front of you.
A potent weapon to take care of multiple spread-out foes.
Killer Wail:
A large megaphone. Also, the most awesome name a weapon could ever hope to carry.
Fire a giant sound wave in a straight line. There is some delay between activation and firing, in which the attack is heavily telegraphed. As such, you cannot expect to get splats with this, unless the opponent is completely cornered and you’re just stylin’.
It is, however, the best bunker-busting weapon in the game. This thing doesn’t just reach beyond cover, it flat out ignores it, and reaches pretty much all the way to the edge of the stage. So if the enemy have fortified themselves in a turtling position, that would be a great time to bring out the Wail. In the two seconds they have before it fires, they’ll either evacuate their positions, or go splat.
Fun fact: the Killer Wail is the only damage-dealing weapon that doesn’t spread ink. A small price to pay for such a great option in flushing enemies out of cover.
Inkstrike:
Fire a large missile at a particular position, causing it to explode in a giant colourful tornado.
Another great bunker-busting option. While it doesn’t have as large an area of effect as the Killer Wail, you can fire this weapon everywhere from everywhere. No need to get into position, no need for aiming. Just press the touchscreen, and watch that particular little spot go up in a blaze. It also isn’t telegraphed quite as heavily as the Wail, though your targets will probably still have enough time to get out of the way.
Particularly useful in Splat Zones, since it’s pretty easy to figure out where all the enemies will be clumping together. Just fire at or near the Splat Zone, and you’ve surely messed up someone plans for the moment.
A nice, straightforward, and pretty spectacular fire-and-forget weapon.
Bubbler:
Activate this weapon to envelop yourself into a protective bubble, rendering yourself more or less invulnerable. Getting hit will push you back a distance relative to the damage that would have been dealt. Team mates that get close to you after activation will also gain the effect.
I bet I won’t need to explain why this is probably one of the most obviously useful tools available. A few seconds of invulnerability is all you need to turn a losing fight into a winning one. Your opponents will have no choice but to run away or find themselves pasted over the floor. This makes the Bubbler a great tool for people looking for extra survivability. Run around, spread ink, build Special Gauge, and activate Bubbler at the first sign of trouble. Pretty much a guaranteed win in any 1v1 situation, and some good odds in 2v1.
However, one mustn’t overstretch oneself. In this game, retreating is easy thanks to the squid form. Do not give chase if you don’t know where you’ll end up. You could very well end up right in the middle of two enemies, and then the Bubbler suddenly runs out. Pushing is all well and good, and you should make good use of your temporary invincibility. Running into enemy territory for a bit only to get splatted two seconds later is not good use.
Of course, keeping yourself alive in a pinch is fine and dandy, but there’s no “I” in Splatoon. The Bubbler is also a great tool for coordinated pushes. If a teammate cuddles up to someone using the Bubbler, they’ll gain the invulnerability too. It could be just one extra person, or it could be the entire team. Think of it: how much havoc could you wreck with an entire team that’s invulnerable for a few seconds? A little bit of coordination and you’ll have the enemy team run for the hills before you.
Try the following for squid ‘n giggles; have two members bring Bubblers. Heck, have the entire team bring Bubblers, if you’re going for extra style points. Spread ink, gain gauge, and clutter together. Player 1 activates Bubbler, and everyone is invincible. Once the Bubbler runs out, Player 2 activates theirs, and everyone is invincible a bit longer. Whether this tactic is actually viable is going to need testing. It’s a pretty cool idea, though.
All in all, the Bubbler is a very useful and reliable tool that increases your survivability and pushing power significantly. Just keep in mind that you are still very squishy under that shield, and it won’t protect you forever.
Splat Bomb Rush:
Unlimited Splat Bombs for a limited time. Mad laughter is customary.
A weapon which main advantage is being pretty darn scary. If a single Splat Bomb is enough to flush someone out of favourable cover, how far can you make them run with ten?
Not all that far, since you’re more or less bound to your own territory, and the power-up doesn’t last very long. Still, if you’re in the right position, you can use this to spread your ink considerably and chase away any foes that happen to be close to your territory.
Also, you’re a supervillain, now.
Burst Bomb Rush:
Unlimited Burst Bombs for a limited time. Purple glider sold separately.
Rapid fire burst bombs. A great way to spread a lot of ink around in a short amount of time, and you might actually splat someone with these. Other than that, not particularly impressive.
Kraken:
You’re a squid now.
It’s basically the Roller and Bubbler, combined and packaged in a slick shape. In this form, you are invulnerable, and can travel around fast leaving a trail of ink, unimpeded by enemy ink. Jumping in this form makes you do a spin attack that one-shots any opposition.
Really cool, but the same warning as with the Bubbler applies: make sure that, when it runs out, you are not in immediate danger. No point in wreaking havoc if you’re not alive to make use of it.
Echolocator:
Basically a point sensor used globally. On activation, marks all enemies and shows their position to all teammates.
Same advice as with the Point Sensor applies: knowledge is power, and knowing where the enemy is coming from will make defending much easier. Knowing where the enemy is will make attacking easier.
It’s a straight-up useful bit of tech. Doesn’t look very good on your youtube channel, but this is the sort of thing that might just help take the game.
Planned Future Updates:
-Adding images showing the weapon in question. If you’re going to write an instruction manual, you might as well own it.
-Adding youtube links for good demonstration on the less obvious uses of certain weapons.
-Adding Youtube links for the more obvious uses.
-Correcting tactical assessments after getting yelled at in the comments.
-Actually testing the weapons for more detailed information, such as detonation times and range of effect.
-Information on Gear Abilities that affect your Subs and Specials.
-Continuous updates to reflect the meta of the time.
-Whatever other good stuff I can think off.
-Whatever other good stuff you suggest.
Thank you all for reading. Any help for improving this guide will be much appreciated.
When looking at the discussions on the forums, most of the attention seems to go to the Main Weapons. This makes perfect sense. After all, you should be counting on the main weapon to get stuff done. However, all weapons have weaknesses, and when you’re dealing with a situation where your main weapon won’t be much use, good knowledge of your other options will be crucial. This guide will list all Sub and Special weapons available to the player, and gives a nice little description and some advice on using it.
As of this writing, the game has not yet been released. As such, most of this guide has been cobbled together from pre-release footage, forum discussions and plain ol’ speculation/guesswork. Please feel free to dive into the comments to tell me exactly how wrong I am about everything, as I intend to keep this guide up to date with the current meta. Or lack of one, as the case might be right now.
Changes made since publication:
-Added "Changes made since publication" sub-section
-Corrected some factual mistakes on the Suction Bomb and Special Weapons in general, plus some adjustments to the tactical advice to reflect this information.
-Assorted grammar fixes.
-Added images showing the weapons in question.
-Kraken confirmed to break Bubbler shield. Added this info in the respective sections.
Sub Weapons:
Splat Bomb:
Your basic time-detonated grenade. If you are familiar with shooters (or read DNE’s guide to shooter basics, which you totally should have), you probably already know what to do with this.
The Splat bomb is designed to deny your opponent the use of a small area for a few seconds. Once thrown, the Splat Bomb will explode after a second, splatting any opponents in the blast radius and covering the ground with ink. You can imagine that, before the blast, your target will try to be anywhere but the blast radius, and the ink spread will prevent him from simply returning without covering the ground themselves first. The bomb uses an awful lot of your ink, though, so make it a point to shift to squid-form and restore your charge after throwing, so you can properly follow up on the advantage you’ve just created.
The arc at which the Splat Bomb is thrown will allow you to throw it over walls, making it the ideal tool for flushing out any opponents hiding in cover. Just chuck it over the wall, recharge, and wait for your opponent to run back into your sights. Your victim will try to get away from the bomb via the shortest route possible. So if the bomb lands to the left of them, expect them running to the right. Predict their movements correctly, and you’ll have the advantage in the firefight that follows.
You can also use it to cover your retreat. Throw the bomb between you and your pursuer, and you’ll have greatly discouraged them from giving chase. Or you go in the opposite way, and have it cover your advance, making the foe scramble while you run in to ruin their day. Or chuck one towards any suspicious patches of enemy ink in places where you don’t expect it to give any would-be ambushers a nasty surprise.
All in all, a very versatile weapon. Learn to use it well, and you’ll have greatly improved your play. Keep the ink cost in mind, practice throwing it in arcs behind cover, and you’ll do quite well for yourself.
Suction Bomb:
A can of paint with a suction cup attached. Yeah, that kinda game.
The suction bomb functions much like the Splat Bomb. The biggest difference you'll notice in play is the detonation time, which is about twice as long. On the one hand, this allows the enemy more time to escape, which makes splatting them even more unlikely. On the other hand, people are still very much unwilling to get near one, so you'll be able to deny them the area for a few seconds longer.
Another big difference is the suction cup, which allows the bomb to stick to any surface, horizontal and vertical alike. (Not characters, though, because that would be silly.) A creative player could use this feature to set up some cunning traps. For example, you suspect an enemy is about to come around the corner. You stick the bomb on the wall just above their field of vision (which is about the height of one-and-a-half character. People don’t often look directly above them), and you might just get yourself a nice splat for your Youtube channel.
The trade-off for this is that the Suction bomb will stick to the first surface it touches. Since the Splat Bomb will bounce a little before coming to a standstill, this effectively reduces the range you can throw the Suction Bomb by a bit.
Basically, it's a Splat Bomb with less killing potential, but more area control and a few options for creative traps. Not a bad thing at all.
Burst Bomb:
A water balloon filled with ink.
This weapon looks a lot like the Splat bomb at first sight, but is functionally quite different. Where the Splat Bomb functions as area denial, the Burst Bomb is made for more direct combat. It has a smaller blast radius, and it will take at least two hits to splat a foe. To balance that out, the throwing range is further, the bomb explodes on impact, and the ink cost greatly reduced to the point where you can easily throw three at a time.
Use the arc to get to those places that are hard to hit by simply shooting, such as up or down a ledge. You can also use it against opponents that constantly peek out of cover. When you see someone pulling the peek-a-boo on you, stop shooting and throw a pair of these instead. You’ll either splat or scare the enemy, and they’ll stop shooting either way.
In a more open firefight, you can use these bombs to restrict the opponent’s movement. While smaller than the Splat Bomb’s, the blast radius still leaves a considerable puddle of your own ink. Some tactical bombing could leave your victim with little room to run from your wrath. Just don’t go overboard. It’s really easy to mash the button too much and suddenly find yourself with no ink left.
The big question you should ask yourself is “wouldn’t simply shooting them be easier?” While the Burst Bombs have a reasonable blast radius and kill easy, the rate of fire of your main weapon will make it easier to actually hit anything if the target has enough room to dodge out of the way. Use burst bombs to restrict enemy movement by placing large puddles of ink, or to get direct splats in tight corridors.
A nice sub-weapon for the more aggressively-minded player, trading bunker-busting for direct firepower.
Seeker:
A cute little roomba that leaves behind a trail of ink.
The seeker is a bit of a unique weapon. Basically, you press the button and target an enemy. Once released, your little robot buddy will home in on the target, and explode on contact, splatting your victim. Costs a lot of ink, but it can be worth it. Heck, you can release it without a target, and it might still be worth it.
The Seeker has a rather poor turning speed, and explodes on contact with anything, including walls. Once spotted, swimming away should be enough to elude it, and less risk-averse players might even just jump it. Still, an enemy that is preoccupied averting certain death is an enemy not currently shooting at you. The seeker can easily buy you some time that you can use to duck behind cover or walk into range, which is all you need to win a fight.
Another use of the seeker is as a trailblazer. The seeker leaves a trail of ink and moves at roughly the same speed as your squid form. If you release it without a target, it will move in a straight line, and you can swim right behind it for fast travel. This is particularly useful at the start of a round, allowing your team to get to the frontlines and take up position before the opposing team does, handing you a distinct advantage.
Whether it’s a sneaky splat, a quick distraction, or blazing a trail, the Seeker can provide you with just the edge you needed. Just try to keep it from running into walls.
Point Sensor:
A black box with purple protrusions. Doesn’t exactly look like something you’d throw, if you ask me.
The Point Sensor is not so much a weapon as it is a support tool. Throw it, and any enemies in the large area of effect will be marked, allowing you and your team to see them wherever they go, even behind walls.
While not as satisfying as something that can provide a more immediate advantage, the Point Sensor can be real handy. Knowledge is power, and knowing from where you opponent is going to approach will allow your team to ready themselves and stack the deck.
The ink cost is also not much, so do use the point sensor whenever you think you can’t get away with just shooting them.
Ink Mine:
I assume you all know what a mine is and why you’d want to use one.
The ink mine can be placed on the ground and concealed in your own ink colour. It will explode after a short delay once touched by the enemy or painted over. Place it in your foe’s most likely line of advance. Preferably around a corner, so they won’t detonate it from afar while covering the ground in their ink.
You’ll definitely get a few funny splats, and a few of those should make the opposition a bit more wary about approaching. You can only place one at a time, though, so make sure that you place it where it matters.
Sprinkler:
It’s a sprinkler.
Don’t you just hate it when this happens? You’re moving towards some objective, and you run past a nice patch of unoccupied ground. So now you’ve got a choice to make: do you keep moving to the objective where you are very much needed, or do you stick around and cover the ground for free points and Special Gauge?
Now you no longer have to choose! Let the Sprinkler (™) do the inking for you! Just place it on the ground, and within a decent amount of time, it will have covered a large area for you and your buddies to play around in! Order now!
The Sprinkler is useful if your main weapon isn’t very good at inking, or if you’re just in a hurry to get somewhere. It doesn’t deal much damage, but it will cover the area where you place it quite expertly over time.
Though the Sprinkler can be destroyed, it is not exactly a priority target, so another use is to place it just behind your front fighters, to ensure them an area in which they can safely retreat.
Not exciting, but useful, like the true support tool it is. Keep in mind that you can only place one at a time, and placing a new one will destroy the old.
Squid Beacon:
A tiny radar dish.
A very interesting tool in any team’s arsenal. If you place the Squid Beacon somewhere on the map, it will allow you and your team to super jump to that location. This can open up some very interesting tactics, plus some quick movement to wherever you need to be.
This tool will be particularly useful on Splat Zones, where large portions of the stage will go
ignored in favour of an all-out brawl in a central location. Place the beacons somewhere inconspicuous to keep them from getting destroyed, and call in some friends to push from an unexpected angle.
You can only place two at a time, and they are one-use only, so make it count. Some coordination with your team will be required for the best effect.
Try this with your friends when able, if you use voice chat: place two beacons near each other in a good spot. Agree that one beacon can be used by the team, while reserving the other for whoever places them. Call out whenever you use one. Whoever places the beacons can respond by superjumping himself and refreshing the beacons.
This was only an example, and not a particularly efficient one, but it might just give you a starting point to develop a plan allowing you to effectively move up the spawn point.
Splash Wall:
A weird shower of sorts.
Do you like cover? How about carrying cover around in your pocket? Place the Splash Wall in front of you, and it will form a curtain that instantly splats opponents trying to walk through it. Opponents cannot shoot through it, but you can, giving you a distinct advantage. Sure, your foe can walk around it, since it’s not very wide. But the time spend on such is time in which you get free shots.
Use it in tight corridors, or in combination with “actual” cover for the best effect. Uses a lot of ink, and I’m sure nobody is surprised to hear that you can place only one of them. With some crucial timing, you can really blow a hole into whatever plans the opposing team might have.
Disruptor:
A bottle of mysterious liquid. Hopefully not some sort of squid-jarate.
Most subweapons are made to give you an advantage of sorts. This one is specifically made to disadvantage your foes. Throw the bottle, and any opponents in a large area of effect will become greatly weakened. They won’t shoot as well, they walk as if stuck in enemy ink, and they might even receive more damage, though I’m going to have to confirm that last bit. Basically, you are setting them up for a very easy splat.
Don’t get too ****y, though. They’ll shoot badly, but they can still shoot. Dying to a disrupted enemy is still possible, and also way too embarrassing. So if you get stuck in a 3v1 and manage to disrupt a pair, consider that your opportunity to get out and fight on more even ground... for a certain definition of “even”, of course.
Uses little ink, so there’s no reason not to start off all firefights with this. If you want to play fair, try chess.
Special weapons
Before we start on this, a little bit of general advice on the use of special weapons, because I got tired saying this on every entry. Special weapons work on a “use it or lose it” basis. If you have a full Special Gauge, but get splatted, you will lose a good chunk of your charge then and there. While all Special Weapons will do great in specific situations, waiting for the perfect moment to appear might result in you never actually using your Special. Remember, people: a true soldier does not die with ammo in their chamber. Better use it now than never.
Inkzooka:
It’s a bazooka, loaded with ink. What did you expect?
Fires powerful tiny tornadoes that travel very far and reach really high. Projectile speed is a bit lacking, and the load doesn’t go very wide, but enough to instantly splat someone not expecting it.
Very much a weapon you use to get splats, though it does do well in the coverage department. Think of it as a charger that doesn’t need charging, but with slower projectile speed. A pretty scary prospect. People counting on a height advantage to stay alive will also be in for a rude awakening, since the projectiles reach pretty much to the ceiling. If you can see them, you can splat them, making this one of the premier pushback weapons.
But, as my mother used to say, pretty songs don’t last long. You get unlimited shots for a very limited time. Try to make sure that you are in the right position to deal the most damage before activating this weapon. That means high ground in the open, preferably with some targets in front of you.
A potent weapon to take care of multiple spread-out foes.
Killer Wail:
A large megaphone. Also, the most awesome name a weapon could ever hope to carry.
Fire a giant sound wave in a straight line. There is some delay between activation and firing, in which the attack is heavily telegraphed. As such, you cannot expect to get splats with this, unless the opponent is completely cornered and you’re just stylin’.
It is, however, the best bunker-busting weapon in the game. This thing doesn’t just reach beyond cover, it flat out ignores it, and reaches pretty much all the way to the edge of the stage. So if the enemy have fortified themselves in a turtling position, that would be a great time to bring out the Wail. In the two seconds they have before it fires, they’ll either evacuate their positions, or go splat.
Fun fact: the Killer Wail is the only damage-dealing weapon that doesn’t spread ink. A small price to pay for such a great option in flushing enemies out of cover.
Inkstrike:
Fire a large missile at a particular position, causing it to explode in a giant colourful tornado.
Another great bunker-busting option. While it doesn’t have as large an area of effect as the Killer Wail, you can fire this weapon everywhere from everywhere. No need to get into position, no need for aiming. Just press the touchscreen, and watch that particular little spot go up in a blaze. It also isn’t telegraphed quite as heavily as the Wail, though your targets will probably still have enough time to get out of the way.
Particularly useful in Splat Zones, since it’s pretty easy to figure out where all the enemies will be clumping together. Just fire at or near the Splat Zone, and you’ve surely messed up someone plans for the moment.
A nice, straightforward, and pretty spectacular fire-and-forget weapon.
Bubbler:
Activate this weapon to envelop yourself into a protective bubble, rendering yourself more or less invulnerable. Getting hit will push you back a distance relative to the damage that would have been dealt. Team mates that get close to you after activation will also gain the effect.
I bet I won’t need to explain why this is probably one of the most obviously useful tools available. A few seconds of invulnerability is all you need to turn a losing fight into a winning one. Your opponents will have no choice but to run away or find themselves pasted over the floor. This makes the Bubbler a great tool for people looking for extra survivability. Run around, spread ink, build Special Gauge, and activate Bubbler at the first sign of trouble. Pretty much a guaranteed win in any 1v1 situation, and some good odds in 2v1.
However, one mustn’t overstretch oneself. In this game, retreating is easy thanks to the squid form. Do not give chase if you don’t know where you’ll end up. You could very well end up right in the middle of two enemies, and then the Bubbler suddenly runs out. Pushing is all well and good, and you should make good use of your temporary invincibility. Running into enemy territory for a bit only to get splatted two seconds later is not good use.
Of course, keeping yourself alive in a pinch is fine and dandy, but there’s no “I” in Splatoon. The Bubbler is also a great tool for coordinated pushes. If a teammate cuddles up to someone using the Bubbler, they’ll gain the invulnerability too. It could be just one extra person, or it could be the entire team. Think of it: how much havoc could you wreck with an entire team that’s invulnerable for a few seconds? A little bit of coordination and you’ll have the enemy team run for the hills before you.
Try the following for squid ‘n giggles; have two members bring Bubblers. Heck, have the entire team bring Bubblers, if you’re going for extra style points. Spread ink, gain gauge, and clutter together. Player 1 activates Bubbler, and everyone is invincible. Once the Bubbler runs out, Player 2 activates theirs, and everyone is invincible a bit longer. Whether this tactic is actually viable is going to need testing. It’s a pretty cool idea, though.
All in all, the Bubbler is a very useful and reliable tool that increases your survivability and pushing power significantly. Just keep in mind that you are still very squishy under that shield, and it won’t protect you forever.
Splat Bomb Rush:
Unlimited Splat Bombs for a limited time. Mad laughter is customary.
A weapon which main advantage is being pretty darn scary. If a single Splat Bomb is enough to flush someone out of favourable cover, how far can you make them run with ten?
Not all that far, since you’re more or less bound to your own territory, and the power-up doesn’t last very long. Still, if you’re in the right position, you can use this to spread your ink considerably and chase away any foes that happen to be close to your territory.
Also, you’re a supervillain, now.
Burst Bomb Rush:
Unlimited Burst Bombs for a limited time. Purple glider sold separately.
Rapid fire burst bombs. A great way to spread a lot of ink around in a short amount of time, and you might actually splat someone with these. Other than that, not particularly impressive.
Kraken:
You’re a squid now.
It’s basically the Roller and Bubbler, combined and packaged in a slick shape. In this form, you are invulnerable, and can travel around fast leaving a trail of ink, unimpeded by enemy ink. Jumping in this form makes you do a spin attack that one-shots any opposition.
Really cool, but the same warning as with the Bubbler applies: make sure that, when it runs out, you are not in immediate danger. No point in wreaking havoc if you’re not alive to make use of it.
Echolocator:
Basically a point sensor used globally. On activation, marks all enemies and shows their position to all teammates.
Same advice as with the Point Sensor applies: knowledge is power, and knowing where the enemy is coming from will make defending much easier. Knowing where the enemy is will make attacking easier.
It’s a straight-up useful bit of tech. Doesn’t look very good on your youtube channel, but this is the sort of thing that might just help take the game.
Planned Future Updates:
-Adding images showing the weapon in question. If you’re going to write an instruction manual, you might as well own it.
-Adding youtube links for good demonstration on the less obvious uses of certain weapons.
-Adding Youtube links for the more obvious uses.
-Correcting tactical assessments after getting yelled at in the comments.
-Actually testing the weapons for more detailed information, such as detonation times and range of effect.
-Information on Gear Abilities that affect your Subs and Specials.
-Continuous updates to reflect the meta of the time.
-Whatever other good stuff I can think off.
-Whatever other good stuff you suggest.
Thank you all for reading. Any help for improving this guide will be much appreciated.
I have recently acquired a Capture Card, however, so once the game is out, I should be able to take care of it.