OnePotWonder
Inkling Fleet Admiral
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Sting Ray is the most infamous special in the history of the Splatoon series, being a regular target of slander and often used as an example of how not to design special weapons. The last weapon kit to contain it released barely six months after the game's launch. Sting Ray is also my favorite special weapon in the series, as well as the most overhated, and the special with the most room for improvement. It's about time I made a post actually explaining why I like it as much as I do.
First off, what is Sting Ray? Those of you who are familiar with it, feel free to skip the next paragraph.
Sting Ray is a Splatoon 2 special weapon that replaces the user's main weapon with a massive, heavy, high-pressure laser that can pierce through terrain with unlimited range. It has about two thirds of a second of startup each time it fires, and after continuously firing for a second and a half, its beam quintuples in width as the initial laser gives off damaging shockwaves. The special highlights enemies through walls with Thermal Ink silhouettes while not fired, nullifies Thermal Ink and Haunt silhouettes while fired, and deals slightly less damage when fired through terrain, reducing its DPS from 108 to 90. Its base duration is just over 7 seconds.
Sting Ray excels at supporting teammates from a distance by providing chip damage and displacement that can be easily followed up on. It can be used from extremely safe positions, which is most of the reason why players hate it. Its AoE size makes it capable of covering the Tower Control tower and easily splatting the Rainmaker carrier. The special feels like it has no weaknesses when used by a capable enemy, since its terrible mobility stops being a factor in the positions it usually takes. Except that's just the thing; the special's weaknesses are what make it so fantastic.
There isn't really an optimal way to use Sting Ray. The safer a position is, the harder it is to find open sightlines, and the easier it is for enemies to duck behind cover where the Sting Ray can't see them or deal maximum damage to them. The Sting Ray user has to be aware of how quickly their enemies can rotate and how good its sightlines are to position where they can make the most of the special. Position too safe and you may just end up wasting time and the special; hitting no enemies and having to swim back to a position where you can do things with your main. Position too greedily and you can be punished by nearly any weapon in the game.
Also, Sting Ray is extremely aim-intensive, despite the large area its shockwaves cover. Your initial shot must be accurate, or else you've wasted at least a second of the special's duration hitting nothing. You also have to be good at tracking enemies' movements, especially if you're trying to fire through terrain where you can't see your target.
The final reason I prefer Sting Ray over other special weapons is the most simple. Unlike other good really good specials from Splatoon 3 like Crab Tank, Booyah Bomb, and Super Chump, Sting Ray cannot be panicked. Period. Popping a Sting Ray in the middle of a fight is like booking a one-way ticket back to your spawn point. More specials should be like that.
Now, while I do like Sting Ray, there is a valid reason why people didn't like facing the special in competitive play. Surprise surprise, the kits for the special are absolutely and most horribly awful. Out of eight Sting Ray weapons, it is on four slayers that all have better alternate kits. It is on the worst iteration of Dynamo Roller in the series, and it is on three backline weapons. Those three backlines are vCharger, vHeavy, and Custom Jet Squelcher.
The meta in Splatoon 2 is Ink Armor and Tenta Missiles. vCharger would be doomed even if it didn't have 220p for no reason and a better alternate kit. vHeavy has a much more reasonable 200p and a Sprinkler. Sprinkler is worse in Splatoon 2. Also, again, the meta is Ink Armor and Tenta Missiles, and Heavy has the second longest charge time out of all splatlings. Meanwhile, Custom Jet Squelcher is a mobile anchor with a Burst Bomb and shots that deal 32 damage. It is also 190p with no justification for it whatsoever. Custom Jet Squelcher can get Sting Ray faster than any other weapon in the game, use it from a safe position immediately after fully charging it, and also contend with the rest of the meta. You pick this one.
Custom Jet Squelcher is a large part of Sting Ray's bad reputation due to how effectively it can spam it. Any special is annoying when you have to deal with it every fifteen seconds, and considering that it was the only frequency people were facing Sting Rays with at top level, it's fair that they would be absolutely sick of them. Not the special's fault, but exacerbated by its uninteractive nature.
So, Sting Ray is overall an okay special; it's not actually that terrible. A lot of its problems come from Custom Jet Squelcher being the most annoying weapon in the history of third-person shooters, and the special being able to splat players from light-years away. So, how can the special be redeemed to return in the future? There are two ways to go about it.
It's a given that Sting Ray will need its range limited; for the first solution, it'll have slightly more range than E-liter. Its damage per second will ramp up over time instead of it gaining shockwaves, and it won't be able to pierce terrain anymore. The main change is a severe increase in defensive capabilities; along with the damage being suitable for self defense, it will gain a forward shield with 500 HP and much better strafe speed moving side to side (the shield makes it more difficult to move directly forward/backward). Entering Swim Form would cause the shield to wrap all the way around the user, but they would move much slower and be visible to enemies. To compensate, they would be able to move through enemy ink unfettered. Finally, to make it so cover isn't such a massive advantage against the special, it would gain a secondary fire mode, giving it a powerful single shot with splash damage.
If you somehow still haven't caught on, this is Crab Tank. While I do like Crab Tank, it lacks a lot of what makes Sting Ray so uniquely interesting; its dual cannons are nothing like Sting Ray's laser beam, and it completely lacks the risk/reward balance of Sting Ray's positioning quandary, which is why I prefer Sting Ray despite Crab Tank being an infinitely more popular special. Crab Tank's existence makes adding another Sting Ray rework to Splatoon 4 significantly more difficult, since overlap needs to be minimized. Regardless, I believe I've figure out a solution.
For the "second" solution, Sting Ray will of course have its range reduced again, though this version would have nearly 50% more range than E-liter and keep its ability to pierce terrain and see enemies through walls with silhouettes. Its strafe speed would be increased to roughly match that of splatlings, with the Sting Ray vessel having shopping cart/office chair wheels on its bottom to reflect the change (no other major visual changes needed). It would also be able to turn more than twice as fast as in Splatoon 2. Its damage would be reduced from 108/90 DPS to 100/80, and its shockwaves would no longer deal any damage, instead slowing enemies' movement by 25%, or 20% if the beam passes through terrain. Lastly, its maximum duration would be increased to 9 seconds, and its firing startup would be reduced to half of a second.
This revision of Sting Ray keeps its positive traits intact while mitigating its negatives. For the most part, positioning still comes with the same risk/reward balance, but using the special from the opposite end of the stage is no longer possible. The shockwaves no longer deal damage, but make landing the damaging beam easier with a speed reduction. Squid Roll parrying exists in Splatoon 3 and will exist in Splatoon 4 to help counter Sting Ray, but the special's new speed reduction will make sure that it's not a flawless counter. Repositioning the beam is less punishing with faster turning speed, a longer duration, and less firing startup. Sting Ray would be able to effectively attack multiple targets in one use, even if they're far apart, which compensates for the reduced range and damage.
That's all I have to say about Sting Ray without getting into tangent territory. Thanks for reading this spontaneous essay; I sincerely hope that you enjoyed it. Feel free to share any thoughts you have on Sting Ray here. I should probably go and do something productive now.
Thanks again, and have a wonderful day!
First off, what is Sting Ray? Those of you who are familiar with it, feel free to skip the next paragraph.
Sting Ray is a Splatoon 2 special weapon that replaces the user's main weapon with a massive, heavy, high-pressure laser that can pierce through terrain with unlimited range. It has about two thirds of a second of startup each time it fires, and after continuously firing for a second and a half, its beam quintuples in width as the initial laser gives off damaging shockwaves. The special highlights enemies through walls with Thermal Ink silhouettes while not fired, nullifies Thermal Ink and Haunt silhouettes while fired, and deals slightly less damage when fired through terrain, reducing its DPS from 108 to 90. Its base duration is just over 7 seconds.
Sting Ray excels at supporting teammates from a distance by providing chip damage and displacement that can be easily followed up on. It can be used from extremely safe positions, which is most of the reason why players hate it. Its AoE size makes it capable of covering the Tower Control tower and easily splatting the Rainmaker carrier. The special feels like it has no weaknesses when used by a capable enemy, since its terrible mobility stops being a factor in the positions it usually takes. Except that's just the thing; the special's weaknesses are what make it so fantastic.
There isn't really an optimal way to use Sting Ray. The safer a position is, the harder it is to find open sightlines, and the easier it is for enemies to duck behind cover where the Sting Ray can't see them or deal maximum damage to them. The Sting Ray user has to be aware of how quickly their enemies can rotate and how good its sightlines are to position where they can make the most of the special. Position too safe and you may just end up wasting time and the special; hitting no enemies and having to swim back to a position where you can do things with your main. Position too greedily and you can be punished by nearly any weapon in the game.
Also, Sting Ray is extremely aim-intensive, despite the large area its shockwaves cover. Your initial shot must be accurate, or else you've wasted at least a second of the special's duration hitting nothing. You also have to be good at tracking enemies' movements, especially if you're trying to fire through terrain where you can't see your target.
The final reason I prefer Sting Ray over other special weapons is the most simple. Unlike other good really good specials from Splatoon 3 like Crab Tank, Booyah Bomb, and Super Chump, Sting Ray cannot be panicked. Period. Popping a Sting Ray in the middle of a fight is like booking a one-way ticket back to your spawn point. More specials should be like that.
Now, while I do like Sting Ray, there is a valid reason why people didn't like facing the special in competitive play. Surprise surprise, the kits for the special are absolutely and most horribly awful. Out of eight Sting Ray weapons, it is on four slayers that all have better alternate kits. It is on the worst iteration of Dynamo Roller in the series, and it is on three backline weapons. Those three backlines are vCharger, vHeavy, and Custom Jet Squelcher.
The meta in Splatoon 2 is Ink Armor and Tenta Missiles. vCharger would be doomed even if it didn't have 220p for no reason and a better alternate kit. vHeavy has a much more reasonable 200p and a Sprinkler. Sprinkler is worse in Splatoon 2. Also, again, the meta is Ink Armor and Tenta Missiles, and Heavy has the second longest charge time out of all splatlings. Meanwhile, Custom Jet Squelcher is a mobile anchor with a Burst Bomb and shots that deal 32 damage. It is also 190p with no justification for it whatsoever. Custom Jet Squelcher can get Sting Ray faster than any other weapon in the game, use it from a safe position immediately after fully charging it, and also contend with the rest of the meta. You pick this one.
Custom Jet Squelcher is a large part of Sting Ray's bad reputation due to how effectively it can spam it. Any special is annoying when you have to deal with it every fifteen seconds, and considering that it was the only frequency people were facing Sting Rays with at top level, it's fair that they would be absolutely sick of them. Not the special's fault, but exacerbated by its uninteractive nature.
So, Sting Ray is overall an okay special; it's not actually that terrible. A lot of its problems come from Custom Jet Squelcher being the most annoying weapon in the history of third-person shooters, and the special being able to splat players from light-years away. So, how can the special be redeemed to return in the future? There are two ways to go about it.
It's a given that Sting Ray will need its range limited; for the first solution, it'll have slightly more range than E-liter. Its damage per second will ramp up over time instead of it gaining shockwaves, and it won't be able to pierce terrain anymore. The main change is a severe increase in defensive capabilities; along with the damage being suitable for self defense, it will gain a forward shield with 500 HP and much better strafe speed moving side to side (the shield makes it more difficult to move directly forward/backward). Entering Swim Form would cause the shield to wrap all the way around the user, but they would move much slower and be visible to enemies. To compensate, they would be able to move through enemy ink unfettered. Finally, to make it so cover isn't such a massive advantage against the special, it would gain a secondary fire mode, giving it a powerful single shot with splash damage.
If you somehow still haven't caught on, this is Crab Tank. While I do like Crab Tank, it lacks a lot of what makes Sting Ray so uniquely interesting; its dual cannons are nothing like Sting Ray's laser beam, and it completely lacks the risk/reward balance of Sting Ray's positioning quandary, which is why I prefer Sting Ray despite Crab Tank being an infinitely more popular special. Crab Tank's existence makes adding another Sting Ray rework to Splatoon 4 significantly more difficult, since overlap needs to be minimized. Regardless, I believe I've figure out a solution.
For the "second" solution, Sting Ray will of course have its range reduced again, though this version would have nearly 50% more range than E-liter and keep its ability to pierce terrain and see enemies through walls with silhouettes. Its strafe speed would be increased to roughly match that of splatlings, with the Sting Ray vessel having shopping cart/office chair wheels on its bottom to reflect the change (no other major visual changes needed). It would also be able to turn more than twice as fast as in Splatoon 2. Its damage would be reduced from 108/90 DPS to 100/80, and its shockwaves would no longer deal any damage, instead slowing enemies' movement by 25%, or 20% if the beam passes through terrain. Lastly, its maximum duration would be increased to 9 seconds, and its firing startup would be reduced to half of a second.
This revision of Sting Ray keeps its positive traits intact while mitigating its negatives. For the most part, positioning still comes with the same risk/reward balance, but using the special from the opposite end of the stage is no longer possible. The shockwaves no longer deal damage, but make landing the damaging beam easier with a speed reduction. Squid Roll parrying exists in Splatoon 3 and will exist in Splatoon 4 to help counter Sting Ray, but the special's new speed reduction will make sure that it's not a flawless counter. Repositioning the beam is less punishing with faster turning speed, a longer duration, and less firing startup. Sting Ray would be able to effectively attack multiple targets in one use, even if they're far apart, which compensates for the reduced range and damage.
That's all I have to say about Sting Ray without getting into tangent territory. Thanks for reading this spontaneous essay; I sincerely hope that you enjoyed it. Feel free to share any thoughts you have on Sting Ray here. I should probably go and do something productive now.
Thanks again, and have a wonderful day!
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