Splatoon 2 Ball point splatling build ideas?

[NekoBlast]

I've been trying out the ballpoint splatling for a few games and really love this weapon. The combination between a close range mode and a long range mode is deadly and fun, and the low speed penalty while firing is just so good.

However, the unique aspects of this weapon make me believe that it probably needs a different kit than traditional splatlings:

Skills that I think fits other splatlings but don't really fit the ballpoint:

Run Speed Up: The ballpoint already have pretty fast run speed while firing. This is still a good skill to have, but I doubt if it is as important as for other splatlings.

Ink Recovery: An interesting fact about the ballpoint: in order to maintain the long range mode, or maintain spread mode while keeping high charge, you have to fire constantly. This translate to more time walking and less time swimming. Base on this fact, I think it is better to have ink saver main rather than ink recovery.

Skills that I think fits the ballpoint but not commonly found in other splatling builds:

Main Power up: Main power up improves damage output and damage dropout for the ballpoint. The ballpoint has base damage of 32 per shot; 1 main skill (or less, didn't test) raises the damage to 33.3, so 3 shots deals 99.9 damage rather than 96. Sounds good, but not great, right? The more interesting side is the damage dropout: with 2 main skills the ballpoint still deals 33.3 damage for 4 grids range in the training room. Without any skills, the damage drops off to around 20 at about 4 grids, making it a 4 or 5 shot kill at longest range. I believe this considerably boost the kill power of the ballpoint splatling.

Ink Saver Main: As mentioned above, to maintain long range mode or maintain high charge while using short range mode, you should be firing quite a lot.

But after that, I don't find other skills particularly useful. Special charge up & Special power up is good, but given the painting power of this weapon, I don't find myself lacking in special charge very often, and stacking special power up just doesn't improve Ink Jet by much (I heard up to 2 sub is enough). Sub saver can be good, but I haven't figure out how to effectively use the toxic mist. I've been mainly using toxic mist to lock people down before going Ink Jet...

Currently I'm using:

Run speed up: 1 main, 1 sub;
Main power up: 1 main, 2 sub;
Ink saver main: 1 main, 2 sub;
Bomb defense: 1 sub;
Special charge up 1 sub;
Special power up 1 sub;
Empty Slot: 1, b.c. my gear is not maxed.

 

[Starry Day]

Hello NekoBlast,

I am so glad you love the Ballpoint Splatling! It's absolutely one of my favorite weapons, just because of its versatility.

You did your research! I agree with your point that Ink Recovery Up is not very applicable because of the little amount of time spent in ink. Your gear setup looks really good. The only thing I would change is instead of your Run Speed Up main, place another Main Power Up main (or subs). As you said before, the Splatling has incredible run speed, and is damage-heavy, so honestly, I would capitalize on the latter part. Just my opinion :)

Now that you mention it, the problem I have with Toxic Mist and the Ballpoint Splatling is that I can't throw it far enough to trap opponents and then shoot them with my long-range attack! Maybe Sub Power Up would be good too.

Quick side question: do you use the Ballpoint Splatling Nouveau too?

Thanks!
Starry Day

 

[NekoBlast]

Hello NekoBlast,

I am so glad you love the Ballpoint Splatling! It's absolutely one of my favorite weapons, just because of its versatility.

You did your research! I agree with your point that Ink Recovery Up is not very applicable because of the little amount of time spent in ink. Your gear setup looks really good. The only thing I would change is instead of your Run Speed Up main, place another Main Power Up main (or subs). As you said before, the Splatling has incredible run speed, and is damage-heavy, so honestly, I would capitalize on the latter part. Just my opinion :)

Now that you mention it, the problem I have with Toxic Mist and the Ballpoint Splatling is that I can't throw it far enough to trap opponents and then shoot them with my long-range attack! Maybe Sub Power Up would be good too.

Quick side question: do you use the Ballpoint Splatling Nouveau too?

Thanks!
Starry Day

Hi!

I switched to Ballpoint Splatling Nouveau after ~20 games in Turf War. ( I don't think I am good enough with splatlings for ranked )

I had similar problems with Toxic Mist: it can't be thrown very far to be an offence option, and when I need it for defense, I usually don't have enough ink. So I ended up playing most games without using the Toxic Mist at all. Ink Jet has more or less the same problem, I have to move quite a bit forward to achieve max effectiveness, but often die before I find the opportunity to use it.

The Nouveau is another story: the beacon best set up in a sneaky 'perch' location, so I don't have to preserve ink to use it in the middle of a fight. The Ink Storm is also great: engaging anyone caught by the storm is a guaranteed 3 shot kill ( with enough MPU to raise dmg to 33.3 ). If used correctly, the Ink Storm has no less kill potential than the Ink Jet, but more versatile and safe.

With that in mind, I kind of reworked my skill setup. Some things that I've been experimenting on:

Special Power Up & Special Charge Up: Ink Storm is a very effective and spammable tool, and it benefits from Special Power Up quite a lot. A new strategy that I've been using is: charge ult -> drop beacon -> use ult ( instantly refills ink ) -> go Terminator.

Sub Power Up: Basically quick super jump for beacons. Not sure how effective it is, but for now it feels good.

Run Speed Up: Not for kill power, but for faster ink coverage & ult charging.

For now, I think the best way to play this weapon is to play like a hybrid anchor and support, and occasionally go full aggressive.

Maybe the Toxic Mist is more effective in ranked modes, like Splat Zone or Tower Control, but for Turf War I'll just be using the Nouveau.

 

[Starry Day]

True, perhaps a kind of mobile anchor is the best approach for the Nouveau.

Once you try the Ballpoint more, be sure to try it in Ranked! It's an incredibly diverse tool and, with some practice, you'll probably be able to win a lot more with it than you might expect.

Thanks for replying!

 

[awedry]

I've been reworking my Ballpoint Nouveau build since patch 4.4 went live yesterday.
Main Power Up is apparently no longer viable after this patch to reach the 33.3 damage cap. (33 ability points was still short when I checked.)
So, I'm experimenting with other abilities:

https://loadout.ink/#0804155adce160842123c8c63
(Yeah it's the Zimi but loadout.ink never seems to be updated anymore...)

I had been running a pure of Ink Saver Main previously and will keep doing so. Same with the subs of Sub Power Up/Quick Super Jump (for Beakons) and Ink Recovery Up (helpful after placing Beakons and reducing inactive time after firing).

With the slots freed up by scrapping Main Power Up, I added Object Shredder instead. The drop in damage from 32 damage to 28 in short-range mode means that one shot won't break Armor, possibly making a 1v1 a trade rather than a win. Object Shredder corrects that. It's also great for breaking the Rainmaker shield, a mode I really like using Ballpoint Nouveau in. Also added some Special Charge Up so Storms don't take forever to get.

Thoughts?

~A.

 

[ϛ(°³°)/`]

I've been reworking my Ballpoint Nouveau build since patch 4.4 went live yesterday.
Main Power Up is apparently no longer viable after this patch to reach the 33.3 damage cap. (33 ability points was still short when I checked.)
So, I'm experimenting with other abilities:

https://loadout.ink/#0804155adce160842123c8c63
(Yeah it's the Zimi but loadout.ink never seems to be updated anymore...)

I had been running a pure of Ink Saver Main previously and will keep doing so. Same with the subs of Sub Power Up/Quick Super Jump (for Beakons) and Ink Recovery Up (helpful after placing Beakons and reducing inactive time after firing).

With the slots freed up by scrapping Main Power Up, I added Object Shredder instead. The drop in damage from 32 damage to 28 in short-range mode means that one shot won't break Armor, possibly making a 1v1 a trade rather than a win. Object Shredder corrects that. It's also great for breaking the Rainmaker shield, a mode I really like using Ballpoint Nouveau in. Also added some Special Charge Up so Storms don't take forever to get.

Thoughts?

~A.

I think mitigating the unnecessary special penalty it received in 4.4.0 is a good idea, so those Special Charge abilities are a good option - I would personally run Tenacity over them as I tend to avoid dying at all costs and I'll wind up outliving my teammates.

The Sub Power Up is an alright idea, but the purpose of Beakons is usually to reduce the time required for teammates to return to the battle from spawn, and having 2 subs saves ~30 frames (1/2 a second). If people were using Beakons to escape from a sketchy firefight, then yeah those frames matter a lot, but people usually jump to spawn for that. Keeping that in mind, I would suggest replacing these with either 2x subs of Quick Super Jump, or 1x QSJ and 1x Sp. Saver because of the massive benefits each provide with only 3 AP dedicated to them.

I get that the Ballpoint is a bit ink-hungry, and being able to recharge shots at will only amplifies that problem, but I would dedicate a maximum of 10 AP to whatever combination of ISM and Recovery you feel like.

I always suggest a bare minimum of 2 mains of Run Speed on the Ballpoint (any Splatling other than the Nautilus, really). With such a high base run speed, the ability boost really shines through.

Object Shredder to remove Ink Armour at close range is a fine idea too, and it'll definitely help with Rainmaker. You might still want a few subs of Main Power Up to boost your damage on top of Object Shredder for the Rainmaker, but that's totally up to you. I'd be more inclined to suggest MPU if it were the long-range shots that dealt 28 damage now, as falloff would mean a 5-hit kill or worse.