Blaster: Analysis and Thoughts Thread

[Pivi]

After playing with this thing for like, 3 days in Ranked I'm here to preach the good word on this glorious flame painted weapon of mass destruction

For one: Drop the custom Blaster, the Bubbler, while not a crutch, will very seldom get used unless you're packing Tenacity with 3 Special Charge ups, the ink spread on this thing is potato and it'll take you ages to fill the meter.
Stock Blaster is where the magic happens. Why, you ask? Because of THIS

(its gorgeous)
The Disruptor was practically made for the Blaster honestly. The Disruptor is on 3 weapons total (so far) including the Blaster but I feel it works best with said Blaster because the way the Disruptor works and the way the Blaster nets splats go hand in hand, or tentacle I guess.
Instead of having to manually cut off someone's escape route, throw this!
Instead of having to flee for your life when a Roller is chasing you, throw this!
Instead of trying, and failing to nab someone out of your range, throw this!
When someone is Disrupted, very seldom are they going to keep coming after you due to all of their combat mobility options being severed, and more than likely will either try to get away (hah!) or hide till the ~6 seconds of being disrupted are up, but lucky for you and me, the Disruptor also places a cute little halo of arrows around the victim, even if they're hiding in Ink, you can still see and splat them no issue. Here's a video on how it works!
If they try to run, the Blaster's burst damage will likely finish them off after about 2 shots, depending on if you're packing Damage Up or not.
It should be noted that this sub takes around half of your ink supply, so you'll probably only get a MAX of 4 shots after throwing it, so mind your tank.

As for the Blaster itself, you'll have to mimic a Roller when it comes to combat, though you have an edge due to not having to Spray and Pray (tm) to get Splats.
This generally includes hanging out around corners (throwing your Disruptor is a great way to see if it's safe), sliding around the mid point for flanks, and generally flip flopping between being a sneaky squid an offensive one. In direct combat, you wanna keep your distance. This weapon's vice is things that shoot faster than it (read, the entire shooter roster) so if a Sploosh or Tentatek see you first, at best you can hope your crosshair lined up when you panicked and pulled the trigger and get a trade.
The Kller Wail is a fine special to wrap this set up. It's primary function is to force people out of their comfy positions so you can hound them down. Disruptors can set up for flashy Killer Wail finishes, though that's a bit unnececary since chances are you can just hit em with your Blaster.
When paired with an Echolocator, you bring forth TERROR since a direct hit is a painful splat, this is when you go all aggro.

As for Ranked modes, I'd say the Blaster is best in Rainmaker thanks to the Disruptor being able to cripple the opponent who happens to have the rainmaker, allowing you or a teammate to hound them down, or at the very least, keep them from moving forward. It also takes 4 direct hits to burst the bubble which is better than most guns. It's also well suited for Tower mode mostly due to you being able to clear the tower with ranged blasts and the Killer Wail as well.
Iffy on Splat Zones, but that's my least favorite mode so //shrugs

There's a lot more to learn about the Blaster, but I feel this weapon set is so overlooked that it's criminal! Put your Luna Blasters down, guys!

 

[Avatar K]

After playing with this thing for like, 3 days in Ranked I'm here to preach the good word on this glorious flame painted weapon of mass destruction

For one: Drop the custom Blaster, the Bubbler, while not a crutch, will very seldom get used unless you're packing Tenacity with 3 Special Charge ups, the ink spread on this thing is potato and it'll take you ages to fill the meter.
Stock Blaster is where the magic happens. Why, you ask? Because of THIS

(its gorgeous)
The Disruptor was practically made for the Blaster honestly. The Disruptor is on 3 weapons total (so far) including the Blaster but I feel it works best with said Blaster because the way the Disruptor works and the way the Blaster nets splats go hand in hand, or tentacle I guess.
Instead of having to manually cut off someone's escape route, throw this!
Instead of having to flee for your life when a Roller is chasing you, throw this!
Instead of trying, and failing to nab someone out of your range, throw this!
When someone is Disrupted, very seldom are they going to keep coming after you due to all of their combat mobility options being severed, and more than likely will either try to get away (hah!) or hide till the ~6 seconds of being disrupted are up, but lucky for you and me, the Disruptor also places a cute little halo of arrows around the victim, even if they're hiding in Ink, you can still see and splat them no issue. Here's a video on how it works!
If they try to run, the Blaster's burst damage will likely finish them off after about 2 shots, depending on if you're packing Damage Up or not.
It should be noted that this sub takes around half of your ink supply, so you'll probably only get a MAX of 4 shots after throwing it, so mind your tank.

As for the Blaster itself, you'll have to mimic a Roller when it comes to combat, though you have an edge due to not having to Spray and Pray (tm) to get Splats.
This generally includes hanging out around corners (throwing your Disruptor is a great way to see if it's safe), sliding around the mid point for flanks, and generally flip flopping between being a sneaky squid an offensive one. In direct combat, you wanna keep your distance. This weapon's vice is things that shoot faster than it (read, the entire shooter roster) so if a Sploosh or Tentatek see you first, at best you can hope your crosshair lined up when you panicked and pulled the trigger and get a trade.
The Kller Wail is a fine special to wrap this set up. It's primary function is to force people out of their comfy positions so you can hound them down. Disruptors can set up for flashy Killer Wail finishes, though that's a bit unnececary since chances are you can just hit em with your Blaster.
When paired with an Echolocator, you bring forth TERROR since a direct hit is a painful splat, this is when you go all aggro.

As for Ranked modes, I'd say the Blaster is best in Rainmaker thanks to the Disruptor being able to cripple the opponent who happens to have the rainmaker, allowing you or a teammate to hound them down, or at the very least, keep them from moving forward. It also takes 4 direct hits to burst the bubble which is better than most guns. It's also well suited for Tower mode mostly due to you being able to clear the tower with ranged blasts and the Killer Wail as well.
Iffy on Splat Zones, but that's my least favorite mode so //shrugs

There's a lot more to learn about the Blaster, but I feel this weapon set is so overlooked that it's criminal! Put your Luna Blasters down, guys!

I prefer the custom blaster. I like the point sensor's long reveal time, which mean you are not forced to hunt your opponent down before the effect wears off. Even if the enemy is hindered, the can still shoot and it becomes fairly obvious that you are going to attempt to splat them. Weapons that orange the blaster by a decent margin, which are not that rare given the blaster's range, can splat you or zone you out until the effect ends. I do not believe you can see an enemy through walls with a disruptor, but you can with a point sensor. This makes splatting enemies around corners easier and makes sure you do not fire around the corner when an opponent has not reached the corner yet, losing the element of surprise. The point sensor is better for defending an area because you can constantly throw them around a splat zone or the like to reveal approaching enemies. However, I am not saying that the disruptor is not quite good on the blaster. It is. I am just explaining that the point sensor is also good with the blaster and that you may be slightly exaggerating the usefulness of the disruptor.

I also think the bubbler is better on the blaster than the killer wail. The blaster is a close-range weapon that works well with allies. The bubbler is often used close up and can be passed on to allies. This also means a bubbler from a blaster that is all ready near the front is less telegraphed than a bubbler from a weapon such as the new squiffler which moves to the front while its bubbler is available. The special will take a while to charge regardless of the special.

I also think you did not emphasize splatting in one shot. I believe that is a very important part of the blaster.

I think that are play styles differ, causing us to prefer different sets. It sounds to me like the standard blaster set works just fine for you.

I do agree that the blaster is a good weapon and that the luma blaster is overrated. I believe the streamer fiveleafclover even said something along the lines of people will eventually stop using all the blasters except maybe the luma blaster. He is very wrong.

Also, I think the disruptor lasts about four seconds, not about six.

 

[curry time]

I prefer the custom blaster. I like the point sensor's long reveal time, which mean you are not forced to hunt your opponent down before the effect wears off. Even if the enemy is hindered, the can still shoot and it becomes fairly obvious that you are going to attempt to splat them. Weapons that orange the blaster by a decent margin, which are not that rare given the blaster's range, can splat you or zone you out until the effect ends. I do not believe you can see an enemy through walls with a disruptor, but you can with a point sensor. This makes splatting enemies around corners easier and makes sure you do not fire around the corner when an opponent has not reached the corner yet, losing the element of surprise. The point sensor is better for defending an area because you can constantly throw them around a splat zone or the like to reveal approaching enemies. However, I am not saying that the disruptor is not quite good on the blaster. It is. I am just explaining that the point sensor is also good with the blaster and that you may be slightly exaggerating the usefulness of the disruptor.

I also think the bubbler is better on the blaster than the killer wail. The blaster is a close-range weapon that works well with allies. The bubbler is often used close up and can be passed on to allies. This also means a bubbler from a blaster that is all ready near the front is less telegraphed than a bubbler from a weapon such as the new squiffler which moves to the front while its bubbler is available. The special will take a while to charge regardless of the special.

I also think you did not emphasize splatting in one shot. I believe that is a very important part of the blaster.

I think that are play styles differ, causing us to prefer different sets. It sounds to me like the standard blaster set works just fine for you.

I do agree that the blaster is a good weapon and that the luma blaster is overrated. I believe the streamer fiveleafclover even said something along the lines of people will eventually stop using all the blasters except maybe the luma blaster. He is very wrong.

Many people (myself included) use the Luna because it is much easier to snag kills with its wide AoE. This makes it a monster on TC, and decent on all modes provided you're playing on a map with lots of corners and ambush spots. The current Luna, however, is very limited in its approach. Ink Mines often go unused, and while the Zooka is nice, it's not often up because the Luna is pretty awful at building meter. So the Luna usually has no way of dealing with some of the most important weapons in the game, like the Gals.

The Luna Neo should mitigate that weakness with Splat Bombs, but the other Blasters have perfectly viable (and more flexible) kits that are definitely worth trying out.

 

[Nerdicon]

After playing with this thing for like, 3 days in Ranked I'm here to preach the good word on this glorious flame painted weapon of mass destruction

For one: Drop the custom Blaster, the Bubbler, while not a crutch, will very seldom get used unless you're packing Tenacity with 3 Special Charge ups, the ink spread on this thing is potato and it'll take you ages to fill the meter.
Stock Blaster is where the magic happens. Why, you ask? Because of THIS

(its gorgeous)
The Disruptor was practically made for the Blaster honestly. The Disruptor is on 3 weapons total (so far) including the Blaster but I feel it works best with said Blaster because the way the Disruptor works and the way the Blaster nets splats go hand in hand, or tentacle I guess.
Instead of having to manually cut off someone's escape route, throw this!
Instead of having to flee for your life when a Roller is chasing you, throw this!
Instead of trying, and failing to nab someone out of your range, throw this!
When someone is Disrupted, very seldom are they going to keep coming after you due to all of their combat mobility options being severed, and more than likely will either try to get away (hah!) or hide till the ~6 seconds of being disrupted are up, but lucky for you and me, the Disruptor also places a cute little halo of arrows around the victim, even if they're hiding in Ink, you can still see and splat them no issue. Here's a video on how it works!
If they try to run, the Blaster's burst damage will likely finish them off after about 2 shots, depending on if you're packing Damage Up or not.
It should be noted that this sub takes around half of your ink supply, so you'll probably only get a MAX of 4 shots after throwing it, so mind your tank.

As for the Blaster itself, you'll have to mimic a Roller when it comes to combat, though you have an edge due to not having to Spray and Pray (tm) to get Splats.
This generally includes hanging out around corners (throwing your Disruptor is a great way to see if it's safe), sliding around the mid point for flanks, and generally flip flopping between being a sneaky squid an offensive one. In direct combat, you wanna keep your distance. This weapon's vice is things that shoot faster than it (read, the entire shooter roster) so if a Sploosh or Tentatek see you first, at best you can hope your crosshair lined up when you panicked and pulled the trigger and get a trade.
The Kller Wail is a fine special to wrap this set up. It's primary function is to force people out of their comfy positions so you can hound them down. Disruptors can set up for flashy Killer Wail finishes, though that's a bit unnececary since chances are you can just hit em with your Blaster.
When paired with an Echolocator, you bring forth TERROR since a direct hit is a painful splat, this is when you go all aggro.

As for Ranked modes, I'd say the Blaster is best in Rainmaker thanks to the Disruptor being able to cripple the opponent who happens to have the rainmaker, allowing you or a teammate to hound them down, or at the very least, keep them from moving forward. It also takes 4 direct hits to burst the bubble which is better than most guns. It's also well suited for Tower mode mostly due to you being able to clear the tower with ranged blasts and the Killer Wail as well.
Iffy on Splat Zones, but that's my least favorite mode so //shrugs

There's a lot more to learn about the Blaster, but I feel this weapon set is so overlooked that it's criminal! Put your Luna Blasters down, guys!

I can definitely see where you're coming from but I feel that Disruptor doesn't help more over Point Sensor in Ranked. The problem really is that when a grand majority of weapons outrange you, and the most common reaction to being disrupted is to start attacking, the slow speed ends up being a moot point. That being said however, I can assume that with enough swim speed, the disruptor/blaster combo becomes monstrous as landing the OHKO on the shot becomes easier.

On a side note, I don't get the appeal of Luna Blaster.