Can anyone develop a weapon tier list? Does that even exist?

[CerealboX]

When I play Splatoon I like to use both squelchers along with the new squiffer. When I play ranked it's common to see a variety of repeated weapons (96's , 52's, octoshots , etc.). And a lot of these weapons from my opinion dominate the meta depending of game mode. But I always wondered if you could really make a tier list of weapons from the fact that every 3 matches I play on ranked I see at least 2 gals or e-liters (not trying to say those guns are annoying or nothing). Can anyone give me their opinion if anyone could even make a tier list?

 

[MissingNumbers]

I personally believe that it shouldn't be done, even if it can be done. This is a team-based shooter that benefits from coordination in team organization. Certain sets help out quite a bit in that regard. I know you're probably referring to solo ranked here, but this is just what I believe.

 

[BlackZero]

When I play Splatoon I like to use both squelchers along with the new squiffer. When I play ranked it's common to see a variety of repeated weapons (96's , 52's, octoshots , etc.). And a lot of these weapons from my opinion dominate the meta depending of game mode. But I always wondered if you could really make a tier list of weapons from the fact that every 3 matches I play on ranked I see at least 2 gals or e-liters (not trying to say those guns are annoying or nothing). Can anyone give me their opinion if anyone could even make a tier list?

Why? All it would show is weapon popularity. E-Liters and Gals are pretty easy to beat, and putting them at the top of a tier list based on how many people use them would make them seem far more OP than they really are. Making a tier list would also make people think certain weapons are the "best," which would make this problem of everyone using the same thing even worse.

 

[Leronne]

It has been done. Many times. (Or at the very least people tried). But it's never gone well. Unlike smash, where it's just 1v1 on neutral stages, it's a 4 v 4 on a bunch of extremely variant stages with even more extreme weapon types variants, map control, weapon stats which can vary greatly (especially with the shooter class), team compositions and not to mention player skill (maybe the most important factor of all). There's so many factors to deciding how good a weapon is because it's dependant on so many factors and scenario's. So there will be a sh*t ton (pardon my french) of disagreement. Even if there would be a formal discussion, there would still be a lot of varying degrees of opinions (and memers). If you just search tier list you can find a few, but just by reading some of the replies you can tell how badly it can go. There's a somewhat general idea of what people think are good weapons and not so good, but there would still be too much of differing opinions to make an accurate tier list (which i honestly think doesn't even exist). So In my opinion it's honestly better for the community to not make a tier list.

 

[SkyBound]

You just cant compare an inkbrush with an e-litre

 

[HypernovaSoul]

I do agree that this game has more debatable variables to consider than the average game with tier lists, and tiers are in general a difficult topic to agree upon. That being said...I think a lot of people would agree with most of the following, which I've categorized broadly and doesn't include all weapons:

Top Tier: E-Liter, Luna Blaster, Gal series, Dynamo Rollers.
Mid Tier: Splattershots, Tentatek (probably Upper-Mid Tier) vanilla Blaster, Sloshers, most rollers
Low Tier: Inkbrush Nouveau, Range Blaster. Situationally, Aerosprays.

There are a few weapons that *I* consider to be OP, and some weapons that *I* consider to be especially unreliable, but overall Splatoon is mostly nicely balanced. However, the Top Tier I've listed, alongside Tentateks, are virtually the only weapons I come across in upper tier Ranked. Again, one could debate if this is "popularity" or "usability/capability," but frankly in competitive gaming the two can often be one and the same. These are just my opinions, feel free to disagree. ;)

 

[Airi]

People have attempted to create tier lists for Splatoon before. Let's just say that every attempt has crashed and burned for relatively good reason. Honestly, tier lists aren't needed for Splatoon and they really have no place in the competitive community for this game. In every attempt, the "tier lists" weren't based in anything. They were only based upon the opinion of the individual. Naturally, when someone is calling weapons bad because they don't like it, it will rub people the wrong way and this is usually why they all crash and burn. There's simply no basis to any of them and they're mostly just pure salt.

With that said, a tier list wouldn't work for Splatoon anyway. The problem with a tier list for this game is that our weapons aren't clear cut like other shooters. In many cases, the power of a weapon is entirely dependent upon the person using it. We can take the E-Liter for example. Yes, the E-Liter can be a very powerful weapon in the right hands. However... Place it into the hands of someone who can't use it and it's not exactly "top tier" anymore. The power of weapons isn't clear cut. It depends entirely upon the knowledge of the player using it and the play style of the wielder.

In short? Tier lists don't work.

 

[Templar]

Hmmm while I think a tier list across the board would be practically impossible, even if you just focused on Solo Ranked efficiency, I think a tier list for each role is possible. E.g Offensive, Support, Defensive. I mean you can't compare an E-Litre with an Inkbrush as @SkyBound said although it is possible to compare a .52 gal with a .92 gal, or a Splat Charger and an E-Litre.

I think a tier list could work, but not necessarily the broad tier lists we've got so far. I've found them helpful, but they're not necessarily accurate.

 

[Varonth]

People have attempted to create tier lists for Splatoon before. Let's just say that every attempt has crashed and burned for relatively good reason. Honestly, tier lists aren't needed for Splatoon and they really have no place in the competitive community for this game. In every attempt, the "tier lists" weren't based in anything. They were only based upon the opinion of the individual. Naturally, when someone is calling weapons bad because they don't like it, it will rub people the wrong way and this is usually why they all crash and burn. There's simply no basis to any of them and they're mostly just pure salt.

With that said, a tier list wouldn't work for Splatoon anyway. The problem with a tier list for this game is that our weapons aren't clear cut like other shooters. In many cases, the power of a weapon is entirely dependent upon the person using it. We can take the E-Liter for example. Yes, the E-Liter can be a very powerful weapon in the right hands. However... Place it into the hands of someone who can't use it and it's not exactly "top tier" anymore. The power of weapons isn't clear cut. It depends entirely upon the knowledge of the player using it and the play style of the wielder.

In short? Tier lists don't work.

That is not how tier list work. Tier list define weapons that are clear outliners and either must be picked, or cause a shift in gameplay so massive that they change counter picks solely for the purpose of countering that one type of weapon.

E-Liter is one of those weapons. Their instant bombs and high range, paired with Splatoons comically bad sniper mechanics causes this weapon to be a must pick. Can a good player make a bamboozler work? Yes, but if that player would invest the same time getting as good with an E-Liter he would overall be in a better position.

A Luna Blaster, aswell as a E-Liter is basically required to have any chance at winning on TC. You could change the E-Liter to Hydrant but if the enemy team has a E-Liter and your team a Hydrant, chances are you are going to lose.

The enemy team has a Luna Blaster and you have a slosher? Well again, the Luna Blaster is just better at clearing the tower of enemies.

There is a reason why you never see a weapon with point sensor or disrupter on high rank matches. Those weapons are already outclassed by the fact that walls, and all kinds of bombs are better.

There are 70 weapons in the game in the game right now. If all weapons would be equally balanced each weapon would have an average pick rate of around 1.4%.
Now, I see many weapons while playing that are far beyond those 1.4% pickrate. I often see the same weapon 2-4 times in a match.

Having the same weapon picked twice, if each choice would be equal would have a chance of 0.02%. Three times the same weapon would be 0.0003%... that is 3 in one milllion matches you play will have the same weapon 3 times... if the weapons would be equal choices. But they aren't. Players like to pick better options. And that is why you see this more often than once every 333,333 games... because choosing a weapon isn't just based on your prefferred playstyle, but also in effectiveness in combat, and that effectiveness varies per weapon. Some are better, some are worse. And this can be categorized in tier. So yes, Tier lists do work even for splatoon.

 

[Albatross]

Nah, game doesn't need one because in my opinion the game is too balanced, and the meta can still change. There are a lot of weapons that are competitively viable and if they aren't they just kind of outright suck. But the ones that are viable far outnumber the ones that suck.

Also, gals don't necessarily "dominate" the meta. They just have a high use frequency. Not really a pick or lose situation. I'd say that eliter isn't even pick or lose.

 

[Breademic]

Every weapon is S+ tier.

Inkbrush is C- tier. (sry not sry)

 

[KayB]

You can't make a fully accurate tier list, but there are weapons that are noticeably worse than others.

 

[Albatross]

That is not how tier list work. Tier list define weapons that are clear outliners and either must be picked, or cause a shift in gameplay so massive that they change counter picks solely for the purpose of countering that one type of weapon.

E-Liter is one of those weapons. Their instant bombs and high range, paired with Splatoons comically bad sniper mechanics causes this weapon to be a must pick. Can a good player make a bamboozler work? Yes, but if that player would invest the same time getting as good with an E-Liter he would overall be in a better position.

A Luna Blaster, aswell as a E-Liter is basically required to have any chance at winning on TC. You could change the E-Liter to Hydrant but if the enemy team has a E-Liter and your team a Hydrant, chances are you are going to lose.

The enemy team has a Luna Blaster and you have a slosher? Well again, the Luna Blaster is just better at clearing the tower of enemies.

There is a reason why you never see a weapon with point sensor or disrupter on high rank matches. Those weapons are already outclassed by the fact that walls, and all kinds of bombs are better.

There are 70 weapons in the game in the game right now. If all weapons would be equally balanced each weapon would have an average pick rate of around 1.4%.
Now, I see many weapons while playing that are far beyond those 1.4% pickrate. I often see the same weapon 2-4 times in a match.

Having the same weapon picked twice, if each choice would be equal would have a chance of 0.02%. Three times the same weapon would be 0.0003%... that is 3 in one milllion matches you play will have the same weapon 3 times... if the weapons would be equal choices. But they aren't. Players like to pick better options. And that is why you see this more often than once every 333,333 games... because choosing a weapon isn't just based on your prefferred playstyle, but also in effectiveness in combat, and that effectiveness varies per weapon. Some are better, some are worse. And this can be categorized in tier. So yes, Tier lists do work even for splatoon.

Hello, I am a dedicated Bamboozler main that takes the weapon into tournaments and consistently obtains top 8. Currently sitting in Division A2 of LUTI and my team that still has no dedicated sniper is right now sitting on a perfect score after 2 weeks [Edit: Now 3 weeks lol]. Here I am with me and my team to show that you can be successful going aginst the meta that isn't even set in stone.

People arent neccessarily picking the best weapons, they are just picking what is least risky on a short term, but may end up hurting them on the long term.

Also Zimi and Bamboozler do see high level play lol

 

[Raiden]

This game doesn't need a tier list imo. There are just some weapons that are overused because they're more easy.

Spoiler

But even if the inkbrush is considered as the worst weapon, it's more fun for me to play the underrated ones. I just don't want to be one of 3 million gals or 2 million e-litre... and I will accept it always to be in disadvantage.

 

[Airi]

E-Liter is one of those weapons. Their instant bombs and high range, paired with Splatoons comically bad sniper mechanics causes this weapon to be a must pick. Can a good player make a bamboozler work? Yes, but if that player would invest the same time getting as good with an E-Liter he would overall be in a better position.

The E-Liter and Bamboozler are two completely different weapons that require completely different play styles. The comparison between the two is honestly rather absurd and a failed comparison. You'd be better to compare the Splat Charger and E-Liter since they are more similar. A Bamboozler can survive in close range and fast combat. An E-Liter cannot survive unless they spam Burst Bombs - and they've only got three of those at most. I know Bamboozler players who can take out even the best E-Liters with ease. Just because you think a weapon puts you in a better position is not correct for everyone. Which brings back the point that tier lists cannot work for Splatoon.

A Luna Blaster, aswell as a E-Liter is basically required to have any chance at winning on TC. You could change the E-Liter to Hydrant but if the enemy team has a E-Liter and your team a Hydrant, chances are you are going to lose.

If you can't win a Tower Control battle without a Luna and/or E-Liter.... That says nothing about the weapons. It says everything about the lack of skill the player has at Tower Control. I've won many matches where the other team had an E-Liter and/or Luna. They still lost. These don't guarantee you a win or heighten your chances at a win. If you can't beat a team with a Luna or E-Liter, it is completely on you for not knowing how to do so.

*Hydra

Furthermore, this once again depends upon the player and once again bring backs the point that tier lists cannot work for Splatoon. I'm a Hydra main. Yes, E-Liters give me a little more trouble than most weapons do. However, E-Liters have a MASSIVE weakness and any smart Hydra will take advantage of it. E-Liters often focus on their target and they fail to take account of their surroundings. It is not hard to get the jump on an E-Liter as a Hydra and take them out. Most people can't use a Hydra - the same way that most cannot use an E-Liter - but that doesn't make the weapon worse... It makes the player worse.

The enemy team has a Luna Blaster and you have a slosher? Well again, the Luna Blaster is just better at clearing the tower of enemies.

The Luna has to actually get to the Tower first. Any smart team isn't going to just let a Luna Blaster waltz up to the tower and is going to keep them away. Meanwhile, a Slosher has much more range and a skilled player doesn't need to get right up on the tower to kill while a Luna Blaster does. Is it better at killing? Sure. But its weakness is range and smart players will exploit that whereas Sloshers have enough range to keep a safe distance.

There is a reason why you never see a weapon with point sensor or disrupter on high rank matches. Those weapons are already outclassed by the fact that walls, and all kinds of bombs are better.

Really? I'm an S rank and I see Heavy Splatling Decos all the time in Ranked matches. They're actually becoming a lot more common than the regular one because the Kraken is overall better for Ranked modes (except SZ) than the Inkstrike is. It's preferable and the Point Sensor helps with aim. Tri-Sloshers are also fairly common and so are Zink Mini Splatlings - both weapons have and utilize the Distruptor. The Zinks are quite common actually - especially in TC and SZ.

There are 70 weapons in the game in the game right now. If all weapons would be equally balanced each weapon would have an average pick rate of around 1.4%.
Now, I see many weapons while playing that are far beyond those 1.4% pickrate. I often see the same weapon 2-4 times in a match.

Having the same weapon picked twice, if each choice would be equal would have a chance of 0.02%. Three times the same weapon would be 0.0003%... that is 3 in one milllion matches you play will have the same weapon 3 times... if the weapons would be equal choices. But they aren't. Players like to pick better options. And that is why you see this more often than once every 333,333 games... because choosing a weapon isn't just based on your prefferred playstyle, but also in effectiveness in combat, and that effectiveness varies per weapon. Some are better, some are worse. And this can be categorized in tier. So yes, Tier lists do work even for splatoon.

There are weapons who have a lower learning curve. The Tentatek/Octoshot doesn't have a high learning curve and this is why we often see them in Ranked matches. They're much easier to learn how to use than the E-Liter or Hydra is. Does this make them better? No. Does this make the users less skilled? Of course not. Every weapon has its own learning curve. Some of them are higher and harder to master so we will naturally see them less. It's human nature to stop using something if it feels too difficult for you. A higher learning curve does not equal a bad weapon.

 

[KayB]

A higher learning curve does not equal a bad weapon.

It may not make the weapon bad, but it often makes the weapon inferior to others in certain areas. A weapon is objectively worse than another if one takes a longer and harder time to accomplish the same role with the same effectiveness.

You can't make an overall tier list for weapons in Splatoon since it isn't as streamlined as fighting games. However, I do believe you can make a tier list you focus on specific aspects such as stage and role in the team. Splatoon just isn't developed enough at this point in time where someone can make an accurate tier list.

Furthermore, this once again depends upon the player and once again bring backs the point that tier lists cannot work for Splatoon. I'm a Hydra main. Yes, E-Liters give me a little more trouble than most weapons do. However, E-Liters have a MASSIVE weakness and any smart Hydra will take advantage of it. E-Liters often focus on their target and they fail to take account of their surroundings. It is not hard to get the jump on an E-Liter as a Hydra and take them out. Most people can't use a Hydra - the same way that most cannot use an E-Liter - but that doesn't make the weapon worse... It makes the player worse.

Also, this is not a counter argument. This is anecdotal evidence. I'm not saying I disagree with you, but this is a weak response.

 

[Dreamy Luigi]

With the team aspect of this game, I feel like a tier list would have to be involving all the different types of weapons and maybe even roles themselves. You just can't compare an E Liter to a .52 Gal, they're two different weapons that are both top of their class but they do two different things and neither can do the other. So you could make an offensive line shooter tier list, a long range charger tier list, a "support" tier list but there are so many different support weapons I feel like it'd be a mess. Then there are those short range chargers that act like glorified shooters but the skill needed is high so they just go with actual shooters or just snipe... oh my.

One grand tier list wouldn't work, multiple tier lists for every type of weapon in the game wouldn't really be needed as it's easy to get an idea of what weapon you want and/or a huge mess.

 

[NotAPerso]

A general tier list would be ineffective at correct power ranking due to the team nature of Splatoon.

In my opinion a proper breakdown of each weapon's strengths and weaknesses with comparisons to similar weapons based on effectiveness categories could be useful. So rather than broad generalizations of x weapon is much better than all other weapons in y category, you'd get a more thorough case by case description on how each weapon would benefit a team without assigning absolute strength of a specific weapon.

Fleshing out why someone may want to choose a weapon like the Neo Splash-o-matic over Tentatek Splattershot would be interesting.

 

[BlackZero]

There are 70 weapons in the game in the game right now. If all weapons would be equally balanced each weapon would have an average pick rate of around 1.4%.
Now, I see many weapons while playing that are far beyond those 1.4% pickrate. I often see the same weapon 2-4 times in a match.

Having the same weapon picked twice, if each choice would be equal would have a chance of 0.02%. Three times the same weapon would be 0.0003%... that is 3 in one milllion matches you play will have the same weapon 3 times... if the weapons would be equal choices. But they aren't. Players like to pick better options. And that is why you see this more often than once every 333,333 games... because choosing a weapon isn't just based on your prefferred playstyle, but also in effectiveness in combat, and that effectiveness varies per weapon. Some are better, some are worse. And this can be categorized in tier. So yes, Tier lists do work even for splatoon.

This ignores a lot of factors like personal preference, weapons that are not available until a certain level, and game mode. It's kinda hard to choose a weapon you haven't unlocked yet. Your tier would get even more complicated because they aren't just weapons alone. They are a complete kit of a weapon, a sub, and a special. So not only are we having to rank the weapons, we are also having to rank their subs and specials, then rank how those compare to other subs and specials, then rank how those subs and specials complement the weapon, then put all of that into a rank of the total package.

We then have to try and compare several different weapons with very different philosophies behind their design. For example, you can't compare the Aero to the Squelcher. They are designed for two different functions despite being in the same weapon class. When putting together a list this complicated with this many caveats, you're going to end up with rather arbitrary results that may or may not be accurate. Is the E-Liter the best charger? That depends, because there are two completely different types of chargers: short range, quick charge and long range "sniper" chargers. The Splat Charger kinda falls in between because you can use it either way with decent success. So that leaves only the E-Liter family for true sniper chargers. Can we rank the short range chargers? Maybe. Bambi takes two shots to kill, but always fires at full range. Squiff is a one-shot kill, but has to be charged to fire full range. Clearly the Squiffer is superior right? What good is a charger that takes two shots to kill? Oh wait, the Bambi can spam uncharged shots to ink turf way more efficiently than the Squiffer? And inking turf is more useful that raw kills? So the Bambi is better? We haven't even started on the subs and specials, and we've already come to a debate of whether killing power or coverage is better for a weapon.

 

[Leronne]

This ignores a lot of factors like personal preference, weapons that are not available until a certain level, and game mode. It's kinda hard to choose a weapon you haven't unlocked yet. Your tier would get even more complicated because they aren't just weapons alone. They are a complete kit of a weapon, a sub, and a special. So not only are we having to rank the weapons, we are also having to rank their subs and specials, then rank how those compare to other subs and specials, then rank how those subs and specials complement the weapon, then put all of that into a rank of the total package.

We then have to try and compare several different weapons with very different philosophies behind their design. For example, you can't compare the Aero to the Squelcher. They are designed for two different functions despite being in the same weapon class. When putting together a list this complicated with this many caveats, you're going to end up with rather arbitrary results that may or may not be accurate. Is the E-Liter the best charger? That depends, because there are two completely different types of chargers: short range, quick charge and long range "sniper" chargers. The Splat Charger kinda falls in between because you can use it either way with decent success. So that leaves only the E-Liter family for true sniper chargers. Can we rank the short range chargers? Maybe. Bambi takes two shots to kill, but always fires at full range. Squiff is a one-shot kill, but has to be charged to fire full range. Clearly the Squiffer is superior right? What good is a charger that takes two shots to kill? Oh wait, the Bambi can spam uncharged shots to ink turf way more efficiently than the Squiffer? And inking turf is more useful that raw kills? So the Bambi is better? We haven't even started on the subs and specials, and we've already come to a debate of whether killing power or coverage is better for a weapon.

The bambi (i really love that name) is pretty proficient at splatting actually and isn't really all that good at inking turf because of it's really thin inkspread. But i highly agree with the point you're making.