Can I have some Blaster/Mint Advice?

[miso!]

I’m trying to get better as an individual before I try competitive. Are there any good tips for Blaster and Mint? These are my mains, but I’m still very inconsistent. I need help with how to position, and probably some matchups. Please and thank you!

 

[DzNutsKong]

Hey! Welcome to Squidboards! I've got a lot I could say about the Decavitator but all of it would already be in a guide I wrote here. If you'd like I'm also more than willing to review some replays for both weapons, although it might take some time for me to do so due to irl stuff getting in the way.

Otherwise, for some more general stuff, make sure you're playing the game often. After each game, try to think about things you could be doing differently to see better results. Even if it's small this is a game where small things can matter. Make sure you keep a healthy diet and sleep schedule because those can make it much easier to focus and step away from the game if you're tilting.


It's kind of difficult to say much more without knowing your exact skill level to be honest, since as far as I know you could be stuck in the B-Ranks or you could be even better than I am but lack in self-confidence, not to mention each of the possible things that might be making someone feel stuck at their current skill level, but I and plenty of other people would be glad to help talk it out here!

 

[miso!]

Thank you! I’ll probably review it on my own, I think I just overextend myself and push things too far.

 

[McSquid82]

With blasters it's all about spacing. You need to focus on getting directs rather than indirects. What I mean by that is getting your opponents in the center of the blast radius. Most blasters will 1 shot with the exception of a few, namely the Rapid Blaster (regular and Pro) and the Clash Blaster. Directs are even more important with the Clash, because while the Rapid can combo off an indirect for a 2 shot, Clash needs 2 directs to Splat. Its indirects are so weak that it takes four of them to splat, or two of them and one direct despite its high fire rate.

 

[isaac4]

I'm open to offering some Blaster advice but it is a little difficult without an idea of what your current skill level is.
Regardless, I'll give some general advice and say that playing around terrain and your indirect blast radius is extremely important to Blaster.
It might be faster than most of the other weapons in its class but it's still a blaster so having the ability to hit the opponent while they can't hit you is extremely beneficial, especially when you're dealing with faster weapons that need direct sightline to shoot at you.
You're playing a fighting weapon though so you can't be too passive with your positioning and thankfully, Blaster does have two kits that help it take/keep control of an area.

There's nothing else for me to add but if you have something more specific you want to ask about then I have no problem answering that.

 

[miso!]

When moving up, how do you know when you’re in a good position, or you’re moving too far up? This is what I struggle with most, I often go too far, and dont get value because of it. Is there any rule of thumb or just a general idea to help against that? (Also, I probably should have put this in the original post, but I’m in A rank. I know the rank system is, of course, not perfect, but it gives a somewhat decent benchmark to go from.)

 

[isaac4]

It really depends on the current state of the match but a good way to recognize if you're pushing too far ahead is if your position is far from where your team and the objective is.
There is the potential to get some picks but it also leaves your team at a disadvantage if one of their players isn't there to help them push.
You don't want to play too passively but you can't entirely ignore your team and potentially put them into a 3v4 situation or worse if someone is currently down.

It would also help if you could send a replay as an example of what you struggle with.

 

[DzNutsKong]

As Isaac said it largely depends on the state of the match but I can say what I usually keep in mind.

If you're not able to threaten, poke at, or distract opponents, or if you're not trying to lock down some kind of space that the opponents want to get into, then chances are your current position isn't very good. Also, if you're in a spot where weapons both outrange you and can reach around cover to hit you or can see you in the open, then you need to be cautious of those.

The big exceptions are if your weapon needs to farm for its special quickly or if it cannot afford to die soon for some other reason, then not dying should come first. It's very vague, I know, but some part of this was going to be no matter what. You should still be looking for opportunities for the above to apply though. Easiest example is an N-ZAP during most points of the game. Your goal with that weapon is to get Tacticooler and if you die without Tacticooler active then that is a massive setback for your team. So you should be playing more patiently with the main goal of not dying, but also looking for other ways to effect the state of the game, mainly with Suction Bombs and playing very close to teammates so you can help them force 2v1s. You can apply these concepts to a lot of other weapons.

If you can't move to too many other parts of the map without being vulnerable, then chances are your position could be better. An example of this is the bottom right area of mid in Scorch Gorge where, yeah, you might be able to poke at some enemies there, but if you need to get to the very center of the map because someone's climbed up there then you'll have a rough time. It's fine to be in spots like here sometimes but it's something to be mindful of. Again, depends on what the state of the game is.

It all takes some feeling out for each map but I hope this helps regardless!