Splatoon 2 Competitive meta discussion (Splatoon 2)

[Nerdbird]

Hi
Let me just say for the record that I have spent WAAAAY too long trawling through the never-ending digital treasure-trove of Squidboards to make sure this thread didn’t already exist. If a duplicate of this DOES exist then do please tell me and we can move the discussion onto that instead...

But onto the thing you came here for...

In short, I want to set this thread up so people can talk about everything to do with (you guessed it) the meta.

What weapons are good now after the last patch?

I’m having trouble counting this weapon, can anyone help me?

If I want to get into competitive Splatoon, what sort of weapons should I learn to play?

All of these (and more) are questions you can freely ask (and answer) on this thread, so please ask away...



(Now watch this thread die miserably roughly three minutes after I click “create thread” ;))

 

[Flammie]

Currently in Tower Control, i can admit and confess being a Clash Blaster user myself, the Clash Blaster has momentum in becoming the meta for most used weapon there, all i know it's useful enough to destroy the entire opponent team if caught at the right momentum.

Also it did receive a small explosion radius buff some time ago, so it is more useful than before.

 

[MotorGamer]

Hi
Let me just say for the record that I have spent WAAAAY too long trawling through the never-ending digital treasure-trove of Squidboards to make sure this thread didn’t already exist. If a duplicate of this DOES exist then do please tell me and we can move the discussion onto that instead...

But onto the thing you came here for...

In short, I want to set this thread up so people can talk about everything to do with (you guessed it) the meta.

What weapons are good now after the last patch?

I’m having trouble counting this weapon, can anyone help me?

If I want to get into competitive Splatoon, what sort of weapons should I learn to play?

All of these (and more) are questions you can freely ask (and answer) on this thread, so please ask away...



(Now watch this thread die miserably roughly three minutes after I click “create thread” ;))

The Clash Blaster and the Dappled are both really good weapons right now. The Clash is just absolutely broken. I still think that Sting Ray and Splash down are the best specials right now, with Bubble Blower close behind. I can see the Clash getting a nerf in 3.0

 

[Aromaiden]

The Clash Blaster and the Dappled are both really good weapons right now. The Clash is just absolutely broken. I still think that Sting Ray and Splash down are the best specials right now, with Bubble Blower close behind. I can see the Clash getting a nerf in 3.0

I don't think it's necessary atm, tbh. Maybe depending on the future kit, but as of right now the Clash is in a good area. Being an alright 'rogue' choice with a good kit and alright weapon. The main issue is its lacking TTK and range which give it a poor match up with a lot of the more popular weapons.

The games in a pretty alright state right now, where a fair amount of weapons from different categories are reasonably useful. The only real outstanding issues are Stingray and to a slightly lesser extent, Bubble Blower. Whose broken factor is held back by its lack of prevalence on good kits.

Besides that, however, Specials are in a good place as well, with Missles being the main Special Struggling to find a foothold in the game. Good choices right now are both the Splatlings, many of the Blasters, Slosher Deco, Black N-Zap, Splat Roller, etc... Like you could go on a for a good while of all the viable choices right now. It's really nice

 

[MotorGamer]

I don't think it's necessary atm, tbh. Maybe depending on the future kit, but as of right now the Clash is in a good area. Being an alright 'rogue' choice with a good kit and alright weapon. The main issue is its lacking TTK and range which give it a poor match up with a lot of the more popular weapons.

The games in a pretty alright state right now, where a fair amount of weapons from different categories are reasonably useful. The only real outstanding issues are Stingray and to a slightly lesser extent, Bubble Blower. Whose broken factor is held back by its lack of prevalence on good kits.

Besides that, however, Specials are in a good place as well, with Missles being the main Special Struggling to find a foothold in the game. Good choices right now are both the Splatlings, many of the Blasters, Slosher Deco, Black N-Zap, Splat Roller, etc... Like you could go on a for a good while of all the viable choices right now. It's really nice

While the game is getting more balanced, there are still broken things, and I still think that the Clash makescother weapons unviable. The E Litre is pretty much useless right now, and Chargers just in general aren't doing to well

 

[Mar$el]

While the game is getting more balanced, there are still broken things, and I still think that the Clash makescother weapons unviable. The E Litre is pretty much useless right now, and Chargers just in general aren't doing to well

Personally I'm surprised to hear this. I really don't think clash is all that great. People may be seeing it in casual solo, but in terms of higher level play it really does get outclassed by weapons that kill much faster. It's still a pretty good weapon but no better than the blaster/custom blaster. This kind of goes the same way with splashdown, where people are so good at shutting down splashdown it's lost its place in the meta to an extent. As for the E-liter, it still sees some use and when things get chaotic the long range can really help to stay out of trouble and still be useful. The heavy and the Splat Charger are used much much more often, but I wouldn't say it's useless. As for chargers, if anything I've seen them get more use. Good chargers just shut everything down. They make for deadly backliner weapons with the ability to kill you in the blink of an eye. People say that it gets outclassed by the jet but personally I disagree (sorry to all the jet mains I just love the charger). I'd say in general a charger would be better on most maps. It has more range, 1HKO, and a good kit. Where the jet comes into play might be on busier maps like blackbelly where things get chaotic right in front of your face. I've seen charger mains like Pokefan go with Custom Jet in these situations, though mostly sticking to charger (though it is her main). All in all it comes down to preference and chargers are pretty useful when they're good. Earlier today I was working on ttek in league, then switched to hero charger and since my aim was on point and I could charge hold to extend my range, I blocked off giant sections of the map through taking the bunker in Manta Maria. I'm not saying chargers are the best weapons ever, I'm just refuting the point that chargers aren't doing too well.

 

[Nerdbird]

Personally I'm surprised to hear this. I really don't think clash is all that great. People may be seeing it in casual solo, but in terms of higher level play it really does get outclassed by weapons that kill much faster. It's still a pretty good weapon but no better than the blaster/custom blaster. This kind of goes the same way with splashdown, where people are so good at shutting down splashdown it's lost its place in the meta to an extent. As for the E-liter, it still sees some use and when things get chaotic the long range can really help to stay out of trouble and still be useful. The heavy and the Splat Charger are used much much more often, but I wouldn't say it's useless. As for chargers, if anything I've seen them get more use. Good chargers just shut everything down. They make for deadly backliner weapons with the ability to kill you in the blink of an eye. People say that it gets outclassed by the jet but personally I disagree (sorry to all the jet mains I just love the charger). I'd say in general a charger would be better on most maps. It has more range, 1HKO, and a good kit. Where the jet comes into play might be on busier maps like blackbelly where things get chaotic right in front of your face. I've seen charger mains like Pokefan go with Custom Jet in these situations, though mostly sticking to charger (though it is her main). All in all it comes down to preference and chargers are pretty useful when they're good. Earlier today I was working on ttek in league, then switched to hero charger and since my aim was on point and I could charge hold to extend my range, I blocked off giant sections of the map through taking the bunker in Manta Maria. I'm not saying chargers are the best weapons ever, I'm just refuting the point that chargers aren't doing too well.

I agree, although I think that a clash blaster range nerf is definitely in the works....

 

[Aromaiden]

Generally, I agree with Marsel. The Clash Blaster struggles because it simply lacks the benefits that several other popular weapons have which puts it in a weird spot meta-wise. It's a fine weapon to use, but I don't think it needs a nerf atm. At least until we see what the new kit does for it.

 

[The Salamander King]

I don't think it's necessary atm, tbh. Maybe depending on the future kit, but as of right now the Clash is in a good area. Being an alright 'rogue' choice with a good kit and alright weapon. The main issue is its lacking TTK and range which give it a poor match up with a lot of the more popular weapons.

The games in a pretty alright state right now, where a fair amount of weapons from different categories are reasonably useful. The only real outstanding issues are Stingray and to a slightly lesser extent, Bubble Blower. Whose broken factor is held back by its lack of prevalence on good kits.

Besides that, however, Specials are in a good place as well, with Missles being the main Special Struggling to find a foothold in the game. Good choices right now are both the Splatlings, many of the Blasters, Slosher Deco, Black N-Zap, Splat Roller, etc... Like you could go on a for a good while of all the viable choices right now. It's really nice

With the blast size buff, Clash actually outranges Splattershot, Splash o Matic, Nzap, .52 Gal, and even the Blaster itself.

As for chargers, I think they're at a good place right now, a notable exception being the Eliter, which needs its old range back. I still think running Heavy or CJS would be better on most maps, but they definitely have a place.

The current meta is Blaster and Slosher Deco, with Heavy/Heavy Deco on the rise.

Spoiler: Blaster

The Blaster is really stupid. The Splashdown combos much too well with the main weapon and effectively eliminate one of only 2 weaknesses the weapon originally had. Make the number of points needed to get special over 200 and I think it'll be fine for the most part.

Spoiler: Slosher Deco

I honestly don't see how this is meta. It's most definitely not the worst weapon in the game, but I'd rather use the vanilla. Feel free to yell at me and tell me why Slosher Deco is so good because I honestly have no idea.

Spoiler: Heavy/Heavy Deco

These are quickly becoming the staple backline defence/support weapons and there are many reasons why. They paint well, kill fast, have long range, good kits, and don't have the highest skill floor. As a Custom Jet Squelcher Main, Heavy Deco is the bane of my existence. I hate that thing.

The end

 

[MotorGamer]

With the blast size buff, Clash actually outranges Splattershot, Splash o Matic, Nzap, .52 Gal, and even the Blaster itself.

As for chargers, I think they're at a good place right now, a notable exception being the Eliter, which needs its old range back. I still think running Heavy or CJS would be better on most maps, but they definitely have a place.

The current meta is Blaster and Slosher Deco, with Heavy/Heavy Deco on the rise.

Spoiler: Blaster

The Blaster is really stupid. The Splashdown combos much too well with the main weapon and effectively eliminate one of only 2 weaknesses the weapon originally had. Make the number of points needed to get special over 200 and I think it'll be fine for the most part.

Spoiler: Slosher Deco

I honestly don't see how this is meta. It's most definitely not the worst weapon in the game, but I'd rather use the vanilla. Feel free to yell at me and tell me why Slosher Deco is so good because I honestly have no idea.

Spoiler: Heavy/Heavy Deco

These are quickly becoming the staple backline defence/support weapons and there are many reasons why. They paint well, kill fast, have long range, good kits, and don't have the highest skill floor. As a Custom Jet Squelcher Main, Heavy Deco is the bane of my existence. I hate that thing.

The end

I was considering making Heavy my main the other day. Got quite a few wins the other day with it in Rainmaker.

 

[Mar$el]

With the blast size buff, Clash actually outranges Splattershot, Splash o Matic, Nzap, .52 Gal, and even the Blaster itself.

As for chargers, I think they're at a good place right now, a notable exception being the Eliter, which needs its old range back. I still think running Heavy or CJS would be better on most maps, but they definitely have a place.

The current meta is Blaster and Slosher Deco, with Heavy/Heavy Deco on the rise.

Spoiler: Blaster

The Blaster is really stupid. The Splashdown combos much too well with the main weapon and effectively eliminate one of only 2 weaknesses the weapon originally had. Make the number of points needed to get special over 200 and I think it'll be fine for the most part.

Spoiler: Slosher Deco

I honestly don't see how this is meta. It's most definitely not the worst weapon in the game, but I'd rather use the vanilla. Feel free to yell at me and tell me why Slosher Deco is so good because I honestly have no idea.

Spoiler: Heavy/Heavy Deco

These are quickly becoming the staple backline defence/support weapons and there are many reasons why. They paint well, kill fast, have long range, good kits, and don't have the highest skill floor. As a Custom Jet Squelcher Main, Heavy Deco is the bane of my existence. I hate that thing.

The end

Slosher Deco is so good because it's basically a baller machine. You have sprinkler and like 190p for the thing. And baller is pretty easy to push in with, especially in zones which is what all the competitive players play. For the weapon itself, it's a 2 hit kill with pretty good range and good maneuvering allows it to get nice kills on every weapon class. Also it's ability to curve sloshes really helps to get close range turns for 70 damage. It paints really well. And speaking of painting, the heavy deco is really good at it. And so is sprinkler. And stingray takes enemies down like flies. And a heavy with a full charge is arguably the most powerful weapon in the game. It'll definitely have it's special fill gauge increased quite a bit. Also probably some sort of stingray nerf in 3.0. But only time will tell.

 

[MotorGamer]

Slosher Deco is so good because it's basically a baller machine. You have sprinkler and like 190p for the thing. And baller is pretty easy to push in with, especially in zones which is what all the competitive players play. For the weapon itself, it's a 2 hit kill with pretty good range and good maneuvering allows it to get nice kills on every weapon class. Also it's ability to curve sloshes really helps to get close range turns for 70 damage. It paints really well. And speaking of painting, the heavy deco is really good at it. And so is sprinkler. And stingray takes enemies down like flies. And a heavy with a full charge is arguably the most powerful weapon in the game. It'll definitely have it's special fill gauge increased quite a bit. Also probably some sort of stingray nerf in 3.0. But only time will tell.

I would actually like it if they made the specials almost as good as Splatoon 1’s. And the weird thing isn’t that I feel like some of Splatoon 2’s specials feel better already. Sting Ray IMO is better than killer wail. Even though many will argue I actually think Spalshdown is better, because I don’t really care about where I want it, but it is helpful that is is like surrounding me. Also super jumping with this thing is OP. However things like Ink Armor are straight up downgrades, yet I feel like these specials aren’t to far apart in how good they are. It’s in a weird position right now. Bubble Blower is really good, especially on the Heavy Deco where it can break them really fast to. Group kills are amazing with it. Tentative Missles are kind of like Ink Strike, where you are launching missles, except you are launching smaller ones at targets you aim at. Baller is like Kraken, and even though it isn’t a one hit kill in a roll, it is still a two hit kill. And honestly the baller is like a bubbler in a way, it protects you. And it actually protects you a good amount, it just doesn’t allow you to fire your weapon or spread it to other team mates. Ink Storm is a decent painter, and is still deadly in Splat Zones, like Ink Strike was. The Bomb Launcher while having less bombs allows you to control how far they go, which is cool, and they don’t limit you to your sub being the same. Inkjet is weird, it’s it’s own thing. Sort of like an Inkzooka I guess??? It’s gives you an automatic high ground and something like a blaster that has the potential to one hit. The Imkzooka was guaranteed one hit if it made contact, but the Ink Jet gives you the high ground, regardless if you see that as a good or bad thing

 

[Lonely_Dolphin]

With the blast size buff, Clash actually outranges Splattershot, Splash o Matic, Nzap, .52 Gal, and even the Blaster itself.

As for chargers, I think they're at a good place right now, a notable exception being the Eliter, which needs its old range back. I still think running Heavy or CJS would be better on most maps, but they definitely have a place.

The current meta is Blaster and Slosher Deco, with Heavy/Heavy Deco on the rise.

Spoiler: Blaster

The Blaster is really stupid. The Splashdown combos much too well with the main weapon and effectively eliminate one of only 2 weaknesses the weapon originally had. Make the number of points needed to get special over 200 and I think it'll be fine for the most part.

Spoiler: Slosher Deco

I honestly don't see how this is meta. It's most definitely not the worst weapon in the game, but I'd rather use the vanilla. Feel free to yell at me and tell me why Slosher Deco is so good because I honestly have no idea.

Spoiler: Heavy/Heavy Deco

These are quickly becoming the staple backline defence/support weapons and there are many reasons why. They paint well, kill fast, have long range, good kits, and don't have the highest skill floor. As a Custom Jet Squelcher Main, Heavy Deco is the bane of my existence. I hate that thing.

The end

The Clash Blaster actually has roughly 2.7 lines of range, less than the regular Blaster's 2.8, and just barely more than Splattershot's/N'Zaps 2.6 lines. The weapon is really good for sure but I don't think it needs nerfing. Course I use the weapon myself so I'm obviously biased hehe.

I'm surprised you don't see what's good about the Slosher Deco when you acknowledge the Blaster-Splashdown combo is too strong. It's basically the same thing, easy combo kills with a Slosher hit (70 dmg) + Baller hit (50-55 dmg).

 

[MotorGamer]

The Clash Blaster actually has roughly 2.7 lines of range, less than the regular Blaster's 2.8, and just barely more than Splattershot's/N'Zaps 2.6 lines. The weapon is really good for sure but I don't think it needs nerfing. Course I use the weapon myself so I'm obviously biased hehe.

I'm surprised you don't see what's good about the Slosher Deco when you acknowledge the Blaster-Splashdown combo is too strong. It's basically the same thing, easy combo kills with a Slosher hit (70 dmg) + Baller hit (50-55 dmg).

I thought the Nzap had more range? Maybe I am wrong... wow ok

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Spoiler: Clash Blaster Analysis

Clash doesn't need a nerf in the slightest.

The weapon finally got good, and it has a niche of being a fast paced blaster. However, as a blaster main myself, I hate this thing. The weapon just doesn't feel like a blaster to me, as directs are purely optional on this blaster. Which (as a range/rapid main) just doesn't make any sense to me. However, I think it has the niche of fighting short range shooters rather well, as it outranges them and can dance around them with indirects.

And the blast radius is very forgiving on this blaster, making it only a matter of dodging the opponent's attacks rather than trying to aim. And missing a shot doesn't matter when you're spitting a shot out every 1/5th of a second. Which is much faster than other blasters.

However, this comes at a cost. It only deals 30 damage with an indirect, and only 60 damage with a direct. Making it's time to kill extremely slow if the user only goes for indirects. Making it a 4 shot taking just over a second.

"Just over a second? @ThatOneGuy, that's not slow at all"

Oh, but it is rather slow in this game. Compared to weapons like the N-Zap firing 12 shots a second, or the .52 with 6 shots a second, allowing them to kill you 3 times over before the clash with indirects could kill you once. Even ranged weapons, like the Splattershot pro kill faster. And even weaker weapons, like the inkbrush kill faster. Making the Clash Blaster a slow kill when only indirects are used.

Not to mention the sloshing machine does whatever this weapon does (frontline, blaster like stingray) with more damage and range. All it takes is some aim and it doesn't have as much mobility.


"But with the clash blaster's stingray, it becomes a tower control beast"
But can it get that stingray fast / consistently without sacrificing it's build to special saver / comeback / tenacity / or special charge? Usually, no, since the painting is rather poor compared to other stingray weapons like the .52 deco and the jet squelcher (which aren't the best painters in the first place).

Also, the curling bomb + tentamissle kit is not scary at all. It still has the same problems as the first kit, and you don't even have a stingray to be a threat on tower and rainmaker. Instead you have inconsistent tentamissles. Not much of a threat, especially when the tentamissles need to get back to do damage, and the clash needs to go upfront to do damage.

With it's weaknesses of below average range, slow time to kill, and poor painting, the indirect size and fire rate is fine. The Clash has finally seen some success, and it shouldn't be nerfed as soon as it finds a niche.

But for weapons that seem to have taken the meta, slosher deco and heavy splatling seem like the most notable weapons to mention (along with vanilla blaster).

I'm not going to talk about vanilla blaster just because I'm sick and tired of discussing it.
In short, just a forgiving weapon with a panic button and a nice combo. Extremely one dimensional, with it's indirect + splashdown combo and with less endlag to be a nice close range killer. It's main weakness is paint, so nerfing the points to special will do a lot of damage to this weapon.

Spoiler: Slosher Deco analysis

Slosher Deco, outside of zones and clam blitz, isn't that scary of a weapon. But in zones / clams it's a very good weapon.

It's still rather slow, and the time to kill is rather slow as well. Baller is not much of a threat in rainmaker and tower control, like it is on Zones or Clam Blitz. As for the main weapon, the slosher cannot break a rainmaker shield fast with just sloshes, and sloshing over the tower spire breaks the slosh, which sucks.

While being slow, and having a slow time to kill, Baller allows it to start pushes in clam blitz and instant captures on the zone. Along with it's respectable range and ability to kill over ledges, makes it a respectable slayer weapon with some paint to boot. Making it a solid addition to any team in those two modes. And thanks to sprinkler, the slosher doesn't need to be watching the zone in order to paint it. Not to mention it's amazing matchup against the vanilla blaster, outranging it, and having baller to tank hits and combo off of.

Slosher Deco needs to be careful of the heavy splatling before it starts getting comfortable. As a heavy can take the baller away, and toast it from far away. And it paints better as well. The slosher deco is a solid weapon, but it's not on the levels of broken.

Spoiler: Heavy Splatling Analysis

Heavy Splatling has finally seen some use in the current meta, I'm surprised it took this long.

The main reason why heavy splatling is so popular is because it's one of the only weapons in the game with range and consistent paint. Plus with it's fast time to kill, and DPS when charged, it makes it a reliable defending weapon that can guard many objectives. Along with both of the specials it can have, stingray and bubbles, it can defend pushes extremely well. Denying towers and rainmakers with stingray, and making pushes with bubbles on zones and clams.

Chargers, jet squelchers, the hydra splatling and the squeezer are the only main weapons that get close to the heavy splatling's range, but they can't offer nearly as much paint to compensate. Making the heavy one the only hardcore painting anchor in the game, with it's ability to confront opponents and cover the map quickly. And it's two specials make it a defensive beast in this metagame.

However, there are some other weapons that I think people are sleeping on right now.

Spoiler: Dapple Dualies

The Dapple Dualies are painting monsters. Both kits allow for fast paint and fast specials that help paint the map further. Not to mention the vanilla's beacons and the blue kit's toxic mist to further aid allies.

But besides being support weapons, the dapple dualies are incredibly mobile, in the light weight class, and having some of the best DPS after a dodge roll, allowing you to shred opponents who get close.

The only weakness these things have is their pitiful range. However, their dodge rolls and light mobility help them maneuver to enemies quicker, and allow for quick escapes if the dualies can't fight the threat immediately.

Spoiler: H-3 D

Reliable range, paint, killing power, and supportive special all rolled into one? (without any shot deviation or rng) Impossible, you say. However, the H-3 D exists. With it's good range, killing power, and paint, it can be one of the best defensive weapons to put onto your team. As it's potential for a 3 shot one combo kill is incredibly nice. And having a ranged weapon that can put out ink armor reliably is nice.

Suction Bomb and Armor really help on defense, particularly on clam blitz and tower control, since you can close off chokepoints / potential objective paths with the suction bombs, and have your team prepared for a push in any mode with the ink armor.

The only problem is that it's rather unreliable. As the weapon is extremely good on paper, the amount of endlag after a miss completely jinxes it from becoming popular. And it's rather unforgiving to a player who misses frequently. But to a seasoned player, the H-3 D is a wonderful weapon that has a high skill floor and ceiling. Making it a wonderful time investment to those who put their best effort into it.

 

[Lonely_Dolphin]

Such a great write up by @ThatOneGuy as always! I agree with pretty much everything you said... however! As a Slosher enthusiast I can't help but nitpick a little lel. Slosher itself may not be the greatest rainmaker popping weapon, but the Deco has Sprinklers which can pop shields surprisingly fast. Placing one inside the Rainmaker as the shield is still forming or right next to the shield and it'll shred. As for it's Baller Vs. Heavy Splattlings, I'm usually able to get within range of the Slosh-Ball combo before being forced to detonate, but then I do use 1 main 9 subs of Special Power, probably not your average Slosher Deco build hehe.

I thought the Nzap had more range? Maybe I am wrong... wow ok

You can see for yourself in the testing range, it's actually the .52 gal that has more range than it's counterparts.

 

[the]

I never see anyone using the luna blaster. Does that need a buff? I remember people complaining that it’s outclassed by the clash blaster right now

 

[superlativeb]

ehh yeah, "meta" stuff exists a bit but I'll keep playing a weapon that I enjoy and can be proud of admitting to play as. I mean I get it , and sorry not trying to put anyone down - forget what anyone else thinks, esp. me but just saying that I highly advocate playing what you like / finding what role on the team suits you and the team best. Balance is important but ya sure can take nearly any weapon in this game very far with practice and persistence. like even if I'm on the losing end of a good exchange it is awesome and that skill / variety is what keeps me around. No hard feels tho , all is fair in ranked and war. but not turf war lol. Careful tho , the more of one weapon the quicker people learn to counter it . Hopefully !! ;)

 

[MotorGamer]

I never see anyone using the luna blaster. Does that need a buff? I remember people complaining that it’s outclassed by the clash blaster right now

It is pretty much completely out classed. The only thing going for it is the one hit kill, which isn’t really used much anyways, just two indirect mostly. So unless if you have good aim, use the Clash, and even then, if you are accurate you can still kill quite fats with the clash

 

[MotorGamer]

Spoiler: Clash Blaster Analysis

Clash doesn't need a nerf in the slightest.

The weapon finally got good, and it has a niche of being a fast paced blaster. However, as a blaster main myself, I hate this thing. The weapon just doesn't feel like a blaster to me, as directs are purely optional on this blaster. Which (as a range/rapid main) just doesn't make any sense to me. However, I think it has the niche of fighting short range shooters rather well, as it outranges them and can dance around them with indirects.

And the blast radius is very forgiving on this blaster, making it only a matter of dodging the opponent's attacks rather than trying to aim. And missing a shot doesn't matter when you're spitting a shot out every 1/5th of a second. Which is much faster than other blasters.

However, this comes at a cost. It only deals 30 damage with an indirect, and only 60 damage with a direct. Making it's time to kill extremely slow if the user only goes for indirects. Making it a 4 shot taking just over a second.

"Just over a second? @ThatOneGuy, that's not slow at all"

Oh, but it is rather slow in this game. Compared to weapons like the N-Zap firing 12 shots a second, or the .52 with 6 shots a second, allowing them to kill you 3 times over before the clash with indirects could kill you once. Even ranged weapons, like the Splattershot pro kill faster. And even weaker weapons, like the inkbrush kill faster. Making the Clash Blaster a slow kill when only indirects are used.

Not to mention the sloshing machine does whatever this weapon does (frontline, blaster like stingray) with more damage and range. All it takes is some aim and it doesn't have as much mobility.


"But with the clash blaster's stingray, it becomes a tower control beast"
But can it get that stingray fast / consistently without sacrificing it's build to special saver / comeback / tenacity / or special charge? Usually, no, since the painting is rather poor compared to other stingray weapons like the .52 deco and the jet squelcher (which aren't the best painters in the first place).

Also, the curling bomb + tentamissle kit is not scary at all. It still has the same problems as the first kit, and you don't even have a stingray to be a threat on tower and rainmaker. Instead you have inconsistent tentamissles. Not much of a threat, especially when the tentamissles need to get back to do damage, and the clash needs to go upfront to do damage.

With it's weaknesses of below average range, slow time to kill, and poor painting, the indirect size and fire rate is fine. The Clash has finally seen some success, and it shouldn't be nerfed as soon as it finds a niche.

But for weapons that seem to have taken the meta, slosher deco and heavy splatling seem like the most notable weapons to mention (along with vanilla blaster).

I'm not going to talk about vanilla blaster just because I'm sick and tired of discussing it.
In short, just a forgiving weapon with a panic button and a nice combo. Extremely one dimensional, with it's indirect + splashdown combo and with less endlag to be a nice close range killer. It's main weakness is paint, so nerfing the points to special will do a lot of damage to this weapon.

Spoiler: Slosher Deco analysis

Slosher Deco, outside of zones and clam blitz, isn't that scary of a weapon. But in zones / clams it's a very good weapon.

It's still rather slow, and the time to kill is rather slow as well. Baller is not much of a threat in rainmaker and tower control, like it is on Zones or Clam Blitz. As for the main weapon, the slosher cannot break a rainmaker shield fast with just sloshes, and sloshing over the tower spire breaks the slosh, which sucks.

While being slow, and having a slow time to kill, Baller allows it to start pushes in clam blitz and instant captures on the zone. Along with it's respectable range and ability to kill over ledges, makes it a respectable slayer weapon with some paint to boot. Making it a solid addition to any team in those two modes. And thanks to sprinkler, the slosher doesn't need to be watching the zone in order to paint it. Not to mention it's amazing matchup against the vanilla blaster, outranging it, and having baller to tank hits and combo off of.

Slosher Deco needs to be careful of the heavy splatling before it starts getting comfortable. As a heavy can take the baller away, and toast it from far away. And it paints better as well. The slosher deco is a solid weapon, but it's not on the levels of broken.

Spoiler: Heavy Splatling Analysis

Heavy Splatling has finally seen some use in the current meta, I'm surprised it took this long.

The main reason why heavy splatling is so popular is because it's one of the only weapons in the game with range and consistent paint. Plus with it's fast time to kill, and DPS when charged, it makes it a reliable defending weapon that can guard many objectives. Along with both of the specials it can have, stingray and bubbles, it can defend pushes extremely well. Denying towers and rainmakers with stingray, and making pushes with bubbles on zones and clams.

Chargers, jet squelchers, the hydra splatling and the squeezer are the only main weapons that get close to the heavy splatling's range, but they can't offer nearly as much paint to compensate. Making the heavy one the only hardcore painting anchor in the game, with it's ability to confront opponents and cover the map quickly. And it's two specials make it a defensive beast in this metagame.

However, there are some other weapons that I think people are sleeping on right now.

Spoiler: Dapple Dualies

The Dapple Dualies are painting monsters. Both kits allow for fast paint and fast specials that help paint the map further. Not to mention the vanilla's beacons and the blue kit's toxic mist to further aid allies.

But besides being support weapons, the dapple dualies are incredibly mobile, in the light weight class, and having some of the best DPS after a dodge roll, allowing you to shred opponents who get close.

The only weakness these things have is their pitiful range. However, their dodge rolls and light mobility help them maneuver to enemies quicker, and allow for quick escapes if the dualies can't fight the threat immediately.

Spoiler: H-3 D

Reliable range, paint, killing power, and supportive special all rolled into one? (without any shot deviation or rng) Impossible, you say. However, the H-3 D exists. With it's good range, killing power, and paint, it can be one of the best defensive weapons to put onto your team. As it's potential for a 3 shot one combo kill is incredibly nice. And having a ranged weapon that can put out ink armor reliably is nice.

Suction Bomb and Armor really help on defense, particularly on clam blitz and tower control, since you can close off chokepoints / potential objective paths with the suction bombs, and have your team prepared for a push in any mode with the ink armor.

The only problem is that it's rather unreliable. As the weapon is extremely good on paper, the amount of endlag after a miss completely jinxes it from becoming popular. And it's rather unforgiving to a player who misses frequently. But to a seasoned player, the H-3 D is a wonderful weapon that has a high skill floor and ceiling. Making it a wonderful time investment to those who put their best effort into it.

But remember with the clash, if you get two directs, it isn’t even half a second before they are dead...which in my opinion makes it over powered. Also I would like to note that the Heavy didn’t receive any buffs in he past patch, it has just been picked by a lot of people. And it’s specials (Stingray and Bubble Blower) happen to be some of the best specials in the game (if not the best) so it has a lot going for it right now. And this thing is killer with the bubbles. I was play8ng deck the other day and my god, this thing is great for kills with bubbles. It can pop them so fast, opponents don’t see it coming. It’s such a good feeling to get kills with Bubbles. It also has some of the best coverage in the game, complimented with above average range, fast kill time, what is not to like? This is such a meta breaker to be long range. I want this thing to wedge it self into competitive. This thing has deserved attention for awhile, but no one has given it that much attention in awhile (since the release in S1)