Splatoon 2 Custom Range Blaster discussion/builds

[AllToonedUp]

What is everyone's thoughts on the CRB so far? What builds would you recommend for this weapon?

 

[Lonely_Dolphin]

Here's what I'm using currently:

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It was difficult to decide whether I should focus on Bubble Blower or ink efficiency, so I just went with a bit of both. The Ink Saver Mains give me an extra shot after throwing a Curling Bomb, and between Comeback and Special Charge I see Bubble Blower fairly regularly. I've seen people using Object Shredder but it's not necessary, Curling Bomb + Blaster Direct insta pops a bubble, but of course OS can still help when contesting a bubble. I've run out of Ink more than I'd like, so I may swap the Swim Speed for more Ink Recovery. Unfortunately another main of Ink Saver Sub/Main isn't enough for another shot after a Curling.

 

[Koopon]

Love the bubbles, HATE the curling bombs. What good are they for a weapon that works best at range???

 

[Enperry]

Has anyone else noticed an insanely bigger window of a direct hit with the custom?

 

[Spaceswitchmars]

Love the bubbles, HATE the curling bombs. What good are they for a weapon that works best at range???

I think the thought was that they'd be used for painting and for getting TO the destination -- not necessarily rushing down. But I agree with you that the thought behind that is somewhat flawed. Throw burst bombs or maybe autos on this kit instead, and I like it much better.

 

[saint_kthulhu]

It relies heavily on getting directs IMO.

It fires so slow that you need to nail two indirects in a row. If you miss that second shot... the opponent has healed before you fire the third.

 

[Enperry]

The thing is how EASY it is to direct.

 

[Mar$el]

I mean it's not the easiest thing in the world to nail directs all the time. It takes quite a bit of skill to have the reflexes and snappy aim to be consistent with the weapon. So yes, the weapon does rely on you to have good aim to use it effectively. The biggest plus to the kit is you can use bubbles and a curling bomb and a direct and all the bubbles pop and you don't even need OS. The ink consumption on this thing is atrocious with the curling taking so much ink and a while to regain ink, as well as having to wait to recover ink after firing a shot from your main weapon. However it's not really an in-your-face slayer type weapon, rather a punishing mid-fielder who goes in to slay when needed. Because of this, worrying about ink consumption isn't as bad because you're not pushing up and slaying on the front lines.

 

[Dark Sage Walker]

I had already made a post about what I thought about this weapon before it came out, and now that it's here in our hands I have to say that I was absolutely right to give this weapon crap. I've been playing with it for a while to try to get a feel for the weapon and its power, range, and ink consumption. Whereas I am okay with the power and range aspects of the weapon, I cannot say that I am okay with the horrid ink consumption rate. Even with all the ISM and ISS I have on my current set, I still find myself running out of ink constantly with this thing! It's like I saw the weapon in the shop window and said, "Ooo! I'll take that!"

Then the moment I leave the store the weapon itself speaks to me, "I have a fever, and the only prescription is more ink!"

I can't say that I have a particular like of that. After running out of ink at the most inopportune of times many times throughout my practice sessions, I am inclined to give this weapon a pass and try the vanilla Range Blaster instead. As much as I love Bubble Blower, I love being competent more. Perhaps I have a bad set up with my gear though. Here's what I am using:

• Headgear - Special Power Up, 3 blanks. I intend for them to all be Special Power Up
• Shirt - Ink Saver Main, 3 Swim Speed Up
• Shoes - Ink Saver Sub, 2 Ink Saver Main and 1 Ink Saver Sub

 

[Spaceswitchmars]

I had already made a post about what I thought about this weapon before it came out, and now that it's here in our hands I have to say that I was absolutely right to give this weapon crap. I've been playing with it for a while to try to get a feel for the weapon and its power, range, and ink consumption. Whereas I am okay with the power and range aspects of the weapon, I cannot say that I am okay with the horrid ink consumption rate. Even with all the ISM and ISS I have on my current set, I still find myself running out of ink constantly with this thing! It's like I saw the weapon in the shop window and said, "Ooo! I'll take that!"

Then the moment I leave the store the weapon itself speaks to me, "I have a fever, and the only prescription is more ink!"

I can't say that I have a particular like of that. After running out of ink at the most inopportune of times many times throughout my practice sessions, I am inclined to give this weapon a pass and try the vanilla Range Blaster instead. As much as I love Bubble Blower, I love being competent more. Perhaps I have a bad set up with my gear though. Here's what I am using:

• Headgear - Special Power Up, 3 blanks. I intend for them to all be Special Power Up
• Shirt - Ink Saver Main, 3 Swim Speed Up
• Shoes - Ink Saver Sub, 2 Ink Saver Main and 1 Ink Saver Sub

Even with the vanilla, I had all ink saver main/sub and ink recovery on every slot, and it still ran out of ink constantly. Personally, I'd go all ink + either comeback or last ditch to give an extra boost to the ink in some way. I pride myself in good ink tank management, and still this gun is an ink hog beyond even wildest imaginations.

 

[Lonely_Dolphin]

Has anyone else noticed an insanely bigger window of a direct hit with the custom?

Just your imagination. :L

I'm pretty amateur at getting directs (and at using Range Blaster in general), but I still do well, so I wouldn't say you need to be getting directs all the time. Once you get used to the range, getting AoE hits isn't hard. I think Mar$el has the right idea, instead of constantly being active on the frontline, a more patient wait n see/sharking approach is an ideal playstyle for the weapon. Surprise the enemy with the first hit, and you shoud be able to land the 2nd before they can escape. This is also another benefit to Curling Bomb, let's you provide some pressure and turf from a safe distance while waiting for an opportunity.

I had already made a post about what I thought about this weapon before it came out, and now that it's here in our hands I have to say that I was absolutely right to give this weapon crap. I've been playing with it for a while to try to get a feel for the weapon and its power, range, and ink consumption. Whereas I am okay with the power and range aspects of the weapon, I cannot say that I am okay with the horrid ink consumption rate. Even with all the ISM and ISS I have on my current set, I still find myself running out of ink constantly with this thing! It's like I saw the weapon in the shop window and said, "Ooo! I'll take that!"

Then the moment I leave the store the weapon itself speaks to me, "I have a fever, and the only prescription is more ink!"

I can't say that I have a particular like of that. After running out of ink at the most inopportune of times many times throughout my practice sessions, I am inclined to give this weapon a pass and try the vanilla Range Blaster instead. As much as I love Bubble Blower, I love being competent more. Perhaps I have a bad set up with my gear though. Here's what I am using:

• Headgear - Special Power Up, 3 blanks. I intend for them to all be Special Power Up
• Shirt - Ink Saver Main, 3 Swim Speed Up
• Shoes - Ink Saver Sub, 2 Ink Saver Main and 1 Ink Saver Sub

Ink efficiency wise the only difference with the vanilla is suction bombs having less ink recharge delay. I don't think you'll find that to outweigh the advantages the Custom's kit has in Rainmaker and Clam Blitz. As for your build, those shoes only provide one extra shot after using your sub weapon. A pure of Ink Recovery Up might do ya better.

 

[Mar$el]

I used to play the range blaster and that midfielder role is what I did most matches. Heck on inkblot I would spam succ bombs on tower and just direct anyone who challenged me on my plat and the enemy never got past like 85. It legit worked (keeping in mind these are like 1900 lobbies). Here's my build to the best of my recollection. If I picked it up again I'd probably replace the bomb defense with like swim speed or ink recovery idk. I haven't actually tried CRB yet and I don't really plan on it tbh. The vanilla is much more versatile and better in a lot of ways.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Well, we all knew this was coming. And before I start out, I'd like to say sorry. For meming on this weapon. Making these claims saying "This weapon is going to suck" , "It's awful / unusable".
And all of these (bad) memes

Spoiler: bad memes

I made about that weapon, when I learned about the new kit on March 15th 2018. I had an excruciating headache, unable to comprehend that my dream

Spoiler: We'll miss you buddy

was just not happening. And honestly, what a childish response from me. A real range blaster main would have said "I will try to make this work, despite the kit not being optimal for me."

So after playing this weapon all weekend, and having about 60,000 turf inked on this weapon already it doesn't paint much, what do you want.

Spoiler: Weapon Analysis

I've concluded that this is not a bad weapon. This is not the meme material weapon, it's not a handicap when you see one on your team, and no they're not throwing the match either. "But, @ThatOneGuy you said "this weapon kit sux lol", what made you change your mind?"

I think what changed my mind was just playing it for myself. Since I could sit here on these forums and focus on the negatives of this weapon, and never see how bad the kit really is. It just didn't let me capture this perspective of how this weapon could be used in game.

Now, why is this weapon good? First of all, it's still the range blaster. The mid range one shot kill (with no charge time) that no other weapon can mimic. Also, the range blaster is a beast when it comes to chewing defensive team compositions down. Charger? I guess they're not going to like me blowing up their perch. Splattershot Pro? I guess he won't like me strafing his shots and blasting him to death.

"But what if they're trying to rush you down?" The range blaster comes equipped for combat at any range, including a fight winning direct shot if a shooter decides to hold zr and rush up to you. And being able to consistently hit the direct in those situations makes you a force to be reckoned with.

And that's just the main weapon. The kit I have mixed feelings about.

Spoiler: Curling Bomb

This is probably the weakest part of the kit. The best thing the curling bomb provides is quicker special charge. As your main weapon can't get specials quick, and the curling bomb can paint in areas you can't enter, thanks to the enemy team's map control. Other added benefits include being able to zone opponents (somewhat) with them, getting some lucky kills with them, being able to combo them with bubbles, and being able to ink a quick path into mid with them.

However, that's where the curling bomb does it for me. A much better fit for the kit (in my opinion) would have been splat bomb. As you can have an option to quickly roll this out under your feet if you're about to lose an up close fight. Also, there's less white ink on the splat bomb, along with being able to combo with your bubbles better (there's 180 damage on a splat bomb and 150 on a curling bomb when they explode) (and you can throw a splat bomb farther away). At just the cost of not being able to charge your special as fast, which is fine with me since the splat bomb will help me live longer.

Spoiler: Bubble Blower

Bubble Blower:
This really gave me a fresh breath of air when I played it. Bubble Blower is just too good right now. And it's really nice Nintendo added another bubble blower option into the roster, since the only 2 bubble weapons you commonly see are the forge and the heavy deco. I can't tell you how many times these bubbles come in clutch for my team, whether it's: instantly capping a splat zone, stopping a push in rainmaker or tower control, or even starting a push in clam blitz. Bubble Blower is too good to ignore on this weapon. The bubbles help the weapon take the objective into it's own hands.

What's that, is the zone completely under enemy control, and you're the last one with a pathetic range blaster to paint? I'll just use my special to burst paint the entire zone so they can't attempt to re-paint over it. Are the enemies trying to push up a closed area with the rainmaker? Didn't think so. Does your team need to stay on the tower for a couple more seconds? Use the bubbles to body block the cargo.

The bubbles are just incredibly useful for those situations. Especially since you can burst them rather quick with a curling bomb + direct combo. Allowing them to be a rather quick way to paint and apply pressure onto the map. And after popping the bubbles, there's a ton of ink for you as a range blaster to start fighting with. Not to mention, they simply kill everyone who get even dare to get close to them. Making it a really nice tool to turn team fights with.

It's not all sunshine though. If you fail the initial bubble blower combo (curling bomb + direct blast), you have almost no ink left and you have to wait a while until your next shot. Allowing your opponents to quickly pick you off as you struggle to refill your ink and destroy your bubbles since they most likely can out DPS you. Not to mention, failing to pop a bubble or two can block a lot of potential kills, and make your blaster almost useless since you're not killing anything right now.

And even when you land the combo, popping the bubbles correctly, and getting a fast pop, it's still rather risky. Because you're low on ink, if someone lived the initial bubble pop (say they were hiding behind a box or whatever), they can quickly take you out since you can't escape with a curling bomb, and you still have the range blaster endlag to deal with. Also, you're going to want to aim the bubbles high up, so people can't just hide from them, and they grab more ink coverage. Which makes it hard to combo with the curling bomb.

And that's not even counting the fact that building the special is hard to do in the first place thanks to the weapon's awful painting. Forge and Heavy Deco (dare I say the tenta brella as well) are much better at spamming bubbles than the Custom Range Blaster. At least the CRB beats Custom E-Liter at getting bubbles, I'll give it that.

Spoiler: Gear?

Here's the gear I've been playing with for the past couple days:

I have a pure of special power up to focus on making the bubbles large and in charge. These make the bubble blower an insane zoning threat and help paint much more ground for the range blaster after every pop. Object shredder is mostly here for bubbles, as it makes the combo much more consistent, and I don't have to attempt to pop immediately after using the bubbles (I can get a quick kill first, and then pop my bubbles). Not to mention, I can break opposing ink armors with curling bomb splash damages (regardless of their bomb defense up or not), and you can break ink armors with the curling bomb just bumping into the opponent, which is kind of funny.

The rest is to accommodate to the main weapon. You have swim speed for general mobility, 3 subs of main saver gives you an extra shot, which is nice. And comeback blesses me with sub saver, special charge up, run speed, swim speed, and ink recovery if I die. Which is extremely useful since I don't have enough slots to give to the rest of those. And it allows me to have some moderate curling bomb spam to help me get in, and charge the bubbles faster.

Other options can include:
Sub Saver paired with special charge up
Ink recovery up
Quick Respawn (if you can make it fit)
Stealth jump (again, if you can make it fit)
Bomb Defense could be an interesting option if you want to tackle inkjet users easily, and not losing your ink armor as quick.

Generally you want:
Ink management
Mobility
Effective Bubbles
Or quick bubbles

Gear is definitely a weak point when it comes to this weapon. As it can't accomplish everything on the list with one definitive gear setup. It requires some sacrifices to get the exact set you want.

Spoiler: Where does it compare to the other kit?

Vanilla Range Blaster with suction bomb and inkstorm is more for zoning out the opponents. This range blaster doesn't want your opponents to even get close to you. Even if they do, you have a direct at your disposal. Suction Bomb I like overall on the weapon, but it's not going to help you in an upclose fight, it's more of a zoning tool, and it's not very flexible at doing that.

Inkstorm is pretty good on the range blaster, it can help pave the way for a push, while having a fully loaded range blaster firing away to help. Also, being able to combo the inkstorm with indirect damage is a boon as well. However, despite being advertised as a painting special, without proper support, an inkstorm falls flat. Inkstorm really needs to be capitalized on in order to work properly, and it works much better in stall settings than it does in quick match ups.

Between the two kits, I don't think there's an ultimately "better kit", they both seem to have their uses well cut out for them.

For zones, it's really a toss up, but I'd say CRB is just a bit better. Since the bubble pop paint is just incontestable at times, meanwhile an inkstorm can be painted over easily if the enemies aren't preoccupied. Vanilla Range Blaster does have a nice suction bomb -> inkstorm -> suction bomb combo. However, that can be contested by the enemy team. Bubble Blower popping in just the right spots is just an insanely fast capture.

For Tower Control, It's probably the vanilla range blaster. Since it has suction bombs for defense, and it's inkstorm can be applied to the fixed tower paths (and checkpoints). CRB's bubbles can help protect / repel people off of the tower, but the curling bomb lets it down here, as it can't just be thrown onto the tower like a suction bomb. Either way though, they're both blasters so you shouldn't be too worried about subs and specials at that point.

For Rainmaker, again, probably a toss up. I'd say CRB is slightly better. Just because bubbles can stop pushes a lot quicker than an inkstorm can. And curling bombs + bubbles can provide a quick path for the rainmaker. Suction bomb + directs help for quick pops, but it's not that much better than curling bombs in this situation. Inkstorm is also useful for carving paths for rainmaker, but it needs more work to be used effectively.

For Clam Blitz, the clear winner here is CRB. Bubbles are just too good at starting pushes in clam blitz, allowing for solo pushes into the basket since your bubbles can eat hits for you. Not to mention, it forces everyone on the enemy team to get back if these things are placed well. Curling bombs also help make paths for your superclam holder. Suction bombs are okay I guess. They're good for defensive maneuvers and zone out your enemies. Inkstorm just doesn't have the capability to block shots or kill extremely quick. Sure, while it can set up for a push, it oftentimes needs another special to be paired with it (bubbles/baller) in order to make the push start.

Spoiler: The Consensus

This is still a range blaster, meaning it's going to see some play if it gets at least a decent kit. The main weapon's slaying potential is too good to overlook on a lot of team comps. And it's definitely not meme quality.

However, the kit demands the user to be consistently accurate, and place the bubbles correctly in order to succeed. And the kit makes the weapon much more team dependent to help you pop bubbles and cover the ground for you.

The main weakness of the range blaster is still at play here, bad turfing with bad ink management, along with being slow as well. But the power is here. The capability to make team wiping plays with bubbles and the range blaster directs are great additions to any team. With a skilled Custom Range Blaster, you can expect backline weapons failing to stay up for long, and flankers are dealt with. Just paint the ground for this guy, and he'll tear up the enemy team.

And if you want the objective to be secure for a couple more seconds, or get some quick paint on the ground, bubbles are a great option to start taking over with your team. As one coordinated bubble push can instantly shift a fight in your favor, thanks to the CRB's fast bubble pop.

Spoiler: Where is it's spot in the meta?

Honestly, I don't know. It's only been a couple days as I'm typing this. People are trying to optimize their gear builds / play styles as we type. But I'm going to assume it's not going to be the most popular weapon out there. Since it's a range blaster with no panic buttons, it requires a lot of aim and spacing to use effectively. Which takes a lot of commitment to get to. Which unfortunately doesn't happen much in splatoon 2's competitive metagame.

However, my main guess is that you're not going to use this weapon solely for bubble blower. Heavy Deco and Forge Pro are able to get bubble blower much more consistently. This will probably be used by aggressive / slayer type players (look it's me) in order to make game winning plays with the quick popping bubble blower. I can't imagine this weapon being paired with other blasters or other bubble blower users honestly, since it loses it's paint / niche with each respective teammate.

Spoiler: Good Teammates

Here are some pretty good pairings I'd think would mesh well with the CRB:
Zink Mini:
Insane painting capability, and thanks to damage multipliers to bubble blower, the zink mini's inkstorm deals a ton of damage overtime to the bubbles. Since the zink mini gets the inkstorm so often, it can constantly support a custom range blaster wanting ink to reside in.
(you can check the list of multipliers here:https://splatoonwiki.org/wiki/Bubble_Blower )

Dapple Dualies (both variants):
The dapple dualies are both painting machines, able to support their team quickly with their respective subs and specials. And since their specials can help take over the map for the CRB, they can be invaluable teammates helping the CRB zone out opponents. Also, the CRB retaliates against longer range foes that dapple dualies can't touch most of the time, which is a great bonus.

N-Zap 85:
A weapon with paint and ink armor to boot, helping our CRB with it's slow and unforgiving nature. And it can throw a suction bomb into the bubbles to help pop quicker. In return, the CRB can eliminate the longer ranged weapons the N-Zap struggles against.

Vanilla L-3 / Aerospray RG:
Two excellent weapons that can spam ballers reliably to start pushes rather quickly. And thanks to their great painting patterns, they can help mitigate the CRB's painting weakness.

There are probably more (or weapons similar to these), that work as well. But these are just the first weapons that came to mind.

You're probably going to use this on a team that needs some bubble blower and a dedicated slayer to the team composition. Or you might use it as a slayer option that can also take hold of objectives with it's painting special. Since no other explicit slayer weapons have access to bubble blower.

With it's difficulty / niche, I'd say it'll be moderately seen. More or less the same as the vanilla range blaster. Time will tell though.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. I'm just a range blaster main who maxed out the vanilla version

Spoiler: no life alert

in splatoon 2, and this has been a fresh breath of air for me. Even if it isn't the kit I initially wanted.

 

[Lonely_Dolphin]

Was waiting to hear your take on the CRB @ThatOneGuy. Glad to see you've come around! Hopefully everyone who was calling the weapon bad will find that it's actually pretty darn good. Personally I'm surprised just how much fun I'm having with it considering I found the vanilla to be too uninteresting to deal with it's poor turfing n ink efficiency. I'll still be waiting on Bubble Blower for a main weapon I gel with more (*cough*Slosher*cough*), but for now this is my main Bubble Weapon!

 

[Mar$el]

Real fellas go for Custom E-Liter as their main bubble weapon. I mean it's fair to say this thing gets bubbles faster than tenta or CRB. Especially if you have tenacity and don't suck. Obviously the CRB is better but this is my sarcastic post now-turned somewhat real. But if you're gonna play Liter play vanilla because it's better.

 

[Koopon]

The vanilla is just better with the suction bombs. Bubbles aren't that much better than rain. And curling bombs are just out of place on this weapon.

 

[Dark Sage Walker]

It's a neat weapon with a few good ideas here and there, namely the Bubble Blower, but I think if I want Bubbles then I am sticking with the Heavy Deco a.k.a. The Fabulous!

Although I think the problems that I have with this weapon I would be having with the vanilla Range Blaster as well. I may be wrong about that, but I just don't like how slow the weapon is. Odd considering that I like weapons like the Heavy/Hydra Splatlings, but the delay between shots is just obnoxious for me! But I understand it's place. It is a slow but powerful weapon to take down threats at mid range. I get it and understand it. I just think that maybe the Rapid Blaster is more my speed for that.