Heavy Splatling: Analysis and Thoughts

[ILikeKirbys]

So, um, I went back to the Splattershot Jr. recently, and I've had quite a bit of success with it (mostly because of Bubbler, it's so useful!), but I want to get good with this weapon again (think I was getting somewhere for a bit, then Splatfest happened). Does anyone have any loadout tips? I have no idea what a good loadout would be, all I can think of is Special Duration Up is pointless, Ink Recovery Up is good, Ink Saver Sub is good, Special Charge Up and Swim Speed Up might be worth looking into, other than that I'm not entirely sure what would work here.
I can work on getting good at playing Splatling again once I have a decent loadout going. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

 

[SkyBlue]

So, um, I went back to the Splattershot Jr. recently, and I've had quite a bit of success with it (mostly because of Bubbler, it's so useful!), but I want to get good with this weapon again (think I was getting somewhere for a bit, then Splatfest happened). Does anyone have any loadout tips? I have no idea what a good loadout would be, all I can think of is Special Duration Up is pointless, Ink Recovery Up is good, Ink Saver Sub is good, Special Charge Up and Swim Speed Up might be worth looking into, other than that I'm not entirely sure what would work here.
I can work on getting good at playing Splatling again once I have a decent loadout going. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Ink recovery up is definitely recommended. Def up could help in some situations. Ink saver main does work on it, and sub would help too. I think swim speed is solid choice too , or ninja squid. I feel that this weapon would be one that benefits a ton from tenacity, at least if you use it to hold down an area more than push. Special charge up is great now.

I'm still messing around with things myself but those are some of the ones I think benefit it the most since its not something you move much with.

 

[ILikeKirbys]

Ink recovery up is definitely recommended. Def up could help in some situations. Ink saver main does work on it, and sub would help too. I think swim speed is solid choice too , or ninja squid. I feel that this weapon would be one that benefits a ton from tenacity, at least if you use it to hold down an area more than push. Special charge up is great now.

I'm still messing around with things myself but those are some of the ones I think benefit it the most since its not something you move much with.

Yeah, that's what I find works best when I Splatling, just stick to an area and smash anything I see, then continue forward a bit (don't so much get that first part to work, but when it does...).
I figured Ink Recovery would be good, and Sub as well. Good to hear Swim Speed and Special Charge Up are good, but what's Ninja Squid for, exactly? I'm sorry, but I don't see the point of sneaking around with this weapon.
Also, does Special Charge Up stack with Tenacity (ie. do you gain even more Special when Tenacity is active than you would without it)? That seems like it'd be really good if it were true.
Thanks, mate!

 

[SkyBlue]

Yeah, that's what I find works best when I Splatling, just stick to an area and smash anything I see, then continue forward a bit (don't so much get that first part to work, but when it does...).
I figured Ink Recovery would be good, and Sub as well. Good to hear Swim Speed and Special Charge Up are good, but what's Ninja Squid for, exactly? I'm sorry, but I don't see the point of sneaking around with this weapon.
Also, does Special Charge Up stack with Tenacity (ie. do you gain even more Special when Tenacity is active than you would without it)? That seems like it'd be really good if it were true.
Thanks, mate!

I believe they do. Like special charge up will make you need to charge your meter less, and tenacity will be there to help you fill your meter.
also ninja squid is just a thought to help escape. though this weapon is more 'try to take the enemy with you' than escape. Hard to retreat with if you don't have some charge already.

 

[ILikeKirbys]

I believe they do. Like special charge up will make you need to charge your meter less, and tenacity will be there to help you fill your meter.
also ninja squid is just a thought to help escape. though this weapon is more 'try to take the enemy with you' than escape. Hard to retreat with if you don't have some charge already.

Ah, I see. Thanks, mate.
Now that I have the loadout down (at least theoretically), I have a new question:
How do you go on offense with this weapon? I can defend well enough, especially when I get the height advantage, but I'm not sure what to do when my team gets pushed out of center and we have to push back. This has happened before, and I feel like I can't do much when it does, so any advice would be nice.

 

[SkyBlue]

Ah, I see. Thanks, mate.
Now that I have the loadout down (at least theoretically), I have a new question:
How do you go on offense with this weapon? I can defend well enough, especially when I get the height advantage, but I'm not sure what to do when my team gets pushed out of center and we have to push back. This has happened before, and I feel like I can't do much when it does, so any advice would be nice.

It's definitely not easy. and I don't have much success myself but I think in that scenario you want to follow behind a teammate, let them be your meat shield ;3, and with a full charge(or as much charge as you can get) try and take out whoever you can. Splash wall deployed would help to. But the other team will probably have their specials so that way isn't really feasible.

The other way is if you can sneak around them, then set up a wall and get as much charge as possible before unleashing it and trying to take out a couple of people. Help your team break through. Especially if you can get to a high point to do it from.

One of the things I love the most about splatling is how a full charge can take out up to 3 people. The wall is definitely your best friend in a lot of situations. Not only for protection, but you can toss it and force the enemy to go a different route/not be able use the full opening they're trying to get to you from. Still practicing with bouncing the wall off objects/walls but its something to keep in mind too. If the enemy is shooting you around the corner and you can't safely jump out and toss a wall in between, then there'll usually be a wall/something to bounce the splash wall off of to give you the protection and let you come out and shoot at them.

sorry turning this into a splash wall discussion. anywho hiding around a corner helps too. I like to place myself next to a wall/corner to where they won't see me, but I can turn the camera to let me see around it a bit. and if I see someone coming I just slowly walk out with a full charge.

like this but to where they don't see any part of you. Like kelp dome is full of spots to do it on. Maps like blackbelly though you want to get high and let loose.

 

[Shroomsy]

Ah, I see. Thanks, mate.
Now that I have the loadout down (at least theoretically), I have a new question:
How do you go on offense with this weapon? I can defend well enough, especially when I get the height advantage, but I'm not sure what to do when my team gets pushed out of center and we have to push back. This has happened before, and I feel like I can't do much when it does, so any advice would be nice.

Right now offensive pressure with this weapon is very map-dependent. The default heavy splatling has nothing to pressure people hiding behind cover so ideally you want to push from open zones without a lot of corridors to duck into or cover to hide behind. On maps like depot or towers try to play it like a super-charger and ink a wide path connecting to side routes so your teammates don't have to fling themselves through main. Keep up pressure on main as a distraction and get whoever you can, then hope the skittish ones are distracted enough for your teammates to clean them up. Of course if it's a map with an open mid like warehouse or dome you can bulldoze your way through the old fashioned way, shoot forward and force them off to the sides.

 

[TheElite711]

I just wish I could use this weapon, but defense is not my strongest niche. I'm a little too...gung ho in my playstyle in general. I tried using this gun a few times in Turf War to get a feel for it, but I just felt so slow and held back compared to how I normally play. I had issues with getting turf in general, like others could cover better ground compared to me using this beast xD.

 

[Reila]

The amounts of fun I have with this weapon is inversely proportional to how much I suck when playing with it.

:|

 

[Skoodge]

Since its release I have been mainly playing the Heavy Splatling. I think as others have said, that this is a great weapon since it excels at defense, but also pushing the enemy back, which is offensive for your team. I use run speed up, since it affects your strafe speed, which is fast you move with a charge, and firing, so it is very useful, with x2 of them you move about 10-20% faster, which helps to beat the faster weapons.

It is always better to retreat a little ways to attack again, and I turn into a squid to escape if I fear being surrounded, since I can then splat multiple enemies who are confused. The splash wall is extremely useful in all gamemodes, allowing you to choose more options, including mind games. The inkstrike is good, it controls space, and I use it to cover my own space if I am being attacked with no teammates.

I thought it would have ink coverage issues, but you just have to find favorable lines of fire to maximize your ink. I am usually #1 in Turf Wars, getting 800-1100 points without win bonus. It does have a high learning curve of charge time to kill close enemies, but it is fairly natural to learn. I might create a general guide to it, similar to my Octobrush guide, since I think both have a specific role in the team. Regardless of game mode, the Heavy Splatling must always be a splat and teamwork focused weapon, splat your enemy then move up, or stay and defend the choke point, spray walls for team mates, defend their superjump, that kind of thing.

I think I am going to try to get to ~500k points from Turf War, then take it into ranked. I am planning on maining it, since I feel that I can play any game mode with it and do well, with Splat Zones being the worst, since its shots don't count for much when taking the zone.

Also the victory animation is great, the "We did it!" hug with the Splatling is so funny and cute.

 

[LMG]

Alright, after testing the accuracy of the Splatling I can safely (and sadly) say that it's accuracy doesn't increase with the charge time, it only increases the range (until the first bar is filled) and total shooting time (and ink consumption)

 

[Arcticblast]

I honestly think the Splatling's killing capability is on par with that of rollers. The charge time to get enough hits to splat someone is miniscule, and the high rate of fire makes it incredibly easy to win 1v1 against pretty much any shooter (and maybe Dynamos?). It's super easy to play aggressive with this weapon too. It fires relatively straight, letting you pick off people from a distance, but the time and multi-shot nature means it can rack up points in turf war with incredible ease. It can be used defensively like a charger, but just has so much more offensive ability. You don't need Splash Walls when everything is dying

and oh my god people actually swim away from you when they see you're still in an area you've been holding, it's so amazing

 

[Epsilon281]

I don't think the novelty of having a minigun in this game has worn off yet since I'm terrible at this weapon, but I still love using it.

I think mind games are a bigger factor with this weapon than most others. Although the time to kill is pretty good, it isn't instant like a charger, so other players are fully capable of running away, even if they were completely oblivious to you until the first shot made contact. Combining that with the charge time needed to fire a shot, which impairs your ability to hide in ink to get the jump on a player, you really need to know what the enemy is doing and what they're going to do. The splash wall definitely helps with this, as it restricts the options they have.

Ultimately the Splatling is a great control weapon. The Inkstrike, Splash Wall, and sheer density of your shots create areas that your opponents can't pass. This denies them avenues to advance and hopefully herds them into an area that's advantageous for your team.

As for specific tactics, I've had a few successful attempts at edge peaking to throw a splash wall, then scaring the enemy into backing into it. It's pretty fun to do.

 

[meleesplatter]

The splatling is definitely very hard to challenge head-on if the user is ready for you. It really doesn't take much charge at all to down close range assailants, but of course you have to be accurate and don't get flanked.

 

[LMG]

After some testing, apparently a full charge allows you to fire the Heavy Splatling for 2 seconds, and a full charge takes approximately 1/4 of your ink tank, so by doing the math that means that it costs +/-1.5 ink tanks to fire this weapon for 12 seconds o_O

Edit: Did some more testing and came out with new results.

 

[Avatar K]

Weapons while firing/rolling in general do not get impact from run speed.

Weapons do get the run speed up bonus when firing, but not when rolling.

 

[Avatar K]

As for specific tactics, I've had a few successful attempts at edge peaking to throw a splash wall, then scaring the enemy into backing into it. It's pretty fun to do.

That sounds quite amusing.

 

[Avatar K]

You don't need to hold it for long to get enough bullets to splat reliably, and the rest of the time you should be either swimming around, dropping a Splash Wall, or firing off an Inkstrike in a safeish place, so the wind-up time isn't much of an issue unless you go for a full charge, which really you should only do if you're covering turf or raining down ink on multiple enemies, otherwise it's just a waste of ink (though you can squid-cancel while firing to save ink, at least I think that saves ink, I dunno for sure).

I've been using this weapon more since it dropped, and yeah, it's good for defense, but its true strength in my eyes is that it can do both offense and defense pretty well. It can do defense really well, between Splash Walls and its long range to tag foes at a distance, and it can do offense well too, since it has long range and a really fast fire rate to splatter enemies up close or from afar and Inkstrikes to pressure enemies and claim turf. Additionally, you can release while winding up to shoot a short spray at enemies who ambush you, which is useful for offense since you might get flanked while winding up, though you're probably screwed if you get caught with no wind-up. Its ability to succeed both offensively and defensively is what makes the Heavy Splatling a good weapon, at least to me. Sure, it takes one or two hits more than I'd like it to, and that can leave you in a bad situation at times when you stop firing one bullet short of a splat (this has happened to me, and it never ended well), but that's a small price to pay for a quite versatile weapon.

Also, is it just me, or is this weapon really good at pushing Bubblers? Because it feels really good for pushing Bubblers around.

The heavy splatling leans fairly heavily toward defense if it is going solo because it can be disposed of fairly easily when it has no charge and it cannot quickly ink areas in order to move through them, making enemy territory a dangerous area to be in. It can support a push from a distance quite well, however. Also, you are correct about bubblers if the heavy splatling has time to charge. Provided there are not to many people sharing the bubble, the heavy splatling can push them back quite a lot.

 

[Avatar K]

Ink recovery up is definitely recommended. Def up could help in some situations. Ink saver main does work on it, and sub would help too. I think swim speed is solid choice too , or ninja squid.

I am not sure swim speed up is very beneficial because the heavily splatling does not swim as much. However, that ability allows the heavy splatling to escape better. I think damage up would be better than defense up because the heavy splatling should not be veery close to enemy inklings.

 

[Avatar K]

I am planning on maining it, since I feel that I can play any game mode with it and do well, with Splat Zones being the worst, since its shots don't count for much when taking the zone.

Also the victory animation is great, the "We did it!" hug with the Splatling is so funny and cute.

I think turf war is its worst mode due to the fact that it does not have good coverage. Its coverage is not bad, but a weapon requires very good coverage to be a good turf war weapon. I also like its win animation. I like the losing animation, when the inkling talks to his gun, as well.