Hydra Splattling: Analysis and Thoughts

[HappyBear801]

Maybe the Hydra should be buffed to a 3-hit kill?

 

[LMG]

Maybe the Hydra should be buffed to a 3-hit kill?

With the Hydra's rate of fire, it could potentially be too much. It would surpass the H-3 Nozzlenose and the Sploosh-o-matic o_O

 

[Dreamy Luigi]

Maybe the Hydra should be buffed to a 3-hit kill?

I think it'd be decent if that happened.

 

[HappyBear801]

With the Hydra's rate of fire, it could potentially be too much. It would surpass the H-3 Nozzlenose and the Sploosh-o-matic o_O

Well, while lowering the rate of fire to counter it. Kind of like how in the latest patch the Point Sensor got a two-second nerf in exchange for getting a massive radius buff.

 

[robosteven]

If anyone cares, range difference of Heavy and Hydra Splatling.

In general I feel like Heavy does everything that Hydra can do and better even if it has less range. A more versatile weapon, I'll call it.

I'd like to bring this post up again.

By itself, I don't see why anyone would use the Hydra over the Heavy for reason of charge time alone. The distance on the Hydra is greater, but not by much considering the drastic difference in charge time between the two.

I'm also not entirely sure why the comment of "don't charge it all the way, it's a waste of ink" keeps coming up, especially considering how massive the duration of fire on the thing is. It's clearly not a weapon designed for area coverage, and it takes four hits to pick off someone with it (the same number as the Heavy).

I'm sure it's a great weapon, but it just seems like a worse Heavy to me. The differences between advantages of the Light and Heavy splatlings are very obvious, but with the Hydra all I see are more disadvantages over minimal advantages.



More than willing to be proven otherwise though, I really want to learn how to use this monster.

 

[Lester Roquefort]

True. I had a match where I used the Hydra to lock down the enemy's left-hand side while the other team took care of the other areas, essentially boxing the enemy in. I rarely had to leave my perch, only when their charger user tried to snipe me.

Also, is it just me or does the Hydra make the game connectivity weird? I've had a few times wielding it where it took ages to get a match going, and there were a few times when people disappeared from the battle entirely. Once, I even saw someone on my team get a head start in inking before the match started. I don't think I ever experienced it as often with other weapons.

That's like me and seeker spamming. I ALWAYS crash and burn when i seeker spam. It's entirely the reason why i'm plateauing with my Rank at B.

Also, i'd like to stress how much of a hose the Heavy and Hydro are, they both do wonders for Turf covering.

 

[Elecmaw]

Sorry but that sounds much more like user error than the weapon itself. I have no trouble hitting my target a huge majority of the time, moving or not. The only trouble I have is against accurate chargers, and that usually leads to trade offs. There are some decent sized downsides to the Hydra, but none are nearly as detrimental as you are all making it out to be. If you play the weapon correctly, you will likely change your mind. Hell, some maps and modes I feel the Hydra absolutely destroys at. SZ in Port Makerel is ridiculous. I walked out of there with 19 - 3 (yes I'm S, as if that matters) one match, I was loving it.

Point is, you guys are doing what was done to the Bamboozler, that's fine, I'm just telling you you're wrong. :]

"If you play the weapon correctly" Is something that you can say with every single weapon, but that doesn't make the weapon itself any good. What can the Hydra do that other similar weapons (E-Liter/Jet Squelcher/Heavy Splatling) can't do, is something i'd rather like to hear.

But honestly the fact that it takes so long just to get 9 points of extra range over the Heavy is one big problem for me, which it cannot reliably make use of because Splatlings aren't very accurate to begin with.

 

[Of Moose & Men]

"If you play the weapon correctly" Is something that you can say with every single weapon, but that doesn't make the weapon itself any good. What can the Hydra do that other similar weapons (E-Liter/Jet Squelcher/Heavy Splatling) can't do, is something i'd rather like to hear.

But honestly the fact that it takes so long just to get 9 points of extra range over the Heavy is one big problem for me, which it cannot reliably make use of because Splatlings aren't very accurate to begin with.

What the hell. . . Why are you trying to compare it to offensive weapons? Nothing compares to the ELiter, so that shouldn't be any point of reference. So that leaves the Heavy Splatling. What the Hydra is capable of doing is forcing opponents out of choke points, something the Heavy Splatling cannot. With Splat Bombs, you force people out of hiding allowing you to charge and tear them down as they try to protect whatever the objective may be. Splat bombs also act as a way of keeping the enemy away when they get too close. Simply look down, drop a splat bomb and continue to swim away. If they followed you, they likely got splatted, if not, then they have retreated and you are in a good position once again, yet another thing the Heavy Splatling cannot do, due to Splash Walls being absolutely terrible while being flanked. The last thing is simple, Inkstrike is atrocious, Echolocator only rounds out the arsenal of a supportive weapon, easy. I'll agree the range could be much better, that is undeniable, however it does have very key aspects the Heavy does not. Also, the Hydra is actually slightly more accurate than the heavy if you pay attention, which is nice.

Again, it is most certainly not a weapon you can pick up and be successful with, like literally all the weapons you mentioned. It takes some time to get used to how it works in the heat of battle. Hell, I just recently picked up on Splat Bomb drop n' Run, and it most certainly acts as a good escape maneuver when needed. So we can agree on one thing, it needs more range.

Spoiler: Actual ranges

Shot with my back against the wall to remove any ambiguity

I'm not sure where you shot from, or what exactly was going on in those pictures before, but there's a very noticeable difference in range. Not enough to warrant it miles better I'll admit, but enough to make a difference.

I'm not saying it's God incarnate, but it is VERY far from as bad as you are all making it out to be.

 

[HappyBear801]

The last thing is simple, Inkstrike is atrocious

I beg to differ. It just cannot be used in active combat. Yes, Echolocator might fit this weapon better, but don't doubt a good Inkstrike user, especially one with the Heavy Splatling.

 

[Of Moose & Men]

I beg to differ. It just cannot be used in active combat. Yes, Echolocator might fit this weapon better, but don't doubt a good Inkstrike user, especially one with the Heavy Splatling.

Fine, it is decent at best. Inkstrike could have been replaced with literally any other special, and It'd be leagues better than it is now. Using Inkstrike as much as I did, I know how, when and where to use it. With that said it's still a pretty "meh" special.

 

[robosteven]

Also, the Hydra is actually slightly more accurate than the heavy

This is actually extremely important.

 

[LMG]

Well, while lowering the rate of fire to counter it. Kind of like how in the latest patch the Point Sensor got a two-second nerf in exchange for getting a massive radius buff.

In that case we would kind of end up in the same position, so nothing would trully change except a possible nerf to ink coverage due to the slower rate of fire. Now making a whole different Splatling with higher damage and different stats could be interesting

I'm not saying it's God incarnate, but it is VERY far from as bad as you are all making it out to be.

I have come to realize it's not bad per-say, but I really can't think of a proper reason to use the Hydra Splatling over the Heavy Splatling, unlike any other weapon in the game. And like I've said before in another thread, a weapon shouldn't be good just because of it's loadout.

This is actually extremely important.

I'll have to check it out in the firing range >_>

 

[Of Moose & Men]

I have come to realize it's not bad per-say, but I really can't think of a proper reason to use the Hydra Splatling over the Heavy Splatling, unlike any other weapon in the game. And like I've said before in another thread, a weapon shouldn't be good just because of it's loadout.

Uhm. . . That's exactly what defines whether a weapon is "good" or not. Try telling that to the Tentatek, Eliter 3K, .96 Gal Deco, and Dynamo Roller. . .

 

[LMG]

Uhm. . . That's exactly what defines whether a weapon is "good" or not. Try telling that to the Tentatek, Eliter 3K, .96 Gal Deco, and Dynamo Roller. . .

I'd like to argue otherwise, as those weapons have specific points that make people like them more (especially in a competitive scenario), but that's just going to derail the thread so I'll leave it as is

 

[Flammie]

Hydra alone is of course not a better weapon in comparison to the Heavy, one thing to note that not many has done is that the attack volley from the Hydra is somewhat longer than the Heavy, it's very easy to pressure people to abandon their posts and their defence point.

The long volley of Hydra is also important, if you're being ambushed by multiple opponents at the same time, if you have good aim, you can take care of them before they can take care of you, as long as the volley is going and with the slight extended range it has from the heavy, pretty much every assault weapon is outranged and can't reach the Hydra user unless they get into the deadly range of it.

The only downside is the large charge up, cause if a volley fails, the Hydra user is pretty doomed in close range combat.

Hydra with it's long range, has also the benefit that you can move around while shooting, so with run speed up, you can charge up against a wall, fire before you move around a corner and aim at snipers or those who are hiding.

But i am going to say that Hydra is more ment for Defensive purposes than offensive, and mow down any snipers it can reach.
The only weapon that has no problem with Hydras, are Eliters who utilizes their fullest range.

I also forgot that it has an Echo Locator, which is very helpful for my own cause at least, to nail down people hiding up somewhere or snipers i can reach.

 

[chrisblass1]

There are moments when you need to switch from defenses to offense and vice versa. All most all weapons can do this even the hydra, but the lack of range makes it very hard to kill snipers on their perch and keep a safe distance from other weapons without getting too close to the battlefield.

 

[Elecmaw]

What the hell. . . Why are you trying to compare it to offensive weapons? Nothing compares to the ELiter, so that shouldn't be any point of reference. So that leaves the Heavy Splatling. What the Hydra is capable of doing is forcing opponents out of choke points, something the Heavy Splatling cannot. With Splat Bombs, you force people out of hiding allowing you to charge and tear them down as they try to protect whatever the objective may be. Splat bombs also act as a way of keeping the enemy away when they get too close. Simply look down, drop a splat bomb and continue to swim away. If they followed you, they likely got splatted, if not, then they have retreated and you are in a good position once again, yet another thing the Heavy Splatling cannot do, due to Splash Walls being absolutely terrible while being flanked. The last thing is simple, Inkstrike is atrocious, Echolocator only rounds out the arsenal of a supportive weapon, easy. I'll agree the range could be much better, that is undeniable, however it does have very key aspects the Heavy does not. Also, the Hydra is actually slightly more accurate than the heavy if you pay attention, which is nice.

Again, it is most certainly not a weapon you can pick up and be successful with, like literally all the weapons you mentioned. It takes some time to get used to how it works in the heat of battle. Hell, I just recently picked up on Splat Bomb drop n' Run, and it most certainly acts as a good escape maneuver when needed. So we can agree on one thing, it needs more range.
I'm not sure where you shot from, or what exactly was going on in those pictures before, but there's a very noticeable difference in range. Not enough to warrant it miles better I'll admit, but enough to make a difference.

I'm not saying it's God incarnate, but it is VERY far from as bad as you are all making it out to be.

Hey man, i'm not trying to attack you personally. Just hoping for a decent argument, no offense meant.

Only Custom Jet Squelcher is an offensive weapon, E-Liter is defensive while Heavy can do both??
Like... What can the Hydra do? You can force people out of choke points with any type of bomb, or special, or blaster or what have you. You can also lay traps with all other Splat/Suction Bomb weapons, something which you don't need the Hydra for specifically. If you constantly have to rely on traps to get splats you should be using something else entirely, def not the Hydra. I don't get why i need to wait for it to very sloowly charge up and stay locked in Inkling form while firing, while i can apply pressure against pushes much faster with other weapons.

Splat Walls are amazing, even after the nerf. It's really hard to get flanked with them, and usually it means you placed them wrongly. You can't just place one down and expect to get an improvised bubbler out of it. Inkstrike is usually tacked on weapons that really don't need it(ex. Inkbrush), but it works pretty well for weapons with more range like Heavies.

 

[Blue24]

I thoguht it was good when i played it. This is coming from a CSJ main perspective. I personally am okay with its range.


This video is an interesting highlight

 

[Of Moose & Men]

Well hell, if we're gonna start saying "why use it over X"? Then there's no point in trying to get you to even begin to understand the very obvious difference in roles. I mean, in that case, why use anything over the .96 Gal Deco, Tentatek, or ELiter 3K? I've explained to you the things it has over the Heavy Splatling, however, you completely ignore that and begin to compare it to every other weapon in the game. I'm not going to waste my time and try and convince you why you should pick it over the Jet Squlecher, or the Tentatek, because they are completely different weapons and do not share the same roles.

I have already explained to you what the Hydra has that the Heavy does not, that is what you asked for, but now, "well every other weapon with bombs can do that too" is your argument. Well, guess what, you're right. But that has absolutely nothing to do with the strong points the Hydra has over the Heavy. There are most certainly things the Heavy has over the Hydra, I cannot deny that, but to say it is significantly worse because of it's charge time is just flat out wrong. I admit the range could be buffed a bit, and maybe they could make the charge time a little faster, but other than that, it is a pretty good weapon for defensive/supportive players.

 

[Yellowkirbyguy]

Well somehow i got back into S rank with the Hydra, but i must of been carried, i'm getting dominated far to often with the weapon. At best i'm usually sub par.

I just can't figure out where i should position myself most of the time. And if i do find a good spot, I get sent back because the enemy would know i'm attacking from there. So i'd have to change positions or prepare another charge for an incoming attack. Figuring out how this weapon fits into my playstyle is going to be tough. Though i'd like to keep using it. Even if it does drag me down to A+ again.

It may have the range to take out a charger, but if said charger see's you coming, abandon ship! The Hydra's charge time is simply too slow for anything to happen, plus your mobility isn't great when revving up so it's basically target practice for the charger. Especially E-litres. Squiffers are a different story.

If that's the case with chargers, then the Rapid Blaster Pro could become a decent threat to this weapon too. Not to mention the Jet Squelcher as well. Both of them could just attack from max range and if you haven't charged up prior to the fight, it's gonna be a slow bad day. Well from my perspective anyway.

Though it hasn't even been a week since release. All this could change perhaps.