Is it worth learning to use chargers?

[BlackZero]

Currently, I favor the splatling and .52 Gal. I've been interested trying chargers, but have heard that "support" weapons are actually counterproductive in ranked matches. Basically, getting kills isn't as important as the actual objective and chargers don't contribute to that as effectively as other weapons. Is it worth learning to use it or am I better off sticking with my first two choices? Thanks!

 

[Metarai]

Well, its not like your other teammates are doing nothing as you are splatting other squids. Usually its their job to do the objective, and the chargers job to prevent the other team from disrupting them. An ideal squad would usually have a charger. A charger can push the objective when needed, uncharged shots or bomb rush can fill a splat zone quickly, and you can push tower if you had kraken or something. Its not necessary to learn chargers, but you can certainly pick it up if you want. I'm not sure where you heard that chargers are counterproductive, since a good charger can really shut down the other team.

 

[Nostredame]

Well give it a try, such as a couple days of using a charger. There's really no right or wrong answer to your question as every weapon is effective to the objective. Personally, I main the Hero Charger Replica and I just absolutely love the sound of sniping a squid, but that's about it other than being the main defensive wall of a team.

 

[Zerul]

im usining the chargers and one big tidbit you need to be aware of. is that it its dificult to just hit someone. i get close 9/10 time so be careful of your shots. and know your range that will help

 

[Joseph Staleknight]

Well, its not like your other teammates are doing nothing as you are splatting other squids. Usually its their job to do the objective, and the chargers job to prevent the other team from disrupting them. An ideal squad would usually have a charger. A charger can push the objective when needed, uncharged shots or bomb rush can fill a splat zone quickly, and you can push tower if you had kraken or something. Its not necessary to learn chargers, but you can certainly pick it up if you want. I'm not sure where you heard that chargers are counterproductive, since a good charger can really shut down the other team.

I have to agree with this. The very skilled ones can completely shut down an entire team so that their own teammmates can ink the turf in peace until the enemies respawn. I should know; not only did I watch ThatSrb2DUDE destroy with a charger the few times I watch streams on Twitch, I've often been ruined by guys who can not only aim but also defend themselves when necessary. Especially the E-Liter users.

 

[Hero of Lime]

I tried the scoped E-liter charger for the first time a few days ago, and did surprisingly well. Granted, Moray Towers was in the rotation, so I used it as crutch.

Still, while I did not do too well with it, I won about 10 matches out of 13. I played primarily support, scaring anything away that looked at me, or my teammates funny. I've lived in such terrible fear of chargers, it was nice to be the one doing the intimidation for once. The burst bombs were definitely my best friend. More than half of my kills were probably made with them. Definitely try getting proficient with chargers in Turf Wars first for obvious reasons.

I've seen enough chargers put in incredible work in ranked, but primarily on maps where chargers do well in. Camp Triggerfish seems to be the best, especially for Splatzones and Rainmaker.

 

[sammich]

yes.
if all you're only playing rapid-fire weapons i highly recommend learning a new weapon type in general even just to help you better understand how other players think.

as for chargers, i think the people you're talking to understand what chargers can actually do. while we excel most at team support, we can also perform the objective if we have to (though we can't hold out for long and we need team members to relieve us). there have been plenty of times i've taken a zone, championed the rainmaker (which isn't so hard because it works similarly to our main weapon), or pushed the tower forward temporarily.

in the higher ranks, anyway, support is just as important than leading the team.
good charger players dominate an area so your teammates are free to put on the pressure without fear of losing turf, which is really important in a turf-based game where your enemies respawn quickly and infinitely.

there's a bit of a wall to get over when you start learning a charger, trying to figure out where you should be to be most effective, how to even hit people, and how to deal with more immediate threats who've gotten too close... but don't give up and just keep playing and you'll get the hang of it over time.

oh man, when the game first came out i wanted to play chargers but gave up after screwing over every team i was on. i thought they just weren't for me...
but i kept coming back every so often out of sheer interest and before i knew it i was a charger player almost exclusively.

 

[BlackZero]

I appreciate the input, guys. For me, fun trumps anything else. Still, I don't want to be the guy that spawns into a game and everyone's like "oh great, another charger guy."

I just unlocked the Hero Replica charger last night and love the range on it. Should I ease into charger play by long range sniping first, or should I go with the Squiffer and try some medium range hit & run sniping?

 

[sammich]

I appreciate the input, guys. For me, fun trumps anything else. Still, I don't want to be the guy that spawns into a game and everyone's like "oh great, another charger guy."

I just unlocked the Hero Replica charger last night and love the range on it. Should I ease into charger play by long range sniping first, or should I go with the Squiffer and try some medium range hit & run sniping?

i would recommend sticking with long range until you feel really comfortable with flick-aiming (pointing your reticle somewhere else then suddenly flipping your aim over to the enemy to KO them suddenly). the squiffer is really fun but you have to be more accurate more quickly or you will find yourself getting overwhelmed constantly.

----------------------------------------

when you do try the squiffer, though, i recommend starting with the classic squiffer since it:

1) forces you to rely entirely on your aim to get KOs, thus improving your aim/reflexes faster (the other squiffer has bombs which are tricky to use in higher play but can become a crutch if you're playing lower level opponents who don't know how to avoid them)

2) has two defensive options to keep you safe (point sensor is a great tool before going around corners and when approaching large/suspicious patches of enemy ink. the bubbler is a great "THE **** HIT THE FAN I NEED TO RUN" option, though keep in mind you do need to run since even with the bubble shield, many opponents know how to shove you off cliffs or into corners)

 

[The Not So Dank Kid-Squid]

I've been learning how to use a charger and have been forcing myself to use the Kelp Splat Charger, and I must say, it is very very fun. Playing defensive is a nice change of pace than running into the action. Also, a few things.
1.if someone gets too close and you dont have a charger with close range potential, ie e liters and squiffers, ya dun ded.
2.cut off ink trails so enemies must expose themselves or jump over your ink to keep moving. This allows you to easily predict where they will go for an easy splat
3. motion controls. I assume you have this already
4. Subs and specials are your best friend. Usually in battle we dont think of our subs and specials too much, just extra tools. But when you're thrown into the roll of a charger, you start to realize many great strategies can come from these specials and subs. Baiting enemies with beakons and sprinklers to expose themselves, using kraken or burst bombs in close range, using bomb rush to claim a splat zone, forcing someone open with the Wail. Suddenly these things are downright vital to your play.

Keep in mind I soaked up all this knowledge in a few days, so take this with a grain of salt. Anyways. Good luck with chargers man, I ain't a pro but I tried to help.

 

[sammich]

2.cut off ink trails so enemies must expose themselves or jump over your ink to keep moving. This allows you to easily predict where they will go for an easy splat

THIS. i ****ing love doing this. especially when you know they are about to climb a wall so you wait until they start to climb and then you cut them off. you may be tempted to try to pick them off directly, but that requires better aim than simply shooting above them and watching your ink trail knock them down... then they flounder around a bit in your ink on the floor and you can kill them easily.

you don't get this opportunity so much in higher ranks but i love doing it in turf wars, especially at moray towers where enemies just fall to their doom (usually you have to be sniping from a place enemies don't expect you to be in or they won't attempt to climb in front of you).

 

[Zerul]

THIS. i ****ing love doing this. especially when you know they are about to climb a wall so you wait until they start to climb and then you cut them off. you may be tempted to try to pick them off directly, but that requires better aim than simply shooting above them and watching your ink trail knock them down... then they flounder around a bit in your ink on the floor and you can kill them easily.

you don't get this opportunity so much in higher ranks but i love doing it in turf wars, especially at moray towers where enemies just fall to their doom (usually you have to be sniping from a place enemies don't expect you to be in or they won't attempt to climb in front of you).

once you get a handle on using a charger then moving to the splatterscope is a huge bonus. you get the same charger effect, BUT you get the added accuracy of an almost 1st person view. (the aim thing is slightly off for me is the same for everyone else?)

 

[BlackZero]

I've been learning how to use a charger and have been forcing myself to use the Kelp Splat Charger, and I must say, it is very very fun. Playing defensive is a nice change of pace than running into the action. Also, a few things.
1.if someone gets too close and you dont have a charger with close range potential, ie e liters and squiffers, ya dun ded.
2.cut off ink trails so enemies must expose themselves or jump over your ink to keep moving. This allows you to easily predict where they will go for an easy splat
3. motion controls. I assume you have this already
4. Subs and specials are your best friend. Usually in battle we dont think of our subs and specials too much, just extra tools. But when you're thrown into the roll of a charger, you start to realize many great strategies can come from these specials and subs. Baiting enemies with beakons and sprinklers to expose themselves, using kraken or burst bombs in close range, using bomb rush to claim a splat zone, forcing someone open with the Wail. Suddenly these things are downright vital to your play.

Keep in mind I soaked up all this knowledge in a few days, so take this with a grain of salt. Anyways. Good luck with chargers man, I ain't a pro but I tried to help.

I've had a blast with the Kelp Charger, but want to learn to use splat bombs more effectively as I feel like Killer Wail is almost a crutch. My accuracy is mediocre, but I seem to be putting pressure on enemies in my zone. I've recently tried moving up to the Splatterscope because I ran in to several chargers who out-ranged me, but I haven't learned a good trick for hiding my laser sight with a scope. Anyway, its gone well. Now I just need to learn how to use splat bombs. I'm level 16 now, so it won't be too much longer before I can break out the 3-Liter. I really love playing "sniper killer." It makes me think of The End's boss fight from MSG3 and that high-stakes game of cat & mouse gets the adrenaline going.

I'm still learning to use motion controls. I'm pretty solid 90% of the time, but I grew up playing with a controller. When things get crazy, my camera sometimes bounces around because I'm not used to having to keep my hands really steady when holding a controller. Maybe if I think of the gamepad as a mouse, I'll have steadier hands? Anyway, I only have this problem when one of those "oh ****!" moments pop up. I'm pretty solid otherwise.

 

[Silver_1357]

I've had a blast with the Kelp Charger, but want to learn to use splat bombs more effectively as I feel like Killer Wail is almost a crutch. My accuracy is mediocre, but I seem to be putting pressure on enemies in my zone. I've recently tried moving up to the Splatterscope because I ran in to several chargers who out-ranged me, but I haven't learned a good trick for hiding my laser sight with a scope. Anyway, its gone well. Now I just need to learn how to use splat bombs. I'm level 16 now, so it won't be too much longer before I can break out the 3-Liter. I really love playing "sniper killer." It makes me think of The End's boss fight from MSG3 and that high-stakes game of cat & mouse gets the adrenaline going.

I'm still learning to use motion controls. I'm pretty solid 90% of the time, but I grew up playing with a controller. When things get crazy, my camera sometimes bounces around because I'm not used to having to keep my hands really steady when holding a controller. Maybe if I think of the gamepad as a mouse, I'll have steadier hands? Anyway, I only have this problem when one of those "oh ****!" moments pop up. I'm pretty solid otherwise.

Personally, I really don't like just sitting there trying to get a kill while my other teammates try and get the job finished, but Chargers can be helpful if you're the type of guy that really likes hiding and crippling other teams.


If you have a keen eye, then you may also like Chargers. I like the scope weapons and the 3K the most.

 

[Vitezen]

The biggest reason there is to not main a charger is if you play solo queue. If you're playing a charger in solo queue, you WILL lose some matches because your team has one or two other chargers and not enough standard weapons, and there's really nothing you can do about it. Other than that, the chargers are great weapons, especially if you play in teams so you can coordinate your strategy.

 

[lostleader]

Is it worth learning to use a charger? Yes, of course it is. Although playing in rank to just learn a weapon is an easy to lower your ranking. So I suggest Turf War if you haven't already convinced yourself. Learning a charger helps ingrain where chargers usually have a sniping nest or what a charger might be trying to do.

However I somewhat disagree with the whole team support thing. Not that it can't do it or do it well, but rather Chargers can effectively do everything every other weapon can do. They have one of the best rush downs, have some of the best control point options, and are the weapon people are most likely to be surprised about. The only problem is honestly your skill at using it. I'm not saying you have to get everyone in one shot, but rather learning what you have to do in the match. Admittedly most of the time you have to play defensive simply because you can't stand up to other weapons, but that doesn't mean you cant also go into the enemy base and screw with them.

But perhaps the best way I can put a charger in all context of matches, you are the path maker. So make sure to remember your map lay outs and learn new ones.

 

[RonanM52]

Hey black zero :) I recently started learning the splat charger it's hard enough at first but just practice and it soon gets way more fun. Also if you feel like your not helping the team in matches compared to your usual guys don't worry! You'll get it down with enough practice. Also adjust camera sensitivity to low. (Mines -3)

 

[BlackZero]

So I suggest Turf War if you haven't already convinced yourself. Learning a charger helps ingrain where chargers usually have a sniping nest or what a charger might be trying to do.

Thanks. If my rank is solid (50+) I play around with it in ranked to get a feel for how it is most useful when you have an actual goal instead of just ground coverage. But yeah, I TW mostly.

Also adjust camera sensitivity to low. (Mines -3)

Thanks! I'll give that a shot. I turned it way high because I couldn't spin around fast enough. I'll turn it down and see how it goes.