Is the Carbon roller thrash tier in higher level play?

[Phronetic]

Hello community,

So I really like playing the Carbon Roller. Usually, I do decent with it (nothing great), sitting at a B- rank right now.
However, I'm having increasing difficulty with more skilled opponents. I notice the Carbon Roller really requires the element of surprise to be able to kill anyone who outranges me (everyone except brushes). Sure I have my splatbombs, and I used to be able to kill opponents running in as straight line in 2-3 hits. However, enemies no longer behave like that. Hence, splatbombs are relegated to zoning tools. Also, I never see any discussion or YouTube video's on the Carbon Roller.
I used to like the Carbon for its speed and ranged options. Am I wise to forego this speed and ranged option in order to get a more powerful and purely melee focused roller like the KOR? Or perhaps the zoning power of the vanilla roller? Or... shudder... the Dynamo? I do see a lot of KOR and Dynamo in ranked. Is the Carbon the worst roller?

 

[Lyre]

No. The carbon roller excells at high speed hit and run style play. I'm at rank S+, used it for the majority of my games of splat zones and rainmaker. I prefer blaster for tower control though. My second character just reached A+ with only carbon roller. I run quick respawn and swim speed to focus on splatting.

Get used to opening and finishing with burst bombs. Your flick is close range only and should be used only for quick kills. Move constantly, and always try to flank.

I will admit I do see a lot more krakons, and a few more dynamos than i see carbons though.

 

[Elecmaw]

If you use bursts a whole lot more instead of flicks, do you do it because you're outranged or because you don't want to risk getting up close and flick? If it's the latter you can try playing more agressive since the Carbon flick comes out so fast your opponent has no time to react.

 

[Fightersword]

yeah, carbon roller is more surprise based gameplay. Surprise based gameplay does work less effectively against opponents who are more aware as well as against teams with comms. It is also possible to react to the carbon splash fast enough, especially if you expect it, but it's really hard. It should work fine, it has a lot of plusses, just don't expect to get away with hiding around corners in the ink very often like a lot of carbons I've seen online. surprise and deceit can work against coordinated teams, though, even if they're really good, as some of the best TF2 spy players have proven in the past. Though part of why that works better there is because A. the spy is worth less than pretty much every other character in the game, especially his choice targets, meaning once he gets the juicy kill, even though he'll die pretty often after that, it's still a plus, and B. he has the dead ringer (most of the time, otherwise they're using C&D to provide info for their team a lot and go for a kill at times, but that's neither here nor there), meaning there's less comparative downtime, whereas with splatoon they're not worth more than you and you don't have a dead ringer.

I do feel like other rollers will be a little more effective in the kind of playstyle that competitive will likely favor on most maps personally. But carbon has its ups and should be able to do fine at times. I mean worst that can happen if you use it is that you try it out, it is unusable almost ever, and you just have to switch weapons. there's no real harm done. If it turns out really good, you could surprise everyone and define the meta OP. But if it doesn't work, don't try to force it, just try it and see how it works for you.

EDIT: the subs also do help a lot to pressure and shore up some areas. I like them.

 

[Citrus]

carbon is good m8

 

[River09]

I think this would be better in the weapons section of the forums.

But to answer your question, it's fine. High mobility for a roller, fastest time to kill up close, burst bombs + inkzooka mean you can deal with far off opponents. Not too shabby of a kit.

 

[Phronetic]

Thanks for all the responses!
Lyra, you sound like a mean Carbo-ka! (Carbon Roller player)
Is it possible to watch you play and learn from you?
My NNID is Spreeuw70.

 

[[EJ]_Locke]

I think this would be better in the weapons section of the forums.

I think this thread is better off here, since this thread is not only asking about whether the carbon roller is good or not, but is it good at high level play, which goes hand in hand with competitive. Besides, the thread gets better exposure here, as the weapons thread is generally less active.

Anyways, I have seen carbon rollers at S rank, and they are amazingly good. I think you should stick to the weapon for ranked tbh. It may not be as easy to get higher in rank with it, but the payoff is great. Differencing yourself from all the KOR's and Dynamos is a big plus if you are looking into getting into a squad. Because to be brutally honest, dynamos and KOR's are a dime a dozen. I would recommend reading the burst bomb guide, as that sub weapon has tons of potential if you are looking to up your play. Also, a combination of Ninja Squid and swim speed up could be good gear abilities. Hope this helped.

Edit: click here to read the burst bomb guide

 

[River09]

I think this thread is better off here, since this thread is not only asking about whether the carbon roller is good or not, but is it good at high level play, which goes hand in hand with competitive. Besides, the thread gets better exposure here, as the weapons thread is generally less active.

Anyways, I have seen carbon rollers at S rank, and they are amazingly good. I think you should stick to the weapon for ranked tbh. It may not be as easy to get higher in rank with it, but the payoff is great. Differencing yourself from all the KOR's and Dynamos is a big plus if you are looking into getting into a squad. Because to be brutally honest, dynamos and KOR's are a dime a dozen. I would recommend reading the burst bomb guide, as that sub weapon has tons of potential if you are looking to up your play. Also, a combination of Ninja Squid and swim speed up could be good gear abilities. Hope this helped.

Edit: click here to read the burst bomb guide

Each to their own. At least we can agree that Carbon Roller is a great weapon.

 

[Hope]

Yes it is good at high level play. Make sure to use burst bombs more against any other roller type, and the burst flick animation cancel helps as well. There are a few playstyles you can do with it: 1) gutsy flanks that only work half the time, but when they do it's a game changer. 2) hiding around and waiting for opportunities, this is probably the most consistent method. 3) going full aggro and hoping it works (it doesn't most of the time).

imo a good carbon will know when to use all 3 general playstyles, eg: hiding to wait for a flank opportunity, flanking, then going full aggro when you are behind their sightlines. that's a combination of all 3 and can literally win your team games and singlehandedly carry. I did it vs HBSF a few times, so it is defo viable in high level play at the moment.

 

[Phronetic]

Thanks for all the tips! I'm reading the burst bomb guide right now.
On BBFC (burst bomb flick-cancelling), I always seem to screw up and throw above the intended target.
It does indeed seem to actually cancel the flick, or is this not true? Is there a squid science video proof on this?

 

[MakesDream]

Carbon rollers are good, but I honestly don't die more than once to them in ranked mode. they're very predictable and it's much easier to exploit their weaknesses than the dynamo or splat rollers. If you like the loadout consider switching the the neo splash, or if you can't stand shooters, the octobrush nova is coming out with the same loadout, sure the ttk is a bit slower than carbon roller. but your range allows you to sort of fight players up close and it still fits with the assassin playstyle.

Please Please Please don't use ninjasquid. It's a crutch, using swim speed will get you from point a to point b faster and if you really need to sneak up on them swimming slowly with a few swim speed ups you won't notice the difference between that and ninja swim. Cold blooded is the much better ability as it almost completely nullifies, a special, unique shirt ability, and a sub weapon

Burst bombs have a lot of applications. And Inkzooka is arguably the best special in the game. if you think you like the carbon roller, then go for it. play whatever weapon you can win with and have fun with.

 

[Mr.HawK]

I was just gonna say, have you seen how insane carbon rollers can be? they may not be the best choice of roller but still they are incredibly useful. its the only roller that can burst cancel quicker than any other weapon. (currently testing new nozzlenose for reasons as well)it doesnt have the ruthless presence of a krak on but it can splat krak ons quicker, and is an absolute BEAUTY in splat zones. either way id say close to higher-mid tier for the carbon. IMO