New Special Weapon Idea: Splatboard

[OnePotWonder]

I've swamped myself with half-baked ideas for long-form threads. Here's an idea for a Kraken Royale replacement in Splatoon 4, before it gets completely buried by all of my other ideas. I think it works well, but more opinions to confirm or deny the fact are welcome.

Splatboard

Activating the special gives the user a stylized inflatable surfboard to ride around the stage for about 7 seconds, giving them extreme mobility in kid form, and Kraken-like melee power in swim form. The board can move in a straight line at nearly the speed of swimming, and it can ignore enemy ink, leaving a trail of ink behind it. Regardless of which form the user is in, if the board runs into an enemy, it bounces off of them, dealing 30 damage.

While the special user is in kid form, they have full access to their main weapon and an unlimited ink tank; however, they're completely vulnerable to enemy attacks. The board also has a slow turning speed and struggles to make sharp turns while the user is in kid form, making it best suited to only being used when the board can freely travel in a straight line or clear curve.
The player can jump in place on the board if it suits them, such as allowing rollers to access their vertical flicks. Dualies are also able to dodge roll in place on the board to enter turret mode. While the user is mid-air or mid-dodge roll, they can't steer the board, so said options should be used with a degree of caution.

When the special user enters swim form, they pass through a net below where they stand on the board and gain much more control over it, being able to make tighter turns and use squid rolls to quickly reverse direction. While jumping or squid rolling in swim form, the board damages nearby enemies in a similar manner to Kraken Royale, spinning in the air to deal 60 damage. The board also offers a high degree of protection while the user is in swim form, as they can only be hit through the net.

The Splatboard has 20 frames of startup and no end lag, but the user should be careful that the special's duration doesn't run out in enemy territory. The special will flash when its duration is close to running out, similar to Kraken Royale.

I think that this special weapon is a perfect replacement for Kraken Royale, removing its main weakness of completely nullifying a player's distance pressure, removing its main strength of invincibility without making it completely vulnerable, and giving the special user way more options. Here are a few example kits:

.52 Gal
Splash Wall + Splatboard

Goo Tuber
Fizzy Bomb + Splatboard

Splat Brella
Autobomb + Splatboard

Range Blaster
Suction Bomb + Splatboard

Thank you in advance for your constructive feedback.
As per usual, have a wonderful day.

 

[Algae]

This seems kinda like a recall-less Zipcaster that lets you rush through enemy ink, but I can't give a more detailed value judgement on this idea.

Of note, the main draw of Kraken (and the similar Baller and maybe Ultra Stamp) is the use of hardened short-range power to displace enemies up close. Kraken Royale's been said to turn a 4v4 fight into a 3v3 and a futile cat-mouse chase, if the Kraken user doesn't know how to properly disrupt a team formation. When facing the special, I regarded it as useless if I could keep holding an area without letting the Kraken touch me. I find Baller to be the best rendition of this kind of impact, because its armor can be shredded as a counterplay, whereas it can explode as either area denial or to combo with getting hit by the ball.

 

[OnePotWonder]

This seems kinda like a recall-less Zipcaster that lets you rush through enemy ink, but I can't give a more detailed value judgement on this idea.

Of note, the main draw of Kraken (and the similar Baller and maybe Ultra Stamp) is the use of hardened short-range power to displace enemies up close. Kraken Royale's been said to turn a 4v4 fight into a 3v3 and a futile cat-mouse chase, if the Kraken user doesn't know how to properly disrupt a team formation. When facing the special, I regarded it as useless if I could keep holding an area without letting the Kraken touch me. I find Baller to be the best rendition of this kind of impact, because its armor can be shredded as a counterplay, whereas it can explode as either area denial or to combo with getting hit by the ball.

There is some similarity to Zipcaster, definitely, but I'd argue the Splatboard is distinct enough with its movement and mechanics to be able to coexist with it. Of course, there would be other rush-oriented special weapons that more clearly play into melee usage.

I do agree that Baller was the best interpretation of the rush-down special. I would also argue, a bit of a hot take, that Reefslider is a better Splashdown rework than TSD because of its closer similarity to Baller, and how it can't be used as a panic button nearly as easily.

Reefslider does obviously have more than its fair share of issues, and probably shouldn't return even with a rework. Though, its aesthetic could probably be recycled for the Splatboard, with its pop-bottle rockets and shark design. It translates well to a surfboard.

 

[sevenleaf]

in an alternate universe this is a thread on Splatboards about a new special idea you had called the Squidboard

i don't use kraken but i remember being told that on backline kits (heavy deco, custom liter) it has a particular use case in letting its user force itself wherever it wants to go. this sort of "you have the duration of the special to reposition yourself" approach feels like something the splatboard could make a lot of use out of, with its focus on mobility and all, regardless of the role of the weapon it's on... though without the protection of kraken's invisibility or even any armor that might not be as viable. its ink trails would definitely be clearly telegraphed on the map, so my immediate dreams of "aw yeah if this gets put on a short-ranged dualie i could splatboard my way behind the enemy team and be SO annoying" might be dead in the water

...actually, if it was put on any dualie, how would its go-fast-one-direction-but-turn-slowly movement style interact with dodge rolls, i wonder? ah wait i got it. you dodge roll off the board and the special ends.

 

[solz]

I absolutely love this idea and I appreciate you putting it On slow firing weapons so it's not too broken

 

[isaac4]

I have some questions about the special.
Does the board itself damage enemy players when it comes into contact with them and if so, what's the amount of damage the player takes? The answer might be obvious but I don't want to make any assumptions.
What about how the user takes damage while using the special? Does the shape of the board protect them in some areas similar to Crab or are they completely exposed?
I plan on saying more but I just want to have some more info on the special.

 

[WIP Riley]

If we get a surf board but no "surfs up" reference I'm gonna lose it

 

[QuagSass]

Cool concept, but I struggle to see how it synergises with the Heavy Splatling.
In fact putting it on the Heavy raises a couple of questions I have about the special generally.

Comparing it to the Kraken and what that special does for Heavy, as sevenleaf mentioned, the Kraken is a "go anywhere for free" card. Letting it take annoying positions without the enemy being able to do anything about it. That is the main utility Kraken has for Heavy and the big reason it works is because of the invincibility.

I can't see the Splatboard working for the same purpose due to the way it's movement works. I can see the logic behind letting a Heavy move at near-swim speed while it's charging/shooting, that part sounds sick! But the lack of sharp turns while shooting sounds like a problem, especially if there's no way to stop the movement. That's one of my questions: Are you constantly on the move while the special is active?
Another thing I'm confused about is: Can you climb up walls with the special active? And if yes: Are you in swim form while climbing up walls? Forcing the Heavy to drop charge makes the special all the more difficult and annoying to use. And the jump not being controllable mid-air is also rough for a Splatling.
Generally it feels like this special forces Heavy to be a frontline, something that the main kinda struggles at, without giving it the reliable repositioning tool that Kraken does. Can't say I'm feeling the special on Heavy, especially with the Sprinkler as a sub.
Still, I would love to hear what your thought process was for putting it on Heavy, maybe there's something I'm not seeing.

But you know which Splatling this would be awesome for? The Nautilus, babyyyyy! Imagine combining chargehold with this thing! And the fast movement making up for Naut's lack of strafing speed? This doesn't even solve Naut's need for an entry special or a long-range poking tool, so it wouldn't even be too strong. You just get 7 seconds of juiced up Nautilus and that sounds so fun!!!

Heavy with Splatboard? Nah, pass.
Naut with Splatboard? Now we're talking!
I could also see Mini working, just because of how fast that thing is, but c'mon. Chargehold.

Also sidenote, that Brella kit looks so fun

 

[Aiko.Octo]

I can't weigh in on the balance side of things but it just sounds fun to use and I like that. Also it would be funny it if had some kind of interaction with wave breaker.

 

[solz]

Would you be able to use subs during the special?

 

[OnePotWonder]

Lots of questions here. Some of you have also given me some new ideas for how the special could work, though. I'm going to edit the original post with the hope of answering as many questions as possible, as well as integrating some new ideas.

 

[isaac4]

I know that you already went through the trouble of going back to explain some of our questions but could you also explain if the board moves forward automatically without the ability to stop in place?
Besides that, I don't have anything to criticize about the concept.
It seems pretty reasonable as a replacement for Kraken while making it feel distinct enough to have its own identity.
Having access to your swim form makes the special a lot more interesting and I like the 30 damage you gave it when running into an enemy.
I'm surprised you gave Suction Bomb/Splatboard to RB instead of Splat Bomb/Splatboard.

I would suggest Torpedo/Splatboard on Slosher as a great kit as well unless you're worried that it would outclass RB.

 

[isaac4]

I forgot to mention but the first time I read this thread I immediately got reminded of the bloopers you use to race in Sunshine.

 

[OnePotWonder]

I know that you already went through the trouble of going back to explain some of our questions but could you also explain if the board moves forward automatically without the ability to stop in place?
Besides that, I don't have anything to criticize about the concept.
It seems pretty reasonable as a replacement for Kraken while making it feel distinct enough to have its own identity.
Having access to your swim form makes the special a lot more interesting and I like the 30 damage you gave it when running into an enemy.
I'm surprised you gave Suction Bomb/Splatboard to RB instead of Splat Bomb/Splatboard.

I would suggest Torpedo/Splatboard on Slosher as a great kit as well unless you're worried that it would outclass RB.

The board starts to move automatically and cannot stop in place, though it can move in a tight-ish circle for similar effect, or it could be repeatedly rammed into a wall or other piece of terrain. Though that would probably throw off your aim.
Also the 30 damage was fully inspired by your comment. I figure it's a trade-off for its inability to stop moving.

I forgot to mention but the first time I read this thread I immediately got reminded of the bloopers you use to race in Sunshine.

Big Man variation:

Why couldn't this be part of Splatoon 3's story mode?