Ranked Charger nightmares

[Jayy]

My experience in ranked when chargers are present is not a pleasant one, mostly on zones. I’m A rank btw.

There don’t seem to be many players on my teams who feel the need to take care of the opposing chargers so I constantly have to divert my attention from the objective to harass them. And even then, often times my teammates still cannot control the objective so without harassing the chargers we just lose even quicker.

Seriously one charger on the other team and it’s just too much effort for my teammates to deal with them.

I hate fighting chargers so much and they’re often times such a heavy hand in swaying the flow of battles that I just feel the need to camp them. I mean what am I supposed to do if no one is going after them and letting them willy nilly pick us off and lay ink over the zone? It’s not like I’m going to fall in line with idiot teammates who push the objective needlessly without first taking care of the immediate threats.

I may just say F it and make it my goal to gank any charger I see just to lay on them the discouragement they bombard me with.

I mean, any tips? Stop playing Zones?

 

[Padre]

Get Sensor and alert your comrades on the charger guy.

 

[Jayy]

Get Sensor and alert your comrades on the charger guy.

I do. I main Splattershot Pro.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I do. I main Splattershot Pro.

I was just going to ask what weapon you play when facing a charger. Because (obviously) some weapons fair better against them. For example, weapons that don't need a line of sight to attack them (blasters and sloshers) can make quick work of them if the sniper can't fight back.

But, like you said, you're a splattershot pro. And a splattershot pro (especially when you're spraying & strafing) is a pretty easy target. Since the splattershot pro has very slow strafing speed. However, that doesn't mean you can avoid charger shots. When a charger is on the enemy team, try not to stand still. Chargers love it when someone stands perfectly still for them. So use your fast swim speed and try not to spend too much time firing.

"That's cool and all, but I want to fight the charger too"
Well, luckily, the splattershot pro has some respectable range and can eliminate opponents pretty fast as well. So you can rush chargers down pretty quickly with this knowledge. Be careful though, if the charger has a charged shot already, and they saw you, don't approach them yet. Because they can instantly kill you if they get the shot off. Try to rush them right after they use a shot. So then they have to spend time charging up the next one, creating a nice window for you to attack them head on.

Hope this helped.

 

[Jayy]

It’s not so much that I can’t myself deal with the charger and come out on top. Typically it’s easy to take down a poor to decent charger player because either they’re distracted by my teammates or they just can’t match up against me ducking and weaving flanking them.

The real problems arise when I’m the sole player having to constantly deal with them because no one else will bother even trying to reach their position to splat them. So while teammates think inking the zone is winning is the game they get splatted by the charger and then the turf is recovered, meanwhile I can’t even try to help them or the objective cuz I’m trying to take down the charger.

If it’s a competent to really good charger player I basically feel like throwing the game because I know I’ll be the only one dealing with them and it’s that much more of a nuisance.

I guess it all comes down to who I’m unfortunately teamed with huh?

 

[Mar$el]

Well yeah that and also, you can't make your entire playstyle change just because there's a charger. You can't just devote the match solely to killing any charger on the enemy team. Especially with a splattershot pro, you can hang back out of the chargers range and take out people that are immediate threats to your teammates then suppress the charger with an ink storm or someone throws a bomb or kills them to push back. Yes chargers can pick people off, but typically you don't see them getting as many kills as anyone else on the team. I wouldn't say they're always an immediate threat. If people are fighting for mid or whatever then you gotta focus on taking out other people like blasters or shooters or rollers or whatever, while dodging around the charger (if you're even within their range). If you get picked by the charger in the process, what makes that different than getting killed by a shooter or sharked by a roller?

 

[Spaceswitchmars]

I usually dare a charger to be good at first, and if they get a good kill or two on me, I reassess. It’s no use changing my entire approach if I can basically ignore a charger. A bad to merely okay charger is basically like playing four on three in this meta. So if I can ignore them, all the better.

Most people get so freaked out by the charger laser pointer that they overreact. I say under react. And if they prove they deserve a reaction, only then react. But also don’t spend the entire match chasing down a charger if you can’t kill the guy prett quickly. At some point, even a good charger isn’t worth that much attention over sticking to the objective.

 

[GirlyMii]

I love creeping chargers. My secret is I don't ink on my way to them. Basically walk without being noticed and come up behind them and kill them. Usually it sets the tone for the game and the charger is extra cautious bc they were caught off guard. Most chargers pay attention to the map to see who is coming for them.

 

[Spaceswitchmars]

I love creeping chargers. My secret is I don't ink on my way to them. Basically walk without being noticed and come up behind them and kill them. Usually it sets the tone for the game and the charger is extra cautious bc they were caught off guard. Most chargers pay attention to the map to see who is coming for them.

This works for other weapons too. Also a great strategy in clams for getting close to the hoop unnoticed for teammates to super jump to you with a power clam.

 

[Ansible]

*sometimes plays chargers*

Hmmm...

*scribbles a bunch of notes*

I will keep all this in mind!

*cackles*

...! Oh, fine then I'll help too. If you're the type that goes into the test range, play around with a charger once in a while to study its average charge time, ink consumption, distance, travel time, walk speed, and stuff--without the benefits of ink efficiency perks at least.

Having some rough estimates of the charger you're facing can open you to more options when dealing with them. And you can even boldly/foolishly perform shenanigans like this:

 

[Dark Sage Walker]

@Ansible Nice dodging! I love pulling sweet, sweet jukes on a charger just to freak them out! Honestly, I am pretty good against chargers. It all really boils down to how well you know your enemy's weapon. If they just fired a shot, proceed to approach. If they have a shot ready, be careful and use cover to aid your movement. If they have a scope, notice which way they are facing. If they are not looking at you, then the tunnel vision of the scope will conceal your movement! These are just a few of the things that you should keep in mind when facing a charger. This is by no means an exhaustive list. A lot of other advice I could give revolves around general knowledge of the game and situational awareness.

 

[The Salamander King]

The biggest mistake I see people doing when fighting chargers is swimming directly at them. Try swimming horizontally to the charger's laser. If you approach (or swim away from) a charger vertically, they usually just have to walk backward and use only the Y coordinate to aim. If you move to their sides quickly, they have to very accurate using both coordinates. Another detriment approaching head-on has is range. As long as a charger has enough range to challenge you (which will be every time basically) they have a pretty long time to get a direct shot on you, as they barely have to aim and you aren't actually moving very much.

It's really hard to explain in words, so I could make a video if you want.

 

[BBGrenorange]

So as a fellow SSPro main, I have some experience with this particular matchup:

1. Movement - the Pro relies on standing fairly still and having perfect aim, however you need to be able to move across open spaces as well. I'd recommend picking up the blaster as it teaches this swim>jump>shoot movement that I find helps, and also improves accuracy.

2. Use your kit - with the regular Pro point sensors (and suction bombs on the Forge) you can deter chargers long enough for you to get in position, and the Inkstorm is a decent bunker-buster.

3. Go for those sick plays - pull of some epic tracking / complex movement shenanigans (for example I jumped off a platform and while I was moving through the air I tracked every single shot onto this pesky charger) because it's soooo satisfying so it'll help you let some of that salt out.

 

[zzmorg82]

The biggest mistake I see people doing when fighting chargers is swimming directly at them. Try swimming horizontally to the charger's laser. If you approach (or swim away from) a charger vertically, they usually just have to walk backward and use only the Y coordinate to aim. If you move to their sides quickly, they have to very accurate using both coordinates. Another detriment approaching head-on has is range. As long as a charger has enough range to challenge you (which will be every time basically) they have a pretty long time to get a direct shot on you, as they barely have to aim and you aren't actually moving very much.

It's really hard to explain in words, so I could make a video if you want.

As a secondary user of the Splatterscope, I agree with these assestments. It's more tougher for me to land a shot with someone rushing me horizontally then vertically. Although, I probably don't have as much trouble as other Charger users since I use stick instead of motion controls, but the point still stands.