Reparations: Fixing Low-Tiers

[OnePotWonder]

Taking a reprieve from the various nerf suggestions I have planned to cover buffs for the few weapons that truly deserve them. Not going to bother with the preamble this time around, just know that these are geared toward Splatoon 4 more than Splatoon 3's post-content patches. Without any further ado, let's just get straight into the changes.

H-3 Nozzlenose
Delay between bursts decreased by 2 frames
End lag decreased by 2 frames
Ink consumption per shot decreased from 2.25% to 2%

What better way to start than with H-3 Nozzlenose, the most robbed weapon in the series. As a Splatoon 1 meta weapon, it was gutted in the transition from Splatoon to Splatoon 2, and it was gutted again in the transition from Splatoon 2 to Splatoon 3 thanks to Main Power Up. Despite having the highest skill ceiling in its class, equally if not more difficult than Squeezer, it is among the weakest weapons in its class. I've fixed this by making it faster with regards to fire rate and end lag, as well as partially reverting its ink efficiency nerf from the end of Splatoon 2. It has the kits it needs to be meta, it just needs the speed.

Big Swig Roller
Maximum horizontal flick damage increased from 70 to 80
Minimum vertical flick damage increased from 40 to 45

Possibly a surprise to some reading this thread, Big Swig Roller is the most skill expressive weapon in its class. Not only does it have a narrower, deadlier vertical flick than other rollers, it has more actions to manage than most other members of its class, being able to chip damage for teammates and paint supportively for them alongside being able to fight as a roller. My buffs are meant to increase the weapon's fighting power across the board. Yes, it's handicapped by its kits to the point where even if it was the strongest main weapon in its class, it wouldn't be anywhere near meta. I plan to fix this later, though.

Skipping over chargers, which are a class in little need of buffs, we're moving straight to sloshers.

Bloblobber
Projectile speed (and range) increased by 65%
Blobs no longer bounce across floors

Bloblobber is my first and favorite main weapon rework, taking an axe to its lingering pressure and significantly buffing its projectile speed while adding more skill expression through a tighter aim requirement, and keeping its maximum range intact. Rather than being a passive distance damage spammer, Bloblobber metamorphizes into an aggressive backline weapon with more creative angles than anything else. I can't not see this rework turning the weapon into an instant fan favorite.

Splatlings do need improvement, but I can't think of any main weapon buffs that would significantly help. Moving to dualies.

Dualie Squelchers
Angle shots can deviate on the ground reduced from 4.0 to 3.0 degrees
Damage increased from 28 to 30

The Dualie Squelchers are already decent weapons in competitive play, and have been pushed to tournament results by dedicated one-tricks. There's just one issue I have with its placement. This is one of the most skill-intensive weapons in the Splatoon series. So why is it below easier shooter options like .52 Gal? I've given it some much needed damage consistency buffs to push it further into the meta, closer to where it belongs at the tip top of the tier lists, in league with options like Squeezer and Splatana Stamper.

Brellas
Pretty much every brella except for Tenta Brella deserves some signficant buffs;

Splat Brella
Damage increased from 16.2 pellet/81 maximum to 18 pellet/90 maximum

Splat Brella gets its original damage back. This buff is freestanding and therefore non-negotiable.

Undercover Brella
Damage increased from 12 pellet/40 maximum to 13 pellet/52 maximum
Maximum damage while shield is open reduced to 39
Angle pellets can deviate horizontally reduced from 4.0 to 3.0 degrees

Another weapon rework for the Undercover Brella. I say rework, but it's really just a highly creative buff. The weapon's damage is increased such that it can splat in two shots exclusively while its shield isn't open, if it aims perfectly. A spread buff helps to reduce the difficulty of landing a two-shot, and its maximum damage of 39 is practically guaranteed while the shield is open. Simply put, Undercover only has to land three pellets to deal maximum damage, and can trade its shield for enough damage to splat in two shots.

Recycled Brella 24
Maximum damage increased from 90 to 105
Time between consecutive shots increased by 5 frames

When discussing balance changes, most people tend to think small, myself included. To be fair, virtually no weapons need major changes. Recycled Brella is an exception. Recycled Brella is so comedically weak and similar to Splat Brella for how interesting its concept is. I love the concept of a shield designed specifically to block a single heavy attack, and I so badly want this weapon to be good. So, Recycled Brella will gain the ability to splat with a single shot, at the cost of some fire rate.

Neither blasters nor brushes are really worth buffing (I'd try to fix Clash but it's not worth the effort). That leaves us with stringers.

Tri-Stringer
Explosion damage increased from 30 to 35
Gap between fully charged shots decreased from 0.4 to 0.3 units
Charge time (first ring) increased by 5 frames
Charge time (second ring) decreased by 5 frames

Finally for main weapons, we have the Tri-Stringer, which receives some QoL handling buffs. The combined explosions of all three of its shots will splat an opponent rather than dealing 90 damage, and one-shot splats will be easier to hit. This comes at a cost of five frames of its second ring of charge being transferred to its first ring of charge, making it more difficult for the weapon to deny area by spamming explosives. Overall positive changes to give the weapon a nudge in the right direction.

With no splatanas needing buffs, I'll move on to sub weapons. Or more accurately, the sub weapon:

Angle Shooter
Direct damage increased from 40 to 60
Trail damage increased from 0 to 30
Direct tracking duration increased from 5 to 7 seconds.
Trail duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds
Pierces enemy players (can only deal damage once to each enemy)

Angle Shooter, the most aim-intensive sub weapon in the game. It is also undeniably the weakest sub weapon in the game, hence the smorgasbord of buffs. This sub's weakness holds back a variety of more-than-deserving weapons: Splattershot Pro, Slosher Deco, Big Swig Roller Express. With enough direct damage to splat in two hits, trail damage making its AoE an actual threat, improved tracking, and enemy piercing, Angle Shooter can finally shine as the high-skill high-fun generalist sub weapon it was originally designed to be.

I would also buff Toxic Mist here, but the thread is starting to get long. Moving straight ahead to the finale: The two special weapons.

Wave Breaker
HP increased from 400 to 450
Maximum number of waves produced increased from 3 to 5
Each wave produced is 0.1 units taller than the previous one

The madness begins. Wave Breaker is a perfect candidate for effects that ramp up over time; not only is it destructible and designed in a way that encourages enemies to find it and break it quickly, it affects the stage at a fixed rate, one wave at a time. Yes, I've given the special two extra waves and made them harder to dodge. But tell me this isn't brilliant; that Wave Breaker wouldn't be great for the meta. Not even considering the excellent weapons that it's on. (Even Painbrush deserves the kit buff; it'll make its Tenta Missile kit less prevalent.)

Ink Storm
Teammates in the storm's area receive 10 AP of Ink Saver (Main) and Ink Recovery Up
Teammates in the storm's area automatically recover 0.083% of their ink tank per frame (5% per second)

Finally, Ink Storm, which is getting its brand new support aspect buffed. Teammates in the storm will receive a ink efficiency buff (which only stands to reason since it's literally raining ink). While Ink Storm itself doesn't necessarily need buffs, the weapons it's on definitely do. When you have a special on options like Jet Squelcher, Bloblobber, Explosher, Big Swig Roller; it should be worthwhile for supporting its team and its user.


That should be all of the buffs! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Thanks for reading through all of this, and have a wonderful day.

 

[SAMICOM]

Taking a reprieve from the various nerf suggestions I have planned to cover buffs for the few weapons that truly deserve them. Not going to bother with the preamble this time around, just know that these are geared toward Splatoon 4 more than Splatoon 3's post-content patches. Without any further ado, let's just get straight into the changes.

H-3 Nozzlenose
Delay between bursts decreased by 2 frames
End lag decreased by 2 frames
Ink consumption per shot decreased from 2.25% to 2%

What better way to start than with H-3 Nozzlenose, the most robbed weapon in the series. As a Splatoon 1 meta weapon, it was gutted in the transition from Splatoon to Splatoon 2, and it was gutted again in the transition from Splatoon 2 to Splatoon 3 thanks to Main Power Up. Despite having the highest skill ceiling in its class, equally if not more difficult than Squeezer, it is among the weakest weapons in its class. I've fixed this by making it faster with regards to fire rate and end lag, as well as partially reverting its ink efficiency nerf from the end of Splatoon 2. It has the kits it needs to be meta, it just needs the speed.

Big Swig Roller
Maximum horizontal flick damage increased from 70 to 80
Minimum vertical flick damage increased from 40 to 45

Possibly a surprise to some reading this thread, Big Swig Roller is the most skill expressive weapon in its class. Not only does it have a narrower, deadlier vertical flick than other rollers, it has more actions to manage than most other members of its class, being able to chip damage for teammates and paint supportively for them alongside being able to fight as a roller. My buffs are meant to increase the weapon's fighting power across the board. Yes, it's handicapped by its kits to the point where even if it was the strongest main weapon in its class, it wouldn't be anywhere near meta. I plan to fix this later, though.

Skipping over chargers, which are a class in little need of buffs, we're moving straight to sloshers.

Bloblobber
Projectile speed (and range) increased by 65%
Blobs no longer bounce across floors

Bloblobber is my first and favorite main weapon rework, taking an axe to its lingering pressure and significantly buffing its projectile speed while adding more skill expression through a tighter aim requirement, and keeping its maximum range intact. Rather than being a passive distance damage spammer, Bloblobber metamorphizes into an aggressive backline weapon with more creative angles than anything else. I can't not see this rework turning the weapon into an instant fan favorite.

Splatlings do need improvement, but I can't think of any main weapon buffs that would significantly help. Moving to dualies.

Dualie Squelchers
Angle shots can deviate on the ground reduced from 4.0 to 3.0 degrees
Damage increased from 28 to 30

The Dualie Squelchers are already decent weapons in competitive play, and have been pushed to tournament results by dedicated one-tricks. There's just one issue I have with its placement. This is one of the most skill-intensive weapons in the Splatoon series. So why is it below easier shooter options like .52 Gal? I've given it some much needed damage consistency buffs to push it further into the meta, closer to where it belongs at the tip top of the tier lists, in league with options like Squeezer and Splatana Stamper.

Brellas
Pretty much every brella except for Tenta Brella deserves some signficant buffs;

Splat Brella
Damage increased from 16.2 pellet/81 maximum to 18 pellet/90 maximum

Splat Brella gets its original damage back. This buff is freestanding and therefore non-negotiable.

Undercover Brella
Damage increased from 12 pellet/40 maximum to 13 pellet/52 maximum
Maximum damage while shield is open reduced to 39
Angle pellets can deviate horizontally reduced from 4.0 to 3.0 degrees

Another weapon rework for the Undercover Brella. I say rework, but it's really just a highly creative buff. The weapon's damage is increased such that it can splat in two shots exclusively while its shield isn't open, if it aims perfectly. A spread buff helps to reduce the difficulty of landing a two-shot, and its maximum damage of 39 is practically guaranteed while the shield is open. Simply put, Undercover only has to land three pellets to deal maximum damage, and can trade its shield for enough damage to splat in two shots.

Recycled Brella 24
Maximum damage increased from 90 to 105
Time between consecutive shots increased by 5 frames

When discussing balance changes, most people tend to think small, myself included. To be fair, virtually no weapons need major changes. Recycled Brella is an exception. Recycled Brella is so comedically weak and similar to Splat Brella for how interesting its concept is. I love the concept of a shield designed specifically to block a single heavy attack, and I so badly want this weapon to be good. So, Recycled Brella will gain the ability to splat with a single shot, at the cost of some fire rate.

Neither blasters nor brushes are really worth buffing (I'd try to fix Clash but it's not worth the effort). That leaves us with stringers.

Tri-Stringer
Explosion damage increased from 30 to 35
Gap between fully charged shots decreased from 0.4 to 0.3 units
Charge time (first ring) increased by 5 frames
Charge time (second ring) decreased by 5 frames

Finally for main weapons, we have the Tri-Stringer, which receives some QoL handling buffs. The combined explosions of all three of its shots will splat an opponent rather than dealing 90 damage, and one-shot splats will be easier to hit. This comes at a cost of five frames of its second ring of charge being transferred to its first ring of charge, making it more difficult for the weapon to deny area by spamming explosives. Overall positive changes to give the weapon a nudge in the right direction.

With no splatanas needing buffs, I'll move on to sub weapons. Or more accurately, the sub weapon:

Angle Shooter
Direct damage increased from 40 to 60
Trail damage increased from 0 to 30
Direct tracking duration increased from 5 to 7 seconds.
Trail duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds
Pierces enemy players (can only deal damage once to each enemy)

Angle Shooter, the most aim-intensive sub weapon in the game. It is also undeniably the weakest sub weapon in the game, hence the smorgasbord of buffs. This sub's weakness holds back a variety of more-than-deserving weapons: Splattershot Pro, Slosher Deco, Big Swig Roller Express. With enough direct damage to splat in two hits, trail damage making its AoE an actual threat, improved tracking, and enemy piercing, Angle Shooter can finally shine as the high-skill high-fun generalist sub weapon it was originally designed to be.

I would also buff Toxic Mist here, but the thread is starting to get long. Moving straight ahead to the finale: The two special weapons.

Wave Breaker
HP increased from 400 to 450
Maximum number of waves produced increased from 3 to 5
Each wave produced is 0.1 units taller than the previous one

The madness begins. Wave Breaker is a perfect candidate for effects that ramp up over time; not only is it destructible and designed in a way that encourages enemies to find it and break it quickly, it affects the stage at a fixed rate, one wave at a time. Yes, I've given the special two extra waves and made them harder to dodge. But tell me this isn't brilliant; that Wave Breaker wouldn't be great for the meta. Not even considering the excellent weapons that it's on. (Even Painbrush deserves the kit buff; it'll make its Tenta Missile kit less prevalent.)

Ink Storm
Teammates in the storm's area receive 10 AP of Ink Saver (Main) and Ink Recovery Up
Teammates in the storm's area automatically recover 0.083% of their ink tank per frame (5% per second)

Finally, Ink Storm, which is getting its brand new support aspect buffed. Teammates in the storm will receive a ink efficiency buff (which only stands to reason since it's literally raining ink). While Ink Storm itself doesn't necessarily need buffs, the weapons it's on definitely do. When you have a special on options like Jet Squelcher, Bloblobber, Explosher, Big Swig Roller; it should be worthwhile for supporting its team and its user.


That should be all of the buffs! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Thanks for reading through all of this, and have a wonderful day.

ooh! I like this!

 

[Mx_Diva]

Me likey the Tri-Stringer buffs. Love that "pew" sound.

 

[McSquid82]

I really like these changes, and let me add one to it. I would give the same treatment you gave the H-3 Nozzlenose to the L-3, except for maybe the firing speed buff. On top of that, I would also improve their mobility and make them a separate class along with the Squeezer. I also think they should have perfect or near perfect accuracy on the ground as burst fire weapons because of the way they fire their shots. The H-3 has two fantastic support kits and the L-3's aren't bad either if they just got the buffs they need. If you really want to increase the diversity of the meta and lessen shooters' impact on it, then one way is to strengthen the other options in a similar niche.

 

[OnePotWonder]

I also think they should have perfect or near perfect accuracy on the ground as burst fire weapons because of the way they fire their shots.

I have good news for you, then. All three semi-automatics already have perfect grounded accuracy (save for Squeezer's painting mode). Personally, the only change I would make to the L-3 Nozzlenose is to give it perfect mid-air accuracy, the main weapon is already perfectly decent and it just needs a reason to be picked over vanilla Splash-o-matic. I'd honestly prefer they go the direction of making Curling Bomb a combo sub rather than making Ultra Stamp significantly stronger, but to each their own.

 

[SAMICOM]

I have good news for you, then. All three semi-automatics already have perfect grounded accuracy (save for Squeezer's painting mode). Personally, the only change I would make to the L-3 Nozzlenose is to give it perfect mid-air accuracy, the main weapon is already perfectly decent and it just needs a reason to be picked over vanilla Splash-o-matic. I'd honestly prefer they go the direction of making Curling Bomb a combo sub rather than making Ultra Stamp significantly stronger, but to each their own.

i find it odd that you make 2 different types of posts with little in-betwee:


a good take that is loved by the masses


or


Squival War

 

[OnePotWonder]

i find it odd that you make 2 different types of posts with little in-betwee:


a good take that is loved by the masses


or


Squival War

It's the simple duality of buffs and nerfs. I have drastic, fantastic ideas for both, but people prefer buffs for obvious reasons. You try to gut any weapon in the game, even something universally disliked like .52 or Pencil, and every squid and octo on the planet who isn't at your throat about it will be giving you some serious side-eye.

I lean toward nerfs over buffs because I fear power creep is close to becoming a huge issue. You can just look at some of the weapons in this game and see the creep in action; N-ZAP is a premium example, but there's also Splattershot, Slosher, Splat Dualies; not to mention the new main weapons like Decavitator. My next planned thread covers nerfs for every overtuned non-shooter main weapon. Hopefully it'll demonstrate a level of impartiality and make the next round of shooter nerfs seem a bit more reasonable. That and the fact that the next round of shooter nerfs will be more reasonable.

 

[QuagSass]

Haha, the reason you can't think of any main weapon buffs to give to Splatlings is because the mains are in a perfectly fine spot UwU
The class as a whole just needs kit help. So many were shot in the foot to keep them balanced or to reference something, for better or for worse.

I really like the Wavebreaker and Tri-Stringer buffs. I could see the Tri-Stringer buff being something that could make me pick it back up again for certain maps. Currently the inconsistency of the main is the primary reason I'm don't play it anymore, but the kits it has are pretty nice. Would love to pick it up again.

 

[solz]

blob change l'LL finally stop dying to things when they didn't even try to kill you

 

[Algae]

It's the simple duality of buffs and nerfs. ...

Eh, at least I'm not used to stuff I like getting nerfed. Seems the splat 3 devs usually get how versatile shooters already are. Current comp meta is probably on par with S3 ballpoint meta.

Though it's funny that tetra dualies are absurdly non-kit-dependent. If the turret-mode firerate increase was removed and the new kits got Torpedo and Suction Bomb, I'd be amazed.

Also, bloblobber is weird. Really weird. Its reticle shows that its initial range (along with firerate) are like a basic slosher, except it's geared towards zoning & turfing support, and it can bounce off walls.

 

[SAMICOM]

It's the simple duality of buffs and nerfs. I have drastic, fantastic ideas for both, but people prefer buffs for obvious reasons. You try to gut any weapon in the game, even something universally disliked like .52 or Pencil, and every squid and octo on the planet who isn't at your throat about it will be giving you some serious side-eye.

I lean toward nerfs over buffs because I fear power creep is close to becoming a huge issue. You can just look at some of the weapons in this game and see the creep in action; N-ZAP is a premium example, but there's also Splattershot, Slosher, Splat Dualies; not to mention the new main weapons like Decavitator. My next planned thread covers nerfs for every overtuned non-shooter main weapon. Hopefully it'll demonstrate a level of impartiality and make the next round of shooter nerfs seem a bit more reasonable. That and the fact that the next round of shooter nerfs will be more reasonable.

Sounds good! Perhaps we can work on a collab post on discord?