Request for .52 Gal Advice/Tips on Ranked Modes

[Tikus93]

Hey, everyone. I've decided to pick the .52 Gal (regular, not the deco because splash wall > seeker, imo) as one of my main weapons but ever since I entered S rank (solo queue, tqvm) I haven't been having much luck with it. I'm either being carried by my team (feels that way from the K/D ratio) or not achieving a positive K/D ratio.

The defensive aspect of the weapon really appeals to me hence why I picked it. The kit is great for zoning/ defending and I always put down a wall to create a safe space to defend/ slowly push up, cover teammates, as a distraction or block important choke points. I love the killer wail and always true to save it for strategic points (aiming down choke points, long corridors, to block the tower's path, etc). I tend to run damage up, cold-blooded and ink resistance on my gear.

Despite this knowledge, I realized I tend to get splatted a lot every time I move from a defensive position into an offensive one. So, my question is does anyone have advice for me to improve my play? In particular, to successfully transitioning into an offensive position and getting splats. Another question is should I be discouraged that I don't achieve a positive K/D but my team still wins? I play the objective more and would defend as opposed to seek out splats so I always feel terrible for not killing more. Could be due to my aim that sucks ball sometimes but that can't be the only, reason right?

I'm sure other .52 Gal users want to improve their play so any other advice is greatly appreciated too!

TL;DR Answer these questions: How to I get better with .52 Gal at the higher skill levels? Should I feel bad for not getting positive K/Ds consistently at S rank?

 

[Charlight]

Be aggressive with the weapon, keep in mind that splash wall aren't just for defensive play. Splash walls can be amazing at splat zones, both when charging in and keeping it. E.g. when charging in on Kelp Dome, I climb over the box, circle around left and quickly throw a splash wall. This way I usually get at least one or two kills at the start of the match (just be wary of the platform to the left).

Also, learn/find out through playing where you should be placing splash walls and on which stages they're most effective - you might be better off using another weapon on other stages.

I think there was a series of great spots to place killer wails on /r/Splatoon, might be worth checking that out.

Just remember, you have the lowest TTK in the game. It's worth it being aggressive and facing enemies head on than playing too defensively. That being said, you should know when to pull back to avoid dying. Good luck!

 

[SkyBlue]

^ I thought the lowest TTK was the jet squelcher?

anywho, the .52 is a beautiful weapon. It and the .96 deco fight for a spot in my heart all the time. (I have a thing for the wall <3)

So offensively I always stick to the mentality of 'keeping them away from me at my range(if they have shorter range) or if they've got more range then get them into my range. Ofc that sounds like something you'd do with all weapons, but the .52 gets good range to allow it some room to back off and still hit the enemy.

The wall, don't even get me started on this glorious, amazing, exceptional, sub weapon. There is so much more to it than just tossing it in front of you and shooting behind it at enemies (which I'm sure most/you know but I must praise it.)

While bombs can be tossed in a way to make the enemy move where you want them to, like retreat or forward so that they're in your range, the splash wall can go a step further by limiting their movement options even more. This is one of the ways I like to use it offensively. I try to toss the wall in a way that halts their progress/momentum and make them awkwardly change directions/have to take a different route and that forced hesitation is an opening for me to splat them.

I know I won't ever master it, but something very important to keep in mind is bouncing the wall off objects/walls/etc. One of the best ways to capitalize off of this is in tower control. While (IDK if it's possible in all maps) I believe it's possible to just regularly toss a wall onto the tower, I find it more difficult to get it into a helpful position, or even on the tower itself since the middle/tower part of it usually bounces it off. However! Most if not all maps when your riding it will have it pass by a wall/close enough to an object or wall that you can bounce it off of that and get it onto the tower. I've been saved more times than I can count just by utilizing this tactic. The killer wail is really useful on this mode too for obvious reasons.

In rainmaker the wall will protect you from the rainmakers shield if their team blows it up first, but not always from the inkzooka-like shot that the rainmaker shoots. I wouldn't risk hiding behind the wall when they're throwing fully charged shots at you, but! you can use it to direct their path. Like in Port Mackerel.

The wall isn't your only zoning tool either. As satisfying as getting kills with the killer wail is, the odds are that you won't kill them but just force them to retreat/take a different path, you can capitalize on this with the splash wall since using your special refills your ink tank too! Whether you do it by tossing the wall first then using the killer wail, or vice versa.

Hopefully you can gleam some helpful things from this. I tend to ramble more about the wall than anything else, I hardly utilize the killer wail, or use it well, so I focus more on the wall/shooting. It works really well for me ^w^

 

[Charlight]

^ I thought the lowest TTK was the jet squelcher?

According to this it's .52 gal, but I originally found that somewhere else. *shrugs* it's super fast anyway hahahah

 

[1o2]

thought the lowest TTK was the jet squelcher?

No, that's the highest TTK(?). A lower time means it kills faster, hence why the 52 gal deco has the lowest TTK.

Anyway excellent post, there's a video on using the Splash wall effectively (which helps prove your point), which you can watch here:

 

[SkyBlue]

No, that's the highest TTK(?). A lower time means it kills faster, hence why the 52 gal deco has the lowest TTK.

Anyway excellent post, there's a video on using the Splash wall effectively (which helps prove your point), which you can watch here:

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! man I'm dumb. I read that all wrong and was confusing stuff.
also that's a nice video!