Support Roles?

[Of Moose & Men]

I don't personally think that the Zink is actually all that bad of a weapon. Granted, it will play differently than other Splatlings, but it works well at mid range and is superb for helping team mates take out enemies via disruptor and ground covering. Swooping in to save the day with a Bubbler is also extremely satisfying. However you have to pay a lot closer attention to map control, which is something I think other splatlings might not be as used to. This might be where the dislike comes from? I don't know. I haven't used this weapon a ton, so don't take my word for it.

I'm not saying it's bad. It's simply not a support weapon. It's an offensive close/mid-range weapon, and it's actually quite good at being such. Disruptor + Bubbler is actually really nice for a weapon that is meant to get up close and personal, and Mini Splatling definitely takes advantage of that. However, it is not a supportive weapon, not in any way except all of about maybe helping an ally with taking out an enemy. Essentially about as much support as any weapon with a Suction or Splat Bomb, so I wouldn't really call that support. It's a surprisingly effective offensive weapon.

 

[Quilavaflare]

Ah, I see what you're saying. I would agree, it's definitely no slacker when it comes to attacking. But I still feel like it doesn't really work for getting in people's faces, if that is what you are saying. Small charge time or no, it is still a charge time and things like Tentateks will be able to run circles around you unless you play at least a bit defensively, keep your distance, and chuck some disruptors. I guess I see it more as a flexible support...? It just inks so fast and actually has a decent range enough that it is hard for me to see it not being used that way, but at the same time can take care of problems by jumping from its perch whenever necessary. Like I said though, I haven't really used it enough to say I know the optimal approach or anything...

 

[Pivi]

I've found the Custom Dual Squelcher is like, the epitome of a support weapon. The long range means it can help take out enemies that offensive players are busy with, it packs Squid Beacons which speak for themselves, and lastly the Killer Wail to help pushes/negate an area/pop the rainmaker bubble. It's only real weakness is lack of ink efficiency, and also being a 4 hit splat, but it outranges most everything but the .96 gal, which is like, the most annoying gun out there, anyways.

I've had a lot of success using this in solo queue but I think it shines the most when used as part of a squad.

 

[Of Moose & Men]

I've found the Custom Dual Squelcher is like, the epitome of a support weapon. The long range means it can help take out enemies that offensive players are busy with, it packs Squid Beacons which speak for themselves, and lastly the Killer Wail to help pushes/negate an area/pop the rainmaker bubble. It's only real weakness is lack of ink efficiency, and also being a 4 hit splat, but it outranges most everything but the .96 gal, which is like, the most annoying gun out there, anyways.

I've had a lot of success using this in solo queue but I think it shines the most when used as part of a squad.

If you're speaking in terms of strictly shooters, then yes, both forms of the Dual Squelcher are Supportive shooters. However, it doesn't quite have the range supportive weapons want. It is a supportive weapon, and a good one, it's just a mix between supportive and offensive. I wouldn't quite say it's the "epitome" but it is very much a supportive weapon, and a good one at that. Most certainly a weapon I'd suggest to players wanting to be supportive while also being able to use a shooter.

 

[Silentium]

I've found the Custom Dual Squelcher is like, the epitome of a support weapon. The long range means it can help take out enemies that offensive players are busy with, it packs Squid Beacons which speak for themselves, and lastly the Killer Wail to help pushes/negate an area/pop the rainmaker bubble. It's only real weakness is lack of ink efficiency, and also being a 4 hit splat, but it outranges most everything but the .96 gal, which is like, the most annoying gun out there, anyways.

I've had a lot of success using this in solo queue but I think it shines the most when used as part of a squad.

If you're speaking in terms of strictly shooters, then yes, both forms of the Dual Squelcher are Supportive shooters. However, it doesn't quite have the range supportive weapons want. It is a supportive weapon, and a good one, it's just a mix between supportive and offensive. I wouldn't quite say it's the "epitome" but it is very much a supportive weapon, and a good one at that. Most certainly a weapon I'd suggest to players wanting to be supportive while also being able to use a shooter.

The dual squelcher is probably the most well rounded support weapon. It has a good range, decent killing potential, good offensive and defensive capabilities, decent inking capability, and good sub and special weapons. The problem is that other supportive weapons will usually find ways to beat it in specific areas. It's probably my most go to weapon, but I often find myself switching from it after a certain amount of play time.

 

[Dreamy Luigi]

Dynamo is a lovely support weapon, covers nerf efficiently and has Sprinkler to build Echo, one of the best support weapons imo.

Splatlings and Squelchers are good too, just keeping an eye on map coverage.

 

[BlackZero]

The dual squelcher is probably the most well rounded support weapon. It has a good range, decent killing potential, good offensive and defensive capabilities, decent inking capability, and good sub and special weapons. The problem is that other supportive weapons will usually find ways to beat it in specific areas. It's probably my most go to weapon, but I often find myself switching from it after a certain amount of play time.

I always considered it more a "second line" attacker and covers melee/close range shooters. I feel the splatlings and chargers are better for zone denial/pressure and the splatlings definitely win in coverage. The Squelchers are more of a "cover the front line attackers" weapon and fill a similar role to the Gals.

 

[Award]

I'm new to the support role, up to now I've been an aggressive front-lines/lone-wolf player (sploosh/splash/aero/luna) and recently decided to try to take up chargers. I'm really enjoying the support role it offers, especially e-liter. I like the unscoped splat charger too, but I tend to play that as an offensive weapon like a giant squiffer & grenade launcher rather than a rear-flank sniper. The e-liter lets me really focus on a support role.

From what I've seen, there's two kinds of eliter users. The sniping aces that rack up 15/0 with near 100% accuracy, and the support snipers that never go high in the numbers. I'll never be the former. But it's hard to measure success on the latter. I feel like I'm useful at times through intimidation, interference, preventing some back door attacks, etc. But I'm curious, what would you guys consider to be "success" in a support sniper.

If feel worst about my role in a map like, say, underpass, where once the enemy breaks ranks and my sniping position is compromised, especially awful if a roller managed to zig and zag in a way I just wasn't able to aim right and blew 3 or 4 shots I needed to land, the situation falls apart, and it's almost impossible to hold the fort. Yet other times I feel pretty successful, even with missed shots of making it too difficult for the enemy to take the side route, funneling them to the rest of the team.

What would you guys look for in a support sniper?

 

[BlackZero]

If you like being more proactive, I'd spend some time getting used to playing Chargers with the Kelp Splat and move to the Bamboozler/Squiffer. Those are more aggressive chargers that rely on hit and run tactics. The Bamboozler requires a "double tap," as it won't kill with a full charge, but can hit its maximum range w/o charging. Classic Squiffer is pretty solid for that too, and will kill with a full charge.

The best thing to do now is get used to shooting "across the bow" to leave a stream of ink in front of enemies swimming past. This will force them to pop up and get out of your ink before they can run. Then you can follow up with a kill shot. This will be good practice for when you use Bambi or the CS, as ambush tactics are everything.

As for support, it's a good idea to keep an eye on where your teammates are and to make a trail for them to swim through to escape or rush a certain point. You can also help them get up walls by aiming a full charge at the very top of the wall you want to climb. Looking for other snipers is always helpful when you unlock a scoped charger (or even if you don't have one and they just aren't paying attention). Lastly, just shoot at people to keep that zone denial and pressure on them.

In Ranked, you can create an ink stream that will help your team rush to the objective. In TC, just keep splatting enemies that get on the tower. They don't have a lot of room to move and the Tower follows a set path, so you can do pretty well here in terms of kills. Rain Maker is kinda the same: there are certain routes the enemy is most likely to follow, so you can set yourself up to cover these. Just be careful, as they'll probably know where these good sniping nests are and be looking for you.

SZ is a little tougher depending on the map. Your main job is to lay a stream for teammates to get to the zones first. From there, you should focus on keeping the enemy away from the zones. On maps like Flounder, you should be watching for flankers, because there are many ways for enemies to pop up behind your teammates. If you charge up a bomb burst towards the end of the match, it's a good idea to save it for the final countdown so you can carpet bomb the zone before the enemy has time to reclaim it.

In TW, just focus on coverage, keeping enemies from flanking your team, and controlling key chokepoints. In all modes, you should position yourself so that your team can safely jump to you and pick up close to where the left off before they got killed.

 

[Award]

If you like being more proactive, I'd spend some time getting used to playing Chargers with the Kelp Splat and move to the Bamboozler/Squiffer. Those are more aggressive chargers that rely on hit and run tactics. The Bamboozler requires a "double tap," as it won't kill with a full charge, but can hit its maximum range w/o charging. Classic Squiffer is pretty solid for that too, and will kill with a full charge.

The best thing to do now is get used to shooting "across the bow" to leave a stream of ink in front of enemies swimming past. This will force them to pop up and get out of your ink before they can run. Then you can follow up with a kill shot. This will be good practice for when you use Bambi or the CS, as ambush tactics are everything.

Thanks for the great advice all around!

The funny thing is I've always liked the idea of chargers, but every time I tried any of them I did HORRIBLE. About a week ago after playing around with tons of different weapons and realizing I really need to add range to my assortment, I I picked up the squiffer again (realizing that I love ohko/2hko potential) and started doing ok with it. Then tried to apply it to the kelp splat unscoped, and realized I was now doing ok with that. Tried the scoped version and found ith ard to get used to, but ok. Tried the reglar unscoped and found the bombs added to it make it like a long range offensive squiffer that's not all that much slower to charge. Then tried out the scoped eliter and, while it's a higher learning curve all around, I'm actually managing it increasingly well.

So I kind of went the opposite of your progression, squiffer->long guns rather than the other way around. That said, I love squiffer for it's mobility and point sensors, but have a harder time justifying it against the flexibility of the unscoped default splat charger. But I do indeed like it a lot.

The one I want to give another look at is the bamboozler. It's hard for it to compete with the squiffers point sensors, but the double tap used to be a huge problem for me, and I was worthless with it. But scoped eliter has tought me out of necessity to do double taps at medium range to avoid the scope kicking in. I might do way better with bambi than last time. (on the other hand if the eliter already handles double taps ok, why give up the range?)

I just love them all. But I have another thread about that :p


Anyway, the shooting across the bow idea is something I've been sort of employing already, though with eliter scope, it takes sufficiently long enough to recharge it's not as effective as with any of the others. By the time I can get a kill shot even at 75% charge, they're gone.

As for support, it's a good idea to keep an eye on where your teammates are and to make a trail for them to swim through to escape or rush a certain point. You can also help them get up walls by aiming a full charge at the very top of the wall you want to climb. Looking for other snipers is always helpful when you unlock a scoped charger (or even if you don't have one and they just aren't paying attention). Lastly, just shoot at people to keep that zone denial and pressure on them.

It's actually good to hear that much of what I've been doing already is considered good for a support sniper. Anytime I miss one of those ranged shots I'm never sure if it's just a disastrous miss, or if it does genuinely keep pressure up. Some of the rollers, especially are just so hard to hit, even scoped.

I do have all the chargers purchased and available (except the custom eliters with the beacons, they're not for me.) Good support, maybe, but dangerous. And I need my echolocator. :)


And thanks for the tips for each game mode! I'm not ready to bring chargers into ranked. I did well with neo-luna and splash-o in the past. For TC, I can't imagine anything but neo luna, but for RM and SZ I'd love to wait until I'm competent enough with the charger family to go back. Or improve on forge pro which would be great in RM. Not sure the ideal for SZ yet.

 

[Crimsoninkling]

Aerospray MG with ink restore up in turf war.