OnePotWonder
Inkling Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2024
- Messages
- 891
- Location
- Marooner’s Bay
- Pronouns
- He/Him
- Switch Friend Code
- SW-2068-8904-6306
I would kindly ask that you all take a moment to pay your respects.
Crab Tank is one of the most unfortunately handled special weapons in Splatoon 3, which is ironic considering how well-balanced it is. The special itself is one of the most fun, versatile, and creative things they've added to the series; able to lock down an area or try to get splats with its AoE skill shot, all while offering a solid level of protection to compensate for its main weakness of low speed.
In spite of the fact that Crab Tank is commonly regarded as one of the strongest specials in the meta, typically ranked just below Tri-Zooka alongside Inkjet and Zipcaster, it sees next to no competitive use thanks to its absolute lack of good weapon kits.
Crab Tank is on six weapon kits, not counting reskins. This is below average, tied with Inkjet, Booyah Bomb, Kraken Royale, and Super Chump for the fourth-rarest special weapon. Note that four of the rarest specials were added well after Crab Tank in later updates. The special is tied for second-rarest with Inkjet and Booyah Bomb out of all specials available at launch.
Counting its reskin as half of a kit, Crab Tank is the fourth-rarest launch special out of the original fifteen. That's not great, and definitely far less than the special deserves; especially when compared to Ultra Stamp and Big Bubbler (with 8 options each). The problems only get worse when its actual kits come under scrutiny, however.
The first option a player unlocks for Crab Tank is the Splat Dualies. The main weapon and sub are both good, and the special is definitely good, but the main weapon and Crab Tank don't have great synergy, playing at very different ranges. Splat Dualies are good, but they're rarely in a good position to use their special.
The second Crab Tank option a player unlocks is Splattershot Pro, which suffers from Curse of Angle Shooter™. Not only that, but the main weapon has literally no synergy with its already-bottom-tier sub. Despite the fact that the main-special combo for this kit is insane, for all intents and purposes, the weapon is useless and outclassed by anything.
The next option is the L-3 Nozzlenose, which is a middling main weapon that does its best work with a combo sub that can turn its triple-shots lethal. This kit does not have that, bar Curling Bomb's situational contact damage. The weapon isn't unplayable and has decent enough synergy with Crab Tank, but even if you wanted to play it, it's outclassed by both its other Burst Bomb kit, and the next option.
Splash-o-Matic is the best Crab Tank option, which is indicative of the sad fate of the special. Despite the fact that the Splash-o-Matic's primary weakness is its range, it's the best option for one of the the longest-range specials in the game. And the reason it's the best option for it is because it's able to farm it quickly enough to have it charged by the time it gets into a good position to use it. That, and it's partly carried by its Burst Bomb.
Splash-o-Matic's other kit is seeing more use than this one in competitive play. This kit has Burst Bomb and Crab Tank. I rest my case.
Fortunately, the devs did eventually add options for Crab Tank that aren't short-range or worthless. Unfortunately, they picked weapons with some of the greatest first kits they've added to the game.
The Heavy Edit Splatling Nouveau has been spotted using Crab Tank. The weapon is easily the strongest in its class, and it comes with a Splat Bomb that it's able to make decent use of. However, the original Heavy Edit Splatling has Tacticooler, a highly sought-after special. That kit's Curling Bomb is also arguably better than the Nouveau's Splat Bomb. While Edit Nouveau is definitely usable, it faces some serious competition, and it's also difficult.
And, lastly, we have the Splatana Stamper Nouveau. This weapon is... a joke. The original Splatana Stamper has a near-perfect kit of Burst Bomb and Zipcaster. This one has Toxic Mist. Toxic Mist. The other kit could have Reefslider and this one would barely outclass it. This is an atrocity. This is completely inexcusable. It's still my favorite Crab Tank option, though. The main and special are a match made in paradise, and it's the only weapon with Crab Tank to not fire shooter bullets.
Anyway, if you want to discuss Crab Tank, here's a place to do it.
I pray every evening (to whatever entity may be listening) that we get third kits, only so Crab Tank can get another chance.
Have a wonderful day.
Crab Tank is one of the most unfortunately handled special weapons in Splatoon 3, which is ironic considering how well-balanced it is. The special itself is one of the most fun, versatile, and creative things they've added to the series; able to lock down an area or try to get splats with its AoE skill shot, all while offering a solid level of protection to compensate for its main weakness of low speed.
In spite of the fact that Crab Tank is commonly regarded as one of the strongest specials in the meta, typically ranked just below Tri-Zooka alongside Inkjet and Zipcaster, it sees next to no competitive use thanks to its absolute lack of good weapon kits.
Crab Tank is on six weapon kits, not counting reskins. This is below average, tied with Inkjet, Booyah Bomb, Kraken Royale, and Super Chump for the fourth-rarest special weapon. Note that four of the rarest specials were added well after Crab Tank in later updates. The special is tied for second-rarest with Inkjet and Booyah Bomb out of all specials available at launch.
Counting its reskin as half of a kit, Crab Tank is the fourth-rarest launch special out of the original fifteen. That's not great, and definitely far less than the special deserves; especially when compared to Ultra Stamp and Big Bubbler (with 8 options each). The problems only get worse when its actual kits come under scrutiny, however.
The first option a player unlocks for Crab Tank is the Splat Dualies. The main weapon and sub are both good, and the special is definitely good, but the main weapon and Crab Tank don't have great synergy, playing at very different ranges. Splat Dualies are good, but they're rarely in a good position to use their special.
The second Crab Tank option a player unlocks is Splattershot Pro, which suffers from Curse of Angle Shooter™. Not only that, but the main weapon has literally no synergy with its already-bottom-tier sub. Despite the fact that the main-special combo for this kit is insane, for all intents and purposes, the weapon is useless and outclassed by anything.
The next option is the L-3 Nozzlenose, which is a middling main weapon that does its best work with a combo sub that can turn its triple-shots lethal. This kit does not have that, bar Curling Bomb's situational contact damage. The weapon isn't unplayable and has decent enough synergy with Crab Tank, but even if you wanted to play it, it's outclassed by both its other Burst Bomb kit, and the next option.
Splash-o-Matic is the best Crab Tank option, which is indicative of the sad fate of the special. Despite the fact that the Splash-o-Matic's primary weakness is its range, it's the best option for one of the the longest-range specials in the game. And the reason it's the best option for it is because it's able to farm it quickly enough to have it charged by the time it gets into a good position to use it. That, and it's partly carried by its Burst Bomb.
Splash-o-Matic's other kit is seeing more use than this one in competitive play. This kit has Burst Bomb and Crab Tank. I rest my case.
Fortunately, the devs did eventually add options for Crab Tank that aren't short-range or worthless. Unfortunately, they picked weapons with some of the greatest first kits they've added to the game.
The Heavy Edit Splatling Nouveau has been spotted using Crab Tank. The weapon is easily the strongest in its class, and it comes with a Splat Bomb that it's able to make decent use of. However, the original Heavy Edit Splatling has Tacticooler, a highly sought-after special. That kit's Curling Bomb is also arguably better than the Nouveau's Splat Bomb. While Edit Nouveau is definitely usable, it faces some serious competition, and it's also difficult.
And, lastly, we have the Splatana Stamper Nouveau. This weapon is... a joke. The original Splatana Stamper has a near-perfect kit of Burst Bomb and Zipcaster. This one has Toxic Mist. Toxic Mist. The other kit could have Reefslider and this one would barely outclass it. This is an atrocity. This is completely inexcusable. It's still my favorite Crab Tank option, though. The main and special are a match made in paradise, and it's the only weapon with Crab Tank to not fire shooter bullets.
Anyway, if you want to discuss Crab Tank, here's a place to do it.
I pray every evening (to whatever entity may be listening) that we get third kits, only so Crab Tank can get another chance.
Have a wonderful day.
