Splatoon 2 Thoughts on the two new weapons?

[Enperry]

When using the Ballpoint, play like a mini with a chance to pick runaways and a panic button.

 

[Lonely_Dolphin]

I understand how it works, but still Ballpoint frustrates me. I want the long range mode most of the time, so it's annoying having to wait for it to transition out of short range mode. Then if it's only a partial charge, the long range mode doesn't last long at all. You can extend your stay in long range mode by rhythmically charging, but it's hard to maintain while focusing on everything else going on. It's a cool weapon and definitely good in experienced hands, but eh I'd rather just use any of the other Splatlings.

I was thinking that it would be really good for the Tenta Brella as it they can support each other while pushing forward. I was wondering why Nintendo didn't give this Splash Wall because it feels like a weapon that would have it. Any Ideas on their second variants? Explosher should have Splash Wall/Inkjet and Ballpoint should get .... I don't know. It already has a good kit!

Splash Wall for Explosher certainly makes sense. I will gladly take Ink Mines or Squid Beacons aswell. I'd definitely prefer Inkjet, but I think they could also go Splashdown as it's another special no Slosher has.

With how versatile the Ballpoint Splatling is it could do well with pretty much any kit. No Splatling has Splat Bombs, Point Sensors, Baller, or Bomb Rush, so it's alt will probably get some combination of those.

 

[Enperry]

I understand how it works, but still Ballpoint frustrates me. I want the long range mode most of the time, so it's annoying having to wait for it to transition out of short range mode. Then if it's only a partial charge, the long range mode doesn't last long at all. You can extend your stay in long range mode by rhythmically charging, but it's hard to maintain while focusing on everything else going on. It's a cool weapon and definitely good in experienced hands, but eh I'd rather just use any of the other Splatlings.

Not too good of an idea to mainly focus on long range with this weapon. Play it like a mini, but have that emergence long range to kill runaways.

 

[saint_kthulhu]

I was thinking that it would be really good for the Tenta Brella as it they can support each other while pushing forward. I was wondering why Nintendo didn't give this Splash Wall because it feels like a weapon that would have it. Any Ideas on their second variants? Explosher should have Splash Wall/Inkjet and Ballpoint should get .... I don't know. It already has a good kit!

For alternate kit Ballpoint I am guessing Baller or bomb rush, based on not repeating specials within the weapon class.

Then they have beakon, point sensors, suction bomb and splat bomb remaining for subs.

Of the available combos... I don’t see it beating the vanilla’s kit.

 

[Lonely_Dolphin]

Not too good of an idea to mainly focus on long range with this weapon. Play it like a mini, but have that emergence long range to kill runaways.

Eh, it's charge time isn't nearly as fast as the Mini's, and why get up close and put yourself at risk when you can outrange most weapons in the game.

 

[Enperry]

Eh, it's charge time isn't nearly as fast as the Mini's, and why get up close and put yourself at risk when you can outrange most weapons in the game.

But you don't need to charge it all the way to get the mini action. Getting up close isn't putting yourself at risk with that weapon at all. Why be patient like that with not to great of a reward that doesn't even last too long?

 

[Dessgeega]

There's going to be patches. Explosher needs tweaks to how it's shot hits enemies and areas, and the Ballpoint will likely get nerfed in some capacity. Even with that in mind, both seem very solid and will likely remain popular for some time. Personally I'm glad to see a new weapon that isn't likely to fall by the wayside.

 

[Enperry]

There's going to be patches. Explosher needs tweaks to how it's shot hits enemies and areas, and the Ballpoint will likely get nerfed in some capacity. Even with that in mind, both seem very solid and will likely remain popular for some time. Personally I'm glad to see a new weapon that isn't likely to fall by the wayside.

How would you nerf Ballpoint? What part of this weapon makes it a little broken in your opinion?

 

[Dessgeega]

How would you nerf Ballpoint? What part of this weapon makes it a little broken in your opinion?

Run speed, for one. The weapon has a lot of perks that could be debated, but moving faster than the Mini Splatling while having range identical to the Hydra Splatling in it's second firing mode is kind of absurd.

 

[Flammie]

Ballpoint has the fastest mobility, not counting the roller and brush clashes.
It can do some extremely silly stuff like moving around a corner and splat someone and take them by surprise.

The Explosher leaves the user very open, so it's all about defensive play.
Or at least keeping the opponent stuck in one place, since it's radius is insane, it's equal to a splat bomb.

Ballpoint seems to be the most likely weapon to enter the meta gameplay.
The explosher is very situational and have too many issues with as of right now.

 

[Lonely_Dolphin]

But you don't need to charge it all the way to get the mini action. Getting up close isn't putting yourself at risk with that weapon at all. Why be patient like that with not to great of a reward that doesn't even last too long?

True but it still takes longer to charge. The short range mode outranges very few weapons so you're at risk of being splatted most of the time. 5 lines of range and superb accuracy is a great reward, and when done right the long range mode can last your whole ink tank, heck even longer since you can still charge even while out of ink.

I've gotten more used to handling it, now I like it more than the Hydra, though I suppose that's not saying much hehe.

 

[Spaceswitchmars]

Lowkey, this new slosher is going to end up being one of the better "respawn punisher" weapons. It cranks out bubbles at an insane rate and finishes off enemies really well... All this in addition to being sort of a backline support weapon if you really think about it.

Now, why the bubbles thing is important is that if someone else pops your bubbles and it kills someone, YOU still get credit for the kill, which is the thing that matters for RP.

Played in a very specific style that seeks out opportunities to finish enemies off and stay alive, this could be a brutal combo.

Obviously, there are many other ways to play this weapon, and I'm not even saying this is the BEST way, but it's definitely interesting.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

After playing some more over the past couple days, ballpoint seems pretty good. Almost too good.

If I would nerf Ballpoint, I'd nerf the strafing speed for sure. It runs laps around the mini easily (while charging). Which is insane to me since this weapon wants to be charging a lot and it has way more range than a mini once it goes into ranged mode.

I think I would also nerf the painting of the long range mode as well. Since it shouldn't be on par with hydra's painting (if not better) with better mobility and the ability to recharge whenever it wants.

Overall though, I think I'd give it a couple more days. Just because ballpoint is a really new weapon and calling it "OP" seems a bit eager to me. The only glaring issue I see is the charging strafing speed. There's no way a weapon with this much range should move that fast.

The explosher is very situational and have too many issues with as of right now.

I think explosher could enter the metagame. It's doing pretty well for itself as a backline role. Especially with those bubbles and the sprinkler to keep turf on its side. But yeah, I imagine it's going to be one of those weapons where people won't use it because it takes effort.

I think the main problem it'll have is competing with other backline options, like rapid pro, heavy deco, firefin, etc. Since there are a lot of great backline weapons, even ballpoint could be put on that list. So it'll be interesting to see where this weapon lies.


Still thinking about the two weapons, I like them both. I'm glad the developers came up with weapons that are very creative and have complex mechanics to them. Instead of just adding "A heavy variant of a slosher" or "A splatling with less range, but it's faster" you know, stuff fans have already seen. And thankfully, they both seem pretty good competitively. Ballpoint with the insane charge strafe speed is kind of dumb. Maybe the devs didn't want to make another new bad / underwhelming weapon again. Since most of the new main weapons introduced in splatoon 2, (Gloogas, Undercover Brella, Tenta Brella, Clash Blaster, Goo Tuber, Flingza), have been pretty bad, or they received a lot of buffs to compensate for a lackluster release.

Then again, that's a pretty dumb theory I got cooking myself.

 

[Spaceswitchmars]

I think explosher could enter the metagame. It's doing pretty well for itself as a backline role. Especially with those bubbles and the sprinkler to keep turf on its side. But yeah, I imagine it's going to be one of those weapons where people won't use it because it takes effort.

I think the main problem it'll have is competing with other backline options, like rapid pro, heavy deco, firefin, etc. Since there are a lot of great backline weapons, even ballpoint could be put on that list. So it'll be interesting to see where this weapon lies.

Agreed on this. I think the explosher is maybe not hard to use from a skill standpoint (it's not, say, something like a squeezer/nozzlenose/charger in that sense) but it's difficult because we've never seen a slosher quite like this. It plays completely different from the other slosher weapons. So my prediction is that, when people figure out the style of this weapon, it'll see a lot more play. But it'll probably be one of those, "Oh, I see how this person is destroying me with this," situations.

At the moment, I've been able to destroy most people using this weapon because they've tried to be aggressive with it, and you can just get up into them and make them pay.It's too slow to be played aggressively against equal competition. But people will learn that and adjust.

 

[MindWanderer]

Any Ideas on their second variants? Explosher should have Splash Wall/Inkjet and Ballpoint should get .... I don't know. It already has a good kit!

I could have sworn someone datamined this already, but I don't know where now. I hope Explosher gets either Splash Wall or Burst Bombs; either one would help it out in close quarters. It would also make a nasty pairing with Stingray, but that might be a bit OP. Maybe Tenta Missiles--a good match for the weapon without being unbalanced.

 

[Lonely_Dolphin]

Agreed on this. I think the explosher is maybe not hard to use from a skill standpoint (it's not, say, something like a squeezer/nozzlenose/charger in that sense) but it's difficult because we've never seen a slosher quite like this. It plays completely different from the other slosher weapons. So my prediction is that, when people figure out the style of this weapon, it'll see a lot more play. But it'll probably be one of those, "Oh, I see how this person is destroying me with this," situations.

At the moment, I've been able to destroy most people using this weapon because they've tried to be aggressive with it, and you can just get up into them and make them pay.It's too slow to be played aggressively against equal competition. But people will learn that and adjust.

Yeah I learned the hard way you can't play it like the other Sloshers, but as long as the enemy is weakened prior it can win in melee combat. Not that you should try rushing down people with this weapon of course, but it's possible to stand your ground instead of falling back when being rushed down yourself.

Also what gear builds are people using? For the Explosher I've settled on this:

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Object Shredder|

Nothing special here, just going all in on Bubble Blower's effectiveness with some Swim Speed to reach my personal speed standard. Was using a main of Special Charge but found the weapon charges really well without it so using more Special Power instead.

The Ballpoint Splatling I'm still undecided on, mainly cause I'm not sure how much run speed to use. 1 main 3 subs would be the minimum, or should I go all in with 2 mains 6 subs? I personally never use Ink Resistance, but maybe it would be pretty good here? Perhaps I could finally try Drop Roller? So many choices!

 

[Spaceswitchmars]

Yeah I learned the hard way you can't play it like the other Sloshers, but as long as the enemy is weakened prior it can win in melee combat. Not that you should try rushing down people with this weapon of course, but it's possible to stand your ground instead of falling back when being rushed down yourself.

Also what gear builds are people using? For the Explosher I've settled on this:

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Object Shredder|

Nothing special here, just going all in on Bubble Blower's effectiveness with some Swim Speed to reach my personal speed standard. Was using a main of Special Charge but found the weapon charges really well without it so using more Special Power instead.

The Ballpoint Splatling I'm still undecided on, mainly cause I'm not sure how much run speed to use. 1 main 3 subs would be the minimum, or should I go all in with 2 mains 6 subs? I personally never use Ink Resistance, but maybe it would be pretty good here? Perhaps I could finally try Drop Roller? So many choices!

Luckily, my wife is a slosher main, and she tried it out when it dropped... I got to learn from her frustration and adjust accordingly before even jumping into a game with it.

As for my gear:

A main and a sub of special charge
A main and two subs of special power up
A main and a sub of ink saver main
Four subs of special saver
A sub each of ink saver sub and ink recovery

I know I should do object shredder, and I still might. I have a forge object shredder shoe that would be perfect if I get around to filling it out.

I could have sworn someone datamined this already, but I don't know where now. I hope Explosher gets either Splash Wall or Burst Bombs; either one would help it out in close quarters. It would also make a nasty pairing with Stingray, but that might be a bit OP. Maybe Tenta Missiles--a good match for the weapon without being unbalanced.

Honestly? Tentas would make more sense on this weapon than any other weapon in the game. That could make them terrifying.

 

[Lonely_Dolphin]

Luckily, my wife is a slosher main, and she tried it out when it dropped... I got to learn from her frustration and adjust accordingly before even jumping into a game with it.

As for my gear:

A main and a sub of special charge
A main and two subs of special power up
A main and a sub of ink saver main
Four subs of special saver
A sub each of ink saver sub and ink recovery

I know I should do object shredder, and I still might. I have a forge object shredder shoe that would be perfect if I get around to filling it out.



Honestly? Tentas would make more sense on this weapon than any other weapon in the game. That could make them terrifying.

Did you find yourself running out of Ink often? It's only happened to me on rare occasion despite no ink efficiency abilitys and being new to the weapon. Helps that the Sprinkler is the sub weapon which barely paints more than a single Explosher shot making it rarely worth throwing out.

Oh yes you guys are very right, Tenta Missles would definitely combo well with this weapon! The regular Slosher already has them, but so to did the Slosher Deco already have Sprinklers so it's definitely possible.

 

[Spaceswitchmars]

Did you find yourself running out of Ink often? It's only happened to me on rare occasion despite no ink efficiency abilitys and being new to the weapon. Helps that the Sprinkler is the sub weapon which barely paints more than a single Explosher shot making it rarely worth throwing out.

Oh yes you guys are very right, Tenta Missles would definitely combo well with this weapon! The regular Slosher already has them, but so to did the Slosher Deco already have Sprinklers so it's definitely possible.

I do tend to run out if ink often on this one, which I find is typical for me when playing zoning weapons. I’ve been throwing a lot of sprinklers, but your point about them is a good one. I may try to back off that a bit and see if that helps my ink consumption.

I’ve also considered stacking special charge up along with tenacity, which may mean I get specials so quickly that ink management is irrelevant.

 

[ϛ(°³°)/`]

Actually, not entirely, the stage is actually more tied to a part of the ring rather than the whole ring itself.

The short burst will always and only last for a quarter of a ring. Any more than that and the weapon will switch to second stage.

But if you're recharging the weapons, the weapon will only be in the first stage between 1 3/4 and 2 ring charges. And I do specifically within that range, if the weapon goes below 1 3/4 charge, it will go back to second stage no matter how long its been firing.

Interesting, so to be in painting mode you could alternate fire/charge until you reach 2 rings, and continue there never once letting the ring fall below 1.75 rings. To pressure people at range, keep firing/charging under 1.75? I'll have to keep poking around and see if I can develop the muscle memory here, but I'll keep looking back at your post while I do. Thanks!