What makes the Tentatek Splattershot so good?

[John2Cool]

I don't understand the hype, I mean, it's well rounded and stuff, but is their any certain way to use it

 

[Ber]

Pretty much that, how well rounded it is is what makes it so popular

 

[ILikeKirbys]

It's very good for offense while still being decent for defense.
On offense, the Tentatek has its decent rapid-fire, coming with respectable range, speed, spread and power, Suction Bombs for aggressively attacking enemy territory or forcing enemies to move, and Inkzooka to annihilate enemies at range.
On defense, its decent-but-not-great rapid-fire is workable against ambushes (you won't win, but you might do some damage), Suction Bombs can be thrown close to you to deter close-range attackers from following you as you retreat, and Inkzooka's power lets you whip it out to get at least one splat if they aren't right on top of you (or using max range E-Liters).
It has its flaws, mostly lacking a quick midrange attack (Suction Bombs aren't fast and Inkzooka takes a second to recover between shots), but it works pretty well at any range for offense, and not helpless when under attack, so it's pretty good.

 

[dustmyte]

The Tentatek has it all. Fast TTK, high ink efficiency, good at short range, Inkzooka for long range... I've been in some Ranked matches where entire teams use nothing but Tentateks and still win. In my opinion, Nintendo was too hasty to gimp other potentially viable Shooters with poor ink efficiency. If other weapons were better with their ink, I might use them instead of the Splattershot/Tentatek. The Splattershot Pro is a great weapon, but it seems like its always running out of ink at every turn.

 

[RespawningJesus]

Any weapon that can adapt to a large variety of situations tend to be the best picks or most widely used for that sole reason: it can do it all. Why specialize in something when you can just use a weapon that allows you to play different play styles whenever the situation calls for it?

 

[Pivi]

In a game where everyone is going in with min/maxed weapons, the Splattershot ends up being REALLY GOOD. I think people have a natural aversion to standard stuff (like whoeven uses the standard kart in Mario Kart or and all stock loadout in Tf2??) but in Splatoon, the standard is a super viable option.

Anyway, the Suction Bomb forces enemy movement and is a general better bomb than the one on the regular Splattershot and the Inkzooka is just good all around.

 

[deepseadiva]

If it didn't have the suction bombs people would probably over look it. But for now it is absolutely the only triple threat in the game. Great up-close, suction bombs for ranged fighting, and Inkzooka is the best super. Every other weapon falls in some area.

 

[ILikeKirbys]

If it didn't have the suction bombs people would probably over look it. But for now it is absolutely the only triple threat in the game. Great up-close, suction bombs for ranged fighting, and Inkzooka is the best super. Every other weapon falls in some area.

Well, to be fair, the Tentatek kind of fails at midrange without Inkzooka, so if you outrange it you can probably beat it outright, and Chargers can wreck it free if it doesn't get close or have Inkzooka, and Inkbrushes outright win if they ambush you (but that's true of all non-Rollers, I think).
Tentatek would be a fair bit worse if it lacked Imkzooka, that's really what brings this weapon together. Other weapons have good close range attack and Suction Bombs, but are still helpless at midrange (for example, the Splat Roller, woth Suction Bomb/Killer Wail; a good, well-rounded loadout, to be sure, but if it had Inkzooka instead of Dubstep I guarantee it would be considered the best overall Roller).
In fact, Tentatek only functions beyond its range by throwing Suction Bombs or having an Inkzooka charged, otherwise you get mauled by anything with superior range (Splattershot Pro and up, in terms of range, maybe .52 Gals and Dynamo Rollers as well).
When it does have Inkzooka though, yeah, the Tentatek lacks significant flaws. So in total, its problems are:
1) Quite a few weapons outrange the Tentatek's rapid-fire. Basically anything above a .52 Gal, I think. This is bad, since you have to rely on slow-to-explode Suction Bombs and not-always-available Inkzookas or perform ambushes to deal with these enemies on your own. It's certainly doable, but not a great situation when you're getting pelted by, say, a Squelcher. And Chargers wreck you for free unless you can close in on them, but that's always true. This leads to the next problem...
2) Lacking a midrange attack option besides Inkzooka (Suction Bombs are good for leading the way, but have you ever gotten a splat with them on anyone who noticed them (and wasn't me)?) if you have Inkzooka, this is alleviated, but the Tentatek's last problem is...
3) Having only average special charging ability. It's able to cover turf decently quickly with its rapid-fire and Suction Bomb throwing, but quite a few weapons can do it faster (anything with a Sprinkler, in my experience, or most Rollers, possibly excepting the Gold Dynamo Roller because it rolls slowly). Not necessarily a weakness on its own, but when it relies on Inkzooka to cover mid-to-long-range enemies and is kind of helpless against longer-ranged shooters otherwise, it becomes kind of bad.

Overall, the Tentatek's main strength is that it can do everything, from turf-covering to all-range combat to forcing enemy movement away from (or toward) things, decently, but its main weakness is that you need your special charged to do mid-to-long-range combat competently and must focus on sneaking around and ambushing when you don't have it ready. Having said that, being able to do everything is a big advantage in Splatoon, even if it comes with drawbacks, and the Tentatek is simple and easy to use, so people can grasp it easily on the surface before delving deeper to find that it can do all the things and stick with it because of that. It's almost as good a beginner weapon as the Splattershot Jr, in my opinion (I say almost because Bubbler is really, really good to fall back on for newbies, or at least it was for me), and it stays good even when you get better at Splatoon (kind of like the Splattershot Jr. like that, too).

 

[RoyLee]

Alright, I will keep my response short. It can do everything

End of story.







Jk, but really it has an amazing rate of fire to damge ratio, has really good accuracy, and it has the best sub and one of the best special weapons.

 

[Hinichii.ez.™]

iirc, its the most used weapon in Japan, by a large margin. They know about efficiency.

 

[Marigi174]

I personally prefer the regular splattershot tbh. The burst bombs are able to cover all of close, mid and long range, and bomb rush is just such a good special in general that, with the high throw-rate, instant detonation and extra bonus uses of burst bombs (highest throw rate, detonate on contact with anything, low ink usage giving three or four extra bombs after bomb rush expires), allows it to overwhelm people very quickly. I've never been a big fan of the inkzooka tbh. Sure it is a guaranteed one-shot and it covers a large range, but it has nasty recoil - meaning you can't perch on thin walls and use it, and it leaves you vulnerable to even the tiniest patches of enemy ink when used (seriously, if you activate it and someone inks just a centimetre or two of turf around you, you are left completely vulnerable due to the recoil pushing you back further into it and being unable to ink your feet while using it). I honestly don't know why the tentatek is so popular when compared to standard tbh. I'd understand if they got roughly the same usage, but very rarely see the regular splattershot while I see a lot of Tentatek variants.

On a side note, I understand why people are drawn to the well-rounded weapon. It has its perks, as it allows you to adapt to your situation. However, I personally prefer a more specialised weapon like the Aerospray MG as it allows you to be more dominant due to its great ability to push your opponent back and keep them at bay near their spawn due to the combination of its high up-close power and the offensive pressure seekers put onto them - allowing you to approach more easily while also keeping them at bay from a distance if you have to.

 

[Hope]

Well, to be fair, the Tentatek kind of fails at midrange without Inkzooka, so if you outrange it you can probably beat it outright, and Chargers can wreck it free if it doesn't get close or have Inkzooka, and Inkbrushes outright win if they ambush you (but that's true of all non-Rollers, I think).
Tentatek would be a fair bit worse if it lacked Imkzooka, that's really what brings this weapon together. Other weapons have good close range attack and Suction Bombs, but are still helpless at midrange (for example, the Splat Roller, woth Suction Bomb/Killer Wail; a good, well-rounded loadout, to be sure, but if it had Inkzooka instead of Dubstep I guarantee it would be considered the best overall Roller).
In fact, Tentatek only functions beyond its range by throwing Suction Bombs or having an Inkzooka charged, otherwise you get mauled by anything with superior range (Splattershot Pro and up, in terms of range, maybe .52 Gals and Dynamo Rollers as well).
When it does have Inkzooka though, yeah, the Tentatek lacks significant flaws. So in total, its problems are:
1) Quite a few weapons outrange the Tentatek's rapid-fire. Basically anything above a .52 Gal, I think. This is bad, since you have to rely on slow-to-explode Suction Bombs and not-always-available Inkzookas or perform ambushes to deal with these enemies on your own. It's certainly doable, but not a great situation when you're getting pelted by, say, a Squelcher. And Chargers wreck you for free unless you can close in on them, but that's always true. This leads to the next problem...
2) Lacking a midrange attack option besides Inkzooka (Suction Bombs are good for leading the way, but have you ever gotten a splat with them on anyone who noticed them (and wasn't me)?) if you have Inkzooka, this is alleviated, but the Tentatek's last problem is...
3) Having only average special charging ability. It's able to cover turf decently quickly with its rapid-fire and Suction Bomb throwing, but quite a few weapons can do it faster (anything with a Sprinkler, in my experience, or most Rollers, possibly excepting the Gold Dynamo Roller because it rolls slowly). Not necessarily a weakness on its own, but when it relies on Inkzooka to cover mid-to-long-range enemies and is kind of helpless against longer-ranged shooters otherwise, it becomes kind of bad.

Overall, the Tentatek's main strength is that it can do everything, from turf-covering to all-range combat to forcing enemy movement away from (or toward) things, decently, but its main weakness is that you need your special charged to do mid-to-long-range combat competently and must focus on sneaking around and ambushing when you don't have it ready. Having said that, being able to do everything is a big advantage in Splatoon, even if it comes with drawbacks, and the Tentatek is simple and easy to use, so people can grasp it easily on the surface before delving deeper to find that it can do all the things and stick with it because of that. It's almost as good a beginner weapon as the Splattershot Jr, in my opinion (I say almost because Bubbler is really, really good to fall back on for newbies, or at least it was for me), and it stays good even when you get better at Splatoon (kind of like the Splattershot Jr. like that, too).

The gun literally has 50 range, it is the definition of mid range. You can easily abuse terrain to get in range of longer range stuff as well. The main reason why it is good is because it kills VERY reliably. It kills short range reliably, it kills mid range reliably, it kills long range reliably with zooka. It also can play very aggro while at the same time is great for defending cause of suction bombs and zooka. It can do almost everything, I'd say the only things it can't do are heavily support teammates and advance defensively into enemy territory like a 96 gal deco. (kinda hard to explain)

 

[ILikeKirbys]

The gun literally has 50 range, it is the definition of mid range. You can easily abuse terrain to get in range of longer range stuff as well. The main reason why it is good is because it kills VERY reliably. It kills short range reliably, it kills mid range reliably, it kills long range reliably with zooka. It also can play very aggro while at the same time is great for defending cause of suction bombs and zooka. It can do almost everything, I'd say the only things it can't do are heavily support teammates and advance defensively into enemy territory like a 96 gal deco. (kinda hard to explain)

Ah, I always think of mid-range as "everything I can't reach with a Splattershot's rapid fire." When you put it that way, yeah, Tentatek is a bit better than I gave it credit for (I already thought it was good, so there's not much higher for it to go).
And also, this weapon is very go-off-on-your-own-friendly, so it works very well right now with randomized teams as the only way to play. Do you think it'll drop in viability a bit (not all the way down, obviously, but a tiny bit) once we get party matchmaking in August (because more specialized weapons might get a bit more viable if we can form parties in matchmaking; not sure we'll be able to see who has what weapon, but if we can then most of those specialized weapons will probably be more usable)?

 

[Hope]

Ah, I always think of mid-range as "everything I can't reach with a Splattershot's rapid fire." When you put it that way, yeah, Tentatek is a bit better than I gave it credit for (I already thought it was good, so there's not much higher for it to go).
And also, this weapon is very go-off-on-your-own-friendly, so it works very well right now with randomized teams as the only way to play. Do you think it'll drop in viability a bit (not all the way down, obviously, but a tiny bit) once we get party matchmaking in August (because more specialized weapons might get a bit more viable if we can form parties in matchmaking; not sure we'll be able to see who has what weapon, but if we can then most of those specialized weapons will probably be more usable)?

I think it will always have a place on a team with how solid it is. The only way I can see it not being used is if there are specific weapon combinations that synergize extremely well that don't include it. Forge Splattershot Pro might eventually out class it, but it can sometimes miss shots. Also suction bombs aren't on many good weapons, so there's that.

 

[ILikeKirbys]

I think it will always have a place on a team with how solid it is. The only way I can see it not being used is if there are specific weapon combinations that synergize extremely well that don't include it. Forge Splattershot Pro might eventually out class it, but it can sometimes miss shots. Also suction bombs aren't on many good weapons, so there's that.

True. I don't see any weapon group synergizing so much that Tentatek is out-and-out useless, though I could maybe theorycraft a few if I had a while (maybe Splattershot Pro/New Squiffer/Splatterscope/Octobrush? Just throwing that out there). And yeah, Suction Bomb is rarer than I thought, really the only great weapons I can think of that have it are Splat Roller (I feel like it might be underrated, it's almost like a Roller version of the Tentatek but with Killer Wail) and Splash-O-Matic (and that's mostly for Bomb Rush, at least for me).
Wait, Forge Splattershot Pro might outclass it? I always thought that was the worse of the Pros, since it had a lesser sub (I don't much like Point Sensors, and Splat Bomb just feels like one of the better subs). I always thought the regular Pro was better than both Splattershots (mostly for the range, but Splat Bomb/Inkstrike is a pretty versatile loadout; true, its ink consumption is atrocious, but it needs some weakness), though admittedly I didn't look into the Forge much (got turned off by its loadout, I never liked Point Sensors). Is having Inkzooka as its special really that good, or am I missing something?

 

[Ryuji]

It's good because it's incredibly versatile. It's not exactly potent, but its high accuracy and notable range make it great for a variety of situations. Suction Bombs and Inkzooka only add to its decency. No other gun has a finer assortment of versatile options in its repertoire.

 

[Rellek]

Hits far with Inkzooka
Hits close with normal fire
One of the fastest kill times in the game (like 30 something frames or what)
Suction bombs cover turf, scare people, and force retreats or approaches
Decent ink usage
Decent range
Literally anyone can pick it up and do some serious damage

The only negative about this gun that I can possibly imagine is it not being able to outrange the Pro, .96 or Squelchers... Literally the only downfall to this weapon whatsoever.

 

[CrystalBlaziken]

I use the Tentatek all the time. I'ts my most used gun, and my favorite. It's a god on offense. With 3 hits, you can take out anyone without 2 Defense on their clothing. You can take out entire teams very effectively. It doesn't use ink that quick, which is great. I mainly use it because I just like Suction Bombs in general. It can be great in Tower Control to scare people off the tower and keep it. Suction Bombs are also good for setting traps, applying pressure, etc. The Inkzooka is also very good, being able to take out far away opponents like snipers with one quick shot, and it can clear out players going through straight pathways, like on Port Mackerel. Overall, the balance of the Tentatek just makes it great.

 

[E-Liter Elite]

Top tier gun, top tier sub, top tier special. Some weaknesses in range but nothing crippling.

I also heard in an A+ player's guide video that he likes it because it's good at spreading ink AROUND and BEHIND your target. In the case you DON'T splat them immediately it makes it difficult to escape.

 

[CoconutTank]

As long as you're on point you'll do great with the Tentatek.

Main weapon deals good damage at a good firing rate over a good distance. It generally splats in 3 hits and enemies usually can't react fast enough to get away (which can potentially happen with Gal weapons or the Jet Squelchers).

Suction Bomb can be stuck to any surface, hits hard and has a good blast radius. Its stickiness lets you do quirky traps and is less likely to move further than intended (unlike Splat Bombs) and is much more unforgiving for the opponent (unlike Burst Bombs). (And when I say more unforgiving, I mean that if you mess up then you're more likely to get splatted by Suction Bombs than by Burst Bombs.)

Inkzooka has nearly the longest range, doesn't require charge time like Chargers do, has a fast projectile, OHKOs and gives nearly no warning that it's activated. Basically if you activate Inkzooka you are generally guaranteed at least 1 splat. It also helps the Tentatek when fighting against enemies that would normally be very dangerous for it, such as Dynamo Rollers or Chargers.

Relative to other weapons with nearly the same loadout? At least from my personal experience, the other weapons are either less flexible in combat or else have a special that's not as good as Inkzooka.

(I really like Suction Bombs and Inkzooka.)