• Welcome to SquidBoards, the largest forum dedicated to Splatoon! Over 25,000 Splatoon fans from around the world have come to discuss this fantastic game with over 250,000 posts!

    Start on your journey in the Splatoon community!

  • Hey Guest, the Side Order expansion is now available!

    If you're playing the new DLC, please remember to keep your thread titles spoiler free, and use [spoiler] tags for any relevant spoilers in your posts.

Splatoon 2 Why is the Octobrush so good in Splatoon 2?

the

Inkling Commander
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
495
I hear that the octobrush in this game is OP and a lot of people want it nerfed. But in splatoon 1 I don’t remember seeing other people play it very often, and I definitely don’t remember it being so universally hated. Is this because of the more bloodthirsty nature of the sequel, or did the Octobrush get buffed between games? (I could believe that because I play octonouveau and I feel like I can kill people from a further range than splat 1?) Or maybe it’s the sub/special in one of the kits?
 

AllToonedUp

Inkling Cadet
Joined
Aug 31, 2016
Messages
167
It's kinda a mix of 5 things honestly.
  • With the absence of Damage Up and Defense Up, the weapon can now consistently kill with 3/4 flicks and it got a very small range and spread buff.
  • Rollers have been nerfed in their transition to 2 and have issues securing one shot kills with its new vertical flick, while Octobrush has ridiculous attack spread and can kill more reliably and it doesn't require good aim to do so.
  • The Vanilla Octobrush's kit makes it a close range monster and Inkjet helps gives it more range to kill longer ranged targets. The meta is currently aggressive close range weapons, and guess what? Octobrush is exactly that and it gives almost all short ranged weapons a hard time if they aren't careful.
  • Rollers/Brushes can now roll on uninkable surfaces such as grates, which means that they are much faster on stages like Kelp Dome and they can easily catch up to you.
  • One problem with brushes in 1 is the fact that Echolocator/Haunt/Point Sensors completely shuts them down and Echo was quite common to encounter which made Ninja Squid less useful and some had to run Cold-Blooded to stay undetected. Fast forward to 2 and Echo is gone, Cold Blooded is now a stackable ability, and Haunt got nerfed to the ground for no good reason. Brushes can now ambush more reliably with Ninja Squid and Point Sensors are rare these days.
Conclusion: It's more about 2's mechanic changes indirectly buffing Octobrush than "lol octobrush op" that people throw out. It provided a decent niche in 1 for modes like Rainmaker, but now it's solid weapon that can fit in almost any mode.
 

Mr.HawK

The Artist
Moderator
Joined
Apr 23, 2015
Messages
356
so here's the thing about the octo brush, it's a decent weapon but only in a very specific situation. it's not OP by any means but it is certainly one of the strongest cqc weapons in the game, so with that fact most people will instantly jump at the conclusion that there is simply no way to beat it.

So, this is the point where most people will jump into "how to beat it" or something like that, but instead it's much better to look at it from the perspective of "how did it happen, how did that weapon best me"? most of the time, an octo brush will surprise attack you leaving you no room to prepare or defend against it, this is how strong that weapon is once it gets you by surprise you only have a super short frame to act. This is the point that people will mostly reference as it is where the octo brush is at it's strongest, so because of this I need to point out one more thing, this is the only time the octobrush is at a strong point in general. It is a fantastic cqc/close quarters weapon but it by no means beats out mid/long range weapons and more often than not will get pressured and spaced out of it's comfort zone.

you'll usually see octobrush with ninja squid or will see it constantly on the move, thats because it cant stay in the same spot and needs to be on the prowl, it's a slayer/assassin weapon that has to be very safe until it needs to be super aggressive.

So just to summarise or tl;dr The octobrush is very strong in close combat, but can always be countered and beaten outside of that margin.
 

MotorGamer

Inkling Cadet
Joined
Mar 16, 2018
Messages
282
Location
USA
NNID
MotorGamer
I hear that the octobrush in this game is OP and a lot of people want it nerfed. But in splatoon 1 I don’t remember seeing other people play it very often, and I definitely don’t remember it being so universally hated. Is this because of the more bloodthirsty nature of the sequel, or did the Octobrush get buffed between games? (I could believe that because I play octonouveau and I feel like I can kill people from a further range than splat 1?) Or maybe it’s the sub/special in one of the kits?
It got buffed and nerfed I believe. Contrary to popular belief this thing actually has one of the fastest kill times in the game, it is just hard to pull off. There is a sweet spot that when you swing the brush it can hit your oponent multiple times, but hitting this spot is hard with moving opponents. Also it can run away if it wants, so that is always good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: the

ThatOneGuy

Inkling Commander
Joined
Oct 3, 2016
Messages
405
Location
ur mom
NNID
BattadaBeast
Well, I can tell you one thing. It's not Overpowered.

But, I'd be lying if I didn't think the Octobrush was OP when I first played this game. For the first couple months, I swore that the Octobrush turned into Overpowered Garbage in this game. However, looking at what they changed about the Octobrush, nothing really changed. The only change they made was that the base damage was increased from 37 -> 40, making it still a 3 flick kill (most of the time).

But why did I find this weapon brutally was Overpowered at the time? And that's just because of the brush's playstyle. Camping / Sharking, waiting for an opponent to come close to you and then go for a splat. What makes the brush so good at this? The fact that it requires no aim while up close. Seriously. The Octobrush does not require the user to be at least decent at aiming. The Brush hits everything in front of you, and it can even hit people on your sides rather reliably.

All a brush player needs is patience (wait until the enemies are in your range) and some paint to support.

Making it a wonderful weapon to ambush with since the damage spread on the weapon is generous enough that missing almost never happens up close. And consistently flicking 3-4 times (5 with falloff) will kill most of the time.

It got buffed and nerfed I believe. Contrary to popular belief this thing actually has one of the fastest kill times in the game, it is just hard to pull off. There is a sweet spot that when you swing the brush it can hit your oponent multiple times, but hitting this spot is hard with moving opponents. Also it can run away if it wants, so that is always good.
That mechanic got removed from the Octobrush from Splat 1 to splat 2, so you can't two flick anymore to kill. And even with the critical damage mechanic, it was rather difficult to pull off even in the testing range, let alone with a moving target and an uncontrolled environment

But what makes an Octobrush successful is trapping the aggressive opponent constantly up close, since it's rather easy for a brush to kill like this. And since western players follow the stereotype of being aggressive and not painting much, the octobrush performs extremely well in this situation.

In Japan where they tend to turf the map much more (allowing the octobrush less spaces to shark) the octobrush's tactics don't work as much there. Since the octobrush is constantly locked out and it can't do it's magic against players who play defensively.
 

The Salamander King

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2016
Messages
630
NNID
sintiss0421
Switch Friend Code
SW-3785-4018-5310
The reason Octo feels like it has more range in this game is because of the damage buff. Since it does more damage, you will be getting 3-shots more often and at a longer range.

How the Octo (and Inkbrush, to a lesser extent) works is like an opposite Hydra. It's hard to take people out at longer range, but once you get close enough to do damage to somebody they're already dead and can do nothing about it. I don't think I've ever escaped an Octo at close range without, at best, trading.
 

Elecmaw

Lord of the Squids
Joined
Aug 15, 2015
Messages
1,088
Location
Netherlands
NNID
024589
Switch Friend Code
SW-3466-8927-7969
These complaints came mostly just after this game launched, where anything beyond splattershot range was mediocre and inkjet was one of the best specials in the game. With no meta ranged weapons to scare Octobrushes away and it having the Inkjet on it's side, an octobrush who knew was they were doing could easily dominate the battlefield.

The complaints went out over time, but it still remains a decent pubstomper.
 

Hero of Lime

Inkling Fleet Admiral
Joined
Sep 26, 2015
Messages
661
Location
California
NNID
Link643
Switch Friend Code
SW-5339-5185-8796.
I used the Octobrush a lot back in Splatoon 1 to a lot of success. The original kit of Beakons and Kraken were extremely good on larger stages where one could set up beakons, go behind enemy territory, and paint like crazy or stealthily take down enemies in the mid.

The less prominence of splat rollers and carbon rollers definitely gave the Octobrush an indirect buff in Splatoon 2. And now the lack of bubbler and kraken gives people less protection from it. But by no means is it OP in this game. Back when Splashdown and Ballers were the meta, the Octobrush became much less usable for a good while. I had to drop it a for a little bit till things got less treacherous for the weapon. Now the current landscape is pretty favorable to the OB, but in no way is it a game winning weapon. Not easily anyway.
 

MotorGamer

Inkling Cadet
Joined
Mar 16, 2018
Messages
282
Location
USA
NNID
MotorGamer
I used the Octobrush a lot back in Splatoon 1 to a lot of success. The original kit of Beakons and Kraken were extremely good on larger stages where one could set up beakons, go behind enemy territory, and paint like crazy or stealthily take down enemies in the mid.

The less prominence of splat rollers and carbon rollers definitely gave the Octobrush an indirect buff in Splatoon 2. And now the lack of bubbler and kraken gives people less protection from it. But by no means is it OP in this game. Back when Splashdown and Ballers were the meta, the Octobrush became much less usable for a good while. I had to drop it a for a little bit till things got less treacherous for the weapon. Now the current landscape is pretty favorable to the OB, but in no way is it a game winning weapon. Not easily anyway.
Yeah rollers and chargers got hit hard when crossing over...but also would like to point out that Splashdown is still considered meta...along with Sting Ray and Bubble Blower.
 

Hero of Lime

Inkling Fleet Admiral
Joined
Sep 26, 2015
Messages
661
Location
California
NNID
Link643
Switch Friend Code
SW-5339-5185-8796.
but also would like to point out that Splashdown is still considered meta...
You aren't wrong, it's still a great counter special to the Octobrush. However, the most popular splash down weapons have lost some relevancy in the current meta landscape. Still commonly used, but not common enough to make me feel as though I have to temporarily shelve the Octobrush as I did a little while back.
 

Zak98

Inkling Cadet
Joined
Sep 24, 2017
Messages
152
Location
London
NNID
Virgenmedia66666
Switch Friend Code
SW-6728-0895-4580
becuase it's a hot af weapon

jk, it's becuase you flick it a few times and you can kill more than one person in one go. i've saved a lot of complicated situations on modes like rainmaker and such
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom