Giving the Splattershot Jr a go on Turf War

Another new weapon to try. Well, maybe not a new weapon, but one I've not used in a long time. The Splattershot Jr is one of the first weapons available, and is a good reason why many squids overlook it once they can get their tentacles on many more weapons. But I wouldn't say the Splattershot Jr is overlooked. Many veteran players can be seen to use it, so there must be something for the little shooter.

The Bubbler Special of the Jr always works quite well when used against me. Activating the Bubbler gives the squid a spherical shield that protects against all attacks (but not water), although being hit by ink still gets you pushed back, and pushed back more than normal. But the shield can also be shared. Bump in to an ally whilst the Bubbler is active, and that ally gets the shield too. This makes it a good choice in Ranked battles, where the action is often focussed and squidmates are bunched up.

My initial impression of the Splattershot Jr reminds me of why I opted for the Splash-o-Matic for so long. The shots are sprayed without much accuracy, which catches me out for the first splat. But that's not really detrimental to the weapon. Most shooters have a fairly wide spray of ink, and the Splash-o-Matic and its variants are the exception. This is just a feature I need to adjust to. Or back to. And I get used to it pretty quickly. A fairly wid spray works quite well in inking lots of turf quickly, which is good design, really. And you just need to get closer for more shots to hit an opponent.

I kinda feel sorry for the squid that super-jumped to my position when I was hiding from the squid with the squiffer. I tried to jump out to provide a distraction on landing, but it didn't work. At least, by Grabthar's Hammer, I avenged my squidmate. My final result is pretty decent, given I'd not used the weapon in months, and the top scorer is using the same weapon. I'm sure I'll be adding it back in to my weapon roster.

Let's give the Splattershot Jr another go, again in Turf War. Better to get used to a weapon in Turf War, where you can squid around inking turf, rather than Ranked battles, where the objective is more focussed.

The map this time is Flounder Heights, one of my favourites. I take my usual back route to start with, and a squidmate gets up to the top of the building at about the same time, to gang up on an opponent. Good start! Of course, I get splatted myself pretty soon after that, and on respawning I get about to inking around our base.

My Bubbler special charges, but there is no point in using it with no opponents around. But when an Inkbrush appears and looks to be lining me up, I pop the Bubbler to splat him. What I don't realise is that he wasn't about to line me up, and the sound of a special being activated actually came from behind me. My Bubbler saves me from the Kraken I didn't see, and for long enough to see him return to being a squid. Not quite enough to save me, but my squidmate splats him to avenge me, and I give him a 'Nice!' for that.

The Splattershot Jr is a nice and versatile weapon. One feature I like is just how little ink it seems to use. You can ink and ink and ink and rarely do you hit the capacity of your tank. Even if the range is quite short, the Bubbler helps with close-range engagements, and the ink efficiency means that you are not often caught short.

Posted in Gaming |
Tags: console, flounder heights, kelp dome, splatoon, splattershot jr, turf war, wii u