Splatoon 3 is here, which means that everyone has now had a chance to try out the weapons across the game’s myriad maps and battlegrounds. Many of the old weapons got reworked to have new Specials, such as the Luna Blaster with the Zipcaster or the E-liter 4K with the Wave Breaker, so it was interesting to discover how those weapons have changed from previous titles. Our own Varnell talked just yesterday about the good times he was having with the trusty old Octobrush. But today we’re going to talk about the two weapon types that are new to the series – the Stringers and Splatanas – and why they don’t quite feel ready for the big-time yet.
The Splatana is a new class of melee weapon. The first weapon within that class, Splatana Wiper, excels at splatting opponents up close with the charged shot, but is also capable of damaging them from a distance with the blade beams. The Stringer, on the other hand, is a new class of weapons that act similarly to bows, and the first weapon for it is the Tri-Stringer. Charging the Tri-Stringer allows it to shoot three different shots that explode for a while after they make contact with a surface. If you shoot while jumping, the shots will fire vertically rather than horizontally.
The new weapons sound great and everything, but the more I play around with them, the clearer it’s becoming that these weapons just aren’t that fun to use (yet). To really put into perspective how the weapons work, let’s compare them to other classes they operate similarly to.
Tri-Stringer
The first new weapon type, the Stringer, has more mobility than its cousin class, Chargers. Without a laser sight that reveals your location, it’s somewhat easier to catch the enemy team off-guard with it, and the small explosions that come with the Tri-Stringer’s charged shots are useful for area control too. On top of that, it’s better as an offensive weapon due to its wider inking range, making it easier to hit opponents up close. It fulfills more of a chip-damage role than the killing role that the Chargers have.
Despite the wider inking range, the coverage all-round is awful. Even with Chargers’ more linear painting capabilities, they cover more than the Tri-Stringer in a shorter time. The mini-explosions also don’t cover much more ink than the shots would without them, if any.
As you can probably guess, a weapon that can’t paint very well in a Turf War isn’t a good thing. This means you’ll have to contribute to your team mostly through kills and assists. However, that’s also very difficult to do because of how weak each individual shot is. Paired with that low painting range, the shots are also a bit slow. The rest of Tri-Stringer’s kit – Toxic Mist and Killer Wail 5.1 – doesn’t do much to remedy these setbacks or add on to the mobility advantages.
While the Tri-Stringer serves a unique purpose of utilising chip damage that Chargers don’t, you’re still better off using them over the Tri-Stringer in its current state. What it really needs is a buff to the damage of both uncharged and charged shots, as well as the amount of turf each shot type can ink. The mini-explosions from the charged shots should also cover a bit more range than the normal shots. On top of that, the Tri-Stringer needs a redefined kit. The Burst Bomb Sub Weapon would better allow the weapon to take advantage of its mobility and chip damage capabilities. As for the Special Weapon, changing it to Ink Storm would not only help it apply damage over time but also give it that extra edge in controlling specific areas.
Splatana Wiper
Now onto the second new weapon, the Splatana. The weapon class to compare this to would be the Brushes. The Splatana Wiper is more complex however, since you can use two different types of attacks with it. Using the charged attack while moving forward also allows you to dash forward slightly, which is great because up-close charged attacks can one-shot enemies. Its charged slash also does over half damage at a distance, so using the uncharged slashes along with it can lead to quite a few kills. It fulfills a somewhat unique role of a melee weapon that can kill at various distances.
However, it lacks the mobility that melee weapons typically need to compete with ranged weapons. You’re much better off utilising a mixture of the charged and uncharged blade beams for kills at a distance rather than trying to close enemies down. The Splatana Wiper’s shots and ink coverage don’t cover as much horizontal range as the Brushes do either, making them a less efficient weapon up close.
The Splatana Wiper definitely has it better than the Tri-Stringer. It does what it’s meant to do very well. The issue is that other weapons do its job a bit more efficiently. Sure, you can’t kill at the distances that a Splatana Wiper can with the Brushes, but the mobility of the Brushes (especially the Inkbrush) makes up for that. Brushes are also better for killing close-up since the Splatana Wipers have no horizontal coverage.
While the Splatana Wiper shouldn’t have as much mobility as the Inkbrushes, increasing the range of the dash would help it greatly. Allowing it to perform an air-dash would also set it apart from the other melee weapons by giving it that ability to get to areas that the Inkbrush or a normal jump couldn’t.
The Tri-Stringer and Splatana Wiper aren’t bad weapons. This not only goes for their viability, but also their overall concept and design. There’s also the possibility that the Stringer and Splatana class could get weapons that fix the problems they have, but at this point the Tri-Stringer and Splatana Wiper need some improvements to be more viable in a Turf War setting. Above that, they also need something to really set them apart from other weapons. They’re interesting classes that deserve to fit into Splatoon, but they need quite a bit of work to become worthy.
