Are The NEW Chill Season Weapons Actually BAD? 

While the new weapons may not be astronomically great, I think the devs prioritized fun when designing them, but it is interesting to learn how good they are from a competitive standpoint :)

I've been saying this in other places, but in retrospect I'm glad big Swig's horizontal doesn't one shot, because it would mean it's main weapon outclasses carbon in every way, and it not one shotting makes it play way differently than every other roller

I like the direction of making new weapons a lot more technical, making more interesting comps with how you follow up with each weapons strengths since they don't have much kill potential by themselves

For Big Swig, I actually love it but for a weird reason. It’s really stressful trying to get kills with it, but I love that feeling, it makes it very enjoyable for me

One thing I’ve learned from Squid School that I want to remind people of here is this: Liking a weapon gives you a strategical advantage. Playing a weapon that you like allows you to learn its weaknesses and play around them in ways the enemy team might not expect. For example, the “use sprinkler as a meat shield” tip for .96 gal. Sometimes I’ll just swim around and go for a kill with Splat Brella because that’s not what the enemy team expects. Try out new weapons. If you find one you like and you want to play it, go for it!

Big Swig feels like the devs asked themselves how they could make a roller that can defend little timmy from absentmindedly rolling into combat zones Every Single Match

i think one thing people overlook is the fact that gaining turf gives you a really good advantage. the more turf, the more movement opportunities, the more ways you can splat opponents. so i think the big swig is supposed to be used to gain as much turf as you can for your teammates, so pushing in is easier.

I've always enjoyed being a healer in games, as I don't have to worry about being the one to get kills (ironic, since I now enjoy being a slayer in Splatoon). Big Swig feels like the closest to being a 'healer' as you can get in this game, providing plenty of inked ground for your teammates to swim in and providing walls to possibly protect them along with yourself. Not to mention Ink Vac to even better protect everyone.

It feels like they were so scared of making these just be better versions of other weapons, that they went in the opposite direction and had them be a bit weak

I think one reason why a lot of people are not very fond of Nova is that it being so support locked gives it less agency in a teamfight than most weapons in solo q, where you can't always rely on your teammates, and it makes a lot of people feel a bit helpless with it

I really love the hyper-specialization of big swig, I think it's gonna be really interesting to see if it manages to shake up specific mode metas. currently the same weapons seem to be consistent across all modes, so adding kits that upset specific modes could be exciting

Cant believe they turned the Clash Blaster into a roller, and that I really like the paint heavy, frontline support playstyle it caters to.

I think Nova would make a great support option on a chip-damage based team. Also for solo que, it is very good at pointing out players who may be flanking or out of position. (I found myself doing this a lot in day 1 turf wars while experimenting with the weapon, and my teammates were actually following up on enemies that I couldn't finish off myself.) Honestly makes me think that it's a good candidate for a shot caller on a team to use.

The Splattershot Nova captured my heart on day one and so far is still going strong. I've been having a much better time with the game ever since I picked it up, and plan to main it for quite a long time to come :)

Snipewriter… definitely not a top 5 weapon 💀

The kid named Snipewriter’s Potential:

I love the big swig's concept, it does one thing and does it well

I do see some very very valid points here about all of these and for 90% of them, I agree! The one thing I will add about the Big Swig is it seems like more of a turf war/rookie style of weapon. Like if you were just diving into the game and wanted a roller, that’s the one for you! Otherwise I think every point is absolutely true and overall these weapons are actually pretty fun! They’re some refreshing additions to the game and while they might not be perfect, they still are cool to use!!!

My first experience with the big swig was me slowly realizing it’s awful damage in salmon run. The game mode where damage and range are very important stats.

Something interesting is that you can instantly kill at point-blank while using the horizontal flick of the big swig and then roll immediately after.

Given how much Zone cheese Swig has, I wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of paint output for a bit more damage. I want it to be pretty good with chip damage comps. Hopefully, that's not a monkey's paw wish.

I feel like Splatoon 3 is in this weird spot of wanting some more technical or kit dependent weapons, but also having Splattershot and Sloshing Machine that are just always good.

To me, Big Swig is basically the Aerospray of Rollers. The way it's designed made a lot more sense when I started thinking about it like that, and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't a more aggressive design, but hey, not everything has to be for me, and the other Rollers haven't gone anywhere.

I like that the new weapons aren’t broken. It’s gotten to the point where I see them and get a bit annoyed because I am still getting used to counter play, but I can consistently counter them when I give it just a bit of thought. And their kits don’t make me want to die. Overall, I think they are very healthy additions to the game.

I appreciate your very positive outlook towards these weapons and understanding the game in general. You balance it very well with very needed critiques like the map design. I think that more than the other two games, I can see why the developers are making the decisions they are, even if they don’t necessarily work the best in a competitive context. It is very refreshing compared to the toxicity concerning game balance that I see in both Splatoon and other communities.

The big swing roller is how I expected the dynamo would look and act like back in Splatoon 1 God it's been 7 years..

As soon as I saw the nova I knew I wanted to main it. I thought that the idea of a mid point between shot and pro range would be very interesting to play and I was interested to see what Nintendo would do with it. Admittedly, the kit and play style was wildly different than what i expected, but after learning the play style, the weapon is very fun and I look forward to it’s future kits.

I'm wondering if the specific seasons will bring new weapons of set styles - probably unlikely but the three new Support Weapon Kits in the Chill season (not aggressive) is kind of funny

Nova is my favorite shooter because I always wanted a replacement for Dual Squelcher from S1 Though it’s still really weak (it’s basically the dual squelcher but nerfed to oblivion) and unless it becomes more of a fighter with a damage buff and a RNG buff, with some buffs to its sub and special, it’s gonna be weak forever I really hope Nintendo takes a serious look at this weapon like they did for Swig and Pencil

Glad you've come around a bunch on understanding big swig! NA meta is too slayer/kill focused, tends to ignore the power of keeping enemies useless with poke/control trading, especially considering it can exceed or combine with death timers. Support in NA meta is far, far too simplified in understanding and isn't appreciated nearly enough. Default dapples is my fave example, people keep trying to play them as deep dive slayers, when the beakon and tacticooler really make it best played as a support/shark that can dive around corners and kill in ways popular sharks cannot

It's funny looking back on this. Splattershot nova has its role, but honestly outside of some memes with opening gambit is just very olay with meh dps and location. Snipewriter still needs a bit of a guiding hand to lead it to see more use. And of all things with a laundry list of buffs and consistency, the big swig is the one that has the potential to become kinda scary when it gets an actual kit that isn't super defensive zones cheese while still being one of the best painting weapons in the game.

I feel like the big swig is just a fun weapon, opting for a supportive zoner rather than a shark. I feel like it would work well with the chip damage of wavebreaker and fizzy bomb

Nice vid, I'd like a guide for what gear is best for every weapon, because i want to use range blaster and I run 2 main intensify action and 1 main ink saver (main)

All of the new weapons are interesting in design and I feel like Nintendo is focusing on the fun aspect of the game rather than the balance aspect which is what a video games first priority is but the comp player inside me does have the complaint that these weapons are support weapons that people, most of the time, aren't playing support at the moment.

Nova worked for me surprisingly well in Salmon today, and I didn't _dislike_ it in PVP when I tried it yesterday but I was a bit... Iffy on what I was meant to be doing with it when I tried it in turf. I'm hardly competitive but from a more casual perspective of the weapon it felt undertuned rather than bad, even if I did wind up yelling "What is this _for_" a couple of times. (Though I did settle into almost what you said by the end, though I think it could use a couple of minor buffs for those things, not to fix all the things I wish it was better at, just... one or two of them - Make the paint a bit less splodgy, make it a bit longer range, make it barely a four shot - even just 25 damage - rather than a five shot, reduce the spread a little)

I know the Big Swig objectively isn't great but dang if I'm not having a ton of fun with it. The only other roller in the series I've had genuine fun with is the Gold Dynamo, every other is just not fun imo. But Big Swig is so much fun. I'm more of a Turf player and it's great in that, but playing support with it feels incredible. Splash Wall and the jump flicks feel really fun, especially when you're with teammates, and the Ink Vac is great for teammates as well. I love it, new favorite weapon, I feel like I've been killing with it.

Big swig will be really good for defending in tricolor. Lots of paint is something you really need and the close range vertical flick OHKO may be hard to land normally but when someone's vying for the ultra signal it'll work really well

Honestly the Nova is literally what I built the my gear with in mind on my Aerospray RG (I think thats what it is called, its the Golden One) and loved using, this hella makes me want to finally get Splatoon 3!

I love the influx of support weapons, hopefully that’s a sign of things to come.

yoooo the new outro music is comforting :D iloveit

I think everyone is being too quick to dismiss Big Swig just because it doesn't one-shot. It's obviously not meant to be played like any other roller by sharking under ledges or going for picks. It is a fully supportive weapon, and shouldn't try and kill - its flicks (especially horizontal) can surround enemies with ink, limiting their movement options, and the wall can be used as help for another team member. It's a weapon designed as a sort of 'backup,' behind the team but close behind.

If there's one thing I'll say about the Big Swig Roller, it's the fact that it takes: - everything i love about the dynamo roller (a.k.a the only "-∞ to speed stat, +∞ to murder stat" weapon i don't hate using) - a fascimile of my main 3 gear abilities (ink recovery, ink saver sub, ink saver main) - my playstyle's and their weaknesses when I use my current 2 favorite main Weapons (rushing and stalling with Splattershot Jr; strategizing and consistent turfing with Undercover Brella) - a kit that doesn't make me second guess myself for five hours about whether or not I should actually buy it (looking at you Bloblobber. And Undercover Brella too, unfortunately) And packs it into an amazing, borderline perfect, by all means what i can absolutely say for sure is my all time- *_3RD,_* FAVORITE WEAPON. Yeah no despite all I've said so far, maybe due to the fact i still haven't got to use it as much as the others yet, i only get like a niche kinda fun from using it.

i love how the title implies that we all have a super pessimistic view on new weapons lol

I usually play more backline weapons like dynamo or splatterscope. I've really enjoyed playing range blaster in 3 as I love wavebreaker. I never usually play shooters though, but I love the splattershot nova. I use it with thermal ink and sub saver and I always have the enemy team located. It helps a lot on defending the zones on big maps like flounder heights. It's good range with fast fire rate and spread helps locate enemies from a distance just by aiming generally towards them with the thermal ink and I track them and throw point sensors so that my team is aware (which is massive in splatoon with no voice chat). I also use killer wail to locate enemies or sometimes splat weak enemies that are fleeing. And the chip damage from the gun ends up helping my team a lot when they can't quite finish off an enemy. It's the most fun I've ever had playing a shooter and I think it fills a really good niche

I'm absolutely horrible at using my weapons as weapons instead of inking tools, so Big Swig, and it's beautiful horizontal flick really help me contribute to my team. With 4 ink saver ups, 2 special ups, and 3 special savers, I use my Big Swig Roller to be an apt distraction as a huge painter. I also aim to be a greedy grinner with ninja squid, super-jumping to all of my teammates who are painting and not in combat, using wall and ink vac purely to support them. It's also great on the two new maps. In Brinewater Springs, the horizontal flick is great from your spawn's ramp, if you jump on the railing and flick at middle, and it acts as a great focus point for the other team. The Ink Vac is incredibly easy to fill up, and has nearly the entire range of Brinewater Springs' starting ramp, making you able to push spawns within the last 20 seconds and stomp while also not being an ink-inefficient weapon, like some others with the ability to do so. It's horrible at combat, though, but I'm glad that combat isn't my strong suit anyway.

I was a big support main in S2 (played many armor weapons) and never played super aggressively, so Nova fit me pretty much perfectly. I think it has such a different mindset compared to most shooters that people were quick to dismiss it as bad

Oh, the Nova must have been what I ran into earlier tonight with most people on both teams having it, as point sensor was seemingly being spammed constantly from both teams. I was halfway thinking it was some sort of meme thing, as I never experienced a match quite like it…and it just so happened that it was the match right after a…don’t know if I’d call it a “squid party exactly, but something close to it…that I found in the wild for the first time in Splatoon 3. It was a very weird night.

1:49 omg who is that awesome bamboozler player

I started playing the splatter nova when the season started and at first i hated it because i was playing it like a splattershot. I now play it as a support weapon with LDE and sub saver and thermal ink to really maximize the potential of supporting my team and sensoring everyone its really fun!

big swig is so disappointing to me as a roller main, i really really hope they buff its damage and give it a good kit in the future. it doesn’t need to be the best but it needs something more.

I will never understand why only big swig’s vertical flick kills. You would think that both horizontal and vertical flicks on contact would kill.

So big swig is like the aerospray of rollers. Got it.

I've got an actual idea for an Undercover Brella rework, so basically increase the firing speed by 30-60%, and increase the range by around 5-15% for buffs, and for nerfs increase the Ink consumption by 10-20% and decrease the damage by the scraping shots down to 10 damage at least and 35 damage at most. These are the buffs and nerfs that I believe are necessary to balance this weapons new gimmick, in the final pieces of excess damage from anything that is above the weapon's shield health, it creates an explosion that deals 5-20 damage flat to both the opponent and the user, though it should do either more or less damage to the user than the opponent, you decide and takes 75% of that excess damage as knockback. This gives the Undercover Brella the ability to basically Rocket Jump as much as it pushes the opponent away. This adds an interesting level of strategy for Undercover Brellas, they need to be the one's backing themselves up into a corner that they could jump up to from the explosion while also pushing the opponents off the edge with the explosion, or one can commit to the other, and would make bombs as much of a counter to Brellas by keeping them from getting to the middle if someone just runs into the middle with their brella outstretched and then gets a bomb to their Brella and gets sent back to spawn without a shield. Though conversely, if someone sees a bomb just lying around, instead of being frightened by it they instead may get encouraged to surf that damage up like a walled off high ground. I'm imagining the elevated grounds in the Ruined finished Bridge Area, a Suction bomb is placed a little from the walled off area towards the right or left, depending on which side your on though let's just say right, and the opposing team is coming. Now because of the existence of this gimmick the Undercover can bounce off of the bomb and reach higher ground! Conversely, if someone were to paint the middle and get a bomb to the Undercover Brella's shield, they can get sent backwards towards spawn, which could help to take them away from combat for a while. Also, you may wonder why I didn't want to raise it's power, and that's cause I don't want it to encroach on the more heavier Brellas' niche, and anyway a faster firing rate would help to maintain its speedy playstyle's momentum. More range allows it to chase down opponents, and more ink Consumption would force players to not fire as often, conserving ink and keeping the canopy closed so that they play smarter with the new gimmick. The ranges I give are for you to decide where you think is most balanced for this reworked version of the Undercover Brella. Anyway, what do you think?

“The only long range weapon with tacticooler” Me, a Dynamo Main:

I'm just a weirdo who mainly plays turf war, but personally, I went into this update expecting to like the big swig A LOT more than I actually did. I figured that as someone who likes rollers and mainly plays turf war, a roller all about turfing would be right up my alley even if it struggled more in a skirmish. But I just can't deal with its kit. I just don't know what I'm doing with splash wall on a roller and just end up never using it since it takes so much ink. And, although I acknowledge that ink vac is good, I personally suck at using it. Snipewriter, on the other hand, has become BY FAR my favorite charger to play. I'm a player who really likes splatlings and stringers but has never been able to get the hang of chargers whenever I've tried, and snipewriter's multiple shots in exchange for multiple hits to kill makes its play style a lot more splatling-esque IMO and therefore much more my style. I don't even mind the sprinkler since I'm a weirdo who likes sprinkler even though it's not good. But, in the end, what turns me off from the snipewriter compared to other weapon classes is how ink-hungry it is and how unhelpful partial charges are.

Big swig aged well since the 2X object damage buff, damage buff to both vertical and horizontal attacks, and getting a semi better kit in the sizzle season. Also I just laughed when you called it “Zone Cheese”!

I really wish they buff the nova because I love the weapon and I can see that it has potential. I'm literally maining it right now. I think it just needs Buffs in terms of damage and accuracy

One thing that people don’t mention is that the snipewriter has more range than both the splat charger and the splatterscope. So you can pressure every weapon that has less range than a splat charger.

I'm in love with swig and now trying to play with nova, I think nova really need some buff like a firerate improvement or paint efficiency, and for the swig it was hard to not being aggressive with a roller but I'm getting good results playing near my team, helping with walls and painting the map, choosing fights that I can take and camping when it needed

I'm definitely having a lot of fun with the new weapons. I do need to improve at Snipewriter and some of this helps. Nova I just need to play more. I'm a fan of tacticooler on Charger for the simple fact it does make an object I can hide behind to stay safe while charging while also hiding my laser too. Helps with mobility on Snipewriter too.

aw dude im loving the wide roller, horizontal flick is so good at zoning its ridiculous, its amazing at support imo ive done all my X rank matches with it and have effectively stalled and gotta several kills with it and with so many aggressive weapons in this game its nice to have more options to keep them at bay

nova is what ive wanted jet squelcher to be for years. i wasn't excited about it when it got revealed but i love playing nova so much

Something about Big Swig: you can get a two shot that acts like a one shot. By slamming the roller part against the enemy like a melee weapon, you can get a point blank horizontal swing and a rollover in one. Of course, this requires sharking and an aggressive play style, which goes against the Big Swig's intended purpose, but oh well.

CHARA thank you!! Twitter almost convinced me I was crazy for picking up the Nova! From a game-design perspective, I know that echolocator was terrible as it took a big chunk of strategy and player agency away for a good portion of the game but I think the other parts of the kit are used equally and are incredible together. The main reason I was excited for Nova at all (and tbh the Big Swig too despite its very narrow usage) is because of the potential for future weapons to be design with support in mind outside of just paint capacity. I'd love to see more iterations of weapons and kits that capitalize on value outside of slaying enemy players.

"Pencil Players" I love this term for SnipeWriter players. When I get back into Splatoon 3, I think I'll try sampling the SnipeWriter. It looks like a lot of fun, though I don't think I'll be good at it since I'm not very good at aiming and the shots are quite narrow.

Pro, you mentioned how vaccuum is used basically to suck specials and recharge ink. I feel like honing down on the recharge ink mechanic. I see a lot of my teammates die with special and it genuinely upsets me. I rarely use “this way” because I feel it’s vague and distracts your teammates but I had to spam booyah for my teammate to go, “oh sh*T I’ve had booyah bomb for the past 45 seconds and am about to die in a fight maybe I should be helpful towards my team?” And honestly I really wish players remembered to abuse specials, if not for the utility and damage, do it for the FREE INK REFILL. A lot of people don’t play around the special and they miss out on a lot of streamlined success, because a lot of weapons can carry you if you just use their entire kit lol

Thank you for playing dope Mario music in the background for your videos

i think it could be cool if big swig could do something similar to the brella shot canopy combo

Splatfest bout to be crazy in January

To be honest I feel like big swig was meant to be a Jr but on a roller but it needs a kit to be different from Jr or it will be outclassed

Looking back, I think Snipewriter has the most potential. the last of it's 5 charge shots combos into a tap shot for a perfect 100.0, I think once it gets a burst bomb or point sensor it's going to be a lot more fun to use

my favorite right now is forge splattershot pro it has a good kit especially for tower control and it’s my new main (rip flingza roller)

You should make a video about what exactly they should change to make the Big Swig better

I can see nova being used more cuz of how anti ninja squid its kit is so if people can get used to the main weapon it can definitely be a high teir

The Nova has really excellent synergy with its sub and special and is a lot of fun. A nice change from going berserker with my splattershots.

Coming back to this I really like nova playing it similar to I would with a pro but simply abusing its better turf and fire rate to duel and keep things off of me as I slowly chip them for kills. Currently my fav weapon. Once this gets smth like splat or fizzy with rain it will be much more versatile for more modes and could see play one crabs power dies down

I love love looove the pencil, the day of the update I got really good at it, it may be a bit weak but it’s extra fun which makes me somehow play better?? Anyway, kinda bummed it has sprinkler but it has unexpectedly saved me a couple of times by being a kind of meat shield. Anyway I just hope we get a different kit with a bomb lol

ooooh i understand why i dont like nova as much now! the nzap comparison is exactly right - playing it felt like i could only achieve something by having special ready, similar to weps in s2. it doesnt flex as well to other roles, countering my playstyle, but works great as support. i get it now! thanks for informative vid!

If big swig ever gets a good special in the future holy that shit will go crazy imagine if it got booyah bomb or tri strike they would just be everywhere

I tried the big swig roller and almost liked it but it got me to try out the regular roller and I'm having a lot of fun

I really like the nova and snipewriter as they finally gave me weapon niches to use in rainmaker that I enjoy and from the sounds of it I can mostly reuse my gearset for pencil on nova, thanks! Feels nice as a squiffer player who's been stung by point sensor three games in a row to finally have a weapon where I appreciate it more. Nova might just be what'll make clam blitz fun for me...

ill have to try the nova out...i keep thinking about trying to play a more supportive role in games

As a blaster player trying to learn support I'm loving the Nova quite a bit.

You can get a 2 hit splat with big swig if you do a horizontal flick into a roll, less effective than usual but its possible

As someone who ended Splat2 maining ArmorZap and had been mostly playing current NZap, the though of "mid range NZap" for Wail spam and support is appealing to hear.

I really love the playstyle of the nova, it's so poor at taking close-up 1v1 fights that it actually helps me learn to control space better so I don't get flanked and can use its range

With the Big Swig it seems like it can splat with around carbon range but only in salmon run for some reason, I hope it’s a bug.

I like how Nova is a support weapon, but in a very different way to Jr or Zap. Most supports currently in the game are hybrids, and the support mostly comes from their special. Meanwhile, Nova is all about exposing the enemy with Point Sensor, then weakening them from afar for a slayer teammate to finish off. Even its special, Killer Wail, uses its global range and tracking ability to chip enemies down to help the frontliners. Ultimately I don't know how much play it'll see at higher levels, but I love having a weapon meant specifically for support, not just a frontliner with paint and a supportive special.

I’ve been really enjoying Big Swig, it really lets me fulfil my traditional support dreams. I try to make it so that I’m always hanging out with a teammate to give them a wall or vac whenever I feel I can’t achieve anything meaningful with the main weapon.

Thank you for giving nova a chance. I really like the weapon but everyone said it’s horrible, so I was thinking about maybe putting it down for a bit, but this just made me want to play it even more!

i can imagine a supportive dullie now, like it could have a looooong roll but only 1 and its fast however slightly less range then glooga with 31 damage and a high fire rate

Keep up the good work you can become one of the best players

i love nova!! being a shooter main it feels so fun to play because it’s so different

Big swig is very fun but I agree a slight (very slight bc of paint output) is needed. I question what other kit (If there is an alt in the future) nova would work with.

I am personally loving the Splattershot Nova. I feel like Point Sensor is an underestimated sub weapon. Saying that VC denies all of the weapon’s usefulness is kind of a dumb argument since saying where an enemy’s general location is is different from marking their EXACT location for your teammates to see as visual information, which is understood much more efficiently than information transmitted vocally.

I really like that nova! I've played with it a little bit, and I think it has a refreshing play style

The Big Swig's vertical flick reminds me of the Undercover Brella. Maybe Big Swig would be good if it had a shield? Lol.

As bad as the Big Swig is, it’s so much fun to use, even outside of Zones. A few tweaks and adjustments to help it fight would be awesome.

I picked up Big Swig and got like a 6-7 win streak on zones. Never have I had more fun with a weapon from just randomly picking it up

The moment I get a burst bombs on a Dualie is the day I'd play splatoon non stop. But for the new weapons I love the new carbon roller and new splattershot pro much better kits than the original ones. As for the newer weapons I haven't tried them yet besides the pencil and I got to say I'm not loving the kit but the weapon is pretty cool though I need to get better at it.