Splatling



"Say hello to our little friends."

- SplatoonUK on Splatlings

Splatlings are one of the five main weapon classifications in Splatoon and one of the seven main weapon classes in Splatoon 2. These gatling gun or rotary cannon-style weapons are somewhat similar to chargers in that they must charge for a short time to increase effectiveness. However, unlike chargers, all splatlings have two levels of charge. The first level increases the range and firing duration, while the second level is faster to charge and increases the firing duration even further, but has no effect on range. While their stats do vary, they all have a high fire rate (equal to the Aerosprays), low damage (equal to that of the ), and impressive range.

The first weapon in this class, the, was released in Version of Splatoon.

Strategy
The long range and high rate of fire make splatlings great at turfing and providing support fire from a distance. They turf more quickly compared to other long-ranged weapons, such as chargers, and the. This makes them a popular weapon of choice for backline anchor players.

Countermeasures

 * Chargers generally defeat Splatlings in 1v1 situations; they both outrange and overpower Splatlings with a one-shot splat.
 * Something to watch for is the sheer strength of the s, as even a quick charger can get pulverized in-range.
 * The only barely outranges the  in Splatoon, while the former and the latter both have the same range in Splatoon 2. This means there must be caution taken when dealing with Hydra Splatlings, especially when using chargers with a lower range than the Splatterscope. E-liters have no problem, however, due to them having longer range.
 * The and  both outrange most splatlings and tend to be more mobile.
 * However, given the slow rate of fire of the far-reaching Squelchers, quickly extinguishing the splatling wielder is instrumental to avoid being splatted mid-chase.
 * Any mobile frontline slayer weapon, such as the, can harass a splatling user as long as the user avoids running head-on into the barrel of the splatling. Try to catch the splatling player when they are busy charging their next shot.
 * Short range can be any newcomer's issue, however, as more experienced splatling users will see a player coming to the aid of their fallen comrades. A user visibly Super Jumping to their aid does not work without  or a  ready - a splatling user is more aggressive against a spawn jumper than a charger user.
 * An aggressive brella user can make quick work of any splatling handler. An is even better at this than a, as a rapid-fire with a shield can decimate a splatling user who did not see the brella user swimming fast into battle.
 * However, any brella user is very exposed to those they do not see coming. Utilize sub and special weapons before ending up on the other end of the counterattack, even with a.
 * Bombs are a handicap to the slow-moving and heavier splatlings, so a quiet bomb like a strategically placed or an  where there is no room to climb can prove to be a harassment to a splatling user, as bombs are not hard to master.
 * Open-eared splatling users are not easy to fool, however. They also know that they are open to sub assaults. One example is that the sheer sound of a makes most players swim away, so try to employ entrapment.
 * Splatling users are their own worst nightmare. Using either Nautilus gives the player several legs up on other splatlings, granted that they slip in quickly.
 * This can result in the splatling equivalent of a collision. However, note that the Nautilus weapon family fires very loudly and metallically for a close-range weapon.
 * and can leave any charging weapon shaking in their boots. Using this tactic is one for speedy players who can outspeed the charge time, as an unfinished charge does not hit hard.
 * However, they can do the same, and moving silently is not new to players with bulky weapons. Another thing to note is that these buffs do not hide the player in squid or octopus form, so do not get overconfident.

Splatoon

 * There are no splatlings with s, s, or s as their sub weapon.

Splatoon 2

 * There are no splatlings with s or any kind of as their special weapon.
 * However, the 's combination was supposed to be Splat Bombs and the, but this was removed.