Blaster

The Blaster is a Main Weapon in Splatoon.

Description
The Blaster shoots special ink rounds that burst like fireworks after traveling a certain distance. These bursts can deal damage in a wide area, making it great for exposing hidden foes. It is a one-hit-kill (for a direct hit) but has a very slow firing rate. The Blaster comes in a set with the Disruptor and Killer Wail.

"Fires a special ink shot that explodes in mid-air. This explosion can be used to attack a wide area."

- In-Game Description❌

"Fires a special ink shot that explodes in mid-air. This explosion can be used to attack a wide area at once."

- In-Game Description

"We’ve just confirmed that this weapon is called a Blaster. It shoots special ink rounds that burst like fireworks once they’ve traveled a certain distance! Apparently these bursts can deal damage in a pretty wide area, so this weapon is great for exposing hidden foes."

- Live from the Squid Research Lab

Demonstration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFLPdhi56oo

Competitive Viability
The regular Blaster is an interesting weapon that isn't necessarily bad, but it's not exactly the best either. The main weapon suffers from a weak rate of fire and range, which would normally be a huge weakness, but luckily with the Disruptor sub it is not much of a problem. Disrupted enemies can easily be taken out with a direct shot in one hit, meaning fire rate isn't much of an issue. The weapon has trouble turfing though, and when it does build up a special it is a rather lousy Killer Wail. The Blaster is good, but the better kit lies in the Custom Blaster, which has a Bubbler, so not too much use is seen from the regular Blaster.

Since Version 2.2.0, no amount of Damage Up will allow you to splat an opponent with one indirect blast. However, Damage Up can help ensure it takes no more than two hits to splat an opponent. Without Damage Up, an Inkling caught at the extreme edge of a blast, or within the blast of a shot that struck a wall or the floor, can take less than 50 damage.

Even Blasters can run out of ink when somebody least expects it- they run out of ink surprisingly fast. Equipping Ink Saver Main reduces the amount of ink per shot, so the ink tank won't run out as fast.

Ink Recovery Up fills the ink tank faster in squid form- great for blaster users, as they can spend less time refilling the tank and more time battling!

The Killer Wail is a very useful Special Weapon, and since Blasters are poor at inking turf, the special gauge can fill up quite slowly. Special Charge Up will increase the rate at which the special gauge fills.

Since mobility can always be a challenge, consider equipping Swim Speed Up to make fast escapes from advancing foes.

Trivia

 * The Blaster appears to be designed after a series of car parts.