Competitive:Sting Ray

Unofficial

Splatoon 2
Ever since receiving its biggest buffs in, the Sting Ray is a dominating, polarizing special weapon filling a similar role to that of Killer Wail back in : limiting opponents' mobility with a continuous beam that can penetrate obstacles. Unlike many other special weapons, effective use of the Sting Ray requires its user to be as far from their opponents as possible, limiting its use to specific situations.

Use
The Sting Ray can limit the opponents' mobility to either sustain a push or stall the opponents' push, but only if used properly:
 * Before starting the Sting Ray, it is advised to keep a safe distance from battles, as firing a Sting Ray too close to an opponent can leave one vulnerable to attack.
 * If a player activates Sting Ray while inside their spawn, they will automatically be pushed out.
 * While the Sting Ray is equipped, its user can still walk around at a reduced speed (that isn't affected by Run Speed Up or a weapon's weight class). Firing the Sting Ray will not decrease the player's walking speed any further.
 * The player can still morph into squid or octopus form with the Sting Ray equipped, allowing for more mobility. This can help to escape from Tenta Missiles or other players. However, it is impossible to Super Jump while the Sting Ray is active.
 * Using the Sting Ray can provide massive area control, as the Sting Ray's beam can penetrate obstacles and travel much further distances the farther away you are from your target:
 * The Sting Ray excels on stages that are long, narrow, closed, and relatively flat, especially Port Mackerel and Walleye Warehouse.However, note that some stages that are normally less suitable for the Sting Ray might have locations from which it can be effective, such as atop the booth firing along the opponents' street in Humpback Pump Track and from the court in New Albacore Hotel.
 * When firing the Sting Ray, if you lose track of the opponent, bring up your map with . If an opponent has taken any damage, they will be visible on the map until they completely heal. Redirect the Sting Ray until you hear the popping sound.
 * Despite the Sting Ray's ability to penetrate surfaces, it damages Ballers normally and thus will not affect the player that is inside.
 * The Sting Ray has poor ink coverage and is generally better for either splatting opponents or limiting their movement.
 * The Sting Ray can be aimed onto any moving objective (the Tower, the Rainmaker or its shield, or an opposing Power Clam) for better objective control, enabling a team with a late lead to close out a game by simply denying the opponents access to the objective.
 * Note that if the Rainmaker carrier is hiding in their ink, an opposing Sting Ray user cannot see the Ranked Battle symbol on their screen.
 * When aimed at the Tower in Tower Control, a Sting Ray fires a narrow line for a sustained period of time, as opposed to a Bomb Launcher, which covers a larger area with multiple bombs, or a Booyah Bomb, which can cover a large area around the Tower for a brief amount of time. There are situations where a Sting Ray is preferable over either a Bomb Launcher or a Booyah Bomb in stopping or slowing down the Tower and others where either a Bomb Launcher or a Booyah Bomb is more effective.

Countermeasures
In the right hands, the Sting Ray can be a dominating weapon that alters how its user's opponents execute their plans to either push or counter a push. Limiting an opponent's Sting Ray's effectiveness – or, better yet, splatting them – will save your team plenty of headaches.
 * The most effective way to counter Sting Ray is to prevent it from being fired. Recognize which players on the enemy team have a Sting Ray in their weapon sets and focus attacks on them when making a push.
 * You can fight fire with fire by using your own Sting Ray against the opponent's one. On Tower Control and Rainmaker, in which each team might have at least one Sting Ray user, Sting Ray battles are common, especially if the team on the offense is trying to splat the defending team's Sting Ray user.
 * The Inkjet is an effective special against the Sting Ray. A properly launched and piloted Inkjet can splat an enemy Sting Ray user while being relatively safe from the beam.
 * Tenta Missiles are a quick way to either counter or dissuade a Sting Ray user if the attack is anticipated. The Sting Ray user will be forced to either delay or interrupt the Sting Ray to avoid getting splatted by the missiles.
 * Ink Armor is another counter to Sting Ray, due to the ray having a 0.445 damage multiplier against Ink Armor.
 * Quickly swimming away from the Sting Ray's beam is generally the best way to avoid getting splatted without using Specials, as users turn relatively slowly while the Sting Ray is active. This is a useful tactic in Tower Control to maintain a Tower push.
 * If all else fails, Super Jumping away is a good option to save your special and to not stagger your team.