Competitive:Bamboozler 14 Mk I

Unofficial

Use
The Bamboozler 14 Mk I has a few changes that make it different than how it is in Splatoon 2: When placed properly, a Splash Wall can provide great utility, even in stages and areas that are more open: The Killer Wail is a special that can be used from far away, and still pressure the frontlines.
 * The weapon's maximum damage is 80 compared to 85.
 * The weapon in Splatoon is slightly less ink hungry, consuming around 2.8%-7% of the ink tank, while in Splatoon 2, it consumes 3.36%-8.4% of the ink tank.
 * When charging while moving, the player moves 0.4 units per frame, slightly slower than in Splatoon 2, where the player will move 0.6 units per frame.
 * In Splatoon 2 the user can charge faster in-air than in Splatoon.
 * Splash Wall provides strong protection against opposing fire, allowing its user to safely control space while turfing.
 * Any bombs thrown by an opponent that hit a Splash Wall will instantly explode, potentially splatting the Splash Wall's user or their teammates.
 * Refrain from rushing through the wall until it is certain that the opponent has no bombs available in the area.
 * Do not throw a Splash Wall behind a teammate, as a thrown opponent's bomb can instantly splat them.
 * Defensively, it can hinder the opponents' push, blocking both their movement and their fire.
 * Offensively, a Splash Wall can restrain the opponents' movement, allowing its user and their teammates to push forward or gain map control.
 * Throwing a Splash Wall behind an opponent can prevent them from fleeing.
 * Showering is possible in Splatoon, allowing a Bamboozler 14 Mk I user to stay safe underneath a Splash Wall and pressure while the Splash Wall is active.
 * Be mindful of how much time is left of the Splash Wall, to avoid being caught by surprise by opponents.
 * Activate Killer Wail in a safe position. Once activated, the player will walk very slowly and cannot use their main weapon, making them easy targets for opponents.
 * Once launched, the Killer Wail will send out a laser that will splat opponents if they are in the laser.
 * Killer Wail is best used on narrow corridors as opponents will have little room to move away from.
 * Killer Wail can help in stopping Rainmaker and Tower Control pushes as opponents will be forced to stay away from the specific area.
 * Opponents under the effect of Bubbler or Kraken will be knocked back severely if touching Killer Wail, which can be a good counter to those specials.

Synergy
The Bamboozler 14 Mk I's lack of lethal bombs – particularly either Splat or Suction Bombs – generally necessitates its user's teammates to equip weapons that include them. Lethal bombs provide their user's team a couple advantages over another team that has no lethal bombs in its composition:
 * Their one-hit-splat offers its user's team chances of instantly gaining a numbers advantage, from which a game-winning push can arise.
 * Their lethal explosion provides space for its user's team to either push into an area held by the opponent or stall an opponent's push.

Countermeasures

 * Lethal bombs are generally the most efficient means to damage and destroy opposing Splash Walls. Their explosions can also splat opponents who either stay too close to the Splash Wall or attempt to rush through it.
 * If an opponent activates Killer Wail in an unsafe position, try attacking them as they are very vulnerable and cannot fight back.

Gear abilities
Gear abilities provide different effects in battle that benefit the player with their equipped weapon. This is a guide to gear abilities in relation to the weapon. Strategy, synergy, viability, and purpose may be written here. Damage Up increases the amount of damage per shot for uncharged, partially charged, and fully charged shots. While the damage of the Bamboozler 14 Mk I can never reach 100 HP, it is capable of getting very close to it with enough Damage Up.
 * 36 ability points – three mains and two subs – enable a Bamboozler 14 Mk I to inflict 99.9 HP of damage per fully charged hit.

Because of the weapon's strafe speed and the ink's inconsistency with painting the user's feet, the user will likely find themselves in contact with enemy ink often. Ink Resistance Up can help reduce the damage taken when stepping on enemy ink and improve the mobility of the user when stepping on enemy ink.

The Bamboozler 14 Mk I is a ink hungry weapon, and with its quick charges, the user will likely find themselves out of ink often. Ink Saver (Main) can help reduce the amount of ink used per shot, allowing for more frequent charges and splats.

Splatoon 2
The Bamboozler 14 Mk I lacks the range and damage of other, more conventional chargers, but it has better mobility and a quicker charge time, providing it the flexibility to be included in a wider variety of team compositions with less worry of being rushed down by opponents.

Use
Despite its differences from most other chargers, the Bamboozler 14 Mk I is still an anchor's weapon: While the Curling Bomb is not as versatile as other bombs, it still has a couple practical uses for the Bamboozler 14 Mk I user: Tenta Missiles can be used to locate and pressure opponents and force them out of position without having to commit too far forward:
 * Like other chargers, the Bamboozler 14 Mk I can fire tap shots, partially charged shots, and fully charged shots:
 * It requires 20 frames, or 0.33 seconds, to fully charge — one third of the time required by the Splat Charger. This enables a Bamboozler 14 Mk I user to fire at their opponents more quickly, which can come in handy whenever an opponent is rushing towards you.
 * The charging rate slows down to 20% of its usual charging speed (for a charge time of 100 frames, or 1.67 seconds) whenever the ink tank is empty and to 40% (for 50 frames, or 0.83 seconds, of charge time) whenever one is airborne while charging. Stay on the ground while charging and watch the ink tank.
 * Without any Main Power Up equipped, its damage ranges from 30 HP to 85 HP without any sudden rise in damage, unlike with most other chargers.
 * While Main Power Up can increase damage, it cannot increase the damage of shots to 100.0 HP. To guarantee a splat, fire two shots – a fully charged shot followed by a tap shot – at an opponent. Both shots have the same range (see below) and should reach an opponent within the Bamboozler 14 Mk I's range.
 * Unlike more powerful chargers, the Bamboozler 14 Mk I cannot pierce targets, meaning only one target can be hit at a time.
 * Also unlike other chargers, the range of the Bamboozler 14 Mk I remains at a constant 195.64 DU, regardless of the charge time.
 * This constant range enables the Bamboozler 14 Mk I to turf more quickly than more conventional chargers can.
 * However, most other chargers – such as the Splat Charger (240.37 DU), the Splatterscope (260.37 DU), and the E-liter 4K (290.5 DU) – and some splatlings – specifically the Ballpoint Splatling (225.04-237.094 DU) and the Hydra Splatling (203.92-257.68 DU) – outrange the Bamboozler 14 Mk I.
 * The Bamboozler 14 Mk I also fires slightly bigger bullets than other chargers (radius of two DU rather than the typical one DU), allowing it to hit shots slightly easier.
 * The Bamboozler 14 Mk I's lightweight nature provides above average running (1.04 DU/f, or distance units per frame) and swimming speed (2.02 DU/f), and its user is more mobile while charging a shot (0.6 DU/f) compared to users of more traditional chargers.
 * Although the Bamboozler can use peeking like other chargers to snipe targets, this is generally not needed due to the Bamboozler's fast charge time and how it generally does not hold onto charges when compared to traditional chargers, such as a Splat Charger or E-liter 4K.
 * Because all Inklings and Octolings are right-handed, right-side peeking is generally more effective than left-side peeking.
 * Unlike other chargers lacking a scope, the Bamboozler 14 Mk I cannot store a full charge while submerged in ink.
 * The Bamboozler 14 Mk I still has a few charger-related drawbacks:
 * While it is more ink-efficient than traditional chargers, it still consumes a sizable amount of ink per fully charged shot (8.4%), particularly since Version . Watch your ink consumption, avoid the opponent's ink and Toxic Mist, and remain nearby friendly ink in which you can hide, reload, and retreat if necessary.
 * Using a charger can cause players to have tunnel vision as they focus on potential targets to snipe. Checking the map with for the opponents' positions and movement patterns is important for any player, but it is very essential for an anchor, such as a Bamboozler 14 Mk I user, to watch for any flanking attempts by the opponent, as getting flanked and splatted often leaves a gaping hole in their team's defenses.
 * When charged, or "cooked" long enough, it can be used to lay bomb traps to hold off pursuers or flush out sharks. However, the time needed to charge it makes this tactic situational at best.
 * Particularly in narrow or closed areas, a Curling Bomb ricocheting off of walls can be a useful distraction to force an opponent to move in a certain direction.
 * A Curling Bomb also further assists the main weapon in turfing from a safe distance.
 * While it can pave a trail of ink to either turf the ground or pave an escape route, simply firing the main weapon does the same job at a fraction of the cost in ink.
 * A Curling Bomb can damage or destroy an opponent's brella shield, Splash Wall, or Baller or the Rainmaker shield, while detonating on contact.
 * Any opponents caught within the Curling Bomb's explosion will get damaged or splatted. However, due to the small blast radius, this is more difficult to pull off than with a more conventional bomb.
 * It will also inflate or pop a teammate's bubbles but deflate or diffuse an opponent's bubbles, while still detonating on contact. Again, due to Curling Bombs only sliding on the ground, this is also not practical enough to exploit.
 * An opponent's Splashdown, Booyah Bomb, or Ultra Stamp will defuse any Curling Bombs it touches, so hold off throwing them until after the special weapon finishes.
 * It is recommended to only activate the Tenta Missiles at a safe distance from opponents, not only because a Tenta Missile user is vulnerable to close-range attacks but also because opponents who are further back are easier to track and home missiles on.
 * Sometimes, it may be more beneficial to target a specific opponent or two instead of all of them, based on their weapons, location, and situation:
 * Opponents wielding heavy, slow firing weapons will have a harder time escaping the missiles.
 * Opponents who are bunched together are more likely to cause their teammates to receive collateral damage than those who are spread apart.
 * Tenta Missiles are also a reliable means of forcing opposing anchors to cede their ground and lose focus while aiming. Because the Bamboozler 14 Mk I user is usually at a disadvantage against traditional charger and longer-ranged splatling users, this is the only reliable means to push back into a zone or another important area of the stage.
 * Tenta Missiles can counter an opponent's Sting Ray or Booyah Bomb if anticipated early enough; an opponent will be forced to either delay or interrupt it to avoid getting splatted by the missiles, throwing off their aim.

Synergy
Like other, more conventional chargers, the Bamboozler 14 Mk I can provide support fire and help maintain maintain spatial control, and its mobility allows its user to more easily either push forward with the rest of the team or retreat from an advancing opponent. Nevertheless, it can still be redundant to have one or two more long-ranged weapons on a team for a few reasons: Although the Bamboozler 14 Mk I is better at turfing than traditional chargers, it is still less efficient at turfing than other weapons, due to its meddling ink efficiency and will have to rely on their teammates to maintain map control. Not having enough turfing ability – usually from having too many blasters and chargers – presents its own set of problems: While Curling Bombs technically count as a lethal bomb, they function much differently from a traditional Splat or Suction Bomb. Due to this, it is still important to have conventional lethal bombs in a team composition. Splat or Suction Bombs provide its user's team many advantages over another team that has no lethal bombs in its composition: The Curling Bomb's ability to carve ink trails and increase its user's mobility also extends to their teammates: While having multiple players on the same team launching Tenta Missiles might seem like a fun and easy means to cause opponents to scramble for cover, having too many players equipped with them – no more than one or two – can reduce the effectiveness of a team composition: Coordinating with your teammates can greatly increase the Tenta Missiles' effect during a battle:
 * A team with too many long-ranged weapons will have fewer mobile weapons that can more quickly capture turf and wrest control of the objective, hindering its ability to begin an effective push into the opponents' territory. Such a team will also have difficulty breaking out of an opponent's spawn camp.
 * Longer-ranged weapons, including the Bamboozler 14 Mk I, are generally less effective at close range, so a team with too many long-ranged weapons is more prone to getting flanked and sharked by the opponent than usual.
 * A team whose composition lacks enough turfing ability can be rendered immobile if the other team dominates map control.
 * A lack of turfing also makes it difficult to alter the course of a game, even after wiping out the other team.
 * Their one-hit-splat offers its user's team chances of instantly gaining a numbers advantage, from which a game-winning push can arise.
 * Their lethal explosion provides space for its user's team to either push into an area held by the opponent or stall an opponent's push.
 * The turf inked by the resulting explosion contributes to both maintaining map control and building up the special gauge.
 * If one player is wielding a weapon that does not provide much mobility, such as a blaster or a heavyweight weapon, then offer to provide them an ink trail through which to travel. Just make sure that the trail formed does not lead straight to the waiting opponents.
 * Curling Bombs tend to work best on stages that have long non-vertical surfaces, such as Walleye Warehouse and Port Mackerel.
 * Other special weapons, such as Inkjet or Sting Ray, are intended for splatting opponents and more capable at this than are Tenta Missiles.
 * Tenta Missles cannot reliably turf highly contested areas of the stage as well as certain other special weapons, such as Bomb Launcher or Ink Storm.
 * Launching Tenta Missiles just before a push can cause opponents to scatter, giving your team opportunities to pick off any opponents caught fleeing the Missiles.
 * Firing Tenta Missiles on defense can help stall an opponent's push, but make sure that your teammates are nearby the front lines to follow the Missiles up.
 * Launching Tenta Missiles while a teammate is using a special designed to splat opponents, such as Sting Ray or Inkjet, can limit the opponents' escape options and even prevent them from Super Jumping to safety.

Countermeasures

 * Ink Resistance Up, already a valuable utility ability, increases in value when facing opponents whose weapons' damage is augmented by Main Power Up. It reduces the chance of getting splatted in one shot from a Bamboozler 14 Mk I due to the brief invincibility frames it provides when touching opposing ink on various surfaces.
 * Users of other anchor's weapons each have to confront an opposing Bamboozler 14 Mk I user differently:
 * Traditional chargers – such as the Splat Charger, the Splatterscope, and the E-liter 4K – and longer-range splatlings – namely, the Ballpoint Splatling and the Hydra Splatling – clearly outrange the Bamboozler 14 Mk I and can simply zone out an opposing Bamboozler user. However, be prepared to dodge any Tenta Missiles they launch.
 * While the Dynamo Roller (two-hit range of 200 DU), Explosher (200 DU), and the Heavy Splatling (178.05-218.37 DU) each can outrange the Bamboozler 14 Mk I, they only barely do so, and the Bamboozler's quicker, more powerful shots prevent a user of any of the former three weapons from fully zoning out an opposing Bamboozler user.
 * Focus more on turfing and providing support fire for your teammates while keeping an eye on the opposing Bamboozler user's position.
 * Only challenge the opposing Bamboozler user if your position is more advantageous or if you need to distract them from sniping an important teammate, such as the Tower rider or Rainmaker carrier.
 * While the Custom Jet Squelcher (212.64 DU) can also outrange the Bamboozler 14 Mk I, it might be easier to simply farm Sting Ray and use it to harass the opposing Bamboozler user.
 * Thanks to charge storing, both the Classic Squiffer (167.65 DU) and the Nautilus 79 (165 DU) are more mobile than the Bamboozler 14 Mk I to compensate for their relative lack of range.
 * The quick, powerful shots of the Bamboozler 14 Mk I effectively prohibit shorter-ranged weapon users from rushing an opposing Bamboozler user. Rely on flanking or sharking to get within range of an opposing Bamboozler user. However, be wary of any cooked Curling Bombs they might drop.
 * Throwing bombs or Toxic Mist at an opposing Bamboozler 14 Mk I user can briefly force them out of position and throw off their aim. While Toxic Mist does not damage the opponent, it drains their ink tank and cripples their movement, making them more vulnerable to a direct assault.
 * If an opponent's Curling Bomb travels nearby, immediately turf the trail it leaves behind to both cut off lanes of attack and flush out any opponents. While an opposing Bamboozler 14 Mk I user is not likely to rush you, they might use their Curling Bombs to assist their shorter-ranged teammates to move about the map.
 * Be mindful of both when the opponent has Tenta Missiles ready and when the missiles are launched:
 * If an opponent attempts to launch them when nearby you, splat them quickly to reduce or even cancel their deployment.
 * When the opponent deploys their Tenta Missiles, avoid getting close to teammates - even when not targeted, as a targeted player crossing paths with a teammate might cause the other to get injured or splatted.
 * Whenever targeted by opposing Tenta Missles, unless actively engaging an opponent, only move enough to avoid damage and reduce the amount of turfing by the Missiles.

Gear abilities
Gear abilities provide different effects in battle that benefit the player with their equipped weapon. This is a guide to gear abilities in relation to the weapon. Strategy, synergy, viability, and purpose may be written here. Link most anchors, a Bamboozler 14 Mk I user generally keeps their distance from the opponent. However, their improved mobility allows them to move about the stage more often, meaning they can expect to come in contact with opposing ink on various surfaces, especially due to ink not always forming below the user's feet with each shot. While in contact with opposing ink, Ink Resistance Up both delays and reduces the damage taken and partially offsets reduction in running speed — including while charging a shot.
 * Just three ability points – or one sub – delays the damage taken from opposing ink by 10 frames, reduces the damage taken from 0.3 HP/f (health points per frame) to 0.2 HP/f, lowers the limit on the amount of damage opposing ink on surfaces can inflict from 40 HP to 38 HP, and increases the normal running speed in opposing ink from 0.24 DU/f to 0.33 DU/f.
 * Six ability points – or two subs – delays the damage taken from opposing ink by 15 frames, reduces the damage taken to 0.2 HP/f, lowers the damage limit of opposing ink to 36.2 HP, and increases the normal running speed in opposing ink to 0.39 DU/f.

Although the Bamboozler 14 Mk I is more ink efficient than more conventional chargers, it still consumes a sizable amount, especially ever since Version 5.3.0. Ink Saver (Main) allows it to fire more fully charged shots and turf more before needing to refill the ink tank.
 * Just three ability points, or one sub, of Ink Saver (Main) increases the number of fully charged shots fired with a full ink tank from eleven to twelve.
 * Six ability points, or two subs, are enough to further increase the number of fully charged shots to thirteen.

Ever since its introduction in Version, Main Power Up has made the Bamboozler 14 Mk I a more viable option for an anchor. It increases the damage output of all of the Bamboozler 14 Mk I's shots – tap shots, partially charged shots, and fully charged shots – by up to 20%. However, the damage of any shot cannot be increased above 99.9 HP — preventing the Bamboozler 14 Mk I from having a true one-hit-splat, and the amount of Main Power Up needed to reach this value ever since Version – 44 ability points, achievable with either two mains and seven subs or three mains and five subs – is excessively high.

Fortunately, some slightly smaller amounts of ability points can be enough to optimize the damage output of the Bamboozler 14 Mk I, depending on how much Ink Resistance Up an opponent is equipped with. For example, an opponent equipped with ten ability points, or one main of Ink Resistance Up, delays the damage taken from your team's ink on surfaces by 20 frames, or 0.33 seconds, and reduces the damage taken from 0.3 HP/f (health points per frame) to 0.2 HP/f.
 * 30 ability points – equal to three mains – of Main Power Up increase the damage per shot of the Bamboozler 14 Mk I to 97 HP, which is enough to splat the above opponent if they have been in contact with your team's ink for at least 35 frames, or 0.583 seconds.
 * 36 ability points – three mains and two subs – increase the damage per shot to 98.4, which is enough to splat said opponent if they have touched your team's ink for at least 28 frames, or 0.467 seconds.
 * 42 ability points – three mains and four subs – increase the damage to 99.6 — enough to splat the above opponent if they have touched your team's ink for 22 frames, or 0.367 seconds. This amount has been recommended by multiple sources, since it provides a high amount of damage while leaving just enough gear slots for other important abilities.

Quick Super Jump decreases both the "charge" time before and the travel time of a Super Jump, allowing its user to escape more quickly. While a Bamboozler 14 Mk I user has more mobility than users of most other anchor's weapons, they can still benefit from the ability to more quickly escape from rushing opponents and maintain valuable special gauge progress for their Tenta Missiles.
 * Just three ability points, or one sub, of Quick Super Jump decreases the "charge" time by 22 frames, or 0.367 seconds.
 * Six ability points, or two subs, further decreases the "charge" time by 30 frames, or 0.5 seconds.