Competitive:Clash Blaster Neo

Unofficial

Splatoon 2
Like the original Clash Blaster, the Clash Blaster Neo is a short-ranged, rapid fire blaster designed for suppressing opponents at close range. However, it has a kit more suited for its playstyle, unlike that of its Vanilla variant. Unfortunately, its short range, poor turfing, and slow firing rate compared to shooters still restrict its effectiveness in certain matchups and situations.

Use
The Clash Blaster Neo is a short-ranged slayer's weapon, intended more for stealth rather than brute force: While the Curling Bomb is not as versatile as other bombs, it still has a few practical uses for the Clash Blaster Neo user: Tenta Missiles can be used to locate and pressure opponents and force them out of position without having to commit too far forward:
 * Its direct hit range of 95 DU – shorter than the range of most other weapons, such as the Neo Splash-o-matic (110.03 DU) and the Kensa Splattershot (116.99 DU) – prevents its user from challenging most opponents head-on.
 * Even when factoring in the maximum splash radius of 40 DU to effectively increase the main weapon's range to 135 DU, it is still outranged by other commonly used slayer and support weapons, such as the L-3 Nozzlenose (141.36 DU), the Mini Splatling (130.1-154.1 DU), and the Dualie Squelchers (160.396 DU).
 * Therefore, rely more on flanking and sharking to consistently splat opponents.
 * Its shots have the largest splash radius (20-40 DU) among all blasters (17.85-35.7 DU for the Luna Blaster, 16.5-33 DU for all others):
 * The splash radius is 40 DU if the shot explodes in the air and 20 DU if it hits a solid surface.
 * Besides effectively increasing the main weapon's range, it greatly contributes to the main weapon's greatest strength: short range suppression. Opponents who get caught within its range are forced to either retreat or get splatted.
 * However, its low damage (30 HP) and relatively slow fire rate (20 frames) compared to shooters make it slower at splatting opponents than most other weapons, especially when relying on splash damage alone.
 * The Clash Blaster Neo is potentially a nightmare matchup for any opposing Splat Brella or Undercover Brella user. Fire around the opponent's shield and use the splash damage to splat the opposing brella user. This does not work as well against an opposing Tenta Brella user however.
 * Its shots travel slower than those of rapid-firing weapons — 9.35 DU/f versus 22 DU/f for the Kensa Splattershot, for example. This means that a Clash Blaster Neo user has to lead their shots in order to land direct hits.
 * The Clash Blaster Neo becomes less accurate (by 8 degrees) immediately after becoming airborne, whether from a jump or a drop.
 * Waiting 40 frames – during the descent of a jump – will allow the outer reticle to shrink back and the accuracy to improve for up to 70 frames.
 * Main Power Up reduces the shot deviation during a jump by up to 50%.
 * The Clash Blaster Neo's damage varies depending on whether a target is hit directly, and if not, whether the shot exploded on a solid surface:
 * 60 HP per direct hit — enough to splat most opponents in two hits
 * 30 HP per hit of splash damage if the shot's explosion does not hit a solid surface
 * 15 HP per hit of splash damage if the shot's explosion hits a solid surface
 * Thus, when firing up a ledge or around either an obstacle or an opponent's brella shield for splash damage, avoid hitting solid surfaces to maximize damage.
 * The Clash Blaster Neo suffers some lag time after each shot compared to rapid-firing weapons, making it punishable after a miss:
 * The interval between firing and either morphing or using a sub weapon is 20 frames — far longer than the 4 frames of Kensa Splattershot.
 * Its firing rate is 20 frames between shots (3 shots per second) – far slower than the Kensa Splattershot's 6 frames between shots (10 shots per second).
 * Therefore, unless attacking an opponent up a ledge or around either an obstacle or their brella shield, go for direct hits whenever possible.
 * The Clash Blaster Neo's lightweight nature gives its user faster running and swimming speed than usual.
 * However, its movement speed while firing (0.65 DU/f) is slow compared to weapons of comparable range. Combined with the long lag after shots, the Clash Blaster Neo is less immobile and more vulnerable to attack after each shot than are typical shooters.
 * Also, its middling ink efficiency and poor turfing make its user prone to getting surrounded by opposing ink if fired recklessly. Avoid overextending into the opponents' territory and provide yourself a means to retreat whenever possible.
 * The Clash Blaster Neo operates best in areas and stages that are less open, such as around a corner or beneath a short ledge, where an opponent has less room to avoid shots and outmaneuver the Clash Blaster Neo user. Walleye Warehouse and Camp Triggerfish are just a couple stages suitable for a Clash Blaster Neo.
 * It leaves a trail of ink behind as it travels along any inkable non-vertical surface, paving a quick avenue to either attack or escape. This trait provides the Clash Blaster Neo user the mobility it needs to offset the main weapon's inability to efficiently turf.
 * Players equipped with Ninja Squid can follow their Curling Bomb trails without being detected to sneak up on opponents. Swimming slowly can also help avoid detection within the trail.
 * Note that continuously following Curling Bomb trails – even when using Ninja Squid – can get predictable. Keep opponents guessing by sending a Curling Bomb towards them without following its trail, which can also create a distraction to occupy the opponents' valuable time.
 * 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.
 * To throw a Curling Bomb onto a ledge, jump and release the bomb upon reaching the apex of the jump.
 * 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.
 * 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 using them until after their 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. Sometimes, 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
While a team might get away with having one or two users of short-ranged weapons, such as the Kensa Splattershot, having a team composition with too many short-ranged weapons and no longer-ranged weapons to provide support fire is often disadvantageous for a number of reasons: Because blasters are generally poor at turfing, their users 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:
 * An opponent with a long-ranged weapon can more aggressively position themselves to zone out the entire shorter-ranged team.
 * The opposing slayers can play more aggressively, knowing that there is no long-ranged threat to pick them off from afar.
 * 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

 * Bomb Defense Up DX reduces the splash damage from Tenta Missiles (from 50 HP to 48.3 HP), improving its user's survivability against them.
 * Most other slayer's weapons and some support weapons can zone out an opposing Clash Blaster Neo with their superior range:
 * Maintain a distance from the opposing Clash Blaster Neo user that is outside their range but within your weapon's range.
 * Have a means to back up and retreat from the splash damage. Do not attempt to fight back until you are out of range of the opposing Clash Blaster Neo user.
 * Whenever possible, exploit the opposing Clash Blaster Neo user's poor turfing by surrounding them with ink. Sub weapons and teammates can prove useful.
 * In general, engage an opposing Clash Blaster Neo user in a more open area – where there is more room to avoid both their shots and any Curling Bombs, zone them out, and surround them with ink – than in a closed area.
 * The Splat Brella and Undercover Brella and their variants cannot sufficiently protect their users from the splash damage of the Clash Blaster Neo.
 * A long-ranged weapon, such as a charger or most splatlings, can attack an opposing Clash Blaster Neo user from long distance with impunity. However, proactively remain farther back on a ledge or further around a corner to avoid any splash damage.
 * A competent Clash Blaster Neo user is likely capable at both flanking and sharking:
 * Keep track of all four members of the opposing team – which ones are present, which ones are splatted, and which ones are back at their spawn point.
 * Check the map periodically for opposing ink forming around flanks to anticipate a flanking attack.
 * To prevent sharking, check suspicious puddles of the opponents' ink, preferably with a thrown sub weapon.
 * Weapons that track opponents, such as Point Sensors, temporarily prevent an opponent from sharking and makes them an easier target for long-ranged teammates to pick off.
 * When pursued by an opposing Clash Blaster Neo user, using almost any sub weapon (except for Squid Beakons) can either delay their pursuit or deter them from chasing.
 * 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.
 * 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. Due to its short range, the Clash Blaster Neo requires its user to be in close quarters before engaging an opponent, who might be inclined to use bombs to either zone them out or flush them out while they are sharking. Ever since its introduction in Version 4.3.0, Bomb Defense Up DX will not only reduce the damage taken from opposing sub and special weapons that are not one-hit-splat but will also reduce the duration of the tracking effects of certain opponent's sub and special weapons, such as Point Sensors and Ink Mines, allowing the user of this ability to evade detection more easily. Just three ability points, or one sub, offer plenty of utility:
 * The splash damage of most bombs is reduced from 30 HP to 28.6 HP. This reduction in damage provides two benefits:
 * It prevents its user from being exposed on their opponents' map by the splash damage of most single bombs.
 * Ink Armor will not break due to splash damage from a single bomb whose splash damage normally inflicts 30 HP of damage.
 * The splash damage of near-misses from either Tenta Missiles or Inkjet, the minimum splash damage of bubbles, and the collision damage from Baller are all reduced from 50 HP to 48.3 HP, enabling one to survive two hits from any of these specific means of special weapon damage.

Unless a Clash Blaster Neo wielder is on an extended splatting streak, they can expect to get splatted often. When equipped, Comeback grants 10 ability points of six different stackable abilities for twenty seconds after respawning from getting splatted by an opponent: The former three abilities and Swim Speed Up are the most useful for the Clash Blaster Neo, allowing its user to conserve ink and more quickly pursue and pressure the opponent upon returning from spawn.

Whether traveling across the stage or sharking in place, a Clash Blaster Neo user is expected to come in contact with the opponent's ink on various surfaces, which can both be damaging and reduce mobility. Ink Resistance Up not only partially offsets the reduction in mobility but also delays the damage taken from contact with opposing ink.
 * 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.
 * …increases the normal running speed in opposing ink from 0.24 DU/f to 0.33 DU/f.
 * …increases the jumping height in opposing ink from 0.8 to 0.854.
 * Six ability point, 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.
 * …increases the normal running speed in opposing ink to 0.39 DU/f.
 * …increases the jumping height in opposing ink to 0.888.

Although Curling Bombs are not the best sub weapon for either zoning out or denying areas from opponents, they are good approach tools for a Clash Blaster Neo user, who struggles to turf efficiently and, as a result, has low mobility without them. While Curling Bombs are not always the most suitable bombs for spamming, Ink Saver (Sub) still conserves ink for the main weapon after each use of Curling Bomb and allows a Clash Blaster Neo user to both more readily use a Curling Bomb to escape.
 * 13 ability points, or one main and one sub, are enough to reduce the ink consumption per Curling Bomb use from 70% to 60.61%, increasing the amount of remaining shots from the main weapon from 7.5 to 9.85.

Ninja Squid reduces detection by opponents while swimming on non-vertical surfaces. It allows its user to swim at full speed undetected at the cost of about 20% of the maximum swimming speed as of Version 3.0.0. Because a Clash Blaster Neo user has difficulty attacking most opponents head-on, Ninja Squid can make it easier for its user to shark and more safely approach opponents.
 * As of Version 3.0.0, Ninja Squid reduces the maximum swim speed of the Clash Blaster Neo from 2.02 units per frame to 1.81 units per frame.

Quick Respawn shortens respawn time after getting splatted (under specific conditions), encouraging a Clash Blaster Neo user to remain aggressive even after getting splatted.
 * 16 ability points – one main and two subs – are enough to reduce the respawn time from 8.5 seconds to 6.67 seconds.
 * 26 ability points – two mains and two subs – are enough to reduce the respawn time from 8.5 seconds to 5.8 seconds.

Quick Super Jump decreases both the "charge" time before and the travel time of a Super Jump. Clash Blaster Neo users will benefit since Quick Super Jump allows them to both return to the front lines more quickly and escape unfavorable situations more easily to preserve special gauge progress.
 * One sub, or 3 ability points, of Quick Super Jump decreases the "charge" time by 22 frames, or 0.36 seconds.

Super Jumping to a teammate after respawning carries the risk of getting splatted upon landing, due to the appearance of a Super Jump indicator. When equipped, Stealth Jump better covers this indicator from long distance opponents, allowing its user to more safely return to the front lines and maintain pressure on the opponent.

As a short-ranged blaster that struggles to turf, the Clash Blaster Neo provides its user less mobility than shooters and dualies of comparable range. Swim Speed Up enables its user to more quickly close the distance towards an opponent, more quickly respond to an opponents' push, or even escape unfavorable situations.
 * 16 ability points – one main and two subs – increase the swim speed from 2.02 to 2.19 units per frame.
 * Swim Speed Up can reduce the swim speed penalty from Ninja Squid. However, it takes at least 28 ability points – either one main and six subs or about two mains and three subs – of Swim Speed Up for a Clash Blaster Neo user to fully offset the swimming speed penalty of Ninja Squid.
 * Therefore, a Clash Blaster Neo user with Ninja Squid will have to decide between either having fewer ability points available for other abilites or swimming at less than the base maximum speed. For example, just 13 ability points – one main and one sub – are enough to restore the swim speed of a Clash Blaster Neo user with Ninja Squid to 1.92 units per frame.