N-ZAP '85

"Complete your retro style with an N-Zap. What's your pick, 85 or 89?"

- SplatoonUK

The N-ZAP '85 is a Shooter in Splatoon and the first weapon to be added to the game as downloadable content. It was released on June 1, 2015 alongside the stage Port Mackerel and Ranked Battles.

Description
"Each shot is kind of weak, but the high rate of fire makes up for it. This weapon's popularity is due not only to its helpful special but also to its snazzy futuristic design."

- In-Game Description

"A new weapon called the N-ZAP ‘85 has been added to Splatoon! It’s apparently based on the design of something called the NES Zapper that was released in 1985? Doesn’t ring a bell. While it’s not the most powerful weapon out there, it’s got a great rate of fire and it comes in a set with Splat Bombs and the Echolocator."

- Live from the Squid Research Lab

Demonstration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PdR4HIdCzU

Competitive Viability
All three N-Zaps are pretty average altogether, and the '85 is the most average of the bunch. It has weak shots, making it a four hit kill, which can be problematic at times, but luckily a fast fire rate makes this less of a problem. The range isn't the best, so it may be challenging to get kills from a distance. Luckily, the weapon is highly versatile, having an offensive Splat Bomb sub and supportive Echolocator special, giving it options on how to be played. The '85 may not be as great as the N-ZAP '83, and certainly inferior to other shooters like the Tentatek Splattershot, but it can hold its own in competitive play under the right circumstances.

Tips

 * Its fast fire rate and high spread allows faster turf cover. It is more recommended than the Splattershot for turf coverage.
 * Due to the weak range and high fire rate, it is recommended going up close to land more hits quickly.
 * Because of its incredible movement speed, stacking more movement such as Run Speed Up and Swim Speed Up will allow for very quick movement, making it much more challenging for opponents to hit you
 * Damage Up is also recommended, at least one main's worth, to insure that it stays as only 4 hits to kill against most players who use Defense Up

Countering

 * Catch them off guard and splat them before they can react.
 * Use longer ranged weapons, such as the Splatterscope, to splat players using this weapon, as their weak fire range will make it challenging for them to engage you from a distance.
 * Take advantage of the weak damage of each shot, and finish them quickly

Damage Against Defended Enemies
(based upon the number of defense attributes on the enemy and the number of shots by the weapon without any damage attributes on the user's gear)

Range
The following ranges were calculated by the maximum shot range in the Shooting Range. Note that the range for a damaging hit is always slightly lower than that of regular ink coverage.




 * Ink Range - 3.75
 * Ink Range (Jumping) - 4.00
 * Damage Range (Target) - 2.50
 * Damage Range (Arcing/Jumping) - 2.75

Trivia

 * This weapon is based on the 1985 version of the NES Zapper. The name N-ZAP '85 also derives from this.
 * While this weapon has nearly identical stats to the Splattershot Jr., it fires straight instead of spreading shots in random directions, giving it better accuracy at the cost of spreading ink slower.

Name Origin
N-ZAP '85 is a shortened form of NES Zapper 1985. '85 is based on the year the original NES Zapper model was released.

The N-ZAP '85 has the same name origin in all regions.