Competitive:Sploosh-o-matic 7

Unofficial

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. The Cold Blooded ability will reduce the amount of time the player is tracked by Echolocator and point sensors by 25%. This can help the player stay hidden while ambushing foes.

The Ninja Squid ability conceals any sign of swimming in ink on horizontal surfaces, allowing the users of shooters with shorter range to advance and ambush foes without being detected.

The Quick Respawn ability shortens the player's respawn time after being splatted. As a short range shooter, the Sploosh-o-Matic will sometimes result in the player being splatted at the same time they splat the enemy. Quick Respawn also helps support a more aggressive playstyle.

Splatoon 2
The Sploosh-o-matic 7 is a very mobile, rapid-firing, but very short-ranged weapon with a high rate of damage. Compared to the other two variants of the Sploosh-o-matic, it has a kit that is more versatile and better suited for its intended role.

Use
While the Sploosh-o-matic 7 is a slayer's weapon, its lack of range and accuracy forces it to be played differently from how typical slayer's weapons are played: The Splat Bomb, normally a versatile and complementary part of many slayer's weapon builds, has an even larger role for a Sploosh-o-matic 7 user: If used properly, the Ultra Stamp can tilt the game in the user's team's favor: The various characteristics of the Sploosh-o-matic 7 and its build make it most suitable for Rainmaker:
 * Its effective range of 75.64 DU is shorter than that of almost every other weapon in the game, meaning that most other main weapons and bombs can zone out the Sploosh-o-matic 7. Therefore, attempting to attack competent opponents head-on with this weapon will usually lead to a one way trip back to the spawn point.
 * Its poor accuracy, combined with its very short range, makes the Sploosh-o-matic 7 ineffective at hitting targets from a distance, particularly at an upward angle.
 * The most effective means a Sploosh-o-matic 7 user can splat opponents with the main weapon is through either timely flanking or careful sharking.
 * One advantage that the Sploosh-o-matic 7 has over most other weapons is its extremely high mobility, which is due to both its high movement speed while firing (0.80 DU/frame) and very short lag after firing (2 frames), enabling it to move and react more rapidly.
 * The Sploosh-o-matic 7 is also very quick and thorough at turfing, allowing it to easily maintain map control and build up the special gauge.
 * Pushing into important areas of the stage, such as the opponents' street or platform.
 * Flushing out opposing anchors from perches, hindering their ability to control space with their range.
 * Poking at and zoning out opponents during the neutral phase, stalling an opponent's push, or providing space to escape.
 * Damaging or destroying an opponent's brella shield, Splash Wall, or Baller or the Rainmaker shield, while detonating on contact.
 * The Splat Bomb will also inflate or pop a teammate's bubbles but deflate or diffuse an opponent's bubbles.
 * Any opponents caught within the Splat Bomb's explosion will get damaged or splatted.
 * An opponent's Splashdown or Booyah Bomb will defuse any Splat Bombs it comes in contact with, so hold off throwing them until after the special weapon finishes.
 * If Ultra Stamp is activated too far from an opponent, especially one with a long-ranged weapon with a straight trajectory (such as a charger or splatling), the opponent can fire in between hammer swings and splat the Ultra Stamp wielder. Either get close enough to an opponent or shark and wait for the opponent to come close before activating the Ultra Stamp, providing little to no time to react.
 * Do not run in a predictable manner while swinging the Ultra Stamp, as an adept opponent can outmaneuver past a Ultra Stamp user and splat them from behind.
 * It is possible to swim in friendly ink while Ultra Stamp is active. This allows an Ultra Stamp wielder to maneuver more easily than while swinging, climb vertical surfaces, cross grates, and – most importantly – hide more easily before striking.
 * Swinging the Ultra Stamp in midair can splat opponents who are higher than ground level, such as on the edge of a ledge that is just too high to reach by jumping — and even at the apex of a Splashdown!
 * The Ultra Stamp can quickly destroy Brella shields, most sub weapons — including Splash Walls, and Ballers, allowing one to break through opposing defenses and stop opponents' pushes. Just stay away from opposing bombs that are just about to detonate.
 * While the Ultra Stamp can quickly pop the Rainmaker shield, as it expands, the shield can splat an Ultra Stamp user who is too close. Keep a safe distance by constantly jumping back while striking the shield.
 * Do not forget that the Ultra Stamp can be thrown by pressing :
 * When faced against an opponent with a long-ranged weapon (such as a charger or splatling) from long distance, it is usually wiser to throw the Ultra Stamp at the opponent than to either charge or swim towards them. A well-aimed thrown Ultra Stamp can throw off an opponent's aim or displace them from their spot, potentially providing enough time to close the distance.
 * To maximize the use of an Ultra Stamp, throw it towards an opponent at or near the end of its 9 second duration after splatting any nearby opponents. An Ultra Stamp should only be thrown early if no other options are present, such as preventing a faraway opposing Rainmaker carrier from taking the lead.
 * Because the Rainmaker is a freely mobile objective, the mode favors teams that are agile and well-coordinated, and the Sploosh-o-matic 7 is an extremely mobile weapon on both offense and defense.
 * The high DPS of the Sploosh-o-matic 7 and its included Splat Bombs enable its wielder to quickly pop the Rainmaker shield. However, its very short range leaves it vulnerable to the Rainmaker shield's explosion if the opponents pop it instead, so be wary of the status of the Rainmaker shield and have either an escape route or a protective obstacle nearby, such as a wall or bumper.
 * As a slayer, a Sploosh-o-matic 7 user generally will not carry the Rainmaker but will instead turf a path through which a teammate can carry the Rainmaker, as well as maintain map control and directly engage opponents.
 * Besides popping the Rainmaker shield, Splat Bombs can be used to push into the opponents' side of the map and stall an opponents' push.
 * The Ultra Stamp can quickly pop the Rainmaker shield (if performed carefully, see above) and both break through opposing defenses to lead a Rainmaker push and stop an opponent's push by destroying Brella shields and Splash Walls and negating an opponent's Baller or Bomb Launcher. Just remember to not deploy the Ultra Stamp too far away from the opponent — unless trying to splat an opponent carrying the Rainmaker with a thrown Ultra Stamp.

Synergy
While one user of a short-ranged weapon such as the Sploosh-o-matic 7 might get away with a lack of range, having too many short-ranged weapons on a team without a longer-ranged weapon to provide support fire is often disadvantageous for a number of reasons: The Sploosh-o-matic 7's rapid turfing and farmable Ultra Stamp means that a fellow slayer does not necessarily need to turf or build up their specials as often, freeing them to use other complementary weapons:
 * 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.
 * Weapons that trade turfing for range, such as the Splattershot Pro or medium- to long-ranged blasters, can complement a Sploosh-o-matic 7 very well.
 * Users of slayer's weapons with high special gauge requirements, such as the Kensa Splattershot Pro or the Soda Slosher (both 210p), can rely more on their main and sub weapons, knowing that their Sploosh-o-matic 7 teammate will often have Ultra Stamp ready.

Countermeasures

 * The very short range of the Sploosh-o-matic 7 makes it easy for opponents to zone it out with most other main weapons and bombs. Be wary of the Sploosh-o-matic 7's own Splat Bombs, and always be aware of when an opposing Sploosh-o-matic 7 has Ultra Stamp ready on the HUD to avoid getting ambushed.
 * A competent Sploosh-o-matic 7 user is more likely to attack via flanking or 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.
 * When pursuing a Sploosh-o-matic 7, be wary of any Splat Bombs they might plant while retreating, such as around a corner or after climbing a ledge.
 * An opponent's Ultra Stamp, while intimidating, can be escaped or defeated:
 * If an opponent is using Ultra Stamp too far, a long-ranged, non-slosher weapon (such as a charger or splatling) can fire in between swings to splat them.
 * If an opposing Ultra Stamp is fast approaching, anticipate its movement and attempt to maneuver behind it and splat its user.
 * Remember that an opponent swinging an Ultra Stamp cannot travel up vertical surfaces without an ink trail.
 * Brella shields and Splash Walls are ineffective as they are easily destroyed by the Ultra Stamp.

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. As a short-ranged slayer's weapon, the Sploosh-o-matic 7 requires its user to be in close quarters with the opponent, who might be inclined to use bombs for zoning out the Sploosh-o-matic 7 user. 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.

Any good user of a short-ranged weapon like the Sploosh-o-matic 7 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.

Ink Saver (Sub) allows more frequent use of Splat Bombs and saves ink for the main weapon after each Splat Bomb used. Because a Sploosh-o-matic 7 user depends on their sub weapon more than most other slayers do on both offense and defense, having the ability to more frequently use Splat Bombs is invaluable. Over 50% of sampled Sploosh-o-matic 7 players use this ability.
 * 13 ability points – one mains and one sub – reduce the ink consumption per Splat Bomb thrown from 70% of the ink tank to just above 60.6%.

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 Sploosh-o-matic 7 user has difficulty attacking most opponents head-on, Ninja Squid can make it easier for its user to shark and more safely approach opponents. Over 25% of sampled Sploosh-o-matic 7 players use this ability in Splat Zones and Tower Control, while it is uncommonly used in other modes.
 * As of Version 3.0.0, Ninja Squid reduces the maximum swim speed of the Sploosh-o-matic 7 from 2.02 units per frame to 1.81 units per frame.

Object Shredder can not only help pop the Rainmaker shield more quickly but can also help more easily destroy opponents' Splash Walls, Ink Armor, and Ballers. Brella shields, however, are not affected by Object Shredder. Over 60% of sampled Sploosh-o-matic 7 players use this ability in Rainmaker.

Quick Respawn shortens respawn time after getting splatted (under specific conditions), encouraging a Sploosh-o-matic 7 user to remain aggressive even after getting splatted.
 * 26 ability points – two mains and two subs – are enough to reduce the respawn time from 8.5 seconds to 5.8 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. However, in Rainmaker, a Sploosh-o-matic 7 user will have to decide between the Shoe-specific abilities Object Shredder and Stealth Jump.

Sub Power Up increases the throwing range of Splat Bombs, offsetting the very short range of the main weapon. Over 40% of sampled Sploosh-o-matic 7 players use it in Rainmaker, and over 25% of sampled players use it in other modes.

As a short-ranged weapon that excels at flanking, the Sploosh-o-matic 7 greatly benefits if it is able to swim faster. 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. Over 80% of sampled Sploosh-o-matic 7 players use this ability.
 * 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 Sploosh-o-matic 7 user to fully offset the swimming speed penalty of Ninja Squid.
 * Therefore, a Sploosh-o-matic 7 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 Sploosh-o-matic 7 user with Ninja Squid to 1.92 units per frame.