Competitive:Snipewriter 5H

Unofficial!

This article discusses content that is not part of the official Splatoon series but is part of the community or competitive gaming space.

For information about the Snipewriter 5H, see Snipewriter 5H.

Splatoon 3

Splatoon 3

Snipewriter 5H

Abbreviations	Snipewriter, Pencil
Sub	Sprinkler
Special	Tacticooler
Base damage	40–60 (Partial charge) 60 (Full charge)
Base duration
Ink consumption	40%
Special points	200p
Special depletion
Role	Support/Anchor
Strengths	Range, mobility
Weaknesses	Lackluster kit, High ink consumption, cannot store a charge

The Snipwriter 5H is a charger with the unique gimmick of having five shots with one full charge, at the cost of lower shot power. Its mobility lets the weapon play similarly to the Bamboozler 14 Mk I although with more range and higher ink consumption. Its kit however, does not enable the weapon's strengths.

Use

The range allows the Snipewriter 5H user to an anchor role, while the turf and chip damage allows the user to also play a supportive role.

• Being a charger, the Snipewriter 5H has to charge before firing.
  • Partial charges, while they do have some range advantages over some weapons, do not deal the maximum damage and only gets one shot. These should only be used if under fire against opponents or to follow up after firing a fully charged shot.
  • A full charge takes about the same time as a Splat Charger. This is the only way to get the five shots but it also leaves the user vulnerable. Be away from enemy fire to safely charge.
• The Snipwriter 5H, after fully charging, gets 5 shots, giving the user unique strengths.
  • Its five shots allow the user to get multiple opponents on a single charge
  • It also lets user afford to miss some shots as only two are needed to splat an opponent.
  • The five shots can also deal damage to objects from a safer distance.
• Another strength of the Snipewriter 5H is its mobility.
  • The mobility allows the user to follow up after hitting opponents.
• It is important to not position like a Splatterscope or Hydra Splatling.
  • It can usually be difficult to hit opponents twice as they can easily escape the effective range of the user if the user is too far back.
  • While not on the frontlines, the Snipewriter 5H user should be close to the frontlines where it can consistently affect the opponents.
  • Being closer can also aid chip damage to opponents, allowing other more slayer weapons to finish them.
• The Snipwriter 5H cannot store a charge, leaving the user reliant on its strafe speed if it wants to move with a charge.
• Along with being unable to store a charge, the Snipewriter 5H has some other weaknesses.
  • It takes 40% of the ink tank to fully charge. The user will run ink quickly during a match.
  • The damage it deals to objects such as the Crab Tank and Big Bubbler is low. While it can deal damage from a distance, it will take a long time to break objects.

The Sprinkler can be used in a variety of ways to help a Snipewriter 5H user:

• Turfing areas that are either out of reach or unsafe to approach.
• Maintaining turf onto highly contested areas, such as on the Tower. A Sprinkler placed high on a wall or ceiling can also be a distraction for an opponent.
• Acting as a light shield in a pinch. Sprinklers have 120 hit points but are easily destroyed by opponents armed with Object Shredder.

Tacticooler can help the user and the enemy team push in.

• Place a Tacticooler where most the user's team can get to it. Placing it too far back or forward will not help a team as much.
• When equipped, Tacticooler provides many different abilities, all helping a team push in.
  • Run Speed Up, Swim Speed Up, and Ink Resistance Up helps the users move faster and evade enemy attacks
  • Intensify Action helps most weapons be more mobile and consistent with the jump spread being equal to shooting on the ground.
  • Special Saver and Quick Respawn both reduce the punishment of getting splatted, allowing the users to push in without worrying about losing special progress or being out of the battle for too long.
  • Quick Super Jump allows you to jump out of sticky situations extremely fast.
• When under the effect of Tacticooler, be aware that arrows will reveal your location while swimming. If attempting to shark, it may be better to not get the effects to stay hidden.
• The Tacticooler itself can be used as a mini shield, helping the Snipewriter 5H user stay safer if in the frontlines.

Synergy

Like other, more conventional chargers, the Snipewriter 5H 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:

• 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 Snipewriter 5H, 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.

Although the Snipewriter 5H is better at turfing than traditional chargers, it is still less efficient at turfing than other weapons, due to its high ink consumption and charge time 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:

• 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.

The Snipewriter 5H'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

• Users of other anchor's weapons each have to confront an opposing Snipewriter user differently:
  • Traditional chargers – such as 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 Snipewriter user.
    • Focus more on turfing and providing support fire for your teammates while keeping an eye on the opposing Snipewriter user's position.
    • Only challenge the opposing Snipewriter 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 Flingza Roller (212.64 DU) cannot outrange the Snipewriter, it can simply farm Tenta Missiles and use it to harass the opposing Bamboozler user.
  • Thanks to charge storing, both the Classic Squiffer (167.65 DU) and the Nautilus 47 (165 DU) are more mobile than the Snipewriter to compensate for their relative lack of range.
• The quick, powerful shots of the Snipewriter effectively prohibit shorter-ranged weapon users from rushing an opposing Snipewriter user. Rely on flanking or sharking to get within range of an opposing Snipewriter user.
• Throwing bombs or Toxic Mist at an opposing Snipewriter user can briefly force them out of position and throw off their aim and charges. 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.

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.

Ink Saver (Main)

The Snipewriter 5H consumes a lot of ink. Normally, the Snipewriter 5H can charge 2 times without slowing down.

• 13 ability points - 1 main 1 sub can let the Snipewriter can charge 3 times with out slowing down. This means the player can fire 15 shots without having to refill their Ink tank.

Last-Ditch Effort

Snipewriters are an ink-hungry weapon. When equipped, Last-Ditch Effort grants 24 ability points of three different stackable abilities for the last 30 seconds, or when the ranked score is 50 or below. These abilities include:

• Ink Recovery Up
• Ink Saver (Main)
• Ink Saver (Sub)

Ink Saver (Main) is the most useful for the wielder, allowing them reduce the amount of ink consumed by using the weapon in general and more quickly pursue and pressure the opponent upon returning from spawn.

• • This can also be used as an alternative for running Ink Saver (Main)

Special Charge Up

Having the Tacticooler as the Snipewriter 5H’s special helps it be a good support weapon. It takes the Snipewriter 12 shots on empty turf to activate the Tacticooler without any Special Charge Up. Having Special Charge Up helps the player use the Tacticooler as many times as possible so that they can support their teammates.

• 6 ability points - 2 subs makes your Points for Special go down from 200 to 190
• 10 ability points - 1 main makes your Points for Special go down to 184
• 13 ability points - 1 main 1 sub makes your Points for Special go down to 180.

Swim Speed Up

Swim Speed Up helps boost swim speed of the user, allowing the user to get quickly to the frontlines, or escape sticky situations.

• 6 ability points - 2 subs makes your swimming speed go from 1.92 du/f to 2.01 du/f
• 16 ability points - 1 main 2 subs makes your swimming speed go to 2.14 du/f

Run Speed Up

Due to not having a charge hold, running is the only way the user can move while having a charge. Being already mobile, Run Speed Up can boost the user's mobility, allowing the user to follow up to opponents.

• 6 ability points - 2 subs lets you strafe at 0.63 du/f as compared to 0.6
• 16 ability points - 1 main 2 subs lets you strafe at 0.67 du/f as compared to 0.6
• 26 ability points - 2 mains 2 subs lets you strafe at 0.7 du/f as compared to 0.6

Sub Resistance Up

Sub Resistance Up will only reduce the damage taken from opposing sub 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.

• 3 ability points - one sub - has a lot of utility and therefore should be ran on any weapon.
  • Getting hit by splash damage from a bomb will not make the user visible on the map.

Quick Super Jump

Using Quick Super Jump allows Snipewriter users to more easily return and retreat to or from the battles.

• 3 ability points - 1 sub decreases the Super Jump time from 1.33 seconds to 0.97 seconds.

Ink Resistance Up

Every player, including an Snipewriter 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:

Ability points	Mains	Subs	Invulnera- bility time (frames)	Rate of damage (HP/f)	Maximum damage (HP)	Run speed in opposing ink (DU/f)	Jump height in opposing ink
0	0	0	0	0.3	40.0	0.24	0.800
3	0	1	10	0.2	38.0	0.33	0.854
6	0	2	15	0.2	36.2	0.39	0.888

Thermal Ink

With multiple shots that can hit opponents, it is possible that they can escape while being hit once. Thermal Ink can take advantage of this to allow the user to know where they are, preventing flanks from that opponent.

Respawn Punisher

Not recommended. A Snipewriter 5H user will not be as safe and far back from enemy fire often, meaning it can get splatted more times than splatting others. Snipewriters also generally get assists more often than splats, which Respawn Punisher does not affect.