Blaster is the best class! In my opinion anyways. Obviously this isn't a universal fact, but in my tiny world in my brain, I believe that blasters are the best class. Not necessarily for game meta reasons (I don't really follow what the pros do), or because they're broken and somehow they are exploiting the game mechanics (some people do think this!), but because they are just so fun to play! The way blasters work and play just feels so satisfying, and also they have not one but two different hit sound effects! I'd say that's a big win!

It may or may not be obvious according to the image above, but I am also a massive Luna Blaster main. Perhaps this page is made out of bias? Absolutely. Playing one of the most infamous and one of the least used weapons (it's not the least used weapon, but it's up there!) has its perks, such as being able to play against people who aren't Luna Blaster mains most of the time. Whenever I do see another Luna Blaster out there, though, I always gasp. It's like seeing someone with the same hat as you on the street. Freaky!

Anyways, being a fulltime Luna Blaster main has also opened the door for me to pick up other blasters and to start appreciating them as they should be. And this page will do so! My goals for this page is for it to contain all my thoughts on every single blaster there is in the game. I may have more to say for some blasters than others, but do know that I sincerely enjoy playing all of them. Becoming a Luna main came with the perk of patience and understanding. :p As a side note, this list of blasters is referenced from the list of blasters currently in Splatoon 3, as that is the game where I am actively maining blasters. I have played some blasters in Splatoon 2, but not enough to truly notice them!

I Love Blaster Mechanics.

Plain and simple! I just love blaster mechanics! I love how they are all similar due in part because of their shot type: the Blast. It is essentially a shot that then explodes into a bigger blast! This bigger blast becomes the radius of the shot, or non-directs. You can damage people with non-direct hits however it does significantly less damage. The real ticket is when you land direct hits, which not only gives you an amazing satisfying CLANK! noise, but it also does full damage!

If we visualize a blaster's shot as a fire work, we can also see how this blast radius can be used in many creative ways! It shoots thin like a Splattershot, but when it hits its max range, it explodes! Knowing your range is crucial for every weapon in the game, but for blasters its even more important. Every time we shoot a shot, we have a few frames where we are effectively frozen in place (Depending on which weapon! Clash Blaster kinda breaks lots of rules, and I think the Rapid Blasters don't follow this exactly). This means that timing is crucial with shots, as well as placement. With these thin outward shots, we can shoot directly parallel to a obstacle right in front of us, but the blast radius means that whoever is directly behind this obstacle will get hit! This is probably where a lot of the "Blasters are broken" comments come from. But I just want to say, it's just using your terrain to your advantage! Not to mention that Rollers and some Shooters can literally do the same.

The difference between a Blaster and those classes though is its quick abilities to rack splats. If I recall correctly, it takes a Clash Blaster around 4 direct hits to splat someone, and indirects takes even longer. (Making it more in par with a Shooter but instead it's constant Blast Noise SFX) However, something like a Luna Blaster or a Range Blaster (would you be surprised if I said this is my other main?) takes one direct hit to splat someone and only two indirects to splat them.

It's a quick and rapid paced game with these weapons, making sure you position yourself properly and especially space yourself between you and the other players. It is also a matter of playing mindgames with every player and reminding people that being a sitting duck just makes it easier to splat you! I'd say the reason why people get splatted so easily by Blasters, if that's their issue, is because they keep moving forward or keep being predictable. Also, in my case as a Luna Blaster, you just kept being in my range. Whoops!

My love and joy, my ultimate favourite weapon of all time and my overall favourite of all blasters. Before I got into Luna Blasting on a fulltime basis, I actually was a Tri-Slosher main in Splatoon 2. (Can you see why?) I think my love for fast and quick splats with an ability to control the turf via splats is one of my favourite part of this weapon. The satisfying OHKO that Luna brings is also insanely amazing. There is just no other weapon that can give me the satisfaction of a fast splat in so little shots. Even with indirects, it is still a 2HKO, which is still pretty fast and also not as horrifying as people make out to seem. (Yes, it's sad when I can't get a OHKO, but I have backup options when I don't get it in one shot, I must be fully prepared!)

To be honest, I think what makes this weapon one of the least used is because it is 1. a blaster, 2. kinda "slow" and 3. really hard to ink turf. And I don't blame people for that! Actually, I'd say that the Luna Blaster is a fairly decent inker, at least compared to Range Blaster, my other main. Being a Luna means that you are effectively stuck to one of the core essentials of Splatoon, which is movement. There has been innumerable times where I have absolutely escaped a should've been splatted situation, just because I am always on the move! If you see a Luna Blaster consistantly hopping and strifing, you know you will have to watch out and pay considerable attention to them, because 2 hits and you're out!

It's short range also means I care considerably more about spacing, since I don't want to show my position if I'm too far away and miss a hit, or have them be way too close to comfort and miss every shot. (It has happened before! It's very annoying!) Luna Blaster also makes you considerably more aware of your surroundings, since your ink output is so little. What's nice about blasters though is it automatically inks below your feet whenever you take a shot, so I often find myself shooting out of situations to get a better angle to get a splat.

With the introduction of Intensify Action in Splatoon 3, I have decided to try it out to see if blasters would get a better help from it. And I'll say, yes! It actually makes hopping and bopping even more effective than before, performing insane feats previously thought impossible. (I'm exaggerating here!) Otherwise, for my Luna Blaster I'd just have a lot of Respawn Up as well as Respawn Punisher. Also, Swim Speed Up is crucial!

My second, dearly beloved main! It is the complete 180 of a weapon that I need whenever I feel that I am suddenly bad at playing Splatoon. It's limited shot capacity makes this weapon a good refresher for blaster basics, in case I was getting too greedy and hubris-y with my Luna. It also has the same OHKO capabilities of Luna, which makes them more like very weird siblings that grew up with different interests! Another reason why it's my second main!

Range Blaster reminds the world that it is infact a sniping weapon. Don't believe me? Just look at the countless times I've sniped people off their pedestals in Mahi Mahi and Scorch Gorge! Range Blaster is a more aggressive controller than Luna, simply because its range allows it to reach so far at a safe distance. This distance also helps with spotting other people from afar and preparing an early escape plan in case they were getting a bit too close for comfort.

However, just because it has range and a sad amount of shots (only 4-5 shots until you need to refill!) doesn't mean it can't manouver around. It is very important for the rest of the team to help a fellow Range out and ink around them incase they need to have a quick escape! Back to the topic of limited shots, it is actually very sad! Not only does it have a small capacity, but if your ink runs out, you must wait at least one full second of delay before your ink starts refilling again. This makes the Range Blaster the most anti-inking weapon out there, and one that has to have constant awareness of its own ink capacity. Because the worst thing that could happen is using all your shots up for manouvering and inking and suddenly coming across someone and hearing the Out of Ink sound!

Blasters have a bit of a bad rap, no thanks in part to the recent baby of the family, Clash Blaster. I am not here to rag on the Clash Blaster, because I do have a softspot for every blaster. However, I will say that the Clash Blaster has definitely brought the image of the blaster family down since its introduction in Splatoon 2. (Crazy to think that there has been no other new blasters yet, but I am crossing my fingers for Splatoon 3 to add a new blaster!) And I do not blame people! The stories I've heard of Clash Blasters running to base and spawncamping and the fact that you cannot even see anything once you see their blasts plus their very repetitive shot blast noise makes the Clash Blaster an annoyance in some rounds. However, I am here to dispell and quell some rumors about them. They are actually pretty easy to kill if they are the very simplistic kind of splatter.

Clash Blasters are one of the most "don't aim, just shoot" kind of blasters, and are very easily prone to not seeing their surroundings. Hell, even when I am playing Clash Blaster, I find that my vision is 70% obstructed when I am shooting, so I only shoot in rare occassions. Like many blasters, they are very easily overtaken if they are in a 1 v 2, and I like to warn my friends on my team to keep a close eye on Clash Blasters to see if they have this issue. Because if they do, it's incredibly easy to flank them. Not to mention, if you are aware that it takes them quite a while to indirect splat you, you can actually use that advantage to know exactly how much time you have to splat them back.

I find that often times, people get absolutely overwhelmed by Clash Blasters because it inks where they are standing, effectively making you stuck and them landing their indirects or directs on you all in one go. Much like splatlings, you have to be aware of where they are and exactly how far they are from you. You are best not to engage head to head with them, and rather catch them by surprise. I sometimes avoid this advice though and run headfirst as a Luna Blaster because I know exactly how long it takes for them to splat me and I only need 1 shot anyways. (Yes, I have no fear anymore.)

Is it sad to say that I actually haven't touched the Blaster at all? There is something about it that is too normal for me to actually play, but hopefully this changes soon! At least, after I finish getting 5 stars with Luna Blaster. Feel free to check back whenever I update this page to see if I finally play Blaster!

A significant downgrade in terms of inking and blast power compared to Luna, Range and even Clash. I actually haven't played much with Rapid Blaster, only because I much prefer the Pro kit, but I will give some thoughts. I find that the Rapid Blasters are amazing in the fact that they are almost the same power as the Range and Luna in that it takes one direct plus an indirect to get a splat in such a small period of time, however the size of the blast is something that takes a lot to get used to.

I have to actually admire anyone who decides to use this weapon over any other blaster! I also decided to lump the Pro alongside its normal variant because while there is a slight difference in range between the two as well as Pro being a tad bit slower, they both have the same concept of being much more aim focused.

The way I'd describe its gameplay is that it feels a lot like pings. Every shot is a ping that bumps people at a safe distance, but because of its rapid fire, it actually wins against Clash Blaster for actually being able to kill in ~2 hits. Hopefully I will play this weapon more in the future, and my opinions here would be upgraded more! Aside from that, what a weird but fun weapon! I'd definitely say it outclasses Clash Blaster at least, and I'm only comparing the two because they are both the fastest blasters! But Clash needs to be significantly closer than a Rapid Blaster does, and because of that it can fall in the trap of being in the wrong place at the wrong time more often than a Rapid Blaster would.

...Alright. So i have to confess, I was completely and utterly wrong about this weapon. Everything I wrote up above is completely wrong because I have fallen in complete love with the Rapid Blaster. I have not yet tried out the Rapid Blaster Pro, but I can at least share my thoughts on the original Rapid Blaster!

Other Fun Links

• Fluid Priorities and Roles in Splatoon 2: An interesting write-up on the different roles that different weapons can take up and how easy it can be to change from one role to another. More of an advanced read, but I always love seeing how people write up for the game of Splatoon! Especially its priorities.
• Choose your Weapon: Yes.