Splatoon 3 is the epitome of easy to learn but difficult to master. It is the quintessential Nintendo game that has elevated the popular series to new heights. This has led to an influx of players, and, well, that’s always a good thing. Splatoon can get pretty hectic, and knowledge is often the missing ingredient on your road to mastery.
One of the lesser explained aspects of Splatoon’s gameplay is the importance of team and team roles. Splatoon has three overarching roles, and these are, Support, Anchor, and Slayer. The focus of this guide, as the title suggests, is the splat-loving, kill-scoring, Slayer.
What Is A Slayer?
Slayers are all about covering ground and landing Splats. They are hyper-aggressive and tend to favour shorter ranged weapons that can quickly take down opponents. Whilst every role is required to get Splats, Slayers are the driving force of your team.
Should You Play Slayer?
Slayers are arguably the hardest role to play in Splatoon. They need impeccable situational awareness and a high level of mechanical skill. Not only that, but knowledge is also a key factor as you need to recognise key targets on the enemy team, pinpoint areas where you are at a disadvantage, and understand enemy kits more intimately than other roles.
How To Play Slayer
Slayers can play in several ways, but in general, Slayers want to get in the enemy's face and get splatting. Mobility is key here, and moving into dangerous situations, landing the Splat, and being able to either move onto your next target or escape is vital to your success. As a Slayer, you want to be Splatting for more than you are being Splatted.
Just because Slayers are excellent Splatters doesn’t mean they lack other responsibilities. Because they can often operate closer to the enemy line, they are also required for pushing and coverage. It’s for this reason many Slayer weapons rapidly dispense ink, and can claim territory very effectively.
As a Slayer, you need to know when to fall back. Being splatted is devastating in Splatoon considering the respawn timer is fairly hefty, and matches tend to be so short. If you can’t get a kill, then dancing on the edge of your territory and poking whilst you wait for an angle can be just as viable as rushing in. You want to be doing your job, but greed will often lead to your demise.
Ideal Locations
Slayers tend to have short-range weapons, which makes them ideal targets for enemies with range - most notably, enemy Anchors. One way you can alleviate your range disadvantage is by taking the high ground. Elevation increases your range and makes it much harder for enemies to take you out. Not only that, many weapons like these raised areas. If you can take the ground off of them, you are doubling your return on investment. You have hindered the enemy team, and you are in a great spot to move around, Splat, and engage.
Best Loadouts For Slayer
Slayers come in all shapes and sizes, but as a general rule, they love to pack short ranged weapons that can take down enemies in a haze of inky-goodness.
Aerospray MG
The Aerospray MG is one of our favourites as it does just about everything, and it does all of those things well. This thing sports short Range and low Damage, but it has coverage for days and has a staggeringly high Fire Rate. The Aerospray MG can mince enemies before they can react, and take back huge chunks of Ink effortlessly.
This is supported by a great Sub and Special. Fizzy Bombs are not the most damaging of Sub, but they are great for clogging up an opponent and allowing you to move in for the kill. The Reefslider is the star of the show, however. This thing grants an amazing amount of mobility and gets you into the thick of battle instantly. Not only that, due to its high kill potential and devastating AOE, enemies are forced to move out of the way - disrupting their gameplan.
Dark Tetra Dualies
Dualies are universally amazing Slayer weapons, with all of them fitting the bill to some degree. However, we would say that the Dark Tetra Dualies were one of - if not the best Dualies for Slayers. Dark Tetra Dualies have great range (for Dualies), great damage, and more importantly, they are disgustingly Mobile.
What makes Dark Tetra Dualies unique is their ability to dodge four times in a row instead of the usual two. This is a huge upgrade that cannot be overstated. With a bit of practice, a Dark Tetra player can run circles around enemy teams and quickly dispatch key targets. Not only that, but they can even cancel jumps, and Squid Rolls into these dodges, giving them even more agility.
All of that aside, the Dark Tetra Dualies are packing an amazing set of extra abilities. Of course, we are talking about their Sub and Special. Autobomb is a great throwable that can disrupt the enemy and force hiding foes into the open. This makes it much easier to pinpoint threats and take out troublesome enemies. They are especially good at displacing slow targets like Chargers and Splatlings.
The Reefslider, as before, is excellent for the Dark Tetra Dualies. Fast (adding to this already mobile kit), high damage, AOE, and disruptive. The perfect combination for a Slayer.
Splattershot Jr.
It’s easy to forget that early-game weapons in Splatoon are not necessarily worse than higher-level ones. The Splattershot Jr. is the first weapon you get your hands on, and it is one of the best weapons in the entire game. It is incredibly strong, and this is made very evident by its prevalence in the online playscape. The Splattershot Jr. has decent Range and Damage, but an outstanding Fire Rate. This lets it Splat and Cover with ease - you just have to close the gap.
This is made much easier thanks to its solid kit. Splatbombs are deadly if they go off near an enemy, and cover a large amount of ground. They are fantastic at killing or disrupting camping enemies like Chargers or Splatlings.
The Big Bubbler is amazing for pushing ground and holding positions. The shield is very powerful and can keep you and your team safe whilst you unleash your steady stream of ink. Getting to a solid position in the middle and popping this can lock down a huge portion of the map. Just be aware that it can be destroyed with concentrated fire, and it is especially weak to Splatlings.
Reef-Lux 450
Finally, we have the Reef-Lux 450, one of the new Stringer weapons. The Reef-Lux is unusual because unlike other weapons we have talked about it has a high(ish) Range, and a low(ish) Fire Rate. Not only that, but its projectiles are a bit awkward to aim and land, making its Damage somewhat inconsistent at first.
However, the Reef-Lux is a great weapon that can do work with a bit of practice, and it can even kill quickly once you start nailing those Charge Shots. It comes with the very handy Curling Bomb, which leaves a trail of ink behind it, letting you effortlessly get behind the enemy lines (especially with the Ninja ability on your gear).
Topping it all off is the Tenta Missiles which are highly disruptive, and highly damaging. You can very quickly charge this Special due to the great coverage the Reef-Lux has, and unleash this on the regular. If you get a kill, great. If you didn’t you know you’ve forced an enemy out of position. Finally, this Special is map-wide, so you can fire and forget if you fancied.