Splatoon 3: How To Use Shooters | Tips & Tricks You Need To Know
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From all the guns inside turn 3, Sagittarians are by far the most common. In fact, they’re so common that they make up almost half of the weapons in the game. There are 7x more shooters than Splatanas, Brushes and Stringers. They’re everywhere, and for the most part, they’re the easiest weapon type to get your hands on.
That’s not a bad thing, as the more unique weapons are also much more specialized. Shooters are your favorite weapon that can do almost anything and fill almost any role depending on which shooter you choose. Now, not all are created equal, and there are quite a few duds in the lineup, but we’ll walk you through them all.
More Splatoon 3 content:
Chargers | Blasters | Slosher | Brella’s | roll
What are shooters?
Sagittarians are roughly divided into three categories. They’re either short-ranged and fast-firing, long-ranged and slow-firing, or they exist in the Goldilocks zone where they’re right in the middle of the action. This applies to damage as well, with slower shooters usually doing more damage to compensate for their slower speed, etc. They’re kind of a jack of all trades and there’s nothing else in it turn 3 it can. Most other weapon types are tied to a playstyle. Sagittarians don’t have this problem.
How to use shooter in turn 3
Shooters are incredibly easy to use. All you have to do is aim and shoot (press ZR). That’s it. There’s nothing more complex about them, they just fire ink, and they do it very well. Now you want to play a little differently depending on the shooter. But in general, shooters are a pretty aggressive class and often like to get stuck.
This means you want to get in range of enemies and splash them. Height can also be very useful – especially in longer-range shooters. If you have a rapid-fire shooter, you might also consider coloring turf in your early games just to get a hang of it. Sagittarians are (mostly) great at cover, so color in.
List of shooters
Here is a complete list of all the shooters in turn 3.
| Protection | sub | Special |
| Splattershot Jr | Splat Bomb | Big bubbler |
| splash | suction bomb | Trizooka |
| Aerospray MG | Bubbling Bomb | reef glider |
| N Zap ’85 | suction bomb | tactical cooler |
| Splattershot Pro | angle shooter | crab tray |
| Sploosh-o-matic | curling bomb | Ultra stamp |
| 0.52 gal | splash wall | Killer Howl 5.1 |
| L-3 nozzle nose | curling bomb | crab tray |
| jet squelcher | angle shooter | ink sucker |
| Splash-o-matic | bomb burst | crab tray |
| 0.96 gal | sprinkler | ink sucker |
| Press | splash wall | Trizooka |
| H-3 nozzle nose | point sensor | tactical cooler |
| Hero Shot Replica | suction bomb | Trizooka |
Tips for using shooters
There are a whopping 14 shooters turn 3, and there is a lot of overlap between them. Because of this, we won’t go into as much detail as in other guides, simply because it’s not needed. We will of course go through all the important points to get you up to speed as soon as possible.
Splattershot Jr
This is the first weapon you get at the beginning of the game and would you believe us if we said that it’s one of the best for sure? As in, you could only ever use this weapon and you would wield a really powerful weapon that rivals most of the other weapons in the game? The Splattershot Jr. is a beautiful all-rounder that doesn’t excel at anything but does everything you expect it to. The perfect shooter.
Splattershot/Heroshot replica
These two weapons are more or less identical (optics aside). Much like the Splattershot Jr, the Splattershot is actually one of the best shooters in the game. It has a lower fire rate but increased range and damage. Whether you’re inking to squirt, this thing has got your back. It even has an excellent loadout to support it and top it off perfectly.
Aerospray MG
The Aerospray MG is a good weapon to hold back due to its more specialized nature. The Aeroshot MG has a very short range and even less damage. However, this is made up for by an incredible rate of fire. Unfortunately, the ink it fires is painfully unreliable, sometimes missing enemies right in front of you. This can kill you, making it a risky combat tool.
That said, the Aerospray MG grants plenty of mobility and boost with access to Reefslider, which is a nice boon. It also provides excellent coverage, allowing you to claim/reclaim lawns with ease.
N-ZAP ’85
The N-ZAP ’85 takes what the Aerospray MG does, but mostly does it better. The N-ZAP ’85 has good range, a very high rate of fire, and enough damage to kill very quickly. Not only that, it is also accurate and reliable. You can get close and personal or fight at medium range and feel right at home in either scenario.
It also has a great loadout, specifically Tactics Cooler, which gives this weapon tons of utility and support.
Splattershot Pro
Unlike the other Splattershot guns, the Splattershot Pro doesn’t quite reach the same heights. This is mainly due to a drastic gameplay change with this weapon. Rather than being a solid mid-range shooter, the Splattershot Pro is really a long-range option that struggles in tighter skirmishes.
Now it hits like a truck, splashing in just 3 hits, and its range is excellent. It’s slow to fire and doesn’t handle well when it comes to combat. That being said, it has access to Crab Tank and Angle Shooter which, when used properly, give it even more range and utility.
Sploosh-o-matic
The Sploosh-o-matic is one of those weapons that feels great in your hands but doesn’t work in reality. This thing fires incredibly fast, deals a lot of damage per hit, and has great coverage. So what’s the problem? Area. The range on this thing is horrendous – crippling.
Now it has ways to close the gap, namely with Curling Bomb and Ultra Stamp, but against a competent team you’ll likely get gunned down before you get a chance to do much.
0.52 gal
Fortunately, the .52 Gal is another winner. This thing has good range and a slow rate of fire, but it comes with a devastating damage stat that can hit enemies in two. The punch this thing delivers is brutal and can surprise many players – especially enemies using Brellas, Rollers, Blasters, and Brushes.
Not only that, the .52 Gal has Splash Wall to give it a huge advantage in firefights and Killer Wail 5.1 which is just an excellent special.
L-3 nozzle nose
Much like the .52 Gal, the L-3 Nozzlenose is quite the beast in combat. It has good range and damage, and fires in a pretty unique way. This thing is a burst firing weapon that has some advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, you can do a lot of damage very quickly by landing your shots. The disadvantage? They must be accurate, and there is a delay between your bursts.
This makes the L-3 Nozzlenose very effective in the right hands, but an inexperienced user may struggle to get the most out of it. His kit doesn’t feel great either, as the Curling Bomb doesn’t do much for the weapon. However, Crab Tank is quite good, offering a bit more ranged power in a pinch.
jet squelcher
The Jet Squelcher has incredible range for shooters, literally quadrupling the range of the aforementioned Sploosh-o-matic and nearly doubling the range of most others. It has a lower rate of fire and relatively low damage. This makes it very ineffective at close range, as anything else can kill you before you can really do anything.
The kit is good though and offers some utility with Ink Vac and Angle Shooter. All in all, we prefer other long-range shooters like the Splattershot Pro, but that’s passable if you want something with a bit more range.
Splash-o-matic
Unlike the Sploosh-o-matic, the Splash-o-matic is actually good. This is because it retains a fantastic rate of fire but offers twice the range and more accuracy. The damage per shot is rather low, but thanks to the high rate of fire, the time to splat is very fast. Throw in the rather excellent Burst Bomb and the ever-reliable Crab Tank and you have yourself a wonderfully reliable weapon.
0.96 gal
We’ll be brief here. The .96 gal is the .52 gal, but worse. It fires slower and has a longer range, but that’s about it. Technically it does more damage, but it’s still a two-hit splat and can’t fight at close range since it’s so clunky to use. Sprinkler and Ink Vac are okay, but don’t do enough to redeem this rather unattractive weapon.
Press
The Squeezer is interesting because it’s a long-range weapon with good damage, but it absolutely holds its own in close-range encounters thanks to a decent rate of fire. Sure, it’s not as fast as a dedicated mid-range shooter, but it’s not far off. Throw down a splash wall and the tide turns in your favor almost immediately.
H-3 nozzle nose
The H-3 Nozzlenose is the last shooter you unlock and it’s okay. It’s very similar to the L-3 Nozzlenose, only it’s a bit chunkier to use and deals more damage. In fact, the H-3 Nozzlenose can kill in a single shot if you land all three shots, making it the fastest killer long-range shooter if you aim accurately. It can also work well up close if you keep your nerve and land all three hits again.
However, its utilization is not great. Point Sensor is okay, but doesn’t necessarily cover the weapon’s weaknesses, and Tacticooler is consistently excellent, but again, it doesn’t help round out the kit. A good weapon that can do the job in the right hands.
That’s it for shooters in Splatoon 3. For more information on each weapon in Splatoon 3, check out our other weapon guides. Have fun splatting!