#also the design for the star steamer is just kinda. weak. i can do better but i don't wanna rn lmao

[cherryistired]

hi it's me again. I had also been thinking about a flamethrower-esque weapon class, and this post managed to make it click for me, so I put together a few weapon designs based on some of the things you mentioned

(side note but I'm not super great at putting together weapon kits, but I tried to put together ones based on what the sub/special are probably (?) meant to do, not necessarily what would be strongest. would love to hear other kit ideas)

First the Star Steamer - a humidifier with a hose attached to it so you can actually aim the thing. The blue color of the weapon actually changes with the ink color! Basically the same as your suggested “Deep Steamer” - a middleweight weapon with good range and decent damage for less decent ink consumption and poor mobility - but with one vent instead of many. Kit would probably be splat bomb/booyah bomb, mostly because I can’t think of a specific playstyle for this weapon. Alt kit would be the Star Steamer Neo with beakon/wave breaker for a more supportive playstyle. Also the humidifiers I saw when looking up references reminded me of the luna blaster, so I changed the name to a space theme. Taking suggestions for a better one.

Also made a pro version for funsies - this one has slighty better range for slightly worse damage and mobility. Giving it torpedo/killer wail 5.1 for its main kit and fizzy bomb/inc vac for its Neo kit.

Next is the Steam Machine - a fog machine with elements of a leaf blower to make it more gun-shaped. Also included an angle view of the weapon. This would be a heavyweight weapon with the best range of the class, but the worst ink consumption and mobility. Its ink mist would also last a little longer than most other steamers, which would make up for its middling damage. Giving it toxic mist/ink storm for a full area denial playstyle. Alt kit would be the Custom Steam Machine with auto bomb/big bubbler for a more aggressive weapon that can still keep itself safe.

Last for now is the Whistle Steamer, based on an electric kettle. A middleweight weapon with good mobility and decent ink consumption, but middling range. It’s got a small but deadly ink mist that splats very quickly if you get in its range. Kit would be splash wall/ultra stamp to get behind enemy lines and stay there. Alt kit would be the Whistle Steamer Deco with ink mine/tacticooler for a more supportive kit that it can also benefit from.

also had weapon ideas for one based on a steam iron with short range that did contact damage and a spray bottle that shot out bursts of lingering ink mists, but I couldn’t get the designs together

anyways. sorry about the wall of text, your autism activated my autism. this was fun <3

Me again!(I like your answers) splat 1 introduced 6 weapon classes. Splat '2' added '2' more. Splat 3 has added 2 more classes so far, but to reach the namesake '3' it requires 1 more weapon class. What would you make for the final Splat 3 weapon class.

<3 and I like your questions too!

~

I actually do think 2 new weapon classes are sufficient for Splatoon 3. After all, following this pattern, in the next 10 years we'd have ~20 weapon classes, which would frankly be far too much.

That being said, I have had a weapon class idea bubbling around in my head for a long time, so I'll dedicate a short post to it.

If we look at all the classes in Splatoon, they're mostly all based around combat and dealing damage. The only real exceptions are Brellas (and some individual weapons like the Explosher, Splattershot Nova, Aeropsray, Big Swig Roller, Rapid Blaster/ Pro etc). These weapons can still fight adequately, but they also do other things for their team.

I think there is room for another weapon class with deployables like the Brella shields, but I really haven't given that enough thought yet. Today we're talking about Steamers!

What is a steamer?

Like how Splatanas and Stringers are the Splatoon equivalent of swords and bows respectively, Steamers would be the equivalent of flamethrowers.

There would be a lot of possible inspirations for different main weapons in the Steamer class. Basically anything that heats water or sprays water vapor; a shower head, humidifier, clothing iron, kettle, spraypaint and so on.

Essentially, using a Steamer would cause mist to spew in front of you for as long as you hold ZR. I imagine this mist would cover everything it touches in your ink, which is why I'd compromise it with generally slow movement while holding ZR to manage their potential ink coverage.

When enemies are in your mist, they take chip damage every 0.5 seconds. It wouldn't be a lot of damage, just enough to splat after 2-4 seconds of exposure depending on the weapon you're using. In addition, there would be variable damage in the mist, the centre being a sweet spot dealing the most damage per second, and the edges being sour spots dealing less damage.

In all honesty, I've only really thought about this as 1 weapon so far. There is a lot of potential for 5-6 more unique Steamer weapons, different mist effects, different mist shapes and so on.

I've just named my 'standard' Steamer, called the Deep Steamer, a big blocky humidifier that sprays mist out of multiple vents. It'd be a middleweight weapon with range to spray mist and ink across a large area with decent damage and balanced by its lack of mobility.

~

This felt a lot different to type out than my other posts so far, not really any analysis in this one, just me talking about something that I'd think would be a cool addition to the game! I do think Splatoon is sorely missing an area of effect main weapon, and adding in Steamers would round the game out to include most of the weapon archetypes present in multiplayer games!