Splatoon 4 Weapons List — Every Weapon Class and How They Actually Play

There are eleven weapon classes in Splatoon, and I've played enough of each to tell you honestly which ones are worth your time and which ones require a specific personality type. This isn't a stats spreadsheet. This is what each class actually feels like to play, where it struggles, and why you might fall in love with one over another.

Shooters are the default for a reason. They're the Mario of Splatoon weapons, balanced, flexible, beginner-friendly, and surprisingly deep at high levels. The Splattershot shoots at about 12 shots per second with decent accuracy. The range is around 2.5 lines on the testing range, which means you can challenge most weapons at medium distance but will lose to Chargers at long range and Splatlings at full charge. The N-ZAP family trades a bit of power for fire rate and comes with specials that support team play. If you're new, start with a Shooter. You'll learn the game's flow without fighting your weapon.

Chargers are for people who have patience and good aim. The standard Splat Charger takes about 40 frames (0.67 seconds) to fully charge. A fully charged shot deals 160 damage, enough to splat anyone. The uncharged shot deals only 40 damage. The E-Liter 4K charges slower but has absurd range, you can hit people from across the map on Moray Towers if that map returns. The Squiffer charges fast (about 20 frames) with shorter range, designed for aggressive play. Chargers struggle when pressured from multiple angles. Your survival depends on map awareness.

Rollers are the ambush class. The Splat Roller flicks for about 150 damage in a wide arc. Rolling over someone deals 200 damage per frame, which is instant splat if you catch them. The Carbon Roller flicks faster (about 12 frames startup vs the Splat's 20 frames) but only deals 100 damage, meaning flick again to confirm. The Dynamo Roller is comically slow but the flick covers a huge area and deals 180 damage. Rollers are terrifying on maps with lots of corners and ledges. You never know where one might be hiding.

Dualies give you the dodge roll. Two quick rolls in any direction with good invincibility frames. The standard Splat Dualies have a 5-shot kill at close range. After a dodge roll, accuracy tightens and both reticles converge, giving you perfect accuracy for about half a second. The Dark Tetra Dualies get four rolls but consume more ink. The key thing about Dualies is that rolling costs about 6 percent of your ink tank, so you need to manage resource carefully. I see too many Dualie players roll three times, run out of ink, and get splatted because they can't shoot back.

Brellas are the tactical shield weapons. The Splat Brella has a shield with 200 HP. When you hold the trigger, the shield deploys and drifts forward with the Brella frame behind it. The shield blocks all incoming ink, even specials like Tenta Missiles. The Tenta Brella deploys a massive shield but has a very slow fire rate. The Undercover Brella has a weak shield (100 HP) that fires while deployed. Brellas are niche but on the right map and in the right hands they control space better than anything except a well-placed Splatling.

Splatlings are the turret class. The Heavy Splatling takes about 60 frames to charge and then fires continuously for about 3 seconds. The Hydra Splatling takes about 90 frames to fully charge but fires for 5 seconds at terrifying range. The Ballpoint Splatling has two modes, tap-fire for short range rapid shots or hold for long-range steady shots. Splatlings control entire lanes. A good Splatling player sitting on high ground dictates where the enemy team can go. You counter them with bombs and flanks.

Stringers fire arrows. The Tri-Stringer fires three arrows in a spread. 40 damage per arrow direct. The arc means you can hit people behind cover. The REEF-LUX fires faster with a tighter spread. The interesting thing about Stringers is they zone space through threat, not damage. You don't need to kill people with a Stringer, you just need to make the enemy hesitate in the wrong position so your teammates clean up. I've seen Stringer players with low kill counts absolutely carry matches because they controlled the pace.

Splatanas are ink swords. The Splatana Wiper charges fast and the dash-slash deals about 100 damage, requiring a follow-up. The Splatana Stamper is slower but the charged slash deals 200 damage, a one-shot kill. Running Ninja Squid with a Splatana is, in my experience, the most fun you can have in this game. The ambush potential is ridiculous.

Blasters fire explosive rounds. The Luna Blaster has short range but a huge blast radius, around 125 damage direct. The Range Blaster trades damage for distance. The Rapid Blaster fires faster with smaller explosions. Blasters are great on maps with tight corridors because the splash damage hits around corners. They're weak on open maps where enemies can keep distance.

Sloshers throw buckets of ink. The Tri-Slosher throws three blobs in an arc. The Sloshing Machine throws two spinning blobs. The Explosher has a delayed explosion. Sloshers can hit over low walls and ledges that other weapons can't. On Walleye Warehouse or similar maps with lots of boxes, a good Slosher player dominates from unexpected angles.

Brushes are the fast ambush class. The Inkbrush swings fast, covers turf efficiently, and the rolling speed is the fastest movement in the game. The Octobrush is slower but deals more damage per swing. Brushes are objectively the best turf-coverage weapons in the game. A good Brush player can ink the entire base in the first ten seconds of a match and then zip off to flank. They die fast if caught in the open, so stick to cover.