Yesterday, Splatoon got its big August update. With it came oft-requested features, like private matches and the ability to squad up. It also included a new weapon that is as amazing as it is completely, and utterly, ridiculous.
Introducing: the bucket. Yes, just a bucket. Splatoon’s hottest new gear is about as humble as it gets, but that’s exactly what makes it so brilliant. Like the roller and paintbrush, the bucket is an obvious yet simple inclusion that plays up Splatoon’s ink/paint theme.
And what a joy the bucket is to use. If the central fantasy behind Splatoon is “make a giant mess”, the bucket takes that fantasy to heart and lets you go wild in the best way possible. I’d love to lunge buckets full of bright paint everywhere in real life — seems cathartic! I can’t actually do that, though, so Splatoon will have to do.
The bucket isn’t just clever, though. It’s actually pretty good! Instead of shooting forward, like most weapons do, the bucket sloshes ink in an arc, like so:
This makes it a great weapon for hitting enemies who hide behind cover, or who camp on elevated platforms.
Range-wise, the bucket is pretty decent too — it covers about half of what a charger does, and you can fan the right trigger to spill ink quickly. Without boosters, it takes a few direct hits of bucket ink to kill an enemy. It strikes me as the sort of weapon aggressive melee types will want to pick up, especially on a map like Urchin Underpass, which has actually been redesigned with the bucket weapon in mind. The bucket seems like it will be good in ranked mode, too, as it offers an easy way to control a space between the bucket’s coverage plus the Inkstrike special it comes equipped with.
I’ve sunk about four hours into the new update, and during that time I’ve noticed that everyone is in love with the bucket. It’s not unusual to have teams that are half buckets. In fact, last night I got into a match with randoms that was entirely buckets. This happened without coordination. Just, everyone on my team decided they wanted to use buckets at the same time. It made for one of the silliest matches I’ve ever played in Splatoon:
You’d think having an entire team of buckets would be the worst idea ever. And maybe it is! But we still won that match handily, and I personally even went 11-1 that round. Amazing. I can only imagine how much we irritated the enemy team. Then again, anyone playing Splatoon right now is probably used to the barrage of bucket-lovers populating the servers right now.
To sum the state of Splatoon right now:
she gets it pic.twitter.com/0mi08pfBVk
— Patricia Hernandez (@xpatriciah) August 6, 2015
Of course, the bucket isn’t the only new weapon. There’s also the Gatling Gun, which is an entirely new heavy-weapons type gun. It packs a serious punch! But, this is Splatoon. I don’t take notice of weapons like the Gatling Gun purely because of their usefulness in combat. I love the Gatling Gun because of how cute your Inkling is while equipping it.
I mean, just look at this. LOOK AT THIS WIN ANIMATION.
Look at how happy she is. You melt my heart, Splatoon.
We’ll have more ongoing coverage on the new Splatoon update in the coming week.14
Comments
9 responses to “Splatoon’s Best New Weapon Is Literally Just A Bucket”
Because everybody was either using the bucket or splatling, I got a lot of good practice working out how to take them down with various weapons.
The rate of inkstrikes was amazing.
Ugh, buckets… My experience so far has been everyone spamming buckets everywhere and the ridiculous range and area of effect means you’re pretty much screwed if you’re anywhere nearby (ie. On the same map). Get two of them on the little platform in ranked matches and you aren’t getting anywhere near it…
Absolutely loving the gatling gun though. Throw down an ink wall (if I remember) then charge up and shoot everyone. The range is amazing too so you can hit most people from a safe distance. Still getting the hang of the charge up but you can keep a stream going pretty well and its cancellable too.
The bucket can be amazing when used effectively, but the Splatling is nuts. It’s effectively a charger that doesn’t mind if you’re a terrible shot; just adjust your aim during your shot and carry on.
Not using the new weapons much myself at the moment. But they are fun to play around with. And that really is the key word when it comes to Splatoon – “FUN”
Looking at that gattling gun animation. Imagine the Inkling being like “YOU DID VELL~”
You’re a loose cannon sandvich, but you’re a hell of a cop!
I find the defeat animation even more endearing with the “why have you forsaken me?!” expression.
As much as I want to love the splatling gun though, it hasn’t become my weapon of choice.
bukkets too stronk
The bucket is very intuitive, I feel, so I think it’s very good for new players. I initially couldn’t figure out how to use the heavy splatling at all, but once I got the hang of it, I think I could see it being one of my favourite weapons. The splash wall is so good in the ranked modes because you’re focusing on a more limited space, and inkstrike is good in splat zones especially.