Splatoon 3 has a whopping 11 weapon categories. Each category not only operates in a completely unique fashion when compared to any other category, but each weapon within the said category is its own beast. This makes choosing a new weapon to play around with exciting, fresh, and even a little bit daunting.
Brushes in Splatoon 3 are one of the stranger weapons. This is for a number of reasons that help define their unique playstyle. Unfortunately, unlike, say, Shooters, Brushes only have two options (as of writing) to choose between, but they are both excellent in their own way. We are going to dive into them and break down how to use them all.
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What Are Brushes?
Brushes are incredibly aggressive weapons that require players to get in close to deal damage. Despite their close-range nature, Brushes don’t deal all that much damage but make up for this with incredible amounts of Speed and a respectable ability to cover the map in Ink.
Brushes may look and feel a lot like Rollers, however, Brushes are their own thing and playing them like a Roller (a fairly easy weapon to grasp) will only lead to disappointment. Brushes, despite their simplistic appearance, are a rather advanced weapon that may take a while to fully grasp.
How To Use Brushes
When using Brushes, you will constantly be in one of two states – brushing or flicking. Brushing is your mobility tool. If you hold down ZR, you will be able to run with your Brush out in front of you, and paint in a straight line. This is very much like rolling with a Roller, however, you gain a substantial speed boost when doing this.
This boost is so great that it will often allow you to outrun swimming players. Not only that, but brushing does not require friendly Ink to work, allowing you to zip in and around enemy territory unimpeded, whilst also leaving a trail of Ink for your allies to follow/use.
Flicking on the other hand is how you will deal damage with your Brush. Flicking is somewhat random and impossible to fully aim, however, rapidly pressing ZR will launch a flood of short-ranged Ink that will deal low-medium damage on hit. This Ink arcs, allowing you to throw it around corners or over ledges and covers turf very effectively.
The downside of flicking is the amount of Ink required to do it. Brushes typically burn through their Ink very quickly, so bear this in mind when you start playing.
How To Use The Octobrush
The Octobrush is the first Brush you will gain access to in Splatoon 3 (unless you want to spend multiple Sheldon Tickets). The Octobrush is a solid all-rounder that will teach you the core fundamentals of Brushes. It has decent coverage with flicks, its brushing is fairly thick, and it deals decent damage.
Sub Weapon
The Octobrush has access to the somewhat oppressive Suction Bomb Sub that can help you push enemies back, and force hiding enemies out of position. This is a vital tool for the Octobrush as you need to get in close to do damage, and this helps you do just that.
The Suction Bomb deals a surprising amount of AOE damage and is excellent for displacing Stringers, Chargers, and Splatlings who want to take up position on an elevated position and not move. This can shut them down for several seconds, giving your team some time to breathe.
Special Weapon
Zipcaster is an interesting Special and arguably the best/worst part of the Octobrush. Unlike many weapons in the early game, the Zipcaster is hard to use. Its damage is unreliable at best, and mobility is a difficult advantage to fully grasp when you are new. However, the Zipcaster, when mastered, is a very powerful tool for engaging enemies from unusual positions.
Not only that but when the Zipcaster runs out of charge, you are launched back to where you first activated it. This allows you to Zipcaster into combat, deal damage, and then escape to safety. It’s a powerful utility tool that complements Octobrushes preferred playstyle.
How To Use The Inkbrush
This Inkbrush is largely the same as the Octobrush on the surface, and its playstyle also tends to fall into the same pattern. However, the Inkbrush comes with some unique traits that really help it in some areas, whilst hindering it in others.
In short, the Inkbrush deals less damage and has worse coverage when brushing. It makes up for this with a faster movement speed when brushing, and a much higher rate of fire. In fact, you flick as fast as you can pull the trigger. This can drastically increase your DPS at the cost of potentially tiring out your hands by the end of the game.
Of course, this has the downside of burning through Ink faster than the Octobrush, so be warned!
Sub Weapon
The Inkbrush has one of the better aggressive subs in the form of the Splat Bomb. The Splat Bomb is a timed explosive that deals a large amount of AOE damage and has a decent amount of coverage. Because it doesn’t stick to surfaces you can actually bounce this Sub around corners and get quite tricky with your throws, allowing you to attack enemies from unexpected angles.
Like the Suction Bomb, the Splat Bomb is especially effective at messing with any enemy who is using a slow-firing or stationary-loving weapon. We are talking about Splatlings, Chargers, and Stringers (to a lesser extent). Throwing a Splat Bomb can force them to move, and this means they aren’t pressuring your team.
Special Weapon
The Killer Wail basically fires off a bunch of terrain-piercing lasers that lock onto enemies. This Special is a fantastic ‘fire and forget’ weapon that can be used to get sneaky splats. This is especially true if you target enemies who are engaged in combat already (as they are distracted) or, again, on stationary enemies who use Splatlings and Chargers.
The damage per beam is fairly high, and one wrong move from your opponent will quickly lead to their death. Not only that, but due to how the targeting works, you can even use this Special to gain knowledge on enemy positioning.
Tips For Use Brushes
To round off the guide, here are a few tips to help you make the most of Brushes.
- Elevation Is King – Brushes don’t have a lot of range, and elevated positions can help mitigate that. Not only that, but the arcing projectile nature of the flick also allows you to hit enemies who are swimming up walls.
- Be Aggressive – Your main advantage when using a Brush is your ability to move quickly. You want to be taking advantage of this as much as possible. Push up flanks, attack from behind, or simply move in unusual ways to throw off your enemy’s aim.
- Know Your Enemy – Because the Brush lacks any range potential outside of its Subs, you are going to need to learn what weapons each enemy is using. Most weapons will outrange you, so knowing how to approach them will go a long way to preventing you from dying.
- Never Sit On Your Special – This is just a general tip, but as a rule, use your Special when you get it. Holding onto your Special for the ‘perfect moment’ is not an effective use of resources. Burn it, do your damage, and start building up another. Don’t forget you recover all your Ink on activation too!
- Build Your Gear – You will want to build specific gear for Brushes eventually. We recommend looking for gear that increases your run speed as well as some sort of Ink management ability, like Ink Saver (Main), or Ink Recovery.
That’s everything you need to know to get started with Brushes in Splatoon 3. Keep an eye out for more Weapon Guides in the future, and happy Splatting!
