Image: Nintendo via HGG
Drew has been a fan of games since he could hold a GameCube controller. Nowadays, he plays everything from mobile and PC games, to PS5 and Switch.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Inking large areas of turf and rolling over your opponents is no problem for roller-class weapons in Splatoon 3. These oversized paint rollers act as melee weapons with ranged capabilities. If you’re a fan of rollers like we are, then it can be even harder to decide between speed, mobility, and damage when picking out the perfect roller. So today, we’ll be determining what the best roller in Splatoon 3 is!
We’ll be ranking them by their ease of use, effectiveness at inking turf, and how well they can splat opponents. That way you can choose the best roller weapon that suits your play style In the unique, ink-filled world of Splatoon 3! Don’t get your tentacles twisted, we’ve got you covered!
All Splatoon 3 Rollers, Ranked
Let’s dive right into our Splatoon 3 roller guide, ranked from fine to fresh!
4/4
Dynamo Roller
Unlocked at Level 12, the loadout features the Dynamo Roller as the main weapon, with the Sprinkler as the Sub Weapon and the Tacticooler as the Special Weapon.
Main Weapon: Dynamo Roller
The most difficult to use of the roller-class weapons is the Dynamo Roller. It is significantly slower than its counterparts in both movement speed and attack speed. Although it covers a wider radius when inking along the ground and is technically the best roller for flinging ink at range, its subpar speed holds it back in Splatoon 3. The windup animation for flinging ink is slow enough that it leaves the player wide open to enemy attacks.
The overall speed of the Dynamo Roller is a major drawback, but it does have quite powerful attacks if you can get one off. Rolling over an opponent with this roller deals 160 damage. Its ink-fling attack has a base damage of 125. However, the damage of this attack drops off over distance. This roller can be tough to use, but when used correctly, it can be quite powerful.
Sub Weapon: Sprinkler
As a primarily defensive Sub Weapon, the Sprinkler doesn’t add a lot to the Dynamo Roller’s kit. The Sprinkler works well for area denial, as it sticks to surfaces and sprinkles ink in a radius around it until it is destroyed. However, its offensive capabilities are nonexistent. This lack of offense doesn’t do much to support a roller that already struggles with quick decisions and tight situations.
Special Weapon: Tacticooler
Another support-oriented weapon finds its way onto this loadout in the form of the Tacticooler. In this case, however, it has slightly more utility than the Sprinkler. The Tacticooler dispenses cans of soda for you and your teammates that boost speed and respawn time for a short period. The speed boost it offers can help make up for the Dynamo Roller’s inherent sluggish speed. But since it is only temporary and requires 190 Battle Points to activate, it’s not an ideal solution.
Dynamo Roller Strategy
Since the Dynamo Roller is so slow, abilities like Run Speed Up and Swim Speed Up are a must. This loadout doesn’t do well in close-range, head-on combat. Instead, focus on using the long ink-fling range to hit unsuspecting enemies from a distance. Catching them off guard reduces the likelihood that they’ll be able to counterattack while you’re vulnerable in the wind up animation. It may take some time to get used to the slow speed of the Dynamo Roller, but it has the potential to dish out good damage in specific situations.
3/4
Splat Roller
Unlocked at Level 2, the loadout features the Splat Roller as the Main Weapon, with Curling Bomb as the Sub Weapon and the Big Bubbler as the Special Weapon.
Main Weapon: Splat Roller
The Splat Roller is a very middle-of-the-road weapon. While it’s a far cry from being the best roller (being neither the fastest or the most powerful), it does get the job done in Splatoon 3.
Its movement and attack speed are greater than that of the Dynamo Roller. As a trade off, it lacks the ink-flinging range of other rollers. The inking radius of the Splat Rollers is comparable to the Dynamo Roller and is wider than other rollers in its class. Overall, for the earliest available roller, it doesn’t really make a splash, but you could do worse.
The base damage for rolling over an opponent is 140, which is enough to splat in just one hit. For ink-flinging damage, the base damage is 125, but the damage drops off over distance. Since the range for ink-flinging is shorter than the Dynamo Roller, the drop off is less drastic. It’s also much faster at performing an ink-flinging attack, making it much more likely that you’ll get the splat at close range.
Sub Weapon: Curling Bomb
As far as Sub Weapons go, the Curling Bomb is a pretty solid addition to this loadout. It adds a ranged option to make up for the Splat Roller’s shortcomings. Deploying Curling Bomb slides it across the ground for a period of time before it detonates. The player can charge the Curling Bomb by holding down the button before releasing to have it travel a shorter distance and detonate sooner. This allows the player to have some control over how far the bomb travels. It deals 180 damage from a direct hit and 30 points of splash damage.
Special Weapon: Big Bubbler
The Big Bubbler is a Special Weapon that is new to Splatoon 3. It’s an interesting choice for this loadout because it’s a defensive weapon that functions best if the player is stationary. Activating this Special Weapon creates a large, stationary barrier in the shape of a bubble. This barrier blocks incoming enemy ink, but allows allies to shoot ink through it. The barrier has limited health and enemy ink will cause it to shrink as it gets hit. For a weapon like a roller that typically works best while the player is moving, having a Special Weapon like the Big Bubbler may seem counterintuitive, but using it to support your team while giving yourself a defensive option actually makes for a really well-rounded loadout.
Splat Roller Strategy
This loadout ends up being fairly useful in a variety of situations. The average movement speed of the Splat Roller makes it possible to hold turf, but a bit difficult. Use the other weapons in this kit to help supplement its shortcomings, like using the Curling Bombs to hit enemies at a range. The Big Bubbler is great for defensive positioning, since it allows you to hang back and hit oncoming players with your ink-fling attack. The additional benefit it provides to teammates is also a plus and rounds out this solid weapon.
2/4
Flingza Roller
Unlocked at Level 20, this loadout features the Flingza Roller as the main weapon, with the Ink Mine as the Sub Weapon and the Tenta Missiles as the Special Weapon.
Main Weapon: Flingza Roller
The Flingza Roller has the ink-flinging range of the Dynamo Roller without the slow speed and wind-up time. However, this comes at the cost of a significantly higher damage drop off over distance than the Dynamo Roller.
It has decent mobility and its short range attacks are slightly better than the Splat Roller. The turf-inking ability of the Flingza Roller strikes a nice balance between average speed and a wide brush. It does gain a bonus increase in movement speed after one second of rolling. As a trade off, it consumes more ink while rolling as well.
Its ink-flinging attack has a base damage of 150, but it drops off significantly at a distance, only doing 40 damage at max distance. The close range attacks of the Flingza Roller fare better, with a base 150 damage as well, but without the dramatic drop off over distance. While this attack doesn’t have the range of the ink-fling, it is more consistent in its damaging capabilities.
Sub Weapon: Ink Mine
The Ink Mine is another defensive weapon, but it has much more offensive potential than the Sprinkler. Deploying the Ink Mine places it in a stationary position hidden under the ink. When an enemy player gets within its range, it will activate, dealing 45 direct damage and 35 splash damage. This is a great weapon to set in a strategic position, such as a high traffic area or around a corner, and forget it.
Special Weapon: Tenta Missiles
The Tenta Missiles are one of the best Special Weapons in the game. Deploying this weapon allows the user to lock onto enemies before firing a barrage of missiles. Each missile does a base damage of 150 with 30 splash damage. A direct hit from one of the missiles is lethal. Enemies will be forced to scatter when locked onto by the missiles, allowing you to flush them out of strategic areas.
Flingza Roller Strategy
While ranged combat is possible with the Flingza Roller, it is not ideal due to the damage drop off. A better strategy is to take advantage of the close range damage and mobility of the roller to ink as much turf as you can while closing in on enemies before splatting them. The range of the ink-fling can be useful for inking turf at a distance, but be wary of trying to splat enemies with it in a tight situation. Deploy the Ink Mine in strategic situations as you are able and try to build up Battle Points to unleash the Tenta Missiles as much as possible. Causing your opponents to scatter amongst the chaos of the Tenta Missiles can be very advantageous to your team.
1/4
Carbon Roller
Unlocked at Level 6, this loadout features the Carbon Roller as the Main Weapon, with the Autobomb as the Sub Weapon and the Zipcaster as the Special Weapon.
Main Weapon: Carbon Roller
The lightest and fastest of the rollers is the Carbon Roller. This roller has excellent speed and mobility when rolling and when flinging ink. Despite the high speed and mobility, it still has the power to splat opponents with one hit from an ink-flinging attack. Overall, it has a much shorter range and weaker power when rolling, taking multiple hits to splat opponents when rolling over them.
Hitting an opponent while rolling only does 70 damage, meaning it will take multiple hits to splat them. Inking-flinging both at close and long range has a base damage of 125 that drops off somewhat over distance. However, due to the overall shorter range of the Carbon Roller, the damage drop off is not as significant. It has an efficient ink consumption and bonus movement speed while rolling over inkable surfaces. The combination of these factors make the Carbon Roller the best roller in Splatoon 3 by a huge margin.
Sub Weapon: Autobomb
The Autobomb is a good Sub Weapon for supporting a Main Weapon with limited range like the Carbon Roller. Tossing this weapon will have it automatically seek out enemies nearby and explode after getting close to them. This can be useful for taking out unsuspecting enemies if you toss this bomb just behind them. It does 180 points of direct damage and 30 points of splash damage. If no enemies are in range, the Autobomb will simply explode after a couple seconds.
Special Weapon: Zipcaster
The Zipcaster is a new Special Weapon introduced in Splatoon 3. While it can be tricky to master, it can be incredibly helpful, especially when using a close range weapon like the Carbon Roller. This Special Weapon allows the player to zip from wall to wall by stretching their arms to ridiculous lengths for a brief period of time. They leave ink at the sites of impact and along the path traveled. It does 95 points of direct damage at the site of impact and 35 points of splash damage. After the 12-second time period, the player will return to the point where they activated the weapon.
Carbon Roller Strategy
The strategy for this loadout revolves around speed and mobility. The Carbon Roller is excellent at inking turf fast and getting in splatting range of your opponents. Use the Autobomb to take out enemies from a distance or escape pursuing enemies. While the Zipcaster can be a tough ability to use, once you get the hang of it you can use it to zip behind opponents and splat them at close range with the Carbon Roller. Take some time to practice using the Zipcaster effectively and this strategy can be incredibly useful!
Join the High Ground
Do you agree with us on what the best roller in Splatoon 3 is? Let us know which roller is your favorite in the comments below. And make sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss any of our upcoming Splatoon 3 guides!
Happy gaming!
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yall have carbon as the best roller in the game?
I hate the zipcaster special the most lol. The dynamo roller has been my favorite cause I like being able to roll right over someone and it has the widest path when painting. Right now I’m trying to perfect my use of the flingza roller. Tenta missiles are great except when you keep getting splatted when trying to use them.