Splatoon Raiders: 10 Best Weapon Types, Ranked

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Published Jul 28, 2026, 1:42 PM EDT

Daniel Trock is a Contributor at DualShockers specializing in PC games, lists, and reviews. He has been writing professionally since 2018 and covering games since 2020, with previous work spanning guides, news, lists, and reviews across multiple publications.

Before joining DualShockers, Daniel contributed guides to GamerJournalist and lists to TheGamer. He currently covers tech topics for SlashGear and BGR. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Marist College and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing from Western Connecticut State University.

Splatoon Raiders carries over most of the weapon times from the mainline Splatoon games, including their basic stats and functions. If you’ve played the mainline games enough, you probably already have your preferences as far as weapons are concerned. However, Raiders is a little different from the main games, and from Salmon Run as well.

In Raiders, notwithstanding online play, you’re all on your own rather than battling against other players, and unlike in Salmon Run, you’re usually trying to progress objectives rather than just splatting as many Salmonids as you can before the timer runs out. As such, the quantifiers that may determine which weapon of the 11 weapon types work best for you may be slightly different than what you’re used to. To that end, let’s reexamine the top 10 of those weapon types, considering all of their included variants, to determine which one is best for all-purpose raiding and Salmonid-busting.

10 Brellas

Singin’ in the Rain

Brellas are a hybrid offense and defense weapon originally introduced in Splatoon 2, coincidentally around the time the tactical gun umbrella was introduced in the first Kingsman movie. Each pull of the trigger fires a short burst of ink, while holding the trigger deploys a defensive canopy, which is launched ahead of you if held for a few seconds. The Brellas available in Raiders are similar to the Splat Brella and Tenta Brella.

Unfortunately, in the context of Raiders, Brellas aren’t as useful as they were in the main games’ Turf Wars. The canopy doesn’t provide a lot of defense against Salmonids, and while the rate of fire is good, having to repeatedly pull the trigger is annoying. They can be more useful if you’re playing online, as the canopy launcher can help an ally in a pinch, but for solo play, it’s mostly just a novelty pick, a fun way to mix things up from the other weapon types.

9 Sloshers

By the Bucketfull

Sloshers are an all-out offensive option consisting of the simplest ink-delivery system imaginable: a literal bucket. Every pull of the trigger launches a big glob of ink right in front of you. Raiders’ Sloshers include both regular Sloshers and Exploshers, which lob ink bullets further that explode on impact.

If all you care about is dealing large swaths of damage right in front of you, a Slosher isn’t a terrible pick. The short-range damage they deal is undeniable, though the big trade-off is that their ink consumption rate is awful. Both types of Slosher will suck your ink tank dry in just a few shots, forcing you to keep diving down into your ink to refuel. As with Brellas, Sloshers are better in online play where you have allies to watch your back, but in solo play, where all you have is a member of Deep Cut in the Exploration Bot, it’s not quite as viable, sadly.

8 Stringers

Double Action, Double Fun

Stringers are a modular bow-and-arrow-like weapon originally introduced in Splatoon 3. You can fire ink arrows rapidly by tapping the trigger, or charge up to fire larger, stronger, further-reaching shots. The shot spread is usually horizontal, but if you jump before firing, it switches to a vertical spread. Only Tri-Stringers are represented in Splatoon Raiders.

How good a Stringer is against Salmonids depends largely on your personal skill level. The skill ceiling on this thing is quite high; I personally know someone who is absolutely cracked with a Stringer, while I can’t use one to save my life. If you’re good with a Stringer, or are willing to put in the practice to get good, it could be a very reliable companion for you, though considering how many weapons you’re likely to go through in Raiders’ campaign, putting that much effort into learning a single weapon type may not provide the best return unless you get good quickly.

7 Splatlings

Wind Up and Shoot

The Splatling is exactly what it looks like: an ink-shooting minigun. Squeeze the trigger to spin up the barrel, and it’ll fire a stream of low-damage, high-speed shots when you let go, with the firing duration depending on how long you held the trigger down for. Raiders features both Heavy Splatlings and Mini Splatlings.

Similarly to Stringers, Splatlings take some practice to really get good with, since they basically require you to reverse your thinking compared to most other weapons. You need to take the time to spin up the barrel and let it go, rather than just automatically letting loose all the ink in your tank. The Heavy Splatling models’ higher capacity, in particular, means longer waits before shot volleys, which can leave you exposed to Salmonid hordes. If you can wrap your head around it, though, a Splatling’s sustained fire is great for suppressing Salmonid hordes and dealing consistent damage to Boss Salmonids.

6 Chargers

Pump, Pump, Pump it Up

Chargers are one of the few definitively long-range weapons in the Splatoon series. As the name implies, their gimmick is that you hold the trigger to charge them up, and when their meter is full, they unleash a single, powerful shot of ink across a long distance. Raiders’ Charger types include the Squiffer and the E-Liter 4K.

Chargers are another weapon that you’re either really good with or absolutely terrible with, and for the most part, it comes down to how good of a shot you are. If you’ve got dead eye aim, plus a good sense of timing for the charge-up, you can land consecutive shots on priority Salmonid targets and weak points like nobody’s business. If you don’t, well… you don’t. Finding vantage points in the smaller arenas to use a Charger in, especially the longer-range, longer-charge 4K Chargers, can also be difficult, though you can make those vantage points yourself with creative use of the Exploration Bot’s Bot Hop ability. You gotta be a mobile sniper with crackshot aim and an itchy trigger finger. The End, basically, you gotta be The End from Metal Gear Solid 3.

5 Rollers

Rolling Out

Rollers are one of the Splatoon series’ signature weapons, and its most prominent form of short-range damage-dealing. Tapping the trigger has you fling ink in a wide swath, switching to a vertical swath when jumping, while holding the trigger places the Roller in front of you, inking and damaging as you run forward. Raiders’ represented Rollers include the Dynamo Roller and the Big Swig Roller.

Rollers are the classic unga bunga rushdown weapon. They have absolutely no distance game, but up close and personal, they’re monsters, which is good, because the majority of Salmonids are more than happy to get up close and personal with you. The running attack can instantly splat most smaller Salmonids, while the ink fling does hefty damage to larger targets. It has a low rate of fire, which isn’t as effective against hefty Boss Salmonids that move around a lot, but once you’ve got them pinned down, you can pour on the damage like there’s no tomorrow, especially if your Roller is paired with one of the better Gadgets like the Splatchet.

4 Blasters

Pop Goes the Salmonid

Blasters are mid-range explosive weapons, similar to Shooters but with straighter shots and better AoE damage. Pulling the trigger on a Blaster fires an ink shot a short distance in front of you, which then explodes either at the end of its trajectory or upon hitting an enemy. Raiders’ represented Blasters include the traditional Blaster and the Rapid Blaster Pro.

Blasters are a nice three-way middle ground between short-range, long-range, and explosive weapon types. It does take a bit of practice to understand the trajectory of the ink shot and the subsequent explosion, but not nearly as much as some other weapons, and the rapid-fire models allow you to consistently pelt enemy targets with decent damage. As far as dealing with Salmonid hordes go, the regular Blaster models like the Steam Blaster are a solid all-around pick, with the damage from the explosion wiping away most lesser Salmonids instantly and, assuming direct hits, dealing hearty damage to Boss Salmonids.

3 Dualies

Two for the Price of One

Dualies are two-in-one weapons consisting of two small ink shooters working in tandem. Holding the trigger launches two streams of ink shots from both nozzles, and pressing the jump button while you’re firing allows you to perform up to two dodge rolls in any direction. After a dodge roll, the two reticles converge, and the streams from both nozzles join together for higher focused damage. Raiders’ represented Dualies include the Splat Dualies and the Glooga Dualies.

If you’re the kind of player who loves to dash in and out of danger, peppering enemies with fire as you go, you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Dualie-user. At the baseline, the Dualies’ ink streams are easy to handle and deal relatively consistent damage, good for everyday combat. With mastery over the dodge roll mechanic, though, your damage-dealing potential can skyrocket, not to mention your ability to quickly escape a dangerous situation if your Gadgets are recharging. Combined with the right Speed Tank Gadgets, and you’ve got a recipe for high-mobility gameplay.

2 Shooters

You Can’t Beat the Classics

Shooters are the simplest and earliest of all Splatoon series weapons, the baseline from which most other weapon types emerge. They’re delightfully simple and easy to use: just hold down the trigger, and you’ll keep shooting ink in a fanning stream until you let go or run out, with the actual spread of ink depending on the type of Shooter you’re using. Raiders’ Shooters represent the most sub-types of any weapon, specifically including the Splattershot, Splattershot Jr., and Jet Squelcher.

You can never go wrong with a good ol’ fashioned Shooter, whether in Raiders or any other Splatoon game. They’re reliable, no-frills weapons with consistent damage and economic ink usage. If the more exotic weapon types are proving too hard for you, you can always count on a Shooter for a breather. All Shooter types have their perks; the Splattershots are balanced, the Jr’s consume less ink, and the Squelchers fire at a longer range, so just pick whatever works for you, and it’ll probably do just fine so long as it’s sufficiently leveled.

1 Splatanas

Studying the Blade

Originally introduced in Splatoon 3, the Splatana is one of the most unusual weapons in the series, especially among the short-range options. Repeatedly tapping the trigger will produce horizontal slashes that damage enemies right in front of you, as well as short-range ink waves that damage enemies a little further away. Charging up your slash will cause it to deal more damage and fly a little further, and you can also lunge into your charged slash by holding forward on the left stick. Only one type of Splatana is represented in Raiders, the Splatana Stamper.

Despite its unusual design, the Splatana is the unquestioned king of short-range weapons. The quick slashes can deal with most Lesser Salmonids, while fully-charged slashes, delivered at point-blank range, pack some of the highest damage values in the game. As with the Roller, since most Salmonids make a habit of rushing right at you, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to use the Splatana to its utmost potential. The only real downside is that you’ll have to get right up in enemies' faces to use it, which is obviously dangerous, but with the right Gadgets, you can duck in and out of the fray as necessary.