Splattershot Pro sets: Ranked Mode

Splat Zones: Forge set

If this were Splatoon 2 I'd suggest the vanilla set. Point Sensors were actually quite effective at covering a large area of the Zones and allowed you to be ink economical with your shots; saving on guesswork for the ink thirsty Splattershot Pro. Angle Shooter just doesn't work the same way.

That's why you bring the Forge set and toss a Suction Bomb to remove large sections of the Zone from enemy control. Reduce your opponent's fighting space, hem them in and eliminate. Long bombs might also cause enemies to swim forwards and into your lines of sight. 

Booyah Bomb is the push breaker, with the main weapon having outstanding synergy with the special. It's large scale area takeover, forcing enemies out of cover so you can advance on them. All in all, the new Splattershot strategy seeks to eliminate large areas of turf under enemy control so as to splat individual targets piecemeal.

Tower Control: Forge set

A no-brainer: Suction Bomb for the tower and breaking through defensive positions, while Booyah Bomb makes for a better special for a mobile midrange slayer than Crab Tank. A strict upgrade by all respect, right? Regular bombings should flush opponents out of cover and make quick eliminations easier.

The Splattershot Pro is a top rate tower rider and defender, using height advantage and its great rate of fire at range to dominate. You're a slayer first, so privilege splats over advancing. Work outside the tower for clear lines of sight or you'll have to rely on Suction Bombs to draw opponents into the open.

Suction Bombs see more usage around Checkpoints where they destroy any semblance of organized offense and segment the playing field into individual battles. Booyah Bomb becomes a defensive special preventing any entry to the tower, or anywhere within your immediate location.

Rainmaker: Vanilla set

The Splattershot Pro doesn't exactly deal poor DPS to the Rainmaker barrier but is lacking compared to every other short ranged weapon. Embrace its status as a slayer and attack enemies who would target the shield directly. You want a full offense set which ideally tracks the movement of small evasive fighters.

Play predator, with Angle Shooter effectively boosting the threat level of your main gun. The subweapon is also great at damaging enemy chargers, or helping the Rainmaker carrier to launch big bombs accurately. You're playing the field linearly, and Angle Shooter's infinite range challenges everyone in front of you.

Crab Tank is a multipurpose beater when tacked on to a midrange shooter. It is as much of a defensive powerhouse as it is a defense breaker. It throws out an exceeding amount of cover fire to allow a Rainmaker carrier to advance. And it only costs 180p on a weapon that easily paints in enemy territory.

Clam Blitz: Vanilla set

In Splatoon 2, I would recommend the Forge set for bombing defensive players and gain huge area advantage from Bubble Blower... Nowadays this all seems kinda much and the vanilla set's new Angle Shooter seems like a less costly alternative while keeping all the relevant advantages.

First of all, forget about painting ground; you're a dedicated midrange slayer. Angle Shooter seems good enough at flushing out short ranged clam runners at half the price of a suction bomb. Concentrate on marking and eliminating targets methodically to avoid surprises in this chaotic mode.

Crab Tank is your dedicated line breaker. It's a stronger tool than Booyah Bomb as it doesn't ask you to "sweep up" for splats after launching. Immediate activation serves it on defense, where it is more likely to halt a clam runner. In fact, it'll stop an entire push singlehandedly through sheer weight of firepower.

End Thoughts

Pretty happy about how set distribution worked out for the Splattershot Pro, now all there is to decide is the ability build. As much as I harp about the Pro being a slayer, its offensive abilities have diminished without Main Power Up. You'll return to Quick Respawn and Stealth Jump, but I don't think Forge can come through without ink savers, while Crab Tank is too good to ignore Special Charge Up.