Splatana Wiper sets: Ranked Mode

Splat Zones: Vanilla set

It's important to keep your options open in Splat Zones. Sure you want to flank and deliver that sweet charged swipe at point blank range but you must retreat and keep that stage painted if noticed. You have good painting range on horizontal swipes while offering fire support with charged shots.

With flanking being the main objective, Torpedo thrown from odd angles are more likely to survive and paint the ground. They're also your most likely tool to chip damage and lead to a splat, essential in a game mode where loss of control can occur instantaneously. Don't just trade paint: flank and aim to gain splats.

When in a bind, building meter is easy and productive in setting up the stage for a counterattack. Ultra Stamp is a versatile slaying special made all the more deadly when stemming from flank. It's a great tool to push advantage, essential considering the lack of defensive options from the wiper.

Tower Control: Deco set

Painting and special farming is a greater part of what you do than direct combat. Your charged slashes can be blocked by the edges of the tower, making tower fighting difficult. Some have found success with melee strikes on the tower itself but you're far more likely to be a target.

Tenta Missiles is the prize and what will get players to target you instead of the tower. It is important to always follow-up on a missile barrage, combining damage sources. Stick by the tower to fight along teammates but don't be afraid to break away: the fear of missile spam should get foes to follow you.

If you can seed Squid Beakons outside of the general fighting area, you can relieve pressure from the tower itself. Use as offerings to the enemy, then sneak in and connect at point blank range. With poor fighting ability against alert opponents, the Wiper seeks to add distractions and potential threats to the field.

Rainmaker: Deco set

Concentrate on shredding the barrier and let teammates deal with the enemy. Escape as soon as the Rainmaker is free, searching for ways to flank and eliminate potential targets. Stealth is a necessity: you want time to identify your best plays. Let the enemy chase you, allowing your teammates to run the Rainmaker.

Tossing a Torpedo would only show your hand. Instead you want to take a route unseen by your foes and evaluate options: double back and melee splat, build meter or drop a Squid Beakon. As a mixed support weapon, your options become increasingly limited the closer you lean towards the goal. Consider picking up the Rainmaker during final stretches.

Tenta Missiles are a noncommittal special that shreds through concentrated defenses. If you ever find yourself stuck at the front lines, they're a good way to shake things up so as to slink into a flanking path. You don't want to stick at the front lines but often meter building  is the only option you have. 

Clam Blitz: Vanilla set

Although stage painting is an important part of what you do, you'll need to play more aggressively and avoid protracted fire battles for contested clam spawns. This means going on the offensive and splatting the enemy before they go on the defensive. You'll need all your direct damage tools to achieve this.

Luckily you have an inexpensive point cost to Ultra Stamp. This means you can activate special at a whim and regain advantage when discovered. Torpedo acts both as a smokescreen covering escapes, a meter building tool and a way to point out targets to your mates.

Wiper is a fast lightweight that nonetheless can't slash and move at the same time, making it ill-suited at stealing clams under enemy control. So concentrate on either eliminating, harassing or identifying enemies first; only gathering the clams when the risk is eliminated.