Competitive:Squid Beakon

Unofficial!

This article discusses content that is not part of the official Splatoon series but is part of the community or competitive gaming space.

For information about the Squid Beakon, see Squid Beakon.

Splatoon 2

Splatoon 2

Squid Beakon

Abbreviations
Sub
Special
Base damage
Base duration	∞, two uses
Ink consumption	75%
Special points
Special depletion
Role
Strengths	Rapid redeployment and retreat of self and teammates, detects nearby opponents, potential distraction tool
Weaknesses	No damage or turfing, value decreases as stage dimensions decrease

While the Squid Beakon returns from the original Splatoon to fulfill its original function of providing Super Jump landing points, it receives numerous buffs over the cycle of Splatoon 2: reduced ink consumption (since version 1.3.0), reduced travel time with Sub Power Up (since version 1.4.0), the ability to reveal nearby opponents (since version 2.3.0), and the allowance of two uses by most teammates (since Version 4.2.0). While its use can be situational and its presence on a short-ranged weapon's kit denies it a lethal bomb, it can prove invaluable on stages that are longer or wider or have plenty of verticality.

Use

The Squid Beakon, while not useful for attacking, can provide other uses:

• The main purpose of the Squid Beakon is to provide a place for teammates and the player to Super Jump to. Place Squid Beakons in hidden places as opponents can see them on their map and destroy them.
  • Squid Beakons can allow for a wiped team to get back into the front lines.
  • They also can give a teammate a better spot to jump to if the rest of the opponents are in danger.
• Opponents near a Squid Beakon show up on your map as long as they are within a certain radius of it. Use this to your advantage to watch for flankers.
• The Squid Beakon can also be used as a temporary shield. If under fire, place a Squid Beakon and the shots will be blocked until the Beakon breaks
• The Squid Beakon can be used as bait. Hide in ink near the Beakon, and when an opponent comes close to it, quickly splat them.
  • Note that this may not work if the opponent has a longer ranged weapon.
  • Be careful not to waste too much time around the Beakon.
• Unlike shorter ranged weapons with Squid Beakon, longer ranged weapons, such as the Ballpoint Splatling Nouveau, benefit most from Squid Beakon, as they do not need bombs to poke at longer range.

Synergy

The Squid Beakon increases the mobility of its user and their teammates, but this comes at the cost of not having a secondary means of damaging opponents — usually in the form of lethal bombs, such as Splat or Suction Bombs. Lethal bombs provide their user's team a couple advantages over another team that has no lethal bombs in its composition:

• Their one-hit-splat offers its user's team chances of instantly gaining a numbers advantage, from which a game-winning push can arise.
• Their lethal explosion provides space for its user's team to either push into an area held by the opponent or stall an opponent's push.
• They can be used for poking at and zoning out opponents during the neutral phase, stalling an opponent's push, providing its user time and space to escape, or denying opponents safe access to important areas of the stage, such as the Tower, that might not be easy to fire at with the main weapon.
• The turf inked by the resulting explosion contributes to both maintaining map control and building up the special gauge.

Countermeasures

Squid Beakons in the hands of a skilled opponent can provide them and their teammates a quick means of reinforcing their numbers, especially when they are on the offensive. Understanding how to handle opposing Beakons and their users can save you and your team plenty of headaches.

• A player with Object Shredder can destroy most opponents' objects, such as Squid Beakons, with one shot. Rapid-firing weapons can do this more quickly and efficiently.
• Only eight weapons carry Squid Beakons in their kits. If an opponent has one of them, then periodically open the map with to see if they have planted any and destroy those within easy reach whenever possible.
• Opposing users of mobile, short-ranged, Skirmisher/Slayer hybrid weapons might try to plant Beakons in your team's base to either set up a spawn camp or create a distraction. In general, try to get rid of these opponents before attempting to remove their Beakons, and remember that they lack lethal bombs, giving most other weapon users a huge advantage in a one-on-one matchup.
• Opposing users of longer-ranged or less mobile weapons will generally place their Beakons in locations intended to provide safe Super Jump landing points for themselves and their teammates. These locations tend to be hidden behind cover or on elevated areas that are not easy to shoot at. Lethal bombs can be used to destroy opposing Beakons that are harder to reach.