S-Blaster Nerf Skipped in Latest Splatoon 3 Update, Sparking Community Outcry

The latest game balance adjustment update for the popular shooting game "Splatoon 3" has caused a significant stir in the player community, as the highly popular and powerful weapon "S-Blaster" was not nerfed. Many users have expressed their dissatisfaction with this adjustment, citing its overwhelming strength.

The "S-Blaster" has long been recognized as one of the "meta weapons" dominating the competitive environment due to its high kill speed, mobility, and one-on-one combat performance. Players who prefer short-range weapons, in particular, have cried out, "The S-Blaster is completely messing up the meta, short-range weapons can't breathe!" and "The current meta makes one-on-one combat impossible!"

In response to the S-Blaster not being adjusted in this update, numerous posts on X (formerly Twitter) expressed disappointment, such as "No S-Blaster nerf...? I see, I see," "They're letting the S-Blaster off the hook?" and "S-Blaster left untouched~ that's surprising." There are also theories circulating, like "I think they intend to counter the S-Blaster by increasing the number of weapons with high mobility and fast kill speeds in the meta. I sense an intention not to weaken the S-Blaster's main weapon any further," and speculations about the development team's policy of balancing by strengthening other weapons rather than directly nerfing powerful ones. Some opinions suggest, "It would be faster to just nerf it normally than to strengthen the .52 Gal to counter the S-Blaster."

Questions directed at the development and operations team are also erupting. Comments speculating on the development team's approach to balance adjustments and internal affairs are flying around, such as "It really feels like the developers aren't playing this game and are just looking at numbers," "I bet a lot of the Inkling Research Lab staff use the S-Blaster," and "Tweets speculating that Mr. Nogami or his daughter uses the S-Blaster are amusing." Amidst the current situation where more players are using the S-Blaster because of its strength, some voices plead, "Don't run to power weapons like the S-Blaster!"

With the S-Blaster left untouched, many voices express concern about the "continuation of the S-Blaster meta." On the other hand, some players are adapting by saying, "The S-Blaster seems to have no changes, but it's not that important to me, and if I hate it that much, I might as well learn to use it myself." We also see users who acknowledge its strength and are considering using it, stating, "I'll quietly practice with the S-Blaster..."

This update suggests a significant gap between user expectations and the developers' intentions, and future game balance and community trends will be closely watched.

The Context

Splatoon 3 is a highly popular third-person shooter game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. Players control humanoid squid/octopus characters called Inklings or Octolings, engaging in online multiplayer battles where the objective is often to cover the most turf with ink. The game features a wide array of unique "weapons" (ブキ, buki), each with distinct attributes, specials, and sub-weapons. "Nerfing" refers to the act of weakening a weapon's performance through a game update to achieve better game balance. A "meta weapon" is one that is considered dominant or most effective in the current competitive landscape. Hisashi Nogami is a prominent Nintendo producer, known for his work on the Splatoon series, and "Inkling Research Lab" (イカ研, Ika-ken) is an affectionate and informal term used by the community to refer to the game's development team.