u/zehlabolice

I mean, look at its long frame and bottom cloud. To me this is the body shape of a Gmax form.

Cooler, much like Ink Armor and Bubbler in the previous games, gives me the impression Nogami shouldn't ever try implementing a team-wide support special again, for he and his team can't seem to know how to balance them. And I know Splatoon 3's meta is currently the most diverse it's ever been, that still doesn't make it healthy.

The special's buffs are too important not to be run. Who would've thought halving respawn time, completely negating special depletion, and an instant teleport all in one set, available for your whole team, was stupid? All those are buffs you can't all fit in one set. It makes killing feel unimpactful, and even if special spam isn't exactly that prevalent anymore, it will ensure it remains as annoying as possible should it be good. In short Cooler speeds up the pace of gameplay to a point you can't keep up if you're up coolerless against one.

The special lacks clear drawbacks and no, blowing your Ninja Squid strat isn't a proper downside. Taking Cooler should make you weigh your options. I think you could invert the special depletion effect- make you lose 75% of your gauge when you die while buffed. The effect could be changed to end as soon as you land from a single super jump, or it could even be reworked to function like S1 Bubbler duration wise- no matter how late you grab it your effect will end at the same time as the first guy who picked up a drink.