Abilities

[_clementine]

With my Carbon Roller, which I mainly use in Turf Wars, I'm using gear with these main abilities: , , .
With my Aerospray RG, which I mainly use in Ranked, I'm using gear with these main abilities: , ,

Other abilities I think look good are and .

But I still don't really feel like I have a good grip on what my favourites are, and what gear I should go for. I think it probably depends on your strategy and weapons, but all of them seem good, and I can't seem to figure out what's best for me. How do you decide on what gear you're going to use?

 

[Astral]

Ill just play the weapon for a bit and see what it needs and keep using trial and error. Of course unless i use some gimmick set up, in that case its max special charge ups .52 gal on rainmaker ;)

 

[Relados]

I'm spoiled by Ink Resistance, so I usually run that unless I'm using a weapon that doesn't benefit too much from it (like a charger or roller). I'd probably have more success running something else, but when you get too used to running through enemy ink often it's hard to break the habit.

I run my perfect bomb range shirt on any weapon that can use it, but on others I try to maximize special gain as much as my equipment will allow (after all, there's no more annoying opponent than one that pulls out their special eight times a match). After that, it's a crapshoot, I'll try sinking it into attack if the weapon can actually use it, otherwise I'll get some kind of ink saver.

 

[Scones]

I can't live without Ink Resistance. It saves your skin more than any other ability. Cold Blooded is also amazing especially in ranked. Of course, if your opponents don't have Echo/Sensor it's useless. Once I have those two things I usually get as many swim speeds as I can. Gotta go fast! This is especially important for close-mid range weapons as swimming is your primary method of both advancing and retreating.
A side note on ninja squid, experiment with it for a while but you will eventually drop it as you git gud. The loss of swim speed is brutal and you can substitute slow swimming or squidtrotting with practice.

 

[_clementine]

I actually have experimented with Ninja Squid, because some people on Miiverse were raving on about how good it is. But I didn't really find it useful at all; there were no instances that it actually helped me, and it just slowed me down. I really like being fast in most games that I play.

I think that I'm going to go with a system like this for deciding on gear:

1. See what your weaknesses are. Are there abilities that can help cover those areas? (i.e. Seekers take a lot of ink, so you probably want sub ink savers)
2. What strategies do you use a lot when using that weapon? What would you utilize the most in regular play? Consider your sub and specials. (i.e. If you Inkzookas are a key part of your play, you might want more special savers)
3. What modes are you planning to play in? (You might want more ink savers and such for Turf Wars)
4. If you really want to go deep into it, when you're researching your gear, you can look at the brands to make sure that there's a higher probability of rolling desirable sub abilities.

 

[Phobos]

I experimented a lot with different combinations of abilities, til I settled on the builds which I enjoy and favour my playstyle. Two things to experiment with: 1) picking a diverse range of abilities, to give yourself lots of little buffs, and 2) focussing on a narrow range of abilities, and stacking them for increased effect. After experimenting with these two approaches I more or less settled on the latter.

If you're just focussing on the three mains (and so, not including subs), then I'd recommend trying the following:
Carbon Roller: ,, and then,, or . Swim speed is universally useful, and as a carbon you'll be in assassin mode, so it's especially useful. Damage up will marginally improve the effective range/spread of your flick, but - more importantly - buff your burst bombs. If you use bombs a lot (and you should) then ink recovery can be useful while you're still getting a feel for how much you can spam them, but after that then bomb range is really handy, allowing you to pressure and kill from some distance outside the range of your flick. But special charge up is also worth considering since it allows you to have the Zooka primed more quickly.
Aero RG: ,, The aero's key strength is that it affords great mobility, so combining the two speed buffs capitalises on that, and cold blooded will ensure that your efforts at tearing around the map aren't hampered by echolocators.

 

[Relados]

Concerning Ninja Squid, I was one of those who started out thinking it was absolutely necessary and then tossing it out later when I realized swimming fast was more important. From what I hear, it's still highly important if you play an inkbrush.

 

[Scones]

Concerning Ninja Squid, I was one of those who started out thinking it was absolutely necessary and then tossing it out later when I realized swimming fast was more important. From what I hear, it's still highly important if you play an inkbrush.

A lot of inkbrushes seem to swear by it but I never use it myself when I brush. It does give you a better ability to go offensive but frankly I think the inkbrush is better suited to retreating if an enemy knows you are there. As for the octobrush..... Ninja squid nerfs your kraken. Perhaps I'll give it another go when the octo nov comes out.

*Edit*
Replying to the op, you might want to consider over in just about any circumstance. The primary benefit of is that it allows you to fire you main for a bit longer after you have used a sub which takes most of your ink. The thing is that does the same thing while also benefiting you if you don't use your sub. Really the only time I have seen it be worth it is if you use + to get off a fast 4th burst bomb. If you guys have any other examples I'd like to hear them.

 

[Jet Uppercut]

Ink Saver Sub reduces the amount of Ink Used by a sub weapon, which also reduces the amount of time between using a sub weapon and beginning Ink Recovery again. I would say sub is important for any sub weapon you can't toss two of on a single tank. Unless it has Echolocator or Bomb Rush.

 

[Dolphoshi]

I use a very strange set up for my e-liter I will use for my head (though I have found that is great) for shirt (BURST BOMBS!) and for legs I hate damage up because if you are e-liter you use your gun for long if they are to close then you throw burst bombs at them (and pray it's not a blaster) but I will always have ninja squid I can ambush with any of my weapons

 

[SquiliamTentacles]

Concerning Ninja Squid, I was one of those who started out thinking it was absolutely necessary and then tossing it out later when I realized swimming fast was more important. From what I hear, it's still highly important if you play an inkbrush.

For the brush, I decided to combine both Ninja Squid and Swim Speed to become a fast offencive player that can ambush players in the ink. There are not too many abilities good for the inkbrush, but this loadout works for me.

main subs
main subs
(Squid Girl Shoes) main subs

Although it does rely on a few lucky rolls, it gives me a significant boost in speed, while keeping me hidden from opponents when retreating or attacking. Ink Saver Main is good on about everything, and Special Charge Up goes well with both versions, helping you support the team with and

It is still somewhat useful on the Octobrush, but I prefer to just put and as well as have (I don't have any good rolls on the )

 

[Bowrock]

I have thought of this setup: , and strapping reds. and are must-have for ranked play. is pretty neat, but the main point of is to get three subs. The other two sub abilities I want are three and three.
My current setup is with , with and with .
I main shooters, especially .52 gal, tentatek splattershot and N-Zap '89.
What do you think? Suggestions?

 

[chubbypickle]

I experimented a lot with different combinations of abilities, til I settled on the builds which I enjoy and favour my playstyle. Two things to experiment with: 1) picking a diverse range of abilities, to give yourself lots of little buffs, and 2) focussing on a narrow range of abilities, and stacking them for increased effect. After experimenting with these two approaches I more or less settled on the latter.

If you're just focussing on the three mains (and so, not including subs), then I'd recommend trying the following:
Carbon Roller: ,, and then,, or . Swim speed is universally useful, and as a carbon you'll be in assassin mode, so it's especially useful. Damage up will marginally improve the effective range/spread of your flick, but - more importantly - buff your burst bombs. If you use bombs a lot (and you should) then ink recovery can be useful while you're still getting a feel for how much you can spam them, but after that then bomb range is really handy, allowing you to pressure and kill from some distance outside the range of your flick. But special charge up is also worth considering since it allows you to have the Zooka primed more quickly.
Aero RG: ,, The aero's key strength is that it affords great mobility, so combining the two speed buffs capitalises on that, and cold blooded will ensure that your efforts at tearing around the map aren't hampered by echolocators.

how much damage should a carbon roller use to maximize the burst bombs now after the nerf?

 

[SupaTim]

With my Carbon Roller, which I mainly use in Turf Wars, I'm using gear with these main abilities: , , .
With my Aerospray RG, which I mainly use in Ranked, I'm using gear with these main abilities: , ,

Other abilities I think look good are and .

But I still don't really feel like I have a good grip on what my favourites are, and what gear I should go for. I think it probably depends on your strategy and weapons, but all of them seem good, and I can't seem to figure out what's best for me. How do you decide on what gear you're going to use?

For Carbon I like bomb range, damage up, and ink recovery. I'm also addicted to ink resistance, so I tend to use that with most of my builds (although I'm trying to wean myself off of it).

Carbon Roller Build

Spoiler

Pilot Goggles |
Part-Time Pirate |
Red Hi-Tops |

For aerosrays I like movement speed and special charge. With the buff to special duration I think that could be useful as well. I used to wear ninja squid exclusively, but the speed nerf really hurt these weapons that want to close quickly. It is still fun occasionally on maps with lots of open space to swim strafe.

Aerospray Build

Spoiler

Stealth Goggles |
Sunny Day Tee |
Red High Tops |

When deciding on loadouts I tend to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the weapon I'm using. Do I shore up on weaknesses or increase the strengths? Part of it depends on experience with the weapon, part of it depends on playstyle, part of it comes down to what gear I have available, and part might just be goofing around.

Some things are kinda set, like burst bombs: If I am using a weapon with burst bombs I want at minimum one main + one sub of damage (ideally 6 subs or better of damage up). For short or mid range weapons with burst bombs I want to run some bomb range to help take out people who outrange me.

For Turf War I like to stand and shoot a lot, so I tend to run lots of ink efficiency abilities, sometimes even on guns with good ink efficiency. So the CJS gets damage up for burst bombs, but also ink recovery and ink saver so that I can pressure people.

For guns with echolocator, I like to run special charge and tenacity to get my echo faster. I've found that it telling my friends where my opponents are really helps.

Finally, swim speed is universally helpful. So I try to fit my hi-tops in just about every build. If not my high tops, definitely a main or three subs somewhere in the build.