How to Balance: Inkbrush

[BtheDestroyer]

Allow me to preface by saying I don't play Inkbrush (anymore). I tried it when it came out, as most people do with most weapons, but I found it unusable because of specific limitations

Legend:
Buffed
Nerfed
Unchanged
Explanation

Attack Damage: 28 >> 36

Sets base hits to kill from 4 to 3 with some leeway​

Roll Damage: 20 >> 30

Sets base hits to kill from 5 to 4 with some leeway​

Range: 10 >> 15

Slight increase of range to allow safe use and ability to take on traditional weapons with actual range​

Recharge Speed: 100 >> 80

Makes misuse more punishing​

Movement Capability/Handling: 100 >> 100

No real reason to change this. It's a scouting weapon in a game where those aren't very good, so it needs the speed (and small turn radius) where it can get it​

Attack Cooldown: 0 frames >> 12 frames

On average, people can click a button 6-7 times per second which is 10-8.5 frames per click. By increasing this to 12 along with the power change, it sets the time to kill from 40-34 frames to 36 frames (0 to 100 dmg).​

Sub: Sprinkler >> Disruptor/Point Sensor

Sprinkler's just redundant. Main weapon's good for spreading ink quickly, so why get a sub that spreads ink slowly. Disruptor allows the player to run in, slow the opponent, and run away.
On the other hand, it'd become more of a scouter weapon that it was built to be.​

Special: Ink Strike >> Killer Wail/Echolocator

Again, it's redundant. Killer Wail+Disruptor is a great combo already (slow them, and then kill them while they can't move) but pairing that with the speed to get away after Disrupting to guarantee the Wail and safety is a major plus. Killer Wail+Point Sensor is also useful, as you can funnel the opponents where you want them with the Wail and then track their position on the map.
At the same time, if Point Sensor wasn't used, it'd probably be better to balance the Disruptor with Echolocator to make the weapon more available to scout the enemies' locations.​

Most of these changes are slight (excluding the sub/special changes). For example, killing an opponent at 0 dmg takes either 4 frames longer or two frames less, but killing an opponent already at 40 dmg takes 1 attack less (2 attacks, 1 cooldown period) meaning it only takes 12 frames instead of 17-20.
It's overall a buff, but only in specific situations.

 

[PK21]

Most of these changes are slight.

Uh... Completely changing its sub and special is a HUGE change, and it's actually more of a nerf. (As well as there's no way Nintendo would ever change a weapon's sub and/or special.)
The Inkbrush excels at inking. It's the best weapon for turf wars. Change its sub and special, and now the only way you can ink is with the Inkbrush itself. Congrats, you just ruined the best turf wars weapon.
I wouldn't say that changing the sub and special would make it any better in any other mode either, its flaws are with the weapon itself, not the amazing sub/special combo.
It feels like you're trying to make this weapon a weapon for killing when that's not its purpose. Its purpose is inking and distracting. Shoving disruptors and killer wail onto it won't make it a weapon for killing. If you want to use a brush focused on killing, use the Octobrush. You want to use something use something with dusruptor/killer wail combo, use the L3 Nozzlenose.
Also why would you make it rechanre ink slower? It already uses a lot of ink. :/

 

[BtheDestroyer]

Uh... Completely changing its sub and special is a HUGE change

Oh yeah, sorry about that... I added those as a suggestion from a friend who suggested the weapon's subs were redundant, which they are. I'll edit that out.

changing its sub and special is...actually more of a nerf. (As well as there's no way Nintendo would ever change a weapon's sub and/or special.)

Yeah, I thought the same thing although we could always get another alternate Inkbrush that doesn't have a janky sub/special combo like the Nouveau.
To say that the Sprinkler and Inkstrike are objectively better than the Disruptor and Killer Wail though... eh really? I mean, the Sprinkler is one of the worst subs in the game above Squid Beacons (due to how bad Super jumping is in 95% of situations) and the only reason it's above that is because they can both act as a shield and only one actually spreads ink.

The Inkbrush excels at inking. It's the best weapon for turf wars. Change its sub and special, and now the only way you can ink is with the Inkbrush itself. Congrats, you just ruined the best turf wars weapon.

Yeah... But it's turf war... Does anyone really care that much about having a top tier weapon in Turf war? This is an actual question, because I know no one who takes Turf War seriously; my Squad members, other friends, and I just use it to warm up if we haven't been playing for a few days or if we accidentally select it instead of Ranked.

Its purpose is inking and distracting.

Right, but distracting only works if you survive afterwards. If you run in trying to draw attention and die immediately because you can't hold your own against a Rapid Blaster, then we have an issue.

If you want to use a brush focused on killing, use the Octobrush

The issue is, the Octobrush took what the Inkbrush wanted to do, and just made it slow and slightly less usable. It's kill speed is slower than the Inkbrush just because of the 20 frames of cooldown between attacks. I don't use either weapon, I tried them but both seemed equally unusable because they shared the same flaws.

You want to use something use something with dusruptor/killer wail combo, use the L3 Nozzlenose.

My friend/squadmate already uses it. Duplicate weapons on a team are always bad news.

Also why would you make it rechanre ink slower? It already uses a lot of ink. :/

Not sure if it was changed, but when I initially tried it out I had no issues with using too much ink and never ran out even through a full four hours worth of games. Using your special fully recharges your ink, if you didn't know, and because you cover so much space so quickly, it's never an issue.

 

[2xDair]

It's the best weapon for turf wars. Change its sub and special, and now the only way you can ink is with the Inkbrush itself. Congrats, you just ruined the best turf wars weapon.

Best turf wars weapon? I'm pretty sure nothing compares with Aerosprays and Splattershot Jr.s in turf war. Those things cover area like nobody's business. Then again, who even cares about unranked lol.

You want to use something use something with dusruptor/killer wail combo, use the L3 Nozzlenose.

Well, there are plenty of weapons that share loadouts. Custom E-liter, Krak-on roller, and Octobrush all have the same subs and specials so it's not that big of a deal to give a weapon the same loadout as another; I think this set would actually be pretty effective on an inkbrush. It's a melee weapon so disrupter forces an opponent (or opponents) to stay put while they are ambushed. Killer wail is always good for denying an area for a few seconds and would work to partially mitigate the inkbrush's short range. The only problem I could see is that the set might actually be too powerful, seeing as inkbrush would build Killer wail often (only needs 180 points to charge) and disrupters practically guarantee that you win an engagement. It would still get outranged most weapons though, which could serve to keep it in check.

My friend/squadmate already uses it.

I'm the friend/squadmate btw. Don't worry though, I'm not just backing up whatever he says just by merit of knowing him.

 

[HappyBear801]

Best turf wars weapon? I'm pretty sure nothing compares with Aerosprays and Splattershot Jr.s in turf war. Those things cover area like nobody's business. Then again, who even cares about unranked lol.

I care. I care very deeply.

 

[2xDair]

I care. I care very deeply.

Sorry. I should have put a trigger warning too, just in case some poor squid later on has traumatic flashbacks after reading my post.

 

[PK21]

I mean, the Sprinkler is one of the worst subs in the game above Squid Beacons (due to how bad Super jumping is in 95% of situations) and the only reason it's above that is because they can both act as a shield and only one actually spreads ink.

.-.
What.
Please go into further detain on why you think a vital part of the game is bad and you should almost never use it.

Best turf wars weapon? I'm pretty sure nothing compares with Aerosprays and Splattershot Jr.s in turf war. Those things cover area like nobody's business. Then again, who even cares about unranked lol

Yeah come back later when you see an Aerospray or Splattershot Jr get over 2,000 points.

Also it's not like the game was made with Turf Wars in mind, and Turf Wars isn't the mode Nintendo advertises most of the time, and Turf Wars isn't the only mode playable 100% of the time because it's the main and most played mode of the game, and Turf Wars isn't the only playable mode during Splatfest. Yep.

 

[LMG]

Yeah come back later when you see an Aerospray or Splattershot Jr get over 2,000 points.

Actually I'd dare to say that the Aerospray, Splattershot Jr. and Inkbrush are some of the best ink-spreading weapons (not to say one is better than the other). Any weapon with a high rate of fire and wide spread can cover a lot of ink fairly fast and efficiently. I usually get over 1200 points in the best-case-scenarios with my Heavy Splatling and around 600-700 in the worst-case-scenarios, and if there's one of those weapons in the match they tend to outscore me (or at least I expect them to)

 

[BtheDestroyer]

.-.
What.
Please go into further detain on why you think a vital part of the game is bad and you should almost never use it.

here it is explained by FLC, one of the best players in the world who literally races himself to S+ from C-

Also it's not like the game was made with Turf Wars in mind, and Turf Wars isn't the mode Nintendo advertises most of the time, and Turf Wars isn't the only mode playable 100% of the time because it's the main and most played mode of the game, and Turf Wars isn't the only playable mode during Splatfest. Yep.

Nintendo is also adamantly against making any of their games competitive in any way, so if you're going to use them as your reference here, you may as well go over to Smashboards and explain that everyone is doing it wrong because Nintendo said so.

Yeah come back later when you see an Aerospray or Splattershot Jr get over 2,000 points.

It's really not that hard... I got 2.3k with a Luna blaster once. That same round I got 23 kills and died 3 times.

 

[PK21]

here it is explained by FLC, one of the best players in the world who literally races himself to S+ from C-

A video from June probably isn't the best source since we've gotten 2 more modes, 5 maps, dozens of new weapons, and balance patches. Trying to win Tower Control or Rainmaker without Super Jumping is going to be very difficult since if you die near the goal, you have to walk/swim all the way to their base when they can move the tower/rainmaker back to at least the center in that much time.
Also stealth isn't a big part in TC since the tower is clearly labeled so the lack of stealth isn't THAT big of an issue.

This is getting off topic so I'll stop talking.

It's really not that hard... I got 23k with a Luna blaster once. That same round I got 23 kills and died 3 times.

What kind of hacks are you using.

 

[BtheDestroyer]

Trying to win Tower Control or Rainmaker without Super Jumping is going to be very difficult since if you die near the goal, you have to walk/swim all the way to their base when they can move the tower/rainmaker back to at least the center in that much time.

C- strats right here. A better solution: don't die in the first place.

Also stealth isn't a big part in TC since the tower is clearly labeled so the lack of stealth isn't THAT big of an issue

Are you kidding me? I've died so many times because I'm trying to hide on the tower from a sniper and someone super jumps to me and tells them where to shoot which gets us both killed where they could have swam there and taken the sniper by surprise or taken back the tower if I had died, forcing people on the other team to have to respawn.

What kind of hacks are you using.

Oh yes, I know. I'm sure you've never in your life accidentally missed a button while typing on a phone. I meant 2.3k points and I fixed my post already.

 

[Leronne]

I'd say all the inkbrush needs is the same amount of range as the octobrush. Kinda like how the dual squelcher, splattershot pro and .96 gal have the same range, but fire at different speeds and does different damage. If you give the inkbrush more damage, it'll just be an octobrush with a different loadout. seriuosly whenever i'm fighting an inkbrush in ranked, i feel bad because i main the dual and even up close i can get reliable kills, but against octobrushes i actually have to make more of an effort to fight them, especially if they're up close to me. I'm not gonna lie, an inkbrush with disruptor sounds wicked awesome. Maybe in spla2n.

 

[2xDair]

A video from June probably isn't the best source since we've gotten 2 more modes, 5 maps, dozens of new weapons, and balance patches. Trying to win Tower Control or Rainmaker without Super Jumping is going to be very difficult since if you die near the goal, you have to walk/swim all the way to their base when they can move the tower/rainmaker back to at least the center in that much time.

Sure the video is dated but the argument presented is still very relevant. The main concept is that super jumping can be very risky since you are put at a information disadvantage (i.e. the spot you are jumping to becomes unsafe before you touch down and you die immediately). It's a situational move because of this so it's best used sparingly to a well protected area (like an elevated region surrounded by your own team's ink. The only time you can really super jump without putting in much thought is near the end of a game as you make one final push for victory, since you'll lose otherwise and it will take too long to arrive by swimming. I personally don't think super jumping is intrinsically bad but it is used far too frequently, especially in lower ranks.

 

[RiDEL]

Best turf wars weapon? I'm pretty sure nothing compares with Aerosprays and Splattershot Jr.s in turf war. Those things cover area like nobody's business. Then again, who even cares about unranked lol.

I actually care about unranked a lot more then ranked. I just enjoy it more then ranked mode. And you are absolutely right about the Aerospray covering more ground, not so much the Jr though. The main reason being is that Aerosprays can effectively cover ground while moving, as the Inkbrush has to stop lay ink down then move forward. That being said it does have the highest amount of spread but is hindered by it's lack of mobility while spreading.

 

[The Salamander King]

I think that they should make the hit box for the brush a full 180 degrees. It would make it the only roller with a full-frontal hit box.