Inkbrush: Yay or Nay?

[RiDEL]

I'm gunna say yay. This weapon covers a lot more ground then they put it off I've consistently been getting 800+ points on my own with it. You don't play it like a Roller and run around with it, instead you want to use it's melee attack to cover large areas in front of you. You want to run with it when you want to escape from enemy fire since you go faster then swimming. If you play your cards right you can get 3 Inkstrikes a game with it's quick wide area coverage. That being said the weapon does have killing issues and lack reliable area denial. The Sprinkler is okay but it's better just for covering more ground, and doesn't really compensate for the Inkbrush's lack of range.

Overall I think this weapon is being underrated for no reason.

 

[sammich]

i saw one player earlier today getting 1200 and 1300 per match with this thing. it seems really good at weeding out trouble areas very quickly. the particular player was basically doing his own thing running everywhere, sometimes getting a KO but mostly sweeping around all over the salt rig clearing paths.

i can't help but feel like with its crazy speed that it should have come with the squidjump satellite sub weapon rather than whatever it has (i haven't played it online yet). it has so much potential to create havoc by getting into all sorts of strategic areas and calling forth teammates.

 

[ILikeKirbys]

Yeah, Inkbrush is great for scoring on Turf War. I've gotten 1200 before the Victory bonus with it, it's like a closer-range Aerospray with faster movement and a Sprinkler (would probably benefit from a different special though, maybe Inkzooka or Bubbler).
Yeah, something this fast should have the Squid Beakon (alternatively, something this weak and short-range should have Burst Bombs; I get why it has Sprinkler, I just wish it could do combat better 'cause I prefer strong weapons (or ones with Beakon 'cause it's useful), but I like this one's speed too). But really, more weapons should have Squid Beakon in general (does anything besides Krak-On Roller have it?). Something like this could really benefit from a "here's a super-jump point that doesn't leave a circle to tell everyone you're landing here AND it'll still be here when I lose this 1v3" sort of thing.

 

[PerfektNerD]

Not really great for Splat Zones...it's pretty bad in a fight. It's not bad for turf wars, though. Fantastic Sub/Special combo, but I dunno...I'm just not having much fun with it.

I think I'll pass.

 

[RadioactiveMoth]

i can't help but feel like with its crazy speed that it should have come with the squidjump satellite sub weapon rather than whatever it has

I think that they'd have to have an inkbrush pro or something like that with different stats/special to make the beacons as good as the sprinklers. Sprinklers are amazing. Beacons might work better in ranked, though.

Not really great for Splat Zones...it's pretty bad in a fight. It's not bad for turf wars, though. Fantastic Sub/Special combo, but I dunno...I'm just not having much fun with it.

I think I'll pass.

yeah, it's certainly not a weapon that has a wide appeal. I don't see people using it too much anymore. But, it is a great weapon is used well and creates an interesting role in turf wars. I'm not sure if it's as good in Splat Zones. I haven't had enough good teams to know.

 

[meleesplatter]

didn't try it in ranked yet (probably will never). my quite successful playstyle in turf wars: don't shoot for the center in the beginning. shoot directly for the enemy base. Use the advantage that while dashing you are extremely hard to hit. Proceed to play catch with your opponents until your team follows. In lucky scenarios they don't even notice you passing by, or don't really care. Go to the enemy base and renovate with spam attacks. It IS really good at covering a lot of turf in a short amount of time, you just need to stay mobile (source: regularly scoring 4 digits). They'll soon try to collectively take you out, but at this point your team already followed and you're kicking butt together. Alternatively, use ninja skills and surprise them with a swift backstabbing.

Man, the inkbrush is so goddamn cool. It really can carry a team if you know what you are doing. It also fills a special role that no other weapon can fill: the penetrator. You go straight through enemy ink in lightning speed, for christ's sake!

Would you say that the skill Opening Gambit is a good fit for the Inkbrush?

 

[Grafkarpador]

Would you say that the skill Opening Gambit is a good fit for the Inkbrush?

All conventional rollers have fixed speed values that are unaffected by speed upgrades. Because the ink brush is mechanistically derived from a roller, I assume opening gambit has no effect while running with the brush.

 

[mewtheed]

Been playing a few turf wars with it and I'm really liking it. =p
only wins, usually first or seconds with 900-1200 pts and a few kills (up to 7 once).

here's a few tips I have to understand what this weapon is about.

- The purpose of this weapon is (imo) to harass and distract the enemy team. Get to their territory quick, make a mess and run before the can do anything, it will keep them occupied while the rest of your team is doing their work.
- Do NOT ever confront any enemy head on, the damage is too low to fight back. If an enemy is firing at you, fall back as a squid, sneak up on him from behind and furiously attack him before he get the chance to turn around.
- the ink dash's only useful purpose is to move quickly in territories that aren't covered in your ink. which is why it's perfect for running in enemy turf. Because it use a big amount of ink, use it to move AWAY from the enemy and not the opposite otherwise you'll end up being too short on ink to attack or retreat.
- To cover a wide area get to higher grounds and shake rapidly the brush, don't overdo it as you don't want to be standing still for too long. Cover some ground, move at a different location, rinse and repeat every few seconds.
- Use the sprinkler and the inkstrike as much as you can. Use the sprinkler as yet another way to distract the enemy, try to be original and fast on where to throw it,
-among other things, be constantly on the move, as much as you can. your speed is where you shine so swim/run like the wind ! (But don't be stupid and run right into enemy fire....) Take side paths, make circles around the maps etc...

that's pretty much all I have. I haven't looked too mush into abilities yet but I think "Ink Resistance Up" is very important as you'll move a lot in enemy ink.

 

[ImNotDeadYet]

I've been playing it a lot today (~20 matches) and its basically my main weapon now. All of the matches were in ranked to. It has a really awkward learning curve but it is really fun to do well with it. On saltspray rig I got to the zone fast enough to meet the enemy team as they enter the top level and splatted the whole team in a row (this was more due to them not understanding what was going more than me being a pro, but I still felt awesome). I found the brush amazing in the mall: I beat the enemy team to the zone every time and often can pick up a kill right there, and with good teammates it makes for almost an instant capture. In general the brush gives me the ability to reach places that I can't with other weapons and opens up splats/captures that I can only do with it. That being said it also really easy to die with it, but my rule is if I can moving than I move. And as long as I never stop running except to kill and wait for kills I do well.

 

[meleesplatter]

All conventional rollers have fixed speed values that are unaffected by speed upgrades. Because the ink brush is mechanistically derived from a roller, I assume opening gambit has no effect while running with the brush.

Still, if you can get to where you want to go in those 30 seconds you can really put those speed boosts in walking and swimming to good use in harassment.

 

[Blatikin]

Dont know if this has been mentioned but. Anyone notice that when going through enemy ink, because of it's very small ink line if you decide to make sharp turns your feet end up touching enemy ink which ends up with you taking damage or even slowing you down considerably. It seems it's only optimal to use when going in rather straight lines when in enemy territory.

 

[ndayadn]

I am glad that reading through this thread the opinion goes from IT'S CRAP to it's pretty good!

Like every one else has said, kills are not your concern. Neither is the single line ink trail, because it is, imo, not useful on rollout at least.
I very quickly adopted a playstyle revolving around filling my special meter as quickly as possible. To do this, you want Special Charge Up. Other useful skills for this weapon are Special Saver, Ink Saver, Ink Rec, Ink Res. Ink Res is almost required imo for the times you have to roll across enemy ink.

On start, you immediately deviate from the team. With sprinkler, toss it into commonly uninked areas or other wise hard to ink/waste of time ink areas, like the left side of the crates on Walleye Warehouse. Then paint ink while hopping, refilling your tank just enough (you will be running quite low from the sprinkler throw). You should fill your special quickly this way. Upon emptying your tank, or after finding a safe place, shoot the Inkstrike into where the enemies are/important areas. You now have a full ink tank, and your team has in this time already reached important areas/mid/whatever. If the team shot an inkstrike behind you or something, you can toss a sprinkler into the center and rack up points. Otherwise you can advance and toss a sprinkler high up onto chokepoints or other obstacles, or keep advancing straight into enemy ink.

At this point you should be either advancing or defending, depending on map and current predicament. The only time you should really "roll" is across enemy ink when running away from a situation you can't deal with, or when going in for backdoor tactics. Do not toss sprinklers when advancing unless you are certain you will have time to refill/roll to a safe spot; instead opt for spreading ink everywhere.

You should seriously be scoring at least 1000 raw every time if you do it correctly, regardless of win or loss. This thing is just incredible at spreading ink...use it!

Still, if you can get to where you want to go in those 30 seconds you can really put those speed boosts in walking and swimming to good use in harassment.

I wouldn't bother. You probably won't be really walking anywhere, and there isn't a substantial amount of ink to swim across before 30 seconds have passed unless you have stayed way behind everyone, in which case they likely haven't inked the high-point areas around base and I would be concentrating on those to build special instead of catching up to mid.

 

[ILikeKirbys]

Dont know if this has been mentioned but. Anyone notice that when going through enemy ink, because of it's very small ink line if you decide to make sharp turns your feet end up touching enemy ink which ends up with you taking damage or even slowing you down considerably. It seems it's only optimal to use when going in rather straight lines when in enemy territory.

Yeah, I've encountered this. Putting on Ink Resistance Up mitigates this quite a bit, so I'd recommend that for Inkbrushers (or anyone really, it's such a useful ability to have).
And that's true, you shouldn't make sharp turns while running with the brush down. Maybe take wider turns, or try jumping and swinging at the ground in the direction you want to go.

 

[RadioactiveMoth]

I've been trying the inkbrush in Splat Zones, but I really haven't been doing very well (might have been my team, I guess.) Anyone have some advice on how to use it in Splat Zones?

 

[StayPuft]

I've been trying the inkbrush in Splat Zones, but I really haven't been doing very well (might have been my team, I guess.) Anyone have some advice on how to use it in Splat Zones?

While I cannot say from experience, I watched a video where someone used the Ink Brush in splat zones. They used its great speed to get to the zone early in an attempt to gain an early lead, as well as leaving a small trail for your allies to follow so they can get to the zone(s) early as well. They also used its great melee attack to quickly build up its Inkstrike.

 

[ILikeKirbys]

I've been trying the inkbrush in Splat Zones, but I really haven't been doing very well (might have been my team, I guess.) Anyone have some advice on how to use it in Splat Zones?

Push immediately (you're using the brush, so you should be fast enough for this), ink as much of the Splat Zone as possible (ink the one closest to your spawn if there's more than one, otherwise just rush to the zone), then try to hide and splat the other team with sneak attacks when they come for the zone (you'll hopefully be getting backup from your team here: if not, you might be screwed because Inkbrush doesn't do 2+v1 well at all, so your best bet is to run away if you can or try to deal some damage before you get splatted if you can't).
From here, try to harass the enemy with hit-and-run splats, throwing Sprinklers into the Splat Zone when they have it or just some critical area where they'll stop doing what they're doing and take a second or two to break it; generally the Splat Zone is a good point, but chokepoints might be a good idea too, or just an area where it gets lots of coverage, like the center platform of Blackbelly Skatepark.
When you get your Inkstrike, find a nice out-of-the-way area where you won't get splatted (or don't, if you're confident that you'll live through firing or just can't get away) while firing it off and drop your inknado on either their Splat Zone (it can make controlled zones contested quickly, especially if you can catch people trying to get it back and splat them), a place where the enemies have or will be congregating (if you can know that (like with Echolocator or something) or where enemies are pressing your side, drop it on 'em and watch as they dodge (and probably waste a bit re-covering the area) or get splatted (best case scenario; not that often in my experience, but great when you get it), then return to the fray.
That's my advice. Maybe it's not any good (I don't use the Inkbrush much, this is just theorizing and conjecture), but hopefully it helps.

 

[Sea Buoy]

I actually mainly use Inkbrush, and I have to say it's an extremely viable weapon. The sprinkler is great to get an earlier inkstrike and is useful to serve as a distraction to sneak up on enemies. Also, on maps with moving objects, it's good to place the sprinklers on those. The Inkbrush has a wide learning curve compared to all the other weapons because it's kind of a hybrid weapon. It's also pretty good at inking a good amount of space quickly. You just have to play so much smarter and have quicker reaction.

 

[RadioactiveMoth]

You should seriously be scoring at least 1000 raw every time if you do it correctly, regardless of win or loss.

That's really too much. If you're playing against a poor team, possibly, but not only does each map have different amounts of turf to ink, but 1000 is hard to get to if you have pushed your enemy into their base. I have gotten raw 1000s before, but I'd say 800-900 is a more realistic goal.

P.S. Thanks for the advice. I'll try it out next time I do Splat Zones.

 

[Flammie]

It's one of the easiest wepons to at least make a breakway with if you are in a tight spot, and you happen to have an escape route, Blackbelly skatepark wit it's up and downhill battles are a big "oops did i pick the wrong weapon for this" situation, but it's good for covering gound, and hopeless in battles if the opponent have ranged weapons that can outrange the brush, wich 95% of the games weaponry does.

But it's like that Splatoon Direct revealed about the inkbrush, it was made specifically for turf wars.

 

[RadioactiveMoth]

But it's like that Splatoon Direct revealed about the inkbrush, it was made specifically for turf wars.

I've been noticing that it's way better in turf wars. Lucky for me, that's my favorite mode!