Least Favourite/Most useless skill?

[PK21]

Damage and Defense Up.
How many people are going to completely hate me for that. Oh well it's my opinion and I'm not trolling, they feel really bad.
Bomb Sniffer is bad too.

 

[Sheinpt]

I've never actually tried the wail, really because it seems overused and I like to be a special snowflake, I mean should I try it? I've debated on it ALOT.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

The time you have to use an Inkstrike or a Killer Wail is extremely long. The only reason you might ever lose it is if you went afk (or afg in the Wii U's case?) or if you got splatted before you used it. Even if you start hesitating you should have more than enough time to make a decision o_O

I've seen a case of someone failing to aim their Killer Wail properly before time runs out--when the special meter runs out, the Killer Wail just fires wherever it was pointed at that moment. If the special meter runs out with an Inkstrike, it will land directly where the user was standing when it fired.

 

[Spiral]

Damage and Defense Up.
How many people are going to completely hate me for that. Oh well it's my opinion and I'm not trolling, they feel really bad.
Bomb Sniffer is bad too.

Really, if everyone stops using defense up and damage up, no one would ever need to use them again.

Bomb sniffer is cool, but a waste of a main in my opinion.

 

[electraheart]

Haunt, Cold Blooded, Last-Ditch Effort, & Opening Gambit. Also Run Speed Up since I don't really run that much personally.
I just don't find Haunt useful because that means you have to count on your team mates to be smart enough to know that you have Haunt...? Unless, I guess there's a form of communication there.
Cold-Blooded, I just don't personally like very much. Especially if you're in the middle of facing off with someone... I guess I can see how it could be useful though to some people.

 

[Lord_Espurr]

Bomb sniffer for sure. It sounds like a good ability but it's just too situational. It might save you from an ink mine or a hidden suction bomb, but its just not worth giving up a main ability for.

Maybe if ink mines got a buff...

 

[Wiebenjijzeg]

I find Recon quite useless, but that is because I have an active playstyle and am rarely located at spawn.
Ofcourse, with the correct setup/playstyle/map rotation it could do really well, but for me it is not worth it.

Strength is something I love, as I main blaster type weapons and have quite terrible aim, they come in handy a lot!

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Bomb sniffer for sure. It sounds like a good ability but it's just too situational. It might save you from an ink mine or a hidden suction bomb, but its just not worth giving up a main ability for.

Maybe if ink mines got a buff...

Every time I've had something with Bomb Sniffer on, it's saved my bacon at least once because it points out an Ink Mine or a bomb behind a wall I'm about to pass that would've splatted me had I not seen the big bright indicator. It also lets me figure out where a Bomb Rush user is and helps me chart a path to sneak around the bombs and up to that user.

That being said, I rarely ever give much concern for what abilities I'm carrying unless it's something with no purpose whatsoever, like Bomb Range Up when I'm using something with Squid Beakons or somesuch, so by comparison, Bomb Sniffer probably feels useful to me by comparison because it's loud and upfront.

 

[SkyBound]

Actually i need to say ink resistance up
i mean seriously, you dont walk on enemy ink

 

[Sol64]

Actually i need to say ink resistance up
i mean seriously, you dont walk on enemy ink

Yes you do, especially when trying to skip to places or when carrying the rainmaker in tough times.

 

[aceofscarabs]

Yes you do, especially when trying to skip to places or when carrying the rainmaker in tough times.

Or are trying to get away from suppressing fire.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Yes you do, especially when trying to skip to places or when carrying the rainmaker in tough times.

Yeah, I find mself walking through enemy ink the most often in Rainmaker by far, but the same goes if I've been hit but not yet splatted, which is more often now with the 2.2.0 nerfs to blasters and E-liter 3K's.

 

[StayPuft]

The abilities that I have never once wanted to equip are Recon and Bomb Sniffer. I will say I don't think they are completely useless, but I've never used them nor do I plan to. Gives me an idea to run a set with both of these + Last Ditch Effort and see how that goes...

Abilities that I seem to always want to have on me are Ink Recovery Up and Quick Respawn, and occasionally some Swim Speed Up as well. I also sometimes feel naked without Cold-Blooded, though I usually only feel that way when I'm actually under the effects of Echolocator.

 

[NimbusSpark]

Whilst I must say Recon isn't a Skill which is often used in my case, I definitely must consider it not to be useless, even in competitive situations where finding the enemy team is immprotant.
The reason why? Super Jumping.
Consider this scenario -

You had just respawned. You've noticed that your team has heavily been decimated due to poor Super Jumping, usually doing it straight onto the enemies turf and getting themselves killed almost as soon as they land.
Now, you've been thinking that Stealth Jump would have been useful for this situation, although you don't like the longer Super Jump time penalty it offers, not to mention you're loving the Ink Resistance your shoes are offering. So what do you do now?
This is where Recon comes into play. All you need to do is look into your gamepad whilst you're in your spawn point, which you would normally do anyway, and look for the most optimal player to Super Jump to. You press on that player, and not only have you gotten to an optimmal position, you haven't risked your life to accidentally Super Jumping into an Inkstrike.

This is not to say that Stealth Jump is useless either. Remember, gear with Recon are all worn on an Inkling's Shirt Slot, so if you want to run something else like Haunt (which is also specific to the Shirt piece of clothing) then Stealth Jump would be a more logical way to go. Not to mention Recon is only effective at spawn. Stealth Jump is more consistent in terms of safety if you intend on using Super Jumps to travel around the map.

 

[TheReflexWonder]

I'd say that the worst ability is objectively Last-Ditch Effort. It only has an effect on 10% of game time, and it's chock-full of uncertainty. It's in play for even less than 10% of the time if the game goes into Overtime, the game might not even last long enough for it to kick in, and you may not even be in a good position to make use of the improved ink economy when it does kick in. What if you get splatted just before the last 30 seconds, or you gain your special during the last 30 seconds? Some of the boost goes to waste.

The easiest thing to compare it to would be Opening Gambit, which always comes into play in each game, can potentially be in play for a larger percent of the game than normal via Knockout, can only be cut short by getting splatted when neither team should have significant map control, is actively useful for avoiding getting splatted in the first place and gaining slightly more control than the opposing team before anyone starts dying, and is useful even when you're not inking (mobility is king in many situations). That said, the difference isn't astronomical (though it isn't affected by diminishing returns, which is something), and the movement will only get you so far when your ink still tells the opponent exactly where you are in the beginning stages of the game, but I could see it being somewhat useful in Splat Zones, especially on single-zone maps.

 

[Inyo]

Probably Recon, though it might help in Squads if you are on Skype or whatever.

I have never equipped Bomb Sniffer ever, though I might try it just to see what happens. Squid Lord knows I've walked into a few Suction Bombs in my day

 

[TheReflexWonder]

Recon is actively good in Squads if you have some kind of chat going on, yeah. It also functions well in tandem with Super Jump stuff; gives you more insurance on the decision of whether or not it's safe to jump to a partner or Squid Beakon, provides personal info on who's lying in wait in general, like on sniper perches.

Bomb Sniffer is a tip-off that allows you to judge the distance of a bomb better than normal (like when it's beside/behind you), and being able to see them through walls/actively off-screen pays off from time to time. The vast majority of the time, you can avoid them on your own, but Suction Bombs wouldn't get KOs if they were always easy to see and avoid, and it can also let you know what might need inking off-screen without having to look at the Gamepad. I don't see myself ever using it these days, but at least the advantage is easy to see.

 

[cwjakesteel]

I think Bomb Sniffer is useful enough. The only reason I ever use it though, is because I really like the shoes that have it as a main ability.

 

[MakesDream]

Really, if everyone stops using defense up and damage up, no one would ever need to use them again.

Bomb sniffer is cool, but a waste of a main in my opinion.

there's no reason for eliters not to use damage up.

I think Bomb Sniffer is useful enough. The only reason I ever use it though, is because I really like the shoes that have it as a main ability.

fr pro trail boots are sick as frick

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Probably Recon, though it might help in Squads if you are on Skype or whatever.

I have never equipped Bomb Sniffer ever, though I might try it just to see what happens. Squid Lord knows I've walked into a few Suction Bombs in my day

And me with Ink Mines in Tower Control too. Not sure how to stop an Ink Mine from blowing me up once I see it besides activating it though, and I can't make it clear to my teammates just what I'm doing. I'd imagine a player who uses Ink Mines in Tower Control who pays attention to what gear other people are using may think twice if they see someone on the opposing team has Bomb Sniffer though.

I'd say that the worst ability is objectively Last-Ditch Effort. It only has an effect on 10% of game time, and it's chock-full of uncertainty. It's in play for even less than 10% of the time if the game goes into Overtime, the game might not even last long enough for it to kick in, and you may not even be in a good position to make use of the improved ink economy when it does kick in. What if you get splatted just before the last 30 seconds, or you gain your special during the last 30 seconds? Some of the boost goes to waste.

Well, in Ranked, at least. In Turf War, it'd kick in on the last 16.67% of the match and will activate in every match (assuming you're not disconnected by then).