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There are a lot of really useful ones like Bomb Sniffer, Ink Saver, and Ink Resistance, but there are a few bad ones, like Opening Gambit. It's pretty obvious that a tier list could be made with them, although it would be unnecessarily complicated to do so, as @Dish pointed out.
Clothing comes with a main ability that's always there, and 1-3 slots which can be unlocked through gameplay. Extra slots can be added by talking to Spyke and paying him a Super Sea Snail. Most brands have a higher chance of unlocking one ability (~30%) and a lower chance of unlocking another (~3%), making some brands with more desirable abilities objectively better.
There are two methods of getting the perfect gear you want.
The first, and more common method, is to order the gear from another Inkling in your Inkopolis Plaza if you don't get the abilities you want, then keep repeating this until the abilities are satisfactory.
The more cheaty method is to make a backup of your Splatoon save on a USB, then reroll with your Super Sea Snails. If it fails, then you can just restore the backup and try again.
Now, how useful are the abilities anyway? Can they turn the tides significantly?
On a side note, what abilities do you personally use?
Making a tier list is almost completely unnecessary, as the perks usefulness depend on the primary weapon being used. For example, damage up is only useful for chargers, even though ink brush users and rollers also benefit from them. On the other hand ink saver main wouldn't benefit a charger only the other classes. Since I am a charger main I prefer anything with attack up, ink recovery up, run speed up, and bomb range if I am running the splatterscope.
Like Dish said, a tier list for abilities is silly and wouldn't help people who run certain weapon classes, though some abilities are plain better than others due to how useful they are at any given time, for example i'd much rather be packing Ink Refill up over Sub Ink Saver. Chances are I''ll be low on ink after throwing a sub anyways, and it'd be better overall to get ink back faster than it would be to save .5 of a pixel of ink when throwing a Suction Bomb.
While abilities don't make a player, they really do help, so it's a shame we have to wrestle with RNG'd slots and the whole cosmetic system because I LOVE running this Berry Ski look
But thats 2/3 Special Duration Ups, and unless I wanna wrestle with Spyke to get half decent rerolls, I'll be lagging behind people who look like a hot mess but have all the abilities they need to play their best.
To showcase how it can vary I will list the abilities I use with the Nozzlenose
Rainmaker (Reg Nozzle) - Run Speed, Swim Speed, Quick Respawn, Ink Resistance, Ink Recovery
Splatzones (Nozzle D) - Run Speed, Damage Up, Ink Resistance, Swim Speed*
Tower Control (A Nozzle) - Run Speed, Ink Recovery, Ink Resistance, Swim Speed
*Dependent on map
If I were to use a Roller or Charger, Run Speed would probaly instantly be dropped. Damage Up is also useless for the Reg Nozzle and only benefits the Nozzle D. The only abilities that I use mostly irregardless of the weapon is Swim Speed...simply because I like going fast.
Stages, modes, playstyle, team setups and weapons all play a role in ability selecting. One single tier list to decide the usefulness of all abilities will not be true in every circumstance.
I'm not qualified to comment on their position in the metagame, but having tested a large variety of builds with a full quotient of 6x main abilities (so, all triple subs), here are some very general thoughts:
The potential benefit from equipping any given ability will be primarily dependent on weapon loadout and playstyle, and to lesser (but still notable) extent, the map and gamemode. My experience has been that they extend the potential for playing the game in certain ways, but then it's up to the player as to whether or not they're able to play the game in those ways. So, if you're able to take advantage of the opportunities that abilities open up, then I think they can make a significant difference, but doing this takes work - they can't do it on their own.
For myself, having tested a variety of builds, I've more or less settled on ones which favour high speed (examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), but then I tend use ink efficient shooters with the highest run-while-firing speed. In general, I've found that the influence of any given ability (with the exception of the unique abilities) is quite subtle when I only have the equivalent of 1x main, but becomes much less subtle once I start stacking. I've also found that certain abilities compliment each other very well.
Well, imo the only ability which plays an important role in the meta currently is cold-blooded, as it hard-counters one of the strongest special weapons in the game (and point sensors). And of course Damage Up if you use an E-Liter ;)
The more cheaty method is to make a backup of your Splatoon save on a USB, then reroll with your Super Sea Snails. If it fails, then you can just restore the backup and try again.
Making a tier list is almost completely unnecessary, as the perks usefulness depend on the primary weapon being used. For example, damage up is only useful for chargers, even though ink brush users and rollers also benefit from them. On the other hand ink saver main wouldn't benefit a charger only the other classes. Since I am a charger main I prefer anything with attack up, ink recovery up, run speed up, and bomb range if I am running the splatterscope.
I think making a list can be useful, but it couldn't be a tier list. It would have to be something like "general usage," "shooters" (broken down into subcategories), "chargers," "rollers." I'm sure there are just a handful of abilities that are really good, followed by some really good weapon specific abilities, and then a handful that are simply good in corner cases or gimmicks. This is significantly harder than simply a tier list, since it needs to be broken down into each individual weapon (or at the very least groups of similar weapons). Nevertheless, I think we need something like this.
Just for kicks, I'll take a stab at the "general usage" category. WARNING! WALL OF TEXT FOLLOWS:
Getting Started With Gear in Splatoon:
Everyone needs to look fresh, but we also need to make our clothing work for us. Whether you are just starting out and need a general setup to help level or you are a seasoned veteran and just want a no-brainer build to go play Turf Wars, the following information is here to help!
This will be split into 3 parts for each piece of clothing: Universal (good in any mode), Turf War (good in Turf War) and Ranked (good in Ranked). Most things can work in Turf War if you are intentional about it (often even when you’re goofing around too, but it helps to be prepared). That said, I will mention two or three options that might be considered most useful. Although these non-exclusive perks have been put into different slots (headgear, shirt, footwear), they can be applied to whatever gear you need. What works in ranked mode is more limited and weapon specific, so the general gear selections will be smaller.
Headgear:
The headgear exclusive perks available aren’t spectacular, but somewhat useful. Your headgear will mostly be used for a general perk, but there aren’t a lot of really great competing options that stand out.
Universal:
Ink Saver (Main): This perk reduces the amount your main weapon uses. Even on ink efficient weapons, a few extra seconds firing or rolling can be crucial. For ink hungry weapons this perk is necessary. While you might experiment with other perks on the headgear, this can become your fall-back if nothing else is working.
Gear with this perk:
Short Beanie: *
Bamboo Hat: **
Studio Headphones: **
Jungle Hat: ***
Turf War:
Exclusives:
Last-Ditch Effort: This perk is exclusive to headgear and can be incredibly useful for Turf War. It boosts your ink efficiency (main and sub) and your ink recovery in the last 30 seconds of a match. The last 30 seconds to a minute of Turf War can be crucial, and this ability is ideal for making one last push for the win. This ability is not advised for Ranked as you will often not get to the last 30 seconds of the game. You will likely still need Ink Saver (Main) somewhere on your gear.
Comeback: This perk boosts your ink efficiency, ink recovery, run speed, and swim speed for 20 seconds after respawning. This is a decent ability if you get splatted a lot and need to quickly bet back in the action. Similar in some ways to Last-Ditch Effort, it can help you push if you died toward the end of a game.
General:
Quick Respawn: This reduces the amount of time it takes before you respawn after being splatted. If you are just starting out and find yourself being splatted a lot, this can make it easier to get back into the action. If you are good at trading with the opponent this puts you at a slight advantage because you will be back before them. I also find this perk helpful if I’m trying out a new weapon and haven’t figure it out yet, as it allows me to stay in the game longer (instead of waiting to respawn).
Gear with this perk:
Backwards Cap: *
Retro Specs: *
Special Charge Up: This perk reduces the amount of ink it takes to charge your special meter. It can be really helpful for charging game changers like the Inkzooka or the Kraken and is helpful in Turf Wars for charging the Ink Strike which can get you the win at the end of tight games.
Ranked:
Honestly, everyone I’ve seen in Ranked uses Ink Saver (Main). It really is that good. If you don’t have it on your headgear, you will likely need it three or four secondary-abilities on your items.
Shirt:
Your shirt comes with two excellent exclusives, but can also be used for some general perks.
Universal:
Ninja Squid: This perk hides your ink ripples when you are swimming, effectively making your invisible while you are in your own ink. This is a shirt specific perk and it is one of the best. This makes flanking people incredibly easy and is suited for an aggressive playstyle. The great thing about Ninja Squid is that it allows you to be less concerned about movement speed awareness (keeping a low profile in ink) and more about positioning and timing. The drawback is that it reduces your swim speed considerably so running some swim speed secondary-perks is advised.
Gear with this perk:
Shrimp-Pink Polo: *
Green Striped LS: *
Zekko Hoodie: **
School Jersey: **
White Anchor Tee: ***
Turf War:
Damage Up/Defense Up: Increase your damage or increase your defense. While damage up is best (almost necessary) on chargers, having it on shooters or rollers can help make up for poor accuracy and increase in flick damage. For instance, if you are able to increase your four-hit-kill weapon to 99.9 damage (or thereabouts) with 3 hits (still requires the fourth to splat normally) then any damage your opponent takes from walking in ink will be lethal. So, if you aren’t entirely accurate but can ink the ground around them, then damage ups will still help you splat them. Note: not the best for short range shooters.
Alternatively, defense up helps negate any damage ups from your opponent, and can even increase time-to-kill from some weapons. This helps give you some cushion (although not a ton) if you find yourself being splatted a lot or going up against lots of opponents with damage ups.
Gear with this perk
Damage:
Navy College Sweat: *
Navy Striped LS: **
Part-Time Pirate: *
Rockenberg Black: *
Squid Girl Tunic: **
Varsity Jacket: ***
Zink Layered LS: *
Defense:
Baby-Jelly Shirt: **
Black 8-Bit FishFry: *
Carnivore Tee: *
Cycle King Jersey: ***
Mint Tee: *
Retro Sweat: ***
Zekko Baseball LS:*
Quick Respawn (see headgear)
Gear with this perk:
Basic Tee: *
Tricolor Rugby: *
White Striped LS: **
Traditional Apron: **
Camo Zip Hoodie: ***
Retro Gamer Jersey: ***
Ranked:
Cold-Blooded: Another shirt specific ability, this perk greatly reduces the time you are visible to the enemy after an echolocator or point sensor. Echolocator is an incredible and common weapon in Ranked battles that prevents flanking and grant immeasurable knowledge for the opponent. Cold-Blooded is a hard counter to this tactic and allow you to hide and ambush as you please. While Ninja Squid usually works well enough for Turf War because echolocator isn’t as common, you may need to switch to a Cold-Blooded shirt for Ranked.
Footwear:
Your shoes have two of the most useful exclusive abilities with one that stands out above the rest. Your shoes will typically have one of these exclusives but I have seen some people use more general perks.
Universal:
Ink Resistance: Allows you to run significantly faster in enemy ink and lessens the damage you take while in that ink. This perk is amazing. The difference between having it and not having it is night and day. Ink resistance helps with survivability and maneuvering. If you do not have ink resistance you will be a sitting duck in your opponent’s ink. If you plan on being anywhere near the “front lines” using a short range weapon or roller, Ink Resistance is indispensable.
Gear with this perk:
Neon Sea Slugs: *
Strapping Reds: *
Red High Tops: **
Blue Moto Boots: ***
Turf War:
Stealth Jump: The other footwear exclusive. It allows you to jump to a friend without leaving an indicator so enemies won’t spawn camp you. However, there is a rather large increase in jump time, so you may want to add Quick Super Jump abilities. This perk can be helpful in Turf War because of the lack of teamwork in this mode; your teammates often won’t protect your spawn point or will be dead before you get to your destination. With stealth jump you still have to worry about jumping into enemy territory, but less so than without it.
Swim Speed Up/Run Speed Up: These increase your swim or run speed and can be helpful on your shoes if you don’t have them elsewhere. You should definitely consider swim speed up if you are using Ninja Squid, as they will cancel each other out. Getting from point A to point B faster is generally a good idea anyway. Run speed can help if using a shooter, as your movement while shooting will increase. This can give you an advantage in firefights, especially if you are using a longer ranged weapon (shorter ranged weapons should use ink resistance).
Swim Speed Up:
White Kicks: *
Orange Lo-Tops: *
Squid Girl Shoes: **
Black Seahorses: **
Ranked:
Typically use Ink Resistance. There might be weapon specific footwear choices, but in general you’ll want the survivability and maneuverability that Ink Resistance offers.
So, obviously this is just a rough draft and I'm sure I've made a few mistakes/wrong picks. I do feel like we need more of these types of lists here though. The guides are good, but I feel like there isn't one definitive gear/loudout/strategy guide that we can send people to.
Several people have pointed out that a lot of the abilities heavily vary in viability depending on the mode in which they're used, as well as the weapon. I've edited the main post to reflect that.
Now as others pointed out, a tier list for abilities wouldn't be useful since it varies heavily in different situations, however, there are few abilities that aren't good simply because they are overshadowed by their counterpart / another ability that does a better job than its supposed to.
For example (an example I use a lot) is Special Charge Up and Special Duration Up . Now, after Special Charge Up got fixed / patched, Special Duration Up pretty much hit the dust. It wasn't that good to begin with, but now that Special Charge Up ultimately better, there isn't really any use for Special Duration Up since you barely get anything out of it. Even if you stack Special Duration Up, at most you usually get is 1 second, which is too little to me. Now, I know people say every second counts (especially in shooter type games), but 1 second is just not enough to make this ability good / even with it's counterpart--Special Charge Up.
The same goes for Ink Recovery Up and Ink Saver (Sub) . Ink Recovery Up is a favored ability that does a better job than Ink Saver (Sub) because you can recover enough ink to spam sub weapons and you can recover enough ink to use your weapon after you use a sub weapon.
Now, you can pair Ink Saver (Sub) with Ink Saver (Main) , but it's ultimately better to use Ink Recovery Up with Ink Saver (Main) because not only will you recover ink quickly after using a sub, but you will use up less ink on your main weapon.
Lastly, I'll reiterate. Others pointed out that a tier list for abilities won't useful since it varies heavily on the situation, but there are abilities that overshadow others because they do a better job than others.
