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My Black Arrowbands; Do I need to change them?

Creator438

Semi-Pro Squid
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Messages
83
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Creator438
(This first part is background. Read if you want to hear my mentality on the Black Arrowbands, but if it's tl;dr, skip past this part.)

So just today I decided to add the final slot to my Black Arrowbands. I did so because in my mind, the Black Arrowbands seem like one of, if not the best, Tenacity headgear pieces in the game, as you get the benefit of having Tenacity as well as potentially three special saver subs. That's especially important nowadays, what with the addition to different quantities of special depletion as of patch 2.7.0 (also that's important for people like me since I'm basically a Tentatek main now, though I haven't really used special saver a lot).

The reason why I say it's so good, while it's not a very good one, is because in a tournament that was being streamed, I saw hm Octopops equip the black arrowbands when he switched from Tentatek to .96 Gal Deco. The tenacity helped him get kraken, and ideally the three special savers would cost him less if he got splatted with kraken (and I think he may have a couple of times, but I don't remember exactly). The gist of what I'm saying is that he won the game with the help of that Tenacity headgear when his team was wiped, and he was able to get kraken when he needed it to take back the tower and take the lead, as that comeback may not have happened if he didn't get the boost from Tenacity to reach his Kraken. This made me see the value in Tenacity, and that despite what you may think, it has the potential to save you from losing games (kind of situational, but you still get special savers to compensate, with the Black Arrowbands).

(Okay, if that is tl;dr, read the rest of this):

So when I added a slot to my arrowbands, it was because I wanted to get three special savers on it, as it had two bomb range up subs. Then I thought, well, if I can get another bomb range up sub, I wouldn't mind that either, though I'm not sure how viable it would be as a gear piece. Lucky for me, I ended up getting a final bomb range up, and I'm basically wondering if I should keep what I have or if I should try to push for that triple special saver, if I consider using the black arrowbands (and I'm sort of thinking about it). I feel like it would be nice to have because the bomb range would allow me to throw suction bombs farther and, in theory, keep people out from a longer distance. However, if I kept it, I would never realistically reek the benefits of special saver on headgear with tenacity. And while I'm aware that there are other headgear pieces with good head main abilities from Zekko, like the Five-Panel Cap and the Tinted Shades, I'm not sure how viable those would be in comparison to Black Arrownbands, which you can also get special savers on but with tenacity.

So in short, my question is: should I keep my Black Arrowbands with bomb range up or try to push for the special saver? I'm thinking that I should keep it the way it is, as I may not get another chance at that triple bomb range up again, but some people might say that the special saver is a necessary aspect of running a Tenacity hat from Zekko, because the idea is that you can't get that on other headgear pieces as easily as with the Black Arrowbands. But what are the opinions of you, the people?
 

ParanoidDrone

Full Squid
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Jan 26, 2008
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ParanoidDrone
Bomb Range Up triples are weird because they're so rare (only sub that doesn't have an associated brand) yet so niche (useless if you don't have a sub that benefits). I have a pair of Plum Casuals with triple bomb range subs and I'm seriously considering a reroll anyway since the damage up + swim speed would be excellent for the .96 Deco.

What I would do is keep what you have for now and give it some time, maybe a week or so. Use them whenever possible, and try to keep track of the times you find yourself wishing you had the special saver instead. If that never happens (or only rarely), then great, you can go ahead keeping it. If not, then you can reroll.
 

ϛ(°³°)/`

Inkling Commander
Joined
Sep 5, 2015
Messages
445
The short answer is that you should reroll something if you think you can get a more useful loadout for it. I wouldn't shoot for triple special savers because you saw it help someone in a single game in a video, rather you should shoot for it because you think it'll be a great addition for a variety of situations. In solo queue you don't have the luxury of communicating with your teammates and they're very susceptible to flanks, so they'll die all the time. In light of this, tenacity becomes incredibly useful, while in situations where they don't die as much, special charge might find more use.

Another thing to keep in mind, is you don't have to get 3x of the preferred sub for something to have a home in your gear sets. When I reroll (savescum) my gear, I ignore brand preference and keep rolling until I find something interesting to work with; I've gotten the following, which I use frequently:

:head_hdp000: :ability_inksavermain:|:ability_runspeed::ability_runspeed::ability_inksavermain:
:head_eye004: :ability_tenacity:|:ability_swimspeed::ability_swimspeed::ability_swimspeed:
:head_amb000: :ability_swimspeed:|:ability_swimspeed::ability_swimspeed::ability_specialsaver:
:head_msn000: :ability_runspeed:|:ability_swimspeed::ability_runspeed::ability_runspeed:
:head_hbd002: :ability_damage:|:ability_damage::ability_damage::ability_specialduration:
Sun Visor: :ability_bombrange:|:ability_bombrange::ability_bombrange::ability_bombrange:
Legendary Cap: :ability_damage:|:ability_damage::ability_damage::ability_swimspeed:
:clothes_jkt003: :ability_damage:|:ability_specialcharge::ability_specialcharge::ability_damage:
:shoes_msn001: :ability_inksavermain:|:ability_inkrecovery::ability_inksavermain::ability_inksavermain:
:shoes_shi006: :ability_runspeed:|:ability_runspeed::ability_runspeed::ability_defenseup:

If I didn't already have an arguably better triple on my arrowbands, I would keep your triple bomb range.
 

SupaTim

Prodigal Squid
Joined
Aug 18, 2015
Messages
681
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SupaTim101
It is really hard to roll triple bomb range subs, so I'd keep them. I am biased though because I LOVE bomb range (burst bombs 4 life).

There are other tenacity hats to experiment with.
 

Creator438

Semi-Pro Squid
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Messages
83
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Creator438
You got that just by levelling up? Wow.
Yep, I got hella lucky.

Btb, whoever cares can lock this topic. I solved this dilemma months ago after I got Splathax and realized that Tenacity + Bomb Range is kinda bad in my mind and for my purposes.
 

★Forge

Senior Squid
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
79
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Slumplush
I have 3 accounts and none of them have ever got a shiny just by unlocking them. I'm so unlucky in this game
 

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