Definitely think Last Ditch Effort got the best boost here, the fact it kicks in a whenever the other team gets there score to 30 or less really makes it feel more like the abilities name, since you're in the last ditch situation to fight back and take the lead from the other team. It also is nice to see it now work in Extra Time (Overtime in the NTSC-U version), as well as the respawn boost it gives, I may well start using this on Tower and Rainmaker over my Backwards Cap (which has 2 subs of QR on it), I don't think it'll be very effective on Splat Zones though, since the timer ticks down too fast when the zone is secured and spawn camping is a big thing in zones, especially in S/S+ rooms. Think about it this way, if the enemy team get that early push, they'll trigger LDE, giving those who have it equipped a boost in Ink Saver Main, Ink Saver Sub, Ink Recovery Up and Quick Respawn, allowing those players to focus on other abilities in their builds, whilst still having some extra of those abilities if they so desire. According to Inkipedia (I prefer this Wiki to the other one), Ink Saver Main reduces ink usage by 17%, Ink Saver Sub reduces ink usage by 11% and boosts Ink Recovery by 18%.
When you combine this with the fact it'll be boosting your respawn time (probably around 0.5s to 1s faster), it'll be a very useful ability to use for those who like to have more Ink Efficiency without splashing out too much on those abilities, allowing them to use more of other abilities they had to sacrifice before. Unfortunately they are only 5 pieces of gear with this ability and 2 of those are Firefin and Forge, both of which I consider bad brands due to rolling Ink Saver Sub and Special Duration Up. Keep in mind that Ink Saver Sub only has its cap boosted, and may not boost how the effectiveness of each ability, so it may still be less useful to use over other abilities. Special Duration is also rather lame, since it doesn't add much of a boost to how long the special lasts. That leaves Skalop (Gross Visor Skate Helmet), Rockenberg (18K Aviators) and Zekko (Coloured Shades - Tinted Shades in the NTSC-U version). Personally I will use the Coloured Shades, since they look the best out of those 3 and offer Special Saver, one of my favourite abilities in the game. The Skalop hat offers Quick Respawn, but it looks so unfresh I won't use it (I do like to have my Inkling look fresh, but I still take into account abilities and brands) and the Rockenberg's look nice, but I would rather use Special Saver than Run Speed (although I may swap between the 2 depending on weapon, mode and map).
The other ability I'm hyped for is Recon, and I never thought I would hear myself say that. The fact it'll now show up for 3.5s after leaving base and shows the weapons each enemy is using will make it a very interesting ability and may be seen more frequently in squads and tourneys. It'll help locate where each weapon is and allow for a more coordinated attack on those who may cause trouble with their weapons or specials, allowing for an added layer of depth. If the person who uses it combines it with lots of
, then they can quickly jump back and forth when it's safe to do so and call out enemy locations, then quickly rejoin the action. This will be more useful when applied to a weapon with Squid Beakons, simply place a Beakon in a convenient location, make sure you tell your teammates to leave that one alone, then use it to jump back and forth, enabling you to help out with the objective and keep an eye on enemy positions and what they may be up to.
All in all I believe the devs have done a smart thing here, since they've boosted most of the exclusive abilities (that is the ones stuck on Head, Shirts and Shoes and can't be placed as a sub ability) to encourage more variety of gear and new ways to play Splatoon. It's things like this that help keep the game fresh. However, we cannot guarantee that people will stick to using this abilities after the first few days, which would be a terrible shame imo. When you combine this with the Sheldon's Picks, we should be seeing more variety and more strategies forming in Splatoon, thereby enhancing the meta even further.
