OnePotWonder
Inkling Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2024
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- 862
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- Marooner’s Bay
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- He/Him
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- SW-2068-8904-6306
I felt compelled to think about which weapons would work best with my favorite sub weapon and rank them on a tier list.
Ink Mine Synergy
Each tier should be fairly self-explanatory, but I'll give some explanations.
Excellent tier weapons fit all of the specifications of a good Ink Mine weapon, with the right combination of range and mobility along with damage combos to optimize their ability to place and play off of their mines. And, of course, none of them actually have the sub.
Strong tier weapons fit two out of three specifications of Excellent tier weapons, and only aren't in the highest tier due to weaker combos, lower mobility, or just the fact that they prefer other sub weapons. The exception is Inkbrush, with its unique relationship to Mines.
Decent tier weapons can function fine with Mines, but would almost always prefer something else.
Damage Combo Only tier weapons combo off of Mines' damage, but don't want the sub over other options for various reasons. Most obviously, many of the weapons in this tier want a sub to enhance paint, or help cover a paint weakness, which Mines cannot do.
Not Good tier is the last tier where weapons can glean some use from Mines, and the sub wouldn't be a kit killer as long as said kit had a strong special it could spam. These weapons only have one good trait for Ink Mine each or prefer nearly anything else over it.
Worthless tier contains the few weapon whose kits Ink Mine would instantly kill, either having none of the traits good for Ink Mine weapons or virtually no damage combos (literally none in the case of .52).
There are a few interesting quirks when it comes to this list. The most obvious is the two Gals being split between Top and Bottom tier, another is there being fewer weapons Mines are completely worthless on than work perfectly with it. The heaviest distribution of weapons lands around the middle of the tier list, which just goes to show how Ink Mine is balanced; the sub is decent on anything, rarely a kit killer and rarely better than other options. Even many of the weapons in Excellent tier would prefer other subs like Splash Wall or bombs. Mines are stuck in this awkward middle ground between the best and worst subs in the game, never terrible, but never what a weapon actually wants. I find this pretty interesting.
As for the obligatory balance idea, here's how I would buff Mines to put them closer to the level of other subs:
Ink Mine
The first change gives a lot of weapons in Decent and Not Good tiers much better damage combos, and would push a lot of weapons upward in terms of synergy with the sub. Though, the new damage number would uproot the Damage Combo Only tier and actually lower the synergy on some of its weapons, as well as a couple in Strong tier. However, this change would also cut the Worthless tier in half by giving .52, Aerospray, and Splat Roller worthwhile combos. The second change is a quality of life enhancement to leave weapons with more ink after using the sub, which is good for weapons like Brella.
Feel free to come up with your own lists down below.
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day.
Ink Mine Synergy
Each tier should be fairly self-explanatory, but I'll give some explanations.
Excellent tier weapons fit all of the specifications of a good Ink Mine weapon, with the right combination of range and mobility along with damage combos to optimize their ability to place and play off of their mines. And, of course, none of them actually have the sub.
Strong tier weapons fit two out of three specifications of Excellent tier weapons, and only aren't in the highest tier due to weaker combos, lower mobility, or just the fact that they prefer other sub weapons. The exception is Inkbrush, with its unique relationship to Mines.
Decent tier weapons can function fine with Mines, but would almost always prefer something else.
Damage Combo Only tier weapons combo off of Mines' damage, but don't want the sub over other options for various reasons. Most obviously, many of the weapons in this tier want a sub to enhance paint, or help cover a paint weakness, which Mines cannot do.
Not Good tier is the last tier where weapons can glean some use from Mines, and the sub wouldn't be a kit killer as long as said kit had a strong special it could spam. These weapons only have one good trait for Ink Mine each or prefer nearly anything else over it.
Worthless tier contains the few weapon whose kits Ink Mine would instantly kill, either having none of the traits good for Ink Mine weapons or virtually no damage combos (literally none in the case of .52).
There are a few interesting quirks when it comes to this list. The most obvious is the two Gals being split between Top and Bottom tier, another is there being fewer weapons Mines are completely worthless on than work perfectly with it. The heaviest distribution of weapons lands around the middle of the tier list, which just goes to show how Ink Mine is balanced; the sub is decent on anything, rarely a kit killer and rarely better than other options. Even many of the weapons in Excellent tier would prefer other subs like Splash Wall or bombs. Mines are stuck in this awkward middle ground between the best and worst subs in the game, never terrible, but never what a weapon actually wants. I find this pretty interesting.
As for the obligatory balance idea, here's how I would buff Mines to put them closer to the level of other subs:
Ink Mine
Direct damage increased from 45 to 60
Ink cost reduced from 60% to 55%
The first change gives a lot of weapons in Decent and Not Good tiers much better damage combos, and would push a lot of weapons upward in terms of synergy with the sub. Though, the new damage number would uproot the Damage Combo Only tier and actually lower the synergy on some of its weapons, as well as a couple in Strong tier. However, this change would also cut the Worthless tier in half by giving .52, Aerospray, and Splat Roller worthwhile combos. The second change is a quality of life enhancement to leave weapons with more ink after using the sub, which is good for weapons like Brella.
Feel free to come up with your own lists down below.
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day.
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