Ballpoint Splatling

The Ballpoint Splatling is a main weapon in Splatoon 2. It is a splatling that changes its rate of fire and range drastically after firing a short duration.

This Splatling works differently from other Splatlings. It does not have consistent range when firing in short bursts. There are two stages of firing with this weapon. The first stage will only last for a quarter ring charge. This stage has the range equivalent to the, fires faster compared to other Splatlings, and has mobility slightly higher than the. When charged more than a quarter ring, after the quarter ring of short-range fire, the range will increase dramatically, having range in between the and. During its second stage firing, it has perfect accuracy but fires slightly slower compared to other Splatlings.

Unique to the Ballpoint Splatling is the ability to recharge the weapon by press ZR any time while it is firing. When recharging the shots, the weapon will maintain the property of whichever stage it was on, however, charging past the point where the weapon switched modes will automatically default it back to the first stage. Additionally, the weapon is able to maintain its stage two charge even after it has finished firing by starting another charge within 1 second.

The Ballpoint Splatling has a consistent charge rate for both rings. It takes 1 second to reach the first level of charge, and 2 seconds in total to reach the second level of charge. Once the first level of charge is reached, it will fire for approximately 1.6 seconds, and once the second level of charge is reached, it will fire for approximately 3.2 seconds.

Splatoon 2
The Ballpoint Splatling was released on July 1, 2018 at. . It comes with and.

The Ballpoint Splatling appears to be a multi-color ballpoint pen with four ballpoint cartridges inside a clear cover. The body is black with the butt and the cartridges' clickers in the user's ink color and the logo in white. When charging the weapon, the clickers, cartridges, and butt of the weapon light up in a brighter color.

Demonstration
https://youtu.be/1K__dlvJc4M

Details

 * Due to the Ballpoint Splatling's unique ability to recharge at any time, the weapon is able to maintain its full powered second stage charge even when the player has no ink.
 * The weapon will still suffer from the general slower charge rate, however can bypass the extra slow initial charge and inferior initial range that other Splatling weapons suffer with low ink.

Trivia

 * The Ballpoint Splatling was first shown during E3 2018, as part of the announcement of updates extending until December 2018.
 * The Ballpoint Splatling's stats, under the codename "Downpour" were datamined from the Version 3.0.0 data prior to its official announcement.
 * Excluding rolling brushes and rolling, with enough Run Speed Up abilities (3 mains, 2 subs), the Ballpoint Splatling (while in the close-range firing mode) has the highest movement speed of all weapons in Splatoon 2 and Splatoon, maxing out at 1.25du/f (For reference, a rolling Carbon Roller moves at 1.28du/f)


 * An image of a datamined Splatling model found in the game's files was posted on Twitter saying it was the "Downpour"'s model. However, the model is clearly different and carries branding, indicating it probably belongs to another Splatling found in datamining, codenamed "Serein".
 * The Ballpoint Splatling functions like a reverse, it starts off shooting at a short range and then starts firing further and straighter.
 * The shape of the Ballpoint Splatling resembles a shuttle ballpoint pen.
 * The Ballpoint Splatling's fire rate in the first fire mode is the fastest firing weapon available in multiplayer, exceeding that of other splatlings and the ' post-dodge roll fire rate, firing once every 3 frames, compared to the other splatlings, which fire every 4 frames.
 * Only weapons to match the Ballpoint Splatling's firing rate are the upgraded Hero Shot and  Hero Dualies. The Hero Dualies post-dodge roll still boasts the fastest firing rate in the game, firing once every 2 frames.
 * The Ballpoint Splatlings's fire rate in the first fire mode fires faster than the game's tick rate, which sends and receives data every 3.75 frames.

Etymology
クーゲルシュライバー Kūgerushuraibā is a Japanese loanword from the German Kugelschreiber, "Ballpoint pen", Kugel meaning "Ball" and Schreiber meaning "Writer".