Competitive:Ink Armor

Unofficial

Splatoon 2
Ink Armor is the first available special weapon to the player in, alongside the Splattershot Jr. and Splat Bombs. It is a global special, providing its benefits to its user's entire team, and is versatile enough to be combined with other special weapons, such as Inkjet. While generally considered a supportive special weapon, Ink Armor can also be found on a variety of slayer's and anchor's weapons as well.

Use
Ink Armor protects its user and all of their active teammates, reducing their chances of getting splatted and allowing them to either initiate a push, to recapture a Splat Zone for example, or maintain one, such as while locking out the opponent.
 * Activate Ink Armor in a safe location, particularly while not under attack. A player activating Ink Armor is locked in place for 30 frames, or 0.5 seconds, and if they get splatted during this time, Ink Armor will not be applied to any of their teammates.
 * Time the activation of Ink Armor carefully; it takes up to two seconds to activate Ink Armor, which lasts for at least six seconds or until its wearer has taken 30 HP of damage. Applying Ink Armor too early might not provide enough protection time, while waiting too long to use it might result in teammates getting splatted before receiving sufficient protection. Count the number of active opponents on the HUD and check your teammates' positions relative to the opponents' turf on the map with to determine whether to activate Ink Armor right away.
 * Teammates who have just been splatted and have not yet respawned will not receive the protection from Ink Armor, so try to activate Ink Armor when most or all teammates are active. Slayers, who risk getting splatted more often, benefit from Ink Armor more than anchors do.
 * Be aware that Ink Armor will make its user and their teammates more visible, particularly within their ink. Therefore, if a teammate is using a short-ranged slayer's weapon that relies heavily on sharking (such as a roller or a Sploosh-o-matic 7), check the map with to see if this teammate is hiding among the opponents.
 * Upon activation, Ink Armor will protect its user and their teammates except for those either carrying the Rainmaker or using either Baller or Booyah Bomb.
 * Also, players protected by Ink Armor lose it upon gaining possession of the Rainmaker.
 * A support player, such as the user of a Splattershot Jr. or an N-ZAP '85, is often expected to carry the Rainmaker while their slayer teammates provide protection up front while turfing a path of ink. Therefore, while Ink Armor will not protect the Rainmaker carrier, it will still benefit their teammates, so cast Ink Armor just before picking up the Rainmaker whenever possible.
 * Any damage onto an Ink Armored player that exceeds 100 HP will not only be inflicted onto them – capped at 80 HP of damage – but will also significantly knock them back. Therefore, even while armored, it is still advisable to avoid getting hit by heavily damaging attacks, such as charger fire or bombs — especially when on a ledge or while riding the Tower.

Synergy
Multiple Ink Armors used by the same team do not stack. Therefore, it would be redundant for a team to have more than two Ink Armor users. While special weapons used in combination are beneficial in general, the combination of Ink Armor with either Inkjet or Ultra Stamp is particularly invaluable for the user of the latter special, improving their survivability:
 * In general, when two Ink Armor-based weapons are on a team, the user of the more aggressive weapon should activate Ink Armor first, freeing them to engage the opponent without potentially losing both a potential Ink Armor and special gauge progress. For example, the user of a Tri-Slosher, a slayer's weapon, should generally be the first to activate Ink Armor, while a more supportive weapon user, such as the Splattershot Jr., should pay attention to the HUD and refrain from using Ink Armor if their more aggressive teammate also has Ink Armor ready.
 * Because an Ink Armored player can withstand more damage — especially from an opponent's charger, an armored Inkjet pilot can fly more aggressively.
 * An armored Ultra Stamp user is also more difficult for opponents to splat while swinging the hammer. However, they are easier to spot when submerged in their ink.

Countermeasures

 * Before the battle begins, pay attention to the opposing team's composition to check how many and which opponents have Ink Armor.
 * Keep an eye on the HUD to know when the opponent has Ink Armor ready to use, and both watch and listen for when it is activated.
 * The best way to prevent the opposing team from using Ink Armor is to splat any opponent with an Ink Armor-equipped weapon. A charger user can prioritize such an opponent when sniping, or a slayer can attempt to pick off an unprotected Ink Armor-based support player.
 * Prioritize Ink Armor-equipped opponents who are either easier to attack or can farm Ink Armor more easily. For example, an opposing Splattershot Jr. wielder, which can farm Ink Armor quickly (180p) but is weak in most one-on-one encounters, is a more worthwhile target than an opposing H-3 Nozzlenose D user, who is very capable in one-on-one fights but does not farm Ink Armor nearly as fast (220p) as a Splattershot Jr. can.
 * Fight fire with fire by having and using Ink Armor to counter the opposing team's Armor. Skirmishes between armored teams will depend on when each Ink Armor was activated, the players' skill and positioning, turf control, and the availability of other specials.
 * Ink Armor can negate up to 30 HP of damage, so there are a few main and sub weapons that can remove an opponent's Ink Armor in one hit:
 * For example, all variants of the Splattershot, the Splattershot Pro, and the Splat Dualies all inflict at least 30 HP of damage per shot and fire relatively rapidly. All variants of the Splash-o-matic and the Dualie Squelchers can also accomplish this with enough Main Power Up.
 * Object Shredder triples damage inflicted onto armored opponents, allowing weapons that cannot otherwise inflict 30 HP of damage to break an opponent's Ink Armor in one hit. Combining Object Shredder with Ink Storm can nearly neutralize armored pushes by the opponent.
 * The splash damage of most bombs will destroy the Ink Armor of opponents who have no Bomb Defense Up DX equipped.
 * Otherwise, focus fire on armored opponents for longer than usual - preferably while ganging up on one opponent at a time - to compensate for their armor.