.96 Gal

The .96 Gal is a main weapon in Splatoon and Splatoon 2.

As a member of the Shooter class, this weapon distinguishes itself by sacrificing fire rate, ink efficiency, and mobility for powerful shots and long range. The .96 Gal outputs enough ink in each shot to splat opponents in two hits. Consequently, the weapon has a high ink consumption rate of 2.5% per shot, making it the ink-thirstiest of all weapons in the Shooter class (excluding Blasters) and only allowing for 40 shots to be fired per ink tank. The weapon's fire rate is slower than all other Shooter-class weapons (also excluding Blasters), measuring at slightly slower than the Octobrush's flick rate. A major drawback of the .96 Gal is its poor accuracy for a long-ranged weapon; many shots can deviate far enough to the left or right that they may miss the target. The .96 Gal and its close relative the .52 Gal share their visual design and high-damage, low-accuracy performance.

The weapon is designed with a water cooler bottle as a base. A grip, sight, and high-caliber gun barrel are clamped to the bottle. The parts surrounding the bottle are black plastic with pink accents, while the bottle matches the player's ink color.

Splatoon
The .96 Gal comes in a set with the Sprinkler and Echolocator.

Demonstration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCQzzrDgcb8

Splatoon 2
The .96 Gal returns in Splatoon 2 looking identical to how it did in the first game. It comes with Sprinkler and Ink Armor.

Quick facts
A.k.a.: 96, Gal

Role: Support

Strengths: Damage, range, turfing, Ink Armor farming

Weakness: Lack of bombs, poor ink efficiency, low accuracy, slow firing rate, most opposing Brellas

Use

 * The unique traits of the .96 Gal and its build make it a support weapon.
 * The large ink spread of each shot allows it to turf wide swaths of an area rather quickly, which maintains zone or map control and rapidly farms Ink Armor. Special Charge Up can accelerate building up the special gauge.
 * While the .96 Gal is less thorough in turfing than the Splattershot Jr., its longer range and Sprinkler allow it to turf from a safer distance.
 * The relatively long range and high damage per shot allow the .96 Gal to more directly engage opponents than the Splattershot Jr. can.
 * It overpowers and slightly outranges the Splattershot Pro and its variants, making it a decent counter.
 * Main Power Up further increases the damage output, maxing out to 77.5 points of damage at the full 57 ability points. However, as of Version, only 19 ability points - about two mains - are enough to exceed 70 points of damage, leaving a target with at most 30 hit points, which is a one-hit splat for most other weapons, including the splash damage of most bombs.
 * The .96 Gal has three notable drawbacks:
 * It is very ink inefficient, consuming 2.5% of the ink tank per shot. Watch the ink tank, and generally remain nearby friendly ink to refill whenever necessary.
 * The large degree of randomness of the weapon's shot trajectory renders it less accurate than other weapons. A more careful aim is required with this weapon than with most other weapons.
 * Its slow firing rate leaves it somewhat vulnerable at close range to mobile, accurate weapons, such as some dualies. However, careful zoning out of shorter-ranged opponents can minimize this weakness.
 * The primary drawback of the .96 Gal compared to many other support weapons is the absence of bombs.
 * Without bombs, the .96 Gal user cannot use them to push back into opposing turf.
 * The lack of bombs also makes it difficult to damage or destroy opponents' Brella shields and Splash Walls. Use the .96 Gal's range to keep a Brella at bay.
 * The Sprinkler can be used in a variety of ways to help its user:
 * Turfing areas that are either out of reach or unsafe to approach.
 * Maintaining turf onto highly contested areas, such as on the Tower. A Sprinkler placed high on a wall or ceiling can also be a distraction for an opponent.
 * Acting as a light shield in a pinch. Sprinklers have 120 hit points but are easily destroyed by opponents armed with Object Shredder.
 * Ink Armor allows its user's team to either initiate a push, to recapture a Splat Zone, for example, or maintain one, such as while locking out the opponent.
 * Time the activation of Ink Armor carefully; it takes up to two seconds to activate it, while it lasts for at least six seconds.
 * Try to activate the Ink Armor when most or all teammates are active. Slayers, who risk getting splatted more often than Anchors, benefit from Ink Armor more.

Countermeasures

 * Any variant of the Splat Brella or Tenta Brella is a very unfavorable matchup for the .96 Gal due to its slow firing rate and its lack of bombs. A Splat Brella user would have to get within range through strafing before opening the shield.
 * To engage a .96 Gal with a shorter range weapon, try to catch it off guard through either careful flanking or sharking, better positioning, or wise use of bombs. The .96 Gal has no bombs to force an opponent back, so its opponent can pursue it more aggressively.
 * Any long-ranged weapon, such as a charger or most splatlings, can fire upon a .96 Gal from long distance with impunity. However, should the .96 Gal ever get within range, the long-ranged weapon would have to retreat to avoid getting splatted.
 * Keep an eye on the HUD to know when the opposing .96 Gal has Ink Armor ready to use, and both watch and listen for when it is activated.
 * The best way to prevent the opponent from using armor is to splat the opponent with the .96 Gal (or any other Ink Armor-equipped weapon). A charger user can prioritize said opponent when sniping, or a slayer can attempt to pick off a .96 Gal.
 * Focus fire on armored opponents for longer than usual - preferably on one opponent at a time - to compensate for the opponents' armor.
 * Object Shredder allows a player to inflict three times damage onto armored opponents, as long as the armor is active. Combining this with Ink Storm can nearly neutralize armored pushes by the opponent.

Demonstration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPkAX7zxqPo

Etymology
.96 Gal is short for .96 Gallon. "Gal" is also a play on Cal, the short form of Caliber, a term commonly used when describing the diameter of bullets for firearms.

.96ガロン .96 Garon has the same origin as the English name, but without Gallon shortened to Gal.