Competitive:Permanent Inkbrush

Unofficial

Use
The Sprinkler can be used in a variety of ways to help its user: Ink Armor enables 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.
 * They can used to turf areas that are either out of reach or unsafe to approach.
 * They can help maintain turf onto highly contested areas, such as around mid. A Sprinkler placed high on a wall or ceiling can also be a distraction for an opponent.
 * They can also act as a light shield in a pinch. Sprinklers have 120 hit points but are easily destroyed by opponents armed with Object Shredder.
 * Time the activation of Ink Armor carefully so that you and your teammates receive its protection before engaging the opponent.
 * 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 supportive players do.
 * Using Ink Armor also refills the ink tank. While this tactic can sometimes save you in a pinch, refrain from using Ink Armor solely for this purpose.
 * 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.
 * As a slayer, a Permanent Inkbrush user is not expected to carry the Rainmaker. Instead, they should pave a path of ink for the Rainmaker carrier to quickly travel along, find a good location from which to shark, and pounce on any opponents who threaten the Rainmaker. Therefore, while Ink Armor will not protect the Rainmaker carrier, it will still benefit their teammates, so cast Ink Armor just before engaging the opposing team.

Synergy
While a team might get away with having one or two users of short-ranged weapons, such as the Permanent Inkbrush, having a team composition with too many short-ranged weapons and no longer-ranged weapons to provide support fire is often disadvantageous for a number of reasons: Another weakness of the Permanent Inkbrush is the lack of lethal bombs — particularly either Splat or Suction Bombs, which provide their user's team a couple advantages over another team that has no lethal bombs in its composition: 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:
 * An opponent with a long-ranged weapon can more aggressively position themselves to zone out the entire shorter-ranged team.
 * The opposing slayers can play more aggressively, knowing that there is no long-ranged threat to pick them off from afar.
 * Their one-hit-splat offers its user's team chances of instantly gaining a numbers advantage, from which a game-winning push can arise.
 * Their lethal explosion provides space for its user's team to either push into an area held by the opponent or stall an opponent's push.
 * 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. Therefore, the Permanent Inkbrush user should generally be the first to activate Ink Armor, while their more supportive teammate should activate their Ink Armor as the first one wears off.
 * 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

 * Any weapon with an effective range longer than the lethal range of the Permanent Inkbrush can counter an opposing Permanent Inkbrush user who attempts to challenge opponents head-on. However, a good Permanent Inkbrush user will rely more on flanking and sharking, so anyone facing a team with an opposing Permanent Inkbrush wielder must take a few proactive measures to avoid getting flanked or sharked:
 * Keep track of all four members of the opposing team – which ones are present, which ones are splatted, and which ones are back at their spawn point.
 * Check the map periodically for opposing ink forming around flanks to anticipate a flanking attack.
 * To prevent sharking, check suspicious puddles of the opponents' ink, preferably with a thrown sub weapon.
 * Weapons that track opponents, such as Point Sensors, temporarily prevent an opponent from sharking and makes them an easier target for long-ranged teammates to pick off.
 * If an opponent's Sprinkler is present nearby, make sure that no opponents are hiding nearby before attempting to destroy it.
 * Keep an eye on the HUD to know when the opposing Permanent Inkbrush 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 Permanent Inkbrush (or any other Ink Armor-equipped weapon).
 * Fight fire with fire by having and using Ink Armor to counter the opposing Permanent Inkbrush user'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, Burst Bombs and 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.

Gear abilities
Gear abilities provide different effects in battle that benefit the player with their equipped weapon. This is a guide to gear abilities in relation to the weapon. Strategy, synergy, viability, and purpose may be written here.