Competitive:.52 Gal

Unofficial

Splatoon
The .52 Gal holds a niche of being able to lock down areas with its sub and special weapons on certain narrow maps, such as Port Mackerel, Camp Triggerfish, Walleye Warehouse, and Arowana Mall.

Use
The kit and high rate of damage of the .52 Gal make it slayer: However, the .52 Gal has a few notable drawbacks:
 * The 52 HP of damage per shot guarantees a two-shot splat in its range of maximum damage. Outside this range, falloff reduces the damage to a minimum of 26 HP, which increases the number of shots to splat an opponent to three or four.
 * Its range is the same as a Splattershot or an N-ZAP (all 116.99 DU). The high damage makes it difficult for shorter-ranged opponents to approach its user; when their Splash Wall (see below) is also factored in, these opponents will have an even harder time to directly confront them.
 * While the .52 Gal has a comparable shot deviation (6-15 degrees) to that of a Splattershot (6-15 degrees), its chance to shoot towards the outer reticle while on the ground – initially 6% (2% for the Splattershot) – increases more rapidly with each consecutive shot (12% per shot, 25% maximum) than that of a Splattershot (2% per shot, 25% maximum).
 * Releasing the trigger for 55 frames, or just under a second, will restore its precision. Therefore, it is often recommended to fire this weapon in short bursts and then reposition yourself by swimming before firing again.
 * Its slower firing rate leaves it vulnerable at close range to more rapid-firing, medium-damage weapons, such as a Splattershot or a Splash-o-matic — especially if the opponent lands the first shot. Always be wary of opponents either flanking or sharking.
 * It is less mobile while firing (0.60 DU/f) than other weapons of comparable range, such as the Tri-Slosher (0.66 DU/f), the Splattershot and the Splash-o-matic (both 0.72 DU/f), and the N-ZAP (0.84 DU/f).
 * It is outranged by a number of other weapons, notably the Zink Mini Splatling, the Cherry H-3 Nozzlenose, most sloshers, and the Custom Range Blaster. Give yourself enough time and space to plant a Splash Wall to mitigate the range advantage of opponents wielding these weapons.

When placed properly, a Splash Wall can provide great utility, even in stages and areas that are more open:
 * Splash Wall provides strong protection against opposing fire, allowing its user to safely control space while turfing.
 * Any bombs thrown by an opponent that hit a Splash Wall will instantly explode, potentially splatting the Splash Wall's user or their teammates.
 * Refrain from rushing through the wall until it is certain that the opponent has no bombs available in the area.
 * Do not throw a Splash Wall behind a teammate, as a thrown opponent's bomb can instantly splat them.
 * Defensively, it can hinder the opponents' push, blocking both their movement and their fire.
 * Offensively, a Splash Wall can restrain the opponents' movement, allowing its user and their teammates to push forward or gain map control.
 * Throwing a Splash Wall behind an opponent can prevent them from fleeing.

Killer Wail is a versatile special that the user will often have due to its cheap cost of 160p.
 * Activate Killer Wail in a safe position. Once activated, the player will walk very slowly and cannot use their main weapon, making them easy targets for opponents.
 * Once launched, the Killer Wail will send out a laser that will splat any opponents that are in the laser.
 * Killer Wail is best used on narrow corridors as opponents will have little room to move away from it.
 * Killer Wail can help stop Rainmaker and Tower Control pushes as opponents will be forced to stay away from the specific area.
 * Opponents under the effect of Bubbler or Kraken will be severely knocked back if they touch Killer Wail, which can be a good counter to those specials.

Countermeasures

 * An opponent's Splash Wall is often a hindrance, but it can be worked around:
 * Lethal bombs are generally the most efficient means to damage and destroy opposing Splash Walls. Their explosions can also splat opponents who either stay too close to the Splash Wall or attempt to rush through it.
 * If bombs are unavailable, rapidly-firing shooters and some quicker-charging splatlings are more effective at destroying an opponent's Splash Wall than slower-firing weapons, such as blasters and sloshers.
 * Krakens or Bubblers can be used to brute force past a .52 Gal's defenses if needed.
 * If an opponent activates Killer Wail in an unsafe position, try attacking them as they are very vulnerable and cannot fight back.
 * The Killer Wail's laser can be briefly seen before it activates. Make sure to move out of the laser to avoid getting splatted.

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. The .52 Gal can be reduced to a 3-hit kill with just one Defense Up main ability or 3 Defense Up sub-abilities. Since the .52 Gal fires slowly compared to other shooters of its range such as a Splattershot, a single extra hit needed makes a significant difference, so at least a small amount of Damage Up is strongly recommended.

Quick Respawn will always shorten respawn time after getting splatted in this game, encouraging a .52 Gal user to remain aggressive even after getting splatted and is in general useful for brute forcing your way back into the stage.
 * One main, or 10 ability points, reduces the respawn time from 8.5 seconds to 7.29 seconds.
 * Two mains, or 20 ability points, drops this further to 6.29 seconds.

Super Jumping to a teammate after respawning carries the risk of getting splatted upon landing, due to the appearance of a Super Jump indicator. When equipped, Stealth Jump hides this marker completely at the cost of a slower Super Jump both in startup and the jump itself. This pairs well with Quick Respawn.

Splatoon 2
The .52 Gal – along with its Deco and Kensa variants – has a powerful two-shot splat and – ever since the Version update – good turfing ability, which is augmented by its range, which exceeds that of other short-ranged shooters. This variant has a kit designed around tracking and aggressively pursuing opponents, using Baller to improve survivability during either pursuits or escapes.

Use
The .52 Gal was overall significantly buffed compared to its appearance in. While unable to inflict any damage onto opponents, the Point Sensor can aid its user and their teammates if used wisely: The Baller is a versatile special weapon with a variety of uses:
 * Its biggest weakness, accuracy, was heavily improved:
 * Its first shot is very accurate, and the weapon begins with a 2% chance to shoot towards the outer reticle instead of 12%.
 * Its shot spread in the air was decreased from 15 degrees to 12.
 * It takes more shots to go to minimum accuracy, from 3 to 8.
 * Most notably, it now takes 25 frames, or just under half a second, to fully restore the weapon's accuracy after firing.
 * Mobility is improved, as the user can act out of squid form and begin firing the weapon or throw its sub faster than before.
 * It now takes 11 frames to shoot out of squid form, compared to the first game's 13 frames.
 * After firing or throwing a sub weapon, the user only needs 3 frames to go back into squid form, instead of 6.
 * Range was slightly increased to 124.944 DU, giving it a slight range advantage over the Splattershot and N-ZAP lines.
 * It also gets increased turfing ability, particularly at the edge of its range. Ink is also more likely to appear at the user's feet.
 * It temporarily makes an opponent an easier target for more mobile teammates to pursue.
 * It can check around corners for flanking opponents and scan behind obstacles or within suspicious puddles of the opponents' ink for any sharking opponents.
 * If you are about to get splatted, or if you fall into any unwinnable situation, tagging the opponent with a Point Sensor will track your would-be splatter, providing your teammates the opportunity for a revenge splat.
 * It enables its user to take control of a certain area of the stage, such as a Splat Zone or underneath the opponents' Clam basket.
 * It can force the opponents to clear an area, whether leading a Tower or Rainmaker push or stopping one.
 * It provides its user an extra layer of protection, such as when fleeing an unsafe situation or while riding the Tower at a checkpoint. In the latter case, be wary of getting knocked off of the Tower by the opponents' weapons.
 * After the Baller's explosion, nearby opponents not splatted are often damaged enough to be splatted in a single hit from the .52 Gal.
 * The hitbox of the Baller comes out before it protects the user. The .52 Gal can combo damage from its shots (52 damage) and activate Baller to bump into the opponent (50 damage) for a quick splat in close quarters.
 * The Baller can be used to survive a Splashdown, although the Baller is instantly destroyed.
 * One of the most effective means of scoring in Clam Blitz, especially on stages that are medium to large, involves the Baller providing a safe Super Jump landing point for teammates carrying Power Clams:
 * To conceal one's position, the Baller player should not carry a Power Clam, as doing so would mark one with a S2 Icon Ranked Battle.svg Ranked Battle symbol on the screen. If one obtains a Power Clam, they should pass it to a teammate, preferably the Anchor, who will remain relatively safe until a Super Jump opportunity presents itself.
 * Once the Baller player has built up their special gauge and at least one teammate has a Power Clam, the Baller player activates it in a spot that is nearby the enemy Clam Basket but relatively safe from attack, then rolls underneath the basket, and detonates the Baller, spreading ink around the basket, all while signalling their teammates with, indicating that they are within throwing range of the enemy Clam Basket.
 * Any of the Baller's teammates who has a Power Clam will Super Jump to the Baller's position, landing within a throw's reach of the enemy Clam Basket, and toss their clams (Power Clams first) into the basket.
 * Ink Armor and Stealth Jump will improve the survivability of teammates who super jump toward the enemy basket. Activating the Splashdown just before landing can also clear out the landing point of enemies and claim a large area of turf, but note that doing so will force its user to drop all clams in possession.

Synergy
While a team might get away with having one or two users of short-ranged weapons, such as the .52 Gal, 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: The .52 Gal's lack of lethal bombs – particularly either Splat or Suction Bombs – generally necessitates its user's teammates to equip weapons that include them. Lethal bombs provide their user's team a couple advantages over another team that has no lethal bombs in its composition:
 * 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.

Countermeasures

 * A user of a shorter-ranged weapon should rely on flanking or sharking to safely approach an opposing .52 Gal user, land the first shot, and exploit either their lower firing rate and slower mobility.
 * If you have a long-ranged weapon, such as a charger or a Jet Squelcher, and you have a chance to pick off an opposing .52 Gal user from long distance.
 * When tagged with an opponent's Point Sensor, either briefly keep a distance from opponents to avoid getting splatted or lure the opponents away from the objective or an important area of the stage, allowing teammates to reclaim turf, push the objective, or ambush opponents.
 * When attacked by an opponent's Baller, if possible, concentrate fire on the Baller – especially with bombs – to quickly destroy it and prevent its explosion.
 * If an opponent riding the Tower activates Baller, attack it at a proper angle – away from the Tower's stake – to knock it off of the Tower.
 * Splashdown can destroy a Baller if executed before the Baller initiates its explosion. The Baller's user will remain unsplatted, so prepare a follow-up attack.

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. Ever since its introduction in Version, Bomb Defense Up DX will not only reduce the damage taken from opposing sub and special weapons that are not one-hit-splat but will also reduce the duration of the tracking effects of certain opponent's sub and special weapons, such as Point Sensors and Ink Mines, allowing the user of this ability to evade detection more easily. Just three ability points, or one sub, provide plenty of utility:
 * The splash damage of most bombs is reduced from 30 HP to 28.6 HP. This reduction in damage provides two benefits:
 * It prevents its user from being exposed on their opponents' map by the splash damage of most single bombs.
 * Ink Armor will not break due to splash damage from a single bomb whose splash damage normally inflicts 30 HP of damage.
 * The splash damage of near-misses from either Tenta Missiles or Inkjet, the minimum splash damage of bubbles, and the collision damage from Baller are all reduced from 50 HP to 48.3 HP, enabling one to survive two hits from any of these specific means of special weapon damage.

A .52 Gal user will inevitably come in contact with the opponent's ink on various surfaces — mostly resulting from opposing bombs and Tenta Missiles, which can both be damaging and reduce mobility. Ink Resistance Up not only partially offsets the reduction in mobility but also delays the damage taken from contact with opposing ink:

While powerful, the .52 Gal has a high shot spread compared to other short-ranged shooters, reducing its ability to splat opponents consistently. Main Power Up reduces the shot spread by up to 20% while on the ground and by up to 50% when jumping, increasing the main weapon's precision.
 * 6 ability points, or two subs, reduces shot spread on the ground by 7.53% and shot spread in the air by 18.83%.
 * 13 ability points, or one main and one sub, reduces shot spread on the ground by 11.41% and shot spread in the air by 28.54%.

Quick Super Jump decreases both the "charge" time before and the travel time of a Super Jump, allowing a .52 Gal user to escape unfavorable situations more easily to preserve precious special gauge progress, or more quickly return to the front lines after being splatted.
 * One sub, or 3 ability points, of Quick Super Jump decreases the "charge" time by 22 frames, or 0.36 seconds.

Super Jumping to a teammate after respawning carries the risk of getting splatted upon landing, due to the appearance of a Super Jump indicator. When equipped, Stealth Jump better covers this indicator from long-distance opponents, allowing a .52 Gal user to more safely return to the front lines and more quickly maintain turfing pressure on and zone out the opponent.

A self-explanatory ability, Swim Speed Up specifically benefits a .52 Gal user by allowing them to more quickly retreat from an advancing opponent whenever necessary.
 * 6 ability points, or two subs, increase the swim speed from 1.92 to 2.01 units per frame, nearly matching the unaltered swim speed of lightweight weapon users.
 * 16 ability points, or one main and two subs, further increase the swim speed to 2.14 units per frame.