Competitive:.96 Gal

Unofficial

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. With the Version 2.7.0 update, the .96 Gal can be reduced to a 3-hit kill with just one Defense Up main ability or 3 Defense Up sub-abilities. Since the .96 Gal fires slowly for a shooter, a single extra hit needed makes a significant difference, so at least a small amount of Damage Up is strongly recommended.

The .96 Gal is an extremely ink-hungry weapon, so mitigating this is a good idea, with Ink Recovery Up allowing for long term and frequent map presence.

Ink Resistance Up allows more maneuverability and speed while walking or swimming through it, and is effective in escaping tough situations, particularly when out of ink to reduce damage taken and increase the probability of survival.

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.
 * The .96 Gal has four 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 and slow mobility leaves it vulnerable at close range to mobile, accurate weapons, such as some dualies. However, careful ink management and 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.

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.

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.

Accelerates building up the special gauge for Ink Armor.