Competitive:Kensa Undercover Brella

Unofficial

Use
Unlike the previous variants of the Undercover Brella, the Kensa variant has a build that enables it to more effectively play a support role: Torpedoes have a variety of uses, especially a few that minimize the main weapon's weaknesses. 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.
 * The Kensa Undercover Brella turfs very well, allowing it to maintain map control, capture Splat Zones, and quickly build up the special gauge.
 * While its shots produce a narrower ink trail than does the Splat Brella (4 pellets versus 6), the Kensa Undercover Brella is more ink efficient and can keep its shield up while firing.
 * Its effective range (80 units) exceeds that of the Splattershot Jr. (66 units) and the Splash-o-matic (78.4 units) but is shorter than that of both the Splattershot and N-ZAP '85 (88 units). This provides the Kensa Undercover Brella more distance than the Splattershot Jr. to either turf territory or engage an opponent more safely.
 * Being lightweight, the Kensa Undercover Brella has good mobility while firing (0.72 units per frame), comparable to the Splattershot Jr., the Splash-o-matic, the Splattershot, and the Dualie Squelchers.
 * What sets the Kensa Undercover Brella apart from many other weapons – including other Ink Armor-based weapons – is its shield, which can provide its user good temporary protection whenever strafing is not an option, such as in a narrow passage or on the Tower:
 * Its shield takes 200 health points (HP) of damage to destroy and has different incoming damage multipliers for each weapon type. Most notably, a Kensa Undercover Brella shield takes…
 * …only 70% of damage from automatic and semiautomatic firing weapons, such as shooters, dualies, and splatlings.
 * …150% of damage from swung (but not rolled) rollers and brushes.
 * …200% of damage from sloshers and the explosion of all bombs.
 * …300% of damage from all chargers.
 * Therefore, a Kensa Undercover Brella has good matchups against any shooter, dualie, or splatling that lack bombs, as long as its user can get within range.
 * If a Kensa Undercover Brella's shield is either damaged or destroyed, it can be restored by either splatting or assisting in splatting an opponent or, if the shield is destroyed, by waiting 270 frames, or 4.5 seconds.
 * Because a player who uses Ink Armor is credited with an assist each time an armored teammate splats an opponent, a Kensa Undercover Brella user can be more aggressive with the shield after using Ink Armor since each Ink Armor assist will restore their shield.
 * Main Power Up can reduce the regeneration time to as low as 150 frames, or 2.5 seconds.
 * The Kensa Undercover Brella fires four pellets per shot, each delivering 12 HP of damage. However, the maximum damage per shot is capped at 40 HP.
 * This means that the Kensa Undercover Brella can still splat most opponents in three shots if its user consistently hits their opponent with at least three pellets.
 * The Kensa Undercover Brella, with all of its various and unique advantages, still has its shortcomings:
 * Its limited damage and slightly slow firing rate (8-15 frames for the first shot, 16 frames in between shots) prevent it from splatting opponents as quickly as other Ink Armor-based weapons, including the N-ZAP '85, the H-3 Nozzlenose D, the .96 Gal, and even the Splattershot Jr.
 * The Kensa Undercover Brella is outranged by many other weapons, most notably the Splattershot Pro, the Slosher, and the Dualie Squelchers.
 * Its shield is weaker than that of the Splat Brella and is easily destroyed by a single lethal bomb. Even a couple of Burst Bombs can quickly destroy a Kensa Undercover Brella shield.
 * Opponents' bombs will instantly detonate upon contact with the Kensa Undercover Brella's shield, splatting any teammates who happen to be in front of it. Therefore, do not raise the shield whenever a teammate is in front.
 * Blasters are arguably the worst matchup for a Kensa Undercover Brella, since a Blaster user who maintains their maximum range and fires around a Kensa Undercover Brella user's shield will damage them with the splash damage.
 * Torpedoes are a noxious distraction tool, poking at opponents during the neutral phase. They are a Kensa Undercover Brella user's best option when facing an opponent with superior range.
 * Aiming a Torpedo above or behind an opponent will force them to divert their aim. This is especially effective against opponents wielding single-shot weapons, such as blasters or chargers.
 * When rolled on the floor or against a wall like a Splat Bomb, a Torpedo will remain in its first stage and explode in a similar fashion, albeit less powerfully. If a direct hit (60 HP damage) is confirmed, immediately follow up with all four pellet hits from the main weapon (40 HP) to quickly splat most opponents.
 * Both phases of the Torpedo can aid in turfing along with the main weapon, aiding in both mobility and building up the special gauge.
 * While only one Torpedo may be used at a time, Ink Saver (Sub) can still conserve ink for each Torpedo used, saving ink for either another Torpedo or the main weapon.
 * Time the activation of Ink Armor carefully; it takes up to two seconds to activate Ink Armor, which lasts for at least six seconds.
 * 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.
 * 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 a Kensa Undercover Brella user, 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.

Synergy
The Kensa Undercover Brella is great at turfing and building up Ink Armor but relatively weak in splatting opponents. Therefore, it makes a great complement to – and is well complemented by – a slayer, particularly one whose weapon has trouble turfing, such as a Splattershot Pro or a blaster. 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.
 * Turfing while following a teammate builds up Ink Armor and provides friendly turf to which a teammate can retreat whenever needed.
 * Cooperate with the teammate using primarily Torpedoes when engaging an opponent: attack from different angles and divert the opponent's attention to provide your teammate an opening to attack.
 * If your teammate gets splatted and the opponent(s) is/are still present, then consider retreating instead of risking getting splatted and losing Ink Armor progress.
 * 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. As a more passive weapon, a Kensa Undercover Brella user should keep an eye on the HUD and refrain from using Ink Armor if their more aggressive teammate also has Ink Armor ready.

Countermeasures

 * When facing an opponent wielding a Kensa Undercover Brella, their shield can be tricky to deal with. However, there are various ways to work around it:
 * Most bombs will not only destroy the Kensa Undercover Brella's shield in one hit but will also instantly detonate, splatting any other opponents in front of them.
 * Blasters are arguably the best counter against a Kensa Undercover Brella. Maintain your maximum range and fire around the opponent's shield to damage them with the splash damage.
 * Whenever possible, shoot down opponents' Torpedoes as soon as possible to prevent both the damage and the turfing from the resulting droplets.
 * Keep an eye on the HUD to know when the opponent's Kensa Undercover Brella 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 Kensa Undercover Brella (or any other Ink Armor-equipped weapon). A charger user can prioritize said opponent when sniping, or a slayer can attempt to pick off an unwary Kensa Undercover Brella.
 * Focus fire on armored opponents for longer than usual - preferably with everyone ganging up on one opponent at a time - to compensate for their 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.

Ink Saver (Sub) allows more frequent use of Torpedos and saves ink for the main weapon after each Torpedo used.

Last-Ditch Effort is a Headgear-exclusive ability that, under specific conditions, grants its user 1 to 24 ability points each of the following abilities: These abilities only begin to take effect under either of the following conditions: Like other support weapons whose builds include bombs, the Kensa Undercover Brella can greatly benefit from the reduced ink consumption per Torpedo used, allowing its user to spam Torpedoes during either a crucial defensive stand or a late attempt to reclaim the lead.
 * There are at most 30 seconds remaining on the game clock, or Overtime has begun in a Ranked Battle, at which the maximum 24 ability points will be granted for each of the above abilities.
 * In a Ranked Battle, the opposing team's countdown has at most 50 points remaining. The effects of Last-Ditch Effort increase as the opposing team's countdown decreases from 50 to 30 points remaining, starting with 1 ability point for each ability and maxing out to 24 ability points.

Special Charge Up accelerates building up the special gauge for Ink Armor. Since farming Ink Armor is one of a few roles of the Kensa Undercover Brella, constantly having Ink Armor available for teammates ensures more successful pushes and counter-pushes.
 * Ten ability points – one main – are enough to reduce the special gauge requirement to below 175p.

When splatted, half of the special gauge progress is lost. For example, a player with 160p of special gauge out of 190p upon getting splatted will lose 80p of the special gauge. Special Saver allows its user to keep more of their special gauge progress whenever they are splatted. This allows a Kensa Undercover Brella user to more quickly build up Ink Armor after respawning.
 * 6 ability points – two subs – are enough to increase the amount of special gauge progress saved from 50% to 64.6%.