Competitive:Sorella Brella

Unofficial

Splatoon 2
Like the original Splat Brella, the Sorella Brella is designed to restrain the opponents' mobility with its shield, which demands a different, more advanced playing style from other weapon classes. As the first variant of an existing brella-type weapon, its has a kit that permits a more aggressive playstyle than that of the Vanilla variant.

Use
The Sorella Brella has traits of both a tank skirmisher and a zoning support weapon: While not always as reliable as some other bombs — partly due to having a smaller explosion radius, Autobombs can still be used in a similar fashion and have some unique utility: The Splat-Bomb Launcher is designed to either help push into a highly contested area or help repel the opponent's push:
 * It has a short-ranged (111.04 DU), slow-firing (16 frames between bursts) shotgun-like blast of six pellets at a maximum damage of 81 HP per burst, which prevents it from having a one-burst-splat against most opponents.
 * A Sorella Brella user will have to be even more accurate and precise with their aim than would users of automatically firing weapons, as any missed shot would leave them wide open to attack before the brella shield is up. Aiming down at the body of your opponent – rather than up at their head – will ensure that more pellets will hit their target and damage output is maximized.
 * While its shot spread is quick at turfing, a Sorella Brella is not quite as quick or efficient at turfing as are more conventional support weapons.
 * The shield-like canopy can withstand 500 HP of damage before it is destroyed and has different incoming damage multipliers for each weapon type.
 * Give yourself enough time (20 to 28 frames, or 0.333 to 0.467 seconds) and distance from the opponent to open up the shield.
 * Opponents' bombs will instantly detonate upon contact with the Splat Brella's shield, splatting any teammates who happen to be in front of it. Therefore, do not raise the brella shield whenever a teammate is in front of you.
 * An open brella shield can provide its user good temporary protection whenever strafing is not an option, such as in a narrow passage or on the Tower.
 * While holding the Splat Brella open, its user's run speed is 0.55 DU/f – even slower than while firing the weapon (0.65 DU/f) – and jumping height is reduced.
 * A Splat Brella user can jump then fire and open the shield in midair to reach their normal jumping height. This can be a useful tactic against opposing blaster users who attempt to fire above the brella shield.
 * It takes 122 frames (2.03 seconds) and 36.35% of the ink tank (including the 6.35% for firing a shot) to launch the shield, which then travels forward at 1.32 DU/f, takes half the normal damage from opponents' attacks, and remains on the stage for up to five seconds.
 * The shield – whether attached or launched – can damage opponents on contact for 30 HP. This technique (with an attached shield) can be used in combos with the weapon's shots to quickly splat opponents who charge toward you.
 * A launched brella shield will be instantly destroyed upon contact with another brella shield, a Splash Wall, or the Rainmaker shield.
 * If the shield is launched or destroyed, it will take 390 frames, or 6.5 seconds, to regenerate. Main Power Up can shorten the regeneration time to as low as 210 frames, or 3.5 seconds. Before launching your brella shield, make sure you can survive without it during the regeneration time.
 * Mastering all of your firing, shielding, and movement options with the Sorella Brella is essential to winning or prolonging various one-on-one matchups:
 * Their tracking capability allows them to reveal sharking opponents and both distract and flush out opponents from important areas, such as a perch or the Tower.
 * They are particularly effective when thrown at opposing users of slower weapons, such as an E-liter 4K or Dynamo Roller, as it is more difficult for them to move out of the way.
 * Note that throwing Autobombs onto the Tower is slightly more difficult since it bounces off walls easily when thrown - including the pole on the Tower. Aim for the space on the side when throwing them.
 * They can also be used to poke at and zone out opponents during the neutral phase, stall an opponent's push, or provide space to escape.
 * An Autobomb can damage or destroy an opponent's brella shield, Splash Wall, or Baller or the Rainmaker shield, while detonating on contact.
 * Any opponents caught within the Autobomb's explosion will get damaged or splatted.
 * It will also inflate or pop a teammate's bubbles but deflate or diffuse an opponent's bubbles, while still detonating on contact.
 * Using any Bomb Launcher too close to an opponent will leave its user vulnerable to attack, so activate it outside the range of the opponent.
 * Remember that each bomb can be charged by holding before releasing to launch it further, enabling the Bomb Launcher user to remain at a safer distance at the cost of launching fewer bombs in the duration of the special.
 * Do not forget that the main weapon may still be used during the duration of the special. Not only is this a useful self-defense tactic in case an opponent gets close, it help finish off opponents who have been weakened by the bombs.
 * Launched bombs can damage or destroy an opponent's brella shield, Splash Wall, or Baller or the Rainmaker shield, while detonating on contact.
 * Any opponents caught within a bomb's explosion will get damaged or splatted.
 * It will also inflate or pop a teammate's bubbles but deflate or diffuse an opponent's bubbles, while still detonating on contact.
 * An opponent's Splashdown, Booyah Bomb, or Ultra Stamp will defuse any Autobombs it touches, so hold off using them until after their special weapon finishes.

Synergy
Like the Splat Brella, the Sorella Brella allows its user to control space by restraining the movement of their opponents, particularly slayers armed with shooters or dualies. Use your good survivability to prolong battles and distract the opponents away from the objective, which your teammates can then push. While a team might get away with having one or two users of short-ranged weapons, such as the Sorella Brella, 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: While Autobombs technically count as a lethal bomb, they are noticeably easier to avoid. Due to this, try to include weapons that have either Splat or Suction Bombs in their kits, which provide its user's team many advantages over another team that has no lethal bombs in its composition: The Splat-Bomb Launcher is very effective at contesting territory, such as Splat Zones, but is not as reliable at splatting opponents who actively avoid the bombs. Attempting to pursue certain opponents with Splat-Bomb Launcher active further risks getting splatted. Therefore, it is advised to have other special weapons available to complement Splat-Bomb Launcher, as having too many users of any Bomb Launcher variant (no more than two) in a team composition will limit a team's arsenal of weapons: Coordinating with your teammates can greatly increase the Splat-Bomb Launcher's effect during a battle:
 * Use the Sorella Brella's shield and your movement – whether swimming, sub strafing, or shield strafing – to repel and avoid attacks to prolong a one-on-one battle until another opponent engages you, at which point you should strongly consider retreating (via Super Jumping if necessary).
 * If a teammate is engaged in a one-on-one with an opponent, offer to help by joining the fray and providing protection for your teammate. Just remember to not open the brella shield until you are either in front of your teammate or engaging the opponent from a different angle.
 * 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.
 * The turf inked by the resulting explosion contributes to both maintaining map control and building up the special gauge.
 * Other than the launched bombs, a Bomb Launcher user has no means of protection and is particularly vulnerable to long-ranged fire.
 * Other special weapons, such as Inkjet or Sting Ray, are intended for splatting opponents and more capable at this than is a Bomb Launcher.
 * Ink Armor can increase the survivability of a Splat-Bomb Launcher user, freeing them to push the opponents further back. If a teammate has a weapon that can farm Ink Armor, it might pay off to wait until they activate it.
 * Remaining behind a teammate with an active protective special weapon, such as Baller or Bubble Blower, can also give a Splat-Bomb Launcher user room to operate.
 * Pushing forward with Splat-Bomb Launcher while a teammate is using a special designed to splat opponents, such as Sting Ray or Inkjet, can limit the opponents' escape options and even prevent them from Super Jumping to safety.

Countermeasures

 * While double teaming any opponent is usually advantageous, it is often mandatory against an opposing Sorella Brella user due to their survivability against single opponents. However, do not get too distracted from the objective.
 * Conversely, do not get caught alone against an opposing Sorella Brella user, particularly if you are wielding a short- to medium-ranged shooter or dualie with no bombs, as the latter can punish players who overextend.
 * Slow firing shooters, such as the .96 Gal and the H-3 Nozzlenose D tend to fare poorly against an opposing Sorella Brella user since the long lag between shots or bursts provides more opportunities for the Brella user to lower their shield and fire.
 * Blaster users can fire either around or above an opposing Sorella Brella user's shield and inflict splash damage onto their opponent. Just keep the opposing Sorella Brella user at the maximum range of your main weapon to maximize the amount of damage dealt to them.
 * Some dualies have extra mobility to make their users less predictable with their movement and harder to shield their shots. The Dualie Squelchers allow their user to slide after dodge rolling, while the Dark Tetra Dualies permit their user to perform four dodge rolls.
 * Every variant of the Tenta Brella is a strong counter against an opposing Sorella Brella user due to both their one-shot-splat potential and ability to destroy the latter's shield should both shields collide.
 * Long-ranged weapon users who keep an opposing Sorella Brella user at bay can fire upon their shield to damage or destroy it with little worry of retaliation:
 * A Splat Charger user with nine ability points, or three subs, of Main Power Up can destroy an opposing Sorella Brella user's shield in one fully charged hit.
 * A Custom Hydra Splatling at full charge can destroy an opponent's Sorella Brella shield in 21 hits, or 80 frames (1.33 seconds).
 * Proper usage of sub weapons can limit an opposing Sorella Brella user's options:
 * Splat and Suction Bombs can apply a decent amount of damage to a Sorella Brella shield when thrown directly at it. If thrown off to the side or behind the user, the bombs can still limit the Sorella Brella's movement.
 * A fully-charged Fizzy Bomb will instantly break a Sorella Brella's shield. If the opponent opts to not shield the damage, they will likely take some splash damage from the Fizzy Bomb.
 * Any bomb with a tracking function – either Autobombs or Torpedoes – can force an opposing Sorella Brella user to lower their shield and either move to dodge the bomb or, in the case of Torpedoes, shoot it down.
 * Toxic Mist is particularly effective against Sorella Brellas due to its ink tank-draining capabilities. If thrown at the Sorella Brella user, they can either choose to slowly strafe away with shield up as the Toxic Mist depletes their ink tank, or swim away, from which they can be picked off due to having to drop their shield.
 * A Splash Wall can destroy a Sorella Brella shield launched by an opponent upon contact.
 * Autobombs can be lured away from the objective, such as a Splat Zone, to explode in an irrelevant area.
 * They can also be forced to explode early by swimming close to them, then swimming away, reducing their effectiveness at chasing hiding players.
 * If you happen to get within range to an opposing Bomb Launcher user, then take them out quickly to interrupt the special.
 * Splashdown and Booyah Bomb, if timed properly, can negate the Splat Bombs of a Splat-Bomb Launcher.
 * A counter Bomb Launcher can nullify the effects of Splat-Bomb Launcher, preventing its user's team from either capping a zone or continuing a push.

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. Because bombs are a good countermeasure against an opposing brella user, a Sorella Brella user can expect to have the opponents' bombs thrown their way. 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, offer 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.

When equipped, Comeback grants 10 ability points of six different stackable abilities for twenty seconds after respawning from getting splatted by an opponent: While a Sorella Brella wielder who plays aggressively would benefit from all of these abilities, they would profit mostly from Ink Recovery Up, Ink Saver (Main), and Run Speed Up, which respectively improve the ink recovery and efficiency of the main weapon and strafing speed while either shooting or shielding.

As a large consumer of ink, the Sorella Brella can be fired and launched more often if its user can refill their ink tank at a faster rate. A valuable utility ability for almost any weapon, Ink Recovery Up is even more useful for a Sorella Brella user, particularly to quickly recover ink after either launching their shield or using a Sprinkler.
 * Six ability points, or two subs, decreases the time needed to fully refill an empty ink while submerged in friendly ink from 180 frames, or 3 seconds, to 169 frames, or 2.82 seconds, effectively increasing the refill rate from 33.33%/s (percent per second) to 35.46%/s.

Opponent's ink on various surfaces can not only be damaging to a Sorella Brella user but can also reduce mobility, particularly when strafing. Ink Resistance Up not only partially offsets the reduction in mobility but also delays the damage taken from contact with opposing ink.

The Sorella Brella consumes a sizable amount of ink per shot — about as much as a Slosher or a Kensa Rapid Blaster. Its user also has to consider the large amount of ink required to launch their shield. Ink Saver (Main) helps mitigate this issue by reducing ink consumption per shot and brella launch. However, it is not advised to devote more than six ability points, or two subs, to Ink Saver (Main) due to both diminishing returns and fewer available ability points for mobility-enhancing abilities.

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: A Sorella Brella user can potentially benefit greatly from Last-Ditch Effort, particularly from Ink Saver (Main) and Ink Recovery Up, allowing them to improve their overall ink efficiency while saving more ability points for other abilities.
 * 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.

While swimming is still the Sorella Brella user's main means of travel, their strafing speed while either firing or opening their shield will be improved with Run Speed Up, enabling them to better evade and repel opponents' attacks.
 * 13 ability points, or one main and one sub, are enough to increase…
 * …the running speed while firing to above 0.70 DU/f, which matches that of the Kensa Sloshing Machine and the Nautilus 79.
 * …the running speed while opening the shield to above 0.60 DU/f, which is the running speed of Kensa .52 Gal and the H-3 Nozzlenose D while firing.

Quick Super Jump decreases both the "charge" time before and the travel time of a Super Jump. Sorella Brella users will benefit since Quick Super Jump allows them to both return to the front lines more quickly and escape unfavorable situations more easily to preserve special gauge progress.
 * One sub, or 3 ability points, of Quick Super Jump decreases the "charge" time by 22 frames, or 0.36 seconds.

The Sorella Brella has shorter range than most other weapons, meaning that its user will have to get within range of their longer-ranged opponents in order to be effective in battle. Swim Speed Up enables its user to more quickly close the distance towards an opponent, more quickly respond to an opponents' push, or even escape unfavorable situations.
 * Just six ability points, or two subs, increase the swim speed from 1.92 DU/f to 2.01 DU/f, which is roughly the same default swimming speed for lightweight weapons.
 * 16 ability points – one main and two subs – further increase the swim speed to 2.14 DU/f.