Competitive:Inkbrush

Unofficial!

This article discusses content that is not part of the official Splatoon series canon but is part of the community or competitive gaming space.

For information about the Inkbrush, see Inkbrush.

Splatoon 2

Splatoon 2

Inkbrush

Abbreviations	Brush
Sub	Splat Bomb
Special	Splashdown
Base damage	30 (Splash) 20 (Roll)
Base duration
Ink consumption	2% (Splash) 0.135% per frame (Roll)
Special points	180p
Special depletion
Role	Skirmisher
Strengths	Mobility, turfing
Weaknesses	Very short range, requires mashing, unreliable special

Similar to its Nouveau variant and Permanent variant, the Inkbrush is the fastest, most mobile weapon in Splatoon 2, enabling its user to quickly flank opponents, harass them, and escape unfavorable situations. While the inclusion of a bomb aids the weapon's short range, its special is unreliable at aiding with the weapon's capabilities and being unreliable in general.

Use

The Inkbrush's mobility makes it suitable as a skirmisher:

• The greatest asset any Inkbrush variant has is mobility. Unlike other weapon classes, its mobility is not restricted by either opposing ink or un-inkable surfaces, provided that its user's ink tank is not depleted.
  • Unless you already know your opponents' locations, it is usually inadvisable to travel deep into opposing turf since an opponent may well be sharking in it.
  • Without any Ink Saver (Main) equipped, the Inkbrush consumes 2% of the ink tank on the initial swing and 0.135% per frame (8.1% per second) the brush is rolled.
• The Inkbrush's very high mobility has a number of applications:
  • Its user can take various flank routes to get behind the opponents, harass them, and possibly splat high-priority targets, such as an opposing charger.
    • Flanking with any mobile weapon – especially the Inkbrush's – requires a good knowledge of the map, including good scouting and sharking locations.
    • However, do not take too long to flank the opponents as doing so leaves your teammates in a three-on-four situation or worse.
  • An Inkbrush user can user their speed and mobility to harass, distract, and annoy their opponents, consistent with their role as a skirmisher. In this case, your objective is not necessarily to win battles but simply to not lose them too easily or quickly, buying time and weakening opponents for a teammate to splat them.
  • Its high speed enables its user to more quickly respond to opposing pushes, provide support for a beleaguered teammate, or punish an opponent caught out of position.
  • A Inkbrush user can cover ground quickly to help establish map control or collect clams.
    • To avoid detection by the opponent, refrain from collecting a tenth clam until you are either on your side of the map or very close to the opposing goal.
    • While it is tempting to use your speed to quickly score on the opponent, a better long term strategy would be to pass completed Power Clams to a support or anchor – someone who is less likely to directly engage the opponent and risk getting splatted – and help maintain clam control until a bigger scoring opportunity arises.
  • Most of all, very high mobility allows an Inkbrush user to pick their battles:
    • Flee from matchups or situations that are unfavorable. Most opposing rollers or an opposing Tri-Slosher or Clash Blaster Neo are usually difficult for any Inkbrush to defeat.
    • Ideal targets for an Inkbrush to attack head-on are lone users of any slow-firing weapon that lacks one-shot- or one-burst-splat potential. An opposing user of a Kensa Sloshing Machine, a Kensa Rapid Blaster, or a Custom Explosher fits these descriptions.

The most reliable way a Inkbrush player can engage an opponent is through constant and coordinated use of Splat Bombs:

• The Splat Bomb's one-second detonation timer begins as soon as it contacts any surface. Therefore, rolling the Splat Bomb like a bowling ball will produce the quickest explosion for instant area denial.
• The damage an exploding Splat Bomb inflicts onto a target depends on the distance between them:
  • Targets within 40 DU – a little under one distance line away in the Shooting Range – will receive 180 damage — more than enough to splat most opponents.
  • Targets between 40 DU and 70 DU – just shy of 1.5 distance lines away – will receive 30 damage, which is sometimes enough to splat weakened opponents.
• When attacking an opponent's position, try to throw Splat Bombs behind the opponent. This more effectively cuts off the opponent's potential escape routes.
• Splat Bombs are great at poking at and zoning out opponents during the neutral phase, stalling an opponent's push, or providing cover while fleeing.
• Carefully lobbing a Splat Bomb at an opposing anchor positioned on their snipe will hinder their ability to control space with their range.
• A Splat Bomb 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 Splat 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 Splat Bombs it touches, so hold off using them until after their special weapon finishes.

Splashdown can be useful for various purposes, from instantly turfing territory to destroying non-player objects, but only if it is used properly at the right time:

• A normal Splashdown can be performed from the ground or while in midair after either jumping or dropping from an elevated position. A Super Jumping Splashdown is executed by pressing in the middle of a Super Jump.
  • Pressing before or at the apex of the Super Jump will execute Splashdown immediately upon landing, while pressing after the Super Jump apex will delay the Splashdown. While the former method is quicker, the latter provides the flexibility of holding onto Splashdown in case it is not needed.
• As of Version 1.3.0, the windup delay from the time is pressed to the moment Splashdown is detonated is 1.2 seconds for a normal Splashdown and 0.8 seconds for a Super Jump Splashdown.
  • Performing a normal Splashdown while underneath an obstacle (e.g. the grate walkways in Kelp Dome, the grate surrounding the Tower in Tower Control) will reduce the height of the player's jump during the windup but will not affect its duration.
• A player performing a normal Splashdown is invincible both during the first five frames, or 0.083 seconds, and upon landing for 30 frames, or 0.5 seconds, but is vulnerable to attack during the rest of the special. Opponents will have this brief window of vulnerability to attack the player performing Splashdown – with ranged weapons, bombs (if thrown in advance), and some special weapons.
  • The further an opponent is from a player performing a normal Splashdown, the easier it is for the former to adjust their aim upward to splat the latter and the less likely they will take significant damage (see below).
  • Starting from Version 4.1.0, a player who is splatted in the middle of attempting to perform Splashdown will only suffer a special gauge reduction of 25% (with no Special Saver). However, if splatted by an opponent equipped with either Haunt (when active) or Respawn Punisher, then the special gauge penalty is 40%.
  • Therefore, if you intend to use Splashdown within the range of an opponent, generally do so when close to them.
• A player executing a Super Jumping Splashdown is invulnerable during its entire duration, making it fully safe if performed in this manner.
  • While this can surprise and splat some opponents who attempt to camp the Super Jump marker, those who pay attention to the HUD will keep their distance from the marker. Super Jumping into Splashdown can still be used to push back the opponents and gain space for teammates.
• The amount of damage Splashdown inflicts onto a target depends on its distance from the epicenter of the explosion:
  • Targets within the lethal splash radius of about 70 DU – marked by a bright circle that appears as a player initiates Splashdown – receive 180 HP of damage, most likely splatting those not protected by Ink Armor, Baller, or Booyah Bomb armor. The higher Splashdown is activated, the wider the lethal splash radius.
  • Targets that are just outside the splash radius – up to about 100 DU from the center – receive 70 damage, while those that are even further – about 145 DU – receive 55 damage as of Version 1.3.0. These distances are not affected by the height at which Splashdown is activated.
  • In addition, opponents that survive the Splashdown might suffer knockback, especially if they are either wearing Ink Armor or using Baller.
• The resulting explosion from Splashdown turfs a large area, which is sometimes large enough to instantly cap a single zone in Splat Zones — or at least uncap it from the opposing team.
  • Turfing a path with the main weapon, Burst Bombs, or a combination of the two can enable one to quickly reach the zone for an instant Splashdown. Coordinate with teammates to gain an opportunity to reach the zone, as opponents will quickly splat anyone attempting to rush the zone.
  • Super Jumping to a teammate who manages to get to the middle of the zone can provide a safer, more guaranteed means to cap it.
• Besides splatting or pushing back opponents, turfing territory, and gaining space for teammates, Splashdown can be used for other purposes, such as…
  • …destroying the opponent's various means of protection, such as brella shields, Splash Walls, Ballers, and bubbles.
  • …securing possession of the Tower in Tower Control, especially at a checkpoint.
  • …instantly bursting the Rainmaker shield to start or restart a Rainmaker push.

Synergy

While a team might get away with having one or two users of short-ranged weapons, such as the 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:

• 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.

The specific weaknesses Splashdown has compared to other special weapons reduces its effectiveness if possessed by more than one player in a team:

• Without a teammate or Squid Beakon to Super Jump to, Splashdown is relatively static. It cannot push back opponents as effectively as Baller, Bomb Launcher, Booyah Bomb, or even Ink Storm can.
• An opponent who is skilled at splatting Splashdown attempts could effectively neutralize the special weapon of anyone with Splashdown due to its mostly consistent height, duration, and pattern.

If you regularly keep track of your teammates' locations with the map (by pressing ), you might find opportune moments to use a Super Jumping Splashdown to secure control of important areas, such as onto the Tower or just underneath the opponents' clam basket.

Countermeasures

• Any weapon with an effective range longer than the lethal range of the Inkbrush can counter an opposing Inkbrush user who attempts to challenge opponents head-on. However, a good Inkbrush user will rely more on flanking and sharking, so anyone facing a team with an opposing 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.

• Keep an eye on the HUD to know when an opposing Inkbrush user has Splashdown ready to use, and be ready for activation when fighting them.
• If you have good aim, the Splashdown can be shot out of the air:
  • Short-ranged weapons – such as the Sploosh-o-matic – or slower weapons – such as the Dynamo Roller or the Explosher – will struggle to do so, in which case it is better to simply back off instead.
• Watch out for any suspicious Super Jump markers. If a Super Jump marker appears in a risky spot, such as on the front lines, it is likely that the opponent is attempting a Super Jumping Splashdown. Instead of camping it with your main weapon, toss a bomb over to the marker instead if you have one.
• Protective special weapons, such as Ink Armor and Baller, can reduce or mitigate the damage taken from an opponent's Splashdown, but be wary of the large knockback.

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.

Bomb Defense Up DX

Ever since its introduction in Version 4.3.0, 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. This is a useful ability for almost any player, including an Inkbrush player who can play aggressive when needed. Just one sub, or three ability points, offers 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.

Ink Resistance Up

Although the Inkbrush line prevents its users from taking damage from enemy ink on the floor while rolling, they can still be expected to come in contact with the opponent's ink on various surfaces, 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. Just one sub, or three ability points…

• …delays the damage taken from opposing ink by 10 frames.
• …reduces the damage taken from 0.3 HP/f (health points per frame) to 0.2 HP/f.
• …lowers the limit on the amount of damage opposing ink on surfaces can inflict from 40 HP to 38 HP.
• …increases the normal running speed in opposing ink from 0.24 DU/f to 0.33 DU/f.
• …increases the jumping height in opposing ink from 0.8 to 0.854.

Ink Saver (Sub)

To compensate for the weapon's short range, the user will be throwing bombs more often than others. Ink Saver (Sub) allows the user for more frequent Splat Bombs, allowing the user to poke when locked out, or to stop pushes.

Object Shredder

An ability exclusive to shoes, Object Shredder provides an Inkbrush user two specific benefits:

• It triples the amount of damage inflicted onto armored opponents, allowing them to break an opponent's Ink Armor with one shot from their main weapon.
• It also enables them to pop the Rainmaker shield more quickly with either their main weapon or Splat Bombs, allowing their team to start or restart a push more quickly while gaining a large amount of turf control in the immediate area.

Because the Inkbrush Nouveau does 30 damage and has extremely short range, falloff damage can often occur. Object Shredder provides its user a valuable damage boost against opponents using either Ink Armor or Baller. Its only drawback is that it occupies an entire main ability, reducing the amount of ability points allowed for other potentially important gear abilities, such as Special Charge Up or Quick Respawn.

Quick Respawn

Quick Respawn shortens respawn time after getting splatted (under specific conditions), encouraging an Inkbrush user to remain aggressive even after getting splatted.

• 19 ability points - a pure, or one main and three subs - will reduce the respawn time from 8.5 seconds to 6.38 seconds.
• 26 ability points – two mains and two subs – will reduce the respawn time from 8.5 seconds to 5.8 seconds.

Swim Speed Up

A self-explanatory ability, Swim Speed Up enables an already mobile Inkbrush user to more rapidly close the distance towards an opponent, more quickly respond to an opponents' push, or even escape unfavorable situations.

• 16 ability points – one main and two subs – increase the swim speed from 2.02 to 2.19 units per frame.
• Swim Speed Up can reduce the swim speed penalty from Ninja Squid. However, it takes at least 28 ability points – either one main and six subs or about two mains and three subs – of Swim Speed Up for an Inkbrush Nouveau user to fully offset the swimming speed penalty of Ninja Squid.
• Therefore, an Inkbrush Nouveau user with Ninja Squid will have to decide between either having fewer ability points available for other abilites or swimming at less than the base maximum speed. For example, just 13 ability points – one main and one sub – are enough to restore the swim speed of an Inkbrush Nouveau user with Ninja Squid to 1.92 units per frame.