Mad skills, yo: All Splatoon gear abilities | Technobubble

Technobubble is a regular feature by Jason Hidalgo that covers games, gadgets and technology. Follow his shenanigans on Twitter @jasonhidalgo

I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want.

If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills — skills I have acquired over a frankly not-so-long Splatoon career. Skills that make me a nightmare for Inklings like you.

If you let me paint my own little corner of the room now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will splat you.

In the meantime, here's a list of skills and abilities for Splatoon, including examples of some gear that have them. Don't have gear with a skill you desire? No worries. By leveling up your equipment, you have a chance of unlocking a random skill for each extra slot your gear has.

Good luck.

SPLATOON ABILITIES

Bomb Range Up: Makes bombs, Point Sensors, and Disruptors travel farther when thrown.

Examples: Green-Check Shirt 2-star, Octoling Goggles, Urchins Cap, Blue Slip-Ons, Pink Trainers

In addition to extra flexibility with projectiles, this is good for making your bombs reach foes camped at elevated positions. Even if the bombs don't hit, it can at least cause your enemies to leave an advantageous spot so you get extra breathing space or redirect foes toward an area where you can counter them.

Bomb Sniffer: Reveals traps and hidden bombs placed by your opponent.

Suddenly, those sneaky ink mine users aren't quite as sneaky anymore. Helps you avoid a well-placed trap, though mine usage honestly is not high enough in the game to warrant using this over a potentially more useful skill. It's fine as a secondary skill on your gear, though.

Cold-Blooded: Shortens the effect of attacks that let enemies track your position, such as Point Sensors.

Examples: Sky-Blue Squideye, Anchor Sweat

Ideal for players who like to sneak around beneath the ink so they can get back to their sneaky ways sooner. Shortening the duration of trackers also makes it easier to mount an escape through the ink without foes targeting your tracking icon in the process. Not sure if it should be used in place of a more useful skill so this is more appropriate as a bonus ability.

Comeback: Boosts some of your abilities a short time after respawning.

Examples: Paintball Mask 3-star, Tennis Headband, Five-Panel Cap

Useful for players who tend to die a lot, for obvious reasons. Even if you don't die often, aggressive Inklings who like super jumping and immediately getting back into the thick of a fight might still benefit from it. If you're one of those Splatoon savants who only dies once a game or not at all, then it won't be as useful, though it can still help turn the tide of battle when used right.

Damage Up: Increases damage of your main, sub,s and special weapons.

Examples: Squash Headband, Rockenberg Black, Zink Layered LS, Cyan Trainers

Unlike some of the more conditional skills, this one's actually good because it lets you do more damage during the entire course of the fight. It could literally spell the difference between doing the splatting or being splatted during encounters.

Defense Up: Reduces damage taken from all attacks.

Examples: Splash Goggles, Takoraka Mesh, Black 8-Bit Fishfry, Zekko Baseball LS

This is another useful ability during encounters thanks to the extra staying power it provides you. While it certainly doesn't make you invincible by any means, it could still give you that extra bit of defense to survive when going toe to toe with foes and swim to fight another day.

Haunt: Reveals the position of any player who splats you to your team for a short time.

Examples: Ivory Peaks Tee, Squidmark LS

Are you a vindictive little squid? Then you'll like this ability's, uh, ability to let you exact swift vengeance either by potentially encouraging a nearby teammate to engage with your killer or even tracking him down yourself if you can get back quickly enough.

Ink Recovery Up: Increases ink-tank refill rate while submerged in squid form.

Examples: White Headband, Aloha Shirt, Grape Tee, School Uniform, Hunter Hi-Tops, Trail Boots, White Seahorses

A useful skill for sure. This is especially great for aggressive duelers or painters who need a quick refill or Inklings who use an ink-hungry weapon like the .96 Gal.

Ink Resistance Up: Reduces damage and movement penalties incurred when moving through enemy ink.

Examples: Neo Sea Slugs, Red Hi-Tops

This could save you from a potentially tight spot by giving you either that additional smidgen of survivability or extra movement when caught in enemy ink.

Ink Saver (Main): Decreases amount of ink consumed by your main weapon.

Examples: Short Beanie, Studio Headphones, Rainy Day Tee, Red Vector Tee, Power Boots, Red Hi-Horses, School Shoes

One of the best abilities in the game. The ability to fire your weapon longer before needing to refill is very useful in both duels as well as inking up more territory. Pair it with Ink Recovery Up and you'll be a lean, mean ink-supplying machine.

Ink Saver (Sub): Decreases amount of ink consumed by your sub weapon.

Examples: Streetstyle Cap, Jogging Headband, Designer Headphones, Octoling Armor, White Tee, Blue Peaks Tee, Blueberry Casuals, LE Lo-Tops 3-star

Although not quite as useful as Ink Saver (Main), this skill is good for players who love using sub weapons given how much ink the darned things consume. It's easy to get yourself killed in an encounter, for example, because your sub weapon misses on an advancing enemy and you suddenly find yourself out of ink to defend yourself or for inking an escape path to run away.

Last-Ditch Effort: Boosts ink recovery rate and weapon ink efficiency for the last 30 seconds of battle.

Examples:Tinted Shades

An ability that only works during the last few seconds of a game may not sound that useful. Then again, it could spell the difference between a close loss and a close win given how conducive Splatoon is to last-minute comebacks.

Ninja Squid: Leaves no trace when swimming on inked ground, but reduces swim speed slightly.

Examples: Shrimp-Pink Polo

Go ninja, go ninja go. Great for launching surprise attacks or making a great escape when losig an encounter.

Opening Gambit: Boosts your speed in both inkling and squid form for the first 30 seconds of battle.

Examples: B-Ball Headband, Striped Beanie

Though limited in time compared to Swim Speed Up and Running Speed Up, this can have use for folks who like to start the match by getting control of key choke points or the middle territory of a map as quickly as possible and want to free up an extra slot for other skills.

Quick Respawn: Decreases respawn time after getting splatted.

Examples: Retro Specs, Backwards Cap, Basic Tee, White Striped LS, Power Armor, Tricolor Rugby, Black Trainers, Choco Clogs 2-star, Moto Boots

I've seen losing teams completely turn a game around simply by having an extra man advantage. Quick respawn gets you back in the game sooner to help your team and not lose too much momentum.

Quick Super Jump: Increases super jump speed.

Examples: Zekko Mesh, Gray Vector Tee, Hero Runner Replicas

Aimed at folks who want to get back in the game ASAP after respawning or move to a different spot on the map by quick jumping to an ally's location. Just be mindful not to jump at a place where you can be ambushed by foes who see your landing marker.

Recon: Allows you to see the opposing team on the map while standing on your spawn point.

Examples: Varsity Baseball LS, White 8-bit Fishfry

Gives you intel to plan your next course of action like, say, where best to go after respawning, for example. This includes whether to support a teammate, plan an ambush or see what part of the map needs extra attention.

Run Speed Up: Increases movement speed in Inkling form.

Examples: Golf Visor, Black Squideye, Striped Rugby, Gold Hi Horses, Oyster Clogs, Purple Sea Slugs

Useful ability all around. Grants you extra mobility when dueling foes and helps speed up that initial first push when used as part of the ink-and-swim, ink-and-swim combo. Use it with Swim Speed Up and you get a nice zippy Inkling overall.

Special Charge Up: Increases special-gauge fill rate.

Examples: Fishfry Visor, Fake Contacts, Squid Vader Cap, Clownfish Basics, Zombie Hi-Horses

Charging up your special gauge quicker is great for obvious reasons. This also gives you an extra advantage in certain situations when used properly. By combining it with Swim Speed Up, for example, you can get to the middle map or key choke points quickly before the enemy while also having your special ready to launch an Ink Strike or even an Inkzooka barrage to hold the territory from approaching enemies. Mix it up with Special Saver and you can have specials ready faster.

Special Duration Up: Increases usage time of special weapons.

Examples: Black Tee, Camping Hat, Berry Ski Jacket, Purple Hi Horses

Utility can vary depending on the special you pick. It's nice when used with the Bubbler shield or ink and bomb barrages, for example. The downside is that you don't typically get to use your special in a game too often (compared to, say, Damage Up, which is helping all the time) but when you do get it, it can be a game changer that helps push the odds in your favor. See if you can mix it with Special Charge Up and Special Saver.

Special Saver: Reduces special-gauge decrease after getting splatted.

Examples: Skate Helmet, Two-Stripe Mesh, B-ball Jersey (Home), Layered Vector LS, Cream Basics, Octoling Boots

Useful for those times when you get splatted before you have a chance to use your special. It's especially useful in mid- to late-game when it can be harder to earn ink points at a fast clip to quickly refill your gauge.

Stealth Jump: Hides your Super Jump landing points, but also makes your Super Jump slightly slower.

Examples: Cherry Kicks, Cream Hi-Tops

If you like super jumping a lot but are worried about getting killed by foes who notice your landing point icon, this is a skill for you.

Swim Speed Up: Increases movement speed while swimming in squid form.

Examples: Black Seahorses 2-star, Squid Hairclip, Lightweight Cap, Black Baseball LS, Gray College Sweat, Mountain Vest 3-star, Blue Slip-Ons 2-star, Orange Lo-Tops

Love this skill. It lets you push territory faster, close the gap with foes when using short range weapons and also make a quick escape during hairy situations that would otherwise get you killed. One of the most versatile skills in the game.

Tenacity: Fills special gauge automatically if your team has fewer active players than the enemy.

Examples: Black Arrowbands 2-star

A bit situational but can help turn around a desperate, uh, situation.