INKWAVE Specials and Splat Bombs — Tidal Slam and Ink Tempest

Every INKWAVE kit is fixed: one primary weapon, Splat Bombs as the sub weapon, and one of two specials. The kits divide cleanly. The Spritzer, Swell Roller, Twinfin Dualies and Tidebucket Slosher carry Tidal Slam. The Glint Charger, Popper Blaster and Gyre Splatling carry Ink Tempest.

The special gauge

The gauge fills as you paint: one point per square metre of turf. Each weapon needs a set number of points, so slow painters need more ground:

Weapon	Special	Gauge cost
Spritzer	Tidal Slam	190
Swell Roller	Tidal Slam	170
Glint Charger	Ink Tempest	180
Popper Blaster	Ink Tempest	180
Twinfin Dualies	Tidal Slam	180
Tidebucket Slosher	Tidal Slam	175
Gyre Splatling	Ink Tempest	195

When the gauge is full, press F (or Q, or gamepad Y). Two rules decide how you spend it. First, the gauge halves when you are splatted, so a saved special is a special at risk. Second, turf painted by a Tidal Slam does not charge the gauge, so the slam cannot pay for itself.

Splat Bombs

Splat Bombs are the sub weapon on every kit. They cost 70 of your 100 ink, so you can throw one per tank and no more without refilling.

• Throw speed 13.5 m/s, with the throw arcing above your aim.
• The bomb arms when it lands and explodes after a 0.95-second fuse. The beeps speed up as the fuse burns.
• The blast reaches 3.1 metres and deals 35 damage at the edge up to 180 at the centre.
• It paints a 2.7-metre circle plus five satellite splats.

Use a bomb to move a defender out of cover, to paint ground your weapon cannot reach, or to cover your own push into a room. A bomb plus a super jump is the fastest way to reclaim a corner.

Tidal Slam

Tidal Slam leaps into the air and crashes down on the landing point.

• While you are in the air, incoming damage is cut to 25%.
• The landing paints a 5.2-metre circle and deals 180 damage inside 3.2 metres, falling to 55 at the outer edge.
• You get 0.3 seconds of protection after you land.
• Against HULLBREAKER the slam deals 60% of its normal damage.

The armor is the real prize. A slam crosses open ground that would otherwise splat you, and it lands hard on a tower or a choke point. Aim the landing where the enemy must stand, not where they are. Do not leap alone into four defenders: the armor ends when you land.

Ink Tempest

Ink Tempest throws a cloud that soaks the ground beneath it.

• The cloud bursts on impact or after 1.1 seconds in the air.
• It hovers 4.6 metres up and drifts at 1.1 m/s for 6.5 seconds.
• Under the cloud, enemies take 34 damage per second inside a 3.4-metre radius.
• It paints the ground continuously while it drifts, so the area stays yours.
• The throw locks you in place for 0.35 seconds and gives no armor, so throw it from cover.

The Tempest is a zone tool, not a burst. Throw it to deny a lane, to push a charger off a sightline, to cover a retreat, or to repaint ground that HULLBREAKER has corrupted. Because the cloud drifts, an early throw keeps working while you reposition.

When to spend a special

• Charge on safe turf. Paint a quiet lane to fill the gauge, then take the full special into a fight.
• Spend it first. The gauge halves on death. If a fight looks doubtful, use the special instead of losing it.
• Pair the two tools. A bomb breaks the cover, the special takes the space.
• Use the last minute. A full gauge at the one-minute warning is worth more spent than saved; the final ten seconds decide the match.

Keep reading

• Weapons — the seven kits and their numbers
• Strategy guide — when to fight and when to paint
• Boss Battle guide — specials against HULLBREAKER
• Play INKWAVE — try both specials