In the Splatoon games, the gear items you equip your Inkling or Octoling character with do more than help you look fresh–they come with abilities that generate effects on different aspects of gameplay like your movement or ink usage. Each piece of gear has a maximum of four possible slots for gear abilities, with the first one being your “primary ability” that has the greatest effect out of all other abilities, followed by three slots for "sub abilities" that are weaker in their effect. Given that there’s a total of 24 different abilities, there are plenty of ability combinations you can create and the ideal ones depend on your preferred play style and which particular weapon you’re using...so if you’re interested in getting some ideas on gear builds to adopt for specific weapons, keep on reading.

10. A Sneaky Inkbrush Build - Quick Respawn, Ninja Squid, Stealth Jump

You'll find that swim speed is pretty important for swim stealth

This build of primary abilities prepares you for sneaking around a map when you’re equipped with the Inkbrush weapon. The Ninja Squid ability removes the ink splashing visual effect from swimming movement at the expense of your swim speed. Opponents are no longer able to track you when you go into squid form–this effect doesn’t apply to swimming vertically up a wall, however. 

The Stealth Jump ability takes away the visual marker that appears when you’ve chosen a spot to Super Jump to on the map, preventing enemies at a distance from you from potentially seeing where you’re going to land and waiting to splat you. Lastly, the Quick Respawn ability lessens the time it takes to respawn after getting splatted, but only if you experience two deaths in a row and didn’t splat anyone during your time alive. 

Having greater stealth as an inkbrush wielder is a great help if you enjoy surprising opponents with a brush. You can move around undetected and use the element of surprise to your advantage by springing up on any isolated enemies encroaching on your team’s ink and overwhelming them with your brush swings. If you get splatted you’re able to make a discrete return to the fray without an opponent watching your marker.  

Given Ninja Squid’s effect on speed, it’s logical to use your sub ability slots (let’s say 3) for Swim Speed Up, which boosts your swimming speed. You can also use 2 slots for Quick Super Jump, which decreases the time it takes to Super Jump, to augment the Stealth Jump primary ability. And to boost the Quick Respawn primary ability a little more so you can really feel its effect, add an additional one as a sub ability. 

To boost movement on another front, use a slot for Ink Resistance Up to give you better mobility and defense when you step in enemy ink. You can also use a slot for Ink Saver (Main) to slow the depletion of your ink tank and avoid having to spend as much time refilling. Another slot for Ink Saver (Sub) does the same for the ink usage of your Splat Bomb sub weapon, which is a means of getting past a brush weapon’s limited range to mess with opponents from a distance. 

What Inkbrush Build Excels In:

• Stealth: Ninja Squid ability makes your swimming movement invisible as long as you’re not swimming up walls
• Super Jumps: Stealth Jump hides your Super Jump landing spot from distant enemies 
• Preservation: hiding your movement from other players can help you stay alive longer

Full build details:

• Inkbrush and loadout: Splat Bombs and Killer Wail 5.1
• Quick Respawn
• Ninja Squid
• Stealth Jump
• Swim Speed Up x3
• Quick Super Jump x2
• Quick Respawn x1
• Ink Resistance Up x1
• Ink Saver (Main) x1
• Ink Saver (Sub) x1

9. A Krak-on Roller Build - Special Charge Up, Special Charge Up, Special Power Up

Gotta stay charged

Use this build, which is a little on the wackier side, to boost the impact of your special weapon on the battlefield! With the Krak-on Roller weapon in particular, you’re really able to become a nuisance for the enemy team with your Kraken Royale special. That’s because it turns you into a rampaging oversized squid (or octopus) capable of squashing anyone who gets in your way.

Using Special Charge Up for two of your primary abilities will increase the speed at which you gain special points and fill your special gauge. And by using Special Power Up for your third primary ability, the duration of your Kraken Royale special weapon is increased, helping you to enjoy Kraken form for slightly longer.

In Kraken mode, you’re invincible to attacks and your movements paint over any enemy ink on the ground without taking damage. It takes two hits of your jump attack to splat opponents but by charging an attack you can splat anyone in just one hit. You can also just use your size and the threat you present to distract enemies or block them from areas.

Keep in mind, however, that you’re vulnerable to being hit for a short moment right before entering Kraken mode and right after it ends.

Now for sub abilities: use 3 Special Power Ups to ensure that the duration of your special lasts a good while, 2 Special Charge Ups to further boost your special gauge fill rate, and 2 Special Savers to keep your special gauge up by a decent amount if you fall victim to any splatting. Lastly, having a couple slots for Swim Speed Up comes in handy for when your special ends and you need to make a quick getaway if you’re not already in a safer area. 

What Krak-on Roller Build Excels In:

• Special Weapon: this build focuses on helping you get to the powerful Kraken Royale special faster
• Offense: being focused on your special weapon, this build is very much offense-oriented
• Distraction: with enemies potentially focused on avoiding you and your special, your teammates are able to make gains 

Full build details:

• Krak-on Roller (Loadout: Squid Beakon and Kraken Royale)
• Special Charge Up
• Special Charge Up
• Special Power Up
• Special Power Up x3
• Special Saver x2
• Special Charge Up x2
• Swim Speed Up x2

8. A Speedier Splatling Build - Run Speed Up, Run Speed Up, Ink Resistance

There is some need for speed when it comes to splatlings

This is a pretty straightforward build that can work for multiple splatling weapons, particularly the heavier ones. It addresses the slowness of these heavyweight inking machines by really prioritizing Run Speed Up as a primary ability and using Ink Resistance Up as a third primary ability to lessen slowed movement while stepping in enemy ink. 

For sub abilities, you can use 3 Run Speed Ups to further accelerate your movement in Inkling form and 2 Swim Speed Ups to boost yourself on the swimming front. Add 2 Quick Super Jumps to additionally boost the speed at which you can get away from spawn point. Given how much ink splatlings can drain, it’s also helpful to use 2 slots for Ink Saver (Main) to improve the efficiency of your ink usage.

Splatlings otherwise leave you pretty vulnerable because of their heaviness, so boosted movement gives you a bit more dexterity when it comes to approaching targets or dodging fire. Combined with the other abilities that target your ink consumption, you’ll be able to spray your foes without as much holding you back. 

What Splatling Build Excels In:

• Mobility: Run Speed Up helps mitigate the slowness of splatlings
• Offense: Splatlings have high damage output and using sub abilities intended to aid your survivability increases your potential to wreck enemies
• Preservation: improved chances of not getting splatted while you have your cumbersome weapon out

Full build details:

• Splatling (Heavy Splatling, Nautilus 47, Hydra Splatling, etc.)
• Run Speed Up
• Run Speed Up
• Ink Resistance Up
• Run Speed Up x3
• Swim Speed Up x2
• Quick Super Jump x2
• Ink Saver (Main) x2

7. E-liter 4K Build - Last Ditch Effort, Respawn Punisher, Swim Speed Up

Will you be the punisher or the punished? 

If you’re into charger class weapons and the sniper-style gameplay they offer, consider this build for upping your ante. A combination of the  Last Ditch Effort, Respawn Punisher, and Swim Speed Up primary abilities, along with sub abilities further boosting speed and efficiency of ink usage, can help your hits to leave even more impact and increase your mobility in sticky situations. These primary abilities can work well with multiple longer-range chargers but as an example the E-Liter 4K will be used here. 

The Last Ditch Effort ability gives you a leg up in the last 30 seconds of a match by boosting your ink recovery and ink usage efficiency during that duration. KOs really count at this point in terms of preventing enemies from gaining the upper hand over your team when there's almost no time left– there’s only so much you can do to get back turf when you’re forced into respawning with just seconds to go. For a charger wielder, this ability can help give you the push needed to take out targets at the most pivotal moments. 

Respawn Punisher increases both you and your splatted target’s respawn time, along with further decreasing the loss of special weapon charge each of you would normally experience upon respawning. But as a sniper camping in place, you won’t be respawning often…right? In the event someone does make their way up to you, the Swim Speed Up ability assists you in making a quick getaway. 

As for sub abilities, you can use 2 Swim Speed Ups to further boost your swim speed, 3 Ink Saver (Main)s to lessen the sizable amount of ink used up by charged shots, 2 Quick Super Jumps to quicken getting away from spawn point, and 2 Ink Resistance Ups to enhance mobility when enemies get close to you. Also, in case you were wondering, Quick Respawn is affected by Respawn Punisher so it’s sadly not too effective as a sub ability to mitigate its penalty. 

What Charger Build Excels In:

• Offense: Last Ditch Effort improves your abilities and Respawn Punisher enhances the deadliness of your splats
• Control: Respawn Punisher slows down how quickly opponents can return to the fray
• Mobility: Swim Speed Up and Ink Resistance Up aid with retreating

Full build details: 

• E-liter 4K (Loadout: Ink Mine and Wave Breaker) 
• Last Ditch Effort
• Respawn Punisher
• Swim Speed Up
• Swim Speed Up x3
• Ink Saver Main x2
• Quick Super Jump x2
• Ink Resistance Up x2

6. An Aerospray MG Build - Ink Saver (Main), Ink Refill Up, Swim Speed Up

Ink to your heart's content 

This build is meant to augment the turf inking power of the Aerospray MG, a shooter class weapon that really shines at efficiently covering turf through its rapid fire rate and great spread. 

With this in mind, increasing the amount of time you spend inking is important as is getting around the map to ink. Using Ink Saver (Main) along with Ink Refill Up as primary abilities will target your ink consumption and lessen how long or often you need to refill. The choice of Swim Speed Up for your third primary ability is meant to improve how quickly you get around in your ink.

You can boost the effects of these Primary Abilities by using Ink Saver (Main) and Swim Speed Up as sub abilities. To leave some room for different abilities, go with 2 slots for Ink Saver (Main) and 2 for Swim Speed Up. 

In addition to those abilities, use 2 slots for Ink Saver (Sub) to also decrease the amount of ink used for your sub weapon. As the Aerospray is quite low in damage, you’ll ideally be using your Fizzy Bomb sub weapon a fair bit to help deter opponents. For returning faster after getting splatted, use a combination of 2 Quick Respawns and 1 Super Jump Up. 

With all of these abilities assembled together, you’re all set for speedily spraying anything and everything in your ink. 

What Aerospray MG Build Excels In:

• Turf Inking: cover turf in no time with the combination of your Aerospray’s spread and decreased ink usage plus faster refill effects granted by sub abilities 
• Efficiency: multiple sub abilities in this build decrease your ink consumption 
• Mobility: Aerospray MG is a lightweight weapon to carry and your swim movement is boosted by sub abilities

Full build details: 

• Aerospray MG (Loadout: Fizzy Bomb and Reefslider) 
• Ink Saver (Main)
• Ink Refill Up
• Swim Speed Up 
• Ink Saver (Main) x2
• Swim Speed Up x2
• Ink Saver (Sub) x2
• Quick Respawn x2
• Super Jump Up x1

5.  A Slosher Build - Swim Speed Up, Quick Respawn, Stealth Jump

Stay on the frontlines with the help of Quick Respawn and Quick Super Jump

Here’s another build that offers turf inking potential, but with far more emphasis on also getting damage done. The Slosher, being a bucket you hurl ink from, can spatter a lot of ink on the ground while causing damage to enemies that’s enough to splat them after two direct hits. The combination of Swim Speed Up, Quick Respawn, and Stealth Jump primary abilities thus work together to up your movement capabilities for both inking and attacking. 

When it comes to attacking, hurling a ton of ink requires you to spend time exchanging fire in close range and diving in to initiate an attack will at times end in you being the one who gets splatted. In the event this happens a lot, the Quick Respawn primary ability in tandem with 3 sub ability versions helps you get back into battle faster. The Stealth Jump primary ability also ties into this function, and using 2 Quick Super Jumps improves how useful jumping can be.  

Swim Speed Up along with Quick Super Jump and Stealth Jump all aid with quickly reaching areas of active battle and with moving from one area that needs inking to the next. Your Triple Inkstrike special weapon allows you to reach areas from a greater distance, however. So using a combo of Special Saver and Special Charge Up sub abilities helps you take advantage of this special more often. 

For your remaining slots, add in an Ink Saver (Main) sub ability to slow your ink usage and an Ink Resistance Up to give you a little extra protection as you move around. You’re now able to switch between offense and turf inking with enough variety in terms of abilities to give you a lift in either context.  

What Slosher Build Excels In:

• Turf Inking: you can splash a lot of ink around the stage with your Slosher and the Swim Speed Up and Quick Super Jump abilities help you do so quickly
• Offense: Slosher can deal high damage and Quick Respawn reduces the impact of getting splatted 
• Respawn Efficiency: many Quick Respawn abilities ensure you notice its effects

Full build details: 

• Slosher (Loadout: Splat Bombs and Triple Inkstrike)
• Swim Speed Up
• Quick Respawn
• Stealth Jump 
• Quick Respawn x3
• Quick Super Jump x2
• Special Saver x1
• Special Charge Up x1
• Ink Saver (Main) x1
• Ink Resistance Up x1

4. An N-ZAP ‘85 Build - Last Ditch Effort, Run Speed Up, Special Charge Up

A colorful variety of abilities

The N-ZAP ‘85 is a lightweight shooter class weapon that offers great mobility and really fast firing, yet is arguably best for providing support to your team on account of its turf inking ability and its special weapon, the Tacticooler. Grabbing a beverage from this cooler item temporarily powers up you and your teammates’ speed, ink resistance, and more–it even makes you respawn faster. This build thus focuses on upping both your movement speed and your speed at setting up Tacticoolers by featuring Run Speed Up and Special Charge Up as primary abilities, along with Last Ditch Effort to give you an edge in the last moments of a match. 

The N-ZAP ‘85 is low in damage so having some extra speed is useful for avoiding danger when you can’t splat enemies as efficiently as other shooters (it also helps with getting around to spray turf). To balance a boost in movement speed, consider including another Run Speed Up as a sub ability and a couple Swim Speed Ups as well. Throw in an Ink Resistance up to improve your speed in enemy ink. 

Add two additional Special Charge Ups as sub abilities to help get your Tacticooler out on the field faster and two Special Power Ups to lengthen the duration of the effects its drinks give. With a Special Saver also thrown into the mix, you’re able to reliably get your special weapon ready and satisfy your team’s thirst 

Last Ditch Effort helps out with your turf inking ability during the final seconds before a match ends. The N-ZAP 85’s rapid fire rate is good for inking turf so use these moments and your increased inking efficiency to do what you can with turf when it really counts. 

What N-ZAP ‘85 Build Excels In:

• Support: your Tacticooler is useful for your team because of the ability buffs it grants, and as you charge it you can efficiently cover turf with your rapid fire rate 
• Speed: lightweight weapon combined with movement boosts renders you 
• Special Weapon: the Tacticooler’s benefits accomplish more when you can charge it faster and have the effect of its drinks last longer

Full build details:

• N-ZAP ‘85 (Loadout: Suction Bombs and Tacticooler)
• Last Ditch Effort
• Run Speed Up
• Special Charge Up
• Run Speed Up x1
• Swim Speed Up x2
• Ink Resistance Up x1
• Special Charge Up x2
• Special Power Up x2
• Special Saver x1

3. Aggro Dark Tetra Dualies Build - Quick Respawn, Haunt, Stealth Jump

Quick Respawn has your back!

Dark Tetra Dualies are dualie class weapons great for playing aggressively and this build featuring Quick Respawn, Haunt, and Stealth Jump as primary abilities heightens your capacity to keep getting right up in enemies’ faces. It’s the build for you if you prefer jumping right into the action and attempting risky maneuvers. 

As you can guess by now, Quick Respawn is used here to get you back into battle quickly, which is particularly important given how performing dualie rolls mean you’re going to be visible to opponents a lot and you may get splatted frequently before splatting anyone else. The Haunt ability pairs with it in an interesting manner by enabling you to temporarily see the location of anyone who splatted you after you respawn. This makes it easy for you to hone in on a target (and exact your revenge!).

Stealth Jump’s hiding of your Super Jump marker eases your transition back into battle and including 2 Quick Super Jump sub abilities helps complement it. But more importantly, utilize 5 (yes, 5!) Quick Respawn sub abilities to really boost the effectiveness of Quick Respawn’s effect. The goal here with so many Quick Respawns is to help you with accomplishing as much fighting as you can with your dualies if you get splatted repeatedly. 

The final components of this build, Ink Resistance Up and Swim Speed Up, are meant to give your movement a little boost. Combined with all the other described abilities, you’ve got a unique build that fuels an aggressive playstyle. 

What Dark Tetra Dualies Build Excels In:

• Respawn Efficiency: granted that you didn’t splat anyone prior to getting splatted yourself, you can return to battle pretty quickly
• Tracking: Haunt ability displays where a target is 
• Offense: your goal with so many Quick Respawns is to get out there and do as much fighting as you can 

Full build details: 

• Dark Tetra Dualies (Loadout: Autobomb and Reefslider)
• Quick Respawn
• Haunt
• Stealth Jump
• Quick Super Jump x2
• Quick Respawn x5
• Ink Resistance Up x1
• Swim Speed Up x1

2. A Splash-o-matic Build - Swim Speed Up, Ninja Squid, Object Shredder

Give Object Shredder a chance

The abilities in this build are meant to help optimize the Splash-o-matic shooter weapon’s attack power. The combination of Ninja Squid and Swim Speed Up as primary abilities once again creates stealth while keeping your swim speed up, and the third primary ability in this build, Object Shredder, offers a unique support function.

Object Shredder is a primary-only ability that increases your weapon’s effectiveness against enemy sub-weapons, so if objects like Ink Walls or Wave Breakers are set up you can destroy them faster. It’s strategic to take down objects quickly because it helps keep you and your team from getting hurt or distracted. The rapid fire rate of the Splash-o-matic combined with your movement effects help with accomplishing this. 

Having a variety of sub abilities targeting movement, specials, and sub weapons serve to round out this weapon’s features. By using 2 Special Charge Ups to quickly power your far-reaching Crab Tank special weapon and 2 Sub Power Ups, which make your Burst Bomb sub weapon deadlier, you can improve your ability to do long-range damage with an otherwise short-range weapon equipped. 2 sub ability versions of Swim Speed Up along with 1 Quick Super Jump and 1 Ink Resistance Up flesh out your movement. 

Circling back to Object Shredder, picking Sub Resistance Up for your remaining slot means that you get a little bit of extra defense if you go about destroying damage-dealing objects. 

What Splash-o-matic Build Excels In

• Offense: Special Charge Up sub abilities improve your gauge fill rate for the Crab Tank special  
• Movement: thanks to Ninja Squid, your fast swimming isn’t visible to enemies 
• Support: higher damage against enemy objects from Object Shredder leads to beneficial results for your team

Full build details: 

• Splash-o-matic (Loadout: Burst Bomb and Crab Tank)
• Swim Speed Up
• Ninja Squid
• Object Shredder
• Special Charge Up x2
• Sub Power Up x2
• Swim Speed Up x2
• Quick Super Jump x1
• Ink Resistance Up x1
• Sub Resistance Up x1

1.  A .52 Gal Stealth Build - Comeback, Ninja Squid, Stealth Jump

A build for thrilling action 

Interested in being a silent yet deadly killer with the power of a shooter class weapon? The combination of Ninja Squid and Stealth Jump primary abilities first discussed in the Inkbrush build can be used for other weapons such as the powerful .52 Gal. Add in the Comeback primary ability to boost your abilities for a short duration after getting splatted and you’re prepared to really dominate.

These stealth-enhancing primary abilities work best if you’re intending to prioritize going on the offensive. Take advantage of Ninja Squid, in particular, to approach (or wait for) unsuspecting targets and splat them in just two shots. Again, use Swim Speed Up sub abilities (2 recommended in this case) to make up for Ninja Squid’s negative effect on swim speed. 

The Comeback ability boosts a range of your abilities, such as ink refill rate and swim speed, for 20 seconds after respawning. Some sub abilities that pair well with this are Quick Super Jump and Quick Respawn to get you back to where the action is. Consider having 1 Quick Super Jump and 2 Quick Respawns in this build. 

The Intensify Action ability can also have a mitigating effect on drawbacks–specifically on your aim when you jump. The .52 Gal does struggle at times when it comes to firing accuracy because of its potential to misfire, so using 3 slots for Intensify Action to steady your aim after leaping is something to consider. For the last slot, throw in Ink Resistance Up to complement Stealth Jump and Quick Super Jump and additionally ease the damage you may take when you’re battling an opponent and potentially forced to trudge through their ink left on the ground. 

What .52 Gal Stealth Build Excels In:

• Offense: .52 Gal itself splats enemies in two shots and Intensify Action gives you better aim when you shoot during any jumps
• Mobility: get around the map faster with Quick Super Jump and Swim Speed Up
• Stealth: Ninja Squid helps you avoid being noticed by enemies when you’re swimming and Stealth Jump hides your landing spot marker from enemies

Full build details: 

• .52 Gal (Ink Wall and Killer Wail 5.1)
• Comeback
• Ninja Squid
• Stealth Jump
• Swim Speed Up x2
• Quick Super Jump x1
• Quick Respawn x2
• Intensify Action x3 
• Ink Resistance Up x1

You may also be interested in:

• [Top 5] Splatoon 3 Best Dualies (Ranked)
• Splatoon 3 Best Abilities
• Splatoon 3 Best Builds