.52 Gal
A frontline shooter with a two-shot kill, fast shots, and big paint. Tier lists put it right at the top. The base .52 Gal pushes the line steadily with Splash Wall and Killer Wail 5.1, while the .52 Gal Deco runs Curling Bomb and Splattercolor Screen for a mobile, ambush-focused kit.
Strength by modeTier and score (win-rate points vs. an average weapon).
| Mode | C–A | S–S+2 | S+3 and up | X Battle | Regular |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splat Zones | A +1.6 | A +1.3 | B +1.2 | A +1.7 | — |
| Tower Control | A +0.7 | B +0.7 | B +0.5 | A +0.7 | — |
| Rainmaker | A +1.1 | A +1.6 | A +1.2 | S +2.0 | — |
| Clam Blitz | A +1.6 | A +1.1 | B +0.9 | A +2.0 | — |
| Turf War | — | — | — | — | B +1.9 |
Best stages / Worst stages
Tower Control
Rainmaker
Clam Blitz
Strengths
- Its two-shot kill gives it one of the fastest no-windup TTKs of any shooter
- Fast shots plus the bigger hitbox from 11.0.0 mean your shots still land even with a bit of spread
- Each shot leaves a big splat and paints your feet easily, so it's great on paint and ink efficiency for a slayer
- Short end lag after firing, so it's easy to dodge or back out even mid-fight
- The base version can hide behind its Splash Wall to win fights one-sidedly, and it's strong both at holding the front and breaking holds
Watch out for
- Spread jumps up quickly when you keep firing, and missing 2 or more shots throws away its TTK edge
- Damage drops off at range and the shots-to-kill goes up, so you need to know your two-shot range
- Hard to fight long-range Splatlings with strong object damage like the Hydra Splatling, or Chargers, when they hit you from outside your range
- Its TTK doesn't help much against Brella canopies or splash damage coming from behind walls and ledges
- Jump shots have big spread, so it rewards careful play built around grounded shots
Tips
- Aim to finish splats with 2–4 grounded shots. If you miss, swim for a moment to reset your spread before firing again
- Learn your two-shot range by feel in the test range, and don't force fights at distances where damage drops off
- Splash Wall takes time to deploy, so place it before you run into enemies, or angle it toward enemies behind walls to set up favorable fights
- Use Killer Wail to force enemies to move, then finish off whoever dodges the laser with your main
Common gear
Swim Speed Up, Intensify Action, Stealth Jump, Quick Super Jump, Ink Resistance Up, Comeback, Ninja Squid, Opening GambitThis kit
A stable kit for offense and defense: hide behind Splash Wall to win fights and push up, then use Killer Wail 5.1 to move enemies outside your range and finish them with your main.Recent changes
- 11.0.0: System change for all weapons: main weapons get bigger hitboxes against players (the shorter the range, the bigger the boost), squid form gets a smaller hurtbox, and the game adds "Flow Aura" (a temporary power-up when you keep performing well) plus a remaining-health display (source 9)
- 11.2.0: Special points 200→210 (.52 Gal) (source 10)
- 11.2.0: Special change, Splattercolor Screen: can be placed farther away (.52 Gal Deco) (source 10)
- 11.3.0: Main weapon: paint radius where long-range shots land reduced by about 8% (source 11)