Ink Saver (Main) and Ink Saver (Sub)

To measure the effects of these abilities, I performed two tests with the Tentatek Splattershot:

1. Shoot until you run out of ink.

2. Use your sub weapon, then shoot until you run out of ink.

I performed these tests with various combinations of primary and secondary Ink Saver (Main) and Ink Saver (Sub) abilities. The Tentatek Splattershot fires 10 shots per second (about 1 shot every 6 frames). I measured the number of frames it took to run out of ink, which let me figure out how many shots I can fire.

In the tables linked below, I show the number of shots I was able to fire with the main weapon in each test. To get the number of frames, multiply by 10. I also show the total change (the difference the abilities make relative to having no abilities) and the incremental change (the difference the last ability makes). For the incremental change, I compared each case with the case having one fewer secondary ability (or, if a case has no secondary abilities, one fewer primary ability).

For Ink Saver (Main), I performed tests 1 and 2. Results: http://i.imgur.com/Dkznt8Y.png

For Ink Saver (Sub), I performed test 2 only. Results: http://i.imgur.com/pkPtaed.png

A few observations:

• The popular claim "3 secondary abilities = 1 primary ability" is not true. My data shows that one primary ability is better than three secondary abilities in some cases.
• As you stack these abilities, the returns fluctuate (likely due to some number being rounded in the game's calculations). The returns for Ink Saver (Main) do not appear to diminish for the ability combinations I tested. The returns for Ink Saver (Sub) diminish somewhat.
• Ink Saver (Sub) allows you to shoot for longer after using the sub weapon than Ink Saver (Main). However, the difference between the two is quite small.

Because of the third point, I think Ink Saver (Main) is more useful than Ink Saver (Sub), at least for the Tentatek Splattershot (and likely for many other weapons). Ink Saver (Main) is almost as good for shooting after throwing a bomb, and it's much better for shooting without throwing a bomb.