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The five inks

You always draw in pen. The other four are unlocked in the Shop with coins, and each changes what a line can do. Once you own one, it turns up on your runs as an ink orb: run through it and you get three lines of that ink. A button for it appears at the bottom left: tap it to draw in that ink, tap it again to go back to pen. A new ink orb swaps in its own ink. Often the orb waits just before the thing it handles best, like rubber before thorns or ice before a pit, and some bosses bring a useful one: ice for the Fire Monk, steel for the Catapult, rubber for the Rival. Now and then a golden orb turns up: it starts an ink storm, and for five seconds your lines take no ink drops and are half as long again. More about orbs.

Pen

The all-rounder, and the only ink you have at the start. Pen lines are solid, a fair length, and last a few seconds. They stop arrows, deflect rocks, and hold him up as bridges and ramps. If you're unsure, use the pen.

Rubber

Rubber is springy. If he runs onto a rubber line he bounces high into the air and flips, which clears thorns, pits and boulders in one go. Rocks that land on rubber rebound hard, often flying far away. The trade-off: rubber lines are a little shorter.

Best for: jumping long hazards without building a bridge. Draw a short flat stroke just in front of the danger and let him bounce.

Steel

Steel lines are short but tough, and they last noticeably longer than pen. Falling rocks shatter on steel instead of bouncing. Arrows that hit steel fly back much faster, which makes returning them easier. A steel line also crushes a desert scorpion that walks into it.

Best for: heavy traffic. When rocks and arrows keep coming, one steel line handles more than one pen line.

One exception: against the Catapult boss, use any ink except steel. Its boulders need to bounce back to it, and steel smashes them instead.

Fire

Fire lines are not solid. He runs straight through them, so they're useless as bridges. Instead, fire burns: arrows turn to ash when they touch it, and an archer's plank catches fire and drops him to the ground. Spear throwers and scorpions burn too.

Best for: taking archers out of the fight before they shoot again. Draw a fire line up to the plank and it's over.

Ice

He skates on ice, about 40% faster than running. That speed carries off the end of a slope, so an ice ramp throws him much further than a pen ramp.

Best for: long jumps and big gaps. Draw a long gentle ramp in ice before a wide pit or a thorn field.

Quick comparison

The first run after you unlock a new ink sets up a spot to try it: its ink orb waits just before, and a hint shows where to draw. Using all five inks in a single run earns the Full palette badge.