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Orbs

Glowing orbs float along every run. Run through one and it's yours. Some help straight away, some load an ink for you, and a rare golden one starts an ink storm.

+1 lineLonger linesSlow timeShieldRubber inkSteel inkFire inkIce inkGolden

Picking one up

He takes an orb by running into it. Most float at running height, so they come to you. A higher one needs a little lift: a short ramp under his feet, or a bounce on rubber.

The power-ups

Orb	What it does
+1 line	One more ink drop for the rest of the run, so one more line on screen at once, up to five.
Longer lines	Every line can be a little longer for the rest of the run.
Slow time	The world slows down for a few seconds, longer with the Slow time upgrade in the Shop.
Shield	Saves him from one hit.

Slow time and shields start turning up after the first 40 metres.

Ink orbs

Once you own an ink from the Shop, it turns up on your runs as an ink orb in its own colour. Run through it and you get three lines of that ink. A button for it appears at the bottom left, with a ring that shows how many lines are left.

• Tap the button to draw in that ink. It stays on until you tap it again or the three lines are used.
• Lines stay pen until you switch the ink on, so an ink you don't need never gets in your way.
• Another ink orb swaps in its own ink, with three fresh lines.

Often an ink orb waits just before the danger it handles best:

Ink orb	Comes before	Why
Rubber	Thorns and scorpions	A short stroke under his feet bounces him clean over.
Steel	Rocks, boulders and archers	Rocks shatter on it and arrows fly back faster.
Ice	Pits and lava pits	A long ramp and he skates off it, far over the gap.
Fire	Arrow volleys and rolling logs	Fire burns arrows and logs away.

Some bosses bring one too: ice in the Fire Monk fight, steel against the Catapult and rubber against the Rival Ninja. For everything each ink can do, see the inks guide.

The golden orb: ink storm

Now and then, after the first 150 metres, a golden orb turns up. It starts an ink storm: for five seconds your lines take no ink drops and are half as long again. Pen lines turn gold, and so does the drop ring, until it ends.

Tips

• Take every shield. One hit saved can be the whole run.
• Keep an ink for its moment. Pen handles most things. Switch the ink on when the danger it's for comes up.
• About to pick up another ink? Use up the lines of the one you have first, or they're swapped out.
• In an ink storm, build ahead: bridge the next gap, wall off the next archer, all before it ends.