TheInk Vac is aspecial weapon inSplatoon 3. It is a vacuum that sucks up opponents'ink attacks and then fires out an exploding projectile, with the size of the explosion depending on the amount of ink sucked in.

Appearance

The Ink Vac is based on a diesel-powered backpack vacuum cleaner or leaf blower. The backpack consists of a white ink canister and a cyan vacuum engine below it. As the Ink Vac absorbs more opposing ink, the canister gets filled by glowing ink of the Ink Vac user's color and seems to shake more intensely. The engine has some control panels and a hose connecting it to a massive nozzle. The nozzle is cyan-and-black with two handles. The logo of a weapon brand (coloquially named"D") can be seen on the canister and the nozzle.

Splatoon 3

Ink Vac has two distinct phases:suction mode andfiring mode.^[1]

Ink Vac begins insuction mode upon deployment, during which the player can hold down to create a vortex that sucks up opposing ink projectiles (including ink droplets), bombs, and even somespecial weapons, though it cannot suck up opposing ink that has touched the ground. This vortex also protects the user and their teammates from taking damage from explosions, even though it does not entirely destroy them (the user can also still take damage from explosions from behind). Sucking in opponents' ink fills up the Ink Vac, and slows down the user's movement speed. A maximum of 1200 damage (buffed since Version10.1.0) can be absorbed before the Ink Vac fills up fully. Opponents caught within the Ink Vac's vortex will lose ink and be slowed down, similar toToxic Mist, and also fill the Ink Vac up at a rate of 1.5 damage per frame (90 damage per second), although they do not actually take damage. However, the vortex does damage most objects, such asSprinklers,Wave Breakers, andbrella shields, at a rate of 2 damage per frame (120 damage per second). Although the vortex is stopped by solid walls, it can pass through barriers such asSplash Walls and theRainmaker shield.^[1][2]

The table below lists what can and cannot be sucked up:^[2]

Type of weapon	Vacuumable by the Ink Vac	Not vacuumable by the Ink Vac	Notes
Main weapon	Any ink projectile from any weapon ('shots' from shooters, splatlings, chargers, stringers, etc., 'droplets' from rollers, brushes, explosions from stringer arrows, etc., or splatana projectiles)	Splatana's charged direct hit Rollingroller Slidingbrush Brella shields	Although they can hit the Ink Vac user by rolling/sliding, rollers and brushes are greatly slowed down by theToxic Mist-like effect inside the vortex (more than just walking or swimming in front of it). Brellas shields take damage over time while inside the Ink Vac's vortex.
Sub weapon	Splat Bomb Suction Bomb Burst Bomb Fizzy Bomb Curling Bomb Autobomb Angle Shooter Point Sensor Toxic Mist Torpedo Ink Mine explosion Sprinkler droplets	Splash Wall barrier Squid Beakon Point Sensor effect area Toxic Mist effect area Angle Shooter line Sprinkler	Splash Wall, Squid Beakon, and Sprinkler take damage over time while inside the Ink Vac's vortex.
Special weapon	Trizooka shots Tenta Missiles Ink Storm device and ink from the rain cloud Booyah Bomb ink ball and explosion Ink Vac's ink shot Inkjet shots and exhaust Ultra Stamp when thrown and stamp attacks (indirect only) Crab Tank shots Reefslider explosion Zipcaster explosions (indirect only) Triple Inkstrike tornados Kraken Royale's jump and charge attacks The Ink Vac's vortex repels the Kraken Royale's attacks instead of sucking it in directly. Triple Splashdown explosions Splattercolor Screen device The screen slowly fills the Ink Vac; teammates who walk through the wall while in the suction vortex do not take damage but are still affected by the screen.	Big Bubbler Wave Breaker device and shockwaves Killer Wail 5.1 lasers Ultra Stamp direct stamp attack hit Triple Inkstrike guidance devices and missiles Tacticooler Super Chump	Big Bubbler, Wave Breaker, and Super Chump decoys take damage when hit by the Ink Vac's vortex. Reefslider, Zipcaster, and Ultra Stamp can damage and splat the Ink Vac user with direct hits. Kraken Royale can too, but the Ink Vac's vortex tends to push it back, preventing it from approaching from the front. Being inside a Booyah Bomb explosion or a Triple Inkstrike tornado will splat the Ink Vac user, but the Ink Vac will still get brielfy filled up before the user gets splatted.
Other	Rainmaker shot and shield explosion Fizzbang Sprinkler of Doom	Rainmaker shield itself Inkling/Octoling Vacuuming an opponent will increase the Ink Vac's charge, but the player themselves will not receive damage. However, they will suffer similar effects toToxic Mist, with a slowdown in movements and the emptying of their ink tank.	-

The Ink Vac's suction vortex can also apply object damage to the following:

• Brella shields
• Sprinkler
• Squid Beakon
• Splash Wall
• Wave Breaker
• Big Bubbler
• Super Chump decoys

Six seconds after activation, or when the tank is filled, the Ink Vac entersfiring mode, in which it readies a projectile of ink that can be aimed, launching manually upon releasing or automatically after approximately 2.5 seconds. This projectile damages anything it comes into contact with, and once it lands, a damage radius is displayed before exploding shortly afterwards, dealing damage to any opponents within radius and line of sight of the blast. The size of the explosion depends on how full the Ink Vac's tank was upon firing.^[1][2][3][4]

It appears in twoReturn of the Mammalians missions:

• 0000After Alterna
• Rocket 02Alterna Space Center Hangar

Special Power Up

Main article:Special Power Up

Equipping Special Power Up with Ink Vac increases the radius of its vortex. The size of the larger portion of the vortex gets increased by up to about 30%, while the size of the smaller portion gets increased by up to about 75%.

Version history

Quotes

Sets

Main weapons with Ink Vac inSplatoon 3

	Main	#ID	Sub	Special	Special Points	Level	Price	Class	Introduced​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	.96 Gal	80	Sprinkler	Ink Vac	190p	17	1	Shooter	Version1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​
	Jet Squelcher	90	Angle Shooter	Ink Vac	180p	15	1	Shooter	Version1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	Rapid Blaster Pro	250	Toxic Mist	Ink Vac	180p	26	1	Blaster	Version1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	Big Swig Roller	1040	Splash Wall	Ink Vac	180p	16	1	Roller	Version2.0.0 (Chill Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	Splat Charger	2010	Splat Bomb	Ink Vac	190p	2	1	Charger	Version1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​
	Order Charger Replica	2015	Splat Bomb	Ink Vac	190p	1		Charger	Version7.0.0 (Side Order)
	Splatterscope	2020	Splat Bomb	Ink Vac	190p	10	1	Charger	Version1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	Ballpoint Splatling Nouveau	4031	Ink Mine	Ink Vac	200p	30	1	Splatling	Version5.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2023)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	Tenta Brella	6010	Squid Beakon	Ink Vac	190p	16	1	Brella	Version1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Badges

Main article:Badge#Special weapon wins

Winning a certain number of battles with the Ink Vac will reward the player with specialbadges that they can use on theirSplashtag.

Ink Vac badges
	30 wins with Ink Vac
	180 wins with Ink Vac
	1,200 wins with Ink Vac

Gallery

• 

  Using the Ink Vac.

• 

  Shooting the projectile at the end of the special.

• 

  AnInkling using the Ink Vac

• 

  Icon in thespecial gauge (Splat Charger orSplatterscope).

• 

  An earlier version of the Ink Vac icon.

• 

  2D icon

• 

  TheTableturf Battlecard icon of the Ink Vac.

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  Ink Vac model rotating (link to file)

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  Using the Ink Vac (link to file)

Strategy

For competitive tips about the Ink Vac

View the strategy page.

Trivia

• When an Ink Vac's projectile explodes, it creates a mass of liquid spikes reminiscent of howferrofluid acts in the presence of a magnet.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	キューインキ Kyū inki	Possibly from 吸引kyūin ("absorbtion") and 機ki ("machine"), with a pun on the word "ink"
Dutch	Inktdief	Ink thief; fromkruimeldief ("minivac", literally "crumb thief").
French	Aspirencre	Fromaspirer ("inhale" or "suck") oraspirateur ("vacuum cleaner") +encre ("ink").
German	Tintegrator	FromTinte ("Ink") andIntegrator
Italian	Vampinchiostro	Fromvampiro ("vampire"), in reference to its ability to drain, andinchiostro ("ink")
Russian	Краскосос Kraskosos	From краскаkraska (paint) and пылесосpylesos (vacuum cleaner). Paintsucker
Spanish (NOE)	Aspiratinta	From "aspiradora" (vacuum cleaner) and "tinta" (ink)
Chinese (Simplified)	吸墨机 Xīmòjī (Mandarin)	Ink Sucking Machine
Chinese (Traditional)	吸墨機 Xīmòjī (Mandarin)	Ink Sucking Machine
Korean	흡입기 Heubipgi	Sucking Machine
Internal	SpBlower[8]	Sp forspecial weapon. Blower is in reference to the Ink Vac being a blower vacuum.

References

WeaponsinSplatoon 3

Main Shooters Sploosh-o-matic (Neo) • Splattershot Jr. (Custom) • Splash-o-matic (Neo,GCK-O) • Aerospray MG (RG,Colorz) • Splattershot (Tentatek,Glamorz,Hero,Octo,Order) • .52 Gal (Deco) • N-ZAP '85 ('89) • Splattershot Pro (Forge,FRZ-N) • .96 Gal (Deco,Clawz) • Jet Squelcher (Custom,COB-R) • Splattershot Nova (Annaki) • L-3 Nozzlenose (D,Glitterz) • H-3 Nozzlenose (D,VIP-R) • Squeezer (Foil) Rollers Carbon Roller (Deco,ANG-L) • Splat Roller (Krak-On ,Order) • Dynamo Roller (Gold,Starz) • Flingza Roller (Foil) • Big Swig Roller (Express,Planetz) Chargers Classic Squiffer (New) • Splat Charger (Z+F,CAM-O,Order) • Splatterscope (Z+F,CAM-O) • E-liter 4K (Custom) • E-liter 4K Scope (Custom) • Bamboozler 14 Mk I (Mk II) • Goo Tuber (Custom) • Snipewriter 5H (5B) Sloshers Slosher (Deco,Order) • Tri-Slosher (Nouveau,ASH-N) • Sloshing Machine (Neo) • Bloblobber (Deco) • Explosher (Custom) • Dread Wringer (D,Hornz) Splatlings Mini Splatling (Zink,RTL-R) • Heavy Splatling (Deco,Order) • Hydra Splatling (Custom,Torrentz) • Nautilus 47 (79) • Ballpoint Splatling (Nouveau) • Heavy Edit Splatling (Nouveau) Dualies Dapple Dualies (Nouveau,NOC-T) • Splat Dualies (Enperry,Twinklez,Order) • Glooga Dualies (Deco) • Dualie Squelchers (Custom,Hoofz) • Dark Tetra Dualies (Light) • Douser Dualies FF (Custom) Brellas Splat Brella (Sorella,Order) • Tenta Brella (Sorella,CRE-M) • Undercover Brella (Sorella,Patternz) • Recycled Brella 24 Mk I (Mk II) Blasters Luna Blaster (Neo,Order) • Blaster (Custom,Gleamz) • Range Blaster (Custom) • Clash Blaster (Neo) • Rapid Blaster (Deco) • Rapid Blaster Pro (Deco,WNT-R) • S-BLAST '92 ('91) Brushes Inkbrush (Nouveau) • Octobrush (Nouveau,Cometz,Order) • Painbrush (Nouveau,BRN-Z) Stringers Tri-Stringer (Inkline,Bulbz,Order) • REEF-LUX 450 (Deco,MIL-K) • Wellstring V (Custom) Splatanas Splatana Stamper (Nouveau,Stickerz,Order) • Splatana Wiper (Deco,RUS-T) • Mint Decavitator (Charcoal) Sub Splat Bomb • Suction Bomb • Burst Bomb • Sprinkler • Splash Wall • Fizzy Bomb • Curling Bomb • Autobomb • Squid Beakon • Point Sensor • Ink Mine • Toxic Mist • Angle Shooter • Torpedo Special Trizooka • Big Bubbler • Zipcaster • Tenta Missiles • Ink Storm • Booyah Bomb • Wave Breaker • Ink Vac • Killer Wail 5.1 • Inkjet • Ultra Stamp • Crab Tank • Reefslider • Triple Inkstrike • Tacticooler • Kraken Royale • Super Chump • Triple Splashdown • Splattercolor Screen