Special weapon
- Special redirects here. For other uses of the term, seeSpecial (disambiguation).
| “ | Lay down enough ink and your special meter will fill up. Then you can use one of these (like the Inkzooka) to do major damage. | ” |
—Splatoon's official website[1] | ||
Special weapons are powerfulweapons in theSplatoon series that can be used only when thespecial gauge is full. There are several different special weapons, eachmain weapon having one that it can use. This works differently in single-playermodes, in which special weapons are usually granted bycanned specials, and inSalmon Run, in which each player can use their allotted special weapon twice per shift.
Splatoon andSplatoon 2 feature entirely different special weapons, with no special weapons from the first game returning in the second.Splatoon 3 features a mix of special weapons fromSplatoon 2 and new special weapons (some of which are based on special weapons from the previous games).
Description
Along with themain weapon andsub weapon, every set of weapons comes with a special weapon. These weapons are designed to be very powerful and table-turning. To use one, a player must fill theirspecial gauge and may only utilize the special for a short time.
When a player has a special weapon ready, it creates a unique effect: they give off sparks, the tentacles on their head become very brightly colored and glowing, bubbles form at the top of their head as if from boiling water, and they appear to be caught in a strong wind even when completely still.
Activating a special weapon makes the player's character do a front flip and refills theink tank.
Usage
Special weapons are available by filling thespecial gauge by inking the ground inmatchmaking modes, obtaining a canned special in theBattle Dojo and single-player modes, starting aSalmon Run session where players have access to two specials, or starting specific missions in theOcto Expansion where the special is obtained via theequipper. Once a special weapon is ready, clicking
activates it. Different special weapons need different amounts ofturf inked to fully charge, for balancing purposes; for instance, theInkzooka requires 220 points to charge as of version2.0.0, whereas theKiller Wail requires only 160.[2] As ofSplatoon 2, special weapons paired with different main weapons may also require different points to activate. For example, both theSlosher Deco andInkbrush Nouveau have theBaller as their special, but while the former needs 210p to activate it, the latter requires only 180p.
The rate at which the special gauge depletes after being activated depends on which particular special weapon is in use. If the player is splatted before the gauge is completely depleted, they respawn with a portion of the remaining gauge filled (how much depends upon the special depletion class of the main weapon; seespecial depletion). This can be increased by equippinggear withSpecial Saver. As ofSplatoon 2, being splatted reduces the filled part of the player's special gauge by a fixed percentage, which can be modified by Special Saver orRespawn Punisher. Also, the penalty is greatly reduced if the player is splatted halfway through aSplashdown.
List of special weapons
InSplatoon, there are 7 special weapons available in multiplayer modes.
InSplatoon 2, there are 11 special weapons available in multiplayer modes. InSalmon Run, there are 4 supplied special weapons available.
InSplatoon 3, there are 20 special weapons in total, 19 of which are available in multiplayer modes. InSalmon Run Next Wave, there are 9 supplied special weapons available.
Table is sortable, initially by alphabetical order across all games. Clicking "Weapon" will sort by game and alphabetical. Clicking the game will sort by that game's order.
| Weapon | Description | Games | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | ||
 Baller | A protective sphere that allows the player to advance safely. It explodes in a blast of ink when a timer expires or when the user triggers it, ending the special early. | ✓ | ||
 Big Bubbler | The Big Bubbler is a stationary barrier that protects from enemy ink. | ✓ | ||
 Bomb Launcher | The Bomb Launcher allows the player to throw a pre-selected bomb repeatedly, with no ink restriction. The player still has access to their main weapon during this period. | ✓ | ||
 Bomb Rush | The Bomb Rush allows the player to use their sub weapon repeatedly without consuming ink for a short time. | ✓ | ||
 Booyah Bomb | The user holds up a glowing ball of ink that charges up over time and can be thrown once fully charged to make an ink explosion. The user and their teammates can use the "Booyah!"signal to charge up faster. | ✓ | ✓ | |
 Bubble Blower | The Bubble Blower allows the player to blow up to three bubbles. The bubbles will block large areas to opponents and will explode in a deadly blast of ink if fired at. | ✓ | ||
 Bubbler | The Bubbler is a spherical force field that protects the user from all damage. It can be spread to teammates through physical contact. | ✓ | ||
 Crab Tank | The Crab Tank allows players to ride around on it and use its turrets and cannons. It also has a movement mode similar to that of the Baller where it protects the player and rolls around in the form of a ball. | ✓ | ||
 Echolocator | The Echolocator reveals the locations of all enemies for teammates to see on the field and the map. | ✓ | ||
 Ink Armor | Activating Ink Armor protects the user and all teammates from one or two attacks, depending on the strength of the attack. | ✓ | ||
 Ink Storm | The Ink Storm creates a rain cloud of ink. The rain cloud gradually drifts above the map, inking the ground and damaging any enemies beneath it. This special can be activated and then held indefinitely if it is not thrown. | ✓ | ✓ | |
 Ink Vac | The Ink Vac is a vacuum cleaner that sucks up ink that is still airborne and fires it back as a super attack, similar to the Rainmaker shot. | ✓ | ||
 Inkjet | The Inkjet gives its user the ability to hover in the air and shoot powerful blaster-like projectiles. Once it expires, the user automaticallySuper Jumps back to where they first activated it. | ✓ | ✓ | |
 Inkstrike | The Inkstrike is a missile that causes a large, swirling vortex of ink to appear when it lands at the location towards which the user fired it. | ✓ | ||
 Inkzooka | The Inkzooka shoots tall, narrow twisters of ink in rapid succession, allowing its user to quickly splat enemies at long range. | ✓ | ||
 Killer Wail | The Killer Wail blasts a large sound wave in the desired direction that obliterates all enemies in its path and travels through walls. | ✓ | ||
 Killer Wail 5.1 | The Killer Wail 5.1 is a modified Killer Wail. Six floating speakers move autonomously and attack with smaller sound waves, similar to that of the original Killer Wail, that chase down enemies. | ✓ | ||
 Kraken | The user transforms into the large, invincible Kraken, able to travel quickly through enemy ink and splat opponents with its melee attack. | ✓ | ||
 Kraken Royale | The Kraken Royale turns the player into a very large, invincible Kraken, that can splat opponents through a melee attack or a charged attack. It allows free travel through enemy ink. | ✓ | ||
 Reefslider | The Reefslider is an inflatable shark that the player rides on to dash forward a certain distance before exploding. | ✓ | ||
 Splashdown | The Splashdown causes its user to jump up and strike the ground with heavy force, causing an ink explosion around them. Its effectiveness increases when activated from great heights, including while Super Jumping. | ✓ | RotM only | |
 Splattercolor Screen | The Splattercolor Screen is a canister-like object that creates a large, mobile mist when thrown, similar to aToxic Mist. Opponents caught in this mist will have their view of the game temporarily rendered in grayscale. | ✓ | ||
 Sting Ray | The Sting Ray fires a continuous laser that can go through walls. When not firing, users can see the silhouettes of any opponents that are not hiding in ink and are far enough away. Mobility is impaired while activated. | ✓ | ||
 Super Chump | The Super Chump fires many decoys that trick the opponent into thinking that a player is landing from aSuper Jump. The decoys explode after a short amount of time, but the opponent can destroy the decoys. | ✓ | ||
 Tacticooler | The Tacticooler is a mini-fridge that when set up, contains four drinks that grant special effects, like boosting the player's speed. | ✓ | ||
 Tenta Missiles | The Tenta Missiles allow users to lock on to opponents before firing ten to twenty missiles between the locked-on targets. | ✓ | ✓ | |
 Triple Inkstrike | The Triple Inkstrike allows players to throw three missile beacons and fire missiles at where the beacons land, creating vortices of ink upon impact. | ✓ | ||
 Triple Splashdown | The Triple Splashdown causes its user to jump up and create two fists which strike the ground with heavy force, causing an ink explosion around them. | ✓ | ||
 Trizooka | The Trizooka is a modified Inkzooka that fires three blasts at once and can be fired three times in total for each use. | ✓ | ||
 Ultra Stamp | The Ultra Stamp is a large hammer which can be slammed repeatedly while advancing forwards and also has a jump attack. The weapon can also be thrown as a long-range attack, ending the special early. | ✓ | ✓ | |
 Wave Breaker | The Wave Breaker is a reconfigured badminton birdie that upon setting up, will send out wave signals across that ground that deal damage and mark opponents. | ✓ | ||
 Zipcaster | The Zipcaster allows players to latch onto walls from a distance and zip over to them while still being able to use their main weapon. Once it expires, the user automatically comes back to where they first activated it. | ✓ | ||
| Weapon | Description | Games | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | ||
| Mode-specific | ||||
 Rainmaker | The Rainmaker is a powerful weapon with a charging mechanism that can shoot large twisters (inSplatoon) or bursts (inSplatoon 2 andSplatoon 3) of ink. It is only obtainable on the rankedmodeRainmaker, during certainChallenges inSplatoon 3, the final boss fight ofOcto Canyon,Bomb Rush Blush, and in twoOcto Expansion stations:Bring It Station andFar-Out Station. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stage-specific | ||||
 Princess Cannon | The Princess Cannon is a modifiedKiller Wail themed afterPearl. It is only obtainable onMC.Princess Diaries, by any player. It functions exactly like a Killer Wail but with a much larger sound wave. | ✓ | ||
Abilities
Abilities on a player'sgear can affect special weapons. The following abilities have effects that directly affect the performance of special weapons.
| Ability | Effect | Games | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | ||
 Special Duration Up | Improves the duration of special weapons. | ✓ | ||
 Special Power Up | Improves the performance of special weapons. | ✓ | ✓ | |
Trivia
- The most common special weapon inSplatoon is theInkzooka, with it being part of 16 weapon kits. The most common inSplatoon 2 is theInk Storm, being part of 17 weapon kits. The most common inSplatoon 3 as ofversion 7.0.0 is tied betweenWave Breaker,Ink Vac, andKiller Wail 5.1 (not including reskins such as theOrder Blaster Replica or theHero Shot Replica).
- Special weapons were originally called "Super Weapons" in theE3 2014Splatoon demo.[3]
- According toSplatoon 2's developers, the reason that noSplatoon special weapons return inSplatoon 2 is because the new weapons are designed for effectiveness in the right situation, rather than pure power.[4]
- The in-universe reason is attributed to new regulations, as revealed inSplatoon 2 Sunken Scroll 11, where protest signs are also shown.
- During both theSpinal Phase andInner Agent 3 fights inOcto Expansion,Agent 3 is able to use multiple different special weapons despite only using onemain weapon, and is even able to use them consecutively. This is explained byMarina in the Spinal Phase fight, saying that Agent 3 had removed their limiter, implying thatInklings andOctolings normally have something that restricts their special weapon usage.
- Although no special weapon appears in all three games (excluding theRainmaker), some form of theKiller Wail is present in every game, with the original inSplatoon, thePrincess Cannon inSplatoon 2, and theKiller Wail 5.1 inSplatoon 3.
- TheCrab Tank is the only special to use three different buttons for its unique functions: to fire, to launch bombs, and to roll. Other specials, such as theUltra Stamp, retain the player's usual swim form.
- TheBomb Rush inSplatoon is the only special that cannot be paired with every sub weapon, as the sub weapon it is paired with must also be the same sub weapon used in the special itself.
Names in other languages
| Special weapon | Special depletion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
See also
- List of special weapon sets inSplatoon
- List of special weapon sets inSplatoon 2
- List of special weapon sets inSplatoon 3
- Special weapon data
