Important Notes

Warnings and Pitfalls

• Ink Management: Always keep your ink tank filled. Running out during a firefight is a common mistake. Swim through enemy ink to drain it, and use sub weapons sparingly.


• Overextending: Pushing too far into enemy territory without a retreat path often leads to easy splats. Use your map (X button) to check enemy positions.


• Ignoring Objectives: In Ranked modes (Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker, Clam Blitz), kills are secondary to playing the objective. A team that only focuses on splats often loses.


• Wasting Specials: Specials like Tenta Missiles or Booyah Bomb should be used strategically, not instantly when available. Coordinate with teammates.


• Poor Gear Abilities: Don't ignore ability chunks. Use them to build sets that complement your weapon (e.g., Ink Saver Main for shooters, Swim Speed Up for rollers).




Irreversible Choices



• Character Creation: The appearance of your Inkling (hair, eyes, skin tone, gender) is permanent. You cannot change it later without deleting your save file. Choose carefully at the start.


• Splatfest Team: During Splatfests, you permanently receive a badge for the team you chose (e.g., Team Frye vs. Team Shiver). This badge stays on your Splashtag forever. While minor, some players regret their choice after the event.


• Save File Deletion: If you delete your save data from the Switch System Settings, all progress is lost—including story mode completion, gear, rank, and locker items. No cloud saves are supported, so there is no recovery.




Missable Content



• Limited-Time Events: Splatfests, Big Run, and Eggstra Work offer exclusive gear, badges, and titles that are never available again (e.g., the Splatfest Tee with the Ability Doubler perk during the event). Always participate to collect them.


• Special Gifts: Check the Nintendo Switch News channel for Splatoon 3-specific news; sometimes they distribute free gear or food tickets via news articles.


• Story Mode Scrolls: While you can replay any level, missing scrolls (lore) does not affect gameplay, but completionists must explore thoroughly. Use the map to check remaining collectibles per area.




Difficulty Spikes



• Mr. Grizz Boss (Story Mode): The final boss requires good utilization of all ink mechanics and patterns. Practice dodging his attacks and using the special stages wisely. Consider equipping gear with Extra Special Charge.


• Salmon Run Hazard Level Max: The highest difficulty (Hazard Level Max) can be overwhelming without a coordinated team. Focus on surviving, using the map, and throwing eggs to the basket effectively.


• Ranked Battles (S+ and above): Player skill dramatically increases. Learn all weapon roles, map callouts, and efficient movement (Squid Surge, Squid Roll) to stay competitive.




Grinding Traps



• Perfect Gear Abilities: Trying to get three identical abilities (e.g., three Swim Speed Up) on a piece of gear is extremely time-consuming. Instead, aim for two identical and one useful ability from chunks.


• Food Tickets: Use Drink Tickets (from the Shell-Out machine or events) to influence which gear ability you receive when leveling up gear. Without it, you'll get random abilities, wasting chunks.


• Grinding Salmon Run for Gear Alone: While Salmon Run rewards are good, farming solely for gear is inefficient. Use the daily bonus for extra rewards and play other modes for variety.


• Farming Ability Chunks: The fastest way is to scrub abilities from gear with slots from food tickets and replay levels in the story mode that grant chunks. Alternatively, use the Shell-Out machine (but it's random).




Online Etiquette and Anti-Cheat



• No Voice Chat in Game: Use the Nintendo Switch Online app on your phone for voice communication. In-game communication is limited to "Booyah!" (praising teammates) and "This Way!" (call to action). Use them positively.


• No Cloud Saves: Nintendo explicitly disabled cloud saves for Splatoon 3 to prevent cheating. Do not rely on cloud restoration.


• Anti-Cheat Measures: The game automatically detects modified consoles or software. If you cheat, you risk a permanent ban from online services. Report suspicious players via the Nintendo Switch Online app.


• Disconnects: Frequent disconnects may lead to a temporary ban from online matchmaking. If you have unstable internet, consider playing Salmon Run (PvE) instead of PvP ranks.


• Rage Quitting: Leaving an ongoing match is considered unsportsmanlike and can result in penalties. Always finish the match even if losing; you earn experience regardless.




Save Management Advice



• No Cloud Saves: Your save data is stored only on the console. If you lose your Switch or the save gets corrupted, progress is gone. Periodically copy your user profile to another Switch via System Settings (User Transfer) to backup, but note that the save will be moved, not copied.


• Multiple Users: Each Nintendo Account has its own save file. You can have multiple accounts on one console to play from scratch without affecting each other.


• Deleting Save: To restart completely, go to System Settings → Data Management → Delete Save Data. This is the only way to change your character's appearance (though you keep online rank if you delete story mode separately?). Warning: Deleting the main save also deletes all gear, rank, and Splatfest badges. There is no partial reset.




Things Players Commonly Regret Not Knowing Earlier



• Motion Controls: Enable gyro aiming in Settings > Controls > Motion Controls. It dramatically improves accuracy once you get used to it. Stick sensitivity can also be adjusted.


• Swim Speed: Traveling through ink (as a squid) is faster than running. Always swim, especially when retreating or flanking.


• Sub Weapon Usage: Sub weapons (like Splat Bomb, Burst Bomb) are not just for damage. Use Splat Bombs to zone enemies, Burst Bombs to finish low-health foes, and Fizzy Bombs for long-range harassment.


• Food Tickets: Use them from the Cradle (in the lobby) before grinding gear – they increase the chance of getting a specific ability on level-up. This saves hours of grinding.


• Scrubbing Abilities: Visit Murch (the jellyfish) to scrub abilities from gear for 20,000 coins. This gives you ability chunks. Never sell gear you like just because its abilities are wrong.


• Splatfest Participation: Even if you don't enjoy Splatfests, play at least one match to earn the Splatfest Tee (which can be kept) and Sea Snails (used to add slots or re-roll abilities). You also gain exclusive badges and titles.


• Locker Customization: Your locker in the lobby can be customized with items from the Shell-Out machine or the store. This is purely cosmetic and has no gameplay advantage — don't waste coins on it early unless you enjoy it.


• Changing Splashtag: You can change your title, background, and name (nickname) from the Lobby Terminal (near the battle entrance). Experiment freely; it's not permanent.


• Ordering Gear: If you see another player wearing gear you like, go to Murch and select "Order Gear from Player." It will arrive the next day (costs coins). This is the only way to get gear from past events or region-exclusive items you missed.


• Re-Rolling Abilities: Use Sea Snails at Murch to re-roll all three ability slots of a piece of gear. This is expensive but useful if you want to optimize a favorite item without grinding chunks.


• Squid Surge and Squid Roll: While swimming in ink, press B at a wall to do a squid surge (whoosh up) or B + a direction while flicking the stick for a squid roll (evasive move). Master these for superior mobility.