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The upcoming release of Splatoon 3 on September 9th aims to add many new features and content to the series, including new movement options for players to master. Since its release in 2015, the Splatoon series has sold over 18 million copies, making it one of Nintendo’s most successful modern franchises. In the game, players take on the role of Inklings or Octolings, representing squids and octopuses, as they battle for supremacy in ink-filled Turf Wars. The Splatoon multiplayer series consists of third-person shooter multiplayer games in which teams compete to cover as much of the map as possible with their ink while preventing the enemy team from doing the same. After three minutes, the match ends, and the team with the highest percentage of ink covering the map is declared the winner.
Splatoon 3 aims to bring back several game modes from its predecessor and add a few new ones. However, players can still expect Turf Wars to function similarly as before, as the rules remain the same, the only change being the introduction of spawner drones. Anarchy Battles are replacing Ranked Battles from Splatoon 2 and will feature all four modes that fans of the franchise should be familiar with, such as Splat Zones, Tower Control, Clam Blitz, and Rain Maker. Also added to the “Ranked” Anarchy Battles are Series, in which players compete to win a best out of five series, and Open, where players play in single battles and have the option of joining their friends.
Buying and unlocking new weapons in Splatoon 3 is also a bit different, as unlike in previous games, it will no longer require cash but will instead require Sheldon Licenses, which players can obtain by leveling up their character or weapon. To buy weapons in Splatoon 3, players must head to the Ammo Knights shop in Splatsville, where they will find the horseshoe crab Sheldon. There, they can pay one Sheldon License for one weapon, three for a weapon that does not match their level, or one Gold Sheldon License for any weapon, regardless of the player’s level.
Beginner Tips & Strategies
With the upcoming release of Splatoon 3, players will have access to many new features and content, such as Tricolor Turf Wars, a brand-new three-way battle game mode that will become available during Splatfests. Another game mode also being introduced is Tableturf Battle, a one-on-one card game that will rely less on shooting and more on tactical planning. Of course, a ton of new weapons are also being added to the game, as well as new mobility options that are sure to confuse opponents during matches.
Tricolor Turf Wars
One of the most distinctive additions to the Splatoon 3 is the Tricolor Turf War which becomes available during Splatfests. In this mode, players will face off against two opposing teams instead of one. The team that starts in the middle of the stage is given a significant positional advantage but is also the only team that cannot use the Ultra Signal, a mechanism that, when used by either opposing team, calls down the Sprinkler of Doom to cover a considerable portion of the map in their ink. Therefore, the middle team is given the unofficial goal of defending the Ultra Signal while attempting to cover the map in their own ink. Meanwhile, the opposing teams try to get their hands on it while competing in surface coloring.
Tableturf Battles
Another game mode added with Splatoon 3 is Table Turf Battles, a card-based mini-game in which players must cover as much of the board as they can in their own ink. A game will consist of 12 turns, and each card, the player’s and their opponent’s, are played simultaneously. Decks will consist of 15 cards, each of which will have a specific ink pattern, and players can save up to 16 decks at a time. Cards can only be set adjacent to their own ink on the board and can only be placed on top of an opponent’s if players have enough special attack points stored to activate it.
New Weapons
Nearing the release of Splatoon 3, the list of weapons being added to it has been getting longer and longer, but two new weapon classes are worth a special mention, the Stringers and the Splatanas. The Tri-Stinger, the Stringer class weapon that was showcased, is a bow that can shoot multiple ink projectiles vertically or horizontally. The Splatana Wiper, the showcased splatana class weapon in Splatoon 3, is a katana-like melee weapon that can instantly splat enemies up close or deal tons of damage from afar via its charging attack. In addition to these main classes, several new special weapons have been added:
- Trizooka: a triple shooter bazooka.
- Killer Whale 5.1: shoots six floating lasers around the wielder.
- Crab Tank: a robot that can transform into a ball and alternate between rapid-fire or cannon shots.
- Zipcaster: a grappling hook.
- Triple Inkstrike: releases three missiles when it is shot, and then players must shoot three beacons to select their target.
- Wave Breaker: when it is thrown, the Wave Breaker starts pounding the ground, creating ink circles around it each time.
- Ink Vac: absorbs enemy attacks and then shoots a large blast of ink.
- Reefslider: an inflatable shark that players can ride in a straight line, creating a large blast of ink.
- Tacticooler: provides four beverages that increase players’ speed and respawns them instantly if they are splatted during the effect.
New Moves
In addition to lots of new weapons for players to try out, Splatoon 3 also adds a ton of new mobility options like the Squid Surge, Squid Roll, and Squid Bounce, which can be performed while in “swim” or “squid” form. To enter this form, players need to press ZL near a surface painted with their ink. This will allow them to move much faster and perform tricks like the Squid Roll, which they can do by pressing B and a direction while swimming in the paint. This evasive move can perform various tricks, like Squid Roll Cancels, by pressing R in midair, or Squid Bounces, by Squid Rolling into a painted vertical surface and jumping back out. Squid Surges are a special move in Splatoon 3 that players can perform by holding down B while emersed in the ink until they see the Squid Kid’s eyes glow and then releasing it to perform a mega jump.
