Image via Nintendo

Splatoon 3 Special Weapons List

Time to bring the inky pain.

The goal of any Turf War in Splatoon 3 is to cover the floor of the stage in as much of your ink as physically possible. Unfortunately, you can only do so much with one ink-shooting water gun, but that’s where the Special Weapons come in. Here is the Splatoon 3 Special Weapons list.

Recommended Videos

Splatoon 3 Special Weapons List

Just like in the previous games, every Main Weapon in Splatoon 3 comes with built-in Sub Weapons and Special Weapons. As you ink turf with your Main Weapon, the meter in the top-right of the screen gradually fills up. When it’s full, your Special Weapon is ready to deploy, indicated by the fiery aura your character emanates.

Splatoon 3 features 15 possible Special Weapons. Five of these are returning weapons from the previous games, while the remaining ten are brand new. The list of Special Weapons includes:

  • Tenta Missiles
  • Inkjet
  • Ink Storm
  • Booyah Bomb
  • Ultra Stamp
  • Trizooka
  • Big Bubbler
  • Zipcaster
  • Wave Breaker
  • Ink Vac
  • Killer Wail 5.1
  • Crab Tank
  • Reefslider
  • Triple Inkstrike
  • Tacticooler

Tenta Missiles

One of the first Specials introduced for Splatoon 2, and still the bane of many a player’s existences. These missile packs let you sweep your line of sight across the stage to target foes, then let loose a storm of ink missiles right onto their heads.

Inkjet

You ever seen one of those water jetpacks they have at beach resorts? This is kind of like that, but with a gun. Take to the sky, spraying a trail of ink beneath you, and use the included gun to launch explosive ink shots anywhere you can aim. When the timer runs out, you’re automatically launched back to where you took off from.

Image via Nintendo

Ink Storm

There’s always a storm when you forget your Brella at home. The Ink Storm spawns a special explosive device that, when thrown, spawns a large cloud overhead. This cloud rains down large droplets of ink in your color as it slowly moves forward for a few seconds.

Booyah Bomb

This is one of the reasons they always tell you to Booyah back. Leap into the air and begin concentrating energy in your hands. When you do this, your teammates will receive the signal to Booyah, and every Booyah they send will speed up the charging process. When fully charged, you’ll launch the ball in front of you into a swirling explosion of ink.

Ultra Stamp

Time to bring the hammer down on some punks! Hold ZR to run forward, pounding the ground with your giant stamp as you go. This both leaves splotches of your ink and insta-splats anyone unfortunate enough to be standing in your way. You can also perform a jump attack, as well as press R to throw the hammer forward in a large explosion, though doing this will end the Special.

Trizooka

If a regular shooter doesn’t solve a problem, use more shooter. This straightforward bazooka can launch up to three large, twisting blasts of ink that explode on impact. Nice and simple!

Big Bubbler

If you used the original Bubbler in the first Splatoon, this will feel familiar. When activated, this Special places a large bubble of ink around you that completely blocks all enemy ink attacks as well as prematurely detonates enemy explosives. It’ll be popped if the Beakon on top is destroyed, though.

Zipcaster

If the world of Splatoon has a Spider-Man, he probably looks like a Zipcaster. Transform into a squid/kid hybrid with stretchy tentacles. Launch your tentacles at any flat surface to instantly pull yourself to it, creating a small burst of ink on impact. Like the Inkjet, you’ll automatically return to your starting point when it runs out.

Wave Breaker

Who’s up for a game of deadly jump rope? When deployed, the Wave Breaker begins emanating slow, circular shockwaves out from itself. Any opponent that doesn’t jump over the waves will both take damage and be marked on the map for your allies to track.

Related: How to Get More Tableturf Battle Cards in Splatoon 3

Ink Vac

Well, someone had to clean up this mess. Hold down ZR to activate the Ink Vac’s suction cycle, drawing in any airborne enemy shots and holding them. When fully charged, launch the enemy’s ink back at them in a large explosion.

Killer Wail 5.1

Megaphones are outdated, subwoofers are where it’s at. Deploy 5 floating speakers around yourself that automatically lock on to enemies and fire off in sequence. While the speakers are firing, you can still move and use your Main Weapon as normal.

Crab Tank

It’s a scientific fact that everything is better with transforming robots. The Crab Tank features two modes, one for movement and one for combat. In movement mode, you can roll around the stage at high speed, trailing ink and climbing walls. Switch to combat mode to use the rapid-fire guns with ZR or the explosive shot launcher with R.

Reefslider

I always knew pool toys could be converted into deadly weapons. When activated, the Reefslider will mark a pathway in front of you before zipping forward at high speed. When it reaches the end of the track, it’ll swerve into an Akira slide before pounding the ground in a big ink explosion.

Triple Inkstrike

Sometimes, a blanket approach is better than individual lock-ons. The Triple Inkstrike comes with three marker bombs and a missile pack. Throw the bombs to mark your targets, then launch the missiles. The missiles will strike from the sky, creating a tornado of ink on their targets.

Image via Nintendo

Tacticooler

Treat your teammates to a refreshing beverage! When activated, the Tacticooler will dispense four drinks that can be picked up by you and your three teammates. Drinking a drink will increase a player’s speed for a short while. Additionally, if a player is splatted while under a drink’s effects, they’ll respawn instantly.

Remember, every Main Weapon has a Special Weapon included. However, there are many variations of the same weapons available, each with different Sub and Special Weapons attached, so experiment with your loadout to find what works best for you!

Author
Image of Daniel Trock
Daniel Trock
Since the first time he picked up a controller as a child, Daniel has been a dyed-in-the-wool gaming fanatic, with a Steam library numbering over 600 games. His favorite pastime, aside from playing games, is doing deep dives on game wikis to learn more about their lore and characters.