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Huge Splatoon 2 balance update has Special Weapons in its sights

They literally made some changes to the game, so...

Another day, another Splatoon 2 update. Released earlier today was the 1.3.0 update, and its aim is to change pretty much everything you though you knew about Special Weapons. Oh and they nerfed the Tri-Slosher. Sorry Tri-Slosher mains, some things are just too good to be true.

The update has officially gone live, and the patch notes are quite extensive. You can read them below.

Version 1.3.0

Changes to Salmon Run

Changes made to the Sting Ray and Splashdown specials for multiplayer also apply to their use in Salmon Run.

Bombs thrown by the Steelhead will no longer land on top of Flyfish or Scrappers.

Fixed an issue causing no damage to be dealt to Steel Eels hit with a Sting Ray if the Sting Ray’s shot inked any portion of the Steel Eel other than the pilot even slightly.

Fixed an issue preventing damage from being dealt to a Griller hit with a Sting Ray attempting to hit its weak point by shooting through it. Sting Rays that only hit the main body of a Griller will now also deal some damage.

Fixed an issue causing Steelheads that appeared in specific locations of the Lost Outpost stage not to attack.

Fixed an issue where two players attempting to pick up a single Golden Egg just prior to the end of a wave caused one of them to be unable to pick up any Golden Eggs during the following wave.

Fixed an issue where after playing Salmon Run online, players from your session who appeared in Inkopolis Square were always equipped with the Splattershot Jr.

Fixed an issue where players who disconnected just prior to starting a round of play would appear to be holding a Rainmaker-like weapon.

Fixed an issue causing the location of the arrow indicating the player’s character as well as their title to be incorrect on the result screen when other players disconnected just prior to the end of a round of play.

Fixed an issue causing players using Roller-type weapons to get a communications error after holding the inking button for an extended period.

Changes to Splatfest

Fixed an issue where during a Splatfest, all players you recently played with appeared in Inkopolis Square with a Splatfest Tee with no slots filled in, regardless of the actual status of their Splatfest Tee.

Experience points required to fill in slots on Splatfest Tees have been changed in the following ways:

Slot 1 – 4000 > 7500

Slot 2 – 8000 > 7500

Slot 3 – 12000 > 7500

Total – 24000 > 22500

Changes to Multiplayer

In Ranked Battle, regarding the special gauge increasing automatically based on mode-specific conditions, until now the special gauge would fill up regardless of the points required for the main weapon being used. Now, main weapons with a lower special gauge point requirement will have their gauges filled faster, and those with a higher point requirement will have their gauges filled more slowly.

Fixed an issue causing the area below where shots from a Sloshing Machine or Rainmaker hit a wall to not be inked.

Fixed an issue where players with the Inkbrush or Octobrush equipped occasionally dealt continuous damage to opponents when coming into contact with them on uninkable surfaces.

Fixed an issue causing Sponges touched by an Inkbrush or Octobrush to expand rapidly.

Fixed an issue where players with a Roller or Brella-type weapon equipped would temporarily be unable to recover from damage after coming into direct contact with an opponent and being knocked back.

Fixed an issue preventing players from damaging opponents via direct contact immediately after performing a vertical swing with a Roller-type weapon.

Ink splats will no longer appear on players submerged in ink when hit by a Sting Ray fired by one of their allies.

Fixed an issue causing shots from the Inkjet to occasionally disappear without exploding when hitting stage objects at certain angles.

Fixed an issue where players with active Ink Armor hit by the Splat Brella would react as though protected by the armor, but also as if they had taken damage.

Fixed an issue preventing ink from properly appearing on walls where the wall intersected with a grate.

Fixed an issue when using Spectator Mode in Private Battle that caused Squid Beakons to not be destroyed after being used.

Fixed an issue causing walls intersecting with grates to appear uninked when hit with the explosion from a Suction Bomb.

Fixed an issue causing players to clip into stage objects on Sturgeon Shipyard.

Specifications for some of the main weapons have been changed:

Weapon Adjustment

Tri-Slosher ・Changed maximum damage from 62.0 to 52.0.
・Decreased firing range by roughly 9%.

Specifications for some of the special weapons have been changed:

Weapon Adjustment

Sting Ray ・Firing the Sting Ray continuously for 1.5 seconds will cause a shock wave to appear around the ink blast, significantly increasing its damage radius.
・Extended firing duration by .5 seconds when the gear ability “Special Ability Up” isn’t being used. (Firing duration when using the maximum amount of “Special Ability Up” remains unchanged.)

Splashdown ・Decreased amount of time the player remains at the peak height of their jump by 10/60 of a second.
・Increased the peak height of the Splashdown jump by roughly 31%.
・Increased the minimum damage caused by the Splashdown from 40.0 to 55.0.
・Decreased the points required to use the Splashdown special for certain main weapons it is paired with.

Ink Storm ・Increased radius of affect by roughly 13%.
・Decreased points required to use the Ink Storm special for most main weapons it is paired with.

Baller ・Made the Baller less likely to be knocked back when hit with enemy attacks.
・Increased durability of the Baller by .5 seconds when the gear ability “Special Ability Up” isn’t being used. (Durability when using the maximum amount of “Special Ability Up” remains unchanged. )
・Increased damage radius of explosion by roughly 17% and radius of ink coverage by roughly 7%.
・Increased minimum damage caused by explosion from 30.00 to 55.0.
・Increased power of explosion to knock back opponents.

Inkjet ・Increased the size of the hit box of the player using the Inkjet, making them easier to shoot down.
・Decreased damage radius of Inkjet shots hitting the ground by roughly 17% and radius of ink coverage by roughly 20%.
・Decreased damage dealt to players standing directly beneath the Inkjet’s jets by roughly 75%.

Ink Armor ・Shortened the period of invulnerability after the Ink Armor is destroyed by 8/60 of a second.
・When hit with more than 100.0 points of damage at once while Ink Armor is active, any damage exceeding 100.0 points is dealt to the player and now knocks them back significantly.
・The maximum amount of damage the Ink Armor can absorb at once is 80.0 points.

Specifications for some of the sub weapons have been changed:

Weapon Adjustment

Sprinkler ・Of the three levels of ink spray the Sprinkler gives off after placement, duration of the medium level of ink spray was extended by 5 seconds.
・Decreased ink consumption for placing a Sprinkler from 80% to 70% of ink tank capacity.

Point Sensor ・Increased radius of effect by roughly 20%.
・Decreased delay until start of ink recovery after throwing out the Point Sensor by 15/60 of a second.

Splash Wall ・Decreased time until deployment after throwing out the Splash Wall by 0.5 seconds.

Squid Beakon ・Decreased ink consumption from 90% to 75% of ink tank capacity.

Points required to fill the special gauge for some weapons have been changed:

Weapon Adjustment

Sploosh-o-matic 180 > 170

Splash-o-matic 180 > 170

Aerospray RG 180 > 170

N-ZAP ’85 200 > 190

Splattershot Pro 180 > 170

.96 Gal 210 > 200

Hero Blaster Replica 180 > 170

L-3 Nozzlenose 180 > 170

Carbon Roller 180 > 160

Hero Roller Replica 180 > 170

Inkbrush 170 > 160

E-liter 4K Scope 190 > 170

Goo Tuber 180 > 160

Hero Brella Replica 170 > 160

Tentatek Splattershot 210 > 230

Rapid Blaster 180 > 210

Hero Charger Replica 180 > 190

Other Changes

When talking to Murch, a player’s current money and Super Sea Snails will now be displayed in the upper right portion of the screen.

Fixed an issue in Ranked Battle where teammates disconnecting while your Rank Meter was empty would mistakenly cause it to appear to be cracked.

Fixed an issue causing certain gear, such as the Splatfest Tee to be ranked incorrectly when sorting gear by “Most used”.

Fixed an issue where no damage was dealt when slowly rolling into the dummies when testing the Baller special.

Weapon	Adjustment
Tri-Slosher	・Changed maximum damage from 62.0 to 52.0. ・Decreased firing range by roughly 9%.

Weapon	Adjustment
Sting Ray	・Firing the Sting Ray continuously for 1.5 seconds will cause a shock wave to appear around the ink blast, significantly increasing its damage radius. ・Extended firing duration by .5 seconds when the gear ability “Special Ability Up” isn’t being used. (Firing duration when using the maximum amount of “Special Ability Up” remains unchanged.)
Splashdown	・Decreased amount of time the player remains at the peak height of their jump by 10/60 of a second. ・Increased the peak height of the Splashdown jump by roughly 31%. ・Increased the minimum damage caused by the Splashdown from 40.0 to 55.0. ・Decreased the points required to use the Splashdown special for certain main weapons it is paired with.
Ink Storm	・Increased radius of affect by roughly 13%. ・Decreased points required to use the Ink Storm special for most main weapons it is paired with.
Baller	・Made the Baller less likely to be knocked back when hit with enemy attacks. ・Increased durability of the Baller by .5 seconds when the gear ability “Special Ability Up” isn’t being used. (Durability when using the maximum amount of “Special Ability Up” remains unchanged. ) ・Increased damage radius of explosion by roughly 17% and radius of ink coverage by roughly 7%. ・Increased minimum damage caused by explosion from 30.00 to 55.0. ・Increased power of explosion to knock back opponents.
Inkjet	・Increased the size of the hit box of the player using the Inkjet, making them easier to shoot down. ・Decreased damage radius of Inkjet shots hitting the ground by roughly 17% and radius of ink coverage by roughly 20%. ・Decreased damage dealt to players standing directly beneath the Inkjet’s jets by roughly 75%.
Ink Armor	・Shortened the period of invulnerability after the Ink Armor is destroyed by 8/60 of a second. ・When hit with more than 100.0 points of damage at once while Ink Armor is active, any damage exceeding 100.0 points is dealt to the player and now knocks them back significantly. ・The maximum amount of damage the Ink Armor can absorb at once is 80.0 points.

Weapon	Adjustment
Sprinkler	・Of the three levels of ink spray the Sprinkler gives off after placement, duration of the medium level of ink spray was extended by 5 seconds. ・Decreased ink consumption for placing a Sprinkler from 80% to 70% of ink tank capacity.
Point Sensor	・Increased radius of effect by roughly 20%. ・Decreased delay until start of ink recovery after throwing out the Point Sensor by 15/60 of a second.
Splash Wall	・Decreased time until deployment after throwing out the Splash Wall by 0.5 seconds.
Squid Beakon	・Decreased ink consumption from 90% to 75% of ink tank capacity.

Weapon	Adjustment
Sploosh-o-matic	180 > 170
Splash-o-matic	180 > 170
Aerospray RG	180 > 170
N-ZAP ’85	200 > 190
Splattershot Pro	180 > 170
.96 Gal	210 > 200
Hero Blaster Replica	180 > 170
L-3 Nozzlenose	180 > 170
Carbon Roller	180 > 160
Hero Roller Replica	180 > 170
Inkbrush	170 > 160
E-liter 4K Scope	190 > 170
Goo Tuber	180 > 160
Hero Brella Replica	170 > 160
Tentatek Splattershot	210 > 230
Rapid Blaster	180 > 210
Hero Charger Replica	180 > 190

As you can see, the changes are pretty massive, and should shake up the ranked scene quite a bit. As always, we’ll keep you posted about everything Splatoon 2. What do you think of these changes? Are you happy to see them? Or are you devastated that they’ve taken our godly Tri-Slosher away? Let us know in the comments below!

Oliver Brandt

Deputy Editor, sometimes-reviewer, and Oxford comma advocate. If something's published on Vooks, there's a good chance I looked over it first. I spend way too much on games and use way too many em dashes.