Splatoon 2’s gigantic 3.0.0 update goes live tomorrow morning

Splatoon 2 has had frequent updates since it launched in July of last year, but none have ever been quite as big as this.

Nintendo announced today that the Splatoon 2 3.0.0 update will go live at 11:00am AEST tomorrow morning. The 3.0.0 update is absolutely massive, with a bunch of new gear, the addition of a new X Rank in Ranked Mode, all new music, and more bug fixes and weapon changes than you can poke a stick at.

The update comes as fans excitedly await the release of the upcoming Octo Expansion, which has yet to be given a release date. However, given that the Off The Hook amiibo were recently confirmed to be releasing on the 13th of July, we can be pretty sure Octo Expansion will land around then too.

You can read the gargantuan patch notes for the 3.0.0 update below.

Version 3.0.0

• Changes to Gear
  • New gear has been added to the shops.
• Changes to game music
  • Added two new songs that will play during multiplayer matches.
• Changes to single-player mode
  • Fulfilling a certain requirement will cause Callie (from the Squid Sisters!) to appear at Tentakeel Outpost.
• Changes to Ranked Battle
  • A new rank type, “X Rank” is now available.
• Changes to Splatfests
  • When Splatfest results are revealed, team voting percentages and win percentages will now display to the hundredths digit after the decimal point.
  • When playing multiple solo Splatfest matches with few allies, your Splatfest Power will not decrease when losing. Now, Splatfest Power will not decrease when in this situation for an even shorter duration.
• Changes to Regular Battle
  • When playing multiple matches with few allies your Vibe Meter will not change when you lose.
• Changes to Multiplayer
  • Fixed an issue causing the ink tank display to mistakenly appear empty when in squid form and low on ink.
  • Fixed an issue causing players to occasionally ascend sloped terrain faster than normal by facing the slope and pressing B repeatedly while proceeding.
  • Fixed an issue allowing players submerged in ink on a wall to be detected by the aiming reticle of opponents standing on the other side of the wall.
  • Fixed an issue incorrectly extending super jump distance when attacking with certain weapons just prior to landing during a super jump.
  • Fixed an issue causing players to enter stage objects when the landing point of their super jump was surrounded by obstacles.
  • Fixed an issue causing the landing or impact indicator to not display correctly when readying a sub weapon for use while facing a horizontal ceiling.
  • Fixed an issue causing shots fired from blaster weapons not to ink certain walls.
  • Fixed an issue causing shots fired from chargers by charging for a brief moment when changing from squid to kid form to not fire in the direction of the aiming reticle, and to disappear immediately instead.
  • Fixed an issue causing shots from sloshers to incorrectly pass through certain pieces of stage terrain and ink the ground just beyond that terrain.
  • Fixed an issue causing the hit animation of a Sloshing Machine’s shots to not display in the correct location when the spiral portion of the shot hit placed objects like Splash Walls directly.
  • Fixed an issue causing an unnecessary hit animation to display when a Curling Bomb slid across a Sponge.
  • Fixed an issue causing Sponges not to change size when hit with a Curling Bomb on a particular side.
  • Fixed an issue making it difficult to place Ink Mines on top of the tower in Tower Control.
  • When attacking a player performing a Splashdown special just prior to their descent, the condition of the attacking player’s internet connection determined whether or not damage would be dealt. Damage will now always be dealt correctly regardless of connection condition.
    • Due to this change, the situation will no longer occur in which damage is dealt regardless of whether or not the attacked player appears to take damage or not just prior to starting their descent when performing a Splashdown special.
  • Fixed an issue causing players using brush weapons who performed an attack while simultaneously activating a Splashdown special during a super jump to not perform the Splashdown.
  • Fixed an issue causing explosion damage from an Inkjet’s shots not to register when the shots appear not to hit on the screen of the attacking player, but did not appear to hit on the screen of the player being attacked.
  • Fixed an issue causing a Sting Ray’s firing animation to continue to display on the screens of other players when getting on an Ink Rail while using the Sting Ray.
  • Fixed an issue causing an Ink Storm’s raining animation not to display in the correct location when swimming through its area of effect.
  • Climbing surfaces with the Baller where inkable walls connect to non-inkable walls will now be easier.
  • Fixed an issue causing Respawn Punisher to not take effect when defeated by an enemy with that gear ability while the player also had Respawn Punisher equipped.
  • Changed the effect of Respawn Punisher so that when a player has it equipped, allies splatted by the explosion from the Rainmaker after its time limit runs out will not suffer its effects.
  • When an opponent who splats you is using the Respawn Punisher or Haunt and the effects of those gear abilities is activated, that activation will stand out clearly on the screen while waiting to respawn.
  • Fixed an issue in Tower Control matches causing players caught between a stage terrain feature and the metal grating portion of the tower’s platform to be pushed inside the stage feature.
  • Fixed an issue in Rainmaker matches causing the explosion animation from the Rainmaker’s shots to appear after the actual explosion when its shots hit a Splash Wall or expanded Brella.
  • Fixed an issue in Clam Blitz causing the barrier to be destroyed at the same time the goal descended when clams landed on top of the goal in its raised position.
  • Fixed an issue in Clam Blitz matches causing clams tossed by other players not to be picked up when touched when the player’s internet connection quality is poor.
  • Fixed an issue in Clam Blitz matches allowing players to remain on the cover in the upper part of the goal.
  • Fixed an issue in Starfirsh Mainstage where placement of obstacles could be slightly off causing slight asymmetry between the two sides of the map.
  • Fixed an issue in Sturgeon Shipyard causing bubbles from the Bubble Blower that explode beneath the central bridge to mistakenly ink the walkway on the bridge.
  • Fixed an issue in Sturgeon Shipyard causing the surfaces of the drawbridge to not count on the turf map when inked at a specific time while in motion by bombs or other objects.
  • Fixed an issue in Manta Maria during Rainmaker matches allowing players to make their way deep into enemy turf from above the goal.
  • Fixed an issue in Blackbelly Skatepark during Rainmaker matches allowing players to make their way deep into enemy turf by making the side of a crate in your turf uninkable, then making use of the side of the crate.
  • Fixed an issue in Blackbelly Skatepark during Rainmaker matches allowing players to make their way deep into enemy turf from above the goal.
  • Fixed an issue in Piranha Pit allowing players to make their way deep into enemy turf by using slightly sloped surfaces and the corner of certain stage features.
  • Fixed an issue in Piranha Pit causing the ripples created by moving through ink while swimming on conveyor belts to appear in the wrong location.
  • Fixed an issue in Piranha Pit allowing players to move inside certain stage features from specific corners on those stage features.
  • Fixed an issue in Piranha Pit causing Splash Walls and Sprinklers to break immediately when placed at the base of a conveyor belt.
  • Fixed an issue in Piranha Pit causing Splash Walls and Sprinklers placed on specific conveyor belts to break when they reached the end of the belt.
  • Fixed an issue in Piranha Pit during Tower Control matches allowing players to jump off the tower in the area of the 3rd checkpoint, reach an Ink Rail, and make their way deep into enemy turf.
  • Specifications for some of the main, sub, and special weapons have been changed.

    • Weapon	Adjustment
      .96 Gal 96 Gal Deco	Decreased trajectory variance of first shot while also increasing time required to reach maximum shot variance when firing continuously.
      Luna Blaster Luna Blaster Neo	Increased area covered by ink at your feet when firing.
      L-3 Nozzlenose L-3 Nozzlenose D	Now more likely to ink the area at your feet when firing.
      Squeezer	Increased firing range when holding ZR to fire continuously by roughly 4%. Decreased ink consumption when holding ZR to fire continuously by roughly 10%.
      Dynamo Roller Gold Dynamo Roller	Increased number of ink droplets generated by a horizontal swing, also decreasing time before turf is inked or attacks land. Increased spread of ink droplets generated by a horizontal swing.
      Flingza Roller Foil Flingza Roller	Adjusted distance at which damage from a horizontal swing begins to decrease. Increased distances at which damage exceeding 100.0 and 50.0 are dealt by roughly 12%.
      Inkbrush Inkbrush Nouveau	Increased overall spread of ink generated by swinging the brush, with the spread of ink closest to the player seeing the biggest increase, making it easier to ink continuous areas of turf.
      Classic Squiffer	Area at player’s feet will now always be inked when firing.
      Splat Charger Firefin Splat Charger Hero Charger Replica	Area at player’s feet will now always be inked when firing.
      Splatterscope Firefin Splatterscope	Area at player’s feet will now always be inked when firing.
      E-liter 4K Custom E-liter 4K	Area at player’s feet will now always be inked when firing.
      E-liter 4K Scope Custom E-liter 4K Scope	Area at player’s feet will now always be inked when firing.
      Bamboozler 14 Mk I	Increased maximum damage from 80.0 to 85.0.
      Goo Tuber Custom Goo Tuber	Area at player’s feet will now always be inked when firing.
      Glooga Dualies	Increased firing range after performing a dodge roll by roughly 13%.
      Splat Brella Sorella Brella	Increased area covered by ink droplets when shots hit a surface.
      Tenta Brella	Increased area covered by ink at player’s feet when the brella is open. Increased area of ink coverage generated when umbrella portion is launched. Decreased time for new umbrella to be generated after it is either destroyed or launched from 6 to 5 seconds.
      Splash Wall	Decreased time after using before ink recovery begins by roughly 1 second. Now possible to create a wall when a wall you’ve created already exists in the stage. Creating a new wall will cause the older one to disappear. Decreased least amount of time for wall to open after being placed by roughly 15/60 of a second. This change decreases the time until the wall opens when creating a wall on either flat ground or facing a downward slope by roughly 15/60 of a second. When creating a wall while facing an upward slope or other condition that causes the wall to be placed immediately, there will be no change in how quickly the wall opens.
      Squid Beakon	Increased durability by roughly 20%. Due to the above fix, damage dealt by certain attacks has also changed. Decreased damage dealt by Sting Rays by roughly 58%. Decreased damage dealt by Ink Storms by roughly 67%. Increased damage dealt by Nozzlenose weapons by roughly 20%. Increased damage dealt by Blaster weapons by roughly 20%. Increased damage dealt by vertical swing attacks with Roller weapons by roughly 20%.
      Ink Mine	With the R button pressed and held, player is now able to go into squid form immediately by pressing ZL, even before the Ink Mine has been fully set.
      Curling Bomb	Decreased radius of ink coverage and damage dealt by Curling Bomb explosion when R is pressed and immediately released. Bomb now grows in size the longer R is held, increasing ink coverage while traveling and area of ink coverage and damage dealt when it explodes. Decreased amount of time before ink recovery begins after use in proportion to how long R button is held.
      Sprinkler	Decreased ink consumption from 70% to 60% of ink tank capacity. Decreased degree to which less area is inked proportional to distance between Sprinkler and terrain floor when placed in a location with a different height than surrounding terrain. Increased durability by roughly 20%. Due to the above fix, damage dealt by certain attacks has also changed. Decreased damage dealt by Sting Rays by roughly 58%. Decreased damage dealt by Ink Storms by roughly 67%. Increased damage dealt by Nozzlenose weapons by roughly 20%. Increased damage dealt by Blaster weapons by roughly 20%. Increased damage dealt by vertical swing attacks with Roller weapons by roughly 20%. Decreased range of ink droplets and area of coverage during time after placement until Sprinkler output begins to weaken.
      Curling-Bomb Launcher	As a sub weapon, the size of Curling Bombs will now change depending on how long the R button is held, but Curling Bombs generated by the Curling Bomb Launcher will always be the same size, regardless of button press duration. Advertisement Due to this change, area of ink coverage while Curling Bombs are traveling has been increased slightly. Due to this change, area of ink coverage and damage dealt by Curling Bomb explosions has been decreased slightly.
      Sting Ray	Reduced damage dealt by roughly 10%. Sting Ray’s beam will now pass through the spawn point barrier when used within the barrier around your team’s spawn point.

  • Specifications for some of the gear abilities have been changed.

    • Gear Ability	Adjustment
      Ink Recovery Up	Increased effect when in kid form by roughly 6%.
      Special Saver	Made effect more likely to occur even when used with fewer than maximum stacked Special Saver gear abilities. Effect of gear ability when used with maximum stacked Special Saver abilities is the same.
      Ink Resistance Up	Improved effect of reducing maximum amount of damage dealt by stepping in opponent’s ink. Speed at which damage is dealt when stepping in opponent’s ink will now be slower.
      Opening Gambit	While active, Opening Gambit’s duration will be extended by 7.5 seconds for each opponent splatted by the player or assist they are credited with.
      Haunt	Opposing players marked with Haunt will now incur the penalties of Respawn Punisher (additional time before respawn, further reduction of special gauge when respawning) when splatted.
      Thermal Ink	Duration extended from 6 to 12 seconds.
      Respawn Punisher	Increased degree to which the effect of the gear ability Quick Respawn is nullified from 80% to 85%.
      Drop Roller	After Drop Roller is used, the player will receive the effects of Run Speed Up, Swim Speed Up, and Ink Resistance Up for roughly 3 seconds.
      Comeback	Decreased the boost to stats while Comeback is active from 1.2 times the value of the main gear power to 1 times that value.
      Ninja Squid	Ninja Squid will now nullify roughly 20% of the effect provided by the player’s Swim Speed Up gear ability.

  • Specifications for points required for some specials have been changed.

    • Weapon	Adjustment
      Luna Blaster Neo	180 >170
      Clash Blaster Neo	180 >170
      Zink Mini Splatling	200 >190
      Blaster Hero Blaster Replica	170 >190
      Slosher Deco	200 >220
      Heavy Splatling Hero Splatling Replica	180 >200

• Changes to Salmon Run
  • Fixed an issue causing players to rarely move inside the stage object when in contact with the egg basket while it contained Golden Eggs.
  • Fixed an issue causing damage indicators to not appear or damage to be registered by attacking a Steel Eel’s weak point when multiple Steel Eels gathered in the same location.
  • Fixed an issue causing players to rarely be unable to pick up any more Golden Eggs when multiple players tried to pick up the same Golden Egg and a player disconnected from the match.
  • Fixed an issue preventing players from rescuing downed friend (in life preserver form) even when hitting them directly with a Splat Bomb when the internet connection quality is poor.
• Changes to Spectator Mode
  • Fixed an issue in Private Battles when a player is using spectator mode, causing a sound effect to play in the middle of the stage as if the player were submerging themselves in ink.
  • Fixed an issue causing the hit indicators for the Sting Ray to not display correctly when switching between the perspective of a player using the Sting Ray and other perspectives.
• Other Changes
  • When a player has reached X Rank in the Ranked Battle mode they are currently playing pressing in the L and R sticks at the same time while in the lobby will cause the player to strike a special pose.
  • Fixed an issue in the Style tab of the Equip menu screen where the order of hairstyles for Girl characters differed from the order in which they were displayed in Player Settings.