Splatoon 3 update announced (version 8.0.0), patch notes

Splatoon 3 is gearing up for its next big update, which will be version 8.0.0. Nintendo just posted the patch notes.

The next update rings in the Sizzle Season 2024 for Splatoon 3. There’s a lot of new content in store between new weapons, the Lemuria Hub, new catalog, and new Tableturf Battle cards. That’s along with lots of changes and fixes.

Season and Catalog Changes

  • On June 1, 2024, data relating to Sizzle Season 2024 is added to the game. This includes:
    • A new catalog, including new gear, titles, banners, decorations, stickers, and emotes.
    • 1 new battle stage: Lemuria Hub.
    • 2 new main weapons and 2 variant sets of those weapons with different sub and special weapons.
    • 6 new sets of existing main weapons paired with different sub and special weapons.
    • 14 new Tableturf Battle cards.

Changes to Multiplayer

  • Added 2 songs that will play during battles.
    • These songs will play starting from the beginning of Fresh Season 2024.
  • New main weapons have been added.
    • These weapons will be available in the shops at the start of Sizzle Season 2024.
    Weapon Details
    Wellstring V
    Custom Wellstring V
    • A stringer that fires 5 ink shots at once.
    • Just like the Tri-Stringer, if you charge up to a certain amount, the ink shots will freeze and explode where they land.
    • Unlike other stringers, if you charge up to a certain amount, its ink will be fired in a wider spread.
    Mint Decavitator
    Charcoal Decavitator
    • A splatana with wide horizontal attack range for its charged swipe.
    • The charged swipe has a long lunge to quickly close distance with opponents.
  • New weapons have been added.
    • These weapons will be available in the shops at the start of Sizzle Season 2024.
    Weapon Sub Weapon Special Weapon
    Custom Range Blaster Splat Bomb Kraken Royale
    Bamboozler 14 Mk II Fizzy Bomb Super Chump
    Custom Hydra Splatling Ink Mine Splattercolor Screen
    Heavy Edit Splatling Nouveau Splat Bomb Crab Tank
    Custom Douser Dualies FF Burst Bomb Triple Inkstrike
    Recycled Brella 24 Mk II Toxic Mist Triple Splashdown
    Wellstring V Autobomb Ultra Stamp
    Custom Wellstring V Point Sensor Wave Breaker
    Mint Decavitator Suction Bomb Big Bubbler
    Charcoal Decavitator Splash Wall Inkjet
  • Terrain for some stages has changed.
    Stage Change Details
    Barnacle & Dime
    • Changed terrain in all modes to increase routes into the center and options for strategic points.
    Hammerhead Bridge
    • Changed terrain in all modes to increase routes into the center and options for strategic points.
    Museum d’Alfonsino
    • Changed terrain in all modes.
    • Changed the shape of walls surrounding the center in the following modes:
    Um’ami Ruins
    • Changed terrain in all modes.
    Brinewater Springs
    • Changed terrain in all modes.
    Scorch Gorge
    • Changed terrain in all modes.
    Eeltail Alley
    • Slightly changed terrain in all modes.
    Hagglefish Market
    • Slightly changed terrain in all modes.
    Flounder Heights
    • Slightly changed terrain in all modes.
    Marlin Airport
    • Slightly changed terrain in all modes.
    Manta Maria
    • Slightly changed terrain in all modes.
    Crableg Capital
    • Slightly changed terrain in the following modes:
    Bluefin Depot
    • Slightly changed terrain in Clam Blitz mode.
  • Specifications for some main weapons have changed.
    Weapon Change Details
    Sploosh-o-matic
    Neo Sploosh-o-matic
    • Damage dealt to Splash Wall increased by about 10%.
    Splattershot Jr.
    Custom Splattershot Jr.
    • Damage dealt to Splash Wall increased by about 10%.
    Aerospray MG
    Aerospray RG
    • Damage dealt to Splash Wall increased by about 10%.
    N-ZAP ’85
    N-ZAP ’89
    • Increased the time it takes for the chance of shots scattering, which increases when firing continuously, to reach its maximum.
    L-3 Nozzlenose
    L-3 Nozzlenose D
    • Maximum damage has been increased from 29.0 to 31.0.
    Luna Blaster
    Luna Blaster Neo
    Order Blaster Replica
    • Damage dealt to Splash Wall increased by about 10%.
    Clash Blaster
    Clash Blaster Neo
    • Damage dealt to Splash Wall increased by about 10%.
    Rapid Blaster
    Rapid Blaster Deco
    • Reduced the amount of time it takes for ink to begin recovering after firing by about 1/20th of a second.
    Carbon Roller
    Carbon Roller Deco
    • Damage dealt by horizontal swings and vertical swings to Splash Wall increased by about 10%.
    Splat Roller
    Krak-On Splat Roller
    Order Roller Replica
    • Damage dealt by horizontal swings and vertical swings to Splash Wall increased by about 10%.
    Inkbrush
    Inkbrush Nouveau
    • Damage dealt by ink from swinging the brush to Splash Wall increased by about 10%.
    Octobrush
    Octobrush Nouveau
    Orderbrush Replica
    • Damage dealt by ink from swinging the brush to Splash Wall increased by about 10%.
    Dapple Dualies
    Dapple Dualies Nouveau
    • Damage dealt to Splash Wall increased by about 10%.
    Tri-Stringer
    Inkline Tri-Stringer
    Order Stringer Replica
    • The area of terrain inked by falling spray has been increased.
    • Adjusted the positioning of falling ink spray to make it easier to connect ink in an uninterrupted straight line.
    REEF-LUX 450
    REEF-LUX 450 Deco
    • Made it possible to charge in midair at the same speed as when on the ground.
  • Specifications for some special weapons have changed.
    Special Weapon Change Details
    Reefslider
    • Now inks along the rails as the rails extend before launch.
    • When the active terrain is moving, the rails will now move along with it.
    Big Bubbler
    • Now inks the ground where it is placed.
    Ink Vac
    • The ground slightly behind the user will be inked periodically while it is active.
    Splattercolor Screen
    • Increased the damage dealt to the following when touched by the screen:
      • Squid Beakon
      • Sprinkler
      • Splash Wall
      • Sponge
      • Rainmaker shield
  • Points required for some special weapons have been changed.
    Weapon Before After
    Big Swig Roller Express 200 190
    Painbrush 200 190
    Custom E-liter 4K 200 210
    Custom E-liter 4K Scope 200 210
  • Made it so that, when using a dualie Dodge Roll or splatana charged swipe’s lunge toward the Rainmaker shield, the direction of movement will be adjusted so that players do not take excessive damage from touching the Rainmaker shield.
  • Made it so that when the season switches and ranks are changed, ranks for players whose X Rankings for the previous season were in the top 1,000 ranks in any mode will be changed to rank S+0 regardless of the immediately previous rank, and those players will be able to participate in X Battles from the start.
    • This will be determined based on the ranks at the point when the news at the time of the season change is seen.
  • Made it so that the number of times allies used Squid Beakons placed by a player count toward the #1 Super Jump Spot and #2 Super Jump Spot medals.

Changes to Splatfests

  • Made it possible to get conch shells when you win in 10x Battles, 100x Battles, and 333x Battles.
    Battle Number of Conch Shells You Can Get
    10x Battle 1
    100x Battle 10
    333x Battle 33
  • In Splatfest Battles, when you battle against your own team, on rare occasions a Conch Clash, 10x Conch Clash, or 33x Conch Clash will occur. If you win, you can earn conch shells.
    • The rate of Conch Clashes occurring is the same as the rate for 10x Battles occurring when you battle against other teams.
    • The more you win Conch Clash, the more often 10x Conch Clash and 33x Conch Clash will occur.
    Battle Number of Conch Shells You Can Get
    Conch Clash 1
    10x Conch Clash 10
    33x Conch Clash 33
  • When you win a 10x Conch Clash or 33x Conch Clash, you will be able to board the Splatfest Float and take a picture.
    • You can board the Splatfest Float from the Pledge Box in Splatsville.

Changes to Salmon Run

  • A special Triumvirate XTRAWAVE can now occur.
    • In this XTRAWAVE, three King Salmonids will attack at once.
    • The number of fish scales you can obtain will be triple the normal amount.
  • Specifications for some main weapons have changed.
    Loaned Weapon Change Details
    Grizzco Dualies Increased the maximum damage dealt by fired shots from 30.0 to 35.0.
  • Added data for a new Grizzco loaned weapon.
  • Added items that can be exchanged for fish scales.
  • Made it so that repelled torpedoes fired by Drizzlers are less likely to come into contact with terrain.
  • It will now be possible to get decorations corresponding to certain conditions at Grizzco.
    • When you have collected golden badges for all of the job stages.
    • When you have repelled and cleared a Triumvirate attack at Hazard Level MAX.

Changes to SplatNet 3

  • Added Journey 6 to Wandercrust.
    • Players will be able to support Journey 6 after completing Journeys 1 through 5.
    • Journey 6 can only be supported with points earned by inking turf from Sizzle Season 2024 onward.

Changes to DLC

  • Added 10 Sheldon Licenses as items you can get from the DLC battle-boosting bonus.
    • The DLC battle-boosting bonus is included in the Expansion Pass.
    • Players who have already received the battle-boosting bonus will also be able to receive the 10 Sheldon Licenses by accessing the lobby terminal after applying the update data.

Other Changes

  • Made it so that, when equipping the Squeezer or Foil Squeezer in battles and Salmon Run, continuously pressing the ZR Button in quick succession at shorter intervals than the weapon’s normal fire interval will lengthen the interval until the next shot is fired.
    • The Squeezer and Foil Squeezer are designed as weapons that players can use more efficiently by pressing the button with the proper timing.
    • This change is to prevent players from using these weapons at maximum efficiency when ignoring the timing and repeatedly mashing the button extremely quickly.
    • The adjustment has been made in a way so that those using the weapon normally will not be affected by the change.
  • Friend-Request Harassment has been added to the options selectable when reporting users after battles or jobs.

This update focuses on adding features for Sizzle Season 2024 (which starts in June), making changes to Splatfests, and adjusting the balance of battles.

For battles, we’ve added things like new main weapons, as well as changed the specifications of some main weapons and special weapons.

For the Reefslider, we have made changes intended to add room for creative use, such as using it to halt an opponent’s progression.

For the Big Bubbler, we’ve made changes intended to both increase ways to use it in certain modes and make it easier to use for weapons that fight on the frontlines.

For the Ink Vac, while it is already a powerful option to protect other players while advancing, it is not very impactful when used on the spur of the moment. So we have made changes intended to make it possible to move steadily when using it while gradually retreating on your own.

For the Splattercolor Screen, we have changed it to give it additional uses for players who are already putting it to good use.

Also for battles, we have made the change we notified you about in the previous update where, when a player’s rank in any mode was within the top 1,000 ranks for the previous season’s X Battles rankings, they will be able to participate in X Battles right away after the season change. This change is to alleviate a problem with matchmaking being difficult immediately after the season switch for players with particularly high X Power.

For Splatfests, we have made it so that players will acquire conch shells in certain battles such as 10x Battles. On the other hand, because battles such as 10x Battles occur less frequently when you vote for a team with higher votes, we have also added a Conch Clash system so that opportunity to obtain conch shells does not vary too greatly.

As for other changes, we have added Friend-Request Harassment to the options selectable when reporting users after battles or jobs. We have added this option in order to deal with behavior like using inappropriate language when sending a friend request. In addition to this behavior, any behavior that is offensive, harassing, threatening, discriminatory, or abusive towards others is prohibited by the Nintendo Community Guidelines. Violating the Community Guidelines may result in action such as bans.

The next update will focus on changes to the balance of battles and is planned for the middle of Sizzle Season 2024.

Bug Fixes

Fixes to Player Controls

  • Fixed an issue with certain main weapons where, when a player aimed an attack toward their feet, damage would sometimes be dealt to opponents above the player’s head.
  • Fixed an issue where, when another player tried to Super Jump just before the battle ended, that player would sometimes appear to be moving unnaturally on other players’ screens.
  • Fixed an issue where, when Super Jumping to a player who had never landed in an appropriate position to be used as a Super Jump destination after leaving an inkrail, players would land on top of the start point for the inkrail. Instead, players will now land on the ground near the inkrail start point.
  • Fixed an issue where, when ink from a roller’s vertical swing passed through a grate or other special terrain, that ink’s collision-detection size became slightly smaller.
  • Fixed an issue where, when repeatedly performing an action that fired ink from a roller’s vertical swing such that it grazed terrain, the ink’s collision-detection size for vertical swings during that battle became slightly smaller.
  • Fixed an issue with the Explosher and Custom Explosher where the blinking animation for the weapon’s interior did not display properly.
  • Fixed an issue with Bloblobber shots where, when they hit things like propellers, sponges, or inkrail start points, the shot would not vanish on opponents’ screens and would rebound, despite vanishing on the player’s screen. They will now vanish in both cases.
  • Fixed an issue where, when a player used a dualie Dodge Roll or a splatana’s charged-swipe lunge while facing a downward slope, the player would sometimes float in the air.
  • Fixed an issue where, when a player using the Undercover Brella defeated an opponent or assisted an ally in defeating an opponent, the canopy durability-recovery effect would not trigger if an opponent destroyed the canopy at the same time.
  • Fixed an issue with splatanas where, when pressing and holding the ZL Button with certain timing to enter swim form while repeatedly using the horizontal slash, the player would sometimes perform an extra horizontal slash immediately after entering swim form.
  • Fixed an issue where, when a player with insufficient ink swung a splatana, that sound effect sometimes would not play for other players.
  • Fixed an issue with the Recycled Brella 24 Mk I where, when the player closed a damaged canopy, it appeared as if the opponents’ ink was not on the canopy.
  • Fixed an issue where, when using the Crab Tank in attack mode on a slope, the collision-detection positioning for opponents’ attacks on the player in the tank was sometimes misaligned from how it appeared.
  • Fixed an issue with the Zipcaster where, when the effect ends at the same time as the charge completes and the player returns to the original position, sometimes on opponents’ screens the explosion at the completion of the charge did not occur and damage was not dealt.
  • Fixed an issue with the Tacticooler where, when placed at a position touching the Tower Control tower, the Tacticooler would sometimes be destroyed immediately after placement.
  • Fixed an issue where, when a player placed a Wave Breaker, sometimes the visual displaying the area of effect that marks opponents for a short time did not display properly.
  • Fixed an issue with the Wave Breaker where sometimes the animation of the device and the timing of the waves were misaligned.
  • Fixed an issue with the Wave Breaker where sometimes the sound effect when a wave is generated did not play.
  • Fixed an issue with the Big Bubbler’s inner device where, even if it touched moving terrain, it sometimes would not be destroyed.

Fixes to Multiplayer

  • Fixed an issue with certain Challenges where the gear abilities displayed on the battle-stats screen sometimes differed from the gear abilities actually used in the battle.
  • Fixed an issue in Undertow Spillway in Rainmaker mode where there were locations where “DON’T RETREAT!” displayed despite the Rainmaker advancing forward.
  • Fixed an issue in Hagglefish Market in Rainmaker mode where, by performing a Squid Roll at a checkpoint before passing it, it was possible to get into unintended areas.
  • Fixed an issue in Mincemeat Metalworks in Rainmaker mode where the count would not progress despite jumping onto the high ground from the checkpoint while holding the Rainmaker.
  • Fixed an issue in Wahoo World where, by using Kraken Royale, it was possible to get into the opponents’ base through unintended methods.
  • Fixed an issue in Inkblot Art Academy in Rainmaker mode where there were places where “DON’T RETREAT!” did not display even when a player lingered in places that are difficult for opponent players to get into.
  • Fixed an issue in Manta Maria where sometimes the height was slightly different between the central grate and the adjacent terrain, making it difficult to come and go smoothly.
  • Fixed an issue in Humpback Pump Track in Rainmaker mode where, when a player with an unstable connection grabbed the Rainmaker while falling from certain points, sometimes a large distance would be counted.
  • Fixed an issue in Um’ami Ruins where attacking with a roller at certain points on terrain caused the game to slow down.
  • Fixed an issue in Marlin Airport where, by performing a Squid Roll from a propellervator, it was possible to get into the high ground through unintended methods.

Fixes to Salmon Run

  • Fixed an issue with Private Jobs where, when returning to the lobby after playing in a room with a password, the password setting would be lost.
  • Fixed an issue where players were not pushed back when they attacked a King Salmonid by rolling into it with a roller.
  • Took measures to address an issue where, when there are a lot of Salmonids, the sounds for nearby Salmonids sometimes do not play.
  • Fixed an issue where, when the player number decreased due to disconnection during an Xtrawave, it sometimes appeared as if the King Salmonid was not defeated even though the Xtrawave was cleared.
  • Fixed an issue where, when firing a main weapon upward and using the falling ink to save an ally in a life ring right before the Super Jump to move to the next wave, sometimes a communication error would occur.
  • Fixed an issue where, when a player in the Kraken Royale state fell from a corner of the terrain into the water, that player would sometimes fall into the water again immediately after recovering.
  • Fixed an issue where sometimes defeating a Flipper-Flopper immediately after it appeared would crash the game.
  • Fixed an issue where, when users who participated in the December 2023 Big Run but were prevented from accepting the correct reward for their high scores due to a bug, the process enabling them to collect the correct rewards did not work properly in version 7.0.0 and later versions.

Fixes to Side Order

  • Fixed an issue where, when the player landed on an ∞-ball after using a Booyah Bomb, the player sometimes passed through the terrain.

Fixes to Splatfests

  • Fixed an issue in stages during Splatfests where the ink for Slosher, Slosher Deco, and Order Slosher Replica appeared darker than other ink shots.
  • Fixed an issue with Tricolor Turf War where the landing points and inking position for ink ejected from the Sprinkler of Doom sometimes were misaligned.
  • Fixed an issue where, when viewing battle replays of Tricolor Battles from past Splatfests, the Attack Bonus and Defense Bonus listed sometimes differed from the original record.

Other Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where the game crashed on rare occasions when ending recon.
  • Fixed an issue where, when scanning an amiibo on the Equip screen, the indicator showing the page number for the displayed weapon list was sometimes misaligned.
  • Fixed an issue where, when moving from Hotlantis in Inkopolis Plaza and Inkopolis Square to another shop, sometimes the shop interior became dark.
  • Fixed an issue where, when playing in tabletop mode or handheld mode with a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller connected, sometimes it was not possible to use the Pro Controller on the screen where players register an owner and nickname for amiibo.
  • Fixed an issue where, on days where no Challenge is being held, some images would sometimes not display on the screen in the lobby.
  • Fixed an issue where, when a player placed a Hickory Work Cap in the locker, the color of the placed gear differed from the color of the icon.
  • Fixed an issue with Tableturf Battle multiplayer where running out of time on the deck-selection screen sometimes stopped the battle from progressing.

The new update goes live on May 30, 2024 in North America. It’ll be up on May 31 in Europe. We have tons more coverage on the game here.