Splatoon 3 just received its latest update, and its next Big Run event starts this weekend. It’s a great time to splat some Salmonids for those of you who’ve never participated before.
If you don’t already know, Big Run is essentially a “giant Salmon Run” rotation that takes place on one of the game’s larger multiplayer stages. You’ll need to team up with three other players and splat as many Boss Salmonids as you can, all while throwing as many Golden Eggs into the basket as you can. Today, we’ve gathered a whole bunch of tips for new and old players alike (but mostly new players). This month’s rotation takes place on Barnacle & Dime and goes from Friday, December 1 at 7 PM ET to Sunday, December 3 at 7 PM ET.
Big Run General Tips
As mentioned before, your goal in Big Run is to gather as many Golden Eggs as possible. You get these from defeating Boss Salmonids, and each one drops three Golden Eggs. During the Splatoon 3 Big Run event, the weapon you receive each wave is completely random. There’s also a chance that you receive a Grizzco weapon every wave; these are upgraded versions of normal weapons that are completely inaccessible in competitive play. In the next section, we’ll go over each Grizzco weapon and how to use it. For now, here are some general tips to get you started.
- Throw Golden Eggs! This is an obvious one, but the goal of Big Run in Splatoon 3 is to put as many Eggs in the basket as possible. It’s not always feasible to swim to the basket and deposit the Egg in good time. Instead, throw the Egg closer to the basket and keep attacking the enemies you’re fighting. Other players can then pick up the Egg and deposit it. Throwing Eggs does use up most of your ink tank, but it’s still a great way to save some time and get closer to your goal.
- Lure Boss Salmonids to the basket. That way, when you splat a Boss Salmonid, all three of its Golden Eggs spawn right near the basket. Luring Boss Salmonids is absolutely crucial to earning a high score. That being said, a few pesky bosses can and will attack you from far away – Stingers, which fire lasers, and Flyfish, which fire missiles. In this case, your best bet is to send one of your players over to splat them and then return to the basket. Or, if you don’t want to leave the basket…
- Use your Specials! This one seems obvious too, but often times a player will “save” their Specials for Wave 3 only to lose on Wave 1 or 2. Simply put, if things become too chaotic and it seems like you’re going to lose, use your Special. Triple Inkstrikes, Booyah Bomb, and Killer Wail can all attack Flyfish and Stingers from afar. If you see a big grouping of two or more Flyfish, using your Special will accomplish a lot! In a later section, we’ll discuss each Special and the best time to use it.
- Use your Bombs! If all your teammates were splatted and you’re the only one left, your best bet is to throw a Splat Bomb in their direction with the R button. The hitbox here is very generous, and as long as the Splat Bomb is close-ish to a downed teammate, it’ll revive them.
- Group together in Glowflies. During these waves, Salmonids rush toward a specific player and attack. It’s best to group up during these times, ideally near a wall you can swim on to stay out of their reach. If you have a roller weapon during this wave, make sure to take the front line. You can smack your roller down on the floor, stand still, and move very slightly forward when Salmonids come near. This way, you’ll recharge ink while you’re standing still and you can go from recharging to attacking in just a moment’s time! Do note that this doesn’t work with Carbon Rollers; they don’t deal enough damage to one-hit KO Chums.
Specials
In a wave of Salmon Run, each player receives two uses of a random Special. As of the latest update, at least two players per rotation are assured to have a Special that can hit Boss Salmonids from far away. You only have two Special uses per three waves, so make them count! And most of all, don’t forget to use them. Your goal in Splatoon 3 Big Run is to get as many Golden Eggs as possible, and every single Special can help create more Eggs to put in the basket.
- Booyah Bomb is incredibly useful. You can throw it at a bunch of Big Shots to splat them all, or at the basket to clear out lots of Boss Salmonids at once. Booyah Bomb grants its user armor while charging, but that armor doesn’t activate the second you use the Special. Make sure you use Booyah Bombs before you’re surrounded by Salmonids, because they’ll splat you before you can levitate in the air. Booyah Bomb is also capable of splatting Flyfish outright, so keep that in mind too.
- Crab Tank lets you engage in long-ranged rapid fire by pressing the button. You can also press the R button to fire off an Explosher-like explosion instead. Generally, you’ll want to stick to the rapid-fire mode. As long as you activate Crab Tank in a safe place, you should be good to go! The rapid-fire function is great against Stingers, Fish Sticks, and Big Shots; you can even spit bombs into a Flyfish’s baskets to splat it. Unfortunately, Maws is a Crab Tank’s greatest enemy – Crab Tank’s mobility is poor, and if any Maws are nearby they’ll splat you right through your armor.
- Inkjet lets you fly in the air and shoot slow-moving ink shots wherever you want. Especially effective against Stingers, Fish Sticks, Steel Eels, Steelheads, almost anything you can think of. You can also fire Inkjet shots into Flyfish baskets to destroy them immediately.
- Killer Wail 5.1 is a long-ranged Special that targets a specific enemy. It’s not very good at reviving lost teammates, but it’s good to use when there’s a Flyfish or Big Shot far away that you want to target. The Killer Wail pierces armor, so it can splat Drizzlers and Steelheads even when they’re hiding behind their armor.
- Kraken Royale was just added to Salmon Run, and it’s a really solid Special. For its duration, you’re invincible and can pierce armor. That said, it takes a moment to transform into a Kraken and to transform back, and you’re left vulnerable during both of those moments. The good news is, though, that Kraken Royale can splat pretty much any Boss Salmonid except for Fish Sticks and Maws.
- Reefslider generally isn’t very useful, but it launches you straight ahead. When you press the button, you’ll stop and create a big explosion that deals decent damage to enemies. Reefslider’s strength is heavily dependent on your positioning, so try to surprise Scrappers and Steel Eels from behind. If you’re really cool, you can use the Reefslider above a Flyfish with its basket open to score an instant KO. It looks neat, but it’s difficult to pull off and perhaps not very practical.
- Triple Inkstrike has lots of start-up lag. You have to activate the Special and then throw all three Inkstrikes, so it’s not a good Special to use when you’re surrounded. Still, the strikes are effective against most Boss Salmonids plus Flyfish. Make sure you don’t throw them in the water by mistake!
- Triple Splashdown is another Special new to Salmon Run. It creates a medium-sized explosion around the user, though it does leave the user vulnerable for a bit. On paper, this Special is sort of similar to Reefslider in that it’s best used to clear out a bunch of Cohocks or as a get-off-me move during a Glowfiles wave.
- Wave Breaker creates waves that travel along the ground. It’s best used when two players or less remain, as those waves have a good chance of reviving those nearby. Unfortunately, when all four players are wiped, the Wave Breaker will often revive a teammate right as you lose and the shift ends. As a result, you’ll want to activate it just a little bit earlier than you think you need it. Make sure to place it in an area free of Steel Eels and Maws, as they can destroy the Wave Breaker.
Grizzco Weapons
As mentioned earlier, Grizzco weapons are exclusive to Salmon Run. In this particular Big Run for Splatoon 3, there’s a small chance that you’ll receive a Grizzco weapon at the start of every wave. Though they are generally more powerful than your average weapon, some of them are also more difficult to use. That’s why we’ve rounded up every single Grizzco Weapon and how to properly use it.
- The Grizzco Blaster has somewhat short range and poor inking abilities, but it deals decent damage and shoots a ton of shots per second. It’s able to splat Stingers, Fish Sticks, and Chums incredibly efficiently. This is one of the simpler Grizzco weapons.
- The Grizzco Brella actually doesn’t shoot a canopy. It shoots straight ahead and spreads a whole lot of ink. With a Grizzco Brella in hand, inking the stage sort of becomes your responsibility due to its incredible paint speed. Fantastic against Fish Sticks, Grillers, Stingers, and more.
- The Grizzco Charger is a long-ranged weapon that charges instantly. It eats up ink very quickly, however, so despite its charge speed you’ll still want to be very particular with your shots. Great against Steel Eels, Steelheads, Scrappers, and Big Shots.
- The Grizzco Dualies are a little bit different. If you fire the weapon like normal, you’ll find they’re not very good. Instead, it’s the rolls that are excellent here – press the B button to initiate an explosive roll that deals lots of damage. With the Grizzco Dualies, you’ll essentially want to be rolling all the time to maximize your damage output. These rolls one-hit KO Fish Sticks if you’re standing on the top, and they can even destroy Flyfish baskets if used with the right positioning. The Grizzco Dualies can also paint very quickly if you use the rolls, but make sure you don’t roll right into the water.
- The Grizzco Slosher is one of Big Run’s more complex weapons. The shot this weapon fires is extremely slow and eats up a ton of ink, but it pierces armor and can one-shot lots of Boss Salmonids. Take out Flyfish by aiming for the little guy in the center and splat Steelheads by aiming at their armor. Just be sure to refill your ink often.
- The Grizzco Splatana has no projectile whatsoever. Instead, it plays melee. When charged, the Grizzco Splatana pierces Salmonid armor and deals a huge amount of damage. This means you can take out Drizzlers, Scrappers, Steelheads, and Flyfish any time you want. If all your teammates get splatted and you’re the only one left, you might want to revive them with a bomb instead of with your weapon.
- The Grizzco Stringer is one of the best weapons out there. It has incredible horizontal range, and if you jump while firing, that becomes incredible vertical range instead. The Grizzco Stringer is great at inking turf, dealing damage, and painting Fish Sticks with vertical charged shots.
That should be everything you need to know for a successful Big Run in Splatoon 3, then. If you have any tips to offer that weren’t included here, you’re welcome to leave them down below.
Splatoon 3 is available now for Switch, and you can check out the official site right here. Happy splatting!
