Rainmaker

For the shield that must be burst to obtain it, see Rainmaker shield.

"Make it rain!"

- Objective quote seen before battle in Splatoon 2

Rainmaker is one of the three Ranked Battle modes in Splatoon, alongside Splat Zones and Tower Control, and four in Splatoon 2 and alongside Clam Blitz. Rainmaker was the third Ranked Battle mode introduced in the series and the last in Splatoon.

Splatoon
Rainmaker was first announced in the Splatoon Direct on 2015-05-07. However, its description was extremely vague and only a picture of the Rainmaker itself was released. The weapon was later shown in action in a Japanese Splatoon commercial that was released in late July 2015. Rainmaker was released on 2015-08-15 at July 27, 2024.

Splatoon 2


Rainmaker was first confirmed to return for Splatoon 2 on 2017-06-02 in a Nintendo YouTube video.

The Rainmaker was changed to fire an exploding ball of ink rather than an ink tornado. A modified Rainmaker that has significantly more range and does not explode after carrying it for too long is given by Sheldon during the final phase of the final boss in Octo Canyon.

The Rainmaker is reset to the center of the stage after popping its shield and not taking it for fifteen seconds. It does not reset when it is already located at the center of the stage.

Octo Expansion
Rainmaker appears as a type of test that Agent 8 must pass to escape the Deepsea Metro; the Rainmaker has the Kamabo Corporation logo on it instead of the anchor logo of the standard ranked mode. The mode works the same as a regular Rainmaker match but Agent 8 is up against a team of four Sanitized Octolings. The Rainmaker appears on Agent 8's pedestal and they have to carry it through the enemy's base by themselves and get it on their Rainmaker pedestal.

These levels are:
 * Far-Out Station
 * Bring It Station

Unlike in multiplayer, the Rainmaker can be carried anywhere in the stage and does not automatically splat the user if held onto for too long. Additionally, the Sanitized Octolings do not attempt to take the Rainmaker themselves - if they break the Rainmaker's barrier, it is reset to its start point.

Splatoon 3
In Splatoon 3, instead of just a single goal at the end, there are goals closer to the middle of the stage called checkpoints. If a player plants the Rainmaker on a checkpoint, the checkpoint will lower and another will pop up closer to the final goal. The shield will reform, and either team can then break the shield and take the Rainmaker. When the Rainmaker is held, the special gauge at the top of the screen will show which player holds the Rainmaker.

Description
"In Rainmaker, both teams compete to snag the Rainmaker. Once you've got it, the goal is to carry it into the other team's base! So as soon as the battle begins, grab that Rainmaker! It's guarded by a shield, though, so you'll need to bust it out first. Once you snag it, head for the other team's base. And be quick about it! If you run out of time or get splatted, the Rainmaker will be dropped. Its shield will also reactivate. The Rainmaker is crazy heavy, so you can't Super Jump while carrying it. Your teammates will have to watch your back! The Rainmaker can also shoot ink like an Inkzooka, so you can clear a path! The closer you get to the enemy base while holding the Rainmaker, the lower your goal distance will drop. If the battle ends without anyone carrying the Rainmaker to the goal, the team with the lowest goal distance will win!"

- In-game description



Rainmaker is similar to Tower Control in that it requires teams to move a certain object to a point in the other team's base. However, in Rainmaker, only one player may have control of the Rainmaker and they control where it goes. The device is encased in a shield similar to a Zapfish's bubble and must be freed before it can be picked up. If one team bursts the Rainmaker shield, all players of the other team caught in the blast radius are instantly splatted. The Rainmaker can then be picked up by either team. Touching an intact shield causes a small amount of damage.

Effects of holding the Rainmaker
After picking up the Rainmaker, it has some effects on the carrier:

Rainmaker explosion timer

The player who holds the Rainmaker must carry it to the goal in the other team's base within sixty seconds or it explodes, splats the carrier and every friendly player in the blast radius, and covers the ground with enemy ink. The marker displaying the time remaining appears above the carrier's head. Retreating with the Rainmaker to the player's side of the stage past the enemy team's lowest goal distance causes the Rainmaker explosion timer to tick three times faster than normal until the player returns to the enemy team's lowest goal distance. The Rainmaker explosion timer also ticks faster than normal when the carrier is in a prohibited area. In Splatoon 2, when the carrier of the Rainmaker explodes on their side of the stage, the Rainmaker resets to the center of the stage.

Firing the Rainmaker

The Rainmaker itself is capable of shooting large twisters of ink, similarly to an Inkzooka (in Splatoon), or bursts of ink (in Splatoon 2). The Rainmaker has similar attributes to a charger-class weapon, due to it having a charge mechanic. The shots that it can fire range from a small twister or burst to a large tornado-like twister or big, explosive burst depending on the length of time that is held down by the player. At maximum charge, the shot is lethal, allowing the Rainmaker carrier to have a form of defense against enemy fire. The projectile in Splatoon 2 is fired in an arc, allowing its shots to hit enemies behind cover but making it much less effective in close quarters.

The Rainmaker carrier should note that shots from the Rainmaker do not consume ink, and therefore they do not need to consider refilling their ink tank when defending or attacking.

Effects on the carrier

The player holding it cannot Super Jump, enter any spawn point, nor can they use any of their main, sub or special weapons. Because the Rainmaker is so heavy, the player's movement speed and swim speed are reduced by 20%, and speed-increasing abilities affect the player normally no matter what weapon they were carrying prior. The special gauge does not charge while carrying it. If it is dropped, the Rainmaker shield reforms around it. It can then be recaptured by any player on both teams.

If the player has the Rainmaker and splats themselves by falling off the stage while behind the halfway point, the Rainmaker resets its position by respawning in the center of the stage. This does not happen when the player splats themselves by falling off the stage over the halfway point, and the Rainmaker regenerates its shield where the player fell from.

After firing, the Rainmaker has a knockback effect on the player. The pushback from firing the Rainmaker can be used to go through enemy ink reasonably quickly, so if the player is stopped without a chance of making a new path, firing the Rainmaker behind repeatedly can get the player a little extra push before being splatted.

Tracking the Rainmaker

The player holding the Rainmaker has the Ranked Battle symbol marking them for everyone to see above their head alongside the sixty-seconds explosion timer, making them a huge target. The symbol can be seen on the map and even through walls when the player is in humanoid form.

When swimming in ink in squid or octopus form, the Ranked Battle symbol disappears for the enemy team, making it more difficult to spot the Rainmaker, but an additional glow is added where the carrier swims.

Overtime rules
The "winning team" is the team who managed to carry the Rainmaker closer to the other team's base than the other team (if tied, the team who carried to the tied point first ) and the "losing team" is "the other (team)."

Overtime begins when:
 * The winning team loses control of the Rainmaker less than fifteen seconds before the end of regulation, if none of the following conditions are met.
 * The winning team is in control of the Rainmaker at the end of regulation.
 * The losing team was in very recent control of the Rainmaker and loses that control by getting splatted while holding it.
 * The losing team is in control of the Rainmaker.
 * The losing team breaks through the checkpoint in very recent control of the Rainmaker, less than few seconds before the end of regulation.

Overtime ends when:
 * The winning team gains control of the Rainmaker.
 * The losing team fails to pick up the Rainmaker in a short period after:
 * Overtime commences. (10 seconds)
 * (in Splatoon 3) The losing team breaks through the checkpoint. (Period Unknown)
 * The losing team loses control of the Rainmaker, by getting splatted while holding the Rainmaker.
 * The losing team carries the Rainmaker past the winning team's score, giving them the victory.

Other info:
 * If the Rainmaker has not been touched for the whole match, Team Alpha wins.
 * Team Alpha and Team Bravo are assigned randomly at the start of the match, and not noticed to the players which players are in.
 * The status of the Rainmaker's shield (popped or not) does not matter.

Prohibited areas
Prohibited areas, or Rainmaker-Free Zones, are areas that are harder for the enemy team to reach. They were introduced in version of Splatoon. They appear in certain stages and are indicated with a Rainmaker-Free signpost by their entrance. When the Rainmaker carrier enters the prohibited area on their side of the stage, they get a penalty as the Rainmaker explosion timer ticks faster, just like when retreating with the Rainmaker.

If the carrier runs out of time or gets splatted in the prohibited area, the Rainmaker respawns at the center of the stage. The effects do not occur when the attacking team enters the prohibited area of the defenders.

Stages in Splatoon that have prohibited areas are Walleye Warehouse, Saltspray Rig, Arowana Mall, Flounder Heights, and Piranha Pit.

Stages in Splatoon 2 that have prohibited areas are The Reef, Musselforge Fitness, Starfish Mainstage, Inkblot Art Academy, Port Mackerel, Blackbelly Skatepark, MakoMart, Walleye Warehouse, Shellendorf Institute, Arowana Mall, Goby Arena, Piranha Pit, Camp Triggerfish, Wahoo World, New Albacore Hotel, Ancho-V Games and Skipper Pavilion.

Stages in Splatoon 3 that have prohibited areas are Eeltail Alley, Hammerhead Bridge, Mahi-Mahi Resort, MakoMart, Museum d'Alfonsino, Scorch Gorge, Sturgeon Shipyard, Undertow Spillway, and Wahoo World.

Trivia

 * The Rainmaker resembles an animal from Japanese folklore with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp with a nozzle in its mouth, known in Japanese as a shachihoko.
 * In European versions of Splatoon, the objective text reads "Transport the Rainmaker!" instead of "Make it rain!"
 * Details of Rainmaker were datamined on 2015-06-21.
 * Images of Rainmaker being played on a then-unnamed stage, later revealed to be Hammerhead Bridge, were revealed in the 2015-07-24 Japanese Splatoon trailer detailing future updates.
 * The Rainmaker itself cannot be bought or equipped before match.
 * After sixty seconds, or when a player approaches their base, the Rainmaker explodes and it the display reads "The Rainmaker Inksploded"❌ or "Splatted when the Rainmaker exploded!".
 * When in motion, the Rainmaker carrier is expressionless. When still, they make a big smile.
 * Rainmaker bears a strong resemblance to Team Fortress 2's Capture the Flag mode, where a team needed to grab the objective from enemy's base and bring it to their base. However, in Splatoon they need to grab the objective in the middle and carry it to the enemy's base onto a goal. Some maps include a custom-version that functions identically to Capture the Flag, with a flag in the middle which needs to be carried to enemy's base.
 * It bears an even stronger resemblance to Push from Team Fortress Classic, with the flag being in the middle of the map, and the objective being to bring it to a raised platform in the enemy's base.
 * It is possible to get splatted by the Rainmaker shield. This happens by a player getting squished between the shield and a wall as the shield expands or when the explosion timer ticker runs out and the wielder and those in the player's team who are around the blast radius will get splatted.
 * Blackbelly Skatepark is the only stage to appear in both games that has not seen Rainmaker in rotation for the longest amount of time due to its old layout, which allowed Rainmaker carriers to easily score a knockout within the first minute of a match, but was brought back after said Stage’s adjustments from Version.
 * In Rainmaker, Battle Points continue to count when using the Rainmaker weapon for the player's total Battle Points of the match and the total turf inked with their weapon.

Names in other languages
Checkpoint