Octotrooper

"Octotroopers dead ahead!"

- Cap'n Cuttlefish

Octotroopers are the basic Octarian fighters found in Octo Valley, Octo Canyon, the Octo Expansion, and Return of the Mammalians in the Splatoon series.

Appearance
Octotroopers are Octarians riding on small, simple vehicles consisting of a cylindrical platform with a black ring on the bottom, a long hose-like protrusion with a megaphone-like nozzle on the end, and a single joystick on top that the Octarian uses to operate the vehicle. How the 'base' of the vehicle looks varies from game to game; in Splatoon, it is made of a dark, stainless metal, while in Splatoon 2, it seems to be made from an upside-down blue recycling bin. Splatoon 3 has the same concept but with colors of black and blue.

Description
Octotroopers serve as the most basic foes featured in both Octo Valley and Octo Canyon, having little health, mobility, basic tactics, and a single attack - periodically firing a slow-moving globe of ink towards Agent 3 or 4 that has limited range but ignores gravity. Under normal circumstances, their simplistic combat skills alongside their placement make them easy targets in any area, as their attacks are easy to dodge and their low health makes them easy to splat upon getting close enough (only two shots from most automatic weapons, such as the Hero Shot or Hero Dualies, will splat them). The only time Octotroopers are a real threat is when they are encountered in large numbers - some packs of them can reach up to a dozen in a single area - in which it is easy for Agent 3 or 4 to be overwhelmed. Additionally, Octotroopers' projectiles do a deceptively large amount of damage on hit, compensating for how easy they are to dodge.

Most Octotroopers are capable of moving - patrolling set areas when alone, strafing around a target when one has been found to shoot at, and running away from bombs - while others are delegated to being stuck on tall, thin poles above the ground, making them function more like sentries than mobile enemies.

Splatoon 2 introduces a second variety of Octotrooper called Blobby Octotroopers that ride a differently-designed vehicle than their normal counterparts and have a different mode of fire. Splatoon 3 introduces another variety of Octotroopers with a different vehicle called Octohoppers, which jump constantly and also attack differently.

Tactics

 * If one is unable to splat an Octotrooper, one can take advantage of their slow firing speed and even slower projectiles to simply dodge their attacks.
 * Octotroopers will immediately stop whatever they are doing and flee from a bomb if one is thrown at them. Thus, consider using bombs on Octotroopers that are against a wall or in a corner to prevent them from fleeing the blast radius in time.
 * While Octotroopers will advance towards and invalidate the player's cover if they are in any (assuming they do not lose track of them), they will never attempt to seek cover themselves, making rushing them an effective tactic.
 * The projectiles Octotroopers fire are slow but hard-hitting. Do not underestimate a large group of them.
 * If an Octotrooper moves over a patch of the the player's ink, their vehicle will sink in it and get stuck, causing the Octotrooper to fight with the vehicle's controls while still shooting and suffer from a reduced turning speed. If they choose to retreat, however, the Octotrooper will point the nozzle on their vehicle straight down and spray ink beneath them, freeing them from being stuck.
 * In certain levels, Octotroopers will emerge from broken crates to attack the player. Be wary of unmarked crates if there are no other enemies around.
 * When fleeing from something, such as an Industrial Squee-G, Octotroopers will make no effort to avoid falling off ledges or cliffs, even if it means falling off the map and splatting themselves.
 * In Return of the Mammalians, they take a short break after shooting three times, at which point they make a little "slowed down" noise and a thought bubble appears above their head.

Octo Valley

 * Octotrooper Hideout (Mission #1)
 * Rise of the Octocopters (Mission #3)
 * Gusher Gauntlet (Mission #4)
 * Floating Sponge Garden (Mission #5)
 * Propeller-Lift Playground (Mission #6)
 * Spreader Splatfest (Mission #7)
 * Inkrail Skyscape (Mission #10)
 * Shifting Splatforms (Mission #13)
 * Octosniper Ramparts (Mission #17)
 * Tumbling Splatforms (Mission #19)
 * Unwelcome Flying Object (Mission #21)
 * Splat-Switch Revolution (Mission #22)
 * Spongy Observatory (Mission #23)
 * Pinwheel Power Plant (Mission #24)
 * Far-Flung Flooders (Mission #25)

Octo Canyon

 * Return of the Octarians (Mission #1)
 * Welcome to Octopia (Mission #2)
 * Enter the Octohurler (Mission #4)
 * The Octopark (Mission #5)
 * Octozeppelin Invasion (Mission #6)
 * Back-Alley Cleanup (Mission #7)
 * Spinning Campground (Mission #8)
 * Octoseeker Shakedown (Mission #10)
 * The Floating Garden (Mission #11)
 * Octo-Resort Spring (Mission #12)
 * Dancing Floors (Mission #13)
 * Parking Garage (Mission #14)
 * Secret Bowling Alley (Mission #16)
 * Octocommander Fortress (Mission #17)
 * Towering Heights (Mission #18)
 * The Experimentorium (Mission #19)
 * Propellerland (Mission #20)
 * Underground Expressway (Mission #22)
 * The Octogalaxy (Mission #23)
 * Transfer Junction (Mission #24)
 * Platform Madhouse (Mission #25)
 * Paradise Lanes (Mission #26)

Octo Expansion

 * Wassup 8-Ball Station
 * Roll Out Station
 * Bounce with Me Station
 * Maverick Station
 * Bumpin' 8-Ball Station
 * Spin Docto Station
 * Wack 8-Ball Station
 * Notorious Station
 * Tubular 8-Ball Station
 * Brute Rollup Station
 * Phat Splatz Station
 * Shrinky Ink Station
 * Totally 8-Ball Station
 * Right Round Station
 * Abracadabra Station
 * Mad Props Station
 * Labyrinth Station
 * Da Bomb Station
 * Slow Ride Station
 * Duh-Oh Station
 * Cubular Station
 * Ride with Me Station
 * Ink It Station
 * Outrageous Station
 * Dinky Ink Station
 * Can't Touch This Station
 * Radio Station

Return of the Mammalians

 * What Are They? Can We Stop Them?!
 * After Alterna
 * Get to Know Alterna, Your Only Choice
 * Splat You on the Flip Side
 * Doors, Doors, Doors! And More! (Doors)
 * Zip, Splat, and Jump
 * The String's the Thing
 * Twirling, Swirling, Whirling
 * Absorbency and You
 * Soak It to Me!
 * Tread Heavily
 * Getting Lost in Three Easy Steps
 * The Ink-Conservation Project
 * Switching Things Up
 * Climbing the Corporate Splatter
 * They Said We'd Have Flying Cars, and We Do! Kinda!
 * Ink Wheels - Experience Tomorrow's Technology Today!
 * Rail Pass
 * Propellered to Greatness
 * Octohoppers Don't Have a Sense of Humor (and They Hate Puns)!
 * Charge Now, Splat Later
 * Flying Worst Class
 * Stamp 'Em Out
 * The Upside to Enemy Backsides
 * Uh-Oh! Too Many Snipers!
 * Barriers! They've Got You Covered
 * Zipping over the Neighborhood
 * Making Waves with Splashdowns
 * Low Viz, High Risk
 * You'll Go Far If You Shoot Far
 * Learn to Reflect, and This One is in the Bank
 * Torture Tour
 * Conserve Ink - Splat Sustainably
 * Keep It Rolling
 * That Sinking Feeling
 * Breathe In, Breathe Out
 * Mission: Fly-Fishin'
 * Alterna Space Center: Entrance
 * Alterna Space Center Hangar
 * Alterna Space Center Lift
 * The Spirit Lifter: Steerage
 * The Spirit Lifter: First Class
 * Rocket Battle
 * Return of the Mammalians

In the manga series
In the end of the fan-made issue of Splatoon, a then unnamed Specs flies over a bunch of Octotroopers and Octoballs. They also appear in the Hero Mode issues of the manga.

Trivia

 * Octotroopers share their vocalization sounds with Twintacle Octotroopers, Octoballs, and Octocopters.
 * Octotroopers and other non-Octoling Octarians are described by game producer Hisashi Nogami as living in a way that a human would if only by spinal reflex. This manner of living is very similar to how octopuses in real life have their nervous system spread throughout all their arms, of which will temporarily continue to make basic functions like moving after being severed from the brain. Nogami additionally confirms that Octotrooper-like Octarians are like single-celled organisms.