Goldie

"I can feel it... The Orange S2 approaches! Find it and ink it until it drops its Golden Eggs!"

- Mr. Grizz

Goldies are rare Boss Salmonids that appear in Salmon Run in Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3. Goldies are Event-exclusive Boss Salmonids that appear as the primary Golden Egg sources during Rush and Goldie Seeking. They may also appear during Fog.

Description
Goldies are shimmering golden Salmonids wearing shiny togas and jewelry that move faster, hit harder, and have higher health than Chums. They have unique swirl-patterned scales and bright eyes sporting unusual "tired" pupils. In Splatoon 2 they wield frying pans as weapons, as do most Lesser Salmonids.

In Fog waves Goldies are hidden among other Salmonids and as of Version, have a chance to drop either one, five, or ten Golden Eggs instead of three after defeating it. Goldies are the only Boss Salmonids that will not have a Boss Salmonid alert when they arrive during Fog waves, but they make a unique eerie screeching sound and have a bright glow that can be seen from a good distance.

During Goldie Seeking, they are the only Boss Salmonid to appear. The aim of the occurrence is to attempt to find the Goldie hiding in the Gushers. When found, the Goldie will attempt to run away on set paths. Given enough time, they will head towards another Gusher and dive into the underground waterways, and the next Gusher they will appear in is randomized. This is the only occurrence where the Goldie will get smaller and grow progressively faster as it loses health. Mr. Grizz refers to them as 'the Orange S2' and 'that sneaky Orange S2' during Goldie Seeking waves.

During Rush, Goldies are the only Boss Salmonid and will pursue the player surrounded with Glowflies. During this occurrence, they drop three Golden Eggs, however, these Eggs drop scattered around where the Goldie was killed, instead of dropping in a cluster as with other Boss Salmonids' Eggs, making players' collection of them challenging.

Fog
The following text is quoted from the Salmonid Field Guide.
 * What Happens
 * The area is covered in a dense fog, drastically reducing visibility.
 * Enemies will take advantage of the fog and attack from all directions.
 * How to Get Golden Eggs
 * Defeat Boss Salmonids.
 * The extremely rare Goldies may appear in foggy conditions.
 * Advice from Mr. Grizz
 * Try to maintain contact with your teammates at all times while in the fog.
 * Being alone in the fog is extremely dangerous.
 * Supplementary Information
 * Goldies are extremely rare Salmonids&mdash;only one of every 10,000 hatchlings is a Goldie.
 * They live longer than and possess far superior intelligence to normal Salmonid specimens.

Goldie Seeking

 * What Happens
 * Large numbers of Gushers will appear in the area.
 * A Goldie will be hiding in one of the Gushers.
 * You can shoot the Gusher to make it erupt, but chances are a regular salmonid will pop out instead of a Goldie.
 * How to Get Golden Eggs
 * The Goldie lurking in one of the Gushers will drop loads of Golden Eggs when hit with ink.
 * Advice from Mr. Grizz
 * Spread out, and find that Goldie FAST.
 * When you find the Goldie, call your buddies over and let loose with all your firepower!
 * The Gushers emit light when you hit them--the brighter the light, the closer you are to that glorious Goldie.
 * Supplementary Information
 * Salmonids obtained the technology to create Gushers through trade with Octarians.
 * The Goldie loses scales when hit, so it's able to move faster the more you damage it!

Rush

 * What Happens
 * Large groups of ferocious Salmonids appear and carry out rush attacks at furious speed.
 * These crazed Salmonids gather in response to the appearance of Glowflies.


 * How to Get Golden Eggs
 * Take out the Goldie hidden in the school of Salmonids.


 * Advice from Mr. Grizz
 * Stand your ground with your allies and concentrate your fire on the incoming Salmonids!
 * Watch out for the Glowflies—if they buzz around you, a concentrated attack won't be far behind.


 * Supplementary Information
 * It is claimed that the Salmonids' increased aggression is tied somehow to gravitational shifts due to the planet's celestial course, but there is still much that is unclear.
 * It is said that in pre-medieval times, before effective defense measures such as long-range ink attacks were available, many cities fell before the rage of the Salmonid rush.

Trivia

 * According to the Splatoon 2 Salmonid Field Guide, only one of every 10,000 Salmonids born is a Goldie.
 * Goldies are the only Event-specific Salmonids to appear in more than one type of Event wave.
 * During Fog Waves, Goldies are the only Boss Salmonids that will not have a Boss Salmonid alert when they arrive.
 * Also during Fog Waves, prior to Version 3.2.0 of Splatoon 2, Goldies dropped three Golden Eggs when defeated.
 * Most other Event-specific Salmonids appearances lack the alert as well, but the appearance of standard Bosses in Fog waves do trigger the alert, as if the Goldies are hidden among non-rare Salmonids undetected.
 * Goldies are the only Salmonids known to wear jewelry.
 * Its design could possibly be a reference to Roman dolphin statues, or Roman culture in general, as this Salmonid wears toga-like clothing and its scales have a swirly pattern akin to curly hair.
 * Some Goldies are placed atop Roman/Greek-like columns in concept art.
 * In the Dutch version, Mr. Grizz refers the Goldie as a female, instead of "it" in English.
 * In Splatoon 3, Goldies no longer wield frying pans, instead opting to slap their enemy.