Splash Wall

The Splash Wall is a sub weapon in Splatoon and Splatoon 2.

Splatoon
The Splash Wall forms a temporary barrier of falling ink, preventing enemy fire from passing through. Opponents will instantly get splatted if they attempt to walk through the Splash Wall, but the player who spawned it and their teammates will take no damage. These players will also be able to shoot through the wall. The opposing team can shoot the Splash Wall down rather than waiting for it to disappear. If a player tries to throw a splash wall while another splash wall is deployed, the "can't use" message will happen. A similar weapon is also used by the Octarians in Octo Valley.

Use

 * The Splash Wall will cause Splat Bombs or Suction Bombs to explode immediately, which can be disastrous if the thrower is too close to the Splash Wall.
 * A tactic for the Splash Wall in Splatoon is to place it down right in front of the Tower in Tower Control. The Tower goes through the wall but the wall will force the enemies to get off the Tower, allowing the other team to claim it.
 * When the Splash Wall is shot by enemy ink, the time remaining until it despawns begins depleting faster. Remaining time can be viewed in an ink-filled tube in the middle of the weapon.
 * Splash Walls cannot do any damage to the Rainmaker shield. The barrier will instantly destroy the Splash Wall on contact.

Ink management
After deploying a Splash Wall, there is a 2.67-second delay before ink can be refilled again. This refill penalty and the 60% ink consumed by the wall make it necessary to use ink management abilities. To keep up the pressure on opponents by firing for longer periods, a combination of the Ink Saver (Main) and Ink Saver (Sub) abilities is needed. The charts below show that while Ink Saver (Main) has a greater impact, it is still optimal to use both abilities. The ink refill penalty makes Ink Recovery Up less useful, so Ink Saver abilities should be prioritized over Ink Recovery Up.

Quotes
"This defensive wall rains down ink, blocking enemy movement and incoming ink. However, you can still shoot through your team's Splash Walls, making them an absolute game changer during duels, particularly in tight chokepoints. The Splash Wall is powered by its own integrated ink tank, visible along the center vertical pole. The ink level drops the longer the Splash Wall has been deployed - it takes approximately seven seconds for a Splash Wall to fully consume its ink. As enemy ink strikes the wall, the ink within the tank is depleted at a faster rate."

- Splatoon Prima Guide

Splatoon 2
The Splash Wall returns in Splatoon 2. It functions mostly the same to how it did in the first game, with some changes. It no longer instantly splats enemy players that touch it, instead bumping them away while dealing slight damage. It can still splat but only if the damage dealt is enough to do so. Additionally, it can be thrown while a wall is already active, destroying the previously placed wall in the process.

Quotes
"This weapon creates a wall of ink in front of you, blocking enemies from attacking or approaching. Enemy attacks will make it break down more quickly.

You can only place one at a time."

- Splatoon 2 Sub & Special Guide

Trivia

 * The Splash Wall is paired with the most different Bomb Launchers in.
 * The Splash Wall was originally called "Ink Shield", as seen in an image from before release.
 * The Splash Wall has the most damage per second of any weapon in the game, at 50 per tick.
 * In the Shooting Range, when the player throws a Splash Wall at the large dummies, it will instantly pop them. The damage count will conclude "500.0".
 * Splash Walls are used in many out of bounds glitches. If an opponent places a Splash Wall next to a wall, then the player stands between the wall and the Splash Wall and activates a Baller, the player will clip into the wall.