Mothership


 * For the Known Occurrence, see The Mothership.

Motherships are Boss Salmonids that appear in Salmon Run in Splatoon 2.

Description
Flying high above the map far enough to prevent most weapons from hitting them, Motherships carry crates full of Salmonids, which are dropped off by smaller flying Salmonids accompanying it called Chinooks. Motherships can also use a vacuum on the Egg Basket to suck up any Golden Eggs inside. Mr. Grizz warns players whenever a Mothership is preparing its vacuum and when it has almost reached the Egg Basket. Destroying the crates before they open will prevent them from deploying their cargo, and the Chinooks themselves can also be defeated before they can drop the crates. More importantly, they will also drop Golden Eggs when defeated. Attacking the Mothership when it reaches the Egg Basket will force it to retreat. Attacking it with the, , or other weapons with a range long enough to hit the crates it carries will also make it drop large quantities of Golden Eggs. While the Mothership is sucking up Golden Eggs from the Egg Basket, players will be unable to deposit Golden Eggs until they push it back.

Like Grillers, Motherships only show up in a special wave. If Mr. Grizz talks about Motherships at the beginning of a wave, that means the players are in the wave. This special wave consists of only a Mothership and its Chinook escorts.

Salmonid Field Guide
The following text is quoted from the Salmonid Field Guide.


 * What Happens
 * New troops are brought to the battleground from the Mothership.
 * A large number of Chinooks will bring containers of lesser Salmonids from the Mothership to join the fray.
 * Periodically, the Mothership will draw close to the egg basket and try to suck up and reclaim any Golden Eggs inside.


 * How to Get Golden Eggs
 * Shoot the containers carried by the Chinooks to make them explode.
 * If you manage to blow up the Chinooks as well, they will drop Golden Eggs.


 * Advice from Mr. Grizz
 * Split up to take out the Chinooks.
 * If the Mothership comes to take back the Golden Eggs, everyone should focus on pushing it back!


 * Supplementary Information
 * The Mothership is a vital cog in the Salmonid distribution chain.
 * Deploying the Mothership is said to be the last resort of the Salmonid army. When it is dispatched, all troops stationed nearby gather together to see it off.

Tips

 * To minimize failure of not meeting the quota, it is advised to fire the at the Mothership when it is first approaching the basket.
 * The preferred timing is around the 66-second mark. Firing sooner may cause Golden Eggs to drop too far to collect efficiently. Firing at its second approach may result in insufficient time for collection.
 * Aim at the bottom of the Mothership, not at the suction tube, so that it penetrates the Chinooks in the ship container.
 * The main purpose of the Sting Ray is not to repel the Mothership but to cause many Golden Eggs to drop. If Sting Ray is in use, coworkers should stop attacking the Mothership or risk repelling it too soon.

Trivia

 * Unlike other types of Boss Salmonids, the Mothership is indestructible by ink and does not attack directly.
 * It is possible to hit and send the Mothership back with long-range weapons when it is heading toward the Egg Basket before managing to latch onto the basket.

Names in other languages
Chinook