Kelp Dome

Kelp Dome is a multiplayer stage in Splatoon. Octoling Invasion, an Octo Valley mission, takes place in a modified version of the stage. It was made available on June 11th 2015 at.

Layout
Kelp Dome is shaped like a large square with rounded edges. It includes a variety of paths and ramps divided by uninkable glass containers, which appear to be growing various plants. A network of grated walkways are also found above the central area and its connecting paths, allowing players to ink turf from above.

Notable Locations

 * Raised Walkway – The raised walkway is a grated walkway that runs throughout the entire map and to the tower in the middle. It can be useful for quickly getting to the middle of the map and claiming the area around it, and for looking over the lower walls of the map and surprising enemies. It can also be useful for quickly getting to the opposite side of the dome. The downside to using the elevated walkway to travel is that it will leave the player exposed because if the player's Inkling turns into a squid while on the walkway, they will fall through the floor and onto ground level.
 * Central Tower – The tower in the middle of the map can be a great vantage point for Chargers and will likely be sought after throughout an entire battle. The area around it can be easily claimed once a team has claimed the tower. It can also be used to look over walls and fire over them to ink some more turf.

Ranked Battle


In the August 5th update, the layout of the map for both Splat zones and Tower control will change.

Splat Zones
In the Kelp Dome, the Splat Zone is located at the center of the map, surrounding the Central Tower, and is in the shape of a square. Boxes close to each team's starting points have been added to facilitate quick travel to the zone. Boxes have also been added to the Raised Walkways providing spots for hiding or recovering ink.

Tower Control
In Tower Control, the tower starts on top of the center platform. Like in Splat Zones, boxes are added to each team's starting point to provide a quicker path to the tower. The tower also takes on a wider and shorter appearance compared to other maps.

Tips

 * The grated catwalks can be used to counter the effects from Kraken users, making them unable to pursue players past that point.
 * The low walls that surround the center can have things thrown over them, allowing players with the Bomb Rush Special weapon to throw bombs over them and quickly cover turf on the other side.
 * Run Speed Up is useful for decreasing travel time over grated walkways and speeding up player movement while using a Main Weapon.
 * Kelp Dome's large size makes Ink Saver (Main) and/or Ink Recovery Up particularly useful. Swim Speed Up or Quick Super Jump are also good options to allow for quick movement across the map.

Trivia

 * The Kelp Dome is the second map where the Re-spawn Point is not accessible on foot; the first being Saltspray Rig and the third, Moray Towers.
 * A sunset variant of this map exists in Octo Valley in the mission Octoling Invasion.
 * This was the only way to play on Kelp Dome before the June 11, 2015 update.
 * Regarding the sister's conversation where Callie states ink is good for plants, Marie responds with "seems legit", an Internet meme used sarcastically by people who don't believe a claim to be true. In reality, cephalopod ink does not contain any compounds that significantly affect plants one way or the other. However, coated leaves may be unable to photosynthesize, making ink potentially bad for plants.