Weapon



"As an Inkling, you can use weapons and ink your turf. Be sure to experiment with different weapon sets!"

- Splatoon official site

Weapons are tools used in the Splatoon series to spread ink and splat enemies. In and, most weapons can be purchased from Ammo Knights with cash earned from online multiplayer matches. In, weapons are instead purchased from Ammo Knights using Sheldon Licenses. There are also weapons, which are exclusive to Salmon Run, known as rare weapons as well as mode specific ones like the Rainmaker. Most weapons may only be unlocked to purchase after reaching a certain level, and some can only be obtained after completing missions in the single-player game mode. Weapons are always in a predefined set of a main weapon, a sub weapon, and a special weapon.

In Splatoon 2, new weapons were added, and returning weapons returned with all-new designs. Since no special weapons returned from the first game, all the special weapons were changed as well. While some weapons retained the same sub weapon and similar special, others changed, such as the Splat Roller, paired with Curling Bomb instead of Suction Bomb.

In Splatoon 3, new weapons were added again, and some returning weapons underwent bigger redesigns compared to the previous games. Some specials return from the second game, such as Tenta Missiles and Booyah Bomb, while some special weapons, such as Killer Wail, from the first game have been greatly modified. There are also some all-new special weapons, such as the Crab Tank and Zipcaster.

Main weapon
Main weapons are the primary tools players use to spread ink and splat opponents. Main weapons generally have two variants: the original and an alternate with a different appearance, a different sub weapon, and a different special weapon. With the addition of Sheldon's Picks and the Kensa Collection, some weapons gained a third version with yet another set of sub and special weapons. There are also rare weapons which have been heavily modified which are exclusive to Salmon Run.

Sub weapon


Sub weapons are secondary to the main weapon. Each sub weapon has a specialized use and high ink consumption, so they cannot be used for general-purpose splatting and inking like the main weapon. There are bombs, which can be used to influence enemy movement or outright splat them, while others can give special effects to opponents, like location tracking, movement penalties, and ink usage penalties. In addition to weapons that focus on enemy effects, there are sub weapons that focus on benefiting the player's team by painting the ground or adding a Super Jump point to any location on the stage.

Special weapon


Special weapons are powerful weapons that can only be used after filling up the special gauge by covering enough ground with ink. Generally, special weapons can make players invincible, allow players to track the location of opponents, damage opponents that step within a specified area of the battlefield, or grant the player a strong long-range attack. There are special weapons with highly specific effects, like allowing players to use bombs without ink restrictions, or creating explosive floating bubbles.

Others
Other weapons can be seen throughout the whole Splatoon universe; Whether through single-player campaigns, co-op mode, concept art, or finished artwork.

Hero
During the single-player campaigns, the player can unlock main and sub weapons that assist them along their journey. Their color theme is neon yellow and black. These weapons can be upgraded for a faster fire rate and better ink consumption efficiency. The main weapons used in the single-player campaigns:
 * Hero Shot

The sub weapons also get a different aesthetic take on their models. Splat Bombs, Burst Bombs, and Seekers in Octo Valley, Splat Bombs, Curling Bombs, and Autobombs in Octo Canyon, and Splat Bombs, Burst Bombs and Curling Bombs in Return of the Mammalians.

Octarian
Some weapons held and operated by Octarians:
 * Flooder
 * Gusher
 * Great Octoweapon
 * Octo Shot, held by Octolings
 * Octobosses
 * Weapons held by Octarians

The Octolings have Octarian versions of some of the Hero weapons with the color theme of red and black. The Hero Blaster, Hero Roller, and Hero Slosher are seen in Octo Canyon, and the Herobrush, Hero Dualies, and Hero Brella were added in the Octo Expansion.

Salmonid
The Salmonids have a trade agreement with the Octarians, where the Salmonids provide Power Eggs used as energy sources in exchange for Octarian weapons and machinery. In addition to operating Octarian weapons and machinery, Salmonids use common kitchen tools as weapons.

Some weapons held and operated by Salmonids:
 * Kitchen tools:
 * Chum and Cohocks' frying pans
 * Flyfish and Chinooks' beverage coolers
 * Grillers' charcoal grills
 * Slammin' Lids' soup ladles
 * Smallfry's spoons
 * Stingers' pots


 * Octarian technology:
 * Gushers
 * Slammin' Lids
 * Scrappers (assumed)


 * Other:
 * Big Shots
 * Mothership

Stage
Weapons that are stage gimicks. These weapons can not be equipped but rather be interacted with in-order to inflict damage. These mechanics can be seen in Octo Valley, Octo Canyon, the Octo Expansion, Alterna, Salmon Run, Ancho-V Games and Shifty Station layouts.

Trivia
In Splatoon:
 * There are a total of 91 main weapons, 10 sub weapons and 7 special weapons as of Version.
 * To purchase every weapon set, a total of is needed.
 * In the initial release, there was a total of 32 main weapons.

In Splatoon 2:
 * There are a total of 139 main weapons, 4 rare main weapons, 13 sub weapons and 11 special weapons as of Version.
 * To purchase every weapon set, a total of is needed.
 * In the initial release, there was a total of 46 main weapons, 11 sub weapons and 8 special weapons.

In Splatoon 3:
 * There are a total of 101 main weapons, 7 rare main weapons, 14 sub weapons, and 17 special weapons as of Version 5.0.0.
 * In the initial release, there was a total of 55 main weapons, 5 rare weapons, and 15 special weapons.