Lifesaver



The lifesaver is a mechanic in Salmon Run in and Salmon Run: Next Wave in, serving as a reference point to shoot ink and resuscitate fallen players.

Appearance
Lifesavers are translucent rings with white bands, normally attached to the players' backs, serving as their ink tanks during Salmon Run. When full, the translucent parts appear in the player's ink color. A small light on the rightmost ring of the lifesaver (when viewed from behind) indicates if the player has enough ink for a in the same way that ink tanks have a light on the top. On the left of the ring is a radio antenna with a signal tip that glows upon giving a signal and an orange flag wrapped around it.

In Salmon Run: Next Wave, the livesavers get a redesign. There are now three segment lines, with the rightmost line presumably located at 70% ink.

Description
When a player is splatted during Salmon Run, they will reappear shortly as a controllable lifesaver with the antenna and Grizzco flag waving, and an Inkling or Octoling ghost jumping around inside it. They will appear at the point where they were splatted, or, if splatted in midair, on a moving platform, or by falling in the water, on the last piece of solid ground the player stood on. If a lifesaver moves or falls into the water, it will fall apart and reappear back on solid ground after another short time.

In this form, the player moves very slowly, cannot attack or swim in ink, and their jumping height is severely decreased. However, they are also invulnerable, can pass through all types of Salmonids and are unaffected by enemy ink. The player's "This Way!" signal is replaced with a "Help!" signal.

If the player had a Golden Egg when splatted, it will stay with them in lifesaver form and cannot be lost (except by waiting until the wave ends). If an empty lifesaver approaches a Golden Egg, it will still be picked up. However, it is impossible to deposit a Golden Egg while in lifesaver form.

A lifesaver can be revived by spraying ink on it, such as shooting at it with any main weapon or special weapon, or causing a Steelhead's bomb or Drizzler's projectile to explode in close vicinity to the lifesaver. The revived player will gain approximately four seconds of mercy invincibility, during which the player will flash and be invulnerable. Some weaker main weapons may require more than one hit to revive the player. A Splat Bomb exploding next to a lifesaver will revive it, and if one hits a lifesaver directly, it will explode immediately, similar to hitting the Rainmaker barrier or the canopy of an enemy brella.

Trivia

 * The signal tip of the lifesaver's antenna resembles a chemical light stick commonly used in night salmon-fishing in Japan. The light stick is used in conjunction with bait (typically squid) to lure the salmon.
 * The small squid or octopus ghost that normally appears flying away when players are splatted and landing on a spawn point will flail around in the lifesaver until the player is revived.