Kelp Dome

"Callie: This dome is a fully sustainable ecosystem! Marie: It's about to be a fully stained ink-osystem!"

Kelp Dome is a multiplayer stage in Splatoon and Splatoon 2. Octoling Invasion, an Octo Valley mission, takes place in a modified version of the stage. It was made available in on June 11th, 2015 at, and is planned for release in  on September 16th, 2017.

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 are 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 – There 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.
 * Spawn Platform - The platform behind where you spawn is a great spot to cover turf and charge up your Special Weapon. It is also unreachable to the opposing team, with the exception of platforming from the goal, to a planter, and onto the platform in Rainmaker.

Ranked Battle
In both Splat Zones and Tower Control, boxes have been added to the right of the ramp directly left of the Respawn Point and ink-able ones on the Raised Walkways. Boxes close to each team's starting points have also been added to facilitate quick travel to the center of the map in Splat Zones, Tower Control, and Rainmaker.

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. In order to capture the zone, both the part on the tower and the part below it have to at least be inked.

Tower Control
In Tower Control, the tower starts on top of the Central Tower. It moves down and to the right of the Central Tower, towards the corner of the dome. It then goes straight towards the opposing team's Spawn Point and finishes right below the inaccessible area. The goals are to the left of the team bases when facing the rest of the stage, over the left wall. The tower also takes on a shorter appearance compared to other stages.

Rainmaker
The Rainmaker spawns on top of the Central Tower. The goal is located in front of the respawn point of the opposing team next to the wall. Barriers have been added onto the Raised Walkways so that players cannot take that walkway right after obtaining the Rainmaker, or attack the opposing team before getting the weapon.

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 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 map was added on June 11, 2015.
 * Regarding the sisters' 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.
 * When Super Jumping, the glass dome disappears for a brief period.
 * Right before a match ends or Overtime begins, wind chimes can be heard.
 * Kelp Dome, Walleye Warehouse, and Ancho-V Games are the only stages that are not located outdoors.
 * When doing Rainmaker, if you are on the tower in the middle and the Rainmaker expands, you'll get pushed off the tower. To avoid that happening, shoot ink from the grated walkway.
 * This is the third map from Splatoon to return as a stage for Splatoon 2, with the first two being Moray Towers, and Port Mackerel.