Level



Levels, also referred to in-game as Freshness, are progress indicators in Splatoon and Splatoon 2, alongside rank. Levels initially went from 1 to 20. The Version 2.0.0 update for Splatoon raised the maximum level to Level 50. Likewise, the Version 2.0.0 patch for Splatoon 2 raised the level cap to 99, and when players reach Level 99, they can talk to Judd to reset to become Level ★1, and continue to work their way up to Level ★99.

Leveling up in Splatoon
Levels are earned by playing any online multiplayer mode except Private Battle and earning experience. Prior to Level 20, the player's Battle Points for each battle are converted directly into experience and added to their running total. Starting at Level 20, levels are instead earned depending on their team's performance during the battle.

Levels 1 to 20

 * In Regular Battles (Turf War), the player's score is determined by their turf inked, plus 1000p for victory (300p prior to the final Splatfest).
 * In Ranked Battles (Splat Zones, Tower Control and Rainmaker), their score is determined by their team's remaining objective, as well as any win bonus obtained through victory.
 * For reference of how much one gets with a win, refer to the chart on Rank, as the bonus given for winning depends on current rank.
 * Also, for every point reduced (from 100 to 0) yields an additional fifty experience per point, except for when losing in a knockout.

Levels 21 to 50

 * In Regular Battles (Turf War), the player's experience is determined by their turf inked and whether their team wins:
 * If they ink between 200 and 399 turf, they receive one point.
 * If they ink 400 or more turf, they instead receive two points.
 * If their team wins, they receive an additional three points (for a maximum of five per battle).
 * In Ranked Battles (Splat Zones, Tower Control and Rainmaker), the player receives one point for each minute their team survives.
 * If their team wins by timeout, they will receive an additional three points, effectively giving them eight points for a timeout.
 * If their team wins by knockout, they receive ten points total.

Leveling up in Splatoon 2
Experience in Splatoon 2 is earned slightly differently from how it is earned in the original game. New weapons are now unlocked at every level until Level 30.
 * In Regular Battles (Turf War), the experience gained depends on turfage, and who won.
 * 100 XP is earned for every 100 points covered, up to 500 XP.
 * The winning team gets a 600 XP win bonus.
 * Both teams get a 300 XP time bonus (for a maximum of 1400 XP).
 * A one-time freshness bonus is awarded upon bringing a weapon to 5, 10, or 15 freshness.
 * In Ranked Battles (Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker, and Clam Blitz), the player's XP depends on who won, whether it was a knockout or a timeout, and the progress their team made.
 * The winning team always gets a 1500 XP win bonus.
 * In the case of a knockout, the losing side gets points for the time bonus (with 1 minute=100 XP, 2 minutes=200 XP, etc.), while the winning side gets a 1000 XP knockout bonus, for a total of 2500 XP.
 * In the case of a timeout, both teams get a 500 XP time bonus, plus 5 XP for every percentage of progress made - so if a team brings the Rainmaker or Tower 83% of the way to their goal, they get 83 × 5 = 415 XP.

After reaching level 30, talking to Judd after gaining a level will reward one Super Sea Snail and after reaching level 48 all levels will require 100,000 experience points each and reward one Super Sea Snail.

After reaching level 99, talking to Judd gives the player an option to reset to level ★1, which doesn't reset existing access to weapons and gear. Each star level requires 100,000 experience points and reward one Super Sea Snail. Reaching level ★99 allows the player to reset to level ★1 (no extra star visible in-game) upon talking to Judd. Players can see how many times they reset their level on SplatNet 2.

Trivia

 * Instead of freshness, the player's Level was originally referred to in-game as "coolness".