Crab Tank

The Crab Tank is a special weapon in Splatoon 3. It is a piloted assault vehicle that can both rapidly fire ink shots and launch explosive ink blobs.

Appearance

The Crab Tank is a crab-shaped mech that can curl up into a ball. Its outer shell changes color to match the user's ink. It is armed with three turret-like cannons, one on each front limb, and one in the center of its body.

Splatoon 3

Splatoon 3

Crab Tank

Category	Special
Class
Sub
Special
Special points
Special depletion
Range
Damage
Impact
Fire rate
Charge speed
Ink speed
Mobility
Durability
Handling
Level
Cost
Requirement
Added in		Specifications
Weight
Base damage	32 (Rapid Fire) 30 (Cannon, Splash) 60 (Cannon, Direct Hit) 40 (Rolling)
Base duration	8 seconds
Ink consumption
Base range
Rate of fire
Muzzle velocity
Base accuracy
MPU effect
SPU effect
SPU effect
Other variant

The Crab Tank can walk and strafe like players, or curl up into a ball to move faster and climb up walls, inking the surface as it moves, similar to the Baller. Like a real crab, the tank walks faster side-to-side than it does forwards or backwards. When climbing, the crab tank cannot move left and right, only up and down.

The Crab Tank has 500 HP and has varying damage multipliers against certain weapons:

Weapon	Multiplier
Main weapon
Splatanas (charged melee)	0.65x
Bamboozler 14 Mk I	0.8x
Chargers	1.3x
Splatanas (uncharged melee)	1.3x
Brellas (shot)	1.3x
Stringers	1.3x
Brushes (swing)	1.4x
Rollers (swing)	1.4x
Dynamo Roller (swing)	1.6x
Splatanas (projectiles)	2.6x
Big Swig Roller (swing)	2.8x
Sub weapon
Fizzy Bomb	1.6x
Torpedo (explosion)	2x
Special weapon
Ink Vac (shot)	0x
Crab Tank (cannon)	1.5x
Killer Wail 5.1	1.5x
Tenta Missiles	1.5x
Trizooka	1.8x
Booyah Bomb	2x
Wave Breaker (waves)	2x
Inkjet (direct hit)	2.0835x
Ink Storm	2.5x
Inkjet (exhaust)	2.5x
Ink Vac (shot explosion)	2.8x
Ultra Stamp (thrown hammer, direct hit)	3.273x
Inkjet (indirect hit)	3.5x
Kraken Royale	4x
Ultra Stamp (stamp)	4.5x
Ultra Stamp (thrown hammer, explosion)	6x
Reefslider	7.28x

In walking mode, the tank has two firing modes: pressing fires a ball of ink in an arc that pierces enemies and explodes on contact similar to the Explosher, while fires a rapid stream of bullets from two turrets, similar to dualies. Continuously shooting with increases the Crab Tank's firing rate drastically; it starts with a fire rate similar to the .52 Gal, but the peak rate of fire is the same as the Hydra Splatling. Interrupting the continuous fire by rolling, using the cannon with , or letting go of will reset the fire rate to its starting point. The back of the tank, where the user sits, is a weak point accessible from above, behind, or the side. This weak point appears to have as much health as a player does, and the player is immediately splatted if the weak point is damaged enough. It is currently unknown whether resistance abilities such as Sub Resistance Up affect the weak point, and if the player retains any damage the weak point sustained once the special ends.

In ball mode, the Crab Tank can move in all directions freely and climb walls, leaving a path of ink behind itself and dealing modest contact damage to enemies. It can also do a small "crab hop" by pressing . The tank's weak point is completely protected in ball mode. Although the Crab Tank turns and adjusts its aim very slowly while in walking mode, it faces in the direction of the camera when coming out of ball mode. Switching to ball mode and back to walking mode can allow it to turn more quickly.

The Crab Tank flashes red when its duration is almost up, warning the user the special will run out soon. Once the special ends, the crab tank will disappear and the player can move after a short delay. If the tank itself is destroyed, the player is ejected rather than splatted, and the special ends. Notably, the user will retain any remaining special charge if the tank is destroyed and the special ends prematurely.

This special is one of the nine available specials in Salmon Run Next Wave.

It appears in 4 Return of the Mammalians missions:

• 0000 After Alterna
• 0205 Tread Heavily
• Rocket 02 Alterna Space Center Hangar
• Rocket 04 The Spirit Lifter: Steerage

Special Power Up

Main article: Special Power Up

Equipping Special Power Up with Crab Tank increases its duration. The following table shows the duration, in number of frames, when stacking Special Power Up.

Abilities				Duration
None				480 Frames
Main: 0, Sub: 1				498 Frames
Main: 0, Sub: 2				514 Frames
Main: 0, Sub: 3				530 Frames
Main: 1, Sub: 0				535 Frames
Main: 0, Sub: 4				545 Frames
Main: 1, Sub: 1				550 Frames
Main: 0, Sub: 5				559 Frames
Main: 1, Sub: 2				563 Frames
Main: 0, Sub: 6				572 Frames
Main: 1, Sub: 3				576 Frames
Main: 2, Sub: 0				580 Frames
Main: 0, Sub: 7				584 Frames
Main: 1, Sub: 4				588 Frames
Main: 2, Sub: 1				591 Frames
Main: 0, Sub: 8				595 Frames
Main: 1, Sub: 5				599 Frames
Main: 2, Sub: 2				602 Frames
Main: 0, Sub: 9				605 Frames
Main: 1, Sub: 6				609 Frames
Main: 2, Sub: 3				612 Frames
Main: 3, Sub: 0				615 Frames
Main: 1, Sub: 7				618 Frames
Main: 2, Sub: 4				621 Frames
Main: 3, Sub: 1				624 Frames
Main: 1, Sub: 8				626 Frames
Main: 2, Sub: 5				629 Frames
Main: 3, Sub: 2				631 Frames
Main: 1, Sub: 9				634 Frames
Main: 2, Sub: 6				636 Frames
Main: 3, Sub: 3				638 Frames
Main: 2, Sub: 7				642 Frames
Main: 3, Sub: 4				644 Frames
Main: 2, Sub: 8				648 Frames
Main: 3, Sub: 5				649 Frames
Main: 2, Sub: 9				652 Frames
Main: 3, Sub: 6				654 Frames
Main: 3, Sub: 7				657 Frames
Main: 3, Sub: 8				660 Frames
Main: 3, Sub: 9				660 Frames

Version history

Version	Adjustments
2.1.0	▼ Shortened the duration of the Crab Tank when not using the Special Power Up gear ability from about 9 seconds to about 8 seconds. ▲ Increased the extension rate of the duration of the Crab Tank when using the Special Power Up gear ability. As a result of these changes, the duration of the Crab Tank when maximizing use of the Special Power Up gear ability remains the same as before. — Fixed an issue where attacks to the rear, like Ink Storm, bounce off when the tank is in walking mode even when directly striking the player.
3.0.0	— The sound effect when activating is now less audible to teammates.
3.1.0	▼ Introduced an interval where players cannot attack for roughly 0.33 seconds after returning to attack mode from mobile mode. ▼ Increased the amount of time it takes for players to act again after the special ends. — Fixed an issue that allowed Crab Tank users who held down the ZR Button before changing from mobile mode to attack mode to start rapid firing slightly faster than usual.
5.1.0	— Fixed issues that could occur when the Crab Tank effect ends, such as the player being at a slightly raised position and able to climb terrain at an unintended height or being unable to smoothly use Squid Surge immediately after the end of the effect.
6.0.0	— Fixed an issue where damage done to targets by the explosion from a Crab Tank's cannon would count as double in the lobby for a special Splatfest. — Fixed an issue where, if a player was using the Crab Tank and changed to mobile mode at a specific moment just before a wave ended, the Crab Tank would be treated as though it was still in mobile mode even when the next wave started, leaving an ink trail behind it and causing damage by running over opponents.
6.0.1	— Fixed an issue that caused shots from the Crab Tank's cannon to do less damage than before when hitting the body of a Steelhead while it's growing a bomb from its head.

Quotes

“

Leave your foes in a pinch with the scuttling tank's superior inkpower. Press for rapid-fire shots - will fire your cannon. Its back is vulnerable to enemy attacks, but you can shift into mobile mode with to protect yourself.

”

— In-game description

Sets

Weapons with Crab Tank in Splatoon 3

	Main	#ID	Sub	Special	Special Points	Level	Price	Class	Introduced​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	L-3 Nozzlenose	300	Curling Bomb	Crab Tank	190p	13	1	Shooter	Version 1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	Order Dualie Replicas	5015	Suction Bomb	Crab Tank	190p	1		Dualie	Version 7.0.0 (Side Order)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	Splash-o-matic	20	Burst Bomb	Crab Tank	200p	16	1	Shooter	Version 1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​
	Splat Dualies	5010	Suction Bomb	Crab Tank	190p	3	1	Dualie	Version 1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​
	Splatana Stamper Nouveau	8001	Toxic Mist	Crab Tank	210p	20	1	Splatana	Version 6.0.0 (Chill Season 2023)​​​​​​
	Splattershot Pro	70	Angle Shooter	Crab Tank	180p	9	1	Shooter	Version 1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Badges

Main article: Badge#Special Weapon Wins

Wining a certain number of battles with the Crab Tank will reward the player with special badges that they can use on their Splashtag.

Crab Tank Badges
	30 wins with Crab Tank
	180 wins with Crab Tank
	1,200 wins with Crab Tank

Gallery

• 

  Early promotional screenshot of the Crab Tank

• 

  An Inkling riding the early design of the Crab Tank

• 

  The Crab Tank curling up into a ball and climbing a wall

• 

  A Crab Tank shooting ink from its cannon

• 
• 

  A Crab Tank firing ink

• 

  The Crab Tank icon in the special gauge

• 

  Using the Crab Tank in Salmon Run Next Wave

• 

  An earlier version of the Crab Tank icon.

• 

  The Tableturf card icon of the Crab Tank.

• 

  Uncropped version of the Tableturf card icon.

• 

  Crab Tank concept art from The Art of Splatoon 3

Strategy

For competitive tips about the Crab Tank

View the strategy page.

Trivia

• Prior to the Salmon Run Next Wave trailer, the Crab Tank is primarily yellow with sections that change color to match the user's ink instead of the whole tank matching the user's ink.
• The outside cannons resemble a style of juctioned exhaust headers mainly used in speedboat engines.
• The Crab Tank's multiple legs, ability to turn into a ball, and twin machine guns make it similar to the Wrecking Ball mech from the game Overwatch.
• If a Crab Tank user is tagged (by a Point Sensor for example), and rolls, their position tag will roll with Crab Tank.
• In Salmon Run Next Wave, the attack acts as a bomb, allowing players to take down Flyfish and Mudmouths easily.
• The Crab Tank was not added to any post-released main weapon until the Splatana Stamper Nouveau in Chill Season 2023, being the last special to be put on a new set post-release.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	カニタンク Kani tanku	Crab Tank
Dutch	Krabbentank	Crab Tank
French	Crabe d'assaut	Assault Crab
German	Krabbenpanzer	Crab tank
Italian	Granchio armato	Armed Crab
Russian	Кработанк Krabotank	Crab Tank
Spanish	Cangrejobot	From cangrejo (crab) and robot.
Chinese	螃蟹坦克 Pángxiè tǎnkè (Mandarin)	Crab Tank
Korean	크랩 탱크 Keuraep taengkeu	Crab Tank
Internal	SpChariot	Sp for special weapon. "Chariot" likely comes from 戦車 sensha, which can mean either "(military) tank" or "chariot" depending on context.

See also

• Baller
• Inkjet