Recon is a single-player mode in the Splatoon series that allows players to explore a stage on their own without taking part in a battle. The mode features no music, leaving only sound effects. It has many of the same mechanics as a battle would, but it is impossible to win or lose due to the absence of the other team. In Splatoon and Splatoon 2, recon can be accessed from the Battle Lobby by pressing when hovering over the Regular Battle, Ranked Battle, or League Battle options, and it can only be played on stages that are in rotation. In these games, recon will use the mode that is currently in rotation for the type of battle selected and has the same time limit as that mode usually would, though the player can pause the game and quit before the time elapses. In Splatoon 3, recon is not a part of the Lobby and is instead accessed by speaking to the Recon Guide in Splatsville or Inkopolis Plaza, allowing it to be played offline; additionally, the player can choose any stage and mode in the game rather than only using those that are in rotation, and the time limit is extended to one hour for all modes.
In Splatoon and Splatoon 2, playing recon during a Splatfest changes the stages to their nighttime Splatfest versions. However, in Splatoon 3, stages in recon only use their normal variants regardless of whether a Splatfest is underway.
Recon functions mostly the same as the game mode it uses, though there are several differences:
There are no allies or opponents.
In Splatoon 3, the time limit is extended to one hour.
There is no music. This makes ambient sound effects much easier to hear, such as those of cars driving past in Blackbelly Skatepark or jellyfish testing video games in Ancho-V Games.
The player is always on Team Alpha, unless they are playing during a Splatfest in Splatoon or Splatoon 2 in which case they will be on whatever team they chose.
The game can be paused by pressing , which causes a menu to appear that allows the player to end the game immediately.
Ranked Battle matches cannot be ended early by meeting the knockout criteria.
In Splat Zones, the zones can be inked, but there is no countdown.
In Tower Control, the player can ride the tower to the opposing side, but nothing happens when it reaches the goal besides the tower's music stopping. Even if the tower is at the goal, it will still move back to the center of the stage if the player stays off of it for too long.
Since there are no opponents, the tower will never get any closer to the player's side of the stage except when it returns to the center.
In Rainmaker, nothing happens when reaching the goal while holding the Rainmaker (though it is possible to claim checkpoints in Splatoon 3).
In Clam Blitz, although opening the basket and throwing clams into it is possible, they are not counted.
In Splatoon 3, multiple players can join recon via Private Battles. Whenever the host presses , Photo Mode activates.
Quotes
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SRL Splatsville surveyor here with info on the recon function. Did you know that you can visit any stage at any time just to walk around and explore? It's almost too good to be true! Just don't tell the SRL security team, OK? Visit the Recon Guide to start!
when hovering over the Regular Battle, Ranked Battle, or League Battle options, and it can only be played on stages that are in rotation. In these games, recon will use the mode that is currently in rotation for the type of battle selected and has the same time limit as that mode usually would, though the player can pause the game and quit before the time elapses. In Splatoon 3, recon is not a part of the Lobby and is instead accessed by speaking to the Recon Guide in Splatsville or Inkopolis Plaza, allowing it to be played offline; additionally, the player can choose any stage and mode in the game rather than only using those that are in rotation, and the time limit is extended to one hour for all modes.
, which causes a menu to appear that allows the player to end the game immediately.
