Salmon Run Next Wave

Template:InfoboxMode Salmon Run Next Wave is a co-op multiplayer mode in Splatoon 3 for up to four players. It is a sequel to Salmon Run in Splatoon 2 and was revealed on 9 February 2022 during a Nintendo Direct.

Description

Like in Splatoon 2, each Salmon Run shift consists of three waves; to complete waves, players must collect Power Eggs and Golden Eggs by defeating Salmonids and depositing them at the egg basket. Unless otherwise noted, each Boss Salmonid splatted yields three Golden Eggs. If they are not picked up, a Snatcher flies over after a few seconds to retrieve them.

Each player can carry only one Golden Egg at a time. While carrying a Golden Egg, players can press to perform an Egg Throw, launching the Golden Egg in an arc similar to thrown bombs. This requires the same amount of ink as a Splat Bomb to perform, but not as much ink is actually used and there is no ink-recovery lag. Performing the Egg Throw also causes a small explosion of ink around the player that deals 100 damage.

If the Egg is thrown directly into the egg basket, it will be collected: otherwise, it will remain on the floor where it lands and will not roll. Throwing a Golden Egg into the water or at a wall will result in it bouncing back to where it was thrown from. Any player may pick up a Golden Egg as normal after it has been thrown.

Each wave has a quota, which varies depending on the number of players present and their ranks. If the quota is not filled before the wave timer ends or the team is wiped out, their shift is terminated. After a shift ends, players are rewarded Grizzco Points based on the amount of Power Eggs and Golden Eggs collected, which can be exchanged for bonuses. All players' ranks will increase by 20 points after clearing a shift, unless they are playing with a friend with a higher job title than themselves. Similarly, failing a shift will reduce all participants' ranks by between 0 and 20 points based on the number of waves cleared.

Failing a shift on wave three will not change participants’ ranks.

Equipment for collecting eggs is provided by Grizzco, including a Grizzco uniform and a lifesaver, as well as a different supplied main weapon for each wave and two uses of a single special weapon for each shift. When players are splatted, their lifesaver appears at their last position and a teammate can revive them by inking them. Ink level and special weapon uses are displayed visually, with the lifesaver serving as an ink tank with markings, and the player's specials appearing as packets on their headgear. Additionally, a notification saying "One player left!" will now appear when three coworkers have been splatted.

Occasionally after a successful third wave, an Xtrawave will occur, with a large King Salmonid and multiple other Boss Salmonids appearing. This only occurs when the Salmometer, a King Salmonid-shaped meter appearing below the player's rank bar fills up completely for any player in a group. The meter will fill with every run, whether successful or not, and empties for everyone in the party when the special wave occurs.

During this wave, players are supplied with Egg Cannons to shoot Golden Eggs at the King Salmonid to damage it. The Egg Cannon can also be used on regular Boss Salmonids. There is no egg basket during this wave, as it is a timed fight against the King Salmonid. If the players fail to complete the Xtrawave, the overall shift is still considered cleared.

Damaging the King Salmonid during an Xtrawave will reward the player with fish scales, a precious resource that has three types, the rarer varieties of which are associated with higher hazard levels.^[1] Fish scales can be exchanged for Splashtag banners, locker room items, and a Grizzco-approved alternate work outfit.^[1]

The Salmometer resets between different rotations.

Known Occurrences return from Splatoon 2, with new ones being added, such as the Mudmouth Eruption.^[2] Additionally, an event called Big Run, where Salmonids invade inhabited cities, will happen once every few months and take place on multiplayer stages, such as Wahoo World.^[3]

Rotations

Unlike in Splatoon 2, Grizzco Industries is always open for business - this includes during Splatfests. The only exception is during server maintenance, during which all multiplayer services are disabled.^[3]

Salmon Run rotations appear to change every day-and-two-thirds, at 00:00, 16:00, and 08:00 UTC, in order and repeating. Whether this will be consistent across long periods is unknown.

Loaned weapons

So far, all main weapons are confirmed to be usable in Salmon Run Next Wave.

Some loaned weapons do more damage in Salmon Run than in regular multiplayer battles.

Unlike in Splatoon 2, there are more than four special weapons available in Salmon Run Next Wave. The special weapons are the Crab Tank, Killer Wail 5.1, Reefslider, Wave Breaker, Booyah Bomb, Triple Inkstrike and Inkjet.

Stages

Image	Name	Description	Release Date
	Sockeye Station	Sockeye Station is set in a setting similar to that of Spawning Grounds, but appears to be in the Splatlands. It was first shown off in the first Salmon Run Next Wave trailer.^[4]	Initial release; 2022
File:Gone Fission Hydroplant.png	Gone Fission Hydroplant	Gone Fission Hydroplant is set next to a massive hydroplant in the ocean.	Initial release; 2022
	Spawning Grounds	Returning from Splatoon 2, Spawning Grounds is set in the Inkadia region, with minimal changes.	Initial release; 2022

Wildcard rotation

Wildcard rotations return in Salmon Run Next Wave, the first started on 1 October 2022 at 16:00 (UTC)^[5]. So far, only all-wildcard rotations have been confirmed; 1-wildcard rotations have yet to be seen.

During an all-wildcard rotation, the only weapon available in the testing range is the Splattershot. After a shift ends, players will still be equipped with the weapon they ended the shift with in the testing range, but it will be replaced with the Splattershot if they open the Match Menu.

Grizzco-brand weapons return for wildcard rotations and a new weapon was added, known as the Grizzco Stringer.

Events

Main article: Known Occurrence

There are nine different events in Salmon Run Next Wave, with some having variants. Seven of the events return from Salmon Run in Splatoon 2.

Additionally, a special event known as Big Run will happen once every few months.

Job Title

“	The Profreshional title has been usurped by Eggsecutive VP, providing a shining new rung on the corporate ladder. Your earning power will increase with a higher title, but the job sites will get more intense too. We've even recorded a 333% increase in hazard level at the sites where Eggsecutive VPs work.	”
— Live from Squid Research Lab

All job titles from Splatoon 2 return. A new title, Eggsecutive VP^[1], has been added following the Profreshional title.

Title / Rank	Paygrade (Rank Points 0 - 49)	Paygrade (Rank Points 50-99)
Intern (2 tutorials)	100%	100%
Apprentice (0 - 99)	150%	155%
Part-Timer (0 - 99)	160%	165%
Go-Getter (0 - 99)	170%	175%
Overachiever (0 - 99)	180%	185%
Profreshional Part-Timer (0 - 99)	190%	195%
Profreshional +1 (0 - 99)	200%	205%
Profreshional +2 (0 - 99)	210%	215%
Profreshional +3 (0 - 99)	220%	225%
Eggsecutive VP (0 - 999)	230%	235%

At Eggsecutive VP, the pay grade is calculated as 2.3 + floor([Rank Points] / 50) × 0.05. The highest possible pay grade is ×3.25 at Eggsecutive VP 950 - 999. Following Splatoon 2, titles are retained across Salmon Run rotations, but the point ranges are reset to the 40-point mark within the player's current title, including the new Eggsecutive VP title.

Rewards

Completion of a round of Salmon Run Next Wave grants players Grizzco Points, which they can redeem at the exchange desk inside Grizzco Industries for bonuses. The points earned after any run are calculated with the formula (G/100)(E+P/200)+50*C, where G is the pay grade number after any raises or penalties, E is the number of Golden Eggs collected, P is the number of Power Eggs collected, and C is 1 upon completing all 3 rounds successfully, 2 upon successfully defeating the King Salmonid, otherwise 0. All counts are rounded down to the nearest integer. Players will also earn Catalog Points which will increase their catalog level (300 points per wave cleared, including if the Xtrawave is cleared). If the player participates in an Xtrawave and damages the King Salmonid, they will receive fish scales.^[1]

Every 100 Grizzco Points (200/400 after reaching 1200/4000 points in a rotation) earns the player one bonus "capsule", which come in different colors representing the type of the contents, or a piece of gear. The main ability of this item is randomly determined when the bonus is redeemed. It usually has up to three randomly filled secondary gear ability slots. If the player receives gear they already have, they can either replace the old gear with the new version or receive ability chunks (equal to the filled slots) instead.

Reward^[7]	Type	50%	40%	10%
Blue capsule	Drink ticket	5,000	One drink ticket	Four drink tickets
Green capsule	Ability chunks	5,000	Two ability chunks	Four ability chunks
Orange capsule	Food ticket	5,000	One 1.5× cash ticket	One 2× cash ticket
Pink capsule	Gear	One filled ability slot	Two filled ability slots	Three filled ability slots
Showcased Gear	Gear	One filled ability slot	Two filled ability slots	Three filled ability slots
Yellow capsule	Cash	5,000	16,000	32,000

Normal, non-superbonus capsules have a 50% chance of providing a poor reward, a 40% chance of providing a good reward, and a 10% chance of providing an excellent reward. At 600 and 1200 points, the player earns a superbonus, which always contains the 10% chance reward. The type of superbonus capsule is fixed for the length of a rotation. After 1200 points, the player only earns the current gear or pink capsules until the rotation ends. The capsules of the rewards until the second superbonus are different for every player.

Pink capsules contain gear aside from the one currently in rotation. During the first gear rotation, when the Bream-Brim Cap was the only gear piece available, pink capsules did not appear as a reward.

Gear

Gear by Grizzco Industries is obtained from Salmon Run bonus rewards. The main ability for each gear reward is randomly selected from 0 to 2 stars and all abilities that can also appear as secondary abilities. Each gear comes with one to three secondary abilities that are also randomly selected. If the player receives gear they already have, they can either replace the old gear with the new version or swap for ability chunks (equal to the secondary ability slots, but not the main ability slot) instead. A new piece of gear will be added each month, similar to Splatoon 2.

Gear	Type	Release date
Bream-Brim Cap	Headgear	September 2022
Lo-Vis Visor	Headgear	October 2022

Shop

By defeating or damaging a King Salmonid, players are rewarded with Fish scales that they can use to purchase work suits, decorations, stickers, or banners. Most items are locked by default, however, the rest are unlocked by spending more scales. The first set of unlockable items requires spending at least 100 and 10 to unlock, while the rest of the items requires spending at least 350, 40, and 4.

Work Suits

Name	Cost	Purchasable?
File:Orange Slopsuit.webp Orange Slopsuit	Unlocked by default	Initially
File:Green Slopsuit.webp Green Slopsuit	10	Initially
File:Yellow Slopsuit.webp Yellow Slopsuit	10	Initially
File:Pink Slopsuit.webp Pink Slopsuit	30	After 1st milestone
File:Blue Slopsuit.webp Blue Slopsuit	30	After 1st milestone
File:Black Slopsuit.webp Black Slopsuit	100	After 2nd milestone
File:White Slopsuit.webp White Slopsuit	100	After 2nd milestone

Decorations

Name	Cost	Purchasable?
Scrapper	80	Initially
Steelhead	5	Initially
Smallfry	1	Initially
Maws	160	After 1st milestone
Stinger	20	After 1st milestone
Chum	4	After 1st milestone
Drizzler	320	After 2nd milestone
Flyfish	80	After 2nd milestone
Cohock	15	After 2nd milestone
Steel Eel	15	After 2nd milestone
Goldie	100	After 2nd milestone

Stickers

Name	Cost	Purchasable?
TS-SAL Graffiti	30	Initially
TS-ALG graffiti	30	Initially
TS-SWD graffiti	50	Initially
GCI-DNG poster	50	Initially
GCI-FRI neon	3	Initially
TS-ORBRS graffiti	3	Initially
Grizzco Industries logo	1	Initially
TS-C0HK graffiti	80	After 1st milestone
TS-RLPL graffiti	80	After 1st milestone
GCI-FSH sticker	80	After 1st milestone
GCI-NMLSMN neon	10	After 1st milestone
SR-UDTRG sign	10	After 1st milestone
GCI-WTD poster	3	After 1st milestone
TS-WHPL graffiti	160	After 2nd milestone
TS-SMFR graffiti	160	After 2nd milestone
GCI-N0SLMN poster	160	After 2nd milestone
TS-LGF8Z graffiti	160	After 2nd milestone
GCI-XLSMN neon	50	After 2nd milestone
TS-FLT graffiti	50	After 2nd milestone
SD0-STR graffiti	50	After 2nd milestone
TS-C0HZ graffiti	10	After 2nd milestone

Banners

Banner	Cost	Purchasable?
	10	Initially
	100	Initially
	2	Initially
	250	After 1st milestone
	250	After 1st milestone
	5	After 1st milestone
	600	After 2nd milestone
	600	After 2nd milestone
	999	After 2nd milestone
	20	After 2nd milestone

Quotes

“	SRL HR dept. here. No, it's not another mandatory seminar about conserving printer toner. Rather, we're confirming that Salmon Run is available 24/7 in the Splatoon 3 game! That means you can work nonstop to climb the corporate salmon ladder - maybe all the way to Eggsecutive VP! Now, at the end of the day, it's all about that paycheck. And we think Salmon Run workers are handsomely rewarded! Diligent employees who have collected fish scales can trade them in for bonus items like designer work suits. As always, we support a healthy work-splat balance.	”
— @SplatoonNA on Twitter^[8]^[9]

“	Salmon Run is open for business 24/7 in #Splatoon3, and you can team up with friends in private lobbies too! If you defeat the big 'ol King Salmonid, you may earn some rare fish scales that can be exchanged for snazzier uniforms.	”
— @NintendoEurope on Twitter^[10]