Salmonid Field Guide

The Salmonid Field Guide is a section of the manual for Salmon Run. It contains descriptions, images, and tips for dealing with Salmonids and Known Occurrences in Salmon Run.

The full text is reproduced below.

Lesser Salmonids

Chum, Smallfry, and Cohock

Basic Information

• They tend to appear in groups rather than alone.
• Defeating them will earn you Power Eggs.

Attack Behavior

• They use their sense of smell to locate and close in on targets who have entered their territory.
• Once they close in on a target, they perform close-range attacks using frying pans or other cookware.

Elimination

• Can be neutralized relatively easily with a direct hit of ink.

Supporting Information

• They inhabit a restricted ocean zone, and any unauthorized contact with them is expressly forbidden by law.
• The Smallfry might be weak, but they're very fast. They often ambush their targets from below.
• The larger Cohock moves slowly but packs a real punch with direct, strong attacks.
• On their own, they don't pose a significant threat, but ignore them and you may quickly find yourself surrounded.

Snatcher

Basic Information

• Tasked with procuring Golden Eggs, Snatchers will emerge from the sea when Golden Eggs are present, and try to seize them and return to the depths.
• Any snatched Golden Eggs can be retrieved by defeating this Salmonid before it returns to the water.

Attack Behavior

• Not known to attack directly.

Elimination

• Can be neutralized relatively easy with a direct hit of ink.

Supporting Information

• New recruits usually start as Snatchers to give them a taste of the battlefield.
• Provided they demonstrate sufficient aptitude at collecting Golden Eggs, they will be allowed to join the front lines.

Known Occurences

Water Levels (high and low tides)

Low Tide

• When the tide goes out a large amount of land that is usually underwater will be exposed.
• Salmonid warriors use this land as a staging ground from which to launch coordinated attacks.
• During low tide, the egg basket will be near this newly exposed land.

High Tide

• When high tide is in, there'll be much less land available.
• The egg basket will be in its normal place.

Advice from Mr. Grizz

• During low tide, you gotta get together and move, move, move down to that exposed land, kid!
• During high tide—I don't care how hard it is—you gotta survive against those Salmonids!

Supplementary Information

• The sudden and irregular changes in the water levels are a rare phenomenon found only in this area.
• The cause is as yet unknown, and is the subject of much research throughout the academic world.

Rush

What Happens

• Large groups of ferocious Salmonids appear and carry out rush attacks at furious speed.
• These crazed Salmonids gather in response to the appearance of Glowflies.

How to Get Golden Eggs

• Take out the Goldie hidden in the school of Salmonids.

Advice from Mr. Grizz

• Stand your ground with your allies and concentrate your fire on the incoming Salmonids!
• Watch out for the Glowflies—if they buzz around you, a concentrated attack won't be far behind.

Supplementary Information

• It is claimed that the Salmonids' increased aggression is tied somehow to gravitational shifts due to the planet's celestial course, but there is still much that is unclear.
• It is said that in pre-medieval times, before effective defense measures such as long-range ink attacks were available, many cities fell before the rage of the Salmonid rush.

Fog

What Happens

• The area is covered in a dense fog, drastically reducing visibility.
• Enemies will take advantage of the fog and attack from all directions.

How to Get Golden Eggs

• Defeat Boss Salmonids.
• The extremely rare Goldies may appear in foggy conditions.

Advice from Mr. Grizz

• Try to maintain contact with your teammates at all times while in the fog.
• Being alone in the fog is extremely dangerous.

Supplementary Information

• Goldies are extremely rare Salmonids—only one of every 10,000 hatchlings is a Goldie.
• They live longer than and possess far superior intelligence to normal Salmonid specimens.

The Griller

What Happens

• Armored vehicles called Grillers spawn one after the other. Grillers lock their sights on to a target and will pursue it relentlessly.
• Smallfry are known for hitching a ride on the Griller and interfering with its targeting.

How to Get Golden Eggs

• Attack the weak spot on the back of the Griller to stun it.
• Stunning Grillers will reveal further weak points. Attacking these weak points is the key to taking down Grillers and getting Golden Eggs.

Advice from Mr. Grizz

• If the Griller has you in its sights, you're better off running away and letting your friends handle it.

Supplementary Information

• Operating costs for a single Griller would be enough to deploy 100 regular Salmonid fighters.

Cohock Charge

What Happens

• Cohocks will attack in large numbers from exposed sandbanks.
• Mr. Grizz will deploy a cannon for you to use in dealing with these foes.

How to Get Golden Eggs

• Defeat Boss Salmonids.

Advice from Mr. Grizz

• Use the cannon well to clear the way for your coworkers!

Supplementary Information

• Apparently there are special rooms in the Salmonid barracks set aside for large numbers of Cohocks to gather and practice.

Goldie Seeking

What Happens

• Large numbers of Gushers will appear in the area.
• A Goldie will be hiding in one of the Gushers.
• You can shoot the Gusher to make it erupt, but chances are a regular salmonid will pop out instead of a Goldie.

How to Get Golden Eggs

• The Goldie lurking in one of the Gushers will drop loads of Golden Eggs when hit with ink.

Advice from Mr. Grizz

• Spread out, and find that Goldie FAST.
• When you find the Goldie, call your buddies over and let loose with all your firepower!
• The Gushers emit light when you hit them--the brighter the light, the closer you are to that glorious Goldie.

Supplementary Information

• Salmonids obtained the technology to create Gushers through trade with Octarians.
• The Goldie loses scales when hit, so it's able to move faster the more you damage it!

The Mothership

What Happens

• New troops are brought to the battleground from the Mothership.
• A large number of Chinooks will bring containers of lesser Salmonids from the Mothership to join the fray.
• Periodically, the Mothership will draw close to the egg basket and try to suck up and reclaim any Golden Eggs inside.

How to Get Golden Eggs

• Shoot the containers carried by the Chinooks to make them explode.
• If you manage to blow up the Chinooks as well, they will drop Golden Eggs.

Advice from Mr. Grizz

• Split up to take out the Chinooks.
• If the Mothership comes to take back the Golden Eggs, everyone should focus on pushing it back!

Supplementary Information

• The Mothership is a vital cog in the Salmonid distribution chain.
• Deploying the Mothership is said to be the last resort of the Salmonid army. When it is dispatched, all troops stationed nearby gather together to see it off.