View source for Special gauge

[[File:S3 gauge full.png|thumb|right|A full special gauge in {{S3}}, featuring [[Killer Wail 5.1]] (when used with the [[Inkbrush]]).]]

The '''special gauge''' is an indicator during a [[mode|battle]] of how close a player is to being able to activate their [[special weapon]]. When the indicator is full, a noise is heard, the gauge shows a prompt, and the player's hair begins to sparkle, indicating that they can use their special by pressing {{Button|RS}}. The special gauge can be filled up by inking [[turf]], having a summoned [[Sprinkler of Doom]] ink turf after activating an [[Ultra Signal]], helping charge a teammate's [[Booyah Bomb]], by meeting certain conditions in [[Ranked Battle]] or [[Anarchy Battle]], and (if the player's current headgear has [[Tenacity]] as a main [[gear ability|ability]]) having less team members alive as the enemy team; the latter two fill up the gauge at a constant rate.

==Description==
The special gauge fills up in a clockwise direction with the player's current [[ink]] color. In {{S3}}, it is split into 23 segments. It glows and can be used by pressing {{Button|RS}} when full. During use, it depletes counter-clockwise until empty. Some special weapons instantly deplete the entire gauge, such as the [[Killer Wail]] depleting slowly upon aiming and instantly depleting upon firing.

===''Splatoon''===
Each special weapon requires a specific amount of turf painted to charge regardless of the main weapon.

{| class="wikitable sitecolor-s"
! Special weapon !! Special points
|-
| {{Weapon|S|Special|Bomb Rush}} || 180p
|-
| {{Weapon|S|Special|Bubbler}} || 180p
|-
| {{Weapon|S|Special|Echolocator}} || 200p
|-
| {{Weapon|S|Special|Inkstrike}} || 180p
|-
| {{Weapon|S|Special|Inkzooka}} || 220p
|-
| {{Weapon|S|Special|Killer Wail}} || 160p
|-
| {{Weapon|S|Special|Kraken}} || 200p
|}

Prior to version {{Ver|S|2.7.0}}, when a player was splatted before the special gauge was depleted, the player would respawn with half of the remaining gauge filled (barring the use of [[Special Saver]]-equipped gear). With version 2.7.0, all main weapons fall into one of three special depletion classes: light, medium, and heavy. Light-class weapons lose 40% of the special gauge when the player is splatted, medium-class weapons lose 60%, and heavy-class weapons lose 75%.

A table showing the depletion class of all weapons can be found at the [[List of special weapon sets in Splatoon|list of special weapon sets in ''Splatoon'']].

The gauge also shows the player's primary [[gear ability|abilities]] below it.

{{JuddAdvice|Meow! (Your first move after a battle begins can prove very important! Will you charge in and try to grab the strategic positions before your foes? Or focus charging up your Special Gauge to seize the advantage later? Think about these choices carefully!)}}

===''Splatoon 2''===
In this game, the gauge also shows the current [[sub weapon]] on its top left corner, but no longer shows the player's primary abilities.

The required amount of turf painted now depends on the main weapon rather than the special weapon. For example, despite both weapons having the [[Tenta Missiles]] as their special, the [[Bamboozler 14 Mk I]] needs 200 points to charge, while [[Splat Dualies]] only need 180 points to charge.

Without [[gear ability|abilities]], players lose 50% of their remaining special gauge after being splatted regardless of their main or special weapon. If a player is splatted while executing a [[Splashdown]], only 25% of their remaining special gauge is lost.

===''Splatoon 3''===
Similar to ''Splatoon 2'', the gauge shows the [[sub weapon]] alongside the [[special weapon]]. The turf required to fill the special gauge depends on the main weapon and is not tied to specific special weapons.

When filled, it starts to glow in different colors. The icons for specials in ''Splatoon 3'' have a much simpler color scheme compared to the previous two games.

Additionally, like in ''Splatoon'' and ''Splatoon 2'', some special gauges instantly deplete, while some gradually disappear.

==Modes==
===Single-player===
The special gauge is not activated in [[Octo Valley (mode)|Octo Valley]], [[Octo Canyon (mode)|Octo Canyon]], the ''[[Octo Expansion]]'', or the [[Battle Dojo]]. Instead, the player must collect their [[special weapon]]s from [[canned special|can]]s.

In [[Return of the Mammalians]], the special gauge is present in missions where the player has the [[Hero Gear]] equipped, functioning similarly to multiplayer battles. The default special weapon is [[Splashdown]], but other special weapons can be used through cans. Some missions focus on specific special weapons and have those special weapons set as default with infinite duration.

'''Specific special weapon missions in Return of the Mammalians:'''
* {{RotMMission|01|06}} [[Zip, Splat, and Jump]]
* {{RotMMission|02|05}} [[Tread Heavily]]
* {{RotMMission|04|05}} [[Amusing a Bemused Muse]]
* {{RotMMission|05|06}} [[Zipping over the Neighborhood]]
* {{RotMMission|05|08}} [[Making Waves with Splashdowns]]
* {{RotMMission|05|11}} [[Simply Zipcastic!]]
* {{RotMMission|06|10}} [[Mission: Fly-Fishin']]

In ''[[Side Order]]'', the special gauge is present and functions similar to multiplayer battles, but with the inclusion of [[color chip]]s that can modify gaining special charge as well as cans which fill half of the special gauge. The one exception to this is when achieving Full Spectrum against [[Overlorder]], where the gauge is replaced with the icon for the [[Color Wail]] instead.

===Turf Wars, Ranked Battles, and Anarchy Battles===
In multiplayer [[Turf War]]s, [[Ranked Battle]]s, [[Anarchy Battle]]s, as well as in the [[test range]], the player's special gauge fills as they cover the turf with [[ink]]. Only turf that would normally earn the player points in Turf War, such as the floor, counts towards filling the special gauge. If the player is splatted, their special gauge is partially depleted upon respawning. If splatted while the special gauge is still draining after using a special such as [[Ink Storm]] or [[Wave Breaker]], this does not apply.

===Salmon Run===
In [[Salmon Run]], each player starts the run with two charges of a special weapon (represented by two silver pack icons on the gauge's top left corner, replacing the sub weapon icon) across the entire run. The gauge cannot be refilled under all circumstances. When the special is not in use, the gauge itself is always full when the player has remaining charges and is empty when they have no charges left. On use, one silver pack icon is removed and the gauge shows the remaining duration of the current charge like in other modes.

The gauge reappears in [[Salmon Run Next Wave]] and its function is unchanged from Salmon Run. During [[Xtrawave]], all players are set to one charge, regardless of whether or not they have already used all or any of their charges.

==Abilities==
[[gear ability|Abilities]] on a player's [[gear]] can affect the special gauge:

{| class="wikitable sitecolor-generic"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Ability !! rowspan="2" | Effect !! colspan="3" | Games
|-
! style="width: 3em;" | [[File:Splatoon "S" icon.svg|x35px|link=Splatoon]]
! style="width: 3em;" | [[File:Splatoon 2 "2" icon.svg|x35px|link=Splatoon 2]]
! style="width: 3em;" | [[File:Splatoon 3 "3" icon.svg|x35px|link=Splatoon 3]]
|-
| {{Ability|S2|Comeback|32}}
| Upon respawning, Comeback gives 12 [[ability point|AP]] in ''Splatoon'' or 10 AP in ''Splatoon 2'' and ''Splatoon 3'' of Special Charge Up to the player for 20 seconds.
| {{yea}}
| {{yea}}
| {{yea}}
|-
| {{Ability|S2|Haunt|32}}
| Starting from ''Splatoon 2'', if the user splats someone whom they are currently tracking, the amount their special gauge decreases gets increased.
| {{nay}}
| {{yea}}
| {{yea}}
|-
| {{Ability|S2|Respawn Punisher|32}}
| Increases how much the special gauge decreases after being splatted, for both the user and their opponents.
!
| {{yea}}
| {{yea}}
|-
| {{Ability|S2|Special Charge Up|32}}
| Increases the rate at which the special gauge fills by up to 30%.
| {{yea}}
| {{yea}}
| {{yea}}
|-
| {{Ability|S2|Special Saver|32}}
| Reduces how much the special gauge decreases after being splatted.
| {{yea}}
| {{yea}}
| {{yea}}
|-
| {{Ability|S2|Tenacity|32}}
| Automatically fills the special gauge if the player's team currently has fewer active players than the enemy team.
| {{yea}}
| {{yea}}
| {{yea}}
|}

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Special Gauge Killer Wail.png|A special gauge from ''Splatoon'' charging towards a [[Killer Wail]].
S2 Special Gauge Ink Armor.jpg|A special gauge from ''Splatoon 2'' charging towards [[Ink Armor]] (when used with the [[Splattershot Jr.]] or [[Gold Dynamo Roller]]).
S3 Special Gauge Reefslider.jpg|A special gauge from ''Splatoon 3'' charging towards [[Reefslider]] (when used with the [[Dark Tetra Dualies]]).
</gallery>

==Trivia==
* The [[Salmon Run Next Wave#Work Suits|Slopsuits]] and Gloopsuits available in [[Salmon Run Next Wave]] feature two visible gray packs on the headwear. These correspond to the two special gauge charges players get at the start of a shift. If a charge is used, the corresponding pack disappears.
* According to the [[Employee Handbook]], players have limited special use in [[Salmon Run]] because the equipment needed prevents the gauge from charging.

==Names in other languages==
{{Localized name
|Jap=スペシャルゲージ
|JapR=Supesharu gēji
|JapM=Special gauge
|Dut=Meter van je speciale wapen
|DutM=Meter of your special weapon
|FreA=
|FreAM=
|FreE=Jauge spéciale
|FreEM=Special gauge
|Ger=Spezialanzeige
|GerM=Special display
|Ita=
|ItaM=
|Rus=Шкала особого оружия
|RusR=Shkala osobogo oruzhiya
|RusM=Special weapon scale
|Nor=Spesialmåler
|NorM=Special gauge
|SpaA=
|SpaAM=
|SpaE=Medidor especial
|SpaEM=Special gauge
|Chi=特殊武器蓄力槽
|ChiR=Tèshū wǔqì xù lì cáo (Mandarin)<br>dak6 syu4 mou5 hei3 cuk1 lik6 cou4 (Cantonese)
|ChiM=Special weapon charge gauge
}}

[[Category:Equipment]]
[[Category:Multiplayer]]