The Mothership

The Mothership is a Known Occurrence in Salmon Run and Salmon Run Next Wave.

Description

In this event, a Mothership will spawn. Chinooks carry crates of Lesser Salmonids from the Mothership to the battleground. The Mothership will try to take eggs from the egg basket.

The event can only be experienced if every player in the group is at least Overachiever, where there's a 4.8% chance of getting the wave during low tide and a 4.3% chance in both mid and high tide.

Salmonid Field Guide

The following text is quoted from the Salmonid Field Guide.

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.

Tips

To minimize failure of not meeting the quota, it is advised to fire the Sting Ray or Killer Wail 5.1 at the Mothership when it is first approaching the basket. Although, it's recommended to only use one special weapon and save the second one for the next waves, unless it is Wave 3.
- The preferred timing is around the 66-second mark. Firing sooner may cause Golden Eggs to drop too far to collect efficiently. Firing at its second approach should happen at around 15-14 seconds left on the timer.
- The main purpose of the Sting Ray and the Killer Wail 5.1 is not to repel the Mothership but to cause many Golden Eggs to drop. If Sting Ray is in use, coworkers should stop attacking the Mothership or risk repelling it too soon. Coworkers should only shoot the Mothership when the Sting Ray has ended.
- In Salmon Run Next Wave, specials that can achieve a similar effect include the Triple Inkstrike and the Booyah Bomb. If timed and aimed well they can heavily damage the Mothership whilst defeating many of the Chinooks in a single shot. They should be aimed at the base of the Mothership, just like the Sting Ray.
The Splashdown can be used to repel the Mothership away faster, giving enough time to collect Golden Eggs before the timer runs out.
- Aim at the bottom of the Mothership, not at the suction tube, so that it penetrates the Chinooks in the ship container.
  - The Triple Inkstrike has nigh infinite vertical range, so landing it around the basket instead of at the Mothership directly is most effective.
Long-range weapons, such as Explosher, long ranged Shooters, Blasters and Splatlings, can "farm" the Mothership by aiming straight up and having its projectiles fall and splat the Chinooks.
- On Salmonid Smokeyard during Low Tide, long-range weapons can shoot the Chinooks above the basket, making Golden Eggs fall right near the basket.
Each map has its own area where most of the Chinooks land. Players can locate and use said areas to their advantage.
- It is advised to go to higher places to have a better angle on it.
- Additionally, on Marooner's Bay during Low Tide, any weapon with a decent amount of range can go on top of the boat and shoot directly at Mothership's Chinook spawners.