Ink

For other pages associated with ink, see Ink (disambiguation).

Ink is the main projectile used in the Splatoon series as well as a means of navigation. It comes in a variety of team-based colors that are randomized with each battle. Walls and ground alike can be covered with ink, but it goes through grates and cannot be applied to ink-resistant surfaces such as glass, tarps, and bumpers present in some stages. It allows players a degree of stealthiness, as Inklings and Octolings in squid and octopus forms can hide in their ink and ambush enemies. The signature ink colors are orange/blue for Splatoon, pink/green for Splatoon 2, and yellow/blue for Splatoon 3.

Purposes

Ink can be used in various ways, including as a projectile. Being hit by enemy ink causes players to take damage and become visible to their opponents on the map. After taking enough damage, players are splatted and eventually respawn. When attempting to swim or walk through enemy ink, Inklings and Octolings take damage, though this alone cannot splat them. Their movements also become very slow, and if they are in squid or octopus form, they are forced back into humanoid form. Equipping gear with the Ink Resistance Up ability helps to reduce the effects of being in enemy ink, and, in Splatoon only, Defense Up can be used to reduce damage taken from being hit by it.

Ink can also be fired at various inkable surfaces and other characters. Once a surface is coated in ink, players of the same ink color can swim through it, allowing them to move more quickly and climb up walls. When staying still in their ink, players can hide and ambush enemies, and when swimming fast enough they only create small ripples. Equipping gear with the Ninja Squid ability hides these ripples entirely, further improving the wearer's ability to move undetected.

In Splatoon 2, improved graphics were added to ink, including better shading, brightness, and sharpness.

Main weapons and sub weapons both require ink, with the specific amount needed varying between different weapons. Ink requirements can be reduced by equipping the Ink Saver (Main), Ink Saver (Sub), Last-Ditch Effort, and Comeback abilities. If players do not have enough ink to use a weapon, they are warned of it and their ink tank flashes with a large red "X". Ink slowly refills automatically, but swimming in one's ink refills it much faster. Ink Recovery Up increases the speed at which ink is regained.

Some devices allow ink to be used in even more ways. Inkrails and Ride rails exist for transportation, as Inklings and Octolings in squid and octopus forms can use them to get to otherwise inaccessible areas. Sponges expand for use as a platform when hit by the player's ink and shrink when hit by that of an opponent. Splat-Switches, when covered with ink, cause objects to move. Ink can also be used to spin propellers, which power the movement of various platforms. Finally, Balloon Fish can be popped with ink to create an explosion like player bombs.

Color sets

For more information, see Template:InkT and Template:Ink.

Neutral color values are used for objects such as bumpers and the Squid Bumpers in the test range and can help with identifying a set. However, some sets seem to use different values for some objects. In Splatoon 3, this color is also used on a few HUD elements, such as on the "GAME!" screen that appears at the end of a match, the map to indicate neutral objectives - such as un-captured Splat Zones or Towers - and to highlight the currently selected player.

Ink color names come from what they are called in each game's files. Some names do not match the visible color; the reason for this is unknown.

Color sets used in-game are listed below.

Color sets in Splatoon

For the full list of colors, see Ink/Splatoon.

Color sets in Splatoon 2

For the full list of colors, see Ink/Splatoon 2.

Color sets in Splatoon 3

For the full list of colors, see Ink/Splatoon 3.

Gallery

➤ View the gallery

Trivia

According to Sunken Scroll 7 of Splatoon and Callie and Marie, ink vanishes after every match. It was later confirmed with Sunken Scroll 14 in Splatoon 2 that the cause of this is airborne microbes that consume the ink after a game.
While swimming, small bits of ink come off an Inkling or Octoling's squid or octopus form. This is likely because the squid and octopus forms are mainly used to submerge in ink.
Various live performances have depicted ink colors changing in real time. During Haicalive at Chokaigi 2018 and Tentalive at Tokaigi 2019, Pearl and Marina's hair and any gear that changes due to ink color turns white, then fades to another color, although the transition is partially obscured by a glitch effect in these two concerts. During the Splatoon 3 Live Concert featuring Deep Cut at Nintendo Live 2024 TOKYO, the color-changing process shown is instead depicted as a quick white flash running up the performers' bodies, followed by a slow fade starting from the tips of Shiver and Frye's tentacles; Big Man, meanwhile, immediately transitions to his new ink color as soon as the flash occurs. These are the only three occurrences where this can be seen, and there are no examples in-game.
Marie's ink having special properties is a trait only mentioned in certain North American localizations.^[1] In the English version, it is referred to as "low-tide" ink, which matches the theme of her solo song, Tide Goes Out.
In Splatoon, it is possible to see a slight tint of a different ink color towards the ends of Inklings' tentacles, though it is hard to see on some color sets. This detail was removed in Splatoon 2. In Splatoon 3, the details on Inkling's and Octoling's tentacles once again show a different color at the tips, being the color of the opposing team.
Splatoon 3 is the only game in the series where red ink appears outside of Splatfests.
In a promotional video for Splatoon 3 posted by @NintendoUK on Twitter, a yellow vs pink color combination is seen, despite that specific combo not being available in Splatoon 3.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	インク Inku	Ink
Dutch	Inkt	Ink
French	Encre	Ink
German	Tinte	Ink
Italian	Inchiostro	Ink
Russian	Чернила Chernila Краска Kraska	Ink Paint
Spanish	Tinta	Ink
Chinese (Simplified)	墨汁 Mò zhī	Ink
Danish	Blæk^{[Citation needed]} Farve^{[Citation needed]}	Ink Color
Finnish	Muste^{[Citation needed]}	Ink
Hungarian	Tinta^{[Citation needed]}	Ink
Norwegian	Blekk^{[Citation needed]}	Ink
Portuguese	Tinta^{[Citation needed]}	Ink
Swedish	Bläck^{[Citation needed]} Färg^{[Citation needed]}	Ink Color