Ink Vac

The Ink Vac is a special weapon in Splatoon 3. It is a vacuum that sucks up enemy ink attacks and then fires out an exploding projectile, with the size of the explosion depending on the amount of ink sucked in.

Appearance

The Ink Vac is based on a diesel-powered backpack vacuum cleaner or leaf blower. The backpack consists of a white ink canister and a cyan vacuum engine below it. As the Ink Vac absorbs more enemy ink, the canister gets filled by glowing ink of the Ink Vac user's color and seems to shake more intensely. The engine has some control panels and a hose connecting it to a massive nozzle. The nozzle is cyan-and-black with two handles. The "Dolphin" weapon brand logo can be seen on the canister and the nozzle.

Splatoon 3

Splatoon 3

Ink Vac

Category	Special
Class
Sub
Special
Special points
Special depletion
Range
Damage
Impact
Fire rate
Charge speed
Ink speed
Mobility
Durability
Handling
Level
Cost
Requirement
Introduced		Specifications
Weight
Base damage	220 (Explosion) 220 (Projectile)
Base duration	Vacuum: 6 sec Charge hold: 2.5 sec
Ink consumption
Base range
Rate of fire
Muzzle velocity
Base accuracy
MPU effect
SPU effect
SPU effect
Other variant

When deployed, the player can hold down to create a vortex that sucks up enemy ink projectiles (including ink droplets), bombs, and even some special weapons, though it cannot suck up enemy ink that has touched the ground. This vortex also protects the user and their teammates from taking damage from explosions, even though it does not entirely destroy them (the user can also still take damage from explosions from behind). Sucking in opponents' ink fills up the Ink Vac, and slows down the user's movement speed. A maximum of 800 damage can be absorbed before the Ink Vac fills up fully. Opponents caught within the Ink Vac's vortex will lose ink and be slowed down, similar to Toxic Mist, and also fill the Ink Vac up at a rate of 1.5 damage per frame (90 damage per second), although they do not actually take damage. However, the vortex does damage most objects, such as Sprinklers, Wave Breakers, and Brella shields, at a rate of 2 damage per frame (120 damage per second). Although the vortex is stopped by solid walls, it can pass through barriers such as Splash Walls and the Rainmaker shield.

6 seconds after activation, or when the tank is filled, the Ink Vac readies a projectile of ink that can be aimed, launching manually upon releasing or automatically after approximately 2.5 seconds. This projectile damages anything it comes into contact with, and once it lands, a damage radius is displayed before exploding shortly afterwards, dealing damage to any opponents within radius and line of sight of the blast. The size of the explosion depends on how full the Ink Vac's tank was upon firing.

It appears in only 2 Return of the Mammalians missions:

• 0000 After Alterna
• Rocket 02 Alterna Space Center Hangar

Special Power Up

Main article: Special Power Up

Equpping Special Power Up with Ink Vac increases the radius of its vortex.

Version history

Version	Adjustments
2.0.0	▲ Damage of the return shot has been increased from 120.0 to 220.0. This change is intended to increase the damage done to Big Bubbler and Rainmaker shields and to allow players to defeat opponents armored due to Squid Roll or Squid Surge.
3.1.0	▲ Increased the radius of the outer perimeter when vacuuming up ink by roughly 10% to cover a larger area than before.
4.1.0	▲ Increased the radius of the ink-shot explosion by approximately 50% when the amount of the opponent's ink that was sucked up is at the minimum. ▲ Increased the radius of the ink-shot explosion by approximately 25% when the amount of the opponent's ink that was sucked up is at the maximum.

Quotes

“

Make your ink shots more powerful by sucking up enemy attacks! Hold to generate a vortex that sucks up enemy ink attacks. Once the tank is full, or after the timer runs out, let go of , and you'll launch a souped-up super ink shot!

”

— In-game description

“

Squid Research Lab here with breaking news! We've identified another new weapon - the formidable Ink Vac! This special device is equipped with a massive nozzle capable of inhaling the ink from an enemy's attack and sending it back via a powerful counterattack. The more attacks it inhales, the more powerful the Ink Vac becomes. This is the sort of weapon that could provide security for an entire squad! Rest assured that our excitement is tempered by academic rigor.

”

— @SplatoonNA on Twitter

“

The Ink Vac is equipped with a massive nozzle capable of inhaling the ink from an enemy's attack and sending it back via a powerful counterattack. The more attacks it inhales, the more powerful the Ink Vac becomes!

”

— @NintendoEurope on Twitter

Sets

Weapons with Ink Vac in Splatoon 3

	Main	#ID	Sub	Special	Special Points	Level	Price	Class	Introduced​
	.96 Gal	80	Sprinkler	Ink Vac	190p	17	1	Shooter	Version 1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​
	Ballpoint Splatling Nouveau	4031	Ink Mine	Ink Vac	200p	30	1	Splatling	Version 5.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2023)​
	Big Swig Roller	1040	Splash Wall	Ink Vac	190p	16	1	Roller	Version 2.0.0 (Chill Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	Jet Squelcher	90	Angle Shooter	Ink Vac	180p	15	1	Shooter	Version 1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	Rapid Blaster Pro	250	Toxic Mist	Ink Vac	180p	26	1	Blaster	Version 1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
	Splat Charger	2010	Splat Bomb	Ink Vac	200p	2	1	Charger	Version 1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​
	Splatterscope	2020	Splat Bomb	Ink Vac	200p	10	1	Charger	Version 1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​​
	Tenta Brella	6010	Squid Beakon	Ink Vac	190p	16	1	Brella	Version 1.0.0 (Drizzle Season 2022)​​​​​​​​​​

Badges

Main article: Badge#Special Weapon Wins

Winning a certain number of battles with the Ink Vac will reward the player with special badges that they can use on their Splashtag.

Ink Vac Badges
	30 wins with Ink Vac
	180 wins with Ink Vac
	1,200 wins with Ink Vac

Gallery

• 

  Using the Ink Vac.

• 

  Shooting the projectile at the end of the special.

• 

  An Inkling using the Ink Vac

• 

  Icon in the special gauge (Splat Charger or Splatterscope).

• 

  An earlier version of the Ink Vac icon.

• 

  The Tableturf card icon of the Ink Vac.

• Ink Vac model rotating (link to file)

• Using the Ink Vac (link to file)

Strategy

For competitive tips about the Ink Vac

View the strategy page.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	キューインキ Kyū inki	Possibly from 吸引 kyūin ("absorbtion") and 機 ki ("machine"), with a pun on the word "ink"
Dutch	Inktdief	Ink thief; from kruimeldief ("minivac", literally "crumb thief").
French	Aspirencre	From aspirer ("inhale" or "suck") or aspirateur ("vacuum cleaner") + encre ("ink").
German	Tintegrator	From Tinte ("Ink") and Integrator
Italian	Vampinchiostro	From vampiro ("vampire"), in reference to its ability to drain, and inchiostro ("ink")
Russian	Краскосос Kraskosos	From краска kraska (paint) and пылесос pylesos (vacuum cleaner). Paintsucker
Spanish (NOE)	Aspiratinta	From "aspiradora" (vacuum cleaner) and "tinta" (ink)
Chinese (Simplified)	吸墨机 Xīmòjī (Mandarin)	Ink Sucking Machine
Chinese (Traditional)	吸墨機 Xīmòjī (Mandarin)	Ink Sucking Machine
Korean	흡입기 Heubipgi	Sucking Machine
Internal	SpBlower	Sp for special weapon. Blower is in reference to the Ink Vac being a blower vacuum.