Steelhead

Steelhead​

Steelhead

Species	Salmonid
Habitat
Height
Hair color
Eye color
Age
Gender
Pronouns
Relations
Location	Salmon Run, Salmon Run Next Wave
Shop
HP	300 (bomb) 1,000 (direct, Salmon Run) 500 (direct, Salmon Run Next Wave)
Maximum HP
Members
Other forms

The Steelheads are Boss Salmonids that appear in Salmon Run and Salmon Run Next Wave in Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3.

Description

The Steelhead's only attack is to inflate a bomb on top of its head, then throw it in front of itself. The bombs resemble green inflatable bags and can instantly splat players, with a much larger blast radius than normal bombs. The Steelhead shuffles forward very slowly when idle, and it only throws bombs once a player is in range. A Steelhead's entire body is covered in invulnerable armor; the only way to damage it is to attack the Steelhead's bomb before it throws it. Splatting a Steelhead creates a large explosion that deals colossal damage to any other Salmonids nearby.

Quotes

The following text is quoted from the Salmonid Field Guide.

Basic Information

• An extraordinarily large specimen, it moves very slowly.
• Its body is covered in hard, protective scales. Shooting it with ink has no effect.

Attack Behavior

• Generates bombs from its head, which it throws at enemies. It can't throw these bombs very far.
• The resulting explosion covers a large area.

Elimination

• The only way to defeat the Steelhead is to shoot ink at the bomb on its head as it inflates.

Supporting Information

• The company commander of a Salmonid troop.
• Its powerful physique capable of supporting heavy armor and its ink-resistant scales are the result of arduous conditioning.
• It forms the bomb on its head by collecting its own explosive saliva.

Statistics

See also: Salmon Run data

HP	Damage	Attack/Defeat/Total
300/1000	180 / 80 / 30	8 / 7 / 15	3

Notes

See also: Salmon Run Next Wave data

Tips

• Due to its slow movement, Steelheads can be ignored for a while if there are higher-priority Boss Salmonids on the battlefield.
• New bombs made by the Steelhead retain any damage that was done to previous bombs it launched.
• It takes three to four seconds for Steelheads to throw a new bomb, so time should be balanced from killing lesser Salmonids for 3 seconds, and killing the Steelhead next.
• The bomb is very small and is located high up compared to other Boss Salmonid weak points, so players must positions themselves correctly to take it down.
  • Short-range weapons are not suited to attacking the Steelhead, but can easily kill them on maps like Ark Polaris, Salmonid Smokeyard, and Spawning Grounds.
  • Chargers, splatlings, and sloshers are the most appropriate weapons for dealing with the Steelhead.
    • If timed right, sloshing directly above a Steelhead can kill it.
• It is safe to stay right next to the Steelhead because it cannot directly attack players near it. Its only method of attack is the bomb that it throws.
  • Rollers deal variable damage based on distance from the target. Therefore, roller players should get close to the Steelhead and jump before every attack to deal the most damage.
• Using the Splashdown while the Steelhead has the bomb exposed can instantly splat the boss.
• During Cohock Charge, shooting the Steelhead with an Ink Cannon instantly defeats it if its bomb is inflating.
• Upon being defeated, they explode, dealing damage to any Salmonids around them. Thus, it can help to target Steelheads first.
• Despite what the employee manual says, Steelheads are actually vulnerable to a few sources of direct damage; the rare weapons Grizzco Slosher and Grizzco Splatana and special weapons Sting Ray, Booyah Bomb, Triple Inkstrike, and Killer Wail 5.1 all pierce armor and can deal direct damage to a Steelhead without having to detonate the bomb on its head.
  • Note, however, that Steelheads have notably higher health than their bombs, and thus, this method may take slightly longer.
• Steelheads cannot target or see players that are directly above their model, so it is possible to lure it using Inkjet and being on a platform that is higher than the boss.
  • If the current map does not have platforms that make players high enough, being on top of the basket works too.
  • The walls on Lost Outpost will not work, but the walls in the back outside will.
  • This should only be done if other bosses/lessers are coming up and can be killed quickly.
• Steelheads will only attack once fully on land. If they are still partially in the water, they will not attack.
  • Due to this, unless using the Grizzco Slosher, do not swarm a Steelhead that is spawning. This is time consuming and the eggs are away from the egg basket.
• A direct hit with a Grizzco Slosher at the bomb on its head can instantly splat the Steelhead, although this method could be tricky. The trick is to aim slightly higher at the bomb so it directly hits the bomb and not the Steelhead itself.

Badges

Main article: Badge#Salmon Run Next Wave

Splatting Steelheads a specific number of times in Salmon Run: Next Wave will reward the player with special badges that they can use on their Splashtag.

Steelhead badges
	Steelhead Splats x 100
	Steelhead Splats x 1,000
	Steelhead Splats x 10,000

Gallery

• 

  Splatoon 2 render.

• 

  Splatoon 3 render.

• 

  A Steelhead with some Chum in Lost Outpost.

• 

  A Steelhead launching its bomb.

• 

  The bomb of a Steelhead after receiving damage.

• 

  A screenshot of a Steelhead in Salmon Run Next Wave.

• 

  A Steelhead on Wahoo World during a Big Run

• 

  A size comparison between a Steelhead and an Inkling.

• 

  The Salmonid Field Guide entry for the Steelhead in Splatoon 2.

• 

  The Salmonid Field Guide entry for the Steelhead in Splatoon 3.

• 

  The Salmonid Field Guide entry for the Steelhead in Splatoon 3.

• 

  The illustration in the field guide.

• 

  The mem cake of a Steelhead.

• 

  Unofficial render of the Steelhead's game model from Splatoon 2.

• 

  Concept art of a Steelhead, from The Art of Splatoon 2.

• 

  The icon for the Steelhead used in SplatNet 2 and in the Splatoon 2 relationship chart.

• 

  The Steelhead's icon in Splatoon 3.

• 

  The Tableturf card icon of the Steelhead.

• 

  The Steelhead locker decoration.

Trivia

• Steelheads were the first Boss Salmonid to be revealed, shown in the 12 April 2017 Nintendo Direct.
• It is possible to splat the Steelhead on the exact frame that it throws its bomb. Doing so makes the bomb act and appear as if it had been successfully thrown, even though it exploded and splatted the Steelhead.

Etymology

Steelhead is derived from the metallic body of the Salmonid, as well as steelheads, a form of rainbow trout, a fish similar to salmon.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	バクダン Bakudan	From 爆弾 bakudan ("bomb")
Dutch	Staalkop	Steelhead
French	Tête-de-pneu	Tire head (A pun with the expression "Tête de nœud" meaning "Fool")
German	Bäm	Onomatopoeia for an explosion
Italian	Bomber	Bomber
Russian	Дядя Семг Dyadya Semg	Uncle Salmon
Spanish	Ferroz	From ferroso ("from iron") and feroz ("fierce")
Chinese (Simplified)	炸弹鱼 zhàdàn yú (Mandarin)	Bomb Fish
Chinese (Traditional)	炸彈魚 zhàdàn yú (Mandarin)	Bomb Fish
Korean	폭탄 poktan	From 爆彈 poktan ("bomb")
Internal	SakelienBomber