How to clear Eight’s Palette with low hacks in Splatoon 3

Today, we’re going over some tips and tricks to clear Eight’s Palette with low hacks in Splatoon 3’s Side Order DLC.

Splatoon 3’s Side Order DLC has been available for a little while now, and many players are beginning its most challenging feat: clearing the Spire of Order with Eight’s Palette. After you clear the Spire with every other Palette, you’ll receive Agent 8’s Palette – an Octo Shot Replica with a Splat Bomb sub and Triple Splashdown special. There’s one key difference that only applies to Eight’s Palette, though. Unlike other Palettes, Eight’s loses Color Chip slots if you have many of Marina’s hacks active. In other words, if you have hacks active, you will only be able to equip a few Color Chips in the Spire of Order. And if you clear the Spire with four active hacks or less, you receive a special Badge for your profile. We’ll also be discussing techniques for the final boss, so you might want to bookmark this page for later if you’re looking to avoid spoilers.

How to clear Eight’s Palette with low hacks

As mentioned earlier, you can receive a special Badge by clearing Eight’s Palette with four active hacks or less. It’s possible to activate every hack and clear Eight’s Palette with little to no Color Chips, but this doesn’t earn you the Badge. We’d recommend at least two extra lives and one or two attack power buffs as your only active hacks. Extra lives are absolutely essential here; it’s very easy to get backed into a corner and lose a life within just a few seconds. You don’t want this to end your run on floor 29F, so make sure you invest in some lives! Extra attack power helps you clear enemies faster. Though the buff doesn’t seem like much, it adds up over time. The extra power can keep you safe from a distance.

One important tip is to remember to use Splat Bombs. When a bunch of big Jelleton enemies swarm you, a Splat Bomb is better at dispatching them than your main weapon. Your Octo Shot doesn’t have great ink efficiency, so you might find yourself running out of ink in a crucial moment. Triple Splashdown is a decent special, though it can leave you vulnerable during certain boss fights – particularly the final boss. If you see the opportunity to change specials at one of the Vending Machines, it’d be a good idea to go for something like Triple Inkstrike or Ultra Stamp, which has higher mobility.

How to defeat bosses with the Octo Shot

There are a few different bosses in Splatoon 3’s Side Order DLC. In order to unlock Eight’s Palette, you’ll have cleared the Spire of Order with every other Palette. That means you’ve already fought every boss in Side Order a few times each, including the final boss. Since you’re likely fairly experienced already, we’ll skip the easy tips and move on to the important ones. Perhaps the most important advice we can give you is to play carefully. Take as few risks as possible, throw Splat Bombs at groups of enemies from afar, and keep your distance when you can. If your armor breaks, run away immediately and swim in your own ink until you recover your armor back. If you’re having trouble, you can forgo your attack power buffs for hacks that shorten your armor’s regeneration time.

When fighting Parallel Canon, you’ll definitely want to place an emphasis on Splat Bombs. They can take out multiple enemies at once, and they’ve got decent range to boot. They’re not as useful against Pinging Marciale, whose weak spot is small and often out of a Splat Bomb’s range. In this case, you’ll want to shoot at it with your main weapon and then take out all the enemies it spawns. When you go to fight Asynchronous Rondo, remember that you can shoot any part of it to deal damage — not just the weak points. This can help you out in a pinch if it’s almost defeated and just needs to be inked a little bit more.

Overlorder is definitely a bit more difficult with Eight’s Palette. You’ll want to emphasize painting as much turf as you possibly can. Overlorder spreads its ink very quickly, and it’s easy to run out of ink and leave yourself vulnerable to attack. If you happen to switch your sub to Curling Bomb, that’s a good way to make an escape as Overlorder attacks you with Reefsliders, Sting Rays, and everything in between. We’d also recommend using your special against Overlorder as soon as its barrier breaks – it has a big chunk of health, and you’ll need to circle around it while damaging it in order to win.

Overall, clearing Eight’s Palette with low hacks is definitely challenging. There are ways to make it easier, though, and at the end of the day you may need to rely on good luck if you’re having trouble. Try to prioritize useful Color Chips since you won’t be able to equip as many.

Have you cleared Eight’s Palette with low hacks yet? If so, feel free to share some of your own tips with us down below. If you’re still struggling to complete the challenge, check out our general Side Order guide for even more tips and tricks on clearing the Spire of Order.

Splatoon 3 and Side Order are available now for Switch. Access the official site here.