Splatoon 3 9.3.0 update announced, patch notes

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch

Nintendo is about to release the latest update for Splatoon 3, which is version 9.3.0. It should be going out tomorrow, March 12, in North America and March 13 in Europe.

This is the first update the game is introducing since November. As usual, there are a ton of adjustments here for weapons and more. A number of bugs have also been fixed.

The full rundown is as follows (rough Japanese translation – official English translation coming soon):

Splatoon 3 update version 9.3.0 patch notes

Changes to game content

Match Changes

- Changed the performance of some main weapons.

Weapon Name	What’s changed
Bold Marker Bold Marker Neo	Increased projectile speed by roughly 3%, increasing projectile distance.
Wakaba Shooter Momiji Shooter	Increased projectile speed by roughly 3%, increasing projectile distance.
Pro Modeller MG Pro Modeler RG	Increased projectile speed by roughly 3%, increasing projectile distance.
N-ZAP85 N-ZAP89	Increased movement speed while shooting by roughly 5%. Decreased gun variance when shooting on the ground by roughly 5%.
Space Shooter Space Shooter Collaboration	Decreased shot variance when jumping by roughly 33%.
Wide Roller Wide Roller Collaboration	Slightly increased the size of the hit detection for the player’s vertical swing, making it easier to hit the opponent.
Vincent Vincent Hugh	The time between successive swings has been shortened by roughly 2/60 of a second.
Splash Spinner Splash Spinner Collaboration	Decreased the time it takes to fully charge by roughly 3/60 of a second. ‐With this change, the time it takes to complete the first charge stage has also been shortened by approximately 2/60 of a second.
Barrel Spinner Barrel Spinner Deco Order Spinner Replica	Increased firing duration by roughly 11%. Decreased the time it takes to fully charge by roughly 3/60 of a second. ‐With this change, the time it takes to complete the first charge stage has also been shortened by approximately 2/60 of a second.
Splattery Splatterly Hugh	Increased projectile speed by roughly 3%, increasing projectile distance.
Splattershot Splattershot collaboration Order Maneuver Replica	Slightly increased the size of the hit detection area for players when fired in normal stance, making it easier to hit opponents. ‐There is no change in the fact that bullets fired by taking aim after a slide have a larger hit detection area.
24-type Replacement Umbrella, Type A 24th Type Replacement Umbrella B	Slightly increased the width of ink droplets sprayed by shots. Decreased ink consumption when firing shots by roughly 14%.
R-PEN/5H R-PEN/5B	Slightly narrowed the width of ink droplets sprayed by bullets.
Dental Wiper Mint Dental wiper Sumi	Extended the time it takes for movement to begin when stepping forward with a Charge Slash by roughly 2/60 of a second. Decreased the width of ink droplets created by horizontal slashes by roughly 12%.

- Changed the performance of some special weapons.

Special Weapon Name	What’s changed
Ultra Stamp	When a stamp is thrown, the damage dealt by the explosion at the point of impact has been increased as follows: ‐Increased damage dealt to opponents near the center of the explosion from 60.0 to 220.0.‐Increased damage dealt to targets far from the center of the explosion from 30.0 to 60.0.
Ultra Chakuchi	Increased radius of ink coverage caused by explosions by roughly 11%.
Ultra Shot	Damage dealt by the explosion at the point of impact is now reduced to 35.0 for opponents that are far from the center of the explosion. ‐Damage dealt to opponents in the center of the explosion remains at 53.0. Reduced the duration when the gear ability Special Performance Up is not equipped by roughly 30/60 seconds. ‐The effect of having the maximum number of “Special Performance Up” gear abilities equipped remains unchanged.

Special Weapon Name

What’s changed

Ultra Stamp

- When a stamp is thrown, the damage dealt by the explosion at the point of impact has been increased as follows:

‐Increased damage dealt to opponents near the center of the explosion from 60.0 to 220.0.‐Increased damage dealt to targets far from the center of the explosion from 30.0 to 60.0.

Ultra Chakuchi

Increased radius of ink coverage caused by explosions by roughly 11%.

Ultra Shot

- Damage dealt by the explosion at the point of impact is now reduced to 35.0 for opponents that are far from the center of the explosion.

‐Damage dealt to opponents in the center of the explosion remains at 53.0.

- Reduced the duration when the gear ability Special Performance Up is not equipped by roughly 30/60 seconds.

‐The effect of having the maximum number of “Special Performance Up” gear abilities equipped remains unchanged.

- The points required for special abilities for some weapons have been changed.

Weapon Name	Before	After change
HokusaiOrder Brush Replica	200	190
Splattershot collaboration	200	190
Gaen FF	200	190
24th Type Replacement Umbrella B	200	190
S-BLAST91	190	200
R-PEN/5H	210	220

In the Negitoro Coal Mine, the lamp that was installed on the bridge in the center of the stage has been moved to the top of the elevator.

Splatfest Changes

- Changed the terrain for Trikala Battle Rules on some stages.

Stage Name	What’s changed
Gonzui District	Changed part of the terrain near the attacking team’s starting point to one that cannot be painted. We’ve made it slightly wider the range that the squid spawn can select when the defender starts, and added some cover near the starting point to make it easier for them to move forward.
Masaba Strait Bridge	Added more cover to make it easier for attackers to move forward. The area that the ink from Matoi covers has been expanded.
Humpback Market	The area covered by the ink from the first Matoi has been expanded.
Takaashi Special Economic Zone	Changed part of the terrain near the attacking team’s starting point to one that cannot be painted.
Negitoro coal mine	Expanded the terrain near the attacking team’s starting point. Changed part of the terrain near the defender’s starting point to one that cannot be painted. We’ve widened the fence footing near the step connecting the attacking team’s starting point and the center, and added ink rails to make it easier to get into the center. We’ve changed the placement of some obstacles to make it easier to attempt the Super Signal.

This update data was released with a focus on changes to battle balance.

After analyzing battle data from the last update, and taking into account the relationship with weapons whose performance was improved last time, we have made changes to slightly increase the distance of some weapons whose projectiles have shorter distances than the weapons whose performance was improved last time. For some weapons whose projectiles have the same distance as the weapons whose performance was improved last time, we have made changes to strengthen their characteristics or compensate for their weaknesses.

For the R-PEN/5H, R-PEN/5B, Dental Wiper Mint, and Dental Wiper Sumi, we have slightly reduced their ability to maintain ink coverage from a distance, giving opponents with weapons with shorter range than these weapons more time to counter.

As for Ultra Shots, while maintaining their nature as a special weapon that can greatly turn the tide of battle if used well, we’ve made them easier to counter by shortening the time you need to remain vigilant against an opponent’s Ultra Shot and reducing the number of cases where you are killed by accumulated damage despite taking evasive action.

Additionally, for Trikala Battle, we have adjusted the layout of some stages where there is a statistically large bias in the win rate between the attacking and defending sides.

The next update will be based on a long-term analysis of match data and will focus on changes to match balance.

Bug Fixes

Fixed some issues with player controls

Prevented an issue where a super jump immediately after spawning could result in blocking an opponent’s attack immediately after landing.
- This fix ensures that when you super jump, any armor provided by the squid spawn will always be removed before landing.
Fixed an issue that caused the controller to vibrate when projectiles from the Nova Blaster, Nova Blaster Neo, or Order Blaster Replica hit terrain.
Fixed an issue causing bullets from the Overflosher or Overflosher Deco to not be displayed correctly on other players’ screens when they bounced off a bullet shield.
Fixed an issue where when equipped with a spinner that can keep a charge, using a subweapon with certain controls while keeping a charge would not cancel the charge.
Fixed an issue causing your position to remain significantly off on other players’ screens when repeatedly performing a sliding maneuver or using the wiper while standing on the edge of a step in terrain.
Fixed an issue in which if Shark Ride came into contact with the Rainmaker barrier while charging in, the position of Shark Ride would appear offset when viewed by other players.
- This fix means that if you touch the Rainmaker barrier while charging in with Shark Ride, you will no longer be knocked back.

Fixed an issue causing the intervals between consecutive stamp attacks with an Ultra Stamp to appear inconsistent when viewed by other players.
Fixed an issue causing a player with poor connection conditions to have their position displayed incorrectly from the perspective of other players when performing a super jump immediately after using an Ultra Splashtop.

Match-related issue fixes

Fixed an issue in the Rainmaker battle rules for the Snail Spillway that could cause the count to advance unintentionally when acquiring a Rainmaker that was underneath a step while descending from the top of the step.
Fixed an issue on Mahi Mahi Resort & Spa in which Que Ink’s counter shot would disappear without exploding when it hit the border between a certain wall and the ground.
Fixed an issue in Negitoro Mine that allowed players to enter the opponent’s base in an unintended way through a certain wall.
Fixed an issue in the Ryugu Terminal’s Rainmaker Battle Rules that could cause the count to advance unintentionally when capturing a Rainmaker that was at the bottom of a step while descending from the top of the step.

We’ve got coverage of all past Splatoon 3 patches and more here.