Ability Chunks in Splatoon 3 explained: what they do and how to get them

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Ethan in Guides, Switch

Today, we’re going over what Ability Chunks are in Splatoon 3, what each one does, and how you can use them on your gear to best effect.

Ability Chunks are a returning mechanic in Splatoon 3 that let you change up your gear with special bonuses and effects. Each piece of headgear, clothing, and shoes can have one primary ability and three secondary abilities. To unlock all three slots on a piece of gear, you’ll need to either purchase an upgrade in the shop with in-game currency or use Super Sea Snails (which are only obtained after participating in a Splatfest). It’s important to note that amiibo-exclusive gear is not present in the shops, so the only way to upgrade them at all is to use Super Sea Snails.

What are Ability Chunks?

In Splatoon 3, each Ability Chunk has its own special purpose. Generally, the more instances of an ability you have on your gear, the greater its effect on the player – though stacking certain abilities do come with diminishing returns. If you play Turf War or Anarchy Battle wearing gear with open slots, you will slowly gain points in each one. When they level up, their empty slot will be filled with a random Ability Chunk (which can be influenced but not guaranteed by food tickets). When your gear has all three slots filled, it will still earn additional Ability Chunks – they’ll just be placed in your inventory instead. You can, however, opt to scrub your gear of its abilities via Murch in the square. This lets you earn three more Ability Chunks on it while keeping the ones you scrubbed as items.

Another good way to earn Ability Chunks is through Salmon Run. By continuing to work shifts there, you’ll slowly unlock prizes that change and regenerate every time a new shift rotation begins. Some of these prizes are gear pieces that can be swapped out for Ability Chunks. You won’t get many of them per gear piece, but they do add up over time if you consistently play Salmon Run. In other words, there’s no super-fast farming method for Ability Chunks. Basically, you’ll just want to play the game as normal and you’ll inevitably rack up spare chunks over time.

List of Abilities

The Ability Chunks we list below can be on any piece of gear. In the next section, we’ll talk about Ability Chunks that can only be the primary slot on certain pieces of gear.

Ink Saver (Main) increases the efficiency of your ink consumption. In other words, it’ll take longer for your weapon to run out of ink when using it.
Ink Saver (Sub) makes each use of a sub weapon consume less ink.
Ink Recovery Up increases the speed of your ink recovery.
Run Speed Up makes you run faster, but it doesn’t work on Rollers or Brushes. It does work on Splatlings, however, in which case using lots of Run Speed Up is a great idea.
Swim Speed Up increases your speed in squid form.
Special Charge Up lets you fill your special meter faster.
Special Saver helps you retain more of your special meter after you’re splatted.
Special Power Up upgrades your special weapon. It has a different effect on each special. It increases the throw distance of Booyah Bomb and Triple Inkstrike, for instance. It also increases the duration of every special except for those two plus Ink Vac, Super Chump, Ink Vac, and Tenta Missiles.
Quick Respawn makes you respawn faster if you are splatted over and over again without splatting other players. This is a good Ability Chunk to use if you’re not very good at the game yet! The more Quick Respawns you run, the greater the effect it will have.
Quick Super Jump is vital, and most players run at least one chunk of it. It increases the speed at which you initiate a Super Jump.
Sub Power Up adds new effects to sub weapons. If your sub weapon is a bomb, then running Sub Power Up will most likely increase your throw speed. If you’re running Squid Beakons, Sub Power Up increases the speed that other players can super jump to them.
Ink Resistance Up makes you take less damage when you’re standing in enemy ink. It doesn’t make you any harder to splat – the name is a little bit misleading.
Sub Resistance Up makes you take less damage against enemy sub weapons.
Intensify Action slightly increases your aerial firing accuracy. Good for long-ranged weapons.

List of Primary Chunks

The Ability Chunks we mentioned above can be present on any and every piece of gear – either as a main chunk or a secondary one. There are, however, a few exclusive abilities that can only be the main Ability of certain pieces of gear. Here’s the full rundown of every primary Ability in Splatoon 3:

Comeback is only found on headgear. After you respawn from being splatted, your move speed, ink recovery, special charge, and ink efficiency will be buffed for about 20 seconds. Pairs great with Quick Super Jump so you can use the buffs to their fullest potential.
Last-Ditch Effort is only found on headgear, and it works best in ranked modes. When the opposing team’s counter is 30 or less, this bonus activates and buffs your ink efficiency and recovery. In Turf War, this bonus is only active for the last 30 seconds of battle.
Opening Gambit boosts your move speed, but only for the first 30 seconds of battle and then never again. You’ll probably prefer running Comeback, which activates more consistently (and more than once). Headgear only, by the way!
Tenacity gives you a passive special charge effect when the opposing team has more players who are alive than your team. This is the final headgear-only Ability on the list.
Ninja Squid is almost required for several types of weapons, like rollers and shooters. With this, you’ll become invisible in squid form – great for sneaking up on opponents and splatting them before they realize what’s happening. Ninja Squid and the next 3 Ability Chunks are exclusive to shirt items.
Respawn Punisher increases the respawn time of you and anyone you splat. This is not recommended if you’re not very good at the game, because you need to get a lot of splats for this to be worth it. Best for long-ranged weapons that can pick off opponents without being in danger.
Thermal Ink activates when you hit an opponent with your main weapon without splatting them. They’ll be tracked for a few seconds, which can let you move in and deliver the finishing blow.
Haunt lets you track the opponent who splatted you after you respawn. You can only see them while they’re not swimming in ink, though, so that’s important to note.
Stealth Jump and the next few bonuses are shoes-only. Stealth Jump is almost required if you like super jumping, because it hides your landing location unless there is an opponent right next to you. This can save you from being splatted after super jumping.
Drop Roller doesn’t hide your super jump location, but it does let you perform a roll in a specific direction to evade enemy fire. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work if your enemy is a roller. They can hold their roller down on your landing spot and you will be splatted no matter which direction you choose to roll. Because of this, we generally recommend Stealth Jump instead.
Object Shredder is great for Rainmaker, because it drastically increases the damage you deal to objects like the Rainmaker barrier, sprinklers, Splash Walls, and more. Great for destroying Squid Beakons, too.

That’s all of the Ability Chunks in Splatoon 3, then Except for Ability Doubler – this is only present on Splatfest tees, which in turn are only present during actual Splatfests. This Ability doubles the effects of all three secondary Abilities you have present on the shirt. You can also talk to Murch in the square to add Abilities to your Splatfest tee for a reduced price. If you’re looking for some more guides on Splatoon 3, check out our Big Run guide and our Splatfest guide. The game usually hosts at least one of these events per month, so if you’re new to the game and want some tips those posts will definitely help you.

Splatoon 3 is available now for Switch. You can visit the official website here.