Splatoon 3 update announced (version 9.0.0), patch notes

Splatoon 3 is coming up on the end of its primary support, but Nintendo is readying the next major update with version 9.0.0.

According to Nintendo, the primary purpose of the update is about “adding data for a special Big Run that will be held in the near future, improving connectivity, and making adjustments to battles.” There are other aspects as well, including support for the newest amiibo and a massive amount of fixes.

Here’s the full rundown:

Splatoon 3 update version 9.0.0 patch notes

Changes to amiibo

• Added support for the following amiibo.
  • Callie (Alterna)
  • Marie (Alterna)
  • Pearl (Side Order)
  • Marina (Side Order)

Changes to Connectivity

• Improved connectivity programming to shorten the time between sent data being received by recipients and the response that is then returned.
  • For general connectivity during multiplayer, an average reduction of approximately 0.4/60 second is expected.
    • The amount of reduction will vary depending on the amount of information being sent back and forth via connectivity and on the processing load.
  • In situations such as dealing damage to or defeating opponents, an average reduction of approximately 3.4/60 second is expected.

Changes to Multiplayer

• Specifications for some main weapons have changed.
  

  Weapon	Change Details
  Squeezer Foil Squeezer	Slowed the speed of the first shot fired after pressing the ZR Button by approximately 5% and shortened its flight distance. Slowed movement speed while firing by approximately 8%.
  Range Blaster Custom Range Blaster	Decreased the radius of the damaging explosion by approximately 6%. Decreased the radius of the ink splatter at the point of impact with a floor or wall or when detonated midair by approximately 9%.
  Snipewriter 5H Snipewriter 5B	Slightly decreased the width of spray droplets created by shots.
  Slosher Slosher Deco Order Slosher Replica	Increased the amount of ink consumed by approximately 9%.
  Heavy Edit Splatling Heavy Edit Splatling Nouveau	Slightly decreased the number of spray droplets created by shots. The frequency of inking occurring at the player’s feet is unchanged.
  Wellstring V Custom Wellstring V	Decreased the radius of the ink splatter that occurs upon impact by approximately 8%.

• Specifications for some special weapons have changed.
  

  Special Weapon	Change Details
  Trizooka	Increased the amount of time between activation and becoming able to fire by approximately 1/12 of a second.

• Points required for some special weapons have been changed.
  

  Weapon	Before	After
  Custom Range Blaster	200	210
  Slosher Order Slosher Replica	200	210

• In X Battles, made it less likely for players to be matched again with players they just encountered in the previous X Battle.
  • This will not completely prevent players from being matched again with players they just encountered in the previous X Battle.
• Made it so that Japan and regions near it cannot select Tentatek Division when selecting an X Battles division.

Changes to Splatfests

• Made it possible for players who achieve a Splatfest Title of Ruler or higher to board the Splatfest Float and take pictures with the allies they last won a Splatfest Battle (Open) or Splatfest Battle (Pro) with.
• Made it so that players can choose additional poses from atop the Splatfest Float after achieving a Splatfest Title of Ruler +1 or higher.
• Made it possible to select a Deep Cut pose atop the Splatfest Float.
• Made it possible for players who have downloaded the Expansion Pass to select Squid Sisters and Off the Hook poses atop the Splatfest Float.

Changes to Salmon Run

• Added data for a special Big Run.
• Added an item that can be exchanged for fish scales.
• Made it so that you can get capsules containing fish scales from the reward meter.
• The gear you can get from the reward meter will now change each shift rather than each month.

Other Changes

• Reduced the XP required for a weapon’s Freshness to reach 1 ★ from 10,000 to 5,000 to make it easier to get Sheldon Licenses.
  • The total XP required to reach 2 ★ or higher will not change.
  • Weapons that had 5,000 XP or more but less than 10,000 XP before applying the update data will reach 1 ★ after applying the update data and using that weapon once in battle.
• Changed the design of some Splashtag banner designs.

This update focuses on adding data for a special Big Run that will be held in the near future, improving connectivity, and making adjustments to battles.

In regards to connectivity, we have reduced the time it takes to convey the things that happen in-game to the other players by optimizing the game’s internal processing and adjusting the communication control processing.

For multiplayer balance, we made the changes that we previously notified you about to lower the performance of some select weapons.

The Squeezer and Foil Squeezer were intended as weapons that are difficult to master but can produce high performance when mastered. However, because their shots could reach from a long distance and because they had high movement speed while firing, it was easy to make a lot of attempts, which made it easier to make up for the control difficulty. For that reason, their performance has been reduced.

For the Range Blaster and the Custom Range Blaster, by reducing the area of the attack and inking due to the explosion, we maintained the property of dealing damage to opponents you aim for carefully while reducing the property that deals damage to opponents whose positions are not precisely known.

Our intention with both weapons is to make it so that players who specialize in other weapons are not forced to switch to these weapons, while also maintaining a level of performance sufficient enough for players who already specialized in these weapons to continue to fight using them.

For the Snipewriter 5H and the Snipewriter 5B, we slightly reduced their ability to maintain inking status from a distance.

With the Slosher, Slosher Deco, and Order Slosher Replica, we have adjusted performance and points required for specials to make them like many other sloshers in that they have high instantaneous fighting and inking power, but when fighting with them continuously over time, it is easy to run out of ink.

Regarding the Heavy Edit Splatling and the Heavy Edit Splatling Nouveau, we changed the aspect of them where, in comparison to other splatlings with shorter flying distances, they were very effective at maintaining ink coverage when exchanging fire across areas such as Splat Zones.

For the Wellstring V and the Custom Wellstring V, we made changes to slightly lower performance when maintaining inking status from a distance.

With the Trizooka, we made changes to increase the opening when used on an opponent at close range, and also slightly increased the time to find a safe place to take cover after hearing an opponent’s Trizooka’s activation noise.

Additionally, we have changed it so that Japan and regions nearby it cannot participate in the Tentatek Division for X Battles.

Of the total number of players in Japan and nearby regions, an extremely small percent select Tentatek Division (the division for the Americas and Europe) despite living in Japan or nearby regions. However, we have made this change because it has reached a percentage that has a negative effect on rankings among players participating in the Tentatek Division.

The next update will focus on adding data for the Grand Festival.

Bug Fixes

Fixes to Player Controls

• Fixed an issue on some stages where sometimes, when the player moved their character to corners of certain terrain, the character would hang in the air and become unable to move.
• Adjusted the display method for the aiming reticle for chargers in order to fix an issue where it was difficult to see with certain ink colors.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when the player hit the boundary between a wall and a grate or fence with an ink shot from a blaster, stringer, or Ink Vac, the explosion would not ink the wall.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when the player performed a dualie Dodge Roll or splatana lunge on certain slopes, the player could not smoothly reach the top of the slope.
• Fixed an issue where, when a player used the Dread Wringer or Dread Wringer D while jumping, the flight distance of the ink was slightly shorter than intended.
• Fixed an issue where, depending on the ink color, it was sometimes difficult to see the expected impact point when using certain sub weapons and special weapons.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when a player threw a Tacticooler so that it collided with moving terrain, the Tacticooler would vanish instead of deploying properly.
• Fixed an issue when using the Zipcaster or Inkjet where, when a player pressed and held the A Button or L Button to ready a clam or Fizzbang while in the middle of returning to their original position after the end of the effect and tilted the Left Stick to activate the Drop Roller gear ability, the player might perform an unintended action or an unintended sound effect might play.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when a player descended onto the tower pillar after using a Booyah Bomb and slipped off, the player would hang in the air and be unable to move until the tower moved.

Fixes to Multiplayer

• Fixed an issue in Scorch Gorge in Turf War mode where, by using Squid Roll, players could enter their opponent’s base in unintended ways.
• Fixed an issue in Scorch Gorge in Clam Blitz mode where, by using Squid Roll, players could enter their opponent’s base in unintended ways.
• Fixed an issue in Scorch Gorge in Clam Blitz mode where certain points would not allow swimming despite appearing to be inked.
• Fixed an issue in Eeltail Alley in Rainmaker mode where there were locations where the countdown did not speed up despite being inside a Rainmaker-free Zone.
• Made it so that when trying to Super Jump to the top of certain rotating terrain in Museum d’Alfonsino, players will now land in the center of the lower level rather than on top of the terrain.
• Fixed an issue in Museum d’Alfonsino in Turf War and Splat Zones modes where, when attacking players atop certain boxes from the bottom side of the boxes, it was possible for attacks to pass through the boxes and deal damage.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when using the Zipcaster at Mahi-Mahi Resort, players would clip into certain terrain.
• Moved a streetlamp in Inkblot Art Academy to fix an issue where sometimes, when trying to Super Jump near the streetlight at the edge of the stage, the player would become unable to control their character.
• Fixed an issue in Inkblot Art Academy where there were locations the Zipcaster could attach to despite appearing as if there was no terrain.
• Fixed an issue in Inkblot Art Academy where sometimes, when using the Zipcaster on certain terrain, the player would clip into the terrain after the end of the effect.
• Fixed an issue in Inkblot Art Academy in Turf War and Splat Zones modes where, by using Squid Roll, players could enter their opponent’s base in unintended ways.
• Fixed an issue in Sturgeon Shipyard where, by using Squid Roll, players could enter their opponent’s base in unintended ways.
• Fixed an issue in Sturgeon Shipyard where players could get on top of lights mounted on the walls.
• Fixed an issue in Sturgeon Shipyard where sometimes, when using the Zipcaster or Inkjet at certain locations, the player would clip into the terrain after the end of the effect.
• Fixed an issue in Brinewater Springs where sometimes, when using the Zipcaster, players would clip into certain terrain.
• Fixed an issue in Brinewater Springs where the area of certain grates that players could stand on was slightly smaller than it appeared.
• Fixed an issue in Brinewater Springs in Rainmaker mode where there were locations where the countdown did not speed up despite being inside a Rainmaker-free Zone.
• Fixed an issue in Barnacle & Dime in Tower Control mode where certain points allowed swimming despite appearing to be not inked.
• Fixed an issue in Humpback Pump Track where sometimes, when it shows the stage before the battle starts, the inside of terrain would be shown.
• Fixed an issue in Lemuria Hub where, by jumping from moving terrain, players could enter their opponent’s base in unintended ways.
• Fixed an issue in Lemuria Hub where sometimes the camera clipped into certain terrain and the terrain obscured the screen.
• Fixed an issue in Lemuria Hub where sometimes the movements of moving terrain became unstable.
• Fixed an issue in Lemuria Hub where sometimes, when the player placed an Ink Mine at the edge of moving terrain, the placed Ink Mine would immediately vanish or explode.
• Fixed an issue in Lemuria Hub where sometimes, when using Reefslider on top of moving terrain, the direction of the rail would change greatly if the angle of that terrain changed.
• Fixed an issue in Lemuria Hub in Clam Blitz mode where sometimes it was not possible to pick up clams or power clams fallen near moving terrain.

Fixes to Salmon Run

• Fixed an issue where, when a brella’s canopy is damaged, the canopy would be uninked on other players’ screens.
• Fixed an issue where a communication error would sometimes occur when the explosion from destroying a Horrorboros’s weak point and a Megalodontia’s attack both hit a Fish Stick at the same time.
• Fixed an issue with special Rush waves in Bonerattle Arena where sometimes, when Salmonids passed certain locations, they would become stuck there.
• Fixed an issue in Grizzco where, when the player repeatedly approached the Mr. Grizz radio, the radio would not bounce.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when the XTRAWAVE result is ✘ because defeating the final member of the Triumvirate barely did not make it within the time limit, the result for the XTRAWAVE recorded in SplatNet 3 would display as ✓ instead.
• Fixed an issue with Big Runs where sometimes, when a communication error occurred at a certain timing on the rewards acceptance screen, the rewards would not be reflected in the SplatNet 3 records, despite having actually received them.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented game progression when players selected Again! with certain timing after finishing an Eggstra Work job.

Fixes to Splatfests

• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when players landed a Fizzbang on the ground inside a Big Bubbler, the Fizzbang would not launch properly.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes the band that indicates the Splatfest team that displays at the start of battles would continue to display during the battle.
• Fixed an issue in Eeltail Alley in Tricolor Turf War mode where certain terrain did not display on the Turf Map.
• Fixed an issue in Eeltail Alley in Tricolor Turf War mode where the Zipcaster could not attach to certain terrain near the center of the stage.
• Fixed an issue in Mahi-Mahi Resort where, despite being inked by the same team’s ink, the ink’s brightness appeared unnaturally different in some areas.
• Fixed an issue in Crableg Capital in Tricolor Turf War mode where the parts of certain slopes that players can stand on were slightly larger than they appeared.

Other Fixes

• Fixed an issue with Regular Battles where sometimes, when players selected Keep Going at the end of the battle, it would continue to display as if players who selected Stop were still in the room.
• Fixed an issue with the Card List in Tableturf Battle where sometimes, when sorting by Spaces or Rarity, the Custom Range Blaster would not be listed at the intended position.
• Fixed an issue that would cause the news to stop progressing when repeatedly pressing the L Stick while an Anarchy Splatcast was playing to alternate between watching the news in full screen and listening to the Splatcast.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when players had nearly the maximum amount of cash and received an item they already have from the Shell-Out Machine that would be converted into cash, the players would not receive the converted cash.
• Fixed an issue when using Photo Mode during Private Battle recon where a message saying “The connection is unstable.” was included in captured photos.
• Fixed an issue with battle-replay graph view where sometimes the number of WIPEOUTs during the match differed from the number displayed in the graph.

The Splatoon 3 version 9.0.0 update goes live on August 29, 2024 in North America and August 30 in Europe. Read more about the game here.