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Ten-hut, Nintendojo readers! Splatoon has taken online warfare to the next level, but with so much weaponry and gear to choose from it can be hard to prepare for life on the battlefield. Luckily, our hardened vets have stumbled upon the Splatoon War Journal of one Private I.N. Kling, and with it will bring you the insight needed to spray ink another day. Get ready for Splatoon Survival 101!
Inkopolis
Get Shopping
Preparation can mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield, so take the time in Inkopolis to get your Inkling into fighting shape. Booyah Base is where Splatoon‘s three Style Shops are located, and each offers important gear necessary to take on the enemy and cover the arena with ink. The three shops are Jelly Fresh for tops, Cooler Heads for headgear, and Shrimp Kicks for footwear. The variety is crazy, with everything from puffy vests to pilot goggles available to choose from. Looks aren’t everything in Splatoon, and though it can be tempting to focus on style over substance when outfitting your Inkling, don’t limit yourself to only snagging gear that looks cool. Your Inkling might end up looking like they were hit by a twister at a thrift shop, but what’s important is crafting an ensemble that will complement your particular style of play.
Each piece of gear comes with a single attribute booster in tow. These boosts can include enhancements for bomb throwing range, increased ink efficiency, faster respawn, and more. The enhancements become more powerful if gear with the same attributes are equipped, so keep that in mind when making purchases. For example, if you employ a weapon that burns through ink quickly, it might be in your best interest to seek out multiple pieces of gear that will stretch the efficiency of your ink tank. Of course, with so many boosts to take advantage of it can be tricky to peg down exactly which one will be most useful, but that’s why it’s important to be mindful of your own unique style.
To help make things easier on players, Splatoon‘s gear comes at minimum with a second booster slot to utilize (gear with two or even three additional slots will arrive as your Inkling levels up). The catch is that this second booster has to be unlocked by earning experience in battle, and the type of attribute it adds to is awarded at random through a roulette wheel. The primary ability boost is always defined prior to purchase, but not having any control over the secondary ability boost can be a little frustrating. However, there is the opportunity to re-roll your secondary abilities– something we’ll get to in a bit!
Ammo Knights
Ammo Knights is the fourth shop found at Booyah Base, and as the name implies it’s where you’ll be buying weapons. There are three weapon types to choose from: automatic fire, charge fire, and rollers. Automatic weapons are handy for up close encounters and spray generous amounts of ink across the landscape. Charge guns are long range weapons suited for sniping, and generally don’t provide for a lot of ink dispersal. Rollers can only fling paint, not shoot, but they allow you to cover more territory in a shorter amount of time than any other weapon in the game. Again, your own play style will determine which weapon is worth using, but all three have their merits, and become exponentially more powerful when joined with the right combination of gear.
Ammo Knights’ proprietor, Sheldon, is a weapons geek who loves crafting new guns and rollers for you to use. Be sure to take on the single player adventure in order to beat bosses and discover new blueprints. These schematics were designed by Sheldon’s grandfather, and he can use them to craft new weapons! This is important, as like the secondary attribute boosts found in gear items, weapons come with sub and special weapon combinations that you have no control over. This too can bring a certain amount of frustration, as a particular weapon might be to your liking, but the secondary ordinance isn’t. Splatoon does a pretty decent job of offering variations on weapon sets, so don’t fret if you found a great gun or roller and hate the secondaries. You’ll either eventually unlock a good combo while leveling up, or you can nudge things along by earning blueprints!
Spyke
Lurking in a back alley of Inkopolis, the mysterious Spyke is indispensable in your quest to mold the perfect Inkling. Spyke provides three services: gear acquisition, add ability slots to gear, and re-roll secondary gear attributes. The shops in Booyah Base cycle their inventory every 24-hours, but you have no way of knowing what gear will or won’t be showing up on a given day. Mercifully, there is a way to get your hands on particular shoes, tops, and headgear by scoping out the other Inklings loitering around Inkopolis. They’re the avatars of players you’ve met online, and everything they’re wearing (with the exception of Amiibo gear and certain other unlocks) is available to be ordered by Spyke. Simply speak to a fellow Inkling and you can select the option to order gear. Keep in mind, Spyke only delivers gear once a day, and one item at a time, so prioritize your orders accordingly.
Re-rolling your gear’s secondary ability or adding ability slots is Spyke’s other specialty, and both can be very handy– granted that you’ve reached level 20. Some of the gear that’s available early in the game is limited to a single secondary ability boost slot, making them less beneficial in battle as you level up and can purchase items that have two, even three slots. Thankfully, Spyke will let you add more slots in exchange for items called Super Sea Snails. These snails can only be obtained during an event called Splatfest (we’ll cover that in a future Splatoon War Journal!), which are offered sporadically by Nintendo. The other option is to pay up 30,000 cash to have Spyke use one of his Super Sea Snails, so be sure you’re committed to the piece of gear you’re hoping to modify before taking the plunge! However you do it, and whether you’re adding a slot or doing a re-roll, be aware that the ability boost unlock will remain random.
That’s it for this time, troops! We’ll delve deeper into Private I.N. Kling’s War Journal soon, so stay tuned to Nintendojo for more Splatoon pro-tips!
