Splatoon 3’s 10.0.0 Update: New Features, Weapons, and More!

Nintendo has just released the much-awaited Splatoon 3 10.0.0 update, packed with exciting new features and performance improvements for the Nintendo Switch 2.

This update enhances the gaming experience with smoother animations and upgraded visuals, particularly in Splatsville, Inkopolis, Inkopolis Square, and the Grand Festival Grounds. Players can expect smoother in-game movement, while the character animations for jellyfish and the Salmonid have been improved when there’s a large number of them in Salmon Run stages.

In addition to these performance and visual tweaks for the Switch 2, the update also introduces 30 new weapon kits from the Barazushi and Emberz brands, making up the brand-new Splatlands Collection. The iconic Urchin Underpass stage from the original Splatoon game on the Wii U has also made a return, much to the delight of long-time fans. Nintendo teased that their next update will focus on multiplayer balance adjustments, following the analysis of the new weapon additions.

Aside from these gameplay enhancements, there are several other notable changes and additions:

• Multiplayer changes, including the addition of a new Series Weapon feature in Anarchy Battle (Series) for players ranked S or higher.
• New weapons and stages, with a higher maximum Freshness, and a call sign feature in X Battles.
• Optimized operations on the Nintendo Switch 2.

The new Series Weapon feature measures weapon power for each player, matching them against others with similar levels of power. This encourages players to experiment with different weapons, including those from the newly added Splatlands Collection. In multiplayer battles, balance changes have been made to ensure more competitive gameplay. For instance, adjustments have been made to the S-BLAST ‘92 and S-BLAST ‘91, allowing players a better chance to counter these weapons.

The Crab Tank also received a nerf, with the maximum cannon damage reduced to give opponents more chances to evade. Other special weapons were adjusted to make it easier to fight against the Crab Tank. Toxic Mist saw a reduction in ink consumption, but its recovery time has been extended to prevent players from spamming it too frequently.

And that’s not all! Nintendo has also teased a brand-new Splatoon spin-off game, Splatoon Raiders, exclusive to the Switch 2. The announcement was made with a trailer released through the Nintendo Today! App, though no official release window was given. Fans are advised to stay tuned for more updates in the near future.