Splatoon 3 Update 9.3.0 Is Here! New Weapons, Events, and Fixes

Summary

• Splatoon 3 receives significant update, including weapon adjustments, new events, and bug fixes.
• Nintendo EPD releases Update 9.3.0 focusing on main and special weapons, Splatfests, and bug fixes.
• The next update is targeting battle balance based on long-term analysis.

In a recent development, players of Splatoon 3 have been treated to a fresh update. This update introduces several modifications to the multiplayer mode’s weapons and in-game events, as well as resolutions for some technical glitches. Notably, this is the first significant update Nintendo has released for Splatoon 3 since November 2024.

Starting in 2022, Splatoon 3 became another triumph for the third-person shooter series by Nintendo, making it three consecutive wins for them. Since its exclusive release on the Switch, the game has been continually improved with updates to improve the player experience and iron out any issues. Thanks to the diligent work of Nintendo’s developers, the game has sold nearly 12 million copies, as reported by the company in March 2024. Most recently, Nintendo released a significant update for Splatoon 3 after almost four months, providing a helpful refresh.

On March 12, 2025, Nintendo EPD – the in-house team responsible for creating the Splatoon series – rolled out update version 9.3.0 for Splatoon 3. This update brought several modifications to the standard and special weapons used in multiplayer matches. The Sploosh-o-matic, Splattershot Jr., Aerospray MG, Ultra Stamp, Triple Splashdown, Trizooka, Octobrush Orderbrush Replica, Enperry Splat Dualies, Douser Dualies FF, Recycled Brella 24 Mk II, S-Blast ’91, and Snipewriter 5H weapons have all seen changes. Specifically, the shot speed and flight distance for the former trio has been boosted, while the damage and range stats of the latter group have been adjusted. Additionally, the number of points required to unlock Octobrush Orderbrush Replica, Enperry Splat Dualies, Douser Dualies FF, Recycled Brella 24 Mk II, S-Blast ’91, and Snipewriter 5H has been reduced by ten.

In their recent update, developers have fine-tuned several aspects of Splatoon 3, particularly the special in-game events known as Splatfests. This includes alterations to the Tricolor Turf War mode terrain and adjustments to the Hammerhead Bridge stage balance. Notably, these changes are aimed at improving the game’s multiplayer experience. Additionally, numerous bug fixes have been implemented concerning Splatoon 3’s controls and PvP match issues. In their announcement, Nintendo EPD hinted that the next update would primarily focus on balancing the game based on extensive analysis of past battles.

Currently, Nintendo is preparing for the launch of their upcoming console, the Switch 2, which was unveiled in January 2025. It’s anticipated that this new console will hit the market later in the year, so it’ll be exciting to find out which of Nintendo’s popular franchises, such as Splatoon, will serve as launch titles for the Switch 2’s debut.

Splatoon 3 Ver. 9.3.0 Patch Notes

Changes to Multiplayer

• Specifications for some main weapons have changed.

  Weapon	Change Details
  Sploosh-o-matic Neo Sploosh-o-matic	Increased the speed of shots by approximately 3% and extended the flight distance.
  Splattershot Jr. Custom Splattershot Jr.	Increased the speed of shots by approximately 3% and extended the flight distance.
  Aerospray MG Aerospray RG	Increased the speed of shots by approximately 3% and extended the flight distance.
  N-ZAP ’85 N-ZAP ’89	Movement speed while firing is now about 5% faster. Reduced the scatter of shots while on the ground by approximately 5%.
  Splattershot Nova Annaki Splattershot Nova	Reduced the scatter of shots while jumping by approximately 33%.
  Big Swig Roller Big Swig Roller Express	Slightly expanded vertical swings’ collision detection with players to make it easier to hit opponents.
  Painbrush Painbrush Nouveau	Shortened the interval between continuous swings by approximately 1/30th of a second.
  Mini Splatling Zink Mini Splatling	Reduced the time required to charge fully by approximately 1/20th of a second. With this change, the time until the first level of charge ends is also reduced by approximately 1/30th of a second.
  Heavy Splatling Heavy Splatling Deco Order Splatling Replica	Increased firing duration by approximately 11%. Reduced the time required to charge fully by approximately 1/20th of a second. With this change, the time until the first level of charge ends is also reduced by approximately 1/30th of a second.
  Dapple Dualies Dapple Dualies Nouveau	Increased the speed of shots by approximately 3% and extended the flight distance.
  Splat Dualies Enperry Splat Dualies Order Dualie Replicas	Slightly expanded the collision detection with players of shots fired from a normal posture to make it easier to hit opponents. There is no change to the fact that collision detection is greater for shots fired after a Dodge Roll.
  Recycled Brella 24 Mk I Recycled Brella 24 Mk II	Slightly expanded the width of spray droplets created by shots. Reduced the amount of ink consumed when firing a shot by approximately 14%.
  Snipewriter 5H Snipewriter 5B	Slightly decreased the width of spray droplets created by shots.
  Mint Decavitator Charcoal Decavitator	Lengthened the time required for movement to begin when lunging forward with a charge swipe by approximately 1/30th of a second. Reduced the width of spray droplets created by the ink wave of horizontal slashes by approximately 12%.

• Specifications for some special weapons have changed.

  Special Weapon	Change Details
  Ultra Stamp	Increased the damage dealt by the explosion at the point of impact when the stamp is thrown in the following ways. Increased the damage dealt to opponents near the center of the explosion from 60.0 to 220.0. Increased the damage dealt to opponents further from the center of the explosion from 30.0 to 60.0.
  Triple Splashdown	Increased the radius inked by the explosion by approximately 11%.
  Trizooka	For the explosion at the point of impact, reduced the damage dealt to opponents further from the center of the explosion to 35.0. The damage dealt to opponents near the center of the explosion remains 53.0. Shortened the duration by approximately 1/2 a second when not equipping the Special Power Up gear ability. The effect gained from equipping the maximum number of Special Power Up gear abilities will not change.

• Points required for some special weapons have been changed.

  Weapon	Before	After
  Octobrush Orderbrush Replica	200	190
  Enperry Splat Dualies	200	190
  Douser Dualies FF	200	190
  Recycled Brella 24 Mk II	200	190
  S-BLAST ’91	190	200
  Snipewriter 5H	210	220

• In Bluefin Depot, moved the lamp that was on the bridge in the center of the stage to the top of the elevator.

Changes to Splatfests

• Terrain for Tricolor Turf War has changed in some stages.

  Stage	Change Details
  Eeltail Alley	Changed some terrain near the attacking teams’ spawn points to terrain that cannot be inked. It is now easier to progress forward because, along with slightly expanding the selectable area in Squid Spawn when the defending team starts, shielding objects have been added near the spawn point.
  Hammerhead Bridge	Added shielding objects to make it easier for the attackers to progress forward. Expanded the area inked by the Sprinkler of Doom.
  MakoMart	Expanded the area inked by the first Sprinkler of Doom.
  Crableg Capital	Changed some terrain near the attacking teams’ spawn points to terrain that cannot be inked.
  Bluefin Depot	Expanded the terrain near the attacking teams’ spawn point. Changed some terrain near the defending team’s spawn point to terrain that cannot be inked. Made it easier to invade the center by expanding the grate platform near the height difference connecting the area near the attacking teams’ spawn points to the center, and also adding an inkrail. Changed the positions of some obstacles to make it easier to go for the Ultra Signal.

This update focuses on making changes to multiplayer balance.

After examining battle data since our last update and taking into account the connections between weapons we enhanced performance for earlier, we’ve slightly increased the flight range of shots for certain weapons that had shorter ranges than those we previously improved, and made adjustments to enhance or balance the traits of some weapons with similar shot ranges to those we had upgraded before.

Concerning the Snipewriter 5H, 5B, Mint Decavitator, and Charcoal Decavitator, we adjusted their features slightly to decrease their long-range ink maintenance capability, providing opponents using weapons with shorter range projectiles more opportunity to react and respond.

For the Trizooka, we’ve preserved its unique quality as a tactical tool that can shift the advantage when used skillfully. However, we’ve also made it more susceptible by decreasing the duration opponents need to stay cautious and minimizing instances where players are defeated despite their evasive maneuvers due to accumulated damage.

Furthermore, for Tricolor Turf War, we’ve reorganized some stages with a noticeable bias in win statistics towards either offensive or defensive teams.

In our upcoming update, we’ll be making adjustments to the balance of fights, taking into account extensive analysis of past battle statistics over a longer period.

Bug Fixes

• Made it so that, when a player uses Super Jump immediately after Squid Spawn, the phenomenon where sometimes an opponent’s attack was blocked immediately after landing will no longer occur.
  • With this fix, when players do a Super Jump, the armor state from Squid Spawn will always end before landing.
• Fixed an issue where the controller rumbled when shots from the Luna Blaster, Luna Blaster Neo, and Order Blaster Replica hit terrain.
• Fixed an issue where, when shots from a Bloblobber or Bloblobber Deco touched a barricade and bounced off, the shots would not display properly on other players’ screens.
• Fixed an issue where, when a player with a splatling capable of storing a charge shot performed certain actions to use their sub weapon while storing a charged shot, the charged shot would not end.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when repeatedly performing dualie Dodge Rolls or splatana lunges while standing on the edge of an elevation difference, the player’s position would become greatly misaligned on other players’ screens and stay that way.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when the player touched the Rainmaker shield while charging using Reefslider, the Reefslider’s position would display as misaligned to other players.
  • With this fix, players will not be knocked back when charging using Reefslider, even if they touch the Rainmaker shield.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when a player made continuous stamp attacks with the Ultra Stamp, the interval between attacks would appear irregular to other players.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes, when a player in a bad wireless environment did a Super Jump immediately after using Triple Splashdown, their position would not display properly to other players.

• Fixed an issue in Undertow Spillway on Rainmaker mode where sometimes, when a player acquired the Rainmaker at the bottom of an elevation difference while dropping from the top of that elevation difference, the count would progress unintentionally.
• Fixed an issue in Mahi-Mahi Resort where sometimes, when the counterattack shot of the Ink Vac landed at the boundary between certain walls and the ground, it would disappear without exploding.
• Fixed an issue in Bluefin Depot where, from certain walls, it was possible to get into the opponents’ base using unintended methods.
• Fixed an issue in Lemuria Hub in Rainmaker mode where sometimes, when a player acquired the Rainmaker at the bottom of an elevation difference while dropping from the top of that elevation difference, the count would progress unintentionally.

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2025-03-12 15:27