Splatoon 3: Was the Splattershot nerfed from a 3-hit kill to a 4-hit kill weapon? New footage sparks a discussion

Nintendo’s latest Splatoon 3 Direct on August 10 gave fans lots of new information to sink their teeth into, with one scene in particular stirring up a discussion about the series staple Splattershot weapon. Fans began discussing if the Splattershot would now take 4 hits to confirm a kill, and “スシ４確” (Splattershot 4 confirm) even became a trending word on Twitter in Japan.

The Splattershot is a popular weapon with players for its balance of power and range combined with a high rate of fire. But a short snippet from the latest Splatoon 3 Direct has fans worried that something may be changing about the ever-reliable ink shooter.

The footage in question starts from 2:08 where we see a player sneaking toward their opponent and using the Splattershot to attack. First, notice the number of shots that hit the opposing player. From this scene, the hit effect seems to appear 4 times. The “スシ４確” (Splattershot 4 confirm) that was trending on Twitter was an abbreviation of “Splattershot 4-hit kill confirm.”

But why would a 4-hit kill with the Splattershot be such a big deal? Because it only takes 3 hits in Splatoon 2. This small section of the Direct has left players wondering if the Splattershot is being weakened for the upcoming Splatoon 3.

While one more shot may not sound like a big deal to some, it can be the difference between victory or defeat when engaging an opposing player or the entire match when it comes to shooting games. In the simplest terms, going from 3 shots to 4 means there’s been a big change in the weapon’s strength. An especially big issue for a series like Splatoon where players don’t have a large amount of health to begin with. While range and ink spread also have to be taken into consideration, it’s still important while going up against other players directly.

On the other hand, many on Twitter also think the Splattershot is still a 3-hit weapon, with their main piece of evidence to counter the 4-hit claims being a bit of text that was added to the official website just after the Splatoon 3 Direct.

“You’ll be able to reel in the base version of all main weapons from Inkopolis Square at launch. There might be some minor changes as a result of Splatlands technology development, but their base specs are identical.”

Inkopolis is the name of the main city and setting of Splatoon 2. In other words, weapons from Splatoon 2 will appear in Splatoon 3 with their abilities as they are. The Splatoon 3 Direct included footage of the Splattershot being used in the Test Range (Test Range section begins at 12:10), an area in the game for testing out weapons and builds, and though just for a moment, we can see that one shot does 36 damage.

If things are unchanged from Splatoon 2 and Inklings still have 100 HP, 3 shots from the Splattershot would do 108 damage. This means the Splattershot will still take out a player in 3 shots if the game is released with the same specifications we see in the Test Range footage.

Since this would be the damage without any power reducing modifications, it’s also possible that the 4-hit footage could include other factors that weren’t made obvious in the Direct.

As of now, it’s unknown whether the Splattershot has been weakened for Splatoon 3 but seeing fans not missing even the tiniest of details shows just how passionate they are about the series. The discussions about weapon specifications and the predictions are part of the fun when official information is revealed.

Splatoon 3 is coming to the Nintendo Switch on September 9. The Splatoon 3: Splatfest World Premiere is also scheduled to go live on August 27.

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-08-11 13:30 JST)