Splatoon 3 players are abusing the new Big Swig Roller to farm money

Splatoon 3 players have been spotted using the new Big Swig Roller weapon in a money farming scheme that brings an old issue to light once again. The catalyst for the discussion was the below video from Twitter user @Kotezaurusu.

In the case of Splatoon 3, players in Japan use the word “collusion” to describe players on opposing teams working together to earn money instead of playing a match normally.

In Turf War, players earn points by inking the map which corresponds to how much money they receive after the match. With this collusion scheme, players on opposing teams take turns repeatedly inking over the same area in order to efficiently receive these points.

In the Battle Replay shared by @Kotezaurusu, we can see they are playing with 7 people who are each using the Big Swig Roller. That’s not something you want to see right at the start of a match. Then, when the match starts, they all begin inking the map. However, despite it being a Turf War, none of them make an effort to fight each other. Instead, they work together with players on the opposing team to earn money.

Methods vary from circling around the entire map to circling around an obstacle or object in unison with an opponent to constantly earn points. In either case, both @Kotezaurusu’s teammates and opponents are working together instead of playing the game normally. When all was said and done, the two players who were constantly circling around an object earned around 1,800 points, which would be tough to pull off under normal circumstances.

@Kotezaurusu tried to go against the tide and ended up with 7 splats and 5 deaths, but 1 vs 7 is a tough situation to be in. These collusion matches are a huge annoyance for players who get stuck in them.

When a Splatoon 3 player hears the word collusion, they likely think of the REEF-LUX collusion issue that was popular just after the game launched (related article). Like the match @Kotezaurusu suffered through, it’s clearly an inconvenience for those looking to play Turf War and has caused this kind of play to be viewed as problematic by many players.

When REEF-LUX collusion was a hot topic, Nintendo’s Japanese support Twitter account posted that Splatoon 3 and other online games were subject to the Nintendo Account User Agreement and asked players to show consideration for others in accordance to the agreement. Players guessed this was likely an indirect warning against REEF-LUX collusion.

After that, reports of REEF-LUX collusion decreased, but now this new method is gaining traction. While the Big Swig Roller has low attack power, it covers a wide range when rolling on the ground, making it great for inking the map and likely why it was chosen for this money farming scheme.

Additionally, the Big Swig Roller and REEF-LUX 450 aren’t the only weapons players have reported being used for farming, with some saying they’ve also come across players using the Carbon Roller and the new Splattershot Nova.

At any rate, colluding with the other team to farm money in Turf War matches is not only an inconvenience to others, but could potentially brush up against the Nintendo Account User Agreement. And like the Battle Replay shown above, the evidence remains, which makes it risky as well.

If you’re looking to earn money, getting 1,200pt in Salmon Run or winning matches in Anarchy Battle is a safer bet. Hopefully players that have a problem with the in-game economy take it up with Nintendo instead of causing trouble for others.

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-12-06 21:51 JST)