The latest Splatoon 3 update arrives on the shiny new Switch 2, and the original console, with promises to iron out multiplayer quirks players have been complaining about since release, fine-tune the balance, and adjust weapons for this unique multiplayer shooter.
Splatoon is at its best when the inevitable chaos is balanced by creative ways to splat your enemies. Every weapon needs its deserved place and time, and you always know when you messed up – not because the other guy’s gun was over-tuned by 10%, but because you made a tactical mistake 30 seconds earlier.
Despite Nintendo ending regular updates for Splatoon 3 last year, this latest patch brings the title closer to that ideal way of playing the game, so let’s dig right in and see what’s changed, and what it means for the squid kids and octolings among you.
Splatoon 3 Updates Brings Balance to Weapons
One of the biggest gripes before this latest Splatoon 3 patch notes update was weapon balancing, and the developer seems to be of the same opinion.
The amount of weapons getting a rebalance is astounding, and Nintendo has adjusted the OP performance of a lot of splatter guns in the 10.1.0 update. Nerfs are in order, and the underused tools are getting some love as well.
As for blasters, they are definitely said to see some fine-tuning, where less splash dominance is balanced out with better yielding results for player precision. Chargers will get the same treatment, and rollers got slight adjustments to spread and range, making them feel a tiny bit more reliable without turning every single swing into that dreaded KO engine.
The Splatana, being one of the more controversial builds, has been taken down a notch and just enough to keep them competitive – but not as dominant as it used to be.
All these changes might come with a caveat, especially if you’re a single-weapon main. You might need to adjust your playstyle and learn new ones in order to get back to your dominating self.
For a jack-of-all-trades, this is a good thing, though, since you’re not forced to chase the meta with a weapon you feel more or less uncomfortable with.
More Fixes For Splatoon 3 Multiplayer Matches
In more news about this patch, the connectivity improvements Nintendo is eyeing up mean fewer disconnects and a smoother gameplay loop, whereas the matchmaking is also being fine-tuned to better balance the beastly differing player skill levels.
Some other bugs plaguing many a multiplayer title, like unfair deaths due to a ping discrepancy between players, for example, are being looked at and are a thing of the past with 10.1.0.
These quality-of-life tweaks may not be able to get new players on board, but they’re definitely important to long-term players, who keep the game alive.
