Salmon Run Next Wave is a sequel to Salmon Run in Splatoon 3. Like the original Salmon Run in Splatoon 2, it's a multiplayer co-op game with 2-4 players. The job is to defeat the Boss Salmonids and collect their Golden Eggs. The use for these collected golden eggs is revealed in Splatoon 3's story mode, Return of the Mammalians.
New Features[]
In the trailer for Salmon Run Next Wave you can see new features that weren't in Splatoon 2.
New Boss Salmonids[]
4 new Boss Salmonids have been added to Salmon Run: Next Wave.
- Fish Stick: The Fish Stick boss is a kind of pillar that is hooked to the ground from which hang a series of Smallfry that are able to be shot at. The Fish Stick will first appear to be flying high upon the air until they are able to find a spot to land on. During this time, if you splat all the Smallfry on the Fish Stick before it lands, the Fish Stick will be automatically defeated. However, if you are not able to accomplish this strategy, you can finish off the Fish Stick by climbing on the pillar by inking its sides, and when you're up on the top, splat all the smallfry hanging from the pillar to get 3 Golden Eggs. This makes the boss act similarly to the Sprinkler. The pillars stay around until the next wave, so if you destroy the fish stick near your egg basket, you can do a “Egg Throw.”
- Flipper-Flopper: Flipper-Flopper attacks Inklings/Octolings by launching itself upward. When up, it throws a ring of ink at a player, which automatically covers that area with enemy ink, making it difficult for the player to escape. The Flipper-Flopper is then thrown downward crushing the player and splatting said player instantly. However, if the circled area is covered in player ink before the belly flop, the Flipper-Flopper's armor will break upon hitting the ground and it flops helplessly. It can then be quickly splatted in this state. If not splatted after losing its armor, the armor will presumably not return. This makes the boss act similarly to the Splashdown and Splat Zones.
- Slammin’ Lid: The Slammin' Lid creates a cone like shield to protect Salmonids, as well as has the ability to spawn Chums, Smallfries and Cohocks (In Cohock Charge, only Cohocks can spawn.) via the underside port. This makes the boss act similarly to the Big Bubbler. When the Slammin’ Lid falls or smashes on another boss underneath it, it will destroy it too.
- Big Shot: Its cannon fires a cannonball far off close to the player or the Egg Basket creating a similar mechanism like the Wave Breaker. The cannon stays until the next wave as well and you can fire Golden Power Eggs from it towards the Egg Basket.
Mechanics[]
In Salmon Run Next Wave, you can throw the Golden Eggs you have collected at your teammates, and you can also throw them from a distance towards the Egg Basket.
There are also new modes that are held on weekends similar to Splatfests during each three-month period that a new Catalog is active for players to complete: Big Run and Eggstra Work.
Big Run[]
During Big Runs, the Salmonids have decided to take the fight to the Inklings and Octolings and invaded Inkopolis and Splatsville, forcing Mr. Grizz to have the kids step up their work detail for him to force the Salmonids back to the sea with engaging them in one of the multiplayer maps instead of the usual Salmon Run maps. This always takes place early in the first month of a new Catalog Season. Three waves are done as normal, as are the chances for facing a King Salmonid after clearing the third and final wave as part of an Extra Wave. Recent updates make it so clearing a shift with fighting a King Salmonid Extra Wave awards double the scales compared to normal when a Big Run is not active. Players who do very well in setting a high score on collecting Golden Eggs will be awarded a Locker decoration based on their high score, ranking from bronze for the Top 50%, to silver for the Top 20%, and gold for the Top 5%. Anyone who still takes part, but doesn't set a high score within the at least the Top 50% range will be awarded the basic decoration for participation as a consolation prize, which is similar to the other decorations that can be purchased repeatedly from Grizzco for scales.
However, with the update to the scoring system in Version 6.0.0, the requirements to earn a bronze, silver, or gold decoration for the Locker are now locked in as thus:
- Standard: 84 & Under Golden Power Eggs
- Bronze: 85 - 109 Golden Power Eggs
- Silver: 110 - 134 Golden Power Eggs
- Gold: 135 & Up Golden Power Eggs
This update had to be patched in Version 6.0.1 and Version 6.0.2 before all players were transferred to the new scoring system, allowing them to keep both the Locker decoration they received under the old scoring system, and the new one under the new scoring system.
For the BIG Big Run, not only were King Salmonid Extra Waves adjusted to award triple the scales, but now all three of the King Salmonids attack together as the Triumvirate, making things much more difficult.
Eggstra Work[]
During Eggstra Work shifts, which usually take place in the third month of a Catalog Season before it ends and the next one starts, players are allowed to team up to train and practice against Salmonids on one of the regular Salmon Run maps, but instead of working three waves and a chance to fight a King Salmonid, they now have to work five waves of increasing difficulty on the Hazard Level based on the quota earned on the previous wave, where anything between 1.5x and 2x the original quota will increase the Hazard Level difficulty by 30% or 60% for the next wave, meaning a successful double quota completion on every wave before the final one could raise the Hazard Level to a maximum of 300%. Wave 1 always starts at Hazard Level 60%. Waves are also preset to be the same every shift during Eggstra Work, such as fighting the Mothership always on the same wave, or a Cohock Charge on the same wave, or even Mudmouths on the same wave, but the Hazard Level means more and more Boss Salmonids, which are also preset to spawn at the same intervals every wave, and preset to where only certain Boss Salmonids spawn on the same wave, such as Steel Eels and Stingers being the majority of enemies fought on one wave, and Fish Sticks and Drizzlers on another. This repetition can make it easy to create a strategy to handle the waves again on the next attempt if the same players attempt it.
However, unlike the scoring update to Big Run in Version 6.0.0, Eggstra Work remained under the older system, with the main objective still being to set a high score on Golden Eggs to earn a special Locker decoration, with gold for the Top 5%, silver for the Top 20%, and bronze for the Top 50%, with a consolation version for participation overall if unable to get a high score in the Top 50% range.
The Salmometer and chance of fighting a King Salmonid are disabled during Eggstra Work shifts.
King Salmonids[]
The main threat in this game mode will be the King Salmonid, a giant salmonid similar to a Cohock, only much bigger. The King Salmonid also has a resemblance to Maws. Each player has a meter, known as a "Salmometer", which will fill up when playing games of Salmon Run, and once their meter is filled they have a chance to encounter a King Salmonid. A King Salmonid will only appear after the third round of Salmon Run, and the game will count as a win regardless of whether they defeat the King Salmonid or not. As a reward for fighting the King Salmonid, the player will earn random Fish Scales (bronze, silver and gold), which can be traded for rewards with the Grizzco window where regular Salmon Run rewards are collected.
Shop[]
Players can trade Fish Scales for rewards at Grizzco Headquarters.
Rewards[]
| Image | Name | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Orange Slopsuit | Default | |
 |
Green Slopsuit | 10 Silver | |
 |
Yellow Slopsuit | 10 Silver | |
 |
Pink Slopsuit | 30 Silver | |
 |
Blue Slopsuit | 30 Silver | |
 |
Black Slopsuit | 100 Silver | |
 |
White Slopsuit | 100 Silver | |
 |
Scrapper | 80 Bronze | |
 |
Steelhead | 5 Silver | |
 |
Smallfry | 1 Gold | |
 |
Maws | 160 Bronze | |
 |
Stinger | 20 Silver | |
 |
Chum | 4 Gold | |
 |
Drizzler | 320 Bronze | |
 |
Flyfish | 80 Silver | |
 |
Cohock | 15 Gold | |
 |
Steel Eel | 15 Gold | |
 |
Goldie | 100 Gold | |
 |
TS-SAL graffiti | 30 Bronze | |
 |
TS-SWD graffiti | 50 Bronze | |
 |
GCI-DNG poster | 50 Bronze | |
 |
GCI-FRI neon | 3 Silver | |
 |
TS-ORBRS graffiti | 3 Silver | |
 |
Grizzco Industries logo | 1 Gold | |
 |
TS-C0HK graffiti | 80 Bronze | |
 |
TS-RLPL graffiti | 80 Bronze | |
 |
GCI-FSH sticker | 80 Bronze | |
 |
GCI-NMLSMN neon | 10 Silver | |
 |
SR-UDTRG sign | 10 Silver | |
 |
GCI-WTD poster | 3 Gold | |
 |
TS-WHPL graffiti | 160 Bronze | |
 |
TS-SMFR graffiti | 160 Bronze | |
 |
TS-LGF8Z graffiti | 160 Bronze | |
 |
GCI-NOSLMN poster | 160 Bronze | |
 |
GCI-XLSMN neon | 50 Silver | |
 |
TS-FLT graffiti | 50 Silver | |
 |
SD0-STR graffiti | 50 Silver | |
 |
TS-C0HZ graffiti | 10 Gold | |
 |
10 Bronze | ||
 |
100 Bronze | ||
 |
2 Gold | ||
 |
250 Bronze | ||
 |
250 Bronze | ||
 |
5 Gold | ||
 |
600 Bronze | ||
 |
600 Bronze | ||
 |
999 Silver | ||
 |
20 Gold | ||
