Splatoon 3 Fresh Season Update Live, Patch Notes Released

A new update has been released for Splatoon 3, bringing the Nintendo Switch game up to version 3.0.0. On March 1st, the new Fresh Season is set to begin, and today’s update will prepare the game ahead of time. Nintendo has spent the last few weeks pulling back the curtain on the new season, and revealing what fans can expect to see. Players that purchased the new Expansion Pass will also have the opportunity to travel back to Inkopolis from the original Splatoon game on Wii U. Full patch notes from Nintendo’s official website can be found below:

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Ver. 3.0.0 (Released February 27, 2023)

Changes to DLC

Added support for Inkopolis DLC.
- Players who have purchased the Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass – Inkopolis & Side Order DLC can now travel between Inkopolis and Splatsville using the train station in the square.
- Inkopolis has the same shops and features as Splatsville.
- The shops in Inkopolis also have the same lineup of products asSplatsville. If you buy something in one location, it will be sold outfor the day in both locations.

Season and Catalog Changes

On March 1, 2023, data relating to Fresh Season 2023 will be added to the game. This includes:
- A new catalog, including new gear, titles, Splashtags, decorations, stickers, and emotes.
- A new gear brand, Z+F.
- About 126 new items added to store product lineups.
- 2 new battle stages: Um’ami Ruins and Manta Maria.
- 2 new special weapons: Kraken Royale and Super Chump.
- 12 new sets of existing main weapons paired with different sub and special weapons.
- 23 new Tableturf Battle cards.
- Prizes that can be obtained by trading fish scales at Grizzco.
You can earn more Catalog Points than usual during the week before the end of the season thanks to a special Closeout Bonus.

Changes to the Notifications Feature

Added the Pool feature.
- The Pool feature allows players to send and receive notifications with other players in the same Pool.
- Players can enter a phrase to join a Pool by opening the Lobby menu, selecting the Notifications tab, and pressing the + Button.
- For example, if you enter “Turf War Fans,” you’ll be able tosend and receive notifications with players who have also entered “TurfWar Fans,” and you will be able to join or drop in on each other’s gamesusing notifications.
- While there isn’t a limit on how many people can join the samePool, there may be cases in which notifications won’t be sent to allmembers if a large number of players are connected to the same Poolsimultaneously.
When you receive an invitation to play or a “Fresh!” notification, it will be displayed on the screen.

Changes to Multiplayer

New special weapons have been added.
- Weapon sets with these specials will be available in the shops at the start of Fresh Season 2023.

Kraken Royale– Transform into a huge squid or octopus and attack by pressing the BButton to jump or by holding and releasing the ZR Button to do a chargeattack. You’ll be vulnerable for a moment before and after transforming, but you won’t take any damage from attacks while transformed.
Super Chump– Aim and scatter a bunch of balloon-like decoys in a certain area. Markings that look like Super Jump landing spots will display on the ground where the decoys will land. The decoys can be destroyed if hit with an attack. Decoys that aren’t destroyed will explode after a certain amount of time, inking the turf around them and dealing damage.

New weapons have been added. These weapons will be available in the shops at the start of Fresh Season 2023:

Neo Sploosh-o-matic– Sub Weapon: Squid Beakon, Special Weapon: Killer Wail 5.1
Neo Splash-o-matic– Sub Weapon: Suction Bomb, Special Weapon: Triple Inkstrike
N-ZAP ’89– Sub Weapon: Autobomb, Special Weapon: Super Chump
.96 Gal Deco– Sub Weapon: Splash Wall, Special Weapon: Kraken Royale
Custom Jet Squelcher– Sub Weapon: Toxic Mist, Special Weapon: Ink Storm
L-3 Nozzlenose D– Sub Weapon: Burst Bomb, Special Weapon: Ultra Stamp
Rapid Blaster Deco– Sub Weapon: Torpedo, Special Weapon: Inkjet
Clash Blaster Neo– Sub Weapon: Curling Bomb, Special Weapon: Super Chump
Krak-On Splat Roller– Sub Weapon: Squid Beakon, Special Weapon: Kraken Royale
Z+F Splat Charger– Sub Weapon: Splash Wall, Special Weapon: Triple Inkstrike
Z+F Splatterscope– Sub Weapon: Splash Wall, Special Weapon: Triple Inkstrike
Tri-Slosher Nouveau– Sub Weapon: Fizzy Bomb, Special Weapon: Tacticooler

Specifications for some main weapons have changed.

Big Swig Roller– Roughly doubled the amount of damage dealt to nonplayer objects (Splash Walls, brellas, etc.) when striking them with ink.

Specifications for some sub weapons have changed.

Burst Bomb– Increased the amount of time it takes for ink to begin recovering after being used by about 0.16 seconds.

Specifications for some special weapons have changed.

Trizooka– Damage dealt to Crab Tank armor increased by about 20%.
Killer Wail 5.1– Made it easier to activate the effect from the Special Power Up gearability, even when the player only has a few items with that gearability equipped.The effect gained from equipping the maximum number of Special Power Up gear abilities will not change.
Inkjet– Damage dealt to Crab Tank armor increased by about 2.5x.
Ultra Stamp– Damage dealt to Crab Tank armor increased by about 3x.

Points required to use some weapon specials have been changed.

Aerospray MG– Before: 190, After: 180
N-ZAP ’85– Before: 190, After: 180
Tri-Slosher– Before: 190, After: 180
Ballpoint Splatling– Before: 200, After: 190
Tri-Stringer– Before: 200, After: 190

Changed the terrain in some stages for some modes and reduced the impact of weapons shooting from far away.

Eeltail Alley– Turf War, Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker, Clam Blitz

Hagglefish Market– Turf War, Splat Zones, Clam Blitz

Mincemeat Metalworks– Turf War, Splat Zones, Rainmaker, Clam Blitz

Hammerhead Bridge– Turf War, Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker, Clam Blitz

Museum d’Alfonsino– Turf War, Splat Zones, Rainmaker, Clam Blitz

Mahi-Mahi Resort– Turf War, Splat Zones

Wahoo World– Turf War, Splat Zones, Clam Blitz

The sound effect when activating Ultra Stamp is now less audible to teammates.
The sound effect when activating Inkjet is now less audible to teammates.
The sound effect when activating Crab Tank is now less audible to teammates.

Changes to Salmon Run

A new King Salmonid called Horrorboros may appear.
- Whether a Cohozuna or a Horrorboros appears will depend on the schedule at the time.
Data relating to the upcoming Big Run event has been added.
Data relating to the limited-time Eggstra Work event has been added.
- In Eggstra Work, players can assemble a group of two to fourfriends or members from the same Pool and then compete against otherteams—all using the same job scenario—to collect as many Golden Eggs aspossible during five waves.
- Both the initial hazard level and the job scenario for EggstraWork are fixed, which means that every team will face off against thesame Salmonids under the same conditions every time. However, if yourteam manages to exceed the Golden Eggs quota by enough, your hazardlevel will go up, making it possible to get a higher score.
You will now be able to preview items when exchanging fish scales, similar to how you can preview items at Hotlantis, etc.

Changes to Connectivity

Made it so that players will be notified when their connection isunstable. If the connection continues to be unstable, player controlswill temporarily be disabled.

Changes to Splatfests

Changed the amount of XP required to level up a Splatfest Tee.Splatfest Tees with more gear abilities will no longer require more XPto level up than those with fewer gear abilities.

0 Abilities- Before: 2,000, After: 7,500

1 Ability- Before: 8,000, After: 7,500

2 Abilities- Before: 14,000, After: 7,500

3 Abilities- Before: 28,000, After: 7,500

Winners of 10x Battles, etc., will be announced during the Anarchy Splatcast.
- This announcement will display automatically when in the lobby.It is not related to the timing of stage changes that happen every twohours.
Slightly adjusted ink colors during Tricolor Turf War battles when Color Lock is turned ON.
When you win a 10x Battle, a notification will be sent to your friends and members from the same Pool.

Changes to Lockers

Added a feature to store all items placed in your locker at once.
- Press the – (Minus) Button while editing your locker to use this feature.

Changes to Tableturf Battle

It is now possible to play Tableturf Battle against friends and players in the same Pool.
- You can create a room for Tableturf Battle in the lobby.
- Up to 10 players can join a room for Tableturf Battle.
- If two players in the same room take a seat at the TableturfBattle tables on the second floor of the lobby, a game between the twowill commence.
- You can watch a game between two players by approaching them and pressing the A Button.
- You can also play with nearby friends via the same process atthe Shoal. Up to eight players can join a room for Tableturf Battle atthe Shoal.
Increased the responsiveness to quick inputs made on the Edit Deck screen.

Changes to the Lobby

Added a jukebox to the lobby.
- You can use 100 cash to temporarily change the music playing in the lobby to a song of your choosing.
- You’ll gain more songs to choose from as you progress in the game.
- When using the jukebox in a Private Battle room, the music youchoose will also play in the lobbies of other players in that room.

Other Changes

Increased the number of badges that can be obtained based on player level.
Increased the number of items on display in the gear shop at once to nine.
Any titles, banners, decorations, badges, or emotes from previouscatalogs that haven’t been obtained will now be available in theShell-Out Machine.
Increased the image quality on some screens in Photo Mode.
Increased the amount of time before screen burn-in reductionactivates in certain modes, such as while playing Story Mode or viewingreplays.
To improve the matchmaking efficiency in Open Anarchy Battles,teams will be disbanded and new players will be added if only a fewcurrent players select Keep Going.
- As before, when playing in a group with friends, the team will stay together regardless of the number of players remaining.

This update focuses on adding support for the Inkopolis portion of the Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass – Inkopolis & Side Order DLC, as well as adding data and features relating to Fresh Season 2023 and making adjustments to battles.

For battles, changes are primarily focused on ensuring special-weapon balance.

We’ve made other changes with the intent of curtailing strategies that employed repetitive use of certain sub weapons.

By analyzing data in this state at an early stage, we hope torelease update data that includes main-weapon adjustments before long.

For Salmon Run, we have introduced the limited-time Eggstra Work event in addition to a new King Salmonid enemy.

There will be one or two Eggstra Work events during Fresh Season 2023.

For now, you’ll need a group of players to participate in EggstraWork, but we will consider adding the option to join as a solo player inthe future.

In addition to this, we have implemented various features, improvements large and small, and bug fixes.

We plan on releasing the next update sometime around the end ofMarch or the first half of April, and it will focus primarily on balanceadjustments.

Bug Fixes

Fixes to Player Controls

Fixed an issue that caused some players who changed directionquickly to look unstable for a short while on other players’ screens.
Fixed an issue that allowed players to do a Squid Roll for a brieftime when jumping from an inked floor onto an un-inked floor whiletouching a wall.
Fixed an issue that prevented players from being able to submergethemselves in ink on the ground if landing on the ground while touchingan un-inked wall.
Fixed an issue where players who held the R button after doing aSquid Roll off a wall could end up in the pose for using a Curling Bomb,Fizzy Bomb, or Smallfry.
Fixed an issue where players who did a horizontal swing with aroller and made contact with a Torpedo after it changed shape couldsometimes be pushed back slightly.
Fixed an issue where players who attacked an enemy with a rollerby rolling into them—but did not splat them—could sometimes be pushed inan unintended direction.
Fixed an issue where, if certain special weapons were activatedwhile a roller was being lifted up, ink would still fly forward, even ifthe roller’s movement was cut off by the activation of the special.
Fixed an issue that made the ink from a Carbon Roller, CarbonRoller Deco, or Flingza Roller look like a different texture than thatof the ink from other rollers.
Fixed an issue that caused the barrel of a charger to move a lotwhen standing still and firing with low charge, causing the aim andtrajectory to greatly differ from what was intended.
Fixed an issue where, if another player did a Dodge Roll as theyslipped through a grate, that player would appear on other players’screens in a different place than they actually were for a longer timethan expected.
Fixed an issue that caused a delay of up to one second beforedamage to a brella began to recover if the brella was closed directlyafter blocking damage from a foe.
Fixed an issue that caused brellas fired on a slanted surface to tilt up and down more than usual.
Fixed an issue that caused brellas to be able to climb up steep inclines that they normally wouldn’t be able to climb.
Fixed an issue where, if your brella was broken the moment youlaunched it, it would appear broken on your screen but continue movingon other players’ screens.
Fixed an issue that made other players using a Splatana Wiperappear to have ink in their weapon to everyone else, even if they wereout of ink.
Fixed an issue that enabled players to climb to otherwiseunreachable high terrain in rare cases when getting pushed back aftertouching an enemy’s Splash Wall.
Fixed an issue that enabled players to climb otherwise unreachablehigh walls in certain stages while in Crab Tank’s mobile mode.
Fixed an issue where assists were incorrectly assigned whenplayers who were moving slowly due to being sucked in by an Ink Vac weresplatted.
Fixed an issue that sometimes sent a player’s Wave Breaker far away when they tried placing it on an edge.
Fixed an issue where players may not be returned to the spot wherethey activated a Zipcaster or Inkjet special if they activated it rightafter landing on a grate in swim form after a Super Jump andsubsequently fell off the stage.
Fixed an issue where players would still appear to be taking inkdamage if they took damage from an enemy’s Ink Storm while submerged inink, even if they swam around in ink.

Fixes to Multiplayer

Fixed an issue that caused the point at which a player is considered to have fallen off the stage to be lower than intended.
Fixed an issue where ink from an enemy’s Sprinkler that hit a wall wouldn’t drip on other players’ screens.
Fixed an issue that allowed Fizzy Bombs thrown a certain way todamage players within a Big Bubbler when the Big Bubbler was on movingterrain.
Fixed an issue that allowed certain Zipcaster, Crab Tank, andReefslider attacks to deal damage to opponents behind thin terrain.
Fixed an issue that prevented a Crab Tank’s armor from taking damage if it touched the Rainmaker shield while in mobile mode.
Fixed an issue that caused a Tacticooler to sometimes appear in adifferent location on the screen of the player who placed it than on thescreens of other players.
Fixed an issue that allowed the ZR Button to be used to stop a Reefslider even after a battle ended.
Fixed an issue where players who tried to use Ink Storm while therain cloud from their last Ink Storm was still on the stage would havetheir special gauge freeze for that battle.
Fixed an issue where, if you splatted a player who had a gearability enabling them to see through terrain equipped (like Thermal Inkor Haunt, etc.) using a special weapon that has an ink tank (likeInkjet, etc.), sometimes the ink tank would be the only thing thesplatted player could see through terrain when they respawned.
Adjusted the density of the border of Splat Zones when displayedthrough terrain and addressed an issue with visibility depending on inkcolor.
Fixed an issue in Tower Control where using a Crab Tank on terrainaround the tower would sometimes cause the Crab Tank to take control ofthe tower even if it wasn’t on the tower.
Fixed an issue in Rainmaker that caused players to sometimes clipinto the terrain if they got caught between the terrain and theRainmaker shield.
Fixed an issue in Rainmaker where performing a Super Jump ontocheckpoints or the goal at a particular moment as they rose sometimesmade players clip into them.
Fixed an issue in Clam Blitz where the splash of ink that displays when throwing a power clam looked different than intended.
Fixed an issue in Clam Blitz where, if an enemy’s power clam wassitting on top of a closed basket, it would automatically count as thepower clam going into the basket when the basket reappeared.
Fixed an issue in Clam Blitz where, if you repeatedly throw andpick up clams for a short time, clams you picked up would sometimes notdisplay or follow you.
Fixed an issue in Clam Blitz where breaking an opponent’s barrieras time ran out in a special three-minute overtime after a scorelessregular match would not count.
Fixed an issue in Turf War and Splat Zones modes that allowed youto climb over certain obstacles and cross terrain in unintended ways onthe Scorch Gorge stage.
Fixed an issue in Eeltail Alley that caused ink to fly up above abridge if a player splatted an enemy while they were jumping under thebridge.
Fixed an issue in Rainmaker that caused the goal distance inUndertow Spillway to change significantly if you jumped on an enemysponge of a certain size while holding the Rainmaker.
Fixed an issue in Clam Blitz where clams were not placedsymmetrically at the start of a battle on the Mincemeat Metalworksstage.
Fixed an issue in Tower Control that allowed you tounintentionally climb walls from above certain fences on the Museumd’Alfonsino stage.
Fixed an issue in Mahi-Mahi Resort that caused the water level to not change if participants disconnected at certain times.
Fixed an issue in Rainmaker where the announcement that your teamhad broken through the checkpoint wasn’t displayed when you brokethrough a checkpoint first on the Mahi-Mahi Resort stage.
Fixed an issue in Sturgeon Shipyard where, if another player SuperJumped onto a moving drawbridge, they would appear on other players’screens as having landed on the ground regardless of whether or not theyactually landed on the drawbridge.
Fixed an issue in MakoMart that sometimes caused players to become stuck in the terrain.
Fixed an issue in Wahoo World that allowed players to unintentionally climb certain walls.
Fixed an issue in Wahoo World that sometimes caused players to clip into the terrain when Super Jumping to certain locations.
Fixed an issue in Clam Blitz mode where clams were placed at thestart of battle in such a way that they got stuck inside sponges on theBrinewater Springs stage.
Fixed an issue in Tower Control, Clam Blitz, Turf War, and SplatZones modes where you could climb up certain unclimbable walls on theFlounder Heights stage.
Fixed an issue in Tower Control and Rainmaker modes that allowedyou to climb unclimbable walls and terrain on the Flounder Heights stageusing methods not intended to be used.

Fixes to Salmon Run

Fixed an issue that prevented players from escaping a Flyfish’s container if they entered while in life-ring form.
Fixed an issue that prevented players from moving while on top of a gusher in life-ring form.
Addressed an issue that caused the timing of each player’s Super Jump to be off.
Addressed an issue that caused Salmonids to deviate from their setmovement path and become stuck in the terrain under certain conditions.
Addressed an issue where players could be considered inactive andhave communication cut when performing a ground-rolling attack with aroller at a very slow speed, despite this being an action one canusually perform.
Adjusted the animation of the Grizzco Brella when being launched and reduced its brightness.
Fixed an issue that caused players to sometimes clip into theterrain if they touched the lower part of a Maws after it attacked.
Fixed an issue that caused the Triple Inkstrike guide to not follow the movement of a Flyfish when it hit the Flyfish’s cockpit.
Fixed an issue where the Grizzco Splatana couldn’t damage a Stinger.
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused multiple Big Shots to spawn from the same spot.
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused Golden Eggs to land on top ofthe egg basket if a player defeated a Snatcher flying over it.
Addressed an issue that caused slowdown to occur when players are in certain places on the Marooner’s Bay stage.
Fixed an issue during Cohock Charge mode that made a cannon unusable if a player got splatted while in it.
Fixed an issue during Goldie Seeking mode where, if a gusher wasactivated just before the wave ended, the gusher would stay active inthe next wave as well.
Made it so that if the Mothership comes to steal Golden Eggs fromthe egg basket when it has no eggs inside during Mothership waves,Chinooks will not come out of the Mothership.
Fixed an issue that caused Slammin’ Lids to rise unnaturally high in certain areas on the Spawning Grounds stage.
Fixed an issue on the Marooner’s Bay stage that sometimes causedGolden Eggs to fall and stick onto the side of the boat when theSnatcher carrying them got splatted.
Fixed an issue that caused Stingers and Drizzlers to greatly overlap in certain areas on the Marooner’s Bay stage.
Fixed an issue where a player’s friends that they had just worked a shift with didn’t appear in front of Grizzco afterward.
Fixed an issue that prevented players from getting a Big Run badge if a communication error occurred at a specific time.
Fixed an issue that affected a player’s lesson progress if theydid “Lesson One: On-the-Job Basics” after a special wave occurred intheir prior shift.

Fixes to Splatfests

Fixed an issue that caused some of the floats being set up during the Splatfest Sneak Peek to not display.
Fixed an issue that caused players to look different than usual when taking photos on a Splatfest Float.
Fixed an issue that caused player avatars to not do poses designated by the player when taking photos on a Splatfest Float.

Other Fixes

Fixed an issue that prevented stickers from the Splash Mob gear brand from showing up.
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the line indicating how manyRank Points were needed until the next rank to be displayed in the wrongposition, giving the impression that the player had skipped a level.This occurred when players earned Rank Points equal to the amount neededto rank up.
Fixed an issue where gear with ★★★★ star power would sometimes earn one fewer XP than it should.
Fixed an issue with replays that caused the battle action todiffer from the original battle while navigating through a video. Forexample, a player who should be on the stage could appear to have beensplatted, etc.
Fixed an issue where watching certain battle replays would causethe game to crash or cause part of the game display to disappear.
Fixed an issue where selecting Start Over in the menu to replay abattle sometimes resulted in brellas being in a different state than inthe first replay.
Fixed an issue with Private Battles in the Shoal where only cameraoptions and no player settings would be reset even if Reset Options wasturned ON.
Fixed an issue where, after a player turned Reset Options ON inthe Shoal, the setting would remain ON when they started a PrivateBattle or Private Job in the lobby or at Grizzco.
Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented the sort feature on the Equip menu from working correctly.
Fixed an issue in Ammo Knights and Hotlantis where, even ifplayers tried to change their equipped gear, the changes would not beapplied to some parts.
Fixed an issue where, if a player was trying something on in ashop and then moved to another shop from the main menu, they would startout in the Trying On state in the other shop.
Fixed an issue in Ammo Knights where dualie weapons appeared smaller than usual while players tried them out.
Fixed an issue where performing certain actions after talking toMurch would cause the A Button to stop working on the menu screen,preventing the player from proceeding.
Fixed an issue where, if the player switched from Listen toSplatcast to Watch Splatcast, the X Battle stages wouldn’t be shown onthe Anarchy Splatcast when multiplayer maps and modes were updated.
Fixed an issue in the match menu where performing certain actionswould cause the battle-stats display to be duplicated in Notifications.
Fixed an issue during recon where players who touched theRainmaker shield while in swim form on an inkrail would continue to takedamage until they got splatted instead of falling.
Fixed an issue where applying certain filters during a photo shootwould cause the coloring of the stage to change after ending the photoshoot.
Fixed an issue where, if a player used the timer during a photoshoot and then placed the Rainmaker on a checkpoint before picking it upagain, the amount of time that player held the Rainmaker wouldn’t bereset.
Fixed an issue where sub weapons held in a player’s hands wouldn’tshow up correctly in photos if they used the timer during a photoshoot.
Fixed an issue where the effect that indicates when a charger orstringer is fully charged wouldn’t show up in photos if a player usedthe timer during a photo shoot.
Fixed an issue where applying certain filters during a photo shooton certain stages would make it extremely difficult to see the screen.
Fixed an issue where the ink color of an amiibo’s weapon wouldsometimes appear to be a different color than the amiibo if certainweapons (Splat Roller, etc.) were equipped.
Fixed an issue where, if a player chose Change Gear, Then Go! andthen changed their gear, the gear that they changed into would sometimesbe applied to the battle result screen for the previous battle.
Addressed an issue that sometimes caused slowdowns to occur whenplayers regained control of their characters after finishing a battleand returning to the lobby.
Fixed an issue that caused the shoulder part of certain clothing placed in a locker to stretch out unnaturally.
Fixed an issue where players would be unable to enter the lockerroom if a communication error occurred at a certain time after theyedited their locker for the first time.

All in all, this is looking like a massive update. There’s a lot of new content, and a lot of changes that could make the game more balanced and enjoyable for all players. Hopefully update 3.0.0 will prove one of the best for Splatoon 3!

Are you excited for today’s new Splatoon 3 update? What do you think of all these changes? Let usknow inthecomments orshare yourthoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!