Salmon Run Next Wave Guide: Tips and How to Play

Salmon Run Next Wave is a survival co-op multiplayer in Splatoon 3 where 4 players fight hordes of Salmonids and collect Golden Eggs. Read on to learn how to play Salmon Run, see all its ranks, rewards, and new features, as well as how to play and survive each wave.

How to Play Salmon Run Next Wave

How to Play Salmon Run
Talk to Mr. Grizz at Grizzco
Collect Golden Eggs from Boss Salmonids
Reach Quota Before the Timer Runs Out
Defeat the King Salmonid

Talk to Mr. Grizz at Grizzco

Mr. Grizz is your guy in Salmon Runs. He's moved his Grizzco office to Splatsville and is looking for workers to fend of Salmonids and get their Golden Eggs!

Mr. Grizz Character Profile

Accept a Freelance Job

Mr. Grizz will teach you the basics of Salmon Run and give you an idea of what you're up against. Accept a Freelance Job and team up with random players or your friends to start a Salmon Run!

Collect Golden Eggs from Boss Salmonids

You'll need to fight hordes of Salmonids in 3 waves, and you'll need to splat them to collect the Power Eggs that they drop.

Boss Salmonids spawn from time to time and they drop Golden Eggs when taken down. These are what you're after so collect as many of them as possible!

Shoot Golden Eggs in the Basket

You'll need to deliver the Golden Eggs to the egg basket stationed somewhere in the arena. This basket sometimes moves location as the wave progresses, so keep track of where it's at!

You can only hold one Golden Egg at a time so make sure you put or shoot them in the basket quickly before the Salmonids steal the Golden Eggs left on the ground!

If a Salmonid manages to steal an egg, splat them quickly before they go back to the water to retrieve the Golden Eggs!

Reach Quota Before the Timer Runs Out

There are a total of 3 waves per Salmon Run and each wave has its own timer and quota determined by the players' rankings. The higher you and your teammates' levels are, the harder the Salmon Run.

Make sure you hit the quota before the timer runs out to successfully finish the run!

Defeat the King Salmonid

A King Salmonid occassionally appears in the battlefield during Xtrawave just before you clear a run.

When he appears, shoot him with Golden Eggs to drain his HP. This Extra Wave is timed so do as much damage as you can to the King Salmonid to earn fish scales for better rewards!

How to Beat King Salmonid Cohozuna

How to Beat All Boss Salmonids

How to Defeat New Boss Salmonids

Boss Salmonid	Strategy
Fish Stick	Ink the pillar the smallfries are carrying, then climb to the top to splat them.
Flipper-Flopper	Ink the ring where the Flipper-Flopper will land to break its armor and splat it once it lands prone.
Slammin' Lid	Bait the Slammin' Lid's slam attack by quickly going under it, then jump on the spacecraft to splat the pilot.
Big Shot	Splat the Big Shot with ink, then use its launcher to launch the Golden Eggs to the egg basket.

How to Defeat Returning Boss Salmonids

Boss Salmonid	Strategy
Steelhead	Splat the bomb on top of Steelhead's head while it's inflating.
Steel Eel	Splat the Salmonid pilot located at the Steel Eel's tail to defeat it.
Crapper	Shoot the Scrapper's armor with ink until it breaks, then quickly get behind it and splat the driver to defeat it.
Stinger	Splat the pots making up its tower to defeat the Stinger.
Maws	Throw a Splat Bomb into the ring where Maws will jump out off to instantly splat it once it swallows the bomb.
Drizzler	Splat the Drizzler with ink once it flips over after it fires its torpedo. You can also instantly splat it by inking the torpedo to reflect it back at the Drizzler.
Flyfish	Wait for Flyfish's missile launchers to open, then throw a splat bomb to destroy it. Destroy both missile launchers to defeat it.

All Boss Salmonids and How to Beat Them

How to Increase Rank in Salmon Run Next Wave

Rank Up by Doing Freelance Jobs

Your Rank Progress in Salmon Run increases by 20 points for successfully clearning a run, and if you reach 99 on your current rank, you will level up to the next rank.

Conversely, failing to achieve the quota causes your Rank Progress to descrease. If the gauge reaches zero and you fail to clear another run, you will get demoted to the previous rank.

List of Ranks

Salmon Run Next Wave introduces a new rank above Profreshional called Eggsecutive VP which is the highest rank attainable in the game mode, and requires a total of 999 points to max out.

How to Increase Salmon Run Rank

Salmon Run Next Wave Rewards

Grizzco Points

Successfully clearing a run rewards players with Grizzco Points, which you can exchange for rewards that can help you improve your character's stats!

These are determined by how well players did in a Salmon Run as well as your Rank. If you exceed your quota and finish the run early, you'll get more Grizzco Points!

Rewards Get Better as You Rank Up

The rewards you get from Salmon run get better the higher your rank gets.

Practice your Salmonid splatting skills and focus on getting promoted and increasing your pay grade. You can get rare gear and even food tickets as rewards!

How to Get Food Tickets

Earn Points to Get Capsules and Gear

Earning points nets you rewards such as Showcased Gear and Capsules that may contain Cash, Ability Chunks, and Food and Drink Tickets!

You'll get these rewards every time you earn 100 Grizzco points up to 1200 points, after which you will earn rewards every 200 points instead before the end of the current rotation. To get as many rewards as possible, try to earn 1200 points before the rotation ends.

All Salmon Run Rewards

Fish Scales

You can get fish scales by defeating King Salmonid Cohozuna, which you can exchange for bonus items like designer work suits to customize your character!

How to Get Fish Scales

Salmon Run Next Wave New Features

Salmon Run is Open 24/7

Salmon Run Next Wave is now operational 24/7, which means you can work anytime you want! Don't forget about your work-life balance though and make sure you get enough rest in between gigs!

Egg Throw Golden Eggs

The Egg Throw is a new feature introduced in Splatoon 3 that allows you to throw Golden Eggs at range or pass them to your teammates.

Get a hang of this new mechanic so you can collect even more Golden Eggs for better prizes!

Practice Egg Throws at the Break Room

The Grizzco Industries office now has a break room where you can practice your egg throwing skills before you take on a Salmon Run.

You'll want to master this newfound skill since each Salmon Run gets more difficult as you rank up!

King Salmonid (Cohozuna) Appears

King Salmonid Cohozuna is a gigantic Salmonid that has a chance to appear during an Xtrawave, which has a chance to happen whenever a shift ends.

Although you can attack it with your main and sub weapons, you can also shoot it with Golden Eggs to deal extra damage! Hit it enough times to drive it off and earn bonus fish scales for better rewards!

Big Run Announced

Big Run is an upcoming Salmon Run mode where the horde of Salmonids attack the city, and you'll need to fight waves invading the regular maps!

Not much is known about it but the Splatoon 3 Direct mentioned that this event will happen once every few months.

Salmon Run Next Wave Tips and Tricks

Ink the Arena Right Away

Once you land on the battlefield, focus on inking as much turf so you and your teammates can move around the arena freely and have more places to refill your ink.

Revive Teammates with Ink

When a teammate falls, spray them with ink to revive them. Do the same when a teammate falls in water or if a Salmonid manages to splat them.

The run ends when all team members get splatted, so keep an eye out for those in need of help!

Start a Salmon Run with Friends

Salmon Run is a challenging game mode that gets more difficult as your rank goes up. We recommend teaming up with friends so you can better coordinate your Salmon Run and take on increasingly difficult bosses with ease!

Friend Finder Board

What is Salmon Run Next Wave?

Survival Co-Op Multiplayer

Salmon Run Next Wave is Splatoon 3's version of the Salmon Run from previous games. It's a 4-player survival co-op multiplayer where the team has to fight off hordes of Salmonids amd collect as many Golden Eggs before time runs out.

How to Play Salmon Run with Friends

Join a Friend or Create a Room

1	Talk to Mr. Grizz at Grizzco to start a shift.
2	Press the Button to start a Freelance Job with Friends.
3	In the lobby, look for friends and join their room to join them in a match.
3.1	You may also create your own room by pressing the Button for your friends to join. You may also edit your preferences such as enabling voice chat or setting a password for better matchmaking.
4	Wait for the party to fill up and press Ready to start the wave!

Start a Private Job to Practice

You may also choose to start a Private Job with Friends for practice. When creating a room, you can set the wave's Hazard Level and Stage for a more customized experience.

Private Jobs don't reward points, but they're great for practicing coordinating with your friends when running especially hazardous Salmon Runs!

Splatoon 3 Related Guides

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Latest News and Events	Main Weapons
Sub Weapons	Special Weapons
Gear Abilities	Tips and Tricks
Stages	Characters
Game Modes	Gear Brands
Hero Mode	Bosses
Salmon Run	Gear and Equipment
Updates and Patch Notes	Message Boards