What can you do as a free member?

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and unlock all our premium features and tools to enhance your gaming experience.

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and save articles to your watchlist and get notified when they're updated with new information.

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and save your favorite games for quick access later, synced across all your devices.

Member benefits illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you'll receive instant notifications when someone replies to your posts.

Comment rating feature illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you can make use of convenient features in the comments section, such as rating and sorting comments.

Premium archive feature illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you can access Premium articles that are exclusively available to members.

Site Interface

Guest
Free Member
Article Watchlist
Game Bookmarks
Cross-device Sync
Light/Dark Theme Toggle
User Profiles
Direct Feedback
Comment Rating

Game Tools

Guest
Free Member
Interactive Map Access
Interactive Map Pins
Interactive Map Comments
Interactive Map Pins Cross-Device
Check List
Event Choice Checker
Deck Builder Cross-Device
Message Board Notification
Message Board Cross-Device
Build Planner
Stat Calculator
Diagnostic Tool
Weapon/Armor Wishlist

Want more information?Learn more

Splatoon 3

Specials Tier List: Best Special Weapons

9
Add to Watchlist

★ Version 1.1.2 Update Details
★ Tips and Tricks: Beginner's Guide to Splatoon
┗ Best Weapons | Best Specials | Best Sub Weapons
★ All Game Modes and Rules
┗ Turf War | Anarchy Battles | Salmon Run
★ Hero Mode Walkthrough | List of Bosses

Splatoon 3 - Special Weapons Ranking.png

Our Special Weapons Ranking Tier List is here to show you the best Special Weapons currently available in Splatoon 3. Continue reading to see our special weapons tier list, the ranking of each special weapon, and an explanation of their rank.

Tier List Articles
Best Weapons IconWeapons Tier List Best Specials IconSpecials Tier List Best Subs IconSub Weapons Tier List
Best Gear Abilities IconGear Abilities Tier List Best Weapons for Beginners IconBest Beginner Weapons -

List of Contents

Best Special Weapons Tier List

Current Special Weapons Ranking

Tier Weapons
SS
Tenta Missiles Triple Inkstrike Tacticooler Trizooka
S
Ink Storm Zipcaster Booyah Bomb Wave Breaker Reefslider Killer Wail 5.1
A
Ultra Stamp Inkjet Big Bubbler
B
Crab Tank Ink Vac

・Rankings are based off version 1.1 of the game.

Ranking Criteria

・Special Weapons that can be used by any role are given higher placements within the tier list.
・Specials that buff/support allies are given higher placements.
・Specials that are strong on their own, regardless of the presence of enemies/allies are given higher placements.

Which Special Weapon Do You Think Is the Best?

Trizooka 19
Votes
Triple Inkstrike 11
Votes
Tacticooler 48
Votes
Zipcaster 13
Votes
Booyah Bomb 22
Votes
Wave Breaker 14
Votes
Killer Wail 5.1 25
Votes
InkJet 1
Votes
Reef Slider 107
Votes
Big Bubbler 10
Votes
Ultra Stamp 9
Votes
Crab Tank 25
Votes
Ink Vac 8
Votes
Ink Storm 3
Votes
Tenta Missiles 53
Votes

Best Special Weapons Analysis

SS Tier

Special Weapon Reason
TrizookaTrizooka ・Lethal Special that can almost always guarantee a kill.
Triple InkstrikeTriple Inkstrike ・Each torpedo provides great ink potential and kill potential.
・Quick and easy special to use.
TacticoolerTacticooler ・Great utility provided by increased movement speed and faster ink recovery.
・Can empower the whole team as long as they have access to the cooler.
Tenta MissilesTenta Missiles ・The missiles are able to target multiple inklings at once and provides high damage.
・It can also provide blast damage when the ink missile comes in contact with the target or surface.

S Tier

Special Weapon Reason
ZipcasterZipcaster ・Provides great mobility to easily infiltrate the enemy back line or scale high platforms.
Booyah BombBooyah Bomb ・Large bomb with great ink potential and kill potential.
・Works well as a panic special in a pinch.
Wave BreakerWave Breaker ・Deals decent damage over a period of time.
・Hard to avoid in the heat of battle.
Killer Wail 5.1Killer Wail 5.1 ・Requires steady aim but will be able to instantly take out opponents.
・Can be left behind to auto-aim as you reposition.
Ink StormInk Storm ・Gradually damages opponents who comes in contact with the rain of ink from the cloud.
・However it's slow movement gives the enemy team time to dodge and avoid it.
ReefsliderReefslider ・The initial blast is pretty strong and can catch enemies off guard.
・Usability will depend highly on whether there is enough flat surfaces.

A Tier

Special Weapon Reason
Big BubblerBig Bubbler ・Great defensive special that allies can take advantage of.
Ultra StampUltra Stamp ・One of the few specials that can easily multikill opponents.
・Can be difficult to master due to the lower mobility, but can be very rewarding.
InkjetInkjet ・Instant vertical advantage good for sniping while also painting and blasting directly beneath you.

B Tier

Special Weapon Reason
Ink VacInk Vac ・Can be a good counter for when enemies are trying to ink you, but takes some practice to master.
・The Ink Vac's ink potential is only as strong as the opponent trying to ink you.
Crab TankCrab Tank ・Another one of the few defensive specials, but also packs a strong punch of its own.
・However the duration you can use the tank is pretty short so you have to be decisive with your uses.

Splatoon 3 Related Guides

Splatoon 3 Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks: Beginner's Guide to Splatoon

Weapon and Gear Tier Lists
Weapons Tier List Specials Tier List
Sub Weapons Tier List Gear Abilities Tier List
Best Beginner Weapons -
Collectible Locations
All Sardinium Locations All Sunken Scroll Locations
All Gold Record Locations List of Stickers
List of Decorations List of Banners
List of Emotes All Alterna Logs
List of Badges -
Gameplay Tips and Tricks
Character Creation Guide All Hero Gear Upgrades
Mailbox Guide Tutorial Guide
All Hairstyles Splatsville Features
Golden Sheldon Licenses Guide Best Gameplay Settings
Communication Errors Guide How to Beat Boss Salmonids
How to Super Jump List of Controls
Ability Chunks Guide How to Unlock Tableturf Battle Cards
Recon Mode Guide Shell-Out Machine Guide
Power Egg Farming Guide All Hero Mode Rewards and Unlocks
How to Get Upgrade Points How to Level Up Catalog
Freshest Fits Guide How to Add and Change Gear Abilities
Test Range Features Gear Slots Guide
Star Power Guide How to Get Fish Scales
How to Get Super Sea Snails Best Deck for Tableturf Battles
All Salmon Run Rewards All Unlockables and Secret Rewards
How to Increase Salmon Run Rank Shel-Drone Guide
How to Survey All Sites When is Big Run?
All Titles and How to Unlock Best Gear Builds and Loadouts
All Medals and How to Get All Level Up Rewards
All Anarchy Battle Ranks All QR Codes and How to Scan
Speedrunning Guide List of Glitches and Bugs
Wandercrust Tour Guide All Music and Bands
100% Story Mode Completion Guide All Salmon Run Outfits
How to Make Money Fast World Map Guide
How to Get Drink Tickets All Splatfest Events and Themes
All Mystery Box Contents Disconnect Penalty Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Earn Clout How to Increase Your Rank
How to Do a Squid Surge How to Do a Squid Roll
Motion Controls or Stick Controls How to Vote for a Team in Splatfest
How to Play With Friends How to Get Wallpaper
How to Get Food Tickets How to Save
Where is the Locker Room How to Cancel Matchmaking
What is Wipeout? What is Weapon Freshness?
Inkling vs Octoling When Do Shops Restock?
How to Skip the News Intro How to Get Conch Shells
How to Get the Harmony Badge How to Watch and Upload Replays
How to Use and Add Widgets Is Splatoon 3 Multiplayer?
Do You Need NSO? How Long to Beat Story Mode
Where to Buy Official Merchandise Who is Judd?
How to Get 100x and 333x Battles Is Agent 8 in the Game?

Comment

9 Anonymous Anonymous over 2 years

lmao who tf made this it's inaccurate even for 1.1

3 An An about 3 years

IHATETACTICOOLER🤬

See more comments (9 Comments)

Author

Splatoon 3 Walkthrough Team
This article was created by Game8's elite team of writers and gamers.
    Leave feedback(Login required)
    Please participate in our site
    improvement survey
    12/2025
    Would you assist in
    improving Game8's site?
    ×
    This survey will take about 1 minute.
    Your answers will help us to improve our website.
    We are listening to our users' valuable opinions and discussing how to act on them.
    The information collected through this survey will be used for the purpose of improving our services. In addition, the information will only be disclosed a part of a statistic in a format that will not allow identification of personal information.
    Begin Survey
    Not Now
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Advertisements.
    Amount of Ads
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Placement of Ads
    Timing of Ad Display
    Ad Loading Speed
    Safeness of Ads
    Content of Ads
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Quality of Articles.
    Amount of information
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Frequency of updates
    Speed of new information
    Accuracy of articles
    Understandibility of articles
    Readability of sentences
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Usability of the Site.
    Ease of finding information
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Loading Speed
    Use of Color
    Font Size
    Visibility of Images
    Easy to Understand Layout
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Message Boards, Comments.
    Ease of Writing
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Readability
    Ease in Finding Information
    Comment Quality
    Comment Quantity
    Admin Response
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Site's new design.
    Please rate our site's new design
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Do you think that the website's design change makes the site easier to use?
    Has the new design made it easier for you to find information on the site?
    Has the new design improved the overall visual appeal of the site?
    How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the new design of the site?
    ×
    How likely are you to recommend Game8 to someone you know?
    Very Unlikely
    0
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    Very Likely
    If you have other opinions regarding potential improvement to the website, please share them with us. We would appreciate your honest opinion.
    Note: This is a free response section, so you can proceed without entering anything.
    Note: Please be sure not to enter any kind of personal information into your response.
    ×
    Thank You
    ×
    Thank you for participating in our survey! Your answers will help us to improve the quality of our website and services.
    We hope you continue to make use of Game8.
    Close
    For other opinions or comments, go here.

    Rankings

    Popular Articles
    Message Board
    • We could not find the message board you were looking for.

    Gaming News

    Best PS5 RPGs (December 2025)

    Best PS5 RPGs (December 2025)

    Popular Games

    Recommended Games

    All rights reserved

    © Nintendo

    The copyrights of videos of games used in our content and other intellectual property rights belong to the provider of the game.
    The contents we provide on this site were created personally by members of the Game8 editorial department.
    We refuse the right to reuse or repost content taken without our permission such as data or images to other sites.

    Splatoon 3 Walkthrough & Guides Wiki

    Quick Access
    Guide Index

    Tips and Tricks

    Weapon and Gear Tier Lists

    Collectibles

    Gameplay

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Main Weapons

    Sub Weapons

    Special Weapons

    Gear Abilitites

    Hero Mode

    Bosses

    Game Modes

    Salmon Run

    Boss Salmonids

    Known Occurrences

    Stages

    Gear and Equipment

    Gear Brands

    Characters

    Deep Cut Idols

    Hero Mode Characters

    Shopkeepers and NPCs

    Updates and Patch Notes

    Latest News

    Message Boards

    Japanese Wiki