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  • Welcome to Nintendo Support

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    How to Update Splatoon 2

    In this article, you'll learn how to install the update for Splatoon 2.

    On 15 November 2022 a new software update for Splatoon 2 will become available for download. Please take a moment to download and install this update while your Nintendo Switch console is connected to the internet.

    Additional Information:

    • This update must be applied in order to use the game’s online features.
    • Save data will still be available for use after downloading the update.
    • If the console is connected to the internet, the update will download and install automatically.
    • Updating to the latest version will disable wireless matchmaking for local multiplayer with players using an earlier version.

    Complete These Steps:

    1. Connect the Nintendo Switch console to the internet.
    2. Return to the HOME Menu and launch the game.
    3. The update will be downloaded and installed automatically.
    4. Once the update is installed, the newest version number will be displayed on the title screen.

    Update Details:

    Click the version number below for information about the update. Each update also includes all previous updates.

    Ver. 5.5.1 (Released 15 November 2022)

    Several issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

    Ver. 5.5.0 (Released 29 September 2021)

    Changes to Multiplayer

    • Specifications for some of the main weapons have changed.
      Weapon Change
      • Splattershot
      • Tentatek Splattershot
      • Kensa Splattershot
      • Hero Shot Replica
      • Octoshot Replica
      • Increased maximum damage that can be dealt from 35.0 to 36.0.
      • Slowed damage falloff speed relative to projectile travel time.
      • Splat Roller
      • Krak-On Splat Roller
      • Kensa Splat Roller
      • Hero Roller Replica
      • Reduced the ink consumption of horizontal and vertical swings by roughly 5%.
      • Octobrush
      • Octobrush Nouveau
      • Kensa Octobrush
      • Herobrush Replica
      • Reduced ink consumption when moving while holding down the ZR Button by roughly 10%.
      • Splat Dualies
      • Enperry Splat Dualies
      • Kensa Splat Dualies
      • Hero Dualie Replicas
      • Reduced ink consumption of rolling from 9% of the ink tank to 7% of the ink tank.
      • .52 Gal
      • .52 Gal Deco
      • Kensa .52 Gal
      • Reduced the radius of turf inked when a shot lands far away by roughly 5%.
    • Points required for using specials have changed for some weapons.
      Weapon Before After
      Forge Splattershot Pro 200 190
      Luna Blaster 180 170
      Cherry H-3 Nozzlenose 190 180
      Slosher Deco 220 210
      Kensa Splat Dualies 210 200
      Splat Brella
      Hero Brella Replica
      200 190
      Kensa .52 Gal 180

      190

      Custom Jet Squelcher 180

      190

      Foil Squeezer 190

      200

      E-liter 4K 180

      190

      E-liter 4K Scope 180

      190

    • Fixed an issue in Inkblot Art Academy in which it was possible to enter the opposing team’s base by jumping over certain walls in Turf War, Splat Zones, and Rainmaker.
    • Fixed an issue in Skipper Pavilion in which it was possible to enter the opposing team’s base by transferring between certain grates.

    Other Changes

    • We observed changes after distribution of Ver 5.4.0 and made additional adjustments to slightly lower the fighting power of certain weapons that could hold the battle line from further away.
    • Also, we made adjustments to narrow the margins by which certain weapons were strengthened in Ver 5.4.0 while also lowering the frequency at which special weapons can be triggered. At the same time, we expanded weapon choice by increasing the abilities of certain weapons that excel at closer ranges.
    • In addition, we reviewed some of the weapons that previously had their capabilities lowered, and as a result we slightly reverted some of the lowered values and made some adjustments to points required for special weapons.
    • We will observe the changes after this update and make further adjustments to Splatoon 2 in the future.
    • When you download the latest update data, you will no longer be able to communicate in The Shoal with players using older update data.
      • This update also includes changes not listed here, such as improvements to the gameplay experience.
      • Sufficient space on the internal system memory or a microSD card is required to download the update.
      • Save data will still be available for use after downloading the update.

    Ver. 5.4.0 (Released 24 February 2021)

    • Specifications for some of the main weapons have been changed.
      Weapon Change
      • Splattershot
      • Tentatek Splattershot
      • Kensa Splattershot
      • Hero Shot Replica
      • Octoshot Replica
      • Increased the likelihood the turf around your feet will be inked when firing.
      • .52 Gal
      • .52 Gal Deco
      • Kensa .52 Gal
      • Increased the radius of ink that lands when you shoot far away by roughly 27%.
      • Dapple Dualies
      • Dapple Dualies Nouveau
      • Clear Dapple Dualies
      • Decreased ink consumption from shots fired by roughly 5%.
      • Splat Dualies
      • Enperry Splat Dualies
      • Kensa Splat Dualies
      • Hero Dualie Replicas
      • Decreased ink consumption from shots fired by roughly 5%.
      • H-3 Nozzlenose
      • H-3 Nozzlenose D
      • Cherry H-3 Nozzlenose
      • Increased ink consumption by roughly 25%.
      • Squeezer
      • Foil Squeezer
      • Dualie Squelchers
      • Custom Dualie Squelchers
      • Increased shot spread when firing immediately after jumping in normal stance by roughly 25%.
      • There is no change to shot spread immediately after a roll
    • Specifications for some of the sub weapons have been changed.
      Sub Weapon Change
      • Torpedo
      • Extended the time until ink begins to refill after use by roughly 8/60 of a second.
    • Points required for using specials have been changed for certain main weapons.
      Weapon Before After
      Kensa Splattershot Jr 200 190
      Kensa Undercover Brella 200 190
      Firefin Splat Charger 210 220
      Firefin Splatterscope 210 220
      E-liter 4K 170 180
      E-liter 4K Scope 170 180
      Custom Dualie Squelchers 210 220

    Fixed an issue in Starfish Mainstage in which it was possible to enter the opposing team’s base by jumping from certain walls.

    Fixed an issue in Manta Maria in which it was possible to enter the opposing team’s base by jumping from certain walls.

    Fixed an issue in Kelp Dome in which it was possible to enter the opposing team’s base by jumping from certain walls.

    Fixed an issue in Skipper Pavilion in which it was possible to enter the opposing team’s base by transferring between certain walls.

    Other Changes

    • We observed changes after distribution of Ver 5.3.0 and made adjustments to slightly lower the fighting power of certain weapons that could hold the battle line over a long period of time from further away compared to other weapons.
    • In addition, in order increase the variety of weapons being selected, we made adjustments to several weapons to increase their competitiveness with the most popular weapons.
    • We will observe the changes after this update and make further adjustments to Splatoon 2 in the future.
    • When you download the latest update data, you will no longer be able to communicate in The Shoal with players using older update data.
      • This update also includes changes not listed here, such as improvements to the gameplay experience.
      • Sufficient space on the internal system memory or a microSD card is required to download the update.

    Ver. 5.3.1 (Released 28 October 2020)

    Changes to Ranked Battles

    • Adjusted settings for X Rank battles so that during times when there are many players online, players with high X Power will be more likely to match with each other.
      • Further changes may be made depending on how the situation develops.
    • Made it so that for X Rank battles, other players’ names are not displayed on the screen while waiting for players to join.
    • Made it so that for X Rank battles, you may battle with someone even if they’re blocked via console settings if that player’s estimated rank is within the top 2,000.

    Changes to Splatfests

    • Made it so that in Pro-mode Splatfest Battles, other players’ names are not displayed on the screen while waiting for players to join when Splatfest Power is considerably high.
    • Made it so that in Pro-mode Splatfest Battles, you may battle someone even if they’re blocked via the console settings if that player’s Splatfest Power is considerably high.

    In X Rank Battles and Pro-mode Splatfest Battles, X Power and Splatfest Power serve an important role in determining who you match with and your order in the ranking.

    To calculate those values correctly, it’s important that opponents are chosen without any deviation, and therefore we utilize a system that detects improper Power manipulation based on match data.

    Suspect data is manually scrutinized, and if it is determined that improper behavior is conclusively evident, that month’s records will be invalidated, and a penalty will be applied in accordance with the Nintendo Account User Agreement. Additionally, these systems are updated daily.

    We are addressing this type of improper behavior, but incidents of users improperly manipulating Power by intentionally limiting their opponents are extremely few when compared to the whole, though they are occasionally detected.

    Therefore, in order to allow users to play Ranked Battles and Pro-mode Splatfests without worrying about this behavior, we believe it’s important to not only refine the systems to detect improper behavior but also to make it difficult to carry out this kind of behavior, and so we have prepared this update.

    Please note that we will continue to make adjustments to things such as weapons after long-term analysis of the data.

    • When you download the latest update data, you will no longer be able to communicate in The Shoal with players using older update data.
    • This update also includes changes not listed here, such as improvements to the gameplay experience.
    • Sufficient space on the internal system memory or a microSD card is required to download the update.
    • Save data will still be available for use after downloading the update.

    Ver. 5.3.0 (Released 19 August 2020)

    Changes to Multiplayer

    • Specifications for some of the main weapons have been changed.
      Weapon Change

      Splattershot
      Tentatek Splattershot
      Kensa Splattershot
      Hero Shot Replica
      Octo Shot Replica

      • Reduced the amount of time it takes for shot spread (which is the gradual distance shots spread away from the target when firing continuously) to return to normal.
        • Most Shooter-type weapons will have increased shot spread if you continuously fire.
        • When you stop firing, the shot spread gradually returns to normal, but with this fix, we’ve reduced the amount of time it takes to return.

      .52 Gal
      .52 Gal Deco
      Kensa .52 Gal

      • Extended the amount of time when firing continuously until shot spread reaches its max.
      • Reduced the amount of time it takes for shot spread to return to normal.
        • Most Shooter-type weapons will have increased shot spread if you continuously fire.
        • When you stop firing, the shot spread gradually returns to normal, but with this fix, we’ve reduced the amount of time it takes to return.

      Bamboozler 14 Mk I
      Bamboozler 14 Mk II
      Bamboozler 14 Mk III

      • Increased ink consumption by roughly 20%.

      Dualie Squelchers
      Custom Dualie Squelchers

      • Increased the ink consumed by rolling from 5% to 8% of the Ink Tank.
      • Very slightly decreased the size of hit detection between normal shots and players, making it harder to hit opponents.
        • There are no changes to hit detection between players and shots after rolling.

      Splat Brella
      Sorella Brella
      Hero Brella Replica

      • Decreased damage dealt by each ink droplet from 18.0 to 16.2.
        • Due to this change, the maximum damage dealt by a single shot has gone down from 90.0 to 81.0.

      As a result of closely observing the changes in weapon choice after ver. 5.2.0 was released, we made adjustments to certain weapons that were still being used often or were often used by players of the highest rank, even after the changes in weapon choice evened out.

      We’ve also made adjustments to improve those weapons that players started using a lot more often (and those with similar features) to give players more options.

      We plan to perform a long-term analysis after this update is applied and make adjustments based on that.


    Ver. 5.2.2 (Released 1 July 2020)

    Changes to Multiplayer

    • Made it so players are unable to dive into ink on a wall and move along an unintended path in the time between using a Booyah Bomb and returning to the ground.
    • Fixed an issue in Starfish Mainstage in which players could invade the opposing team’s base if they jumped at the right time on top of a certain part of chain-link fencing.

    Ver. 5.2.1 (Released 16 June 2020)

    Changes to Multiplayer

    • Fixed an issue where if the player had Dualie-type weapons equipped, they could travel farther in the air than intended when dodge-rolling, as the result of a certain combination of movements.
    • Fixed an issue where the player could land in a different location than intended if they activated a Booyah Bomb and then quickly ended the effect.

    General

    • Fixed various issues to improve gameplay.

    Ver. 5.2.0 (Released 15 April 2020)

    • Specifications for some of the main weapons have been changed.
      Weapon Change
      • .52 Gal
      • .52 Gal Deco
      • Kensa .52 Gal
      • Increased the likelihood the turf around your feet will be inked when firing.
      • Splat Roller
      • Krak-On Splat Roller
      • Kensa Splat Roller
      • Hero Roller Replica
      • Slightly extended the splash of ink from swinging sideways.
      • Flingza Roller
      • Foil Flingza Roller
      • Reduced the time required to swing the weapon overhead in a vertical swing by 3/60 of a second.
      • Tri-Slosher
      • Tri-Slosher Nouveau
      • Reduced the interval at which you can repeatedly swing by roughly 2/60 of a second.
      • Heavy Splatling
      • Heavy Splatling Deco
      • Heavy Splatling Remix
      • Hero Splatling Replica
      • Decreased variance of shot spread when firing while on the ground by roughly 6%.
      • Splat Dualies
      • Enperry Splat Dualies
      • Kensa Splat Dualies
      • Hero Dualie Replicas
      • Slightly widened the spread of ink created by shots.
      • Glooga Dualies
      • Glooga Dualies Deco
      • Kensa Glooga Dualies
      • Decreased ink consumption from shots fired by roughly 7%.
      • Classic Squiffer
      • New Squiffer
      • Fresh Squiffer
      • Reduced the time from releasing a charge shot to being ready to shoot by roughly 1/60 of a second.
      • Splat Charger
      • Firefin Splat Charger
      • Kensa Charger
      • Hero Charger Replica
      • Reduced the time from releasing a charge shot to being ready to shoot by roughly 2/60 of a second.
      • Splatterscope
      • Firefin Splatterscope
      • Kensa Splatterscope
      • Very slightly narrowed the width of the area inked by a fully charged shot.
      • The area inked remains unchanged for models without scopes (listed below).
        • Splat Charger
        • Firefin Splat Charger
        • Kensa Charger
        • Hero Charger Replica
      • The area inked remains unchanged for all shots that are not fully charged.
      • E-liter 4K
      • Custom E-liter 4K
      • Reduced the time from releasing a charged shot to being ready to shoot by roughly 2/60 of a second.
      • E-liter 4K Scope
      • Custom E-liter 4K Scope
      • Very slightly narrowed the width of the area inked by a fully charged shot.
      • The area inked remains unchanged for models without scopes (listed below).
        • E-liter 4K
        • Custom E-liter 4K
      • The area inked remains unchanged for all shots that are not fully charged.
      • Ballpoint Splatling
      • Ballpoint Splatling Nouveau
      • Reduced the velocity of ink over long distances by 4%, and reduced the range.
      • Reduced movement speed by roughly 10% when charging and firing from a close range.
      • Tenta Brella
      • Tenta Sorella Brella
      • Tenta Camo Brella
      • Extended the time it takes to restore the umbrella portion after launching it or it being destroyed by roughly 40/60 seconds.
      • Increased ink consumption for spread shots by roughly 10%.
    • Specifications for some of the sub weapons have been changed.
      Sub Weapon Change
      • Toxic Mist
      • This will now effect opponent’s Ballers.
    • Specifications for the following special weapons have been changed.
      Special Weapon Change
      • Baller
      • Extended the time you have to hold down the ZR Button to trigger this by roughly 16/60 of a second.
      • When you have a weapon equipped that has a fast walking speed when not firing or a fast squid-form swimming speed, increased acceleration on the ground to allow you to move more quickly.
      • This applies to the following weapons that can use a Baller.
        • Aerospray RG
        • Luna Blaster
        • Inkbrush Nouveau
        • Undercover Sorella Brella
      • When you have a weapon equipped that has a fast walking speed when not firing or a fast squid-form swimming speed, reduced maximum speed by roughly 14%.
      • This applies to the following weapons that can use a Baller.
        • Custom Explosher
      • Bubble Blower
      • Extended the time until a bubble pops naturally by roughly 2 seconds.
      • Reduced the size of the first and second bubbles.
      • The first bubble is the smallest, the second is slightly larger, and the third bubble onward will be the same size as before.
      • The area over which damage is dealt and the area which is inked by an exploding bubble depends on the size of the bubble.
    • Points required for using specials have been changed for certain main weapons.
      Weapon Before After
      N-ZAP83 180 170
      Custom Range Blaster 180 170
      L-3 Nozzlenose 210 220
      Foil Squeezer 180 190
      Inkbrush Nouveau 160 180

    The changes in this update are designed to lower the abilities of a portion of all weapons and specials that, based on analysis of statistical data, had obtained an advantage in results.

    Our intention is that this will entice players to explore these weapons, while retaining their individual strengths of the weapons in scenarios where they are advantageous.

    We reference various sorts of statistical data for these adjustments, but in particular for those which lower the abilities of certain weapons, we've focused on data from matches between players of high Rank.

    We will issue future updates after looking carefully at changes resulting from this update, as well as the overall state of statistical data over the long term.

    Other Changes

    • Changed the unlock conditions for Tracks #20 through #26 in Squid Beatz 2 so that anyone can play them.
    • Extended the time limit to play your next game after you repeatedly disconnect within a short period of time.
      • This change will affect only those with frequent disconnects, less than 1% of all active players worldwide.
      • The more frequent your disconnects over a short period of time, the longer the time limit to play your next game will be.
    • When you download the latest update data, you will no longer be able to connect with players in The Shoal who have older update data.

    Ver. 5.1.0 (Released 6 January 2020)

    Changes to Multiplayer

    • Specifications for some of the main weapons have been changed.
      Weapon Change
      • Splattershot
      • Tentatek Splattershot
      • Kensa Splattershot
      • Hero Shot Replica
      • Octo Shot Replica
      • Decreased ink consumption by roughly 8%.
      • Luna Blaster
      • Luna Blaster Neo
      • Kensa Luna Blaster
      • Decreased amount of time after firing before being able to take further actions by roughly 4/60 of a second.
      • Decreased ink consumption by roughly 17%.
      • L-3 Nozzlenose
      • L-3 Nozzlenose D
      • Kensa L-3 Nozzlenose
      • Increased ink consumption by roughly 15%.
      • Reduced the effect of the Main Power Up gear ability.
      • Changed the amount of gear ability required to deal up to 33.3 damage from 1.8 times to 2.4 times the amount of the primary gear ability.
      • Each secondary gear ability is worth 0.3 of the primary gear ability.
      • Splat Charger
      • Firefin Splat Charger
      • Kensa Charger
      • Hero Charger Replica
      • Slightly narrowed the area covered by ink droplets from fired shots.
      • Bamboozler 14 Mk I
      • Bamboozler 14 Mk II
      • Bamboozler 14 Mk III
      • Reduced the effect of the Main Power Up gear ability.
      • Changed the amount of gear ability required to deal up to 99.9 damage from 4.1 times to 4.4 times the amount of the primary gear ability.
      • Each secondary gear ability is worth 0.3 of the primary gear ability.
    • Specifications for the following special weapons have been changed.
      Special Weapon Change
      • Splashdown
      • Extended the area within which damage is dealt upward.
      • This change makes it easier to deal damage to mid-air opponents from even a moderate distance.
      • There is no change to the damage area for opponents standing near but lower than the epicenter of the blast.
      • Increased damage dealt to opponent Ballers by roughly 21%.
      • Baller
      • Decreased duration of active time from roughly 7 to roughly 6 seconds.
    • Points required for using specials have been changed for certain main weapons.
      Weapon Before After
      • Tentatek Splattershot
      • Octo Shot Replica
      210 200
      • Octobrush
      • Herobrush Replica
      180 170
      • Enperry Splat Dualies
      210 200
      • L-3 Nozzlenose
      190 210
      • L-3 Nozzlenose D
      180 200
      • Bamboozler 14 Mk I
      180 200
      • Soda Slosher
      200 210
      • Tenta Camo Brella
      200 210
    • Downloading the latest update will prevent matching with players at the Shoal that are using previous update data.

      With this update we have made adjustments to the abilities of certain weapons to effectively hold the line of battle or to ink turf from afar. However, we have limited these adjustments in such a way that they should not affect weapon selection for players experienced with using these weapons.

      Following this update, we plan to consider similar adjustments for many other weapons going forward. Additionally, we will continue to watch for and analyse weapons that appear to have few or no drawbacks, and that also perform well against all other weapons.

      We plan to distribute the next update in late April 2020.

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