How to beat Big Man in Splatoon 3 – boss fight guide

Big Man is the most beloved character in Splatoon 3. When he was first revealed, the internet went crazy for him. But in Splatoon 3’s story, the love for this manta ray goes out the window when he challenges you to a fight. If you’re struggling to defeat Big Man in Splatoon 3, this is what you need to do to cinch that victory.

Related: The best Splatoon 3 Deep Cut fanart — Best Shiver, Fry, and Big Man art

How to beat Big Man in Splatoon 3

Big Man is a lot more difficult than his friends Frye and Shiver. Big Man will turn into a giant light blue shadow that will travel towards you, inking everywhere he goes. He can get under you, making it incredibly difficult to move around since the entire surrounding area will be covered in his ink. In order to get Big Man to come out of his shadow form, you will need to attack the shadow which will break up into tinier ones. Keep attacking them all until they disappear and eventually, Big Man will pop out and become vincible.

Big Man’s first phase

If you want to have any chance of defeating Big Man, you’re going to need to ink the ground. This will make it easier to maneuver in the arena so you won’t get surrounded by Big Man’s shadows when they split up. When you’re at safe distance, attack the shadows. If you don’t attack them, they will perform one of four moves: launch projectiles at you, throw bombs at you, a wave attack that can push you off the platform, or a Splashdown. The shadows will occasionally become invisible, but they will still leave an ink trail behind them, so it’s easy to know where they are.

Keep attacking the shadows and use your special if you’re in a tight bind. You can also use your Smallfry to distract the shadows away from you for a brief time. Once you attack all the shadows, Big Man will be revealed, giving you the chance to splat him. If you splat him, you’ll move on to the next phase.

Big Man’s second phase

The only difference between this phase is that the shadows will move faster and attack more often. The projectiles that Big Man fires will also have increased range. You need to move and try to get rid of the shadows as quickly as possible so you don’t get overwhelmed and splatted. Eventually, with enough time and patience, Big Man will reveal himself once more giving you the chance to attack him.

Big Man’s third phase

Big Man’s third phase is where the difficulty really ramps up. Four ledges will rise out of the ground, making it even harder to try and dodge Big Man’s attacks. The shadows will now have two new moves: Torpedoes and missiles that will charge at you. The missiles can be stopped if you attack them in time, though. This phase can be really frustrating but if you die, don’t worry, you will restart from this phase. We highly recommend using your Smallfry as much as possible so it can distract Big Man’s shadows so you have some breathing room. After getting rid of all the shadows, splat Big Man once more time to finish the fight.