Splatoon 2 Update 5.1.0 Is Live, With Some Changes To Multiplayer

See what’s adjusted in the detailed notes inside.

Even though Splatoon 2 isn’t getting any more in-game content, for the time being, that doesn’t mean the game won’t see improvements to the multiplayer.

As first detailed last month, a new update has gone live for the hit Nintendo Switch game. Some changes have been made to multiplayer, particularly with some of its weapons.

We broke down some of the technical details in our last article. However, they’re broken down again below, so you can get an idea of what’s been tweaked.

• The Splattershot, Tentatek Splattershot, Kensa Splattershot, Hero Shot Replica, and Octo Shot Replica now have decreased ink consumption by roughly eight percent. This should make reloading slightly easier, though you’ll want to keep some paint nearby.
• The Luna Blaster, Luna Blaster Neo and Kensa Luna Blaster have a decreased ink consumption at a larger percentage, at roughly 17 percent. In addition, there’s a decreased amount of time after firing before being able to take further actions, though it’s only down by about roughly 4/60 of a second.
• With the L-3 Nozzlenose, the L-3 Nozzlenose D and the Kensa L-3 Nozzlenose, ink consumption is actually increased by 15 percent, so watch your firing. In addition, the effect of the Main Power Up gear ability is reduced, and 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 is applied. Finally, each secondary gear ability is worth 0.3 of the primary gear ability.
• The Splat Charger, Firefin Splat Charger, Kensa Charger and Hero Charger Replica have a slightly narrowed area covered by ink droplets from fired shots. So if you specialize with these weapons, you might want to get used to their adjusted range.
• Finally, the Bamboozler 14 MK I, II and III all have reduced effect with the Main Power Up gear ability. In addition, the amount of gear ability required to deal up to 99.9 damage from 4.1 to 4.4 times the amount of the primary gear ability is also changed. Last but not least, the secondary gear ability is worth 0.3 of the primary gear ability.

There are also specifications changed with some of the weapons, as follows:

• With Splashdown, the area in which damage is dealt upward has been extended. This should make it fairly easier to hit enemies that come from mid-air at a moderate distance. In addition, increased damage dealt to opponent Ballers is up by roughly 21 percent.
• With the Baller, there’s a decreased duration of active time from roughly 7 to 6 seconds.

In the final part of the update notes, the team talked about the points required for using specials for particular weapons, as broken down below.

• The Tentatek Splatterhouse and Octo Shot Replica have gone down, from 210 to 200.
• The Octobrush and Herobrush Replica have also decreased, from 180 to 170.
• The Enperry Splat Dualies have decreased from 210 to 200.
• The L-3 Nozzlenose has increased, from 190 to 210. The L-3 Nozzlenose D has also gone up from 180 to 200.
• The Bamboozler 14 MK I has increased from 180 to 200.
• The Soda Slosher has gone up slightly from 200 to 210.
• The Tenta Camo Brella has gone up from 200 to 210.

The team made it clear in their notes that those that are matching up with players of the Shoal won’t be able to do so if they haven’t applied the latest update to the game. So if you’re a die-hard Splatoon 2 player, you’ll want to make sure it’s downloaded.

Splatoon 2’s devs also noted that it will “consider similar adjustments for many other weapons going forward,” in the hopes of keeping things balanced. The game’s next update is planned for April 2020, though a specific date wasn’t given.

The update is now live and should apply the next time you start it up. (You can always select Software Update from the main menu if it doesn’t apply automatically the next time you start the game.)