Gear Abilities (or Abilities) are special attributes given to Gear.
Description[]
There are two categories of abilities: Primary and Secondary.
Primary abilities are indicated by the large icon always present on a piece of gear and is either a Non-stackable boost like Stealth Jump, or a larger value stackable boost like Damage Up.
Secondary abilities are randomly generated stackable abilities and must be unlocked by gaining experience through playing matches. A secondary ability's value is around 1/3 that of the same primary ability. EX: Damage Up as a Primary ability adds ~9% damage to your weapon's hits, and a secondary Damage Up adds ~3%. Crusty Sean's drinks can also increase the chance of getting a specific ability to 1.5%.
Some abilities that stack also depreciate in value the more you stack them. EX: The first Damage Up Primary applied gives a 9% damage boost, but 2 give ~8.25% each, and 3 give ~ 7.45% each. The number of Secondary abilities a piece of inherent to a piece of gear is indicated by its Star Count.
There are a total of 24 abilities on the game, 13 stackable and 11 non-stackable. Non-stackable abilities can only be obtained as a Primary ability from gear while stackable ones can be obtained as Primary and Secondary abilities.
Stackable and Non-Stackable abilities
Usage[]
Extra Secondary ability slots can be unlocked by giving Spyke a Super Sea Snail or paying 30,000 coins for him to use one of his own. It is also possible to reroll a piece of gear's secondary abilities all at once for the same price.
However, in Splatoon 3, Gear can be repurchased from Gnarly Eddy, Jel La Fleur, and Mr. Coco to increase their Star Value to initially max out their Secondary Ability slots, then to increase their experience multiplier to a maximum of x1.10, but the cost in doing so increases as the Star Value increases. The same goes for using Murch as he'll need more Super Sea Snails to increase the Star Value higher after the Secondary Ability slots are fully unlocked. Gear also no longer maxes out upon all Secondary Ability slots being loaded with sub-abilities, and continues to gather experience to collect additional Ability Chunks over scrubbing the Gear to get them. Ability Chunks can now also be gained through other means, such as the vending machine in the Battle Lobby, versus the random chance from the rewards during Salmon Runs, and the Catalog released each season, especially through the Mystery Box rewards.
List of Abilities[]
| Icon |
Ability An * Indicates Diminishing Returns when Stacked |
Buff | Stackable / Non-Stackable | Brands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
*Ink Saver (Main) |
Reduces the amount of ink consumed by your Main weapon. Primary Ability Boost = +20% |
Stackable | Higher Chance:
Splash Mob Lower Chance: Squid Force |
 |
Ink Saver (Sub) |
Reduces the amount of ink consumed by your Sub weapon. Primary Ability Boost = ~6.667% |
Stackable | HC: Fire Fin
LC: Forge |
  |
*Special Charge Up |
Increases Special Gauge recharge rate. Primary Ability Boost = 10% |
Stackable | HC: Takoroka
LC: Zekko |
  |
Special Duration Up |
Increases usage time of Special weapons. Primary Ability Boost = ~1 second Sub Ability Boost = ~.2 second |
Stackable | HC: Forge
LC: Takoroka |
  |
Ink Recovery Up |
Increases Ink tank refill rate while submerged in Squid form. Primary Ability Boost = ~.3 second |
Stackable | HC: Tentatek
LC: FireFin |
  |
Quick Respawn |
Decreases respawn time after getting splatted. Splat respawn time is 8.5 seconds, death by water time is 5.5 seconds. |
Stackable | HC: Scalop
LC; Zink |
  |
*Special Saver |
Reduces the amount your Special Gauge decreases after getting splatted. Primary Ability boost = 15% |
Stackable | HC: Zekko
LC: Scallop Annaki |
  |
Haunt | Reveals the position of any player who splats you to your team for a short while. | Non-Stackable | None |
  |
Comeback |
Boosts many abilities for 20 sec after respawning: + 16.3% Main ink efficiency + 12.5% Secondary ink efficiency + 14% Run speed boost + 6% Squid speed boost Suspected damage boost,defense boost, and special recharge boost, but have not been determined yet. |
Non-Stackable | None |
  |
Bomb Range Up |
Bombs, Point Sensors and Disruptors travel further when thrown. |
Stackable | None |
  |
Tenacity | Fills special gauge automatically if your team has fewer active players than the enemy at any time. | Non-Stackable | None |
  |
Run Speed Up |
Increases movement speed while in Inkling form. Primary Ability Boost = ~13% |
Stackable | HC: Rockenberg |
  |
Swim Speed Up |
Increases movement speed while in Squid form. Primary Ability Boost = ~13%
|
Stackable | HC: Krak-On
LC: Rockenberg |
  |
*Quick Super Jump |
Makes your Super Jumps faster. Primary Ability Boost = ~12.3% |
Stackable | HC: Zink
LC: Tentetek |
  |
Stealth Jump |
Hides your Super Jump landing points, but also makes your Super Jump slightly slower. Normal jumps take ~4.1 seconds, jumps now take ~4.9 seconds, or are about ~20% longer. |
Non-Stackable | None |
  |
Ninja Squid |
Leaves no trace while swimming on inked ground, but reduces swim speed slightly: 20% speed reduction in squid form, 10% speed reduction in Kraken Form. |
Non-Stackable | None |
  |
Recon | Allows you to see the opposing team on your map while standing on your spawn point. | Non-Stackable | None |
  |
Opening Gambit | Boosts your speed in both Inkling and Squid form by 20% for the first 30 seconds of battle. | Non-Stackable | None |
  |
Last-Ditch Effort | Boosts ink recovery rate and weapon ink efficiency for the last 30 seconds of the match. | Non-Stackable | None |
  |
Ink Resistance Up |
Reduces damage and movement penalties incurred when moving through enemy ink. Max damage in enemy ink reduced 50%, movement penalty reduced from ~90% penalty to ~20-30% |
Non-Stackable | HC: None
LC: Enperry |
  |
*Defense Up |
Reduces damage taken from all attacks. Primary Ability Boost = 6% |
Stackable | HC: Inkline
LC: Krak-On |
  |
*Damage Up |
Increases the Attack of all your Main, Sub and Special weapons. Primary Ability Boost = ~9% |
Stackable | HC: Squid Force
LC: Inkline |
  |
Cold-Blooded | Shortens the effect of attacks that let enemies track your position by 80% | Non-Stackable | HC: Annaki
LC: Inkline |
  |
Bomb Sniffer | Clearly identifies all traps and bombs placed by your opponent, even if offscreen. | Non-Stackable | None |
