Splatoon 3 gets some X-Battle matchmaking tweaks and weapon changes in the new March update

The so-called “Final Splatfest,” continuing Nintendo's commitment to the game even later. Splatoon 3 Another update was released on March 18, 2026. Nintendo's third-person (mostly) online shooter has been going strong on both the original Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 since its release on September 9, 2022. Splatoon 3 Having continued to receive updates over the years, it's nice to see Nintendo's commitment to keeping it going even after the initial post-release hype died down.

While this is not uncommon for primarily online games Splatoon 3 To continue receiving patches for bug fixes and balance adjustments, the game has also received some neat quality-of-life updates and new mechanics, such as the “flow saw” after its big online “final” at the Grand Festival in September 2024. While the new version 11.1.0 mostly includes balance tweaks and continuous improvements to keep developers focused. Player experience.

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Splatoon 3's version 11.1.0 update brings some much-needed matchmaking changes

The biggest surprise, with some weapon updates to make the game more fair Splatoon 3 Version 11.1.0 is an update to the X Battle Ranked mode for high-level play. To ensure that X Battle players are not placed in unfair match-ups, the game will now base matchmaking on the following criteria:

Splatoon 3 Version 11.1.0 X Battle Updates

Matchmaking will no longer be done based on current X power, but players will be paired based on X power whose “probability will be the same after gathering matches”.
If matchmaking takes too long, the system begins to slow down what it considers to be “equal ability”, but the criteria are also tweaked to ensure that both teams will have “symmetrical” skill levels – even in low activity time zones or zones.
Players with less than 2000.0 X Power in a Tentatek Division (North America, South America, or Europe) can be matched with Tentatek players with 2000.0 X Power or more.
Matchmaking will now take weapon ranges into account, not just weapon categories

It's nice to see some matchmaking tweaks since skill disparity has been an issue ever since Splatoon 3 started Many fans gave up on fixed match-ups this late in the game's life, figuring they would have to wait until fantasy. Splatoon 4. It still won't be easy to get anywhere in X Battles, but at least it will be a bit more fair.

Splatoon 3 Version 11.1.0 Buffed many key weapons

Many weapons were also tweaked in version 11.1.0. All but one of them were buffs, thankfully. From lower ink consumption to faster movement to increased damage, most players will be happy with their updated weapons.

The dreaded Ultra Stamp special weapon has been nerfed: its damage radius has been reduced by about 10%. The 16 main weapons also had a point requirement to activate to change their special weapons. Only 3 of them, Splattershot, Hero Shot Replica, and Order Shot Replica, have decreased requirements. When they went from 210 to 200 points, the requirement for the other 13 main weapons increased by 10 points.

Splatoon 3 Long-range weapons and poor multiplayer matchmaking sometimes make rank-ups more like a coin flip. But for players who put the game down in X Battles or long ago, these new changes are great motivation to get back into the split. And considering the lack of news Splatoon Raiders After its announcement, going back Splatoon 3 There will be welcome interruptions during the wait.

Splatoon 3 version 11.1.0 patch notes

Changes to multiplayer

Specifications for some key weapons have changed.

weapon	Change the details
Splattershot Nova Anna's Splattershot Nova	Increased the speed of shots by about 25% without changing the flight distance.
Flingza roller Foil Flingza Roller	Adjusted the damage-fall rate for vertical swings based on distance, allowing them to deal 50.0 damage/100 damage more than they did before.
October Octopus Novus Cometz Octopus Orderbrush replication	Reduced the amount of ink consumed when swinging the brush by about 10%.
Bamboozler 14 Mk I Bamboozler 14 Mk II	Increased speed while charging or firing by approximately 13%.
Bloblobber Bloblobber deco	Damage increased from 30.0 to 32.0.
Douser Dualies FF Custom Douser Dualies FF	Reduced the time between being able to roll a dodge and perform another action by approximately 1/30th of a second.
Tenta Brella Tenta sorella Brella Tenta Brella CRE-M	By starting the canopy, the amount of ink consumed was reduced by about 23%.
Dynamo roller Gold Dynamo Roller Starz dynamo roller	Reduced the effect of ink-consumption reduction when equipped with ink saver (main) capability.

Specifications for some special weapons have changed.

special weapon	Change the details
Ultra Stamp	220.0 damage area radius of the explosion at the point of impact reduced by about 10% when throwing the stamp.

The points required for some special weapons have been changed.

weapon	before	after
Splattershot Hero shot replica Order shot replica	210	200
Splosh-o-matic	180	190
Splash-O-Matic	200	210
Luna took the blaster	180	190
Blaster	180	190
Custom Blaster	180	190
Rapid Blaster Pro Deco	190	200
Dynamo roller	190	200
Inkbrush Nouveau	180	190
Heavy Splatling Order a Splatling replica	200	210
Dapple Dualies	170	180
Splat Dualies Order Dualie replicas	190	200

Changes in X Wars

Changed the system for matchmaking so that, instead of players with the same X power fighting each other at the time, players whose final X power is most likely to be the same after accumulating matches will now be paired for battles.
Changed systems for matchmaking and team splits to reduce the resulting skill disparity between teams even in time zones or zones without multiple players.
In Tentatek Division, players with X Power less than 2000.0 and players with X Power 2000.0 or higher can now be matched together.
Changed the matchmaking system to allow battles against many different weapons than before.