Splatoon Raiders Beginner Tips: Picking a Tank, Gadgets and Difficulty Explained
Splatoon Raiders launched on Nintendo Switch 2 on July 23, 2026, and the franchise’s first PvE-focused spin-off is already earning strong reviews, with IGN and Nintendo Life both awarding it 9/10. Priced at $49.99 digital and $59.99 physical, the 13.1 GB game shifts from Turf War to a single-player loot chase with four-player co-op, and critics praise the new direction, with Metacritic averaging 81 and OpenCritic 80, matching mainline Splatoon titles, while IGN and Nintendo Life awarded it 9/10. For anyone diving into the Spirhalite Islands for the first time, a handful of confirmed systems are worth understanding before your first raid.
Choosing between the Speed, Power and Tactical Tank
Your loadout revolves around one of three Ink Tank types. According to Nintendo’s official Direct recap, the Speed tank lets you move quickly, fight fast and evade attacks, with gadgets including Blast Boot to leap forward and attack or retreat. Tactical-leaning tools work differently, since gadgets suited for tactical play include the Shot Pot, a deployable turret that can automatically attack enemies, Bombloons which link together for a big blast, and the Tether Wail, which connects to your tank with a powerful laser.
Reviewers who have already spent hours with the game back up how distinct each build feels in practice. Console Creatures found that the Speed Tank focuses on mobility, the Power Tank focuses on delivering damage to enemies, and the Tactical Tank prioritizes putting you in charge of area-of-effect damage, and noted gravitating to Power builds, while Speed and Tactical still offered unique experiences that stood apart. Glitched’s review reached a similar conclusion after testing a Speed loadout, describing how combining the Jump Bomb with the Blast Boot let the reviewer leap into the air and slam down triggering a burst of ink, then quick-shoot out of the area while exploding with ink behind them. Since new Raiders can’t preview every combination on day one, picking a Tank that matches your preferred pace, rather than copying someone else’s “best” pick, is the safer starting point.
Difficulty settings won’t punish your loot pool
One of the most player-friendly design choices in Splatoon Raiders is how forgiving its difficulty system is for newcomers. Per Mobalytics’ breakdown of the game’s systems, Splatoon Raiders is very accessible and forgiving when it comes to its difficulty settings, and for starters there is no penalty for dying during a raid, with all collected loot and XP up until death retained. On top of that, players can freely toggle between difficulties at any time from the Hideout Ship, since difficulty only affects the strength of enemies in combat and has no effect over loot, meaning you’re welcome to tone things down without worrying about nerfing your progression. Beginners can therefore start on the easiest setting to learn enemy patterns without ever locking themselves out of better gear later on.
Gadgets, Spirhalite Shards and expanding your loadout
Gadgets are the core of your build-crafting, and Nintendo has confirmed how they scale over a run. Each tank can be equipped with two gadgets to start, and the gadgets you can equip depend on the tank. Progression opens up further slots as you play, since using the spoils from your hunt to upgrade tanks at the Mechanic’s Shack increases stats like attack power and HP, and tanks also gain enhancements the more you use them, including the ability to equip three gadgets instead of two.
Customisation goes beyond raw stats too. Nintendo notes that the true value of your gadgets comes from how you customise them, since collecting gadget parts during island excursions lets you upgrade gadgets in several ways, such as increased damage, fire rate, duration, or added effects like ink explosions or knockback gas. New Raiders should hold onto every gadget part they pick up early rather than scrapping it, since even a duplicate part can push a favourite gadget’s upgrade over the threshold. Mobalytics also confirms that weapon progression runs on a separate currency, noting weapons can be upgraded using Spirhalite Shards to level them up, boosting damage in various ways, though the Shard cost increases with each upgrade.
Deep Cut’s Hideout Ship facilities double as your build lab
Between raids, the Hideout Ship is where progression actually happens, and each Deep Cut member has a dedicated role. Nintendo’s Direct recap confirms Shiver can help craft new gadgets in the Gadget Workshop, Frye can assist with upgrading weapons or turning them into materials in the Weapon Stash, and Big Man will catalogue useful info, all as part of facilities you build to optimise your treasure-hunting toolkit. New players should make a habit of swinging by all three stations after every raid rather than only the one tied to their current goal, since Skill Points and Shards accumulate fast once you’re clearing islands regularly.
Tech Times’ launch-day coverage frames the shift for longtime fans: this is not Splatoon 4, but something the franchise has never tried, a PvE spin-off that positions single-player as the primary experience, where the end goal is building a loadout and progressing through the Spirhalite Islands while collecting increasingly rare treasure from a Salmonid-infested archipelago. That framing matters for beginners coming from Turf War or Salmon Run, since success here is measured in gear progression rather than match wins.
Read also: Splatoon Raiders Release Time: When It Unlocks in NZ, AU, US Time Zones July 23
Co-op scaling makes group raids a viable starting point too
Solo play is the default experience, but Splatoon Raiders was built with groups in mind from the outset. Reviewers note the structural flexibility on offer, with one outlet summarising that the structural change is the thing to weigh, as Raiders drops Turf War entirely and builds a single-player loot chase across the Spirhalite Islands, with four-player co-op that scales difficulty. New Zealand and Australian players jumping in with friends should note that Nintendo’s own listing pegs launch pricing at NZ$/AU$ regional storefront rates through the Nintendo eShop, and that the release date was set for 23 July 2026 across supported regions, putting local players among the first in the world to access the game thanks to the rolling midnight launch schedule.
Whether you gravitate toward a Speed build built for hit-and-run tactics or a Tactical loadout leaning on deployables like the Shot Pot, the fundamentals stay the same for anyone starting out: experiment with Tanks early, don’t fear a lower difficulty setting, and prioritise gadget parts over raw shard-hoarding until you find a build that clicks.
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