Nintendo has had a busy week. Between rolling out a new Switch 2 firmware update and adding the Handheld Mode Boost feature, the company has now confirmed that Splatoon 3 is also getting a fresh update dropping on March 18, 2026.
Version 11.1.0 is the patch in question, and it touches quite a bit: main weapon balance, special weapon tweaks, special weapon point costs, and a significant rework to how X Battles handle matchmaking. Nintendo also teased what's coming after this one.
What's Changing for Main Weapons
The weapon balance changes in this update are a direct response to battle data collected from Version 11.0.0. Nintendo's approach here is pretty clear: pull back on weapons that got too strong, nudge up the ones that didn't benefit much from the previous system changes.
Here's a full breakdown of the main weapon adjustments:
The Dynamo Roller nerf stands out. It's the only weapon in this patch getting a straight downgrade, with the effectiveness of the Ink Saver (Main) ability dialed back. The rest of the list skews heavily toward buffs, particularly for weapons that felt underpowered after the previous update's system-level changes.
All changes in Version 11.1.0 apply to both Nintendo Switch 2 and the original Nintendo Switch.
X Battle matchmaking update
Special Weapons and Point Cost Adjustments
The Ultra Stamp is taking a hit this patch. The explosion radius of its 220.0 damage area when throwing the stamp has been reduced by approximately 10%. Not a massive change, but enough to matter in close-quarters situations where that burst damage was doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Special weapon point costs are also being reshuffled across a wide range of weapons:
The Splattershot getting cheaper special points is a notable buff, while weapons like the Heavy Splatling and Splash-o-matic now cost more to charge up their specials.
Special point costs adjusted
The X Battle Matchmaking Overhaul
This is probably the most meaningful part of the patch for competitive players. Nintendo is changing how X Battle matchmaking works at a fundamental level.
Previously, the system paired players with similar X Power values at the time of matchmaking. The new approach looks ahead instead, pairing players whose X Power is likely to end up similar after they've played more matches. The goal is to reduce extreme mismatches that tend to happen right at the start of a season or immediately after rank calculations.
A few other X Battle changes worth noting:
- Team division logic has been updated to keep skill levels balanced on both sides, even in regions or time zones with fewer active players
- In the Tentatek Division, players below 2000.0 X Power and those at 2000.0 or above can now be matched together
- The weapon pairing system has been reworked so players more often face weapons with similar preferred ranges, rather than always being pitted against weapons that are dramatically longer or shorter range
That last point is subtle but genuinely impactful. The old system grouped weapons into fixed categories and matched within those groups. Now it's range-based, which should lead to more balanced weapon matchups regardless of which category a weapon technically belongs to.
What Comes After 11.1.0
Nintendo confirmed that the update following this one will focus specifically on "changes to the balance of battles." No further details were shared, but given that 11.1.0 is primarily a matchmaking and light balance patch, the next one sounds like it'll go deeper on weapon and battle system tuning.
Splatoon 3 has continued receiving support well into the Switch 2 era, with Version 10.0.0 last year bringing smoother animations and performance improvements for the newer hardware. Make sure to check out more:
