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Splatoon 3 Version 11.0.0 patch notes explained: Flow Aura, health display, and the balance shake-up

30 January 2026
Nintendo Switch 2Nintendo Switch
11 min.
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Splatoon 3 Version 11.0.0 patch notes explained: Flow Aura, health display, and the balance shake-up

Summary:

Version 11.0.0 lands with a clear mission: make battles easier to read, more rewarding for smart teamwork, and a little less dependent on guesswork in the messiest moments. The headline feature is Flow Aura, a new mechanic that kicks in when someone performs well, especially when splats happen back-to-back in a short window. Once Flow Aura is active, we get a bundle of familiar ability effects at once and a small but meaningful visual tell – ink spreads around the player’s feet when the aura starts or gets extended. That turns a good streak into something the whole lobby can react to, not just the person holding the controller.

On top of that, we now see approximate remaining health for damaged players for a short time, which changes how we choose fights. Instead of squinting at ink coverage and guessing whether a follow-up shot will do it, we can make cleaner decisions: push, back off, or tag-team with a teammate who’s nearby. Hit detection also gets tuning in two directions at once: swim-form collision is made smaller for players, while weapon attacks get widened in a way that favors shorter-range shots more strongly. Add in a Stealth Jump timing trade-off for long Super Jumps, a Reefslider adjustment that tightens its lethal zone while cutting back some safer zone-flip patterns, and a batch of weapon and special-point tweaks, and we end up with a patch that changes the feel of everyday matches in a very real way.

Splatoon 3 – Version 11.0.0 release timing and the big theme

Version 11.0.0 is set to release on January 28-29, 2026 depending on region, and it applies across both Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch. The theme running through the changes is not subtle: we are being nudged toward battles that are easier to understand at a glance, without turning them into slow-motion chess. Instead of only tweaking numbers on a few kits and calling it a day, this update touches systems that shape almost every engagement: momentum, visibility of damage, and how hits register when players are swimming or moving around cover. That combination matters because Splatoon is a game where tiny decisions add up fast. A half-second of hesitation can decide a fight, and a single missed shot can flip control of the middle. With this patch, we get more information, clearer tells, and a few guardrails that push fights toward contested space rather than endless reset loops.

Flow Aura turns hot streaks into a real mechanic

Flow Aura is the new centerpiece, and it basically takes the idea of “playing well” and turns it into an on-screen state with clear benefits. The trigger is tied to doing well in battle, especially when splats happen consecutively within a short time, and the aura only lasts for a short window unless you keep earning it. That design is important because it rewards momentum without making it permanent. We are not handing someone a full match-long buff for winning one duel. Instead, Flow Aura behaves like a candle in the wind – it burns bright, but it needs constant fuel. The other key detail is that Flow Aura is not only about selfish splats. Working with teammates through assists and territory inking increases the chance of gaining it when you do secure a splat, which is a quiet way of telling everyone: “Stop playing alone in a team game.”

What triggers Flow Aura and how it extends

The basic rule is simple: when a player does well in battle, such as defeating opponents consecutively in a short period of time, they can gain Flow Aura. The more interesting part is how it extends. While Flow Aura is active, its duration is extended slightly when the player defeats an opponent, and it can also extend when teammates defeat an opponent that the player damaged. That second clause is huge, because it rewards coordinated pressure instead of only last-hitting. If you tag someone, your teammate finishes them, and Flow Aura extends anyway, we are effectively getting credit for creating the opening. It also means playing “support” can be a real engine for momentum, not just a nice gesture. If you like setting up fights with chip damage, painting routes, or forcing enemies out of cover, Flow Aura gives that style a clearer payoff without needing a special weapon to validate your existence.

The ink burst and why it changes positioning

Whenever a player gains Flow Aura or extends it, the ground at their feet gets inked in their color. That sounds cosmetic until you remember how much Splatoon is about micro-positioning. A sudden patch of friendly ink at your feet is movement insurance. It makes it easier to swim away, shift angle, or chase, and it can also reveal where the Flow Aura player is standing even in the chaos. In other words, Flow Aura is both a buff and a signal flare. If you see that ink burst, you know someone just leveled up their threat for the next few seconds. That can change how you approach corners and choke points because you are not only tracking a weapon – you are tracking a temporary state that makes that weapon scarier. It also means the Flow Aura player leaves little footprints of intent, which helps teammates rally around them or helps opponents decide, “Nope, not that lane right now.”

The built-in ability set and what it replaces

While Flow Aura persists, four ability effects are applied: Run Speed Up, Swim Speed Up, Ink Resistance Up, and Intensify Action. The important part is that this is a bundle, and it arrives regardless of your gear build. That does not magically erase gear choices, but it can shift how we think about them in the moment. If Flow Aura gives you speed and mobility tools temporarily, then your gear build can lean harder into what Flow Aura does not cover, like ink efficiency, special output, or niche utility. It also creates a new kind of timing window. Instead of always trying to be “strong all match,” we can aim to be “unstoppable for 20-30 seconds” at the right time, then play safer while waiting for the next chance. Flow Aura is basically a wave that you can ride, and the smart play is knowing when to surf and when to get out of the water before you wipe out.

Health display makes damage information clearer

Version 11.0.0 adds a display for a player’s approximate remaining health after they take damage, and that applies to both allies and opponents. For opponents, the remaining health appears for about three seconds immediately after taking damage, and it will not display when the main part of the opponent’s body is not visible, such as when they are behind terrain or swimming in ink. However, if something like Thermal Ink or Point Sensor is revealing an opponent’s position, the remaining health can still display even if you cannot see them directly. This change is a big deal because it reduces guesswork. Instead of relying on vibes and ink coverage to estimate whether the next shot will finish the job, we get a clear prompt to either commit or disengage. It also supports better teamwork. If you see an ally is low, you can body-block, paint an exit, or throw a distraction. If you see an enemy is one breath away from going down, you can take a smarter angle instead of charging into a trade.

Hit detection adjustments change duels in subtle ways

Hit detection gets tuned from two sides. First, collision-detection size for players in swim form is slightly decreased, making it harder for opponents’ attacks to hit them. Second, collision-detection size for main weapon attacks is expanded to make it easier to hit opponents, with a special twist: the shorter the weapon’s shot flight distance, the greater the increase. Put together, this is trying to clean up a common frustration loop. Swim form is where movement is fastest and cover interactions get weird, so shrinking that target helps reduce moments where someone feels like they got tagged behind a corner. At the same time, widening weapon hit detection, especially for shorter-range shots, helps reduce the opposite frustration: being close enough to smell the enemy’s shampoo but still watching pellets whiff because of tiny motion and network jitter. The outcome is not “everyone hits everything now.” The outcome is “close-range fights feel a bit more honest, and swim dodging is less forgiving when you are careless but less punishing when you are genuinely behind cover.”

Stealth Jump long-distance timing gets a trade-off

Stealth Jump gets a very specific adjustment: when attempting a long Super Jump with Stealth Jump equipped, the time required to make the jump is increased by up to one second depending on distance. The distance-based increase applies to the time spent flying through the air and does not change the time spent on the ground preparing for the jump. In practical terms, we are paying a little extra “hang time” for stealthier landings when the jump is long. That has strategic weight because long Super Jumps are often the fastest way to swing momentum, especially when a team wants to re-enter a contested area or pile into an objective at once. Adding flight time creates more opportunity for defenders to reposition, paint landing zones, or prepare a punish, even if the jump marker is hidden. It is a balancing move that says: stealthy re-entry is still strong, but it should not be the most efficient answer at every distance without any added risk or timing consequence.

Reefslider becomes deadlier up close, riskier at range

Reefslider gets multiple changes that pull it in two directions: more lethal where it hits, less reliable for safe, long-distance objective flips. The radius of the explosion that deals 220.0 damage is increased by about 20%, while the radius of the area that deals 70.0 damage does not change. The center point of the explosion is also slightly raised, making it harder for opponents to avoid it using small height differences. At the same time, the radius inked by the explosion is decreased by about 7%, and the maximum charge distance is decreased by about 19%. There is also a UI clarity tweak: the indicator circle is adjusted to match the 220.0 damage radius rather than the inked radius. The message is clear. If you commit and land it, Reefslider is scarier and harder to “just hop away from.” But if you were relying on it to paint a zone from a safe spot and steal control through ink spread rather than direct threat, you are getting less mileage.

Main weapon changes that matter in real matches

The main weapon adjustments are a mix of ease-of-use tweaks and identity sharpening. The patch notes explicitly frame some of these as not simple upgrades, but performance changes meant to make unique properties stand out. L-3 Nozzlenose gets faster shots by about 24% without changing flight distance, while its ink splatter radius at impact is reduced by about 15%. That pushes it toward its core identity: rewarding players who land the three-shot rhythm cleanly, while making passive, ink-heavy play less attractive. Dynamo Roller leans into “heavy and powerful,” with improved inking on spray droplets from swings and a damage falloff adjustment that allows 100.0 or higher damage at greater distances than before, but it also consumes about 17% more ink per swing. Other tweaks include reduced end-lag after firing for Blaster, a small max damage bump for H-3 Nozzlenose, faster ink recovery start for Splat Roller swings, better droplet and impact ink radius for Heavy Splatling, faster shots for Tetra Dualies, reduced ink consumption for Splat Brella, and a reduced short-range explosive damage radius for S-BLAST variants. None of these exists in isolation. They shift matchups, paint control, and how quickly pressure builds in the center.

Special points updates and why they shift pacing

Points required for specials are adjusted across several kits, and those changes affect tempo even when no one is consciously tracking the numbers. Lowering special point costs, like New Squiffer moving from 200 to 190 or certain chargers and sloshers dropping by 10, can push those weapons into more frequent power spikes across a match. Raising costs, like Splattershot Pro going from 180 to 190 or S-BLAST ’91 going from 200 to 210, slightly slows how often those kits can lean on their special as a safety blanket. The key is that special pacing shapes the feel of a mode. A tiny points shift can change whether we see a special every push or every other push, and that affects how often teams can force resets, crack defenses, or swing a zone back. When we combine these pacing tweaks with Flow Aura’s momentum windows and the Reefslider tuning, we end up with matches that are more about winning a sequence of fights in contested space, not just waiting for the next special cycle to do the work.

SplatNet 3 X Rankings display change and what it signals

SplatNet 3 also gets a targeted but meaningful update: the used-weapon display under X Rankings is changed to show the most frequently used weapon in X Battles for that mode during a certain period instead of the last used weapon. Because of that change, the weapon used to determine the top players for weapons is changed in the same way. This is a small line in the notes, but it tightens how performance is represented. “Last used” can be noisy. You might switch for one match, experiment, or pick a counter, and suddenly your profile reads like that is your identity. “Most frequently used” over a period better reflects what someone is actually grinding in that rule. It also makes rankings feel less like a snapshot and more like a signal. For competitive-minded players, that matters because it reduces the incentive to game the display and increases the value of consistency. For everyone else, it just makes browsing rankings less confusing – which, honestly, is a blessing in a world where half of us are already arguing about whether a roller is a lifestyle choice.

Conclusion

Version 11.0.0 is not a quiet tune-up. It changes how momentum works, how information is communicated mid-fight, and how reliable certain interactions feel when players are swimming, peeking, and scrapping around cover. Flow Aura is the star because it rewards sequences of good play while still demanding that you keep earning it, and the ink burst plus ability bundle turns that streak into something both teams can see and react to. Health display reduces guesswork and improves teamwork, hit detection adjustments aim to make close fights and corner interactions feel fairer, and the Stealth Jump timing change adds a real trade-off to long-distance re-entry. Reefslider becomes a sharper threat when it connects, but it is less about painting safety plays from afar, and the weapon and special point adjustments push several kits back toward clearer identities. Put it all together and we get battles that should feel more readable, more momentum-driven, and more honest about who won the last exchange – which is exactly the kind of chaos Splatoon is supposed to be.

FAQs
  • What is Flow Aura in Splatoon 3 Version 11.0.0?
    • Flow Aura is a temporary state earned by performing well, such as getting consecutive splats in a short time, and it grants a bundle of ability effects while it lasts.
  • How long does Flow Aura last and how do we extend it?
    • It lasts for a short time, and its duration extends slightly when we get splats or when a teammate splats an opponent we previously damaged.
  • How does the new health display work?
    • After taking damage, a player’s approximate remaining health displays for a few seconds, and it only shows when visibility rules allow it or tracking effects reveal the target.
  • What changed with hit detection in Version 11.0.0?
    • Swim-form collision is slightly smaller for players, while main weapon attack collision is expanded, with a stronger expansion for shorter-range shots.
  • Why was Reefslider changed in this update?
    • Reefslider’s lethal explosion radius is larger and harder to dodge with tiny height differences, but its maximum charge distance and inked radius are reduced to limit safer zone-flip patterns.
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