Splatoon Raiders: 10 Best Gadgets, Ranked

1 hour ago 1

Published Jul 27, 2026, 1:34 PM EDT

Daniel Trock is a Contributor at DualShockers specializing in PC games, lists, and reviews. He has been writing professionally since 2018 and covering games since 2020, with previous work spanning guides, news, lists, and reviews across multiple publications.

Before joining DualShockers, Daniel contributed guides to GamerJournalist and lists to TheGamer. He currently covers tech topics for SlashGear and BGR. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Marist College and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing from Western Connecticut State University.

One of the primary ways in which Splatoon Raiders differentiates itself from the mainline games is in the introduction of Gadgets, a substitution for the series’ usual sub-weapons. Rather than little weapons and utilities that draw on your ink supply, Gadgets are standalone weapons, tools, and abilities that operate on an independent cooldown timer, allowing you to use them even if your ink is running dry. Additionally, with the right upgrades, you can equip up to three of them at once, presenting all kinds of mixing and matching opportunities.

There are 15 Gadgets in total, 5 for each of the game’s three tank types, which you unlock over the course of the campaign. Every Gadget has its use cases, especially with Gadget Parts allowing you to fine-tune and alter your Gadgets’ functions, but as is the case with regular Splatoon, everyone has their preferences. Out of all the Gadgets available in the game, these are the ones I find myself using most frequently, in order of preference.

All the following rankings have been made based on the Gadgets’ baseline abilities, with no consideration for Gadget Parts, since any Gadget could be the best with the right loadout.

10 Meteor Mitt

Diet Splashdown

Longtime Splatoon players are almost certainly familiar with one of the series's most enduring specials, the Splashdown, in which you pound the ground right beneath you with a massive burst of ink. Of course, specials aren’t a thing in Raiders, having been supplanted by Deep Cut’s Showstoppers, but Gadgets can fill in the blanks in a simpler fashion. For the Splashdown in particular, the Gadget equivalent is the Meteor Mitt.

The Meteor Mitt is a Power Tank Gadget that, when activated, pops you up into the air for a moment, then drives you back down releasing a hearty explosion of ink on impact. Naturally, this maneuver deals a lot of damage, making it great for mopping up large crowds of small Salmonids and taking a bite out of bigger ones. You can also move around in the air a bit before the downward blow which, alongside the initial pop-up, makes it a good choice for a hybrid emergency escape and damaging burst maneuver.

9 Dash Bomb

Like a Bat Outta Hell

Anyone who’s ever played a round of Salmon Run knows how easy it is to get completely swarmed with Salmonids, especially when you’re all by yourself. The best way to avoid getting shellacked is to give large Salmonid crowds a wide berth, but if they manage to surround you, the Dash Bomb offers the next best option: getting the heck outta there.

This Speed Tank Gadget will launch you forwards in a powerful ink burst in whatever direction you’re currently facing. Anything in your vicinity will take a big chunk of damage when the Dash Bomb is activated, while you make a quick escape out of the crowd. It’s a great mobility move, especially since it can be used both on the ground and in the air. Combined with the double jump ability, and perhaps the dodge roll from a pair of Dualies, and you can become surprisingly agile in the air without sacrificing your aiming ability.

8 Flywire

Get Sticky With It

Speaking of agility, Splatoon 3 players may recall the Zipcaster, a special that transformed you into a Spider-Man-esque hero able to launch your tentacles onto walls and objects and zip to them, creating ink explosions as you go. Apparently, the Mechanic hasn’t been bitten by whatever radioactive mollusk that’d normally facilitate this, but much like how Spider-Man made his own web shooters, so too can the Mechanic make their own Zipcaster with the Flywire.

This Speed Tank Gadget works effectively the same way the Zipcaster did, just without the time limit or superhero form. Aim at any inkable wall or ground, or any Salmonid looking at you funny, and you can grapple onto them and launch yourself right at them, creating an ink explosion on impact. Like the Zipcaster before it, the Flywire does take some practice to get good with, but once you do, it makes you ridiculously mobile, especially when paired with other high-mobility Gadgets.

7 Tether Wail

Let Them Hear You Shout

One particular weapon that’s gone through a lot of forms throughout the series is the Killer Wail, starting as a big straight-line cannon in Splatoon, becoming a set of six smaller beams in Splatoon 3, and getting utilized as a sniping weapon by Salmonids in between. Raiders doesn’t have a traditional version of the Killer Wail available, instead opting for something a little more cunning.

The Tether Wail is a Tactical Tank Gadget that, when activated, drops a Killer Wail post on the ground right in front of you. The beam created by this post automatically connects to the Mechanic and follows you wherever you go, with any Salmonids touching the beam taking damage. The further you move from the post, the thicker and more powerful the beam becomes, encouraging you to set it down and rush right into the fray as you leave destruction in your wake. If you like to slip behind large crowds of Salmonds for a pincer attack, this is the Gadget for you.

6 Shot Pot

Instant Friend

Notwithstanding online play, your only consistent ally in Raiders is the Exploration Bot piloted by a member of Deep Cut. The Bot provides some decent cover fire, but things can still get tense when you’re all alone out there, especially in larger arenas where the Bot can’t get to you easily. If you ever need to phone a friend in a hurry, that’s a job for the Shot Pot.

The Shot Pot is a Tactical Tank Gadget that allows you to chuck a small projectile a short distance ahead of you, as well as up onto ledges. When it lands, the projectile deploys into a stationary turret that begins automatically pelting the nearest Salmonid with sustained ink shots for a set length of time. It’ll automatically target the weak points on Boss Salmonids, like the driver on the back of a Steel Eel, so no need to worry about it pew-pewing ineffectively at the wrong spot. You can never go wrong with an extra gun on the battlefield, especially since its cooldown is a lot shorter than you’d expect. Plus, as an added perk, it targets crates, which is convenient for mopping up collectibles you may be having trouble reaching.

5 Hi-Fiver

The Ol’ Five-Finger Discount

There’s something about dry-erase markers that make you want to do something really irresponsible with them, like tape five of them to your hand and run through a craft store pretending you’re Wolverine. I don’t know how helpful that particular endeavor would be in dealing with Salmonids, but there’s definitely a way we can put those markers to work for you.

The Hi-Fiver is a Tactical Tank Gadget that deploys five straight lines of ink which ricochet off of solid surfaces and linger in the air for a little while, kind of like Splatoon 3’s Angle Shooter. The lines penetrate through Salmonids and deal continuous damage to any that stand within them. This Gadget is an absolute beast in close confines, as the bounce of the lines create elaborate webs that can completely deny the entire area. Even if you don’t use the bounce to its utmost, just creating a fan of lasting damage in front of you is great for keeping weaker Salmonids in check.

4 Blast Boot

For Those Quick Escapes

As I mentioned before, any situation involving Salmonids, sooner or later, will result in your getting surrounded and swarmed. The Dash Bomb can get you out of many of these situations, but sometimes, running in a straight line isn’t quite sufficient to escape the danger zone. When you need to put a little extra pep in your step, not to mention dissuade anything nasty standing at your destination, that’s a job for the Blast Boot.

A Speed Tank Gadget, the Blast Boot is kind of like a combination of the Dash Bomb and the Meteor Mitt. When used, it pops you into the air at a forward angle, leaves you hovering above the ground for a split second, then has you crash down in a small ink explosion. Like the Dash Bomb, the Blast Boot is excellent for exiting a dangerous situation in a hurry, though rather than attacking whatever’s currently menacing you, it instead creates AoE damage wherever you’re going. This means that, in addition to escapes, it can also be used as a more aggressive offensive move.

3 Splatellites

Ring Around the Mechanic

As far back as the age of Gradius, it’s been well-documented that the best way to protect yourself in a game about shooting stuff is to surround yourself with spinning things that automatically knock away projectiles and grind up smaller enemies, keeping you safe from harm in the process. Some call them “Options,” others call them “Orbiters.” Raiders calls them Splatellites.

The Splatellites are a Power Tank Gadget that creates eight points of tick-damaging ink in a circle around the Mechanic, which orbit at a set speed and lasts for a good while. The benefits of this Gadget should be readily apparent; the damage of the orbit automatically repels weaker, smaller Salmonids, while the tick damage continuously pelts any larger Salmonids trying to get up close and personal with you. Paired with the damage from your primary weapon, and you can get some pretty high-quality DPS going, and at generally reduced risk to your safety.

2 Torqscrew

I Fell Into a Burning Ring of Ink

One of the new Boss Salmonid types in Raiders, the Salivator, horks up a gross little bag that creates a damaging whirlwind of ink in its vicinity as long as it continues to spin. It’s an annoying thing to deal with, especially if you’re already surrounded by other Salmonids on all sides. As it so happens, though, this particular tactic isn’t exclusive to the Salmonids; the Mechanic can use it as well with the help of the Torqscrew.

A Power Tank Gadget, the Torqscrew works pretty much the same as the Salivator’s spinning bag. Wherever you chuck it, it begins spinning, producing an allied whirlwind of ink while launching little ink splotches onto the surrounding ground. Any Salmonid within the whirlwind will take continuous damage, with the damage being higher the closer they are to the center of it. It’s one of the most consistent damage-dealing Gadgets in the game, and great for wrestling back control of a smaller arena from a large Salmonid horde.

1 Splatchet

I’d Like to Axe You a Question

Many of the Splatoon series’ most powerful weapons also have the shortest ranges, which I assume is why I always get splatted by some jerk with a Charger whenever I use a Roller. In Raiders, though, range is a little less of a concern, which means you’re free to use some of the strongest weapons in your arsenal, like the Splatchet.

The Splatchet is the definitive Power Tank Gadget. When activated, the Mechanic lunges forward with a damaging, directed ink burst, then swings in front of them in a wide, Splatana-like arc. The damage dealt by this slash attack is positively devastating; not only can it carve right through a Boss Salmonid’s armor, it’s powerful enough to take out most ground-based Salmonids like Cohocks, Salty Tongues, and Scrappers in a single swipe. As long as you don’t accidentally overshoot the initial lunge and miss the swipe, you can quite literally carve your way through most incoming Salmonid hordes.