Splatoon Raiders Guides Hub

Your raid playbook for Spirhalite Islands

Welcome to the Guides Hub for Splatoon Raiders, the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive action-shooter that launched on July 23, 2026. You play as the Mechanic alongside Deep Cut—Shiver, Frye, and Big Man—on the Spirhalite Islands. Raids send you after Spirhalite Shards, relics, gadget parts, and weapon drops while Salmonids try to stop every dig.

This hub is the index for every how-to under Guides. Use it when you need a clear next step: first hours, co-op unlock, Bot Buddy Bond, Frye’s Weapon Stash, Spirhalite farming loops, tank gadgets, or difficulty choices. Pair these pages with Weapons, Builds, Walkthrough, Tier List, Controls, Items, the Raid Checklist, and our Review when you want deeper gear or story context.

Start here if you are new

New Mechanics should begin with Getting Started in Splatoon Raiders. It covers the Hideout Ship loop, Power / Speed / Tactical tanks, Exploration Bot basics, and how early loot feeds permanent upgrades. If ink movement still feels unfamiliar, skim Controls before your first dense dungeon.

Once you clear the early dungeon around Tumetto Rocks on Puos Island, co-op opens at the dock radio. Jump straight to How to Play Co-op for online and local wireless setup (up to four players), party etiquette, and Call for Help. Co-op is optional—the campaign is single-player-focused—but friends make Seasoned Salmonid dens far less stressful.

Power systems worth learning early

Three systems decide how strong your next raid feels:

1. Bot Buddy Bond — Take Shiver, Frye, or Big Man into finished dungeons to raise Bond and improve their Showstoppers. Full steps live in How to Increase Bot Buddy Bond.
2. Weapon upgrades — Frye’s Weapon Stash turns shards and materials into lasting firepower. See How to Upgrade Weapons and cross-check keepers on the Weapons index.
3. Gadgets and tanks — Gadgets are tied to Power, Speed, or Tactical tanks. Learn loadouts in How to Use Gadgets, then assemble full kits in Builds and Tier List.

Spirhalite Shards are the currency that keeps those upgrades moving. When you need an efficient loop that still respects enemy density, use How to Farm Spirhalite and track materials with the Raid Checklist.

Difficulty without loot FOMO

Tourist, Raider, and Survivalist change enemy strength only—loot tables stay the same. That means you can drop difficulty for a stubborn dungeon without sacrificing relics or shards. Read the trade-offs in the Difficulty Guide, then decide whether to push Survivalist for practice or stay on Raider while you finish the Walkthrough.

How to use this hub

• Follow the featured guides in order if you are still unlocking Hideout Ship facilities.
• Bounce between sibling guides whenever a raid goal changes (farming vs. story vs. Showstopper practice).
• Keep Items open when a relic or Mega Power Egg drop needs identification.
• Return here after each major island unlock; new dens change which farm and Bond loops are fastest.

Endgame, endings, and post-credits routes

Once the main Spirhalite arc wraps, Raiders keeps asking questions: which ending you earned, what post-game dungeons opened, and whether you missed a story branch on the first pass. The dedicated How to Unlock Endings page walks through requirement checks, choice points, and how to tell which route your save is on before you burn another evening on the wrong island order.

Post-game is not a single menu button—it is a web of harder raids, new map icons, and completion goals that assume your Hideout Ship is fully online. Pair ending guidance with the Post-Game Walkthrough when you need a ordered checklist after credits, and skim Patch Notes if you are returning after Ver 1.1.0 added fresh bosses and quality-of-life fixes.

Boss guides for spike walls

Two endgame beats stop a lot of otherwise healthy saves cold:

1. Salmonarch — A multi-phase Salmonid king that punishes lazy gadget cadence and greedy shard farming mid-fight. Read How to Beat Salmonarch for phase tells, tank picks, and co-op callouts before you queue Survivalist.
2. Bottomless Buffet — A dense objective gauntlet where timer pressure and crate routes collide. How to Complete Bottomless Buffet breaks the stage into safe clear windows, gadget swaps, and when to ignore optional loot.

Both guides assume you already finished the Difficulty Guide mindset: drop to Raider for learning, climb back when patterns are muscle memory.

amiibo and cosmetic unlocks

Physical collectibles matter in Raiders too. The Deep Cut amiibo set and compatible Splatoon figures unlock outfits and small extras when scanned on the Hideout Ship—nothing mandatory for story, but easy to miss if you never tap during a raid night. Follow How to Scan amiibo for supported figures, scan timing, and how rewards land in Big Man’s Hoard. Cross-check outfit names on the Collectibles page and the Items Hub when you are building a completionist route.

Splatoon Raiders rewards short, intentional raids as much as marathon dungeon crawls. Clear a dens route, talk to Deep Cut on the ship, upgrade one system, then go out again. The pages below are written to support that loop without filler—bookmark the hub and dive into the guide that matches your current bottleneck.