Salmon Run Tips

Salmonid priority
Stinger
Flyfish
Steel Eel
Drizzler
Steelhead
Scrapper
Maws

Rules/Tips
- Lure Scrappers, Maws, and Goldies to the basket.
- PLEASE shoot the Drizzler balloons; it doesn’t matter if it’s not going to hit the Drizzler just please shoot it out of the air.
- On Cohock Rushes, chargers and heavy weapons get priority over the cannons.
- Getting a running start and jumping before you throw a bomb can greatly increase your range to reach Flyfish baskets from a further distance.
- If you’re the first to hit a Scrapper, swim around it and make it turn around so its vulnerable behind is open to your coworkers.
- Do not stop Scrappers on narrow pathways.
- Ink the walls, it could be very useful as an escape route to have later on.
- If you’re the last one alive and in a very dire situation, throw a bomb at your coworkers as a last ditch effort. The game will not end until the bomb explodes.
- The only situation where it’d be okay to splat a Scrapper or Maws away from the basket is if it’s the very first boss to appear at the start of a wave.
- During Griller waves, throw a bomb to clear the Smallfries after you splat the Griller. It becomes even easier with a Roller or Brella.
- During Goldie Seeking waves, check the furthest gushers first and use the height as context for which gusher to check next. Always call out “This way!” if you find the Goldie.
- Keep the action away from the basket, but at the same time don’t go too far away. Eggs will end up taking a while to deposit and could even get hard to reach.
- Don’t bother guarding eggs. It is very counter-intuitive and will put more stress on your coworkers as they’re essentially a team of three when you’re at the edge of the map splatting nothing but Snatchers. More bosses will spawn in the time you spend guarding eggs.
- Don’t be afraid to call for help when you’re down. If you’re far away or out of sight, it lets your coworkers know exactly where you are.
- Flyfish, Stingers, and Drizzlers all share the common behavior of having a fixed path that they follow. Flyfish will have certain spots where they will stop to launch missiles, Stingers will stop only at certain areas when they come out of the water, and Drizzlers only land at certain spots, making them all predictable. This is useful especially for using the Sting Ray on Flyfish and Stingers. Every map is different and learning these spots comes with experience.
- Specific weapon tip: Stay still after rolling to use dualies in turret mode to greatly increase damage output. Especially great for Grillers and Goldie Seeking. For context, Dapple Dualies in turret mode deals the same damage per second as a Hydra Splatling. The only dualies that don’t benefit from this are the Dualie Squelchers, which only have their accuracy increased.
- Specific weapon tip: The Explosher is one of the greatest weapons in Salmon Run. It deals good damage on direct hits, but that’s besides the point. The Explosher is able to take out Flyfish buckets. If you get this weapon, consider yourself on Flyfish duty.
- Specific weapon tip: When angled correctly, you can use a roller to run over the Steel Eel for a quick splat. The same can be done on Goldie Seeking/Rush waves by letting the Goldie walk into your roller.
- Specific weapon tip: The Grizzco Slosher is, without a doubt, the best weapon in Salmon Run. It pierces through armor, deals heavy damage, and is pretty much equivalent to having an unlimited Sting Ray, albeit with reload time. Best used on Flyfish, Drizzlers, and Steelheads. When angled correctly, it can also take out a Stinger with only one slosh.
- Marooner’s Bay tip: The path in front of the grates can be used to manipulate the Griller’s movement and make it very vulnerable.
- Lost Outpost tip: During Griller and Goldie Rush waves, the walls can be used to give your coworkers a very clear opening to shoot at the Grillers/Goldies. Be careful not to do this too long, however, since the lesser Salmonids can and will start jumping to attack if you stay out of their reach for too long.
- Salmonid Smokeyard tip: During high tide, stay on the side with the basket. If you absolutely must go to the other side (e.g. to take care of a Stinger/Flyfish), come back as soon as you finish up. A good tip is to activate Inkjet on the side with the basket and hover over to the other side with the propellor bridge.
- Use your specials.
- Splashdown is good for crowd control and killing multiple bosses at once, including Steelheads which die instantly even at the weakest range.
- Bomb Rush is good for crowd control and gaining back a lot of your turf; especially helpful in Goldie Rush to make an opening for eggs to be deposited or when teammates are currently down.
- Inkjet is good for picking off individual Boss Salmonids and crowd control (better than Splashdown but not as good as Bomb Rush); Inkjet is able to instantly splat Steelheads, Stingers (if you aim at the middle of them), and even take out Flyfish baskets. It’s a good idea to activate near the basket, swim over to far away bosses to take care of them, and then pick up an egg before you get sent back to your starting spot.
- Sting Ray is the best special simply for its ability to pierce armor and be used from anywhere. Aim at the middle of Flyfish and the bottom of Stingers to make the most of it. Can also be used for crowd control (e.g. two Grillers together and multiple bosses in a tight vicinity) though is more so a last resort if your coworkers aren’t using their specials. Preferably used when there are two or more Flyfish alive and before things get hectic and prevent you from safely using the Sting Ray.