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Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Players working their way up the ranks of the PvE mode Salmon Run in Splatoon 3 have likely encountered the behemoth King Salmonid — also known as Cohozuna. This superboss has the chance to spawn as an Xtrawave after the standard three waves of salmonid invasions have been successfully completed.
Cohozuna is no joke, offering players a much tougher challenge than any other boss in Salmon Run. As such, you’ll want to be equipped with the best strategy for conquering this King Salmonid. That’s why today we’re giving you insight into how to beat Cohozuna in Salmon Run — including the best strategies for whatever weapon you’re given and some useful tips to help your team turn the tide against this fearsome foe in Splatoon 3.
How to Beat Cohozuna
Let’s dive right into our guide on how to beat Salmon Run and Cohozuna in Splatoon 3!
How to Get Cohozuna and the Xtrawave to Spawn
The version of Salmon Run in Splatoon 3 features a new mechanic called the Salmometer. The gauge represents the likelihood of encountering a King Salmonid. After each shift, regardless of whether the team was successful or not, your Salmometer will increase by one. Shown at the top right corner of the screen while visiting Grizzco, the Salmometer starts off empty but will fill up over the course of five shifts.
Encounters with Cohozuna take the Salmometer level of all players on the team into consideration when calculating the probability of an Xtrawave occurring. This means that having a full Salmometer doesn’t guarantee an encounter, but drastically increases the likelihood of one occurring. Coordinating with a full group of four players will help keep one another’s Salmometer synced. Consider working together to allow for more precise predictions when hunting Cohozuna.
Understanding the Xtrawave
There are many elements during the Xtrawave to account for when trying to take down Cohozuna. First, players will need to understand Cohozuna’s movement and attack patterns so they can prepare counter measures accordingly.
Cohozuna has two attacks, with the most common one seeing it jump into the air before crashing down on a large area. The other has it falling forward with anyone caught underneath being instantly splatted in both cases. With its large size, Cohozuna can be lethal if it’s able to trap a player in a corner.
The second aspect of the Xtrawave are the other boss salmonids that spawn. In addition to avoiding Cohozuna, players will have to deal with the various other boss salominds during this wave. These other bosses can pose quite the threat when trying to focus on Cohozuna, and defeating them is crucial to victory. This is not only because it removes them as a threat, but collecting Golden Eggs is the key to defeating Cohozuna.
General Strategy
While the obvious strategy is to focus on shooting Cohozuna with as much ink as possible, it is very worthwhile to collect Golden Eggs, as well. Launching eggs at the King Salmonid deals 800 damage per shot, making it significantly easier to wear down Cohozuna’s massive HP. Be sure to find a balance between straight-on attacks and egg shots, as players only have 100 seconds to defeat the superboss before the Xtrawave ends.
The total HP of Cohozuna is determined by the total ranking of all players in the lobby. The higher the sum of player ranks, the greater the lobby’s hazard level, and the greater Cohozuna’s health bar. Total player rank also affects the amount of rewards dealt to players upon successful completion of the Xtrawave. These unique rewards are fish scales that come in gold, silver, and bronze varieties and can be exchanged at the rewards counter for items that can’t be obtained otherwise.
Best Weapons for Beating Cohozuna
Unfortunately, weapons can’t be chosen in Salmon Run. This means you’ll be stuck using whichever weapons that Grizzco has on rotation. However, there are some weapons that work better than others for the Xtrawave. Keeping an eye out for when these weapons pop up in rotation could be a good strategy for coordinating a Cohozuna hunt.
- Bamboozler 14 Mk I – The Bamboozler 14 Mk I is a fantastic weapon for Salmon Run in general. What’s more, it can really help turn the tide against Cohozuna. It has pretty decent range and solid mobility for a charger, and its charge speed makes it easier than most chargers to keep it charged. This allows players to hold a good vantage point against the oncoming boss salmonids while trying to get hits on Cohozuna.
- Glooga Dualies – The Glooga Dualies have less mobility than most dualies. However, it makes up for this with a higher damage and range, and its stat spread makes it a great weapon for the Xtrawave. It has the power to take on Cohozuna while maintaining the rolling ability that comes with using dualies. Players using the Glooga Dualies should focus on picking off boss salmonids to take pressure off of the other players. Do this while using the dualies’ roll ability to stay alive.
- Luna Blaster – Although the Luna Blaster isn’t great at inking turf, it comes in handy in Salmon Run for its high impact and damage at close range. This makes it great for staving off hoards of salmonids and dealing solid damage to Cohozuna. Taking advantage of the Luna Blaster’s damage-dealing capabilities to quickly dispatch boss salmonids can prove very useful during the Xtrawave.
- Splatana Stamper – The Splatana Stamper is one of the best all-around weapons for Salmon Run. This is thanks to its solid damage, high range, and good mobility. Being able to quickly swing this splatana back and forth makes it easy to clear out waves of salmonids. Holding down the fire button allows players to charge a shot that can be used to hit Cohozuna or other boss salmonids at a greater distance.
Additional Tips
There are a few other things to keep in mind when attempting to take down Cohozuna that could mean the difference between victory and defeat. The most important factor is keeping a supply of Golden Eggs on hand since they deal the most damage to Cohozuna. Keep a supply handy by fending off the Snatchers that will descend to try and steal unguarded Golden Eggs. It might be tough to spot these salmonids while trying to deal with the chaos of the Xtrawave. However, doing so can pay off in a huge way.
While this may seem counter-intuitive, your focus shouldn’t be Cohozuna. Instead, focus on taking out dangerous boss salmonids like Steelheads, Flyfish, and Stingers. Doing so not only helps give your team more Golden Eggs to hurl at Cohozuna, it reduces the chances of teammates getting downed by a barrage of enemy attacks. Having one or two team members focus on the boss salmonids while the others focus on Cohozuna can be a great strategy if your team has the coordination to pull it off.
Specials can be a huge game changer during the Xtrawave. Your special gauge refreshes at the start of the wave should you have exhausted it during the main three. This way, you are free to let loose with your powerful special abilities to get yourself or teammates out of a tough situation. Use your special to clear the field of enemies should you start to get overrun and help keep space available to maneuver around Cohozuna.
Join the High Ground
With these tips in mind, you should be well-equipped to take on Cohozuna and beat Salmon Run in Splatoon 3. Let us know if you’ve been able to conquer the King Salmonid in the comments down below! Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with all things Splatoon 3.
Happy Gaming!
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