Welcome to the ultimate deep dive into gear and abilities in Splatoon 2. While at first the system might seem like a random mess of cosmetic items and abilities, understanding how it truly works is one of the best ways to elevate your performance. Gear and abilities are so impactful that they can transform even the most underwhelming weapons into viable tools for climbing the ranks.

Let’s break down how to acquire, manage, and optimize your gear so you can make the most of every slot, every point of XP, and every splat.

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What Is Gear and Why It Matters

Each piece of gear—headwear, clothing, and footwear—not only affects your look but directly alters your performance via abilities. These abilities do everything from increasing movement speed to reducing respawn times or enhancing special weapon effects.

Gear abilities come in two types:

• Main Ability: Larger icons, always fixed, with a significant impact.
• Sub Abilities: Smaller, unlocked by gaining XP through battles, and weaker individually but powerful in combination.

Main abilities always stay the same on a gear piece, but sub abilities are randomly rolled unless manually changed later. You can unlock up to three sub slots per gear item.

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Understanding Rarity and Slots

Gear is ranked by rarity:

• 1 Star = 1 sub slot
• 2 Stars = 2 sub slots
• 3 Stars = 3 sub slots

Higher rarity means more potential but also higher cost and more XP needed to roll sub abilities. If you want to expand your gear’s potential, you can use Super Sea Snails (earned during Splatfests) to add more sub slots. However, adding slots doesn’t reduce the XP required to roll them—it’s still determined by the original rarity.

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Buying and Ordering Gear

Gear can be purchased from these shops in Inkopolis Square:

• Headspace (Hats)
• Jel La Fleur (Clothing)
• Shella Fresh (Shoes)

But sometimes you spot someone wearing gear with the perfect ability. That’s where the Order System comes in. Walk up to that player and order their gear via Murch.

You can:

• Have up to 3 active orders
• Replace older ones with new orders
• Pick up one order per day from Murch

Important: Murch only guarantees the main ability. Sub abilities might be missing, and the gear might not have the same number of slots (it will match the default rarity).

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Ordering from SplatNet 2

If you have access to the Nintendo Switch Online app, you can order gear directly from the SplatNet 2 shop:

• Six pieces rotate in and out every two hours
• Exclusive gear with unique main abilities not found in regular shops
• No wait time—once ordered, it can be picked up from Murch immediately

Limitations:

• Only one active SplatNet order at a time
• Items are more expensive than in-game shops
• Orders won’t include sub abilities—you’ll have to unlock them yourself

Even if you see SplatNet-exclusive gear on other players, ordering it turns it into a Murch-type order, following those standard rules (one item per day, partial match possible).

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Earning Gear Through Alternative Methods

Besides shopping, there are several other ways to earn gear:

1. Story Mode Completion

Completing the single-player campaign unlocks the hero gear used during your adventure for online battles.

2. Amiibo

All Splatoon-series Amiibo unlock exclusive gear sets. You typically receive:

• Day 1: Headpiece
• Next Day(s): Rest of the gear set (after rescanning)

You must beat the story mode first to interact with Squid Sister Amiibo. The Pearl and Marina Amiibo will likely follow similar mechanics.

3. Salmon Run

Each month, Grizzco offers a new gear piece as a reward for reaching point thresholds. Rewards include:

• Gear with random main abilities
• Sub slots are usually empty, though you can sometimes get lucky
• Guaranteed gear in pink reward capsules

4. Pre-Purchasing the Octo Expansion

Players who pre-ordered the DLC received exclusive Octo-themed gear. As of now, this gear is unavailable through other means, though that may change in future updates.

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Summary Tips for Gear Mastery

• More stars = more slots = more potential (but also higher cost and XP requirements).
• Super Sea Snails are precious—use them wisely for adding slots.
• Ordering from other players is a great way to get gear with desired main abilities.
• SplatNet 2 allows for exclusive and instant orders but limits you to one active item at a time.
• Amiibo, story mode, and Salmon Run offer alternate avenues for gear, but you can’t re-order these items once obtained.

Finally, understand that abilities matter. Whether it’s reducing respawn penalties, speeding up ink recovery, or maximizing your special output, thoughtful gear selection will absolutely elevate your play.

Thanks for reading! If you found this guide helpful, keep experimenting with new gear builds, and don’t forget to flex your freshest fits in the plaza.