Your journey through Octo Canyon takes you to some interesting (and treacherous) locales. Before setting off to find the Great Zapfish, take some time to familiarize yourself with the key features you’ll interact with during your adventure.
Lair Entrance
Before you can enter an Octarian lair, you must first locate and reveal its entrance. These invisible entrances are scattered across each area. Splat them repeatedly with ink until they become visible, then stand on top of them and press the ZL button to enter the lair.
Power Eggs
Power Eggs are the currency in Octo Canyon, allowing you to purchase upgrades for your weapons and equipment. These are often found in orange crates and balloons, but can also be found scattered across Octarian lairs. You can collect Power Eggs by touching them or splatting them with ink. If a Power Egg appears to be out of reach, try finding a way to ink it.
Crates
Crates are found in every Octarian lair, but pay special attention to orange crates—these contain Power Eggs, Sunken Scrolls, Sardinium, armor, or specials. Simply shoot crates to smash them, then grab whatever is inside. Before destroying a crate, make sure you don’t need to use it for concealment—they’re handy for hiding behind.
Balloons
These orange balloons are a common sight throughout Octo Canyon. Splat them with ink to make them pop. Balloons are always filled with Power Eggs. Popping a balloon automatically retrieves all the Power Eggs inside.
Power Egg Cans
These cans are usually stored in orange crates. Like with armor or specials, you need to physically touch each can to retrieve the Power Eggs inside. Each can contains 10 Power Eggs, making these items well worth the effort to seek out.
Launchpad
Most Octarian lairs consist of multiple platforms. Launchpads are used to access distant platforms. Stand on a launchpad and press the ZL button to perform a Super Jump to the next platform. Before using a launchpad, make sure you’ve thoroughly explored the current platform. Launchpads are a one-way trip—there’s no way to jump back.
Checkpoint
Walk across checkpoints to save your progress while advancing through Octarian lairs. You usually hit these checkpoints automatically after using a launchpad. In the event that you’re splatted or fall off a ledge, you resume your progress from the most recent checkpoint. Each checkpoint you activate gives you one more life.
Sunken Scrolls
One Sunken Scroll is hidden within each Octarian lair and area hub, usually contained within an orange crate. These scrolls reveal a variety of story information and are collected in the menu’s Scrolls tab.
Sardinium
Like Sunken Scrolls, there is one Sardinium in each lair and hub map. One Sardinium is also rewarded for defeating each boss. Along with Power Eggs, Sardinium is required to purchase upgrades for your weapons and gear. Access Sheldon’s Ammo Knights Enhancifier to browse the goods.
Tickets
Tickets are extremely rare, usually stashed within cleverly hidden crates in lairs and on hub maps. These tickets can be redeemed at Crusty Sean’s truck in Inkopolis Square. Each ticket corresponds to a particular food item you can consume to acquire bonuses during Ink Battles.
Zapfish
Before you can fight the boss of each area, you must first collect a certain number of Zapfish. One Zapfish is located at the end of every lair. Each Zapfish is protected by a barrier. Repeatedly shoot the barrier until it pops, then grab the Zapfish to complete the level. Octoling battles feature eight Mini Zapfish that must be rescued—eight of these small fish are equal to one regular-sized Zapfish.
Balloon Fish
These large white balloons are found attached to vertical and horizontal surfaces. When targeted with your ink, these balloons expand before exploding, spreading your ink over a massive area. Target Balloon Fish when confronting multiple enemies—if you time it just right, one exploding Balloon Fish can take them all out. Balloon Fish are also an excellent way to spread ink, allowing you to rapidly swim across the freshly inked surfaces.
Vaults and Keys
Some Octarian lairs feature vaults that must be opened with a key. Keys are typically hidden within orange crates, but can sometimes be carried by enemies. Once you’ve found a key, use it to unlock a vault—simply touch the vault to open it. Vaults usually cover launchpads and other features required to progress through a lair.
Area Gate
Each area is blocked by one of these area gates, which prevent you from accessing neighboring areas. However, once an area’s boss has been defeated, the area gate is destroyed. Beyond the area gate you can find a path leading to the next sector.
Dash Track
These treadmill-like objects are used to launch your Inkling in a specific direction, as indicated by the arrow on the device. Dash Tracks appear on both horizontal and vertical surfaces, allowing you to run or swim across them to gain a sudden burst in speed. Sometimes Dash Tracks are oriented so you can speed across a series of them. Try to figure out where you’re going to eventually land before running across a Dash Track.
Gusher
When targeted with your ink, these valves burst open, emitting a tall ink geyser. Stand on top of a Gusher before shooting it to ride the geyser like an elevator. Or if you prefer, you can swim up an active Gusher to reach the top. Gushers give you access to high platforms and other areas that would otherwise be impossible to reach. The ink geyser can also serve as a solid pillar to hide behind—active Gushers block all incoming enemy ink. Gushers can splat any enemy that comes into contact with the ink geyser.
Rolonium
Stand behind one of these pink roller bundles and ink it with your selected weapon to send it rolling forward at high speed, splatting any Octarians in its path. The angle at which you ink the Rolonium bundle determines the path it takes, so be sure to square up with any distant targets before applying ink.
Sponge
As these small, cube-shaped yellow sponges absorb your ink, they expand, becoming huge blocks you can swim or walk across. However, when hit with enemy ink, sponges shrink in size. If you’re on top of a sponge when it shrinks, you could potentially fall—stay near the center of a sponge to mitigate the danger. Cross sponges quickly when possible, and deal with threats before they can shrink the sponge beneath your feet.
Inkfurler
What at first glance appears as a rolled-up carpet is actually an Inkfurler. Apply ink to the roll and watch it roll out, allowing you to reach new areas. The Inkfurler only remains extended for a few seconds, so don’t hesitate—swim across the inked surface to increase your speed. Apply new ink as necessary to prevent the Inkfurler from rolling back up.
Propeller
Propellers are small platforms capable of horizontal or vertical movement. To activate a Propeller, hop aboard and target the blue propeller. Continually shoot the propeller to make the platform travel in its predetermined direction. If you stop shooting the propeller, the platform slowly returns to its original location. While moving along a Propeller, you become a much harder target for enemies to hit.
Grapplink
Can’t figure out where to go? Look up and try to find one of these metallic balls. Striking a Grapplink with ink instantly pulls your Inkling toward it, allowing you to cross otherwise impossible distances. Not all weapons have the range required to hit a Grapplink. Toss Splat Bombs toward these objects when necessary.
Spreader
These long arm-like devices are used to spread enemy ink over large horizontal and vertical surfaces. Instead of trying to avoid this ink, advance across the Spreader itself. The top of a Spreader can be coated in your ink, allowing you to swim across.
Bounce Pad
These colorful, inflatable pads offer an extra spring to your step. Hold down B while crossing one of these pads to launch your Inkling high into the air. Obviously, Bounce Pads are great for reaching high areas, but they’re also effective for evading incoming fire—Octarians have a tough time hitting bouncing Inklings.
Ink Cannon
Step behind the controls of one of these turrets and fire ink-filled missiles at distant opponents and surfaces. Upon impact, these missiles explode, spreading your ink over a wide area. However, the missiles travel slowly and have a tendency to lose altitude over distance, so when engaging targets at long range, aim high to compensate for the missile’s drop.
Ink Switch
These round, target-like switches just beg to be splatted with ink. When one of these switches is struck, it activates a nearby moving platform. Keep hitting the switch to fully extend the platform so you can run or swim across it before it automatically retracts. Sometimes you may need to manage multiple moving platforms and switches, so keep an eye on your Ink Tank and refill as necessary.
Ride Rail
Target these nodes with your ink to create a Ride Rail. Like launchpads, Ride Rails are often used to access distant platforms. Once a Ride Rail has been activated, jump on to swim along it. Ride Rails allow you to travel at high speeds. While racing along a Ride Rail, jump to launch your squid high into the air. Watch out for incoming enemy ink—it won’t knock you off the Ride Rail, but it’ll hurt.
Splat Switch
Spread ink across these panels to trigger the transformation of a platform. If you can’t find where to go next, look for a Splat Switch—they can be large or small. Chances are you’ll need to activate one of these switches to alter a platform in a way that allows you to access new areas. Once a transformation has been completed, it cannot be undone.