Any ink-splatting squid kid worth their salt knows it takes more than just skill to dominate the splattlefield. Your fab freshness factor is equally important. Luckily, Splatoon 3 brings fashion and function together with its rockin’ gear system.
Clothing not only shows off your style – special abilities give you boosts to turn the tide in Turf War. As an S+ ranked competitive player since the OG Splatoon days, I’ve obsessively perfected ability builds to optimize my performance.
In this guide, I’ll break down the best clothing pieces, brands and outfits for looking slick while sending your k/d ratio through the roof!
A Quick Crash Course on Gear Abilities
Before diving into hot labels and drippy fits, let’s review how gear abilities actually work:
- All gear provides a main ability plus 0 to 3 sub abilities
- Abilities give boosts like faster movement or special charge time
- Brands have higher chances for certain abilities to roll randomly
- Ability chunks can reroll gear slots until you get perfect skills
- Matching gear brands mixes your buffs for exciting combos
So while personal flair is important, compiling gear with tactical advantages tailored to your playstyle is the real key to taking your game to the next level.
Now, onto the labels and threads that will have you swimming circles around the competition while looking fresher than a cream-filled Seanwich…
Top Splatoon 3 Clothing Brands for Perking and Performance
Krak-On
Specializes In: Swim Speed Up, Bomb Defense Up
Price Range: ¥1500 – ¥2900
Key Abilities:
- Swim Speed Up: Increases swim and squid movement speed by up to 18%
- Bomb Defense Up: Reduces damage taken from sub weapons like grenades by up to 50%
Standout Pieces:
- Paisley Bandana: Grants up to 3x Swim Speed for added mobility
- B-ball Jersey (Home): 30% reduced bomb damage for holding splat zones
Inspired by basketball and punk subcultures, Krak-On keeps it sporty yet rebellious. Their Swim Speed and Bomb Defense abilities jive perfectly with in-your-face weapon classes like short-range shooters, rollers and brushes. Dash between enemy ink patches faster to send your splat and assist numbers skyrocketing!
Takoroka
Specializes In: Special Charge Up, Special Saver
Price Range: ¥2000 – ¥4900
Key Abilities:
- Special Charge Up: Reduces special gauge fill time by up to 49%
- Special Saver: Conserves 20% – 50% special gauge when splatted
Standout Pieces:
- Octoglasses: Extra flashy shades with 2x Special Charge stock ability
- Rainy-Day Tee: Nearly halves time needed to get specials
Drawing inspiration from Japan’s dazzling Harajuku district, Takoroka dishes up vibrant streetwear overflowing with prints, patterns and rainbow hues. Their specialty in charging up killer ink strikes like the Ultra Stamp or Reefslider makes these threads a must for splatfest fanatics.
Barazushi
Specializes In: Ink Recovery Up, Sub Power Up
Price Range: ¥1500 – ¥3900
Key Abilities:
- Ink Recovery Up: Cuts ink tank refill time by up to 57%
- Sub Power Up: Strengthens subs like torpedo damage by up to 99%
Standout Pieces:
- Samurai Helmet: Badass battle armor with natural Ink Recovery
- Traditional Apron: Boosts torpedo blast radius for added splatting
For traditional Japanese style, Barazushi delivers elegant kimonos and samurai armor fit for an ink-flinging feudal warrior. Their enhanced ink efficiency and sub weapon perks make these tried-and-true threads perfect for methodical mid-range shooters and splatlings.
Comparing Key Gear Brands and Abilities
Here’s a quick reference chart summarizing the brands stacking up as today’s top Splatoon 3 clothing contenders:
As you can see, each label excels at boosting different facets of your inkploration. While their signature price points stay consistent per brand, rarer pieces with extra stars and abilities demand higher rates.
But what good is looking and speccing fresh if you don’t have full outfits to tie together? Let’s check out some heavily coordinated ‘fits requiring hours of ability farming and perfect slot rerolling…
Top Full Outfit Builds for Optimal Playstyles
While matching individual buffs across brands is great for build experimentation, sometimes you just want to drip out head-to-toe in unified swag. Not to mention many league rules restrict mixing armor sets.
These next level full-gear layouts combine both fashion and function by taking core brands and amplifying their powers to the extreme for different battle disciplines:
Turbo Torpedos (Backline / Support)
Core Gear: Barazushi Bamboo Hat, Samurai Helmet, Traditional Apron
Playstyle: Patient mid / long-range anchors focusing on dishing assists with sub weapons from safe distances
Key Full Set Bonuses:
- 99.9 Sub Power lets torpedoes one-shot splash unaware enemies
- 2 main Ink Savers allow launching tons of subs through tight spaces
- Last-Ditch Effort powers up remnants to help clutch narrow losses
Barazushi‘s elegant armor and disciplined demeanor make it perfect for a cerebral samurai playstyle. This uniform formation turns the humble Splatana‘s torpedoes into rapid-fire deletion devices able to splat advancing opponents before they ever reach you.
Quickdraw Cowboy (Slayer / Skirmisher)
Core Gear: Mountain Vest, Firefin Navy Sweat, Urchins Cap
Playstyle: Mobile slayers playing cleanup crew, outmaneuvering threats with speed and evasion
Key Full Set Bonuses:
- 20% Faster Super Jumps to return to action quicker
- 18% Swim Speed for strafing dazzles opponents can’t hit
- 50% less bomb damage taken when ambushing hot zones
This Wild West loadout turns you into a ink-flinging outlaw quick on the draw and equally fast on the getaway. The run and gun bonuses help you outpace and outgun disorganized teams with lone wolf flanking plays.
Splat Zoner (Anchor / Defense)
Core Gear: Black FishFry Bandanna, Tentatek Jersey, Stepping Stones
Playstyle: Defensive anchors claiming and locking down territory with damage-over-time area denial
Key Full Set Bonuses:
- 50% more shots fired before needing to refill ink
- 25% Faster special charging to rain Inkstrikes on captivated zones
- 15% Faster respawns to reinforce breached defensive positions
Some might call the Tentatek brand boring, but their back-to-basics gameplay embodies the core fundamentals that win matches. This uniform formation helps you firmly hold checkpoints and force deadlocks until the timer drains.
Your zone control potential dramatically spikes with enhanced efficiency granting more shots on target and faster reinforcements of your locked-in defenses. Now that’s what I call playing the objective!
Closing Tips on Elevating Your Inkopolis Drip
Hopefully this breakdown gives you inspiration on advancing both your style and abilities using Splatoon 3’s awesome gear system! Here are some key tips to leave you with:
- Shop rotations daily for new clothing drops
- Win Splatfests to earn Super Sea Snails for upgrading gear slots
- Order uncommon pieces from other players via Murch
- Replace unwanted gear abilities through scrubbing
- Use piled-up chunks for perfect slot rolls and strong subs
- Equip Last-Ditch Effort for an edge when low on ink
- Mix gear with synergy around your personal battle vibe
Looking fresh while packing heat on the battlefield is no easy feat. But with the right high fashion fits tailored to your signature playstyle, you’ll have the whole lobby asking: “Woah, what build is that?!” Now get out there and splat in style!
