Version 11.0.0: Hype Moments and Aura Update... and LUTI?!

by YELLOW • December 31, 2026

Version 11.0.0: Hype Moments and Aura Update… and LUTI?!

A series-changing update is followed by the announcement of Splatoon’s longest-running competitive league

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The final week of January 2026 was a rapid-fire burst of big news beats for Splatoon. First teased on January 12th, Version 11.0.0 was shown off on the 28th, right before the big update dropped on the 29th. While all eyes were on Splatoon, few missed the quiet awakening of Leagues Under The Ink (LUTI) for Season 17.

The Hype Moments

What does Version 11.0.0 add into Splatoon 3?

Health Bars
Flow Aura
Increased hitbox changes for every single main weapon in the game
Decreased hitbox size for swim form
Various buffs and nerfs to a handful of weapons
Reefslider damage, radius, and hitbox update
Adjustments to Super Jump air time based on having Stealth Jump equipped
Some additional bug fixes

Aura Farming as a Mechanic

Perhaps the biggest surprise–and biggest meme–to come out of 11.0.0 is the introduction of Flow Aura, a mechanic that awards consecutive splats on opponents with a crackle and a shower of sparkles.

And 30 AP of Swim Speed, Run Speed, Ink Resistance, and Intensify Action.

Also, it lasts for 30 seconds, and doesn’t go away if you get splatted.

Without assists, the minimum number of splats you need to get to activate your Flow Aura is three. Just in case you might have forgotten that you were playing Splatoon 3.

As players and analysts continue to test Flow Aura and how it interacts with the game as we know it, we’ve listed a few answers to some of the most frequently-asked questions about this new mechanic:

**Q: Can I enter Flow Aura state purely through assists, even non-damaging ones?**
A: No. While the exact number of assists-to-splats is unknown to activate Flow Aura, it appears that only damaging assists will count toward your Flow Aura.

**Q: How long can I remain in a Flow Aura state?**
A: At minimum, 30 seconds. If you splat more enemies while in a Flow Aura state, you will earn an extra 10 seconds, but you will never have more than 30 seconds at one time. For example, if you activate Flow Aura and then splat someone 5 seconds later, your Flow Aura duration will cap at 30 seconds rather than going up to 35.

**Q: Does the number of players per team affect how many splats/assists needed to activate Flow Aura?**
A: No; Flow Aura is activated by number of splats/assists per limited window of time, and this is not dependent on number of players per team. If you are playing a 1v1 or 2v2 game, it may be extremely difficult or impossible to activate Flow Aura if your opponents cannot respawn fast enough.

**Q: Can enemies see Flow Aura sparkles while I’m hiding in my ink, like they can see Tacticooler effects?**
A: No; while hiding in your ink, your Flow Aura sparkles will not give away your position.

**Q: Are there any new glitches regarding this mechanic?**
A: Yes! Within two hours of the update being live, it was discovered that the burst of ink around your feet when you enter Flow Aura state is only visible on your screen, and not to others in the game. This leads to instances where you could appear to be hiding in enemy ink or swimming on uninked surfaces.

Source: @itsn-a-m.bsky.social‬’s two-post thread on Bluesky

Currently, this glitch is still in the game and Nintendo has not released a hotfix or statement about when they plan to fix this.

Leagues on the Horizon!

Leagues Under The Ink (LUTI) is preparing to come back, with Season 17 starting soon.

Dapple Productions has once again partnered with National Students Esports (NSE) to provide streaming for NSE's five-week Splatoon 3 spring league.

Just when players started to get too antsy about having nothing to motivate their competitive grind, one fell swoop of news has stoked the fire. Conversations abroad are filled with talk of Version 11.0.0’s quirks and team-building for LUTI.

Just a bit further on the horizon is a slew of LANs preparing to send their victors to the LAN Championship Showdown in April. The holiday break is over, and it’s time to get back in gear!

Original Posting Date: January 31, 2026

Written and formatted for publication by YELLOW.