Splatoon Raiders Relic Powers: Best Picks and Builds

Splatoon Raiders Relic Powers explained

Splatoon Raiders Relic Powers are passive perks granted by treasures you recover on the Spirhalite Islands. They sit alongside the weapon, Tank and Gadgets in a loadout, but they are not active attacks and they are not the special powers rolled on weapons. A Relic can improve fundamentals such as ink use, recovery or movement, or reward a particular Tank style such as continuous hits, close-range pressure or distant control.

The released collection contains universal powers plus Speed, Power and Tactical groups. Universal effects can support almost any loadout. Tank-category powers are designed around that Tank's identity and normally follow its equipment restrictions until higher Tank grades open limited cross-category access. That is why a popular Relic seen in a video may be unavailable on a fresh Tank even when the treasure is already in the Hoard.

The best Relic is the one that fixes the run's limiting condition. Ink Pro is valuable if firing stops too often; Life Saver matters if damage recovery ends attempts; Concentrated Attack works when the weapon reliably holds fire on one target; Long Range is wasted when every fight happens at point-blank distance. Evaluate whether an effect is active during the difficult 20 seconds, not whether its description has the largest damage number.

This guide groups choices by role and Tank rather than presenting a rigid tier list. Relic levels, unlocked slots, weapon rolls, Gadget Parts and player comfort all change the result. Start with one survival or economy foundation, add a damage condition you can maintain, then use the remaining space to reinforce the exact Gadget and objective loop of the raid.

How to find, level and equip Relic Powers

Relics arrive as treasures from exploration, Tank-specific ruins and later reward pools. Review recovered items in Big Man's Hoard, then equip their powers from the Gear menu before a raid. The Hoard is the collection record; Gear is where the passive effect becomes part of the active loadout. Finding an attractive object does nothing in combat until its power is equipped on a compatible Tank.

Many Relics are multi-part objects. Finding another related piece improves or completes the object, and compatible pieces fuse automatically after the level. You do not manually combine them or choose a separate recipe. This means a power that looks modest early can become much more useful when later pieces raise its level, so compare the actual effect shown in Gear rather than relying on the first version you remember.

1. Finish a Relic-bearing raid with the Tank required by that challenge when one is specified.
2. Check the post-raid fusion and the Hoard entry to see whether a known Relic gained a piece.
3. Open Gear, select the current Tank and inspect available universal and compatible category powers.
4. Fill the unlocked slots around a single plan, then test it in the Hideout range or a familiar raid.
5. Recheck after Tank upgrades, because limiter releases and Tank grade can increase capacity.

At Ultra grade, a Tank gains broader loadout flexibility, including the ability to equip one Relic exclusive to another Tank category. That exception is limited; it does not turn every Tank into a free-for-all. If a power is visible in the collection but unavailable in Gear, verify the selected Tank, its grade and the cross-category slot before assuming the save is bugged.

Tank development and skill points also matter to capacity. If the final Relic slot remains locked, complete missed Sampler Dungeons revealed by Old Compasses and continue the Tank's progression rather than farming random treasure. Our Compass guide covers those Skill Point routes, while the Tank upgrade guide explains the parallel skill and grade systems.

Best universal Relic Powers for most builds

Universal powers earn a slot by staying active across different weapons and objectives. Ink Pro is the safest foundation for a weapon that empties too quickly, while Life Saver improves recovery when chip damage repeatedly puts the Mechanic in danger. Speed Up is useful when missed pickups or slow repositioning—not raw damage—cost the timer. These are not glamorous choices, but they increase the number of safe firing windows a run produces.

Speed Master, Power Master and Tactical Master deserve special treatment. They expose or strengthen a Tank ability and can make a hybrid concept work, but they consume a Relic slot to do it. Equip one because its Tank effect completes a known loop—not merely because three effects look stronger than one. A damage surge that is never activated is less valuable than constant ink efficiency.

A practical two-slot start is Ink Pro plus either Life Saver or Speed Up. After one clean test run, replace the defensive slot only if survival and movement are already stable. This staged method reveals whether the added conditional damage actually reduces clear time instead of hiding the result behind five simultaneous changes.

Best Speed Tank Relic Powers and synergies

Speed Tank turns movement into uptime, so Gadget Boost (Speed) is the defining choice when the route constantly keeps the Mechanic moving. Pair it with universal Submerge Gadget Boost if the loop alternates a dash, a burst and a swim refill. At Ultra grade, an airborne Gadget-recovery power from Tactical can support Jump Bomb or other aerial patterns, but only if the build truly spends enough time aloft.

Concentrated Attack suits rapid shooters, splatlings and other weapons that can hold three or more consecutive hits on a Boss. It is less reliable for slow single swings, scattered crowd fire or a player who dashes away before the condition starts. All Set rewards staying at full health; combine it with clean evasion and recovery, not a risky plan that trades damage at close range.

Gadget Boost (Thrill) accelerates recovery while enemies are close but increases the cost of bad positioning. Use it only after the player can deliberately enter and exit its danger range; it is not a beginner substitute for cooldown parts. If Speed Tank keeps dying mid-combo, replace the risk power with Life Saver or Ink Pro and complete more cycles. A lower theoretical peak with four successful rotations deals more damage than a perfect screenshot build that gets splatted on the second.

Best Power Tank Relic Powers and synergies

Power Tank wants deliberate attack windows. In-Fighting rewards weapons and Gadgets that genuinely operate near the target; it should not drag a charger or long-range splatling into danger. Heat Up rewards spending a portion of the ink tank and then using its temporary weapon boost, so begin the sequence with controlled fire, trigger the condition and reserve enough ink to exploit the result.

Gadget Boost (Finishing) is the most consistent cooldown engine in enemy-dense raids because every defeat advances the next use. It pairs naturally with persistent Splatellites or area Gadgets that keep scoring finishes while the weapon attacks a Boss. Finishing Burst can extend those defeat chains through a crowd, but it is less useful in a duel with one durable target and no adds.

Gadget Boost (Damage) can shorten cooldown after receiving close attacks, but deliberately absorbing unmitigated hits is a bad engine. Use it only when a Gadget provides damage reduction or the contact would occur safely anyway. Squid Endurance and Life Saver are better conversions when the run is already losing health. The build's goal is controlled aggression: submerge to prepare Tank Muscle, enter with a charged tool, take the opening and leave before the enemy's counterattack.

Best Tactical Tank Relic Powers and synergies

Tactical Tank wins by making several tools work at once. A Shot Pot can keep attacking while the weapon paints, linked Bombloons punish a packed lane and Tether Wail pressures a distant line. Tactical Master supports that territory-and-deployable identity, while Long Range is valuable only when the weapon or active damage source consistently connects from the distance its description requires. Neither power excuses standing still after the arena collapses around the setup.

Cooldown is the real bottleneck. Universal Submerge Gadget Boost converts safe swimming intervals into the next deployment. At Ultra grade, Gadget Boost (Finishing) can be borrowed from Power Tank for add-heavy rooms, where Lesser Salmonid defeats repeatedly advance Gadget recovery. That imported option is poor in an isolated Boss duel, so keep Ink Pro, Life Saver or another reliable universal power ready as the replacement.

Gadget Boost (Fly) is not automatically a Speed-Tank perk: it belongs in a build that naturally jumps, falls or uses aerial movement while waiting on tools. Likewise, Risk- and Crisis-style Relics can convert a bad moment into recovery or damage, but intentionally remaining in danger makes the next mistake fatal. Treat them as insurance for a practiced challenge route, not the engine of a first clear.

A dependable Tactical test is simple: deploy all three tools, move to a second safe angle and watch which resource finishes first. If Gadgets expire before cooldowns return, add recovery. If ink empties while they work, keep Ink Pro. If both systems stay active but a Boss survives, then add Long Range or a compatible damage condition. This diagnosis preserves Tactical Tank's strongest advantage—parallel pressure—instead of stacking five attractive effects that never solve its actual downtime.

Post-game Relic farming, mistakes and FAQ

Post-game spoiler warning: Bottomless Buffet is the repeatable home for much of the late Relic hunt, with its post-game story objective ending at floor 100. Community testing consistently reports that ordinary Relic pieces can appear while replaying comfortable floor sets, so a fast, reliable clear is usually a better farming route than the deepest floor a build can barely survive. The game does not publish a floor-by-floor Relic rate table, and player reports disagree about whether depth improves the odds; do not spend ten minutes on a harder set solely for an unverified rate bonus.

Use a simple farming cycle. Pick a three-floor set that the current build clears without consuming every recovery resource. Record the completion time for two runs, open the reward chest, check whether a Relic fused, then reassess the loadout. Move deeper when the higher rewards and challenge are worth the extra time, but return to a quicker set if failures interrupt the reward cycle. Clearing with friends can improve consistency, yet the useful metric remains rewards per completed minute—not the most impressive floor number.

Floor 100 has a special reward after the secret boss. Endless Search makes undiscovered Gadget Parts easier to find and uses a separate slot from normal Relic Powers. It is valuable for completing Gadget inventories, but it is not documented as a Relic-drop booster. Equip it for its actual purpose and continue choosing the five combat Relics around the Tank's needs. See our floor-100 final boss guide before attempting that unlock.

• Do not confuse item systems. Relic Powers are passive treasure effects; Weapon Powers are rolls attached to weapons; Gadget Parts modify active Gadgets.
• Do not select by level alone. A high-level condition that never activates contributes less than a lower-level ink or recovery effect used throughout the raid.
• Do not stack only damage. One economy or survival Relic often creates more real attacks than a fifth conditional multiplier.
• Do not copy an illegal loadout. A video may use Ultra-grade cross-category access that the current Tank has not unlocked.
• Do not skip retesting after fusion. A newly improved effect can change the best balance of cooldown, ink and damage.

Can every Relic Power be equipped on every Tank? No. Universal powers have broad access, category-exclusive powers follow Tank restrictions, and Ultra grade permits only limited cross-category flexibility.

Should I farm until every Relic reaches its maximum before tackling hard raids? No. A coherent loadout and clean execution matter earlier. Farm when a specific missing or under-levelled effect is the proven bottleneck, then test again rather than completing the collection by default.

What is the best five-Relic starter template? Begin with Ink Pro, one survival or movement choice, one maintainable damage condition, one Gadget-recovery effect and one Tank-identity power. Swap only one slot after each familiar test. For complete weapon/Gadget pairings around that template, use the best builds guide.