Splatoon 2: Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Play the Single-Player Campaign

Splatoon 2 Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Splatoon 2’s single-player campaign isn’t the greatest, but it’s an excellent starting point for newcomers who want to get a hang of the game’s controls and mechanics. The campaign is very tutorial-heavy, but it will walk you through the various weapon types available in the game, allowing you to find the ones that really click with you. This is probably the most important aspect of the campaign, as learning about the weapon types will help familiarize you with their uses, and you can use this knowledge in your future online multiplayer matches.

You’ll also get used to more basic mechanics like transforming into a squid, rolling around in ink to take cover and refill, and learning how to get the drop on your enemies.

Play the Objective

Splatoon 2 Tips and Tricks for Beginners

When you first get started in Splatoon 2’s online multiplayer matches, you’ll have to play through several regular battles in the Turf War modes before you can unlock the good stuff. You might be tempted to boost your KDR straight away and start shooting the enemy team, and while that isn’t a bad strategy, don’t forget to play the objective either.

In Turf Wars, whichever side covers a larger area in their ink color wins. This means that your primary focus should be on splattering the ground with ink. When you first start a match, if you see that your teammates are all rushing to the front lines, don’t be afraid to hang back and cover all the area around you. Or if you see that your teammates are more inclined towards staying in the back row to cover ground, you can take the charge and try to eliminate enemies instead. Play around your teammates and you’ll do better in your matches.

Replace Your Clothes

Splatoon 2 Tips and Tricks for Beginners

As soon as you hit level 4 in Splatoon 2, get out of Turf Wars and go replace your clothing immediately. Your starting gear can get new perks and abilities as you level up, but you’ll be better off just buying some new threads with the abilities that you do want. The clothes available at level 4 will provide you with really useful abilities like reduced damage taken, reduced ink consumption, faster swim speed, and faster movement overall.

Pick the abilities that best suit your play style, and don’t forget that there are three different stores for you to visit – one each for shirts, shoes, and headgear. You can also press the L and R buttons while inside the stores to switch to the next clothing category.

Buy One of Each Weapon Type

Splatoon 2 Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Knowing which weapon types to use for specific situations is the key to winning your online matches in Splatoon 2. Before level 4, all you’ll have access to is the Splattershot. It’s a decent weapon, but you’re going to be seriously limiting your play styles and match capabilities if you don’t try other weapon types.

The first weapon you should get is the Roller. It’s perfect if you’re the kind of player who loves staying behind to cover as much ground as possible. None of the other weapons come close to matching the Roller’s speed at covering ground. On the other hand, the new Dualies are great for players who like going to the front lines. The Dualies is the only weapon type that lets you perform a dodge roll, giving you great mobility as you’re moving around the maps. The range isn’t great on the starter set of Dualies, but they’re very useful for harassing the enemy team and preventing them from pushing in further.

The Charger is kind of like a sniper rifle, and it definitely has a bit of a learning curve to it. There are several other weapon types like the Slosher and the Brellas that you can experiment with. Choose the one you’re most comfortable with, but be sure to practice with all of them so you can fill whatever role your team needs (though we’re still hoping for the ability to change weapons in the lobby…).

Practice the Maps

Splatoon 2 Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Splatoon 2 has a two map rotation, and the online maps for each game mode will change after a certain period of time. This gives you plenty of opportunities to get to know the maps in and out before the game changes the rotation again. Alternatively, if you want to practice getting around the maps without the pressure of a proper online match, you can also do so before you start searching for a battle. From the lobby, choose the Recon option and the map that you want to check out, and you’ll be given a few minutes to wander around the area, figuring out the corners and best places to engage in a firefight.

You can also check the current map rotation at any time by bringing up your menu (with the X button), and going over to the Online tab.