There are four game modes available for online matches: Turf War, Splat Zones, Rainmaker, and Tower Control. Turf War is all about covering the stage with as much ink as possible. In Ranked Splat Zones, Rainmaker, and Tower Control matches, both teams vie for control of unique objectives, which leads to some intense back-and-forth battles.
Turf War
Time Limit: 3 Minutes
Victory Conditions: Spread more ink than the other team to win.
When selecting a regular battle in the lobby, you’re connected to a Turf War match. In Turf War, each team struggles to ink as much of the stage as possible in their team’s ink. Only horizontal surfaces count, so don’t waste your time inking walls and other vertical surfaces unless you’re using them as a means of travel. Whichever team has the most coverage at the end of the match wins. BP is awarded based on two factors: the amount of ground you’ve covered, and a 600 BP bonus for the winning team.
Ranked and League Battles
Splat Zones, Rainmaker, and Tower Control are competitive, objective-based game modes associated with Ranked and League Battles. In Ranked Battles, your wins and losses are tracked across your career, determining your rank. Once you reach Level 10, you can enter a Ranked Battle. All players begin with a rank of C- on each of the three game modes. With continued wins and accrued rank experience, you can climb the ranks: C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+. Ranks continue upward from A+, including S-, S, and S+. Once you hit S+, you can keep ranking up with S+1, S+2, etc. Winning a match fills your Rank Meter partially. Fill the bar to rank up, potentially skipping a rank, depending on how well you do. Losing a match slowly puts cracks in your Rank Meter. If you lose too many matches, the Rank Meter breaks and you lose points in your rank. For Rank C and above, a line appears about halfway through the Rank Meter. If you’re past that line when your Rank Meter breaks, you maintain your rank and your points fall below the line. If you’re under the line and your Rank Meter breaks, you drop a rank. You can’t fall below a rank of C-.
League Battles are only available once you attain a B- rank or higher in any of the Ranked Battles. For example, you can have a B- in Splat Zones but a lower rank in Tower Control and Rainmaker and still get in. To enter a League Battle, you must first set up a team—you need at least two players to start, but four players are highly recommended. When playing in League Battles, you compete against the entire community. After playing a couple of matches, your team is assigned a rating based on performance. Keep playing to improve your rating. League Battle stages rotate every two hours. At the end of that two-hour period, your team’s rating is compared with others in the community. There are no rewards associated with League Battles, but it’s a great way to see how your team stacks up against the rest.
Splat Zones
Time Limit: 5 Minutes
Knockout Conditions: Control the Splat Zone(s) until your team’s timer reaches zero.
The goal of Splat Zones is to control all Splat Zones (marked with colored lines) by covering them in your team’s ink. Most maps have one Splat Zone, but Moray Towers has two. If your team covers a significant majority of the zone in your ink, the Splat Zone becomes captured. Control all Splat Zones to begin a timer for your team that counts down from 100 to zero. Splat Zone ownership is shown in between each team’s score, under the team status. The objective of Splat Zones is to have your team’s timer reach zero.
If your team controls a Splat Zone and the other team takes control from you, your team incurs a time penalty. This penalty is not taken into account in the final score. If neither team reaches zero, whichever team gets the closest wins. However, if the trailing team controls all Splat Zones when time runs out, the game goes into overtime until the following occurs: the trailing team no longer controls all Splat Zones, or the trailing team’s score surpasses the leading team’s score. At this point, the trailing team takes the lead and wins the match.
Rainmaker
Time Limit: 5 Minutes
Knockout Conditions: Carry the Rainmaker into the capture point.
Rainmaker plays like a variant of Capture the Flag. In this case, the flag has been replaced by a powerful weapon called the Rainmaker. At the start of a match, the Rainmaker is placed in the center of the stage, prompting both teams to race toward the middle. However, the Rainmaker can’t be grabbed immediately; it’s protected by a transparent bubble. Shoot the Rainmaker repeatedly to pop the bubble. Afterward, the Rainmaker can be grabbed by any player, regardless of which team popped the bubble. The bubble is restored whenever the Rainmaker is dropped.
When carried, the Rainmaker performs like a charger, requiring a full charge to fire a powerful explosive round with a huge blast radius. The goal is to carry the Rainmaker into the volcano-shaped capture point near the opposing team’s base. There are usually two distinct routes leading to each capture point: one is typically more direct, while the other requires a lengthier travel time. The Rainmaker carrier can be seen by both teams unless traveling in their own ink, in which case the symbol disappears from the other team’s view. However, opponents can still see the glow from the Rainmaker if the carrier is within line of sight, so reaching the capture point by sneaky means is difficult. Speed is usually the best option, but teamwork is essential. Consider having teammates escort the Rainmaker carrier, inking a path to the capture point. If neither team is capable of scoring the Rainmaker, the team that gets closest to the capture point wins when time expires. The distance each team has advanced toward their capture point is tracked beneath the team status icons, allowing you to see who’s in the lead.
Tower Control
Time Limit: 5 Minutes
Knockout Conditions: Ride the tower into the capture point.
In Tower Control, Inklings vie for control of a single tower, which starts at the center of the stage. When occupied by a player, the tower moves along a predetermined route, passing through a series of two to three checkpoints before advancing into the capture point. If your team controls the tower, it moves toward the capture point near the opposing team’s base; if the enemy team occupies the tower, it moves toward the capture point near your team’s base. Occupying the tower is simple—ink the side and swim to the top. Staying atop the tower is the tricky part, as you’re likely to encounter a barrage of bombs and incoming ink.
During this tug-of-war-style match, the tower moves faster when occupied by multiple teammates. Get at least two players on the tower to speed its advance. The tower is vulnerable while stopped at checkpoints, so be ready to defend it by securing the high ground. When defending, take up elevated positions along the tower’s route and wait for the right opportunity to attack. Don’t let the tower push too far into your team’s territory. Like in Rainmaker, the distance the tower travels can determine the winner. If time expires before the tower is captured, the team that manages to advance the tower closest to the capture point wins the match. This distance for each team is tracked beneath the team status icons.