Last updated on January 14th, 2023 at 06:46 pm
Splitgate is a free to play multiplayer shooter available on many different platforms. It has only recently come out of Beta and Season Zero has begun, so below is my guide on getting the most out of the game. I will continually update this as new updates come out.
Splitgate Rookie
So unlike Battlefield or Call of Duty (Mainline games not the Battle Royales), levelling up gives you just aesthetic bonuses such as new paint jobs for your weapons and change to the oddball skin. This means, that the playing field is level. Everyone has access to the same pool of weapons and must rely on skill to win. Below are my top 5 tips for getting out of Rookies:
- Maps
- Modes
- Weapons
- Aiming
- Portals
Splitgate Maps
When the game was still in Beta there were very few maps, and it was easy to memorise the different maps. But as of the release of Season Zero, they have added new maps. So, what do you need to know?
The first aspect I try to learn is weapon placement, I need to know where all the respawn points are for the weapons. I may not remember exactly what they are (but I’m aiming to). These weapons that you can pick up are stronger than base weapons. There are few modes where you are locked on weapons Sniper Mode and Gun Game. But other than that, learn where they are so you can make use of them.
Next is the portal walls. See a bright blue wall? That is a portal wall where you can shoot one of your portals at. Find another and shoot your secondary portal and they are then connected. They are good for moving around. But knowing their positions means you can make the most of portals.
Finally, once you start levelling up you will have access to more game modes. One’s like King of the Hill or Domination have an objective of sticking to one position for a set amount of time. By learning the map, you can quickly transverse it to get to your destination. This can be helpful when a new ‘Hill’ is about to appear. You can beat your opponents there and hopefully score some easy points.
Splitgate Modes
There is a huge number of modes available to play. However, not all of them are available at the start. Once you start gaining XP you will get access to all of them. Here they are:
- 2v2
- Team Deathmatch
- Free For All
- King of The Hill
- Domination
- Capture The Flag
- Teabag Confirmed
- Team SWAT
- Oddball
- Team Oddball
- InstaGib
- Team InstaGib
- Team Shotty Snipers
- Team Fiesta
The above link to the Fandom page lists the objectives of each game. There are 5 game modes which are deathmatches and the others are objective-based. Honestly, it won’t take you long to figure it out most are self-explanatory.
The true difficulty is balancing achieving the objective and killing off your opposition. If for whatever you do not like one of the game modes, you can deselect it from casual and it won’t appear on your playlist. I usually have oddball turned off as I don’t enjoy that game mode.
Splitgate Weapons
In most game modes there are weapons all over the map which you can pick up and use against your opposition. Again, with most game modes the weapons you are average at best. Personally, I favour the shotgun. Since the majority of the combat is done at close quarters, one-shotting opposition is really helpful.
This is especially true when you play against other newbies who only use the starter weapons. If the map does have a lot of large areas, then you are going to want to find an assault/battle/sniper rifle though I’d gear more to the former two. You can one-shot with a sniper rifle but since the opposition will be moving around a lot it slows you down and opens you up to being shot from behind.
In Shotty Snipers you have access to two weapons. The sniper rifle and the shotgun. Immediately switch to the shotgun. Most newbie players won’t even check they have a second weapon and will try no-scoping you. One nicely placed shotgun round will end them quickly. Just don’t expect them to not learn from their mistake. I usually run around like a crazy person so that they can’t hit me.
Below is the list of weapons and a link to more information about them:
- Assault Rifle
- Battle Rifle
- Plasma Rifle
- Submachine Guns
- SMG
- Shotguns
- Carbine
- Sniper
- Pistol
- Rail Gun
- Rocket Launcher
- Plasma Rifle
- Battle Rifle
- BFB
Aiming
This is going to be a very short section. Depending on the weapon you have will change where you need to aim. High power weapons such as the Sniper Rifle, rocket launcher and Plasma Rifle can be aimed at the chest area. No point wasting time aiming else if you hit them square in the chest.
For other weapons aim for the head/neck. It will increase the damage you do and should take them out very quickly. Sometimes this can give you the advantage you need to beat an opponent who has started firing at you first. And it has saved me countless times.
Portals
Portals! The main difference between this and any other shooter. They are not only great for traversing the maps. You can use them to catch your opposition unaware or escape unwanted attention. So how should you use them? Should you use them? Can I destroy them? Yes, yes, and yes.
It depends on your opposition, map, game mode and the weapons you have. If I’m struggling against the opposition, I’ll shoot my first portal at my respawn point. Go into battle and then shoot a second one to escape, then deactivate them both.
Domination/King of the Hill
If I’m playing domination or king of the Hill, I’ll always try to shoot a portal near to the area that needs to be captured/defended, then another one further away. Remember the opposition cannot see you in your own portals so you can shoot them from afar.
Another use for them which has worked on the odd occasion is just deploying them near the capture points and not using them. The opposition will waste time throwing a grenade at them which will give you a slight advantage on the amount of time you can shoot them.
Distraction
If you are battling a member of the opposition and they run into a portal, don’t be afraid to follow. Yes, you can’t see what is on the other side but most likely they won’t realise you have followed. One easy kill coming up.
While writing the above tip I have come up with one other use for portals. If you are playing deathmatch and you know the enemy is going to follow you and you have planned this in advance. Once you exit the portal, shoot the exit portal in front of a drop. Ala free kill. I have no idea if there are any portal walls that allow you to do this but it’s worth looking out for especially on new maps. If there is drop the locations down in the comments to share with us.
PROGRESSING
So, you’ve got some experience in playing the game what next? Well, it’s time to progress to the ranked matches. But before that, you need to get yourself up to level 15. You gain exp playing matches and completing challenges.
Focus on the challenges and make a mental note of them when you get into a game. If the game mode you are in allows you to, complete the challenges to get a big boost to your exp. It didn’t take me too long to progress, and if you have three other friends join you, you all get an extra percentage boost up to 15%. Once you hit level 15, jump into those ranked matches.
RANKED MATCHES
Ranked matches are not much different to causal play except you cannot exclude game modes. On top of winning exp when completing matches, you also win or lose ranking points depending on performance. These points level up your rank all the way up to the champion rank.
Currently, there are no additional rewards for ranking up. Apart from boasting rights but even that isn’t worth the effort. I’ll be perfectly honest with you. By the time you hit level 15, you will probably have forgotten about the ranked matches and will be having way too much fun playing with others and seeing how clever you can be with the portals.
It’s just unfortunate that there is currently no incentive to progress to higher levels, and I do think after maybe tens of hours you’ll go back to casual play.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There we go my ultimate resource on Splitgate. I will continue to add to it as I play. I’m finding it very enjoyable. The shortness of the matches is a huge bonus but there are some areas that it is lacking. It does not need a battle royale mode.
The developers need to investigate making the ranked matches more rewarding. Maybe more game modes that you unlock as you progress. Better skins for your character. There are so many directions they can take this, and I cannot wait to see what happens with season one.
