Turf War

For the Octo Expansion mission of the same name, see Turf War (Octo Expansion).

“	You've got just three minutes to cover the most territory. You can take out enemies, too, but winning is all about the ink.	”
— Splatoon's official website, [1]

Turf War is a mode in the Splatoon series. It is the only playable mode for Regular Battles and during Splatfests. Players must ink the most turf to win the match and are split into two teams of up to four.

History

Turf War was announced alongside Splatoon at E3 2014. It was the only complete mode for people to test out at the time, as only 10% of the game was done at that point in time.^[2]

Description

Turf War is played by up to eight people, each on their own console. There are two teams of up to four players each, with each team assigned its own ink color. The main objective for each team is to cover as much of the stage, as displayed on the overhead Turf Map, as they can. Players may attempt to splat each other as well to temporarily avoid resistance or for defense. Each team has three minutes to spread ink around the stage. After the timer reaches 0, Judd calculates how much of the stage was covered by each team. The team with the highest percentage of turf coverage wins the round. A bonus 1000p (300p before the final Splatfest of Splatoon) is awarded to the winning team.

In-game info

“	In a Turf War, teams have three minutes to cover the ground with ink. The team that claims the most turf with their ink wins the battle! Get inking and try to claim as much turf for your team as you can! You get Battle Points based on how much territory you claim! If you win, a bonus will be added to your score. Battle Points earned determine your level and how much money you get. Covering the ground with ink will fill up your Special Gauge. When the gauge is full, press to unleash your Special on the enemy! Improve your chances by getting the most out of your Special weapons.	”
— In-game Info, Part 1

“	Right, let's really amp up your skills by talking about ! When you're battling, check out to see the Turf Map. Check the map to make sure enemies aren't stealing turf behind your back! Touch a buddy's icon on the Turf Map to Super Jump to their position! Be careful of Super Jumping right into an enemy ambush, though! So make sure to check the Turf Map before doing a Super Jump! If you want to be the baddest battler on the block, you've gotta use !	”
— In-game Info, Part 2

Stage schedule

Splatoon

In Splatoon, stages rotate out every four hours along with the stages from Ranked Battle, at 02:00 UTC, 06:00 UTC, 10:00 UTC, 14:00 UTC, 18:00 UTC, 22:00 UTC. The change in stages is accompanied by an announcement by the Squid Sisters. This announcement also ejects all players out of all lobbies after they finish their current match.

Splatoon 2

In Splatoon 2, stages rotate out every two hours along with the stages from Ranked Battle, at 00:00 UTC,02:00 UTC, 04:00 UTC, 06:00 UTC, 08:00 UTC, 10:00 UTC, 12:00 UTC, 14:00 UTC, 16:00 UTC, 18:00 UTC, 20:00 UTC, 22:00 UTC. The change in stages is only accompanied by an announcement by Off the Hook when there is either a new game update, a Splatfest-related announcement, or a change in Salmon Run status. This announcement also ejects all players out of all lobbies after they finish their current match. This is the same in Splatoon 3, with the exception of the announcements being given by Deep Cut.

Splatoon 3

Like in Splatoon 2, stages in Splatoon 3 rotate out every two hours along with the stages from Anarchy Battle. The change in stages is not accompanied by an announcement by Deep Cut unless there is an ongoing Splatfest. In case of an event announcement, the stage schedule can be skipped afterwards. Players are still ejected out of their lobbies after a new rotation.

Strategies

The player should mainly ink horizontal surfaces because walls and other vertical surfaces do not add to the team's score. Walls should only be inked to get up to high places. In certain maps, climbable objects are the main vantage point for both teams, allowing players to spray ink further while forcing the opposing team back, mostly useful with chargers and other long-range types.

Similarly, moving stage elements (such as the spinning platforms in Museum d'Alfonsino and the conveyor belts in Piranha Pit) are scored as they appear at the end of the match.

A quick way for players to be able to see who is currently in the lead is to refer to the squid and octopus icons at the top of the screen. As well as displaying player status (active, splatted/disconnected, or not present), if one team is at least 10% ahead of the other team, their icons will appear larger. A "Danger!" icon also appears over a team's icons when the corresponding team is at least 10% coverage behind.

Turf War (Splatfest) mode

Turf War (Splatfest) is a mode in Splatoon 2 only available in Private Battles. This mode was added in version 5.0.0.

Description

In this mode, the stage is set at night like in a Splatfest, and the standard music is replaced by the Splatfest music (Ebb & Flow, Acid Hues, or Muck Warfare in the first two minutes, and Off the Hook's Now or Never! in the final minute). On MC.Princess Diaries, Fly Octo Fly ~ Ebb & Flow (Octo) will play instead of the regular Splatfest music. In this mode, all 24 Shifty Station layouts can be selected as well as the regular stages, and the player can choose which ink colors to use out of all of the game's Splatfests across all regions (except for Raph vs. Donnie, Hello Kitty vs. My Melody, and Super Mushroom vs. Super Star), along with an option to select randomly.

Gameplay

This mode plays the exact same way as Turf War would in an actual Splatfest. The only differences are that it does not judge by clout, Inkopolis Square is not changed, and any gear can be worn.

Selections

There are fifty-one ink colors from previous Splatfests that can be selected (as well as the option to select randomly):

Badges

Main article: Badge#Battle

In Splatoon 3, winning a certain amount of battles will reward the player with special badges that they can use on their Splashtag.

Turf War badges
	50 Turf War Wins
	250 Turf War Wins
	1,200 Turf War Wins

Gallery

➤ View the gallery

Trivia

• If a Turf War ends in a tie, 0.1% will be added to the team assigned as Alpha in Splatoon, therefore making a tie impossible. The game randomly decides which teams are Alpha and Bravo for each match, but the host in Private Battles has the ability to assign players to either side.
• In Splatoon and Splatoon 2, spawn points are automatically covered in each team's ink, amounting to a minimum score of 6p for each team. Since spawn points do not exist on the map in Splatoon 3, it is possible to gain a 0p score for both teams.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ナワバリバトル nawabari batoru	Turf Battle
Dutch	Grondoorlog	Ground war
French	Guerre de territoire	Territory War
German	Revierkampf	Territory Battle
Italian	Mischia mollusca	Mollusk Melee
Russian	Бой за район Boy za rayon Схватка за территорию Skhvatka za territoriyu[3] Битва за территорию Bitva za territoriyu[4]	Battle for the region Fight for the territory Battle for the territory
Spanish (NOA)	Territorial[note 1] Combate territorial[note 2]	Territorial Territorial battle
Spanish (NOE)	Territorial	Territorial
Chinese (Simplified)	占地对战 Zhàndì duìzhàn	Area-covering Battle
Chinese (Traditional)	占地對戰 Zhàndì duìzhàn	Area-covering Battle
Czech	Turf war bitva[Citation needed]	Turf war battle
Hungarian	Területfoglalás[Citation needed]	Turf keeping
Korean	영역 배틀 yeongyeok baeteul	Turf Battle
Polish	Wojna terytorialna[Citation needed] Walka terytorialna[Citation needed]	Territorial war
Portuguese	Turf War	Same as English

Translation notes

References

Modes in Splatoon

Online Regular Battle (Turf War) • Ranked Battle (Splat Zones • Tower Control • Rainmaker) • Splatfest Battle • Squad Battle • Private Battle • Recon Offline Octo Valley • Battle Dojo • Arcade machine • amiibo • Tutorial

Modes in Splatoon 2

Online Regular Battle (Turf War) • Ranked Battle (Splat Zones • Tower Control • Rainmaker • Clam Blitz) • Splatfest Battle • League Battle • Private Battle (Spectator View) • Recon • Salmon Run Offline Octo Canyon • Octo Expansion • The Shoal (Private Battle • Salmon Run) • Squid Beatz 2 • amiibo • Tutorial

Modes in Splatoon 3

Online Regular Battle (Turf War) • Anarchy Battle (Splat Zones • Tower Control • Rainmaker • Clam Blitz) • Challenge • Splatfest Battle • Tricolor Turf War • X Battle • Private Battle • Salmon Run (Big Run • Eggstra Work) • Tableturf Battle Offline Return of the Mammalians • Side Order • The Shoal (Private Battle • Salmon Run) • Recon • Tableturf Battle • amiibo • Tutorial