These Splitgate tips will help with what essentially happens when you equip the Portal droids with guns and put them in an arena to fight to the death. It’s fun, it’s fast, and it’s pretty hard to master if you’re new to the game. Once you understand the gameplay and find some tactics that work for you though, Splitgate’s portal-filled combat will keep you busy for hours (not counting the queue time).
Here’s a list with 10 Splitgate tips for beginning players. From the basics of portal casting to using momentum and pulling off the triple portal technique, let’s improve our Splitgate game!
Make sure you also check out our Splitgate races guide to find out how to finish fast.
1. Use your Splitgate portals strategically
This first Splitgate beginners tip is pretty obvious, but it’s really important that you get this right: you need to make good strategic use of your portal-casting ability to win this game. Start by trying to surprise your enemies: spawn a portal next to your own character and another one behind an opponent. You can step out behind them even if you were just on the other side of the map. Let your gun do the rest!
2. Shoot through your Splitgate portals
You don’t necessarily have to step through the portal to carry out that last step though. If you can see the enemy through the portals, you can simply shoot at them from the other side. This can be a much safer option, but keep in mind that another opponent might attack you while you’re distracted. And although no one else can see through your portals, they’re still able to shoot back or jump through them.
3. Running away and closing your portals can help you stay alive
Do not forget to use your portals for self-defense as well. Unlike many other FPS games, Splitgate is less focused on ‘killing them before they kill you’. Jumping through a portal can take less than a second, so do not hesitate to flee whenever you get overwhelmed in a fight. Also, remember that you have the option to close your portals behind you. Make sure your opponents can’t follow you!
4. Don’t camp too much
It can be tempting to shoot two portals at the start of your Splitgate game and wait for enemies to get in sight, but this usually isn’t the best strategy. First of all, Splitgate combat is very fast. Although lying in wait can get you some easy kills, you’ll be wasting a lot of time while your fellow players are fighting elsewhere. Secondly, there aren’t any save spots on the Splitgate maps. While you’re staring at your portals hoping for enemies to appear, someone will probably see you, spawn behind you, and kill you. It’s better to keep moving.
5. Destroy enemy Splitgate portals using EMP grenades
If you’re hoping to score some kills with your grenade, you’re out of luck. Unlike most FPS games, the Splitgate grenades aren’t meant for players; they’re used to destroy enemy portals. As every player relies heavily on their portals, it’s always a great idea to sabotage your opponents by destroying theirs.
6. Swap your guns and aim for the head
Swapping guns in Splitgate is extremely fast. If you run out of bullets and enemies are nearby, always go for the second weapon instead of reloading. You can also use both guns interchangeably while shooting at the same enemy (really, it’s that fast). And just to confirm: always go for the headshots. There’s no reason to aim for the legs in this game.
7. Pick up new weapons quick to get an advantage
The starting weapons in Splitgate aren’t bad. However, you can get much better ones by simply picking them up from their spawn locations during the game. As the spawn locations are scattered across the map and work with a timer, it’s important to keep an eye out for these spawns. Take a look at the picture to see what they look like.
8. Do Splitgate races to learn the maps
Knowing the layout of the map is always important, but even more so in Splitgate. It’s a huge advantage to know the blue wall locations and that one great sniper spot. The best way to learn the maps in Splitgate, is by doing the ‘Race Training’. If you click on the ‘training’ tab in your main menu, you’ll find the races on the left side of the screen. Choose your map and run, jump, and portal around as quickly as you can while collecting the balls as they appear. If you like, you can even try to set a new record on the leaderboard!
9. Use your jetpack and momentum to fly around the map
New Splitgate players don’t always seem to realize this, but you can use your jetpack and portals to fly high above the ground. Doing so can help you find great lines of sight, and your enemies will have a hard time tracking you. For example, you can cast one portal on a high, tilted blue wall. Cast the other one far below you, and then jump down. This will launch you high into the air, and you’ll be able to stay in the air for a while longer by using your jetpack. You might even shoot new portals while in the air to keep up the momentum.
10. Use triple portal
If you’ve looked around the Splitgate community a bit, you’ve probably heard a lot of players talking about triple portals. Triple portal is a method used to quickly travel across the map. It works like this: imagine wanting to get to a high point on the map, but the blue wall is out of sight. Shoot your first portal (let’s say yellow) on a nearby blue wall, then the second one (purple) on a blue wall from where you can see the location you actually want to go to. Step inside the yellow portal, but just far enough to be able to shoot a new yellow portal on the location you were going for. Just take a step back and you’re there!
Time to get in line and try these Splitgate techniques out. They may take a bit of practicing (especially the triple portal), but you’ll be climbing those leaderboards soon!
