How to play and win Splatoon 3 Tricolor Turf War

Splatoon 3 brings players into the chaotic wilds of the Splatlands, a deserted landscape where Inklings and Octolings compete in Turf Wars to pass the time. They often come together in Splatsville, the biggest city in the Splatlands, to showcase their varying styles and stay on top of ongoing trends.

Splatsville is also where players will be able to partake in the returning Splatfests, a celebration of Turf Wars held once a month. This time around, Splatfests will be split into three teams competing to be called the winners, each team representing a member of the game’s featured pop group, Deep Cut.

Players are able to register for Splatfests using the booth in the Splatsville plaza, where they will receive a commemorative t-shirt that will only remain for the duration of the Splatsfest. Like standard shirts, players will be able to level up its perks and use Super Sea Snails to reroll sub abilities.

One of the new features accompanying Splatoon 3’s Splatfests is Tricolor Turf Wars. In this mode, only held after the celebration reaches the Halftime Report, all three teams will fight on the map simultaneously, the winning team accruing more points than a normal Turf War. 

Players had their first taste of Tricolor Turf Wars during the pre-launch Splatfest World Premiere, where players chose between Team Rock, Team Paper, and Team Scissors. Though Team Scissors had an initial lead leading up to the Halftime Report, the Tricolor Turf Wars completely changed the direction of the second half of the celebration, resulting in a win for Team Rock in nearly every region.

These special Turf Wars retain their three-minute durations, though are more hectic than anything previously seen in a Splatoon game.

Splatoon 3 Tricolor Turf War guide

The team with the most points at the Halftime Report will spawn with four players split between both sides of the middle of the map, while two representatives from the other teams will spawn at the far ends of the map. This puts the winning team at an inherent disadvantage, as they are forced to hold the center of the map instead of inking the remainder of the map safely.

While inking the map remains the win condition, there is an added factor that can completely turn around the momentum at any point: the Ultra Signal.

This strange device spawns in the center of the Tricolor Turf War and can be claimed by any of the three teams. Attempting to take control of the Ultra Signal prevents players from using their weapon until the device has been fully claimed. If they are successfully able to add the Ultra Signal to their arsenal, the member of Deep Cut that represents their team will summon the Sprinkler of Doom to rain down excessive amounts of that team’s ink onto the field.

Tips to win a Tricolor Turf War

If you’re part of the winning team in the Halftime Report, prepare for an upward battle. Though you and your three teammates have the number advantage, being confined to the center of the stage makes nearly everywhere around you dangerous.

Since the center of the stage is the most important part of Tricolor Turf Wars, all four players of this winning team should split their focus between both sides of the map. This will create an even fight against the two players representing the other teams on each side of the map, especially considering the middle of the maps generally have higher elevation to catch opponents off-guard.

The four players split between the remaining two teams need to ink their territory while putting pressure on the middle of the map as soon as they can. The goal for these teams should be to capitalize on their distracted enemies to take control of the Ultra Signal. Gaining the power of the Ultra Signal even once can afford either of these teams a massive lead that, potentially, they can hold until the end.

For now, Tricolor Turf Wars are exclusive to Splatfests and will not be available to players outside of the event. It is unclear what the first post-launch Splatfest will be, or when it will take place. Splatoon 3 officially launches on Sept. 9 for the Nintendo Switch and is set to be actively updated over the next two years.