The Splitgate beta is here, and you can play for free in Stream, right now! Best described as a Halo/Unreal Tournament-style shooter, with portals and 2021 polish (think higher framerates and better, shiny visuals!), Splitgate is proving pretty popular. Better still, for people like me, it’s reignited my love for this style of shooter.
In a world of twitch-shooters, low time-to-kill (TTK) and Battle Royale, Splitgate stands apart as a game that feels like it has one foot in the traditional shooter past and one foot in the modern era.
Here are a few quick tips to help you dive straight in!
Keep moving
Splitgate is all about arenas, portals and pace. There are absolutely times to try and snipe, get a vantage point and give it a go, but don’t stay still for too long! Anyone can get from one side of a map to another in the blink of an eye, thanks to portals. You have a booster pack to jump and float higher-up, meaning you have verticality on your side too!
Sprint, shoot, open a portal, keep moving, don’t let anyone catch you. It seems sensible, but games like Warzone and PUBG encourage taking cover in buildings, getting a vantage point and surviving. Splitgate wants you back in the action and into the thick of it as quickly as possible.
You need to be using the arena to your advantage and using corridors, walls and height to get the drop on your enemy. If you’re familiar with Halo or Quake, and older-style arena shooters, you’ll be right at home here!
Don’t forget, too. Portals use the momentum you have going into one, to fire you out of the exit. So if you have portals set up to catch you from a massive drop, you could shoot yourself across the arena to escape!
Portals are your friend
In my first few rounds of Splitgate, it seemed like nobody wanted to use their portals. Firing one portal onto a wall, and then another somewhere else (wall, floor or ceiling!) gives you a tunnel between two points. Literally defying physics in the process. It’s cool as hell, and if you’ve never played it, you should totally go and play Portal at some point.
It’s a great idea to fire one of your portals somewhere in the arena, and then if things get spicy, you can simply throw out your other one for a quick return to safety (hopefully!). Splitgate also affords you the opportunity to literally look through your window and just shoot through it. So, with clever placement, you could be shooting enemies and getting kills from the other side of the map, whilst you’re near where you spawned in.
The introduction of portals into a first-person shooter has turned the concept on its head, and I love it. The opportunities for escape, for sneak attacks and for getting kills from the other side of an arena, are endless. It’s so clever. Splitgate has totally given the wizened, old PC shooter fan, a new perspective.
Don’t forget those grenades
Splitgate gives you EMP grenades to use. They don’t have much impact on the enemy team, but they can close portals of the other team. If someone has been using portals to dip in and out of a skirmish, closing one of the ends of their tunnel can be very disruptive and leave them exposed.
Imagine leaving a door open, only to find someone behind you closed it when you tried to sneak back through it later. Such a simple concept, but countering portal use with a simple grenade can change the tide of a fight.
Headshots, headshots, headshots
This is no surprise, right? Splitgate is no different from any shooter in that you get the most damage and quickest kills from headshots.
Using the sniper rifle will benefit you most when getting a kill from a headshot. Same with a battle rifle or the DMR-style gun. Sure, shotguns can be an instant kill up-close, but if you’re playing at the mid-long range, you need to be getting those headshots.
One of my favourite modes in Splitgate, and in Halo is Team SWAT. Headshots are an instant kill, so your accuracy is crucial. Train yourself to aim for the head as often as possible. Don’t worry about it too much when you’re in close quarters. You can melee, empty a full clip into the body, or whatever you need. But if you can, get those headshots.
Learn the arenas
In classic arena shooter, knowledge was always power. Splitgate is exactly the same. Why is it important though?
- Portal placement, learn good places for sneaky portals or quick escapes!
- Routes, learn where paths go, what floors have vantage point over central areas, and learn where to run when in danger
- Weapon spawns. This is a total classic. With power weapons like the railgun, the sniper rifle and even a rocket launcher spawning into the arena from time to time. You need to learn where they’ll be and how to get to them
It seems so simple, but some people just run around never giving their surroundings a thought. Use this to your advantage, let experience help you eke out those wins.
Splitgate gives you so much more flexibility to travel, attack and hide. Use each map to its full potential with portals!
Bonus tip: Have fun!
Splitgate, is just a game, so don’t lose sight of that.
I personally find the pace of a shooter like this to be far less frustrating. Your reactions on the draw don’t need to be quick as perhaps a Call of Duty, and you can react with movement and verticality to still win a skirmish. It feels like less pressure, and that creates a more stress-free environment.
Splitgate is excellent at what it aims to deliver, so just take it in, enjoy it for what it is, and have a great time!
I hope to see you out there sometime. I’ll be the dude shooting through portals……
Check out more articles with helpful hints and tips in our guide section HERE.