Splatoon 3: Tableturf Tips And Tricks

Between the campaign, turf wars, salmon fishing, and competitive modes, there's no shortage of fun in Splatoon 3 . This latest entry is packed with content that will keep you hooked no matter how you choose to play this third-person shooter, but it's not just limited to that genre. While the game itself is unique, focusing on teamwork and covering the ground in ink to completely exclude other players, Splatoon 3 has gone to great lengths to create an entire side game based on its iconic War for Territory mode. ".

Known as TableTurf Battles, this card game follows the same rules as Turf Wars, only in a 1-v-1 online format. It might seem like a distracting move at first, but it can actually be a really fun and sneaky way to liven up your time in Splatoon 3 . Plus, you can earn even more special rewards for returning to the original game. If you are new to these types of card games or are having trouble building a good deck or strategy, here are some important tips and tricks to help you dominate the table.

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How to play board battles

© Digital Trends staff explains what Tablet Turf is

Before you can access TableTurf Battles, you must have played enough core game modes to reach at least 4th place. Once you reach level four or higher, you can participate in these battles by going to the TableTurf Battle Dojo behind Grizko's building. Talk to the staff to get your first set of 15 cards and a quick guide on how the game works.

The basics of the game are easy to understand, but as you progress through the ranks you will need a lot of complexity and strategy. This is how the game works:

A game lasts 12 rounds, you and your opponent start with a hand of four cards. These cards have shapes that indicate which grid squares you will cover with ink. You simultaneously select the map and the location where you want to place it. Note that you can rotate these cards like Tetris pieces to cover the area well. These cards also have a numerical value in the lower left corner. This comes into play when you and your opponent play cards so that the ink cells overlap. If you have the oldest card, any cells that are in dispute are yours, and vice versa. If the cards are tied, neither player claims the area.

You'll also notice that almost every card has something called a niche. Once placed, you'll want to surround those dots with your color for a special point (SP). Accumulating SP allows you to use a special attack that allows you to play a card right on top of an area your opponent already has ink in, taking it for you. The only restriction is that this special attack card must be attached to a designated location.

After completing all 12 moves, either player has covered the maximum area of ​​the grid with ink of their color. Depending on how well you do, expect to earn between 40 and 150 points per game.

You will only be able to play against NPCs, there is no PvP mode in this game and you start with only one opponent – ​​Baby Jelly. There are three difficulty levels to beat this unlock by defeating each opponent with the highest current rank three times. As you rank up, you will unlock more famous NPCs in the game to challenge them.

Collect and upgrade your deck

© Create a desktop platform based on digital trends

As mentioned, you get your first deck of 15 cards, which you are forced to use in your initial battle. However, there are a total of 162 different maps in Splatoon 3 . You will get new cards by increasing your Tabletop rank and catalog level, spending card bits, finding them in campaign or vending machine card sets. Each game adds five more cards to your collection, but you can never keep a duplicate. Any duplicates you get are converted to card bits. Also, you can never have more than 15 cards in your deck, which leads to an absurd number of possible deck configurations. To make things even more convenient, you can save up to 16 different platform settings to trade with.

Once you get more cards, you can open the menu and go to the status screen to customize your deck. Select TableTurf Battle here and you will see all your cards and you can create your own decks. Although you have random cards in each card pool, you can purchase certain individual cards with your card bits. Each card costs based on how rare it is, with the common tier costing five, the rare costing 15, and the new 40.

Upgrading your cards, as annoying as it sounds, isn't really that important to winning. The upgrades are purely cosmetic and do not make your deck stronger. For this, you will need the beaten cards mentioned above. Using Card-Bit Exchange, you can update any card twice. The first changes the background color of the map, the second makes the image holographic. Common, Rare, and Fresh rank cards cost 10, 20, and 30 bits to upgrade, respectively.

Try to build decks with builds that go well (literally) with each other. You want to cover as much area as possible, like in a turf war, so connecting cards with the minimum number of empty spaces will prevent you from leaving points on the table or wasting cards you missed.

Since the grids will change depending on who you're up against, you'll need to adjust your deck to best fit the shape of the map. It's never a bad idea to try out the game, play and find out which cards you need most in your deck.

focus on the center

© Courtesy of Table Wars at Digital Trends .

Unlike Turf Wars, you should immediately attack the center of the map with a high level card to provide offensive pressure, instead of covering your starting area. By capturing the middle ground early on, it will be easier for you to cover your territory later, as you will essentially lock your opponent to their side of the map. If you manage to cut them off early, they won't do much to retaliate.

The best way to do this is to give your deck plenty of cards with good long sides to block space effectively. It's best to use it early though, as there won't be many good positions left later in the game to make the most of its long coverage.

Turn around

© Special attack screen courtesy of Digital Trends .

As soon as you fight in the center, you probably need to cover your flanks right away, because the cards are almost always too wide to close completely in a turn or two. It depends on your current board layout, as well as how your opponent fishes, but try to fully block them as soon as possible to stay on your side. Even if you just cover his cards from the flank and create neutral space, it's better than creating an open position on your side.

Bounty for table grass

© Splatoon 3 map set courtesy of Digital Trends .

So aside from the sheer fun of a new way to play Splatoon 3 , what are the benefits of tabletop battles? And prizes, of course! There are 50 levels to rank up, each offering a new opponent, card sets, badges, banners, emotes, plates, and decals. Each rank requires more experience to reach, but winning or losing will earn you experience. Here's how much XP you get based on how you play and what level of opponent you're playing against:

• Lose a match – 40 XP
• Defeating a level 1 opponent is 100 XP.
• Defeat a level 2 opponent: 115 XP.
• Victory over a level 3 opponent – ​​130 XP.
• Earn from a player character in Splastville – potentially 150 XP.

As for the rewards, here's a full breakdown of what you get at each rank, starting with two, how much XP you need to reach that rank.

The best way to level up in Splatoon 3's Tabletop Battle TCG