Splatoon 2 tips and tricks - how to play online with friends

Splatoon 2 is a primarily online, multiplayer experience that pits squads of squid-human hybrids against one another in turf warfare. Oddly enough, however, actually playing with your real life Inkling pals can be a confusing and difficult process thanks to restrictions that prevent friends from teaming up in certain game types or at specific times.

To help you get into a game as quickly as possible, we've broken down the different multiplayer modes below and summarized what, where, and—if it applies—when you can play them with or without friends.

The main mode in both Splatoon and its sequel is Turf War, which is the three-minute paint-everything extravaganza that is available to every player 100% of the time (as long as the servers are up and running). Selecting "Regular Battle" from the battle lobby will put you in a random 4v4 Turf War with players of your approximate skill level.

You can play this mode online with friends, however, there are a few caveats: first, one player must enter a game by selecting Regular Battle from the lobby menu. Then, the other player must choose "Friends" from the lobby (just below Regular Battle) and then join the friend who just entered a battle (they should have a green "joinable" tag below their name).

If you're fast enough, you'll both be put into the waiting room before a match starts, but more often than not the second player will have to wait while the first player actually plays an entire match.

On top of this, you are not guaranteed to be on the same team. Once you make it into a Regular Battle lobby together, you can stay in the same lobby without having to go through the steps above, but each round the teams will be switched up and your chances of being on the same team are essentially 50/50.

Ranked Battle is available just above Regular Battle in the lobby, although it does not become accessible until you reach level 10. Instead of the time-based ink war, Ranked contains a rotation of three objective game modes: Splat Zones, Rainmaker, and Tower Control.

Ranked Battle cannot be played with friends. If a friend is online playing Ranked and you try to join them via the "Friends" menu we used above, they will not be listed as "joinable."

League Battle is listed above Ranked in the lobby menu, and it becomes available only once your grade in Ranked Battle is at least a B- (each game mode has its own rank and the three create an average).

League is also an objective mode featuring Splat Zones, Rainmaker, and Tower Control. This time, however, you can play with friends.

This is the only competitive online game mode in Splatoon 2 —outside of Splatfests—in which you can group up with friends ahead of time, challenge other players, and be guaranteed to stay on the same team with your friends.

Unfortunately, it takes a while to get there—reaching level 10 in Regular Battle and then B- in Ranked—and any friends you wish to play with must have League Battle unlocked. But you can play two- or four-player League battles, so you don't have to have a full squad to take part.

If you don't care about competing against other players or possibly even a full team, Private Battle—available below "Friends" in the lobby menu—lets you create custom matches and challenge your friends directly online.

Between two to eight players can duke it out in Private Battle, but you won't earn EXP or coins for these matches. They're purely for friendly rivalries.

Splatoon 2's cooperative mode, Salmon Run, lets up to four players group up in a wave defense style challenge that pits Inklings against swarming Salmonids. The enemies in this mode are entirely AI and players will work together to survive three waves in a row.

Once you've completed the two training sessions offered at Grizzco (in the northwest corner of Inkopolis Square), you'll be able to play online with other Inklings. You can join up with friends first by selecting the "With Friends" option at Grizzco. If you don't have a full team of four, random teammates will be added to your roster once you hit the "recruit" button.

Salmon Run is a "part-time job" and is only available on certain days and at certain times. Its upcoming schedule is listed in the in-game menu under Stages: Salmon Run. Outside of those times you cannot enter Grizzco and play the mode online.

You can, however, play it locally with friends anytime. The Shoal offers private matches and Salmon Runs for friends playing on the same network (hanging out at someone's house with two Switches). These local matches won't impact your actual Grizzco pay grade, but they're a good way to practice.

As a final note, there is no split-screen availability in Splatoon 2. You cannot play Salmon Run, private matches, single-player, or anything else with two players on one Switch.

In order to play with friends, whether online or at home, you have to have a minimum of two Switches and two copies of Splatoon 2.