Splatfest dates, teams, and rewards for the first Splatoon 3 turf war

With Splatoon 3 finally out in the wild, it’s time for the game’s regular updates to begin, and Nintendo already has quite a bit of content planned. Alongside new weapon updates, Splatfests are the biggest events in Splatoon 3, tasking players with picking a team and battling it out for supremacy. If you’ve played past games in the series you’ll be familiar with how Splatfests work, but there have been some minor changes made in Splatoon 3. Whether you’re a new player or a longtime one, here’s what you need to know about Splatoon 3’s first Splatfest.

What are Splatfests and Splatfest Rewards?

Splatfests are monthly timed events in Splatoon 3 that let players choose one of three teams. During the timed period, teams will participate in Turf War battles, and you obviously want your team to win these battles. Splatfest winners are chosen from a variety of factors including popularity (how many players choose a team), Turf War wins, and player Clout, which is a new feature in Splatoon 3. During Turf War battles you earn Clout based on the amount of turf you ink, so inking more ground means you’ll earn more Clout. This means you’ll want to focus on inking as much turf as possible during Splatfests, to add to your team’s score. Conch Shells are another new element introduced to scoring, but we’ll get to that later.

The biggest change made with Splatoon 3 is the addition of Tri-Color Turf Wars, which are only available in the second half of a Splatfest. These battles have three teams instead of two, with the leading team of the Splatfest having four players, and the two remaining teams two players each. While the two smaller teams are technically against each other they are also basically for a team, meaning at the end when the winner is decided the two smaller teams’ turf is added together.

The team that wins the Splatfest at the end will be awarded the extremely valuable Super Sea Snails. These items are used to unlock extra sub-ability slots on equipment, so they’re incredibly important. Of course, you also have the honor of saying you were on the winning team.

September 2022 Splatfest Start and End Dates

Splatoon 3’s first Splatfest will run from Friday, September 23, 8:00 p.m. Eastern until Sunday, September 25, 8:00 p.m Eastern. This time players are asked the question “What would you bring to a deserted island?” The three choices are Gear, Grub, and Fun, and the teams are led by Shiver, Frye, and Big Man respectively.

How do you join the Splatoon 3 Splatfest?

Joining the Splatfest is incredibly easy, as the only thing you need to do is find that Splatfest stand that appears after the announcement. When you load into Splatoon 3’s city simply turn 180 degrees around and you’ll see the stand directly in front of you. Talk to the Jellyfish and you’ll be able to choose whichever team you want. At this point, you’ll also get an exclusive Splatfest tee that can only be worn during the event. Once the Splatfest officially starts you can head to the lobby and choose the Splatfest-specific options when choosing matchmaking.

How to get Conch Shells and what they do

Conch Shells are another new element added to Splatfests in Splatoon 3, and they can actually be earned as soon as the Splatfest booth appears and you choose a team. As you play online matches you’ll increase your catalog level automatically, and with each new level, you’ll earn Conch Shells. Conch Shells that you earn contribute to your team’s overall score, but you can actually use them for some rewards as well.

You can use Conch Shells at the Shell-Out machine in the Lobby, which gives you random rolls for items and equipment. One Conch Shell will give you one random roll for an item, and you don’t need to worry about subtracting from your team’s score as that doesn’t change at all when the items are used.