How to Play INKWAVE
INKWAVE is a 4v4 turf-war shooter. Two teams of four fight for three minutes, painting the arena with ink; the team holding more turf when the clock runs out wins.
Key facts
- Teams of four, Alpha against Bravo, on one arena
- Three-minute matches by default, with 90-second matches available
- One sub weapon (Splat Bomb) and one of two specials per kit
- Squid form lets you swim, refill and climb your own ink
- Bots play at three difficulty levels: Chill, Fresh and Fierce
The goal: control more turf
Your weapon paints the ground wherever its ink lands, and the arena is scored by area, not by splats. Every square meter of ground you paint is a point of turf. When the match ends, the team with the larger painted area wins; the game resolves an exact tie itself.
Splatting an opponent does not score directly, but it sends them back to spawn for 5.5 seconds and buys your team room to paint. The best players paint constantly and fight only when it wins ground.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard / mouse | Gamepad |
|---|---|---|
| Move | W A S D | Left stick |
| Aim | Mouse | Right stick |
| Fire | Left click | RT |
| Squid form | Shift | LT |
| Jump / dodge roll | Space | A |
| Sub weapon (bomb) | Right click / E | RB |
| Special | F | Y |
| Map + Super Jump | Hold Tab or M, then 1–4 or click a pin | View |
| Pause | Esc | Start |
Keyboard and mouse is the default. Gamepads work on the hosted (HTTPS) version of the game; browsers block the Gamepad API on plain HTTP addresses.
Squid form and ink
Hold Shift (or LT) to dive into your own ink. In squid form you swim at 11.8 meters per second, climb inked walls, refill your ink tank and regenerate health. You cannot fire while swimming, but you can jump out of ink and shoot in the same motion.
Ink is ammunition and territory at once. Your tank holds 100 units; every weapon spends ink with each shot, and you refill slowly in kid form and quickly while swimming. Enemy ink is hostile ground: it slows you to a crawl and deals damage over time until you paint over it or leave. Inking the floor before you fight is the core habit of the game.
Weapons
Seven primary weapons cover different ranges and play styles: the Spritzer, Swell Roller, Glint Charger, Popper Blaster, Twinfin Dualies, Tidebucket Slosher and Gyre Splatling. Every kit also carries Splat Bombs and one of two specials.
Read the weapon guide for numbers and tactics.
Sub weapon and specials
Every kit carries Splat Bombs. Throw one for 70 ink; it arms when it hits the ground and explodes after a short fuse, painting a wide circle and dealing heavy damage. Use bombs to flush opponents out of cover or to ink ground you cannot reach.
Each weapon also charges one of two specials. Tidal Slam launches you into a leaping slam that damages and paints everything around the landing point.Ink Tempest hurls a drifting rain cloud that soaks an area with your ink for several seconds. The gauge fills as you paint.
Super jumping
Hold Tab or M to open the tilt-shift map of the live arena. Press1–4 or click a pin to super-jump: after a short charge you fly to that teammate (or your base) and land in your ink. You are invulnerable in flight, which makes super jumps the fastest way back into a fight.
Winning a match
- Paint more turf than the other team before the clock reaches zero.
- Splat opponents to send them back to spawn and take their ground.
- Bots come in three difficulties: Chill, Fresh and Fierce.
- Each kit is allowed on every stage; there are no locked loadouts.
Tips for new players
- Ink the floor first, then take the fight on your own colour.
- Retreat in squid form when a fight goes wrong; you are faster and harder to hit.
- Throw a Splat Bomb before entering a room; it paints and pressures at the same time.
- Charge your special on uncontested turf, then spend it on a push.
- Watch the score bar, not just the kill feed. Turf decides the match.
Keep reading
- Play INKWAVE — start a match now
- Weapons — every kit in detail
- Maps — layouts and tactics for all three stages
- FAQ — short answers to common questions
