Lobby
The Battle Lobby is the mode category selection screen accessed via Inkopolis Tower where players can choose either Regular Battle or Ranked Battle to play.
Options
Upon entering the tower, the player is presented with three different connection options to choose from. These options are Regular Battle, Join Friends, and Ranked Battle. Selecting any of these options will allow players to join online lobbies. A fourth option, Recon, is also avalable, although it does not connect players to online lobbies.
Regular Battle
This option allows the player to join non-ranked online battles with all players around the world. These battles are for more casual play, and both the winning and losing teams get rewards at the end of each battle. Currently, the only mode in Regular Battles is Turf War, Splatoon's main mode.
Join Friends
This option also allows players to join non-ranked battles. However, rather than joining a game with random players from around the world, it instead allows players to join any Miiverse friend who is currently playing in a Regular Battle. If the friend is joinable, upon selecting their name, the player will have to wait in a loading screen until his friend's match is over before being able to join. After the results screen is finished, and if one of the eight slots opens up in the friends lobby, the player can join his lobby. It should be noted that this option does not guarantee that the two friends will be put on the same team. It only allows them to play in the same lobby.
Ranked Battles
This option allows for players to join ranked battles with players around the world. This mode has a ranking system that groups players of similar skill together in a battle. This mode is more competitive, as teams get significantly more Battle Points and coins upon winning a battle. The players' ranks are also negatively affected upon a loss, making winning an even bigger priority in these battles. Due to this competitiveness, players can not join their friends in this mode. There are currently two modes in Ranked Battles: Splat Zones and Tower Control. A third mode, Rainmaker, is also in the works.
Recon
This option, accessible by pressing 
while in the Battle Lobby, allows the player to freely explore any of the stages currently in the rotation for both Regular Battles and Ranked Battles before going into an online lobby. This mode is useful for finding vantage points on a map, or getting used to a new map in the stage rotation. If the player does recon on any stages currently in the rotation for Ranked Battles, the tower or splat zone(s) will also be on the map, depending on which mode is currently being played in Ranked Battles.
Lobbies
Lobbies are the areas where players wait for battles to begin. Once a player joins a lobby after selecting on any of the three options listed above, he can not back out of the lobby, or change his weapon/gear.
Before a Battle
When the player selects one of the three connection options, Nintendo's matchmaking service will find a lobby for the player to join. If there is no joinable lobby for the option the player selected, he will be placed in a waiting screen with a timer that shows when the first joinable lobby will become available. Upon joining a lobby, the player must sit on a lobby screen until the battle begins. This screen displays eight slots on the right of the screen, each of which will fill up as players join the lobby. The screen also displays several other things, including:
- The names of the players currently in the lobby, as well as their levels, and in Ranked Battles, their ranks,
- The mode that will be played in the next battle,
- The two stages currently in the rotation for that mode,
- The player's vibe meter, and
- A countdown in the upper-left corner of the screen. If this countdown reaches zero before eight players have joined the lobby, everyone in the lobby will be disconnected.
While waiting for the battle to start, as well as while waiting to join a lobby, the player can play a minigame on the gamepad by pressing plus. Squid Jump is the only minigame available from the start, but more minigames can be unlocked by playing through amiibo challenges. Once eight players have joined the lobby, the screen will display "BATTLE TIME!" in the North American version of the game, and "Let Battle Commence!" in the European version. Then the minigame will pause and the battle will start.
After a Battle
After the battle has finished, and Judd has determined which team has won, each player is taken to a results screen, which shows how many kills and deaths each player had, and how many Battle Points each player earned. After this, the player's Rank (Ranked Battle only) and Level may change depending on performance, and the player is given the option to either play another round in the same lobby, or disconnect from the lobby. If the player chooses to disconnect, he is taken back to the Battle Lobby.
Communications Error
If a player's internet connection is not good enough to stay in the lobby/battle, he will be disconnected from the lobby. This is also called a Communications Error. If this occurs before the battle starts, the player will simply receive a message that states that "A communications error occurred", and he will be disconnected from the lobby. If this happens during or directly after a battle before the results screen, a message will come up saying the same thing, and the player will again be disconnected. On the results screen, it will show that the disconnected player had zero kills and deaths, and in Regular Battles, it will show that he inked zero turf (unless his team won, in which case it will show that he earned 300bp). In both instances, the disconnected player will return to the Battle Lobby.
Splatfest
During Splatfest, the lobbies are a bit different than normal. Upon first entering Inkopolis Tower, the player is not given the three normal connection options. Rather, the only option in the Battle Lobby is to join a Splatfest Battle. Upon joining a lobby, one can notice other differences in the online lobbies as well. Rather than having eight player slots on the right of the screen all in a row, the eight slots are divided into two groups of four slots. These two groups represent the players that will be battling for both Splatfest teams. Once all the players of one team have joined, the screen will say that that team is ready. Once the other team joins, the game will say that they are ready, and then the battle will start.
Future Updates
August Update Event
It has been confirmed that in August, a matchmaking update will be released. This update will add numerous different matchmaking features, including friend-based matchmaking. This will allow for four friends to battle another group of four friends, or allow eight friends to create and customize their own lobby.
