Splitgate is a free-to-play shooter with a difficult achievement that has many players wondering how it works. This is the Trickster achievement/trophy which requires getting a portal kill. Typically most people would think this is simply killing someone by shooting through a portal.
However, that type of kill is actually known as a Kill Through Portal when checking the Career stats. While this is a much easier feat to accomplish, it’s not quite what you need for the Trickster achievement. Continue reading our guide for tips and tricks on how to get a portal kill in Splitgate.
What is a Portal Kill in Splitgate
Prepare for a tough time since this isn’t an easy stat or achievement to get. Instead of shooting someone through a portal, you’ll need to make them die on their own by running through your portal. The only way to do this as far as I know is to make them fall to their death.
You can take advantage of Splitgate maps like Olympus, Highwind, and Abyss where falling hazards are more common. You’ll need to get creative if you expect another player to run through your portal without thinking. The best way is to start a fight with them and run through your own portal.
Keep an eye out for platforms up high that you may be able to drop enemies from by surprise. This one is on Highwind.
Depending on your setup, you can either duck out to the side if there’s a safe area on the exit. Or, you can instead have your exit portal lead to a spot near the surface you want to trap an enemy player. After exiting, you’ll need to switch your exit portal to the dangerous surface quickly. In the hopes that an enemy following through will fall to their death.
With that said, you can still spend an entire match setting up portals on the off chance someone will run through it. Some players may look at is an opportunity to sneak up on someone. This is why I like to tempt enemies by placing portals near them. Newer players and even experienced ones may still be clueless and enter it anyway.
An Important Note Regarding Portal Kills
Olympus has a few fun portal placements to try and trick players to run through. With enough momentum, someone will get sent right off the map through this one.
I haven’t confirmed it personally, but I’ve seen multiple people say this bit about portal kills. The enemy running through supposedly needs to have full health. I tried experimenting with this in a custom bot match, but achievements don’t count there. Also, I don’t believe career stats count in custom matches either.
So this can be a little difficult to test unless you’re someone that has a knack for getting portal kills in Splitgate. It’s likely that if an enemy is damaged and falls to their death from your portal, it may only count as an assist instead. Or it could give the kill to someone else who shot them before they ran through your portal.
Keep in mind, even if you do successfully pull off a portal kill, you won’t get the Trickster achievement/trophy until the match ends. For whatever reason, Splitgate doesn’t give any achievements until a match is over. This can make it a little stressful if you’re not sure whether your portal kill counted or not. So I’d keep trying until the match ends.
A Neat Trick For the Trickster Achievement in Splitgate
Take advantage of portal platforms with a large drop down to them. If someone doesn’t slow their fall with a jetpack, they’ll come flying out the other side.
Another fun trick you can try taking advantage of is good for people that have played the Portal franchise. The faster you enter a portal, the quicker you’ll come flying out of it. This can be a fun way to send people flying if you get enough momentum behind your trap.
For example, you can place a portal on a surface low to the ground that someone has to fall to. Gravity will pull them quickly into it as long as they don’t step to the side instead. Then, you can place another portal somewhere that sends them way off the map where they can’t fly back. Olympus has some good opportunities for this especially.
Be sure to let us know in the comments below if you got the Trickster achievement and on what map. It’s possible you know a tip or trick that we don’t and it can help other struggling players. As we all know, there’s definitely a little bit of luck required to pull off a good portal kill. But there’s nothing more satisfying than it either.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.