Random Arenas
From Guild Wars Wiki
This is a mission entry. For information on the outpost, see Random Arenas (outpost).
The Random Arenas (or RA) is a PvP arena where two teams of four randomly selected level 20 players battle each other. There is no need to form a team yourself, just travel to the Random Arenas on The Battle Isles and click on the "Enter Battle" button on your screen. After a short waiting period (with intervals of 30 seconds), you will enter one of the 13 randomly chosen arenas next battle can be on any of the other 12 arenas available
The objectives for Random Arenas are twofold:
- Deathmatch - To be victorious, at least one player on your team has to be alive after he has killed the last opponent.
- Kill Count - For three minutes, your team has to kill as many opponents as possible. The team with the most kills wins. If after three minutes both teams have the same number of kills, Sudden Death begins and the next kill wins the match.
Arenas have time limits. Deathmatch arenas are given eight minutes and deathmatches with a priest are given twelve. If neither team is defeated when time expires, the team with the most Death Penalty loses. In the event of a tie, both teams are defeated.
Contents |
[edit] Competitive Battles
[edit] Team Setup
- Victory Conditions: Deathmatch, Kill Count
- Minimum player level: 20
- Number of players each party: 4
- Teams: Randomly chosen
- Heroes available?: No
[edit] Arenas
The following arenas are used in a Random Arenas match, grouped by victory condition:
- Deathmatch
- Deathmatch with Obelisk Flag Stand
- Deathmatch with Priests
- Kill Count
[edit] Rewards
Both Balthazar's Faction and Gladiator points can be obtained from Random Arenas.
| Reward | Balthazar's Faction |
|---|---|
| Unique Kill | 40 |
| Victory | 50 |
| Flawless | 50 |
| 5 Consecutive | 50 |
| Gladiator Point | |
| 5 Consecutive | 1 |
When a player reaches 5 consecutive wins in Random Arenas for the first time, they unlock the Team Arenas. An exception is players who started their accounts prior to January 19, 2006, they already have all Arenas on The Battle Isles unlocked.
When a Random Arenas team reaches 10 consecutive wins (whether it is only 1 player or all 4), they will move on towards Team Arenas where they will face teams who started from Team Arenas (outpost). This means that the randomly assembled team will face a non-random, and usually better organized, team.
NOTE: As of 27th September, 2007, the requirements for earning gladiator points has changed. Prior to the update a player had to reach 10 consecutive wins to earn 1 gladiator point. This has been changed to 1 gladiator point for the first 5 consecutive wins. Players who win an additional 5 matches each time after the first point earn an additional gladiator point (2 points at 10th consecutive win, 3 points at 15th consecutive win, 4 points at 20th consecutive win). The gladiator points are capped at 4 points for every 5 wins from the 20th consecutive win.
[edit] Notes
- For arenas with an Obelisk Flag Stand, a Flag will be present at the starting point which can be placed on the Obelisk Flag Stand to give your team a tactical advantage by dealing extra damage against foes within range.
- Some maps have a priest at the starting location who revives dead teammates every two minutes, and who can give extra support through his use of Heal Area.
- For the Kill Count map The Crag, four Resurrection Shrines are present on the map and any dead teammate will be resurrected at the nearest friendly shrine every 30 seconds into the game.
- When a player leaves or is disconnected during a match, he/she will be replaced by a new player in the next round. The replacement player will start at 0 consecutive wins, and since teams get moved to TA after any members achieve 10 wins, replacement players frequently will get only 1 gladiator point compared with the rest of the team's 3 points. This is because TA team builds frequently have too high a level of organization to be beaten by RA team builds, and for this reason players frequently leave RA teams after 10 consecutive wins.
- It is possible, occasionally, to end up with a draw when the time limit expires and neither team has any deaths. Also, if the last party members of both sides die within a certain time frame, Guild Wars sees this as a draw and both teams will 'lose'.
- The randomness of Random Arenas can be influenced by a coordinated effort of pressing the "Enter Battle" button at the same time by 2 or more players, otherwise known as sync entering. Be warned though, this tactic is considered griefing.
[edit] Tips
- Because the vast majority of rounds are deathmatch, players are strongly advised to bring some form of resurrection skill (with the notable exception of builds dedicated to keeping the party alive to begin with). It is more efficient to raise a player with 8 skills of his own (while preventing the loss of the match on deathmatch maps) than to bring along any other non-resurrect skill. Resurrection Signet is by far the most popular choice; those that bring a hard res tend to choose Death Pact Signet for its short activation time, or Resurrection Chant for Mesmers with high Fast Casting. Vengeance coupled with a cover enchantment is also effective. Other resurrection skills are typically too slow to merit use.
- With very few exceptions, characters in RA should try to take out healers first, then dropping to low-armor soft targets such as Mesmers and Assassins, leaving Warriors, Rangers, and other difficult-to-kill characters until last. Healers generally have a harder time healing themselves than others and leaving them alive can make it very difficult to kill anyone else. Monks are almost always healers of one flavor or another, though Ritualists and Paragons can also do the job as well.
- A basic player tactic that can be used to increase your lifespan in RA is kiting, try to learn this tactic as soon as possible.
- Due to the randomness of RA, you will not always be paired with a healing character in your team. For this reason, it can be useful to have a self-heal with you. Bringing your own hex and/or condition removal can also be useful, even with a monk on your team the chances are that conditions and hexes will be removed far more slowly than organized PvP.
- Don't leave prematurely. Having a team with no monk doesn't mean that you will lose the match, so don't leave when there is no healer on your side. Give your teammates some time to use their resurrection skills on you if you die, too.
- Skills that can interrupt are valuable in RA, allowing you to shut down key skills on the opposing team, for example self heal skills, elite damage skills, res sigs, powerful attacks etc.
- Always have a place for the Party Window on face screen (Hotkey: P). This window will tell you quickly what the status is of your teammates and whether you might have to abandon your current activity to aid a teammate or resurrect them.
- Get to know the various arenas and use the arena specific effects to your advantage. For example, a bow carrying ranger has to have a line of sight in order to successfully attack you. A player who uses a melee attack while standing on Icy Ground will be slowed down for a couple of seconds, allowing you to get away.
- When you do not have a supportive character in your team, know that the Priest can help you when you do not have enough energy or time to increase your Health. When the Priest notices a player with less than ~80% Health, he will try to cast Heal Area.
- Consider taking a snare with you in RA. There is nothing more frustrating than having to chase an opponent in circles and not being able to catch him to finish him off. Some players even consider it a lot of fun to grief others by only bringing running skills along, which in a lot of cases results in prolonged matches. If your team is dead, and you're alive with no res, running around the map in an attempt to force the opposition to leave is considered poor sportsmanship.
- Be civilized, no one enjoys being called names, even if it is 'just a game'.
- How you are paired up, it's random, but the players aren't. Don't get frustrated if the battles seems repetitive, since sometimes a "flavor" is established, either change profession and/or make a build according to the flavor "established", either countering it or supporting it.
| Locations in the Battle Isles | |
|---|---|
| Towns and outposts: | Great Temple of Balthazar • Guild hall |
| Cooperative missions: | Zaishen Challenge (Outpost) • Zaishen Elite |
| Arenas: | Random Arenas (Outpost) • Team Arenas (Outpost) • Heroes' Ascent (Outpost) • Hero Battles (Outpost) |
| Festival outposts: | Costume Brawl (Halloween) • Dragon Arena (Shing Jea Boardwalk) • Rollerbeetle Racing (Shing Jea Boardwalk) |
| Explorable areas: | Isle of the Nameless |
| Landmarks: | Forbidden Path |
