Uncut consecutive fights, arena basics and newbie tips

[bojck]

I'm pasting the description from my youtube video below (sorry, formatting got lost here):

Hey guys, this is a video I recorded some time ago in the Arena. I haven't published it because I didn't want some of these tactics to be used by everyone - it's mostly stuff that I've worked on on my own or with a few buddies at Discord. I won't go into these tricks in detail here - I'd rather leave you to figure them out :P That said, here are some Arena basics/newbie tips: Stats: - READ the effects that apply in the arena. Click on your icon or the enemy's, and write them down. E.g. check what happens with crit damage in the arena, and consider using firelily. - ONLY 10% of Champion points apply in the arena. If you normally have +2000 power from CPs, in the Arena you have 200. This makes power on gear that much more important! - Add toughness. Vitality on gear, armor/vitality gemstones, passives. You need to be able to take hits. Dodge, deflect etc. are not as effective as they appear on the character sheet, but they do help. - Companions and tavern buffs don't apply. Skills: That's the more important part. The Arena actually demands skill, especially against some challenging builds. - Know your class! Examine every buff/debuff - when they apply, how long they last, what's the effect. - Have an idea about other classes' skills/sets - Understand Crowd control! This is the single most important skill you can develop, and the hardest. Pay attention to the CC bar above your toon and your enemy, learn how it works and time your moves according to it. It can be incredibly frustrating to be stunned and watch how you toon dies, but you have a lot of control over it. Rewards, revenges, etc: - When you win a fight your rating increases, when you lose - it drops. Wow! - Beating an opponent is also rewarded with a loot box - the easiest opponent (left) gives a box with 3 items, mid = 4 items, right = 5 items. These boxes contain good quality gemstones, tiny ammount of gold and pretty trash items, along with occasional Glory and cosmetic points. Cosmetic points are more 'abundant' (maybe 1 point out of 10-20 items?) - I've earned around 600 so far, but it took a while... - When you lose in defense (when the AI that controls your toon loses), you lose points, but have the Revenge option. No loot box is awarded then, just ranking points. - The AI seems unfair and overpowered when you start playing. Trust me, it is not. When you and your opponents get good, you all win most of your fights in offense and your AI loses a lot of the fights in defense. And don't forget to have fun - currently nothing depends on the arena ranking, just go out there, enjoy kicking some buttt and don't take it too seriously : ) If you have questions hit Discord or the Eternium forum! Happy hunting

[jdh0721]

This was very illuminating and entertaining! Thank you! I was especially amused (and somewhat honored) that I happened to be part of the rogue's gallery that you so ably handled. I completely agree with your assessment that CC and having the vitality/armor to withstand an initial volley are crucial to success in Arena. Once you understand the AI tactics, a skilled player can usually find an advantage. I find that 90% of my losses these days, when I'm controlling my toon, are because the client has crashed at some point after selecting my opponent. What impresses me most, and you see it in most of the top players, are those players who's toons win while under AI control. I've run into several warriors, for example, who have made slight modifications within their skills that have made them much more difficult to defeat. Much more than on the trial side, a little creativity can be very effective in the Arena.

Pugg

[bojck]

Yeah indeed some warriors have adopted a very inconvenient build, just by changing a few items... BHs are really underpowered in defense, but they somehow manage to win fights if offense. So ultimately there is a kind of balance - as I see it every toon can be beaten by any class.

Btw do you play on PC? For me on PC I get errors when searching for an opponent, which do not count as losses, but crashes after that are pretty rare. On Android 11 it's completely unplayable.

Ah, and is Pugg a reference to Riftwar?

[jdh0721]

I do play on PC. Like you, I often get errors when searching for an opponent. But, lately I will also have system crashes occur during gameplay. It has never occurred during trials or story mode, only in arena. On average, it happens a little less than 10% of the time to me.

As to Pugg, it is indeed a reference to Riftwar. Of course, it is spelled different due to the 4 letter mandate of the game. Feist has been a favorite of mine for a long time. In fact, I'll be dating myself when I say this, but when I originally read it, the first book had not been split into two volumes; it was not Apprentice and Master, it was only Magician. And it was also the ONLY book of the Riftwar Saga at the time.

Pugg

[Kristoff]

jdh0721 Cool! I loved the Riftwar Saga. It was torture waiting for all the novels to be written, but nothing like Jordan's Wheel of Time or Martin's Song of Fire and Ice. Also liked the early Recluce books.