General PvP Guide

Introduction

The Arena Board provides a wide range of Player versus Player (PvP) game modes such as Team Death Match, Free for All and Last Team Standing. PvP content has its own set of dailies and rewards. Playing matches on the board (aside from Custom Matches) rewards you with Coin of Courage, which can be used to buy a wide variety of rewards from the PvP vendor (upgrading materials, mounts, titles, etc.).

The Arena Board becomes available shortly after reaching completing the quest, Rebuilding Luterra, around Level 26. Unlock it by following the quest in Luterra after you have gained control of the city. Open the Arena Board by interacting with it in a major city or by clicking on the Arena Icon below the mini-map.

PvP Rewards

You'll be able to acquire Coin of Courage while PvPing in non-custom game modes. Be sure to play during PvP hot time events for more tokens. You can get a plethora of rewards based on your PvP "Tier".

What is PvP "Tier"?

Let's take a look at the PvP Info Tab (Alt+K). This will display all the current information about your roster tier for PvP. At the end of each week, you will be given a Tier based on your score. The more you PvP, the higher your tier. Note that you cannot lose XP (aside from Maintenance Cost), so the only way is up if you keep PvPing.

Tier Score Calculation

• You can acquire Current XP to raise this score by PvPing in non-custom lobbies (TDM, Elimination, FFA, etc.). You don't have to win, you can lose and still gain XP to raise your Tier. This amount is not fixed, as it will depend on your performance, game mode, and other factors.
• There's also a Weekly XP (estimate) that will reward you with additional XP at the end of the week, depending on your Percentile. If you click on the (+) sign next to the Weekly XP (estimate), you can see how much additional XP you can gain per week depending on what % you place (to get placed higher, you must acquire more XP than a % of the player base on your server).
• Finally, there is Tier Maintenance Cost which is essentially an "XP Tax" for being in Tier. As you can see in the picture, Tier 1 does not have a Maintenance Cost, but Tier 8 has a Maintenance cost of 4,469 XP. So technically, you can drop PvP Tier if the Maintenance Cost reduces your current score threshold back down to the previous tier range. As you can see, this Maintenance cost grows the higher Tier you get as well as the XP required.
• Your Final XP (estimate) calculates all the above.
• Tier Scores are calculated a little bit after weekly maintenance. At the end of the PvP season (a couple of months), all your XP will be reset to 0.

Book of Coordination

You must first set up your Skills and Substats in the Book of Coordination before you can queue for PvP. All Arena game modes are equalized, meaning your equipped gear stats, engravings, gems, card sets, runes and tripod levels don't matter.

1. Skill Book Selection

Select the Book of Coordination preset profile you want to use with this drop down menu. There are five available preset slots, enough for each Arena game mode.

2. Top Users' Settings

Clicking this will allow you to copy top builds from players. Copy the top one for now and adjust accordingly to your liking.

3. Substats

This section provides 1000 max total points with a limit of 750 total points allocated into a single Substat.

4. Skill Bar

Drag your desired eight skill loadout and Awakening onto the bar directly from the book on the right.

5. Skill Book

Upgrade your Skills and select your desired Tripods with the available 340 Skill points.

Matchmaking System

Matchmaking puts queued players into battle at 1 minute and 30 second intervals, guaranteeing short wait times. In Ranked matches, the system attempts to find a diverse team composition (no duplicate classes) within the same Ranked bracket. Matchmaking isn't perfect as it depends on the current pool of players queueing. The system tries its best to average out the ranks if a suitable match isn't available.

Sometimes you are requeue'd after accepting the match. This means someone in the queue declined or missed the confirmation. You will be put into another match shortly after being requeue'd.

Note that dodging a queue twice or leaving a match incurs a 20 minute time-out penalty where you cannot queue.

Normal matches have no rules when it comes to matchmaking. There's speculation of some hidden MMR being in place, but it can also be tied to PvP Growth Levels.

Normal Matches (Unranked)

1. Team Deathmatch (3v3)

Team Deathmatch offers players a chance to test their teamplay prowess. The goal is to have more kills than the other team by the end of the 240 second timer. You can queue up with up to 2 other players.

• If the match is tied after 240 seconds, Overtime occurs for 30 seconds.
• If the match is still tied after Overtime, Golden Kill occurs for 90 seconds. The winner is decided as soon as next kill happens.

2. Deathmatch

Deathmatch offers a unique PvP experience with up to 6 other players (free for all). The goal is to get as many kills by the end of the 240 second timer, with the top 3 players earning a win. You cannot queue up with others in this mode.

3. Three Champions (1v1)

Three Champions is the captain mode for players to test their skills in a 1v1 environment. You will select a roster of 3 classes to fight the opposing opponent.

Competitive Matches (Ranked)

You can only queue solo for Ranked Matches. Refer to Core PvP Systems below for a more in-depth look at how Arena operates.

1. Season Duration

This section displays the current season duration if available. The First PvP season from Amazon will last about 6 months.

2. Current Rank

3. Leaderboard

This window showcases the top 200 players for the current server. Represented character may be different from the characters they actually play. Refer to the middle column (left of rank) for win rates of their individual classes in the current season. It also displays your current position on the leaderboard even if you are outside the top 200 range.

4. Ranked Rewards

At the end of the season, you are awarded a Ranked Chest depending on what bracket you finish in.

Ranked Bracket	Rewards
1-1099 Bronze	No Rewards
1100-1249 Silver	Silver Rank Reward Chest
1250-1399 Gold	Gold Rank Reward Chest
1400-1549 Platinum	Platinum Rank Reward Chest
1550+ Diamond	Diamond Rank Reward Chest
1800+ (Top 50) Masters	Master Rank Reward Chest
1800+ (Top 10) Grandmaster	Grandmaster Rank Reward Chest

Custom Matches

Custom Matches are matches that require at least six players to start a game. This allows you to freely set up matches without matchmaking.

1. Create a Custom Lobby

Use this option to create a Custom Lobby. Here you are able to set up teams, spectators, game mode and map.

2. Join a Custom Lobby

Use this to search for an available Custom Lobby. This brings up a list of current lobbies available.

Core PvP Systems

Aspect Ratio

Before diving into the Arena, note that 21:9 aspect ratio is very advantageous. Check the images below for a comparison. Note the extra areas on either side of the screen in the 21:9 aspect ratio. This allows you to see opponents from further away.

You can force 21:9 aspect ratio by clicking on the setting below even if you do not possess an ultra-wide monitor.

Arena Vision

In certain maps such as the ones used in Ranked Matches, your left and right view is your opponent's up and down view. Check the images below for each player's point of view.

Keeping opponents at the left and right of your screen allows you to be hidden. The top Timer UI and bottom Skill Bar UI block even more vision in this scenario. You can see how crucial it is to be playing on a 21:9 Aspect Ratio if you want to abuse this. You can essentially "off-screen" someone from their PoV if done correctly. Note that in Ranked Mode the top Timer UI is transparent.

PvP Timers and Values

• Stand Up is reduced by 50% in Arena to about 10-12 seconds.
• Crit Damage is reduced to 50%.
• Crowd Control duration is reduced by 50%.
• Shields are reduced by 40-50%.

When the timer becomes red (30 seconds remaining), players receive a buff for Increased Damage and Crit Damage.

Scales

When taking too much damage or locked in Low Paralysis /High Paralysis, you are knocked down to prevent an infinite combo situation.

Debuff Immunity Timer (Hard Crowd Control)

After being affected by a Hard Crowd Control (Freeze, Stun, Electrocute, Fear, etc.), you receive a 7 second timer above your head for Debuff Immunity (blue bar).

Crowd Control in PvP

To understand what optimal skill to use in a given situation, you must understand the different PvP Crowd Control states. Please also note that the White and Gold glows can be seen on some skills, not all are visible (thanks Smilegate).

Note that some skills have slight differences in their PvP tooltips. To see this, hover over the skill and hold the ALT key.

Paralysis

Although explained as only one type of Immunity in the tooltips, there are actually two types of Paralysis effects that can Crowd Control you. They are referred to as Soft Paralysis and Hard Paralysis.

Hard Paralysis

• Hard Paralysis is the stronger form of paralysis that locks up a character. Skills that have this, such as Dexterous Shot, can cause you to flinch and lock up even when Basic Attacking or using skills that do not have Paralysis Immunity. Mountain Crash is an example of a skill that is canceled by being hit with High Paralysis.
• To counter this Hard Paralysis, use skills that have at least Paralysis Immunity in the PvP tooltips. Your character glows white while using these skills.

Hard Crowd Control

• Hard Crowd Controls are the highest form of Crowd Control in the game. The main difference with this Crowd Control is being able to move the target during the duration of the effect. They all apply similarly, so learn to recognize the Hard Crowd Control skills a class has.
• To counter this state, you have to have the Debuff Immunity Timer (granted for 7 seconds after being hit by a Hard Crowd Control) or use skills that provide Debuff Immunity. Additionally, Tripods such as Wind of Protection can grant Debuff Immunity.

Summary

• Some skills have slight changes in PvP. Double check them by hovering over the skill and holding down ALT.
• Understanding the Immunities provided by your skills is crucial to countering your opponents!
• Check out the Top Users' Settings in the BoC for PvP builds.
• Use 21:9 Aspect Ratio. Not having the extra perspective on the sides of your screen puts you at a disadvantage.

Credits

Written by Starlast
Reviewed by Lexyu