Guide to The Arena: The Next Chapter

Arena Mode gets a new rule-set

Almost a year after its introduction in the Anniversary Update, Rare are giving the Arena Mode some new changes to tighten the focus and make the action between rivaling crews even more explosive!

One Chest to Rule Them All

• One Chest, No Maps- players will no longer receive Maps in their Voyage Wheel — instead there’s only one chest and it’s not marked on a map
• Chest Beacons- The chest carries a Sea Dog Beacon, a blue coloured beam of light similar to the beacon for Reaper’s Chests and Reaper’s Bounties. The difference is that the Sea Dog Beacon will constantly glow and not disappear when picked up, allowing players to track it at all times
• Only One Delivery Point- There is now only one delivery point, which is located in the centre of each Arena. Getting that chest sold will be harder than ever!

Focus on the Fight

• Smaller Arenas- The area for each Arena match has been significantly shrunk in size. This means less sailing time to get to locations — or to other ships!
• Shorter Matches- The time limit has changed from 24 minutes to 15 minutes
• Silver buffs- successful cannonball hits now reward 40 points of Silver, as opposed to 25. This significantly increases the reward for fighting other ships, putting the focus firmly on combat. But with chests being more rare, digging up a chest now awards 150 points of Silver

Reviving Crewmates

• When players run out of health, instead of instantly “dying” and waiting to respawn they now have a chance to be Revived by their crewmates and members of their Alliance
• Approaching a ‘downed’ team mate allows you to Revive them, which takes 4 seconds (during which you are vulnerable). If they are revived they return with 25% of their normal health.
• Downed pirates will respawn after 30 seconds if they are not revived by a crewmate
• Bringing a team mate back could give you an advantage, or it might backfire- you’ll be vulnerable while Reviving them, opening up the chance for a double kill against your crew!

Other Updates

• Cutlass buffs- Cutlass strikes now output 25 damage instead of 20, and a Cutlass Lunge deals 60 damage instead of 50
• Leaver Penalty- There is now a Penalty for leaving an Arena match early. If you quit matches or disconnect frequently, you will be banned temporarily from rejoining the game
• Rowboats- All ships will start an Arena match with a Rowboat in tow, which will fit the design of the Ship Livery. Ships will not respawn with new Rowboats, so when it is gone it is gone
• Achievement and Commendation Rebalancing- The Fortune & Glory achievement and the Seeker of Silvered Loot, Keeper of Silvered Loot and Treacherous Sea Dog Commendations have all been rebalanced in line with the improved Arena experience.

So sharpen your swords, Sea Dogs! The Arena is shaping up to be quicker and more action packed than ever- let us know what you think of these changes on Twitter @GoldenSandsBlog

And check out our complete breakdown of Every New Feature in the Ships of Fortune update!