PvP – Player versus Player

The heroes of Nareth don't only test their strength against the monsters of the ash. In the Blood Arena small teams fight for rating, on Ironfield ten face ten in a battle for bases, and War Mode opens the open world to combat between everyone who chooses it.

The PvP window

All PvP content lives in one place: the sword button on the sidebar or the P key opens the PvP window. Its tabs:

When a match is found, the match window pops up: you have 20 seconds to accept. During the match the bar at the top of the screen shows the time and the score; at the end, the results window shows the outcome, your rating change, your rank and your reward.

Blood Arena (2v2 and 3v3)

Ranked team combat in a private instance of the Bloodhall, opened only for your match.

Queueing

• Queue alone or with a party. In a party the party leader queues, and the party can be no larger than the arena format (2 for 2v2, 3 for 3v3); empty slots are filled by the matchmaker.
• You can't queue while dead, inside a dungeon or in another instance.
• Matchmaking looks for opponents with a similar rating (±150); after 60 seconds of waiting, the range widens to ±300.

The match

• Once everyone accepts, both teams are brought into the Bloodhall on opposite sides of the arena. The fight begins after a 5-second countdown.
• A match lasts at most 5 minutes.
• If you die, you're out: you can't be revived until the match ends and stay on as a spectator. Logging out or leaving the map also takes you out.
• A team wins by eliminating every opponent. If time runs out, the side with more players standing wins; if that's tied, the side with more remaining health (in percent). Draws are possible.
• When the match ends everyone is fully healed, and 10 seconds later you're returned to where you came from.

Rating and rank

Every player starts at 1000 rating. A win earns 10–30 points and a loss costs 10–30 – the exact amount depends on the rating difference between the two teams (a draw changes nothing). 2v2 and 3v3 have separate ratings and separate leaderboards.

Seasons and rewards

• A season lasts 4 weeks; ratings and leaderboards reset each season. The PvP window shows how long the current season has left.
• Every match pays out Gold Bars: 2 for a win, 1 for a loss or a draw.
• Your 10th match of the week earns 5 extra Gold Bars. The weekly counter resets on Monday.
• Leaving during a match counts as a loss and gives no reward.

Battlefield: Ironfield (10 vs 10)

A base-capture battle in a private instance of Ironfield. No guild needed – teams are built from the queue.

Queueing

• Alone or with a party of up to 5 (the party leader queues).
• The queue is split into 10-level brackets (by your party's average level), so you fight players of a similar level.
• A battle starts at 20 players (10 vs 10); once the longest-waiting player has been queued for 2 minutes, it can start with fewer – at least 2 vs 2, always with even teams (at most one player apart).
• You have 20 seconds to accept.

Rules

• Two sides, blue and red, each starting from its own camp.
• Three bases: the Forge, the Mill and the Watchtower. If only your side stands in a base's circle for 8 seconds, the base is yours. If both sides are inside, the capture is interrupted.
• Each base you hold scores 1 point every 2 seconds.
• The first side to 500 points wins; if neither gets there in 15 minutes, the higher score wins (equal scores are a draw).
• If you fall, you respawn at full health in your own camp after 10 seconds.

Rewards

• Deserting: if you leave before the battle ends, you get no reward and can't queue again for 15 minutes.

War Mode (open-world PvP)

War Mode brings PvP to the open world – but only between players who have switched it on themselves.

• Switching it on: on the War Mode tab of the PvP window, but only in a town, near the main square. After switching you must wait 5 minutes before you can switch again. The setting is kept when you log out.
• What it does: in the open world, War Mode players can attack each other – regardless of faction, including members of your own faction. These fights carry no penalty, and no items drop.
• Bonus: while it's on, you get a +10% chance of double experience and +10% item drop chance in the open world. Inside dungeons and other instances the bonus doesn't apply, and War Mode doesn't enable combat there either.
• The "War Mode" label in the status line of your player frame shows when it's active.

Duels

Ulrik, the Arena Master arranges duels in every capital:

• Duel Challenge: enter your opponent's name – they must be standing next to you and not already in a duel.
• Watch Duel: follow ongoing duels as a spectator.

Ulrik also takes sign-ups for the Tournament of Champions.

Related pages

• Tournament of Champions – the weekly knockout duel tournament
• Border War – the factions' weekly fight on the borderlands
• Faction Warfare – the rivalry of the three factions
• Parties and Group Finder – queueing as a party