Arena

The Arena serves as a central hub for organized Player versus Player (PvP) combat on UO Outlands, accessible via any Public Moongate. It offers a controlled environment where players can engage in duels and participate in tournaments under specific rulesets.

Equipment Note: In Arena matches, high-end equipment bonuses are normalized to standard GM levels during participant combat. Consequently, players are no longer disqualified from matches simply for possessing Magical or Colored GM Equipment, as it resolves appropriately in combat.

Fighting within the Arena during official duels or tournaments provides several key benefits: participants do not consume resources (like reagents, potions, bandages, ammunition), equipment does not suffer durability loss, and items are not dropped upon death. Furthermore, Murderers do not face resurrection fees if they die during an Arena duel or tournament match. Note that Bankers and Stablemasters within the Arena grounds only service players actively registered for a Tournament or a Stygian Rift match.

Arena Credits

Purchasing Arena Credits.

Participation in certain Arena activities requires Arena Credits. Standard Duels cost 1 credit each, while entering a Tournament costs 50 credits. Credits can be purchased in blocks of 50 using either 5000 Gold or 5 Prevalia Coins via the Arena Stone interface.

Arena Templates

Managing Arena Templates.

Players can create and manage Arena Templates, which allow for manual setting of stats and skills specifically for use within Arena matches that permit them. Templates are managed via the "Arena Templates" button on the Arena Stone Gump. A player must explicitly "Activate" a template for it to be applied during a qualifying match. When such a match begins, the player's stats and skills temporarily change to match the activated template. Upon death, leaving the match, or match completion, the player's original stats and skills are automatically restored.

Duels

Available Duels

Available Duels menu.

The "Available Duels" section of the Arena Stone menu lists currently open duel challenges created by other players. Information displayed typically includes the match type (e.g., 1v1, 2v2), the creator's name, and specific match rules. Players can join an existing team, refresh the listings, or opt to create their own match.

Creating a Duel

Creating an Arena match (Page 1).

Creating an Arena match (Page 2).

Players can host their own duels by selecting "Create New Match." This opens a detailed configuration menu allowing customization across various parameters:

• Match Type: 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4.
• Skill Cap: Options like 700, 500, 720 points, including a 720 variant that disallows templates.
• Equipment Allowed: Ranging from GM or Less (Regular/Any Materials) to No Restrictions or even No Equipment.
• Poison: Allowed or limited.
• Precasting: Greater Heal precasting restriction toggle.
• Arena Size: Standard, Massive, Boxing.
• Duration & Sudden Death: Set round length and enable/disable sudden death mode.
• Listing Mode: Public, Guild Only, Party Only.
• Presets: Options to load standard rulesets (Order, Chaos, Boxing) or save/load custom player presets.

ELO Tracking option when creating a match.

• ELO Tracking: Choose whether the match outcome affects player ELO ratings.
• Practice Mode: See below.
• Melee Damage: Adjust base melee damage dealt (-50%, -25%, -15%, -10%, Normal, +10%, +15%, +25%, +50%). Stacks with Sudden Death bonus. Defaults to -15% for Duels/Tournaments.
• Spell Damage: Adjust base spell damage dealt (-50%, -25%, -15%, -10%, Normal, +10%, +15%, +25%, +50%). Stacks with Sudden Death bonus. Defaults to Normal (0%) for Duels/Tournaments.

(Note: Options for Mounts, Followers, Durability Loss, and Item Consumption have been removed from the creation menu, as matches now consistently use the default settings for these - typically none allowed/no loss).

Practice Mode

When creating an Arena Match, players can optionally select "Practice Mode". This mode cannot be selected if ELO Tracking is enabled or if the Round Duration exceeds 10 minutes.

During a Practice Mode match (before Sudden Death activates), if a player reaches 0 Hit Points, they are not killed. Instead, the match temporarily pauses, players are returned to their starting positions with full stats (HP/Stam/Mana), buffs/debuffs/poison are cleared, and a 10-second countdown begins before the round resumes. If Sudden Death becomes active, deaths occur normally.

Tournaments

Availability and Structure

Available Tournaments menu.

Arena Tournaments, particularly weekly 1v1 and 2v2 events typically held on Saturdays (check official announcements for exact times like 4 PM ET or 9 PM ET), are announced by Town Criers. These announcements specify the ruleset for the upcoming tournament. Duels can be initiated up to 5 minutes before a tournament starts, but any ongoing duels are automatically concluded when the tournament begins, awarding victory to the player(s) with higher remaining health.

Tournament rounds are seeded based on team ELO rankings for that specific tournament type (e.g., 1v1 ELO, 2v2 ELO). Team ELO is calculated as the average ELO of its members at the tournament's start. Seeding pairs the highest ELO teams against the lowest ELO teams in the initial rounds. If a Bye is necessary due to an odd number of teams, it is granted to the highest-ranked ELO team that has not yet received a Bye in that tournament. Default damage settings for tournaments are typically -15% Melee Damage and Normal Spell Damage, unless specified otherwise by the tournament ruleset.

Viewing Tournaments

Viewing Previous Tournaments.

The Arena Stone allows viewing details of upcoming ("Available Tournaments") and past ("Previous Tournaments") events, including their rulesets and round breakdowns.

Player Records and ELO

Ranks and Stats

Player Ranks and Records menu options.

Viewing detailed player Arena stats.

Players can review their performance history through the "Player Ranks and Records" section. This provides access to win/loss records and other statistics broken down by event type: Solo Duels, Team Duels, Solo Tournaments, and Team Tournaments.

Arena ELO System

Player ELO ratings.

Guild ELO ratings.

The Arena employs an ELO rating system to track player skill across different formats. Each player has separate ELO ratings for Solo Matches, Team Matches, Solo Tournaments, and Team Tournaments, tracked for both the current Season and Lifetime. All players start with an 800 ELO in each category; Seasonal ratings reset to 800 at the start of each new season. Wins and losses adjust ELO, with the magnitude of change dependent on the ELO difference between opponents. Tournament match results impact ELO more significantly than standard duel results due to their infrequency.

Guilds also have an ELO rating, adjusted after matches between players of opposing guilds. Lifetime ELO ratings (both player and guild) slowly drift back towards the baseline 800 over time, while Seasonal ELO does not drift but resets entirely. Stygian Rift ELO also features an inactivity drift mechanic (see Stygian Rifts).

Tournament Rewards

Participating in and winning tournament matches earns Arena Reward Points:

Tournament Type	Per Round Victory	Per Tournament Victory
1v1	5	+10
2v2	10	+20
3v3	15	+30
4v4	20	+40
Boxing	5	+10

Additionally, guilds earn 1 Guild Prestige for every 5 Reward Points accumulated by their highest-placing member in a tournament. These points can be spent on various items listed on the Arena Rewards page.

Arena Rewards can be purchased with points.

Standard Rulesets

Order Ruleset

Order Ruleset details.

Designed for classic Mage/Dexxer combat. Key restrictions include: No magical or colored crafted equipment (GM quality or lower only - normalization applies), no poisoned weapons (initial or applied during match), no mounts or followers, no summon spells, no Greater Heal precasting while equipping a weapon. Matches default to 10 minutes, with damage increasing by 25% per minute thereafter. Uses default damage scaling (-15% Melee, Normal Spells). Requires a valid 700-point skill template (max 100 per skill, max 225 stats, max 100 per stat, max 25 Dex) using only specific combat and magic skills (Magery, Med, Eval, Resist, Wrestling, Archery, Fencing, Macing, Swords, Tactics).

Chaos Ruleset

Chaos Ruleset details.

Similar equipment restrictions to Order (no magical/colored gear, GM or lower - normalization applies), no poison, mounts, followers, or summon spells, and no GHeal precasting. Also features a 10-minute base length with scaling damage. Uses default damage scaling (-15% Melee, Normal Spells). However, it allows a 720-point skill template (max 100 per skill, max 225 stats, max 100 per stat) utilizing *any* skills, accommodating a wider variety of builds.

Boxing Ruleset

Boxing Ruleset details.

A highly restrictive format focused on unarmed combat. Features a 5-minute match length with +50% damage per minute after that. Prohibits all weapons, armor, spells, mounts, and followers. Allows extremely limited resource usage: 1 Bandage, 1 Heal Potion, 1 Refresh Potion per match. Uses Normal (0%) damage scaling. Requires a valid 700-point template (max 100 skill/stat, max 225 stats).

Player Saved Presets

Player Saved Presets option.

This option allows match creators to define their own custom rules, including Damage Scaling, load previously saved custom presets, or potentially run matches with minimal restrictions (subject to default non-consumption/durability rules).

Guides

For strategies and tips on Arena combat, consider reviewing these community resources:

• Spooj's Basic Dueling Guide
• Limousine's Comprehensive Guide