Editing Arenas

The '''Arenas''' (also called '''Alpha Arenas''') are a repeatable endgame combat system. Once you have defeated a biome's [[Creatures|guardian]] in the main story, that biome's Arena opens, letting you challenge the guardian again and again at rising difficulty for the game's most powerful rewards.

== How Arenas Work ==

Each Arena is a timed combat action, just like an [[Ecology|expedition]] — you start it, it runs on a timer, and it can be run offline like the rest of the game.

* An Arena for a biome only appears '''after you have defeated that biome's guardian''' in the story.
* Every attempt costs '''tribute''' (see below), which is spent whether you win '''or''' lose.
* Winning pays out '''guardian crests''' (an [[Items|Amber]]-value reward) every time, and has a chance to drop pieces of the exclusive '''Primal set'''.
* Combat uses the normal expedition damage rules, so higher tiers demand serious food stocks. As with expeditions, a low-health safeguard stops the fight before it becomes fatal.

With ten guardians in the valley and three tiers each, there are thirty Arena bouts in total.

== Tiers ==

Every Arena has three tiers of increasing difficulty and reward: '''Gamma''', '''Beta''', and '''Alpha'''. You must clear the lower tier before the next opens:

* '''Gamma''' is available as soon as the guardian is defeated.
* '''Beta''' unlocks after your first '''Gamma''' win in that biome.
* '''Alpha''' unlocks after your first '''Beta''' win in that biome.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Tier !! Difficulty (vs. guardian) !! Tribute cost !! Crests per win !! Primal piece chance (each) !! XP
|-
| Gamma || ×1.25 || 1 Artifact + 1 Trophy || 2 || 2% || ×1.5
|-
| Beta || ×2 || 1 Artifact + 3 Trophies || 4 || 5% || ×2.5
|-
| Alpha || ×3 || 2 Artifacts + 5 Trophies || 7 || 12% || ×4
|}

Difficulty and XP are shown relative to the underlying story guardian fight, so a tougher guardian makes for a tougher Arena at every tier.

== Tribute ==

Tribute is the entry cost of each bout, consumed on '''every''' attempt — win or lose. Each Arena demands two things from its own biome:

* the biome's '''Artifact''' — a cave-only relic that drops from that biome's [[Skills|Delving]] runs; and
* the biome's '''Alpha Trophies''' — spoils earned from overcoming that biome's alpha predators.

Because tribute is spent even on a loss, a losing streak still costs materials, but the guaranteed crest payout on wins softens the grind.

== Rewards ==

* '''Guardian crests''' — awarded on every win (2 / 4 / 7 by tier), the Arena's steady Amber income line.
* '''Primal set''' — a six-piece equipment set that drops '''only''' from Arenas, at the per-tier chances above (one roll per piece per win). It is the strongest gear in the game, meaningfully above the Sundered expedition set, with a large full-set bonus. Collecting the full Primal set is the intended way to make the toughest Alpha bouts winnable.

The very last climb — the Alpha Arena of the final biome — is balanced to be a genuine challenge even with a full Primal set and a top-tier party.

== See Also ==

* [[Creatures]] — the guardians you rematch
* [[Items]] — Artifacts, Trophies, crests, and the Primal set
* [[Achievements]] — the Arena achievement track (Blooded Sands, Arena Veteran, Primal Champion)
* [[Mastery]] — Arenas earn per-action mastery like any other action

[[Category:Combat]]
[[Category:Game Systems]]