Because of the rampant scamming and other illicit activities that happened in the Duel Arena, it’s being replaced with the PvP Arena. (That’s an excuse that also works in-universe of the game.) It was one of the ways where some players put up OSRS gold for sale among other things. That’s the biggest reason to do away with the old system and replace it with something less exploitable.
That brings us to the PvP Arena.
What Is It?
The PvP Arena is an overhaul of the old Duel Arena Mechanics. It will put players against each other in a controlled environment. You can access it through a new button on the Grouping Side-Panel. From there, you can enter a 1v1 Tournament, a 1v1 Duel, or try finding a group by its name.
How PvP Arena Works
Each match is a separate save game world, which means you’ll be leaving behind all your levels and items. You’ll be given a notification so you can find a safer place to do the swap. This arena is different because you’ll be forced to use a new build every week.
Currently, the announced builds are:
Max/Med
- 75 Attack
- 99 Strength
- 70 Defense
- 99 Hitpoints
- 99 Ranged
- 99 Magic
- 77 Prayer
Zerker
- 60 Attack
- 99 Strength
- 45 Defense
- 99 Hitpoints
- 99 Ranged
- 99 Magic
- 55 Prayer
Pure
- 60 Attack
- 99 Strength
- 1 Defense
- 99 Hitpoints
- 99 Ranged
- 99 Magic
- 77 Prayer
An Equipment tab will appear when you try joining an arena battle. Here, you can select which of your equipment to bring over to the arena. Be sure to take only what you can equip, or you’ll be wasting a slot! Make sure you check the build for the week so you can bring the appropriate gear.
After completing the battle, whether you won or lost, you’ll be returned to your former position. If you win, you get both Rank and Reward Points. The former will influence your rank on the PvP system. The system will try to match you to players of the same rank so it affects the difficulty of your battles.
Reward Points are a currency for buying things in the PvP Arena Reward Store. If you care more about the OSRS item for sale in that store, this is what you need to farm and gather.
Both points can only be received if you win the battle! Losing can lower your ranks, and if you’re on a losing streak, every successive loss will deduct more Rank Points than the previous one. Also, participating in any player-organized PvP event will not reward any kind of points. These points may only be obtained by winning matches in the system.
The Different Types of Matches
There are three different match types you can join through the PvP Arena group finder:
- 1v1 Tournament
- Ranked 1v1 Duels
- Unranked 1v1 Duels
1v1 Tournaments
4-64 players are pitted in successive rounds until one comes out on top. As an example, with 8 players, they will be split into 4 1v1 battles. The four winners from that round will fight each other in another round of 1v1s. Then the last two will battle each other for the title of champion. Rank and Reward Points will be based on how far up you’ve placed in the tournament, so give it your best shot and aim for the top!
Players may also create their own tournaments. However, as stated above, this will not provide any kind of points. It’ll be purely for fun. Of course, if the tournament organizers decide it, they may reward the participants with something.
Ranked 1v1 Duels
For those just itching for a fight, they can choose to do Ranked 1v1 Duels. It’s much faster than tournaments, and you don’t have to fight too many battles to get rewards. Tournaments will still give more, but if you’re looking for a quick battle, this is the best choice.
Unranked 1v1 Duels
This is more or less a practice mode. You can try out different combinations and equipment; see how they fare in PvP. Otherwise, you can test out the current build, especially if it’s one you’re not familiar with. It could also be for fun without the pressure of winning or losing since this mode won’t award any points to participants.
The Rewards
When you’ve gathered enough Reward Points, it’s time to use them. You can have your pick of the PvP rewards such as Ornament Kits, Blighted Sacks, and Imbue Scrolls in the shop.
The PvP rewards are centered around PvP, so they can only be used in PvP-enabled areas and situations. You won’t even be able to attack a monster with them! They’d also typically be tradable, but to avoid another Duel Arena situation, Jagex decided to make them untradable. These items are also broken upon purchasing and upon dropping them in a PvP setting (i.e. death by PvP). You’d have to have them repaired first before using them.
Parting Words
The PvP Arena is estimated to be up in May of this year. A beta to test it would be coming sooner, so watch out for that if you want to join.
What do you think of this new system? Hopefully, it does keep those who are putting up OSRS gold for sale and other RMT offers at bay. Whether you like the new system or not, continue enjoying OSRS!
