Factions and the Arena

The Arena

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Dark Brotherhood

The Arena

General Arena Info

The Arena can be located in the Arena District in the Imperial City and can be easily fast traveled to. You can either partake in a fight or simply watch and bet on them but both activities only happen between 9 AM and 9 PM. Both battling and betting can net you some quick cash which makes this a premier destination early in the game. Also of note, when you sign up to fight in the Arena, you are offered the standard Arena armor which must be worn in a match. It is free to take and better than what you'll have at the beginning of the game (with a 2 point Personality and 5 point Athletics boost). Even if you don't plan on fighting, stop by to pick it up.

Gambling

To bet on a match, talk to Hundolin outside of the Arena entrance. He'll ask you which team you want to bet on. Choose either the Yellow or the Blue team, it doesn't matter which, and then decide whether you'll bet 25, 50, or 100 gold. Head into the Arena and watch the fight. If you win, go back out and talk to Hundolin to collect your prize. It is that simple. There isn't anything you can do to affect the outcome except to raise your luck.

Winning Tactics

The fights in the Arena can be tough, but we've been through it and have found all of the cheese tactics for you to use. The first, which works on any fight where your opponent doesn't have a ranged attack, is to jump up onto the ledge next to the gate that you come out of. Once up there, you can jump again to a slightly higher one where all of the enemies can't reach you. From there you can cast spells or rain down arrows on your helpless opponents.

If cheating isn't your cup of tea, consider using Damage Health potions. These work on nearly every fight (except for Argonians and a few enemies that have enchanted armor). Simply mix up a few Damage Health potions and apply them to your weapon of choice. When you connect with a hit, it poisons the opponent and slowly drains their health. Do this a few times per fight and you nearly can't lose, provided you also have some Recover Health potions to back you up.

Although these tactics are great, don't forget to block. Your opponents will come charging at you and not allow you much time to think or recover health. Blocking and counter-attacking is integral to victory. Remember to only attack twice with fast swipes or one charged attack after a block or your next move will be blocked by the enemy. Also, don't forget to restore your lost health and magicka at the altar as you leave the battle field after each fight.

Fighting Matches

To fight in the Arena, you first have to go to the Bloodworks underneath it. Find Owyn and tell him you want to fight. He'll ask you what kind of armor you want so you can wear the standard combat outfit. Choose either Light or Heavy Raiment depending upon which armor you're more skilled in. Once you have the getup, equip it along with your best helmet, shield, and weapons. Talk to Owyn and tell him you're ready for a match.

Enter the Arena through the fighter's ramp, which is right nearby Owyn on the opposite side of the wall behind him.

Pit Dog Class
The first two fights are against a single opponent equipped with a longsword and a shield. They will heal themselves when their health gets low, so don't get too cocky if you're doing fine early. We found these incredibly easy by poisoning the blade. Use your Alchemy to put a Damage Health potion on your blade and then block until they strike your sword. While they are reeling, just hit them with the poisoned blade and you'll be set to just sit back and watch their health drain. If you don't have any alchemical prowess, try your usual block and counter tactics. Always keep a Restoration spell on hand in case your health gets low. You can always run away while you heal in these early rounds. Each of these fights has a 50 Gold reward.

The final fight in this rank is against an Argonian marksman. He'll try to dance around you and prick you with arrows, so get in fast and hit him with a melee weapon. He resists status changes almost 100% of the time, but can't block for squat. When you win this battle you attain the Brawler status and get a 100 Gold reward.

Brawler Class
Your first fight is against a Nord who wields an axe. This is just a slightly harder version of the Pit Dog battles you just fought. The second fight is against twin elvish sisters. One comes at you with a sword while the other hangs back and picks at you with arrows. These girls will need some finesse. Try to keep an obstacle between the archer and yourself while you fight the melee twin. She won't try to heal at all, so full on combat or poisoned blades work exceptionally well. Once you have her down, the weaker and slower attacking archer doesn't stand a chance.

Your final match in this class is against a Khajit wielding a Silver Axe. This guy is tough, but shouldn't be a problem after you just handled two combatants at once. Use your normal techniques to take him down. For winning these fights, you get 100 gold for each of the first two rounds and 150 for the final one.

Bloodletter Class
Your first battle in this class is against a powerful Redguard fighting with either a sword or a mace. He pulls out advanced attacks that can both stun and disarm you. To avoid these, always hold down your block button while you aren't attacking. We found this battle to be a big boost in difficulty over the Brawler Class fights, but no trouble at all when we kept up with our strategy of poisoning the blade with damage health potions. The Redguard won't use any healing potions or spells, so just poison him and run away while blocking for an easy win. The second fight should be easier.

This Breton wears Heavy Raiment and fights with a short sword. As such, he is tough to hurt but also won't do much damage to you when he attacks. Your final fight will seem even easier. It is against a Dark Elf who doesn't have much in the hit point or strength departments. He does, however, have a bow and a sword. If you're not a ranged fighter, rush him at the start of the match so that he doesn't have a chance to get a many cheap shots in before you can attack. The first two fights give you 150 gold while the final fight in this class nets you 200.

Myrmidon Class
When you go into the Arena for the first fight in this class, you'll be faced with a fairly weak enemy who has a dagger called the Shimmerstrike. This weapon does frost damage. Unless you have a particular vulnerability to these attacks, this fight won't be a challenge at all. The middle match is equally easy. You'll face a female High Elf who comes equipped with an Elven Longsword and some terrible equipment. Fire spells work well here if you're a magician, but brute force is just as effective. The third match as a Myrmidon is against a slow, lumbering Orc who carries a Silver Battle Axe. This guy uses charged attacks almost exclusively, which makes it incredibly easy to simply walk in, slash one or two times, and then back away while he swings wildly and misses. You'll get 200 gold for the first two wins and 250 for the final one.

Warrior Class
The opening match as a Warrior is against a female Nord. She has a long sword and some impressive armor including a Mithril Shield. Still, she doesn't attack in any different way than those that came before her and shouldn't be a problem. The second fight is something new. You'll be put up against a High Elf with a Silver Long Sword. The catch is that she also casts Shock and does a good amount of damage with it. Since this is a ranged attack and much more powerful than her sword, rush her immediately and go in swinging. She won't block much. Try to end this fight as quickly as possible. Your final fight is against a female Orc wielding a Glass Hammer. She'll use a heal potion once you get her health low and her attacks are strong. Make sure you take advantage of the fact that she swings that hammer very slowly and dodge the attacks. Even blocking a hammer attack of this strength will damage your health quite severely. The fights in this class will give you 250 or 300 gold.

Gladiator Class
The first match pits you against three Argonians. This means that a Damage Health potion won't work on your blade. Since two of them are unarmed and one has a Short Sword, you're likely to run out of Fatigue and go unconscious. We suggest bringing along some means of restoring your Fatigue so that you won't have to worry about getting knocked over and you'll still be able to deal out a lot of damage with each swing of your weapon of choice. Summon spells and scrolls are also extremely handy here since they even the odds.

Second up, you fight a Khajit in Heavy Raiment. He is a bit of a pushover after the Argonians, though he is fast which makes it difficult to do ranged attacks. Finally, you fight a Breton who is tougher than he initially looks. Although his attacks are only slightly above average, he will constantly heal himself meaning you won't be able to back off on your offense if you ever want to kill him. Try to reduce the effectiveness of his healing or poison him to counteract it and you should come out in one piece. The prizes for this round are 300 and 350 gold.

Hero Class
This is the final round of Arena battles. It opens with a former member of the Blades carrying an Akaviri Longsword. He can be fairly difficult because of his ability to successfully block and parry. Make sure you only counterattack with two swings after blocking his attack and use all of your tactics from before to win. The second match is against a Destruction expert who loves fire spells. You'll want to take the fight to her and not bother using any potions or spells. Her Grey Aegis shield will block most everything except for finely placed melee attacks.

The final fight can be trouble if you don't know what you're doing. You face off against the Yellow Team Champion as well as a lower level mage and marksman. Luckily, you're given Porkchop the boar to fight alongside you. Here are the tactics that work best. Hang back in the tunnel when the gates come down. Porkchop will rush out and attack the lower level enemies while the Champion will come straight at you. Poison your blade and get a few swings in before parrying around so that you have the Champion on the lower ground. This gives you an advantage in attacking and defending, but you'll want to make sure that you finish off what Porkchop started so that you don't get surrounded. If you manage to take it down to just the Champion, keep her pinned down the stairs and let Porkchop do his thing on her. For winning the first two rounds you get 350 gold and you'll receive 500 gold for being crowned the champion.

Grand Champion Match
There is one more fight before you're the true victor. Talk to Agronak gro-Malog, the Arena's reigning Grand Champion and tell him that you want a fight. He'll tell you to set it up with Ysabel Andronicus who can be found over near Owyn. One thing you should know, this upcoming battle will be brutally hard if you haven't completed the Gray Prince sidequest. Do it now if you've been holding back on it.

Talk to Ysabel and ask her questions to learn about the Grand Champion Match. For this fight, you can wear whatever armor you want and are allowed to loot the body when you win. Before the fight, you get to select your cool nickname that everyone in the world will start to refer to you as, if you win. We went with Sir Slaughter because it sounded the most like a G.I. Joe character.

Don't worry about the upcoming fight. If you completed the Gray Prince sidequest, Agronak will just sit there and let you kill him in the battle because he is so ashamed of his heritage. Nice. Grab his sword, armor and anything he is holding and go back to talk to Ysabel again. She gives you 1,000 gold as a reward and provides you with your choice of Light or Heavy Raiment of Valor. It has a constant effect of +10 on Personality, Athletics, Fatigue, and Health.

Now that you're the greatest fighter in the world, Ysabel wants to make (and share) some money with you. You can return here at any time of the day for a once a week fight. You'll be put up against some beasts from around the world and have a great opportunity to earn money and practice your fighting skills. Also, you'll end up getting a fan. When you leave the Arena the Adoring Fan will come running up to you and offer to follow you around. He carries a torch for you at night, but won't help you fight. You can tell him to scram and then find him later at the Arena if you want him back again.

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