The Arena

The Arena is a basic zone with one prominent feature, the large PvP arena in the middle. It is rumored that the gods themselves or possibly some ancient wizards once battled there, but the truth is unknown.

Level of Monsters: n/a Types of Monsters: n/a Notable NPCs: n/a Unique Items: n/a Related Quests: n/a Adjacent Zones: Lake Rathetear Name in /who: arena/arena2 Succor/Evacuate: -41, 461 (The center of the arena)

Map

Dangers

Despite the rumors, this zone is very safe. The only area of the zone that is PvP is the Arena itself, which is a large ring shaped building in the middle of the zone. The opening to the Arena lies on the opposite side of the entrance, so it is impossible to accidentally step into the PvP area and be killed. Aside from that, there are virtually no other players in this zone at any given time, since there is practically nothing here.

Benefits

The main benefit of this zone is its relative safety. There are no monsters, and most of the zone is not actually PvP. Characters can also be bound inside of this zone, which is a much needed feature for good races hunting the aviak town in South Karana or in Lake Rathetear or the Rathe Mountains. Nobody wants to run from Qeynos or Highpass Keep...

The other benefit is that occasionally there are sanctioned battles in the Arena, with prizes given out to the champions. On non-PvP servers, it is one of the few places other than the cities individual arenas that allow PvP combat for those who wish to enjoy it.

Travel To and From

The Arena can be reached by entering from Lake Rathetear. In the northwest corner of Lake Rathetear along its western border can be found a rather large grassy area inhabited by aviaks, north of the barbarian village. The tunnel to the Arena can be found there, flanked by two aviak lookout posts.

History

Test of Tactics

The Test of Tactics - Best of the Best Event was held between 16 and 28 October on Live servers, with the final event held on EQLive's Test server on the 28th and 29th.

Source: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20001017151907/http://boards.station.sony.com/ubb/harpys-head/Forum9/HTML/000040.html">Harpies Head Tavern - The Arena</a>.

Verant Interactive Presents

The Test of Tactics – Best of the Best Event

The Test of Tactics was the first official event held by Verant Interactive, being held over a year ago on Xegony. The event is designed as a 6 vs 6 event, with minimal amounts of rules involved. Due to the massive time cost on the event, it was decided upon to move to smaller events that would take less time to run and place a smaller burden on the server staff.

With the incredible demand that the players have shown for the events, we are going to bring back the Test of Tactics, and do a Best of the Best for all servers to find the greatest 6-man team. We have modified the rules slightly so that we don’t have 200 teams per server enter, and it will be able to be run quickly and efficiently, while still trying to keep the original spirit of the event alive.

The 6-man team has now become a 7-man team. The “Captain” of the team must be a level 58 or higher. Two “Elite” team members need to be 55 or higher. The final 4 of the team make up 3 “Support” team members of 49th level plus, and a “Substitute/Coach” position that can be of any level. This does allow for a 7-man team of all 60th level players.

Only 6 will fight at one time, and the 7th can be substituted before the match. Once the team has been chosen, those 6 must fight. The 7th during the match is restricted to observation or coaching.

Rules are fairly simple. No starting buffs, no starting pets, no use of fear, no use of charm, and no use of knock back spells. Once the match starts, you may buff, summon pets, use activatable items, cast spells, engage with melee, hide and sneak, disarm opponents, use uber-quest weapons, do whatever is needed to assure the victory of your team.

The “Ring” for this match is the raised platform of the arena. The only characters allowed in the center arena is the 12 players involved, and the Lead Judge of the event. All players involved must remain in the tiles at all times. Leaving the tiles for any reason will result in a warning, then disqualification of the player involved.

Security for this event will be extreme. Any non-combatant who even stands up on the raised platform will be removed from the arena and banished from the event. No spell casting, no bard song, no use of shout will be tolerated at anytime for those watching the event. Event Staff can and will remove any player that causes even the slightest disruption of this massive event.

Before the claims of uber-guild, uber-item, uber-whatever start, be advised that of the 3 Test of Tactics that have been held, the team that has practiced the most have won these events, even over higher levels, better equipped, and longer playing characters. How well you understand the basics of 6 vs 6 player vs player combat, and getting a well balanced team will determine how well your group does in the event.

The ToT-BotB will start October 16th and run through October 28th on Live Servers. The final event will be a 2-day event on Test Server, October 28th and 29th.

Prizes for this incredible event are still undecided, as well as the question of an entry fee. This will be discussed and made final in the next week.

Good luck to everyone participating, I shall see you on the battlefields!

Lady Daegarmo
Online Events Coordinator
Verant Interactive 

References