Greetings Captains! Today we’re here to dive deeper into Arena strategy and discuss some of the winning combos that players frequently use to rise up the ranks.
There are many ways to win in the Arena, but as with any competitive game, some meta trends develop. These will fluctuate depending on updates and season features over time.
Below, we’ll walk you through some of the strategies that can lead to Arena success, but you’ll need to experiment to find out what works best for you.
Val Speed
This is by far the most popular Arena strategy at the time of writing this article. Valentine is a Mercenary that can only be achieved in-game through the end of season rewards based on HQ Level. She’s fast, hits hard and has two area of effect skills that blast the entire opposing team with tons of damage.
Valentine has one weakness though… she’s often so fragile she crumbles as soon as she’s hit! If you have a fast, high enough attack Valentine though, she won’t need to do anything beyond that first devastating hit to win.
That brings us to one other key component of this strategy… Akari! Akari’s Leader Skill is Blade Unleash: “In Arena combat, increase ally ATK by 20% and ATK SPD by 10%.” Regardless of Akari’s level, everyone on the team will receive these bonuses. This is great for Valentine, which is why you’ll often see a very low level Akari at the head of an opposing team. She doesn’t need to do anything but lead at the start to be a game changer.
Big Boys
This strategy has been growing more popular in response to the previously mentioned technique. In this strategy, you prioritize bulk on your team so you can survive Valentine’s match-starting nuke. You don’t care as much about going first. Your game is to survive the first wave and knock them down one by one.
Perhaps the most fun part of the big boy strategy is that occasionally you run into another team of big boys. Epic battle ensues.
A usual staple of this team will be William and/or Lucas. Their ability to create shields and defense boost while also soaking up a ton of damage can’t be overlooked. Most of these Mercenaries will feel like Val’s first hit is a scratch at best.
You still need to do some damage though, which is where Mercenaries like Torsten, Alex or Zahra could come into play. Torsten’s Berserker Rage deals more damage the more damage he’s taken… so if Valentine hits him early, she could be signing her own death warrant! Alex’s AOE bombs finish the battle for you if you can just stay alive long enough. Zahra will take extra damage from Valentine due to type advantage, but she’s bulky enough to survive and she claps back with some powerful hits.
Torsten big. Torsten hit HARD.
Perhaps the most crucial lynchpin of this strategy is Jin Ryu. In the leader spot, he’ll slap a stun on the entire enemy team when they first hit you. This may miss a few, but often you’ll absorb that first hit then find the entire opposing team sitting ducks. It also doesn’t hurt that Jin Ryu can deal MASSIVE damage with his Dragon’s Might Skill – this will hit three times, remove all the enemy’s buffs AND call a joint attack with two allies. Between this and Torsten’s Berserker’s Rage, you usually have two one-shots to toss around.
Debuff to Death
This strategy isn’t quite as popular as the two above, but it has some definite merit if you can build your team right. It won’t KO people as fast as the above options, however, which means you’ll have to work harder to hold that top spot in the last moments of an Arena Season.
To make this work, you’ll need to employ Mercenaries that specialize in debuffs. Think Laction, Emma, Zarkhan, Wang, etc. You’ll use them to paralyze the enemy and easily walk to victory.
Zarkhan is big here. His ability to slap sleep, heal blocks and damage over time on all enemies simultaneously makes him a great choice for an opening salvo.
Behold, the king of debuff stacking!
Emma can also play a critical role. Her attacks deal more damage per debuff on the enemy, making her absolutely deadly single target damage once you’ve stacked a healthy amount of status effects on the opposing team. Perhaps most enticing, her Taboo Wave can spread debuffs from the target to everyone else. When pointed at sleeping or stunned enemies, this can be game-changing.
Some less often thought of debuffers that can round out your team are out there too. Camilla’s Boulons Multiple AOE can silence everyone. Alex’s bombs can tick away while the enemy is sleeping before explosively finishing them off. Feeling too squishy? Wang’s Judgement Day is one of the most powerful stunning attacks in the game, and also has the potential to revive an ally.
Awwww, Akari didn’t get any bombs 😢. We can fix that.
Tons of Ways to Win
The arena is a bit more nuanced than it seems at first glance. Just because everyone is using one set of tactics doesn’t mean you have to. What’s your winning formula in the arena?
You never need to lock into one style. You can always switch your team up in the arena… and indeed you should based on who your opponents are in that match!
We’ll be back next time to focus on the Guild Arena. Until then, get out there and fight for that rank! That God of the Arena title isn’t going to win itself!
Have you taken your fate into your own hands in Elysium yet? The battle can’t be won alone… to rise to this great of a challenge, you need a team at your back.
Grab Your Squad
While there’s definitely individual glory to be gained in each season’s battle for dominance, Eternal Paradox is, at its core, a team game. If you’ve taken to the battle in Elysium but haven’t jumped into a guild to fight for common goals, you’re missing out!
There are many guilds in Elysium. You could peruse Discord communities to find the right one for you, or you could just grab an open spot right in the game! Each guild sets specific requirements to join. You’ll find some guilds that require a certain headquarters level or Captain level, but also others that are just happy to have any new Captain among their ranks!
To search for a new guild, just go to the “Guild” menu in game. From there, you can type the name of a guild in or scroll through the list. If you find a guild you’re interested in, you can request to join right away if there’s space. Some guilds will want you to reach out first though, and you can always contact the Guild Leader through a specific guild you’re looking at.
Team Perks
Having a guild means fighting together. You can start or join rallies with other guild members to defeat Black Sun Cultists or Shakram Legions that you could never best on your own. Keep in mind rallies against Black Sun Cults only cost seven stamina… attacking by yourself costs ten. That’s a huge advantage and let’s you save stamina for more battles!
When you’re attacked, your guild will be notified. If you’re in over your head, you can ping your guild for help. Guild members can even support your fortress, sending an entire army to help defend you.
Did you ever notice how resource sites have more than one gathering slot as you get into the higher tier sites? Guilds play a powerful part in the gathering game. If you take a gathering site, inviting five of your friends to work alongside you definitely makes you a much harder target to oust from the location.
Shared Goals
Guild Raids cannot be participated in outside a guild, and they are massively rewarding to players who give it their all.
When your guild attacks the Followers of Doom, you’ll get big rewards based on the damage you’ve dealt. It takes a while to summon the first boss, and grinding your way through each enemy is difficult. Those who persist and work with their guild to triumph, however, will receive resources, speedups and plenty more goodies!
The Guild Arena is another major aspirational task for many guilds out there. In this competition, you square off against another guild to prove you’ve got what it takes to stand tall at the final battle. No one guild member can carry the whole team. To reap the rewards, everyone will have to do their part. The first Guild Arena just started for Season 5… there’s plenty of time to get in there and fight some epic battles!
The Guild Festival also recurs throughout the season. In this event, players accept guild missions that they have 24 hours to complete. That’s not the only time pressure though, as a new mission won’t spawn until you’ve complete your current mission! The rewards for the top guilds can include Gems, titles and speedups. Everyone will get rewards along the way though, and even a guild who doesn’t land in the top of the leaderboard won’t walk away with nothing for their efforts.
The Final Battle
We can’t talk about Guilds without talking about Conquest.
Conquest is the major seasonal battle in Eternal Paradox, played out in three skirmishes throughout the season. If you’ve played but not taken part in Conquest, you’re missing one of the biggest parts of the battle for Elysium!
In Conquest, Guilds battle to maintain control of the 16 Ruins and the Ring of Ruin itself over the course of a 90 minute event. There’s lots of room for creative strategy here, as alliances between guilds and clever coordination can quickly tip the scales of power. Battles are major events, with whole guilds desperately trying to attack enemy Rally leaders to destabilize their opponents’ efforts.
Conquest is only a 90 minute event, and each happens several weeks apart – starting just before the middle of the season. They always happen on Saturdays (by UTC time at least), but each conquest rotates to another part of Saturday so that no time zone is totally left out of the fun. The first Conquest for Season 5 is coming on Saturday, July 6th!
What Are You Waiting For?
Season 5 is just now starting its second week in a 49-day season. The first Guild Festival and Guild Arena have just kicked off, and Conquest is still weeks away. Now is a perfect time to hop in and find your team!
Dozens and dozens of Guilds active in the game are looking for more teammates! Go find a team to help you grow and prepare for the coming battle!
We’ll see you for a glorious fight in the battle for the Ring!
Your bedraggled forces stared at the sheer carnage before them, thinking back over the bloodshed and battle tactics that had led them this far in the fight against the vile forces of Shakram. One great skirmish remained, and the fate of Elysium stood in the balance.
They fought bravely, with the inspiration of the most famous Mercenary leaders lifting their banners like a proud wind, and one by one, they fell in the fight.
The Ring of Ruin roared, and as the bouts and victories of the past weeks faded into a memory that blurred with each passing second, those who still stood shared two unified thoughts… “Are we destined to do it again?” and “Maybe this time will set us free.”
***
Season 5 of Eternal Paradox is officially underway! This marks a new chapter in our epic hybrid 4X RPG battle game, packed with fresh content, thrilling challenges, and enhanced rewards that will keep you engaged and strategizing. Here’s what you can expect in the latest season…
Season Content
New Season Pass: Storm of the Desert
The all-new Season Pass 5 introduces the stunning “Storm of the Desert” castle skin. Enhance your stronghold’s appearance and showcase your dominance on the battlefield.
Arena Pass
The new Arena Pass will be available for two weeks, giving players additional opportunities to earn exclusive rewards and showcase their combat skills.
Mercenary Buffs
Torsten: +100% HP
Bianca: +100% ATK
Zarkhan: +100% ATK
Enhanced Rewards for Guild Conquests
The bonus reward previously reserved for the #1 guild in each Conquest has now been expanded to include the top 5 guilds! The specific rewards will be decided by a community vote, so make your voice heard and help shape the future of Eternal Paradox.
Fixes & Improvements
Based on valuable player feedback, we have implemented the following adjustments:
[Achievement Event] Eliminate Shakram and Capture Prisoners: The difficulty has been halved.
Guild Attendance Requests: The cooldown has changed from 5 seconds to 1 hour.
Guild Festival Missions: The mission to summon the Doombringer has been removed.
Contribution Level Prediction: We fixed a display error affecting predicted Contribution Levels for the next season.
Important Note: The error affecting Contribution Level predictions is still being resolved. Points from the previous season set to expire may cause a significant drop in your Contribution Level.
This update is more concise than previous seasons, reflecting our commitment to streamline communications while delivering substantial improvements and new content. Your continued support and feedback are invaluable as we strive to make Eternal Paradox the best possible experience. Thank you for your dedication, and enjoy the strategic battles of Season 5!
The immensity of the galaxy is starting to feel like a powder keg of competition and conquest, as things are heating up in Echoes of Empire. In the time that the Empire’s rule stretched throughout known space, it was easy to point fingers and cast blame–Now that the remnant noble houses are grappling for power and control, everyone is getting an idea of the sheer brutality left by the Empire’s absence.
Whether you support the Garrison’s military might, the Arbeiters’ merchant-driven diplomacy or the dignified ancestry and heavy hand of the Royals, now is the time to take what’s yours in the galaxy. Play for free, upgrading and building your Homebase into a formidable force that will make your enemies think twice before trying to take what you have earned.
Mine resources from Celestial Objects owned by other players to earn Stardust. Every day, 50% of each player’s Stardust is burned, locking in that player’s share of the daily $GALA reward distribution. But beware! Everyone is looking for more Stardust and your excess is just a raid away, so be sure to build up a force ready to defend your base!
Upcoming Features & Upgrades
Here is a rundown of the upcoming features slated to be added to the live game, starting with the most immediate high priority additions.
High Priority–Coming Soon
Capital Ship Combat Update
The team will soon refactor the combat system for Capital Ships, calculating damage procedurally among defenders and adding a cap to the total number of defending Capital Ships at any given time.
Real-time Player Fleet Movement
Players will soon have the ability to monitor the movement of other players’ fleets on the map, giving everyone an opportunity to detect incoming attacks and enemy mining operations. To maintain optimal performance, this feature will be capped to a user-adjusted number of viewable enemy fleets.
PvE Combat
The game’s first PvE battles will soon be added to Echoes of Empire, allowing players to attack certain Celestial Objects with a variety of enemy themes, presenting new challenges and rewards. Defeating these celestial “villains” means an opportunity to gather new types of resources.
Leaderboard
Giving players a chance to compare themselves to the top players in the game at any time, the player leaderboard will look at crucial stats like combat power and Stardust owned.
Rally Attacks
Rallies are a new type of multi-fleet attack that will let players invite comrades and guildmates to help defeat a powerful foe. Players will start Rally attacks, then additional supporters will have an opportunity to join the attack with their own fleets before it commences.
Guilds
The first Guild system is coming soon to Echoes of Empire, including Guild formation, applications, moderation and spatial UI support.
Medium Priority–Coming a Bit Later
Chat Features
This update within the coming months will add basic chat functionality into the game, for both global and Guild-based chat functions.
Territory Control Nodes
This update will bring a new type of Guild focused Celestial Object onto the board. When a Territory Control Node is taken by a Guild, bonus stats will be given to members of that Guild within a set proximity of that Celestial Object.
Owned Celestial Object Upgrades
This is a large upgrade for owners of Celestial Objects, claimed using Celestial Claim Tokens. Buildings on owned Celestial Objects will receive stat boosts and additional functions, such as defenses and increases to inventory space.
Flagship Modules and Crafting
Players will have the ability to create modules to be added to their Flagships, increasing various stats and enhancing their Flagships.
On the Distant Horizon
Skill Tree
The Echoes of Empire skill tree will enhance the strategic choices of every player. Players will spend in-game resources and time to train in new skills with the potential to elevate a variety of core stats.
Login Rewards
A robust system of daily login rewards will incentivize players to login on a regular basis. New rewards will unlock each day and players will receive anything from in-game resources to utility items such as shields and teleporters.
In-app Purchase Bundles
This update will bring more variety and value to in-game purchasing by allowing players to spend credits on bundles to receive multiple items with single purchases.
New Ships
With changing the game’s strategic combat meta, a new variety of cosmetically enhanced ships will become available, including pirate variants.
*** With all these features coming to Echoes of Empire, the galactic mayhem has only just begun. This is the perfect time to take advantage of the calm before the storm, building your Homebase into something ready to survive in the aftermath of the Empire and build a legacy for your noble house. The galaxy is yours. Take it!
