Total War: Arena

Total War: ARENA is a multiplayer online real-time strategy game in which 2 teams of 10 players battle on a large map. The history of Antiquity serves as the foundation for the game, featuring peoples of that era with an extensive unit development tree.

The gameplay of ARENA borrows the best ideas from classic Total War series games. The graphics engine excellently supports large battles and delivers stunning visuals, utilizing a realistic physics model. The game is distributed under a free-to-play model.

The game begins with the selection of one of the many factions. There are strong and resilient Greek warriors, militarily and tactically advanced Romans, dangerous and cunning Carthaginian soldiers, fierce Barbarians, and others.

However, a faction cannot fight on its own; it needs a leader. Among them are Alexander the Great, Leonidas, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Arminius, and other famous military commanders of Antiquity. Each leader has a unique set of traits that enhance the characteristics of units on the battlefield, directly influencing the playstyle. One general is better suited for a "tank" tactic, while another excels at flank and rear attacks.

The game features a wide variety of military units from the era: archers, slingers, swordsmen, legionnaires, spearmen, pikemen, light and heavy cavalry, elephants, war dogs, siege engines, some of which are unique to specific factions. The development tree of each faction contains nearly a hundred unit variations, which must be unlocked by gaining experience and silver in battle.

All maps in the game are designed based on real historical prototypes, differing in landscape and biome. For example, there are arid, rugged terrains of Thermopylae, where Leonidas and his 300 Spartans held back the Persian army, and there are snowy, hilly Graian Alps, which Hannibal Barca crossed during the Second Punic War.

Maps vary in size, from small to huge, and in complexity, from 1 to 10, with new ones unlocking as commanders level up. All maps are meticulously crafted; tactical planning for battle is impossible without considering the type of terrain.

In ARENA, the battlefield is not a flat, even piece of land, as in regular Total War games, but a complex, rugged, hilly landscape filled with forests and meadows, rivers and lakes, ravines and hills, steep canyons and cliffs, buildings. All this adds tactical depth.

Teams camp across from each other, a few kilometers apart. They have a few minutes to determine suitable positions and arrange their units: they can plan an ambush, occupy strategic positions, or defend against potential enemy breakthroughs. Depending on the type of terrain, archers, swordsmen, and cavalry may gain or lose advantages.

In the multiplayer mode of Total War: ARENA, there is only one mode that involves 10 versus 10 players. The game automatically matches participants, the map, and the victory conditions based on balance and difficulty. There are several victory conditions; sometimes, players need to capture or hold a point, while at other times, they must destroy the enemy camp. The dynamics add a timer, any round lasts no more than 15 minutes.

This concentration of players has significantly changed the gameplay, making it unpredictable and requiring constant coordination with allies. You need to keep an eye on the situation around you, anticipate your teammates' actions, work towards a common result, and never charge mindlessly at the enemy.

Each player controls three squads, with no more than 100 warriors in each, led by a commander. By issuing orders and using the abilities of units and commanders, employing encirclement tactics and knowledge of weak points, you must destroy the enemy while preserving your squads for the main task. Just like in a real military conflict.

The leveling system is standard, with free experience points awarded for each battle, squad experience, and silver given for success in battle. For real money, you can buy gold, which has a minor influence on gameplay, for example, through premium squads. Experience unlocks further leveling branches and new squads, and it is also used to upgrade existing squads and commanders. Silver is spent on replenishing soldiers in squads and hiring new ones.