JWA State of the Arena: Part 1

Explorers! Boosts have caused a lot of pain the arena. But this isn't a boost article. This is some good that has come as result of boosts (at least in our opinion): the ability to use a variety of dinos. This is the first in a 2 part series talking about the state of the arena. Huge shout out to Jimbohi from our discord server as the author of this article.

As much as we all like a good whine after a really bad loss, most people really do enjoy the arena. It is one of the main aspects of the game and can be a complete blast. Taking down a stronger team through planning and skill is an amazing feeling. Gaining rank or going up in arenas after weeks of tough battles is a real sense of accomplishment. At times it can feel like a strategic chess game, trying to predict the next Dracoceratops swap in, or guessing what will come first distract or shield.

Both Trykosaurus and Diorajasaur can be amazing mind games, and my personal favorite aspect is when you run into the lesser used dinos. Your entire safe game plan flies out the window and suddenly you're questioning every move and hesitating more than concentrating. This alone has lost me many games and it’s never a frustrating loss.  

If you're struggling in the arena a lot and coming up against the same dinos time after time try something new. Throw in a wildcard dino and you will often see the timer tick down whilst you're opponent tries to check your move set. Every now and then it will make them start making mistakes as they were not prepared for it at all. There are a few level 30 Einiasuchus’ that wreak havoc, and I have recently run into a level 30 Paramoloch which stopped me dead in my tracks. It's truly a nice surprise to see people running what they enjoy instead of just the usual meta relevant dinos.

Looking at the top 500 now, I feel like half of them have something unexpected at a high level and likely boosted. There are not just teams full of level 30 uniques anymore. Maybe without us noticing boosts actually did what they were intended to do they mixed up the teams, not all teams and not straight away but this seems to be the beginning of something. So what happens next? With speed getting faster tanks getting beefier and chompers biting harder?

I think we are headed in the direction of more variety of the arena. I believe more people will start bringing out lesser used dinos. Usually something that has nice mixture of hard hitting, stunning or running. Monostegotops is already making an appearance on many teams again. Many people had it benched but his buff and ability to tank a hit makes him a perfect candidate for this current meta. Tuoramoloch as well has started appearing albeit to a lesser extent. Its ability to slow stun and run means he can face of with multiple different dinos and survive to come back. The following dinos can also be seen in the arena in 1.8 after being mostly absent in 1.7:

Edmontoguanodon, Suchotator, Ardontosaurus, Amargocephalus, Allosaurus, and the welcome return of Tryostronix, Tragodists & Stegodeus.

Check out our Dinodex to see the stats on all of these creatures. 

Will this be the demise of the top uniques like Erlidom and Magnapyritor? Not at all! Will it make you think twice about what you could add to the team? Absolutely! Going forward I think the key will being finding the most versatile dinos that can take multiple roles on no matter what situation they end up in. Right now is a great time to be in the upper arenas. The battles are tough, the surprises can catch you off guard, and the teams are slowly changing into something new and new is what many of us wanted.

Join our discord for more discussion and look out for State of the Arena: Part 2 coming soon!