An Arena Battle (or ambush for short) is a battle between mobs and players.
Locations
Arena Battles occur in every location in the game. Some locations have boss ambushes, which spawn bosses. Those locations are the Pumpkin Pastures, the Redstone Mines, the Frosted Fjord, the Lost Settlement, the Colossal Rampart, the Basalt Deltas and the Crimson Forest.
Behavior
Arena Battles behave differently from Boss Fights. First of all, Arena Battles spawn a lot more weaker mobs than one insanely strong mob. Second of all, the battle format differs from boss fights. They usually spawn in waves (like the one in Pumpkin Pastures). The battles usually start out as several weak mobs. Over time, the mobs the waves spawn get stronger until the battle ends, or the boss is spawned. No matter what, battles always spawn mobs that the level that it takes place in spawns. They are both triggered by certain events like players entering the Arena (like the Redstone Mines battle) or by pressing a trigger (like the bell in the Pumpkin Pastures). Some other triggers include Buttons, Levers and Pillars. There is a chance for these ambushes to have mini bosses, although these mini bosses are treated as Bosses. There are three levels where ambushes spawn two bosses: the Basalt Deltas (DLC), the Crimson Forest (DLC) and the Woodland Mansion (Secret, Ancient). So far, it's not possible to have arena battles that spawn three bosses (apart from Ancient Hunts). These events have their own special music. Another similarity between Arena Battles and Boss Fights is that they can both be started by the Arch-Illager, Jungle Abomination, Wretched Wraith, and Tempest Golem. Each of them have their own summoning animation. The Arch-Illager will teleport in, summon an ambush, and then teleport out. The other bosses will just roar to summon an ambush, producing their own effects while doing so. Also, battles are usually announced by the game, like boss fights. When arena battles end, they usually spawn chests that contain the loot, whereas when boss fights end, their loot drops directly from the boss' corpse.
Gallery
Music
Arena music
Mainland and Hero Pass DLC's
- arena1 (Arena Music for the Creeper Woods, Pumpkin Pastures, Redstone Mines, Cacti Canyon, Obsidian Pinnacle, Jungle Awakens, and Creeping Winter)
- arena2 (Arena Music for the Squid Coast, Desert Temple, Fiery Forge, Highblock Halls and the Underhalls)
Howling Peaks
- Ascension (Arena Music for first Arena Battle in Windswept Peaks)
- Summit (Arena Music for Windswept Peaks)
- Flurry (Arena Music for Colossal Rampart)
- Squall (Arena Music for Evoker Boss Ambush in Colossal Rampart)
- Rush (Arena Music for Gale Sanctum)
Flames of the Nether
- Routers (Arena Music for Nether Wastes, Nether Fortress)
- Metaluna (Arena Music for Warped Forest, Soulsand Valley)
- Torn Acinder (Arena Music for Basalt Deltas)
- Kermetic (Arena Music for Crimson Forest)
Trivia
- There is one arena battle that behaves exactly like a boss fight: in the Redstone Mines. This spawns a Redstone Golem right away.
- The hardest arena battle in the game is fought in the Highblock Halls, after you confront the Arch-Illager.