The Arena: 50 ranks of fixed fights
50 ranks, each unlocked by three clears, entry fees rising from 2,400 to 14,700 rubies, and 16 free tutorials that teach the whole battle system.
The Arena is the game's optional combat ladder: 50 ranks of fixed enemy groups, each with an entry fee in rubies and a payout in coins, materials and experience. It opens at the start of chapter 1, sits on Level 4 next to Ebel City, and it is where you learn the battle system properly.
How the Arena works
- 50 ranks, each unlocked by clearing the previous rank three times and by having progressed far enough in the story.
- Entry costs rubies and the fee rises with the rank.
- Clearing a rank improves its allotment ratio, which is the multiplier on your ruby payout.
- Ten wins in one rank stars it, and the ratio keeps improving after that.
- 16 tutorials run inside the Arena, identical to the manual's lessons: charging and attacking, changing characters, scratch damage, the hero gauge, Hero Actions, the Tri-Attack, switching weapons, using items, the magazine case, body parts, leader assault, bunkers, gauge breaking, multiple charges, bonus shots and smackdown.
Those tutorials are the single best early investment in the game. They cost no rubies, they are available before chapter 2, and they cover the mechanics the story missions assume you already know.
Entry fees and payouts scale together
The progression is roughly linear: rank 8 costs 2,400 rubies and pays Copper x10, rank 31 costs 9,300 and pays Silver x13, rank 38 costs 11,400 and pays Silver x34, rank 49 costs 14,700 and pays Gold x11. The coin type changes as ranks climb, and the coins are what the Arena Coin Exchange takes for weapons and accessories you cannot buy elsewhere.
| Rank | Entry (rubies) | Coins | Notable enemy | HP | Notable drops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2,400 | Copper x10 | Coppélia Chainsaw x2 | 320 | Scrapped Weapon MQ |
| 10 | 3,000 | Copper x12 | Marionette Bazooka x3 | 320 | Scrapped Gun MQ |
| 18 | 5,400 | Copper x34 | Humbaba x2 | 2,000 | Scrapped Firearm E |
| 31 | 9,300 | Silver x13 | Shell Tank | 4,000 | Scrapped Missile TK, Scrapped Arm TK, Scrapped Vulcan TK |
| 35 | 10,500 | Silver x26 | Fáfnir | 9,500 | Scrapped Vulcan GG |
| 38 | 11,400 | Silver x34 | Mine Tank | 5,000 | Scrapped Missile TK2, Scrapped Arm TK2 |
| 43 | 12,900 | Gold x3 | Sköll x2 | 6,000 | Scrapped Gun AF |
| 49 | 14,700 | Gold x11 | Tetra Tank x2 | 12,000 | Scrapped Weapon TK |
The named ranks with a suffix — rank 10-3, 15-3, 30-3, 40-3, 45-3 — are separate challenge fights with their own names and payouts, and they run much higher enemy levels than their rank number suggests.
Why the Arena is the best farming spot in the game
Three reasons, in order of importance:
- Fixed enemy groups. You know exactly what you will fight, so you can build a loadout for it instead of hoping.
- Material drops are listed per rank. The Scrapped Missile family, Scrapped Arm parts and Scrap metals all come from specific enemies here, which makes the Arena the reliable source for gun upgrades. The scrapped missile farming page maps which ranks pay which part.
- No travel time. Retry after retry from the same counter, which matters more than it sounds in a game built on hex-grid traversal.
Entry fees are the constraint. A rank 38 run costs 11,400 rubies, so the Arena is self-funding only once your allotment ratio is high enough — early on, treat it as a place to spend mission income, not to earn it.
What to buy with coins
Arena Coin Exchange stock is the only route to several items, including weapons that never appear in shops. The MI50A handgun, for example, is bought with Copper x500, Silver x200 and Gold x50 and needs Arena rank 41 unlocked to supply the gold coins. If you are chasing a specific weapon, check the exchange before you spend coins on accessories.
Difficulty notes
The Arena does not scale to your level, so a rank you cannot beat at chapter 6 may be trivial at chapter 10 with the same gear-plus-levels. When a rank stalls you, the honest answer is usually levels and a better conversion handgun rather than a new tactic — see character builds for who should carry what.
Arena structure, entry costs, enemy rosters and drop tables: community Arena documentation, checked 2026-10-31.