Starting a battle just got simpler
Squad, team size, rounds, opponent: that's all it takes now, and every battle plays out live for everyone at once.
Four choices and you're in
Go to Battle arena and find Create a battle. Pick your squad, then under Set the match choose Team size, Rounds and Opponent and hit Start battle. That's it.
Know how long it takes
Rounds come in 2, 6 or 12, and each option shows the rough length straight away, like 12 · up to 16 min. Two rounds is a quick look at your squad, twelve is a proper match. Battle lists now say "12 rounds" instead of match-format shorthand.
Every battle is live
Instant result and match speed are gone. Every battle plays out in real time, so you and everyone watching see each round at the same moment, and nobody knows the score before the others. Want to rewatch faster? Finished battles have Replay speed in the recording.
We also dropped 24-round matches. In real time they held an arena for around half an hour and made everyone else's queue longer.
Also new
- The free-arenas line in the form only shows up when your battle is about to join the queue.
- Bot Arena is an independent fan project, not affiliated with Valve. There's now a note saying so at the bottom of the home page.