How to play AutoArena

Questions

What is AutoArena?

AutoArena is a free competitive PvP auto battler that runs in your web browser, with a ranked leaderboard as its core progression and cash prizes at the top of it: the top 10 players of every monthly season win real money in US dollars, $25 for 1st, paid out in USDT or through PayPal, and entry is free. The format is simple: draft a hero and 5 minis, deploy them on a 7×8 board with an elixir budget, star up duplicates, and watch a deterministic battle decide each round of a best-of-5 match. The strategy goes deep: you win by outplaying your opponent, countering their army or setting up yours and its positions so they cannot answer it. Nothing to download, and no sign-up beyond a name. There are 14 minis and 3 heroes, ranked play with leagues and monthly seasons, and a practice mode against the AI when you are offline.

Is AutoArena free? Do I have to download anything?

Yes, it is free, and there is nothing to install. It runs in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer at https://autoarena.gg. You pick a name and play; saving your account with an email or Google is optional and can be done later, though only signed-in players are paid cash prizes. Nothing in the game costs money, and the cash prizes are free to enter.

Can I win real money playing AutoArena?

Yes. AutoArena is free to play, and every season the top 10 players on its ranked leaderboard win cash prizes in US dollars: 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10, 4th $5, 5th $2.50, 6th–10th $1 each. There is no entry fee, no deposit and nothing to buy, and the prizes go by leaderboard rank, so they are won by playing well. Winners cash out whenever they like: as USDT on Solana, any amount, usually within a minute, or into PayPal from $10. Only signed-in players are paid, and a top rank held by an AI rival pays nobody. A season is one calendar month, and Season 11 (November 2026) is the first that pays.

What does AutoArena look like? Is it 3D?

Every mini and hero is a 3D character, built in code and animated live in your browser, fighting on a stone board inside a walled arena with a crowd in the stands. On a device that cannot draw 3D, the same battle plays with 2D characters. You watch from behind your own half of the board while the battle plays itself.

How long is a match?

A match is best of 5: the first player to win 3 rounds takes it. Each round has up to 30 seconds of planning (it starts early once both players are ready) and a battle that usually lasts twenty-five to thirty seconds, with a 60-second limit. A typical match takes four to five minutes.

How does the elixir work?

You draw more elixir every round — 5, 7, 11, 11 and 13 in rounds 1 to 5 — and anything unspent carries over. Lose a round and you draw 5 extra for the next, so whoever is behind can rebuild. You can field 2 copies of each mini in your deck: 10 minis and your hero.

What are stars?

Drop a duplicate onto a mini, or tap it and choose Upgrade, and it goes up a star. The first two stars each cost roughly the mini's price again and take it to 1.65× and 2.3× its base health and damage; the third costs three times the price and takes it to 4×. Abilities reach further or last longer per star too. Some minis price their stars differently — the mini pages list the exact elixir.

What does a hero do?

Every deck has one hero. It deploys free at the start of the match, does not use a mini slot, cannot be starred but grows stronger every round (1.6× its health and damage by round 5), and — unlike minis, which are locked once placed — can be dragged anywhere on your half in every deploy phase. Each hero has a signature ability: Warlord's Groundbreaker, Huntress's Arrowstorm, Bulwark's Aegis.

How do trophies, leagues and seasons work?

A win between equally ranked players is worth +40 / −10 up to 1,200, +30 / −30 at 2,500, +20 / −45 from 4,000 trophies, tilted by the rating gap: easy to climb low down, harder at the top. Trophies place you in one of 8 leagues, Wood, Stone, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Crystal, Master, Champion, and reaching a league locks its floor in for the season. A season is a calendar month: at the end you bank a reward, your placing goes into your history, and trophies above 400 are halved.

Is the battle random?

No. A battle is a deterministic simulation: the same deployments and the same seed always produce the same fight, tick for tick. The server runs each battle and both players replay it identically, so nothing is decided client-side and every round can be checked.

Who do I play against?

Matchmaking pairs you with whoever else is searching when you are — the player closest to your trophies when there is a choice, and the one who is there when there is not. If nobody else is searching after a few seconds you face an AI opponent instead; the AI plays a full-strength search-based game from the middle of the ladder upwards. Offline, the Battle button starts a practice match against the AI that awards no trophies.

Can I bet real money on a match?

No. A wager match is played for in-game items only: coins earned by playing and skins earned by playing. Nothing that can be bought can be wagered, nothing can be bought to wager with, and nothing won in a wager can be withdrawn, sold or exchanged for money. Prize money can never be staked. Wager matches are unranked and move no trophies.

How do coins and unlocks work?

Every match pays coins — 60 for a win, 35 for a draw, 20 for a loss, plus 3 per round won, and a new account starts with 100. The Javelineer is yours once you win 3 matches. The Juggernaut costs 5000 coins; The Pyromancer costs 2000 coins; The Mender costs 2000 coins; The Warden costs 7500 coins; The Powderkeg costs 12500 coins; The Gaffer costs 7500 coins; The Mason costs 7500 coins; The Dyer costs 2000 coins; everything else is owned from the start. There are no advertisements and nothing for sale for money.