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How to play AutoArena

This page is the complete rulebook — the same text as the in-game help, with every number taken from the game's own rules. For each unit's stats and abilities see the minis and the heroes.

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The rules

Deck

Build a deck of 1 hero and 4 minis. Only those can be deployed in a match. Your opponent brings their own hero and 4 minis.

Heroes

Your hero deploys free at the start of the match and takes no mini slot. Unlike minis, you can drag it anywhere on your half every round. Heroes can't be starred. Instead they grow every round, gaining 15% health and damage each round after the first, to 1.6× by round 5.

Deploy

You get 10 elixir in round one and 9 each round after. Unspent elixir carries over. Lose a round and your next draw is 2 higher. Win one and it is 2 lower. Over a full match both players get exactly 46, because the last round pays out whatever is left. Drag minis from the tray onto your half, or tap a card and then a tile. Until you press Start Battle, you can move this round's minis or refund them in full. You can field up to 8 minis with at most 2 of each, so spend extra elixir on stars. Minis stay between rounds and come back at full health.

Stars

Drop a duplicate on a mini, or tap it and choose Upgrade, to add a star. The first two stars cost about the mini's price each. The third star costs three times as much and takes the mini to 4× its starting stats (one star gives 1.65×, two give 2.3×). It also turns the ability into a stronger version with a new name. Some minis have their own star prices, and the Minis screen shows each mini's costs and three-star ability.

Abilities

Every mini fills its mana bar (purple) by attacking and taking damage. At full mana it casts its ability. A mini that dies without casting fires its ability as a dying breath, unless it is stunned. Stuns from a Reaver's slam or a Juggernaut's charge prevent this.

Openings

Five minis act at battle start. First the Gaffer hooks whatever stands exactly three tiles ahead and pulls it in, stunned. A hooked mini loses its own opening move. Next the Mason raises a stone on the empty tile in front of it, on your half. Charges and spears stop at the stone, and hooks go over it. The Juggernaut charges down its column and knocks back the first enemy it hits. In an empty lane it hits the far wall and stuns itself. The Shade leaps over the field onto the enemy back row. The Javelineer throws a spear down its column at the first enemy in the way. A Juggernaut charging up the same column knocks a leaping Shade out of the air, and a spear can hit either one, so pick your lanes with care.

Battle

You have 30 seconds to plan. The round starts early once both sides are ready. The battle then plays out on its own, with each mini fighting the nearest enemy. Longshots attack faster the longer a round runs, and faster still per star. If no side wins within 60 seconds, the side with more total health takes the round.

Win the match

Matches are best of 5. The first to 3 round wins takes the match. Up to 1,200 trophies, a win between equally ranked players gives +40 trophies and a loss costs 10. Higher up, wins pay less and losses cost more: +30 / −30 at 2,500 and +20 / −45 from 4,000. Beat a higher-ranked player and you gain more. Lose to one and you drop less.

Ladder & leagues

Trophies place you in a league, from Wood up to Champion. Once you reach a league, you can't fall out of it until the season ends.

Seasons

A season lasts one calendar month. When it ends you get a season reward and your placing is saved to your season history. Trophies up to 400 carry over, and you keep 50% of the rest. Your account level never resets.

Account level

Every match earns XP: 80 for a win, 45 for a draw and 25 for a loss, plus 10 per round won. Season rewards add more. Your first win of the day pays 2× XP and coins. XP raises your account level, up to 100. Levels unlock the Regal skins, the first at level 5 and the last at level 100.

Coins & unlocks

Every match pays coins: 100 for a win, 60 for a draw and 35 for a loss, plus 5 per round won. Your first win of the day pays 2×. Spend coins in the Shop to unlock the Juggernaut for 5,000 coins, the Shade for 1 coin, the Pyromancer for 1,000 coins, the Mender for 1,000 coins, the Warden for 5,000 coins, the Powderkeg for 10,000 coins, the Gaffer for 5,000 coins, the Javelineer for 1,000 coins, the Mason for 5,000 coins and the Dyer for 1,000 coins. A locked mini can't go in a deck.

Friends

Friends on the main menu adds a player by name or by account number (like #1042, shown on the account sheet). Once they add you back, you can see when they are online or in a match. You can ask an online friend for a friendly battle, and they have 60 seconds to accept. A friendly is a normal best of 5 with your own deck. It is unranked, so no trophies, XP or coins change and your record stays the same.

Skins

Every mini and hero has two skins, and they only change how it looks. The Gilded skin costs 20,000 coins in the Shop. The Regal skin is earned at an account level between 5 and 100, and the Deck screen shows the level for each. To change a look, tap a mini or hero on the Deck screen and pick Default or any skin you own. A new look shows from your next match, for you and your opponent.

Emotes

Tap the face in the match header to show a reaction over your hero: Good game, Ha!, Noo, Wow, Grr, Love it. You can send one every couple of seconds, and your opponent sees it over theirs. To hide their emotes, turn off opponent emotes in Settings.

Tips

Put tanks in front and ranged minis behind. A Mender does all its healing in one big cast, so keep it alive until then. A Dyer halves heals and shields on what it hits, which counters a Mender behind a Shieldbearer. Spread out against a Pyromancer. Give every back-row mini a body in front of it, because charges and spears come straight down columns.

Numbers at a glance

Board	7 columns × 8 rows; you deploy on your own half
Deck	1 hero + 4 minis, from 14 minis and 3 heroes
Match	best of 5, first to 3 round wins
Plan clock	30s, ends early when both are ready
Elixir	10 in round 1, then 9, ±2 on the last result; 46 per player over five rounds
Army	up to 8 minis, at most 2 of a kind; minis persist between rounds
Stars	Lv 1 1× · ★ 1.65× · ★★ 2.3× · ★★★ 4×
Battle	automatic; 60s limit, then the side with more total HP wins
Trophies	between equals +40 / −10 up to 1,200, +30 / −30 at 2,500, +20 / −45 from 4,000; tilted by the rating gap
XP	80 win / 45 draw / 25 loss, +10 per round won; the account level never resets
Coins	100 win / 60 draw / 35 loss, +5 per round won; 100 to start

Leagues

Reach a league and its floor is yours for the season. The season reward is paid on the highest league you reached.

League	From	Season reward
Wood League	0	150 XP
Stone League	300	270 XP
Bronze League	700	390 XP
Silver League	1,200	510 XP
Gold League	1,800	630 XP
Crystal League	2,500	750 XP
Master League	3,300	870 XP
Champion League	4,200	990 XP

Questions

What is AutoArena?

AutoArena is a free tactical auto battler that runs in your web browser — nothing to download, no sign-up beyond a name. Draft a hero and 4 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 ranked match. 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.

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 10 elixir in round one and 9 in each later round, and anything unspent carries over. The draw tilts by 2 on the last round's result — lose and you draw more, win and you draw less — but both players receive exactly 46 over a full five-round match, with the fifth round paying out whatever is left. You can field at most 8 minis and 2 copies of any one mini.

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 can be withdrawn, sold or exchanged for money. Wager matches are unranked and move no trophies.

How do coins and unlocks work?

Every match pays coins — 100 for a win, 60 for a draw, 35 for a loss, plus 5 per round won, and a new account starts with 100. The Juggernaut costs 5000 coins; The Pyromancer costs 1000 coins; The Mender costs 1000 coins; The Warden costs 5000 coins; The Powderkeg costs 10000 coins; The Gaffer costs 5000 coins; The Javelineer costs 1000 coins; The Mason costs 5000 coins; The Dyer costs 1000 coins; everything else is owned from the start or costs a single coin. There are no advertisements and nothing for sale for money.

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