Arena
Arenas are instanced areas in which teams of players can compete against each other in deathmatch-style PvP. Unlike battlegrounds, the arenas are not based on objectives, but simply your team's ability to obliterate the other team. To participate in arenas, you must either join through (rated) arena teams or through (unrated) War Games.
Arenas are, together with rated battlegrounds, the main sources for obtaining 
[Conquest Points] which can be used to buy powerful PvP rewards. Arenas also allow intra-faction competition.
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Arenas
Six arenas are currently available:
- The Ring of Trials in Nagrand
- The Circle of Blood Arena in Blade's Edge Mountains
- The Ruins of Lordaeron in Tirisfal Glades
- The Dalaran Arena in the Underbelly of Dalaran
- The Ring of Valor in Orgrimmar
- The Tol'Viron Arena in Uldum
A seventh arena, the Tiger's Peak, set in Kun-Lai Summit, is planned for Patch 5.3.0.
Ratings
Several forms of rating exist for PvP. Arenas initiated as War Games are unrated, and do not affect any of your ratings. For more information, see arena team.
Team rating is a measurement of a team's performance relative to the other teams in their region, and has no effect on play.
Matchmaking Rating (MMR) is a secondary team rating that is used to team players up against others at about the same skill level. When queuing for a rated arena, teams are matched based on their MMR. A team's MMR increases or decreases with each victory or loss, adjusted by the MMR of the opposing team. Players using the War Games system can choose their own opponents, regardless of their MMR.
Personal rating is a measure of your personal performance in each type of PvP (2v2, 3v3, 5v5 and rated battlegrounds) and can be improved by success in that type of play. Raising your personal rating can increase the maximum amount of [Conquest Points] you may obtain the following week, allowing you to buy even more powerful PvP rewards.
Gameplay
Restrictions
Arena combat comes with a number of restrictions, intended to improve balance and fairness in matches. Some items and abilities are therefore not usable in arena. Many of these restrictions also apply to rated battlegrounds.
- In general, abilities with a cooldown of 10 minutes or longer cannot be used
- A handful of other abilities also cannot be used
- Certain items cannot be used, including most flasks
- Conjured consumables, bandages, and purchased water may be used. Other consumables may not. Any water that requires level 90 can be used.
Cross-team communication is also prevented in arena and rated battlegrounds, regardless of faction.
Pre-match
Upon zoning into the arena, players start in a staging area. Health, mana, and energy are all restored, all buffs and conjured items are removed and pets are dismissed (debuffs will remain, and pets can be re-summoned once you zone in). Players are also given the Arena Preparation buff, which removes the resource cost of all abilities.
The opposing team's target frames are displayed in the user interface, allowing players to inspect the class and specialization of their opponents. Players can also reset their talents during the preparation stage at no cost, allowing them to customise their abilities in consideration of the opposition. Any changes made to a player's talents during this stage are reverted once the player leaves the arena.
After 60 seconds of preparation, the match commences. All buffs with fewer than 30 seconds remaining are removed and rage/runic power is reset to 0.
The fight
Players battle it out until all the members of one team are defeated or choose to leave, or until 25 minutes have elapsed.
Once a player dies, they can choose to enter spectator mode and observe the remainder of the match as a ghost.
Post-match
Once all the players on one team have either died or left, a statistics window is shown similar to the ones in battlegrounds. The window also shows the team rating adjustment as a result of the match.
The statistics window also displays each team's matchmaking rating (MMR). Note that this is the only point at which it is possible to view your team's MMR, as this information is not accessible through any other means.
The winning players are awarded with [Conquest Points] and (if eligible) guild reputation.
Arena teams
Main article: Arena team
An arena team is a team of 2, 3 or 5 players formed to compete in an arena. A team can either be 2v2, 3v3 or 5v5. Players may only join one team of each type.
Arena teams are used in order to compete against other teams of equal size and skill levels to increase fairness and make. Winning an arena increases the team's rating and losing decreases it.
Rewards
Winners of arena matches are awarded [Conquest Points], used for the purchase and upgrade of the most powerful PvP rewards.
At the end of each arena season, players that rank among the highest ratings within the 3v3 and 5v5 brackets are awarded titles marking their accomplishments. Team members who have been in at least 20% of a top Arena team's matches and are within 100 personal rating of the team's rating, in each battlegroup, will receive a title according to their standing. Gladiator titles also award players with Master Riding and a Custom Gladiator mount. See PvP title rewards for more information.
Arena Tournament
- Main article: Arena Tournament
Every year an Arena Tournament is held on a special event realm where players of all battlegroups compete against each other for cash and prizes.
Achievements
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Patch changes
- Patch 5.1.0 (2012-11-27): Arena matches now have a 25 minute time limit (was 45 minutes).
- Hotfix (2012-10-16): "Teams queueing for Arenas will temporarily no longer be placed into the The Ring of Valor."
Patch 4.1.0 (2011-04-26):
- Arena teams are now awarded guild experience for wins. The entire team must be members of the same guild to earn this experience.
- The amount of Conquest Points awarded for Arena wins has been normalized across the board. Players will now receive 180 Conquest Points for a win up to the weekly cap, regardless of rating or matchup.
- Arena matchmaking can now extend beyond a team's Battlegroup.
- Patch 4.0.6 (2011-02-08):
[Bloodlust], 
[Heroism], 
[Time Warp] and 
[Ancient Hysteria] can no longer be cast while in Arenas. - Patch 4.0.1 (2010-10-12):
- All Arena Points,
[Honor Points], Battleground Marks of Honor, Stone Keeper's Shards, Venture Coins, and Spirit Shards have been converted into new Honor Points. - Honor Points will be awarded instead of these currencies, with the exception of Arena Points.
- Higher-tier Conquest Points will be awarded to players competing in each of the latest Arena or Rated Battleground seasons after the launch of Cataclysm.
- The Arena Teams pane has been improved.
- All Arena Points,
- Patch 3.3.3 (2010-03-23): Players can now be queued for battlegrounds and arenas at the same time.
- Patch 3.3.2 (2010-02-01): All healing abilities (including items such as potions) will be decreased in effectiveness by 10% when in Battlegrounds, Arenas, or Wintergrasp.
- Patch 3.3.0 (2009-12-08): All abilities that have base cooldowns of 10 minutes or longer cannot be used in Arenas, down from 15 minutes.
- Patch 3.2.0 (2009-08-04):
- Beginning with season 7, players will no longer have access to the newest season's weapons or shoulder armor and will not qualify for the <Gladiator> title/rewards with ratings from the 2v2 bracket alone. Ratings obtained through 3v3 and 5v5 game play will be required for these rewards, while the rest of the newest season's items will remain available to players in all brackets (standard rating restrictions still apply).
[Endless Healing Potion] and 
[Endless Mana Potion] no longer usable in arenas. Amount of health and mana has been increased, and the cooldown reduced.
- Patch 3.1.0 (2009-04-14): Enemy Unit Frames: This feature is only available while in Arenas, with several options in the Interface Options.
- Patch 3.0.8 (2009-01-20):
- Arena rating requirements for all Deadly Gladiator's Arena items have been reduced by 100.
- All rage and runic power are set to 0 when an Arena begins and the preparation period is over.
- Ring of Valor: The small pillars will now rise immediately once the arena begins.
- Arena: Dalaran Sewer: The Flush effect which pushes players out will now also remove the ability to use Demonic Circles summoned during the arena start time.
- Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14):
- Two new Arenas have been added; the Orgrimmar Arena and the Dalaran Arena can now be accessed.
- Buffs that have 30 seconds or less remaining will be removed once the game starts. However, the mage spell " [Invisibility]" is not affected by this change.
- Patch 2.4.2 (2008-05-13):
- If a character's personal rating is more than 150 points below the team rating, they will earn points based on their personal rating instead of the team rating.
- If the average personal rating of the players queuing for a game is more than 150 points below the team's rating, the team will be queued against an opponent matching or similar to the average personal rating.
- Patch 2.3.0 (2007-11-13):
- The top ranked team of each battlegroup for each format will receive a new unique title for the end of Season 2 called “Merciless Gladiator”.
- New Arena System: Personal Ratings
- The Personal Rating will be unique for each team the character belongs to.
- It will rise and fall using the same formula as the Team Ratings.
- It will only be affected by the games that the player plays in, not all team games.
- Eligibility for end of season rewards will be determined by the Personal Rating, which must be within 100 of the team's rating.
- It can't be padded by joining a new team. The Personal Rating will reset for the bracket when a new team is joined.
- Season Three gear will require a certain amount of arena rating points. Furthermore, the rating requirement is based on a new personal arena rating that is independent for each member on a team.
- Patch 2.2.0 (2007-09-25):
- Arena calculations have been modified. In addition, the penalty for smaller arena teams (2v2, 3v3) has been slightly reduced.
- Items that are indicated as quest items in their tooltips and have a "use" or "equip" ability will not work in PvP arenas.
- Players will no longer be able to change armor once an arena battle has begun. Changing armor will still be available during the one-minute prep time prior to the battle. Main hand, off hand and range weapon swapping in combat remains unchanged.
- Patch 2.1.0 (2007-05-22): For those combatants engaging in the Steamwheedle Cartel’s gladiatorial combat, an arena nestled within the Ruins of Lordaeron has been added to the mix of venues. Players taking part in either rated battles or skirmishes may now find themselves battling for glory within the new arena.
- Patch 2.0.12 (2007-04-03): Players will no longer be able to see their opponents in the Combat Log of an Arena match-up before the game starts.
- Patch 2.0.3 (2007-01-09):
- Players can use the /teamquit or /teamdisband command in order to leave an Arena team.
- Healthstones and summoned warlock pets will no longer cost a soulshard to summon in the Arena preparation area. All summoned items and pets will be dismissed on leaving the arena.
- The last pet a player had summoned will be resummoned outside the Arena upon leaving.
- Patch 2.0.1 (2006-12-05): Two New Arenas are now available in three different modes.
- 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 matches
- Players may queue up at Goblin NPC's in Stormwind, Ironforge, Orgrimmar, Undercity, and Gadgetzan
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