Duel Arena
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| Duel Arena | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Released | 25 March 2004 (Update) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Removal | 6 July 2022 (Update) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Also called | Sand casino | ||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Minigame | ||||||||||||||||||
| Members | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Al Kharid | ||||||||||||||||||
| League region | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||
| Participants | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Skills | Combat | ||||||||||||||||||
| Requirements | None | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reward currency | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tutorial | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Music | Shine, Duel Arena | ||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||
| <mapframe align="center" frameless="" plane="0" width="300" y="3233" x="3360" height="300" zoom="1" mapID="0">
[] </mapframe> | |||||||||||||||||||
The Al Kharid Duel Arena was a place where players could go to engage in one-on-one Combat, either for fun or for staking coins and platinum tokens. The Duel Arena was available to both members and free-to-play, though there was a limit to how much you can stake in both members and free-to-play.
Duel Arena challenge areas were identified upon entering by a battleaxe (
) which appeared in the bottom right hand corner of the interface, during a duel this was changed to a skull (_icon.png){kind=icon}
).
There was no official world where players engage in the Duel Arena, but the unofficial world with the largest population was world 302.
From its inception, the Duel Arena was a controversial activity due to the frequent staking that took place. In response, Jagex introduced a 10 million coin staking cap in 2021 and, after a game update on 6 July 2022, removed the Duel Arena from the game entirely, replacing it with the Emir's Arena.
| Location on World Map | ||||
| Mage Training Arena | ||||
| ↑ | ||||
| Al Kharid Mine | ← | {{#replace:{{#replace:Duel Arena|(city)|}} |(location)|}} | → | River Salve |
| ↓ | ||||
| Citharede Abbey | ||||
Origins
Development history
The Duel Arena was added in RuneScape 2 shortly after the end of its beta to replace the "Duel anywhere" feature in RuneScape Classic. This was partially due to the feature being a concern because some players would abuse it in order to get a free teleport to Lumbridge.
In-universe history
According to in-game lore, the Duel Arena was built in the Second Age in the northern part of Kharidian Empire.
Location
The arena was located north-east of Al Kharid. It was fenced off from the rest of the area.
Players could also rub a Ring of dueling to teleport directly to the arena entrance. This saved on having to walk from far away, although using an Amulet of glory to teleport to the Al Kharid Palace was another viable option along with the Lumbridge Home Teleport as it was close to the Duel Arena.
Picking a fight
To fight another player, players had to right-click their intended opponent and select the "Challenge" option. This would tell that player that someone wished to duel with them, and they accepted by challenging that player in return.
Combat
This would open the dueling options screen, which defined the parameters for the battle. The screen showed the name and Combat level of the opponent, as well as the amount of gold each player was offering up for a "bet", or a "stake". A player could not stake more than 10 million coins during a single duel, and the difference between the stakes could not exceed 10,000 coins. Finally, there was 11 different options that could be turned on or off and were adjustable by either player. These are detailed as follows:
- No Ranged: No ranged weaponry could be equipped during the battle.
- No Melee: Players could not engage in hand-to-hand combat, including bare fists/feet.
- No Magic: No magical attack spells could be cast.
- No Special Attacks: Special attacks could not be used.
- Fun Weapons: The only allowed weapons were those with negative attack stats, such as the Rubber chicken,Flowers, Birthday cake, rubber mouse toy, and Golden tench. Bare fists/feet were not allowed.
- No Forfeit: Players could not escape the arena; the fight lasted until one player dies.
- No Drinks: Players could not drink anything that boosts stats, such as potions. All stats that were boosted prior to the fight were reset to their default values once the fight begins.
- No Food: Eating food to heal was not allowed, including Saradomin brews.
- No Prayer: Using the Prayer skill was not allowed.
- No Movement: Players couldn't walk or run during the battle.
- Obstacles: One of the walled arenas was used during the fight, putting the players in a sort of mini-maze.
Some of the options couldn't be combined; for instance, having no Ranged, Melee, or Magic made it impossible to fight.
It is also possible to select and disable equipment slots on this screen. Rangers should be careful not to check off shield if they intend to use a bow.
Once the battle begins, players were teleported into the arena itself with a 3-second countdown before the fighting actually began. If "No Forfeit" was not checked off, players who were losing (or simply wished to end the duel early) could retreat through one of the trapdoors, ending the battle immediately. Anything staked was awarded to the other player.
-
The Dueling interface
Presets
A player could save the duel options and load it as a preset. This was very handy especially for stakers to avoid getting scammed.
The 5 different options were:
Save as preset: Saved the current choice of options and saved it as a preset.
Load preset: Loaded the preset that the player saved.- Load last duel: Loaded the last duels options.
- "Whip": Only allowed the use of any one-handed weapon, no armour permitted.
- "Boxing": No weapons or armour permitted.
Outcome
 |
You have won the duel. |
| File:Victory (Duel Arena).ogg | |
After the battle ended, players were teleported back to the building beside the arena and healed (poison and stat-reducing effects are negated as well). Any Ranged weapons that fell to the ground were automatically returned to the owner. If there was a stake, the victor claimed the prize(s). When you die you only lost the gold you staked.
The winnings (the combined total of both players' stakes) were also taxed by a percentage depending on the size of the stake. This tax acts acted a gold sink by removing part of the winnings from the game. If the total winnings were less than ten million coins, then 0.25% was deducted. If the winnings were over ten million coins, then 0.5% was deducted.
Near the gate was a scoreboard where players could view the last 50 battles on that server. This included the combat levels of the combatants and who won the round. The scoreboard automatically updated every five minutes.
Warning
Staking could become a very addictive activity if players were not careful. It was highly recommended to only stake small increments and never stake gold that you were not willing to lose. Many stakers fell into the trap where they would start off small but would eventually stake their entire bank in an attempt to recover the losses.
National Council on Problem Gambling Hotline [USA/Canada]: 1-800-522-4700
GamCare National Gambling Helpline [UK]: 0808 8020 133
SAMSHA Website: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
NPCs
The following NPCs are found at the Duel Arena:
- A'abla
- Afrah
- Captain Daerkin
- Dalal
- Fadli
- Hamid
- Ima
- Jadid
- Jaraah
- Jeed
- Mubariz
- Sabeil
- Sabreen
- Surgeon General Tafani
- Zahwa
Changes
| Date | Changes |
|---|---|
| [[{{#explode:6 July 2022| |0}} {{#explode:6 July 2022| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:6 July 2022| |2}}]] (update) |
The Duel Arena was removed from the game and replaced with the Emir's Arena. |
| [[{{#explode:12 January 2022| |0}} {{#explode:12 January 2022| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:12 January 2022| |2}}]] (update) |
The south-west corner of the Duel Arena that was unsafe on PvP worlds is now safe. |
| [[{{#explode:16 December 2021| |0}} {{#explode:16 December 2021| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:16 December 2021| |2}}]] (update) |
An obscure corner of the Duel Arena that was unsafe on PvP worlds is now safe. |
| [[{{#explode:17 November 2021| |0}} {{#explode:17 November 2021| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:17 November 2021| |2}}]] (update) |
|
| [[{{#explode:16 August 2018| |0}} {{#explode:16 August 2018| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:16 August 2018| |2}}]] (update) |
|
| [[{{#explode:6 October 2016| |0}} {{#explode:6 October 2016| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:6 October 2016| |2}}]] (update) |
|
| [[{{#explode: 10 March 2016| |0}} {{#explode: 10 March 2016| |1}}]] [[{{#explode: 10 March 2016| |2}}]] (update) |
Completing a duel at the Duel arena now consistently returns players to where they initiated the challenge. |
| [[{{#explode:22 October 2015| |0}} {{#explode:22 October 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:22 October 2015| |2}}]] (update | poll) |
|
| [[{{#explode:24 September 2015| |0}} {{#explode:24 September 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:24 September 2015| |2}}]] (update) |
The warnings if duelling options change will now show even if you haven't clicked accept yet. |
| [[{{#explode:3 September 2015| |0}} {{#explode:3 September 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:3 September 2015| |2}}]] (update) |
Ammo is now returned at the Duel Arena more reliably if you lose the duel. |
| [[{{#explode:20 August 2015| |0}} {{#explode:20 August 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:20 August 2015| |2}}]] (update) |
Receiving multiple challenge requests will no longer prevent you accepting all but the most recent. |
| [[{{#explode:6 August 2015| |0}} {{#explode:6 August 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:6 August 2015| |2}}]] (update) |
It is no longer possible to search a panning tray inside a duel at the Duel Arena. |
| [[{{#explode:23 July 2015| |0}} {{#explode:23 July 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:23 July 2015| |2}}]] (update) |
More challenge messages at the Duel Arena will now appear under the trade chat tab. |
| [[{{#explode:16 July 2015| |0}} {{#explode:16 July 2015| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:16 July 2015| |2}}]] (update | poll) |
|
| [[{{#explode:18 December 2014| |0}} {{#explode:18 December 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:18 December 2014| |2}}]] (update) |
You can no longer buy rotten tomatoes from the duel arena crate on free-to-play Worlds. |
| [[{{#explode:27 November 2014| |0}} {{#explode:27 November 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:27 November 2014| |2}}]] (update | poll) |
Because organised commission staking FCs are acting as a front for real world traders, from now anyone being part of a commission staking friends chat (that is hosting, participating and advertising) will be considered as involved in real world trading. In effect, commission staking is now against the rules. |
| [[{{#explode:6 November 2014| |0}} {{#explode:6 November 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:6 November 2014| |2}}]] (update) |
You can no longer stake a stack of items if the total stack of spoils will be greater than 2147M due to inventory space limits. |
| [[{{#explode:9 October 2014| |0}} {{#explode:9 October 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:9 October 2014| |2}}]] (update) |
Fixed a typo when talking to duel arena nurses. |
| [[{{#explode:21 August 2014| |0}} {{#explode:21 August 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:21 August 2014| |2}}]] (update | poll) |
No movement duels are added in a dedicated arena. |
| [[{{#explode:26 June 2014| |0}} {{#explode:26 June 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:26 June 2014| |2}}]] (update | poll) |
Your duel partner's chat and any game messages relating to the stake setup, are now output to the trade tab while the challenge interfaces are open. If either player closes the first or second screens the chat stops appearing on the trade tab. |
| [[{{#explode:29 May 2014| |0}} {{#explode:29 May 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:29 May 2014| |2}}]] (update) |
|
| [[{{#explode:22 May 2014| |0}} {{#explode:22 May 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:22 May 2014| |2}}]] (update) |
In preparation for the F2P trial period, we've made the Duel Arena available on free-to-play worlds so that non-members can duel there. |
| [[{{#explode:27 March 2014| |0}} {{#explode:27 March 2014| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:27 March 2014| |2}}]] (update) |
Fadli the banker will now look after your stake winnings if your inventory becomes full during a duel. |
Trivia
- It was once possible to create a neverending duel, by setting Ranged on, arrows off and movement off made it so the game was fooled and players stood facing each other unable to attack.
- Using Retribution prayer to kill your opponent as you die will still give the win to your opponent.
- While players are in a duel with each other, players cannot lay box traps. Attempting to do so will state in the game chat to the player: I don't think your opponent will fall for that.
- Players cannot trade whilst dueling. Attempting to do so will state in the game chat to the player: You can't trade in a duel arena.
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