How to use arena mode in Dwarf Fortress

Dwarf Fortress is all about figuring out how to avoid failure and solve problems in the madness that is survival. In the arena mode, however, you finally get to sit back and relax and watch bloody warfare. Set up your own battles and watch them wreck havoc in brutal fashion. Here is how to open and use arena mode in Dwarf Fortress.

How to use arena mode in Dwarf Fortress

The arena mode in Dwarf Fortress is an absolute blast, but it isn’t most obvious thing to get to and interact with. You can get to the arena mode through the main menu, no world creation needed. There will be another option in the main menu, called ‘Object Testing Arena’. Click on it. You can now decide which of the three arenas you want to play with. They each look different and have their different appeals.

Once you’ve chosen your arena, you will load into it and can start messing around. On your right will be the level of brutality you want your creatures to exercise, from fun horseplay to no-quarter, where they will fight to the death. Once you’ve set that to your liking, you will need to add some creatures.

Related: Is Dwarf Fortress Multiplayer?

Press ‘K’, or click on the creature button on the bottom, to open the creature menu. You can scroll through the huge list of creatures in the game and pick the one you want to see battle. In the top right, you decide whether it is independant, or part of a team.

Once you’ve picked your creature, you can decide what equipment, skills, and conditions that creature has. You can navigate the four menus and pick what you wish. Once you have the creature to your liking, you can click ‘create’ on the top right and click to spawn it in. You can spawn as many of this creature as you want, or you can go back into the creature menu to modify it or create the next creature.

During the spawning phases, it would be recommended to pause the game to give you time to spawn in the different creatures you wish. When you’re ready, you can unpause and watch them battle.

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