Arena

The Arena is a minor location found in Rostok in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Lost Alpha standalone mod.

“

Welcome to ARENA headquarters! I don't remember you being here before. I guess you will be interested to know that this building is not always closed to visitors, only for newcomers. If you want to know more details, just talk to me, i will give you all the necessary information that will clear your head of the rumors.
- Arnie

”

Overview[]

The Arena has a different location and gameplay style when compared to the released version in the Base Game.
The notional street entrance is just off the Rostok-Garbage road, past a make-shift checkpoint behind a wrecked UAZ Jeep where the Duty Guide might stand.
Entrance is normally prohibited unless the player has a VIP card.
If the player Joins duty then talking to the 'Arena Guard' will result in dialogue leading to free access to the shortened route to the Bar. Non 'dutyers' may need to pay a 5000 bribe (v1.4007) (This was severely bugged to v1.3003+)
The Arena is managed by Arnie who may be found standing in what was Petrenko's office in the Base Game.
The Arena itself is now situated in the now restricted shed that houses the "Get-out-of-here" Dutyer in the Base Game.
Various containers and cases provide cover within the Arena.
The gantry that this character later patrols will now be populated by cheering spectators during a fight.
The little cage affair in the one corner (where a stash may be found on the box structure) is now the release point for captured Mutants.
Unlike the Base Game - the player will now fight these mutants. No immediate human opposition is presented.
As the player enters, their inventory is almost entirely transferred to the local stashbox for later retrieval. The player does retain their armour during the bout.

Difficulty levels[]

In a further change, the player bets on him / herself, upfront before the contest.
They are then given the opportunity to specify a time-limit for the proceedings which rewards the player proportionately for successful combat.
Shorter time-limits also increase the resilience of the opposition, and decrease the player's resistance to attack.

Spoils of combat[]

No body parts seem to be recovered from the opponents.
After leaving by the Arena exit nearer the 100 Rads Bar, but still separated from it by the chain-link fence, it will be necessary to revisit Arnie for the payoff.
After successfully completing round 1, the player will have gained a pair of knives and a PMm with as much of the gifted 40 9x18 mm rounds rounds as they may have conserved.
Any or all of this may be traded back to Arnie, depending upon funds available.
He pays top whack for a Knife.

Bouts[]

Round 1[]

Entry cost 1000 Ru.
Weaponry: 2 knives!, a PMm and 40x 9x18 mm rounds.
The player competes against a pair of Blind Dogs.

Round 2[]

Entry cost 1500 Ru
Weaponry: a Knife, a Fort-12Mk2/Fora-12 and 40x 9x18mm +P+ rounds.
One Grey Pseudodog runs down the shed, takes up station near the competitors' entrance and is more or less susceptible to being stalked.

Round 3[]

Entry cost 2000 Ru
Weaponry: a Knife, a Viper 5 and 50x 9x19mm PB1s.
A single Snork approaches from the cage to jump at the player.

Subsequent rounds do not release the opponents from the 'cage', but from the double-doored sideroom opposite.

Round 4[]

Entry cost 3000 Ru
Weaponry: a Knife, a Sawn-off Double-barrel Shotgun and 20x 12x70 Buckshot cartridges.
One Bloodsucker enters, slightly frisky but stupid enough to run on the spot in front of the player.

Round 5[]

Entry cost 5000 Ru
Weaponry: a Knife, an Akm 74/2 and 60x 5.45x39mm BP. The rifle is preloaded with 5.45x39 mm rounds.
A Burer waddles around, possibly right into the player, but seems more interested in the spectators on the gantry. Should any succumb to the Burer's range attack, they may be routinely looted.

Round 6[]

Entry cost 5000 Ru
Weaponry: a Knife, a TRs 301 and 60 5.56x45mm SS109. No scope.
A "Savage" appears in the shed adjacent to the original cage used for the early rounds. This turns out to be an expert merc in an Exoskeleton wielding a SPSA14 loaded with buckshot. There are plenty of containers for cover.
Completion of this bout earns the player a VIP card in addition to the payout.

Trivia[]

The player only needs to wait around eight hours between bouts. Not "days".
After round six Arnie may go into 'combat-defend mode', especially if the "Beast" cracked off any shots in his direction and wander away from his normal stamping ground. He may even yomp all the way around Rostok to the Arena entrance and back.
The VIP card does not function as advertised. The Arena entrance remains locked to the player.
Talking to the guard at the entrance (when in possession of a VIP card) causes a game CTD with a "no dialogue available" error (v1.3003)
A potential fix for this error is detailed here.
You can now use the Arena entrance after you aquired VIP card for beating the Beast. Talk to the Ukurok(the Arena entrance guard) and he will unlock the door for you (v1.4005).
Possibly due to a coding bug, some of the free knives appear in the player's inventory as being massless instead of the more usual 0.05kg. Should these be equipped by the player they initially show as being 0.0kg, but later revert to the standard mass after a reload. Similar behaviour is seen with stashed copies.
Bug: After paying the initial entry cost for a round in the Arena: if you exit the chat before placing a bet and choosing your time limit for the fight, then speak with Arnie again and choose the dialog option to pay the entry fee for the same battle, you will actually be charged again, and the money will be deducted from your funds.