Combat

Once an arena is created, walk up to its entrance: an "Enter the arena" prompt appears. Enter to open the arena menu and pick a combat mode.

Only one person can use an arena's menu at a time, and only one fight can take place per zone.

Player vs NPC

1. Arena menu → Fight an opponent.
2. Choose an opponent from the roster (difficulty weak → legend).
3. The fight starts. On a win, you receive a reward (multiplier based on difficulty, see Configuration).

Fleeing the arena = defeat. Trying to disrupt an ongoing fight = expelled by the spectators.

NPC vs NPC

1. Arena menu → Make two opponents fight.
2. Assign a fighter to the red corner and one to the blue corner (two different NPCs).
3. Start the fight. Ideal for opening bets.

Royal Rumble

Free-for-all, last one standing wins.

• NPC version: menu → Royal Rumble, then choose the number of opponents.
• Mixed version: menu → Royal Rumble (mixed). You set a number of stable fighters to add and invite nearby players. Each player receives an invitation to accept within the time limit; the fight starts with those who accepted (minimum 2 fighters).

Keep in mind: Royal Rumble is a demanding mode. Each NPC runs a full combat AI (target picking, pathfinding, animations) and complexity scales fast with the count. In practice:

• ≤ 6 NPCs: very smooth, the safe pick for a casual rumble.
• 7 to 10 NPCs: still great. This is the sweet spot for a packed brawl.
• Above 10 NPCs: you're pushing it. Expect occasional visual hiccups (peds pausing for a second, walking out of the ring, brief T-poses). Avoid this range on a busy public server.

On an YMAP arena without navmesh (the "YMAP" checkbox in the builder), NPCs cannot pathfind normally — keep the count lower (4 to 8) or expect them to cluster around the centre.

Duel (PvP)

1. Arena menu → Duel fight.
2. Choose the RED fighter then the BLUE fighter from nearby players.
3. An invitation is sent to each player. When both accept, bets open and the fight starts.
4. The fight ends on K.O. Leaving the arena triggers a forfeit countdown.

Anti-grapple: during a duel, lasso/grapple techniques are automatically neutralised for both fighters — a duel is won with fists, not a rope.

YMAP arenas (no navmesh)

⚠️ Important. Red Dead Redemption 2 does not natively handle zones with no navmesh (the navigation mesh the game uses to move NPCs around). An arena placed in an off-map / below-map YMAP typically has none: without adaptation, NPCs there just stand still — they can neither approach nor reposition — and only the ones already in contact actually fight.

Ticking an arena's "YMAP (no navmesh)" checkbox (see builder) changes the NPCs' combat behaviour on that arena: forced straight-line approach, more aggressive combat tuning, melee engagement held at close range. That is what lets them fight where the engine otherwise wouldn't.

• This adapted behaviour is specific to YMAP-ticked arenas. Standard MLO arenas (with navmesh) are untouched and keep the original AI.
• Even tuned, off-navmesh combat stays a bit less natural than with navmesh (stiffer movement, rare micro-disengagements). This is a Red Dead engine limitation, not a script bug.
• For the cleanest result, prefer MLO arenas with navmesh; reserve the YMAP checkbox for genuinely off-map arenas.

Spectator mode

Near an arena where a fight is happening, a "Watch the fight" prompt appears. Enter spectator mode, move the mouse to look around, and exit whenever you want. The spectator camera is the one placed in the builder.

For a PvP duel, the spectator can follow both fighters: the camera stays centred on the ring and provides a dedicated view of the fight (not the arena's ambient camera).

Next step

• Betting — bring fights to life with the bookmaker.