Arena matches are meant for high level(70) characters, they are short battles between two arena teams taking place in a.. ahem, arena. There are two different arena layouts, one in Nagrand and one in Blade’s edge.
Arenas only have one objective; Kill everyone in the other team.
Participating in a rated arena match requires an Arena Team, whereas practice matches can be done without one. (and below level 70)
Arena Teams
Participating in rated Arena matches requires you to be part of an arena team.
Arena teams are semi-permanent groups with their own name and members. They are almost like mini guilds, although you can certainly be part of a regular guild and one or more arena teams.
Forming an arena team is done by buying the appropriate charter from an arena promoter. You can get a charter for a 2v2, 3v3 or 5v5 bracket team. You can be a member of three teams in total, one for each bracket.
Arena teams can hold double the members their bracket size would allow, the extra’s can be used when core members of the team are offline.
Arena teams have one team captain, similar to a guild leader. He or she can invite or kick team members, for instance. Teams can create a custom flag, much like guilds have their tabards. The appropriate flag appears on you (magically) when you’re inside an arena.

Arena Points
Arena points are the currency with which you can purchase arena rewards, much like the way the honor points system works. The difference lies in how those points are obtained, as you need to win rated arena matches to gain them. Losing matches will net you nothing.
The amount of arena points you gain is dependant on both your teams” arena rating (see next sub chapter) and your personal contribution within the team. If you don’t participate in at least 30% of the matches your team plays, you won’t be getting any points.
Arena points do not decay, and you can have a maximum of 5000 points total. The points are calculated weekly, same day and time as the honor points.
Arena Rating
The system used to determine your teams rating is based on the ELO system, which is used in chess rankings. If that doesn’t mean anything to you (sure as hell didn’t mean anything to me), let me explain the basic idea;
Your teams' arena rating is measured in points. Points can be gained or lost by winning or losing matches. The higher the rating of the team you fight against, the more points you will gain on a win and the fewer you will lose on a loss.
The opposite holds true for fighting a team rated lower than yours. The lower the opposing teams rating, the fewer points you gain on a win and the more you lose on a lost match.
The system is set up in such a way that playing large amounts of arena matches will do a team no good. Your team will need to participate in 10 matches a week to be eligible for any points. Considering that the average match lasts no longer than a few minutes, that isn’t too bad a time investment.
How teams are matched up
Arenas are cross-realm, but the rating system is dealt with on a per-server basis. Teams are matched up based on two things:
●Rating - You will be matched up against a team near your own teams arena rating. Fighting people rated far below or above you would result in rather one sided matches anyway.

Before a fight starts
To limit the amount of gold and time spent preparing for a match, Arena’s have a number of special rules:
●When you enter the arena, you are placed in a small waiting area. All buffs you had prior to entering the arena are removed, as well as conjured items and pets. (this includes summoned food and drink, which can be annoying)
●While in the little prepping area, you can use buffs, summon pets and conjure items at no mana (or soul shard)cost.
●Abilities with cooldowns longer than 15 minutes cannot be used in the arena.
●When you enter the arena, any ability with a cooldown of 15 minutes or less is reset, so that you will be able to use it inside.
Arena Rewards
There are two types of reward for participating in Arena’s.
●Rewards that can be bought with arena points, which are relatively easy to get. Anyone that can manage to become part of a team will, in time, be able to get their hands on those rewards.
●Rewards for the five top ranking teams at the end of an arena season. Those rewards are accessible to none other than the best arena teams, and are quite nice indeed. The most widely known reward is the Armor plated Netherdrake for every member of a team. There may be other, undisclosed rewards.
Most teams will never reach so high a rating and settle for the first option; the items you can buy with points. Here are some examples of those;
●Gladiator’s Chain Armor: Hunter set chest armor; 812 armor, 32 agility, 48 stamina and 15 intellect. Two red sockets, one yellow socket. Equip: +16 Critical strike rating, +20 Attack Power, +16 Resilience rating.

●Gladiator’s Lamellar Helm: Paladin set helmet; 1129 armor, 51 stamina and 18 intellect. One red socket, one meta socket. Equip: +18 Critical strike rating, +28 Resilience rating, +21 spell damage/healing.
●Gladiator’s Painsaw: Polearm; 201-303 damage (114.5 dps), +48 stamina. Equip: +32 Critical strike rating, +64 Attack power, +33 Resilience rating.
●Gladiator’s War Staff: Staff; 134-272 damage(67.9 dps), +48 stamina and 32 intellect. Equip: +21 spell hit rating, +33 spell crit rating, +187 spell damage/healing and +22 resilience rating.