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Note: This page is about the requirements for the physical arena structure and setting up the regions, warps, and points. If you're looking for arena settings or how to set up classes or waves, check out the Setting up the config-file or Setting up the waves pages.
Arenas are physical structures in the game world with an associated configuration of settings and data. This page explains how to build an arena construction that will work with MobArena (like arena boundaries and class signs in the lobby) and how to properly register the region, warps, and spawnpoints, so MobArena will recognize the arena and allow you to play in it.
Arena Construction
This section covers the requirements for the physical structure in the game world, including how to set up a lobby and a spectator area. It's possible to use pretty much any structure as an arena in MobArena, but the "standard" setup involves a lobby, an arena floor, and a spectator area. It's also possible to set an optional exit warp to use instead of the spectator area. All of this is covered in the following sections.
Lobby
When players join an arena, they will be teleported to the lobby where they will pick a class and ready up before the arena session can start.
A well-formed lobby is a separate structure from the arena floor itself (although it is possible to "embed" the lobby in the arena region). It should be "walled off" so players can't leave the lobby without typing /ma leave, and it should have the following:
- A class sign for each class. The signs must have the name of the class on the first line (case-sensitive), but you can put whatever you want on the remaining lines.
- An iron block for readying up. Any iron block will work, and you can place as many as you want.
Note: MobArena does not use registration of these signs and blocks, and you will not get a confirmation message for placing a valid sign. If you do get a message, it is likely from another plugin interfering.
Class signs are the original way to pick a class, but the /ma class command can also be used to pick a class, and you can use this command from command blocks and other plugins if you want to customize the class selection process. Note that omitting a sign for a class does not prevent a player from selecting that class (use Permissions to block access to classes). The same applies to the iron block and the /ma ready command.
Arena Floor
This is the primary structure and where all the action takes place.
The arena floor should be "walled off" so players and monsters can't leave the region (if they do, they will eventually get kicked/removed). This includes installing a roof of sorts (use barrier blocks for "open sky" arenas).
As a general rule of thumb, the smoothest arena designs are "colosseum"-style structures where the entire playing area is open and available from the start. Smaller structures are great for breaking up big floors and make for lots of fun play styles, but monsters tend to get stuck in maze-like structures with lots of walls and intricate paths.
Spectator Area
When players want to spectate a session, they can use the /ma spec command to get warped to the spectator area of an arena. This is also where arena players are warped to when they die, if spectate-after-death: true in the config-file.
The spectator area should be designed so that it is not possible for the spectators to wander out (into the arena or away from the area), because spectators are invincible.
If possible, try to design the arena in a way that allows the spectators to get close to the action to make it more entertaining to watch.
Regions, Warps, and Points
With an eligible arena structure in place, we're ready to set up the regions, warps, and points that MobArena needs to know about in order to drive an arena session.
Regions: An arena needs an arena region, and optionally a lobby region. MobArena uses the arena region to make sure that players aren't cheating (by kicking them from the arena if they move outside the region), and to make sure that only MobArena's own mobs are spawned inside of it. MobArena is extremely xenophobic, so it tries its best to keep unwanted mobs out of the regions. If the regions of two arenas overlap, this can cause undefined behavior, so make sure they don't overlap! Regions are set using the Region tools.
Warps: When players join a MobArena session, they are teleported to the lobby warp inside the lobby. When everyone is ready, the players are teleported to the arena warp inside of the arena. Spectators will be teleported to the spectator warp in the spectator area, and when players leave an arena, they will either be teleported to where they joined from, or to the optional exit warp, if it has been set up. Warps are set using the Warps tool.
Spawnpoints: The spawnpoints of an arena are the locations where monsters can spawn from. MobArena will only spawn monsters from spawnpoints that have players nearby (in a 15-block radius). Note that the number of mobs spawned doesn't depend on how many spawnpoints an arena has - the number of mobs is determined by a formula (see Formulas). Spawnpoints are added and removed using the Spawnpoints tool.
Containers: The containers of an arena are locations of chests, dispensers, etc. which contain items that will be renewed when the arena ends. Only registered containers will have their contents renewed, so it is not enough to simply put a chest in the arena - it also needs to be registered using the Chests tool.
Setup Mode
We will set up the arena using Setup Mode. When we enter Setup Mode, MobArena will temporarily store our inventory and give us a set of golden tools (the Toolbox), each with a different function. We will also be able to fly, making moving around the arena a lot easier. Last, but not least, we will not be able to chat or type normal commands while in Setup Mode, because Setup Mode starts an isolated conversation with us.
To enter Setup Mode: Type /ma setup <arena>, where <arena> is the name of an arena. Note that if you only have one arena, you don't have to type the arena name. If the arena you want to set up has not yet been created, first type /ma addarena <arena> to create it.
To leave Setup Mode: Type done.
Note that if you have just installed MobArena, there will be a premade arena-node called default in the config-file already. If you want a different name, create a new arena first with /ma addarena <name>, and then remove the default arena by typing /ma delarena default.
In the next section, we will take a look at the different commands available in Setup Mode...
Setup Mode Commands
Setup Mode is an isolated conversation, which means Setup Mode will intercept everything we type. The reason for this is that it makes the commands in Setup Mode shorter (e.g. exp instead of /ma expandregion), and it also prevents us from accidentally typing commands from other plugins.
Below is a list of all the commands we can use in Setup Mode. Many of the commands have short-hand aliases which might make them even faster to type out. As an example, the expand command has the alias exp. Sometimes it's easier to remember the longer names, but the short-hand aliases are provided for faster setup.
-
done
Leave Setup Mode.
Aliases:endstopdonequit -
help
Display help screen.
Aliases:?h -
missing
Display a list of missing (mandatory) regions, warps, and points.
This command is useful if you have forgotten how far you are in the setup process, and what you still need to set up.
Aliases:miss -
expand <region> <amount> <direction>
Expand a region by some amount in some direction.
Valid regions:arfor the arena region, orlrfor the lobby region
Valid amounts: positive integers (whole numbers)
Valid directions:up,down, orout
Example:expand ar 5 up
Aliases:exp -
show [<region>|<warp>|<point>]
Show a region, warp, or point(s) as red wool blocks.
Valid regions:arfor the arena region, orlrfor the lobby region
Valid warps:arena,lobby,spec,exit
Valid points:spawns(or justsp) for spawnpoints,chests(or justc) for chests
Example:show sp
The Toolbox
The Toolbox is a set of golden tools, where each tool has a specific function. We will use these tools to set up the regions, warps, and points of our arena. The tools are used by left- or right-clicking a block while holding them, and the actions vary depending on the specific tool.
Note that the functions of a tool are described in the item tooltip, which we can see by opening up our inventory and hovering our mouse over the tools.
Regions 
The arena and lobby regions can be set up using the Region tools (axe). There are two golden axes in the Toolbox, and they both behave the same, except that one is for the arena region, and the other is for the lobby region. The tools are named accordingly, and they will display either "Arena Region" or "Lobby Region" above the quickbar when we select them.
Note that the behavior of the Region tools is similar to that of the WorldEdit wand (wooden axe), so if you are familiar with defining regions in WorldEdit, the Region tools should feel familiar.
Left-click: Set the first point to be the location of the target block
Right-click: Set the second point to be the location of the target block
Upon setting both points, the region will be defined. Type show ar (or show lr) to check that the region spans the desired area. If the region is a little bit too small, use the expand command (see above) to make it a little bigger.
Note: The region MUST look like a box (3D) and not a rectangle (2D). If the region is just a rectangle, your arena will not work correctly. The same applies if the arena floor is not fully contained in the box, so make sure to expand the region down a block or two to be sure.
Warps 
The arena, lobby, spectator, and exit warps can be set up using the Warps tool (hoe). The tool knows about all the warps, and we have to cycle through them to select the warp we want to place. The default selected warp is the arena warp.
Left-click: Set the currently selected warp on top of the target block
Right-click: Cycle between available warps
When left-clicking, the selected warp will be set to the top of the clicked block. The pitch (up and down) will be set to 0, which means when players are teleported, they will be looking "straight ahead". The yaw (rotation, left/right) will be set to whatever direction we are facing, when we set the warp. This means that we need to rotate ourselves to be looking in the direction we want the players to look in when they are teleported to the point.
Note: The arena, lobby, and spectator warps are all required. The exit warp is optional.
Spawnpoints 
The spawnpoints can be set up using the Spawnpoints tool (sword). The tool knows about all the spawnpoints of the arena, and allows us to remove existing ones or add new ones as we please.
Left-click: Add a spawnpoint on top of the target block
Right-click: Remove the spawnpoint on top of the target block (if the spawnpoint exists)
When left-clicking, a spawnpoint will be added on top of the clicked block, if one doesn't already exist. Right-clicking a block will remove a spawnpoint on that block, if one exists.
Note: Due to limitations and "bugs" in Minecraft, it is not possible (read: viable) to spawn mobs further than 15 blocks away from a player, and still make it target and attack the player naturally. Therefore, it is recommended to place many spawnpoints, so that every single location in the arena is within a 15-block radius of a spawnpoint. If a player is not within 15 blocks of any spawnpoint, MobArena will print a warning to the console with the coordinates. If no players are within 15 blocks of any spawnpoint, MobArena will default to using all spawnpoints, which may result in mobs spawning far away from players, so they will have to run around searching for them.
Chests 
The chests and containers can be set up using the Chests tool (spade). It works very much like the Spawnpoints tool, but requires that the clicked block is a valid container.
Left-click: Register the clicked container (if it wasn't registered)
Right-click: Unregister the clicked container (if it was registered)
When left-clicking a container, MobArena will register the container (if it wasn't registered already), such that when an arena session ends, the container will be restored to contain whatever was in it when the arena began. Right-clicking a container will unregister it.