From the developers of Ragnarok Mobile: Eternal Love, Girls Frontline and Sausage Man comes an all-new 3v3 mobile hero shooter set to get your adrenaline rushing and blood pumping as you shoot your way to victory! Reminiscent of popular titles of the same genre such as Valorant and Overwatch, T3 Arena is a mostly team-focused game best played with two other friends that you can dive into anytime and anywhere.
XD Entertainment makes it a point to differentiate T3 Arena from most other shooter games by introducing unique gameplay mechanics while still maintaining what makes classic shooters engaging.
Ready to pick up your guns and go trigger happy with this new obsession but not quite sure where to start? Want some pointers on how to up your game? Look no further for we have made a T3 Arena beginner’s guide dedicated just for you!
1. Practice with New Heroes before Starting a Match or Buying
Getting a new hero is exciting and it is understandable that you’d want to use them as soon as you get them. However, in order to not get caught off guard and get confused using your new heroes, we recommend that you practice using them by yourself first before attempting to jump headfirst into an arena with other players. You can also try out Heroes you don’t have yet so you can figure out if they fit your playstyle. This way, it makes it easier to decide if you should buy them when they’re available in the store.
To practice, select a hero in the Hero Menu and click Try to go to an AI-run stage. You can also access this in Stage Selection under Practice Field where you can practice solo or in a party. There you can familiarize yourself with their skills and figure out how much damage your hero can deal, how long their attack range is and what strategies will be effective for them.
2. Choose Your Hero before You Play
Many mobile games usually have a loadout or screen that will let you choose your characters before you play. In T3, you have to select your character in the Heroes menu before you press play in order to change it. Make sure you have the hero you want to use shown in the main menu before you jump into the arena. You don’t want to get into the game with the wrong hero after all!
If you find that it takes too long for you to get matched up to a game, consider changing your selected Hero since it is possible that many people are currently using them. Match ups never pair you with the same hero in a team and if you play in the Free-For-All game mode, you will never fight against players with the same hero.
3. Pay Attention and Don’t Get Reckless!
In shooter games like T3, everyone is out for blood. You can’t just run around and expect to survive without proper precautions. You have to be alert and stay active at all times.
Protect yourself
Don’t rush into open areas as much as possible and stick to walls and obstacles. This will make it harder for enemies to shoot you since you can always retreat behind these, especially when you need to reload.
Sticking your back to a wall will also ensure that you won’t be attacked from behind.
You also have to remember that your enemies can always attack you from higher ground so be alert when running around non-roofed areas. Look up every now and again to see if there are enemies lurking around and be careful when turning corners. You’ll never know if someone is just waiting to ambush you!
Listen for footsteps and gunshots
This game is ideally played with sounds on in order for you to listen to footsteps and gunshots. Since you can find allies by their silhouettes, you’ll know if an enemy is coming based on their footsteps if they don’t have a silhouette. Gunshots are only fired when an enemy is nearby or targeted so you’ll know right away if your allies are currently in a clash. If you’re having a hard time hearing these sound effects, consider lowering or completely removing the game’s music through the settings.
Look out for Pink and Red signals
The Pink Curves with an Arrow indicate where an enemy is when they’re nearby or attacking you. Pink Crosshairs only appear when one of your enemies is Mark. He has a passive ability that lets him target his enemy’s location, and when the Pink Crosshair appears, it means you are his current target.
You should also pay attention to the color of items or bombs left in the area. If it is Blue, they are safe to cross since they belong to a team member and won’t go off other team members. If it is Pink or Red, they belong to the enemy team and would be dangerous to approach.
4. Keep Moving!
In a shooter game like T3 Arena, staying still for an extended period of time will eventually get you killed. Whether it be because you are hiding to reload, resting to regenerate HP or at an ideal position for sniping, it’s a good idea to move every now and then so you won’t be a sitting duck, making it easy for enemies to target you. That said, going AFK during a match is an absolute no-no and will not only get you killed, it will kick you out of the game.
When you’re getting attacked, keep moving back and forth or in an arc around your enemy so you can dodge them. Jumping across doorways and obstacles is also a good way to throw off the enemy’s aim. You should also avoid getting too close to enemies with high HP, especially if you yourself is low on health. Attacking them while moving backwards and keeping your back close to walls is a good way to deal with them while protecting yourself from getting attacked from behind.
5. Watch Where You Aim!
Where you aim when you shoot is very important in this game. Unlike some shooters where it is very straightforward and all you need to do is aim at the enemy, there are some situations that also call for different approaches when aiming. Below are several strategies we have learned:
Aim for the head
Aiming for your enemy’s head deals bonus damage (up to twice the normal damage dealt). You can tell if you hit their head when the damage counter turns red. The sound effect associated with it is also a lot louder and crunchier than when you shoot them in other parts of the body.
Aim based on your Hero’s gun behavior
All Heroes have their own unique guns and weapons and each of them behave differently. Because of this, you may have to use them in unconventional ways. Below are a few examples:
• Aim low for guns with recoil
Certain heroes like Gloria have recoil when they shoot with her Assault Rifle which forces her gun upward. In cases like these, it’s better to aim low. Aim for their chest and it will automatically land on their head.
• Aim on walls for bouncy bomb guns
Certain heroes like Cristina do not always aim directly at enemies for their guns to fire. Cristina’s gun shoots out bombs that bounce off the floor and walls. For these types of weapons, it’s better to aim on the floor directly below your target, on the walls next to them or high up.
• Aim close to the enemy
Certain heroes like Jabali cannot achieve headshot bonuses but their gun deals more damage at close-range. Their gun also damages their enemies in a cone-shaped area, potentially damaging more than one enemy at a time. For guns like these, where you aim doesn’t matter too much as long as it is within the bounds of the crosshair.
Aim at doorways
These are the best places to aim at when you’re camping and just waiting for your enemies to appear. Enemies will inevitably pass through here. You’d want to be positioned behind an obstacle while you shoot in order to avoid retaliation.
Aim at edges of walls, doorways and other obstacles
When hiding behind walls, doorways or other obstacles, it’s important to be far enough from the opening so the enemies don’t hit you but be close enough to it so you can shoot. Aim the closest you can at the edge. Adjust your position gradually until you can hit the enemy. This strategy works best with long ranged Heroes.
Keep your aim steady
Make sure to keep your aim steady as much as possible. Don’t always swing your gun around to aim hoping that it hits someone. Sometimes it might be better to let them walk into your crosshairs, or you walk them into your crosshairs.
Keep your aim down if you don’t want to shoot
Unlike most shooters, this game will make your hero automatically shoot once you point your crosshair to an enemy. Some heroes like Cristina would shoot even if her crosshair isn’t directly pointing at the enemy and is just close by since her shots bounce.
This makes it a bit difficult to use her for sneaking up on enemies. As a general rule for all heroes, moving around while pointing at the ground is the best way to make sure your gun doesn’t go off when you don’t want it to.
6. Positioning Is Everything
Where you position yourself is just as important as where you aim. There are different factors that affect the best spots for your Hero to position themselves based on various circumstances. Below are some of these factors and circumstances based on a Hero’s gun range:
Short-ranged Heroes
If your Hero has a short-ranged weapon like Jabali or Gloria, you need to be close enough to the enemy for it to trigger. In order to do that safely, you have to sneak up on them and catch them off guard. You can hide behind obstacles and corners and wait for your enemies to pass by before shooting.
This could also work really well when spawn-camping by hiding by the doorway and positioning your aim just away from the door. That way when they pass by, your gun will immediately trigger. You can also get to higher ground so you can spot them better and jump down behind them to get an initiative. Alternatively, you can hide in lower ground areas that aren’t too far down and attack them from below.
Long-ranged Heroes
If your Hero has a long-ranged weapon like Iris and Skadi, you need to find vantage points or higher platforms in order to shoot from afar and catch the enemy by surprise. However, make sure that you have something to hide behind since your enemies can easily retaliate if they also have long range.
The advantage of long-ranged Heroes is that they have more time to reposition their aim unlike short-ranged Heroes who need to quickly move around since they are too close to the enemy and could get shot back immediately.
However, if you are sniping enemies make sure to pay attention to your surroundings because you might not realize that someone is sneaking up on you from behind when you are so focused on your target.
7. Reload Cautiously
Reload after every encounter. Your heroes have unlimited ammo but a limited amount of shots before it reloads. You’ll want to be able to shoot when you need to and not get caught up with your reloads which take a few seconds. Having to reload in the middle of a fight, which happens right after running out of ammo, is dangerous as it gives your enemy a chance to kill you before you kill them.
You can manually reload by clicking on the bullet icon next to the number of ammo you have. It’s always a good idea to take cover when reloading but you can also reload while you walk from place to place to save time. However, the latter is a lot riskier so always take caution and observe your surroundings before attempting to do this.
8. Heal Up after a Fight
As much as possible after every fight, look for health packs to recover your health. There’s always one by your team’s spawn point in Crystal Assault and Team Deathmatch. However, not all maps in Free-For-All have nearby health packs.
You can also approach your healers after battle if you have any on your team. However, if there are no healers or health packs available, hide in a safe spot for a few seconds instead. You will regenerate a fourth of your health back after resting.
9. Study the Maps
Taking the time to learn map layouts will greatly help you win against your enemies, especially since the game doesn’t display any mini-maps during battle. You can only see the map used momentarily in the loading screen before the game starts.
The only other way to view these maps is by clicking on the Blue Exclamation Point Icon on the upper right corner of the button that lets you change the game modes. The maps will show you the location of Respawn Points, Mini Health Packs, Mega Health Packs, Base Health Packs and the Base Crystals (found in Crystal Assault only). It will also show you which maps have multiple floors.
Learning where the health packs are will help keep you alive and let you stay in the game longer. Knowing the locations of good vantage points will help you kill them from far away without being able to retaliate. Recognizing the map’s pathways will also help you sneak up on unsuspecting enemies.
10. Use Your Ultimate Skill at the Ultimate Time
Your third and ultimate skill takes a long time to cooldown and you can’t use it straight away when the game starts either. Because of this, it is important to only use them when you really need to. Never use them in a panic as you might miss your target or end up wasting it.
You might be tempted to use your ulti right before you die to get revenge on your attackers. However, if your ulti drops an item like Gloria’s Quicksand Bomb and Cristina’s Cluster Grenade, these items disappear as soon as you die.
11. Cooperate with Your Teammates
Many game modes in T3 are played in a group setting. Cooperation and understanding among your teammates is paramount to achieving victory. Attempting to work on your own or simply doing whatever you want can lead to a team imbalance.
Communicate with your group
T3 Arena does not have any way to communicate with others through text, only voice calls. However, this may not always be ideal for all players, especially if they are only playing with random match-ups. Some people may be playing in a location that would make it hard for them to be heard or they may simply not be comfortable talking to strangers. In these circumstances, you can rely on Quick Chats instead.
Quick Chats are short messages you can send to your teammates in order to relay information during battle or send nice comments. You can access this in-game by clicking on the Speech Bubble Icon and choosing the message you want to send. You can go to your settings, select Quick Chat and freely customize these based on your preferences. You can choose practical responses like “Fall back!” or “I’m doing a flanking attack” or friendly comments like “Nice!” or “Thanks!” to boost team morale.
Look out for your teammates
You’ll easily be able to find your teammates even when they are behind obstacles because their silhouettes are highlighted. Their silhouettes are Blue when they are at full health, Yellow when they have taken damage and Orange when they are near death. If you see a Red Circle Cross Icon on them (which always appears when they’re Orange), they are greatly in need of healing.
But if you see a Green Diamond Cross Icon on them, it means they are currently healing. If you are playing as a healer or support hero, you have to constantly monitor these silhouettes and stay close to them when they need your heals. Even if you’re not, it’s still a good idea to check them every now and again so you can help them when they’re in a pinch and prevent them from dying.
Fill in empty roles
Even when communication among teammates is low, one of the most important things to do in group settings is to voluntarily fill in empty roles. For game modes like Crystal Assault, you need to have someone guarding your own team’s Crystal and someone attacking the enemy’s Crystal. If you already see 2 of your teammates shooting the Crystal, take the initiative to go to your own team’s Crystal to protect it from enemies who may take advantage of the opportunity.
12. Change Your Strategy Based on Game Modes
Team Deathmatch
This game mode lasts 5 minutes and splits the players into two teams of three. The game ends and the winning team is announced once one of the teams gets 20 kills before the timer ends. Alternatively, if the timer ends before any team gets 20 kills, the team with the most kills will be declared the winner.
A good strategy to use in Team Deathmatches is to move together as a group but not stick too close together. This is to avoid getting caught up in other players’ ultimate skills that affect a large area. You could also choose to have two members move together while one member tries to get to higher ground in order to snipe the enemies while the other two distract them.
It is generally a good idea to talk about which Heroes you will be using if you are playing with friends. This way, you can balance out your team’s dynamic. One could be focused on sniping, another could be focused on AoE attacks and so on. Out of all hero types, having a healer would greatly increase your team’s survivability so make sure to have at least one if you are having difficulty staying alive.
Crystal Assault
Always pay attention to your Crystal’s health. You could be running around attacking your enemies when your Crystal is already halfway destroyed. Do not focus on killing enemies. There is no player kill and death counter in this mode and the number of player deaths do not impact the overall score of your team. It all focuses on how much damage you inflict on the enemy team’s Crystal and how much faster you bring it down to zero.
This game mode lasts 5 minutes and splits the players into two teams of three. The longer the game takes, the higher the damage players can inflict on the Crystals. At 3 minutes left on the timer, the damage you inflict on the Crystal multiplies by 2, at 2 minutes, it multiplies by 3 and at 1 minute, it multiplies by 4.
The game ends and the winning team is announced once one of the Crystals is destroyed before the timer ends. Alternatively, if the timer ends before a Crystal is destroyed, the winner is determined based on how much health each team’s Crystal has. The one with the higher health wins.
In general, it is recommended to have at least one teammate approach the enemy Crystal while another member defends your own Crystal against attackers. The third teammate would be the roamer, moving around the map and killing enemies. The roamer could also act as your backup. They could run to the enemy Crystal to deal more damage to it or defend a teammate who is attacking the enemy crystal.
Alternatively, they could also run to your team’s crystal to provide extra protection and kill enemies who try to attack it.
Free-for-all
Unlike the first two game modes, Free-For-All leaves you to fend for yourself. Five other players will constantly be trying to target you and themselves. This game mode lasts for 7 minutes and bases your reward on your overall rank by the end of the game. The objective is to be the first to get 15 kills or have the highest number of kills before the timer ends.
Keep your back to the wall to avoid surprise attacks from behind and hide in between reloads. Always be cautious when moving to higher ground. While it gives you an eagle eye view and lets you find enemies quickly, it also puts you in the spotlight, making you an easy target for long ranged Heroes who might spot you. It’s also not a good idea to camp in one spot for too long since it is highly likely that one of your enemies will notice when you’re attacking someone else and may sneak up on you when you’re occupied.
When against high HP enemies, do not rush in. Let them chase you and walk backwards while you attack from afar. As for low HP enemies, approach with caution. You’ll never know who could be lurking around. They might be followed by a stronger enemy. On the other hand, you could also follow the noise of gunshots and let your enemies fight each other before landing the finishing blow, effectively stealing a kill. However, doing so will most likely put a target on your back.
If you find yourself dying too often, start targeting the Heroes who are low on the ranking list. They are most likely dying as often as you are and would pose less of a threat to your survival than the ones higher up the list. That said, avoid engaging with these higher-ranked Heroes to prevent them from killing you and getting more points.
13. Check for Freebies and Rewards
7 Days Check-in Event
When you first start the game, it will give you a chance to get some freebies, a special hero and its skin for 7 days. Unlike some mobile games with daily freebies, you have to click on the reward in order to claim it, otherwise it will just be left unclaimed. You have to claim this within 14 days before it expires. You can see your progress anytime by checking Events and clicking 7 Days Check-in.
Daily Offers
Daily Offers refreshes every 24 hours and can be found in the Store. The first item in that store is always free and varies from Power Cores to T-Coins and so on.
Achievements
Accomplishing achievements will grant you Achievement Points. Earning a certain amount of points rewards you with Player Cards, Holo-Posters and KO Fizz. You can access this by looking up your player info by clicking on your profile picture at the upper left side of the main screen. This is only accessed after a certain level.
Hall of Fame
Collecting a certain number of Trophies will earn you rewards in the Hall of Fame. Rewards vary from earning Rumble Boxes, Power Cores, T-Coins or Point Doublers and unlocking Heroes, game modes, or features. You can access this by clicking on your progress bar in the upper left side of the main menu screen.
Season Pass Rewards
Earning Battle Points by playing matches and completing tasks will level up your Season Pass and unlock rewards. Purchasing a Premium Pass with Gems will increase the rewards you can earn. One season lasts for around 3 months and you can level up your pass up to 70 times with varying rewards such as Rumble Boxes, T-Coins, Power Cores, T-Gems, Player Cards and Skins. You can access this by clicking on the icon at the lower left side of the main screen.
Tasks
Tasks can be found in the same window as Season Pass Rewards. These tasks are divided into Daily Tasks, Special Tasks and Seasonal Tasks. All of them usually consist of different tasks varying from Hero-specific tasks, skill-based tasks, or tasks that require you to play a game mode a certain number of times. Heroes and buttons that have the Clipboard Icon on them means there is currently a Task related to them.
Daily Tasks are a lot easier than Seasonal Tasks but give less Point Boosters than the latter. They also refresh every 24 hours while Seasonal Tasks last for several days. Some Seasonal Tasks can only be unlocked if you purchased the Premium Pass. Special Tasks on the other hand only appear occasionally and are a lot more challenging than both Daily and Seasonal Tasks but also give more points.
Inbox
Always check your inbox, especially after an update! The game devs will oftentimes send players a gift right after maintenance or a major update. You can access this by clicking on the 3 Horizontal Line Icon at the upper right side of your screen and checking Inbox.
Follow, Subscribe & Join their Social Media Accounts
Though it is not required, following their Facebook and Twitter, subscribing to their Youtube channel and joining their discord will reward you with gifts which is usually in the form of a Rumble Box. You can access this in Events and clicking Follow Social Accounts
And this marks the end of our beginner’s guide to T3 Arena! We hope that this aided you in your quest to conquer your enemies and master your heroes! If you would like to share your experience with the game or some tips and tricks that you’ve discovered while playing, feel free to write them down in the comment area!