Gundam UCE's Arena is not only a competitive PvP mode, but it's also one of the game's top sources of Diamonds and other resources. Read our guide to find out how to get started in the Arena, what to do when you lose, and how ot form your own formidable teams.

Arena Beginner's Guide

Arena Beginner's Guide Overview

The Arena is Gundam UCE's premier PvP mode, and it's one of the most important gameplay modes not only because it allows you to compete with other players, but also because it's one of the best sources of Diamonds, Recycle Points, and Arena Medals (which can be used to buy Enhancement Chips, Gacha Tickets, and MS Blueprints).

But Arena is nothing like the Main Quest, Cooperative Battles, or even Phantom Ace. That's because most of the teams your units will fight have been crafted by players just as determined as you are to come out on top and get those rewards. You'll occasionally face NPCs as well, but mostly, you'll compete against teams created by other players.

That's why we compiled this guide, which will teach you what the Arena is all about and how to get started. We'll also tackle what to do if you keep losing at the Arena, as well as the best teams being used by players and how to beat them.

You'll see all the essential info you need to learn about the Arena in this guide. But if you want more in-depth information, we linked relevant articles under each section that offer a more comprehensive look into the concepts being talked about here.

Learn What the Arena is All About

First off, if you are new to Gundam UCE, Arena is seasonal endgame content, which partly means you should only start thinking of seriously rising through the ranks if you have a reasonably strong team that's attuned to the game's meta. But even if you are just starting, it's important to get ranked in Arena so you don't miss out on the mode's seasonal rewards however small they may be for you at the moment.

To unlock Arena Mode, you need to get yourself to Player Rank 40. It is accessed through the Quests button from the Home Screen. Once you've unlocked it, you'll have to do two things: Set an Offense team, and set a Defense team. You will set your Offense team when you pick an enemy to fight for the first time, while you set your Defense team by tapping the "Set Formation" button in the Arena Menu.

Once you've set both teams, you're good to go, right? No. The Arena, as we already said, is nothing like Gundam UCE's PvE modes. Simply using your PvE team in the Arena and hoping you'll win brings only short-term gains (if you are lucky). We will say it as early as now: Until you have a team with a total of 1 million CP, do not expect to win many matches at the Arena.

That may sound tough but don't lose heart. It's relatively easy to get a team up to 1 million CP. Also, even if you don't win at first in the Arena, it's highly recommended that you still fight. Even if you lose six times (six being the daily number of Arena matches you can participate in), it's so you get ranked in PvP and receive the end-of-season rewards.

Even if you are Rank 301 and below, that's still 450 free Diamonds, as well as 3,000 Arena Medals, and 1,500 Recycle Pts. So don't fret if you lose; you'll climb the ranks and get even more rewards over time. All you need is the right mobile suit team, knowledge of how to make them stronger, and some patience.

Arena Guide

Get Started With the Arena

When you unlock the Arena, we recommend grinding immediately, especially if you are an F2P player. Even if you keep losing, it's better to use up all your 6 daily attempts at the Arena, as even a defeat still gives you Arena Medals that you can use to buy strong mobile suits like the Banshee or Char's Zaku II.

Speaking of strong mobile suits for PvP, some of them that you can acquire from the start are the Yellow Sazabi, Zeta Gundam, the Gundam GP02A, and The-O. If you rerolled to get these units from the 72-Hour banner that's available when you first made your account, you should have at least one of these units to have an easier time in PvP.

Best Mobile Suit Tier List (PvP)

Now that you have good units, strengthen them with the eventual goal of getting your entire team to 1 million CP and beyond. To raise your units' CP, raise their level, Custom Level, Skill Rate Level, and Potential Unleashed Level.

Levels are raised by just participating in battles with the units, or with leveling materials like Enhancement Programs, while an MS's Custom Level is raised by Altering the MS with Alteration Materials. Skill Rate is raised just by using the MS more, and Potential Unleashed is raised when you get more copies of your MS.

You should also Transcend your mobile suits, though this is the most expensive part of strengthening your mobile suit. Transcendence (unlocking your mobile suit's "Transcendent Skill") costs Rainbow Haro Coins, which are tough to come by even if you have a lot of Diamonds.

Haro Coin Farm Guide

To get more of the materials you need to level up your MS, we recommend clearing as many stages in the Main Quest as possible. The Main Quest will give you many Enhancement Programs, Alteration Materials, and Diamonds and can be a big boost to your grind toward 1 million CP.

How to Get Started With the Arena?

Keep Pushing on Even if You Lose at the Arena

At this point, you have probably been losing at the Arena even though you've already raised your MS team's collective CP to 800,000 or so. That's understandable. You'll still often lose even when your team is at 1 million CP, but if you keep losing to teams of similar CPs, it's time to look into other reasons why. You have to win battles to rise through the ranks, after all.

One of the possible reasons you are losing at the Arena is not having the right units. Generally, the Yellow Sazabi, Zeta Gundam, the GP02A, The-O, and other top-tier units are strong, but even they will fall if they're facing off against their direct counters.

For example, the Zeta Gundam is a strong bruiser unit, but it also has the "Newtype Machine" unit category. At least two units, the Blue Destiny Unit-1 and Pale Rider (Space Type) have EX skills that let them deal with additional damage to units with that very unit category.

You will see what kind of Defense team your opponent has before the battle starts, so adjust your team accordingly.

Another common reason behind your losses at the arena could be your deployment formation. Unless you have the "Skip Deployment" option in the team select screen turned "On" (turn it off), you will be able to set what location of the map your units will start the battle from.

Don't use the "Auto-Deploy" option in battle either. The rule of thumb is to position your units in front of the enemy units they have a type or category advantage against. Also, put your units in their proper place on the map. Melee-oriented units and tanks should be in the front (top row), while mid-range skirmishers and Generic units units should be in the center (center row). Long range threats like Bombardment and Sniper units should be at the back.

Properly deploy your units, and they will start the battle not only with a type or category advantage but higher CP from placing them in the right deployment area.

Why Do I Keep Losing at the Arena?

When it comes to actually winning battles in the Arena, the most important things to remember are to choose the weakest enemy team and use the right modules.

The first suggestion is fairly self-explanatory. On the Arena screen, simply fight the enemy with the lowest CP. The lower the CP, the bigger your chance of actually winning the match. Just be mindful of whether or not their units can counter yours.

As for using the right modules, Modules are equippable items you can win by doing Cooperative Battles. They raise your mobile suit's key stats, especially HP. And with the current game meta being focused on mobile suits with devastating area-of-effect (AOE) attacks, having more HP is important to survive the attack and carry on the fight.

This is why we recommend getting modules that raise HP, specifically SR Augmentation Frame A. With two of these modules, your unit may survive any devastating AOE attacks by enemy units like the GP02A or even the Zeong.

How to Win at the Arena

Learn How to Counter the Most Common Arena Units

In Gundam UCE's Arena, the Zeta Gundam, the Gundam GP02A, and the Yellow Sazabi are some of the most powerful units you can face. But they, and other units can also be countered. If you face units like them while rising up the Arena's ranks, there are certain units that may help.

Gundam GP02A Counters
［M0041］ ZZ Gundam	［M0236］ Pale Rider (Space Type)	［M0313］ Dijeh (Luio and Co.)

For example, the Gundam GP02A can be beaten by the ZZ Gundam, a Bombardment unit that enjoys not only a category advantage against the GP02A, but is also a strong all-around unit in its own right.

Zeta Gundam Counters
［M0252］ Blue Destiny Unit-1	［M0214］ Zaku I with Big Gun (Thunderbolt)	［M0183］ Sisquiede Titans Color

Just as we mentioned earlier, the Zeta Gundam may be king of melee in the Arena, but it has a lot of competition in the form of the aforementioned Blue Destiny Unit-1, the Zaku I with Big Gun, and the Sisquiede Titans Color. Both the Zaku I with Big Gun and the Sisquiede can take out the Zeta Gundam from afar.

Sazabi ［THE LIFE-SIZED v Gundam STATUE］Counters
［M0231］ Penelope	［M0214］ Zaku I with Big Gun (Thunderbolt)	［M0183］ Sisquiede Titans Color

Even the powerful Yellow Sazabi has mobile suits that can potentially counter it. The Penelope is a tanky Armored unit that can be positioned in front of the Yellow Sazabi, immediately followed by either a Zaku I with Big Gun or Sisquiede Titans Color in the back. The Penelope tanks the Yellow Sazabi's hits while the Zaku or Sisquiede shoot at it from a distance.

There are many other ways to counter powerful units in the Arena, which you might want to learn as you face them yourself and climb the Arena's ranks.

Most Common Arena Mobile Suits and Counters

Form Your Own Arena-Beating Team

If you've been using your own team to climb up the Arena, with one or two of the units we've suggested so far, that should be fine. But if you want to rise up to the top ranks of the Arena, you will have to have certain teams ready.

For example, below we have an all UR-mobile suit team that has some of the best units the game has to offer. However, it will take quite a lot of effort to not only get them but to fully unlock their Transcendent Skills and unleash their Potential.

Mobile Suit	Details
［M0105］ The-O	Summary • A dodge tank capable of dealing high single-target damage on top of inflicting them with the Unavoidable debuff, which makes them unable to avoid attacks from its allies.
［M0122］ Gundam GP02A	Summary • Another tank, but it earns a spot on this team for the extremely high AOE damage its EX skill does. Position this behind The-O to give it enough time to fire off its EX skill.
［M0218］ Sazabi ［THE LIFE-SIZED v Gundam STATUE］	Summary • The Yellow Sazabi is the best skirmisher in the game with extremely high beam damage, big lifesteal for sustain, and the Bullseye status effect, which ensures that each of its attacks land, even against ≥100% evasion.
［M0086］ Zeta Gundam	Summary • Deals high beam damage to enemies that are too close to it. Also can spam its EX skill due to its ability to recover its own EX Skill gauge every time it uses the skill.
［M0100］ Hyaku Shiki	Summary • The Hyaku Shiki inflicts the Unavoidable status effect on all enemy units with its EX skill, opening them up to bigger damage from The-O and the Zeta Gundam.
［M0183］ Sisquiede Titans Color	Summary • The Sisquiede is not only a highly accurate Sniper unit, but is also capable of doing AoE damage while lowering the beam damage they deal as well. This beam damage debuff will help your team win their duels and buy them more time to cast their EX skills.

For those who are starting out or have already invested somewhat in your units, you can check out our Budget and Dolphin teams in the article linked below.

Best Arena (PvP) Teams

If you want to have an idea of what teams you should be forming, it's also a good idea to check the teams of top-ranked players in the Arena from the previous season.

For example, in Season 60 (the previous season as of this writing), the top-ranked players had units such as the Gundam Full Armor, Xi Gundam, and the Gundam GP04 in their teams. In Season 59, top-ranked players were still using the Qubeley, the Dag Doll, and the Banshee (NT-D) in their teams.

You don't have to imitate these teams as they are, but they are useful references as to what kind of teams your competitors will be using if and when you reach the top ranks. This can then give you an idea of what mobile suits you should get to counter them.

Top Ranked Arena Teams and Counters

Looking at past winning teams, as well as reaching out to other players in the Gundam UCE community, can give you a clue as to what the current meta is or what unit gives the most advantage when used in battle. This is the top consideration whenever you are forming your own team.

Let's say the current meta revolves around units that deal high damage through AOE attacks. That means you should get units like that in your own team (the Zeong, the Gundam GP02A, etc.) defended by Armored units like the Penelope, Gundam Full Armor, and others.

PvP Team Building Guide

Don't Forget to Have a Good Arena Defense Team

Assuming you'll be pushing through Arena daily, your Defense team shouldn't be as big of a concern as your Offense team. But having the right one is still important to help you passively get Arena points by successfully defending against opposing players.

While the line of thinking for Offense teams is to learn what the "Meta" of the game is and counter any teams using those same meta units, in setting a Defense team you need to prioritize tankiness. That means getting Armored units that can withstand attacks from the front while your powerful skirmishers take them out from a distance.

For example, having the Penelope and Gundam Full Armor in front, followed by two Generics (maybe the Yellow Sazabi and Gundam GP04), and Bombardment units in the back like the S Gundam or the Zeong. You don't necessarily have to have these units, but having these types of units is helpful in making a sturdy Defense team.

Don't forget to deploy them correctly. The popular way to do it is to occupy only two columns on either the leftmost or rightmost parts of the battlefield. This way, the enemy will only end up targeting the Armored units up front and will have to move for a while to get to your units in the back.

One of the most important strategies in Arena is to have an Armored unit of the same type/color as your carry protect it. This prevents opposing flankers with type advantages from attacking your carry, as they'll be forced to attack your Armored unit instead. For example, if your main DPS carry is the Zeong, having a Gundam GP02A in front of it can help it avoid taking damage from flanking Green-type mobile suits. If your carry is a Zeta Gundam or a Yellow Sazabi, having a Gato's Rick Dom or Over.On in front of it will benefit you for the same reason. This concept is a defense-only strategy, and your tanks on offense doesn't have to be the same type as your carry.

Arena Defense Team Building Guide

What to Do With Your Arena Rewards

So you've been rising through the Arena rankings (either slowly or at a good pace), and you've started winning rewards. So, what should you spend your Diamonds, Arena Medals, and Recycle Pts. on?

Diamonds, of course, are self-explanatory. You use them mainly to get stronger units from the game's gacha banners. Arena Medals, on the other hand, are used to buy Chips, gacha tickets, and blueprints of certain units. We recommend getting the Char's Zaku II blueprints whenever you can, as the extra blueprints will help in forming a Haro Coin Farm out of it.

Recycle Pts., meanwhile, are used to buy alteration materials and certain modules from the Recycle Shop. If you are running low on G-4 or G-5 Alteration Materials, you can use your Recycle Pts. to buy them.

What to Grind for in the Arena

Mobile Suit Gundam U.C. Engage Related Guides

All Tips and Tricks

All Tips and Tricks Guides

Beginners' Guide
Beginner's Guide: Tips and Tricks
Reroll Guide	How to Farm Diamonds
Panel Missions Guide	How to Strengthen Your Mobile Suits Guide
Combat System Explained	Haro Coin Farm Guide
How to Get Started With the Arena?	Clan Guide
Raid Battle Guide	Mobile Suit Categories Explained
Other Beginners' Guides
Beginner Mistakes to Avoid	Daily Tasks Checklist
Research Guide	Gacha Guide
Gacha Guide	UR Selector Ticket Guide
Mobile Suit Stats Explained	Pilot Stats Explained
Deployment Guide	How To Rank Up and Unlock All Content Quickly
Fragment Quest Guide	How to Get Skip Tickets
How to Get VIP Points	Haro Pass (VIP Pass) Perks and Benefits
How to Farm Coins Guide	How to Get More AP
How to Farm and Use Blueprints and Character Pieces	Recycle Points Guide
Engage Link Guide	Mock Battle Guide
How to Raise Your Player Rank Fast
Intermediate Guides
Intermediate Guide
How To Pair Pilots and Mobile Suits	Team Building Guide
Canon Mobile Suits and Pilots Guide	What Upgrade Should I Do First?
Transcendence Guide	Potential Unleashed Guide
Unit Enhancement Guide	Unit Alteration Guide
How to Get Grand Coins	How to Get Unit Enhancement Points
Modules Guide	Skill Rate Level Up Guide
What To Buy at the Shop	Clan Battle Guide
Master Battle Guide	Status Effects Guide
Advanced Guides
Arena Beginner's Guide (PvP)
Arena Guide	How to Get Started With the Arena?
Why Do I Keep Losing at the Arena?	How to Win at the Arena
Most Common Arena Mobile Suits and Counters	Best Arena (PvP) Teams
Top Ranked Arena Teams and Counters [December 2024]	PvP Team Building Guide
Arena Defense Team Building Guide	What to Grind for in the Arena
Elite Arena Guide
Game Mechanics
Title Guide	Account Linking Guide
How to Send an SOS	How to Get Friend Medals
Mobile Suit Guides
How to Counter the Zeong	What is the Best Nu Gundam?
How Good is the Zock?	How Good is the Zeong?
How to Counter the Yellow Sazabi	How to Counter the Gundam GP02A
How to Counter the Zeta Gundam	How to Counter The-O
How to Counter the Penelope	How to Counter the Gyan
How Good is the Gyan?