‘Arena of Valor’ News: AWC Finals, America’s Defeat, And A Crude Summer Cartoon

Welcome to the twelfth Arena of Valor Weekly Roundup! Can you believe it’s been three months already? With a new hero showing up to play every 2 weeks on average, this week isn’t a big one for those not interested in competitive play. But for those who are? The AWC finals start today!

For everyone else, there’s new Swag Sunday details, a new skin promotion that’s already throwing out freebies, and a Summer Bash skin animation that’s not quite as cringe-inducing as the last. Let’s get to it.

The Arena of Valor World Cup Finals Kick Off Today

With the massive Esports focus across Arena of Valor lately and all the stuff we’ve had to cover in the roundups week after week, we hope you’ve been paying attention to the AWC – which is about to enter its final two days.

After 5 days of competition during the AWC Group Stage competition in Los Angeles last week, 4 teams managed to fight hard for their place in this week’s semi-final. North America, while lasting much longer than Europe and putting up a stronger fight than South America, Team USA ultimately lost out to Singapore 2-0 after using them to gain just enough points to enter the Top 8 position days before.

So with the Group Stage all done and dusted, 4 teams go into the semi-final to fight for a spot in the grand final. And we all know what happens that at point. China, Korea, Thailand and Chinese Taipei go forward into today’s fierce competition for that elusive $550,000 prize pool. Mobile esports has never seen anything quite like this. Tune in from 5pm PDT here.

Muay Thai Raz Is Dishing Out Free Gifts To All

For the past few days, every Arena of Valor match has been contributing points to a game-wide discount on the upcoming Muay Thai Raz skin. The punch-out king is the latest in a line of heroes to get some fancy skin intro sequence similar to that of this year’s Summer Bash skins. Only instead of playing with dolphins and dragging muscly men into the water, Raz is smashing up pillars with his fist and shins.

But for those not really bothered by the flaming brawler and his new duds, your contribution will still earn you a few goodies along the way. For those actually interested in the skin, spending 100 vouchers will award more points, boosting the chance of that final 40% skin discount being applied once it releases this Sunday. You’ll even get 100 voucher off to help balance out the spend.

Matches played between now and July 29 award contribution points, and with the final milestone already in sight, it looks like we’re all due to receive a Magic Crystal in a matter of days. Past milestones have already awarded Arcana chests and a Nakroth evo crystal (which isn’t very helpful on its own), but at least the final prize is something we can all enjoy. And who know, that one crystal might get someone a Pendent to use on the cool skins hiding away in the Whale Pendent Shop. And yes, you’re eligible for the prizes whether you contribute or not. Check your mail, people!

Yet Another Summer Bash Skin Animation Emerges From The Sea

As numerous heatwaves sweep the world while the English still drink tea and wonder why they’re getting so sweaty (speaking from personal experience), it’s anyone’s guess as to when the next Summer Bash skin will arrive to help us cool down. We’ve seen a bunch of them pop up through promotional artwork making its way out of the Eastern versions of the game, but only Krixi’s skin has made it out this year.

But just as we featured a rather creepily designed in-game cinematic of Violet’s proposed Summer Bash skin from a million miles away, the Arena of Valor reddit has happened upon another.

Showing off the cast of the Summer Bash set in a more 2D fashion, this flat animation story sequence shows Taara, Diaochan and Violet reading about the Summer fun Krixi, Gildur and Lu Bu are having down at the beach. That’s some fast press!

Deciding to ransack the party (I guess?) the girls enrage what might be the Abyssal Dragon emerging from the sea. With its mouth agape, Violet fires first, presumably one-shotting the beast with two explosive… ducks?! Where are you items, Violet? We call hacks!

But what does this little skit mean for us? Well… probably nothing. It’s undoubtedly showcasing this year’s Summer Bash skin range for its intended territory. We’ll see them all at some point, but who knows whether they’ll be fast-tracked for relevance or trickled out well into the Winter months. Still, it’s a break from the constant action of Arena of Valor for sure.

 

More Sunday Swag Details Slip Out

Wrapping up with a mention of free stuff, Swag Sunday is nearly here. Just like the Muay Thai Raz skin, Sunday, July 29, is the day Tencent brings the goods. From a flashy new skin, to a free DC character of your choice, there’s a few other things coming to the game on that very same day.

If you’re not feeling the need for a free hero – or happen to own all them already – you’ll be able to pick up the once-limited Catacombs Arthur skin instead. And if the influx of free DC characters means everyone insta-locks Superman before yourself, then making another choice shouldn’t be difficult as every hero (sans Zephys) will become F2P for the whole day. Think of it as one massive weekly hero rotation.

To make things even more tempting, Double EXP will be live throughout the day, encourage those who have yet to reach Level 30 to grind up to the top. We hope you’ve been saving the Double EXP cards the Lucky Spin seems to love tossing out time after time.

Lastly, a bunch of limited skins will be coming out of retirement. We’re only aware of the Festival (Christmas) skins showing up again at the moment, but there’s no reason to think these will be the only skins to make a reappearance.