Crystal Clash guide

Six against six, twice a day: the Crystal Clash is the quickest way to meet the other nation in battle from level 20. Here is when it runs, how to sign up, the three ways to win, what the coffers hold and the one rule about leaving early.

Every day 14:00 and 22:00 (Istanbul time)Level 20 to 606 against 620 minutes

When it runs

The Crystal Clash starts every day at 14:00 and at 22:00 Istanbul time. Sign-up opens 10 minutes before each start, and a match lasts at most 20 minutes. You do not have to work the time zone out yourself: the calendar button by the clock in the game lists the Clash, the Rift Gate and the War of Morgard on your own clock, with a countdown to the next one.

Who can join

• Level 20 and up. There are two arenas: one for levels 20 to 39 and one for levels 40 to 60. Your level when you sign up decides which one you fight in, so a level 25 rogue never meets a level 58 mage.
• One character per account. Each event takes one character of an account, whichever you choose.
• Six a side. Each nation fields up to six players in each arena. Once your side is full, later sign-ups for that arena are turned away.
• Both nations needed. If nobody of one nation signs up for an arena, that arena's match is called off and the players who signed up are told so.

Signing up, step by step

1. When sign-up opens, a chip with a countdown and a Join button appears in the corner of your screen.
2. Press Join. You can keep hunting, trading or questing wherever you are while the countdown runs, and you can take your sign-up back until the start.
3. When the countdown ends you are brought to the arena of your level, and everyone on your side is put into one party for the match.
4. When the match is over, everyone in the arena is sent to Emberfold.

The arena

The arena is a small map with one road between two camps. In the middle stands the Shard Ring, a ruined circle of pillars with four ways in, and inside it the crystal. Each nation has its camp at one end of the road. Nobody can strike you inside your own camp, nobody can strike out of it either, and its fire towers burn any enemy who comes close. Behind each camp stands a gate: that is the way out if you have to leave.

How to win

A match ends the moment one of these happens:

• The crystal falls. Whoever strikes the last blow on the crystal wins the match for their nation at once. It does not matter who did the rest of the damage.
• 30 kills. Every player of the other nation you defeat counts for your side. The first side to reach 30 kills wins.
• Time runs out. If neither happens in 20 minutes, the side with more kills wins. Equal kills make it a draw.

The crystal never moves, never strikes back and never heals, so every hit on it stays there for the rest of the match. It pays no XP and drops no loot: its only worth is the win. The score board at the top of the screen shows the kills of both sides and the time left. A minute after the match is decided, everyone goes to Emberfold.

Kills in the Clash pay National Points exactly as in the Colony, the Umbral Rift and Morgard, and dying to a player costs you half of what your killer gained. A player 10 or more levels below you gives no NP. Dying to a player never costs XP. The PvP and war guide explains National Points and the rankings.

Coffers and the Riftstone Reel

Everyone who struck an enemy player or the crystal during the match takes a coffer home. The winners get a Sapphire Coffer, the other side a Jade Coffer, and in a draw everyone who fought gets a Jade Coffer. In the level 40 to 60 arena they are the Greater ones. A coffer goes straight into your bag; if your bag is full, it comes by mail (the envelope by the clock). Players who only waited in camp get nothing.

Break a coffer on the Riftstone Reel of Nessa the Gemcutter in Emberfold, just like a Riftstone from the Umbral Rift. The reel shows every prize it can stop on. Gear prizes can be for any class, so a piece you cannot wear is still worth selling or trading.

A level 55 piece from a Greater coffer is news for the whole server. For what each armor tier and jewel is worth, see the gear and upgrade guide.

Leaving early

You can leave a match before it is decided with the Leave button on the score board or through the gate behind your camp. The game asks you twice, because it counts:

• Your first early exit of the day (Istanbul time) is free.
• One more on the same day keeps your account out of the Clash for 24 hours.
• Leaving after the match is decided costs nothing.
• An early exit takes you back to where you stood before the match, not to Emberfold.

Tactics that win matches

• Sign up early. Six places a side fill fast at busy hours.
• Hold the four ways in. The side that holds the ring's entrances holds the crystal. A Warrior in a doorway is worth two players in the open.
• Chip the crystal, then finish it. Damage done early still counts later. When it is low, keep your hardest hitter ready for the last blow, because the other side can steal it.
• Fall back to heal. Your camp is safe ground and its towers punish anyone who follows you. Heal, regroup, then push together.
• Healers, strike once. A coffer needs a hit on an enemy or on the crystal, and healing alone does not count. A Priest should land a Smite or two.
• Do not chase into their camp. The fire towers and a defender who cannot be hit make it a free kill for them.

Questions

Can I join with two characters?

No. Each account takes part with one character per event.

What if my side has fewer players?

The match still runs as long as each side has at least one player. A smaller side should play for kills near its camp or for a quick crystal, not for an open brawl.

My bag was full. Is my coffer lost?

No. It is sent to your mailbox; take it from the envelope by the clock once you have room.

Does the Clash cost XP?

No. Only a death to a monster costs XP, never a death to a player.

Bigger fights wait from level 40: read the War of Morgard guide and the boss guide, and check what every item is worth in the database.

Play free Next: the War of Morgard