
One of the biggest features coming with Update 12 is the ability to fight another player from any alliance with our new dueling system! This will allow you to test new builds, try a different fighting style, or simply kill some time before hopping into a dungeon.
Duels can take place in any non-PvP overland zone (let's keep Cyrodiil as a true battle zone!). To begin a duel, first open the social interaction wheel when interacting with another player and choose “Invite to Duel". Alternatively, you can also type “/duel [player name]" with a nearby player. After the challenged opponent accepts the duel invitation, a flag will appear and there will be a short countdown before you begin, so get ready! Once someone reaches zero hitpoints, the duel will conclude; the losing player will be offered a free resurrection, though, or can also be resurrected by other players.
During one-on-one combat, you'll need to stay within a certain radius centered around the flag, but don't worry; you'll be notified if you are nearing the edge, and we've made it a fairly sizeable area to move around in. If you leave your dueling area, the match will result in a forfeit. It's also worth mentioning that other players not participating in the duel will not be able to heal or buff the two duelers, but the Battle Spirit buff will be applied. Combat with monsters will also not interrupt or end your duel.
You can view how a duel works in the following video:
Now, if you aren't interested in dueling other players or receiving dueling invitations, don't fret. You'll be able to auto-decline duel requests through the Social panel found in the Options menu. While dueling is largely just for fun and aren't tied to AP gains or leaderboards, there are three new achievements that you can work toward for winning a single duel, 25, and 100 duels.
If you want to participate in a duel or even just watch, we encourage you to head to Stormhaven and check out the newly-available Hammerdeath Arena; we've been seeing a lot of great activity on the PTS so far, and can't wait to bring it to the Live megaservers later this year! In the meantime, be sure to watch our recent panels from PAX West 2016 with Lead PvP Designer Brian Wheeler where he answers your questions about dueling, and shows off the new system: