Capture the Flag

Capture the Flag is being prepared for its new arena. Queueing stays disabled until the battlefield is ready. Staff practice matches do not award progression.

The objective

Two randomly divided teams, Crimson and Azure, defend their standards while stealing the enemy flag. Bring their flag back to your stand to score. Your own flag must be home. First to three captures wins; otherwise the team ahead after 15 minutes wins. Kills are recorded but do not add to the team score.

Find the mode in [arena, or use [ctf join and [ctf leave. Staff start the match after everyone has queued. Join alive, dismounted and out of PvP combat.

Carrying and recovering flags

Double-click an enemy flag from nearby to take it. The carrier can keep fighting with their own equipment, but moves 25% slower and takes 40% more damage. Carriers cannot hide, become invisible, or teleport. Escort them home!

A killed or disconnected carrier drops the flag. Attackers can pick it up again. Defenders stand in its glowing ring for three seconds to return it. Enemies inside the ring pause progress; leaving it empty lets progress drain. A flag left on the ground automatically returns after 30 seconds.

Both flags appear on the world map, including moving carriers. The compact battle HUD shows the score, remaining time, both flag states and your respawn countdown. Crimson and Azure standards have different emblems as well as colors.

Spoken announcements call out your flag and the enemy flag being taken, dropped, returned or captured, plus match start, overtime and rising carrier vulnerability. They follow your sound volume and mute settings; the HUD and journal also display the event text.

Return to the fight

Death returns you to your team's fixed spawn after 10 seconds, with your gear re-equipped and full health, stamina and mana. No equipment or backpack loot is lost to other players. Ability cooldowns are not refreshed by dying.

Brief spawn protection ends when you attack, interact with a flag or leave the spawn pocket. It does not protect the flag stand. Mounts are unavailable during the match. Recall, Gate and Mark are sealed; non-carriers may Teleport within the battlefield. Outsiders cannot interfere, and friendly fire is blocked.

If both flags stay away from home for two minutes, carriers become progressively more vulnerable until either flag returns. A close match can enter up to two minutes of overtime. An unresolved tie is a draw.

Results and achievements

The results screen records captures, returns, capture assists, carrier kills, kills, deaths, damage and healing. Your last 100 Arena results can be reopened from HISTORY. Wins, captures and returns have their own leaderboard standings.

Capture the Flag has achievement ladders for participation, wins, captures, returns, assists and carrier kills. Practice, cancelled and insufficiently populated matches award no progression. Eligible matches require at least four active finishers, with at least two active minutes per credited player.

Leaving a match forfeits its progression. If a whole team leaves, the match ends without awards. When the fight ends, you return to where you joined.