The fourth installment of the Shadow Fight series, Shadow Fight 4 – Arena, has come a long way since its initial release in November 2020. Over the years, the devs updated and patched the heck out of Shadow Fight 4 – Arena.
With new weapons, heroes, mechanics, and even new game modes it’s time for a new and updated Shadow Fight 4: Arena game guide too.
Whether you’re a novice shadow fighter or a veteran in the shade, this guide can help, especially if you’re struggling with some complex mechanics, like Hero Talents.
So, let’s get started.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Shadow Fight 4 – Arena: Gameplay Guide & Features Overview
Developed by Banzai Games and published by Nekki, Shadow Fight 4 – Arena is not the typical Shadow Fight game. The predecessor of Shades – Shadow Fight Roguelike stands out due to its primarily ‘PvP’ gameplay.
As the ‘Arena’ in the title suggests, Shadow Fight 4’s primary game mode pits players against one another in real-time. Other modes include Events, Side Quests, and a story mode as well.
Now, let’s take a quick look at the new controls. Then, we’ll start an in-depth game guide.
Shadow Fight 4 – Arena Controls & Fight Elements
The controls weren’t exactly reimagined for Shadow Fight 4, there are a few changes and additions. You can now perform an emote mid-fight, have a chat with your opponent in real-time, and perform a special move, among other things.
Movement
The movement joystick is exactly the same as in the older installments.
You can move forward and backward, jump in the air, and crouch. The controls for low and high attacks remain the same as well.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Create movement and attack combos to create powerful attacks with both normal and special moves. You can learn all combos of every hero in the Hero Library section.
Combat
When it comes to combat, the controls haven’t changed much, apart from the addition of a Special Move. Now, instead of three combat buttons, players get four.
The fourth button is for the special move, and every hero’s special move has a unique icon. It does have a cooldown, though.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Apart from that, you get to see the same old Kick, Punch, and Shadow Realm icons.
Fight Elements
There are two new fight elements in Shadow Fight 4 – Arena. These are not in any other Shadow Fight game because these are PvP-related. I’m talking about ‘Taunt’ and ‘Real-Time Chat.’
While in the Arena, players can taunt their opponents and chat with them.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
As your player rating grows, you’ll unlock more Taunts and Victory Poses.
On the screen, you’ll see a timer and two bars. The yellow bar indicates your Hero’s health and the smaller blue bar under it shows the Shadow energy. Once the blue bar is full, you can trigger the Shadow Ability.
Opponents can not block your attacks as long as the Shadow Ability is on. However, they can dodge it.
Shadow Fight 4 – Arena Game Modes
While it is primarily a PvP fighting game, Shadow Fight 4 does have other game modes too.
Here’s a quick overview of all of them and how they work.
Arena Battles
As mentioned earlier, Arena Battles is the primary ‘Player versus Player’ mode of Shadow Fight 4 – Arena. In Arena Battles, players face an opponent in a match of two rounds. Each round lasts 99 seconds.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Within Arena Battles, there are two further classifications- Ranked and Unranked.
Ranked
The Ranked battles are online PvP battles where players are matched with one another to fight for glory. Win these matches, and you’ll get rewarded with Gold and Silver Coins, Hero Cards, and Rating Points.
Think of Rating Points as EXP. Higher Rating Points mean you get more premium rewards for winning every fight.
The more matches you win, the more Rating Points you’ll collect. You’ll also lose Rating Points with every loss.
Within the Ranked game mode, there are two more PvP modes: 1v1 and 3v3.
They are pretty self-explanatory, really.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
In 1v1, players go head-to-head with one opponent in a match of two rounds of 99 seconds each. The last one standing at the end of each round wins the match.
3v3, on the other hand, has slightly different rules.
Both players select a team of three Heroes for a match of three rounds. Again, every round lasts for 99 seconds, and the last one standing wins.
However, the winner then fights the second Hero of their opponent with whatever remaining health they have. This goes on until one player defeats all three Heroes of the other player.
These 3v3 battles get really intense.
If any of your three Heroes aren’t strong enough, you’ll get butchered. Plus, players can’t play the 3v3 mode until they reach 1400 Rating. This ensures that only the best players enter the 3v3 matchmaking pool.
Unranked
If you’re not up for the intense 1v1 or 3v3 battles, you can have some fun in the Unranked game modes. The rules are the same as 1v1 battles, but there are no Rating Points at stake.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
If you’re only looking to blow off some steam, the Unranked mode is for you.
Much like Ranked, the Unranked game mode also has two sub-modes: Vs. Friend and Vs. AI.
You can create a lobby and have some fun with your friend or face the bloodthirsty AI of Shadow Fight Arena.
You won’t gain or lose any Rating Points, but some bloody brawls are guaranteed.
Quests
Once you reach Rating 100, a new game mode unlocks. It’s called Quests.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Quests are side tasks that you can complete to earn Rating Points. While they are a bit difficult and lengthy, completing them is the quickest way to earn Rating Points as every Quest awards a minimum of 100 Rating Points.
Stories
Those still looking for a storyline should switch to Stories.
Stories put the players in pursuit of The Shadow Mind. It’s an endless mode where enemies keep on coming until you defeat them all or they defeat you.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Right now, there are THREE Chapters and ONE Chronicles in the Stories mode. But more content will be added soon. By completing each chapter, you get rewards and get closer to facing The Shadow Mind.
Event
Lastly, there are Events.
These are time-limited tournaments that players can enter to fight PvP battles and earn rewards. Every Event has a registration fee, a guaranteed prize, and a grand prize.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Entering and winning various Events is a good way to get Hero Cards. So, while Events shouldn’t be a priority, they are definitely worthwhile.
Other Important Features in Shadow Fight 4
Now that you are fully aware of how to play and what to play, let’s dive deeper and check out other important in-game mechanics and features.
Fight Pass
Shadow Fight 4 Arena has a Fight Pass system.
You can stick with the free Fight Pass to get lower-end rewards or upgrade to reap the premium rewards. These rewards can include various in-game currencies, character cards, treasure chests, and so much more.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Much like the Season Pass mechanic, Players collect rewards and Rating Points as they conquer every tier of the Fight Pass.
Duel Chests
Once you reach a 150 Rating, you’ll unlock Duel Chests. Think of these as challenges. Complete these challenges to get a Treasure Chest as a reward. These chests can include Gold, Hero Cards, Skins, and a lot more.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
You can complete these challenges in any of the Ranked or Unranked game modes. That said, some challenges might be game mode specific so do keep an eye on the requirements.
Roulette
Shadow Fight 4 – Arena has a unique rolling feature called Roulette. Using two of the three in-game currencies, players can roll on the Licky Board to get Gold Coins, Silver Coins, Gems, Treasure Chests, Hero Skins, and so much more.
Players can roll using Gems and Silver Coins.
While you might not be willing to spend your precious Shadow Fight money on roulette, do not miss out on the free rolls. You get 2 free rolls every day and even the free Lucky Board has decent prizes.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Keep in mind that every Lucky Board changes after a set time. So, if you see something you want on a board, don’t leave it there for too long.
Shadow Fight 4 – Arena: Meet The Heroes
With all the important stuff covered, it’s time to meet the Heroes. In this section, I’ll overview all the Hero-related mechanics.
Heroes Roster
Right now, there are 24 Heroes in Shadow Fight 4 – Arena. All the Heroes are classified by FOUR rarity types:
- Common.
- Rare.
- Epic.
- Legendary.
There are FIVE Common, SEVEN Rare, SEVEN Epic Heroes, and THREE Legendary Heroes in the game right now. However, a couple of those Epic Heroes can match or even outdo the Legendary Heroes if built right.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Upgrade Your Heroes
With enough Gold Coins and Hero Cards, players can level up their Heroes to increase attack, defense, and Shadow abilities.
Every time you level up a Hero, you also gain Account EXP. A boost in Account EXP increases Hero stats by 10%. So, you’re getting a double whammy!
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
No wonder the Gold Coins and Hero Cards are so hard to accumulate.
Customize Your Heroes
Along with upgrading the stats of your Heroes, you can also upgrade their style by customizing their skins and weapons.
Some of the Hero and Weapon skins can be bought from the in-game Store (very pricey, though), while others can only be found inside chests.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Other than the skins and weapons, players also get to choose the Hero’s stance, Victory Poses, and Taunts as well.
Some of the taunts are so toxic. I love them!
Boost Their Talents
Collect Talent Shards to unlock new moves and techniques for every Hero in your Library.
There are up to 10 Talents available for every Hero in Shadow Fight 4 – Arena, and players can choose a maximum of 5 at a time.
These Talents can really help create the perfect build for your style if you know what you’re doing. And since every Talent is explained in full detail within the game, it’s pretty easy to master this mechanic.
Image: Nekki, Banzai Games
Collecting all the Talent Shards required to unlock the various Talents is a whole different thing, though.
Conclusion
That concludes this Shadow Fight 4 – Arena game guide.
Looking back at the first beta release, Shadow Fight 4 – Arena has changed quite a lot. New Heroes, features, and even content updates have made the game more enticing for new players and more rewarding for veterans.
I certainly hope it continues to grow because it’s one of the few good 1v1 fighting games with both online and offline playability.
You can find more fighting games on our site. We also have a dedicated PvP games section. Check it out to find guides to the latest and greatest PvP games.
