Castlevania: Circle of the Moon/Battle Arena

The Battle Arena is a section of the castle where you can fight through 17 rooms filled with stronger-than-normal versions of regular enemies, as well as a few new ones. To access the arena you will need to get two relics: the Heavy Ring from the Underground Galley (defeat the twin Zombie Dragons) and the Roc Wing from the Underground Waterway (defeat Camilla). You can get to the Arena by going through the Chapel Tower. Head up to the third room from where you fought Adramelech. In the upper left corner of that room, drop down a bit and you'll see a passage blocked off by a wooden crate. Push it aside and go through the door into the long hallway. The hallway is two rooms long, and at the western most edge you'll see two doors: the lower one takes you to a transporter room, and the upper one leads to the Battle Arena. Make sure you stick your head in the transporter room so you can get back to the Arena much more quickly later on, should you have to quit the Arena early.

Once you go through the upper door you'll be in a large, outdoor section. Roc jump over the wall and drop down. There are two types of enemies around: a couple of Legions and a Fallen Angel. If this is your first time here, be sure to fight the Fallen Angel until you get the, and get the above the upper door and the last  near where the Fallen Angel comes down from (and then retreat to save so you don't lose them if you die in the Arena).

Once you're done with that, head through the lower right door. You'll be in the entryway where you can get any sub-weapon that you want (get the boomerang if you're unsure). In the upper right of this room is the entrance to the actual Arena. Note that once you pass through that door you won't be able to leave the way you came in from.

Important notes
Before jumping into the fray, there are a few things you should know about the Arena:
 * Of the 17 rooms, you can only leave after odd numbered ones.
 * Escaping after rooms 3, 5, 7, or 9 will dump you in the Chapel Tower (the same room as the one with the Wooden Crate).
 * Escaping after rooms 11, 13, or 15 will put you in the Audience Room, right above the save room.
 * Clearing the last room (room 17) will leave you back at the entrance of the Arena.
 * Upon completion of the Arena you will get the Shining Armor, the best armor in the game (+500 defense, +10 other stats).
 * The enemies are much harder versions of common enemies - they have the same attacks but much higher HP, strength, and defense. You get more experience for defeating them as well, though they drop the same items.
 * You cannot proceed to the next room until all enemies are defeated.
 * You can never go back a room.
 * After most rooms you will be able to pick up 10 - 20 hearts from candles.
 * As soon as you enter the first room your magic will be depleted and you will not recover any while in the Arena, regardless of your intelligence stat.
 * That said, if you feel like cheating, there is a glitch to exploit that will let you get a summon off.

Do not underestimate how hard the Arena is; even the first couple of rooms can completely destroy you if you aren't at a very high level. You should be several levels higher than necessary to fight Dracula, have already found all of the power-ups, and have the Dark Armor and Double Grips, as well as a lot of restorative items. That includes antidotes and cure curses - you simply cannot wait around for the ailment to wear off. It should go without saying, but make sure you save before attempting this place.

Modes
As can be expected, how difficult the Arena is depends a lot on what mode you're playing. Some classes are built for this place, others are at a severe disadvantage.

From easiest to hardest:
 * 1) Fighter: Since the handicap in the Arena is not having magic, and the Fighter doesn't have any magic to begin with, the handicap is a non-issue. In addition he still has significantly higher HP, strength, and defense than other class.
 * 2) Thief: While the Thief does have lower stats than the VampireKiller, the fact that you can max out your potions and heart restorers before you enter the Arena gives you practically infinite health and weapons.
 * 3) VampireKiller: As with everything else in the game, the VampireKiller is in the middle. While stronger than the Thief, you'll have a hard time stocking up on items, so you'll probably want to be at a fairly high level.
 * 4) Shooter: The Shooter has basically the same disadvantages as the VampireKiller, but even lower strength. The magic dagger will also be of limited help as it will take several hits to kill most enemies, will target whatever enemy it wants, and the tight spaces mean that enemies will be able to get a lot of hits in before you kill them.
 * 5) Magician: The only advantage that the Magician has over the other classes is his magic. Take the magic away and you're left with...nothing. By far the most difficult of the modes, and borderline impossible.

Obviously if you're willing to spent an extra 100 hours getting items, the VampireKiller, Shooter, and Magician will be on pretty much equal footing as the Thief. That list assumes that you aren't willing to and will have a limited number of restoratives.

Room 1

 * 1 Were-wolf
 * 1 Were-jaguar

A fairly easy room with only two enemies in it. The Were-wolf is closest, so try and kill him first with either a whip or boomerang, depending on your mode. With any luck you can kill it in one hit before the Were-jaguar starts attacking.

Room 2

 * 2 Hipogriffs
 * 2 Catoblepas

Take out the Catoblepas first with boomerangs, then go after the Hippogriffs with the whip. Just make sure you don't get petrified by the Catoblepas' breath.

Room 3

 * 2 Wind Demons
 * 3 Witches

The first potentially challenging room. The Wind Demons tend to go straight for you while the Witches fly about in a pattern, so take the Wind Demons out as quickly as possible with boomerangs, then go after the Witches, one at a time.

After this room you get three large hearts and a chance to escape into the Chapel Tower.

Room 4

 * 3 Stone Armors
 * 12 Devil Towers

The Devil Towers are situated on four columns of three, and don't pose a problem unless you jump. Kill on Stone Armor, then a column of Towers, then move on to the next Armor and repeat. Avoid jumping unless you are going after the Towers and you shouldn't take much damage. If a Stone Armor is right under a column (and they usually are), you can try making a jump attack to hit all the Towers and the Armor at once. Then just move back and finish the Armor off with boomerangs.

After this room you get three large hearts.

Room 5

 * 4 Skeletons
 * 4 Skeleton Bombers
 * 3 Electric Skeletons
 * 3 Skeleton Spears

Not particularly hard but the sheer number of them can cause you to rack up a lot of minor damage. Take out the groups on the platforms before going after any skeletons underneath them. Use the boomerang so you don't have to get too close to the Electric Skeletons

After this room you get three large hearts and a chance to escape into the Chapel Tower.

Room 6

 * 2 Fire Demons
 * 6 Bone Towers

The Fire Demons will most likely rush right at you when you enter, so kill them quickly using the boomerang. After that, methodically take out the Bone Towers, moving slowly so you don't have to deal with more than one of them firing at you at once. Hit the ones on the celling from behind.

After this room you get three large hearts.

Room 7

 * 5 Fox Hunters

If you're strong enough to kill the Fox Hunters with a single slide-kick, simply slide-kick your way across the entire room, making it one of the easiest rooms in the Arena. If you can't, slide forward just enough so you are in range to whip the Fox Hunter, then kill it while crouching. Slide in front of the next one and repeat until they're dead.

After this room you get three large hearts and a chance to escape into the Chapel Tower.

Room 8

 * 3 Bloody Swords
 * 3 Poison Armors

You can lose a lot of life in this room if you get poisoned. Take out the Poison Armors as quickly as possible using the boomerangs, and hope the Bloody Swords dive right into an oncoming projectile. If you get poisoned, use an antidote as soon as possible.

After this room you get three large hearts.

Room 9

 * 24 Abiondargs

Another easy room. If you're able to kill the Abiondargs in one hit, clear out a spot and then jump up and slide kick your way through, then slide kick your way back along the bottom. If you can't kill them in one hit, or just wish to play it safe, simply stand at the entrance and whip them as they come towards you. They won't be able to harm you.

After this room you get three large hearts and a chance to escape into the Chapel Tower.

Room 10

 * 3 Legions
 * 12 Marionettes

If you get cursed, use a cure curse immediately. You can't afford to wait for it to wear off, and you'll lose far too much life trying to slide-kick the enemies to death. Throw out a bunch of boomerangs and just start whipping furiously. If you're lucky the Legions will drop cure curses when defeated. Just worry about your HP, not your hearts.

After this room you get three large hearts.

Room 11

 * 7 Minotaurs

Boomerangs. Lots of boomerangs. Throw them as quickly as possible and jump any oncoming fire, and try to kill them before they run into you. You may take a lot of damage from the first couple, but if you move slowly enough through the room, the last four will only appear one at a time, letting you take them out in somewhat controlled circumstances.

After this room you get three large hearts and a chance to escape into the Audience Room.

Room 12

 * 3 Succubi
 * 3 Archanes

As soon as you enter the room, throw boomerangs to kill the first Archane, then deal with the two Succubi. Kill the next Archane, then the last Succubus, then the final Archane. The first two Succubi might pose a problem, but if you proceed slowly and react fast enough, the rest of the enemies won't live long enough to hurt you.

After this room you get three large hearts.

Room 13

 * 5 Demon Lords
 * 2 Alraunes

The Alraunes are on the ground and the Demon Lords are on platforms. Take out the first two Demon Lords while still in the doorway, then jump on the platform and kill the third Demon Lord. Jump across and kill the fourth from a distance, then drop down (avoiding the plants) and take out the fifth. The Alraunes are annoying because they have a lot of HP and high defense if you hit their flower part. The best method is to wait on the platforms above until you see where the vines are coming up from, then drop down in between and whip the human part when she emerges. After she closes, jump back up and wait for the vines again. Repeat until she's dead, then move on to the other one. You might have to jump to hit her, depending on where you're standing. If you're doing a lot less damage than normal (probably about an eight of what you should be doing), you're not hitting the right spot.

After this room you get three large hearts and a chance to escape into the Audience Room.

Room 14

 * 8 Hyenas

Basically, you'll have to drop into a pit with four hyenas on each side. Whip through the wall to hit the leftmost one from behind, then climb up. Drop down when you have a clear shot, throw a boomerang to the left, then jump back up, repeating until all in range are dead. If you jump up in time, the boomerang will hit the ones on the right as well. If you're using the axe instead of the boomerang, you can just hit them all while standing on the overhangs.

After this room you get three large hearts.

Room 15

 * 3 Devil Armors
 * 12 Evil Pillars

''Important: The Dark Armors can drop the Black Dog card. You may wish to equip luck boosting armor to increase your chances of getting a card.''

Just like the fourth room, but with Devil Armors instead of Stone Armors. The Devil Armors are technically a new enemy, but function just like the Dark Armors in the Observatory. Take all the enemies out just like you did it room 4: jump and swing to knock out all of the Evil Pillars at once, then back up and boomerang the Armor to death. Rinse and repeat until they're all gone. Be careful as the lowest Evil Pillars can hit you even if you aren't jumping and the Devil Armors' projectiles have a much longer range than your boomerangs.

After this room you get three large hearts and a chance to escape into the Audience Room.

Room 16

 * 3 White Armors

''Important: The White Armors can drop the Unicorn card. You may wish to equip luck boosting armor to increase your chances of getting a card.''

The White Armors are exactly like the Holy Armors of the Underground Warehouse. Their beams are easy enough to avoid, but incredibly powerful. Use the standard tactic of defeat one, move forward until you see the next one. Also, use the age-old, but highly effective move of ducking.

After this room you get three large hearts.

Room 17

 * 1 Devil

If you're low on life or hearts, use whatever potions and heart restorers you can spare to boost yourself back into fighting condition - this is the last fight so you don't really need to conserve resources. If you're playing as a Fighter, you can pretty much just stand there and throw boomerangs at it, as you'll almost definitely kill it before it can hurt you too badly. For other modes, stay back until you see what he's going to do, then move in when you have an opening and throw a boomerang or two, then play defensively until you get another clear shot.

After this room you get the Shinning Armor and exit into the Arena entryway.

Afterwards
Congratulations, you've just beat the hardest part of this game. You have the best armor in the game, but since you were able to survive the Arena without it, you more than strong/skilled enough to survive the rest of the castle, so it's more of a trophy than anything.

Now, before you take so much as one step outside the Arena, wait for your magic to recharge and then either heal yourself or activate Pluto/Unicorn (if you have it). The last thing in the world that you want is to die because you accidentally jumped into a Legion while trying to get out of the Arena. Proceed straight to the nearest save room (via the second transporter room).

So what now? Well, if you are playing as either a VampireKiller, Shooter, or Thief, and you didn't get the Black Dog or Unicorn cards, you have to go back through the entire Arena for another chance (or you know, just learn to do without). If you haven't done so yet, don't forget to defeat Dracula, especially if you haven't unlocked all of the modes yet.

For more of a challenge, you can always try and beat the Arena with a different class. Beating it with a Magician is pretty much the ultimate challenge of the game.