The Ark Nova Championship Test Event #2 Begins on Thursday!

The second Test Event for the *Ark Nova Digital Championship *will soon be underway! We’ve collected a lot of valuable data and feedback from the first Test Event, and we will be implementing various changes to the next one for a smoother experience. If you’re unfamiliar with the Ark Nova Digital Championship and the previous Test Event, be sure to check out our original announcement here!

Test Event #2 - Summary

Test Event #2 will begin on **Thursday, September 17th **at **9am PT, **and it will run in **two stages. **Stage 1 will be the qualifying period, and it will last for roughly two and a half days. The Top 16 scoring players from this period will then advance to **Stage 2 **into a semi-finals round, and the winners from each of those games will advance to the Finals.

Timing

• **Test Event #2 Appears In-Game: **Tue, Sep 15 (10am PT)

• **Stage 1 Starts: **Thu, Sep 17 (9am PT)

• **Stage 1 Queue Closes: **Sat, Sep 19 (5pm PT)

• Stage 1 Results Finalized, Winners Contacted: Sat, Sep 19 (8pm PT)

• **Stage 2 Semifinal Round Starts: **Sun, Sep 20 (10am PT)

• **Stage 2 Final Round Starts: **Sun, Sep 20 (1pm PT)

• **Event is Removed: **Mon, Sep 21 (10pm PT)

Changes from Last Test Event

• Stage 1 now runs for roughly two and a half days instead of 12 hours

• Stage 1 now consists of five games instead of four

• Queue now fires every 15 minutes instead of 10

• Stage 2 qualification email will be automatically sent to Top 16 players the night before Stage 2 begins.

• Stage 2 final round will now start at a specified time rather than being tied to the previous round finish.

Joining the Test Event

Stage 1 of the Test Event will be open from Thursday to Saturday* (see exact dates and times above)*, and during that period, you can join the event by clicking into the “Events” tab. You will be queued into a match, and you can play up to five matches during the Stage 1 qualifying period.

Qualifying for Stage 2

The top 16 scoring players from Stage 1 will advance to the semifinals in Stage 2. Scores are determined as follows:

4-Player Game

• 1st: 5 points

• 2nd: 3 points

• 3rd: 1 point

• 4th: 0 points

3-Player Game

• 1st: 4 points

• 2nd: 2 points

• 3rd: 0 points

Your leaderboard score will be the cumulative total of all the games you’ve played, up to five total. Tiebreakers are determined by strength of schedule — in other words, the total number of points earned by your opponents in your qualifier matches.

Stage 2 - Format

• Invitation-only - Top 16 players from Stage 1

• Single‑elimination

• Round 1 - Semifinals: Four simultaneous games, winners advance to Finals

• Round 2 - Finals: One game, one winner! 

Game Settings

The game settings are the same for both stages:

• Timers: Live

• Map Selection: Advanced Draft

• Alternative Maps: On

• Peaceful Mode: Off

• Malus: Off

Rewards

Everybody who participates in this Test Event (and everyone who participated in the last) will be receiving a **Guinea Pig **avatar!

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[p align="center"]Got any questions or feedback? Reach out in the comments, the Dire Wolf Discord,

or via email at support@direwolfdigital.com!

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