Arena Builder

Normal Equipment Pool

Arena uses the normal equipment pool — shared with WGB Attack, dungeons, ToA, dimensional rift, and all other content outside of Siege and WGB Defense. Optimizing your arena team may reassign runes from your other builds and vice versa. The optimizer respects locked builds from any builder sharing this pool.

Upload your SWEX JSON file to load your full monster collection, runes, and artifacts. If you don't have a JSON file yet, follow our SWEX JSON setup guide (Steam) to export your game data in minutes. The builder instantly displays your wizard name, level, arena rank and badge, monster count, and rune inventory. Your account data stays private and is never shared.

Select your arena mode. Unlike Siege or WGB which support up to 5 teams, Arena is a single-team mode — you optimize exactly 1 team of 4 monsters. Arena Attack focuses on building one powerful offense team to climb rankings. Arena Defense focuses on building one defensive team to hold your position — both modes use the same shared rune pool.

Arena Attack

Build 1 optimized offense team to climb arena rankings

Arena Defense

Build 1 optimized defense team to hold your rank

Browse the community team database to find proven 4-monster arena compositions. Arena trending data is completely separate from Siege and WGB — the arena meta is different because teams use 4 monsters (not 3), there are no Nat4 restrictions, and the strategic considerations are unique to arena PvP.

Trending Teams

The Trending Teams section highlights compositions currently dominating the arena meta. Each team is assigned a flame tier based on our proprietary ranking algorithm that considers multiple factors — including how frequently the team is optimized, the rank and experience level of players using it, overall performance data, and community adoption rates among high-level players.

Flame tiers indicate how hot a composition is in the current meta:

• SSS Tier — the most dominant compositions, widely used by top-ranked arena players with proven results
• SS Tier — highly effective teams seeing strong adoption across competitive play
• S Tier — solid meta picks with consistent performance and growing usage

By default, the top trending teams are shown. Click the “Show All Trending” button to expand and see every ranked composition in the database. You can also use the search bar to find teams containing specific monsters.

Auto Select — Let the System Pick Your Best Team

Not sure which team to build? Click the “Auto Select” button and let SWLens do the work for you. The system analyzes your entire monster box and rune inventory, cross-references it against the trending team database, and automatically selects the single best team you can actually build based on what you own.

The auto-selection considers which monsters you have, which trending compositions those monsters fit into, and your rune quality and depth. It prioritizes higher-tier teams where your rune inventory can actually meet the demands — so you won't end up with a top-tier team your runes can't support. It's the fastest way to go from importing your JSON to having an optimized arena team.

Skip Team Selection Entirely

Don't want to use a preset composition? Click the “Skip” button to bypass team selection entirely and go straight to the build configuration step. From there you can manually pick any 4 monsters from your collection. The optimizer works identically with custom compositions — you have full control over every monster slot, rune set, and stat threshold. This is ideal for players who already know exactly what team they want to build or want to experiment with unconventional compositions.

Monster Ownership Indicators

Each team in the browser shows which monsters you actually own. Greyed-out portraits indicate monsters missing from your collection, so you can quickly identify teams you can actually build.

This is where the magic happens. The SWLens optimizer evaluates billions of rune permutations for each monster, testing every valid combination of rune sets, main stats, and sub-stats to find the absolute best configuration based on your parameters. Unlike traditional optimizers that run on your own PC and consume your CPU resources, SWLens runs the entire computation on our dedicated GPU-accelerated servers — delivering results in seconds rather than the minutes or hours a local optimizer would take. This also means you can optimize from any device including tablets and mobile phones, since the heavy processing happens server-side, not on your hardware (though the UI is best experienced on desktop).

Configure every aspect of your rune optimization for each monster. The card order from left to right defines turn order — the leftmost monster moves first. You can reorder monsters using the arrow buttons on each card to swap positions left or right, changing the turn order. Need to change a monster? Click the monster portrait to swap it for a different unit from your collection, or use the red X to remove it entirely.

Leader Skills

If a monster has a leader skill, you can toggle it on or off with the leader skill button on their card. In Arena, only Arena-specific, General, and Elemental leader skills are valid — Guild and Dungeon leader skills do NOT apply. The builder automatically filters to show only valid arena leaders. When enabled, the leader skill bonus (e.g., +33% Speed, +44% HP Arena) is factored into the optimization — affecting both stat calculations and speed tuning.

Rune Set Selection

Choose your preferred main set (4-piece: Violent, Swift, Despair, Rage, Fatal, Vampire, etc.) and offset sets (2-piece: Will, Nemesis, Focus, Blade, Guard, Energy, etc.). You can select multiple sets per slot — the optimizer will try all valid combinations and pick the best. Choose “Broken” if you want any 2-piece combination.

Each monster card also shows the top 2 community preset builds automatically. Click a preset to instantly apply those rune set selections — great for quickly configuring popular builds like Violent/Will or Swift/Will.

Don't want a specific set? Use the Exclude Sets toggle to block unwanted rune sets entirely. If a rune belongs to an excluded set, the optimizer won't consider it.

Slot 2 / 4 / 6 Main Stats

Configure the primary stat for rune slots 2, 4, and 6. For each slot you can select multiple allowed main stats — the optimizer tests all valid combinations:

• Slot 2: SPD, HP%, ATK%, DEF%
• Slot 4: CR%, CD%, HP%, ATK%, DEF%
• Slot 6: HP%, ATK%, DEF%, ACC%, RES%

Build Modes

Choose how the optimizer scores and ranks builds for each monster:

Focus Stats

For advanced users: select specific stats to prioritize during optimization. For example, set Focus to CR + CD for a damage dealer to ensure the optimizer weights those stats higher. This is optional — the build mode handles most cases automatically.

Minimum & Maximum Thresholds

Set minimum stat requirements (e.g., minimum 200 SPD, minimum 85% CR) — the optimizer will discard any build that doesn't meet ALL minimums. Set maximum caps (e.g., max 100% CR, max 250 SPD) to prevent over-investment in stats that have diminishing returns.

Artifacts Toggle

Toggle artifacts on or off. When enabled, the optimizer will also find and assign the best artifacts for each monster from your inventory — not just runes. Artifact stats are factored into the final build calculation, and the system selects optimal artifact pairings based on each monster's role and scaling. When disabled, only runes are optimized and artifact stats are excluded entirely from the build calculation.

Strict Mode

The Strict Mode toggle controls how strictly the optimizer follows your configuration:

Use Locked Runes Toggle

The “Use Locked Runes” toggle controls whether runes currently assigned to monsters in your saved builds are available for the optimizer to reassign:

• OFF (default): Runes belonging to locked/saved-build monsters are excluded from the optimization pool. This protects your existing builds — the optimizer will only use unassigned runes or runes from non-locked monsters.
• ON: All runes in your inventory are available, including those currently equipped on other monsters. This gives the optimizer maximum flexibility but may result in runes being moved from monsters you've already built.

Save & Load Team Configurations

Before optimizing, you can save your entire team configuration — including all monster selections, rune set choices, stat thresholds, speed tune settings, and build modes. Load a saved configuration anytime to pick up exactly where you left off. This is separate from saving optimized builds (which saves the actual rune results) — configuration saves preserve your build settings so you can re-optimize with the same parameters after importing a new JSON file with updated runes.

Speed tuning is critical in arena — your booster must move first, followed by your damage dealers and support in the correct order. SWLens offers two advanced speed control systems:

Speed Tune Calculator

Enable Speed Tuning for your team to ensure precise turn order. Configure:

• Booster selection — which monster gives the ATB boost
• ATB boost percentage (0-100%) — how much attack bar the booster fills
• Speed buff toggle — alternative to ATB if the booster uses a speed buff
• Per-monster max speed caps — prevent followers from outspeeding the booster
• Artifact speed contributions — factor in artifact speed bonuses
• Monster exclusions — exclude specific monsters from speed tune constraints

The calculator automatically computes the minimum follower speeds needed to move immediately after the booster, and sets appropriate SPD caps to prevent over-investment.

Tick Bracket Mode

For players who understand the game's internal speed tick system: select a specific tick bracket (Tick 4 through Tick 10) to target an exact combat speed range. The optimizer ensures all monsters in the team fall within the selected bracket's speed window. This is mutually exclusive with Speed Tune — use one or the other.

How Speed Tuning Works in Practice

The booster (e.g., Bernard, Tiana, Bastet) is selected with their ATB Boost % configured and SPD Buff toggled on if applicable. The “Included” section shows which monsters are part of the speed tune calculation — only included monsters will have their speed constrained to move after the booster in the correct order.

The system calculates the exact minimum speed each follower needs to take their turn immediately after the booster fills their attack bar. It then automatically sets appropriate SPD caps on each follower to prevent the optimizer from over-investing in speed (which would waste stat potential on unnecessary speed rolls).

For teams that rely on a speed buff instead of an ATB boost (e.g., a monster that buffs team speed rather than filling the attack bar), toggle the “SPD Buff” checkbox instead. The calculator adjusts its formulas accordingly — the minimum follower speeds will be different because a speed buff multiplies combat speed rather than directly filling the attack bar.

Understanding Speed Ticks

Summoners War uses an internal tick-based speed system to determine turn order. Every monster's combat speed maps to a specific tick bracket (Tick 4 through Tick 10), which determines how many game ticks pass before that monster takes its turn. A monster in Tick 4 moves much faster than one in Tick 10.

The Tick Bracket mode lets you target a specific bracket for your entire team. Instead of setting individual speed targets, you select a tick number and the optimizer ensures every monster in the team reaches the minimum combat speed for that bracket. This is particularly useful for arena cleave teams where all monsters need to move within the same tick window.

Note: Speed Tune and Tick Bracket modes are mutually exclusive — you can use one or the other per team, not both. Speed Tune is better for teams with a dedicated booster, while Tick Bracket is better for teams where all monsters should be in the same speed tier.

Before you optimize, you can simulate what your runes would look like with max grinds applied. Choose between:

• Hero Grinds: Simulates hero-grade max grinds on all +12 or higher runes
• Legend Grinds: Simulates legend-grade max grinds for maximum potential

This lets you see what your builds could become with proper grinding — without actually spending your grindstones. Simulated grinds are marked with an asterisk (*) in the results so you know which stats need grinding.

The optimizer doesn't just fail silently — it gives you detailed, actionable feedback when something goes wrong. Here are the types of errors you might encounter and what they mean:

Build Failed

If the optimizer can't find a valid rune build for one or more monsters, it shows a Build Failed screen listing exactly which monsters failed and what rune sets were requested. This typically means your rune pool doesn't have enough quality runes matching the requested sets and stat thresholds. The fix: lower your minimum thresholds, add more allowed rune sets, or turn off Strict Mode.

Strict Mode Threshold Failures

When Strict Mode is ON and the optimizer can't meet your stat requirements, it shows a detailed breakdown of which specific thresholds failed — for example, “minimum 200 SPD not achievable with available Swift runes” or “85% CR requirement exceeds what your rune pool can provide with the selected sets.” This lets you know exactly which threshold to relax.

Speed Tune Failures

If the speed tuner determines that a follower cannot reach the minimum speed required to move after the booster with the available runes, it will alert you before optimization. This can happen when the ATB boost percentage is low and the follower needs very high speed to compensate — or when too many speed runes are locked to other monsters. The error will tell you which followers are affected so you can adjust the ATB boost %, change the booster, or free up speed runes.

Turn Order Violations

When loading a saved build that was locked, the optimizer checks if the intended turn order is still achievable. If a locked monster's speed conflicts with the current team configuration — for example, a locked monster would outspeed the booster — you'll see a Turn Order Violation warning with options to proceed, re-lock, or cancel.

Rune Pool Shortage

Since Arena shares a rune pool with WGB Attack and other content, locked builds from those builders reduce the runes available for arena optimization. If the optimizer determines there aren't enough quality runes to equip all 4 monsters, it warns you about the rune pool shortage. Consider unlocking some builds from other content or turning on “Use Locked Runes” to expand the available pool.

After optimization, the builder displays the best rune assignment for every monster in your team. For each monster you'll see:

• Final Stats: HP, ATK, DEF, SPD, CR, CD, RES, ACC
• Efficiency %: How well the runes are rolled
• EHP Score: Effective HP (survivability metric)
• DMG Score: Damage potential metric
• Actual Speed: Combat speed with leader skill factored in
• Rune Assignments: All 6 rune slots + artifacts with set bonuses
• Threshold Indicators: Green checks or red warnings for each stat target
• Simulated Grinds: Asterisk (*) marks on stats that exceed current grind values

Rune Location Tracking

Each assigned rune shows its current location — which monster currently has it equipped. If a rune is currently on another monster, you'll see the previous owner's name, making the rune swapping process straightforward.

Artifact Optimization

The optimizer doesn't just handle runes — it also selects the best artifacts for each monster. When artifacts are enabled, the system evaluates your entire artifact inventory and assigns the optimal artifact combination per unit based on the monster's role, scaling, and the artifact sub-properties that benefit them most. This includes element-specific artifacts, type-specific bonuses, and sub-properties like additional damage by HP/ATK/DEF, skill-specific CRIT DMG bonuses, and more.

After Optimization — What You Can Do

Once the results are displayed, you have several options:

• Save your build — save the build to local storage and cloud for future reference
• Lock specific units — lock individual monsters to preserve their assigned runes, so future optimizations won't touch them
• Re-optimize — unhappy with the results? Go back and re-optimize with adjusted settings
• “Try to Improve” — re-run the optimizer with the same configuration but respecting locked builds, letting it find better options with the remaining rune pool
• Return to configuration — go back to Step 4 to adjust thresholds, change rune sets, or tweak speed tuning, then re-optimize

Save your optimized builds locally or to the cloud. The Saved Builds tab lets you:

• Save builds with custom names
• Load previous builds from local storage or cloud
• Lock monsters to their saved rune assignments — the optimizer will preserve locked builds
• “Try to Improve” — re-optimize while respecting locked rune specs
• Track rune origins — see where each rune came from (which monster had it previously)
• Cloud sync — access your builds from any device via your SWLens account

Re-Optimizing Saved Builds

When you re-optimize a saved build, the system remembers your exact configuration — every rune set selection, main stat choice, stat threshold, build mode, speed tune setting, and artifact toggle is preserved exactly as it was when you originally built it. You don't have to re-input anything. Simply load the saved build, click optimize, and the system re-runs with your original settings but against your current rune inventory. This is particularly useful after importing a new JSON file with upgraded or newly acquired runes — your saved configurations instantly benefit from your improved rune pool without any manual reconfiguration.

Locking Units

When you lock a unit, its runes become reserved. The optimizer won't reassign locked runes to other monsters. Since Arena and WGB Attack share the same rune pool, locked Arena runes are also excluded from WGB Attack optimization (and vice versa). This cross-builder locking prevents rune conflicts between the two content types.

New to the Arena Builder? Click the “?” button in the top bar to launch the interactive guided tour. The tutorial highlights each UI element with detailed tooltips explaining what it does, walking you through the entire build process from team selection to speed tuning to saving your builds.

How many arena teams can I optimize?

One team at a time — either 1 attack or 1 defense team of 4 monsters. Arena is a single-team mode, so the optimizer focuses your entire rune pool on 4 monsters for maximum build quality.

Does optimizing Arena affect my other builds?

Yes — Arena shares a rune pool with WGB Attack, dungeons, ToA, and all other non-siege, non-WGB-defense content. Reassigning runes for Arena may affect your WGB attack and dungeon teams. Lock important builds first to protect them.

Are arena trending teams different from siege?

Yes. Arena and siege have completely separate trending databases. The arena meta is different because teams are 4 monsters (not 3), there are no Nat4 restrictions, and the strategic considerations are different. Teams that dominate siege may not be effective in arena.

Which leader skills work in Arena?

Only Arena-specific, General, and Elemental leader skills apply. Guild leader skills and dungeon leader skills do NOT work in arena. The builder automatically filters to only show valid arena leaders.

What is speed tuning and why does it matter in Arena?

Speed tuning prevents the optimizer from over-investing in speed. It calculates the exact minimum speed each follower needs to move after the booster (factoring in ATB boosts, speed buffs, and leader skills), then sets SPD caps so the optimizer maximizes damage and survivability instead of wasting rolls on unnecessary speed.

What’s the difference between Speed Tune and Tick Brackets?

Speed Tune calculates follower speeds based on a booster’s ATB boost percentage — ideal for teams with a dedicated booster. Tick Brackets target a specific internal game speed range (Tick 4-10) for all monsters — ideal for cleave teams that need to move in the same speed tier. They’re mutually exclusive.

What does Strict Mode do?

Strict Mode ON (default) forces the optimizer to meet ALL your rune set, main stat, and threshold requirements exactly. If no valid build exists, it shows which specific thresholds failed so you know what to adjust. Strict Mode OFF lets the optimizer be flexible and try alternative rune sets or stat distributions if they produce a stronger build.

Does the optimizer handle artifacts?

Yes. When artifacts are enabled, the optimizer selects the best artifact pairings for each monster based on their role, element, and scaling. Artifact sub-properties like additional damage, CRIT DMG bonuses, and conditional effects are all factored into the build scoring.

What happens if the optimizer fails to find a build?

The optimizer gives detailed feedback: Build Failed shows which monsters couldn’t be equipped, Strict Mode failures show which thresholds weren’t achievable, Speed Tune failures identify followers that can’t reach minimum speeds, and rune pool shortages warn about insufficient runes. Each error tells you exactly what to adjust.

If I lock Arena builds, does it affect WGB Attack?

Yes. Since Arena and WGB Attack share the same rune pool, locking runes on your Arena monsters excludes them from WGB Attack optimization (and vice versa). This cross-builder locking prevents rune conflicts between the two content types.

About the SWLens Arena Builder

The SWLens Arena Builder is a comprehensive Summoners War rune optimizer and arena team builder designed for arena PvP content. Whether you need to build an arena offense team to climb rankings or craft the perfect arena defense to hold your position, SWLens handles it all. Features include trending arena team compositions from top players, speed tuning with tick bracket calculations, rune optimization powered by GPU-accelerated servers processing billions of permutations, artifact optimization, and grind simulation. As a complete Summoners War tool and SW optimizer, it also includes saved builds with cloud sync, locked rune management, and an interactive tutorial. Looking for the best arena defense or the best arena teams in Summoners War? Browse our trending compositions powered by data from thousands of optimizations by competitive players.