‘Relic Arena’ Is The Best Auto Battler I’ve Ever Played

InnovationGaming‘Relic Arena’ Is The Best Auto Battler I’ve Ever PlayedByMike Stubbs,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Mike Stubbs covers esports, competitive games and the creator economy.Follow AuthorMay 14, 2026, 05:20pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Relic Arena is better than I ever expected. Credit: Double Edge GamesWhile the auto battler craze from a few years ago has mostly died out with only a couple of titles, such as Teamfight Tactics, surviving, a new auto battler called Relic Arena has just launched, and it is easily the best I have ever played. As someone who loved the original Auto Chess and Dota Underlords, Relic Arena was always going to appeal to me, but I honestly did not expect to find myself as enthralled with it as I am. Since it launched a week ago I’ve put in over 26 hours of play time, and I still don’t feel like I have scratched the surface. Like any good auto battler, Relic Arena sees you select units, position them on a battlefield and watch as they automatically fight it out against the armies made by other players. Win and you’ll damage your opponent’s overall health, with the last player standing being crowned the winner. But, where most auto battlers stop at this point, Relic Arena goes one further. Instead of just selecting your units, making them synergise together and positioning them well, in Relic Arena you can also equip each of your units with up to four abilities. These abilities range from simple attack speed buffs through to complex spells such as the Titanic flying into the battlefield and exploding. This is where the depth of Relic Arena arrives and seemingly never leaves. With a massive library of abilities, all of which have the potential to combo with each other in different ways, it takes a long time to just get a grasp on what they all do, let alone how they all fit together. MORE...