How to read a stage
Arena first. Build second.
The same weapon behaves differently in an open plain and a corridor. The stage chooses the enemy faction, the amount of open space and the hazards competing for your escape route. Read the room before you decide the run.
Arena 01Warhammer 40,000Playable in October demo
Tyranid battlefield
The 40K demo arena: a battlefield swallowed by Tyranid growth, with pink ground, pustules and dense lesser bioforms. Synapse creatures sit inside the swarm and empower it.
- Setting
- Imperial Bastion and the surrounding bio-corrupted ground
- Enemy pressure
- Tyranids
Confirmed intel
- Tyranid hordes include Termagants, Hormagaunts, Warriors and larger bioforms.
- Synapse creatures can drive nearby lesser Tyranids into a Berserk rage.
- Destroying a Synapse creature temporarily stuns the lesser swarm around it.
- The October demo includes rescue objectives guarded by Tyranid Warriors.
Build response
Bring wide melee arcs or piercing fire and keep moving. Identify the Synapse creature early; killing it creates a brief window to clear the surrounding swarm. A defensive passive is worth one slot if your clear speed is already stable.
Arena 02Warhammer 40,000Announced stage
Ork Stronghold
The Ork stage revealed in April 2026. Grots, Boyz, Bomb Squigs, Lootas and stranger war machines fill the field, while Ghazghkull鈥檚 arrival turns the pressure up.
- Setting
- A fortified Ork scrap-town in the 41st Millennium
- Enemy pressure
- Orks
Confirmed intel
- Lootas are stationary enemies that fire volleys of projectiles.
- Killa Kans stomp toward the player and explode when destroyed.
- Big Meks pursue the player and fire snotlings through the warp.
- Weirdboys teleport, fire warp bolts, summon the foot of Gork and explode.
- A Waaagh! can spawn more Orks and make them faster and stronger.
Build response
Prioritise ranged threats such as Lootas before they box you in. Keep a clear lane when a Killa Kan is about to die, and treat the red screen tint of a Waaagh! as a signal to stop greedily collecting pickups.
Arena 03Warhammer 40,000Previewed / setting confirmed
Abandoned Space Hulk
A claustrophobic 40K arena described on the official store page. Death Guard forces bring poison, resilience and stationary hazards into corridors with little room to kite.
- Setting
- Tight corridors and derelict chambers; previews call the setting Gallowdark
- Enemy pressure
- Death Guard
Confirmed intel
- The official store page names an abandoned Space Hulk as a stage setting.
- Death Guard enemies appear in the Skulls trailer, including Poxwalkers, Plague Marines and Blightlord Terminators.
- Myphitic Blight-haulers fire frag missiles that inflict Poisoned.
- Miasmic Malignifiers create poison fog around a stationary, resilient structure.
Build response
Poison resistance and recovery matter more in enclosed ground. Do not let a Malignifier鈥檚 fog cut off your only lane; destroy it or route around it early. Keep one area attack for the corridor chokepoints.
Arena 04Age of SigmarPlayable in October demo
Aqshy
The official Age of Sigmar setting: ash, fire and open ground where Skaven hordes can surround a stationary champion. The October demo adds new Skaven weapons and rescue objectives.
- Setting
- The open, ashen plains of the Realm of Fire
- Enemy pressure
- Skaven
Confirmed intel
- The official store page names the open and ashen plains of Aqshy.
- Skaven can arrive in a Vermintide that sweeps across the screen in horizontal lines.
- Rat Ogors enter Warp Fury at low health, gaining power, speed and knockback resistance.
- Bell of Doom grants nearby Skaven the Warded status.
- Ratling Gunners cross the screen and leave damaging hazard zones.
Build response
Use the open space. Wide circular movement keeps Skaven inside your attack arcs and away from your back. Burst Rat Ogors before their Warp Fury turns a clean escape into a body-block, and break the Bell of Doom when it appears.
Arena 05Both universesPreviewed / setting confirmed
The Hobby Table
The crossover stage that turns the Warhammer hobby table into a battlefield. Paint pots, measuring tools, mugs and The Imperial Infantryman鈥檚 Handbook litter the ground while several enemy factions share the arena.
- Setting
- A tabletop battlefield built from paint pots, tools, a cutting mat and hobby clutter
- Enemy pressure
- Mixed factions from the selected universe
Confirmed intel
- The Hobby Table pits the player against multiple enemy factions at once.
- Any champion from the selected universe can be used.
- The stage includes paint pots, tools, notepads, storage boxes and a mug.
- Stage secrets and additional flourishes are promised for launch.
Build response
You cannot tailor a single counter to one faction here, so balanced coverage beats a narrow specialist build. Keep your damage overlapping and avoid treating the table edges as safe; the clutter is part of the arena.
What about the other stages? Auroch advertises multiple modes and stages, and IGN reports 15+ for the full game. We only name the arenas that appear in official material or hands-on reporting. Stage unlock routes and the complete launch list are not public at the time of this check.
Official claims, press observations and community reports are kept separate. Where Auroch has not published a value, this guide says so instead of filling the gap.
