Death smiles at all of us. All a Beast can do is bare its fangs right back at her. That is the line I keep coming back to whenever Chained Beasts throws another brutal round my way, and honestly it sums up the whole grind of chasing a 100% completion here. I have spent a lot of time in these arenas getting trampled, set on fire, and occasionally strangling someone with my own chain, and this walkthrough is everything I learned along the way. Comments are welcome, tips are encouraged, and if you are a hater, well, off to the arena with you.
If you are only just stepping onto the sand for the first time, I would point you at the begginers’ guide before diving into this one, because a lot of what follows assumes you already know your way around a chain and a shield.
Arena Feats — Break the Place Apart
Some of these are almost relaxing compared to the rest. Destruction of Property asks you to smash at least ten obstacles in a single round, and the arenas are littered with barrels, pots, haystacks, and palisades waiting to be wrecked. Grab the heaviest chain you can find and go to town. For Pincushion, let ten or more projectiles stick out of you at once. In Carthage you will run into elite enemies who love to hurl spears, so a sturdy shield is your best friend here. Pick the Rhino, since it grants extra shield durability, then just hold your shield up and catch every spear that flies your way.
Arena Feats — Chain Tricks and Momentum
Pop! is much easier with a partner. Once an enemy drops onto your chain, run around them so the chain tightens into a loop around their body and crushes them like a noose. Trip Master wants you to knock 100 opponents off their feet with your chain, and I honestly think of this as one of the core skills of every fight — a chain only truly controls an enemy once you understand how to pull and restrain with it. If that idea still hasn’t clicked for you, maybe just accept your death with some honor.
For Ultra Damage, land a critical hit from behind while in a state of Rage. Study the talents that grant rage and boost your critical chance. The roll that triggers rage is the best tool here, because it instantly puts you behind your target and in a full fury at the same time. Fast and Furious needs you to stay energized for at least 30% of a round — study the talents that grant vigor and keep that state going, and note that some Beasts lean toward it naturally, the Goat being the obvious pick.
Arena Feats — Playing With Fire
Germany loves its giant bonfires, and in Fired Up you need to burn for at least 10% of a round. Fire deals far less damage to you than you deal to it — step into the flames and finish your enemies off fast. Fire Pro is a bit sneakier: Germany has hand-to-hand wrestlers whose main attack is a lunge, so lure one toward a bonfire, and as it readies its charge, step into the fire yourself. When it leaps at you, it catches the flame.
Don’t Look Up takes you to Rome against the Prefect. Bait him under a catapult shot and there will be nothing left of him but a wet stain. For Gold Medal, hit an enemy with a thrown weapon from at least twenty meters away — the helmet pinches your vision and the shield is heavy enough to throw off your balance, so pick your moment carefully. Or just grab the Eagle.
Arena Feats — Breaking the Formation
Down the Line wants one attack to hit every enemy in a formation. In Rome you will meet squads that always march three abreast — land one powerful attack that touches all of them at once. You can pull off the chain trick I mention below, but study the talent that strengthens your chain first so knocking enemies down actually deals damage. Formation Breaker wants you to knock the whole formation off their feet, and spearmen are your best target since they love to lunge forward. This one works beautifully with a partner chained to you: when the spearmen rush, split apart and stretch the chain taut between you.
For Whirling Dervish, spin your flail without stopping for at least ten seconds. The flail has its own street-style charged attack. Use potions, talents, and shop items to boost your stamina and reduce the cost of your moves, then get that flail spinning and keep your distance from enemy shields for the full ten seconds. Drive By calls for hitting at least three enemies with one cartwheel — arenas scatter cart wheels among the other weapons, so hurl them straight into a crowd. If it keeps failing, try the Eagle again.
Arena Gods — Boss Tricks
Stampede is one of those kills I actually grin about. Barka is the boss of Carthage: once he loses two-thirds of his health, the Rhino he rides throws him to the ground and just wanders the arena. Bring Barka to the edge of death, then enrage his Rhino, and when it charges, step aside so it tramples its own guards and finishes Barka for you. Deep Impact belongs to Goliath, the boss of Germany. One of his attacks is a massive leap where he slams all his weight and that huge log into a single spot, and one of his own allies needs to be standing exactly there. He jumps often enough that luring a companion under it is genuinely easy.
In Rome, Clearing the Skies means destroying the catapult before the Prefect retreats. He shields himself with a catapult, and at one-third health lost he starts to run. Ignore the pain and distractions he throws at you, sprint to that catapult, and kill the soldier operating it. For Turning the Tide, you have to knock down the Chain Master with his own chain. A specific skill helps enormously: the one that makes projectiles thrown at you drop at your feet after hitting your shield. The Chain Master appears in Germany and loves to spin his chain and fling it at the end. Block the throw with your shield, pick up his chain, and the rest is technique.
Feast in the Yellow Ring — Body Count and Executions
The kill-count line — X, L, C, D, M — is simple. Kill 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 opponents respectively. Destroy absolutely everyone and spare no one. Thumbs Down asks for 100 executions: when an enemy falls and a red sword icon appears over them, walk up and perform a savage execution. The crowd loves it.
This Was A Mistake is a little more twisted. Right before the execution, grab a red barrel in your paws and… well. Two For One needs at least two enemies killed in a single attack. Whittle down two or more foes, trick them into clustering in one spot, then either swing a heavy two-handed axe or toss a red barrel into the group. No Ammo? No Problem! is about killing with an empty bow — the standard bow carries three arrows and has durability for exactly one hit, so make that hit the killing blow.
For Stop Hitting Yourself, pick the Wolf, use a sharp sword to cut off an enemy’s arm, then slap that hunk of meat square in their face. Entrapment calls for throwing an enemy onto a spike plate — these traps trigger when someone walks over them, but you need to hurl your target onto one. Bring a weakened foe down with your chain (a weak enemy won’t put up a fight), grab them, and make a precise throw. Stick Around is the same idea on a spiked wall, and those walls show up often on the second arena in Germany: knock a weak enemy down, grab them, and hurl them onto the spikes with everything you have.
Feast in the Yellow Ring — The Boss Kill and Everything Else
Who’s The Boss demands killing a boss within ten seconds of your first hit on them. Bring a companion along. The second boss, Goliath, is ideal because he doesn’t dodge combat — he literally flies into the thick of the fight. Rage and crits become your new allies, so lean on any trick and talent that builds rage into a critical attack.
Weapon Master is pure experimentation: kill enemies with every type of item, surprise the crowd, and surprise yourself by finding new things to murder with. Some of these you will have to buy from the merchant, and it pays to consult the Codex to keep track of how many enemies have died to a stool so far. Then there’s Не зевай — die to an item thrown by the crowd. A bored, yawning mob starts lobbing stones and garbage into the arena, so pray to the gods that one of those stones ends your slave’s suffering, because you, worm, are pitiful and weak.
Pay Attention — Training and Talent Chasing
No Rest Day unlocks on the second difficulty, where you are allowed to train until your bones crack. Keep at it until the game notifies you that you’ve hit the limit. Test Subject wants every ailment at maximum level — that’s three skulls, as you already know — and each affliction needs to reach that cap at least once, with duplicates stacking. Keep the Codex open while you work.
For Talented, grab a sheet of paper and a pencil and start writing. After each training session, pick a new talent you didn’t own yet, even if it’s useless to you. Again, cross-check the Codex. Moneybags requires buying all the merchant’s stock at once — the merchant carries eight items. Complete the slave master’s tasks and earn the crowd’s favor, and note that the Lion and Wolf both have abilities that nudge your coin totals up. Also, if you visit the merchant during your first two visits you can hold off spending, so as long as you survive to the third visit you’ll be in good shape. Collector is the gentle version: buy at least one of every item the merchant sells, and write down what you’ve bought — that list also fills in your Codex.
Majority Stakeholder needs you to personally earn at least 400 coins in a run, not counting allies’ income. Always play to the crowd and give them a show: complete slave master tasks, drink potions, study skills, and buy items that generate money. As I said, the Lion and Wolf have skills that boost your coin count. Just don’t blow it all at the shop and don’t die early. For Dead Weight, simply take any surgical operation that costs you an organ — not exactly useful for a run, but hey, you’re not a coward, are you? And Scholarly means opening every Codex entry. The Codex is Law.
Glory Runs — Beating Each Act
Can’t Stand The Heat, Out of the Cold, and Rebel Leader all come naturally — beat the boss of the corresponding act to finish Carthage, Germany, or reach the Senate. Untouchable is the nasty one: clear Carthage without taking damage. Pick the Goat, since nothing is faster, and dodge your way through. The hardest part by far is the fight against Barka, and whatever happens, do not walk into the bushes and do not break the green pots. I mean it.
Untrained requires a run where you never level up at the trainer, and from the second difficulty you can decline training, so just say no and prove you’re already perfect. Overtrained is the opposite extreme — reach trainer level 20 in a run. On the second difficulty you can take extra lessons and push your body to absurd strength, so if you want to be more than perfect, this is your path. A Quick Escape means finishing a run with total fight time under twenty minutes: bring the most powerful Beasts, take the most furious talents, and deal nothing but enormous damage. A solid partner makes it much easier.
Glory Runs — Ailments and Water Only
Medical Marvel asks for a run with twenty or more ailment skulls, and remember each ailment caps at three skulls. Drink the strongest medicine, the kind that hands you the harshest afflictions. On every arena, take a contract from the manager and deliberately fail it so there are consequences, and after each arena finishes, lie down for whatever dubious operations the surgeon offers — they either worsen existing ailments or add new ones. Ultra Hydrated means a run drinking nothing but water. All those potions are for weaklings — drink only water and gain heroic strength. The one catch is that you can only drink water if you have at least 20 health.
Glory Runs — Unlocking Every Beast
Each Beast unlock is its own achievement, and here is the whole chain in one place:
| Beast | Achievement | How to Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Armored Rhino | Free as a Rhino | Available from the start |
| Nimble Goat | Free as an Ibex | Available from the start |
| Fierce Wolf | Free as a Wolf | Complete Carthage |
| Deadly Panther | Free as a Panther | Complete Germany |
| Mighty Bear | Free as a Bear | Complete Rome |
| Soaring Eagle | Free as an Eagle | Complete the Senate |
| Majestic Lion | Free as a Lion | Complete a run on Legionnaire difficulty |
| Injured Monkey | Free as a Monkey | Complete a run on Primipilus difficulty |
Bestiary unlocks once you finish a run on Primipilus difficulty and open the final Beast — keep the Codex on hand to confirm you’ve got them all. And King of the Gods is simple in description, brutal in practice: complete a run on Jupiter difficulty. Would the Lord of the gods really be asking for advice?
Conclusion
That’s every achievement laid out the way I wish someone had laid it out for me before I started throwing barrels at the wrong people. Some of these come almost by accident, and a few — looking at you, Untouchable — will make you question your life choices. Take them one arena at a time, and may the crowd forgive your failures.
