Rules & How It Works

⚓ Tournament Rules

• Tournament fights are on Test Center only.
• Use outlandsbutler.com/ship-builder to build your ship and crew beforehand.
• The tournament title will describe ship requirements (e.g. large vs. large, gally vs. gally).
• Crew should be Heroic or Legendary.
• Builds are up to the player's discretion.
• Fighters should reach out to their opponent in Discord to find a time to fight.
• All fights done via Go Live are recorded and archived on YouTube.
• Fighters launch at shelter docks on Test Center, give a minute to separate, then fight.
• After the fight, either player opens their match in the bracket and submits the result (winner + screenshot). An admin reviews and the winner advances.

👤 Account & Characters

Logging in

Click Login with Discord in the top right. We use Discord OAuth — there are no passwords. Logging in once creates your player account automatically.

Adding a character

1. Go to Register a Character or click + Add Character on your profile.
2. Enter your in-game character name exactly as it appears.
3. Take a screenshot of your UO Outlands character selection screen showing the character on your account.
4. Drag-and-drop the screenshot into the upload zone (or paste from clipboard / click to browse).
5. Submit. The character enters a pending state until an admin reviews it.

If your character is rejected

The admin's note will appear on your profile in red. You can upload a new screenshot directly from your profile and click Resubmit — it goes back into the pending queue.

Multiple characters

One Discord account can have many UO characters. Each character is approved separately. When enrolling in a tournament or joining a battle, you choose which approved character represents you for that match.

🏆 Tournaments

Enrollment & buy-in

1. Open the Tournaments page and click an open tournament.
2. Click Enroll and pick which approved character you'll fight with.
3. Trade your buy-in (in doubloons) to "a shady broker" at the shelter docks on the live shard.
4. Your buy-in shows as ⏳ pending until an admin confirms the in-game trade.
5. Once confirmed, you're locked in. You'll appear in the bracket when the admin closes registration.

The bracket

Brackets are randomly seeded — no rankings or skill-based matchmaking. Up to 30 players, padded to 32 with byes if needed (single elimination). Each round has a fixed 1-week deadline from the moment the admin advances to it.

Using the bracket as a player

Once the admin generates the bracket, head to your tournament page. You'll see a horizontal bracket with each round laid out left-to-right. Find your match — it'll show your character on top and your opponent's character below.

1. Find your opponent. Each match card shows both characters (and the underlying player names on hover). Reach out in Discord to coordinate a fight time within the round's deadline.
2. Watch the countdown timer. Pending matches show a live countdown to the round deadline. When it gets under 24 hours it turns red. Past the deadline an admin will mark a forfeit.
3. When it's fight time, click ▶ Go Live on your match card to open the streaming room. (See the Go Live section below.)
4. After the fight, click "Submit result" on your match card. The submit form lets you pick the winner from a dropdown (you and your opponent), upload a screenshot, and optionally include a video URL. Either player on the match can submit — only one needs to.
5. Wait for admin approval. Your match status flips to "awaiting result" while the admin reviews. Once approved, the winner automatically advances to the next round and a new match card appears in the next column.
6. If you're a spectator (not in the match), click 👁 Watch on any pending match to drop into the spectator view, or watch the YouTube live stream.

Submitting a match result

1. On the bracket, find your match card and click Submit result.
2. Pick the winner from the dropdown — your name or your opponent's.
3. Upload a screenshot of the death/victory screen (drag/drop, paste from clipboard, or browse).
4. Optionally include a video URL (YouTube/Streamable) and a note for the admin.
5. Submit. Your match flips to "awaiting result" until an admin approves.
6. If a result is rejected, the admin's note appears on the match card explaining why. You can resubmit.

No-shows & forfeits

If a fight isn't completed within the round deadline, the admin marks the match as a forfeit. The forfeiting player's buy-in stays in the pot. The other player advances.

⚔ Group Battles (2v2 – 5v5)

Group battles are player-organized. There's no buy-in — the platform just tracks team rosters and W/L. You handle any side bets yourselves.

Creating a battle

1. Go to Group Battles and click + New Battle.
2. Pick the size: 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, or 5v5.
3. The battle is now in the queue. Anyone with an approved character can join either team.

Joining a battle

1. Open a battle from the queue board.
2. Pick which approved character you'll bring.
3. Click Join Team 1 or Join Team 2.
4. You can leave a battle while it's still queueing, but not once both teams are full.

Deadlines

• 2 weeks for a battle to fill up. If it doesn't, it auto-expires.
• 1 week to complete the fight once both teams are full. Past the deadline, the battle is voided with no W/L recorded.

Submitting a result

Either team can submit. Pick the winning team, upload a screenshot, optionally add a video URL and note. An admin reviews. Once approved, the W/L counts toward every participant's record.

📺 Go Live (Streaming Your Fight)

The Go Live button lets you stream your fight directly from the browser. Other fighters and spectators see your screen in real-time, and the fight is streamed to our YouTube channel live and archived as a VOD.

How to go live

1. Make sure your UO Outlands client is open and logged in.
2. Open your match (tournament bracket or active battle).
3. Click ▶ Go Live.
4. Click the big green Go Live ▶ button on the fight room page.
5. Your browser will pop up a screen-share dialog — choose your UO Outlands window.
6. You're now live! You'll see your own preview on the left and your opponent's screen on the right when they connect.
7. When the fight is done, click Stop Stream and submit the result from the match page.

Spectating

Anyone logged in can click 👁 Watch on a pending match or active battle to see the fight live in a split-screen view. For a wider audience or to watch on a phone/TV, use the YouTube live stream.

Troubleshooting

• Screen-share dialog doesn't appear: your browser may have blocked it — check the address bar for permission prompts.
• Opponent's screen stays black: they haven't clicked Go Live yet. Coordinate in Discord.
• Use Chrome, Edge, or Firefox — Safari has limited WebRTC screen-share support.
• Pick the UO window, not your whole screen — keeps your Discord, browser tabs, and personal info out of the stream.

📊 Stats & Leaderboard

How W/L is tracked

Wins and losses come from both tournament matches and group battles, combined into one record. Your profile shows the overall total plus a separate breakdown for each type. Stats update the moment an admin approves a result.

Where to find your stats

• Your profile — your characters, approval statuses, and W/L breakdown.
• Players directory — every approved player's public profile.
• Home page — top 10 leaderboard by total wins.
• Archive — historical match and battle results, searchable by player.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions