Just like to start with, this is not a 'rage post' because I've lost 1 Arena game, this a post I've been meaning to write for a while, after 150 games played and 128 wins in the past 2 weeks. This post is basically underlining the fact that Arena, although one of my favourites, is currently the most frustrating game mode I have ever played and is in a dismal state IMO.
One of the reasons as to why the game mode is in a bad state is the constant high ping rates. Now I play in the UK on an Xbox One S with 100mbps wireless internet connection, make of that what you will but this has made for smooth gaming experience on most other multiplayer games I've played. Same goes for adventure mode, the vast majority of my games are absolutely fine and play smoothly. Arena on the other hand seems to be a complete mess in every game on both sloop and gally, extremely high ping rates most games making simple things such as reloading the cannon a nightmare. It makes PvP gameplay extremely choppy with myself and other players rubber-banding constantly.
Another thing is hit registration, a problem that has improved in recent updates, but still needs work. I'd say at least once a game I see cases where bullets don't register, whether it's myself firing for no damage or an enemy hitting myself or my crew mate to no damage. Work still needs to be put in to eradicating this issue, as it's probably the most frustrating problem of the game in general as it plagues both Adventure and Arena.
For me Arena has the potential to be such a fun game mode, but it's being held back by constant server issues making it such a frustrating experience. I'd love to be able to say I'll continue to play this game mode for months to come because it really is a great experience when it runs smoothly, but as it stands, as soon as I've completed my 240 wins, I'm out and back to adventure.