A vast network of decommissioned ships lashed together with ropes, chains, and crude walkways, the flotilla is an arena unlike any seen in SOTF before. Access between ships is primarily offered by walkways (some much more steady than others), and ropes, creating a confusing mess where the exact position of ships may even shift slightly with the tides. Central to the flotilla is the cruise ship, a massive multi-storied vessel with an interior the size and complexity of a large building. Most boats of great enough size to merit their own area description have electricity and running water.

The smell of the ocean is inescapable, and while the flotilla is an artificial construct, it has already attracted the attention of seabirds, mostly gulls but also the occasional albatross or pelican. Their droppings pepper exposed surfaces, and their calls cut through the air incessantly. Below the water, the usual ocean life continues, though the depth and disruption created by the boats is such that only fish are likely to be encountered.

The flotilla is situated far, far from land—no shore is visible even from the highest points. The limits of the arena are delineated by buoys topped with lights, set at a distance of roughly a hundred feet beyond the furthest edges of the flotilla mass. Far in the distance, outside the range of any weapon assigned to the students, another much smaller cruise ship floats, potentially recognizable to fans of the show as that featured in Season Sixty-Five. From this boat, elements of the SOTF team monitor the game's progress, and mentors communicate with and observe their teams.