Good strategy, the arena builds up skill without the dangers of combating real bandits.
The arena can be so boring though D:
What I did to start off was go to the nearest major city, and sell the tools in my inventory. From there, I'd buy a better weapon, and be a delivery boy for the local lords, until I had about 800-1000 denar.
From there, I'd recruit some volunteers, and just do some more errands for the lords, till I had about 1500 denars. Then, I'd run around, look for looters/thieves/pirates, and just kill them for some xp and money.
Whenever I was captured or something, and lost a lot of money, I'd go to the arena for a few spare coins. I'd check the local tournaments, and make my way over to them, and just bet all the money I could on myself (knowing it's pretty much impossible to lose).
It's easy to get a hang of once you've been playing for 8 hours straight, lol. Right now, my character's level 12, has an army of 40 men, and about 20k denars.
-EDIT-
Another tip: choose who you want to side with early. After picking, usually 2 factions will hate you because they're at war with who you chose. For example, I chose Vaegirs. Now the Nord and the light blue (idk what theyre called lol) faction hate me now. So, I just go to those areas, raid some villages there, and leave right after. It usually racks in over 1000 denars.
