Thursday, January 5, 2012

More Relic Info

With the Holidays over, the Mythic team is back at work.  Warhammer Online Producer James Casey hit the forums to answer some questions about the upcoming 1.4.5 Fortress/relic feature.  You can read the original post here.

Full copy of the post:

Finally got some time to read through the whole thread again as I gave it a once-over yesterday. Lots of stuff to comment on.
For some of the questions on actual numbers (relic bonuses and maintenance) I need to double-check some values and I'll give you those later today. One thing to note there is that they will likely need some tweaking based on feedback and PTS testing like any variables. :)
I made a list of some of the top stuff so I'm just going to run down a list.
We have the bug someone mentioned with Rams in our tracker for code to look at.  
A number of people pointed out the disparity between defense and attack, but as noted by others, the idea is that it is a difficult task. That being said, some of the ideas for attackers are things examine further and consider for inclusion potentially; for example a AAO based PAM system for attackers. 
Some people commented on the alliance buffs for claiming and maintaining areas in the fortress. Those buffs only stay up if they are paid for and maintained, and only affect the fortress area. That being said, the bonuses for owning both relics in a pairing are not alliance based but affect the whole realm based on the pairing owned. 
To answer someone's question, the guild that claims an area pays the cost, the alliance benefits though. 
We can look at additional items to purchase potentially but not in the initial push.
Likewise there are some good ideas in the thread on ways to tweak AAO. I'd like to get feedback on PTS before we look at those further. 
Attackers still respawn in the previous zone, but something we can consider is making a way to change that based on criteria (perhaps population). Good topic for further expansion. 
As for the single ram, there can actually be two rams out at once and there are 3 doors into the fortress and 1 inside. So the battle will be different than the keeps in that sense. As well, since all fortress are up and not part of the campaign, there are a number of options for both sides, whether dominant or not. 
There are no limits on population in the area currently. As someone pointed out, it should be no worse than when a third pairing is being pushed and the other two are locked. 
The mobs are based on current levels of players and gear in tier 4 and we'd love to get some feedback into how effective they are for 'defended' (alliance claimed) and 'undefended' fotresses while on PTS. 
Currently there are no plans for Skaven to be carried over into this area. 
I’ll be back later today or in the morning with some numbers and more comments.