Upgrade those upgrades

I think that the keep system has been a success so far. While keeps are still mostly the same, they are a tad less static now. You do need to consider the upgraded door strength and those Champion guards can be a real pain. As for the rest of the upgrades, I don't really see or notice their presence too much. So what else can we do with keep upgrades?

Wall Guards. Hire some guards to man the other wall. They can provide range fire and help you out against those pesky intruders.

Snare Ritualist. Right now, people just run by the first floor guards. Maybe the ritualist guards could also have an AoE slow so that they are likely to be dealt with.

Promotion. Upgrade your Keep Lord and his guards.

Siege Upgrade. All siege pads are upgraded to provide a damage bonus.

Pride. A Tier wide buff can be purchased for the guild. For example, a 10% Strength bonus to any guild member in Tier 4.

Flight Master. Guild members can fly directly to the keep.

What are your ideas for new keep upgrades?

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This Old Keep

On this weeks This Old Keep, we will strengthen up that rickety keep door so we can keep those unwelcome visitors out.

One surprise that the 1.2.1 patch is bringing is the Keep Upgrade system. I was under the impression that this would be in 1.3, so I was happy to hear it is coming sooner. Guilds who have claimed a keep will now be able to purchase improvements. These improvements take time to build, so they better hold onto the keep.

When I envisioned the system, I thought we would just be able to upgrade a couple things. Turns out there are 13 options, some with multiple levels. Hopefully this will provide a wide variety of different keep setups. Currently, keeps are all pretty much the same when you attack them, I hope this will make things a bit more dynamic.

The Door will be able to be strengthen via hit points, or repaired by wood purchased from a vendor. I expect these to be popular upgrades so long as they provide enough bang for the buck.

Also popular should be the guard improvement. You can hire more guards and promote them to Champion level. This should help against the smaller raid on your keep. It should also help with those pesky people sneaking in through the backdoor.

Two types of NPC's can be hired to help fight in the lower level of the inner keep. Both are AoE dealers, but one is damage and the other is healing. Combined with Champion level guards, will this encourage the fight to move to the lower level of the keep?

Powered by the skulls of your enemies, the Divine Altar Favor looks like the WAR equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction. It will take about 500 skulls to power and should do some serious damage to your would-be attackers.

One thing that does concern me is the economics involved. From the examples, we are looking at 300 gold a day to run a mid-ranked keep. I don't know what everyone's guild bank looks like, but this seems like a lot more than even large guilds bring in on a daily basis.

What does a guild really get for this high cost? AT first everyone will scramble for the keeps as a novelty. After a few days though, the cost will likely start to take it's toll. While making the keep tougher to take is good, I don't think it will provide enough incentive for a guild to fund. They need a personal stake in that keep.

One way to give accomplish this would be a purchasable game-wide buff for the guild members. For example, a 2% wounds increase, which has 5 levels up to 10%. This kind of bonus would give guilds something in return for spending large amounts of gold on that keep. Since it has levels, it would encourage the guild to want to hold it as long as possible.

I am very excited about the incoming Keep Upgrade system. I think it will make RvR more interesting, which is something WAR really needs at this point. Bring on 1.2.1!

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Keep Upgrades Detailed

Yes, a weekend post!

Mythic has given up the details for their keep upgrade system. Check it out:

http://herald.warhammeronline.com/warherald/NewsArticle.war?id=724

One quick note, I really hope they get the parts mentioned at the end in with the rest, looks very promising.

More to come on this during the week.

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Keep Improvement: Defensive Queuing

One of my favorite parts of WAR is defending a keep. I'm a Dwarf Engineer, it is what I was made to do. Although I enjoy it, it could be improved. One aspect in need of help is the problem of undefended keeps. These really just end up being gold bag vending machines. I am sure most players would like to have some resistance rather than playing PvE style.

One reason that defending is tough is that you have to either get to a keep early and wait for the enemy or try to get to the keep when they are already assaulting it. Let's face it, getting there and waiting is boring and a waste of game time. Arriving after the siege has begun usually has you end up dead by the postern door.

What if there was a way for defenders to arrive as the keep assault begins? I would like to see the scenario queue system (or something similar) applied to keeps. So when an attack begins, a LIMITED amount of players will be given the option to spawn at the keep. I would imagine 5 to 10 players max being allowed to get to the keep this way.

This sort of system should allow keeps to have some defenders almost all the time. To get in the queue, I would have players need to go to the keep they want to defend. This at least makes sure they have to go in the RvR lake at some point.

There are some likely problems with this idea. One, at what point are players summoned to the keep? It can't be on the initial attack, as it could easily be abused by the opposing force. Two, this may make it near impossible for small groups to attempt a keep siege. This actually may be a good thing depending on your point of view.

In summary, I think a system that makes it easier for a few players to get to a keep will make it more enjoyable for both sides.

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Keep Improvement: Door Control

It is no secret that the Keeps in WAR leave much to be desired. They do look good, but they are linear and really just boring. There is no real strategy beyond covering the postern doors and pushing your way in. There is a lot of potential here though.

Idea: When the outer keep doors come down, a location becomes available for capture. When this location is controlled by the owner realm for X amount of time, the door will respawn. If the enemy controls it, it will delay the door being rebuilt. By default, NPC guards would spawn as well. Securing the door control would be important, as your enemy could lock you in and your reinforcements out of the keep.

An alternative approach would be to have this location be able to be captured at all times. This would allow those classes that can enter through the postern door (if this is ever fixed) to be able to try and take control over the door. In this case, rather then the doors disappearing, it may just weaken them.

Benefits: Provides more incentive to split the attacking and defending forces. The battle would also be more dynamic, as it will not be centered solely on the inner keep door at this point.

Issues: The keep layout (except Fortresses and a few T4 keeps) are too small to support multiple locations. A couple of warbands could easily Swarm these locations, or respond quickly to any attack with massive force. Defending this area may be a lost cause, as you will be separated from the main defensive force in the inner keep. On the flip side, it would provide an objective for reinforcements to assault.

I am sure there are other issues for this idea, can you think of any?

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