by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

Towering above fortress walls looking ominously down upon those who challenge it's master, the Keep symbolizes safety and defense. Throughout the history of warfare, they have been designed to protect the vital resources of a territory and provide a last line of protection against invading forces. What better element could fit in Warhammer Online whose task is to engage in area wide warfare against enemy factions?

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An Empire Keep

In February's Newsletter, EA Mythic announced the introduction of siege warfare within the Realm vs Realm game mechanics. Using a method very similar to Dark Ages of Camelot, factions will take refuge in a Keep and attempt to defend it against besiegers. Including both offensive and defensive siege weaponry, it offers players a chance to play a medieval game of King of the Hill. We aren't here to necessarily rehash what you read in the newsletter because that was pretty clear. What we are going to look at is the major benefits of this system and why anyone would be excited to see it.

First, having defensive positions like this draws players to the "kill zone." People of various playstyles will be searching for Player vs Player combat and what better place to locate it than an established battlefield? Solo players who normally shun others can blend in amongst the mass of attackers or defenders and small groups can coordinate tactical movements. The complexity of the scenario is entirely up to the participants.

What you want to try and avoid is the PvP availability in the early version of World of Warcraft. Before they provided the infamous Battlegrounds or very popular Arena system, PvP combat was just a game of hide and seek on the PvP servers and almost non-existent on the PvE servers. So what did everyone do? They went to where two opposing towns were close by fought midway between them. The lag in the zone got horrendous and time seemed to slow as hundreds of people moved through just as many corpses.

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Chaos Keep

Not only does it enhance the kill zone but the implementation of siege warfare also provides players with a goal. There is nothing worse than logging in, sighing, and trying to figure out what you want to do. Should you run around and gank people, run a dungeon instance, or find the highest point in a city to leap off? Many people need a consistent direction to go with their gameplay.

Traditionally control of PvP environments are dictated by the sheer volume of forces occupying an area. Blue team decides they want the grassy knoll, so they stand on it which is just a blatant challenge to red team. So now we have dozens of players involved in a fight over a little hill with no significance. These Keeps assist in the control of the entire zone, so there is clear motivation to control them.

An element not frequently used in MMO games enough is dynamic environments, and this type of content is perfect for it. Who really wants to run by the broken guard tower with the same bored guard day after day? An unchanging environment can increase repetition an almost give a feeling of stagnation which discourages players from wanting to log in.

Keeps guarantee that the environment will constantly evolve as they change hands. This gives the feeling (even if it's only an illusion) of a fluid battle and perhaps you aren't charging on to it for the 50th time. Last time there were 10 defenders, maybe this time there will be 20. Will they have reinforcements show up this time? Will you have as much siege equipment available? There are so many variables no battle should feel the same.

Finally an important element of MMO games, despite what some solo players might tell you, is social interaction. Yes, there needs to be content for those anti-social folks but even many soloers have no issues joining a large scale conflict against a common enemy. We're all in this fight together, and Keeps will just bring the masses closer and provide more experience.

Hopefully you can see just how valuable sieges will be for player interaction, and how Warhammer Online's system in conjunction with Realm vs Realm will provide an environment like no other. What do you think? Will this add elements to enhance player enjoyment or will it pigeonhole people into fighting only in certain areas? Let us know on our forums!