Player versus Player combat in any MMOG is often a tumuluous thing,
with battle often seen as a personal matter rather than a simple
competitive experience. One of the most prevalent PvP games - Lineage
II - has been coaxing players to engage in PvP for years. Recently, the
developers at NCsoft Austin brought together a vaiety of high end guild
leaders to discuss the epic sieges and battle that can take place in
the world of Lineage II. Ten Ton Hammer has posted this article, along
with nine screenshots, for your viewing pleasure!
Hardcore PvP is one
of the big draws to Lineage II, and the bulk of the
intense PvP action takes place with the game’s castle sieges
and the recently introduced fortress battle system. We asked several
prominent clan leaders about their PvP experiences in Lineage II and
what they’d like to see in the future.
What’s the most
fun you’ve ever had in a Castle siege?
FeRsT ~ Kain ~: That
would have to be when we took Rune on Kain from the Teamjesus clan and
Darkside/Ur/Bregan alliances. They had been zerging the server,
outnumbering us in PvP, and we proved to them that with we could
compete with equal numbers (about ten clans combined for the siege). We
took them down from their status of server kings to show them that all
they can do is zerg, and that was by far the best thing, especially
seeing it was Fraps’d by Repsol, who is by far the best movie
maker in Lineage II playing currently.
Sovrath from Hindemith:
Our alliance had made some enemies on the server, and, as the history
of our server has shown, when the majority of the populace wants a
Castle ruler out, they unite and get them out. We rushed to Aden Castle
and discovered that our alliance members and other friends numbered
around twenty-one clans. However, the force united against us was
around twenty-nine clans.
We all buffed up, making sure that we were in place, only to see a vast
sea of players arrayed against us, waiting to rush when the siege time
started. It was at that point the weight of the situation impressed
itself upon me: unlike other games where you just go through the world
doing the quests, collecting things, etc, Lineage II offered a far much
more intense system of game play. This game is the players and what you
do has consequences.
In any case, the siege took the whole two hours, and never relented for
a minute. We fought at every gate, wall breach and entrance. We held
them back most of the time; however, in the end their forces were great
and their determination strong. Five minutes before the siege was
scheduled to end they took our throne room. Even though we lost the
siege, it was a great time and we definitely had shown that our forces
could put up a formidable defense.
How about Fortress
battles?
MysticLance from Gustin: Probably
the one I did with four other people a few weeks ago. I soloed two of
the bosses with my Unicorn, which just really shows how easy a fortress
can be to take if you're of the appropriate level!
Sovrath: One
time I recall a small group from a rather distasteful alliance had
signed up rather late in order to see if they could get in. Luckily, we
had some clan members and with the help from one or two others we were
able to repel them successfully. They never made it to the gates to be
honest. Fortress Battles have been a great Clan event though they have
all been against NPC’s.
Which do you find more
useful, Castle or Fortress ownership, and why?
MysticLance:
I find that Fortress ownership is more useful; generally, Fortresses
give more diverse porting locations and, while in possession of a
Fortress, you can still sign up to siege other fortresses or castles.
Maintaining ownership of a castle renders you unable to help defend
other castles without suffering significant penalties.
Jkoster from Lionna: I
would have to say that the Fortresses add more excitement to the siege
field, as it's not something that's exclusive to the level 75+ crowds.
With the right numbers and classes, even clans comprised of mostly
B-graders can manage a Fortress. In addition, the toys make it a lot
more fun, and the setting lends itself well to the role-playing aspect
of the game.
If you'd like to see
improvements made to castle sieges and fortress
battles, what would you suggest?
Jkoster:
Extend the duration of possession on Fortresses. Seventy-two hours
(assuming no other clan attempts to siege) is just too short. Many
clans have members that only manage to log in once during that time and
they do not get any true benefit from the Fortress. As for Castle
sieges, I would like to see them become more dynamic, similar to some
of the dynamics of the fortress system (sub-boss NPCs, the Control
Rooms, etc).
MysticLance:
A huge improvement to Castle sieges and Fortress battles would be to
remove the penalty of dying if unsigned (a full experience loss).
Maintaining the disuse of Siege Charms on those siege fields makes
sense in order to prevent a strong group of players from fighting on
five siege fields at once with no consequence, but the risk of full
experience death when protecting an allied clan's Castle is too harsh
of a penalty. I'd also really like to see more useful Siege Summons,
considering that a Castle Gate can be taken down faster by a party of
Archers than by a Siege Golem!
What are your
interactions like with other clans? Who usually dominates at Castle
sieges and Fortress battles on your server?
Sovrath: My
current clan tends to be more neutral though we have a decent
reputation on the server. The problem is that server politics can play
havoc on smaller clans so at times they tend to stay out of things if
they can. There usually is an alliance, Redemption, which seems to
dominate though they are very driven and usually have most of the
Heroes on the server—that of course helps a lot.
FeRsT ~ Kain ~:
I have been leading top clans on Kain since Chronicle 3. I have always
interacted with other clans but generally people didn’t like
me on the server. I prefer to out-skill and outclass people, rather
than outnumber, and I’ve always been outnumbered, though it
makes the game fun. I hardly ever will interact with more than two to
three clans to achieve the goal of taking a Castle or crushing a large
enemy force unless it is necessary to restore server balance like in
the example of the taking of Rune Castle.
Currently UR&B Alliance, who is a Russian alliance made up of
Bregan and UR clans, and the alliance of Darkside (made up of DV, TJ
and ND) are the main force on Kain. They bring over eighty people to
each siege, of which a majority of players comes with epic jewelry.
Recently a large majority of the good players left Kain to Teon, Franz
or Bartz, and this has left a large PvP gap on the server. There are a
few clans putting up fights together but they are no match to this
cluster of alliances, especially when they are out-geared, out-leveled
and outnumbered.
Do you do anything
special to prepare for a big Castle siege or other large-scale PvP
battle? (Training, eating, etc.)
FeRsT ~ Kain ~:
I eat two large pizzas, five garlic breads to scare the vampires away,
and two large bottles of Dr Pepper! Well, maybe not all of that. In
Australia, the sieges normally start between 9AM and 1PM (or at the
moment 7AM and 11AM) so I am lucky to wake up and prepare for them. I
feel the best training is general PvP during the week, and nothing
makes up for experience like a good leader.
Jkoster: I
make sure my schedule is clear and that my clan and alliance members
are aware of the siege time and location. I prepare in-game as much as
I can, and then just show up. Occasionally, we formulate some sort of
an actual plan of attack that actually works, but mostly we begin our
battle planning on the siege field.
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