By
Cody “Micajah” Bye, Managing Editor




When you think of classic confrontations, who do you typically choose
as the two combatants? Ali and Frasier? Nazi Germany and the United
States? Lion-o versus Mumra? These are all valid choices (especially
the homage to Thundercats) but there is one specific example of classic
faction battles that wasn't listed. The Dwarves and the Greenskins.



Arguably the two races that serve as the main combatants at the Gates
of Ekrund are even more classic than any of the three contenders listed
above. Mentioned time and time again in Western fantasy, The Dwarves
and the Orcs have clashed on numerous occasions, and their hatred for
one another is almost always palpable in any fictional setting. Perhaps
that's why I took particular pleasure in pursuing my enemies in the
Gates of Ekrund RvR scenario. I knew the history behind these two
races, and our conflict at the Gates of Ekrund made it all the sweeter.


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A map of the
Gates of Ekrund.

Again, this article is simply a basic look at the Gates of Ekrund
scenario and some of the strategies and tactics players can use to get
an advantage in this conflict. If you’re looking for open
battleground RvR guides, go href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/war/rvr" target="_blank">check
out our selection at the Warhammer
Online community site. New players to the RvR game should go
check out
target="_blank">Tony “RadarX”
Jones’ RvR Basics guide.
However, if you’re ready to learn the ropes to the Gates of
Ekrund, you’ve come to the right spot.



A
Look at the Gates of Ekrund




Capture the Gate Switch,
Supply Room and the Ammunitions Cache located
on the upper floors of the gate. Most important, kill all the enemies
you find! – from the
WAR style="font-style: italic;"> developers



Arguably, the Gates of Ekrund is the most bloodthirsty Tier 1 RvR
scenario. This is a sheer slaughterfest, even compared to the
incredibly intense Nordenwatch
and target="_blank">Khaine’s Embrace battle
fields. For most gamers, and especially casters, dying four or five
times won’t be such a bad outcome. If you’re a
player that loves to simply jump into the middle of a brawl and have it
out with other players, this is the scenario for you.



The Gates of Ekrund RvR scenario again applies the same “take
and hold” principle to this instanced encounter. Three flags
stand at the top of the Gates of Ekrund, and it’s up to you
and your faction to climb to the top of those gates and fight for the
three objectives. Like in every Tier 1 RvR scenario, one objective on
each side of the map is easily attainable by players from either the
Destruction or Order spawn points, while the flag in the middle stands
as the “contested” objective.  



Starting at the players’ spawn point, there are multiple
avenues of reaching the top of the Ekrundian gate, but the closest,
quickest, and safest avenues are directly in front of the spawn points
for either faction. There are two of these “quick”
ramps that lead players onto the gate: one plops players directly on
top of their “easy to attain” objective, while the
other directs players to the middle of the gate where the
“contested” flag sits.



Though in my previous two RvR scenario guides I discussed how the
developers “bottle-necked” players into certain
areas where they knew there would be a blood bath, I didn’t
see the true nature of “bottle-necking” until I
played my first round through the Gates of Ekrund. Essentially, the
entire top of the Ekrund gate is one giant bottle-neck. If players want
to vie for that “contested” flag, they’ll
be forced to jump into the middle of the action and really attack their
opponents. Ranged combatants could stay on top of their objective
balcony and away from the lower “contested” area,
but most of the ranged participants won’t be able to actually
hit many of the enemies unless they’re right at the very edge
of their overhang.



Just like in the other two low tier RvR scenarios, most of the players
at the Gates of Ekrund will be low level Dwarves and Greenskins.
However, there were a fair number of other races thrown into the mix as
well. Perhaps as the Warhammer Online game matures, more players will
know about the various war camps and simply decide to play through
their favorite scenarios rather than wasting their time with scenarios
they don’t particularly enjoy.


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For most
players, the Gates of Ekrund will be a blood bath.

A
Few Strategies




Frankly, there are fewer strategies to be employed in the Gates of
Ekrund encounter than in any other of the low tier RvR areas. This is
just a knock-down, drag-out fight to see who can win the objectives.
This also means that the Gates of Ekrund is one of the fastest RvR
scenarios in the game. If you’re undermanned or outgunned in
the Gates, you’ll feel it almost immediately.



Perhaps the only true strategy for the Gates of Ekrund is to bring
plenty of DPS firepower. Frankly, healers seem to have very little
chance of healing their href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/28245" target="_blank">warriors
at the Gates, especially if the other
team is intelligent and willing to concentrate their firepower. Teams
with the most DPS seem to win this scenario nine times out of ten, so
if you’ve got any Bright Wizard or Witch Hunter friends, tell
‘em to tag along.



Class
Assignments in the Gates of Ekrund




All of that’s terrific, but what should each individual
archetype do at the Gates of Ekrund. Thankfully, I can help you out a
little bit with this question. Here are a few basic
“Do’s” and
“Don’ts” for the player that wants to
gain an upper hand.



Tanks



- Do: At the
Gates of Ekrund, you’ll really be little more than a
“meatshield” for most of the other classes in your
faction. Unlike Khaine’s Embrace and Nordenwatch,
there’s relatively little “charging” to
do to get to the opposing flag. Once you’re on the
battlefield, the objective is practically sitting in your lap. This
means that you may not be as useful in this particular scenario as
you’re used to.



That doesn’t mean that tanks are completely worthless in the
Gates of Ekrund RvR scenario. On the contrary, efficient tanks can turn
life into living hell for players on the opposing team. If you spot any
ranged classes sitting back underneath the awning of their opposing
flag, go tear them apart. Those are the characters you want to get rid
of as quickly as possible.  



- Don’t: As
is the case with most of the classes, don’t expect to live an
inordinately long time. The Gates of Ekrund is a killing ground, and
you’re one of the prime targets for players to aim at.
Thankfully, that’s one of the best parts about your job, so
take the damage and keep on smiling.



Melee DPS



- Do: While
you really do excel at most of the RvR scenarios, the Gates of Ekrund
is probably your ultimate choice for dealing out large amount of
up-close death and destruction. Unlike Nordenwatch or
Khaine’s Embrace, players have almost no where to run on the
Gates of Ekrund. Once you get a player in your sights, it’s
game over. Let the slaughter begin.


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Do not fight
in the contested area. What I'm doing here is wrong.

With that attitude in mind, you should really focus on killing as many
of the target="_blank">other DPSers that you can find. If
you can get rid of those
characters, your faction should be well on its way to winning the
scenario.



- Don’t: There’s
no need to be overzealous. Like in the other two scenarios, if you get
separated from the rest of your group, there’s no way that
you’ll be living much longer. A player will find you and kill
you; that’s the simple fact. At the Gates, there’s
no need for you to go charging down a ramp in pursuit of a player.
You’ll do just find standing by the contested flag, waiting
for the enemy to come to you.



Ranged DPS



- Do: Like
the melee DPS classes, you really are crucial to victory at the Gates
of Ekrund. Between you and the melee DPSers, you should be able to
eliminate most of the other combatants on the battle field.
You’re in a particularly good position as a href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/28249" target="_blank">ranged
DPSer,
simply because you can use some of the height advantages that the Gates
has built in.



- Don’t: You
really aren’t needed anywhere near the contested area of the
map, so don’t risk likely death by venturing down into that
area. Either stay in the back of the contested area or remain high on
the overlooking balcony. This way you’ll stay relatively safe
and out of sight of other DPSers.



Healers



- Do: Try,
try, try to stay on the upper balcony as much as possible. While
it’s tempting to go down and try to take the contested flag,
you will die. It’s that simple. If you can stay up high and
away from the DPSers, you’ll do extremely well. Rain heals
down on your allies and keep them alive as they take the objective from
your opponents.



- Don’t:
I’ll say it again, try to stay away from the middle of the
map. You will die over and over and over again if you get anywhere near
the contested flag. It’s that simple.


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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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