Destroying Buildings and Stomping Players has never been so much fun!

Our guides to Wintergrasp and Strand of the Ancients are up, but there's still lots to cover on the topic of Siege Weaponry. The kinds of siege weapons you can get will play a huge role in your upcoming PvP battles, be it in Strand of the Ancients's beaches, or in the icy Wintergrasp fighting or defending your ground.

While we have covered some basics about the Siege Combat mechanics, let's go over all the announced, and available Siege weapons and how they will influence combat, along with some basic tactics for each of the players who are going to man these awesome new additions.

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Catapults in the Horizon

Siege Weapons - Types and Functionality

There are quite a few different siege weapons available, both stationary and moving, and they cover both ground and air. What would a good battle be if there aren't airships bombing and anti-personnel turrets preventing access to areas, eh? Even if this sounds a little bit too Unreal Tournament-ish for you, trust me, it's a good thing - it brings variety into the game, and allows players who play healers or traditionally less-than-optimal classes to feel like they're in control while inside a Siege Weapon.

It's worthy of note that there WILL be drawbacks if you use a Siege Weapon as opposed to being on your own - you will always move slower, and you will be a big target to enemy players. Not only that, in zones like Lake Wintergrasp, you will not be able to cross water with one, so if you're caught near a lake, you will have to forfeit your vehicle, most likely, unless a big miracle happens!

On the up side, however, you can really wreck some people's faces with the Siege Weapons! Not only that, but their structures, too! As always, it's best to gauge when and how to use one than just hopping in and hoping to kill someone quickly while piloting one of these babies.

The complete list of upcoming Siege Weapons is as follows:

  • Demolisher
  • Catapult
  • Siege Engine
  • Flying Machine
  • Flying Machine (Bomber)
  • Goblin Shredder
  • Anti-Personnel Turret

Bet you hadn't heard of the Goblin Shredder, had you? let's analyze each of these and see what they bring to the battlefield.

Siege Weapon Analysis

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Demolisher

Alright! ready to board your first Siege Weapon? Let's see their uses!

Offensive Machinery

Catapult

The Catapult is typically the first Siege Weapon you will encounter in your PvP battles - it is the low-end of the Siege Weapons and will likely be replaced by better alternatives as you get the option or rank to do so.

Specifications: 1-man Vehicle, meaning you're alone in whatever you attempt. Low firepower. Somewhat faster than the other Siege Weapons.

Uses: Initial Siege PvP, panicking the enemy forces, drawing a distraction, entertaining yourself while you get a better vehicle!

Cons: Can't defend itself well, destroyed easily by 1 or 2 players due to its low HP.

Demolisher

Ah the Demolisher. Better get used to seeing a lot of these as they have the best bang for the buck. Available fairly early in battles, these vehicles have 2 different attacks themselves, and have more armor than the traditional catapult. Multiplayer support is a big plus.

Specifications: Up to 3 people can hop in and ride this vehicle - the first one will control all movement and the weapons, which include Ram (short-range big damage to buildings and players) and a turret of sorts to shoot targets further away. Players hopping in can ride with you and use their normal abilities while ontop of your vehicle, but they can be targetted separately and taken out by enemies.

Uses: Siege PvP for the masses - this is the vehicle to get if you want to frontload heavy damage to enemy fortifications. With the ram ability, you will be able to deal irreversible damage to the enemy walls and clear a path for your team. Much better armor than a Catapult, too!

Cons: Your teammates inside will be targettable by enemies pursuing you, so they may face issues when travelling with you. Slow and somewhat sluggish, this vehicle packs a punch if it arrives to its destination, but if not, it can be easily leveled by a band of 3 of 4 people.

Siege Engine

Remember the Steam Tonks we've seen across the old world? Well, these are now open for players with enough rank or luck to control! Being the hardest-hitters of them all, they have support for 4 or more players (real amount undisclosed yet), the driver will only be able to use the Ram ability, much like the demolisher's, but there will also be a spot for a gunner to man the turret, and a few passengers that will not be targettable. Infact, only the vehicle is able to be targetted here, making it ideal for long fights to carry people around and dish out big damage while moving to strategic locations.

Specifications: Over 3 people, turrets and concealing the other players, this vehicle will be a favorite once it's available.

Uses: Use it and push back enemies whenever you can! There's no reason not to man these in Siege Warfare.

Cons: Slow, driver will need to listen well to input from its other crewmembers in order to be the most effective he can.

Flying Machine

The first machine to be bought that flies, this model allows 2 players to take to the skies - a pilot and a gunner. This lightweight machine is ideally used for moving fast across the map, and not for any sort of prolonged combat.

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Siege Engine - note the difference in size!

Specifications: 2 people, light attack power

Uses: Use this vehicle to move to strategic locations, then proceed on foot. You are prone to being destroyed easily by enemies otherwise once they spot you!

Cons: Fragile, bad attack power.

Flying Machine (Bomber)

Now THIS is the one machine you want if you're going to do air warfare. It has both a pilot and a bomber. You may pick bombs up at the Goblin facility you will be using, and this in turn will let you toss them across the battlefield against your enemies, essentially behaving like the daily from the Isle of Quel'danas!

Specifications: 2 people, bombing type

Uses: Use this to trickle down the opposing team's Barrier and Vehicle HP - bombing enemies can really make a difference when others in the ground support you.

Cons: Still somewhat vulnerable, and you can't bomb forever.

Goblin Shredder

An interesting concept. You would think, "hey, do I look like a lumberjack to you? Why would I use a Goblin Shredder?" - What Blizzard has planned for us is way better - this machine will let us, for once, hop in on one of these and raise some hell! It wasn't seen much in the Wrath of the Lich King Beta, but this vehicle will allow you to jump to high places, have a close-range attack, and also shoot missiles to enemies in the air!

Specifications: 1-man, personal melee / ranged attacker.

Uses: Use this when trying to support your main troops, you will be able to shoot missiles and jump very high - if you're a healer or a ranged attacker and want more options, use the Shredder.

Cons: Vulnerable to being ganged up on, or shot down by other Siege Vehicles. If you get destroyed, jump out to continue fighting.

Defensive Machinery

Anti-Personnel Turret

Usually found in places to be defended like towers and fortress edges, these turrets are present in every single place you can attack with Siege Weapons.

Specifications: 1-man, 1-type of attack (bombing / fireblast)

Uses: ALWAYS make sure one of these is manned at your bases. To get to them, usually from the other side there will be teleporters that allow you to be near one and then simply hop on in! Very effective at weakening or destroying an advancing group of people.

Cons: Unable to Move. If people get on your blindside or simply overwhelm you, the turret's gone. Low HP.

Conclusions

This about covers up the Siege Weaponry available at the launch of Wrath of the Lich King. If more Siege Weaponry pops up in the future, we'll be sure to update this guide and let you know!

Stay in touch with TenTonHammer as we continue covering everything Wrath of the Lich King related!


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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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