Keep Defense - Defending the Breach

SkylarkAU · September 2015

In terms of pvp, one of the most important (and exhilarating) aspects of cyrodil warfare is the classic keep defense. With many new players joining pvp since the release of IC I figured it's good time to spread a little knowledge..

There are many different strategies that can be used to effectively defend a keep at different stages, from the initial enemy setup outside the walls to the up close and personal battle on the flag. This post only deals with one key stage (and possibly the most critical for success), the inner breach defense.

Whether the enemy forces are much larger or more experienced than the defending force, the following info provides the best strategy I've found for stopping a breach rush in its tracks and delivering a decisive victory. Before I get in to the detail though there are three key things needed to make it work communication, coordination and cooperation.

Why the breach? Because it's a natural choke point. You know with certainty that every enemy player who wants to take the flags must pass through one small opening in the wall - this provides the best opportunity to concentrate firepower, debuffs, snares and roots in a single small area, aka the kill box.

What's required?

Caltrops - these act as a snare slowing enemies as they come through (at least 1 on the breach)
Oils - these deliver some serious burns that tick over time (at least 2-3 required either facing outside or the inside the breach)
Meatbag - just 1 meatbag will debuff the enemies healing by 30%! (at least 1 aimed at the breach)
Fire Ballistas - similar to oils these will deliver nice damage up front and over time (at least 2 required)
Player Ultimates - the big guns, Nova, Standard, Meteor, whatever you've got drop it like it's hot
Player Immobilizes - the show stoppers, Talons, Encase, Bombard - anything that will stop groups of enemies in there tracks even for a moment will keep them in the kill box for longer, meaning more of the massive damage above is going to be on target.

What else?
Organised enemy groups will likely be running retreating maneuvers which gives them immunity to immobilizes and snares while simultaneously purging to remove any other effects like burning from oils and healing debuffs. A problem? Yes. Impossible to overcome? No.

Player Stuns/Disorients - the nail in the coffin, Streak, Atronach, Shards, Soul Tether, Dragon Leap, Volcanic Rune. All of these will either stun, disorient or knock back multiple enemies at once. If the enemy is on the ground they aren't blocking, purging, healing or moving. They are doing one thing only - taking serious damage and most likely getting wiped.

As long as defenders are communicating which each other in chat (e.g. setup defenses, breach is down, here they come, etc), working together to setup the proper defenses, and hitting the breach rush at the right time then defending a keep can be a easy (and really fun!)

Here's what it looks like!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNUvFaewq74

SkylarkAU · January 2016

More info for new players on defending keeps (beyond the previous post) by @Deltia here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=990V4Y05wj0

Deltia · January 2016

Thanks good info here.

Minno · January 2016

Remember, its not one option over another.
You must use all of the above in coordination otherwise purge + rapids will render many of the seige useless (you did mentioned coordinating as a vital part so kudos lol).

But very good guide!
@ZOS_GinaBruno sticky some of these guides for new players?

CatchMeTrolling · January 2016

Prefer keeping good defense strategies to my alliance members to be honest

Takes-No-Prisoner · January 2016

Puncturing Sweeps is great when they begin to rush, Blazing Spear too. There was a handful of times I got the opposing army stuck in stun while the oil dropped on top of them and they died because they had to react to my Sweeps stun AND the oil damage ticks. Won a few battles with that set up; Sweeps when they rush, trops on the door, 5 oils up top and meatbag / fire balista on the breach.

NB Mass Hysteria is REALLY amazing for breaking up blobs. Now I usually run solo-- but when I've had a organized group behind me trying to push, I will cloak and go into the heart of a enemy blob and just mash Hysteria right inside and head toward the back where the healers are to get them into fear. Its worked wonders for cutting into the heart of a zerg. Lets not forget one other benefit to Mass Hysteria we all might overlook;

Its the damage debuff, this is important for glass cannons trying to sneak and ninja the defenders from behind. Because even if they break the fear stun, they STILL get a damage reduction.

That Tooltip is a little outdated though fyi I forget what it says now-a-days

Minno · January 2016

Takes-No-Prisoner wrote: »

Puncturing Sweeps is great when they begin to rush, Blazing Spear too. There was a handful of times I got the opposing army stuck in stun while the oil dropped on top of them and they died because they had to react to my Sweeps stun AND the oil damage ticks. Won a few battles with that set up; Sweeps when they rush, trops on the door, 5 oils up top and meatbag / fire balista on the breach.

NB Mass Hysteria is REALLY amazing for breaking up blobs. Now I usually run solo-- but when I've had a organized group behind me trying to push, I will cloak and go into the heart of a enemy blob and just mash Hysteria right inside and head toward the back where the healers are to get them into fear. Its worked wonders for cutting into the heart of a zerg. Lets not forget one other benefit to Mass Hysteria we all might overlook;

Its the damage debuff, this is important for glass cannons trying to sneak and ninja the defenders from behind. Because even if they break the fear stun, they STILL get a damage reduction.
That Tooltip is a little outdated though fyi I forget what it says now-a-days

Lol this is now a NB nerf thread

DannyLV702 · January 2016

When in doubt, use moar caltrops

Takes-No-Prisoner · January 2016

Minno wrote: »

Lol this is now a NB nerf thread

Kind sire I said nothing of the sort! I just see a zerg not paying attention at a breach and well... I just make it a little bit more 'fearful' for them to come inside.

Minno · January 2016

Takes-No-Prisoner wrote: »

Minno wrote: »

Lol this is now a NB nerf thread

Kind sire I said nothing of the sort! I just see a zerg not paying attention at a breach and well... I just make it a little bit more 'fearful' for them to come inside.

Lol just a joke. Though templars deserve their AOE CC back

Drakilian · January 2016

Hey, NPCs have collision detection right? I can't remember the last time I fought a sorc with an Atro (wasn't long ago, I just have bad memory) but I'm pretty sure that you can't go through an Atro (just like you cannt go through NPC guards) unless you dodge roll through them (dodge rolling eliminates collision detection).

So 3-4 sorcs could stop an entire ball group in their tracks by spawning atros to literally, physically block the entrance. A silence being cast over the Atros would also stop them from being burst down too quick too. Then you can add on the roots and the siege and the heal debuffs and the heals that aren't being cast at because of the anti-magic field, etc.

Should always remember to set up siege on both sides of the wall by the way - even if the inner isn't down on the other side, a good group with a group leader will just skip across the centre and go up the far side to avoid most of the siege and player defenses.

Honestly, I'm always so surprised when any group takes any defended keep. The defenders have so many advantages.

cschwingeb14_ESO · January 2016

And then a good attacking group pops rapid, barrier and purges their way through all of this and runs into a tower, up and kills everyone pouring oils.

Now you have lost your chance to effectively bomb them because you got all spread out on siege and are dying piecemeal.

SkylarkAU · January 2016

cschwingeb14_ESO wrote: »

And then a good attacking group pops rapid, barrier and purges their way through all of this and runs into a tower, up and kills everyone pouring oils.

Now you have lost your chance to effectively bomb them because you got all spread out on siege and are dying piecemeal.

Which is why you gotta drop those stuns and disorients to lock them down..
In this example the stage is set with fire & cold fire ballistas, oils and caltrops.. There are 2 Nightblades waiting in the scroll cubby and as soon the standard drops on the main push they jump in and drop soul tether followed by fear - watch what happens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F5np6SYTo0&

This simple strat allowed us to easily wipe a group twice our size in a pinch without healers/templars/barrier, any group can do it if they work together

PhatGrimReaper · January 2016

Skylark OP!!! Please Nerf

phillyproduct · January 2016

Great thread great for beginners, but rapids and two barriers wouldve destroyed your group easily.

If the attackers have the numbers you barrier tun up top kill everyone up their barrier again and then work your way down with no siege

SkylarkAU · January 2016

phillyproduct wrote: »

Great thread great for beginners, but rapids and two barriers wouldve destroyed your group easily.

If the attackers have the numbers you barrier tun up top kill everyone up their barrier again and then work your way down with no siege

I realise that's the general perception but watch the video in my last comment closely, when the main enemy push gets locked down nearly half of them die before breaking out of the first wave of cc, when the remaining enemy get out of cc they immediately pop a barrier but it's still not enough. Purge, rapids, barrier - none of those things prevent hard cc. Coordinated hard cc's + focused damage = wipe.

Of course there are situations where you're fighting odds of say 4:1 and nothing you can do will stop them, but the reality is you're probably going to die anyway - this strat will at least exact a price on the opposition (and earn you some AP in the process).

Drakilian · January 2016

Agreed with skylark, siege is highly underrated and can be used much better with coordination ~

Lil_Willie · January 2016

Just get a group with proxy det and bats. L

Tankqull · January 2016

SkylarkAU wrote: »

phillyproduct wrote: »

Great thread great for beginners, but rapids and two barriers wouldve destroyed your group easily.

If the attackers have the numbers you barrier tun up top kill everyone up their barrier again and then work your way down with no siege

I realise that's the general perception but watch the video in my last comment closely, when the main enemy push gets locked down nearly half of them die before breaking out of the first wave of cc, when the remaining enemy get out of cc they immediately pop a barrier but it's still not enough. Purge, rapids, barrier - none of those things prevent hard cc. Coordinated hard cc's + focused damage = wipe.

Of course there are situations where you're fighting odds of say 4:1 and nothing you can do will stop them, but the reality is you're probably going to die anyway - this strat will at least exact a price on the opposition (and earn you some AP in the process).

aehm sorry but your vid shows nothing of what you are claiming

its a bunch of randoms entering somewhat coordinated a breach, without any rapid maneuver to compensate your soft cc(talons) no hard cc used at all in that vid, no purgespam to compensate the siege dots immedeatly or your prevously mentioned soft cc.

in short some unprepared dumsters got rekt like in every xvsmoreXX vid, thats all.

beside that i dont disagree with your sentiment its just not reflected in that vid.

SkylarkAU · January 2016

Tankqull wrote: »

SkylarkAU wrote: »

phillyproduct wrote: »

Great thread great for beginners, but rapids and two barriers wouldve destroyed your group easily.

If the attackers have the numbers you barrier tun up top kill everyone up their barrier again and then work your way down with no siege

I realise that's the general perception but watch the video in my last comment closely, when the main enemy push gets locked down nearly half of them die before breaking out of the first wave of cc, when the remaining enemy get out of cc they immediately pop a barrier but it's still not enough. Purge, rapids, barrier - none of those things prevent hard cc. Coordinated hard cc's + focused damage = wipe.

Of course there are situations where you're fighting odds of say 4:1 and nothing you can do will stop them, but the reality is you're probably going to die anyway - this strat will at least exact a price on the opposition (and earn you some AP in the process).

aehm sorry but your vid shows nothing of what you are claiming
its a bunch of randoms entering somewhat coordinated a breach, without any rapid maneuver to compensate your soft cc(talons) no hard cc used at all in that vid, no purgespam to compensate the siege dots immedeatly or your prevously mentioned soft cc.

in short some unprepared dumsters got rekt like in every xvsmoreXX vid, thats all.

beside that i dont disagree with your sentiment its just not reflected in that vid.

You must be trolling.. if you watch, the person leading the charge is literally spamming purge the whole way through.. and you can see the 2 x soul tethers lock down the entire pack - the talons i'm spamming don't actually catch anyone until the hard cc's wear off. Thanks for your input though.

SneaK · January 2016

SkylarkAU wrote: »

More info for new players on defending keeps (beyond the previous post) by @Deltia here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=990V4Y05wj0

I really like that signature, cause it's so true. Most fun class to die with..