Greetings my fellow combatants from the Pact, the Dominion and the Covenant.

First of all, I'd like to apologize for posting a suggestion here - I'm not sure it's the 'ideal' place - however I haven't found a proper 'suggestions board', so... Since my suggestion is related to the war on Cyrodiil, it occurred to me that this might be the place.

I'd also like to say that I'm aware there are several gameplay mechanics improvements and changes that are fairly more urgent and 'important' than this - but there are enough posts for them already. I'm suggesting something that feels important for me - and for a lot of people too, I'm sure.

So, let's get to the point...

Cyrodiil has been a lot of fun for me. But what has been intriguing me the most is how passionate some people become (I'm including myself here) about their alliances. It's quite fun to charge against the walls of a fortress if you're playing a game about charging against walls... But it gets incredibly more meaningful and fun when everyone is screaming "CHARGE! FOR THE PACT! FOR MERDON, THE TRUE EMPEROR!" and things like that. It's amazing when people gather together to defend who they believe should be sitting on the Ruby Throne, it's amazing when people really fight that war. And that is what's making the ESO pvp so intense and powerful IMHO.

However I don't think we should stop here, no. Flavouring - cosmetics, atmosphere, passion - is arguably a secret key ingredient for attachment and dedication. There are several studies showing that games like WoW, for example, had a previously-loved lore and universe as one of the key components for success - something we do, too. And when this is not sufficiently cared for, it fails. AKA Star Wars: The Old Republic. It brings nothing new. It's WoW with lightsabers. It doesn't feel like Star Wars. Failed.

So... My point is: ESO found it's place. ESO rose from the dark mist of dead or soon-to-die copycats with a banner of hope to fight against the last 10 years standards. It's too soon to know what will happen, I know. But it has a soul. And I believe this soul must be fed.

(I know this is a really long and boring post - and I'm sorry about that - I just wanted to speak my mind. I'll get to the suggestion... eventually.)

And feeding the soul of a game goes beyond improving all the mechanics and fixing all the bugs and adding gameplay content. This is EXTREMELY important, of course. It adds longevity. But longevity is not enough if it's an empty husk. And this is where the flavouring comes, where the game's freedom to be who you want to be and to live that experience comes into the scene. There's a lot to be done there, but I'm here about 'military flavouring'. So, what in Oblivion I mean with that?

Well, if the people wants to fight a war with such passion - let's give 'em the tools to do so!

As of now, the Alliance war is good but it still works on a 'recent' war formulae in mmos (like GW2, for instance). It's a big improvement, but it must step further away from all the others to bring it to the next level.
What I'm here to suggest are a few additions that would be mostly 'emotional' and 'cosmetic' (although they CAN be implemented into gameplay, more on that soon) that I believe would increase this attachment to the game world.
The battles are currently a little dull. All the emotional side given to them comes from the players - and if it's happening so often, it means it could (and must!) be explored. So, in a nutshell:

Horns
Yes, I'm aware that if you type /horn you sound a horn. But, well... It's sound volume is too low. You can barely hear it. My suggestion is to add functional, powerful horns that would rise over the heat of battle.
And horns weren't invented for flavouring, by the way. They *could* be used for gameplay. IF each faction had it's own horn sound (easily distinguished from the other) AND IF each horn had two different sounds (Like 'advance' or 'retreat') a simple 'Q'-push of your horn could avoid a lot of typing on the /zone "retreat to the fort, retreat to the fort" or things like that. It would be awesome if only people currently leading a group or a raid could use them, so we would avoid a horn-fest and they would be ACTUALLY functional.
So, imagine this:
An Item "Ebonheart Pact Horn", for example. You buy it with alliance war currency and quick slot it with Q. And then - if you are a raid leader and/or group leader - you can use it for easier commanding and battle flavouring!
Oh, and everyone should be able to hear it - enemies included. I can already imagine the chat: "They're sounding the retreat! The day is ours!"

War-Cries
Well, this one is quite self-explaining. A lot of people scream on chat: "FOR THE DOMINION!", "FOR THE PACT!", "FOR THE TRUE EMPEROR!"... It would be awesome if we could really hear these :P just that.

Drums of War
I'm sure that many here have seen the Game of Thrones show on HBO. I'm using it because it's the most recent and popular example that comes to mind. If you recall the battle of Blackwater Bay episode (S02E09) it has an amazing war-drumming sequence on the beginning (when Stannis' boats are arriving). If you haven't seen it, you can see it here (it's awesome):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4kNneOct6A

War drums are a powerful tool.
My idea for these (in the game) would be the possibility for one still not 'bitten' enough for combat to find usefulness in war. Sometimes I wish I could do something different than fighting or using siege weapons, something meaningful but for those times I'm tired (lol).
One could sacrifice itself as a fighter to equip drums as 'a weapon' - or maybe deploy them as siege equipment is deployed. Drums would give a small buff to surrounding friendlies on a large radius based on two things: The number of drums and how long it's being played.
They would also give a small debuff on enemies. If both armies have drums, they 'nullify' the debuffs.

Bells
Sometimes you're preparing to defend a keep and you spot the enemies coming and raising their own siege equipment. Then you have to desperately /yell "AD INCOMING NORTH, AD INCOMING NORTH".
Each wall should have a bell on the middle of it that a player can quickly sound. When it's done, everyone in and around the keep would be notified of which bell is ringing.

Banners
Banners could work like Drums, but with a few differences:
1- They're one handed, mobile. You can fight with them and walk with them.
2- Their buff is a little better but it's radius is greatly decreased.
I'm aware that there are 'skills' like 'banners' (I think the Dragonknight has this?) but a less shiny/ hand-carried banner that depicts your alliance's colors would be awesome!

Well, these are just a few ideas... Like I said - they might not seem important for some, but I hope I was able to demonstrate how I think they're actually important for the game overall - and would add a lot of depth and tactical value.
Feel free to comment, add suggestions or simply flame me