Cyrodiil Improvement Suggestion: Increase Keep Durability (Includes Specific Examples)

Rodario

Though I really enjoy Cyrodiil, I feel that sieges are currently far too short. Often a keep will get attacked, I'll start riding there posthaste, but before I'm even halfway there it's already been conquered. The political map of Cyrodiil is almost epilepsy inducing.

I suggest the following changes to siege warfare:


- Increase Wall/Gate Hit Points

Without anyone repairing them, they should resist a full barrage for at least ten minutes. Augment repair mechanics to a point where that time can be increased to 20 minutes. Keeping in mind that a successful sally, hindering the attacker's efforts by destroying their siege equipment, will allow the walls to survive longer.

- Allow Travel to Besieged Keeps

It seems unfair that the attacker can spawn and respawn very close to the keep by the use of forward camps, but the defenders have a five minute ride ahead of them, which might very well end in being picked off before they reach the keep again. Forward camps do not work as well for defenders because "Too close to an existing graveyard".

I suggest making travel to besieged keeps possible as long as there is no breach yet. Maybe not to the keep itself, but to the entrance of a tunnel that takes one minute to run through and leads to the keep's interior.

- Allow Resurrection Within Besieged Keeps

For the same reasons stated above, as long as there is not yet a breach, allow defenders to resurrect within their keep. Maybe add a resurrection timer or a short term debuff that gets worse every time you die and resurrect within that keep.

- Make Freshly Conquered Keeps Invulnerable for a Short Period

To allow the new owners to enjoy their victory and reorganize themselves, make keeps invulnerable for 30 minutes after they've been conquered.

- Introduce Purchasable Upgrades

All Improvements listed above could be introduced in the form of keep upgrades, purchasable by use of Alliance Points. This is the main reason for the invulnerability period suggestion. They could be cheaper if all three resources are held by the keep's owner.


It is my perception that stronger, more durable keeps will lead to the following improvements to the Cyrodiil experience:

- The incentive for guilds to conquer, own and defend a keep increases
- Sieges will become rarer and require more planning, but will feel more special
- With stable front lines, open world skirmishes and battles for outposts and resources will become more meaningful
- A general improvement to ambiance


Yes, fixing current issues should come first. I'm thinking in terms of upcoming content patches, maybe the next but one.

Thanks for reading, discuss.

Forztr

Be nice if the map didn't wait until a keep wall was below 50% before showing up as being under attack. The last 100k hp can be demolished by an organised siege using stone ballista inside 2mins.

Would also be cool if the client put up a message to say that a keep was under attack when it was flagged as such on the map. Instead of currently relying on someone checking the map, noticing the attack and reporting it in zone chat.

Rodario

Forztr wrote: »

Be nice if the map didn't wait until a keep wall was below 50% before showing up as being under attack. The last 100k hp can be demolished by an organised siege using stone ballista inside 2mins.

Would also be cool if the client put up a message to say that a keep was under attack when it was flagged as such on the map. Instead of currently relying on someone checking the map, noticing the attack and reporting it in zone chat.

Agreed, those would be welcome changes/fixes as well.

Teargrants

Just want to say, the reason the keep is down so fast once you see it flag, assuming its undefended, is twofold. One, the walls don't flag until they reach 49%. Two, they have trebs knocking down the inner postern at the same time so that its about 50% down once the outer wall comes down.

That said, the way you have to deal with this, as an organized group, is leaving one guy to ride circles along the wall constantly. It sucks that he gets no AP, but it's how we defended dragonclaw from DC so much.

Rodario

With the upcoming addition of keep owner's guild stores, there is even more reason now to make keeps more durable...

Keep gets conqured, store opens, player starts browsing the store, keep already belongs to a new owner...