Suggestion: Add a New Siege Type to Cyrodiil -- Barricades

Kickimanjaro · January 28

With all the recent discussion around heal stacking, HoTs, shield strength, and the survivability of organized ballgroups, I want to propose a new type of siege weapon for Cyrodiil that I think would open up fresh counterplay by specifically targeting the movement of ballgroups: placeable barricades.

What is a Barricade?
A barricade would be a deployable siege object that creates a temporary physical obstruction on the battlefield. Think of it as a destructible wall segment — something players must destroy before they can move through it.

Mechanically, it could function similarly to the Arcanist’s healing ultimate (Vitalizing Glyphic):

It’s a targetable object
It has a health bar
Players can damage it directly
When destroyed, it disappears

But unlike the Glyphic, its primary purpose is movement denial, not healing.

Why Movement Denial Matters
A lot of the current survivability of ballgroups comes from:

Layered HoTs
Shield stacking
Ult cycling
And when those fail: movement

Movement is the glue that holds the entire defensive package together. It’s what lets groups reposition out of bombs, kite through choke points, and avoid being pinned long enough for their HoTs and shields to restack (even if that's just a couple of GCDs).

How Barricades Improve Counterplay
Right now, Cyrodiil has almost no tools that let players meaningfully interfere with that movement, especially since most groups run Snowtreaders or Immovability Banner alongside Immovable potions. Barricades would introduce new and fun ways to influence positioning on the battlefield and would allow defenders to better prepare their positions.

A well‑placed barricade could:

Block a retreat path
Funnel a group into a choke
Delay a push long enough for siege to land
Force a ballgroup to stop and destroy it
Set up bombs, negates, oils, or meatbags
Create actual “terrain manipulation” moments in open‑field fights

This isn’t about hard‑countering ballgroups (especially with heal/shield adjustments likely coming). It’s about giving smaller groups and individuals a tactical tool that rewards planning and positioning.

Balance Considerations
To keep it fair and fun:

Barricades should have limited duration
They should have reasonable but not trivial HP
They should count as siege (limited deployment, e.g., 3 per player, possibly separate from lethal siege limits)
They should be destroyable by siege and player damage
They should not be spammable or create griefing scenarios at gates or quest hubs, but should be placeable within keeps (including upper floors)

Think of them as temporary battlefield geometry — powerful when used intelligently, but not oppressive.

Exploit Prevention
A common concern with any placeable object is the potential for terrain exploits. To prevent players from using barricades to climb into unintended areas or gain elevation they shouldn’t have, barricades could have the following safeguards:

No placement on steep slopes or irregular geometry
No stacking or overlapping with other siege
No placement within certain zones (too close to a transitus or scroll platform, blocking entrances to dungeons or quest buildings, etc.)

These safeguards could prevent barricades from being used to reach out‑of‑bounds locations or create unintended shortcuts.

Why This Would Be Fun
Cyrodiil’s best moments come from creative plays in a chaotic battlefield:

Clever siege setups
Coordinated traps
Tactical retreats and counter‑pushes
Taking a keep after a long fight involving many players and groups

Barricades would add a whole new layer of strategy to open‑field fights and keep the zone feeling dynamic and alive. They’d also give solo players and small groups a way to influence the flow of a fight without needing raw numbers.

All of this came to me in a Skooma dream, so take it up with the moons if it sounds crazy.

imPDA · January 28

Crazy, but I sooner see end of universe than this mechanic implemented.

Thumbless_Bot · January 28

You mean walls
/doors? They exist... already... in keeps (2) and outposts (1)...

YandereGirlfriend · January 28

This is a really awesome idea that would be useful in all sorts of situations, from caging annoying gankers inside of keeps, to the ballgroup scenario, to providing last lines of defense against zerging factions.

My one big rule would be that a barricade would have to impose the same limitations on the deploying faction as well, so that they would have to be deployed with care rather than simply spammed willy-nilly.

Thumbless_Bot · January 28

This has griefer paradise written all over it. No tha ks.

Avran_Sylt · January 28

How about a tar catapult that reduces movement regardless of buffs by players (looking at you snowtreaders) that step inside the AoE which lingers for a while.

This can still provide area denial, and being a "Friendly" AoE with limited duration can't be used to troll teammates.

(probably just leverage the Meatbag catapult code and tweak it)

Oblivion_Protocol · February 1

Avran_Sylt wrote: »

How about a tar catapult that reduces movement regardless of buffs by players (looking at you snowtreaders) that step inside the AoE which lingers for a while.

This can still provide area denial, and being a "Friendly" AoE with limited duration can't be used to troll teammates.

(probably just leverage the Meatbag catapult code and tweak it)

That’s not a good idea. You know how I know it’s not a good idea? Because it’s already in the game, but it’s so bad that you forgot the oil catapult exists.

As for the barricade, some destructible object isn’t going to stop ball groups from getting inside keeps, because doors and walls already don’t stop them. And if these barricades can be destroyed by player damage, they won’t last five seconds against a ball group.

Erickson9610 · February 2

These sound like a way to obstruct line of sight (LoS) from anywhere in an open space where there are no obstacles to abuse LoS.

I like open spaces because players can't continuously run around walls, towers, and rocks to avoid taking damage, so I don't think I'd want to see barricades be added.

YandereGirlfriend · February 2

I ballgroup and can tell the doubters in this thread very easily that this sort of mechanic would be very problematic for ballgroups.

Even outside of that context, it would be an interesting addition to the game that would spice-up many of the most common genres of encounters.

To prevent trolling with them, though, they would probably have to have a relatively short duration and then be available to pick up by anyone on the faction that put them down. So that some zone troll putting them down to harm their own faction could at least have them be picked back up. Perhaps also a limitation where a given player could only deploy a single barricade at a time.

But also to the folk overthinking this - trolls are going to troll and you can't stop them. They can take over your siege or turn it around or put down a giant catapult that blocks your ability to use better siege items, etc. It is what it is and you can only police player behavior so much. If someone accrues a clear pattern of trolling with them then the solution already exists... the in-game Report function.

El_Borracho · February 2

No thank you. I can see it now, bust down a keep door or wall, barricade. Bust down that barricade, another barricade. Over and over and over again.

Thumbless_Bot · February 3

El_Borracho wrote: »

No thank you. I can see it now, bust down a keep door or wall, barricade. Bust down that barricade, another barricade. Over and over and over again.

100%... like I said, a griefer paradise... nooooope.

MincMincMinc · February 6

Thumbless_Bot wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

No thank you. I can see it now, bust down a keep door or wall, barricade. Bust down that barricade, another barricade. Over and over and over again.

100%... like I said, a griefer paradise... nooooope.

El_Borracho wrote: »

No thank you. I can see it now, bust down a keep door or wall, barricade. Bust down that barricade, another barricade. Over and over and over again.

Ehh i mean there would be design ways to prevent this like no multiple barricades within X meters. Or to setup the barricade it takes a 2s cast uninterrupted, etc.

IMO going after the guaranteed immunity sources like scribing and snow treaders is much simpler first to prevent groups trivializing counterseige.

Veinblood1965 · February 6

Sure let's place them around scrolls also that would cause zero problems. It's not a bad idea really but I can think of several ways annoying people in your own faction could use them to cause your own faction grief.

ercknn · February 7

If you’re looking for a way to destroy ball groups just make siege do 500X-1000x extra damage depending on how many actual players (not npcs) get hit by the siege. Simple

ZhuJiuyin · February 9

Perhaps a set could be designed.
While in Battle Spirit state, if you attack an enemy player, after 3 seconds, all surrounding enemy targets will be knocked back, and an insurmountable earthen wall will appear next to the target. The earthen wall has 100K HP and lasts for 15 seconds. This effect triggers once every 30 seconds.

Thumbless_Bot · February 9

MincMincMinc wrote: »

Thumbless_Bot wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

No thank you. I can see it now, bust down a keep door or wall, barricade. Bust down that barricade, another barricade. Over and over and over again.

100%... like I said, a griefer paradise... nooooope.

El_Borracho wrote: »

No thank you. I can see it now, bust down a keep door or wall, barricade. Bust down that barricade, another barricade. Over and over and over again.

Ehh i mean there would be design ways to prevent this like no multiple barricades within X meters. Or to setup the barricade it takes a 2s cast uninterrupted, etc.

IMO going after the guaranteed immunity sources like scribing and snow treaders is much simpler first to prevent groups trivializing counterseige.

It's just too complicated to develop something that would prevent exploiting. Imo

Tzirzhalir · February 9

Nice idea

BXR_Lonestar · February 12

I agree that we need a new seige, but I don't think barricades will do it. Instead, THIS is what we really need:

Coldharbor catapults.

Hear me out:

These catapults will shoot oblivion damage projectiles that does 20k damage to anything in a 10M radius, but zero damage to other siege.

Why this matters? Because there is NO way to reduce the amount of damage oblivion damage does. It's not reduced by resistances. It's not reduced by shielding. It's not reduced by any form of damage reduction or blocking. It says the amount of damage it is going to do and it DOES it. Period.

This may sound OP, but you can control this the same way you control proliferation of other coldharbor weapons: the ONLY source of these things should be doing Cyrodil anchors, and the drop chance should be relatively low in comparison to other seige, and if necessary, they can give them limited hitpoints compared to other seige to further control how many of them there are out there.

1-2 of these things would make a HUGE difference in outnumbered situations if used right and with a coordinated group.

Silvains_Demon · March 4

Kickimanjaro wrote: »

With all the recent discussion around heal stacking, HoTs, shield strength, and the survivability of organized ballgroups, I want to propose a new type of siege weapon for Cyrodiil that I think would open up fresh counterplay by specifically targeting the movement of ballgroups: placeable barricades.

What is a Barricade?
A barricade would be a deployable siege object that creates a temporary physical obstruction on the battlefield. Think of it as a destructible wall segment — something players must destroy before they can move through it.

Mechanically, it could function similarly to the Arcanist’s healing ultimate (Vitalizing Glyphic):
It’s a targetable object

It has a health bar

Players can damage it directly

When destroyed, it disappears

But unlike the Glyphic, its primary purpose is movement denial, not healing.

Why Movement Denial Matters
A lot of the current survivability of ballgroups comes from:
Layered HoTs

Shield stacking

Ult cycling

And when those fail: movement

Movement is the glue that holds the entire defensive package together. It’s what lets groups reposition out of bombs, kite through choke points, and avoid being pinned long enough for their HoTs and shields to restack (even if that's just a couple of GCDs).

How Barricades Improve Counterplay
Right now, Cyrodiil has almost no tools that let players meaningfully interfere with that movement, especially since most groups run Snowtreaders or Immovability Banner alongside Immovable potions. Barricades would introduce new and fun ways to influence positioning on the battlefield and would allow defenders to better prepare their positions.

A well‑placed barricade could:
Block a retreat path

Funnel a group into a choke

Delay a push long enough for siege to land

Force a ballgroup to stop and destroy it

Set up bombs, negates, oils, or meatbags

Create actual “terrain manipulation” moments in open‑field fights

This isn’t about hard‑countering ballgroups (especially with heal/shield adjustments likely coming). It’s about giving smaller groups and individuals a tactical tool that rewards planning and positioning.

Balance Considerations
To keep it fair and fun:
Barricades should have limited duration

They should have reasonable but not trivial HP

They should count as siege (limited deployment, e.g., 3 per player, possibly separate from lethal siege limits)

They should be destroyable by siege and player damage

They should not be spammable or create griefing scenarios at gates or quest hubs, but should be placeable within keeps (including upper floors)

Think of them as temporary battlefield geometry — powerful when used intelligently, but not oppressive.

Exploit Prevention
A common concern with any placeable object is the potential for terrain exploits. To prevent players from using barricades to climb into unintended areas or gain elevation they shouldn’t have, barricades could have the following safeguards:
No placement on steep slopes or irregular geometry

No stacking or overlapping with other siege

No placement within certain zones (too close to a transitus or scroll platform, blocking entrances to dungeons or quest buildings, etc.)

These safeguards could prevent barricades from being used to reach out‑of‑bounds locations or create unintended shortcuts.

Why This Would Be Fun
Cyrodiil’s best moments come from creative plays in a chaotic battlefield:
Clever siege setups

Coordinated traps

Tactical retreats and counter‑pushes

Taking a keep after a long fight involving many players and groups

Barricades would add a whole new layer of strategy to open‑field fights and keep the zone feeling dynamic and alive. They’d also give solo players and small groups a way to influence the flow of a fight without needing raw numbers.

All of this came to me in a Skooma dream, so take it up with the moons if it sounds crazy.

Interesting concept!