Warhammer City Sieges
The April 2010 patch has brought HUGE improvements in the
city siege, the rank 30+ event where the realms assault the
enemy's capital cities.
Below let's first note how city sieges are triggered, then let's
give a quickie overview of the whole city siege event, and
below that I've posted the entire patch notes for them with
some minor changes for readability.
How Is a City Siege Triggered?
Once one realm owns any pair of all of the 3 tier 4 (T4) of elf,
dwarf, or empire, that realm can invade the enemy's city! So,
for example, if your side gets all 3 T4 Elf zones and all 3 T4
Dwarf zones, then the city siege begins.
The City Siege Event!: Overview
They are coming!! They are coming!! Get your families to
the caves! Recall the king's champions to the city! What
do you mean the king is out playing golf?!
The new city siege event is basically a 24 person scenario with
three stages that take place. Success at a previous scenario is
not required to move forward to the next stage. Your success
is also entirely independent on the success of others' scenario
instances.
It is a two hour event, during the first hour people can enter
and run through (all 3 stages each time) as many city siege
scenario events as they can. That comes to 3 at most and how
long each takes varies on things like how long it takes one side
to defeat the other in stage 3.
The event starts with a "Prepare for Battle" period of a few
minutes where folks come into the city siege event/scenario
and form up groups and otherwise prepare.
Stage #1 - Destroy the enemy's city's inner keep's gates
Throughout the city there are critical defensive points to capture
(or defend) each represented on the map as a battle objective
symbol. The attacking realm destroys the defensive cannons
at these locations and then defends each location long enough
for NPC dwarf sappers to get to you and blow up the defensive
position with a gigantic blast.
Obviously the enemy will fight tooth and nail to prevent you
from each and every objective. In addition to the fights the
city invaders must choose:
- Whether to divide and conquer, avoiding as much direct
confrontation with the enemy as possible hoping to crush
many of the enemy objectives quickly at the same time.
Here all battles are screening/delaying battles as contact
with the forces of the enemy will often be deadly for the
small attacker forces, but meanwhile BO's elsewhere are
being taken. In my opinion this is very tough to pull off.
- Whether to take the time to concentrate forces for each battle
over each BO and thus increase the chances of each win. This
often requires leadership to stick to, waiting to build up forces
after a wipe. Sticking together seems to be a winning strategy
more often
Key to this stage is often the defense and assault of the central
corridor, a natural force constriction point. Lots of the BO's will
be off limits if the invaders cannot get by this point.
In the end if successful, the invaders bring the inner keep gate
down and you move on to stage #2. If the invaders fail stage
#1, everyone moves on to stage #2, no loot for the invaders
except participation crests.
Stage #2 - Defeat the King's Champions
Each side is granted 2 champions, very big guys that move around
and do battle with each other. This can get tactically tricky when
both sides know what they are doing:
- Stick to your own slow moving champions and defend them as
they move on the enemy? If so, how many of your forces to
move with them?
- Focus on making it to the enemy's champions with or without
your slow moving champions and bring then down with or without
your champion's help? When the enemy is light, this is the
obvious fast moving strategy.
- Do you divide up and half go to the other champion to bring down
and the other half to defend him? Often it ends up a matter of how
many get killed and upon running back find themselves defending
their own champions.
Just don't start hanging out at BO's as if you are at the previous
stage, a mistake that happens all the time.
Stage #3 - Protect and Defeat the King!
You are transported to the enemy's inner keep and begin the battle
to defeat the king with the help of your own king. Three of your own
city invaders will be selected as champions and they will grow in size
tremendously.
You need to defeat the other's champions before you can do damage
to the enemy's king, whom is doing battle with the other king this
whole time.
Here the battle can last a tremendously long time as when you rez
you do so very close to the battle, or end very quickly upon the king's
demise if one side totally outclasses the other. This is a good ole brawl,
reminiscent of Eataine warcamp brawls, good fun.
It is common that if your warband did poorly at stage #1 and stage #2
that it can still win stage #3. It's much more of a brawl without a lot of
tactical requirements.
What Qualitatively Has Changed in the City Siege
- You can get to the city any time within the first hour and still
have a chance at the best loot. In the past if you didnt get in
early your team could never get to and finish stage 3.
- Always something to do. In the past you could find yourself
with nothing to do.
- Each instance is on it's own. Gone is the strange mechanic
where other's instances will help determine if you move on
and get to compete for the best loot.
The City Siege Event!: Random Useful Info
If you have the add-on State of the Realms (SoR) you can
quickly see when the event is going on and how much time
there is left in it. This can help you decide if you have enough
time to make the trip there worth while.
You will need to be rank 30+ to participate in the event.
Rewards:
Stage 1 is invader crests and gear
Stage 2 is warlord crests and gear
Stage 3 is sovereign crests and gear,
and very nice weapons
For just participating you get crests just like regular
scenarios.
Lockout timers for City Siege PQ bags depend on stage:
Stage 1 is 1 day
Stage 2 is 3 days
Stage 3 is 5 days
Here's the 1.3.5 Patch Notes on the New City Siege
General Changes
* City Sieges will now be a 24-versus-24 battle.
* City Sieges will now last a maximum of 2 hours (1 hour as Contested, but will remain open for another hour so that players can finish their instances).
* All PVE instances within the Contested City have been removed. The Warlords and King are now part of the Contested City PQ.
* The City Siege is now split into three stages, outlined later in the notes.
* Players in the City Siege are now placed in an instance-specific scenario party. Looting rules are disabled for this City Siege scenario party.
* Players who go link dead in a Contested City will be returned to the same Contested City if they log back in within 5 minutes.
Reward Changes
* With the removal of the PVE Instances, the rewards for those instances are now given at the appropriate stage of the City Siege (Stage 1 = Invader; Stage 2 = Warlord; Stage 3 = Sovereign).
* During each stage of the City Siege, both the defender and invader will have a chance to obtain rewards. This means that successfully defending your city can result in winning Sovereign equipment!
* At the conclusion of each stage of the City siege, players on both sides are rewarded for their efforts.
- The winning realm will receive a PQ Chest drop.
- Those who win the PQ chest roll will have to make a conscious decision on what they want from the bag.
- Players on the winning Realm who did not win a bag will instead receive a number of Invader's, Warlord's or Royal Crests placed directly into their inventory.
- Players on the losing Realm will receive a number of Invader's, Warlord's or Royal Crests based upon how well their Realm did despite not being the victor.
- In the case of a stalemate, possible in stages 2 and 3 of the City Siege, both sides will receive a "consolation prize" equivalent to the reward normally given to the losing side of that stage.
- Stage I (Winning Realm):
- Without Reward Lockout Timer: 10x Invader's Crests
- With Reward Lockout Timer: 7x Invader's Crests
- Stage I (Losing Realm):
- 0x Objectives Controlled: 1x Invader's Crest
- 1x Objective Controlled: 1x Invader's Crest
- 2x Objectives Controlled: 2x Invader's Crests
- 3x Objectives Controlled: 3x Invader's Crests
- 4x Objectives Controlled: 4x Invader's Crests
- 5x Objectives Controlled: 5x Invader's Crests
- 6x Objectives Controlled: 6x Invader's Crests
- Stage II (Winning Realm):
- Without Reward Lockout Timer: 5x Warlord's Crests
- With Reward Lockout Timer: 3x Warlord's Crests
- Stage II (Losing Realm):
- 0x Objectives Controlled: 1x Warlord's Crest
- 1x Objective Controlled: 1x Warlord's Crest
- 2x Objectives Controlled: 1x Warlord's Crest
- 3x Objectives Controlled: 2x Warlord's Crests
- 4x Objectives Controlled: 2x Warlord's Crests
- 5x Objectives Controlled: 2x Warlord's Crests
- 6x Objectives Controlled: 3x Warlord's Crests
- Stage III (Winning Realm):
- Without Reward Lockout Timer: 5x Royal Crests
- With Reward Lockout Timer: 3x Royal Crests
- Stage III (Losing Realm):
- 0x Enemy Realm Champions Defeated: 1x Royal Crest
- 1x Enemy Realm Champion Defeated: 1x Royal Crest
- 2x Enemy Realm Champions Defeated: 2x Royal Crests
- 3x Enemy Realm Champions Defeated: 2x Royal Crests
- 4x Enemy Realm Champions Defeated: 3x Royal Crests
* At the conclusion of each Stage of the Contested City, all players of the winning Realm who earned enough Contribution to qualify for a PQ loot roll will have a Reward Lockout Timer applied to their character. This reward lockout timer will force a character to opt out of loot if they attempt that stage again within the lockout period. Players with a lockout timer can still participate in a Contested City battle; their reward will be spoils in the form of Crests in lieu of a chance at the standard reward bags.
* Upon entering a Contested City a player will receive a "Personal Preparation" buff. While this buff is active, a player may leave the battle without incurring any penalty. After this buff has faded, leaving a battle for any reason will result in the player receiving the "Quitter!" debuff and will be unable to rejoin any city battle for the debuff's duration.
Zone Control
* Victory Points are no longer a factor in the Contested City stage. All instances of the City Siege will be independent from one another.
* Cities pushed to the Contested City state from the campaign will drop two ranks at the conclusion of the Contested City phase.
The City Siege is now broken up into three contiguous stages within Altdorf or The Inevitable City:
Stage 1: Attacker Push
* Setup Phase: ~5 Minutes
* Duration: 15 Minutes (Maximum: 45 Minutes... details included in the description)
* Attacker's Win Condition: Destroy the Palace Door
* Defender's Win Condition: Hold Out Until the Timer Reaches Zero
* Reward Lockout Duration: Approximately 20 Hours (Real Time)
Brief Summary:
During the setup phase of this stage players can prepare while the King briefs them on the battle ahead. Once complete, the invaders and defenders are released into the city and the City Siege begins!
The goal for the attackers is to destroy the Palace Door within the time allotted. This is accomplished by capturing a series of chained objectives around the city and destroying the Palace Door.
* Objectives:
- Objectives and their current status are clearly marked on the map.
- Capturing an objective will increase the available time for attackers by 5 minutes.
- Captured points cannot be reclaimed by the defenders during this stage.
- Objectives gate access to the Palace Door and will affect the final battle in stage 3.
- Objectives are chained so that access to the next point is gated by capturing the previous objectives. (see below)
- Contested Altdorf objectives:
- The Armory and The Siege Workshop are open initially.
- Capturing either of these will open Emperor's Circle.
- Capturing Emperor's Circle will open The South Dock, The Library, and The North Dock.
- Capturing The Library or the North Dock will begin the assault on the Palace Door.
- Contested IC objectives:
- The Slaanesh Chambers and Khorne War Quarters are open initially.
- Capturing either of these will open Emissary of the Changer.
- Capturing Emissary of the Changer will open Temple of the Damned, The Lyceum, and The Outcrop.
- Capturing The Lyceum or the The Outcrop will begin the assault on the Citadel Gate.
- Capturing an Objective:
- To capture an objective, the invaders must first destroy the defender's siege equipment at that point. Doing so will trigger their realm to send a sapper NPC to take over the objective. The invaders need to protect this NPC until it can make it to the objective and take it over. If the sapper is killed, another will spawn and repeat the process, until either the invaders take the objective, or the time for the stage expires. Sapper NPCs can be stunned, rooted, or snared, but will not directly attack the defending players. Sapper NPCs can be healed by allied players. Sapper NPCs will display their positions at all times on the map, mini-map and also be supported by the new mini-map edge tracking functionality.
- Destroying the Palace Door:
- To destroy the Palace Door, the invaders need to capture at least one of the two closest objectives to the Palace. Capturing one of these final points will spawn siege NPCs that will do damage to the Palace Door until it breaks or time runs out. Players cannot damage the Palace Door directly, so taking one or both of these points is essential to winning this stage and taking out the Palace Door. The Door can be healed only by Tanks using the bulwark ability.
* Altdorf: Capture The Library or the North Dock
* IC: Capture The Lyceum or the The Outcrop
* Capturing all of the points is not essential to winning this stage for the invaders, but it will give them additional time and give additional NPCs to damage the Palace Door.
* The goal for the defenders is to prevent the destruction of the Palace Door. The defense is successful if the attackers run out of time. The default duration of this stage is 15 minutes, but the attackers can increase the time by capturing objectives as noted above.
* After either side meets their winning condition, this stage ends and rewards are given out to each side. (See rewards section for more information on reward distribution.)
Stage 2: Warlords!
* Duration: 30 Minutes
* Invader's Win Condition: Escort Either Allied Warlord to the Palace Door
* Defender's Win Condition: Escort Either Allied Warlord to the City Gates
* Draw Condition: All Warlords Defeated
* Reward Lockout Duration: Approximately 68 Hours (Real Time)
Brief Summary:
At this point in the City Siege, each side's Warlords will take to the field. The goal for either side during this stage is to escort a friendly Warlord to the other side's entrance.
* Warlord Behavior:
- Warlords will spawn at each side's camp and make their way along a path which ends at the other side's entrance.
- Defending Realm Warlords that arrive at an objective that is owned by the enemy will stop and take over that objective for their side.
- Invading Realm Warlords will continue to make their way to the Palace Door without stopping at objectives.
- Warlords that arrive at an objective that is owned by their side will continue on toward the next objective.
- If two opposing realm Warlords cross paths, they will stop all action and fight each other to the death.
- Warlords will ignore combat initiated by players and concentrate only on objectives or opposing Warlords.
- Warlords are not immune to any form of damage or crowd control, nor are they affected by Unstoppable or Immovable.
- Warlords can be healed by friendly players.
- If a Warlord arrives at the enemy gates, the stage will end and the realm associated with that Warlord will be declared the winner.
- Similar to the Sappers in Stage 1, Warlord NPCs will display their positions on the map, mini-map and also be supported by the new mini-map edge tracking functionality.
* If the timer for this stage expires before any Warlords make it to the enemy gates or if all Warlords are defeated, the stage will be considered a draw. Both realms will receive rewards based upon their effort, but no PQ chest will be given. Regardless of a stalemate, the City Siege will then progress to Stage 3.
Stage 3: To Kill a King!
* Duration: 30 Minutes
* Invader's Win Condition: Defeat the Enemy King
* Defender's Win Condition: Defeat the Enemy King
* Reward Lockout Duration: Approximately 112 Hours (Real Time).
Brief Summary:
This is the final battle in the City Siege and involves the Kings of both Realms. Depending on who won Stage 2, the battle will occur at one of two locations.
If the invaders won or Stage 2 ended in a draw, the final battle will occur within the enemy King's palace.
If the defenders won, the final battle will occur at the main entrance to the City.
When the stage begins the Kings will call forth all of their combatants for a final rally to battle. During this preparation time, the King will explain the situation and call upon four players to serve as his champions in the battle to come.
* King/Champions:
- Each King will select four players to serve as their champion.
- Each King will be immune to all hostile effects while these champions are alive.
- Champions are endowed with special abilities and powers to serve in this role.
- Damage Dealt is greatly increased
- Healing Done is greatly increased
- Maximum Health is greatly increased
- Cannot Guard or be Guarded
- Damage Taken from Non-Champion Sources is greatly reduced
- Healing Received from Non-Champion Sources is greatly reduced
- Gains the stacking buff 'Building Reprisal' when struck with a critical strike at a maximum rate of once per 6 seconds and 10 total charges.
- Gains a temporary DoT ability (Destruction: Tornado, Order: Comet - both lasting 20 seconds) that expends all charges of the 'Building Reprisal' buff.
- Champions are chosen at random based on archetype. The selection method searches for players based upon acquired Wards. It prefers players with the most powerful Wards earned. In the event that no players of an archetype have Wards or all players of an archetype possess identical Wards, then selection for that archetype will become entirely random.
- Tank (Black Orc, Chosen, Blackguard, Ironbreaker, Knight of the Blazing Sun, and Swordmaster)
- Healer (Shaman, Zealot, Disciple of Khaine, Runepriest, Warrior Priest, and Archmage)
- Melee DPS (Choppa, Marauder, Witch Elf, Slayer, Witch Hunter, and White Lion)
- Ranged DPS (Squig Herder, Magus, Sorcerer, Bright Wizard, Engineer, and Shadow Warrior)
- Each champion can only be assigned if a player of the appropriate archetype is present for that side. If no player exists for an archetype, that champion will count as a loss of that archetype.
- Champions will need to remain near the King or they will lose the Champion buff and this will be counted as a loss of that champion.
- Once all four champions have been defeated, the King will be vulnerable for attack.
* Objectives:
- During this stage, the number of objectives that each side controlled going into Stage 3 will affect the final battle. For each objective a side owns, that side will receive the following stackable bonus.
- Damage Dealt increased by 2%
- Healing Done increased by 2%
Outcomes:
Once the final champion of a realm dies, their King will become vulnerable. Defeating the enemy king will result in a win for that realm. Once that occurs, defenders will no longer be able to respawn and the surviving King will clean house. At this point, both sides will be given their appropriate level of reward. (See rewards section for more information on reward distribution.)
If the timer for this stage expires before either King is killed, the invading King will call for a retreat. Both realms will receive rewards based upon their effort as if they lost.
Order retaining control of an alley to an objective in Altdorf seige
If you have any thoughts for additional city siege
material, let me know! The "Contact Dwooid"
sidebar has contact info.
Best Regahds,
Dwooid of Caledor