Dev Discussion #64 - War / Siege Systems

Levithor;c-456356

Not going to be a popular opinion, but maybe respawning should not be allowed during a siege or war battleground?

Certainly an interesting conversation starter for this topic! :) What is it about your suggestion that you like, or feel would be good for the game systems?

[spoiler]NiKr;c-456353

What systems and features in mass PvP combat do you like and dislike? Proper environmental design that allows for tactical troop movements, baits, ambushes, etc. Tight corridors and small rooms are a must as well. Good zoom out on the camera, so that leaders and shotcallers can see more of the battlefield. A variety of aoe effects, designed with both - static and scaling effects. Imo dmg should always be static (because the ability already hits several people at the same time), while different effects (i.e. debuffs) should scale based on the amount of people effected. What would motivate you to declare a siege or war on others in-game? Pretty much anything from "I just wanted to" to "there's a super complex diplomatic reason, that will have long-lasting consequences for the entire server". Are there any must-haves that you would like to see in sieges? I already mentioned tight spaces (chokepoints). We'll already have tasks for smaller groups of players to do during the sieges, so that's a must-have that's already in. Good positioning and anti-positioning abilities. The tank wall from the last showcase is one of the best/biggest examples of that. Loved that one. Huge synergistic abilities that require several characters of the same archetype to work in unison to pull off. We supposedly already have those planned for the game as well, so that's great. And probably the most important thing imo - ways for uninvolved people to watch the siege. Sieges will be a rare thing (relatively speaking), so casual players who'll never have the ability to participate should at least be able to witness it and watch it live. In the most ideal situation the viewing spots would get added according to the progress of the siege, so that initial battle tactics don't get uncovered as easily by either side. So spectator "cameras" might start at initial spawn points of the attackers and overseeing the courtyard of the castle/node (overlooking both sides of the walls). Then, if the attackers break through the outer walls, the cameras from the inside the courtyard would get added, to better see the action. Then internal cameras, then the throne/casting room cameras. Watching sieges was a very nice pastime back in L2, and with AoC's sieges being instanced (potentially even the node ones) - the only way to see the siege would be these "cameras". And while streamers will obviously show the siege from their pov, I'd assume that'll be on a delay and would obviously be limited to only a single pov, which defeats the point of the spectacle of the event. And with sieges being one of the peak pvp events in the game, I think that drawing people in with "bread and circuses" would be a good way to keep the game in people's minds. Those cameras would also allow some streamers to commentate the sieges that they're not part of, which would also be a nice ad for the game :)

[/spoiler] Lots of awesome feedback to unpack here. Thank you! Follow-up question for ya. Are the "tight corridors and small rooms" the only suggestions you'd have for tactical environmental design? Do you have any examples you'd like to provide as well? :)

Related to the follow-up question for @NiKr , I have a general question for those here: What are some key aspects of environmental design that enhance mass PvP combat to you?