Open RvR 2.0

Information has come out of GamesDay UK about Skaven and the Open RvR revamp.

ShadowWAR has a nice summary of the infomation gathered so far.

At any given time, there will be 12 places/routes to defend and attack at once.

1. The 4 BOs.
2. The 4 resource carriers
3. The 2 warcamps
4. The 2 keeps

Zerging it up is likely going to end badly. There's too much stuff to attack and defend at any given time to make it worth it. This is good imo.

The keep siege itself will definitely become more dynamic. I imagine the siege going like something like this.

1. Skirmishes abound as players fight for control of the BOs and resource carrier routes. Expect big fights at choke points like bridges and narrow passes.
2. One side will reach Rank 4 first. They have a tough decision whether or not to bring out the Ram and attempt to assault the enemy keep or wait for Rank 5 to get even more offensive siege weapons first.
3. The attackers must now move their siege weapons from their keep to the enemy keep. (I'm hoping these have to be moved while built and they move slower than a player. I could be wrong. Ignore this step if so.) Defenders can take this opportunity to intercept and destroy the Ram and offensive siege weapons before they reach their keep, hopefully setting back the attackers forcing them to wait on the Ram and siege weapons to respawn. (Siege weapon respawn mechanics, or if they even respawn, are unknown.)
4. The keep assault begins. The attackers are first tasked with bringing down the defender's siege weapons. Since these hurt now, not taking these out will likely result in certain destruction of their Ram and offensive siege weapons and all of them most likely. This can be done with melee going in the postern door, ranged DPS and offensive siege weapons shooting them, players parachuting in on Aerial Bombers, players being thrown up by friendly Rat Ogres or the Skaven Gutter Runner leaping up and sabotaging it. While all this is happening, defenders are respawning in their keep. Attackers are respawning at their keep so it'll take much longer for attackers to rejoin the battle.
5. If the attackers manage to bring down the defender's siege weapons and oil, it is now safer to assault the keep door. Rams and Rat Ogres now start focusing on the outer door. Defenders continue to focus on taking out the Ram. Losing the Ram means the attackers having to wait on it to respawn. (Purely an assumption on the Ram respawning. Details are unknown on how or if that happens.)
6. The outer door falls! Attackers attempt to maneuver to the inner keep. I imagine it won't be easy getting the Ram and offensive siege weapon through the main gate since defenders will simply respawn at the inner keep should the attackers manage to push through. The attackers will have to push through and wipe the defenders stand at the outer door.
7. Now the attackers need to take out the siege weaponry and oil on the inner keep. This will be difficult considering that it will likely take awhile to move that siege weaponry into the keep and set it up. (Purely assuming they have to be moved while built. I could be wrong. If I am, ignore this part just like the other one like this.)
8. The defenders now must defend the inner keep door as if their life depended on it, for it truly does. If that inner door drops, defenders can no longer respawn in their keep and respawn at their warcamp instead.
9. Should the attackers bring down the inner down, the defenders will make one last stand inside the keep to prevent its loss. To capture the keep, and likewise the zone, attackers must interact with a flag in the lord room for 30 seconds uninterrupted.
10. Renown and loot bonuses given out.

 Sounds like it could be epic. I'll reserve final judgment until I get to play it for myself though. If I'm right, you couldn't even zerg a keep since you need to attack and defend multiple points on the keep while protecting your own, plus protecting BOs and resource carriers and your warcamp.

My New 1.3.6. Build Revisited

So I tried my original plan again. Here's the results. I also changed my UI around a bit. My old one was just awful.



Shhh! Just don't tell Nate about this! Keep this between us ok?

EDIT: So apparently Nate found out about it and this has been fixed for 1.4. Sorry gang!

Explanation of My Newer 1.3.6. Build

This is the promised explanation video for my newer 1.3.6 build. It isn't the greatest quality video out there, but it gets the message across.

First Night of 1v1s

I decided to take part in the Thursday night duels that happen on Volkmar today. I watched more fights that I took part in. I did 14 matches and went 6-6-2. On one of the losses, my opponent dropped from my DoTs on him after I died.

I went with 6 Defensive Sovereign and 3 Warlord with 2 pieces of regen jewelry, basically my PvE set of gear. I used a variation of my full support spec taking Sapping Strike, Lingering Intimidation, Whispering Wind and Blessing of Heaven. My overall plan was to use Whispering Wind to allow me to spam Sapping Strike and Intimidating Blow. This would deny my opponent AP regeneration and completely prevent my opponent from ever getting to morale 1. Lingering Intimidation stopped my opponent from scoring critical hits. I had 400 HP/4s regen. Dazzling Strike would provide the bulk of my DPS.

I played too defensively. Next time I'll try to bring more damage. I think if I use a more aggressive spec I might do a bit better. I don't think my gear was as much of an issue as my lack of damage. Maybe I'll use my DPS/Knockdown hybrid.

Maybe some more experienced duelers can help me out.

My Buffhead2 Settings in Action

If you needed another reason to get Buffhead2, especially with my settings file, watch this video.



The information it gives you easy access to is amazing. Highly recommended for target callers.

Buffhead2 Settings Link

My Newer 1.3.6 Build

I've changed up my standard build a little in light of actually playing 1.3.6. in a live environment. I shot a quick video to show what I do. Note this is NOT an excuse to only use a single build everywhere. A group that can take advantage of Whispering Wind will take me out of this build in a heartbeat.



Explanation will come in a later video.