NCsoft Europe presents an exclusive insight into the thoughts of some of the most highly profiled clan members within Lineage II. Hardcore PvP is one of the big draws to Lineage II, and the bulk of the intense PvP action takes place with the game's castle sieges and the recently introduced fortress battle system. We asked several prominent clan leaders about their PvP experiences in Lineage II and what they'd like to see in the future.

What's the most fun you've ever had in a Castle siege?

FeRsT ~ Kain ~: That would have to be when we took Rune on Kain from Teamjesus clan and Darkside/Ur/Bregan alliances. They had been zerging the server, outnumbering us to PvP, and we proved to them that with we could compete with equal numbers (about ten clans combined for the siege). We took them down from their status of server kings to show them that all they can do is zerg, and that was by far the best thing, especially seeing it was Fraps'd by Repsol, who is by far the best movie maker in Lineage II playing currently.

Sovrath from Hindemith: Our alliance had made some enemies on the server, and, as the history of our server has shown, when the majority of the populace wants a Castle ruler out, they unite and get them out. We rushed to Aden Castle and discovered that our alliance members and other friends numbered around twenty-one clans. However, the force united against us was around twenty-nine clans.

We all buffed up, making sure that we were in place, only to see a vast sea of players arrayed against us, waiting to rush when the siege time started. It was at that point the weight of the situation impressed itself upon me: unlike other games where you just go through the world doing the quests, collecting things, etc, Lineage II offered a far much more intense system of game play. This game is the players and what you do has consequences.

In any case, the siege took the whole two hours, and never relented for a minute. We fought at every gate, wall breach and entrance. We held them back most of the time, however, in the end their forces were great and their determination strong. Five minutes before the siege was scheduled to end they took our throne room. Even though we lost the siege, it was a great time and we definitely had shown that our forces could put up a formidable defense.

How about Fortress battles?

MysticLance from Gustin: Probably the one I did with four other people last week. I soloed two of the bosses with my Unicorn, which just really shows how easy a fortress can be to take if you're of the appropriate level!

Sovrath: One time I recall a small group from a rather distasteful alliance had signed up rather late in order to see if they could get in. Luckily, we had some clan members and with the help from one or two others we were able to repel them successfully. They never made it to the gates to be honest. Fortress Battles have been a great Clan event though they have all been against NPC's.

Which do you find more useful, Castle or Fortress ownership, and why?

MysticLance: I find that Fortress ownership is more useful; generally, Fortresses give more diverse porting locations and, while in possession of a Fortress, you can still sign up to siege other fortresses or castles. Maintaining ownership of a castle renders you unable to help defend other castles without suffering significant penalties.

Jkoster from Lionna: I would have to say that the Fortresses add more excitement to the siege field, as it's not something that's exclusive to the level 75+ crowd. With the right numbers and classes, even clans comprised of mostly B-graders can manage a Fortress. In addition, the toys make it a lot more fun, and the setting lends itself well to the role-playing aspect of the game.

If you'd like to see improvements made to castle sieges and fortress battles, what would you suggest?

Jkoster: Extend the duration of possession on Fortresses. Seventy-two hours (assuming no other clan attempts to siege) is just too short. Many clans have members that only manage to log in once during that time, and they do not get any true benefit from the Fortress. As for Castle sieges, I would like to see them become more dynamic, similar to some of the dynamics of the fortress system (sub-boss NPCs, the Control Rooms, etc).
 
MysticLance: A huge improvement to Castle sieges and Fortress battles would be to remove the penalty of dying if unsigned (a full experience loss). Maintaining the disuse of Siege Charms on those siege fields makes sense in order to prevent a strong group of players from fighting on five siege fields at once with no consequence, but the risk of full experience death when protecting an allied clan's Castle is too harsh of a penalty. I'd also really like to see more useful Siege Summons, considering that a Castle Gate can be taken down faster by a party of Archers than by a Siege Golem!

What are your interactions like with other clans? Who usually dominates at Castle sieges and Fortress battles on your server?

Sovrath: My current clan tends to be more neutral though we have a decent reputation on the server. The problem is that server politics can play havoc on smaller clans so at times they tend to stay out of things if they can. There usually is an alliance, Redemption, which seems to dominate though they are very driven and usually have most of the Heroes on the server—that of course helps a lot.

FeRsT ~ Kain ~: I have been leading top clans on Kain since Chronicle 3. I have always interacted with other clans but generally people didn't like me on the server. I prefer to out-skill and outclass people, rather than outnumber, and I've always been outnumbered, though it makes the game fun. I hardly ever will interact with more than two to three clans to achieve the goal of taking a Castle or crushing a large enemy force unless it is necessary to restore server balance like in the example of the taking of Rune Castle.

Currently UR&B Alliance, who is a Russian alliance made up of Bregan and UR clans, and the alliance of Darkside (made up of DV, TJ and ND) are the main force on Kain. They bring over eighty people to each siege, of which a majority of players comes with epic jewelry. Recently a large majority of the good players left Kain to Teon, Franz or Bartz, and this has left a large PvP gap on the server. There are a few clans putting up fights together but they are no match to this cluster of alliances, especially when they are out-geared, out-leveled and outnumbered.

Do you do anything special to prepare for a big Castle siege or other large-scale PvP battle? (training, eating, etc.)

FeRsT ~ Kain ~: I eat two large pizzas, five garlic breads to scare the vampires away, and two large bottles of Dr Pepper! Well, maybe not all of that. In Australia, the sieges normally start between 9AM and 1PM (or at the moment 7AM and 11AM) so I am lucky to wake up and prepare for them. I feel the best training is general PvP during the week, and nothing makes up for experience like a good leader.

Jkoster: I make sure my schedule is clear and that my clan and alliance members are aware of the siege time and location. I prepare in-game as much as I can, and then just show up. Occasionally, we formulate some sort of an actual plan of attack that actually works, but mostly we begin our battle planning on the siege field.

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