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The art of sieging is one of the precise sciences the Warhammer series has always been keen on. This holds true with even the MMO game version of the well-loved tabletop past time.
EA Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning utilizes a very robust and realistic system which simulates the harrowing siege battles players can engage in the game. Siege battles essentially reflect the Realm vs. Realm experience that the fantasy MMO game prides itself on.
The basic unit of siege battles includes the realm's keep. Depending on the realm's tier ranking, this affects the quality and the number of keeps inside the realm. Keeps have a distinct look that reflects the owning faction.
Each keep is composed of three distinct stages:
- Breach the exterior of the keep
- Breach the keep’s inner sanctum.
- Defeat the Keep Lord.
  
Once this is accomplished, ownership of the keep then turns over to the victor, as well as all resources and structures accompanying it. When all the keeps inside the realm fall under one faction, this shifts the balance of power in favor of the conquering group. However, to accomplish this is no small task and this is where siege weapons come into play.
Siege weapons come in the form of rams, ballistae, cannons, catapults, trebuchets and boiling oil. Apart from the last one, both the attacking and defending players can use any of the siege weapons to take down the keep's defenses and move in to take on the Keep Lord.
All siege weapons must be built on Siege Pads found in the world or on keeps. After buying a siege weapon from a War Camp or an NPC inside the keep, they can then be deployed, used or traded off by the characters.
Each siege weapon works on a three click "golf swing" meter method to determine the accuracy of the weapon's shots. Depending on the nature of the weapon, the area of affect also differs as well (catapults for indirect, splash damage; ballistae for massive single-target damage; rams for doors; and boiling oil for dousing attackers beneath the keep's walls).
Fusing all these elements together into one exciting game mode definitely makes siege battles a very enjoyable aspect that players can look forward to in Warhammer Online. We'll make sure to keep everyone informed about the other interesting features we pick up from the game in the near future.
 
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