Hammerwiki:Keep

Keeps are defensible, fortified structures on a battlefield that both sides of the RvR conflict can capture and control. Holding a keep will give the controlling realm victory points in a similar way to holding an objective marker.

Overview
In order to capture a keep, players will have to fight their way into the keep through multiple levels past defending players and NPC guards. The appearance of a keep will vary according to which army controls it so that as a player it should be obvious whether a keep is held by friendly forces or not. Additionally, it will be possible for guilds to take over a keep, who will then be able to hang their regiment heraldry from the ramparts.

Summing up :
 * Keeps are permanent structures placed in strategic locations around the RvR territories.
 * Battlefield objectives are still a part of open world RvR and in some cases will even play a role in keep capture.
 * Anyone can participate in capturing a keep, but only regiments (guilds) can claim them.
 * Siege weapons can be built and used to capture keeps (although you can attack a keep without them).
 * NPC guards will support whomever controls a particular keep to ensure that keeps cannot change hands too easily.
 * Keeps will have multiple levels of combat space (and no ladders).
 * Keeps will change in appearance based on what faction controls them.

Basics
There is at least one keep per realm, per zone in all Tier pairings except for Tier 1.
 * Tier 2 zones have one keep each (two per pairing).
 * Tier 3 zones have one keep each (two per pairing) with fortified outer walls.
 * Tier 4 zones have two keeps each for a total of six keeps.

The taking of a keep has three distinct stages:
 * 1) Breach the exterior of the keep.
 * 2) Breach the keep’s inner sanctum.
 * 3) Defeat the Keep Lord.

At the start of the game (or when the campaign resets), keep ownership is based on the zone in which they stand (i.e., the keep in Ostland is owned by the Empire and the two keeps in the Chaos Wastes are owned by Chaos). In the Tier 4 neutral zones, ownership of the two keeps is split with Order and Destruction each owning one. Each keep is ruled by a Keep Lord and his retinue of 4 bodyguards. In order to successfully capture a keep for your Realm, the Keep Lord must be killed. This plays out as Public Quest and rewards are based on the PQ contribution system. When the Keep Lord is killed, all remaining guards are killed (despawned), and new Keep Lord (with retinue) of the appropriate Realm will spawn.

In addition to the Keep Lords retinue, keeps will have guards stationed in and around their walls. The fighting over Battlefield Objective will dictate how many guards are located in the keep. The more Battlefield Objectives you hold, the more guards you have at your keeps. Guard levels are set to the maximum for the zone per standard RvR level caps (level 12 for Tier 1, level 23 for Tier 2, level 30 for Tier 3 and level 40 for Tier 4).

Capturing an enemy keep will play heavily into RvR Zone Control. Once a keep is captured, the Zone Control meter will move significantly in favor of the victors.

Claiming Keeps
A Guild, assuming it has achieved the proper level, may 'claim' keeps in the game, once they are captured. Though any non-guilded player can take part in assaulting a keep and can capture it for their realm to gain the RvR benefits of owning a keep, once the battle has been won, a guilded player carrying a banner can capture the central point of the keep so that its control is switched to the player's respective guild. This is done by clicking on one of two banners on the wall of the top floor of the keep. Claiming a keep will allow the guild to hang their banner from the keep ramparts, along with any banners captured from enemy guilds. Controlling a keep will also give a bonus to the guild's rank.

Maintaining ownership of a keep comes with an upkeep cost. This cost is automatically deducted every 5 minutes from the guild bank. Tier 2 Keep = ?s every 5 mins Tier 3 Keep = ?s every 5 mins Tier 4 keep = 20s every 5 mins

Unclaiming Keeps
Keeps can be unclaimed by manually returning to the claimed keep and interacting with the standard holder, or they can be unclaimed remotely using the /guildreleasekeep x command, where x is a number corresponding to the keep in question. /guildreleasekeep 0 will remove the keep now

1

2

3

4

5 Karaz Drengi, Kadrin Valley

6 Kazad Dammaz, Kadrin Valley

7 Bloodfist Rock, Thunder Mountain

8 Karak Karag, Thunder Mountain

9 Ironskin Scar, Black Crag

10 Badmoon Hole, Black Crag

11

12

13

14

15 Wilhelm's Fist, Reikland

16 Morr's Repose, Reikland

17 Southern Garrison, Praag

18 Garrison of Skulls, Praag

19 Zimmeron's Hold, Chaos Waste

20 Charon's Keep, Chaos Waste

21

22

23

24

25 Arbor of Light, Eataine

26 Pillars of Remembrance, Eataine

27 Covenant of Flame, Dragonwake

28 Drakebreaker's Scourge, Dragonwake

29 Hatred's Way, Caledor

30 Wrath's Resolve, Caledor

Upgrading Keeps
With 1.2.1 guilds owning a keep can now upgrade the defenses of their keeps through a special merchant located inside the keep. Upgrading the defenses of a keep will also increase the upkeep price for the keep. The defenses you may add are determined by your guild level, as you will earn better defenses the higher your guild level.

Look And Feel
Any keep will be laid out in the same geometric pattern. This uniform presence will, as a player increases in tiers, change slightly until the final version of the keep is created in Tier 3. The components to a Keep are:
 * Center Tower - Composed of the Ground Level, Second Floor, and Roof.
 * Outer Wall - Found on Tier 3 and Tier 4 Keeps, accessible only by a single breakable door.
 * Postern - A quick access point for defenders to come in and out of the keep.
 * Defensive Weapons - Where a defender may use siege weaponry, such as Boiling Oil, to deter attackers.
 * Keep Interior - Location of the Keep Lord and their guards.

Each Keep will reflect the architecture of it's original owners. This will easily distinguish the keeps still protected by one realm, vs those that have been captured. When a Keep is captured it will immediately change to reflect the new owners in small ways. As such, a Keep captured from The Empire by Chaos will change to reflect the presence of Chaos, as dead bodies litter the floor, and banners to the Raven Host are hung about the building. If a Regiment claims a Keep, the keep will reflect the iconography of the Regiment in the form of banners and be upgradaded/repaired by said Regiment.

Siege Weapons

 * Main article: Siege weapon

Both defenders and attackers are able to deploy siege weapons on the battlefield.

Siege weapons can be purchased from siege-weapon merchants at warcamps, the weapon goes into your regular inventory. To deploy a siege weapon, simply right-click a siege pad and select the siege weapon you want to place.

Empire vs Chaos

 * Stonetroll Keep, Troll Country
 * Mandred's Hold, Ostland

High Elves vs Dark Elves

 * Spite's Reach, Shadowlands
 * Cascades of Thunder, Ellyrion

Dwarfs vs Greenskins

 * Dok Karaz, Barak Varr
 * Fangbreaka Swamp, Marshes of Madness

Tier 3 Keeps
Uncredited images by Guther Mclovin, Praag.

Empire vs Chaos

 * Stoneclaw Castle, High Pass
 * Passwatch Castle, Talabecland

High Elves vs Dark Elves

 * Ghrond's Sacristy, Avelorn
 * Well of Qhaysh, Saphery

Dwarfs vs Greenskins

 * Thickmut Pit, Badlands
 * Gnol Baraz, Blackfire Pass

Empire vs Chaos
Morr's Repose, Reikland Southern garrison, Praag Charon's keep, Chaos Wastes

Wilhelm's Fist, Reikland Garrison of skulls, Praag Zimmeron's Hold, Chaos Wastes

High Elves vs Dark Elves
Arbor of Light, Eataine Covenant of flame, Dragonwake Wrath's Resolve, Caledor,

Pillars of Remembrance, Eataine Hatred's Way, Caledor Drakebreaker's scourge, Dragonwake,

Dwarfs vs Greenskins
Karaz Drengi, Kadrin Valley Kazad Dammaz, Kadrin Valley Bloodfist Rock, Thunder Mountain

Karak Karag, Thunder Mountain Ironskin Skar, Black Crag Badmoon Hole, Black Crag