For this week’s update, we are going to answer a few of the recurring questions regarding keeps and siege. The details will still be on the light side as many of the features won’t be fully implemented when Beta re-opens. We don’t want to tease you too much with juicy bits of goodness that won’t be available right away when you log in.

Before I dive into that, there is one other change to RvR. We have changed the Renown splitting from its old contribution based system. Renown for killing players is now awarded to each member of a group if one or more members participated in the kill. The amount of renown given to the group is a percentage based on participation in the kill.

Now we move on to the Keep questions -

Will the keeps be attackable without siege? Yes, players will be able to break open the keep doors, battle the guards, fight their way to the keep lord, and try to capture the keep.

Will Keeps change in appearance based upon which race controls them? In future patches (pre-launch), the appearance of the keep will change to reflect that the enemy realm has captured it. At this time, we are not planning to entirely replace the keep with a new structure with different geometry. So, an Empire keep captured by Destruction will still look like an Empire keep, but it will change to look like it’s been under siege and show some signs of its new owners.

Will there be NPC guards and a captain to kill rather than a "run up and click the flag" we see in other games? There will definitely be more to capturing the keep than just interacting with an object or entering an area. There will be guards and a "lord", with the numbers of guards present based on factors players from both realms can affect. More details will be released closer to Beta re-opening.

Will there be non-typical types of keeps? (i.e. ships, trains, mountains) At this point, we aren’t planning on using anything that deviates too far from a "keep" style structure.

Will keeps have multiple levels and if so, will they use ladders or stairs? The keeps will have several floors of combat space. Both the keeps and the outer walls will use stairs or ramps, with no ladders to be found.

Will Battlefield Objectives play a part in the keep system? Yes, there will be connections between the BOs and the keeps. Sorry folks, this is another one that we have to say "more details to follow later".

-RvR Team