Next step: Invasions!

[Adrian]

Community,

As the initial balance stage is done –and more will come, don't worry– and battles gained a bit more of dynamism, we're ready to the next step: Invasions. We all know there are several issues with this feature and it's time to start transforming the end-gameplay of the game into something more enjoyable and with potential for adding objectives in the future too.

Castle and Fort capturing and holding

We notice that holding buildings lost a lot of the challenge and also the strategic and tactical approach. Invasions require Relics, which are captured mostly one at a time, gathering all of the forces of a realm at once to a single objective. This turns into a simple outcome: if you gather enough people, you'll succeed no matter what. And when you succeed... a ride through your safe lands to store an object in a place where you walk in like home because it IS home.

Anyway, this system itself is not the problem. It could work if the defender enemy could gather an army to regain the relic at some point in that ride back home, but the map can't give a proper regroup possibility to do this.
Our intention is bring back the function of the buildings needing at least two of them captured and any object to be transported should go through dangerous lands where enemy encounters are plausible, with the sole intention of making them more enjoyable and not specifically more difficult. Not allowing second chances of defense to an attacked realm leads to a lot of people feeling "empty" somehow. We don't want this. You also don't want it. A frustrated enemy will not give a fight back and everyone loses if this happens.

OK, holding still. For what?

You capture and between that moment and the accomplishment of the objective there is a waiting time in which not all the times you'll face the retaliation of the attacked realm. If battles will spread to another buildings too, this wait will relatively increase. Staying at the building must give something to the ones that captured it and an opportunity of getting something too to the ones that recapture it.

During the capture and until the final objective of the capture there will be buffs and rewards in the zone of the building. They will come in different ways because variety will make it more entertaining. A single reward can be bigger and simple but the thrill of choosing and succeeding is better.
Relics
Currently, as soon as you have them in your power, you and the big army around you will head towards the safe zone where you can keep it for a future invasion. Yes, you are contributing for a future happening which you may not participate in. Contributing is good but being there for the utmost event would be way better.

Relics will have to cover smaller distances, so no more mounting. Instead, they will have to be taken through the pathways of the attacked realm in order to get a benefit from them. Small distances but bigger dangers. Come on, you leveled, equipped yourself, learned a lot of tactics and perfected your skilling to have it easy? No way. You’re prepared to have some challenge, not a lot more but enough to make it worth it.

Skip to Invasions, later you’ll tell us more

The realm wall, the last defense, the entrance to a great adventure. Should the access be granted without a proper fight? I guess you’re thinking: NO. The Dragon comes there to fulfill a task that it’s rather difficult: fighting players which have an intelligence that AI rarely could cope with, at least in non-scientific projects like Regnum. And while he is trying to do something he succeeds at making it somehow more difficult to select your enemies. With all this said, the Dragons may need to be occupied with something else.

But if the Dragons will do something else, what to do with the Relics? Well, the Relics –as it was mentioned before– will go from the buildings directly to the Great Wall, to be stored there to release the power that blocks the attack of the Realm Door. But that’s not all. We want the Relics to be able to unlock other things too in the future. Their power will depend on how much of them you use for each objective.

After successfully invading, that’s another world of ideas and things to check. We’ll eventually get to it.

Realm balance and multirealmers

A critical issue regarding any kind of Invasions system possible. It’s no fun when you’re less, and sometimes too when you’re more. I’ll be straightforward with this: we will measure the population average both in a long term (a week) and in a short term (a whole day) to inflict in some variables: timers, guards, health of doors and if possible, some buffs too. This will be measured among players of a level suitable for war and of those that frequent the war zone.

Multirealmers… there’s not so much that can be done without messing with other “legal” situations like a household with several players. What we can do is avoid them to handle Invasions objects after logging off and logging in to another realm for a reasonable time window.

It’s a start. Isn’t it?

Well, that’s a lot of things and not very specific. Can you sum it up, please?

Yes, of course. The suggested changes are the following, and we put them here because we want to discuss them with all of you. Anyway, let’s be clear about something: the base of the gameplay will be proposed by us. But your intervention is extremely important to us!

- The timer of the relics will depend on the capture of more than one building. Capturing two forts will have a timer of X minutes and if the castle is captured afterwards, the timer will be cut in an X amount of minutes. Once the timer begins, extra forts will cut less minutes than a castle, depending on what is captured first.
This means that in order to trigger the relic cages' countdowns, you'll have to capture more than 1 building. The more buildings from a same realm you capture, the less time it'll take for the relic cages to open up.

- After the capture, reward buffs will be activated in the zone of the fort to the capturers such as Experience Boosts from enemies, etc. Services like NPCs that give unique items or trades will spawn during that time.

- Capturing only one fort or castle will provide the mentioned bonuses, but not the Relics until another building is captured too.

- During the capture and until the end of the timer that releases the Relics, the defender realm can get a reward for capturing back and avoiding the Relic release.

- All bonuses and services will expire when the Relic cage gets opened, or if it is a single capture, the equivalent waiting time.

- The Great Walls will have several points to store the Relics that will reduce the power of the protection of the Great Door. One Relic will reduce it for X minutes, more Relics will have more perks about it.

- Relics will not allow mounting anymore and may have other effects on the carrier and surrounding army. They will have a timer also to be used. If not, they will go back to their altar.

- If re-logging from an account of one realm to another, a timer that will forbid the usage of Invasions mechanics (including fort capturing, etc) will start with proper feedback to the user.

- Realm Balance variables will be created. They will inflict in the objects of Invasions whenever possible.

If for some (or most) users it is enough with the rewards and decide not to perform an Invasion, that’s nothing to worry about the new system of buildings, but about the attractiveness of Invasions. And we MUST make them attractive enough, not force you into them. Each step MUST be enjoyable.

So, this is the idea so far. We want to discuss it with you before development, so… go ahead!

NOTE: Every mentioned change could be modified or not applied, if necessary.