Warhammer Online Keeps and Sieges Explained

EA Mythic's official Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning website has been updated with new information about the game's keeps, sieges, and all-around Realm vs. Realm warfare. As long as they stick to (and expand) the Dark Age of Camelot formula, this should definitely be worth checking out:
Keeps and surrounding areas will have several pre-set locations where siege weapons can be deployed and used by players. Some siege weapons will simply work by interacting with them for a period of time to damage pre-determined targets (such as a door). Other siege weapons, such as the trebuchet, will give players a Ground Target Area Effect (GTAE) reticule which they can move to attack specific locations.

There are four types of siege weapons:

  • Rams are can be used against keep doors or other pre-selected targets

  • Ballistae can be used against individual players or other siege weapons

  • Cannons, Catapults and Trebuchets can be aimed to fire at a selected location, doing splash damage to players or other siege weapons

  • Boiling Oil can be used to rain down liquid death from keeps and walls

Siege weapons must be built on Siege Pads found in the world or on Keeps. They cannot be deployed anywhere else and the number of siege weapons used is limited by the number of pads. Furthermore, siege weapons cannot be moved once placed, although they can be rotated.

Siege weapons do not require a Trade-skill to build and can be deployed by anyone. They are purchased from War Camps or from an NPC inside the keeps. Once purchased, a siege weapon will take up a single inventory space. These items have no weight, and can be carried and traded by anyone. Players can carry as many siege weapons as they want, as long as they have space in their inventory. When a player deploys a siege weapon, the item will disappear from the player's inventory.

Siege weapons will increase in cost and power based on location/Tier purchased. (The exact cost of siege weaponry has yet to be determined.) A Siege weapon purchased in a higher Tier cannot be placed on a lower tier Siege Pad. Only one Siege Weapon can be on a pad at a time. Siege Weapons have a life span of 30 minutes and can be destroyed by the enemy before that time.