Keeps are a central part of the game for casuals. They're needed to secure ports, and safe zones from being run over by 8 mans and stealthers.
With your frontier's keeps gone, many casual players just log off since action is too far, and it's frustrating to be run over by enemy groups and stealthers without any realmmates around to help. If there is no regular realm BG lead on, most casuals don't want to go attempt keep takes as it leads to a frustrating experience.
Keeps are currently hard to take, and needs a minimum of 20-30 people with well balanced classes. If there are defenders, many more are required. The doors take too long, the gatehouse door allows defenders to hide in gatehouse to oil kill any one that tries to go outside or in.
I think keep takes should be easier, and it should be take-able with 5-6 people. This creates more action during low population times and during peak EU prime times.
1) Reduce the number of guards to 1/4th current # and increase their re-pop times. Way too many archer guards with large agro range that make casting anything impossible. Guards are just annoying and make keep takes a frustrating experience.
2) Make keep walls and keep siege equipment and central keep destroy-able, like on Live with player built Trebs. These trebs shouldn't do 800+ dmg to players, but should allow 1-2 players take create holes in keep walls and take down towers in 10 minutes or so. Having holes in walls reduces the effectiveness of oils as there is no need to go through the doors under oils.
3) Make keep's oil and treb repop slower. These are high dps that can be healed. It takes 3-4 catas to kill a treb if a healing class is operating. The healers can spam heals since treb damage doesn't interrupt spells.
4) Make gatehouse doors open, or make the gatehouse doors much easier to take down, so defenders cant hide inside and camp oil.
5) Fix Oil so it doesn't damage through doors and walls. In towers, if you're inside the tower on bottom floor on the corner where the door is, or if you're inside at bottom of gatehouse close to the spiral stairs, you can be damaged by oil through the wall. This should be fixed.
With your frontier's keeps gone, many casual players just log off since action is too far, and it's frustrating to be run over by enemy groups and stealthers without any realmmates around to help. If there is no regular realm BG lead on, most casuals don't want to go attempt keep takes as it leads to a frustrating experience.
Keeps are currently hard to take, and needs a minimum of 20-30 people with well balanced classes. If there are defenders, many more are required. The doors take too long, the gatehouse door allows defenders to hide in gatehouse to oil kill any one that tries to go outside or in.
I think keep takes should be easier, and it should be take-able with 5-6 people. This creates more action during low population times and during peak EU prime times.
1) Reduce the number of guards to 1/4th current # and increase their re-pop times. Way too many archer guards with large agro range that make casting anything impossible. Guards are just annoying and make keep takes a frustrating experience.
2) Make keep walls and keep siege equipment and central keep destroy-able, like on Live with player built Trebs. These trebs shouldn't do 800+ dmg to players, but should allow 1-2 players take create holes in keep walls and take down towers in 10 minutes or so. Having holes in walls reduces the effectiveness of oils as there is no need to go through the doors under oils.
3) Make keep's oil and treb repop slower. These are high dps that can be healed. It takes 3-4 catas to kill a treb if a healing class is operating. The healers can spam heals since treb damage doesn't interrupt spells.
4) Make gatehouse doors open, or make the gatehouse doors much easier to take down, so defenders cant hide inside and camp oil.
5) Fix Oil so it doesn't damage through doors and walls. In towers, if you're inside the tower on bottom floor on the corner where the door is, or if you're inside at bottom of gatehouse close to the spiral stairs, you can be damaged by oil through the wall. This should be fixed.