I for one feel that the pushback Is a good thing, even though I (as you) have followed this game almost since It was announced back in 2005, but still their development time Is way below that of other MMO’s (Conan, for one). So I’d rather see that they take the time to polish the game, Instead of releasing It too early and make everyone even more dissapointed If the game doesn’t live up to the hype.

After that the realm that lost the city will have to work at building it back up.

But I wonder how many ranks cities go through. If an enemy can keep a city at the rank they captured it, then that seems to suggest that cities don’t revert back to earlier ranks. If that’s true, then it would seem that once the city reaches it’s highest rank, that’s it… in which case, levelling cities is possible for early players, but not players who join the game a year or two after release.

Maybe that’s Mythic’s plan, but I would think they’d want to give that sort of content to late-comers, too. So I wonder what they have planned.

Do you know if it’s still possible to apply for the Guild beta? When they originally announced it I didn’t have a real guild to enter, now I do but can’t find anything but the normal application any more. I’m assuming it’s closed, but maybe I just didn’t see it last time I looked.

I first encountered G&F in the story Geheimnisnacht by Bill King, in the Ignorant Armies short story collection, copyright 1989.

Doesn’t time fly?

Balrogs would be the wrong IP. One winged daemon is probably a Bloodthirster, the other I don’t recognise.

The Battle for the City

An interesting observation: in the presented capital, a steam tank was standing around blinking like a usable object. When questioned, Kai “Sterntaler” Schober, the german CM said that although the tank was not usable by players, it would explode if clicked on by a Destruction player. The Order players can then collect the various pieces and repair it again.
Once an enemy has gained access to the city, there are various targets to attack: in Altdorf, for example, the Destruction players can choose between the Tower of the Bright Wizards, the Palace of the Emperor and the Temple of Sigmar.

Capital Citites growing and leveling

Capitals will level and grow the longer they are held. There will be about three to six levels, which are supposedly easy to attain – several days only, not weeks or months. At level up, it is not the buildings that will change, but the streets. Where before litter or debris blocked a way, a new Capital level might open a way, leading to new quest NPCs, for example. The Sigmar Temple in Altdorf is one example for this.
When a Capital is taken, it is not immediately destroyed. The degree of destruction depends on the time it took the besieging faction to capture the city.

The Skaven are loose in Altdorf!

In the harbour of Altdorf, there is an extravagant tavern which goes by the name of „Blowhole Tavern“. It’s a ship that has been brought to land and now serves for the entertainment of the citizens. In front of this tavern, there is a NPC-character shouting “Giant Rats, Giant Rats!” He will give you a quest for the severs of Altodrf, in which you will find the first hint – a dead Skaven. This quest chain will lead you deeper and deeper into the severs, until you find a huge dungeon. It appears that the Skaven have undermined the city completely. Screenshots show a Skaven drinking from a huge fountain that has a sickly green colour…

The Inevitable City

Aside from Altdorf, attenders of the Press Event were also shown the Inevitable City of the Chaos faction. The city is divided into several wings, each devoted to one of the four major Gods of Chaos. When showing the buildings and towers of Slaanesh, it seemed very obvious what the God of Pleasure is about. Quote: “Those towers in the back look like male genitals”. The Inevitable City will also feature a market place selling body parts, an Arena by the name of “The Pitch”, a bank and an auction house.

Regarding Guild Banners:

Guilds will be able to carry around their banners in RvR. The banners will ahve different boni which can be swapped like Tactics. The Banner Carrier can be appointed by the guild. There is only one Guild Banner at a time, and it can be picked up by enemies and displayed on their keeps if the Banner Carrier should die in combat…until the guild takes the keep and gets its flag back.

Player Monuments

Exceptional players will receive their own monuments in their capitals! They will want to take good care of them, as those monuments can be destroyed when the city is taken!

Guild Beta:

Guild Beta was confirmed to take place before Open Beta, though no specific date was mentioned.