Game Update 1.4.5

**Highlights**
* Fortresses
* Grovod Cavern
 **Related**
* Game Update 1.4.5a

# Highlights

## Relics

The impact of the recent Skaven invasion has been felt far and wide across the land. The increased tunneling and incursions have uncovered a series of hidden tunnels below the Fortresses in all of the home lands. Within these forgotten tunnels laid Relics of a bygone era, imparted with a power that can affect the entire realm. These relics represent a force that neither side wish for the other to hold and as such they have been locked up tight within their respective fortresses. New deployments and camps of defenders are available to assist the stalwart in guarding their relics. With the hint of power and whispers of how the Relics call out to each other across the land, the race is on to capture and hold these objects of power!

## Fortresses

With the discovery of relics of power beneath them, the Fortresses have once again become a strategic foothold for the realms to defend and invade. With resources stretched thin, the realms have appointed defenders for the fortress proper, but have put out a call to all available guilds and alliances to step up and assist the land in providing shelter for the relics. Resources are available should the right defenders step up and help to keep the relics safe. Step forward, claim the honor and plant your flag at the fortress or at any of the new defender camps. Or take the battle to the enemy and steal their relics in their moment of weakness. An arduous journey awaits those brave enough to try, but sacrifice is required for greatness!

## Grovod Cavern

The battle for domination doesn’t only take place on the ground or on the sea, but underground as well! With the return of Grovod Caverns, players from both realms will be able to battle for control of this strategic underground asset by utilizing the same technology implemented recently in the keep battles. By assuming control of Skaven troops, each realm will need to work together to claim a victory. For the mechanics and a quick run-down on the rules for the new Grovod Caverns, see the scenario section of the Realm vs. Realm notes.

## Scenario Shakeup

In addition to the return of Grovod Caverns above, the tide of battle continues to shift! A number of old scenarios are making their return, some are retiring for the moment, and others are shifting tiers. Not only that, but some scenarios are returning slightly changed! The line-up is based on player feedback from our Dev Discussions in the forums, so be sure to vote for the next batch of scenarios!

# Realm versus Realm

## Fortresses

With the discovery of Relics underneath them, a renewed interest in the strategic defense of Fortresses has been funded by the Kings. However, the continued war and attacks on all sides have caused funds and resources to be rationed. A call to all available alliances has gone out to aid in the defense of the Fortresses and the new found Relics. Likewise, able and allied adventurers are called upon to assault and obtain the enemy’s Relics so that the entire realm may prosper!

Fortresses are all about Player-Initiated Defense. An Alliance willing to put their neck on the line is able to claim the Fortress and several all new ‘defense’ points. Here are some key points and features of the fortresses to remember!

* If no one steps up to the plate, and the Fortress remains unclaimed, than the single defensive entity (other than the inherent defensiveness of the structure itself, i.e. doors and walls) is a lone Relic Guardian keeping watch over the Relic. Other than this Guardian, all other defenses require players to stake a claim in the security of the Fortress.
* The lone Relic Guardian will do their best to secure the Relic and represents the best and brightest of the realm, however, alone they are unlikely to prevent the Relic from being wrested away.
* Claiming a fortress by a guild in an alliance will open up new defense options for the fortress.
* To claim a fortress, just interact with the ‘Alliance Altar’ in the middle level of the fortress.
* Once claimed, four additional defensive points open that then are able to be claimed by other guilds in the same alliance as the one controlling the Fortress. Note, this means that an alliance would need representatives from five guilds to claim and hold all defensive points.
* To claim a defensive point, interact with the flag at the defensive point.

Each claimable defensive point, including the main Fortress claim, grants all members of the Alliance a buff while they are in the Fortress area. The areas and buffs are as follows:

* + The Fortress awards an RP gain buff;
	+ Each gatehouse awards one of the following buffs depending on the specific gatehouse; a speed buff, a heal buff, or a damage buff.
	+ A side defensive point awards an anti-crit buff.
* Upon claiming the main Fortress point, the following are available.
	+ The fortress wide alliance bonus noted above (RP Gain Buff).
	+ Oil and defensive single-target siege will spawn on the walls of the inner keep.
	+ The Relic Guardian will become a guild banker for the controlling Alliance, allowing any guild in the Alliance to access their guild vault.
	+ Four Fortress Generals will take up positions inside the inner keep on the ground level.
	+ The fortress generals will fight and defend the Fortress on their own, but they also offer the players a unique defensive opportunity.
	+ By interacting with the generals, players can assume control of that specific general directly and use them to defend the keep! This behaves similarly to the Champion and Skaven play-as-monster roles introduced in previous patches.
* As each Gatehouse is claimed, the following become available.
	+ The specific fortress wide alliance bonus noted above.
	+ Oil and defensive single-target siege spawn in.
	+ A Fortress Foreman spawns inside the Gatehouse, allowing any allied player to purchase Heavy Wood to repair damaged doors (which works the same as with Keeps); and a Fortress Door Field Kit, which will allow you to rebuild a destroyed door, bringing it back to a live and closed state, but with only 35% of its health.
	+ Additionally, for each Gatehouse claimed, a defensive siege unit is generated in the Fortress Armory, allowing up to three deployable single-target siege, each, to be picked up by players.
* Claiming a Fortress or Defensive point will require a cost. The current costs for claiming are as follows: a periodic upkeep cost of 6 Gold every 15 minutes (for a total of 24 Gold hourly) for Fortress, and a periodic upkeep cost of 3 Gold every 15 minutes (for a total of 12 Gold hourly) for individual defensive points.
* Interacting with the ‘Alliance Altar’ or ‘Flags’ will claim or unclaim the area. Please note that unclaiming the Fortress will remove all claims on the subareas as well.
* Claiming a defensive point or the Fortress will also spawn banners that show the Guild banner for the Guild that claimed the area. Fly your flag proud!

Defenders aren’t the only one that benefit from the renewed interest in the fortresses though! If there are enough attackers on a Fortress, their side will requisition additional resources to aid in their attack!

* A new attacker camp is available on the outskirts of the Fortress area.

This camp remains empty until enough attackers enter the area to attack the Fortress. This threshold is currently set to 10.

* Once an attacking force of sufficient size has amassed, deployable siege units are generated allowing attacking players to pick up a maximum of two rams, and four single-target siege.
* There is no cost associated with this camp.

## Relics

Fortresses make their return in 1.4.5, and as a new day breaks over them, something new glitters in that blood-red wash of morning - Relics. Each of the six races has a relic, unique and significant to them. While the two relics of a pairing are in their separate Fortresses, they remain inert. When they are brought together, however, their power resonates with one another and magnifies exponentially conferring a Relic Bonus to all members of the controlling realm.

* Each race’s fortress holds that’s race’s relic.
* Each relic is represented by a unique piece that is stored, hopefully securely, on the highest level of its associated Fortress.
* A single relic will provide no bonus to the realm.
* Invaders can interact and steal the relic and attempt to deliver it back to their own fortress safely.
* Once a relic is in possession of an enemy force, the Fortress has been sacked and the race is on to recover the relic before the enemy can return it and claim it for their own. (see ‘Running the Relic’ section below for additional information on this topic.)
* If a realm is successful in stealing an enemy relic and bringing it back to their fortress, they will claim ownership of the relic and the entire realm will benefit from a realm wise bonus.
* The realm-wide bonus for owning both relics in a pairing is specific to that pairing. The bonuses are as follows:
	+ Dwarf – Greenskin: Owning both Relics in this pairing will award all members of that Realm a 200% bonus to earned coin.
	+ Empire – Chaos: Owning both Relics in this pairing will award all members of that Realm a 5% bonus to damage.
	+ High Elf – Dark Elf: Owning both Relics in this pairing will award all members of that Realm a 5% bonus to healing.
	+ All Pairings: Owning both Relics of any pairing will award all members of that Realm a 5% bonus to RP. These stack with each other, so owning all three pairings would total a 15% bonus.
* Relic bonuses are a result of the combined power of both relics being secured at a single location; the moment the enemy picks up their relic from your Fortress in an attempt to get it back home, the Bonus conferred by that Racial Relic Pairing is no longer in effect.
* While a relic resides in its home fortress, a Rally Flag will be available in each of the Warcamps of that pairing. The flag is located near each Warcamp’s healer and allows players to teleport directly to the fortress to defend the relic. The arrival location for the Rally Flag changes every few seconds to ensure attacking forces can’t predict the arrival. However, please be aware that if the attackers have breached the inner sanctum, the Rally Flag may be a dangerous way to enter the battle!

# Relic Running

Relic running is a dangerous and risky proposition, but the reward for the realm as a whole is worth it! There are several important things to keep in mind when running or claiming relics though…

* If a realm is in control of both relics, the other realm must first re-secure their own relic back at their Fortress before they can attempt to steal the enemy relic.
* When a relic is picked up, either the enemy’s or reclaiming their own, a player must make their way on foot across the pairing to secure it at their own Fortress.
* Periodically, as the Relic carrier is on the move, the power of the Relic will cause its location to momentarily show up on the map. This will give both Ally and Enemy alike a momentarily glimpse into the carrier’s progress. Because of this, Relic carriers and their convoys should keep moving!
* If the Relic carrier should die along the way, the Relic will drop on the field, with a clearly visible map marker, allowing anyone in the zone to see its location.
* The dropped Relic marker is different than the progress marker to avoid confusion.
* While a Relic is being carried, the carrier is not able to join scenarios or be summoned with Summoning Stones.
* If the carrier leaves the open RvR area, the Relic will be automatically dropped at its last known location.
* If the Carrier leaves the game, for whatever reason, the Relic is dropped at its last known location.
* A dropped Relic is up for grabs and can be picked up by either side by interacting with it. At this point, whatever realm claims the dropped Relic can run it back to the appropriate fortress and claim it for their realm.

If the Relic sits on the field for a specific amount of time, without being picked up, it will automatically reset, returning to the Fortress where it had most recently been housed.

## Campaign

* When the campaign has moved to the city siege, players may now queue and enter the city siege via the Scenario Queue window or by clicking on the appropriate City in the ‘RvR tracker’ available on the map.

## Scenarios

The line-up of scenarios that are permanently available has changed. The new list is as follows:

**Tier 1**

* Nordenwatch
* Battle for Praag
* Gates of Ekrund (6v6)

**Tier 2**

* Nordenwatch
* Mourkain Temple
* Gates of Ekrund (6v6)

**Tier 3**

* Nordenwatch
* Mourkain Temple
* Gates of Ekrund (6v6)
* Reikland Factory

**Tier 4**

* Nordenwatch
* Mourkain Temple
* Gates of Ekrund (6v6)
* Reikland Factory
* Caledor Woods (6v6)
* Grovod Caverns (MP)

## Grovod Caverns

Dank, dark, and dangerous; these are all words that describe the Skaven infested underground lair known as Grovod Caverns. Littered with Skaven mechanisms and a key focal point in the battle underground, this scenario offers players a unique objective based game play experience.

* Grovod Caverns is available in Tier 4 and available to all characters that are level 40.
* Grovod Caverns is a bomb run based objective scenario where players utilize Skaven forces to accomplish their goals.
* Participants on either side can assume the role of a Skaven Engineer, Gutter Runner, or Pack Master. Each will have a unique role in completing the objectives, so teams will need to coordinate to be successful.
* The goal of the match is to take the singular bomb and take out the enemy’s Skaven machinations in their base.
* Grabbing the warpstone bomb will cause a Skaven to mutate into a Skaven Rat Orge granting them unique powers while running the bomb.
* Guarding the entry way to each side’s base are Skaven warp energy field generators.
* Skaven running through an enemy warp energy beam will be affected by a random debuff.
* Skaven running with the Bomb through an warp energy beam will result in an explosion that destroy the Skaven and resets the bomb.
* Warp energy field generators can be destroyed by enemy Gutter Runners.

Destroyed Warp energy field generators can be repaired by friendly Engineers.

# Content

## Public Quests

* Fixed objects that were preventing the second stage of Knightly Riders PQ from being completed so they are now accessible.

## Tome of Knowledge

* Interacting with the Vulture Feeder Parts will now properly grant the "Feeding Time" tome unlock to both order and destruction characters.
* Fixed a typo for the title The Majestic.

## Items

* The inventory icons and equipped appearance for several high renown rank Witch hunter swords will now display correctly.