Siege Weapons are constructs used by players within Cyrodiil for the Alliance War, mainly for the purpose of attacking or defending keeps. They may be purchased from Siege Merchants and Quartermasters, either with player gold or Alliance Points. Siege weapons must be set up from the Quick Slot wheel, and may not be deployed on sloped ground or too close to another siege weapon. Once deployed, you may exit the weapon and allow another allied player to fire it, but it can only be packed up by the player that originally set it up. Attackers and defenders may only deploy up to 20 siege weapons each at any keep. Enemy siege weapons may be targeted by friendly siege weapons (except rams), damaging the weapon and any nearby enemy players, and destroying the weapon when its toughness reaches zero.
Siege weapons are alliance-specific, and can only be used by their matching alliance. You can store them in your bank or guild bank and trade them to other characters in your account or other players, but only they may only be used by members of the same alliance.
With the exception of battering rams, all siege weapons are immobile once deployed. In order to relocate them, they must be stowed, which can only be done when they are loaded and ready to fire. Once you deploy a siege weapon, you are locked into operation of that weapon, and can perform no other actions (except chatting). In order to perform other actions, you must either stow the weapon (X button), or exit the weapon (Alt or Option), the latter of which will leave the weapon deployed, where it can be used by another friendly player.
When deployed, siege weapons slowly decay, losing toughness over time, even if not being fired. If a siege weapon is deployed and left unmanned, it will decay at a much faster rate, quickly falling apart and disappearing. Siege weapons may also be lit on fire by enemy players, causing them to take 4,200 flame damage every 2 seconds for 1 minute. Burning siege weapons can also be repaired, which causes you to throw a bucket of water on them, dousing the flames. Siege weapons that are at less than full toughness can also be repaired with repair kits.
The Cold Fire and Cold Stone variants can only be obtained by completing dolmens in Cyrodiil, or randomly from reward boxes during special PVP events such as Whitestrake's Mayhem.
Weapon TypesEdit
There are six types of siege weapons:
- Ballistae are good in all situations. Ballistae have a shorter reload time than trebuchets, but have lower toughness. Ballistae come in four varieties: standard, Fire (causes fire damage to enemy players over time), Lightning (ensnares enemy players), and Cold Fire (way more damage).
- Battering Rams are only effective for destroying the doors and gates of enemy keeps. Additional players may assist in the operation of a ram by standing within its structure while it is deployed, each of whom will increase its damage and its movement speed. Once deployed, rams can only move very slowly, so they are best deployed close to the enemy's door. Three or more players are required to move the ram and it improves until six players are nearby. Only one Battering Ram can be deployed per Alliance at a keep.
- Catapults are mostly effective against enemy players, especially in chokepoints, and come in three varieties: Oil (ensnares enemies), Meatbag (causes a ground area dealing disease damage and reducing healing taken with this icon:
), and Scattershot (damages foes in a wide area and increases their damage taken by 20%). Catapults have a shorter reload time than ballistae, and are 50% tougher. They have shorter range than trebuchets but a similar high trajectory than can deliver missiles over some obstacles. - Flaming Oil are very effective against everything and are used most against enemy battering rams and players at gate keeps, but they can only hit objects close to and directly below them.
- Trebuchets are best used to destroy the walls and doors of enemy keeps but deal terrible damage against enemy siege weapons. They have higher toughness than ballistae and catapults, have a very high arcing trajectory that can drop missiles behind enemy walls or atop higher elevations and deal higher damage but take longer to reload. Trebuchets come in five varieties: Stone, Firepot (causes fire damage over time to enemies), Iceball (ensnares enemy players), Cold Fire (causes fire damage over time to enemies) and Cold Stone (way more damage).
- Lancers were introduced in Greymoor. These Dwemer-made weapons are variants of the Ballista and fire five low accucary shots per burst. They come in three elemental types and can only be obtained via the Antiquities system. The Lead for them can only be found in Gladiator's Rucksacks by completing a Conquest daily quest in Cyrodiil, rewarding one of the following items: Fire Lancer Construction Crate, Frost Lancer Construction Crate, Shock Lancer Construction Crate.
Damage and EffectsEdit
Here are the damage and effects siege weapons have against Enemy Players and Siege weapons and against structures. What applies to Enemy Players also apply to NPCs.
| Weapon | Effects against Enemy Players | Effects against Siege Weapons | Effects against Structures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Ballista | 14,000 physical damage in an area | 14,000 damage in an area | 2,000 damage |
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Firebolt Ballista | 14,000 flame damage in an area then 14,000 flame damage every 2 seconds for 4 seconds to players hit. DoTs from different Fire Ballistae stack. | 14,000 damage in an area | 1,000 damage |
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Lightning Ballista | Applies the DoT on hit and immediately snares then, after 2 seconds, deals 14,000 shock damage twice over 2 seconds to players hit. DoTs from different Lightning Ballistae stack. | 14,000 damage in an area | 1,000 damage |
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Cold Fire Ballista | 20,800 flame damage in an area then 20,800 flame damage every 2 seconds for 4 seconds to players hit. DoTs from different Cold Fire Ballistae stack. | 20,800 damage in an area | 1,000 damage |
 |
Battering Ram | None | None | Can only move and attack with at least 3 players nearby. Movement Speed and Damage scale up to six players nearby. Deals 8,000 damage every 8 seconds (with 6 nearby players) to gates only. |
 |
Meatbag Catapult | On impact, creates an area applying/refreshing every second a 6 seconds-long effect reducing healing taken   . The area deals 10,000 disease damage every second to players inside. DoTs from different Meatbag Catapults stack. |
(?) | 500 damage |
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Oil Catapult | On impact, deals 10,000 flame damage in an area then leaves a ground area applying/refreshing every second a 6 seconds-long strong snare effect. | (?) | 500 damage |
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Scattershot Catapult | On impact, leaves an area for 6 seconds dealing 7,000 physical damage every second and applies/reapplies a 20% damage vulnerability effect for 6 seconds to players inside. | (?) | 200 damage |
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Fire Lancer | Per hit, 14,000 flame damage in an area and always applies Burning. | 14,000 damage in an area per hit | 500 damage per hit |
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Frost Lancer | Per hit, 14,000 frost damage in an area and always applies Chilled. | 14,000 damage in an area per hit | 500 damage per hit |
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Shock Lancer | Per hit, 14,000 shock damage in an area and always applies Concussed. | 14,000 damage in an area per hit | 500 damage per hit |
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Firepot Trebuchet | 25,000 flame damage in an area then 15,000 flame damage every 2 seconds for 4 seconds to players hit. DoTs from different Firepot Trebuchets stack. | 3,000 damage in an area | 3,500 damage |
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Iceball Trebuchet | 25,000 frost damage in an area and applies a 6 second-long snare. | 500 damage in an area | 3,000 damage |
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Stone Trebuchet | 35,000 physical damage in an area. | 800 damage in an area | 4,000 damage |
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Cold Fire Trebuchet | 30,000 flame damage in an area and 20,000 flame damage every 2 seconds for 6 seconds to players hit. DoTs from different Firepot Trebuchets stack. | 4,500 damage in an area | 3,500 damage |
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Cold Stone Trebuchet | 40,000 physical damage in an area | 1,200 damage in an area | 4,000 damage |
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Flaming Oil | Applies the DoT on hit, 10,000 flame damage over time every 2 seconds for 6 seconds in an area. DoTs from different Flaming Oils stack. | Applies the DoT on hit, 10,000 flame damage over time every 2 seconds for 6 seconds in an area. DoTs from different Flaming Oils stack. | None |
ItemsEdit
There are three types for each weapon, depending on alliance.
| Weapon | Description | Toughness | Gold Price | AP Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballistae | |||||
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Creates a ballista siege weapon whose bolt causes great damage to structures and enemies. | 100,000 | 1800  |
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Creates a ballista siege weapon whose bolt causes flame damage to structures and also damages foes over time. | 100,000 | 450  |
1200 |
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Creates a ballista siege weapon whose electrically charged bolt ensnares enemies and drains their Magicka. | 100,000 | 1200 |
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Creates a ballista siege weapon whose bolt causes flame damage to structures and also damages foes over time. | 100,000 | |||
| Catapults | |||||
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Creates a catapult siege weapon that fires a bag of diseased meat at its targets. | 150,000 | 1200 |
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Creates a catapult siege weapon that fires a jar of oil at its targets, ensnaring them and draining their Stamina. | 150,000 | 1200 |
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Creates a catapult siege weapon whose mass of small rocks causes damage to foes in a wide area. | 150,000 | 1200 |
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| Lancers | |||||
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Creates a Dwarven fire lancer siege weapon whose bolts deal flame damage to structures and also causes Burning. | 200,000 | |||
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Creates a Dwarven frost lancer siege weapon whose bolts deal frost damage to structures and also causes Chilled. | 200,000 | |||
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Creates a Dwarven shock lancer siege weapon whose bolts deal shock damage to structures and also causes Concussion. | 200,000 | |||
| Trebuchets | |||||
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Creates a trebuchet weapon whose fireball causes burn damage to structures and foes. | 200,000 | 450 |
1800 |
|
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Creates a trebuchet weapon whose iceball causes damage and ensnares players. | 200,000 | 1800 |
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Creates a trebuchet weapon whose stones cause great damage to structures and foes. | 200,000 | 1800 |
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Creates a trebuchet weapon whose fireball causes burn damage to structures and foes. | 200,000 | |||
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Creates a trebuchet weapon whose stones cause great damage to structures and foes. | 200,000 | |||
| Other | |||||
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Creates a battering ram which can be used to destroy doors. | 200,000 | 1800 |
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Flaming Oil | Pours straight downwards. Very effective weapon against Rams and players operating a Ram. | 100,000 | 800 |
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NotesEdit
- The Sundering Swing skill obtained from wielding Volendrung can be used to damage structures without requiring the use of siege weapons.
- The Cold Fire Ballistae are called "Cold Harbor Ballista" in the death recap.
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