Template:Node siege declaration

Node sieges are declared directly by any player^[1] who completes the prerequisites for the siege initiation.^[2] Sieges are started via a siege scroll, which is acquired through a quest that scales in difficulty with respect to the level of the node. A substantial investment is required to attain the siege scroll.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Siege scrolls are specific to the node that is named on the scroll.^[6]
- The lifetime of the scroll begins when the node is named on the scroll.^[6]
  - Currently, if the scroll's lifetime is less than the siege cooldown remaining on that node, the scroll will be wasted, but this may change in future.^[7]
- The Mayor is notified when their node is named on a siege scroll.^[6]
The method right now is when you complete a quest line and you're going to receive the scroll, you must stipulate the node that that scroll is valid for and then there is a lifetime on the scroll.^[6] – Steven Sharif
- It was previously stated that siege scrolls were specific to a node stage.^[8]
Once the siege scroll is brought to the node and is activated, the declaration period begins and a countdown is initiated for players in the region to see. This countdown runs for a number of days equal to the stage of the node being sieged.
- Village (3 days).^[9]
- Town (4 days).^[9]
- City (5 days).^[9]
- Metropolis (6 days).^[9]
  - This was previously 2, 3, 4, 5 days.^[4]^[10]
Once the countdown is complete, the siege begins.^[4]
- Node citizens that renounce their citizenship during the declaration period may incur penalties.^[11]
Siege scrolls are not able to be modified after they are obtained.^[12]

The questing that is incorporated as part of attaining that particular scroll is very particular to the type of scroll you're attempting to acquire and that is inclusive not just of the materials required as part of that questing but also the time associated with completing that quest, because we want there to be a reciprocal relationship between how much time it takes to stand up a node of the particular size and the types of quests that are required in order to attain the siege scroll. So there won't be a method by which you can first attain a scroll for a lower level node and then increase or augment or change that scroll after you've completed the quest. You'll have to go through a new quest again for the type of level of node you want.^[12]

Sieging will require a similar amount of resources and time to what it took to develop the node being sieged.^[13]

Siege equipment will need to be crafted based on the stage of the defending node.^[14]
Mayors/governments allocate resources, taxes, and quests to help develop node defenses.^[14]

A node siege may not be declared for 21 days following a node advancing to any stage.^[15]^[16]

This was previously stated to apply only to nodes advancing to Village (stage 3), not higher stages.^[17]

There are new functionalities and mechanisms that come online when a node advances and you want to provide both time for elected governments to take place, which then have direct consequences and choices to be made over defensive capabilities and also gives provides time for that node to collect and receive resources through taxation and/or quests for its citizens to participate in, so that it has available treasury funds and/or resources to allocate towards defensive structures and other types of defensive systems. So it would make sense that if there were to be an occurrence where node advances within that window, that window is reset again for the new stage because there are new correlating services and functions available.^[16] – Steven Sharif

During the declaration period, individuals or guilds can register to attack or defend providing they meet the criteria.^[3]^[5]

The player who originally declared the siege cannot exclude anyone from joining the attack.^[3]
Citizens of the node or provincial nodes being attacked are automatically registered as defenders.^[18]
Players do not need to be citizens of the node in order to register as defenders, but they cannot be citizens of a node that is at war with the node they wish to defend.^[19]
Citizens of allied nodes cannot register to attack.^[20]

Many services are shut down during the siege declaration period, and instead are replaced by preparation quests or services for the siege.^[21]

Once a siege is declared, players are prohibited from moving goods out of depositories within the node.^[22]^[23]^[24]
- This includes resources and materials that are stored in Warehouses, Chests within player housing, storage containers within guild halls, or within processing buildings on freeholds.^[23]^[25]

That incentivizes even further the necessity of players to contribute to the defense of a city. It also elevates the need for that city to politically gain allies among other nodes so that they can protect the collective goods of the citizens.^[24] – Steven Sharif

During the siege virtually all services are suspended.^[21]
- Player stalls may still operate during node siege declaration. This is subject to testing.^[26]
If a node levels up during the declaration period, the level up will affect the node system for neighboring nodes, but the leveling wont occur until a short time after the siege.^[27]^[28]