City Siege
This is probably the most unique aspect of Shadowbane’s gameplay. City siege has changed dramatically since release. When a guild desires to bane an enemy they have to procure a banestone and plant the stone outside the walls of the targeted city. The power of the banestone must be equal to the power of the city that is being baned. A rank seven tree of life (the heart of a city and a measure of its power) can only be baned by a rank seven banestone or higher. The defender then chooses the time of the bane (anywhere between 48 and 72 hours from the time the bane was placed). When the bane time goes live, war is declared, and the walls, shops, buildings, and the banestone itself, all become vulnerable to damage.

Damaging cities or banestones is done by special spells, siege weapons, or siege machines like trebuchets. The opposing forces duke it out with the attacker trying to breach the defenders wall and the defenders trying to destroy the attacker’s banestone. City sieges are the true testament to the skill of a guild and afford the lions-share of bragging rights.

Losing a city can be debilitating for some players since the cost to build, rank, and create a city requires days upon days of farming and effort, but the reward of holding a city and becoming a server power far outweigh the negatives.

It’s also important to note than anyone can bane anyone for any reason. Shadowbane is a game of politics and competent Machiavellian guild leaders can use diplomacy, bribery, or astute political machinations to win a war, but even lacking that, competent warlords can win with skill and power alone.

Release to Now: What’s Changed?
Nephilim and Vampires are two of the newest races to hit Shadowbane since release. Nephilim, bat winged demon spawn of chaos, are feared mages and casters that can fling doom from above. Vampires, the generals of the armies of oblivion, are the resilient walkers of the night with devastating drain attacks and impressive vulnerabilities. These two races have dramatically changed the face of PvP.

Sentinels, Doomsayers, Necromancers, and Nightstalkers are the newest character classes to be implemented since release. Doomsayers are perhaps the most powerful of these classes with their ability to drain life, mana, and cripple an enemy with debilitating debuffs. Sentinels come in a close second with their ability to make any PvP group utilizing holy damage to be dramatically more effective in combat.

Now Shadowbane also has resource mines. Each macro-zone has a resource mine that yields up every hour a set amount of special resources. Resources include lumber, iron, stone, agate, quicksilver, and many other unique items. These resources are used in turn to craft unique and powerful items, and are also required to build an empire.

The new realm rulership system has also radically changed the political landscape of Shadowbane. The world is divided into realms, and powerful guilds can lay claim to these realms and lord over all other cities in that realm. They can tax other cities in their realm, and all who enter it know the name of who owns it. Realms, along with mines, have given Shadowbane even more to fight over and to fight for.

Perhaps the most anticipated change to Shadowbane is the upcoming soon to be announced Lore Server. The Shadowbane community is perhaps the game’s strongest asset. The community has been demanding a Lore Server since Shadowbane was released and they’re finally getting it. Shadowbane guilds will now be focused around the fifteen lore factions currently available and will only be able to guild characters in the guild compliant with the lore. Elven guilds will now only be able to guild elves, and minotaurs, for example. All other servers have no such restriction on who can be guilded where.

The new Lore Server offers what most Shadowbane players have been asking for, and promises a unique and fresh take on siege, PvP, and politics.

In Summation
For a game that has existed primarily as “under the radar”, Shadowbane continues to grow and improve. It still has many bumps and general frustrations, but the evolving content, new features, and expanded options have been enough to keep its loyal player base coming back for more.

Personally, I think Shadowbane has been a great MMORPG experience, but like many of its players, I am still holding out hope for Shadowbane 2.

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Your comments are welcome in this thread.