Category:Campaign Battles

Campaign Battles
"Campaign Battles" is the collective term given to the series of battles and border skirmishes waged in the Quon and Mindartian theaters during the Crystal War.

The regions in question contain areas which are continually being plagued by sporadic outbursts of hostility along perpetually contested borders. Should the incessantly encroaching beasthordes be unequivocally repelled, the lands in dispute will be claimed as territories under Altana. There are several benefits to be reaped once claim is laid to an area, such as an increase in the number of Campaign Ops available, and the number of such benefits will grow in proportion to the amount of land secured.

Moreover, by having "Allied Tags" issued to you by an area's Campaign Arbiter (C.A.), you may choose to have your campaign battle performance assessed. By doing so you may receive rewards for your service, such as Campaign-specific points, known as "Allied Notes," and even experience points. It is worth noting that experience points will not be lost in the event that a player should die while participating in Campaign Battles.

Campaign Map
The Campaign Map shows the current Campaign Battles and how the nations are faring against the Beastmen. This can be accessed by typing /campaignmap (or /cmap for short).

Map Information:

The Controlled Areas information appears in the upper right hand corner of the map when the arrow is not hovering over an area icon. This shows how many areas each nation currently controls. When a nation controls an area, their field Campaign officer will be standing at the fortifications. When the beastmen are controlling an area, the C.A. (Campaign Arbiter) will be standing some distance away from the fortifications.

The Campaign Map shows the status of Campaign Battles and zone resources. A sword icon indicates that a Campaign Battle is in progress. Blue, red or yellow sword icons indicate Bastok, San d'Oria or Windurst as the defending nation, respectively. Grey sword icons indicates the area is being defended by the beastmen.

Under each icon is the Heroism Guage which indicates the intensity of campaign battles in the area. As the guage fills in the region, the number of attacking forces and defending forces will increase and the battle will last longer. This also means that generals and freelances participating in the area will more likely use their own unique abilities more frequently (i.e., Dalzakk will be more inclinded to summon Oggbi for help).

The Campaign Map also indicates the Fortifications and Resources levels (current vs. maximum) in each area.

The Fortifications rating indicates how well the defenders have control over the area. This rating will decrease as the stronghold is attacked in campaign battles, and can be lowered by saboteurs dropping bombs. The lower this value is, the more likely defenders will retreat and the easier for attackers to gain influence.

Buying Temporary Items deducts the resource count by one. Resources are also spent to increase the current fortification amount every time a defending force is dispatched. If resources hits 0, no more temporary items can be purchased. But more importantly, the defending forces can no longer repair fortifications when they are initially dispatched, which means they may retreat more often until fortifications are repaired by a engineering unit or through Campaign Ops. Campaign Ops supply transport missions including Crimson Domino I / II can be completed to replenish an area's resources by 1 point each time for Crimson Domino I, 2 for Crimson Domino II, etc.; a concentrated effort by several players is needed to add a meaningful amount to the supply.

Enlisting in Campaign Battles
All those wishing to participate in Campaign Battles must enlist with one of the allied army's three main forces--the Kingdom of San d'Oria, the Republic of Bastok, or the Federation of Windurst--to combat the ever-advancing beastmen confederate comprising the Quon Host of the Orcish Empire, the Quadav Shieldwarriors, the Yagudo Theomilitary, and the Shadowlord's Dark Kindred.


 * How to Enlist:Complete Steamed Rams, The Fighting Fourth, or Snake on the Plains to join San d'Oria, Bastok, or Windurst's military forces respectively. Once you have enlisted in a military force you are able to partake in Campaign and Campaign Battles.

Participation in a Campaign Battle

 * When you have arrived in a Campaign Battle area, you must sign up with the Campaign Arbiter (chart below) in the zone to receive Allied Tags for participation in the battle. The battle may sprawl out across the zone, but it is generally focused upon the fortifications in the zone.
 * Once you receive tags a sword icon will appear in front of your name. Under these tags, you will be able to earn Experience Points or Limit Points for participating in the battle, and you will not lose experience if K.O.'d. However, you forfeit any experience points and item drops from all other monsters in the zone, and cannot gain any skill-ups. You will also not be able to get weapon skill trial points.
 * Campaign Battle opponents will only aggro players with Allied Tags. Players not participating will not be affected by their attacks or get aggro, unless they have accrued enmity with Campaign Battle enemies. However non-Campaign Battle mobs can and will aggro players involved in Campaign battles.
 * It is to be noted that participating in Campaign Battles without Allied Tags is a very nice alternative for characters that find it difficult to solo or find skillup parties to 100~230 skill. Just let a mob be claimed, wait for enough Enmity to be accrued then melee to your hearts content. Skill ups can start as low as little below under 100.

Temporary Items
The Campaign Arbiters provide the players with temporary items in exchange for Allied Notes. These items vanish after you exit the battle. The availability of items depends on the area fortification's Resources: if they reach zero, players will be unable to obtain temporary items until resources are replenished.

Campaign Battle Rewards
During the battle, most actions you do will earn you Experience Points and Allied Notes.


 * The calculations and limits on EXP and AN gained during a battle can be estimated using this guide.
 * Any actions done before 1 full minute has elapsed after getting the Allied Tags will not count toward your experience and Allied Notes reward.
 * You can ask for an assessment at any point during the campaign battle and be granted new allied tags after you have reached the capped limit.
 * If you die while participating in a campaign battle and the enemy forces retreat you will still obtain the exp/limit points and allied notes you earned as soon as you are raised.
 * Zoning in any way during a campaign battle will forfeit all exp/limit points and allied notes you have earned during the battle. This includes returning to your Home Point, being tractored, and casting teleportation spells.
 * If you disconnect during a campaign battle with your Allied Tags on, you lose your tags and any rewards.
 * You can earn additional experience for completing battles by signing up for missions such as the Aegis Scream or Smokescreen Campaign Ops. Asking for an assessment during the battle will add to the required total to complete the Ops if you already have points stored then get an early assessment this may count towards completing the Ops.

Overview
Campaign Battles are centered on the Fortifications in the outdoor zones. In addition, battle can take place in Strongholds (i.e. cities) where nations and beastmen organize their troops.

In addition to players, there will be friendly NPCs and hostile mobs involved in Campaign Battles. Each nation has 10 military units (attackers and defenders), a maintenance unit, physicians, and siege equipment. Five military units are deployed to specific zones (they will still defend the stronghold however), while the other five military units can be deployed anywhere in their nation's cordon. The Dark Kindred are an exception, as they currently have only four active units at this time and only participate in attacks on Allied fortifications.

Finally, Freelances may assist any of these forces (multiple freelances can accompany a single unit to battle). All freelances are scouted and recruited by players, though the Dark Kindred recruit their own freelances as well. They will usually leave when their associated unit returns victorious, but sometimes they may remain behind if the campaign battle is still going.

Strongholds
Each of the seven major forces have a stronghold capital from where they organize their troops: Bastok Markets, Southern San d'Oria, Windurst Waters, Beadeaux, Castle Oztroja, La Vaule, and Castle Zvahl, for the Republican Army of Bastok, the Royal Army of San d'Oria, the Federal Forces of Windurst, the Quadav Shieldwarriors, the Yagudo Theomilitary, the Orcish Host, and the Dark Kindred respectively.

In order for campaign battles to take place in the stronghold areas mentioned above, the stronghold must be the only remaining zone under control; e.g. for a battle to take place in Southern San d'Oria (S), the Orcish Hosts must control every other area in the Ronfaure and Norvallen Fronts. When campaign battles occur in allied nation cities, Campaign Ops NPC, and certain other NPCs will vanish for the duration of the battle. Similarly, Allied Forces must have control of all other areas within range to attack a stronghold.


 * As of the September 2008 update, the teleportation Campaign Arbiters will no longer vanish during a city campaign battle.


 * In beastmen strongholds, any of the nearby beastmen mobs will link with campaign defenders, making assaults on these areas exceptionally difficult as the fortification areas are often crowded.


 * Currently, Castle Zvahl is not accessible in Shadowreign, so the Dark Kindred cannot be attacked directly, only the other six forces' capitals can be under assault.


 * It seems that having an army attack a stronghold of either the alliance or the beastmen drops the development level of the attacked group to 1 this includes "Supplies Skill and Production" levels. i haven't seen an increase in the Funding yet so i don't know as to how that will be affected. Also it seems that you can not increase these stats until you win one zone outside of the capital in question. It does not however affect the ability to gather intelligence or win freelances into your army nor does it affect the resources set at the start of the server week.

Attackers
The attackers are the forces on the offensive, and it is their deployment that triggers campaign battles. They begin their assault by spawning in waves at set locations a distance away from the fortifications (depending on zone), and will charge to the fort. A chat message will inform when they begin the attack (and if reconnaissance permits, will also indicate the direction of the assault). Their objective is to deal damage to the fortifications. Upon dealing enough they will "return victorious" to their stronghold by warping out. If the entire attacking force has been slain, the attacking force retreats and the campaign battle ends.

The AI behavior of the advancing forces will usually pause every so often as they march to the fortress. This allows players a chance to ambush incoming beastmen raiders before they reach the defending forces' fortifications. Upon getting in range of the fort, the attackers will aggro the first defenders or fortification they see/hear. They will engage a defender until it is slain, and will attack any fortification continuously unless attacked by a defending troop. If an attacker's AI fails to detect either, they will wander around the premises until they detect an opponent.

The Allied Forces and Beastmen Confederate will only be attacking zones within their territory (e.g. the Federal Forces of Windurst will not assault the Quadav Shieldwarriors). The Dark Kindred are an exception; they'll attack any area under control of the Allied Forces. Players are also not restricted, as they can join the assault on any beastmen area regardless of their Campaign allegiance. But players themselves are not considered an attacking force; their participation is only valid while the Allied Forces have troops assaulting a beastmen fort, so it is important for players to help keep Allied attackers alive through magic support or creating a diversion by engaging the defenders and thus taking their attention away from the attacking force.

Defenders
The defenders are sent to undertake the stalwart defense of fortresses. Their objective is to simply destroy attacking waves, and if all (or most) offensive troops are defeated, they'll return victorious to their stronghold when the battle ends. They will also return victorious after a certain period of time even if no battle has occurred. Defenders almost always are deployed with physicians (see below).

The defenders always spawn at the fortifications and patrol the premises, and unlike attackers, they will respawn periodically. However, if enough of the defending forces are slain (usually between 10-15 or by reducing the fortifications below pre-battle conditions), they may call a retreat and abandon the defense leaving any players and physicians behind. This does not prevent new defenders from appearing later to resume defense in the same battle, however.

The Allied Forces and Beastmen Confederate will only be defending zones that they control, and each beastmen force only dispatches forces in their territory (e.g. the Yagudo Theomilitary will not send troops to defend La Vaule). The Dark Kindred do not directly try to defend beastmen zones (but they do send physicians in the form of Imps). Players, however, are free to participate in any Allied defense regardless of their Campaign allegiance, and have greater mobility than defending forces (who only patrol the vicinity of the fort), and as such can either try to pick off advancing beastmen troops one by one or they can divert their attention to allow the defending forces to pick them off.

Generals
All units have a commanding general. This general is named, and is a considerably powerful NPC/mob in campaign battles (far exceeding regular troops or any player). If the general is defeated, the unit will not automatically retreat, however a message relayed in the cities will inform players that he or she was "grievously wounded" in battle, and thus the unit will take a longer rest period before being deployed again.

Allied generals are well-known individuals in their nation's military, and players may chat with them outside campaign battles. During campaign battles, they all have a distinctive battle cry (usually when performing a weaponskill or special ability) that heralds their presence. Several generals possess a relic weapons or another rare artifact, and many have their own unique weaponskill.

Beastmen generals are a named Notorious Monster, and all have unique characteristics and deadly tricks up their sleeve (like many other NMs in Vana'diel). They do not have any spoken battle cry, but they usually have a very distinctive appearance (at least compared to their own troops). Great caution is needed when battling them, for unlike their regular troops, they have more than enough firepower to defeat several players from a single area attack or single-handedly defeat entire Allied units over the course of a battle. As a result, players tend to save them for last or allow for Allied units awaiting battle to deal with them while they fight the general's troops.

Physicians
The physicians join defenders, serving dutifully to heal and tend to their battle-wounded allies. They patrol the field of battle, seeing to the needs of combatants by bestowing upon them various spells of healing and enhancement. The physicians will not engage in open combat directly; they will resort to fighting only as a means of self-defense when attacked directly. If the defenders flee from battle, they will remain on the battlefield until either the campaign battle ends or they die. They are not very durable and will quickly perish if they are attacked directly. They also seem to lose hate over time, and often return to healing duty if they are not directly engaged in attack.

It can be noticed that physician units will cast tiers of spells in accordance to how many areas a nation controls. For instance, if Windurst controls Windurst Waters and West Sarutabaruta (S), the Combat Salvemixers would be able to cast up to Cure II, Protect II, Shell II and Raise. They can even cast normally self-target only spells such as Blink on defenders. The efficiency of physician units can be improved by undertaking Cut and Cauterize campaign ops.

Since physicians never accompany an attacking wave, it is up to players to keep offensive Allied forces healed during an assault on beastmen forts.

Maintenance units
Each of the armies (except for the Dark Kindred currently) have an auxiliary maintenance unit. This unit is non-combative, as they perform other tasks when deployed, and have no commander. They will bring supplies to the forts, perform bombing runs on enemy bases, and can assemble siege weapons (see below) if their nation's conditions support it.

These troops will only attack in self-defense, and until a recent update, beastmen utility forces completely ignored any attack as they carried out their missions. Upon reaching their objective, they will warp out when finished. If they are setting up siege machines, there will be an ominous summoning animation as they move into position. They are considered victorious if most of them manage to succeed in their mission.

If they are deployed on an offensive campaign operation, they are still considered an attacking wave and must be dealt with by defending forces.

Siege weapons
Upon reaching certain technological levels, both the Allied Forces and the Beastman will be able to deploy siege weapons in campaign battles:

Belfry
Available to both the Allied Forces of Altana as well as the Beastman Confederate, the belfry will become available to armies attacking regions not under their influence once their technological means have reached a predetermined level.

Since they house a "war bell" capable of calling forth reinforcements, it is imperative that players not only protect the belfries of the Allied Forces tooth and nail, but also demolish those of the Beastman Confederate as quickly as possible.

The reinforcements will attempt to assault the fortifications, but will defend the belfry if it is being attacked. The beastmen reinforcements have a unique appearance and have a special weaponskill. Unlike normal attacking waves, these reinforcements will continue to respawn until the belfry is destroyed.

Mantelet
The mantelet is also available to both sides, and will be placed at a location that an army is defending once their technological means have reached a predetermined level.

The mantelet's benefit derives from its ability to restore the HP of friendly players within its vicinity. As such, much like the belfry, they must be defended or destroyed accordingly.

To be specific, a mantelet will restore the HP, MP, and TP of any defenders within range. The mantelet has a limited use however; it will gradually weaken as it heals defenders and will despawn upon depletion. In strongholds, multiple mantelets may be installed in various locations.

Siege Turret
Available only to the Beastman Confederate are siege turrets, which will appear when an army's technological means reach an incredibly high level while attacking an area not under their influence.

Capable of repeated long-range attacks, in addition to spawning ferocious enemies, the siege turret is widely considered to be the Beastman Confederate's most powerful and deadly weapon.

Although they appear to have wheels, they usually never move as they are installed very close to the fort. Their main attack is a ranged attack and a large radius blast attack, aimed to hit the fortifications and any defenders nearby. They will also deploy some war beasts to attack the fortifications.

The Allied Forces of Altana
Allied NPCs of the each nation participate in combat. They come in large squads of roughly 10-15 NPCs to protect or attack fortifications. Also, Freelance NPCs will come to the aid of any nation who gains influence over them by doing certain tasks.

Unlike typical NPCs, the strength and defenses of these NPCs are constantly fluctuating based on their conditioning and participation in battle. If Allied forces are defeated several times, they will gradually become weaker in future battles and be less capable of fighting on their own. Likewise, if the NPCs are victorious, they will gradually become stronger and it will be harder for Beastmen forces to defeat them. Players can help improve the condition of their nation's forces through Military training Campaign Ops.

The Beastman Confederate
The monsters appear in squadrons of 10-12 with a named leader. They all check as Impossible to Gauge. These will not aggro players without the sword icon for Campaign; only players with Allied Tags will be attacked.

There is one exception: you can be attacked by beastmen defending a zone without Allied Tags if you are attacking the fortifications (either by magic ranged or melee attacks) and are seen, they will aggro to you. The beastmen forces have a small sight aggro range to any other beastmen or the fortifications, but you can walk past a mob or wait for it to move away before continuing your attack. If you do draw aggro, it would be best to get some NPC's or other's players to help you; only the slighest provocation will make you lose hate.


 * Unconfirmed, but in order to cause their retreat in regional campaign battles, at least 10 of the dispatched force must be killed.
 * This seems to be different in Strongholds and may require more to be killed depending on the numbers of the attacking force. It may have something to do with whether they are attacking or defending that determines their limit in battle.
 * This does NOT include the generals and it has been proven that their forces do not retreat if the general is killed first.
 * Being defeated by these mobs without Allied Tags will cause you to lose experience points as normal.
 * It is possible to gain hate without Allied Tags if you assist other player characters with Allied Tags on.
 * Since the 3/10/08 update, the attack power of these mobs against NPCs and (possibly) Fortifications has been dramatically increased (possibly NPC defense has been lowered instead). As well, NPCs will now earn and keep enmity rather than being ignored at the slightest provocation.  Combined, this means that while it is easier for lower-level players to operate in Campaign without being slaughtered, many more players will likely be needed to maintain control over hotly contested regions as the NPCs can no longer be expected to do all the work.

Dark Kindred
These uncommon forces sometimes show up during campaign battles, and are often more difficult than the other three forces. They only operate offensively and will sometimes bring freelances with them into campaign battles.

Orcish Hosts
The Orcish Host employs "Orcish Counterstance," granting them a counterstance effect. To avoid being countered, stand behind the enemy. Some NM's use "Berserker Dance" to grant a self-Haste effect. Neither effect can be Dispeled. Any Orc force can defend La Vaule (S). Some forces only attack/defend specific zones (see table).

Quadav Shieldwarriors
Quadav Shieldwarriors have a TP move called "Diamond Shell" that makes any attacks from behind hit for 0 damage while the effect is active, including Ninjutsu and other spells. Take note of when it's used and move to the front to cause damage. Diamond Shell sometimes has no effect. Ore Lob is also usable by all Quadav forces, and Wrath of Gu'Dha (absorbed by 3 shadows, potent AOE knockback and Weight) is usable only by Quadav generals.

Yagudo Theomilitary
The Yagudo Theomilitary have an ability called "Feathered Furore" that will remove one random piece of equipment in a cone blast. Several campaign leaders also use "Dark Invocation" to inflict poison/death.

Skill-Up
During a campaign battle, it is possible to skill-up if you do not have the tags for battle. You can hit the fortifications starting around Level 100 on most weapons and it will normally require your weapon to be level 160 before you can effectively hit members of the Beastmen Confederate.

Confirmed: It is possible to force Beastmen units to retreat without allied tags and without a campaign battle taking place. If players in skill-up parties manage to kill 10 or more beastmen guarding a fortification, the beastmen will retreat and will also lose influence in the area the same as in normal campaign battle defeats.