Map Guide: Westwood (Field Battle)

It’s a perennial tragedy of war that where peace-loving people live is often where war-mongers settle their arguments. For the gentlefolk of Westwood, already put upon by skirmishes on a daily basis, those squabbles are to become more heated, as argumentative warlords are now able to pick a side from which to attack the settlement. Or, to put it another way: after many months of being a popular PvE map, Westwood can now be played as a PvP Field Battle!

HISTORY

The farmers and farriers of Westwood have long scratched their heads as to why their once-sleepy hamlet has become a bloody battleground. Their homes hold no treasure and the ground hides no riches - aside that the seasons are kind and harvests are good. All they can surmise is that those with swords must enjoy fighting. Resigned to their fate and thankful that no invading armies feel the need to churn the earth with their siege machines, tavern regulars often joke that at least the blood is good for the soil.

CAPTURE POINT A

• Located outside of a small fortress just north of the town, point A is set close to the team that spawns on the right of the map and thus should be an early priority for capture.  

• Rarely used in PvE battles, the fortress can be an effective redoubt for PvP forces looking to threaten or secure Point A. Use the battlements to your advantage - even if you lack the resources to take or hold the point itself.

• Point A offers a direct route into the north of Westwood from which to retain or take Point B. A less direct route can be via the supply point that guards the western road into town. Use it to secure your flanks or test those of your opponent.

CAPTURE POINT B

• Neither side has the advantage when advancing on Point B. It is equidistant from both spawn points and there is nothing to choose between Points A or C when it comes to attacking or supporting forces fighting for the centre of the map. Numbers, blend of units and positioning are key. 

• Always expect attacks from the direction of the enemy encampment, but be wary of attempts to outflank your position - especially from the direction of Points A or C if they have just come under the enemy’s control.

• There are numerous entry points from which to directly assault the control point, which makes it very difficult to defend against. Unless you have superior numbers, defend the channels that lead to Point B rather than the control zone itself. If you can support your front line with ranged units, so much the better!

CAPTURE POINT C

• This marks the point where the road forks as it enters Westwood. Being closer to the forces that start the game to the west of the town, it should be an easy first capture for one or two mounted warlords.

• Once Point C is taken, the priority should be support forces that are looking to take or hold point B. To that end, the supply point between them can be an effective staging post - with many defensive nooks in which to station ranged units. 

• Having been secured it shouldn’t be necessary to post a defensive unit. The land around POint C is flat and almost entirely without cover - neither to assemble a defence around nor to hide the advance of an attacker. Any attempt to take it from the east will almost always come the north or via the capture point to the northeast.