GUILD VS GUILD COMBAT
It's easy to talk big when it comes to your skills on the battlefield, but thanks to UXO's player vs. player (PvP) ladder system, there's no mistaking who's on top in the battle for PvP supremacy. In previous updates, we've talked about one-on-one dueling, but for those wanting to experience something on a grander scale, we've created a simple and satisfying way to experience the thrill of PvP competition by engaging in a major battle along with your entire guild!

Creating a Battle Challenge
The first step to guild war is creating a Battle Challenge, which sets the rules for the encounter. As a guild leader, you can either create all Battle Challenges yourself, or by using UXO's flexible guild ranking and permissions systems, you can create a war council to handle those for you. You won't have to go to a specific NPC or location to initiate Battle Challenges, either — it all works through your guild interface!

When creating a challenge, you'll have several options to choose from, including map, number and level of participants, time limit, battle type, wagers, and whether or not the battle is rated. All guild wars will take place on private maps created specifically for that battle, preventing interference from other players or monsters and ensuring a fair fight on both sides.

To engage in a guild battle, each side will need at least ten players, which means that only guilds with ten or more members can create or accept a Battle Challenge. To ensure an even fight, the player who creates the challenge can set the maximum number of participants from each guild, as well as the minimum and maximum levels of characters who can join the fight.

Once the rules are in place, the last two options for the challenge are “wagered” and “rated.” Like our one-on-one dueling system, a wagered battle means that both sides can wager gold or items on the outcome of the fight, and all spoils go to the winning team (in the event of a tie, items are returned to their original owners). And also like our one-on-one system, rated battles will affect the PvP ranking of both teams, while unrated battles are just for fun, with no effect on either guild's rating. And lastly, you'll need to select the time limit and the battle type, which will determine the requirements for victory.

Explaining the Battle Types
Spice up your guild battles — change the battle type from time to time to provide a different experience for your guild!

The first battle type is “Most Kills.” In this battle, any unconscious players can be stabilized with full health and power, and any who actually die will immediately reappear at their starting point on the map with half health and power, ready to continue the fight (there's no temporary stat loss in a guild war). To keep everyone up to speed on their progress, a timer and kill count will be shown on all guild members' screens, and the guild with the most kills at the end of the specified time period wins. Kills are counted as any characters who die or leave the map during the time period (including lost connections).

The second battle type is “Last Group Standing,” which means that if you go unconscious, you can be stabilized, but if you die, that's it! You can't be resurrected during an LGS battle (although you can still watch as a ghost), and the first guild to eliminate the other will stand victorious. If neither guild has been wiped out at the end of the time period, the one with the most players left standing wins.

Picking your Opponent
Once a Battle Challenge is created, your next step is to choose your opponent! You can find opponents in one of two ways: you can search through a list of all eligible guilds, which means those guilds that are listed as open for PvP, that have a guild officer online with the permission to accept challenges, and that have at least the minimum number of guild members online to meet the requirements set in your Battle Challenge.

If you don't want to search, you can also post in the PvP channel to see who's interested in taking you on. Only players set as open for PvP can post in this channel, and to limit spam, players can only make one post per minute. While posting in the PvP channel, your guild abbreviation and PvP rating will be displayed next to your name, making it easy for players to decide whether or not to accept your challenge.

Just like our individual PvP ladder, UXO features a guild PvP ladder that displays not just simple win/loss ratios, but that actually reflects skill in the area of PvP. This means you'll get a much greater boost on your PvP ranking from beating a high-ranked guild than you will from beating one with a low ranking. In other words, if you're trying to make it up the ladder, it's a good idea to challenge the guilds above you!

Once you've selected the guild and sent your Battle Challenge, it's up to the officer of that guild to review the rules and accept or reject your challenge. They'll need to review it quickly — any challenge that doesn't receive a response within three minutes will be automatically declined. If that guild's officer accepts, the battle's on. If they reject it, you can send your Battle Challenge to another guild leader without having to recreate it. You can't challenge more than one guild at a time, since challenging a new guild will cancel any pending challenges you've already sent.

The Road to War
Once a Battle Challenge is accepted, all eligible guild members on both sides (those who meet the level requirements, have their PvP setting turned on, and are not currently involved in another duel) will be alerted that their guild is to be part of a duel to the death. The alert will also contain the challenging guild's name, PvP rating, and the specific rules for the upcoming battle. If they choose to join in the carnage, they'll be teleported to the private map immediately. If they're not interested in fighting at that time, they can simply click “reject” and go on about their business without affecting the guild war (provided enough other guild members accept to meet the minimum participant requirement).

If the participant requirements are not met within five minutes, the challenge is automatically cancelled. Participation in guild battles is first-come, first-serve, which means that once enough participants from each side have accepted, the remaining invitations are canceled, and any players who have not yet responded will be notified that the battle requirements have been met.

If there is a wager involved, the prize must be determined before the battle can start. As soon as both guilds' officers (the creator and acceptor of the challenge) arrive on the private map, a trade window will open. Once all the items and gold have been placed in the trade window and you've agreed on the stakes, the countdown begins! If there is no wager involved, this step is skipped.

By this time, all guild members involved should be on the map and ready to go. Each map will have two start locations — one for each guild. Players can cast spells, but won't be actually move from their starting points until the battle begins (after any wagers have been set, and everyone's in place).

Any players who accept but don't arrive on the map (through logging off or lost connections) are dropped from the list, and if enough players are dropped to force the number below the minimum requirement of ten players per side, the battle will be canceled.

Victory and Defeat
Depending on the battle type, the battle is over when one guild stands victorious, or when the time runs out. If the battle was rated, both guilds' PvP ladder ratings will be updated. If there was a wager, a loot chest containing all wagered items will appear at the feet of the winning guild's officer, and all guild members will have looting rights. After three minutes, everyone will be teleported right back to where they were before they received the challenge to battle, allowing them to go back immediately to what they'd been doing before!

Ultimately, guild vs. guild combat in UXO allows you to flex your muscle on a grand scale, adding a new level of excitement to PvP combat. And through the use of private maps, we can finally guarantee a fair fight, free of surprise ambushes and interference from people or creatures not involved in the fight. Try it out and experience guild war the way it's meant to be!