Originally Posted by
Benz282
Enforcing a no-beds rule doesn't actually address the issues I see with fort design and sieges at the moment. If anything, all it does is exacerbate the problem by further encouraging players to hole up in simply unassailable positions, as defenders are punished even more for every death they sustain.
Instant death ladders and huge pits are the lowest common denominator in fort design on this server, and very few forts that I have seen in the past few years have not subscribed to these features. IDL's and pits are a problem because of how little effort it takes to make them and how easy it is for defenders to score kills using them, while offering no counterplay for attackers beyond building a siege tower to bypass the defenses. Their effectiveness makes them an extremely popular addition to forts on the server, as they make defending extremely easy even with a small force, but they are not fun to siege nor interesting to defend.
The only fort that I've seen on this server (thus far) that doesn't use IDL's or huge pits is Eldinghold. It is a comparatively small fortress that nonetheless offers its defenders a massive advantage over enemy attackers. It is already compliant with the 2-wide path rule, except it has two <10-block tall double-wide ladders. During a siege, attackers are subject to arrowfire from positions that cannot be reached readily. Advance arrow towers are accessible from inside the main body of the keep to provide additional firing angles on the attacking force, but small drawbridges pull back to separate these towers from the keep once the attackers breach the outer layer of defenses. Once past the water-filled moat, attackers can take cover from arrowfire by hugging the walls of the keep, but the defenders are able to drop TNT and anvils from above to kill them. Attackers can, alternatively, mine through the walls of the keep and try to tunnel up under the defenders, but the walls are filled with sand to delay this move, giving the defenders time to recognize the possibility of a sapping operation and react accordingly. Finally, attackers can easily reach the top layer of the keep with ender pearls from within the fort's outer walls, offering attackers with a strong numerical superiority the ability to bypass the lower levels of the keep entirely.
It should be clear that the fort design of Eldinghold offers more options, and more interesting options, for both attackers and defenders when it comes under siege. There are multiple viable ways for an attacking force to breach the fort's defenses and overwhelm the defenders, but the fort is designed in such a way as to offer the defenders viable countermeasures for the attackers' choices. A siege of Eldinghold is as much a battle of wits as it is a battle of brawn, as an uncoordinated assault down the obvious path leads to sure death (which I have personally witnessed).
Contrast this to a siege of a fort where an IDL separates the defender's main staging area from the entrance (and any attackers). There is no reasonable way for an attacking force to reach the defenders. Even if there is an enclosing wall, building/digging a staircase to reach the defenders with a reasonably-large force is a risky and time-consuming endeavor. Thus, the attackers are forced to build a siege tower, possibly 100+ blocks away from the defenders' position, first building up to the height the defenders are at and then building a magic carpet long enough to carry them to the battlements. This is an extremely time-consuming process and provides little opportunity for either side to interact with the enemy (generally 1-2 cannoneers per side, with the rest taking potshots that should never result in a kill). Once the tower and carpet are complete, the attackers all fly over to the enemy base and then engage in melee, resulting in a battle with an hour or longer buildup, but with only ~5 minutes or less of actual fighting.
If I, as someone building a fort, know that anyone who dies on my side during the battle will be isolated from the rest of the defenders, I would do everything I could to ensure my side is exposed to as little danger as possible, while ensuring the attackers are subject to the highest risk possible. Currently, without any rules against instant death ladders, accomplishing these goals means putting my force at the top of a huge ladder surrounded by a pit; offering practically 0 odds for success for an attacker and practically 0 risk for my defenders. This is the problem that exists now and enforcing no beds within the fort will only further encourage that.
Having no beds in the fort also removes much of the strategic/material benefit attackers stand to gain during a siege, as the spawn room in forts currently necessarily have some number of kits out in the open. A successful siege, in which the attackers reach the spawn room of the defenders, places the defenders completely at the mercy of the attackers and generally nets them a few extra kills as the trapped players scramble to gear up or flee. With no beds in the fort, there's little reason to actually siege the fort itself, unless the attackers are only after fun or challenge. There's nothing wrong with that mentality, but if there's no strategic reason to attack a fort, I don't see any reason to attack a fort unless its during a pre-arranged "fun" war.
In spite of that final point, I don't mind a "no beds in forts" rule being implemented, as it does change how sieges would play out. The problem I have with the "no beds in forts" rule is that it doesn't actually address the issue. That's fine if the majority of players think that being required to build a siege tower for every attempted siege is fun, but I'd personally rather siege forts like Eldinghold that allow attackers a chance to actually succeed. If moderation is going to implement the "no beds rule", please address IDL's and pits in some way. I understand that there are legitimate problems with implementing something in the vein of the "2-block path" rule, not least of which being the already-constructed forts that aren't compliant, but the community and moderation need to understand that the "no beds in forts" rule won't make IDL's, death pits, and siege towers any less prevalent.