It is time to dissect the Ancient Citadel rankings for Raven 2. With the first skirmish of August looming, we have analysed the guilds expected to participate and the potential matchups. Since the server transfers back in July have had time to settle, one would hope the landscape has found some semblance of stability.

What caught our eye in this tally is the current state of alliances and server pairings. Each world seems to be developing a distinct personality; for instance, Lux is effectively under the thumb of a massive mega-alliance, while Vita has seen different 'line' alliances staking their claims on individual servers.

Let us start with the expected participants for Groups 1 and 2. Just like the previous Ancient Citadel, the Lux and Kerum worlds are set to cross paths. Lux appears to be anchored by the Royal alliance, along with the Ttochi and hi factions. Group 1 will see the Metus, Dolor, and Honor servers from Lux entering the fray, featuring 'RoyalDaNaeKkeo - RoyalStraight - RoyalWhite - RoyalWhite2'. Excluding RoyalDaNaeKkeo, the other three are members of the Ttochi alliance.

RoyalDaNaeKkeo hails from the Royal alliance, while ROYALCookie sits in Group 2 under the same banner, with ROYALRainbow and ROYALMujigae belonging to Royal alliance 2. Meanwhile, the similarly named ROYALBasak is part of the BasakCookie alliance. It is safe to assume that these four—Royal alliance, Royal alliance 2, Ttochi, and BasakCookie—are operating as a coalition, exerting their influence across the entirety of the Lux world. No matter which server they match with, outside of Dolor, you are likely to run into them.

On the flip side, the Kerum world is expected to push back with the Owishi and CoffeeMatjib alliances. As the name suggests, the latter is a collection of guilds named after coffee brands. 'TOP - StarBucks - Twosome' form Owishi, while 'GEORGIA - LETSBE' make up the CoffeeMatjib alliance. Given the naming pattern, they are likely allied, much like the Royal faction. With Fides, Metus, and Dolor matched into Group 1, expect GEORGIA, LETSBE, TOP, and StarBucks to pool their resources.

Groups 3 and 4 belong to the Nox and Mare worlds. Here, the competition among the Mare guilds looks set to be the main event, largely because Nox had a rather low turnout in the last Ancient Citadel. However, do keep an eye on the LPeace guild from the Fides server. They are a formidable force, boasting a total of 9 wins with a record of '0 / 2 / 6 / 1' in the Ancient Citadel, and an additional 5-game winning streak in the contention phase with a record of '0 / 8 / 1 / 0'. They are prime candidates to bid for the Battlefield of Elements or Life.

The Mare world is home to Valentine and RaonA, both sitting at the very top of the Ancient Citadel win-point rankings. Valentine currently holds 19 total wins, with a record of '8 / 8 / 1 / 2'. Lately, the director of these guilds seems to be expanding their roster with sub-guilds like ValentineA and ValentineG. They are part of the Raon alliance; the 'RaonA - RaonB - RaonC' entries on the chart all belong to the same group.

The real point of interest is the Group 3 matchmaking. Mare is bundled with Mors, Honor, and Metus. It is highly probable that 'Valentine - RaonB - RaonC - ValentineG' will participate together. And that is not all—the Honor server features the 'JikjangineunEonjenaPigonhae' (Employees are always tired) alliance, with 'Caltoegun (Get off work) - Calchulgeun (Go to work) - Ottogi' firmly in place. All three participated in the last Ancient Citadel. Group 3 in the Mare world is looking like a true group of death, packed with heavy hitters.

Finally, we look at the Vita and Solara worlds for Groups 5 and 6. Both are teeming with powerful alliances. The Vita world is unique in that strong alliances have carved out territory on every server. Fides has the AURA alliance, Salus is held by Yarrrr, Honor has oneteam, and Metus is home to the Mushin alliance. During the last Ancient Citadel, each of these managed to get two guilds through the bidding process. We expect AURA, Yarrrr, and oneteam to show up in Group 5, while the Mushin alliance is likely to join Group 6.

In the Solara world, the one to watch is NoPpakku from the Mors server. With a record of '8 / 1 / 1 / 1' and 11 total wins, they are the 7th ranked guild in the Raven 2 Ancient Citadel. They are currently active within the Owishi alliance. The group assignment is crucial: Solara and Mors have been matched into Group 5 alongside Fides and Dolor. Mors' Nangman, and Fides' IAm and Stalive, are all part of the same Owishi alliance. We are certainly looking forward to the clash between Owishi, Yarrrr, AURA, and the oneteam alliances.