With the update on October 14, the Ancient Citadel in Raven 2 has stepped into a brand new ecosystem. The South Korean and global regions have integrated several servers, merging Vita and Kerum into Vita World in South Korea. Consequently, the matching worlds have dropped from six to five. Perhaps because of this, this week features a mixed matching of Lux, Mare, and Solar, while Nox and Vita are paired up just like the previous matching. On top of that, server transfers are currently in full swing, so bear in mind that the analysis might differ from the actual matchups.

Groups 1-3, the long-awaited return of the three-world matching system

In the past, the Raven 2 South Korean region boasted seven worlds, divided into a '2-2-3' matching format. While an even number of worlds kept this at bay for a while, the recent server integration brought back the odd number, reviving the three-server matching system. Lux, Mare, and Solar have been thrown into a blender this time around.

Group 1 sees Lux's Mors, Metus, and Dolor clashing with Mare's Honoro, Dolor, and Salus. We are tipping Mare World for the upper hand here, as an absolute shedload of guilds participated in the last Ancient Citadel. In particular, the Honoro server is so packed that the chart is running out of breathing room. Expect the competition to revolve around the Buk Alliance housing veteran-tier guilds, the Mare Neutral Allied Forces featuring the Kal○○ guild, and the Gonggam Alliance powered by Valentine-tier outfits.

Group 2 is arguably the crown jewel of this Ancient Citadel, seeing as multiple-time winning guilds of the Raven 2 Ancient Citadel have all congregated here. Over in Lux, the record-holding championship guild Royal Dana-kkeo and the Royal Alliance are flexing their muscles. Solar World isn't pulling any punches either, fielding No-pakkuseu, who currently sits at number 9 in KookminTree's Raven 2 Ancient Citadel victory point rankings. They will likely march into battle alongside their fellow OideOide Coalition member, Romantic v.

The Raon Alliance led by Raon A, alongside the AURA Alliance comprising AURA and AURA2, also command attention. Raon A currently holds the 11th spot in the Ancient Citadel victory point rankings, meaning they desperately need those victory points from the primordial and elemental battlefields to crack the elusive Top 10. It will be fascinating to see if they can grind out the points to climb the ladder.

Unlike the previous two groups, Group 3 looks to be fought more on a guild-by-guild basis rather than massive alliances, likely because the absolute heavyweights and coalitions have already clustered in Groups 1 and 2. That being said, Solar and Salus house Raon B from the Raon-Raon Alliance and the Sundae-ria guild from the Raon Alliance. They look like allies, so we are keen to find out whether they will cooperate to bid on the same battlefield or target completely separate grounds.

Groups 4 and 5, all eyes locked on Nox World

Groups 4 and 5 bring Nox and Vita World together—both of which have recently weathered server integrations, making this a rather spicy subplot.The real talking points here are the guilds and alliances. Over in Kerum, the Owisui and Coffee-matjip alliance has trimmed down significantly, with outfits like LETSBE and GEORGIA noticeably missing in action. Instead, Zenith has hopped onto the Owisui alliance train on the Salus server. Bolstered by Cantata from Dolor's Coffee-matjip, we might just see 'STARBUCKS - Zenith - Cantata' pool their resources together.

Over on Nox, the Mors server demands a proper look. The 'GuildIsTOP' alliance has locked down the top three spots in the server guild rankings with TOP, T0P, and TØP. Will they actually bid for the upcoming Ancient Citadel? And if so, what sort of masterclass bidding strategy will they deploy? We will be keeping a close eye on the forthcoming matchups and match results.

Group 5 is expected to be dictated by the Nox-Dolor showdown. While overall participation from last match's guilds is relatively thin, the regular mainstays of the Ancient Citadel have coincidentally piled into these exact servers. The Pongdang Alliance, spearheaded by AEGIS and AEGlS, commands a massive presence here.Seeing as they participated in the battlefields of life and vegetation during the last Ancient Citadel, any guild currently prepping for content participation would do well to take notes.