[Meca Ranking] Time for our Raven 2 Ancient Citadel update. The 28th Ancient Citadel took place right after the server transfer period concluded, and participation was impressive. Most groups had four or fewer vacant spots, with the only exceptions being Groups 3 and 7, where no guilds were assigned to the Battlefield of Vegetation. It is quite the indicator of the current server climate and guild trends. Check the official community board for the list of participating guilds for the first week of September.

What catches the eye this time are the serial winners of the Primeval Battlefield. RoyalDaNaeKkeo, NoPpaKkeu, and MythRed have secured 5, 6, and 4 wins respectively. Interestingly, all three went all-in on victory points here, which significantly shifted their standings in the Ancient Citadel rankings. RoyalDaNaeKkeo and NoPpaKkeu rode their massive Primeval Battlefield points to climb the charts, thanks to their members already being locked into the Top 20. MythRed, however, struggled with a lack of points from the lower-tier battlefields and missed the Top 20 cut. The entry barrier has risen quite sharply, and they just barely missed the mark.

In the Battlefield of Elements, Moomyeonghoe is steadily stacking up points. With this latest victory, their record stands at '2/4/0/0'. It is a strategic move, focusing on the battlefields where they can truly make an impact. Since the primary rewards for the Ancient Citadel are gold and crystals, winning specific battlefields is crucial—a well-worn tactic in Raven 2.

Ancient Citadel Championship Rankings

Leveraging their 28th Ancient Citadel win, NoPpaKkeu and RoyalDaNaeKkeu have ascended the charts. NoPpaKkeu is now in 4th place, while RoyalDaNaeKkeu sits in a tie for 7th. However, the raw numbers don't tell the whole story. Guilds like BucksCoin and DaNaeKkeu, which appear higher on the list, seem to be inactive. Kingz, currently based in Vita-Metus, still has its name on the Group 7 bracket. Effectively, Kingz is our top multi-time winner, with NoPpaKkeu taking the 2nd spot. I, for one, look forward to seeing if these two can overtake the inactive rosters soon.

The situation with RoyalDaNaeKkeu is slightly more convoluted. The guilds HoHyeongHoJe1 and ROYAL, tied for 5th, are effectively ghosts. There is, however, a connection between ROYAL and RoyalDaNaeKkeu. ROYAL was once a major force leading a large coalition under the leadership of ROYAL-Isu. RoyalDaNaeKkeu, as tracked by KookminTree, has a habit of rotating guild masters, and ROYAL-Isu has held that title in the past. As of September 9th, the guild master was ROYAL-JihoHyung, with ROYAL-Isu now listed as a member.

There is another head-scratcher in the last match bracket. The Royal Coalition, to which RoyalDaNaeKkeu belongs, operates mainly in Groups 1 and 2, often clashing within the Kerum world. Interestingly, there are an awful lot of guilds in Kerum sporting 'ROYAL' in their names. While they may not be part of the same formal alliance, the naming convention is hard to ignore. Could they be linked? Were the match groups intentionally arranged? This guild remains a total enigma.

Ancient Citadel Content Analysis

According to the 51st Development Commentary, a massive update is slated for the end of September, featuring the new region, 'Rungard,' the Land of Warriors. On September 10th, Raven 2 will roll out changes to encourage participation: lowering level requirements for certain quests, reducing monster attack power to ease the difficulty, and adding a blessing buff to the Alteia region. All of this is designed to help players finally graduate from the current end-game content.

Naturally, the big question for the top-tier players is: 'Who stands to gain the most from the opening rush?' You will need to blitz through the main quests for a mountain of XP, gear up with new items, and complete your collection. If you are aiming to bulk up for the Ancient Citadel, I suggest focusing on finishing the Alteia quests and sharpening your stats before the update hits. You don't want to be left in the dust while others pull ahead.

PVP Ranking Status

Finally, let's look at the Raven 2 PVP rankings. The year 2025 has been a rollercoaster for PVP activity. The second quarter was something of a slump, with 10+ kill rankings becoming a rare sight. Thankfully, the third quarter saw a sharp uptick in both the number of ranked players and KDA records. For the first time in a while, we even saw players crossing the 300-kill threshold.

However, the August 31st tally felt like a sudden ice age. While two players managed to break 50 kills, the rest plummeted to under 10. Last time, I diagnosed this as a side effect of the server transfer season, predicting a swift return to form—and it seems my hunch was spot on. The PVP rankings are buzzing with life once again.

PVP was most intense in the Lux and Vita worlds, boasting high KDA peaks and a dense population of ranked players. The highlights were clearly Lux-Salus and Vita-Dolor, where both kills and assists were remarkably high. It feels less like a case of 'a single star player running riot' and more like 'a collective effort of many players fighting together'.