After the victory, the leader of the winning clan can choose whether the castle will be the Castle of Light or the Castle of Darkness. Each side has its own advantages and disadvantages, which will be active until the next sieges. The castle can also be in the “Neutral” status if the castle belongs to an NPC.

Clan leader can decide side by using skill Imprint of Light or Imprint of Darkness. An hour after siege ends, clan leader can choose different side through chamberlain NPC, but it will be final decision.

Bonuses	Castles of Light	Castles of Darkness
Visuals:	The castle is reflected in the shimmer of white glare and everything shines so brightly.	The castle is shrouded in dark clouds and a vortex of dark energy hangs above it.
NPCs:	Proclaimer appears in the town of corresponding castle, which are in the Light status and buffs all characters not belonging to Dark castles.	None
Effects:	None	Members of clans that own a castle in Dark status can be killed without a penalty to the killer (PK/Karma), which will also increase the killer's PvP counter.
Cloaks (Clan Members):
	Cloak of Light	Cloak of Darkness
Cloaks (Clan Leader):
	Cloak of Radiant Light	Cloak of Cold Darkness
Skills:	Ability of Light	Ability of Darkness
	Increases Max CP by 3000 and damage inflicted during PvP by 10%. Effects do not apply when in Chaotic state for Ability of Light. Can be used by a Marquis or higher.
NPC Sales Tax	0%	30%
NPC Buy Tax	0%	10%

Castles serve as both a symbol of power and a key source of wealth for clans. These player-controlled castles allow their owners to collect taxes, exert influence over territories, and play a crucial role in the game's economy. Taxes collected are directly linked to castle management and territory control, with significant differences between the Light and Dark variants.

• Clans that own the castles of Gludio, Dion, Giran, Oren and Innadril can only collect tax income, if the castle of Aden has taken the side of the “Darkness”.
• Clans that own the castles Goddard and Schuttgart can collect income from taxes only, if the castle of Rune has taken the side of the “Darkness”.

Tax income is placed into the castle chest at midnight (server time) every Monday.

Sieges are the most ambitious aspects of Lineage II, so their scale and systems are exciting factors in the game. Clans that have reached level 5 can occupy a castle and enjoy the fame and riches therein. Once they own a castle, clans can exercise tremendous influence in terms of tax rate adjustments and political activities.

Sieges take place at the castles of Gludio Castle, Dion Castle, Giran Castle, Oren Castle, Innadril Castle, Goddard Castle, Schuttgart Castle, Rune Castle, and Aden Castle. There are also unique clan halls where ownership is acquired by battle with NPCs.

Only clans of level 5 and above can officially participate in a siege. Clans that are less than level 5 or players not belonging to a clan may still participate as non-related parties, but they do not have the right to own a castle. Unless the castle is captured by a clan, it remains in NPC control. If there is a PC clan that defeats the NPC clan and occupies the castle according to the rules of the siege, the castle becomes the property of that PC clan.

The challenging clan leader must have earned the level 5 clan skill Imprint of Light or Imprint of Darkness in order to take control of a castle. The clan leader must visit the siege registration NPC (titled “Messenger”) near the castle to sign up for the siege. Siege registration must be done 24 hours before the siege begins.

Any clans that wish to aid in defending the castle must register their clan as defenders.

Each clan wishing to participate must be a level 5 clan. To participate as a defender in a siege, talk to the registration NPC outside the castle gates. (The castle lord must approve participation.) Defenders must register 24 hours prior to the beginning of the siege. The castle lord must approve and finalize the siege defender list 24 hours before the siege begins.

The clan occupying the castle does not have to register – it is automatically listed on the siege list and cannot be taken off of the list.

The castle itself and its surrounding areas are designated as the battlefield.

Some of the NPCs in and around the castle temporarily suspend their functions during a siege.

When an attacker dies, he/she restarts in the town second closest to the castle during a siege.

When the siege begins, all characters within the castle walls not listed on the defender list are transported to the second nearest town.

All castle gates will automatically be shut.

Attackers and castle defenders are enemies. Allies to each clan are friendly forces.

Clans on the attacker side that have not allied with each other have no relationship. Characters not registered as an attacker or defender in a siege are considered to have no relationship if they wander onto the battlefield.

You do not have to press the Ctrl key to attack an enemy or no relation character. The player killer (PK) counter is not activated when a player kills another player within the battlefield. Thus, during a siege, players do not become chaotic even if they kill another player.

For a certain amount of time, the battle status of the participants remains even when they step outside the battlefield. There are no PK penalties during that time.

When a player is killed within the battlefield, there are some experience penalties, but there is no chance of dropping items. All attackers and defenders will receive 1/4 of the normal experience penalty on death inside and outside of the battlefield during the castle siege. Non-registered players will receive 1/4 of the normal experience penalty on death only inside of the battlefield during the castle siege. If a non-registered player dies outside of the battlefield, that character will receive full penalty.

Clans defending the castle may restart either from the residence region within the castle or the second nearest town to the castle. This applies to not only the clan possessing the castle but also all other clans that are listed on the defender list.

Castle gates become attack targets during a siege. They may only be attacked during siege times.

Castle gates cannot be strengthened during a siege; however, the castle lord may strengthen them prior to the siege via the Chamberlain.

Castle gates that have been destroyed may not be repaired during a siege.

Castle gates are opened again when the owner of a castle changes. However, the castle gates' HP is significantly decreased until the siege ends. Once the siege has ended, the doors return to full health.

The Build Headquarters skill is obtained by the clan leader when the clan reaches level 4. This skill establishes an encampment near the castle/battlefield. It allows clan members to restart at that site (not at the second closest town) and regenerate HP and MP faster than they would normally.

A siege lasts for two hours. If an attacking clan leader successfully engraves his/her name on the holy artifact with the Seal of Ruler skill, the artifact recognizes the new controlling clan. This takes time, however, and the clan leader may not be interrupted while engraving the artifact. Only the clan leader may interact with the holy artifact. Clan leaders that are allied with the defense side may not interact with the holy artifact.

The changing of the holy artifact's owner before the end of the siege is termed 'mid-victory'. When the attacking side achieves a mid-victory, the attackers and defenders change sides. All matters of the clan that had previously owned the castle, including the restart point, are transferred to the new defending clan.

The Headquarters of a clan that has newly occupied the castle disappears. When mid-victory occurs, all players, excluding the new castle defense clan's allies, are sent to their restart points.

If the clan that had previously occupied the castle has never raised a Headquarters before, the clan may establish a flag on the battlefield.