Jake
2012-06-01 12:49:40
What a month..
Behind the Scenes
Cryptic Clue Fest
BETA Sign up
Behind the Scenes
Fish Flingers Improvements…and Bigger Fish! (Members Only)
In August 2011, we revamped the Temple Trekking minigame and we were really pleased with the results. This month, we bring you…the Fish Flingers rework! For those of you who don’t know what Fish Flingers is, it’s a great little player-skill-based D&D, suitable for all levels, where you and other players compete to become the greatest fisherman of all time…well, until the beginning of the next game, anyway.
The rework’s first job will be to dramatically increase accessibility so that it’s easier to get to Fish Flingers games between bouts of ’normal‘ fishing. Not only will the start points be permanent additions to the map, but we’ll add more of them to popular fishing areas throughout the game. Competitions will also be far more frequent, running every 20 minutes, and you’ll be able to claim 2 tickets per day rather than just 10 per week.
We’re adding a new ‘big fish‘ feature to the game, too. Players will have to cooperate with each other to land these whoppers, but the XP rewards will make the extra effort worthwhile for all. So, get involved, and don’t be koi! You don’t want to be the cod one out.
We will also completely overhaul the nature (and size) of the potential rewards. The Fishing XP will be tweaked to reward fishers who find the best tackle combinations available. You’ll also be able to earn a brand new set of fishing gear, similar to the lumberjack outfit and the golden mining gear. Each piece will improve all your earned Fishing XP while worn. We’ve also changed the tackle box reward to allow you to store raw fish, and are implementing a host of other cool features too.
Yelps is also getting involved with this update, as he temporarily renames his home ’The Squeal of Neptune’, giving you a chance to catch some brand-new cosmetic fish-themed attire!
The Crucible - The Return of Bounty Hunter (Members Only)
Back in 2011, we removed the “Bounty” mechanic. For many of you, it was a style of PKing you preferred to the traditional Wilderness, and we promised we would bring it back. Well, it’s back! And this time, it’s better than ever…
The Crucible is a giant arena that players over combat level 60 can enter to do battle with like-minded opponents. Once inside, you’ll be assigned another player as your target, resulting in some of the most dangerous, vicious, and potentially rewarding combat available in the game. If you’re successful in your assignment then you will be given a grace period where you can’t be attacked, allowing you to run away from the action, bank your loot and then leap back into the fray.
The entire area is based around solo play - so no multi-way combat - and combat can only be engaged between targets, so no rushing or PJing! Of course, you’ll need to be very sure of your abilities, because - as with all dangerous PKing - the winner of each fight will gain ALL the drops from their opponent.
Players gain points through noble actions (e.g. not running away) and victories. These points can then be spent on unique death titles, and jingles to play to your slaughtered foes. The points are also used to determine a brand new feature to RuneScape – the Supreme Champion.
If you have a high ranking within a Crucible game, you’ll have the chance to be temporarily elevated to the status of a Supreme Champion., You’ll be rendered invincible for a whole minute, and will be given access to a raft of brand new weapons only to be used within the Crucible, so you can go on a mad, crazy rampage where you can slaughter anyone in your way. Harnessing the dark powers discovered by the Crucible’s keepers, each weapon is suitable for different combat styles, with melee warriors claiming ’Annihilation‘, rangers wielding ’Decimation‘ and mages holding the mighty ’Obliteration‘ aloft. The Crucible’s a cruel, capricious place, though, and your fellow PKers will be waiting for revenge when you’re knocked from your lofty perch.
We’re also relying on a new, special combat calculation to assign targets. This means your targets will be of an ability level that is equal or similar to your own, so skill and knowledge will rule the land.
Between kills, you’ll also be able to loot corpses of long-dead warriors that are scattered around the area, providing brand new combat gloves; again, only to be worn within the Crucible. Powerful, and offering a healthy life point boost, we’re looking forward to seeing these gloves in use.
A new hiscore table, tracking kills, is being created with the update, so we’ll soon know who the most powerful PKers are…officially!
Combat Beta (Members Only)
There’s a huge amount of news, reveals, videos and general chatter about the combat rework, so I won’t repeat it all here. Suffice to say that it’s the biggest thing we’ve ever tried to do and it has already had thousands of hours of development invested into it. If you want to check it out, the beta will be open to members only, and the combat beta contract item has been delivered to the inventory of every single account today (June 1st). If you want to help us to shape the future of the game, get involved! It’s not all about combat, either (despite the name), as it brings new action bars available for all players. Want to know what an action bar is? Sign up to the beta now! Keep reading the news updates and watching our videos to keep learning about the most exciting update of the year. Be sure to check out our new Combat HQ too!
Have fun!
Mod Mark
RuneScape Lead Designer
Cryptic Clue Fest
As promised in our original Mad May news post, players who kept their membership subscription active throughout the month of May will soon find that they have two exclusive rewards waiting for them.
First of all there’s the XP-boosting “Mad Necklace”. Whenever equipped, the Mad Necklace will double any XP you earn in any skills you choose to train, up to a total of 250,000 bonus XP. Its magical properties have even been deemed safe for use in the dungeons of Daemonheim, so there’s no fear of a Fremennik warrior confiscating it while you’re working on your Dungeoneering. Eligible players will be prompted to collect their item from Diango’s stall in Draynor when they next log in!
Please note the list of eligible players is still being processed and should be completed within the next few hours.
Secondly, those same eligible players will find that an extra 5000 Loyalty Points have been added to their existing points balance. Whether you’re planning on saving them up or spending them all at once, make sure you pay Xuan’s Loyalty Shop a visit in Burthorpe or Varrock so that you can behold all of the amazing auras, emotes and costumes on offer.
Our other big news is that both members and free-to-play players can now begin this year’s Cryptic Clue Fest event, which launches today!
Players may have already run into the poor, problem-stricken Essjay amid the Jubilee celebrations in Varrock, but up until now they won’t have had a clue (haha!) on how to help her. Thankfully, she has laid out her plight by way of a letter, posted on our official forums. You can check out her story – along with instructions on how to get started – by visiting the Cryptic Clue Fest 2012 thread. There are some cool cosmetic items waiting for those who solve the clues over the next five days, so stay sharp, stay determined and get cracking!
BETA Sign up
Beta Sign Ups Now Open!
Today sees the launch of The Evolution of Combat beta sign-up, giving you the opportunity to be one of the first to try out one of our biggest ever updates! Sign up between the 1st and 19th of June for the chance to help define one of the biggest updates in RuneScape’s history. Check it out here.
In recognition of the commitment shown by long-term RuneScape members, anyone with 12 or more consecutive months of membership will have full, unlimited access to the beta from day one! If you meet this requirement , you’ll be informed that you’re automatically eligible for full access when you sign up. In addition to this, we will be choosing another 50,000 from the remaining pool of players who apply to take part. Sign-up is still required to be able to take part in the beta program.
To sign up, click on the Combat Beta Contract in your inventory, or go straight to www.runescape.com/combat
To celebrate the beta sign up we've launched the Combat HQ: a new area on our website devoted to giving you information about this epic update. Head over to the Combat HQ and you’ll see all the latest news about the Evolution of Combat, and a sneak peak at some of the upcoming changes; this week, you can find out more about new abilities! There’s also a new forum where you can discuss all things combat-related.