October is traditionally a month of scary surprises and
toothache. This month will be no different when it comes to our
Hallowe’en content, with a quest AND holiday event both to be
available on the free servers. For scary surprises: how about
entire worlds where you can PK and hunt other players to your
heart’s content? That’s right, PvP worlds are coming! But first, a
few words about how we’re going to update RuneScape in the
future.
During the last six months we’ve been reading through the
forums, talking to you in-game and running polls on the sorts of
updates you really want. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that
it’s the bigger, chunkier updates that really get you excited,
those like the God Wars Dungeon or a new skill. These are the sorts
of updates we found that you wanted to play. Updates that you want
to go back to time and time again.
So, starting from this month, we’re changing the way we release
content. From now on you’ll see one massive “headline update” (such
as a Recipe for Disaster or a Castle Wars) every month. On top of
that, there will still be a secondary release, much more like the
size of update you’re used to right now. We’re also still committed
to making sure that no two weeks pass without something new.
Basically, from now on our releases will be like this:
So, on to this month’s updates...
PvP Worlds
Ever found yourself wanting to say, “Look, it’s my tree. If you
don’t stop chopping it...I’ll chop you!” Sounds cool, right? Yeah,
but where could you do it? And when? The answers are PvP worlds and
October!
From log-in, those that are interested in PvP content will be
able to join in on special PvP worlds. The danger on these worlds
will be very clear from the first messages you see, ensuring that
players never log onto these worlds by mistake. After all, we don’t
want players accidentally getting involved with PKing (player
killing) if they don’t want to. Normal, non-PvP worlds will still
act just as they do now, so don’t worry if bashing others isn’t
really your thing.
Those that want to get involved will find a number of
differences to the usual set-up on PvP worlds. Firstly, you’ll be
able to fight people pretty much anywhere, so long as their Combat
level is similar to yours (within a certain range of levels). This
means that almost everywhere is dangerous. Some places, like banks
and respawn points, will be deemed “safe” and no combat will be
able to occur there, and some of the minigames will be disabled
(you won’t be able to PK team mates while playing Castle Wars, for
example) but many will still be active. Other places, like Falador,
Varrock and the entirety of the Wilderness, will be considered “hot
spots” where the danger will be even greater and a higher
concentration of opponents.
Now, onto the money side of things. Many of you will be aware of
the RWT (real-world trading of RuneScape gold for money) reasons we
changed the old Wilderness. We certainly can’t just bring that
threat back to RuneScape, so we have devised a system that rewards
players based on a variety of factors. This means that things such
as risk, level of foe and location will help to calculate rewards.
Drops will be determined by a combination of drop tables and some
of the gear that your opponent drops. We will go into more depth
about this on the day of release.
Hallowe'en
As well as changing things around with the headline updates, we
also decided to change the way we do things with our holiday
events. We wanted to make the most of the little bits of fun we
have every year, and give the free-to-play game a taste of the
content we release in the members’ world. This year, we will be
releasing a Hallowe’en-themed quest as well as the traditional
holiday event. This quest will be available to our free players for
the two weeks around Hallowe’en, along with the holiday event
itself, and members will be able to play the quest at any time (the
normal holiday event will disappear after two weeks as usual).
What’s it about? Well, you’ll have to wait and see, but expect some
funky decorations to start appearing.
Spooky player letters and artwork will also await those strong
of stomach...so be prepared.
In case that little lot isn’t enough for you, let’s take a few
moments to talk about the headline content we’re releasing in the
months after October:
Stealing Creation
Not long to wait now for this crazy combination for skillers and
PKers. Can you and your team work together capturing resources and
equipping your warriors? Will you avoid the multitude of threats
bearing down on your safe haven? Will you try to make your own way
to the higher level gear, or will you just PK and destroy your
opponents’ hard work? Will you be able to keep the enemy at bay
while stealing creation?
Mobilising Armies
Ever fancied assaulting a castle with your very own army? You
will be able to hire a mercenary force to battle against three
other players, complete set objectives and earn rewards. Mobilising
Armies will be a fast paced tactical minigame allowing you to
control your very own RuneScape army with troops made up of humans
and other races. There will also be some special effects including
dive bombing gnomes and giant catapults. Will you be up to the
challenge?
Have fun!
QX179R
Moderator – [[The Hideout]]