Current RuneHQ Time: Saturday November 21, 2009, 7:48 am CST
Server: www2.gghq.net
Official RuneHQ Hallowe'en Event
Thursday, Oct 30, 2008
News ID: 00899
Night of the Slayers!
October is coming to an end, and the Events Team has one last event for this month that'll give you all a chance to make the creatures of RuneScape cower in fear! As you all should know, Halloween is considered one of the scariest nights of the year. So why not spend it in some of the scariest places in RuneScape?
We'll start out easy for our F2P friends and take them for a journey down into the Stronghold of Security to eat, drink, and destroy. There are many levels of the stronghold so you can test just how tough you are by venturing down as far as you can. As the night progresses, we'll start our P2P event in none other than Canifis. From there, we'll grab our gear and head to the Slayer Tower to begin the event. We'll start out killing all the monsters so we can make our way up the tower, but as everyone starts to arrive, our higher levels will begin to hold off the more dangerous beasts so that our weaker friends may progress up the top where we'll have our party.
While there you could chat with your friends, try your skill against some of the most dangerous monsters Canifis has to offer, or impress others with your scariest costume. Click here to discuss this event on the forums.
F2P Event Information:
Date: Friday, October 31st
Time: 6:00 PM CST (11:00 PM GMT)
World: 57
Location: Varrock Square
Clan Chat: Blade Rs3390
Requirements: None!
Recommended Items: Combat equipment, food, and a teleport.
P2P Event Information:
Date: Friday, October 31st
Time: 9:00 PM CST (2:00 AM GMT)
World: 60
Location: Canifis
Clan Chat: Blade Rs3390
Requirements: A Runescape membership and completion of the quest Priest in Peril.
Recommended Items: Combat equipment, slayer equipment, food, and a teleport.
If you are not registered on our Forums, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
Maggie, a travelling witch, has come to southern Asgarnia for the holiday festivities, but she's in a bit of a spot. She needs an enchanted broom to finish her potion but her ox has a cold and can't be left alone. In Swept Away, you'll need to visit several nearby witches on Maggie's behalf – and solve a few puzzles along the way.
While you're in the neighbourhood, why not try out the Holiday Event: a bit of trick-or-treating in Draynor, Rimmington and Port Sarim. The towns are decked out in holiday décor and the villagers have treats to distribute to those wearing a suitable costume. If you're interested in some holiday garb, have a chat with Maggie: she's on the look-out for someone who can do a bit of trick-or-treating on her behalf.
Swept Away can be started by talking to Maggie, who is located south of Falador and east of the Crafting Guild. The quest will be available to all players for two weeks; after this time, it will only be available to members. The Hallowe'en decorations and trick-or-treating will only be available during the same holiday period. Any treats remaining in your bank or inventory after this time will disappear after Hallowe'en.
Mod Ingrid
RuneScape Content Developer
Summary
Where to start the Hallowe'en Event or Swept Away:
Speak to Maggie, south of Falador
Requirements:
None
In other news...
A large number of sound effects and changes to sound effects have been added, especially to capes and the skillcape emotes.
Human animations have been extensively modified to stop players appearing to glide around. You should also notice less 'clipping' with items like capes and armour when performing various actions or using emotes.
When you're dismissing a familiar, you can now right-click on the 'Dismiss' button. This will let you skip the confirmation screen, making it easier to dismiss the familiar during combat.
Fairy rings now have a larger clickable area. Previously, it was quite small and potentially difficult to click on, so we've enlarged it to make your journeys quicker.
Adding items to fill up compost bins should now be considerably easier. When you've used one item on the bin, your character will automatically attempt to put any further items of that type into the bin, saving you a bit of clicking.
Metarialus and Blandebir (the brewing chaps in Port Phasmatys and Keldagrim) will now offer to fill all your pots with yeast at once rather than making you go through their conversation for each pot. Using one beer glass on a barrel of freshly brewed beer will also make your character attempt to fill all their beer glasses without any additional clicking, and there's a newly installed water source in the brewery at Port Phasmatys.
Bounty Hunter Combat levels have been updated to reflect recent Combat level changes. The crater entrance requirements are now: 3-55, 50-100 and 95+ (all without Summoning).
Dragon dagger p++ should now be easier to find on the Grand Exchange. We've also taken the opportunity to change some adamant items to use "addy" at the start. This is only for the super poisoned items, namely arrows, daggers and spears.
QuickChat has now been given a predictive search feature to allow you to find the phrases you want more effectively.
A distant rumble has recently been heard just north of Baxtorian Waterfall...
Time again for another Ventrilo Karaoke Event. Join us Saturday for two fun filled sessions of krazy krooning from our talented RuneHQ Community. We will begin at 3pm and 7pm CDT (8pm and 12am GMT). To sign up, please visit the Ventrilo Karaoke thread on the forums to get a preferred spot on the singing list! Come share you voice talents or just listen in. For additional information, please check out the Ventrilo Karaoke thread.
Don't have Vent?
Even if you don't have a microphone, you can log in and just sit back to enjoy the show. Check out the RuneHQ Ventrilo Guide for more information on how to login. You will also need to Register on our Forums and Request a Ventrilo Account. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
We hope to see everyone there on Saturday!
PvP worlds have arrived! Are you ready to pit your combat skills against other players in the halls of the White Knights’ Castle? Are you prepared to fight to the death in the fields of Lumbridge? Well, now is your chance.
To get started, load up the game like normal (click here to read about the changes to the log-in system we've also released today), and then choose 'World Select' on the title screen. Then pick a world which has a tick in the 'skull' column to choose a PvP world. To avoid nasty accidents, if you let the game choose a world for you automatically it will never select a PvP world. Also note that you require a Combat level of at least 20 (not including Summoning) to get into a PvP world.
Before you are logged in, you will be warned that you are entering a PvP world which is a dangerous place: you will lose your items on death and you will not get a gravestone. Upon entering the world for the first time, you’ll be teleported to Lumbridge and given a manual to explain the finer points of PvP worlds.
Here’s a quick run-down of the features:
Fight players (within your level range) anywhere on the map, except in a few safe areas.
Safe areas include banks, respawn points and some guilds.
Level ranges are 10% of your Combat level, plus 5 levels. If you are fighting inside the Wilderness, the Wilderness level is added to this total. Your current attack range is shown on your screen at all times. (The 10% is measured from the higher of the two combatants’ levels.)
Skulling is back – same rules apply. If you initiate combat, you are skulled and on death you will lose all items, with the Protect Item prayer saving one item as normal.
Teleport Block is back in the normal spellbook.
Some minigames are available to play, others are not – please see the Game Guide for more details.
Death drops are back – new rules apply. Drops will be a mixture of items from the defeated opponent’s inventory and items from drop tables specific to PvP worlds. See below for details.
The quality of the drops you get when you PK someone depends on several different factors:
To get a reward from a kill, you also have to risk some items yourself!
To accumulate a possible reward, you have to risk a minimum of 75k of items on a members’ world, or a minimum of 25k of items on a free world.
Note that your three most valuable items won’t count as being risked unless you’ve been skulled, as you wouldn’t lose them.
The longer you spend on a PvP world (outside a safe area) with the required amount of items at risk, the better your possible rewards might become, to reward you for your risk.
The possible reward increases even faster and goes to a higher maximum if you go into a ‘hot zone’.
Note, however, that risking more than the minimum won’t improve your rewards faster, so it’s a good idea to take relatively cheap and useful items that won’t cost you too much to replace if you die.
When you get a successful kill, the exact reward you can claim depends on a number of other factors, including the level difference between you and the value of the items items lost by the dying player. Any unclaimed loot is saved for the next kills, so you don't have to worry about it being lost if you kill a low level player.
Don't despair if you are dying a lot and losing a lot of items. The game will detect this and improve your chance of getting decent rewards when you do eventually get a good kill.
The above is a simplified description of how it all works. To prevent cheating there are various other factors taken into account. We've calculated the rewards and rates very carefully, so that a successful PKer should be able to get a good income, and PKers who get lucky might find themselves with a good drop. Higher level players may also get higher rewards to reflect their increased earning ability when not PKing, such that PKing is still worthwhile for them. The aim is to make PKing a fun alternative (albeit very high risk) way of earning money in the game.
Included in the PvP-specific drop tables is a wide range of new combat equipment and XP-boosting gloves. Members will get access to level 78 items for all three corners of the combat triangle, including armour as well as weapons, and a new set of Ancient Magick spells. Non-members will get access to corrupt dragon equipment. To find out more about these items, please visit the Game Guide.
Have fun PKing!
Mod Benny
RuneScape Content Developer
In other news...
We've changed the way your Combat level is calculated, so that PKers aren't discouraged from levelling Summoning. It seemed a bit unfair that Summoning increased your Combat level everywhere but couldn't actually be used everywhere. Therefore, your Summoning is now only counted into your Combat level if you have recently summoned a creature or held a Summoning pouch. When you log in, you will see that your Combat level has been split into two numbers (e.g. '75+6'). The first number is your base Combat level, and the second is the potential extra available from Summoning. If you're holding a Summoning pouch or have a familiar, this potential will be added on taking you to your full level.
For example, if you are level 55, this might be shown as follows:
Without a familiar, a Summoning pouch, or having dropped a pouch recently: level 50+5
With a familiar, a Summoning pouch, or having dropped a pouch recently: level 55
Players in the same clan chat channel will now appear as purple dots on the minimap. This is the second highest priority after friends (green) and before other players wearing the same team capes (blue). Note: Being in the same clan won't remove the default attack option in the same fashion as a team cape!
Bogrog has expanded his enterprises even further and will now convert your spare Summoning spell scrolls to shards in a similar way to his already popular pouches to shards service.
The beacons scattered throughout the wilderness will now remember how many logs you've stored at each even after an emergency has arisen (quite literally).
The reward gloves from Fist of Guthix can now be used to pick nettles without injury. Also the Fishing gloves will now give the bonus experience for swordfish in Piscatoris.
Don't get your feathered headdresses all ruffled. You can now craft these useful bits of headwear using the Assist System in addition to the traditional way.
The Corporeal beast has become wise to your tricks and has gained a stomp attack that hurts players standing underneath him. Watch out!
15 October 2008 - Improvements to the game log-in process
Today we’ve streamlined the way you get into the game. The aim is to help you get playing more quickly with fewer pages to go through every time. To start the game, simply click one of the two new buttons on the front page (depending on whether you’re a free player or a member). You will then be taken straight into the game. Once the game has loaded, you will be able to (optionally) choose both your world and detail level directly from the title screen.
More details on the changes made:
World selection has now been moved entirely in game, so there is one less page to go through to start the game and you can get playing faster.
We’ve had a world switcher in-game for a while, but since it is now the main way of choosing your world, it was time for an upgrade. The in-game world switcher now shows lots of extra information, including suggested activities for various worlds.
This is the new-look log-in screen with World Select and Detail Select highlighted.
Automatic world selection. Just press 'Log in' on the title screen, and the game will automatically choose a suitable world for you. If you want to play on a specific world, just choose it from the world switcher first, and then press 'Log in'.
Favourite worlds. The in-game world switcher now lets you select up to 2 worlds as your favourites. For example, you could set one favourite as your non-PvP homeworld and one as your PvP battle world. Once you have set up your favourite worlds from the world switcher, you will see extra buttons for them directly on the title screen, you can then click on those buttons to go straight to your favourite world.
Members see less adverts. Because of the above changes, we’ve been able to remove adverts for members playing on free worlds – we hope you enjoy the change!
The detail selection option has also been moved into the game. Again, this means there is one less page to go through to start the game, and gets you playing faster. This also means that you can now switch modes more easily without having to reload the game. The game will remember your last selection, so you no longer have to keep making the same choice over and over again.
The 'safe mode' feature is now automatic. If your game fails to load for any reason, it will detect the failure the next time you load it, and automatically activate safe mode. If you want to force safe mode, then you can still do so by pressing the 's' key on your keyboard while the game is loading. Safe mode has also now been adjusted to only make the minimum changes needed to get the title screen to load: if you want to change any other options you should do so yourself from the 'Graphics Options' menu on the title screen before logging in. Your choices will then be remembered for next time.
Unsigned mode is automatic. We’ve removed the ‘unsigned’ option from the Java options menu. Don’t worry, you can still access the unsigned applet if you need to. We’ve made the selection process for it automatic. If the game cannot load in signed mode (either because you didn’t grant it permission, or your security settings do not allow you to grant it permission) it will fall back to the unsigned version, you don’t need to do anything for this to happen.
We have just launched a new RuneScape subscription pre-pay card in Target stores throughout the US. The card features exclusive art on the front and comes in two versions: 30 days' subscription and 90 days' subscription.
Once purchased, you can then use the PIN number on the back of these cards to subscribe to RuneScape. You can do this by clicking on ‘Account’ in the website’s navigation, choosing ‘Start/Extend Subscription’, logging in, selecting ‘Subscribe by RuneScape Card’ as your payment method and then accepting the terms and conditions.
Welcome all danger enthusiasts! This month the Events Team is working extra hard to bring you one of the best month of events... Ever! We have come up with something so amazing that your mouths will drop before you even know what it is. The main feature of this month is that we have planned multiple events each weekend, so there is something for everyone. Just when you thought that was good enough, we also made each weekend a different event, so it will always be as fresh as fruit. Check out this forum topic for more information and discussion.
Mini-Games Day
For the third event, we will visiting two mini-games - Trouble Brewing and Pest Control! Not only do you get to dress up as a pirate, but you can also help out the Void Knights and gain some experience along the way. We'll start the day with Trouble Brewing and alternate it with Pest Control. If you want to prepare ahead of time, take a look at the Trouble Brewing Guide and the Pest Control Guide.
Date: Saturday, Oct 25th
Start Times: We will visit each mini-game twice.
7:00 AM CST (12:00 PM GMT) - Trouble Brewing
11:00 AM CST (4:00 PM GMT) - Pest Control
3:00 PM CST (8:00 PM GMT) - Trouble Brewing
7:00 PM CST (12:00 AM GMT) - Pest Control
World: 60
Starting Location: Mos Le'Harmless Bank (Trouble Brewing) and the Void Knight Outpost (Pest Control)
Required Items: 40 Cooking and completion of Cabin Fever Quest for Trouble Brewing; 40 Combat minimum for Pest Control
If you are not registered on our Forums, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
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:
Four week months will have two updates: one big headline release and a secondary one.
Five week months will have three updates: one big headline release and two secondary ones.
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.
Updates being released after October
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?
From today we have doubled (in some cases tripled) the flexibility of the player trade system. All players will notice an increase in the amount they can trade with other players.
This means accounts with fewer than 10 quest points will be able to earn or lose up to 5,000 coins in wealth every 15 minutes from trading, free players will be able to earn a maximum of 10,000 coins every 15 minutes by completing the free quests and members will have access to a maximum of 60,000 coins per 15 minutes if they have 270 quest points. Your trade margin will increase with each quest point after 10 - for example, at 100 quest points you'll have a margin of 24,038 coins, and at 200 quest points you'll have a margin of 45,192 coins.
This was added to the game because we wanted to offer our players more flexibility when trading or helping friends out, without increasing the threat of real-world trading.
Mod Mark
Lead Designer - RuneScape
Note: Currently there are only 269 quest points available in the game, so no player will be able to reach the 60,000 coin margin until our next quest update, scheduled for a few weeks' time. The trade margin does scale up to that, though, so players a few quest points short of 270 will have a trade margin only slightly below it.
In other news...
We'd like to remind players that dangerous Clan Wars matches (including the dangerous free-for-all arena) now allow you to pick up some of your opponents' items to replenish your supplies - food, potions, runes and other ammunition - and that there are now NO gravestones in these arenas. This means that you will be unable to recover any items you drop, so only take items you don't mind risking.
Once more Evil Dave has left his mark on the Postbag, and has even sent us his favourite PORTRAIT OF TERRIFYING ARTISTRY.
If you've ever wondered about where he plots and schemes, wait no longer! In addition, he brings you a poem from a banker, a message from the KGP and several illuminating explanations from Juna.
Click here to witness Evil Dave's LETTERS OF EXTRAORDINARY WICKEDNESS.
Some of our members and staff have completed the newest quest, and can call themselves the true Defender of Varrock. We are proud to present you the newest addition to our range of quest guides, the Defender of Varrock quest guide.
Our thanks go out to Senug5 and everyone else who helped to defend the city of Varrock.
Captain Rovin is eager to recruit a bold adventurer for a scouting mission to the Wilderness. There's talk among the Varrock Guard of suspicious zombie behaviour and sightings of well-armoured zombies standing in organised formations. This isn't normal behaviour for zombies - they're much more likely to wander around aimlessly when left to their own devices. Could someone be controlling them?
There are tales of evil beings leading zombie armies in the past, and when they have, the city of Varrock has come under great peril, only standing firm through the brave resolve of the people and heroes of the city. This could become much more than a simple scouting mission.
"It’s a long time since I’ve written a quest and I’ve been working on this for a while now, so I’m excited about this update.
"I’ve created lots of back-story about RuneScape over the years so it’s good to have the opportunity to reveal more of it through my own quests. You may have noticed that the Legend of Arrav has some loose ends and I felt it was time to address those. I’ve tried hard to create a quest with some interesting puzzles and an exciting storyline. I hope you enjoy it."
Reading the Legend of Arrav in the Lores and Histories will give you a better appreciation of the storyline of the quest.
In Other News:
We’ve made some changes to dangerous Clan Wars fights. In such matches, you may be able to collect some of your defeated foes' items - food, potions, runes and other ammunition - assuming you can use them in the current battle (so you can't pick up food if the use of food has been disabled, for instance). Any such drops will affect both your and your victim's trade limit.
We’ve expanded the range of items that you can lend to other players. These include a small amount of newer Treasure Trail items as well as some old ones, dragon spears and most rune and granite armor and weapons. To see if the item you want is lendable, check the Game Guide for more information.
The bone grinder on the top floor of the Ectofuntus temple now works in a similar fashion to the ‘Grind-x’ mechanic. Making bonemeal should now be a little easier and stop you grinding your fingers to the bone!
The bracelet of regeneration has been given some combat stats to make it more attractive to use as an item. While this makes it more expensive, the bonuses should now make this a rather good choice for some types of combat.
The dwarves of Keldagrim don't only study bricks and mortar; they have been known to study combat too. This week's wallpaper shows an early attempt to understand the combat triangle.
Click here to access this great wallpaper and save it to your desktop.
The Players' Gallery returns and Postie Pete's in an eclectic mood. This time he's gone for a mix of different styles: from hand-drawn portraits to cubist landscapes.
Don't forget: with Hallowe'en coming up, we're looking for spooky pictures, so get them in soon if you want them included in the next Players' Gallery.
Are you having troubles with defeating this monstrous Beast? Our members and staff have succeeded in taking care of this beast an would like to help you out. We are delighted to present to you our Summer's End quest guide.
We would like to thank JoeC and Alfawarlord for writing this guide. Our thanks also go out to everyone else who helped with this guide.
Those who have completed Spirit of Summer will know that their work is half done. The Spirit Beast has begun to tear through the fabric of reality and threatens to lay waste to RuneScape. Summer and her family can't stop it alone, so you're needed to confront this powerful enemy.
Brave warriors who are courageous (or foolhardy) enough to take on such a challenge will be required to venture once more into the Wilderness, crossing into the Spirit Beast's realm. Here, you'll be the main thrust of a devastating attack on the beast. If you hope to survive, you'll need the Amulet of Ghostspeak, help from the spirit family, and plenty of food and run energy...
Level 23 Summoning
Level 23 Woodcutting
Level 35 Hunter
Level 45 Mining
Level 47 Firemaking
Level 55 Prayer Spirit of Summer
The ability to evade the blows of a level 700+ beast
A fairly high Hitpoints level and a higher Woodcutting level are an advantage
Access to:
Some interesting new equipment
In Other News:
The skillcape issue (where they appeared slightly off-white) took a little longer than usual to fix, as we found clipping and stretching issues in the QA testing process. Your skillcapes should now be cleaned and back to their original colours.
There is now a button below the World Map key that helps you to organise the key and how it is ordered. You can now toggle between the following options:
Traditional: this is the current, unsorted list of key icons.
Alphabetical: A-Z for finding what you're after easily.
Categorised: splits the key up into the following subcategories
'Game Features' such as quest icons or minigames.
'Shops/Trading' where you can buy or sell goods.
'Facilities' useful to help you with your adventures or training.
'Resources' such as tree locations or mining sites.
It's not often that we bring you news about FunOrb, but we think a number of games really warrant your attention. Each of these are free to play and only a few clicks away.
The first game we'd like to tell you about was only released a few days ago: Pool. Like many of the recent FunOrb releases, Pool's focus is on the multiplayer and, even though it's only three days old, it's already attracted a large community of pool players. A number of game types are available, including nine-ball and eight-ball variants, all played out on a wide selection of outlandish pool tables. There's also a single-player Time Attack mode for those that want to practise their skills.
Our second game is proving to be the most popular FunOrb title since Arcanists, so we reckon fantasy-loving RuneScapers will really enjoy it. Dungeon Assault casts you in the role of a dragon with two simple aims: to protect your hoard by constructing an elaborate dungeon, and to send raiders out to steal from other dragons. You can fill your dungeon with legions of beasts, hidden traps and guardians, making it incredibly difficult for your opponents to get to your gold. Once your stash is safe, recruit some raiders and take on players' dungeons to steal their gold.
Fans of tower defence-style games may also be impressed by Orb Defence. This takes the basics of the genre and turns the dial up to 11, bringing wave after wave of relentless enemies, a kaleidoscopic neon look, and hours of addictive gameplay.
Similarly pretty is Pixelate. It has a brand of gameplay that we have never encountered before, so we can only encourage you to get to grips with its reaction-testing puzzles and psychedelic style.
We couldn't part without mentioning the addition of global highscores to FunOrb, so your gaming feats can be recognised by the entire community. If you can get to the top on any FunOrb game, then you're a better gamer than any of us!
We plan to update you about FunOrb games in the future, but only if we think you'll really appreciate them. Indeed, a FunOrb game is planned that is based on the RuneScape universe, which might be right up your alley. Keep your eyes and ears peeled...
The popular Wilderness minigame, Clan Wars, has received a colossal update this week.
When you next challenge a player to a clan war, you'll notice a range of new options that better suits your battling tastes; for example, you can choose whether players are able to return to the fray after dying, how long the battle may last, how many kills are required for a victory, and even what combat styles are permitted during the fight.
You might wish to force an end to a battle if either team is reduced to five survivors. This avoids chasing down over-energetic die-hards who just won't stand still. Oh, and if you prefer real penalties for failure, you can choose to make players lose all of their items on death.
Beyond that, there's a selection of arenas featuring a variety of different landscapes, so you'll have more choice about where you'd like to fight. Do you prefer obstacles that block Magic/Ranged attacks or obstacles that don't? Do you like empty spaces without any obstacles at all? The original Clan Wars arena will naturally remain available, although some areas of it have become single-way combat zones.
For the more adventurous fighter, Clan Wars offers a pair of vast, free-for-all arenas. Just wander in, alone or with friends, and prepare to fight against anyone you meet. There are no combat restrictions in those arenas, so you'll have free rein to make your own entertainment!
Calladin, the Clan Wars custodian, has something new to offer as well. He'll let you set a friend (or enemy!) as your caller. When you're in a Clan Wars arena, any chat you receive from that player will be copied to your head-up display, so it'll be easier to spot their messages in the chaos of a battle.
So, set your favourite options and prepare to fight, warrior!
In Other News:
Herblorists may be pleased to hear that Bob Barter, the expert on herb prices who stands by the Grand Exchange, is now offering a new service. If you ask him nicely, he'll look through your inventory and try to combine your 3-dose, 2-dose and 1-dose potions into vials containing 4 doses. He even knows how to handle barbarian potions and calquat kegs.
If you use a chisel on a large block of granite, you'll now be able to cut it into smaller blocks for use as Summoning ingredients.
A convenient right-click option has been added to the ghost disciples around the Ectofuntus, to help players collect their tokens even when they don't have the Amulet of Ghostspeak.
One of the skeletal wyverns was appearing as level 158 rather than level 140, even though it was really no tougher than the other level 140 wyverns. It's had its level adjusted to match the rest; this will not affect its difficulty in combat.
Eniola, the banker at the Ourania Altar, will henceforth expect payment from players wishing to use his services to collect purchased items from the Grand Exchange.
Our Graphics team has been busily fixing yet more bugs, including the following:
The battle hood, obtained as a reward from Fist of Guthix, was appearing as green rather than purple in players' inventories. Its proper colour has now been restored.
Following this year's graphical update, players were finding that their computers had trouble rendering certain map areas, resulting in low frame-rates. We've made some cosmetic changes to various bits of scenery to reduce this problem.
When a female character wore Verac's helm, their head was appearing out of proportion to the rest of their body.
The bug lantern, used for killing harpie bug swarms, tended to render badly alongside certain leggings.
When combined with a highwayman mask, the cavalier hat was often appearing too high above the head of its wearer.
Players wearing the new ringmaster hat were finding their chat bouncing strangely above their heads.
The helmet obtained from the Drill Demon random event was causing players to lose their hair when they took it off.
Crab shell gauntlets were causing players' wrists to change colour!
If a player chose to wield an undead chicken during the Animal Magnetism quest - and who wouldn't wield such an item? - they'd sometimes find that the chicken appeared some distance from their actual hand.
The Zamorak banner, made in the workshops of players' houses, was stretching into people's heads.
The Bandos tassets were hanging down too much at the front, leading to graphical glitches.
The Amulet of Catspeak was incorrectly positioned on female characters.
Snakeskin vambraces were causing players' arms to move in unexpected ways.
The Saradomin, Zamorak and Guthix coifs, obtained as Treasure Trail rewards, were suffering from a problem that frequently caused players' heads to become transparent
RuneHQ Event, Tri-media Bowl, and Top 50 Clans list
Monday, Sep 08, 2008
News ID: 00885
September Official Event: The Chase
From the far corners of Runescape come the Events Team. Who are they? Where are they? If you accept this mission, then it will be up to you to find out. Are you brave enough to track them? Find them all and you will be rewarded. Join us this month for an exciting Chase of the RuneHQ Events Team Members. For more details or to discuss this event, visit the Official September Event Topic.
Members (P2P)
Non-members (F2P)
Date: Sunday, September 14th Time: 4:00 CDT (9:00 GMT) World: 60 Starting point: Entrance to Draynor Manor (not inside)
Date: Saturday, September 20th Time: 5:00pm CDT (10:00pm GMT) World: 55 Starting point: Lumbridge, sheep pen (north of castle)
Items required: None, though teleport runes/tablets/jewelry may help.
Objective: Solve clues, collect items from the ET members at each location, and take those items to the final destination.
Reward: For the first three players to show all the required items at the endpoint, forum gold and your name prominently displayed in the RuneHQ front page
If you are not registered on our Forums, just click here to go to the registration page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
~ RuneHQ Events Team ~
Vote in the Tri-media Bowl
The Tri-Media Bowl is in it's final voting period. Visit the Media Forums and vote for the next king or queen of media!
If you are not registered on our Forums, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
~ RuneHQ Media Staff ~
RuneHQ's Top 50 Clan's List
Are you a member of a powerful clan and want to show off? Want to prove to the world that your clan is the strongest? If you answered 'yes' to either of those questions, check out RuneHQ's Top 50 Clans List.
This list ranks clans by how well they do in wars with other clans. Once you sign up, the rules are simple. Win a clan war and take that clan's place; lose and you will drop down a position. This list will be updated by the RuneHQ Staff.
There are a limited number of spaces left, so sign up soon.
~ RuneHQ Clans Staff ~
A Variety of New Guides and Updated Jagex Store
Friday, Sep 05, 2008
News ID: 00884
For the past few weeks our members and Site Editors have been working hard on writing guides. Below you will find a list of our newly published guides.
New Guides:
Learning the ropes: Having a hard time getting used to the world of RuneScape. This tutorial will tell you all about the basic of the game. Submitted by DarkBlitz. Thanks to all the others for corrections.
The Great Orb project: Submitted by diamondi3ack, Job is God, and Alfawarlord. Thanks to all the others for corrections.
Runecrafting Guild: Submitted by diamondi3ack, MysticEchos, and Job is God. Thanks to all the others for corrections.
Beacon Network: Submitted by Belgariad04, Alfawarlord, and Maonzhi. Thanks to all the others for corrections.
Bounty Hunter: Submitted by diamondi3ack. Thanks to all the others for corrections.
Gnomecopters: Submitted by Komnodragon1 and Bladerman970. Thanks to all the others for corrections.
If you would like to help with writing new guides or updating existing guides/items/person/monsters, then hop over to the Submissions Area on our Community Forums.
If you are not registered on our Community Forums, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
Two weeks ago, we introduced USB wireless mice, hoodies, t-shirts and other goodies to the Jagex Store. This week, we can add to their number with four items for use at school, work or home:
USB flash drive
Backpack
Drawstring bag
Pencil case
Visit the Jagex Store to start filling up your shopping basket! Also, keep your feedback and suggestions coming on the Jagex Store Feedback forum, as we plan to keep creating merchandise according to your ideas.
When levelling skills or trekking around RuneScape, you might want to keep an eye out for some unusual goings on. This is because the Distractions and Diversions (a new type of game feature in RuneScape) are cropping up randomly, offering you some interesting experiences. We think you'll enjoy being distracted by these new ways to train, as they can be fun and useful...
Balthazar Beauregard's Big Top Bonanza:
The circus offers more than entertainment: it gives you the chance to be a star. Perform on the tightrope and show off your Agility, test your aim at the Ranged event, or blow things up in the Magic performance! Every week you'll get the chance to show your stuff and earn great rewards in the process.
What's black, white and covered in leaves? A penguin pretending to be a bush! It may sound crazy, but it's true. Ten penguins have gone incognito and infiltrated the lands of RuneScape. Your mission, should you choose to accept it (and who wouldn't?), is to track down these mischievous birds and report them to Larry in the Ardougne Zoo. He'll reward you handsomely with XP or gold coins; so, the more penguins you find, the greater your reward.
You'll need to keep your eyes peeled - the ten penguins will change location every seven days and have a tendency to wander about the place. Keep finding them to collect your reward.
Stars are falling from the sky, ripe with rewards! Mine the meteorite and you'll get up to 200 pieces of stardust. Manage to get to the middle of the star and you'll meet the star sprite, who will reward you according to the amount of stardust you have mined.
Watch out, though: there's a two hour gap between shooting stars, so you should take advantage of the stars when you see them. Get a better idea of when (and where) they'll fall by using your player-owned house telescope, but they'll still be hard to find. The stars are big and slow to mine through, so they're best mined by several people at once. Call on your friends to make your way to the middle with slightly more ease...
Members only
Different layers require different Mining level requirements.
Outer layers are tougher to mine. Stars will start off at a random size.
Access to:
Rewards from the star sprite include runes, coins, gold ore and a
temporary bonus to your Mining, which will give you more ore from the
rocks that you mine.
Bonus Mining XP for the first person to discover a star.
You can be rewarded by a sprite up to once each day.
In other news...
Many items that are frequently purchased on the Grand Exchange have had their purchase limits increased so you can buy more of them at once. These include bows, poisoned darts, several dragonhide items, poh teleport tablets, pyre logs, bones, fruit and more!
Certain searches in the in-game world map, like "fishing guild", wouldn't yield any results. I'm sure you're all angling to hear that the Fishing Guild is still in the same plaice, so you should sea that this problem has been e-ray-sed!
Two worlds (60 and 61) have been designated as suggested 'Great Orb Project' worlds. While we've noticed a fair amount of activity on worlds such as 1, 2, 6 and 9, these are the main trading worlds and are often near capacity or full. Therefore, we have selected 60 and 61 so that you'll be able to log in straight away and join others who're playing this minigame.
When you decide to train a skill, you may have one area in mind: a favourite patch of trees, perhaps, or a specific altar to craft your runes. Well, this month's first update, Distractions and Diversions, will threaten to turn that way of thinking on its head. You see, Distractions and Diversions will offer new ways of training your skills, but you'll rarely know when (or where) they'll turn up next...
Take Penguin Hide and Seek, for example. You may be walking around RuneScape, summoning yaks and thieving paladins, when something catches your eye. Is that a flash of beak in that nearby bush? Does that toadstool have flippers? You won't be going loopy - the penguins of the north are spying on us humans, and Larry will want you to spot them first. He'll be willing to pay well for a penguin sighting and will even cash in your Penguin Points for experience in any skill.
It would be hard to get more bizarre than penguins in mushroom costumes, but Distractions and Diversions has an ace up its sleeve. That ace will be Balthazar Beauregard's Big Top Bonanza, a travelling circus that encourages the audience to get up and join the action. Wow the crowds with a magic trick, acrobatic feat and a well-placed throwing knife and you'll gain experience or even an outfit to clown about in.
The last Distraction and Diversion will come in the form of a Shooting Star. Instead of making a wish, you'll need to rush to the crash site and mine its thick outer layers. Break through them on your own or with others and you'll uncover a curious-looking star sprite, the magical inhabitant of shooting stars. As a reward, it might even help you out with some gold, objects and the ability to temporarily mine quicker.
Not all of our updates arrive and depart as unpredictably as Distractions and Diversions; the following release, the Clan Wars Update, is a far more predictable (but welcome) addition to this Behind the Scenes. It'll bring a swathe of new options for creating a clan war that suits you. What options will be available? Time for a list!
Free-for-all battles
The optional ability to run back into battle after death
Combat style
New obstacle choices
Single-way areas
Time limits
Kills required for a victory
Keep/Lose items on death (without the ability for other players to pick them up)
New arenas
The option we're most stoked about is free-for-all battles, where anyone will be able to run in and start battling immediately. It won't matter if you're in a clan or not; you'll be teleported to a vast PvP area where you can have a large scrap with anyone else you meet in there.
'A large scrap' is exactly what will be offered in Summer's End. In this dramatic conclusion to Spirit of Summer, you'll be confronted by the beast who has been sapping the family's souls. Unfortunately, yours is particularly tasty, so you'll need swift feet, hard skin and help from some spirited friends if you're going to survive. The quest will be particularly taxing for those who are not prepared, but you'd expect that from a skill-based battle with one of RuneScape's hardest-hitting monsters, right? Don't worry: the rewards and the family's heartwarming smiles will definitely be worth it.
There will be few smiles in our last thriller update, Defender of Varrock. Deep in the Wilderness, braindead hordes will form into ranks, in a manner that the evil dead rarely do. Such an occurrence will need to be investigated, of course, and the identities of those behind it will have to be revealed. The question is, can you turn the zombie tide before Varrock becomes a shambling land of the dead? Reading the Legend of Arrav lores and histories may well help you out in this particular quest...
It's not all war, zombies and soul-eating this month: there are laughs to be had in the Postbag from the Hedge, with some pictures that are far more handsome than a zombie's ugly mug in our Players' Gallery and wallpaper release.
In this month's postbag we've got some wise words from the Poll Orks, Mr Mordaut explaining planar theory and the latest edition of Evil Dave's Conspiracy Theories. So, if you want to know some harsh truths about RuneScape, head over to the latest installment of the POSTBAG FROM THE HEDGE OF EVIL.
The official RuneHQ September Newsletter is here. Take some time, sit back, and enjoy yourself with the new information and happenings coming your way.
All Fired Up Quest and Guide
Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008
News ID: 00880
All Fired Up Quest Guide
For those who are looking for an interesting and fun way to train their Firemaking, the reward of this quest offers the access to a new Firemaking mini-game.
Our thanks go out to Razkumar and everyone else who helped to get this guide up so quickly!
Increasingly concerned by Morytania mischief makers and invaders from the Wilderness, King Roald has a burning desire to increase homeland security. This has taken the form of a beacon network that will warn Varrock of invasion. The beacons have been built and firetenders have been assigned to look after them; the only problem is that they are yet to be tested – and that's where King Roald could use your pyromania...
After you learn the basics of lighting and maintaining the beacons in a sizzlingly short quest, you are free to use the beacons as you please. Why not challenge yourself and see how many beacons you can keep simultaneously alight? Rewards are in store for those who succeed, not to mention some Firemaking experience for flashy firetenders.
A new way to train Firemaking
Some flaming-brilliant Firemaking rewards
In other news...
The level 86 Plank Make spell now has the option to skip the warning message when converting logs to planks. At this level, we feel that most players are aware that it costs money; so, after one cast, you can opt to turn the message off.
Various dyes have had their Grand Exchange price ranges adjusted to allow for a built-in 'delivery' cost. This compensates those players who have taken the time to gather dyes in larger quantities.
A new option has been added to allow the collection of Grand Exchange purchases in note form. Don't worry: you can still choose to take the objects directly, but for larger quantities this option should be cert-ifiably handy!
Stumped? Need help right away!? Try RuneHQ Live Help.
Have you ever been working on a quest and you were stumped on the next step? Or maybe you are working on your 99 skill goal and just want to get some other opinions? You want to get some quick answers, but your usual band of friends are not online at the time, so what can you do?
Here are RuneHQ, we want to help you out. We will be providing weekly sessions on IRC and Ventrilo, so that you can ask our staff volunteers those burning questions! Please click on the graphic to the right or here to get more information or discuss this new feature.
If you are not registered on our Forums, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
22 August 2008 - RuneScape in Guinness World Records!
RuneScape has entered the record books this week. The game has been recognised as the most popular free MMORPG in the world for the second year in a row, with a certificate awarded by Guinness World Records. That's one record that Usain Bolt didn't manage to get!
The presentation took place at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany, where RuneScape has been showcasing RuneScape HD.
The Jagex Store has expanded to include a range of official RuneScape merchandise. If you visit it today, you'll find that it includes the following items:
T-shirts
Hoodies
Mousemats
A wireless optical mouse
Mugs
None of these items are available anywhere else - they are exclusives to the Jagex Store. The official RuneScape novel, Betrayal at Falador, is also available from the store.
We have more merchandise planned for the near future, so keep an eye on the RuneScape front page for more announcements. We've even got some items in the pipeline that are based on your feedback!
Anyway, enough from us - get to the Jagex Store and check out the official accessories and apparel for yourself!
For players who create a new subscription, the monthly cost of RuneScape membership has increased 30p in the UK, $0.95 in the US and by similar amounts in other currencies. These are examples of credit card prices - all other payment types have been increased by a similar margin.
For a list of the new prices, please view the Billing Options page.
If you have an existing subscription, set up before the 18th August, then this price change will not affect you. You will continue to pay the lower price for as long as you keep your membership valid. As long as you do not allow your membership to lapse for more than two weeks (after the 18th of August), you will continue to pay at this lower RuneScape price.
We are also offering a 'loyalty' rate, for those of you who have paid at the slightly increased price for a long period. If you pay at the higher rate for 12 months (without a gap of more than 14 days) you will be offered the lower, $5 (£3.20) rate at the end of the year.
For those of you who pay by Surfpin or PaybyCash, there are some points to note due to the way your payments are made:
If you make a payment at the lower price, but have an account that is charged at the higher price, then you will receive fewer days of credit.
If you make a payment at the higher price, but have an account that is charged at the lower price, then you will receive more days of credit.
We recently introduced a method of making direct payments using Wallie Cards for RuneScape. With the recent price increase, existing Wallie Card subscribers will be pleased to find out that they are able to keep paying a lower price. Wallie cards are available in lots of stores in the EU and Switzerland, and can be used for longer, multiple-month subscriptions.
Official RuneHQ August Event Olympic Games Celebration!
Citius -Altius - Fortius! No those aren't words to some new spell, they are actually the words that compose the Olympic motto, which in English translates to: Faster - Higher - Stronger!
Well, in this month's event we will be celebrating the Olympic games, and you will have an opportunity to experience each part of the motto in its own way.
Stronger: Nothing toughens you up like a good game of Gnomeball! This first event will not only make you stronger, but also get into the true spirit of the games by showing a team mentality!
Faster: Nothing truly makes you faster like a good ol' session of agility training. After our Gnomeball scores are settled, we'll all head over for some agility training at the Gnome Stronghold course!
Higher: We'll all be a little higher as we climb up a few levels in the Grand Tree and have a seat at the local bars. Grab a beer or two, reminisce about the games (real and RuneScape alike), and most importantly, have good times with friends.
Important Information:
Event: Olympic Games Celebration! (Gnomeball, Agility Training, and After-Party).
When: Saturday, August 23rd.
Time: 2pm CST, 8pm GMT+0
Where: World 60 (Members)
Meeting Place: The Gnomeball mini game inside the Tree Gnome Village.
What to bring: Money for beer and a good attitude.
Visit the Official Events Forum on our Community Forum for additional information and comments.
If you are not registered on our Community Forums, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
The most frequent request we have received over the last few months has been to put more PvP back into the game. We want to let you know that this request hasn't gone unheard, and that we've put a lot of research into how we can introduce new PvP mechanisms. The aim is for PvP content that better replaces the old Wilderness, but without reintroducing RWT.
Hopefully, you’re already aware of the imminent Clan Wars release (see the September Behind the Scenes in a couple of weeks for more information), but there are also plans afoot for the most exciting and "old school" PvP update we have ever considered – unique PvP worlds.
As many of our long term players know, in the old RuneScape Classic days you could actually fight players just outside the gates of Lumbridge, before the days of duelling and even before the days of the old Wilderness itself. Players could hunt each other down, chasing them away from favourite resource points and generally "owning" large areas of the map.
So, in 2008, we will be bringing you special 'PvP worlds', where you can fight other players almost anywhere! In addition to all the usual content you might expect to find in RuneScape, they will also include:
Optional sign-up – choose between PvP danger or stick to ordinary play by simply switching worlds.
High danger with items dropped on death.
High rewards for kills. To avoid any RWT issues the reward for a successful PK will be generated by the game, similar to when you kill a monster at the moment. We're creating generous drop tables based on factors like your levels and the impressiveness of the kill.
These drop tables will include "PvP world specific" items like XP-modifying gear, lvl 70+ equipment and new, glorious, short-term but hard hitting gear. These will once again make PKing a viable source of income.
PvP across 99% of the world, including the old Wilderness.
Attack any player within a certain level of your own. Level range depends on the area, similar to the old Wilderness levels.
...And all sorts of other twists on interesting content... Just think of the possibilities when you can PK anywhere!
Naturally, we also have other PvP-orientated content, like Stealing Creation (a resource control game where skillers and PKers work together, creating equipment and beating up the opposition) and Mobilising Armies (a real-time strategy game where you use your hard made bows, swords, etc. to equip your own armies in 4-player battles).
Add all this to a healthy schedule of quests (featuring Arrav and the sequel to Spirit of Summer), holiday events and some unique puzzle content... and the rest of '08 has something for almost everyone.
Finally, we'd like to let you in on a little secret – we're currently working on our highest level, longest, most exciting quest ever. Not necessarily for launch in '08 (it's not something we want to rush, after all), it’s already had more development time than the entirety of "Recipe for Disaster"... but you’ll have to wait to find out more. We're adding secret hints and references all the time about this one, so if you need to know more, just look around! Leave no stone unturned....
14 August 2008 - Players' Gallery - Barrows Brothers
There's been a bit of a Barrows Brothers theme recently, with our wallpaper being followed by a Players' Gallery. If you like your warriors purple and ghostly, go here to see some ghoulish pictures.
12 August 2008 - Runecrafting Guild and Game - For All Player
Ever since a brave adventurer rediscovered Runecrafting, mages from the Wizards' Tower have been working hard to figure out its intricacies. In fact, so many have been drawn to Runecrafting's secrets that a guild has formed.
Not everything is rosy and happy in the guild. An argument has raged over the magical reaction that creates rune stones: are green or yellow orbs more important in the process? Agree to resolve their conflict and you'll find yourself in our newest minigame, The Great Orb Project!
The purpose of this team-based minigame is very simple: collect more coloured orbs than the opposing team. Watch out, though, as they will be pushing your orbs out of the way to stop you winning. This frenetic minigame offers few rules and a great alternative to conventional Runecrafting - all with a range of rewards, of course. Expect rune essence, Runecrafting XP and new magical equipment if you wipe the floor with your opponents.
The Runecrafting Guild also offers a number of features that are not tied to the minigame. The rune altar map helpfully shows the location of all altars; one mad wizard has learned how to repair abyssal pouches; and the head of the guild is working on a marvellous omni-talisman that combines the powers of all existing talismans into one.
Note that the guild is available to both free players and members - the Runecrafters want all the help they can get!
Summary
Where to find the Runecrafting Guild:
The guild can be accessed through a portal, upstairs in the Wizards' Tower.
Requirements to access the Runecrafting Guild and minigame:
Level 50 Runecrafting Rune Mysteries
The guild is available on F2P, but some individual features are for members only
Access to:
A new guild
A fast-paced, team-vs-team Runecrafting minigame - The Great Orb Project
Various new items for runecrafters, including a new outfit
In other news...
Beyond the Runecrafting Guild, this update brings you a few small things that should make your lives easier...
Kazgar, Mistag and Dartog have been given right-click options so you can quickly ask them to guide you through the Lumbridge Swamp Caves. Elkoy, the guide from the Tree Gnome Village maze, has been given a similar option.
When you previously right-clicked on a chat message from another player, you were always offered the option to 'Add friend' and 'Add ignore'. If that player was already on your Friends list, those options weren't very useful, so we've replaced them with a new 'Message' option. This is identical to what would happen if you clicked on your friend in your Friends List. (This is not available on Quick Chat-only worlds.)
Tai Bwo Wannai village welcomes its newest arrival, Imiago. If you've completed Jungle Potion, he'll be willing to protect your calquat trees from disease in exchange for eight poison ivy berries.
The gardeners who protect bush patches have always demanded payment to look after poison ivy bushes. It's been pointed out on the Forums that poison ivy bushes never get diseased anyway, so the gardeners no longer offer to look after them.
We've also fixed the following bugs:
Treasure Trail sliding puzzle boxes were getting stuck, making them impossible to complete.
The roof of the Grand Exchange was failing to disappear correctly when you stood underneath it. Similar bugs were affecting the front of Varrock Palace and bits of the Warriors Guild.
The Amulet of Catspeak was incorrectly positioned on female characters.
The Amulet of Fury was not rendering correctly with the Bandos chestplate on male characters.
If you wore a blue snelm, your chathead was appearing yellow.
The 3D models for skillcapes were using too many polygons, resulting in bizarre graphical glitches. They have now been remodelled to resolve this problem; their appearance is largely unchanged, but you may notice some slight changes.
Mud pies were positioned incorrectly when you wielded them.
Flared trousers were rendering incorrectly with most boots.
The 'fine shirt' base kit had a glitch affecting the neck area on male characters.
The mind tiara was missing part of its model.
Baba Yaga's hair was clipping through her hat.
The progress hats from the Mage Training Arena were not rendering correctly with players' hair.
Radimus Erkle, master of the Legends' Guild, had a rendering problem with his cape.
The obsidian cape was rendering incorrectly with certain tops.
Bogrog was checking for the wrong Summoning level when players tried to exchange praying mantis pouches for shards.
Trimmed chaps and Wilderness capes were rendering incorrectly on female characters.
The mime mask and zombie mask items were displaying incorrectly during dialogue.
Players could walk through a rope barrier in the Varrock Museum.
This week, we have released a new method of making Wallie payments. You can now make payments directly to Wallie instead of using PayByCash. This means that we can offer a faster and easier payment process when paying for RuneScape using Wallie.
You can still make Wallie payments using the PayByCash payment option; however, you may find that your subscription works out cheaper if you pay directly to Wallie, especially on longer subscriptions. In the future, we hope to offer an even lower price with Wallie Card.
Wallie direct payments are available in Mexico and most of Europe.
Wallie cards can be purchased from local stores or from the Wallie website. They can then be redeemed on www.runescape.com by selecting 'Upgrade Your Account' on the RuneScape front page (under the 'Account' drop-down menu) and following the prompts for using the Wallie Card payment method.
Recently, we launched 22 new worlds to cater for player growth in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands and New Zealand. The 22 new worlds also host many of our popular activities, such as Barbarian Assault, Castle Wars, Clan Wars, Fist of Guthix, LootShare, Pest Control, F2P trade, TzHaar Fight Pits and Vinesweeper.
More worlds will be added as we expand into more countries. Please visit the Themed World page for information on themes of these new worlds.
This quest will teleport you right into the living history of RuneScape. For any member that loves reading the history and lores RuneScape, this quest is for you! Help Jorral investigate his new discovery, which may lead you to more treasure hunting fun.
Thanks to diamondi3ack and everyone else who helped to get this guide up so quickly!
~ Maonzhi ~
Due to recent server problems, we have lost some user data for our Ventrilo server. Anyone who had access to our Ventrilo servers but did not have a RuneHQ Forum account will need to make another request to access our Ventrilo Servers. To request access to the RuneHQ Ventrilo server, please go here to register on the RuneHQ forums. From there, you will be able to request access to Ventrilo. If you have any questions, please browse through our RuneHQ Ventrilo Guide for information and how to login. In order to use Ventrilo, you will need to down the the program at Ventrilo.com
Having helped Jorral in Making History, it's time to pay him another visit in Meeting History. He's been busy digging around old and dusty manuscripts and has come across a set of interesting notes about the Enchanted Key; so, with the 'hot and cold' key in hand, get ready to discover another of its bizarre abilities! You can guarantee that it'll give you a greater insight into the past of RuneScape.
Many questions will be answered as part of this sequel to Making History.
The roof in the Burgh de Rott shop wasn't disappearing, even if your Graphics Options said it should.
We've also adjusted Commander Zilyana's behaviour in the God Wars Dungeon, so she's less inclined to wander aimlessly in the middle of the room while people shoot her from the edges.
We have introduced a new and optional way of viewing RuneScape HD: a resizable game window. This feature is available to both free players and members.
The new feature will adjust your RuneScape HD game window to fit the size of your browser. So, if you expand or maximise your browser, your game window will expand too, filling all of the available space. If you reduce the size of your browser, your game window will reduce with it.
This feature is completely optional. You may activate or deactivate it via the Graphics Options, either on the login screen or in-game (accessed via the spanner icon).
The resizable game window is only available for RuneScape HD. It is not available for the RuneScape version of the game.
How does this differ from fullscreen?
The main difference is that fullscreen will completely fill your screen. It will do so if your browser is minimised, maximised or anywhere inbetween. The resizable feature allows you to view the RuneScape game at whatever size you want - just reduce or increase the size of your browser and the game window will follow.
When playing RuneScape HD using the resizable game window, your interfaces will be arranged in the manner as fullscreen mode. This means that your tabs will be arranged across the bottom of the game screen.
Unlike fullscreen, the resizable game window is available to both free players and members.
Note: If you have a slow computer and you make the resizable window very large, you may find the game slows down a bit. If this happens, just make the window a bit smaller or, if you prefer, turn it off using the Graphics Options menu.
It's pretty hard to imagine the first days of RuneScape. For a start, there were no monsters, no Zamorak and no god wars, which would imply that RuneScape was a breeze. Surely you could just wake up, have a cup of tea with Guthix and settle down for some farming. Easy peasy, right?
Erm, no. The first quest of this month, Meeting History, will reveal the struggles that the first settlers faced on RuneScape. This sequel to Making History will encourage you to get more hands-on in your research of the past, giving you insights into the world's quiet beginnings and its harsh realities. It will even divulge the beginnings of magic and strange objects called 'runes'.
Man's knowledge of magic and runes has come on leaps and bounds from the time of Meeting History. Just take a peek at the next release: the Runecrafting Guild!
In the guild, wizards will be bent over books, trying desperately to unlock the secrets of Runecrafting. How is a rune made? Why are yellow and green orbs released when the reaction occurs? For Runecrafting scholars, these questions pale in comparison with the following: which is more significant - green orbs or yellow orbs? For years arguments have raged on, and two wizards will be creating something that'll end the debate once and for all: the Great Orb Project!
The Great Orb Project will be a fun minigame for two opposing teams who have been given one simple task: collect more orbs than the other team. Only problem is, your opponents will do all they can to stop you winning - including pushing your orbs away before you can get to them! This fast-paced and manic minigame will offer you a great alternative for training your Runecrafting, with minimal fuss, tutorials or complex rules.
Not content with updating one skill this month, we've decided to reignite Firemaking too. In Varrock, King Roald has become increasingly wary of the evil eyes casting greedy looks at his city, so he'll be taking precautions: fourteen warning beacons, running from the River Salve to the western end of the Wilderness. The problem is, no one will be available to test them out, so - surprise, surprise - you'll become the most suitable candidate.
So begins All Fired Up, a sizzling new quest that acts as a simple and very short tutorial for beacon lighting. What can you do with large cauldrons full of sticks, you may ask? Well, your task, if you should choose to accept it, will be to light as many as possible at one time, offering you an entertaining and alternative method for training your Firemaking - oh, and the rewards will make you the toast of firemakers everywhere...
Behind the Scenes of the Behind the Scenes:
In the coming months, we'll be making some changes to the Behind the Scenes, offering you a more attractive look and a better idea of upcoming content. So, if you'd like a tour of what we've got in store, please read on...
The first change is screenshots. Instead of just telling you about our updates, we'll be bringing you images of them in glorious technicolour - and in RuneScape HD, of course.
We've also got plans to hint about future content, outside of the month's releases. The 'glimpse of the future' section will include handpicked updates that excite us, and that you'll be excited about too. So, what better way of getting you used to this new feature than producing one for this Behind the Scenes?
Glimpse of the Future (Updates in development and planned for later than August)
One update that just missed this month's Behind the Scenes was the Clan Wars update. This is a priority for us, and we'll be releasing it as soon as we feel it is ready, featuring bucketloads of new arenas and game options, plus two 'free-for-all' PVP battlegrounds where you can fight in any way you please. Check out the preview of the Clan Wars setup screen below...
The minigame additions don't just end with Clan Wars: PvP fans will be pleased to know that there are three PvP minigames planned, all coming in the last few months of the year! If you're more interested in single-player content, however, you can expect a range of updates to keep you busy. One we can mention now: the concluding part of the Spirit of Summer series will be released at the end of the Summer, and it'll be throwing some pretty daunting obstacles in your way.
There's room in the Behind the Scenes for your ideas too, so please feel free to suggest features, articles and additions on the Forums. If your ideas are good enough, you may see them in the larger and improved Behind the Scenes, coming soon!
The Barrows Brothers, six of the most feared undead creatures on RuneScape, were not always the incarnations of evil that they are now. Once, they were the mightiest of Saradomin's warriors, their fall orchestrated by a mysterious stranger who visited them in the night, bestowing on them powerful gifts that began to corrupt their pure souls.
Even as the darkness within them grew, they fought on into the heart of Morytania. Our latest wallpaper shows them on the eve of their final battle with the darkness of the east - a battle that took their souls...
It’s time for the Poll Orks to take a well-earned rest. They’ve been working overtime to make sure that your votes are counted in time. Thank you to everyone that voted in the Guaranteed Content – Christmas 2008 poll. The options were a combination of our own wintery ideas and some excellent suggestions from you, with every event idea having plenty of supporters. These are the winning options that will be making it into December's event:
Christmas Event - Winner:
Jack Frost has an evil plan. Can you get to him before he covers the whole of RuneScape with ice? – You will need a cool head to foil Jack Frost’s sub-zero plans for Gielinor this Christmas.
Christmas Format - Winner:
A quest is the most popular format for the holiday event this Christmas, so, expect to do some adventuring!
Christmas Rewards - Winner:
It’s been a close race for the top three reward options. The winner is a Santa suit so, if you successfully complete the Christmas quest, you will be rewarded with a cosy costume to warm you up.
Christmas Emote - Winner:
It’s been an even closer race between the top two emote options! What’s clear is that the vast majority of you want to see your character become more than a little bit frosty. The winning option is 'turning into snow and melting'!
The Poll Orks don’t have a very long break, as we have a brand new poll for you to vote in. There’s an opportunity for you to imagine how different life could be in this week's Living in RuneScape poll.
The official RuneHQ August Newsletter is here. Take some time, sit back, and enjoy yourself with the new information and happenings coming your way.
Spirit Summer Quest Guide, New Map, and Item Lending Update!
Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008
News ID: 00868
Spirit of Summer Quest Guide
We are proud to present you our guide on the newly released Spirit of Summer quest.
This guide was written by Job is God, and Alfawarlord. Thanks to everyone for corrections and updates.
In addition to this we would like you to thank DarkBlitz for a new Lumbridge map. Special thanks goes out to Alfawarlord, Halk, Realruth and Thehi for corrections.
Stuck on a different plane, parallel to the Wilderness, itself a long walk from any RuneScape city or town, one family has gone a long time without even seeing a human being. That doesn't mean they don't need your help, however, as the time has come to leave the homestead and move to pastures new.
This magical story calls for you to befriend a loving family, find some essentials for their journey and reunite the daughter with some misplaced possessions. You'll be able to explore a previously unexplored realm and even take a glimpse into the imagination of a little girl.
Needless to say, some hurdles will need overcoming if you and the family are to reach the destination and claim your reward. Some family members are less than communicative with outsiders and their only neighbour is understandably unhappy about them leaving. It shouldn't be a problem for an adventurer with your experience...right?
Over the last couple of weeks, many players have been using the Item Lending system to lend out items for profit. That's not really what we designed the system to achieve; it was intended to be a simple way for players to once again share objects with their friends. Since some players seem so keen to rent out their valuable items, though, we've adjusted the system to let them do it safely.
Instead of 'using' your items on the borrowing player, you should send them a trade request. This will open the trade screen, where you can right-click on an item and choose to 'Lend' it.
Once you've offered the item for loan, it will be visible to both players in the trade offer screen, within the 'Loan' box. A button will appear underneath the item, allowing you to choose the duration of the loan. Your trade-partner can then offer to pay you or lend you another item in return. Of course, you can still offer to lend an item without receiving anything in return.
Item Lending does not affect your trade limits if you are lending or receiving an item for nothing in return. Your trade limits will be affected, however, if something is offered in return for the lent item.
Do remember: If you borrow an item 'until logout', its owner might log out or take it back at ANY time, so you should be cautious about paying for this kind of service.
In other news...
We've been busy again, fixing a number of graphical or minor bugs that you may have spotted. Read on for a few of the more noticeable changes included in this update.
There have been a few additions and modifications to the bank this week; most notably, we have added the 'Withdraw All-But-1' option, so you can leave placeholder items with ease. The bank's scrollbar speed has also been increased, so you can get to your items faster.
On a slightly different note, you can now retrieve your lent items from the wandering bankers that are typically found outside minigames like Fist of Guthix or Bounty Hunter.
Players can now take the Summoning skillcape into Bounty Hunter. It seems this latest skillcape wasn't permitted, so Bounty Hunter has been adjusted to bring it in line.
When playing in HD fullscreen mode, you now have the option to hide the chatbox. The tabs below it will still flash when you've been sent a message by a friend or someone requests to trade with you etc, so you shouldn't miss anything!
The IRC RuneScape Help is now closed. We hope this event has helped both our members and staff. We had a pretty good turn-out yesterday, and as mentioned earlier, we will be having scheduled times for this project in the future. Please be sure to keep an eye out for announcements and updates!
RuneHQ Staff
New Maps
Sunday, Jul 27, 2008
News ID: 00864
We are proud to present some updates to the mapping area of the site. The Edgeville Dungeon Map.
These updates were provided by Thedarkblitz, Skeletonmat, Djw24. Thanks to everyone for corrections and updates.
RuneHQ would also like to introduce the new Meiyerditch Dungeon Map.
This map was provided by Brenden. Special thanks goes out to Belgarath, Fireball0236, and Microcuts for corrections and updates.
With all of the new changes to the landscape of Rune, we strive to bring to you the latest information. The Barbarian Village Map has been given a new facelift. This map was provided by Darkblitz. Special thanks goes out to Skeletonmat, Maonzhi for corrections and updates.
The Varrock Map has updated. This map was provided by Darkblitz. Special thanks goes out to Skeletonmat, Maonzhi and Thehi.
-=DRAVAN=-
Postbag from the Hedge, RuneScape Novel!, IRC Runescape Help
Saturday, Jul 26, 2008
News ID: 00863
Today (July 26th) - IRC RuneScape Help
Hello fellow RuneScapers! We would like to announce the launch of our latest project, an IRC channel devoted entirely to RuneScape help! Today (July 26th) at 8pm Central US time (GMT-6), there will be a channel open in our IRC full of mentors ready and willing to answer and help with any RS related queries. To access this channel, simply go to chat, wait until you get the white screen with green text, type in /join #rshelp , and we will be at your RS beck and call! Come with any questions you may have, whether it be a simple "Where do I catch that fish?" to a more complicated "What is the best way to raise my combat level?" This channel will be open for approximately two hours. If successful, we will be adding more dates and expanding our time coverage in the future.
If you are not registered on our Community Forums, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
The RuneScape novel - Betrayal at Falador - has been officially released and is available for you all to purchase! Go to the Jagex Store to grab your own piece of RuneScape history. If you took the opportunity to pre-order the novel from our brand new Jagex Store, you can expect to curl up on the sofa with it very soon.
We have also drawn the Betrayal at Falador prize winners. Ten lucky people have been notified that they have won a RuneScape novel signed by TS Church, Andrew Gower, Paul Gower, Jagex CEO Geoff Iddison and the cover artist.
This competition was open to anyone who pre-ordered Betrayal at Falador from the Jagex Store.
This month in Postbag from the Hedge, you'll be able to find out why Evil Bob kidnaps people, what Tarn Razorlor thinks of tea and the Chaos Elemental's opinion of RuneScape HD.
There is even a kebbit risotto recipe, for those wanting to improve their real-life Cooking level.
22 July 2008 - Two More Weeks of RuneScape at Lower Price!
When RuneScape HD launched early this month, we released a newspost about the planned price change for new subscribers. We would like to remind you of that price change.
For new subscribers becoming members on or after the 18th August, the monthly cost of RuneScape membership will increase by 30p in the UK, $0.95 in the US and by similar amounts in other currencies. These examples are of increases on credit card prices - all other payment types will increase by a similar margin.
If you have an existing subscription (or you set up a subscription before the 18th August) this price change will not affect you. You will continue to pay the lower price for as long as you keep your membership valid.
If you are an existing member and you allow your membership to lapse for more than two weeks (after the 18th of August), you will be charged the new rate when you re-subscribe.
You may have noticed that the date of the price increase has changed from the 4th to the 18th of August. We have delayed the date to allow new and free players more time to take advantage of our lower membership cost. So, if you're a free player who is considering signing up to the larger, regularly-updated and fullscreen members' game, then click here to find out how to subscribe at this lower rate.
17 July 2008 - Improvements to Non-UK European Servers
We are moving our non-UK European servers to new facilities, bringing better service and reduced slowdown to all players that use them. While this change is ongoing, you may have difficulty accessing worlds located on non-UK European servers, including all German-language worlds.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you. If you cannot access a world because of these changes, please try again later or select one from outside of Europe (or select a world from the United Kingdom).
The Gallery is back with another selection of fine images received by Postie Pete.
This month he's decided to bring you a wide selection of styles, from pencils to pastels, charcoal to chainmail. There's even an impressive world map for those who get lost on the roads of RuneScape.
You will not want to miss a chance to attend the first RuneHQ Idol Event this Saturday, July 19th, at 2p - 4p CDT! We will be showcasing the best singers voted by a small panel of judges from the last karaoke event and the intermediate auditions. We thank everyone for participating and we hope you have had as much fun as we have. Following the link here or at the image above to get more details on our RuneHQ Forums. Who knew RuneHQ members had so much hidden vocal talent! So, please join us to vote in the first ever RUNEHQ IDOL WINNER!
Contestants
In no particular order, here is a list of the Contestants who will be competing:
lufmyknuf
terr002
purrrr
teslatanker
moonfire248
boomhauer
turkeyistasty
Rubyducky
TomAtkins
NuclearMan
~ Ventrilo Staff ~
Item Lending, Bank changes, Lumbridge Update, and HD Full Release
To help you with some belated Spring cleaning, we have introduced a few changes to your bank. Tabs and search functions are here to help clear the mess!
Up to eight separate tabs can be created to organise your bank. To create a new tab, simply drag and drop an item from the main bank tab (marked with an infinity symbol) to the tab marked with a '+'. Once a new one is created, you can move items into and out of it. For easy identification, each tab has its own icon, which it takes from the item that sits in the first slot of that tab. Of course, the use of tabs is entirely optional; you can choose not to use any and simply leave your items stored in the main bank inventory as normal.
No matter how immaculately organised your bank is, everyone has difficulties finding items from time to time; thankfully, the bank rework has a solution in the form of a search function. Clicking the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the interface, you can type in a word or part of it ('shield' for example) and the bank will list all of those items that include it (for example 'Round shield' or 'Black kiteshield'). This feature will make organising your items into tabs a breeze, since you can drag items into existing or new tabs from the search results view.
We have added a counter in the top-right hand corner of the interface, which allows you to keep track of how much bank space you are currently using. We have also given you the ability to repeatedly withdraw/deposit the number of items you last entered using Deposit-x/Withdraw-x.
Finally, thanks should go to everyone who suggested bank ideas on the Forums - you came up with so many of the ideas that went into this update.
Item Lending:
This week's update also brings you a new way to help your friends. With the Item Lending system, you can lend out a wide range of handy items, including many of RuneScape's best weapons and armour. Once the loan is over, you can retrieve your stuff by speaking to a banker.
How do I lend out an item?
Use the item on a friend who has Accept Aid turned on. You'll be asked how long you're willing to let them keep the item (any number of hours from 1 to 24). Make your choice, and wait while they consider your kind offer.
What can I lend?
Visit the Knowledge Base article here for the full list.
Where does the item go when my friend's finished with it?
Speak to a banker. When you've lent out an item, they'll have a chat option for seeing your Returned Items box. This is where your item will be.
Suppose I borrow armour from my friend, and it goes back to them while I'm wearing it in combat! I might die!
When you borrow an item, you'll be told how long you can keep it. You should make sure you're not depending on the item at the time when the loan is due to expire. Remember, if you agreed that the item would be returned to its owner when one of you logs out, they might log out or claim it back at any time, so be careful.
What happens if I lend someone an item and they drop it, trade it, alch it or die with it?
They won't be allowed to trade it or alch it. If they drop it, you'll still be able to get it back at the end of the loan period by speaking to a banker and asking to see your Returned Items box.
If your friend does die while they've got your stuff, the borrowed item will be protected over anything else they've got, so it'll be one of the three (or four) items they keep on death.
If they do end up losing the item on death, such as because they're skulled, you'll still be able to get it back from a banker in the usual way. They won't be allowed to take the item into Bounty Hunter.
I've borrowed an item for a fixed period, but I want to give it back early. Can I?
Sorry, technical limitations prevent us from returning items early if they've been lent out for a fixed period. You're welcome to discard the item, though. Its owner will get it back at the end of the loan period.
Are there plans to add any more items to Item Lending?
We intend to add more objects to the list of lendable items in the future. Our plan is to read your feedback and highlight those items that you would like to lend to each other.
Since we first released the tutorial, a huge amount has been added to the game. New content, extra skills, new-look interfaces: all of these combine to make the old tutorial seem a little outdated. So, we've gone back to the drawing board and completely reworked it: from the creation of your character right through to your first explorations of RuneScape.
No longer will new players be trapped on an island; instead, they will be introduced to something similar to a quest involving a White Knight whose actions will decide the fate of Lumbridge. It seems that there are more than just goblins in the caves beneath Lumbridge, and a budding adventurer is required to assist the White Knight, learning a few things while they're at it.
All players will receive a Quest Point for completing the tutorial, whether they completed the old tutorial or the new tutorial (and any content with a Quest Point requirement will be raised as a result). Also, all players can collect two experience lamps, worth 200xp each, whether they completed the old or new tutorial. These can be found by chatting to Sir Vant, beneath the house to the north-east of Lumbridge Castle.
Lumbridge Moneymaking:
Following a lengthy seminar about industry and trade, the Skill Tutors and other Lumbridge locals have become much more commercially minded. Having noticed the swathes of inexperienced adventurers who pass through Lumbridge, they've decided to employ them to help supply all manner of items.
This means that, in return for completing their tasks, players can receive a modest, but prompt, payment. So, if you are reasonably low-leveled and your money is running low, the people of Lumbridge will help you to recover your finances - in return for a little hard work.
Lumbridge and Draynor Village Achievement Diary:
Explorer Jack, famed wanderer of RuneScape, has taken a much needed rest in Lumbridge. Instead of putting his feet up, however, he's encouraging a new generation of explorers. Visit him in the house north-east of Lumbridge Castle to begin achieving.
There are Beginner, Easy and Medium tasks in the Lumbridge and Draynor Achievement Diary, but no 'Hard' tasks. Lumbridge is, after all, a beginner's town, so the tasks can be completed by all but the newest of players. The rewards are aimed for everyone to appreciate, though!
In other news...
Every week we receive thousands of abuse reports on the subject of Rule 10: Misuse of Customer Support. Often, these are from players reacting to reports made against them, with only 1% showing any evidence of a broken rule. Since we can identify those who break Rule 10 ourselves, we have decided to remove the option to report players for Rule 10: Misuse of Customer Support. The rule itself will not be removed or changed and we will continue to take the appropriate action against those who break it.
14 July 2008 - RuneScape HD Full Release - Now for Free Players!
If you're a free player, we've got some great news for you - RuneScape HD is available to everyone! The Beta period is over, so both free players and members can access the new-look RuneScape. Not only that, but free players and members can get their hands on some new releases - the bank update, Item Lending and a number of Lumbridge changes - that are mentioned at the bottom of this newspost.
Please be aware that the fullscreen mode of RuneScape HD is NOT currently available to free players - it continues to be a members-only benefit. We are looking at the possibility of a fullscreen mode for free players, with adverts displaying in the fullscreen window; for now, however, RuneScape HD's range of graphical improvements are ready to be explored by everyone.
To find out how to play RuneScape in high detail, please visit the release newspost here.
If you are having issues with running RuneScape HD or would like more technical information about the update, visit the RuneScape HD FAQs here. You can also visit the Technical Support Forum for various threads that may help you.
We would also like to thank you for the wealth of comments, compliments and feedback we have received over the past couple of weeks. It is down to you that many small graphical issues have been resolved, with a number of changes being introduced in the update today.
This does not mean that we will ignore any feedback from now on - far from it, in fact. We welcome any constructive comments, to help us to continually improve RuneScape HD and make it as good as it can be.
This Week's Releases:
On top of the full release of RuneScape HD, we have a bumper lot of updates that will benefit both free players and members:
First up is our bank update, which brings you tabs and a search function, among other changes, to help you organise your bank. Up to eight separate tabs can be created to help clear your banking mess.
Item Lending is next, bringing you a new way to help your friends! You can lend out a wide range of handy items, including many of RuneScape's best weapons and armour.
We've gone back to the drawing board and completely reworked the tutorial: from the creation of your character right through to your first explorations of RuneScape.
In return for completing some tasks, you can receive a modest, but prompt, payment from various people in our Lumbridge Moneymaking update. So, if you're feeling poor, the people of Lumbridge will help you to recover your finances - in return for a little hard work.
Finally, this week brings the free game's first Achievement Diary. Travel to Explorer Jack to start your Lumbridge and Draynor Achievement Diary.
In the coming months, you can expect a lot from the Jagex Store. Plans are afoot to bring you a range of RuneScape merchandise to buy, including many that you voted for in the 'Shop till you Drop' poll.
One of these items is available for pre-order now: the first ever official RuneScape novel, Betrayal at Falador by T.S. Church. This fantasy epic opens with the discovery of a mysterious woman, found close to death within the walls of Falador Castle. Sir Amik and the White Knights are determined to reveal the identity of her attacker, thought to be a monster seen attacking travellers on the outskirts of Asgarnia. The question is: can the monster really be the blacksmith Doric, newly arrived from Keldagrim?
This Limited Edition hardback is available for pre-order now, and will be released on the 21st of July. Visit the Jagex Store to find out more, and keep an eye out for more news on available RuneScape merchandise.
9 July 2008 - Guaranteed Content Poll and Hiscores
Guaranteed Content Poll:
When the sun's out and the Summer's at its peak, there's nothing better than thinking about Wintumber events! It may seem strange, but we do this every year: coming up with a festive event while it's still bright and hot.
There is a slight change this year. We want YOU to come up with our Wintumber holiday event for 2008! Help us out by voting in this week's poll, accessed from the left-hand side of the RuneScape front page, under the heading 'Latest Poll'.
Fancy fighting a giant turkey? Want an elf costume? Or do you have an urge to be decorated like a Wintumber tree? All of these options are available in this week's poll. The winning option in each of the categories will be turned into a holiday event for you to enjoy this year.
We're all hoping that the voting is as close as it was with Hallowe'en 2007, when the witch's broom and Grim Reaper hood fought it out until the very end!
Many thanks to all of you who submitted ideas for this poll in the Suggestions Forum. Keep an eye out for future Suggestions Forum threads where you can put forward ideas that make it into a Guaranteed Content poll.
The results will be unwrapped on the 22nd July, giving us plenty of time to get it ready for December.
Hiscores:
Ever found yourself close, but not close enough, to getting on a Hiscores table? That may change with this week's update, which doubles the number of ranks that can be viewed per skill or minigame. So, instead of viewing the top one million players in each category, you can expect the top two million.
With FunOrb Global Highscores also out today, helping you to view the best scores in the world at any given FunOrb game, there's never been a better time to show off your gaming prowess!
It really is the most impossible of impossible missions: how do you follow the graphical improvement of an entire game? Have a nap for a month or two? Boogie with Party Pete? Go on holiday to Brimhaven? Well, we've taken a different approach, following RuneScape High Detail with some updates that have been anticipated for a very long time...
Take your bank, for example. Many players have called for a better way of managing it, to help sort and organise the mess of herbs, long forgotten quest objects and holiday items. So, this month we will be adding a few features, the most prominent of which will be a new tabbing structure. This will allow you to order your bank according to categories that you define: you could gather your runes together on one tab, for example, and food on another. There will also be a search button and extra options for banking and removal that will aid you when moving quantities of items about.
'Moving items about' leads us neatly to our second anticipated feature: Item Lending. This superb service will allow free players and members to use their own wealth for the benefit of their companions by lending them handy items, powerful weapons, valuable armour and a few fancy hats too. Only one item will be lendable at any time, for a number of hours up to and including 24 hours, or until either of you log out. More information on release!
It's at this point in the month that we look back with rose-tinted glasses and get a little nostalgic. Do you remember your first days in RuneScape: leisurely wandering round Tutorial Island, making bread, catching fish and firing arrows at rats from behind a fence? Good times! A wind of change has been blowing about Tutorial Island, however, and it's brought a whiff of danger with it...
The next update will move the Tutorial from Tutorial Island to a quarantined Lumbridge, where a three-headed dragon will be terrorising people and generally being a nuisance. Luckily for the citizens, a passing White Knight, Sir Vant, will be on hand to hold back the beast. Far from being able to handle the situation on his own, he'll be after a willing adventurer to keep him supplied and do a spot of fighting.
The new Tutorial will be more quest-like and exciting, giving players a reason to create a new character and give it a go. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, any player will be able to collect the new Tutorial's reward - two experience lamps - whether they have completed it or not.
The Tutorial is not the only planned improvement to Lumbridge. There will be the Lumbridge Achievement Diary, packed with Beginner, Easy and Medium tasks. High-level players will have no trouble completing these assignments, but there are certainly some interesting rewards to be had. Be prepared to craft, mine, explore and tan your way to success!
You thought Lumbridge was only for learning the ropes, respawning and chefs with cake issues? Well, you'll find that there's more to the running of Lumbridge than meets the eye, as a number of NPCs will be looking to employ hard-working and diligent low/mid-level players with their day-to-day tasks. Deliveries need to be made, goblins killed and resources gathered, all in the name of a decent wage.
Our final update this month will be a first for RuneScape: a Wilderness quest. You'd be forgiven for thinking that means relentless combat, stark landscapes and the odd revenant sending you back to Lumbridge (to complete some Achievement Diary tasks, perhaps?); rather unusually, it centres on a small girl, who will have other ideas.
Beginning in the Wilderness but then moving to a parallel realm, Spirit of Summer will require you to meet the young girl's family and prepare them for their first holiday in decades. There's the small issue of a neighbour who's reluctant to let the family leave, but you've dealt with larger problems before, right? A charming adventure awaits, with a few surprises thrown in.
Less of a surprise will be the website updates. The traditional Players' Gallery and Postbag from the Hedge will be on hand, with a wallpaper that shows some RuneScape favourites in a different light.
So, you thought July was only about the graphical updates? It would seem that RuneScape has other ideas...
So that RuneScape HD can be played by as many players as possible, we have released some FAQs. These are available to help those who are having trouble loading RuneScape HD. Today we have updated them with some of the more commonly asked questions:
You can visit the FAQs to find out the answers to these questions.
You can also visit the Technical Support Forums to receive help from players who have experienced similar issues.
Graphical Improvements:
RuneScape HD is at a Beta stage, so your feedback is important to us. In many cases the feedback will lead to changes; for example, you pointed out that male characters' midriffs look larger than they should when seen through clothing. We plan to do something about this very soon.
We are looking to make a series of changes based on your feedback, so you may expect other differences over the coming weeks. Keep leaving feedback in the Forums!
RuneScape has been reworked and now looks better than ever! If you are a member, you will be able to access this update by following the directions below. If you are a free player, you can expect to be playing RuneScape HD as soon as the Beta period is over. Free players who select RuneScape HD will receive a preview of the new graphics, meaning they can see how it runs on their machines, but will be unable to play in it.
NOTE - this is a live Beta. This means that if you lose or win an item, die or gain experience, it is for real - the effects will remain on your account even after the Beta period is over. Please do not throw away items thinking that you will get them back after the Beta period.
Playing RuneScape HD:
You will notice that the website has been given a fresh lick of paint, but your path to the game remains as simple as before. Click 'Play RuneScape' on the new RuneScape front page to get to the Detail Select page. Then click the right-hand button, 'RuneScape High Detail', to select the new version. Finally, choose your world, and then start playing.
To play RuneScape HD, your computer will need the following system specifications:
1.5 GHz processor or higher
256MB of RAM or more
64MB 3D Graphics card, such as Nvidia(R) GeForce(TM) 3 or above
Sun Java 1.4 or higher
Once the game has loaded, you can use the in-game Graphics Options menu, within your Options tab (the one with the spanner), to further increase or decrease your level of detail. You can also change them on the log in screen. So, if you are experiencing slowdown, try reducing the number of graphical features.
The new fullscreen mode can also be toggled on or off in the in-game Options tab or the log in screen.
When you have set your preferred graphics options, your settings will be remembered as the default every time you log in on that machine. You may change these graphics options at any point.
If you have further questions, or are having trouble playing RuneScape HD, please visit the FAQS, found here
Playing in the old detail modes:
To access the old High or Low Detail modes, click the left-hand 'RuneScape' button on the Detail Select page. This option manages to be both the old detail modes, rolled into one! You will be able to use the in-game Graphics Options menu to choose the exact level of detail you wish to play in. If you turn everything to minimum you get the old Low Detail mode, and if you turn everything to maximum you get the old High Detail mode.
Due to the high volume of traffic and the size of today's update, RuneScape has experienced some technical difficulties. This has led to several worlds going offline and issues with the Grand Exchange. We are aware of these problems and they should be fixed shortly. We apologise for any inconvenience we may have caused you.
If you are struggling to download the client, please choose a world from the USA, as they have more bandwidth available. You can always switch to your favourite world once the client has downloaded.
1 July 2008 - New Website and Much More...
As if launching RuneScape HD wasn't big enough on its own, we have released several other updates at the same time! These include a reworked website, several city improvements and a new world map.
The New Website:
For most people, the first improvement they encounter will be the new RuneScape website. You will notice that the links on the left side of the front page have gone, replaced with tabs across the top of the page that drop-down to reveal their contents. These have been grouped together according to subject, making your chosen section easy to find. The path through to play the game remains the same as before.
In-Game Improvements:
Aside from RuneScape HD, we have made several graphical updates that also affect the old detail modes. A deep breath is needed here: three of the largest cities in RuneScape - Al Kharid, Lumbridge and Ardougne - have been reworked to give them a new, improved look; Castle Wars has been given a fresh lick of paint; your teleport animations and your emotes should now be more impressive; and the fires of RuneScape have an improved, crackling flame.
World Map Integration:
To make RuneScape easier to navigate, we have introduced an in-game world map. At the simple press of the globe icon in the top-right of your screen, next to the minimap, you are able to view your position in the world and see where you want to go, without opening any separate windows.
In Other News:
The Behind the Scenes for July will be released at the start of next week. We have some other great things planned for this month, but we do not wish to distract you from the graphical updates just yet.
A vital change has been made to purple sweets. An issue with their scripting meant that they could keep a player alive forever, which is certainly not what we intended! The purple sweets are now back to normal.
For new subscribers becoming members on or after the 4th August, the monthly cost for a RuneScape subscription will increase 30p in the UK, $0.95 in the US and by similar amounts in other currencies. These are examples of the credit card prices - all other payment types will be increasing by a similar margin. If you are an existing member, or you subscribe before the 4th August, this price change will not affect you, as long as you keep your membership valid.
If you are an existing member and you allow your membership to lapse for more than two weeks (after the 4th of August), you will be charged the new rate when you re-subscribe.
RuneScape subscription costs have not changed since RuneScape memberships started in 2002, over 6 years ago! Inflation and exchange rates mean we are having to adjust our prices slightly.
1 July 2008 - RuneScape HD - Members-Only Beta Launch
RuneScape has been reworked and now looks better than ever! If you are a member, you will be able to access this update by following the directions below. If you are a free player, you can expect to be playing RuneScape HD as soon as the Beta period is over. Free players who select RuneScape HD will receive a preview of the new graphics, meaning they can see how it runs on their machines, but will be unable to play in it.
NOTE - this is a live Beta. This means that if you lose or win an item, die or gain experience, it is for real - the effects will remain on your account even after the Beta period is over. Please do not throw away items thinking that you will get them back after the Beta period.
Playing RuneScape HD:
You will notice that the website has been given a fresh lick of paint, but your path to the game remains as simple as before. Click 'Play RuneScape' on the new RuneScape front page to get to the Detail Select page. Then click the right-hand button, 'RuneScape High Detail', to select the new version. Finally, choose your world, and then start playing.
To play RuneScape HD, your computer will need the following system specifications:
1.5 GHz processor or higher
256MB of RAM or more
64MB 3D Graphics card, such as Nvidia(R) GeForce(TM) 3 or above
Sun Java 1.4 or higher
Once the game has loaded, you can use the in-game Graphics Options menu, within your Options tab (the one with the spanner), to further increase or decrease your level of detail. You can also change them on the log in screen. So, if you are experiencing slowdown, try reducing the number of graphical features.
The new fullscreen mode can also be toggled on or off in the in-game Options tab or the log in screen.
When you have set your preferred graphics options, your settings will be remembered as the default every time you log in on that machine. You may change these graphics options at any point.
If you have further questions, or are having trouble playing RuneScape HD, please visit the FAQS, found here.
Playing in the old detail modes:
To access the old High or Low Detail modes, click the left-hand 'RuneScape' button on the Detail Select page. This option manages to be both the old detail modes, rolled into one! You will be able to use the in-game Graphics Options menu to choose the exact level of detail you wish to play in. If you turn everything to minimum you get the old Low Detail mode, and if you turn everything to maximum you get the old High Detail mode.
July Newsletter fresh off the press and Tri-Media Bowl
Monday, Jun 30, 2008
News ID: 00852
The official RuneHQ July Newsletter is here. Take some time, sit back, and enjoy yourself with the new information and happenings coming your way.
Tri-Media Bowl - Re-born!
Our very own Tri-Media Bowl has made a comeback, after a few months of not running we have decided to bring back the competition! For those of you who are unsure what this awesome competition is, this is a brief description of it:
Show off your media talent in one of the 3 categories:- Buddies, Sgnatures and Avatars, and 'Other' (which can be anything else media related!)
You can win prizes on our forum, and have a place in our hall of fame.
If you win, your entry will be featured in the RuneHQ newsletter for the millions of people who read it each month!
If you want to show off you media talent, or just have a laugh, visit this topic on our forums. If you do not have an account on the forums, this is a great time to make one. After all, it is free!
We hope to see you entering the Tri-Media Bowl! Good luck!
~ The Media Staff
TehNoobWorld Launch!
Saturday, Jun 28, 2008
News ID: 00851
TehNoobWorld Launch!
That's right, TehNoobShow, RuneScape's number one video maker, has launched a brand new website, TehNoobWorld, for RuneScape videos.
For almost two years TehNoobShow has delighted the RuneScape public with his funny videos, and now he is opening up a place where you can see his entire collection, in addition to the videos of other famous RuneScape video makers.
RuneHQ is proud to be an official affiliate of TehNoobWorld, and looks forward to our new partnership. Although still in development, many videos can already be seen on TehNoobWorld, so check it out!
~ [Im4eversmart] ~
Ventrilo Karaoke
Monday, Jun 23, 2008
News ID: 00850
Karaoke time!
Please join us for Ventrilo Karaoke on Saturday, June 28th, 2pm to 4 pm CST and 8pm to 10pm CST. This is your chance to showcase your singing talents to your fellow members. Not only will we have lots of great songs as usual, but this month, we will also be launching the start of our grand event, Ventrilo Idol! The best singer voted from this month's event will win a chance to compete in Ventrilo Idol. We hope to see everyone there!
For a priority spot to participate in karaoke, check out this topic on our forums. You must be a registered user to gain access to our Ventrilo server. If you do not have a RuneHQ Ventrilo Account, then click here. If you are not registered for the forums, click here to go to the Registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
Thanks to Supersims for creating this graphic!
~ Ventrilo Staff ~
RuneHQ Event
Sunday, Jun 22, 2008
News ID: 00849
RuneHQ June Event #2
Few words can describe this event, although one phrase does the job rather well: To the death!
That's right, the second RuneHQ event of June will be at the TzHaar Fight Pits. Come and fight for dominance in a massive free-for-all battle!
TzHaar Fight Pits!
Event: Fight Pits
When: Saturday, June 28th
Time: 2pm PST, 3pm CST; 4pm Est; 9pm GMT +0; 10pm GMT +1; 6 am GMT +9
Where: World 60 (Members)
Meeting Place: TzHaar Fight Pit
What to bring: Combat Equipment, Food, Potions, ...
Visit the Official Events Forum on our Community Forum for additional information and comments.
If you are not registered on our Community Forums, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
~ RuneHQ Events Team ~
RuneHQ Browser Bar Updated!
Friday, Jun 20, 2008
News ID: 00848
RuneHQ Browser Bar Updated!
The RuneHQ Browser Bar has been upgraded to version 4.2.1. All links have been updated, and brand new links to RuneScape pages have been added. This version works for all version of Firefox, including Firefox 3!
First released back in April of 2006, this Firefox add-on has continued to provide handy links to all RuneHQ and RuneScape pages for the last two years. Enjoy!
19 June 2008 - PayByPhone for Netherlands and Belgium
We are pleased to announce that the PayByPhone payment service is now available to both the Netherlands and Belgium. If you live in one of these countries and would like to subscribe using this method, please access the Account Management section of our website.
If you are not from the Netherlands or Belgium, you may still be able to pay using this simple and accessible payment option. Please check the Account Management section to find out if you are eligible to pay by PayByPhone in your country of residence.
As RuneScape applies the final touches to the upcoming graphical improvement, the FunOrb team have been busy revamping their most popular game. The free to play and multiplayer game 'Arcanists' has now received a large chunk of new content.
They have created some new maps to master, including one that takes its cues from Mos Le'Harmless. More spells are on offer, including two new spellbooks - Sea and Nature - while familiars have been introduced, which could turn current Arcanist tactics on their head.
With more Achievements to unlock and awards to obtain, there's plenty new to play in Arcanists.
FunOrb is a website created by Jagex, makers of RuneScape, which offers a diverse selection of games for you try out and play for free.
16 June 2008 - Development Diary and System Specifications
In the first Development Diary on our graphical improvements, we showed you the results of textures, texture blending, shadows and fog. In this, the second and final Development Diary on the release, we shine a light on the other effects we have been using.
Minimum specifications:
To play RuneScape's new detail level you will need:
1.5 GHz processor or higher
256MB of RAM or more
64MB 3D Graphics card, such as Nvidia(R) GeForce(TM) 3 or
above
Additionally, your graphics card should have the latest drivers installed, to ensure the new detail level plays with no problems.
If you need more information on your computer's specifications or how to update your graphical drivers, visit our Tech Support Forum in the RuneScape Forums.
When the graphical improvement is released, you will be able to increase or decrease the number of graphical features that are activated. This will be done in your in-game 'Options' menu (the one with the spanner icon). So, any problems playing the new detail mode may be lessened by reducing the number of graphical features that are activated.
We would advise that your computer exceeds the above requirements, so you will be able to play the new detail mode without any issues.
REMINDER - The existing Low and High Detail will still be available, as the graphical update is completely optional.
Then join our Community Forums for a whole range of Arcade games and Casino games while you discuss RS tips and strategies and get to know our friendly and helpful community.
Click on the graphic above (or on Community Forums at the left column) to gain access to the forums. If you are not registered, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
RuneHQ June Event #1
The Events is over! We hope to see everyone at our second June event.
Summer came too early?
Is it too hot outside?
Come and cool down at...
The RuneHQ Summer BBQ!
Event: BBQ
When: Sunday, June 15th
Time: 3pm CST (9pm GMT +0)
Where: World 55 (Free-Play)
Meeting Place: Field north of the Lumbridge Mill
What to bring: Tinderbox, Axe and any other fun things
Visit the Official Events Forum on our Community forum for additional information and comments.
If you are not registered on our Community Forums, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
This long yet interesting quest will reveal the mystery surrounding Rabid Jack as you work diligently to obtain the five marks of the great Pirate Captains of RuneScape.
For a nice chunk of Thieving, Smithing, Agility, and Crafting XP, a new way to train thieving, and other great rewards, this quest is one you don't want to miss.
Thanks goes out to Fruitcheese, diana_de_wit, Wylyne, and everyone else who helped write the guide.
There are many mysteries of the seas - hidden treasures, ghostly ships, pirate fashion - but few are as intriguing as the tale of Rabid Jack. Revered by a few, feared by many, his name is known by virtually all that sail the seas.
The problem is, no pirate is willing to talk of Rabid Jack. Whether out of terror or a determination to keep his history hidden, the pirates have taken an oath of silence on the subject: particularly annoying for any adventurer who wants to send Rabid Jack to a watery grave.
All is not lost, however, as one pirate has been given charge of the secret. Is it as easy as walking up and talking to him? Arrr, you should know better than that, landlubber! The pirate resides in 'The Rock' - an island prison for brigands and buccaneers - and he seems reluctant to pass on information without some assurances.
Needless to say, the path to your goal is a windy one, with some interesting stops on the way. Your path may even cross with the strong-arm of the Customs Office, some pirate implings and a multi-purpose seagull...
Level 60 Agility
Level 63 Thieving
Level 66 Crafting
Level 69 Smithing The Great Brain Robbery
Access to:
A new way to train your Thieving skill
Pirate implings to hunt and catch
New pirate clothing, including reverse and double eye patches!
In other news...
The Menaphite action kilt was appearing as blue in your inventory even though it's red when you put it on. It's now correctly showing up as red in your inventory.
Similarly, the iron and steel gauntlets from the Fist of Guthix minigame were the wrong shades of grey, making the iron ones look like steel and the steel ones look like iron. Their colours have been switched round now.
Finally, you can now store broad-tipped bolts in your bolt pouches.
RuneHQ is looking for a few people who have coding talent, specifically in the areas of: PHP (required), SQL, XHTML (required), CSS (required), and AJAX.
If you have experience with the areas listed above (mostly with PHP), then head over to the forums and send Im4eversmart a message outlining your skills.
The best applicants will be made full members of the RuneHQ staff and will have the opportunity to work on site features and functions, as well as on other projects, both public and behind-the-scenes.
Smoking Kills Quest Guide and Reporting Academy Forum
Friday, Jun 06, 2008
News ID: 00840
Smoking Kills Quest Guide
This new quest brings a new Slayer master for all those avid Slayer skillers! Along with the new master is a new dungeon area with some new and old monsters and a new Slayer Point system. This new system gives you a new way to earn Slayer experience, new items, new training, and many other rewards. So sharpen your scimitars and tighten up your whips for the Smoking Kills Quest.
Thanks to Budmash and everyone for creating an awesome guide!
We had a great response to our new Forum, the Reporting Academy, which contains useful information about when to send abuse reports. Thank you everyone who posted and asked questions.
The accuracy of the reports coming in has noticeably improved since its release. Due to the level of demand we’ve been experiencing, we have now opened the second section of the Reporting Academy, which is certainly a recommended visit. In the meantime, here are some of the top tips available from the Reporting Academy.
Noob:
Being called a noob can be annoying. You may have a bad game of Castle Wars, for example, and find that a player follows you around afterwards, calling you a 'noob'. As irritating as this may be to you, please do not report it unless there is something more serious that you'd like us to take a look at! If the player is really bothering you, add them to your Ignore List - that way, you'll have no more trouble from them.
Filtered language **** ***:
It may be that you have wandered RuneScape and seen someone activate the in-game chat filter. The filter removes inappropriate words, so you do not need to send us a report. If a person is annoying you by continuously using the filter, we would advise you to use your Ignore List. To sum up: don't report for starred-out language only, as the filter has done its job. Of course, if there is something other than starred-out language that you are concerned about, please send us a report about that player.
If you enjoyed those top tips, there are plenty more in the new update of the Reporting Academy. We look forward to seeing you soon on the Forums.
The Reporting Academy can be found in the 'Support' section of the official RuneScape Forums.
Someone new has moved to Pollnivneach and, by some twist of fate, they are not called Ali! This strange new neighbour is called Sumona, and she has lost something very valuable in the depths of the Pollnivneach well. Mighty rewards are on offer for anyone willing to return what she has misplaced.
Meanwhile, eery wails and vile stenches seem to be pervading the streets. This may be unlucky for the Pollnivneach tourist trade, but at least there is something in it for adventurous types. In fact, they may be turned to one's advantage when dealing with the mixed bag of unpleasantness beneath Pollnivneach...
With potentially epic, if unspecified, Slayer rewards on offer, this is a venture best-suited to those who risk their lives for curiosity. Let's hope that curiosity is better for them than it is for cats.
Two new dungeons to explore
An expansion to the Slayer skill
A new Slayer Master and some new Slayer gear
In other news...
We have introduced two new worlds for those who prefer to chat, or be chatted to, with Quick Chat. The worlds are 160 and 161. Conventional chat may not be used on these worlds - they are for Quick Chat users only.
NOTE - We would like to remind players that we have absolutely NO intention of removing free chat from the game, either now or in the future. Quick Chat is designed to be an optional alternative to normal chat.
Quick Chat users can now chat to their friends on FunOrb, and vice versa. Simply select a friend from your Friends List and then choose what you want to say from the 'General' and/or 'Inter-game' menus within Quick Chat.
We have made efforts to stop the strange 'dancing' effect that occurs when fighting monsters on the same square as you. You should find that, instead of moving from side to side, you find a more suitable position to attack the monster from.
Dragon square shields have been updated, thanks to observant players who noted that its two halves wouldn't make a square!
RuneHQ.net and Runehq.com servers are updated to Lighttpd 4.1.19, MySQL client 5.0.51a, and PHP 5.2.6. The patch for the errors we were seeing on RuneHQ.com servers for Lighttpd was applied to all 3 servers for RuneHQ.net and Runehq.com.
The database servers were upgraded to MySQL 5.0.51a for both MySQL client and MySQL server.
The forum however has not been upgraded to IPB 2.3.5 as of yet. I have put the forum back on line for now however, since I still need to do a few things to prepare to upgrade the forum. When I am ready to do the forum upgrade I will let everyone know. The forum upgrade should not take more than an hour to complete when it happens.
We have not had a chance yet to verify everything works correctly after the upgrades, but we are working on that as I write this update. If you find any errors or issues please do not hesitate to let us know so we can investigate and fix them.
Instead of beginning with a starter or main course, we will skip straight to desert this June! If that pun doesn't kill you, the beasties just might in Smoking Kills, our brand new desert quest. At the start, it won't seem too dangerous: a red-headed citizen of Pollnivneach has lost her sister down a well and wants you to retrieve her. Explore the depths, however, and you'll find yourself in situations more uncomfortable than sand between your toes.
Aside from a touch of trap-dodging and cat whispering, Smoking Kills demands the best of seasoned slayers, who will need to use their resources in innovative new ways to survive. Those who manage it will find their Slayer skill improved, with extra gear, a new Slayer Master and some pretty special rewards that will raise their Slayer game.
So, we've had the sun and the sand - now fer the sea, me hearties! Rabid Jack has been pretty quiet recently, seemingly taking a holiday from his nefarious ways. That would be the perfect opportunity to gather information on the old sea dog, but the pirates of the great seas won't say a word. Instead they will point you towards The Rock - the only prison in RuneScape where it's harder to get in than out...
This, the second of our quests this month, will have you punishing your liver with Braindeath's 'rum', finding imaginative uses for a seagull and getting up-close and personal with 50% Luke's wooden leg! It's all in a day's work for an intrepid would-be pirate who's used to Rocking Out once in a while.
At the end of the month, there will be a break of a couple of weeks with no game updates. These two weeks are hugely important to us, as they allow us to prepare for the major graphical improvement in early July. It's one of the most complex releases we've ever attempted, so we need the extra time to get it ready and make sure the launch goes smoothly.
The official RuneHQ June Newsletter is here. Take some time, sit back, and enjoy yourself with the new information and happenings coming your way.
Site Outages Soon! and Postbag from the Hedge
Thursday, May 29, 2008
News ID: 00836
Site Outages are now scheduled for Monday June, 02, 2008 from midnight/12 am CST until 6 AM CST (0000 - 0600). CST is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) minus 6.
We are aware there are issues with RuneHQ.com that are causing frequent outages. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused to our loyal visitors. We are investigating the issue and will resolve it as soon as reasonably possible. We believe we may have to apply a patch to the web servers to address the error we are getting and causing the web servers to crash.
This will require an outage of RuneHQ.com and Runehq.net! We hope the outage will be less than 4 hours, but it could take up to 8 hours for all the work we are having done.
We will be upgrading the 3 web servers and the 2 database servers for Runehq.com and RuneHQ.net.
All the databases will have to be taken down, backed up prior to the master/slave Database servers Mysql server/client server code upgrades and then the databases will then have to be reloaded. The 3 web servers will be patched and upgraded to the latest versions of lighttpd, php, and Mysql client.
Once these upgrades are done we will also have to fix some issues caused by the upgrades, since we are going from Mysql version 4 to version 5 and php version 4 to php version 5.
I will also be upgrading the forums to IPB version 2.3.5 during this maintenance window.
I am waiting on a quote of what this will cost to have our server vendor perform the maintenance and then I have to schedule it, so not 100% sure yet exactly when this will happen but it will be done ASAP!
This month, Postie Pete has been travelling far and wide to speak to your favourite NPCs.
If you've been wondering where Charlie the Tramp's donations go to, why Kaqemeex won't teleport pollution or the motivations behind an angry tree spirit, then head to the Postbag from the Hedge now.
Finally, Pete brings you some groan-inducing jokes from the desk of the Wise Old Man.
28 May 2008 - Development Diary: A New Look RuneScape!
The pictures shown in the 'Image of the Future' newsposts were just a taster of what is to come with our graphical improvements. In this Development Diary, we get to go into more detail, as well as show you some new impressive-looking images.
You'll find information about why we decided to embark on this project and what it involves, including shadows, textures and fogging.
Going up a skill level can access a shedload of new activities, items and quest requirements. You need to know exactly what you're capable of at these new levels, so we've taken a fresh look at your level up messages and skill guides.
Level-up messages now give you much more information about any abilities you've unlocked when raising your skill levels. They'll tell you when you increase a Combat level, for example, or when you've met the requirements to start a new quest. Each of these important milestones will be highlighted by improved sounds and graphics, which get more impressive as you achieve harder-to-reach goals!
Extra information has also been added to the Skill Advance Guides, giving you a truly comprehensive picture of what can be done at your current level. If you have gained the ability to do anything with your new skill level, you can almost guarantee that it will be here.
Finally, you won't miss your level-up message if you're in the midst of combat. Once you advance a level in a skill, that skill's icon will begin flashing in the statistics menu of your side interface. You can then view your level-up messages by clicking on the flashing icon (as long as you stay logged in). In all other cases, clicking on the skill icon will open the skill guide as normal.
Summary
Access to:
More information in your level-up messages
More information in your skill advance guides
Improved animations and sounds when you gain a skill level
View level-up messages when you are ready
In other news...
There are a few unusual signs for you to discover across RuneScape, revealing bizarre statistics about the activities of the day. Ever wanted to know the number of cakes stolen from East Ardougne stalls? Well, now you can! There are signposts for you to find in the following locations:
On the subject of signposts, you'll find that a number have been added around Runescape. These are very useful if you're lost and need pointing in the right direction. These are scattered in the area bounded by Ardougne, Fremennik Pass, Morytania and down to the Shantay Pass.
Various NPCs in Miscellania and Etceteria are more helpful and will tell you your approval rating. This should save you time and a trip to Advisor Ghrim.
Juna, from the Tears of Guthix minigame, now has a quick option for telling her stories. Also, she'll inform you more accurately about when you can return to the cave and collect tears again. If you are able to access the Tears of Guthix within the next two days, Juna will tell you when to return, to the hour. If you can access them within 4 hours, Juna will tell you when to return, to the minute!
This week brings the Quick Chat system - an optional method for chatting to players in RuneScape.
You may activate the Quick Chat system by clicking on your name in the chat window or the speech bubble next to it. This brings up the Quick Chat menu, which replaces your chat window. You may revert to the normal chat system at any time by pressing 'Esc' or the 'X' in the top-left corner.
The Quick Chat menu houses a list of requests, responses, greetings and other commonly-used sentences. You can choose from these by selecting them with your mouse or via shortcut keys. Once you have made your selection, your character will say your chosen chat option.
In some areas of RuneScape, you can press 'F10' to bring up 'context-sensitive' chat. This is a list of chat options that varies according to where you are or what you are training. You can then use this menu to talk about subjects related to the area or activity. We expect this to be particularly helpful in those situations where you need to give team directions: in minigames like Castle Wars and Pest Control, for example, you will be able to suggest tactics at the touch of a few buttons.
We have also made Quick Chat available to muted players. We believe that this is a more suitable action to take against those who have previously abused the chat system. Additionally, Quick Chat can be used to chat with players on German worlds, since the system will translate whichever chat option you choose.
Due to the nature of Quick Chat, we cannot entirely predict how players will use it or what players will want from it. So, we would encourage any feedback that you have, to help us tailor the system to your chatting needs. To offer feedback, please post on the official Quick Chat thread in the Suggestions Forum.
As we mentioned in this month's Behind the Scenes, Quick Chat is optional and an alternative to conventional chatting.
Changes to the 'F' keys:
Quick Chat brings some slight alterations to the handy shortcut keys:
F4 now opens your inventory (which was previously 'Escape').
F9 opens the quick responses of your Quick Chat menu.
F10 opens the context-sensitive menus of your Quick Chat menu.
F11 repeats the last phrase you said using the Quick Chat menu.
16 May 2008 - An Image of the Not-Too-Distant Future
In last week's Image of the Future newspost, we revealed our secret plan for RuneScape: a complete graphical rework. We were sneaky and held back a little information, however: namely, when you can expect these updates.
Drum-roll, please... You will have access to all of these updates within a couple of months! There really isn't much time to wait. If you can't wait for more details on the update, a new Development Diary is coming later this month.
We plan to keep improving RuneScape's graphics in the future, so we would encourage you to 'Send us your Specs', if you have not already.
Finally, we can reveal another image of the future...
This month, Postie Pete's been admiring the sights of RuneScape. As a result, he's handpicked the best landscapes from your picture submissions, ready to display them in this month's Players' Gallery.
Head to the Players' Gallery to see the burning sun over the Kharidian Desert, the murky fog creeping across Morytania, and many others.
TokTz-Ket-Dill Quest Guide
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
News ID: 00831
If you are looking for a new mining area with high level ores, such as Adamantite and Mithril ores, then the lastest quest from RuneScape may be just what you need. The TokTz-Ket-Dill Quest will take into the the depths of the TzHaar City, where you will have to defeat a level 100 monster. You may also pick up some information about the TzHaar language and counting system. Afterwards, take up your pickaxes and get your fill from the new mining area.
Thanks to Belgariad04 and everyone else who contributed such great information.
A giant creature is causing havoc inside the Karamja volcano, digging tunnels beneath the city. The TzHaar now risk losing their beloved home, unless they can be convinced that they need help.
TokTz-Ket-Dill will give you a unique look into TzHaar society, as well as access to new areas, creatures and TzHaar characters. You may already know about TzHaar guards, hunters, mages, and crafters, but what about the TzHaar playwrights? Do you know how to speak the language? You don't? Perhaps a TzHaar librarian could be of help.
But what would a trip to the TzHaar city be without some fighting? Worry not! Besides learning the language and meeting some strange TzHaar, you will also explore dangerous tunnels and fight deadly beasts. These foes are no less threatening than the other inhabitants of the volcano, so you will need to prepare yourself.
Level 40 Attack
Level 50 Construction
Level 43 Crafting
Level 41 Mining
Level 45 Strength
Must be able to defeat a level 100 monster.
Must be able to defeat lower-levelled monsters using Magic and Ranged.
Access to:
New sections of the TzHaar city, including a multi-way combat Mining area.
The Guaranteed Content Poll is your chance to have a genuine impact on the game, and you have made some great choices this time. We asked you to choose the single character and group of characters that you would like us to transform. The results were Party Pete and the TzHaar (now that would be an interesting party!).
Party Pete seems to be very proud of his fabulous new look and he can’t wait to show it off to everyone in RuneScape. He has had a complete makeover, with clothes and accessories that suit his fun-loving lifestyle. If you want to check out his new threads (and groovy moves), head over to the Party Room to join in with his celebrations. The Party Room can be found to the north-east of Falador’s east bank.
We don’t think that the TzHaar would appreciate being described as ‘groovy’, but recent geological disturbances have left every single one of these fearsome creatures looking very different, from the TzHaar-Hur to TzTok-Jad himself. After a dramatic transformation, the TzHaar now look even more intimidating; TzTok-Jad even scared us when we first saw him. If you’re feeling brave and your adventuring brings you to Brimhaven's volcano, be careful where you put your pickaxe. Those rocks have powerful friends!
In other news...
In High Detail mode, you will find that buildings with roofs are much easier to enter. You can now click on the roof of a building and your player will walk inside - assuming the door is open, of course!
Hey everyone! We have some great news for you today. RuneHQ is now affiliated with Draynor.net, a wonderful place to get all sorts of cool stats signatures, goal signatures, banners, and more!
Thanks to Draynor.net, we now have some new signatures available under the tools menu to the left. Simply follow the instructions on the page to create your very own graphic to put in your forum signature or to show off to your friends.
In the future we hope to participate in more great projects with Draynor.net to make your RuneScape experience even more enjoyable.
~ [Im4eversmart] ~
Official RuneHQ May Event
Friday, May 09, 2008
News ID: 00828
Official RuneHQ May Event
Clan Wars: where the greatest of armies do battle. Within the walls of that bloodied arena, mighty battles take place and powerful clans strive for dominance.
Such a battle shall be waged in May. Come and join us at Clan Wars and fight for either the Blue Robes or the Black Robes. Who will emerge victorious?
Event details (such as the date and time) can be found at this topic on the Community Forums:
Over the past year, we've been keeping a rather large secret. We have been working on a complete graphical rework of RuneScape, which is looking truly spectacular. There's no need to take our word for it: look at the images below and see for yourself.
As you know, we currently offer 'High Detail' and 'Low Detail' modes. We plan on adding a new and optional detail mode, bringing you accelerated higher quality graphics. This will be in addition to the existing detail modes, as they will remain unchanged.
As if the improvements below weren't enough, an optional fullscreen version of RuneScape is due at the same time. This will let you play at a resolution of your choice, and it also supports widescreen monitors. We think you'll agree, the future of RuneScape is looking very good indeed....
When planning future projects or attempting to really push the technology of the RuneScape game, we often come across the same problem: we have no information about everyone's computer hardware. With this kind of information, we could release more RuneScape improvements that make the best use of your system's capabilities.
We have come up with a solution that we'd like you to help us with. We have developed a program that, once downloaded, will tell us the following things about your computer:
your operating system
your graphics card
your CPU
your Java version
relevant graphical and audio drivers
This program downloads and runs in the same manner as the RuneScape game. We would encourage you to run it on every computer that you use to regularly play RuneScape.
Once we've gathered together all of this information, we can begin planning our future projects and RuneScape improvements to work within these specifications. This means that very few people will miss out on some awesome updates that we have planned!
To begin downloading the program, visit this link. It will guide you through an agreement page to make sure that you understand what is required. The process only takes a few seconds, so you should be back to RuneScape in no time.
NOTE - We would like to remind you that this applet is COMPLETELY secure and official (you can verify this by checking that your address bar states www.runescape.com/). It does not include spyware or any other form of malicious software.
We can guarantee that your information will only be used by Jagex to develop future games and improve RuneScape. It will not be shared with any other organisations. Please only download the program from RuneScape.com as this is the only legitimate source.
The dwarves of the Dwarven Mine are an industrious bunch and get through a lot of pickaxes. Nurmof, the pickaxe sales-dwarf, has always had trouble keeping up with demand and, as RuneScape shops have limitless stock, he can't possibly make enough pickaxes on his own.
Being a dwarf, Nurmof has solved his problem the dwarven way: through automation! His cave in the Dwarven Mine is now home to a machine that churns out pickaxes night and day. Powering it has become something of a problem, so Nurmof has commissioned a power station on the surface, near the mine.
Projects of this scale are rarely without their problems: a hapless dwarf has lost part of a delivery to the power station, and an adventurer is needed to recover it. As is customary on RuneScape, this may not be the end of that adventurer's involvement...
Those who complete Perils of Ice Mountain will find a set of dwarven blueprints. To get a closer look at them, look at the wallpaper, in the Download section of our website.
What's new pussycat? Well, along with the reworked Gertrude's Cat quest, we've updated the cats and kittens throughout RuneScape. All cat and kitten variants have been looked over by the Makeover Mage and are more adorable than ever. Miaow!
The Monastery and monks east of Ice Mountain have also undergone a graphical update. Check out the fresh robes and the surrounding area - we think you'll be 'thoroug-holy' surprised by their new looks.
We've implemented a fairy ring logbook to assist you in your travels. Using the Zanaris fairy ring will display your log, so you can easily find the code combinations for your chosen destination. Your log will only display code combinations from this week onwards, however. Additionally, the rings can turn in two directions, which should speed up your selection.
You should find that it's easier and quicker to recharge your essence pouches in the Abyss. The Dark Mage now has a quick option and he'll repair your degraded pouches with less hassle.
The Bone Grinder has been improved, so that grinding silver bars to dust has been made faster. Stop by the Ectofuntus Temple to give it a go!
Other small fixes:
The red boater hat is no longer listed twice in your player-owned house treasure chest.
This week brings a change that will have an impact on the Runecrafting skill. We have realised that obtaining the law talisman as a reward for completing Troll Stronghold is not really adequate, considering the difficulty of the quest. Such a tough and demanding quest deserves a better reward, so, as of today, members can trade the law talisman and law tiara. Players will now be able to take advantage of the Assist System at the Law Altar, so that anyone with the required Runecrafting level can help those with a lower skill level to produce law runes. This change opens up law rune crafting to a wider group of players, which benefits everyone.
If you’ve yet to complete or have already completed Troll Stronghold, fear not! We have no wish to devalue the hard work necessary to complete the quest, so we are replacing the law talisman reward with two experience lamps that give 10,000 XP each into any skill over level 30. You will not lose the law talisman you already received for completing the quest, and anyone who completes the quest from this point on will receive the two experience lamps, but no talisman.
There are now more ways to obtain the law talisman. In addition to trading it with other players or buying it from the Grand Exchange, the law talisman is now a monster drop for a variety of foes, including abyssal creatures, battle tortoises, terror birds, ghouls, guards, and paladins.
If you have already completed Troll Stronghold, you will need to speak to Dunstan, the blacksmith in Burthorpe, to claim your new reward.
Summary
Where to obtain the new rewards:
Players who have already completed Troll Stronghold should talk to Dunstan, the blacksmith in Burthorpe, to claim the new reward.
Access to:
Law talisman and law tiaras now tradeable among members.
Law talisman now dropped by some creatures.
Troll Stronghold reward is now two XP reward lamps that add 10,000XP to any skill of level 30 or higher.
Many thanks for voting in last week's Guaranteed Content poll. We had a huge number of votes and it really captured everyone's imagination. So, without further ado, we can reveal that the familiar you will be summoning in the future is...
The phoenix!
Another Guaranteed Content Poll is coming soon, so if you want to influence the choices for the poll, keep an eye on the Suggestions Forum...
When planning future projects or attempting to really push the technology of the RuneScape game, we often come across the same problem: we have no information about everyone's computer hardware. With this kind of information, we could release more RuneScape improvements that make the best use of your system's capabilities.
We have come up with a solution that we'd like you to help us with. We have developed a program that, once downloaded, will tell us the following things about your computer:
Your operating system
Your graphics card
Your CPU
Your Java version
Relevant graphical and audio drivers
Once we've gathered together all of this information, we can begin planning our future projects and RuneScape improvements to work within these specifications. This means that very few people will miss out on some awesome updates that we have planned!
To begin downloading the program, visit this link and log in. It will guide you through an agreement page to make sure that you understand what is required. The process does not take long, so you should be back to RuneScape in no time.
The applet is completely secure and official (you can verify this by checking that your address bar states www.runescape.com/). We can guarantee that your information will only be used by Jagex to develop future games and improve RuneScape. It will not be shared with any other organisations.
NOTE - Please only download the program from RuneScape.com. This is the only legitimate source.
It's not unusual for dwarves to be involved in a spot of industry. In this month's first quest, however, they may take it a bit too far. Nurmof, the pickaxe sales-dwarf in the Dwarven Mines, will have need of an energy source to power his patented pickaxe machine. Unfortunately for RuneScape, it looks like his choice will have severe consequences. Will you be able to clean up Nurmof's act in this month's low-level quest, Perils of Ice Mountain?
Whatever happens in RuneScape, the cats seem to find their feet, and, this month, those feet - and the rest of their bodies - will get graphically improved to become even more adorable. We may be getting a wee bit enthusiastic by sprucing up the Gertrude's Cat quest, but we're sure you'll appreciate what's new (pussycat).
You may know that the law talisman is a reward for the hard-to-beat Troll Stronghold quest. We feel that, not only is this a reward that everyone should be able to get their hands on, but it's strangely low-level for a high-level quest. This month, we will be making the law talisman available to all members, so that anyone can craft law runes, or use the Assist System to help others make them. The Troll Stronghold reward will be replaced by two 10,000xp lamps and, if you have completed the quest already, Dunstan will be ready to hand you them.
You wouldn't find Party Pete fighting trolls in Troll Stronghold - that would mess up his marvellous new 'fro! That's right, Party Pete has an appointment with the Makeover Mage, all thanks to your votes in the Guaranteed Content Poll. Expect a startling new 'do, threads and moves. You might even go "Woah! Dude..." when he throws some pretty spectacular shapes.
Burning down the house will be the graphically reworked TzHaar. Like Party Pete, the TzHaar were voted, by you, to have their looks and animations reworked. There's also the small matter of an improved Jad; this month, you will find the look of old is gone. What replaces it will be a whole lot more threatening...
Which leads us neatly to a RuneScape first: a TzHaar quest! It seems that the TzHaar will have need of a JalYt - a human - to help kill a fearsome beast that has been tunneling through their structures. Normally, this kind of problem would be dealt with in-house, but the only access to the creature will be through a very small, human-sized hole. Will you be successful where the TzHaar have failed, in TokTz-Ket-Dill?
Later this month, we introduce the Quick Chat system - an optional alternative to our normal chat system. Using Quick Chat, you will be able to use shortcut keys or your mouse to choose from a library of questions, answers, sentences and greetings. We expect this to be particularly helpful in minigames like Castle Wars and Pest Control, where faster communication is invaluable.
Muted players will have Quick Chat available to them. We believe that this will be a more suitable action to take against those who abused the chat system. Additionally, we have developed Quick Chat so it will be possible to talk to players on German worlds (and vice versa) since the system will translate whichever chat option you choose.
NOTE - The Quick Chat system will be completely optional, and normal chat will remain unchanged.
Level-up messages will be made more informative and less intrusive this month, with a raft of changes that we think you'll appreciate. First, you'll find that there's much more information about what you can do at your hard-fought new level, from quests to skill milestones. Fireworks will fizz into the air as you rise up the levels, and steps will be taken so that your level up messages cannot be interrupted by combat or other events.
Random statistic signs will be seen on the streets of RuneScape. These will offer some interesting facts about the more popular activities of RuneScape. Would you like to know how many Varrock Palace guards are killed in a day? The stat signs will tell you exactly how many...
There will be a few smaller updates to round the month off. The first - Grind-X - will allow you to conveniently grind items with your pestle and mortar. We will also be introducing signposts to areas of RuneScape, making the world easier to navigate. Finally, in the land of website updates, you can expect to help yourself to a Perils of Ice Mountain wallpaper, Players' Gallery and a Postbag from the Hedge.
We have released a new Forum in the 'Support' section of the RuneScape Forums. This is called the 'Reporting Academy', and it contains information that will help you when sending abuse reports about other players.
Every day, we receive lots of inaccurate abuse reports, which take up a lot of our time. By creating this Forum, we hope everyone will have a better idea of what to report, so we can spend more time moderating in-game or on the Forums. Let's work together to make that happen!
Here are a couple of quick pointers to get you started:
Noob:
Being called a noob can be annoying. You may have a bad game of Castle Wars, for example, and find that a player follows you around afterwards, calling you a 'noob'. As irritating as this may be to you, please do not report it unless there is something more serious that you'd like us to take a look at! If the player is really bothering you, add them to your Ignore List - that way, you'll have no more trouble from them!
Filtered language **** ****:
It may be that you have wandered RuneScape and seen someone activate the in-game chat filter. The filter removes inappropriate words, so you do not need to send us a report. If a person is annoying you by continuously using the filter, we would advise you to use your Ignore List. To sum up: don't report for starred-out language only, as the filter has done its job. Of course, if there is something other than just starred-out language that you are concerned about, please send us a report about that player.
Do you want to help decide on a new Summoning familiar? In this week's poll you can do exactly that! Choose from such varied creatures as killerwatts, giant kebbits and kangaroos...
Each of the creature options in this poll were chosen from a thread in the Suggestions Forum. Thank you to everyone who offered ideas for familiars.
We want to thank everyone for coming to this event. Please check back and join us next time for another event at RuneHQ. If you have any suggestions, please let us know on the forums!
~Maonzhi~
Ever ventured into the Wilderness for a clue scroll, to get to the Mage Arena, or the dragons; only to be stopped by the Revenant monsters? Time after time you try, but they always seem to get in the way. Well, not anymore. Now it's your turn to get in their way as we get some revenge on those pesky monsters for all their interference, in April's massive RuneHQ event, The Revenant Hunt! Join the hunt as scores of fellow players pour out into the wilderness to hunt these most annoying creatures, defeating them as we go. Don't worry if you're not a high hitter, we will bring them down all together. Using Jagex's LootShare and CoinShare, everyone can get in on the action and profit from it too. Let the bloodshed begin!
Quick Summary:
Please join the RuneHQ Events Team's clan chat (We are requiring members to join so that we can use the coinshare/lootshare system.): King_of_alba or Mei_ahn_zhi and Richie_L_S.
UPDATE: we are now using a different chat. Please see above.
Event: Wilderness Revenant Hunting
When: Sunday, April 27th
Time: 3pm CST / 9pm GMT
Where: F2P - World 85 NOTE: THIS HAS BEEN UPDATED!
Meeting Place: Edgeville Bank
What to bring: Combat Equipment; Armor, Weapon, Food
Event open to: Members, Non-Members, Anyone and Everyone!
Feel free to post your comments about this RuneHq Event on the forums.
If you are not registered, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
This week's Postbag is a mix of the surreal and the serious. On the surreal side we have exploding trifles and talking tripwires. On the serious side we have the history of Charos and some worrying conspiracy theories...
If you are intrigued or bemused, we can only point you in the direction of this week's Postbag from the Hedge.
Postie Pete also wants images for a future Players' Gallery. In particular, everyone's favorite severed head would like landscapes of RuneScape's beautiful geography.
The guide for the Legacy of Seergaze quest has been added to the site! Thanks goes out to ssj_metroid and everyone else who helped with it. Be sure to complete this great quest for a blood talisman and nice handful of XP.
~ [Im4eversmart] ~
RuneKit Released!
RuneKit is the long-awaited update to our online RuneScape Toolkit intended to provide a better RuneScape experience for RuneScape players. It is entirely online, requires no downloads, and is completely safe. To check out some of the new features and ways RuneKit can be useful to you, click the RuneScape Toolkit link under Tools in the site navigation today!
- Oblivion590 and DownStrike
RuneHQ Radio Upgrade!
We have had so many people tuning into the RuneHQ Radio, we decided to upgrade so that more people can enjoy the great tunes with us! We have added 3 more servers to stream music! The RuneHQ Radio can also handle more listeners for each stream. Lastly, we have expanded the chat box, so that more people can join in the discussion. If you want to let the DJ's know how much you like their music, you can post in this forum.
~ Maonzhi ~
Tired of losing in the Fist of Guthix Mini-Game?
Today, we are proud to present you our Fist of Guthix Mini-Game guide. It is full of strategies and tips that will even help the most experienced players.
This guide was written by Skeletonmat, I_M_Bad13, Alfawarlord, and Jakesterwars. Thanks to everyone for corrections and updates.
22 April 2008 - Myreque Part IV - Legacy of Seergaze
The Vyrewatch continue to draw blood tithes from the citizens of Meiyerditch, while the Saradominist powers of Misthalin seem unable to break Drakan's stranglehold over the dread land of Morytania. The two forces are bound by Guthixian Edicts, preventing any confrontation that would start another war between the gods.
Mercenaries trickle into Morytania through Paterdomus and are guided down to the frontline in Burgh de Rott, but they are not enough. In Meiyerditch, the little blood that remains in the veins of the townsfolk continues to flow. With such organised evil and so few allies, what new efforts can the Myreque make?
A new rumour has been heard among the assembled mercenaries near Paterdomus. One of their number saw something suspicious in the temple and believes you should investigate it.
Farther south, word comes that Safalaan has tasks for an enthusiastic, young and just-promoted private of the Myreque. Your part in the tale is about to get more involved...
What new secrets are to be discovered in Paterdomus? Can the Myreque strike back against the Vyrewatch? What has the mysterious Safalaan got in store for you? Cross the border, once again, into Morytania and these questions may well be answered.
The recently added Treasure Trail items, along with the Trouble Brewing clothing, can now be stored in your player-owned house. We know that these item sets can take up valuable bank space, so you can now store them safely away in your costume room!
We've made some core changes that will benefit the prices of items that appear stuck or stationary. Items traded between players or via the Grand Exchange will now change price more frequently.
Various icefiends have had a graphical rework. These ice-cool little creatures will melt your heart when you see them in their glacial glory!
The entrance to Morytania has been re-vamped graphically, to make it look even more fang-tastic. Stop and have a peek on your way to the Legacy of Seergaze quest.
You heard me. That's right, RuneHQ has live music broadcasts. Not only do we have 1 stream but we have 3 streams! So turn off that Ipod and get over to...
Click on the graphic above (or on RuneHQ Radio at the left column) to start listening right now. You can also discuss about the RuneHQ Radio on the forums. If you are not registered, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
Tune In
There's different music available at different times of the day. If you don't hear something that you want, feel free to post on the forums and let the DJ's know. They'll keep you satisfied with their vast and varied collections of music. Another great feature is that you can chat right on the RuneHQ Radio page while you listen. So tune in!
18 April 2008 - FunOrb: Arcanists and Shattered Plans
We have made several changes to FunOrb, the new gaming website from Jagex, makers of RuneScape. The first of these is to Arcanists, which was recently voted 'favourite FunOrb game' in a RuneScape poll. Many of you will be pleased to hear that multiplayer Arcanists is now available to registered and unregistered free players!
You can now enjoy this online wizard-battling game with your friends or anyone else, taking them on with Arcane or Fire spellbooks. If you wish to unlock and explore other spellbooks, you should subscribe as a FunOrb member.
We also released a stunning new multiplayer game: Shattered Plans - a galaxy-spanning strategy epic that allows up to six players to battle for supremacy and decide the fate of worlds.
The objective is simple: control as much known space as possible and wipe out your opponents. By conquering star systems, you stockpile the resources necessary to construct fleets, which can then be sent out to spread your influence further.
Every game map is randomly-generated, so no two games will be alike as you take on the galaxy!
Visit FunOrb to make the most of these two great updates. We only plan to post FunOrb news when we feel you'll appreciate the updates, and we certainly feel that these changes are worth telling you about. FunOrb players would recommend that you try Arcanists out!
Dragons have invaded this month's Players' Gallery and Postie Pete isn't going to argue with them! You may think him cowardly, but he's not keen to test whether skulls or magical sacks are flammable...
If you want to look upon their beautiful draconic visages, then check out the Players' Gallery now. Just don't forget your anti-dragonbreath shield!
Did you not make it to the finals of that American Idol Audition? Have you always wanted to sing your heart out for more than your cat or dog? Well! Here's your chance to showcase your singing talents here at RuneHQ at our monthly KARAOKE event!
Click on the graphic above (or on RuneHQ News and Information at the right column) to gain access to the forums to sign up to sing. If don't already have a RuneHQ Ventrilo Account then click here. If you are not registered for the forums, just click here to go to the Registrations page.
Ventrilo 101
Ventrilo is a handy software program that allows people to chat with each other over the internet through the use of a microphone connected to a computer. If you are unfamiliar with the Ventrilo program, take a look at our Ventrilo Guide to get started. You will get a step-by-step walk through on installing the program and setting it up. Feel free to join us anytime on the GGHQ Ventrilo Server for a friendly chat or instant access to your fellow players for some hints, tips, tricks, or advice for Runescape.
Many of you asked for the ability to view graphs of market values and track item prices as they rise and fall. Well, this week we introduce the Grand Exchange Database Beta, which does exactly that!
Skilled merchants will find the Grand Exchange Database to be an invaluable tool, enabling you to keep an eye on prices as they rise or fall. Get in quick if you wish to buy low and sell high!
If you prefer crushing creatures to trading on the Exchange, why not use the Database to find out the market value of a weapon you want or the value of a drop you have just received?
The Grand Exchange is currently at a 'Beta' stage. This is so that we can listen to the feedback of everyone who uses it and make any necessary changes.
If you have any feedback, please visit the 'GE Database Feedback' thread in the Website Feedback RuneScape Forum.
Around 50 new clues have been added to the medium and hard Treasure Trails this week with the introduction of some taxing riddles and anagrams. Prepare to have your brain twisted as you decipher some true puzzlers!
We couldn't have spiced up the clues without doing the same to the rewards, so we've brought them up to date this week. You'll get your puzzling mitts on more familiar items such as Construction gear, and new rewards like jewelled canes, animal masks and the top hat.
For a list of additions to the Treasure Trail items, please visit the Knowledge Base here.
Summary
Requirements to access the new Treasure Trails clues and rewards:
This content is members-only.
A clue scroll is all you need!
Access to:
New medium and hard difficulty anagrams and riddles.
New items, including the black crossbow, black/adamant/rune canes, animal masks and the top hat.
In other news...
In Customer Support news, we are very pleased to announce an update to our Offence Appeal system. This update allows players to appeal their previously-issued permanent mutes. For more information about this change, visit the 'Appeals Update' thread in the News and Announcement RuneScape Forum, or type the following quick-find code into the 'Jump to thread' text box at the top of the Forum window: 13-14-482-56082709.
There is now a minimum and maximum number of players required to start a game of Bounty Hunter, so the craters don't get overcrowded. As a result, we've increased the number of worlds Bounty Hunter can be played on.
It seems that Summoning pets were behaving slightly strangely. Now, a black labrador will no longer change colour when it's fully grown!
Last week, there seemed to be some ground movement near the bank in west Falador. We've called in the landscape gardeners and it's been leveled out.
We have changed the way that PayPal payments are made. Instead of using PayByCash to process any PayPal transactions, you will now be making payments directly to PayPal.
This means that, in the majority of cases, we can offer a reduced subscription cost when paying for RuneScape using PayPal. This reduction may be as much as 10-20% off our previous PayPal prices.
These changes are available to anyone who has a verified PayPal account. If you wish to set an account up, please visit Paypal's website.
A number of Guthix druids have discovered an unexplored cave under the lower Wilderness, just north of Varrock. Inside is a new, one-on-one, tactical PvP combat minigame, available to both members and free players!
The cave appears to have been left undisturbed since the time of the god wars, guarded over the years by Fiara, a giant earwig and protector of something called the Fist of Guthix. Great powers emanate from this 'Fist' and the druids have managed to convince Fiara to allow them to gather charges from it. Being light on numbers, they need others to help them, which is where you come in!
In the spirit of Guthix, Fiara has introduced a 'balance' to this minigame. For each adventurer looking to absorb the power of the fist, there is another trying to chop, range or cast spells at them!
You and another adventurer must each take a turn being the hunted or the hunter. The hunted's task is to survive as long as possible, storing charges in a stone of power as the time counts down, while the hunter simply has to defeat the hunted in as quick a time as possible!
The energy of this mysterious area has quite an impact on those who attempt to absorb the power from the Fist of Guthix. Even the mightiest of warriors will find themselves severely weakened as they avoid the hunter, making it incredibly difficult to survive for long. The cave does offer some help in the form of places to hide, but will this be enough?
After both you and your opponent have had a chance to be the hunted, victory is assigned to those who stored the most charges in their stone of power. Fist of Guthix tokens will then be given out, based on how well you did, with which you can purchase a wide variety of rewards, including magical gloves to help you boost your XP, spiked shields and many more.
Fist of Guthix is available to play on ALL free and members worlds. There is a list of recommended worlds on the Themed Worlds Knowledge Base page.
We have also put a cap on the number of players who can play Fist of Guthix on any world at any time, which is set at 250 players. This will maximise your enjoyment of Fist of Guthix and minimise any conflict from other ongoing matches!
North of Varrock, in the lower reaches of the Wilderness.
Requirements:
None - Fist of Guthix is available to both free players and members.
Access to:
A new, one-on-one, tactical PvP minigame under the Wilderness
A new area the size of Ape Atoll
Rewards, including clothing with set effects, available to free players
as well as members
A Fist of Guthix Hiscores table for those who have a rank of 500 or higher
In other news...
Hunter pet variations have been added to many places in RuneScape. Monkeys, squirrels, raccoons and geckos can now be found in several different shapes, colours and sizes, so get hunting!
The Party Room chest has been changed to better reflect the value of the items that are in it. It now checks the items against the Grand Exchange market price, so you should find a more accurate drop party value in banks or the Party Room.
Having looked at feedback on the Forums, we have changed the ibis, granite crab and granite lobster so that they give a small amount of Fishing experience when catching fish - a nice little bonus, we think you'll find!
A few graphical issues popped up last week: a pier in Neitiznot disappeared and a small hole opened up on Karamja! Guthix has restored the balance and these have been repaired.
Finally, a change has been made to the Culinaromancer's chest and the gnome ingredients shop at the Grand Tree. Item prices in these shops should be more attractive.
Hello everyone! Today we are pleased to bring you an update that was waiting to happen to this guide.
Please welcome the revamped version of the Mort'ton Shade Burning guide. We find that this change will help you with future burning.
Updates thanks to Fireball0236 and others.
~ Jakesterwars ~
Join the Forums
Saturday, Apr 05, 2008
News ID: 00808
Have you visited the Forums?
We would like to feature the great forum community we have here at RuneHQ, just in case you may have been missing out on all the great discussions, interactions with fellow players and staff, and all around fun! So.....
Click on the graphic above (or on Community Forums at the left column) to gain access to the forums. If you are not registered, just click here to go to the registrations page. If you have problems validating your email, make sure to check your junk/bulk email box or you can send an email to forum_admin@runehq.net.
A Sneak Peak
Here's a brief list of different features the forums have to offer. If you don't find what you are looking for, you can always post a suggestion and let us know what you want to see on the forums or the site.
April Fools!!! We sure hope you didn't fall for that little trick we just played on ya!
If you did, oh well. I hope you're not one of those grumpy people that can't take a joke! hahahahahahahaha!
We here at RuneHQ are trying to make this a fun filled April. We have lots of fun things planned for you. We hope you all are as excited about the upcoming events that will be posted soon as we are. We cannot wait to get started! We hope to joke our way around and all through this month and make everyone laugh and smile!
Please post your April Fool's pranks on the forum; we want to hear all about the dirty tricks you played on your friends this devilish day! Give someone some good ideas of things to do to their friends. If you need help playing a practical joke on someone please feel free to ask for help. We want today to be fun and exciting for all you little jokesters out there today!
Just remember, life is no fun if you cannot laugh at yourself and others. Don't take life too seriously! Laugh, have fun, play a joke on a friend, make fun of yourself! Above all else, today is a day to laugh!
The first of April's updates seems to attract abbreviations: F2P, PvP, OMG - all of these could be used to describe Fist of Guthix, our next combat minigame. We could say that this will be a safe, single-way, Wilderness-based game available to both free players and members, but that would ignore some important details. Attack strategies, defensive tactics, well-timed escapes: Fist of Guthix will employ all of these to create a memorable combat minigame.
There is a massive range of rewards to win for playing Fist of Guthix, so we'll give you a wee teaser. The rune berserker shield, like most of Fist of Guthix's rewards, degrades with use, but it also offers you some hefty defence bonuses and a Strength boost; the battle robe set will sometimes pay for mind, chaos, death or blood runes that you use when casting a combat spell; and the Runecrafting gloves will double the experience you gain from crafting runes of the glove's type!
Talking of rewards, where could you possibly find a top hat, animal mask, adamant cane and black crossbow? It could only be the Treasure Trails, and this month will bring our next installment. Among the new weapons, clothes and hats will be some brain-twisting new clues to untangle, ranging across the medium and hard difficulties.
It is at this point in the month that the skies will darken, a fog will descend and a bloodcurdling scream will echo out. What could bring on this strange and eerie change? Ah, it must be the fourth in our Myreque quest series: Legacy of Seergaze! With no help forthcoming from Misthalin and vampyres continuing to collect their scarlet tithes, the Myreque have been calling on mercenaries to aid their cause. Meanwhile, deep in Paterdomus, Drezel has found something strange that could shed light on Morytania's gloomy past...
Not so gloomy are the graphical improvements to the Morytania entrance area and the icefiends of RuneScape. Expect Paterdomus temple and its grounds to become more grand and foreboding, and the icefiends a sight more icy and fiendish.
A nod must be given to the website updates. The Grand Exchange Database will be released this month, having had its image issues resolved, displaying graphs and statistics of Grand Exchange market prices. There's also a Summoning guaranteed content poll, the latest Players' Gallery and the Postbag from the Hedge.
You can break Summoning 2 into two halves. The first is a rebalancing of the skill using your feedback. We have chosen to do this because we wanted Summoning to be one of the most well-loved and appreciated skills, so your help was needed to get it back on track.
What did we find out from the Forums? You told us that familiars did not stick around for long enough before they disappeared, and that renewing them was often a pain. With this update, each familiar stays out for a set period of time, regardless of the summoner's skill level, so there is no need to renew your familiar. The period that each familiar stays summoned has, in general, been increased - the spirit dagannoth, for example, stays out for a whopping 57 minutes!
Secondly, you told us that summoning familiars just wasn't rewarding enough. With the rebalancing, we have given each familiar a stand-out ability that makes them well worth summoning - a feature that budding Pikkupstixes have been eager for. You will now find that Summoning a creature is far more preferable to either selling the pouch or high-alching it.
Many of you felt that combat familiars should give combat XP. We definitely agree, so each combat familiar now gives XP when they cause damage. The amount is equal to how much you would have received, had you done the damage yourself. The experience will be in one of the combat skills, which depends on your choice of familiar - the spirit jelly, for example, gives XP in the Strength stat.
Taking your combat familiar into battle will reveal our next improvement: each creature is significantly tougher. They can soak up damage like never before and many will hit harder, making them more than useful for challenges like the God Wars. We can only encourage you to try them out and see just how improved their combat abilities are.
Acquiring charms has been made easier this week, with charm drops added to nearly 20 of our Slayer creatures. For those who prefer sleight of hand over the crossing of swords, we have also added charms to the Dorgesh-Kaan chests, so thieves can access them, too.
Recharging Summoning points has been made easier, with miniature obelisks scattered across the world to keep you topped up; you can now summon familiars almost anywhere and take them with you without worrying too much about having to dismiss them; buttons have been added to help you 'dump' items from your familiar to your inventory and your familiar to your bank; headgear and headdresses can hold more scrolls per item; many existing helmets can be enchanted to hold scrolls; and some of the familiars' inventories have been expanded to a jaw-dropping 30 slots, so your pak yak can now hold more than you can. Phew!
For more details of what has changed with the Summoning rebalancing, visit the Knowledge Base page.
Extra Summoning creatures:
The second half of Summoning 2 is what we originally planned when Summoning was first released: an injection of high-level, dauntingly huge beasts. So, this week, the big guns arrive, largely in the form of the titans. These humanoid creatures don't only have a killer punch; significantly increase your chance of success when Mining and Firemaking, boil adventurers in their own armour or even recharge amulets of glory! You can expect them to range all the way up to level 99, too.
A few inches shorter, but no less daunting, are the big cats from the Hunter skill. As an example of just how many things each familiar can offer you, the graahk, kyatt and larupia are capable of teleporting you to Hunter areas, boosting your chances of trapping a creature, and lending a powerful paw when you need them in battle.
We can guarantee that the other familiars do more than make up the numbers. Fans of Pest Control will know the void pests, with their ability to teleport you to the landers, while other recognisable familiars include the talon beast, spirit mosquito, pyrelord and the fearsome giant chinchompa. These familiars are spread over the Summoning skill levels, inviting you to train it that little bit higher. So, go grab your charms and get stuck in!
In a quiet field east of Draynor Manor, two enterprising gnomes have founded Gnomecopter Tours, featuring the latest development in gnomic flight technology. They're open for business now, offering free-players (and curious members) the chance to take a look at distant lands, including the beautiful elf village of Lletya, the frantic battlefield of Pest Control and the Trollweiss and Rellekka Hunter area.
Summary
Where to start using gnomecopters:
The gnomecopters depart from the field north of Lumbridge windmill.
Requirements:
None - this update is available to members and F2P!
Access to:
An aerial tour of some of the best members-only content.
In other news...
Abyssal bracelets have been changed to 'Forinthry bracelets'. These still protect you, as before, but will now allow you to escape when teleblocked by the Wilderness revenant ghosts. The bracelet's charges essentially counter a Teleblock spell that has been cast on you.
In February's edition of State of Play we promised to report regularly on anticipated updates, giving you a better idea of how they are progressing. This week, we feel it's the right time to catch up with Summoning, PvP minigames and some other releases we have planned.
Summoning Improvements:
Progress has been made on Summoning 2 and we plan to have this released by the end of the month. It is currently past the balancing and entering the final QA stages.
Many of you have asked what the rebalancing entails. Well, we do not want to ruin the surprise completely, but we can say that we have changed our philosophy towards balancing familiars. Instead of having lots of benefits that ADD UP to create a useful familiar, we have decided to make sure that each familiar will have one stand-out ability that makes it awesome.
Take the beaver, for example: currently, it boosts your Woodcutting, counts as a knife, produces logs when Woodcutting and offers the Multichop special move. On their own, these abilities add up, but don't 'stand out', as such. Well, with our change in policy, the beaver will soon make you logs and planks no matter what you are doing at the time, in a similar vein to Ava's Accumulator from the Animal Magnetism quest.
We can also reveal that the combat familiars will give you XP when used in battle. Each combat familiar will have a specific skill that they raise your XP in during combat - the spirit jelly gives Strength XP, for example. This will be equal to the XP you would receive if you had caused the damage yourself.
Friends List Changes:
When we released the changes to the Friends List on the 25th of February, we never intended them to impact on your enjoyment of RuneScape. In fact, the changes were made so that you could chat easily with your FunOrb friends and vice versa.
Unfortunately, as many of you have pointed out, the text used in the interface was difficult to read for some, leading us to make changes to its colour scheme. This was only a short-term solution, however, and the FunOrb and RuneScape Game Engine teams are collaborating to make something that will be appreciated by 'Scapers and 'Orbsters alike.
Item Lending:
The item lending feature has progressed past the proposal stage. Unfortunately, the Game Engine developers in charge of the project have had to delay it while they work on issues with serverload that came to light during the Audio Week release. These problems meant that worlds went out of action for a period of time and the developers have been tackling this issue so it does not happen again.
We're aiming to have this resolved in the next couple of weeks, so that item lending can be made a priority again. For the moment, we can tell you that the item lending feature will be session-based, allowing you to transfer objects to another player for the period that you are both logged in.
New PvP Minigame:
Our next PvP minigame is entering the last stages of QA. Many of you have asked on the Forums about some aspects of this minigame - in particular, how it differs from the Duel Arena.
Well, firstly, we can promise that the game is nothing like the Duel Arena or even Bounty Hunter. This game calls for strategy, requiring far more than just combat. It demands mastery of both offensive and defensive tactics while offering fantastic rewards that you can receive nowhere else.
We plan for this minigame to be available to both members and F2P, which means that everyone can expect some enhanced equipment with great set effects. We will continue improving both free-to-play and members' PvP content in the future. Expect more news in upcoming State of Plays!
Clan Wars Changes:
We've had a good look at the suggestions players have been sending in for Clan Wars. In particular, we'd like to add a 'run-in' option, where players will be permitted to re-join the battle after they've died. The first team to achieve a pre-agreed number of kills may be declared victorious. Along with this, we're looking to provide a choice of arenas, each with different scenery and obstacles. We've got plenty more Clan Wars features planned - including some 'dangerous' ones - so keep your eyes peeled for information.
Random events:
We had planned some work on the random events of RuneScape quite some time ago. We were looking to see if we could remove most of them, because a decent number were not particularly good at stopping modern-day bots. Since the threat of bots and macros has been largely removed, we feel that this is a perfect opportunity to address the problem again. For the moment, we are concentrating on our PvP minigames to compensate for the Wilderness changes, but the random event proposal has been approved and is in the pipeline.
Grand Exchange:
Issues with item images have meant that the Grand Exchange Database has been delayed until mid-April. We apologise for this continued delay; we intend to release the database when we are certain that it delivers on its aim - to give you a strong visual idea of market price trends over a long period of time.
Our Grand Exchange price changes are still ongoing. The godswords and flatpack furniture are examples of items that have had their value changed thanks to your feedback.
We seem to have reserved the most humongous, terrifying and downright impressive creatures for Summoning 2. Visit the Downloads section if you don't believe us. It's the clash of the titans!
These high-level familiars will be yours at the end of March, when Summoning 2 arrives. Can you control them? The titans are pretty skeptical that you can...
After last month's hectic Player Takeover, Postie Pete returns to the usual Postbag format with a bumper bag of replies from your favourite RuneScape celebrities.
The bankers are back, answering queries about what they do in their spare time, a demon replies to one of his fans and something moves in the deep, dark places of this world...
27 March 2008 - Lores and Histories - Tumeken's Dream
This month, Reldo has received a parcel of books from the High Priest of Icthlarin, who loaded them onto his camels and sent them packing all the way to Varrock. You should have seen the mess they made on the palace carpet! Queen Ellamaria wasn't best pleased, but then, when is she ever?
Anyway, Reldo set about translating these books and has published an extract - entitled Tumeken's Dream - for your reading pleasure.
As a lot of you have probably noticed we have made some changes recently to RuneHQ. We are working on some layout changes and other neat things for the site. We hired someone to start working on a site redesign for us. We want to change the look of RuneHQ since it has been a while since we did our last site redesign.
We also added a new AD company and a new string of ads. Some of these ads need to be filtered out and we are aware that some of the ads are causing people issues. We are working on getting these cleaned up. Trust us when we say we hate annoying ads just the same as you. If you have a problem with an ad, please alert us of the details for that ad and we will filter it out.
We do not want people having virus scanners going crazy or causing browsers to crash, that is just not right. Some of the ads from the new vendor were questionable and caused some major issues for folks, for that we are truly sorry! We have done our best to filter out the offending ads, but we need your help to make sure we got all of the ones we need to, so please let us know right away if you see ads that need squashed.
We value your contributions to the site and we are trying to improve things and bring you new features. We do however have to comply with the rules of Jagex and not introduce things that would cause them to frown upon RuneHQ. We were looking into a video hosting service as well as several other new features but we have to make sure that the new features are within the rules. We want to be friendlier to clans and have some hosted clans on our servers. We are providing Ventrilo channels for clans as well as other features. We are working with RuneHead on an IRC network for clans to use.
We want RuneHQ to be your site for everything related to RuneScape and also hope we can turn the site into a community you can use for things outside of RuneScape also. We are working on other sites for you; GameTalkHQ and MediaGraphixHQ are always looking for other places to spread out to help out our community.
If you have ideas or things you would like to see from Global Gaming HQ and RuneHQ please let us know. If you have coding or web site development skills and want to help out with the site redesign, please let us know! We do value your input and constructive criticism. We want to do things to help you make your life a little better. We want to be your friends and neighbors.
~MrStormy~
Welcome everyone! We have two updates helpful in training for both F2P and P2P. Also, check them out just to increase your Runescape Knowledge!
The guide was written by Skeletonmat and thanks to everyone who helped with corrections and updates. The map was made by Jett_Man.
Onwards to the next two updates!
The next guide we have will help you power mine with coal and teach you some tricks to make some quick cash with it, too. Please take a look at the updated Coal Trucks Guide for more information on how to use them.
Give a thanks to Cloudsfinalh and everyone who helped with this guide!
Our final update is the re-written version of the Castle Wars guide. Take a peek if you're a Castle Wars freak!
Thank Jett_Man and everyone else who helped for this guide!
It seems that the problem-prone Easter Bunny is once again experiencing difficulties. He's spent so much time redecorating his warren that he hasn't noticed critters burrowing in and devouring his entire chocolate stockpile.
Now, devoid of cocoa stocks, the chocolate egg production has ground to a halt and the forecast for Easter celebrations looks bleak. No need to worry, though - the Easter Bunny is an inventive sort, and has come up with an eggs-emplary new idea: use a chocatrice! These fearsome creatures, incubated from a chocolate-coated cockatrice egg, can turn their targets into chocolate with one lethal, chocifying gaze.
It falls to you, then, to create this curious creature. You'll need to track down some of the lost chocolate to make a chocatrice egg and then carefully incubate it. The critters who ate the chocolate supply are sealed in the Easter Bunny's tunnels and will prove a suitable target for your chocatrice.
So, this Easter, you will come to the aid of chocolate lovers everywhere, incubating your own chocatrice, guiding it around the Easter Bunny's tunnels and turning the greedy rats into something altogether more delicious...
Investigate the rabbit hole, between Falador's southern gate and the Rimmington mine.
Requirements:
None - this update is available to members and F2P!
Access to:
A new emote and Easter item!
In other news...
The music system now has a counter which keeps 'track' of how many songs you've unlocked. You'll have the Air Guitar emote in no time!
Players will now always receive a TzHaar fire cape and 8,000 TokKul after defeating TzTok-Jad. You can keep any extra fire capes you win as spares in case you lose them, or speak to TzHaar-Mej-Jal, master of the Fight Cave, who will purchase spare fire capes from you for 8,000 TokKul a piece.
We're constantly looking at item prices on the Grand Exchange and how they match up with similar items and those that are unfinished versions of other items. Prices for some of these sorts of items have been adjusted following this pattern. For example, an unstrung necklace will more closely follow the price of the strung version.
You might have found in the recently refurbished Edgeville Dungeon that fighting chaos druids was a slow process. The death animation has been reduced so you don't have to spend as much time waiting before picking up your loot!
A small number of worlds will be offline shortly for some essential maintenance to improve the quality of service. They will be restored as soon as possible.
This only affects a small proportion of all of our available worlds, so you should still be able to find a world to match your needs.
This month, Postie Pete has returned with a Players' Gallery of RuneScape-related humour and comics. So, if you feel like a laugh over the Easter season, view this month's Players' Gallery here.
As ever, there are strange occurrences afoot in the slug-riddled town of Witchaven. Kennith, the odd little boy with a (justified) aversion to sea slugs, is convinced that the townsfolk are up to no good in the caverns beneath the town and he is looking for a brave adventurer with a talent for Mining to investigate.
Could it be that the sea slugs are looking to get revenge for the events of Slug Menace? Or is there some new threat looming large over Witchaven? How does Kennith's new friend, Kimberly, fit into all of this? You will need all of your wits, digging talents and sneaking abilities to find out.
Along the way, players can expect to reunite with Ezekial Lovecraft, all round man-in-the-know, in an effort to outwit the horde of secretive villagers who are determined to keep their great 'work' a surprise. You may even be introduced to an extremely volatile new kind of ore. One thing is for certain: not everything is what it seems in Witchaven...
The mines under Witchaven
Ability to mine and sell a volatile new ore
Access to a repeatable mini-task
In other news...
We've added a feature that allows you to keep an eye on the remaining charges of your crystal saw. You will now be able to track how much the crystal seed has drained when used for Construction.
Several sound effects have been added or improved in areas of RuneScape: from creaky doors and creature sound effects to travelling sounds and swords clanging against armor.
Tokkul and obsidian drops have been fixed and will once again drop for those Lootsharing while fighting TzHaar creatures.
Finally, you'll be pleased to know that the Kill Count in the God Wars Dungeon should correctly update when using CoinShare.
Professor Henry has opened a new Misthalin Training Centre of Excellence, south of Edgeville. Here, you can take a test that asks questions about staying safe in Runescape, earning some great rewards in the process!
If you're in the mood for combat, there are rumours that an old jailhouse has been discovered beneath the Centre, completely overrun by insects of an unnatural size. Strap on your fighting boots, arm yourself and get ready to investigate, as only a true adventurer can!
Don't miss it!! March 22, is a hawt day for our family here at RuneHQ. There is something for everyone, so don't miss out and be sure to join in on the fun.
KAROAKE: After the response we had from last months Karaoke party in Vent, we have decided to hold it again this month, but hopefully this time MrStormy and I will be able to attend. Come and join us for some fun, laughs, and perhaps a few tears (you will know what I mean if you have ever heard MrStormy sing). You will need a Ventrilo account, so if you don't have an account already, then stop by the FORUM for more information on how to get access to the RHQ Vent server.
CLANS: RuneHQ's first Ever Multi-Clan Event!!! Clans must be registered by March 19th, so please visit the forum for more details and to get your clan involved in this RHQ Tournament. This holds potential for your clan to gain your Recruitment Topic Pinned for 2-Weeks! This could mean a lot to your clan so sign up today!
MORE: Yes, there is even more going on on March 22, but the rest is a secret (don't tell anyone). Though I have promised not to tell the details, I will 'suggest' that there will be some Admins and Staff around on Runescape that day that might be up for a 'duel' or 'quest' or other Runescape related activities. Who knows? You may even see your name in the RHQ Newsletter??????
So mark your calendars for March 22 at 2:00 p.m and 8:00 p.m. CST for Karoake. If you need help converting the time, just check HERE for the time conversion.
~ ~ Stormy's_Amazon ~ ~
{Pwn} Gaming and RuneHQ Multi-Clan Tournament!
Sunday, Mar 09, 2008
News ID: 00796
Hey everyone! Are you planning on purchasing a copy of Super Smash Brothers Brawl? Do you want to be part of an elite gaming clan and a community? If yes, then go check out {Pwn}, a Global Gaming HQ endeavor. Founded in June of 2006, {Pwn} has expanded to support divisions in Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii), Star Wars Battlefront II (PC), Halo: Combat Evolved (PC), Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC), America's Army: Special Forces (PC), and Counter-Strike: Source (PC).
Everyone can join the {Pwn} community, and to be a full-fledged clan member all you have to do is tryout against a high-ranking member in any games you wish to play.
We are always looking to expand into more games too, so if you can gather enough members in a specific game, you will be allowed to lead an official division in it. We look forward to playing with you!
In other news, RuneHQ is holding its first Clan Tournament! All clans are invited. See the topic for more information.
~ [Im4eversmart] ~
New City Guide
Saturday, Mar 08, 2008
News ID: 00795
Hello everyone, today we have a new City Guide for your eyes to view. Please take a look at the Oo'glog City Guide for more information!
You may have heard of FunOrb but know very little about what it involves. Well, it's a new website that we've released, offering a great selection of browser-based games that we'll be adding to regularly!
You'll find a variety of free games on offer, from fast and furious platformers to gloriously over-the-top shooters; from intense turn-based strategy games to brainbusting puzzles. Each of them are deep and massively enjoyable, enticing you to give them 'just one more go'.
If you have a RuneScape account then you can go to the FunOrb website, sign in and start playing immediately! This is because FunOrb is setup very similarly to RuneScape - each game has a 'free' element that can be played until you decide to become a member. Free players get highscores tables and some Achievements, while those who subscribe to FunOrb get access to full games, all Achievements, multiplayer games, a fullscreen mode and FunOrb Forums.
We also have extra website updates and games planned for the future, with new content every two weeks!
There are also features available for current RuneScape players. You can sign in to FunOrb with your RuneScape account, keeping the same Friends List and Ignore List. This means you can chat to friends across both games and even see which game they are playing (and trying to beat your score)!
What is more, RuneScape members can purchase a combined membership package for both FunOrb and RuneScape at US$7, or £4.60, when paying by credit card. That's only $2 more than your usual RuneScape membership! A FunOrb account on its own costs US$3 or £2 by credit card.
Our Rules now apply to both RuneScape and FunOrb. Rulebreakers will find that their punishments are effective on both sites.
Some of you have asked whether you can mention FunOrb on RuneScape Forums. Since we can guarantee that FunOrb is a secure site, you are free to talk about FunOrb on suitable RuneScape Forums and RuneScape on suitable FunOrb Forums.
We would also like to take this opportunity to say that FunOrb, although a product of Jagex, will not impact on our RuneScape updates. You will still be receiving the same quantity and quality of updates that you always have. There are separate teams dedicated to producing the very best content for FunOrb, so you can expect many more superb games in the future.
You can also post about FunOrb in our new FunOrb Forum Category. You need to be a registered member of the the RuneHQ Community Forums to access this. Click here to register.
It seems that Surok has made a cunning escape from his Varrock Library prison and is intent on continuing his nefarious schemes. He even found time to steal some ancient tomes from the library, unearthing dark secrets and powerful magicks.
It is clear that Surok has plans to control the city of Varrock and it is up to you to stop him! Scuppering Surok may not be as easy as it sounds, however, as he has friends in very, very high places.
Surok was last seen heading east out of Varrock, towards the Chaos Tunnels that were introduced in January.
Have a care when entering the Tunnels, as they are dark and full of creatures - including dragons - that will attack without mercy! Be sure to only take what you are prepared to lose, for there are worse things than simple orks in the dark places of this world.
Summary
Where to start Chaos Tunnels: The Hunt for Surok
Start by speaking to Surok by the statue of Saradomin, east of Varrock
Requirements to complete Chaos Tunnels: The Hunt for Surok:
What Lies Below
Level 44 Slayer
A hefty Combat level would be helpful.
Access to:
A new boss fight in the Chaos Tunnels which can be repeated daily
A hefty chunk of Slayer XP and guaranteed Summoning charms for those who defeat him!
In other news...
As a result of recent feedback, players can now take priest robes and gowns into Bounty Hunter. These items offer small Prayer bonuses that players might wish to make use of.
We've fixed an issue with the Assist System, so that runecrafters will be able to get 'double' runes if the assister has the necessary Runecrafting level.
The Friends and Ignore interfaces have been looked at and adjusted to make them more readable. These were slightly darker than intended.
We've been looking at a few smaller changes that will enhance your gameplay and you can expect more of these in the future:
When reopening the Smithing interface, it will remember where you last scrolled to, similar to the bank interface.
Romeo in Varrock will no longer interrupt you if you're passing through. You can still stop by, have a chat and see if you can cheer him up!
4 March 2008 - CoinShare and Grand Exchange Changes
Clan Chat owners now have the option to use CoinShare, an addition to the LootShare system that was requested by many of you on the Forums.
To start CoinSharing, LootShare must be activated on your clan channel. You can then choose 'CoinShare' from your Clan Chat Setup interface. It is an entirely optional addition.
CoinShare has no effect on the majority of items; they will still be allocated to members of the clan channel according to how 'lucky' they have been with previous LootSharing monster drops.
If you have CoinShare active, the following will happen if a monster drops something of great value, like a dragon chainbody:
The item is immediately put on the Grand Exchange, set at the current market price.
An equal amount of coins is dropped on the floor for each LootSharer. Each player can then pick their share up. The total number of coins is based on the item's lowest value on the Grand Exchange.
All of this happens immediately. For a list of items that can be converted to cash using CoinShare, and more information on how CoinShare works, please read the Knowledge Base article.
As there will be an increased number of LootSharers because of this update, we have doubled the number of LootSharing worlds. For a list, please click here.
You must be on a LootSharing world.
You must be in a Clan Chat channel with LootShare and CoinShare switched on.
Access to:
The ability to convert specific high-value items into cash and then share the amount equally with other LootSharers.
CoinShare and the Grand Exchange:
Following the State of Play, many of you posted your concerns about how CoinShare works with the Grand Exchange. The following bulletpoints should address the worries you have:
We have decided to place CoinShare items on the Grand Exchange so that this update has no effect on the rarity of certain items. High-value items would become more difficult to find if they were all converted into cash with CoinShare. We will place these items on the Exchange so they stay in circulation.
CoinShare items bought or sold on the Grand Exchange DO NOT affect the item's market value. Only items that have been placed on the Grand Exchange in a conventional manner can affect the market price.
A CoinShare item will be set at the average market price and will ALWAYS stay at the average market price. So, if the item's market price moves up or down, so will the value of the CoinShare item.
Players receive the lowest market price when CoinSharing because of its additional convenience. Players do not have to waste an inventory space when picking up a high-value item, they do not have to travel to the Grand Exchange and they are guaranteed money from its sale.
Players do not receive additional cash once the item has been sold on the Exchange.
Grand Exchange Interface Changes:
The Grand Exchange has been managing item trades for a few months now, which is enough time for us to check the Forums, scan your feedback and put together some changes that will not only make it easier to use, but a lot quicker too.
A lot of feedback centred on the Grand Exchange interfaces, with many of you forced to click multiple times when selling or buying. The following changes should really reduce that wasted clicking time:
When making a Buy Offer, the +1/+10/+100/+1000 buttons increase the quantity by that amount
When making a Sell Offer, the 1/10/100 buttons set the quantity to that amount. There is no 1000 option here, instead there is an ALL button which sets the quantity to the total in your inventory
The Buy/Sell buttons in empty offer slots now appear by default
The Grand Exchange Item Search interface now opens automatically when you click to make a new buy offer
If you are collecting five or more of the same item from your collection box, they will be certed/noted (as long as they do not normally stack in your inventory)
Hello everyone, we're here to bring you a good update on the F2P quests that have been uploaded. It's not all of them right now, but they're on their way! All of these guides below listed was written by Sccrluk9 and it's greatly appreciated!
Over the past few months, lots of you have offered us ideas for how to get the best out of the Grand Exchange and LootShare system. Well, by Guthix, our first update of the month will see the introduction of the best of these!
First will be CoinShare, which will convert high-level drops into cash and then share it equally between you and your battling clan compatriots. This entirely optional addition to LootShare will save clans from having only one player who benefits from a high-level drop, instead offering everyone a big bag of cash when a monster drops something awesome. This fabulous new system will put the item on the Grand Exchange at the market value without you having to do anything, and will give the CoinSharers cash immediately, based on the lowest boundary that the item can sell for. Now that's service!
Talking of the Grand Exchange, Brugsen Bursen has been working on the Grand Exchange interfaces. He will be streamlining them to require fewer clicks and less time when selling or purchasing wares. The Grand Exchange Database has taken Brugsen longer than he anticipated, however; he expects this Grand Exchange aid to be ready towards the end of the month. With it, players will have a visual way to search for items, check their value and even view price fluctuations over a period of time.
All of these Varrock distractions seem to have given Surok an opportunity for escape! March will bring an addition to the Surok storyline, following the fleeing wizard north out of Varrock and into the Chaos Tunnels. The rewards are plentiful for this mini-quest, but as is customary with Surok, expect some lies, deceit, chaos and a wee bit of brutal combat.
Lies and deceit will certainly be on the menu with this month's quest, Kenniths's Concerns, and it is a dish best served cold...while covered in slug goo. That's right, the sea slugs are coming back, and they'll be up to their usual hijinks, feeding on brainwaves and attempting world domination - the little scamps. Poor Kennith, the boy you saved from certain subservience on the Fishing Platform, is being hassled by the slugs once again and he will have a few tasks for you. Needless to say, they will test your abilities to the max.
A test of a different variety awaits you in the Stronghold of Player Safety. This twin to the Stronghold of Security will be open to both free players and members, allowing those who prove their intellectual mettle in the Player Safety quiz to swipe rewards, splat cockroaches and taunt gublinch in the depths of the jailhouse below.
Also available to free players and members is our next holiday event, Easter 2008, which will bring yet another wily scheme from the Easter Bunny. What will it be this time? Well, the Easter Bunny has been noting the powers of the Summoning familiars in RuneScape - in particular, the petrifying gaze of the cockatrice. Using a complicated process that involves an incubator and a vat of finest chocolate, the Easter Bunny has hatched a chocatrice. Will the Easter Bunny's weapon of mass production work? You can bet your last gp that it won't...
In our third update this month for both free players and members, we will introduce the bizarre gnomecopters. These unwieldy vehicles have been invented by pioneering gnomes to take players high over a series of members' areas, like Castle Wars, Pest Control and Isafdar, giving them a gander at what they have to offer. The only problem is, they might look silly while they're doing it.
Certainly silly-looking (but you wouldn't say it to their faces) are the hordes of familiars and pets that make up Summoning Batch 2. These creatures look about as mean, big and unusual as TzTok-Jad after a bubble bath, so prepare for some high-level and demanding familiars. Although we had to delay the release of Summoning Batch 2, we can guarantee that this extra time has been spent well to give the creatures a little bit more of a 'kick', with rewards for persistent summoners and awesome abilities that'll knock their headdresses off.
We don't want to give away too much about these familiars in the Behind the Scenes, but you can expect a Summoning wallpaper to give you a graphical taster of what's in store. As you would expect from the end of a Behind the Scenes, there are also a number of other website-based additions to get giddy about, including a new Players' Gallery, Postbag from the Hedge and an entry in the Lores and Histories.
Welcome all users, we bring to you a new city guide for your viewing. If you want to check it out, roll around to the Crandor Isle guide to see the updates.
This guide was written by Skeletonmat, with much appreciation to everyone else that helped out.
Tired of using the old Agility courses, take a look at the Dorgesh-Kaan Agility Course Map for a fresh way to raise your Agility.
This map was made by Iriel Red.
~ Jakesterwars ~
March Newsletter
Friday, Feb 29, 2008
News ID: 00788
The official RuneHQ March Newsletter is here. Take some time, sit back, and enjoy yourself with the new information and happenings coming your way.
Being a games tester is a dream job for many, but does the reality live up to the dream? In this month's Development Diary, we take a look at the various Quality Assurance teams at Jagex. Is it all just about RuneScape? Do they play games all day? Could it be the job for you? Read the Diary to find out.
28 February 2008 - Postbag from the Hedge - Player Takeover!
For the second time this month, Postie Pete arrives with a bagful of letters. Instead of being packed with questions for your favourite characters, this bag is full of replies from YOU! If you want to read your business development plans for Balnea, your popular truths about the mahjarrat or read LT's favourite limerick, then check it out here.
Next month, the Postbag returns to normal, with Wise Old Man's plans for the Temple Knights included. This certainly won't be the last you hear of the Player Takeover, however, as there were so many responses. It even broke P.P's sack!
27 February 2008 - Subscription Price Change - Canada
The price of a RuneScape credit card subscription in Canada has reduced from CAD7.30 per month to CAD5.00. There are a number of factors that determine how we set our prices (for example, currency and sales tax changes), and these have allowed us to lower our monthly credit card rate for our Canadian customers.
Both new and existing members can benefit from the reduction. The price changes will affect credit card payments in the following ways:
If you wish to pay for a new subscription, the revised price is available now.
If you make automatic monthly payments, the revised price will take effect on your next payment date.
25 February 2008 - Changes to Vinesweeper and more...
Vinesweeper:
Last week, we felt that there were a number of improvements we could make to the rewards of Vinesweeper and how fun it was to play. These have now been made:
All requirements to play Vinesweeper have been removed. Anyone can play.
The Farming experience you receive for cashing in Vinesweeper points has dramatically increased
The price of flags has reduced when purchasing them with coins OR points
The price of seeds from the Winkin shop has reduced, so you can purchase more with your Vinesweeper points
Ogleroots are now available from Blinkin for 10gp each
Players leaving Vinesweeper with their flags are able to retrieve them from Blinkin for free, without being reimbursed for them
The rabbits haven't been getting enough ogleroots in their diet and it's had some strange effects. The rabbits have grown in size, making them easier to target with ogleroots
The Vinesweeper rabbits seemed to be very quick at eating seeds before the farmer could get there or you could stop them with an ogleroot. To solve this, you can now distract the rabbits with an ogleroot at a larger distance, allowing you to more easily protect your flags.
Other changes:
You may also notice that the Friends and Ignore tabs have changed. This is to allow for future compatibility with FunOrb, helping you to have a natter with friends on both games with ease!
Several market values of items have been adjusted. Broken items, such as Woodcutting axes, now have a market value that differs from their fixed version. This difference is equal to the cost that a player would incur if they repaired it.
The Farming patch spirit will no longer visit players who've attained a Farming level of 16 or above when they're standing near a Farming patch.
It became clear that the Bounty Locate spell was being used as a way to escape from combat in Bounty Hunter. This was never our intention and made it harder to get bounty rewards, so we have altered the spell. If you are in combat, you will run or walk towards your target rather than teleport there. You will still teleport to your target if you are not currently in combat.
Also, the Bounty Locate spell will no longer work if you are 'held' by another spell - Ice Barrage or Entangle, for example.
These changes are effective immediately.
Vinesweeper:
Having read your Forum posts, we felt that the rewards for Vinesweeper needed to be more worthwhile than they currently are. This enjoyable minigame is now having a shrewd eye cast over it. We plan to update the XP and seed rewards, amongst other Vinesweeper changes, next week.
We recommend that you keep hold of your Vinesweeper points until these changes have been made. We don't want to stop you playing the minigame; after all, we are not changing the amount of points you can earn - only what they are worth.
We also plan to make the rascally rabbits a little easier to deal with. Currently, they are too fast to be effectively stopped and will often eat your seeds before you can deploy an ogleroot.
To clarify, all of these Vinesweeper changes, and a few more, will be made next week.
If you look back at the last few months, you may have mixed feelings about some of the releases. Unbalanced trade removal; Bounty Hunter and Clan Wars; LootShare; the Assist System; the Grand Exchange: these were all massive changes affecting a huge number of people. They were so big, in fact, and released in such a short period of time, that we could not get everything right while also making every player happy. We certainly aimed to do so, but we still came some way short.
We decided, soon after their release, that we could address many of your problems with them. Your feedback on the Forums has really helped, and we have even been able to consult you on a number of instances. This led to the 'Future Changes to Recent Updates' in January: a list of our proposed changes to our recent content. It's been a while since we released that newspost, and many of you seem worried that we've forgotten about the changes to LootShare, Grand Exchange and our other releases. Well, we can assure you that we haven't forgotten. In fact, we have allocated nearly half of our content developers to getting these recent updates back on track!
We plan to release a State of Play regularly, to give you a real idea of how the most anticipated updates are progressing, so keep your eyes peeled for more news in the future.
The green progress bars will give you an idea of how close each project is to being released.
Grand Exchange Improvements:
Some changes to the Grand Exchange interfaces are entering the final stages of testing. We've listened to your feedback and we are finishing off interface changes to really speed up your selling and purchasing.
We also promised 'a new web page...which will allow you to track item prices over a long period of time'. This is very close to completion and is currently with our Quality Assurance team. This will be a comprehensive and very visual means for you to find out item values and compare them with others, or see how they fluctuate over time. As you can imagine, we believe that this will be really useful to any merchants out there.
Finally, the Grand Exchange pricing errors are being fixed in what will be an ongoing process. We have staff members dedicated to collating information from the Forums and in-game sources, so you'll see amendments occurring as the weeks go on. Here are a few examples of pricing issues that we have remedied:
We've allowed Summoning items to be traded on the Exchange for a wider range of prices over a prolonged period, and allowed their prices to adjust with their large number of sales.
We have made the price of items such as jewellery, poisoned dagger and clockwork toys behave more consistently, so that you are always getting a fair deal.
We've allowed a more generous range of prices on the Exchange for those items that are sold in shops.
We've also fixed a number of bugs that have been highlighted in the Forums, such as how potions behave.
We'd also like to remind you that the 'Grand Exchange Price Feedback' thread in our Suggestions Forum is the place for any constructive feedback you have on our market prices.
Fairer LootShare:
One of the most requested improvements will be to our LootShare feature, which has been worked on solidly since its announcement in the 'Future Changes to Recent Updates'. We will be calling these changes 'CoinShare'. With it activated, a clan will not receive a high-value item as a monster drop; instead, the item will be put on the Grand Exchange at the median price. The team of LootSharers will immediately gain a share of coins equal to that item's lowest market value, without waiting for that item to sell on the Exchange. This is in final testing, at a similar stage to the Grand Exchange tweaks.
Item Lending:
Currently at a briefing stage is the item-lending feature. It has been incredibly difficult to find that balance between versatility and stopping cheaters from abusing it. We believe we've found a solution that achieves this, and we will give you more news in future articles.
New PvP Minigame:
Clan Wars and Bounty Hunter did a fair job of offering new PvP gaming choices, but they weren't without their problems; in particular, Bounty Hunter was dominated by large clans, which just wasn't how we intended Bounty Hunter to be used. We are aware that this week's Bounty Hunter changes leaves only Clan Wars for multi-way fighters, which does not offer the level of danger and reward that Bounty Hunter did. We can reveal that changes to the Clan Wars arena are at a proposal stage and future multi-way minigames are planned, all of which should alleviate these concerns.
It must also be said that Clan Wars and Bounty Hunter were never alone intended as a replacement for the Wilderness. We saw them as the first in a series of PvP minigames, with other games being briefed that would attempt to cater for all types of PKer. Well, the next PvP minigame is now finishing development and entering the first round of quality assurance. We're certainly very excited about this single-way, one-versus-one safe minigame.
Summoning Improvements:
When we started work on Summoning, we made the decision that it would be interesting, fun and rewarding, while also taking longer than most skills to level up. We feel now that we weren't so hot on the 'rewarding' aspect, which has been an obstacle to many people enjoying the skill. Despite a few tweaks, we still don't believe that it is as rewarding as it can be, and the worst thing we can do is to keep making tweaks every week for a long period of time.
So, we have decided to rebalance Summoning and release it with Summoning Batch #2. This rebalancing is about 20% complete and we will keep you informed about how it progresses. As you can imagine, this is a huge priority for us, so you can expect this percentage to rise rapidly.
We do appreciate that all of these changes are taking a while, and that a lot of people are urgently awaiting them. So, we are treating them as a priority. This is not the last you will see of progress reports like this, either: you can expect similar updates in the future, as we make more of an effort to inform you about the state of play...
*Drum roll* Welcome along our new Mini-game guide! Visit around the Vinesweeper Guide for more information on this fun-filled mini-game. This game is short and to the point for getting easy seeds once you get flagging and such down without a problem.
Hint: It's basically Minesweeper, so if you're a nut about that game, you'll love this.
19 February 2008 - Bounty Hunter Combat Changes and Rewards
When we introduced Bounty Hunter in December 2007, we intended it, alongside Clan Wars, to be the first of a series of enjoyable PvP minigames. Three months on, we have had a chance to look at your Bounty Hunter feedback and comments, and have come up with changes that will really improve it!
For information on future PvP content and minigames, keep your eyes peeled. We have news for you in the coming weeks!
Combat Change:
First on our critical ticklist was the multiway aspect of Bounty Hunter. Occasionally, solo players would walk into Bounty Hunter and be ambushed by huge clans who they didn't stand a chance against.
This was not what we intended to happen, therefore, we have tweaked the rules so multiway combat can only be used in certain circumstances. The aim is that going in with some friends or a clan does, of course, still give an advantage, but not to such a ridiculous extent. As such, a skilled solo player has a fighting chance as well.
So, this week, we have made Bounty Hunter single-way combat, meaning that only one player may attack another player at any time. There are two exceptions to this rule:
You are able to attack someone who is in combat if they are your Bounty Hunter target
You can be attacked when in combat if you are the Bounty Hunter target of your opponent
We would like to remind you that Bounty Hunter is a dangerous minigame, and you risk losing your items when entering the caverns.
Cash Rewards:
We have introduced another reason for being a bounty hunter: cash rewards for defeating your bounties.
Mandrith loves to reward bravery, so players who kill 10 or more bounty targets will earn cash rewards based on the market value of their combat items. This cash amount is worked out by taking only the second, third, fourth and fifth most expensive combat items you are carrying and giving you access to an amount of coins based on their value. You will have to defeat at least 10 bounty targets to receive your reward, which you can do by speaking to Mandrith.
There is a limit to the amount you can receive per 10 kills, according to the crater you entered:
Low-level crater - You may receive a reward up to a limit of 40,000gp for 10 kills
Medium-level crater - You may receive a reward up to a limit of 80,000gp for 10 kills
High-level crater - You may receive a reward up to a limit of 120,000gp for 10 kills
A summary of your kills will be given when you exit each crater. You do not have to kill all 10 players in one go - Mandrith will remember how many more kills you need for your next visit.
Bounty Locate Change and Rune Rewards:
Some of you felt that the Bounty Locate spell was only available to members and was slightly too high-level, giving the advantage to more experienced players.
Well, we have made tweaks that should make the Bounty Locate spell more accessible and affordable! Firstly, we have reduced the Magic level required to cast Bounty Locate to 32, and reduced its cost to 1 law rune, 1 air rune and 1 fire rune.
We have made the spell available to F2P, and once you have made 10 Bounty Hunter target kills, you will receive a prize of 15 law runes, 15 air runes and 15 fire runes - the number of runes required to cast 15 Bounty Locate spells!
To get a running total of how many targets you need to kill, or to receive your rune rewards, visit Mandrith outside of the Bounty Hunter volcano. You do not have to kill all 10 players in one go - Mandrith will remember how many more kills you need for your next visit.
None! Bounty Hunter and the Bounty Hunter changes are available to both free-players and members
Access to:
Single-way PvP combat, without being ambushed by clans.
Cash rewards for killing 10 Bounty Hunter targets when you carry expensive items.
Bounty Locate spell available to F2P.
Bounty Locate spell reduced to level 32 Magic.
Rune rewards for killing 10 or more Bounty Hunter targets.
Mandrith has decided to make some amendments to his tutorial, so you may visit him at any point to read more about the Bounty Hunter changes.
Due to the recent improvements to Bounty Hunter, it will no longer be possible for you to take Summoning scrolls, pouches or summoned familiars into the dangerous minigame. This is because familiars cannot help you fight in single-way combat areas.
Players who return to their own gravestone in time can now pick up their Recipe For Disaster gloves if they died with them.
We've had a few words with Ordan at the Blast Furnace about his maths skills. He was getting a bit confused but he should now quote you the correct price for the amount of ore you wish to uncert.
The bank scrolling issue has been fixed so that it will now jump to the row of your bank that you were looking at when you last opened the bank interface.
19 February 2008 - Vinesweeper and Amulet of Nature Update
Vinesweeper:
Winkin the gnome has taken his crops to market, so Farmer Blinkin has been left in charge. Simple instructions have been left: harvest the Farming patches while Winkin is away. Unfortunately, a family of hungry rabbits have moved into the neighbourhood and they are eating the seeds before Winkin can say,"Get off my land"!
As if this wasn't nuisance enough, the hired farmhands have had one too many blurberry specials and forgotten where they planted their seeds. It has all become a bit too much for poor Blinkin, so he has opened the farm's doors to any adventurer who is willing to help.
It's not all bad news, however. Everyone knows that gnomes are magical creatures and industrious, to say the least; so, the farmyard has been imbued with magic that will let you know when you are close to a seed. So grab a spade, start digging and improve your Farming levels while helping out poor Blinkin!
Oh, and be sure to pay a visit to Mrs Winkin's Farming Emporium. Here you can trade in your hard-earned points for prizes, like seeds and chunks of Farming XP!
A Farming Level of 10 is required to visit Winkin's Farm
Access to:
A brand new Farming minigame
The ability to win Farming XP and high-level seeds
New Farming Amulets:
The magical amulet of nature has been revised by the clever druids of Taverley to provide budding farmers with even more assistance! Not only will it retain it's previous functions - updating it's owner on the state of their Farming patch - it will also offer you two welcome additions and the ability to talk!
You will now be able to contact a farmer that is near your patch, and you can use the amulet to teleport to your diseased plant. These changes will certainly allow you to manage your patches much more effectively.
But that's not all! The druids have been able to put some of the original amulet's magic into a new amulet of Farming, which can be bought from Farming stores throughout Runescape. These lesser amulets have only a limited number of uses and will only work with vegetable or flower patches. These will inform your of the state of your chosen Farming patch, much as the amulet of nature did previously.
14 February 2008 - Postbag from the Hedge - Player Takeover
Postie Pete has some letters written by RuneScape characters, and this time he wants you to answer them! Read through these letters, then get replying and we'll choose the very best for this month's Postbag from the Hedge.
Can you assist Reldo's research into ancient topics? Do you have a better idea for the goblin Chosen Commander? Do you have 5 minutes to spare for Balnea's quick informal survey into future business growth opportunities? If so, get over to the Postbag and start replying to their letters!
You can write your reply to the usual Postbag from the Hedge address and they will post up their favourite responses later in the month.
It is not only RuneScape that has seen a sudden increase in creatures thanks to Summoning. Postie Pete has had animals popping up left, right and centre in this month's Players' Gallery.
Be it the wolves of White Wolf Mountain, your faithful feline followers or even an abyssal demon, you will be able to find a wide variety of beasts for you in this month's great selection.
Pete also wants you to know that he's particularly interested in dragons - if you produce a dragony image, the KBD might take a swift look (or three) at it.
The guide for the new Catapult Construction quest has been added to RuneHQ. This short quest is a continuation of the Regicide quest series. A big thanks goes out to budmash and everyone else who helped complete it so quickly.
Following your disruptive behaviour in the Tyras Camp, things are not going well for the catapult guard. Already unpopular with his comrades after various security lapses, he's now neglected the catapult, allowing damp to seep in and rot the frame. General Hining is furious, the replacement catapult parts haven't arrived and the rookie catapult engineer has gone missing in hostile Isafdar.
It's a good thing, then, that a bold adventurer with your Construction knowledge is in the area; however, this will take much more effort than simply building furniture. You'll need to source some schematics, collect the finest materials and exert your mind as well as your hammer-hand...and that's just when building the catapult. You will also need to put it through some rigorous tests before the fearsome weapon can be deployed. After all, you'll want to be pretty sure of where your boulders are going to land!
As well as some Construction know-how, you will also learn to be more effective when using Castle Wars catapults. Needless to say, this Catapult Construction quest will help make amends for the carnage you caused during your last visit.
Regicide Quest
Level 44 Construction
Level 42 Fletching
Level 54 Smithing is recommended
Access to:
A Castle Wars reward and a new piece of clothing
A tricky shape puzzle!
In other news...
Over the past week, the new music system has been causing issues with server load, leading us to remove some of it so that it doesn't interrupt your enjoyment of the game. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you over the past few days - as you can imagine, it is difficult for us to know the exact effect that hundreds of thousands of players, both members and free, will have on servers when we release a new piece of content like this! We have put in a lot of work to optimise the music system, so you can now use it without any server issues at all.
On another musical note, we have looked at those songs that players cannot unlock, due to them being related to completed quests. Anyone who missed out on unlocking a quest-specific track while the music system was deactivated, and who can't return to the area to unlock it again, will have the track unlocked for them in this update. As always, if you notice any further issues with this or any other content, please do send us a bug report. Your support is incredibly helpful in these matters.
Hello everybody! We have a ton of brand new updates for you today! First off, you may already have noticed we have revamped all the RuneHQ site themes, complete with a brand new logo and updated graphics. In addition to this we have rearranged a few things here and there to make the site more accessible to everyone. You can change the themes in the menu to the left.
Following this comes probably the biggest update. We are very pleased to inform everyone that RuneHQ and RuneHead are now working together as affiliates to improve your RuneScape experience. The first feature we have added is the Top Clans Database. This database, created using the memberlists of clans registered on RuneHead.com, lists the top 100 clans based on Combat, Hitpoints, Magic, Ranged, and Overall average levels. Also in the works is a voting feature that will let everyone vote for who they believe is the best clan in RuneScape, so keep your eyes open for future updates from the combined efforts of RuneHQ and RuneHead! We look forward to future projects in this partnership.
The next update is the launch of RuneHQ Radio! This cool feature will let you listen in to various songs being streamed by the RuneHQ DJs. In the near future we will open up applications to everyone interested in becoming a DJ. At the moment we only have a few, so music may not be streaming all the time. If you press play and nothing happens then chances are no DJ is currently online. Have fun listening! NOTE: The server it is currently on will not be able to support a massive number of listeners. Therefore for the next few weeks keep in mind that we are just testing the functionality of the radio, and that there WILL be a lot of lag.
Lastly, we have a new page for Hosted Clans. These are clans that have been given web hosting by RuneHQ for their continued activity in our Clan Forums. If you have an established clan and wish to be hosted too, then actively help out other clan members and discuss everything related to clans in our Clan Discussion forums, or post your latest war victories or pk spoils in our War Results and PK Run Ins boards, or maybe even post some Clan Videos or Recruitment Topics. The most active clans on our forums will not only be given their own hosting, but also their very own Ventrilo channel on the Global Gaming HQ Ventrilo Server. We look forward to discussing everything involving RuneScape clans with you!
As always, RuneHQ aims to provide you with the absolute best RuneScape experience, and is constantly listening to your suggestions on our Community Forums to make RuneHQ a better place.
We've had to turn off some parts of the new music system because they'd been causing problems with server load.
This means that:
Music tracks may not be automatically selected for you as you move from area to area. But you can still always select a track to play manually from the music player interface.
You may also find that you're not getting new tracks unlocked as a result of this. If you miss out on a once-only quest-specific music track during this time, we will ensure that it is unlocked for you after the problems are fixed, which will hopefully be in the next week.
Please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience.
5 February 2008 - Audio Week and Improved Edgeville Dungeon
The New Music System:
The bards of Runescape have been handed the task of creating a music player that is simpler to use, offering more advanced options. Well, they have certainly managed it, and this week sees its release!
Previously, travelling across the world of RuneScape meant frequent changes of music, often playing only the early parts of songs. Now, our new music system plays songs all the way to the end, at which point a new song is chosen that is appropriate to your area - provided you have unlocked it of course!
There are a couple of exceptions to this rule: if you unlock a track by entering a new area, the system will interrupt your current song in favour of the new tune, ensuring that you hear all new songs. Also, if you encounter a boss NPC or start a cutscene with added music, the system will, of course, interrupt your current song to play the appropriate tune to accompany the action.
You still have the ability to manually choose your tunes by clicking on the song name. This will, of course, interrupt the current song to play your chosen tune, as it always has. We have also kept the 'loop song on/off' button (which now looks a little like a recycle symbol) so you can listen to your favourite song repeatedly.
Song Unlocking Information:
We have added a right-click option to locked song names in the music player, which will tell you exactly where to unlock it. This means that you don't need to hunt through the Knowledge Base to find out where "Throne of the Demon" can be unlocked, for instance.
The 500 Song Emote:
We have introduced a brand new emote, which is only available to those true adventurers who have unlocked 500 songs. As soon as this 500th song has been unlocked, you will be able to use the brand new 'Air Guitar' emote, with added sound - enjoy!
Sound Effect Improvements:
We have revisited many areas and quests, adding missing sounds and making various improvements to them. As you travel the world, you should notice new and improved sound effects, including:
Torches crackling in caves and dungeons
Floorboards creaking in Draynor Manor
Improved sounds for doors
Sounds for lighting/extinguishing lanterns and candles
Various improved background sounds
There are too many changes to list here, but hopefully the extra atmospherics will make your game experience more immersive and interesting!
Improvements to existing songs:
We have also made improvements to many existing songs and instruments in the game, some of which are obvious, some more subtle; see if you can find which ones have been changed!
We hope you enjoy the changes we've made to Runescape's audio this week. We are open to future suggestions, so keep them coming in!
- The Audio Team.
Edgeville Dungeon area improvement:
Venture, if you dare, into the depths of the newly-improved Edgeville Dungeon. Whether you want to dice with chaos druids or stand tall amongst giants then come on down, the graphically improved dungeon awaits you. Who knows, you might make it out alive - unlike some of the other inhabitants!
In other news...
Balance has been restored! Players can now obtain Summoning XP from the Tears of Guthix minigame. Genie lamps can also grant your Summoning wishes in a similar fashion.
Kebbit fur no longer floats when dropped on the floor. Now, it actually obeys the laws of gravity and will appear at the correct height.
The Carrallangar teleport in the Ancient Magicks spellbook wasn't teleporting to the right place. This has been fixed and you should now teleport to the correct location instead of arriving slightly further to the west.
The ogres and spiders outside of Oo'glog have been relocated slightly, as they were scaring the chinchompas away. Players can now hunt these creatures without as much interruption.
This month will start with a fanfare. February plays host to Audio Week - a collection of nips, tucks, changes and improvements that will jazz up your listening experience and make the music system easier to use. You can expect to hear songs all the way to the end, without them constantly changing as you move from area to area. Ardent adventurers who unlock 500 songs can expect an air guitar emote. Gnarly!
There's no room for this kind of tomfoolery in the graphical improvement for this month. The Edgeville Dungeon residents have been pretty grumpy ever since overground Edgeville got a rework - Postie Pete even got an irate letter from Vannaka. So - and not because we are scared of Vannaka, honestly - February brings a new look to Edgeville Dungeon which will make it seem suitably dank and dangerous.
After failing once in the Regicide quest, the Tyras Camp Catapult Guard has managed to fail again, this time by allowing damp into General Hining's catapult. Needless to say some unwitting/bold adventurer will be needed to repair the catapult and bring some much-needed security to the camp. Your Construction skills will have to be sharp and your puzzle-solving even sharper in this Catapult Construction quest, where you will be able to make amends for the carnage you caused in Regicide - with the added bonus of a Castle Wars-based reward, of course!
February means that Spring is approaching, so the rabbits of RuneScape are getting feisty. They've got a taste for ogleroot, a gnomish vegetable that is grown in only one known area, and they are doing everything in their floppy-eared power to get hold of it. This frenetic and strategic minigame will require you to dig up seeds and ogleroots before the evil bunnies get a whiff of them, using your powers of deduction and speed-shovelling. Not only will you be able to enjoy a fantastic new type of gaming, you will be able to access some great Farming rewards. Hard-to-find seeds and Farming XP rewards will be available for those swift with the spade and quick off the mark.
To continue the fun Farming frolics in February, we will have a fab new Farming amulet for you to fiddle with. The amulet of Farming will be available from most Farming stores and offers some abilities of the amulet of nature. Owners of the amulet of nature will also find that it gets a fresh infusion of magic this month, offering teleports to diseased patches and allowing you to remotely pay farmers to protect your patch. Oh, and it'll talk!
Add a sprinkle of Player's Gallery, a clove of Development Diary and a tablespoon of Postbag from the Hedge and you have a February that is looking pretty tasty!
A short month but no shortage of interesting news and developments!
This newsletter will be available at the beginning of each month with the purpose of keeping our community enlightened with any information that might be heading your way. For any further
information please make sure that you check out our forums for details.
Announcements
New Vent Server! - New Update!
In an effort to make sure all of our users have the best online experience possible, RuneHQ has upgraded its Ventrilo server to a capacity of 700% what it previously was! In doing so,
however, the login information to the Ventrilo server has changed! Please check out the RuneHQ Ventrilo Guide for the updated
information and how to login.
If you have not registered a Ventrilo account you will need to do so in this forum. If you have questions, our Community Forums are an excellent place to get them answered.
Lastly, if you have an established clan (more than 50 members), and want your own channel for it, then head over to this topic
and make a request. Please include a link to your clan's RuneHead list so we can ensure your clan is established.
Ventrilo is the next evolutionary step of Voice over IP (VoIP) group communications software. By offering surround sound positioning and special sound effects on a per user, per channel, per server
or global configuration level the program provides each user the option to fully customize exactly how they wish to hear sounds from other users or events. Ventrilo is best known for it's superior
sound quality and minimal use of CPU resources so as not to interfere with day to day operations of the computer or during online game competitions. It is also preferred for the simple user
interface that any first time computer user can very quickly learn because the most commonly used features are immediately visible and can be activated with a single click of the mouse.
Buzz Topics
Buzz Topics are some of the most popular or read topics currently on the forum. We invite everyone to stop by and view these and post your thoughts with the community.
Wanna show off those singing talents, have some fun, or even just listen to MrStormy sing That's Amore? Well your chance is on Saturday Feb 23rd when we'll have an official karaoke room where
people can express their musical talents with appropriate songs. Don't forget, you must sign up for Vent to attend!
The February RuneHQ Event!
The RuneHQ has another wonderful event planned for our community. For more information on how you become involved please make sure that you visit The February RuneHQ Event! for more information. Love to see you all there!
Awards
Congratulations to the Signature of the Month winner Rebekah. She entered this winning signature:
If you would like to participate in next month's Signature of the Month, and have a chance to be featured on the main site, make sure you visit us on our forums.
Staff Birthdays
Below are the staff members that we would like to wish a Happy Birthday to this month.
February-13 Mutiny
February-27 SpicySalsa
Staff Promotions
I am proud to announce that these following people have been promoted within the site due to the hard work and dedication that they show every day. Please welcome them to the ever-growing community
known as RuneHQ.
Siegflare - Price Editor
Navy_seal - Price Editor
Knight9693 - Price Editor
I Hrt Dbl Ds - Wilderness Category Moderator
Tams - FAQ Team
Ostee - FAQ Team
D-ablo - FAQ Team
305_Diablo - FAQ Team
DarkVortexX - FAQ Team
Job_is_God - RuneHQ Validators
KalphiteKing - RuneHQ Validators
samhartling - RuneHQ Validators
JoeC - Runescape Category Moderator
SpicySalsa - Chat Moderator
Debateman3 - Media Moderator
Nickstud - Price Editor
Cloudsfinalh - Price Editor
Akaris_Light - Clans Category Moderator
Fun Stuff
And here is the second load of puzzles for the newsletter. Last month there wasn't a prize, but this month the winner of each of the puzzles (wordsearch, cryptogram and maze) will be entered once into the end-of-month prize draw for a chance to win an array of prizes! I am proud to announce the winners of this months competitions!
The winner of the wordsearch competition was... Akaris_Light. The winner of the maze competition was... Zarkith. And finally, the winner of the cryptogram competition was... Supersims. Congratulations to all 3 of you and good luck for the monthly drawing!!
Thank you for coming to RuneHQ, Make sure you visit us on our forums and become a member of our ever growing community.
Credits
Editor: DRAVAN
Games: Mutiny and samwilliamh
Events: Sir Brendan8 and Kassandra
Graphics: DRAVAN
News Information: DRAVAN, Kuramawhip and the RuneHQ Staff
New Guide, Lores and Histories, and Postbag from the Hedge
Thursday, Jan 31, 2008
News ID: 00775
Hello everyone, welcome back to our next update. Today, we have the newly written Duel Arena Guide. In the guide expect to see the regular Dueling as well as the Duel Tournament rules and descriptions.
This guide was written by Lament and Skeletonmat and a big thanks to everyone else who helped with this guide.
Those avid readers of the Postbag from the Hedge and the Lores and Histories will know that Reldo never ceases in his hunt for classic literature, informative texts and amusing tales, and now he's finished restoring a truly classic text dating from the last days of the Fourth Age.
The Excellent Log of the Journeys and Tribulations of Samuel Scourduel is the diary of an intrepid explorer from the days before exploration was common and is an interesting example of humankind's first encounters with some of the stranger inhabitants of RuneScape. It's a hefty tome, though, so Reldo has decided to build the anticipation by only releasing the first two of the four entries for now.
So, how did the gnomes react upon meeting a tall man from Varrock? Were the TzHaar shocked to discover that not all the beings on RuneScape were made of stone? Click here to find out more about the remarkable Samuel Scourduel.
Postie Pete has recovered from his New Year's Party just in time to dash around to RuneScape's denizens with your letters.
This month, Reldo sheds light on some mysterious symbols around RuneScape, the master of Castle Wars comments on fashion, and we finally find out what chinchompas do in their spare time...
Pete wants to let you know that the druids of Taverley are very interested in your animal artwork at the moment. If you have a favourite RuneScape monster, animal or beast then get drawing and send it in!
Moving from one RuneScape website feature to another often required you to repeatedly enter your username and password. For example, posting a message on the Forums, accessing QuestHelp and setting your recovery questions meant entering your details on three separate occasions.
We want to encourage you to use these features, so we have made some improvements to how you login to the RuneScape website. Now, you will only have to enter your username and password once when using the majority of our website features. Logging into the game will still require your username and password.
The site-wide login is available for:
Reporting a bug/fault
Posting in the Forums
Viewing your friends' Hiscores
Changing your password
Voting in a poll
Finding hints for a quest in the QuestHelp system
Modifying your recovery questions
For security reasons, the site-wide login does not affect the following, and you will still have to enter your details to access them:
Setting up a subscription
Logging into RuneScape
Appealing an offence
Visiting the pmod centre
We would like to remind you that your password should only be entered on www.runescape.com. Some websites attempt to look similar to RuneScape. Don't trust a site just because it looks official.
We have also made some graphical changes to the offence appeal, ticketing system, password history and recovery questions pages, so that they fit in with the recent Billing System rework.
Hey everyone! The guide for the As a First Resort quest has been completed. Please thank Budmash, Theundeadgod, and everyone else who helped. Happy questing!
Having travelled to the ogre town of Oo'glog, Balnea could not have expected such an irresistible business opportunity. The town may be full of annoying bugs and surly ogresses, but it's also home to some rather miraculous pools!
These pools seem to have all manner of benefits to health and performance; with this in mind, Balnea has become determined to change the primitive encampment into a luxurious health spa! Unfortunately, managing a team of ogres has proven more of a challenge than Balnea bargained for and she could use your help to get the spa up and running.
It certainly won't be easy: bugs circle the spa pools, the hotel owner seems to think that slabs of beef make good pillows and the local chef couldn't rustle up the simplest of recipes. Resolve these issues, however, and you'll have access to the full range of Oo'glog's offerings, including shops, spa pools, ogre wigs, mud packs and the ability to trap three new Hunter creatures. Keen woodcutters will also find a new tree - the eucalyptus.
A whole new area, the size of Lunar Isle
Three new Hunter creatures
A new Summoning pet
A new type of tree
A host of other rewards!
In other news...
As many of you have pointed out on the Forums, some creatures were dropping lots of charms while others rarely dropped them. These were, frankly, bugs and something that we needed to fix; so, this week, we have fixed them. The charms you get from defeating monsters will now be more suitable and balanced, based more on the creature's Combat level.
We're not only fixing charm bugs, we're giving you more opportunities to get hold of them too. Charm drops have been added to some of the Slayer-related creatures, so that you can stock up on them while on Slayer tasks. Keep your eye out for more charm-dropping creatures in the future.
We've fixed an issue that sometimes caused players to appear to disappear in Clan Wars. This was only happening in some areas and has been changed so players won't vanish anymore!
The one-dose Zamorak potion wasn't behaving in the same manner as the other versions. This has been corrected so that all doses give you the same benefits.
Rings of life will no longer teleport you out of Clan Wars when you're low on Hitpoints. This is a safe minigame, so there was no need for it to teleport you to safety.
Introducing our Summoning Skill Guide, after many long hours of hard work! If you don't know where to start with this new skill, take a look at some of the strategies listed. Also many of the new Summoning items have been added to our Items Database. If you would also like to contribute your strategies, please visit the Submissions Forum.
The magic of Summoning awaits you! This guide was written by Terr002, niekjepiek, Jakesterwars, and Xander_7.
Have a great time Summoning those mystical creatures!
The Castle Wars minigame is a place to prove your mettle against others, fight for the honour of the gods and bask in the glory of victory. We've added an action-packed new wallpaper to the Downloads and Wallpapers section, showing the followers of Saradomin and Zamorak engaged in a pitched Castle Wars battle!
22 January 2008 - Pawya and Grenwall Hunter Creatures
The pine forests of Isafdar provide a fresh hunting ground for intrepid box-trappers. Two recently-discovered beasts have survived by avoiding the traps, pits and dire wolves of Isafdar, so will prove pretty elusive, even for experienced and knowledgeable hunters.
Pawyas are timid creatures that scour the forest in search of fruit to eat, hiding underground at the slightest noise. It is rumoured that they are particularly fond of papaya - something of a rare commodity in their native environment.
Grenwalls, on the other hand, are carnivores with limitless appetites and a prickly attitude. They will compete with you by hunting and devouring any pawya unfortunate enough to cross their path. In order to outwit these tricky critters, experienced hunters will need to hone their skills by using a suitable bait to trap them...
Those who do succeed in trapping a grenwall will have access to a hefty slice of XP, as well as the spines that cover the creature's body. Their tough, rigid nature makes them ideal for use as arrow shafts. In particular, the proprietors of the Yanille and Nardah Hunter stores are extremely keen to get their mitts on these items, so there may be some profit in it for you.
In an effort to make sure all of our users have the best online experience possible, RuneHQ has upgraded its Ventrilo server to a capacity of 700% what it previously was! In doing so, however, the login information to the Ventrilo server has changed! Please check out the RuneHQ Ventrilo Guide for the updated information and how to login.
If you have not registered a Ventrilo account you will need to do so in this forum. If you have questions, our Community Forums are an excellent place to get them answered.
Lastly, if you have an established clan (more than 50 members), and want your own channel for it, then head over to this topic and make a request. Please include a link to your clan's RuneHead list so we can ensure your clan is established.
~kassandra~ and [- Smc5528 -] and ~ [Im4eversmart] ~
Players' Gallery, Changes to Summoning, and the GE
A couple of changes have been made to the Grand Exchange, so that item prices can more accurately reflect player demand.
Maximum price cap change
Many non-stacking items are considered to be worth more than they cost in a shop. This is because it can take a long time to ferry these items from the shop to your bank. The Grand Exchange will now account for this, and therefore the maximum price cap for these items has been raised.
Minimum price cap change
The Grand Exchange previously capped the minimum price of items at the amount you could get from a shop, but failed to account for the fact that when selling in bulk the shops would give much less. This has now been fixed, the result of which is that for certain items, the minimum price cap on the Grand Exchange has been lowered.
Having read your feedback on the Forums, we planned a change to the price of Summoning shards. Today, this change has been made, alongside a few others...
Shard Price Reduction:
The price of shards has halved, taking them from 50gp to 25gp. You may purchase these shards from Pikkupstix in Taverley.
Shard Returns:
Those of you who purchased shards at 50gp will not be disappointed. When you next log into the game, we will calculate approximately how many spirit shards you have bought and used at the increased price. Pikkupstix will then offer you an appropriate number of spirit shards. This is to compensate you for the reduction in price.
Increase to Grand Exchange Buy Limits:
Many of Summoning's secondary ingredients were not classed as raw materials on the Grand Exchange. This meant that players were limited to selling 100 of any item at one time. This cap has been lifted and you can now buy or sell Summoning secondary ingredients in larger quantities.
Secondary Item Price Changes:
We have revised the prices of several Summoning secondary items on the Grand Exchange. Demand has increased for several of these items, so the Grand Exchange now reflects this. Examples include:
Vampire dust
Swamp toads
Wolf bones
The examples mentioned here have increased to 200gp each, although other secondary items may have different values. Additionally, the value of these secondary items may increase or decrease by more than the normal 5% Grand Exchange margins.
Object Config Price Changes:
We have amended the object prices of several Summoning pouches, so that they are based on their shard requirements.
Reminder About Summoning Costs:
A lot of people are looking at the skill and calculating how many shards they are going to need to level it up, multiplying that by the cost per shard, and coming to the conclusion that raising Summoning to 99 is going to be very expensive.
The key point, that is easy to miss, is the fact that completed pouches are extremely powerful. They aren't just junk to throw away! In fact, you can make at least as much money from using a completed pouch as it costs to make in the first place. For example, if you summon a creature to fight alongside you, the increased rate at which you can collect monster drops balances out against the initial cost of the pouch.
If you summon a creature to carry items for you, the increased rate at which you can runecraft, or collect items, gives you back as much money as the pouch cost. These are just two examples of the countless ways that the Summoning skill can help you make money more effectively. We had to make the cost high, because the rewards are so high!
If your New Year was as hectic as Postie Pete's, then you should take some time out and relax with this month's Players' Gallery...
There are plenty of ideas for taking it easy in this Gallery: have a break by hunting chinchompas, chill out under the stars or spend some time with a friend.
Pete also wants to let you know that the druids of Taverley are very interested in your animal artwork at the moment. If you have a favourite RuneScape monster, animal or beast then get drawing and send it in.
We've noticed that a few players are worried that the summoning skill costs a lot of gp to level. However after carefully double-checking the figures, we really don't believe this is the case!
A lot of people are looking at the skill and calculating how many shards they are going to need to level it up, multiplying that by the cost per shard, and coming to the conclusion that it's going to be very expensive.
However the key point that is easy to miss is the fact that the completed pouches themselves are extremely powerful. They aren't just junk to throw away! In fact, you can make at least as much money from using the completed pouch as it costs to make in the first place. For example, if you summon a creature to fight alongside you, the increased rate at which you can collect monster drops as a result balances out against the initial cost of the pouch. Or if you summon a creature to carry items for you, the increased rate at which you can runecraft, or collect items gives you back as much money as the pouch cost. These are just two examples of the countless ways the summoning skill can help you make money more effectively. We had to make the cost high, because the rewards are so high!
At the moment all our calculations show that if you use the pouches effectively, (with the possible exception of the very early pouches), you can make back the cost of the pouch by the increased productivity it gives. Therefore the actual net cost of levelling this skill works out at zero! That’s significantly cheaper than, say, construction.
That's pretty good anyway, but we've decided we want to make this a really rewarding skill, and it's time we had another good money making skill in the game. Therefore later this week we are planning on halving the cost of shards. After this the amount you can make from using a pouch will be far more than it costs to make, and you will be able to make a tidy profit. In fact we calculate this will then make summoning one of the best ways of making money in the game, but only if you actually use the pouches! Finally, to make sure that reducing the cost of shards isn't unfair on early levelling, we will make sure that people who have already purchased shards will automatically either get some gold back, or receive extra shards so they have effectively paid the new price.
Quickly as ever, the Wolf Whistle Quest Guide has been added to the site! Thank you Job_is_God for the speedy quest guide. Have fun Summoning everyone!
Strange obelisks have been spotted underground and in the farthest reaches of RuneScape. What could they be for? Who put them there? And what do they have to do with our new members-only skill, Summoning?
One obelisk in particular has been causing trouble for Taverley's most well-known summoner, Pikkupstix, as a giant wolpertinger has used it to break free from the spirit plane. This pesky rabbit, wolf, reindeer...thing is now munching on Pikkupstix's bedclothes, and the druid needs your help to do a spot of banishing...
So begins this week's Wolf Whistle quest, which you will need to complete if you wish to start training the Summoning skill, in much the same way as Druidic Ritual opens up the Herblore skill.
To get more information on how to start Summoning, visit the Summoning - The Basics page in our Knowledge Base.
Once you have completed the Wolf Whistle quest, you can begin raising your stats on your way to the Summoning skillcape! Some of the familiars you summon can help in combat, healing you or attacking with claws, paws, missiles or magic. This is reflected in an increase to the maximum Combat level, taking it to 138. This increased Combat level is not visible on free worlds.
Other familiars aid you outside of combat, including the ability to store items for you - like the pack yak, which acts as a temporary bank for 10 of your items. Some have slightly...stranger effects. Might 'Fish Rain' interest you?
New creatures - barker toad and bunyip - share room with those that are more 'familiar', like the smoke devil (the relative of the dust devil) and the spirit dagannoth. Those with a high enough Summoning level will even be able to talk to them - but beware, they aren't used to talking to humans...
You will recognise many familiars from previous newsposts, wallpapers, Development Diaries and Postbags from the Hedge, while others will be a complete surprise! There is such a wealth of familiars - 53 in fact - that it'll take months for even the most persistent to master their abilities, special moves and Summoning requirements.
In addition, high-level Summoners will unlock an array of 22 new pets. New dogs are at the lowest level, while the hardest pet to tame is...drum-roll...a dragon!
Phew! There is barely a moment to remind you of the extra batch of Summoning familiars and pets coming next month. If you think some of the creatures in this update are big, wait till you see what February brings...
A new members-only skill!
Over 70 new creatures
A new maximum Combat level of 138 for members
Many new Summoning NPCs and items
A Summoning skillcape for the very best
15 January 2008 - Chaos Tunnels, Interface Improvements, Extra Bank Space and More!
Chaos Tunnels
Recent earthquakes have opened rifts in the areas north of Edgeville, and the townsfolk have sent out explorers to discover what lies below. Setting ropes down so others can follow them, these explorers have disappeared, leaving no trace. It has fallen to you to enter these Chaos Tunnels, where the laws of physics do not break, but bend into all sorts of strange and curious shapes.
Have a care to arm yourself well and take a means of quick escape, as the Tunnels are treacherous and deadly, and it should be noted that dragons reside here. The creatures of the Chaos Tunnels have learned the value of attacking in numbers, and will not hesitate to join forces in an attempt to eat, destroy or even set fire to those who cross their paths.
It is not only the creatures that throw obstacles in your way. The portals that link the various tunnels are infused with chaos, and have a tendency to send you to the strangest of locations!
The Chaos Tunnels are multicombat, and an ideal place for the stout of heart and strong of body to hone their Summoning skills, as well as their Magic, Ranged or melee. A warning to you: although you may wish to attempt the dungeon alone, death will come swiftly to the ill-prepared!
This is a multicombat area with lots of creatures - including dragons - and chaotic portals. Only the boldest should apply!
Access to:
43 types of creature for you to sharpen your claws on!
A huge members-only area the size of Mos Le'Harmless.
Taverley Graphical Update
The druids and buildings of Taverley have been given a makeover! No stone has been left unturned and used as walls, tables and other furniture in this great reworked region.
Interface Update
You may notice some changes to the interface area around the minimap. We've added some new icons so you can easily see your Hitpoints, run energy, Prayer points and Summoning points (if you are a member and have completed Wolf Whistle). The Hitpoints icon will flash if you're below 25% of your total. The logout button has moved to the top-right of the interface and Clan Chat has taken its place.
The side interface has also been adjusted to allow for Summoning additions - but only if you are a member. There is now a Summoning icon on the top-right of your screen, by your minimap, your Summoning interface button is on the bottom-left of the lower toolbar, while the stats section contains the Summoning icon and your Summoning skill level.
Moggies (also known as cats in some parts of the world) now all use the animated Summoning interface to help you keep track of their hunger and size.
64 Extra Bank Spaces!
Due to the large number of items introduced with Summoning, we've increased the amount of members' bank space. This has increased by 64 spaces to allow you to store more items!
Summoning Changes
Many existing items in game have had Summoning defence bonuses added. For more information, and to see which items have changed, head over to the Knowledge Base. The maximum Combat Level has also been increased to 138, as mentioned in the Summoning newspost. This is only visible on members' worlds.
As Summoning has been released, we've updated various minigames to incorporate the familiars. You should be able to take them into the TzHaar Fight Pits, Castle Wars, Bounty Hunter and Clan Wars. Summoning is now an option for duelling, and some of the Duel Tournaments will be Summoning-enabled! Wait times between Duel Tournaments have also been reduced to seven minutes.
The Clan Wars and Bounty Hunter minigames have been added as options to the games necklace. You should now be able to teleport close to these minigame starting locations.
We have overhauled the account recovery system to make completing the request form easier and recovering a lost account faster.
We hope you will find this new system simpler to use, which will allow us to more accurately recover your account. The links to access the system from the front page have remained unchanged, however they will now take you to a login form similar to all the other login forms on our website, except it will not require a password to proceed. Additionally, the pages have been re-designed in the style of the new billing system which we launched at the end of last year.
As part of the upgrade to the new system we have slightly changed how we handle locked accounts. Previously, when a locked account was appealed we answered the appeal as soon as possible. Under the new system lock appeals will be held for up to 3 days to allow any other players contesting the account to appeal as well. This change will allow us to secure compromised accounts more effectively. Standard forgotten or lost password appeals are not affected by this and will continue to be answered as quickly as possible.
Users with 'Tracking IDs' from the previous account recovery system should find that they work correctly with the new system.
9 January 2008 - Development Diary Summoning - Part 4
It is time for the fourth and final Summoning Development Diary. This diary's focus is on the anticipation for the skill, and how it has been built up both in game and on the website.
Please visit the Summoning Development Diary here.
Hello! The staff here have been hard at work to bring you our newest guide. The RuneHQ Ventrilo Guide is up! A one stop for everything you need to know about our Ventrilo server. If you still have questions, our Community Forums are an excellent place to get questions answered.
We are currently carrying out some essential maintenance to the login servers. Some of you may experience login difficulties in this period. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
We aim to complete the maintenance soon. If you do experience any issues with logging in, please wait for an hour and try again.
January was named after the Roman god Janus, who certainly knew that two heads are better than one - and so do we! Head over to the Downloads and Wallpapers section to see why, in our latest Summoning concept art wallpaper.
This is the last of the Summoning concept art wallpapers we will be releasing, as the skill is just around the corner! We hope you're excited, because we certainly are. Rawr!
Hey everyone! Our latest quest guide has been uploaded. If you feel up to the challenge and want to get your 250th quest point then grab your questing gear and go check out the Dealing with Scabaras quest guide. Happy questing!
The Contact! quest sent you on your adventurous way to face the followers of Scabaras, making grim discoveries of death and intrigue beneath the desert. In Dealing with Scabaras there has been a reaction to these events, dragging you kicking and screaming into a tale of revenge and redemption.
Your journey begins with a mysterious corpse that needs identification - but all is not as it seems. Spurred on by duty and revenge, you will travel to uncharted eastern deserts - dealing with folk who are cautious, disreputable and stone-headed - eventually approaching your journey's end. Here you will be confronted by a shadowy foe who requires you to be at the very peak of your powers.
Treasure seekers will find a new stomping-ground patrolled by strange creatures in the ancient ruins and desert sand. Can you resist straying from your path?
For many of you, however, revenge and loot are not the only rewards that inspire you, and there will be ample chances to gain the lost knowledge of the desert. What drives the followers of Scabaras to their violent ways? What exactly is Simon Templeton up to? Why are there so many archaeologists wandering the lands? Is Osman quite what he seems? You can hope to learn more about these mysteries as you busy yourself under the burning sun.
Remember to take water, or you may stay forever...
The Feud Contact! Zogre Flesh Eaters
Level 60 Thieving
Level 50 Agility
Level 60 Strength
Level 21 Firemaking
Level 60 Crafting would be helpful, but not essential
Must be able to fight off numerous hostile creatures.
Access to:
An overground area the size of the Feldip Hills!
New underground areas, the size of Keldagrim
A new Slayer creature
Several multicombat areas
In other news...
The Christmas event has now been removed from the game, but you can still throw snowballs at your friends. Players who managed to obtain a snowglobe from the Snow Queen can store it safely in their POH costume room toy box.
We've also updated the crocodiles to create a snappy and sharp(toothed) new look, alongside some improved voracious vultures, hungry for your bones! Mess with them at your peril...
This month will begin with an important change that you are all aware of: unbalanced trade will be removed on Wednesday, 2nd of January. As you may have read in the Development Diary: RuneScape vs Real-world Trading, this will be a change that reduces the threat of bots, gold sellers and scammers dramatically. With a fatal blow delivered to real-world trading, we can focus more on updates like three quests in one month!
We will be relaxing our trade limitations on the same day as unbalanced trade removal. Thanks to your feedback, we will be basing our new limits on how many Quest Points you have. This will give you increased flexibility when trading.
Our first quest this month continues the desert storyline and introduces a bit of an insect theme in January. One of your allies met an untimely demise at the pincers of a large and aggressive bad guy in the Contact! quest. Will you seek revenge and cleanse the world of bugs like a big can of insect repellent? Or will you take the advice of the local priest and try to talk your way out, man-to-mandible? It might just be the lesser of two weevils. Creep and crawl through the desert, raid deserted dungeons and fight louse-y beasties, but remember - insects have feelings too! Especially when you squish ‘em.
Some way north-west of Sophanem, there is a bit of a buzz in the quiet town of Taverley. For one, Guthix has seen fit to give his loyal subjects some crisp new robes, and their rocky buildings a bit of a wax. For two, some strange growlings have been coming from Pikkupstix's house. In the second of this month's quests, you will be roped into dealing with a rabbit-wolf-reindeer-bird-type...thing. But how do you defeat rabbit-wolf-reindeer-bird-type...things? A clue may be found in the title of this Wolf Whistle quest, which introduces key aspects of our next update...
What has 110 eyes, 5 horns, a pair of antlers and a fishbowl? The Chaos Elemental's girlfriend? No, it's Summoning! That's right, the stampede is coming, with scores of animals for you to pet, raise, fight and befriend! We don't want to go into any more detail than the Development Diaries have, but, needless to say, whether you are a skiller or a combat-fiend, Summoning will offer you a familiar for every occasion...
...and what better occasion than the opening of a huge multiway combat dungeon, brimming with a huge range of beasties? Bring your combat familiar so that you can use their Steel of Legends or Insane Ferocity to chew through ranks of creatures and speed you on your way towards that Summoning skillcape! Watch out, though - the area is littered with misfiring portals that are about as reliable as a cartful of Morrisanes.
You would be forgiven for thinking that January is just for Summoning. Oh no,no,no - Hunter will get a look in too! Budding trappers will find many treats within the Summoning skill itself, but they will also find an extension to their skill in Isafdar, with the introduction of the grenwall and pawya creatures. These are two high-level Hunter creatures that give a boost to Ranged and Farming - if you can catch them, of course.
Your Hunter, alongside your Woodcutting and Firemaking, will be called upon in our third and final January quest. In it, you will be asking yourself several questions. How do I clear a mud bath of flies? Why am I sleeping on a pork chop? Is an ogre massage a good idea? And what are platypodes? Take time out from your adventuring to help an entrepreneur set up a spa resort deep in ogre country. There might even be a mudpack in it for you.
There's hardly room in the month to tuck in some popular website offerings. Expect the last of our Summoning Development Diaries and wallpapers, a Lores and Histories, a Castle Wars wallpaper and the customary Players' Gallery and Postbag from the Hedge, sprinkled liberally amongst the updates above. It really is a January to get excited about!
We would like to remind you that the Grand Exchange is a great option for buying or selling items, where you can purchase items at 5% above or below their market price. Additionally, balanced trades are still possible.
New 30,000gp Trade Margin!:
Note: The following changes only apply if you are on a members' world.
Today, we have made a change to the planned 3,000gp trade margin for today's release. Instead, we are basing your trade margin on the number of Quest Points you have, giving you more flexibility when making balanced trades.
Having read your Forum posts and noted all of your feedback, we have come to the decision that you should have a margin of up to 30,000gp!
Originally, the total value of any items being given in a balanced trade would have had to be within a margin of 3,000gp of the items being received. Instead, we are increasing this margin according to the number of quests you have completed. As an example, a player who has 150 Quest Points will be able to receive items with a market value of 21,000gp above or below the items they are receiving.
No matter how many Quest Points you have, it will take 15 minutes before your gp limit resets.
Any individual trade is limited by the lower of the two players' limits. For example, if a player with 100 Quest Points is trading with a player on 30 Quest Points, then both players will be limited to a 3,000gp difference every 15 minutes.
The table below will give you a rough idea of the value that applies to you.
QP
Trade Margin
200 or more
30,000
190
28,200
180
26,400
170
24,600
160
22,800
150
21,000
140
19,200
130
17,400
120
15,600
110
13,800
100
12,000
90
10,200
80
8,400
70
6,600
60
4,800
50 or less
3,000
Your limit increases for every Quest Point that you gain. As more quests are introduced, with more Quest Points, we may decide to increase the above values.
It is not only trades that are affected by Quest Points. We have also increased the staking cap for Duel Arena, in the same way. Using the table in the '3,000gp Rule Changes' section, you will be able to find out your new limit for gaining or losing items in staked duels. This does not apply to duel tournaments.
This increase also applies to the Rat Pits minigames.
For more information on the Duel Arena stake cap, please read the Knowledge Base article.
With the new year, RuneHQ has already begun rolling out some big and exciting changes! Today marks one of our first, a RuneHQ Newsletter Directory!
This directory will list our current newsletter, and will also list past newsletters so you can read up on some RuneHQ history. Check it out here. Please keep in mind that due to the radical change in the way newsletters are now submitted by our staff, newsletters before today's release will not be available.
Happy New Years from all of us here at RuneHQ! [- Smc5528 -]
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, Jan 01, 2008
News ID: 00757
Happy New Year everyone! We hope all of you had safe and fun New Year's celebrations! We know that 2008 with RuneHQ will be packed with new and exciting things. So to kick off the new year RuneHQ is bringing you the Brand New Newsletter for January 2008!
Thank you to all of our loyal visitors that have stuck with us through the years. Together, let's make it a great '08!
We would like to remind you about the removal of unbalanced trade, which will happen on the 2nd of January, 2008. Please prepare yourself for this change as you will not be able to make unbalanced trades once the date has passed.
We will be introducing a change on the same day, which will allow you more flexibility when trading. As you may have read in our Future Changes to Recent Updates newspost, this is an increase to the 3,000gp staking/trading limit, based on the number of Quest Points you have.
More details will be given in the Behind the Scenes newspost, and on the day of release.
The following are the winners in the December drawing. The Owners and Admins would like to thank everyone who participated, and hope that you choose to participate in future contests and events.
First Place: Kurai_Okami - choice of a Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, or a PC up to $500 in value
Second Place: juniorfan and Krazy_Matev - choice of a PSP or a Nintendo DS with accessories
Third Place: Crypto416, demian, Bectemir, and Supersims - who all win a $100 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com
Fourth Place: flowerpot198, JoeC, richie_s, Mustangbby14, Job_Is_God, werock, zenatho, and AznxViet - who all win $50 in merchandise from the RHQ Store.
Congratulations to all. We look forward to more contests and fun in the coming year!
~ Stormy's_Amazon ~
RHQ Event, Happy Holidays from the RuneHQ Staff!
Monday, Dec 24, 2007
News ID: 00754
27 December 2007 - Christmas Event - For ALL Players!
---> Win a FREE Game System or Computer! <---
Santa didn't deliver?
Winter blues still got you down?
One December event not enough? Well then you're in luck, because the RuneHQ Events Team is hosting another, YES another, event this month!
The event will start south of Lumbridge, in world 55.
Real-life prizes will be awarded to the winner(s). All winners and those who finish the event will have their name put into a drawing for the top prizes.!
The prizes scheduled to be given away on December 25 will be done after the event on December 27. All winners will be posted before the end of the month.
The Grand Prize will be the choice of a Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, or a PC up to $500 in value.
The second place prize will be the choice of a PSP or a Nintendo DS with accessories.
Third prize will be a $100 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com.
Fourth prize will be up to $50 merchandise from the RuneHQ Store.
*Please note - all winners under the age of 18 will be required to submit a signed parental consent form before prizes will be awarded. All winners will also need a forum account in order to provide delivery information.
For many on RuneScape, Christmas is an opportunity to let go and party. In Party Pete's case, that is a very scary proposition indeed! Find out how he has prepared for Christmas in this month's Postbag from the Hedge.
Postie Pete has also been out on the streets of RuneScape, canvassing opinion about this year's updates. The Wise Old Man, Bob the Cat, Ping and Pong all give their two coins' worth about quests, updates and even their own New Year's resolutions.
20 December 2007 - Development Diary: Summoning - Part 3
In our latest Summoning Development Diary, we are going over what it takes to test and balance a skill so that it can fit in with the rest of the game.
While Summoning isn't just combat-related, its effect on combat will be significant. As such, a large part of this Development Diary's focus is on balancing combat, and the effect it will have on the Combat level. The Diary also covers where to pitch the skill in terms of difficulty, cost and training speed.
18 December 2007 - Christmas Event - For ALL Players!
A white Christmas has come to RuneScape this year! It is a gift from the Queen of Snow, who has enlisted her cheeky snow imps for a festive task: to bring snow to some of RuneScape's major settlements. As far as the imps are concerned, you can do what you like with it: there's plenty more where it came from!
So, what can you do with snow? For a start you can make snowballs and, unlike last Christmas's snowballs, you can throw them at other players. If you ever get tired of pelting each other with snowballs, you can use the same snow to build snowmen. The snow imps will even provide a selection of hats to add a finishing touch. The hats are infused with Christmas magic, so they might do more to the snowmen than just make them look good.
Once you've built a snowman, the snow imps will give you a chance to visit the Land of Snow itself and contribute to the great Snow Tournament. The Queen of Snow herself presides over the tournament and, this being Christmas, she might even have a present for you.
The Christmas event is open for two weeks and can be accessed by both free-to-play and members.
Talk to the snow imps in Draynor, Falador, Ardougne, Burthorpe or Rellekka.
Note: The snowman hats and accessories will disappear once the Christmas event ends.
Access to:
A snowman area the size of Draynor Village
Snowballs that can be thrown at other players
A total of eight different snowmen that can be built
New item and emote!
In other news...
Players using LootShare in the God Wars Dungeon will now be able to increase their killcount. If a LootSharing group gets a kill, the player with the lowest killcount receives an increase to their relevant tally.
Dwarf cannon sets and light and dark mystic sets have been added to the Grand Exchange. We've also changed the descriptions on existing sets to be a little more helpful.
The minimum score required to get onto the Hiscores has been reduced from 500 to 250 for Bounty Hunter and Bounty Hunter Rogues. As usual, you will need to login before you appear on the Hiscore tables.
17 December 2007 - Future Changes to Recent Updates
As promised in last week's newspost, here are some of the initial ideas we have to further improve the player interaction in the game.
Expect the first new single-way player-vs-player combat area to hit the game in the first half of next year, along with a number of other PvP updates in the future.
As many people have suggested, we're planning to raise the 3,000gp staking/trading limit for certain players. This will be proportional to the number of Quest Points you have, with the top-end being ten-times what it is now! This should still offer protection from cheats, while also giving you more flexibility in your staking and trading activities.
We're looking at a way of giving LootSharers the ability to receive their drops as coins straight away, so that large items can be split between the party immediately. To avoid unbalancing the economy, we’re investigating ways that this could be tied in with the Grand Exchange (i.e, with the item in question being sold on the Exchange and the resulting proceeds being split between the team).
We are planning on adding an 'item lending' feature to the game. To prevent indefinite loans, you will be able to lend an item for the duration of your session (once either the lender or receiver logs out, the item will go back again). Obviously, we need to design this VERY carefully to cover all eventualities, but we reckon we can work something out.
These are just a taster of the many ideas we have gathered from you or from our developers. They should really improve your enjoyment of RuneScape, without opening the door for real-world traders. This doesn’t even mention the Grand Exchange, which we can go into more detail about…
The Grand Exchange
We have to hold our hands up and admit that a handful of starting prices were a little off. It was a huge task to get 15,000+ items valued correctly and some slipped through the net. We’re on the case, though, as we have already formed a team to manage the Grand Exchange!
As well as getting the starting price right, this team will regularly check prices on an ongoing basis, making sure that they naturally and accurately represent the current state of the player economy. Of course, they won’t be alone, as YOU will be there to help them! A new sticky thread, centred on the Grand Exchange, will be available to highlight any concerns you have about prices and marketplace matters, while a new web page is already in the works which will allow you to track item prices over a long period of time.
Some smaller changes to the Grand Exchange:
Purchased items of a large quantity will be automatically noted
There will be less unnecessary clicks when buying or selling items
A ‘1,000’ quantity button will be introduced
Access to single-click increases to your item quantity
Postie Pete loves receiving your letters and pictures all year round, but gets even more excitable around the Christmas season. This year, we have managed to get our hands on some festive pictures you've been sending in, and we are planning to give them to Postie Pete on Christmas Day.
For a sneak preview of what Postie Pete will be unwrapping under the tree, visit this week's Players' Gallery.
As you may have read in the Development Diaries, we promised a new Summoning wallpaper this week. We hope you'll find this one just as intriguing as the last. What can it all mean? January has a lot of questions to answer!
Even though this week has been one of the toughest ever for everyone involved with RuneScape, it has been tough for so much longer than one week. Bots, gold sellers, scammers: these are all problems that both us and you - the players - have had to put up with together in recent months.
These occurrences were becoming so frequent that they seriously threatened RuneScape. A solution was needed as soon as possible, so we had to come up with the one thing that would successfully stop real-world traders – stopping unbalanced trade. It will be tough for law-abiding players, but it will also be tough for us, as we will certainly not be gaining money or members with this update. Instead, we are doing this for the good of the game, which is as dear to our hearts as it is to you.
Soon, the hard part will be over and done with. The unbalanced trade changes will be made in January and we certainly don’t plan any more hard changes in the foreseeable future. Together, we will deliver an enormous blow to real-world trading, and the game has already seen a dramatic reduction in their numbers.
We have always planned to release the real-world trading updates and then improve them further by listening to your feedback. We were also aware that the updates may not have been perfect the first time around, or that they may not have functioned as an ideal replacement for what we have changed or taken away. This is not a reason to roll them back or remove them, but it IS a reason to keep improving them until they DO work as a full replacement.
The hard choices we have made are the best ones for the game, and we must not do anything that allow bots, gold sellers or scammers back into the game. What we need to do is build on these first, large steps and use your feedback to make improvements, so that they better fit your needs and activities.
We would really like you to make your feelings known, not in a negative manner that offers no potential solutions, but with constructive criticism and suggestions that we can draw ideas from. For example, if something is broken, don't just demand that we put it back to what it was - instead, tell us your ideas to make the new system work. In summary: we would like you to think about how we can make life in RuneScape more enjoyable for you, while ALSO keeping out real-world traders and bots.
It’s going to take a lot of patience and effort from all of us. Saying that, we have not been sitting around hoping for you all to come up with ideas. We have been putting together a plan. This is a schedule of ideas for improvements that will build on a number of our changes: the Grand Exchange, new player-killing games (including other dangerous ones), LootShare, Assist System, trades and so many other things that we have introduced to combat real-world trading. We aim to have the most important improvements ready in time for the unbalanced trade removal in January, and to continue adding more throughout the start of next year.
We are currently assembling the best ideas from the Forums and our own staff. We will release another newspost early next week, listing the improvements we plan to make to address your concerns.
After a few days of down time our IRC Server is back online and functioning the way it should be. Just login to the normal server using your Forum Account.
New Guide, Duel Arena, Bank space, Wildy, and more...
Monday, Dec 10, 2007
News ID: 00746
Hello everyone! Welcome again to our next guide to be released to you! Today, we now have our Grand Exchange System guide on our database! Thanks to Xander_7 for this nicely written and detailed guide on how to use this system!
10 December 2007 - Duel Arena F2P and More Bank Space!
Duel Arena:
We have opened the doors of the Duel Arena to free players, so that they can get a taste of intense one-on-one duelling. Staked and friendly duels will be available, with a number of options to choose from.
The stake restrictions that apply to members' duels also apply to free-to-play duels. The Duel Tournament area is still members' only, however.
The F2P Duel Arena is available on all worlds. Visit the Knowledge Base page for more information.
Additional bank space:
We have decided to increase the number of bank spaces that everyone has! Members will now find that they have 32 extra slots to fill with items bought from the Grand Exchange, future Summoning trinkets or any other use that can be found for them.
Free players have not been left out, either. Eight more slots have been made available, so enjoy filling your newly-expanded bank!
In other news...
Due to recent 'player stock' price changes in shops, we've introduced a feature to some 'notable' NPCs. Jiminua just north-west of Tai Bwo Wannai and Ordan at the Blast Furnace will un-note certain items for a small price. Jiminua will un-note pure essence and Ordan will un-note any ore that is sold in his shop.
The level 85 'Teleblock' spell has been replaced with the new 'Bounty Locate' spell as there is no longer a use for the old spell within Bounty Hunter. The new spell 'Bounty Locate' will teleport you close to your allocated target within the new Bounty Hunter area.
A bank pin has been added to the Grand Exchange to protect any expensive items you have for sale, or items you've successfully bought but not yet collected.
Free players can now purchase Wilderness capes, for all their Clan Wars needs. Visit the Knowledge Base for more information about how.
10 December 2007 - Wilderness Changes, Bounty Hunter and Clan Wars!
We strongly advise you to read this week's Development Diary and the 'Trade and Drop Changes' article before this newspost, so that you can fully understand why we have made these changes. In this newspost, we look at how these changes have affected the Wilderness.
The thinking behind the Wilderness changes:
As discussed in the 'Trade and Drop Changes' newspost (which you have hopefully just read), we have changed what happens to your items when you die with the introduction of the gravestone update.
If we had just done that on it's own, and not adjusted the Wilderness accordingly, it would have meant that PKers could not get loot from their player kills. That would have solved the real-world trading problem, but it wouldn't have been much fun for PKers! So, we also began working out what changes were needed to the Wilderness.
The brief for this project was as follows: we wanted to make the minimal number of changes to the Wilderness so that it was still fun, had a similar feel, PKers COULD still get drops from their kills and real-world traders COULD NOT use it to transfer items reliably. This was not an easy thing to achieve by any means but, after MUCH thought, we have adjusted it as follows:
Fairly early on, we hit upon the idea of letting the players themselves disrupt attempts to real-world trade in the Wilderness. After all, you can attack other players in the Wilderness anyway so, if a trader goes into the Wilderness with the intention of transfering some items to a cheat, all we need is a nearby PKer to kill them both and it solves the problem nicely (as well as being good fun/reward for the PKer who gets the stuff!). The Wilderness is rather big, however, and it was possible for real-world traders to find a remote corner to commit their crimes.
We've actually been thinking for quite some time that the Wilderness was a bit on the big side, and it can get quite hard to find other players to fight. So, this added reason gave us the incentive to finally shrink it. Reducing the area makes it easier for the real PKers to find and fight each other, and simultaneously makes it a nightmare for the real-world traders. We've gone with three arenas which, combined, have a total area of about 40% of the original size. That's small enough to deny real-world traders a safe corner to exchange items, but big enough to have a decent area to run around in.
No legitimate PKer would have any reason to take unnecessary non-combat items into the PKing area. After all, who in their right mind would take millions of gold into the Wilderness? It doesn't help win a fight and there is a large chance that you might lose it! Therefore, we've changed it so that you can only take in items that you would have a good reason to take in. Again, this makes things considerably more difficult for the cheats who took these items into the Wilderness, purely with the intention of losing them, but this should not affect normal PKers at all.
To mix things up a bit, we've added a new mechanic which gives you a random 'bounty' target when you enter the PKing area. Unless you are a person’s specific ‘bounty’ (there's more on this later in the newspost) people can no longer randomly kill you, take your goodies and run away. Anyone doing so will find themselves labeled as a Bounty Hunter Rogue and get a three minute penalty. This achieves a few things: firstly, it means that sometimes you will be assigned a target stronger than you, and sometimes a target who is weaker, which means that you won't just get picked on by stronger players all the time. Secondly, it makes things harder for the real-world trading cheats because there will be players assigned to kill them - muwhahah! Thirdly, since this stops players simply collaborating to get a good score, it means we can finally do something else we've wanted to do for a while - adding two new PKing Hiscore tables.
Since the PKing area is now dedicated exclusively to PKing and isn't mixed up with other content - again, something players have been asking us to sort out for some time - players immediately get a skull upon entering the PKing area; after all, that is why they are there. Of course, we don't want to suddenly make other things in the Wilderness, such as the Abyss, ridiculously easy - they were in the Wilderness originally to balance their higher rewards. So, we have introduced the 'revenant' ghosts (more on that below).
Finally, we renamed the PKing area to 'Bounty Hunter', since it's now only one of many things in the Wilderness area. This also paves the way for PKing areas in the Wilderness. The plan is to move from one PKing area in the wilderness to a variety of different ones, all with different rules and tactics. In fact, we've already added the first new player-vs-player game, with the introduction of 'Clan Wars' (see below). Next year, we have planned a chase-based PKing game where some players are trying to survive/escape while others try to hunt them down.
So, that's the reasoning behind the changes and what we are trying to achieve. The rest of this newspost goes into more details about the adjusted PKing area (now called Bounty Hunter), the first new PKing game (Clan Wars), and the Wilderness 'revenant' ghosts.
Wilderness 'Revenant' Ghosts:
If you are thinking that crossing the Wilderness, outside of the PKing zone, will be too easy then think again! 'Revenant' ghosts of creatures - as diverse as dark beasts, vampires, werewolves and cyclopes - will be harrying you as you trek across the Wilderness. They will do anything in their power to kill you, and their powers are impressive.
They are far more dangerous than their Combat level suggests, as they can attack from all three points of the combat triangle, freeze you, teleblock you, travel in packs and even 'steal' you from combat that you have initiated with another creature! Beyond that they can heal themselves, cure themselves of poison and are very aggressive. It's time to beware the Wilderness, because the revenants are here and looking to wreak terror on the living...
To read more about this Wilderness update, visit the Knowledge Base page.
Bounty Hunter:
In the centre of the Wilderness lies Bounty Hunter. This is a dangerous activity, in which you will also be skulled, meaning that you will lose all your items if you die. As described above, this is essentially the original PKing game that has always been in the wilderness, but is now in its own dedicated area, along with a few twists and changes.
The Bounty Hunter volcano is split into three craters, separated by Combat level, in which you will be given the name of a random player. This player is in the arena with you, and you have been tasked with killing them! They are unaware that you are hunting them, but no doubt they soon will be! Track them down, surprise them and then kill them to nab their items and prove yourself to be the bounty hunter of all bounty hunters.
What is so dangerous about this, you ask? Well, someone else in the arena is after you, too! Your name will have been given to another bounty hunter, and you will be firmly in their sights. Can you kill your target before you get killed yourself?
When players enter the Bounty Hunter area, a skull will appear above their heads, variously-coloured to represent the market value of their carried items. It may be tempting to attack any wealthy players who are not your bounty and pick up their items. This kind of non-bounty killing will give you a three minute penalty, during which you CANNOT leave the Bounty Hunter area - making you a tempting target for other players!
A good, clean kill - taking down a player who has been set as your bounty - will gain you Bounty Hunter points, which you can look up on the Bounty Hunter table in the Hiscores section of our website. Killing anyone else will give you Bounty Hunter Rogue points, which can be checked on their own Bounty Hunter Rogue Hiscores table.
Bounty Hunter is only available on certain worlds. To see a full list of themed worlds, visit the Knowledge Base page.
A short distance east of the Bounty Hunter volcano lies Clan Wars, a battleground for the many clans of RuneScape.
Starting a clan war is easy; anyone in a Clan Chat channel who has a 'Captain' rank or higher can right-click another clan's captain (or higher) and 'Challenge' them while in the Clan Wars challenge hall. That opposing clan member can then choose to accept the challenge or slope off to fight another day.
Once accepted - after all, saying "no" would not be the mark of a true warrior - the two players are taken to the Clan Wars arena, where they await their clan-mates. A red message will appear in the chatbox of these clan members, telling them that they have two minutes to join by entering a portal in the challenge hall. Once those two minutes are up, the battle is on!
The combat is 'safe', which means that you will not lose any items when dying in a clan war. Instead, those defeated will find themselves in a viewing area, where they can choose to watch or leave the war.
Battle continues until one side loses all of its players and none remain to fight. Will you be a member of the winning clan? Or will you be watching from the viewing area, observing the battle through viewing orbs and chatting to your team mates about what went wrong?
Unlike Bounty Hunter, Clan Wars is available on every world. To see a full list of themed worlds, visit the Knowledge Base page.
You will be aware, from newsposts and this week's Development Diary, of real-world trading and the danger it poses to RuneScape. To solve this once and for all, we are tweaking what happens when you drop items, updating the trade system to warn you about unbalanced trades and planning a final adjustment to the trading system, in the first week of January.
We strongly advise you to read this week's Development Diary before this newspost, so that you can fully understand why we have made these vitally important changes.
Unbalanced Trade:
To remove real-world trading from RuneScape, we must stop the gold sellers' ability to function. We believe that the best and only way to do this will be to stop unbalanced trade.
We consider an unbalanced trade to be one that is not equivalent, with a trader receiving items that are much more valuable than those they are giving away. For example, a party hat traded for a bucket is quite obviously an unbalanced trade.
For a trade to be 'balanced', the total value of the items being given must be within 3,000gp of the items being received. For example you WOULD be allowed to trade an item worth 15,000gp for an item worth 17,000gp (because the DIFFERENCE is less than 3,000gp). You will be limited to a 3,000gp gain or loss every 15 minutes.
We are aware that many of you will want to prepare for this change. So, initially, we are just going to make the trade system WARN about unbalanced trades, but it will still allow the trade to go through. This seriously reduces any opportunities for scamming, but still gives you a chance to get used to how it works, organise your items, hand back borrowed stuff, and give Christmas presents. Then, in the first week of January, we will change it to simply not allow unbalanced trades outside of the 3,000gp limit. We will be reminding you when the January date approaches, so that you can be best prepared.
For certain categories of account (mostly new accounts) we are actually implementing the trade restriction immediately. This allows us to stop a large chunk of the cheating immediately, since most of the real-world traders are using new accounts due to their previous ones being banned. For the vast majority of players, the trade restriction will come into effect in the first week of January.
We'd like to reassure you that we plan to keep a thriving player-trading economy. We are certainly NOT planning to remove trading from the game! It's only very unbalanced trades which will be affected. You won't be forced to use the Grand Exchange to trade either, although that will remain a superb means of buying or selling any of your items.
The 3,000gp rule means that you can still help each other out by offering cheaper items for free. We are certainly not going to stop you giving a Fishing rod or an antipoison potion to those who need it or, indeed, offering inflated amounts for items you want in a hurry, within the 3,000gp limit.
This shouldn't overly affect legitimate players, as the aim is to make sure there is no reason to NEED to do an unbalanced trade (more on how we have tried to ensure this below). It stops the real-world traders dead, as there is no way they can make delivery of purchased gold/items any more. Our aim is to make gold-selling so difficult that gold sellers and farmers are forced to leave RuneScape forever.
Any real-world trader will respond to the removal of unbalanced trade by investigating ways round it. They will be looking for alternative ways to transfer gold other than trading. We are one step ahead, however, and have already researched every possible means for them to do so and amended them over the past few months.
We have previously adjusted the Duel Arena, Party Room, shops, etc. to prevent them being used to covertly transfer purchased gold.
One way of covertly transferring gold has not been mentioned yet, and we have addressed it this month. By dropping an item - through death or just discarding it - a real-world trader was able to make an unbalanced trade.
For the removal of unbalanced trade to be successful we must, therefore, change the way that player-dropped items work.
Discarded Item Changes
One way to fix it would be to make all discarded items invisible to other players. After all, a real-world trader would find it difficult to offer another player a stack of gold if their customer could not see it, let alone pick it up!
We've not gone quite that far. Instead, we have decided to just limit the visible amount. When you discard items by dropping them on the floor, they will only become visible to other players if their market value is less than 3,000 coins. Items with a market value less than this will become visible to other players after a delay (like before) - unless you've already reached your limit of 3,000 coins worth of items on the floor in a 15 minute period. This doesn't prevent you from discarding unwanted items or picking them up again; the change only restricts the ability of other players to see your discarded stuff.
There are no restrictions to how many items you can drop and how many of them are visible to you - this is only a change to the way your discarded items appear to other players.
Items Dropped on Death Changes
For the same reasons as mentioned above, we have made changes to how items are dropped on death.
When you die, (unless in the Bounty Hunter area - more on this later), you will leave a temporary gravestone behind. While the gravestone remains, your dropped items will not despawn, giving you a bit of time to run back and collect them. Other players will not be able to see or take items from your gravestone.
Your friends can make your gravestone remain for longer, either by repairing it when it starts to crumble or by expending Prayer points to bless it. Your stone can be maintained this way for up to a maximum of an hour. This will give you more time to return and pick up from where you left off.
Please read the Knowledge Base article to find out more about gravestones and how to purchase a variety of gravestone types.
Previous Updates:
As mentioned before, we have already released several updates that have paved the way for this change. We've tried really, really hard to make sure that for everything affected by this week's changes, we have provided a replacement means of doing the same thing, which is at least as good.
On the left-hand side of the table below, you can see those activities that have been affected by this week's updates. On the right, we show those recent updates that allow you to continue performing that activity.
Popular activity
New way of performing activity
Helping other players train their skills
Assist System
Fighting other players to win their drops
Bounty Hunter
Fighting other players to win money
Duel tournaments
Fighting other players for fun and glory
Duel Arena is now free, and also Clan Wars
Trading items with other players
Balanced trades OR the Grand Exchange
Keeping an economy where the player determines the prices (based on supply and demand)
Grand Exchange
Looking after the items of a friend who has died
Gravestones
Sharing monster drops when fighting together
LootShare
Having enough room to store stuff, instead of getting your friend to hold it for you
Extra bank space
Hosting drop parties
Using the party room which we moved to the free world for this purpose
If there's anything you think that we've missed then please let us know on the Suggestions forum. We are confident we can stop the cheaters AND still create all of the types of gameplay you enjoy. It just requires a bit of creative thinking!
10 December 2007 - RuneScape vs Real-world Trading
This week sees the release of a unique Development Diary. Our previous diaries have either been based on a single update (Impetuous Impulses, Summoning) or a team that works on RuneScape (Content, Graphics, Audio). Now, we are looking in-depth at a serious challenge that we have been faced with, and that challenge is real-world trading.
You may have heard us talking about real-world trading and its related parts - bots, auto-shoppers, gold farmers, gold sellers - in previous newsposts and even Forum threads. You may not know, however, what these terms mean, how they threaten the evolution of RuneScape and why we must remove them. In this Diary, we explain why real-world trading is an issue that must be solved, what we have done about it in the past, and what we aim to do in the future.
RuneHQ Store is now open for business. You can do all of your RHQ holiday shopping from the new RHQ Store.
The link is listed under the Community Forums section of the left menu. We will be adding new items, so be sure to check back often. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact
Diango has been busy hanging up decorations, decorating his tree and even designing his own Christmas cards.
If you'd like to spread a bit of Christmas cheer with these cards, head on over to the Downloads and Wallpapers section, where you'll find instructions on printing them out and sending them off. Even if you want to keep the Christmas cheer all to yourself, why not have a look anyway!
6 December 2007 - Development Diary: Summoning - Part 2
After announcing the Summoning skill in our last mini-Development Diary, we’ve grown more and more excited about what we have in store. We're very confident that it’s going to be a fantastic new skill that will have something for everyone.
Until then, though, we’ll continue our series of mini Development Diaries, which this week focuses on game development. We talk about concept art from Graphics, developing AI code, and also give away a few more hints about some of Summoning’s exciting new features!
Beginning December 25th, 2007, and every month up to and including December of 2008, RuneHQ will be giving away prizes to members that are voted the most valued members.
We will be awarding the top prize once a month of a new gaming system of your choice, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, a new computer, etc. along with games and additional goodies to boot.
There will also be several other prizes given away throughout the months ahead. PC Games, Console Games, Merchandise from our new upcoming store, Free music, and whatever else we can think of to give away to reward our wonderful members.
We have not ironed out all the details yet as to how we will award these prizes or what the requirements will be to qualify. There will be for sure games and challenges for people to play to get qualified. Here are some of the other ideas we have discussed and are considering:
A lottery where you can buy tickets with RuneHQ gold pieces for chances to win.
Chances given to those who contribute information and other things to the site.
RuneScape events like scavenger hunts for people to qualify.
recruitment drive to reward people for bringing in new members to the site.
We at RuneHQ have realized that we were lagging behind in a few areas and we want to try to correct that. We pride ourselves on being a well maintained respectful RuneScape help site. We try to maintain a more respectful site by having strict rules on behavior and while we may relax things a little, rest assured we still will demand everyone play nice and be respectful while on RuneHQ. In the past we have said no to a lot of things that were not directly RuneScape related. We are going to be changing some of our views on these things.
We want to be the best, and we are willing to work our rears off to remain at the top of the food chain. If you have suggestions we would like to hear them. We are considering holding a quarterly Community Vent Chat session where most of the admins and staff will be available to talk to you our wonderful members about the things you need and want from RuneHQ.
We can be the best Runescape community on the face of the earth, but we need your help to make that happen. Please get involved and let us know how we can make your experience better! This site is yours as well as it is ours and we want everyone to be proud to be a part of something big.
~MrStormy~
Clan Support, Price Guide Search Engine, and More!
Tuesday, Dec 04, 2007
News ID: 00743
Hey everybody! We have a couple of updates for you today.
First up is the latest addition to our Market Price Guide: a handy search engine add-on! This little add-on will let you quickly search for the price of any item without having to first load the price guide index page.
This feature is currently supported in both Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7. To install the add-on, visit the Market Price Guide and click the installation link near the top of the page.
The next update is regarding our upcoming clan support. As you might already be aware, RuneHQ now has an objective stance towards all RuneScape clans; that is, we don't directly support, influence, or run one.
As a result of this, we have revamped the Clans Category on our forums.
That's not all! We have even created a list for the Top 50 F2P Warring Clans in RuneScape! Sign your clan up now, because once all 50 initial positions are filled, the only way to get on the list will be to defeat one of the clans in a war! See the list for more details, rules, and requirements.
With that being said, there are still numerous other updates on the horizon for RuneHQ. From clan hosting to additional price guide features, the updates coming within the next few months will prove to be very exciting for all RuneHQ members!
Kicking things off this month will be Bounty Hunter. This dangerous minigame will take place in a dormant volcano, with three separate arenas for different Combat levels. Each of them will put you in the role of a Bounty Hunter with a simple task: to kill one randomly-assigned player in the same arena.
So, where is the danger in that, we hear you ask? Well, there will be others in the Bounty Hunter area who also have a simple task: to kill you! Will you have what it takes to reach your target and gain their loot before your nemeses find you?
The danger will not end there: far from it, in fact! Some players may choose to lurk in the shadows and attack other players, regardless of their target. These players will be 'rogue' bounty hunters, and will make your attempts to be the best hunter even more difficult.
Hand-in-hand with this update, we will be releasing two new Hiscores tables. Will you have the guts and glory to rise to the top of the Bounty Hunters table? Or will you ambush and backstab your way to the summit of our Bounty Hunter Rogues leaderboard?
Not far from the Bounty Hunter volcano will lie our other new minigame. Prepare for Clan Wars!
Here, a clan will be able to war with another clan in a large arena, without the worry of interruptions. Organise matches through your Clan Chat system and prepare to face-off in huge all-out battles that only end when one team has wiped out the other! View the battle from your opponents' prison if you die, and hope that your clan can win the battle without you...
With no limits to the number of clan wars running simultaneously, there will always be an opportunity for a scrap in this exciting multiplayer minigame.
On the tails of these two updates will come an addition to the Wilderness. The spirits of creatures slain during the God Wars are returning to haunt the living, attacking anyone bold enough to stray near. Will you be able to hold back a spectral dark beast? Wander into the Wilderness later this month to find out.
If you die while holding any items, you will reveal the fourth of our updates this month. A gravestone will temporarily appear on the spot where you perished, which can be read and admired by passers-by. It will even be possible to purchase increasingly impressive gravestones, all the way up to the ominous 'Angel of Death'.
On a more serious note, many of you will be aware of our efforts to stop real-world trading and how some of our recent updates have been part of that. You may have questions about it: What does it mean? How does it affect the game? How big a problem is it? What are the ways of dealing with it? To answer these questions and more, we'll be releasing a very important Development Diary on the subject.
What would December be without Christmas? This year's event will see a more traditional approach, with the building and making of snowballs and snowmen! Don't worry, it will still be a very RuneScape Christmas, as there are surprises hidden up the snowmen's snowsleeves...
The website will, of course, have its annual festive feel, in keeping with the Christmas event, as well as some Christmas cards coming out the week before. As a gift to you, we will also be presenting you with another Summoning wallpaper and two more Summoning Development Diaries, alongside the customary Players' Gallery and Postbag from the Hedge.
All that is left to say, from us here at Jagex HQ, is have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It's been a fantastic 2007, and with Summoning just weeks away, it is going to be an even more awesome 2008.
Welcome again everyone to the next big update to our database! What we have here is our God Wars Dungeon guide that has been worked on for a good while now, since about August. This guide was written by Ghou and helped by many others.
Unfortunately, we do not have two strategies up yet (Armadyl and Saradomin). If anyone would please help us on obtaining these two parts of the guide, head over to the Quests, Games, and Mini Quests Guides forum and submit them! It'd be greatly appreciated.
Things we need in the guide right now:
Pictures of fight scenes during boss fights
Pictures of General and Officers (Needs to be submitted into the Monster's database as well)
Armadyl strategy guide
Saradomin strategy guide
Onwards to our second update to our database! We have a newly written Taverley City Guide thanks to Ventura2oo5 and everyone else who helped.
Don't go crazy over those pesky druids either, they mean no harm.. for now. *Evil laughter*
Thanks for reading,
~ Jakesterwars ~
New Mini-Quest guide is up!
Saturday, Dec 01, 2007
News ID: 00739
Hello all you goblin quest fans out there! Today, we have added our newly written Hopespear's Will Mini-Quest guide to the site. This guide was written by Unfraggable1 and contributed to by many others.
This mini-quest is a direct continuation of the Land of the Goblins Quest that was released on November 12th.
This newsletter will be available at the beginning of each month with the purpose of keeping our community enlightened with any information that might be heading your way. For any further information please make sure that you check out our forums for details.
Greetings,
We hope everyone had a safe and fun Thanksgiving. December is finally here! Best wishes to all of you and your loved ones from the RuneHQ Staff this holiday season.
Announcements
Staff Applications
Staff applications are now turned ON. We are accepting applications for Price Editors, Chat Mods, Market Mods, Media Mods, and Wilderness Mods. Please take a moment and browse through our applications; perhaps there is a position that might spark your interest. Check now and become part of the ever growing RuneHQ family!
Future Plans
HAVE A CLAN???? RuneHQ has a few surprises just for you coming soon. Keep your eyes open for some new releases made especially for clans...From clan web hosting to clan hiscores, you sure will like what's coming soon to RuneHQ.
Ventrilo
Ventrilo is the next evolutionary step of Voice over group communications software. Here at RuneHQ we invite you and your friends to join in the chat on our server. Additionally, we are now offering Private Channels on the server for established clans. For details, see this post on the forums.
RuneHQ Market Price Guide
RuneHQ is proud to present the official RuneHQ Market Price Guide. This guide will provide you with up to date prices over the RuneScape market as seen in both RuneScape merchanting and in The Grand Exchange. More useful updates as well as cosmetic changes will be coming soon too.
Events
December RuneHQ Event
What: Costume Party/Contest and Duel Arena Event
When: Sunday, December 16th at 3pm GMT, 10am United States Eastern Time.
Bring: An original costume and also some combat equipment if you are going to participate in dueling the Events Team.
Where (Costume Party): Players attending the costume party will meet at the Falador Party Room where the contest will take place. We will then parade through Falador and head over to Ice Mountain for a 'Christmas/Happy Holidays' theme. The Costume Contest will be decided by a majority vote by the Events Team present that day. The winner(s) will be awarded a secret prize of unknown proportions.
Where (Duel Arena - After the Costume Party):
After the Costume Party, the Events Team will be hosting an event at the Al Kharid Duel Arena using the new Duel Arena Tournaments. Players wanting to duel the Events Team will have to meet up at the Al Kharid Duel Arena and listen to instructions given by the ET to proceed. Since there is a 3000 gp limit on staking, the winner may also be awarded a prize after the event.
Staff Birthdays
Below are the staff members that we would like to wish a Happy Birthday to this month.
I am proud to announce that the following people have been promoted within the site due to the hard work and dedication that they show every day.
Aaron_the_sexy - Chat Mods
LogGamer - Wilderness Category Moderator
Mr_Stargazer – Site Editor
The_Peleton - Registrations Moderator and FAQ Manager
Sam_B - Market Co Manager
Borg_Sphere – Manager's Assistant
Unrealevil – Registration Mod
Smc5528 – Site Admin
Terr002 – Price Editor
Fun Stuff
Want a challenge? See if you can solve the monthly puzzle.Follow the instructions to submit your answer. A winner will be announced in next months newsletter.
Thank you for coming to RuneHQ, Your #1 RuneScape information site. Please support us by registering on our forums and becoming a member of our ever growing community.
Editor: DRAVAN
Wordsearch: SamwilliamH
Events: Fruitcheese and the RuneHQ Events Team
Graphics: DRAVAN and ~(Sheep01)~
News Information: DRAVAN, ~ [Im4eversmart] ~, and the RuneHQ Staff
It seems that Party Pete was so busy partying that he forgot to inform everyone of a change to his Party Room!
You see, Party Pete is on a life-long mission to bring the 'party' to everyone on RuneScape, so he has developed an unlikely partnership with the Bank of RuneScape. Through this alliance, he believes that the 'party' will spread like wildfire.
Now, when the Party Room lever has been pulled, different things will happen according to the market value of the items in the party chest:
A value of up to 50k: there is a 10 second delay before the balloons drop.
50k - 150k: there is a 1 minute delay before the balloons drop. The Falador bankers and Party Room barmaids will announce that a party is happening.
150k - 1 million: there is a 5 minute delay before the balloons drop. The Falador men and women, bankers and Party Room barmaids will announce that a party is happening.
1 million+ : there is a 10 minute delay before the balloons drop. The Falador men and women, bankers and Party Room barmaids will announce that a party is happening. Nearly all the bankers across RuneScape will also announce that a party is happening, and will offer free teleports to the Party Room.
The bankers have entered into this agreement as they believe it will stop the Party Room being used as a means of transferring wealth covertly.
We've made some important changes to how duel tournaments work.
The first change is to how wins are determined. If neither player has died at the end of the three minute period, the player who has done the most damage in a duel will proceed to the next round, unless both players have dealt equal damage. In this case, the winner will be chosen by the Duel Tournament judge.
We have also reduced the number of players needed for a registrar to initiate a duel tournament. This will make it easier for you to enter tournaments of various levels.
Remember that Development Diary last week, all about ‘Summoning’? Well, we promised you a Summoning wallpaper and that’s exactly what we’ve got for you!
This wallpaper contains concept art from the Summoning skill including a wolpertinger and spirit wolf. We’ll leave you to speculate what the intriguing pile of rocks is all about.
Pete's been having an interesting month, visiting the mindbendingly clever and the mindbogglingly thick! Mr Mordaut and Reldo have been flying the flag for the smart folks, while the trolls have been causing trouble at *ahem* 'the other end of the intellectual spectrum', shall we say?
Speaking of mindbending and boggling, Postie Pete has a picture from the Chaos Elemental's crib for you to decipher, if you think you're up to the challenge - but beware: it will tax your brain to the limit!
Of course, not everyone has been riding the intellectual rollercoaster. It's hard to say whether the Evil Chicken is smart or not, but we can safely say that he needed more hugs as a wee chick.
If you want to find out more, you'll just have to read the Postbag for yourself! And do keep sending in your letters and question otherwise the Evil Chicken will think you're scared of him! What's the matter? Are you chicken?
The Latest RuneHQ weapon in your RuneScape Information Arsenal
With the new week, RuneHQ is bringing you the first update in a line of many aimed to make your RuneScape experience easier and more profitable. Today we release the grand fix to what used to be the “weak link” in RuneHQ’s Grand Arsenal of RuneScape information: the guide to the Market.
What is it?
Today’s Grand Exchange release gives RuneHQ the ability to update prices quicker and more efficiently than ever before! Our Price and Site Editing teams are geared up and ready to begin analyzing the Grand Exchange to bring you UP TO DATE information on the latest item prices.
RuneHQ has custom designed this price guide to make it as easy to use and as easy to navigate as possible; and with its dynamic adaptable code, this is only the beginning!
The Improvements that lie ahead.
In as little time as the next few days, RuneHQ will be bringing you even more updates to this top of the line Price Guide, including:
~The ability to add “Frequently Viewed items” so your favorite prices are only a mouse click away
~Intuitive search parameters that think of what you want to search before you finish typing it!
~“Report Price” and “Recommend Price” options that will allow you to point out any of the few price mistakes you will see in the guide.
~Even MORE navigational goodies to make your price guide viewing experience as dynamic as possible.
Why should I choose it?
But let's cut to the chase. Some of you may think “Why use RuneHQ’s when there are others already out there?” Great question, but we’ve got an answer for you. RuneHQ has been the Number 1 ranked fan site for several years. In this time we have proven to you that our staff is dedicated to bringing the latest quality information to you in the shortest amount of time possible. In the past we did not want to release a price guide that could not be maintained, but now that problem is fixed and today we are finally ready to bring you the latest in your RuneScape Informational Aresenal. YOUR RuneHQ Market Guide.
Are you fed up of trying to be heard above a crowded Varrock Marketplace? Are you tired of organising to meet players who want to trade with you? Do you just want to get on with the things you enjoy, rather than standing around, hoping that someone wants your full splitbark armour?
If the answer is "yes" to any of those questions, then Brugsen would like to direct you to his marvellous new Grand Exchange! This huge establishment is home to a RuneScape first - an item marketplace - where members and free players can buy or sell a huge range of items.
Using the Exchange couldn't be any easier:
Bring items you wish to sell or money to buy stuff with.
Speak to one of the Grand Exchange clerks to either put items up for sale or to make a bid on any items.
The clerks will take your items or money and look for a matching bid/sale to match you up with.
You may have to wait for your bid to be accepted or for the clerks to find a purchaser - then again, it could happen in moments!
You will receive a message when the trade has been completed and you can go to the Grand Exchange or any bank to pick up your purchases or money.
Members are able to make six offers for sale or purchase at any one time, while free-to-play adventurers can have two. To make best use of these, Brugsen has advised his clerks to accept stacked and noted items; for example, 1,000 cut diamonds would only take up one slot, allowing you to make five other trades at any time!
The clerks also have the ability to convert armour into 'sets', which will only take up one slot. To find a list of the armour types that can be made into 'sets', visit the Knowledge Base article.
Market Prices in the Grand Exchange:
There is a limit to the amount you can buy or sell items for in the Grand Exchange, which is generally set at 5% above and below the 'market price', and it is impossible to buy outside of these boundaries. This will create a stable economy that cannot be abused by players who seek to manipulate prices to the disadvantage of others.
The market price is affected by any trade that occurs in the Exchange. If an item frequently sells for more than the market price then it will rise in value, but if it consistently sells for less than the market price then it will go down.
Initial market prices for items were decided after extensive research by Brugsen and his market experts, so should be very close to the item costs you are used to.
This market price will not only be used in the Grand Exchange. You will find that the value of staked items in the Duel Arena will also change, as will the player stock in the shops of RuneScape.
Keep an eye on item values to make sure you are buying or selling at the correct time. Reading the market and anticipating when it will go up or go down is an art in itself! However, the alchemy value of items is NOT affected. So, whatever you do, DON'T go high-alching your party hat! You'll still only get 1 gp, and you wouldn't like that...
For more details on the Grand Exchange and market prices, chat to Brugsen or the Grand Exchange Tutor for a tutorial. There is also a lot of information and some FAQs on the Grand Exchange Knowledge Base page.
In other news...
When buying items from the 'player stock' tab in shops, prices will now be based on whichever is highest: the predefined prices or the Grand Exchange price. This change is necessary because the shops were a way that players could covertly transfer wealth. Selling items into shops or buying from the 'main stock' tab in shops will still be based on our predefined prices, though some shops have had slight changes to the prices that they will buy and sell items at.
Due to player feedback, we've added a fifth registrar to the duel tournaments. We've also adjusted the tournament ranks at which you can join up for them. Hopefully, you should find that starting your career in duel tournaments is a little easier and the majority of players will have access to two registrars, pitting them against players of a more suitable level.
The duel tournament worlds have also been adjusted. Please check the world list for the latest worlds which tournaments are running on.
The minimum tournament rank to get on the Hiscores has been reduced to 1,800 so more players can track their progress. If you don't initially appear, you will have to login if you have a rank above 1,800.
22 November 2007 - Development Diary: ??? - Part 1
That speck on the horizon we first mentioned in this month's Behind the Scenes is now a little closer. It's just about big enough to make out some writing on its side... What could it be? What does it say? And just what on RuneScape have wolpertingers got to do with it? All these questions and more are answered in today's brand new Development Diary (well, okay, maybe not the wolpertinger one just yet).
There's no more news here. Just click here and read our new Development Diary!
Flagship, the makers of Ventrilo, have just released another patch that we have installed. This patch upgrades the server to 3.0.2. The importance of this patch means another new client has been released: Client Version 3.0.1. This new client eliminates those pestering (GUEST) tags at the end of each user's name.
Keep in mind that you do not need Client 3.0.1 to go on the server, 3.0.0 will work just fine. However if you want to rid yourself of the (GUEST) tag then it is recommended that you download this update ASAP!
You can download the updated client here. If you wish to comment on this latest update, head over to our forums.
20 November 2007 - Duel Arena Tournaments and Changes
Duel Tournaments:
A large area, dating back to the Second Age, has been excavated beneath the Duel Arena, and what better use for it than a new player-vs-player minigame! This is the home of duel tournaments; a challenge for those who felt that only one round of fighting in a staked or friendly duel was a bit wimpy.
For those brave enough to take on up to 63 other players in a duel tournament, there is the potential to win 64 times your original entry fee: high stakes indeed, for an event that will demand your very best.
Which leads to our second addition: Duel Tournament Rankings! Your duel tournament history will be recorded by your rank, which can be viewed from the Hiscores table if you have a rank of 1,900 or above.
The rank will determine which of four ranked tournaments you can enter; for example, high-ranked players can fight other high-ranked players in the 1,900 - 3,500 tournaments. With duel tournaments, you will always be facing opponents of a similar duelling ability to you, across a range of randomly generated tournament rules.
Your rank will also affect the size of the entry fee. Higher-ranked matches generally have higher entry fees, and there is the chance to win much more - up to 64 million gp!
To ensure that you have plenty of opponents, we are keeping duel tournaments to specific servers. Visit worlds 28,44,46,48,54,59,64,78,83,98,110,114,121,129,130 or 132 to spar with the very best that RuneScape has to offer. We are keeping an eye on the duel tournament activity on these worlds, so this selection may change.
There are a huge number of tournament rule combinations, gathered from player submissions and the recent Duel Arena poll, so no tournament will ever feel the same. Fancy fighting through six rounds with no food? Or four rounds with no armour? The variety is massive, offering a challenge for every type of player, whether they are hungry to reach the top or happy to enjoy themselves.
To access the duel tournaments, travel down the stairs south of the Duel Arena Hospital.
Please read the knowledge base article here for more information.
Duel Arena Changes:
We have made some necessary changes to the above-ground staked and friendly duels of the Duel Arena:
There is now a cap to the amount a player can win in the space of 15 minutes in a staked duel, which is set to 3,000 coins. This limit will make it harder for real-world traders to unfairly use the Duel Arena as a covert way of transferring items. Of course, if you want to take part in some high-stakes duelling you now have the duel tournaments instead!
The gp value of any item wagered in a staked duel is defined by the 'player value'. This 'player value' of an item will change according to any market fluctuations once the Grand Exchange has been introduced.
Logging out of a staked duel will mean that you have forfeited the match, and the staked items will go to your opponent.
Stats boosted before entering a duel will reset to their normal value at the start. You can still use potions during the duel, provided they haven't been disallowed.
In other news...
Various trees on Farming patches had accidentally been enlarged. Also, the texturing on the diseased versions caused them to look quite odd. Both the texturing and size of the trees have now been fixed.
Teleport sounds have been changed so that they're only heard by the spell's caster. Previously these sounds caused some confusion as to what was going on in the player's surrounding area.
Oldak from the Land of the Goblins quest is now a little more helpful when you're further along in the quest. He will continue to teleport you back to the temple if you bring him two law runes and some molten glass.
We have made a number of objects untradeable. These items were either quest objects that were not generally useful after the quest or they were easy to obtain items that were used by scammers who lied about them being rare. Examples include doogle leaves, doogle sardines, sulphur, spinach rolls, polished buttons, the Shantay pass and the axe flier.
20 November 2007 - Guaranteed Content Poll results
The results of the Guaranteed Content Poll are here. In it, we asked you two questions - 'Which non-player character would you most like to see graphically updated?', and 'Which group would you most like to see graphically updated?'.
You duly obliged, and we want to thank you all for really making a difference to the game.
So, to the results. Having counted through all of your votes, the Poll Orks are pleased to announce the following winners:
The winner of the non-player character to be updated is - PARTY PETE
The winner of the group to be updated is - the TZHAAR
Our graphical wizards are now ready with their paintbrushes, eager to begin work on the choices you have made. The fruit of their labours will be included in our very next non-player character graphical update, early next year, so keep your eyes peeled.
We are currently performing some essential maintenance to the account recovery sections of our website. During this time, the following services will be unavailable:
Setting new recovery questions
Cancelling recovery questions
Recovering an account
Thanks for your patience, we apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Hey everyone! I'm pleased to announce that we now have a new forum skin available! Based off of the main theme of RuneHQ itself, this new theme can be selected using the skin selector in the bottom left corner of the forums. All other skins remain available for use, in case you like them better. I know a few parts of the skin still need work, but they will be fixed as soon as possible.
New Guide, Players' Gallery, and New Billing System
Friday, Nov 16, 2007
News ID: 00729
Welcome everyone! If you're confused about the new Assist System, take a look at our new Guide. The Assist System Guide in our Special Reports area of the site. It
Payment by Phone & SMS billing services on our website are temporarily unavailable while we perform some essential maintenance to complete our upgrade.
Apologies for any inconvenience caused, we are working hard to restore full service as soon as possible.
The Billing System has had a rework to make it easier for you to start or change a subscription to RuneScape.
The first thing you may notice is the change to the front page. From the 'Account Management' area on the left, you are able to access two new sections. 'Billing FAQ' will tell you everything you need to know about subscribing and paying for RuneScape whilst 'View my account info' gives you the latest information on your account including the number of days credit remaining.
When you visit these sections you will also notice another change: the Billing System has been redesigned. You will find that actions now require less scrolling and clicking, reducing the amount of time you spend updating your account.
The pages also look very different, with each of them being headed by a logo that says 'Jagex' who, as you will most likely know, are the makers of RuneScape. The pages will all still be on a www.runescape.com web address and, even though they may look different, they are as safe to use as always. So, when subscribing you will be able see the padlock symbol in the usual part of your browser, which indicates that any transaction or information passed is encrypted and secure.
This month's Gallery is a feast for the eyes, especially if your eyes are hungry for ham. You'll also find some great pictures of Barrows armour including one of the most innovative uses for duct tape we've seen in a while!
With a picture being worth a thousand words, this could end up being a very long newspost. We think it's best that you head over to the Players' Gallery and take a look for yourself!
Oh, and if Burntmeat is reading this; look, we're really impressed that you can nail meat to a canvas, but it's not going in the Gallery, so please stop sending it to us! The RPDT is starting to smell of meat. To everyone else, please keep your amazing creations coming in - we just can't get enough of them!
We are currently performing some essential maintenance to the billing services on our website.
Adding membership credit and cancelling agreements will be unavailable while we complete this maintenance.
Account Recovery, which was previously unavailable during this maintenance is now accessible once again.
UPDATE: We do appreciate that many are waiting to take out new subscriptions or amend your current subscriptions. We are working hard to re-enable our billing services as soon as possible.
Thanks for your patience, we apologise for any inconvenience caused.
RuneHQ has just upgraded the official RuneHQ Ventrilo server to version 3.0.0 released by Ventrilo earlier today. If you plan on visiting the Ventrilo Server, please realize that you must have version 3.0.0 of the Ventrilo client in order to connect. If you try to connect with an older version you will get an error message.
You can download the update here. If you wish to comment on this latest update, head over to our forums.
13 November 2007 - Guaranteed Content Poll - Graphics
Those who have played through the Achievement Diary: Varrock, experienced the Grim Reaper's holiday event or appreciated the Triple Trouble wallpaper will know about Guaranteed Content Polls and the effect they have on future content. So, after the success and popularity of these releases, we would like to invite you to decide upon another piece of content.
In this poll, you will decide which non-player character deserves the graphical makeover treatment the most. This list has been drawn from the most popular suggestions from a thread on the Suggestions Forum, created specifically for this poll. The choices are:
Diango
Duradel
Gertrude
Lanthus
Party Pete
Reldo
Sir Tiffy Cashien
Vannaka
Additionally, you will be able to choose which group of non-player characters should get a makeover:
Elves
Experiments
Ghouls
Guards
Hobgoblins
Seers
TzHaar
The very next graphical improvement will feature these changes, so you can see the results of your Guaranteed Content Poll decisions.
To vote in the poll, click on the 'Vote in this poll' tab to the far-left of the RuneScape home page.
The poll will finish on the 19th of November, with the results being announced on the 20th November.
Land of the Goblins, Assist System, and Skills Interface
Monday, Nov 12, 2007
News ID: 00725
Hey everyone! Here's the Land of the Goblins Quest Guide. Thanks goes out to Fruitcheese, Belgariad04, and everyone else who helped write it. Happy questing!
Our latest quest starts with a little goblin and a big dream. Grubfoot, the generals' dogsbody from the Goblin Village, has arrived in the Cave Goblin Mines and wants to speak to Zanik about what his dream might mean...
Journey into the secret heart of goblin religion, battle magic-wielding skeleton priests, and take on a whole new identity as you seek out the fabled Land of the Goblins.
This quest takes the focus off the H.A.M. storyline and puts it firmly onto the goblins. More will be revealed about the Big High War God, and Zanik will move closer to fulfilling her destiny. Your path may even bring you to a goblin transformation potion!
12 November 2007 - Assist System and Skills Interface
There are two new updates to existing content this week, both of which have been drawn from your suggestions and ideas.
The first of our changes is to the Assist System. When we released it, we wanted it to be an alternative way for players to help others. We also envisioned it to be a safe option for doing this, without any worries about item scamming.
Since its release, many of you have left comments about the Assist System on the Forums. Having read these posts, we have come to the decision that many of you have a strong and valid point!
Some forum-posters felt that the Assist System should not be used for getting hold of raw materials when using skills like Mining and Woodcutting. After all, getting hold of raw materials does not involve an actual exchange of items - it involves the passing of one item, or a group of items, to another player without receiving anything in exchange. A main aim of the Assist System is to make exchanging items safer and scam-free, so it does not apply here.
We had considered this when first creating the Assist System; however, we felt that some players would appreciate having this ability. Now, thanks to your feedback, we have reassessed this decision.
So, this week, we have limited the Assist System to those actions that do not consist of gathering raw materials. An exhaustive list can be found in the knowledge base, here.
The skills that can no longer be used with the Assist System are:
Fishing
Hunter
Mining
Woodcutting
We have also taken the opportunity to make the interface smaller, allowing the split-chat to appear clearly for those players who use it.
Our second update is to the skills interface. The changes are largely gathered from your suggestions, so thank you very much. We hope you appreciate them.
You will notice the first change when you hover over a skill icon on the skill interface. A pop-up window will now tell you exactly how much xp is required to train to the next level. This saves having to work it out, allowing more time for actually training that skill.
Your xp tallies are now separated with commas, so your 1567993 experience is now 1,567,993. We think you'll agree that this is much nicer to look at. The xp values are also justified to the right, so you can make at-a-glance comparisons quickly. Add to this a quicker pop-up window for your xp, and you have a tidy little update.
Today we introduce a new means for players to help each other: the Assist System. This update allows a lower-level player to 'borrow' the skill levels of a more experienced player, creating objects that they could not before.
To take advantage of the Assist System, right-click on a player you would like help from and select 'Req. assist'. That player can then click a pink message that appears in their chat box, deciding whether or not to offer you assistance.
If the assistance is accepted, you are free to use the skills of the other player, making items and taking advantage of their higher levels. The assisting player receives all of the XP, while you keep all of the items you create. This makes the Assist System a quick and safe way to get help making items!
A hand-in-hand icon will appear at the bottom-right of your screen when you are being assisted.
A good example is making an Amulet of strength. You may have the level 49 Magic to enchant a ruby amulet, but not the 50 Crafting to actually make it. With the Assist System you can safely 'borrow' the skill levels of an expert crafter to cut an uncut ruby. Still using the Assist System, you can then make the ruby amulet at a furnace with a gold bar, an amulet mould and ball of string. With the use of an Enchant Level 3, you can turn your ruby amulet into an amulet of Strength.
The Assist System can be used with the following skills:
Construction
Cooking
Crafting
Farming
Fishing
Fletching
Herblore
Hunter
Magic
Mining
Runecrafting
Smithing
Woodcutting
Notes:
You can adjust your filters to allow or disallow any assist requests.
You can earn a maximum of 30,000 experience in any 24-hour period by assisting people.
You cannot assist someone with a quest, an Achievement Diary (they will not be able to mark a task complete if they were assisted in this way) or a minigame.
Summary
A way to use the high levels of someone who is willing to help!
Simply right-click on a player and choose 'Req. assist' to start.
Read the Knowledge Base article here to read more about this system.
In other news...
Some of the children in Meyerditch and Burgh de Rott were missed out from the NPC update. They have been revisited by the Makeover Mage who has given them a more consistent look.
The time-out in the Duel Arena has been reduced to 30 minutes from the previous 60 minutes. We feel this is more than enough time to defeat your opponent with whatever method you agreed upon!
We've also updated the stat icons in the skills tab. They now have a more detailed look, while maintaining their classic characteristics.
The Smithing skill has also received the Make X feature, you will also be free to walk away from the anvil at any point if you make a mistake or change your mind.
Welcome to the first installment of the RuneHQ Newsletter. I hope that everyone had a fun and safe Halloween, and is preparing to gobble down some turkey later this month. This newsletter will be available at the beginning of each month with the purpose of keeping our community enlightened with any information that might be heading your way. For any further information please make sure that you check out our forums for details.
Announcements
Ventrilo
Our Ventrilo Server has been opened to the public!
Ventrilo is a voice communication program that lets you talk with many people by logging into a special server with different channels. In addition to the channels we have created, we will also be offering private channels to clans. In order to get one, your clan will need to have a certain number of members and be in Ventrilo frequently.
We would like to thank everyone that was able to attend RuneHQ's Birthday party last month, The amount of people that came to share in the celebration rivals any party ever in the game. I hope everyone had fun, managed to grab some loot, and perhaps make some new friends. After all that’s what it’s all about. Again thank you for your loyalty and love for the site and we will see you next year.
Staff Birthdays
Below are the staff members that we would like to wish a Happy Birthday to this month.
I am proud to announce that these following people have been promoted within the site due to the hard work and dedication that they show everyday. Please welcome them to the ever-growing family known as RuneHQ.
Deshi - Chat Mod
Emschorsch - Site Editor
Lilroo503 - Faq Management
Lord_Sobek - RS Category Mod
Maxpax444 - Site Editor
Mutiny - Site Editor
Radmite - Runescape Validator
Sccrluk9 - Registration Moderator
Smc5528 - Site Admin
SpicySalsa - Price Editor
Theekid2001 - Runescape Validator
Tullyswmr529 - Runescape Validator
Awards
Sig of the week for October. These signatures are viewable on this topic on our community forums. Make sure that you submit your signatures for the next up and coming challenge.
33.33% of the vote - Debateman3
46.67% of the vote - Lewbull
20.00% of the vote - Giac_Jr
In recent months, we have been looking more and more at how wealth and objects move around the game. Our first update of the month, the Assist System, will continue in a similar vein, and owes a lot to your reports and suggestions. You told us that you wanted a system for offering services to others without actually transferring items. So, with the Assist System, we will bring you that ability. You will, for example, get a high-level crafter to cut your gems for you with no gems ever leaving your inventory! This system will be useful across a multitude of different skills and will be very easy to get to grips with.
The popular 'Make-X' option makes its way to the Smithing skill this month, so a blacksmith will be able to happily hammer away at an entire inventory of bars without multiple clicks.
This month also sees the release of the penultimate cave goblin quest. Ever since Zanik emerged from the mines below Lumbridge she has been faced with troubles very much of the H.A.M. variety. A different challenge faces her in this quest, which will require stealth and subterfuge to complete, taking you to places that have never been seen by human eyes, including some that have only been noted in goblin fable. Will a discovery of monumental proportions help bring the goblin tribes together? Only time will tell. Listen well and show your true knowledge to find a path to the Land of the Goblins.
As a result of numerous suggestions, we will also be making some changes to the skills interface. For one, we will be adding a 'How much xp till my next level?' statistic to each skill, so that you know just how close you are to achieving your goals!
Also this month, we will be introducing some fantastic changes to the Duel Arena. We have drawn information from a recent poll, various suggestions from players, forum posts and general feedback to create some improvements. There was overwhelming support for tournaments, so we will offer enough room for 64 players and large prizes. You wanted more options on the Hiscores table, well, soon you will be able to track your Tournament Rank, which will reflect your Duel Arena awesomeness!
Later in the month, we bring you the 'Grand Exchange'. This new building will be located in the north-west of Varrock and will house a huge new addition to the game: the ability to offer items to buy and sell across ALL servers and to ALL players! You might, for example, go to the Exchange and put a full Barrows set up for sale, for example - then, playing Skullball in Canifis, you might get a message telling you that they have sold and that you can go to the nearest bank to receive payment! The Grand Exchange will allow you to spend more time on the things you enjoy, providing a less time-consuming alternative to selling your items on the Forums or amongst the crowds of Varrock Marketplace.
Add a Guaranteed Content poll, Players' Gallery, Postbag and a Development Diary, and you have a month to remember.
We couldn't part from you without mentioning something very, very big on the horizon. The new year brings a stunning new update, and we are so happy with it that we are going to let a few hints trickle out over the next few weeks...
Hallowe'en is just around the corner, and it seems to be bringing out the worst in the citizens of RuneScape. The penguins have big plans for the world but don’t seem too worried about what anyone else thinks, the Al Kharid guards are giving me the run around and the Grim Reaper is his usual morbid self. At least some things never change!
Want to find out more? Head over to the Postbag...if you dare!
Please don’t let the fact that everyone seems a bit evil this month put you off writing them a letter. I’m sure they’ll be back to their usual chirpy selves next month - well, except for the Grim Reaper, maybe.
Sorry for the downtime of the forums last night. Our hosting provider mistakenly tried to reclaim the server instead of the old server we were turning back in. For some reason that is beyond my comprehension, it took them 9 hours once notified of their mistake to correct the issue.
The Forums are now back up and operating once again.
Today we're performing some planned maintenance to our core network. During this work, various systems and parts of the website may be unavailable for short periods.
22 October 2007 - Hallowe'en Event - For ALL Players!
This year's spooky event has arrived! A few months ago we posted a Guaranteed Content Poll on the website allowing you to choose the nature of the Hallowe'en event and the rewards you'd get. After working our fingers to the bone we've made something to meet all of your wishes!
The Grim Reaper has opened up his house for this special occasion. His previous servant has taken a turn for the worse and the Reaper has applied for a new assistant to help with his household chores. Now, when we say 'household chores', don't go expecting to be polishing furniture, ironing or mopping the floor - you'll be clambering through a maze of cobwebs, avoiding traps, wading through goo and trying to avoid getting eaten by his pet hellhound, Muncher.
It's a safe event, so don't worry about losing items. Don't expect any hospitable treatment either, as the Reaper is not much of a host; in fact, some would say he's bone idle!
You'll find the entrance to the house in the form of a portal, south of Falador and near the elemental wizards. So, turn down the lights, pump up the volume and be prepared for a house of chills, thrills and some rather silly fun!
The Hallowe'en 2007 event is open to both free-to-play and members.
The black POH portal south of Falador, near the elemental wizards.
Access to
A large mansion, the size of Edgeville
3 tasks to complete around the mansion
A variety of things to explore
New item and emote!
In other news...
Similar to last week's magic tree changes, we've adjusted the sounds made when Fishing to be less distracting. In busy Fishing areas, such as Catherby, this was particularly apparent.
We've adjusted the attack styles for two-handed swords. The chop button on the combat interface is now a slash attack, instead of its usual stab attack. This affects two-handed swords from bronze through to dragon, and also the godsword.
We have made a few changes to the RuneScape front page, making it more accessible and easier to get around, while also highlighting some areas you may not have looked at before.
The first change is to the 'Recent News' scroll. Instead of five news items, we have made room for six. The oldest three have been made into 'More News' links, while the three newest updates are on their own at the top, making it easier to tell if something has been added to the game or website.
You might also notice two new sections of the scroll. 'Article of the Week' focuses on a Knowledge Base page that might be useful or interesting to you, whether you are playing through the newest piece of content or simply exploring RuneScape. 'Recently added articles' focuses on those Knowledge Base pages that have just been released, often giving information on the newest releases. Who knows - you might just find out a hint or trick that will help you master that new piece of content!
There has been a slight reshuffle to the left of the scroll, too. Here you will find a search box, so that you can find your desired Knowledge Base information quickly.
You will also find that the Lores and Histories and Development Diaries get their very own links, while Players' Gallery, Postbag from the Hedge and the God Letters have a new home in 'Player Submissions'. Additionally, the 'Manual' link now takes you directly to the articles and guides of the Knowledge Base, where before you had to click through an extra screen.
Please take some time to get to grips with this new design and its differences. We hope it won't take you long to realise that it makes more sense and is much more accessible!
This week we have added an extra feature to the Clan Chat system: LootShare! By switching this option on, all monster drops and rewards will be fairly shared between the clan members fighting with you. LootShare even remembers if you were unlucky enough to receive nothing in a battle, increasing your chance of being lucky next time!
Because it is based on the existing Clan Chat system, setting up a group is simple. To activate it, turn on the LootShare option on your Clan Chat menu. You can organise yourselves into a LootShare clan beforehand, or you can invite people to join your chat channel in any multiway area. Once organised, you can chat to your friends using the Clan Chat system and work out tactics for defeating any brutish beasties!
The Clan Chat owner can set the minimum rank for anyone wishing to LootShare in a multiway combat area.
After two minutes, LootShare will become activated and you will be included in the sharing of the monster drops. As long as you are within 16 squares of the defeated creature, you will be considered for LootShare!
To get a better understanding of the LootShare system, we advise you to read the Knowledge Base article, here.
Summary
Ability to share monster drops and rewards with your clan
Fair and even LootShare in multiway areas
Just turn 'LootShare' on in your Clan Chat menu!
In other news...
The ring of life has had its behaviour slightly modified. It will now remove any poison that you may have been affected with as well as its usual effects.
A few seagulls on Karamja were getting a bit stuck. They can once more fly freely around this lush area.
The Hunter pitfall trap has had some tweaking to fix a graphical problem for certain camera angles. Also, the gnome scarf and the Fletching Cape of Accomplishment have been altered to fix render issues.
White knights have been re-trained to hold swords correctly and not hit themselves on their heads!
The ambient sounds of magic trees have been somewhat toned down and adjusted so the result is a less intrusive and more pleasant magical jingle.
A change has been made to the mechanics when a player is killed by a monster. Your items will remain on the ground only visible to you for one minute should you wish to run back to recover them. After that, anyone nearby will be able to see them. Previously, if a player died to a monster the items were appearing instantly for everyone.
Hello everyone! After numerous site and server additions, we finally have a guide update!
Please visit the newly redone Edgeville City Guide, then thank everyone who put so much work into it!
~ Jakesterwars ~
Ventrilo Server!
Thursday, Oct 11, 2007
News ID: 00715
Hey everyone! I'm pleased to announce that after a month of testing by RuneHQ Staff, TORC, and Pwn, the Global Gaming HQ Ventrilo Server has been opened to the public!
Ventrilo is a voice communications program that lets you communicate with groups of people.
In addition to the channels we have created, we will also be offering private channels to clans. In order to get one, your clan will need to have a certain number of members and be in Ventrilo frequently.
Hey everyone! We have a brand new quest guide for you, fresh out of the submissions forums! Check out our Back to my Roots Quest Guide and complete this master quest. If you see atomicfungus and Fruitcheese be sure to thank them for this helpful guide.
Sorry it took us an extra day to get it up. We couldn't upload the images until today due to the server move.
Speaking of the server move, RuneHQ, the forums, TORC, PwnHQ, and other GGHQ sites have been successfully transferred to the new hardware. Site performance should improve as a result of this update.
As to the status of the RuneHQ redesign, I can say that it is going very well. The basic layout has been completed and new site themes are under development. New site features are also being designed to further improve RuneHQ. For those that are worried about losing the current RuneHQ layout, fear not; the current layout will be a selectable theme when the new site design goes live.
Finally, I'd like to thank everyone that came to RuneHQ's 4th Birthday Party last Saturday! You all were great, and I know I sure had fun!
Horacio has his heart set on some improvements to his master's already meticulous garden this week. Rather than filling it up with flowers, a patio and some crazy paving, Horacio is after one of the rarest plants on RuneScape.
Rarity may not be the biggest problem, however, as this plant requires all your skill, cunning and a hefty stack of Woodcutting and Agility. Plant hunters beware; this plant bites back, so no ordinary gardener can waltz in with some clippers. It seems some Slayer knowledge could help with this Master quest.
Helping Horacio overcome this vine-based task may well prove handy in other areas. Aside from a great reward, Horacio may have a need for a master pruner.
We have increased the number of ways you can acquire battlestaves, as promised. Baba Yaga's shop on Lunar Isle now has a larger stock, the cost of battlestaves in the Mage Training Arena shop has been significantly decreased and, not to be outdone, Zaff now receives a daily stock. To acquire them, chat to Zaff himself or right-click 'Buy Battlestaff'. The number available to you depends on your level of achievement in the Varrock diary, and whether you are wearing the correct Varrock armour. To find out how many staves you can buy, visit this article.
Arhein is responding to the changes in demand for pineapples and seaweed by adopting a similar approach to Zaff. He can now sell each player a limited number of these items every day. Speak to him (instead of using his quick-trade option) if you're interested.
The rock crabs east of Rellekka will frequently drop seaweed in the form of banknotes, making them a more convenient source of this prized commodity. Players may also burn kelp on a range or fire to get soda ash (kelp is found in the underwater area, accessed during Recipe for Disaster).
There have been some adjustments to the prices of various other items in shops. In particular, the TzHaar rune merchant's offer-price for buying chaos and death runes off players has been adjusted so that they are no longer affected by the number of runes in the Player Stock section of his shop. Aside from this, the shop price for steel throwing knives has been raised in order to avoid undercutting player prices.
It is no longer possible to use prayers in Glarial's tomb near the Baxtorian Falls of Kandarin. The unusually large moss giants were already capable of damaging players here, regardless of the Protect from Melee prayer, so this isn't going to make a huge difference to their threat. Do be careful when you venture in there!
A sapling designed for net-trapping red salamanders near the Ourania Altar had become unavailable due to a recent mapping bug. It's now been fixed, so you can go trapping there again.
Finally, we've added a right-click option to the gardeners who stand near Farming patches so that you don't have to go through so much chat when you're paying them to protect your crops.
This month's gallery has a few spooky pictures to remind us Hallowe'en is just around the corner. Curiously, it also has a slight whiff of fish.
Head over to the Players' Gallery to view this month's fantastic selection.
On a serious note; Pete keeps threatening to create a masterpiece of his own for the Gallery, and we've seen his skills with a paintbrush before. If you don't want Jagex HQ to end up bright purple then please keep sending in your fantastic artwork to keep him busy!
As you might already know, RuneHQ's 4th Birthday Party is this Saturday, October 6th! This year we will have not one, but FIVE house parties on various worlds to celebrate. Additionally, we will be holding a parade for free players followed by a pyro party!
The five hosted parties will be at the houses of Lord Sobek, Oblivion590, Im4eversmart, Miner Nav (with Hero), and Boss Pker1. All the houses are located in Yanille.
Due to the massive number of people that attended last year, we were unable to drop enough items for everyone. Last year we had so few items and so many people scattered across various worlds, we ran out VERY quickly.
While party-goers will be free to drop whatever they wish, there will be NO official drop parties!
Additionally, please be aware that we are unsure whether or not the RuneScape servers will lag as much as they did last year. If they do lag, please be cautious about dropping items, as the party hosts could quite possibly lag out as a result.
The free player parade will start in Varrock. Look for mrstargazer and youlovedme, as they will be leading the parade.
After the parade, everyone will engage in the firemaking skill in a massive attempt to burn Falador to the ground! Please bring your own logs and tinderboxes.
The party worlds will not be revealed until the party starts. Simply navigate to THIS page and leave it open until the countdown expires. When it does, the party worlds will automatically display for you. DO NOT REFRESH THE PAGE!
A BIG thanks goes out to the following people who donated to the various hosts: Blaze1198, Jerokiller, Theelvenkin0, 890765, Ghosthunte48, Mistic Luna, Kennyboy 516, Bloodaura, Legoclub22, Kissmyscimmy, Dazbot421, and Mr Doodle33. Without them, the houses would not be as cool as they are now.
More detailed information can be found here and even more can be found here.
I hope to see you there!
~ [Im4eversmart] ~
Two new Quest Guide re-writes!
Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007
News ID: 00711
Hello everyone! We have two new quest guide re-writes that are very nicely laid out!
"Legends tell of a magical lost city hidden in the swamps. Many adventurers have tried to find this city, but it is proving difficult. Can you unlock the secrets of the city of Zanaris?"
Thanks to Alfawarlord for this newly written guide and the 2 others who helped!
"Sanfew requires a rare herb for the next part of the purifying ritual. Travel back to the Troll Stronghold to find this herb that the trolls use as an ingredient for their favourite dish."
As part of our continuing effort to improve the looks of the 'older' places of RuneScape, our Graphics team have been busy enriching and enhancing above-ground Edgeville. Townsfolk, buildings, bridges and even Oziach's hut have all been revisited and spruced, including the entire surrounding area. From Edgeville Dungeon entrance and eerie graveyard to the Wilderness Ditch; from the bridge over the river to Oziach's hut; the whole area has been given an exciting, and some might say 'edgy', new look!
Whether you need a place to meet before a Wilderness campaign or you've just come back to recover from your adventures in far-off places, stop by and take a look - you might find yourself on the 'edge' of your seat when examining the effort put in to improving this eccentric town!
In other news...
When fighting multiple NPCs in a player-owned house dungeon, the multiway combat wasn't always applying itself correctly. As a result, these areas were single-way combat. This issue has now been fixed, so only enter if you dare!
After requests from players, a bank pin has been added to the Miscellania coffers. Advisor Ghrim has been given appropriate training and will now ask for it before letting you access your riches.
The Home Teleport spell, initially designed to help players who were stuck, has been slightly changed. If you have the Ancient or Lunar spellbook and cast the spell - when on a free world - you will now be teleported to Lumbridge. When you return to a members' world, these will teleport you to Edgeville or Lunar Isle.
The amount of Magic experience for casting the Energy Transfer spell from Lunar Magics has been increased and is now consistent with the Knowledge Base.
Many flat-pack furniture items have had their descriptions changed to better reflect exactly what they contain. You will now be able to tell what you're buying, whether it be a wooden chair or a gilded four-poster bed.
The waiting room time between Barbarian Assault waves has been reduced from one minute to 30 seconds; we feel this is more than enough time to check out your round breakdown and make any changes to your team. It will also mean that you don't have to wait as long before going once more unto the breach!
You'll find that the shops of RuneScape have received a significant makeover this week. Most notably, turning away empty-handed from a shop will be a thing of the past, with infinite stock available from almost every store.
Each shop's stock is now split into two tabbed sections - 'Main Stock' and 'Player Stock'. 'Main Stock' houses an infinite number of items available for you to buy, while the 'Player Stock' tab displays all of the items that have been sold to the shop by players.
Price differs between these two sections. The 'Main Stock' is more expensive, but generally guarantees a constant value and an infinite supply that you can rely on. 'Player Stock' offers items at a lower price than the shop stock, but stock levels are variable. It's always worth checking this tab for bargains!
These changes will mean that autoshoppers and bots can no longer make a profit from abusing the shop system. We are sure you'll find this to be a very good thing - after all, we want RuneScape to be fun and not frustrating.
On that note, we've made additional changes to shopping, in an attempt to make it more fun and less frustrating. A 'buy-x' option has been added so that you do not have to spam-click when buying large quantities of stock. Also, the 'Main Stock' cost of certain skill-based items has increased. This is so that you still have an incentive for making your items or buying them from players who have the levels to produce them, rather than just buying from a shop.
There is a page on the knowledge base explaining how to use the new shops and all the improvements in greater detail. We have also added information to some pages, explaining how to get those few items that are no longer obtainable from shops; to find out how to get battlestaves go here, and to find out how to get seaweed, go here.
Alternatively, go into game now to get some immediate retail therapy!
The month of October starts with another graphical improvement to an existing area. This time, Evil Dave’s house and the well-used town of Edgeville gets a lick of paint. The team of decorators were a little scared to progress down into Edgeville Dungeon, however, so stay tuned for further improvements to this area. You see, Vannaka is a little defensive of his existing décor and, as he can wield a two-handed sword in one hand, we don't want to question him too much...
The shops of RuneScape will be delivering a hefty blow to bots this month. Instead of finding shops empty of stock because a bot has bought it all, you will find infinite stock of various key items. With the Shop Improvement update, you will have everything necessary to make buying and selling more fun, and far less frustrating! Of course, we will also be tweaking the prices so this doesn't unbalance other aspects of the game.
More information on this subject will be made available via this month's “Development Diaries – Shop Rework”.
This month's quest brings us to the continuing tale of Ardougne's favourite bachelor, Lord Francis Handelmort. Recent break-ins to his mansion (Tribal Totem) have left him without a showpiece for his next dinner party, so he has ordered a Karamjan jade vine after looking at some "artists' impressions" in the G.A.G newsletter. Can you help retrieve a cutting? Large over-ground mazes, giant ants and some really funny content all await for those with a penchant for all things tropical. Your prize will be similar in nature to the “Tears of Guthix“ minigame, with repeatable rewards specific to two skills (not just Farming) while being a lot less wet. Be warned, however: this quest's bark is worse than its bite.
Also this month, we will be adding support for those players who play the game in organised groups or clans. In this case, we are offering a better means of distributing loot amongst your team: the 'Shared Loot' system. This is designed to be an extension of the Clan Chat channels. Each item drop recorded while signed into the 'Shared Loot' system will be allocated randomly to anyone within the group, regardless of how much damage the individual did to the creature. Anyone who does not get many drops will find that the drops balance out over a longer period of time. Of course, this system is entirely optional, so you can still group-fight just as you did before. We hope that using it will provide a safer, fairer way of sharing out your treasure during your next run to the Dagannoth Kings or Kalphite Queen!
“So,” I hear you all cry, “that’s all well and good, but what about Hallowe'en?” Well, you certainly won’t be disappointed. Most of you are aware of the results of the Guaranteed Content Poll back in June and the results will be gloomily fantastic. Being invited to the Grim Reaper's house isn’t an everyday experience, so don’t expect a nice cup of tea and a biscuit. Well, maybe a biscuit - he does love a good fig roll after a hard day's work.
As always, expect a healthy dose of your own contributions via the Postbag and the Players' Gallery, a Development Diary on the shop rework, the release of the Triple Trouble wallpaper (as decided by you) and lots more additions to the Knowledge Base.
Today, we've released the fourth Development Diary. This diary is revisiting the work of the RuneScape Content team in more detail, but not necessarily in the way you might have been expecting...
This diary takes a look behind some of the tough decisions we have to make when developing RuneScape, particularly when it comes to improving old content. The focus is very much on the Shop Improvement and tackles the difficulties we have in striking the balance between making the game better, ironing out problems AND keeping players happy.
We hope you enjoy learning more about the inner-workings of Jagex and RuneScape.
A few weeks ago we asked you to vote in a Guaranteed Content poll for the next wallpaper to be created by our artists. Over one hundred thousand of you cast your votes, and it was a pretty close call! "The Taming of Jad" came a close second, but a certain Black Dragon, proving he's still the King, came out on top.
38% of you voted for "Triple Trouble" - three warriors facing off against the mighty King Black Dragon. We're very pleased to announce the wallpaper has been created; fangs sharpened to perfection and eyes glistening evilly. Head on over to the Downloads section to check out this fantastic piece of artwork. While you're there, why not have a browse of the rest of the wallpapers?
We would like to thank all of you that voted. Those of you who do vote in our polls are making a definite difference to the game and what we produce for it. The more 'fun' polls are obviously there for you to enjoy, but all other polls really help us to understand what you want from RuneScape.
Look out for more great wallpapers in the Downloads section in future; your ideas and the poll results have given us plenty of inspiration.
We have become aware of a new malicious computer virus/worm, and wanted to let everyone know about some good practices to help keep your computer and RuneScape account safe. There's no need to panic, but there are some precautions you should take.
The reason we are mentioning this worm in particular is because we believe that one version of it may attempt to specifically steal RuneScape passwords by recording your key presses as you type, and sending them back to the worm owner.
The new worm is called Bubbles, but is also known as Ramex, Skipi and Pykspa. Bubbles can get on to a computer in two different ways. Either by being downloaded directly from a third party website, or by a user receiving and opening a file disguised as a web link in third party messaging programs.
The worm cannot be transmitted through playing RuneScape or using the RuneScape.com website.
The security of the RuneScape servers themselves is in no way affected by this, this worms affect users own computers, not our servers which are very well protected.
The best protection against malicious computer software is to stay vigilant and use an up to date anti-virus program.
For anyone who is not currently using an anti-virus program, we really recommend that you install one as soon as possible! In fact install one right now!
If you do have an anti-virus program installed but it is not up to date, please take the time to update it with the latest virus definitions now. Again don't delay!
Lastly, you should never accept files from unknown sources full stop. However pay extra special attention when using 3rd party messaging programs or email as it is very easy to accidentally download malicious software by following a link.
Hello again everyone! After lots of work and a few aching fingers, it's finally here! Head on over to the Special Reports section and visit the Random Events Guide written by Meowmix686, Watsermetjou, and Lilroo503!
We're still working on the Beekeeper and Security Guard events, so if you have any information about either then please submit it to us via the forums.
~ Jakesterwars ~
We have an updated Special Report!
Wednesday, Sep 26, 2007
News ID: 00706
Hello everyone! Today we have a nice updated Metal Dragon Hunting guide for you.
Thanks to Tullyswmr529 and everyone else who helped!
~ Jakesterwars ~
ZMI Altar guide and impling drops moved to guides!
Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007
News ID: 00705
Hello everyone! We now have our ZMI Altar special report up on our site now! Thanks to War Fhantom and everyone else who helped with this guide!
Information in the Skill Guide will be uploaded later tonight, so don't send in anything about the addition please!
Hello all, we have decided to move all the impling drops and link them into the Impetuous Impulses guide. That means that the implings in the monster database are linked directly to the guide in the Other Loot section. All site submissions should be sent about the mini-game guide or submitted in the Quests, Games, and Mini Quest Guides submission area (Registration required to access).
~ Jakesterwars ~
Postage from the Hedge and 16 Brand New Questhelps!
Postie Pete has struggled to lug his postbag recently. Letters have been streaming in, and Pete's postbag (magically growing to accommodate them, of course) has become a little unwieldy.
So, this week's postbag has been brought to you by the Postie Petes, including part-timers Pirate Pete and Prison Pete. They have agreed to help with a little manual labour - in return for some grog, of course.
You would think that Postie Pete would try to discourage further letters, taking pressure off his new workers. Nothing could be further from the truth. He is still looking for more letters written to your favourite characters - so get scribbling!
The Wise Old Man has roped in some of his friends to put together 16 brand new QuestHelps, helping those adventurers who have found themselves a bit stuck.
QuestHelp is a way of getting information on a specific point in a particular quest. It reads your position in a quest, offering hints if you only want a clue to your problem or spoilers if you want to be told the exact answer!
Once logged in, it gives you a comprehensive list of every quest you've started or are part-way through, from Animal Magnetism to Zogre Flesh Eaters. Having clicked on your required quest, it can give you hints or spoilers depending on how much info you want.
It is up to you: read the hint for clues and riddles about what's needed, or go the whole hog and click the spoiler afterwards, giving you access to full details and maps for that point of the quest!
With four QuestHelp points given to you per day, you'll never find yourself permanently stumped again!
The Wise Old Man is also aware that a few quests remain neglected, without a guide, and he is determined that this does not last long. After all, there is a Wizards' Tower to plot against, and other nefarious schemes to be getting on with. So, watch this space for the last few quests to receive a QuestHelp!
A forgotten and weakened altar has been unearthed north of the Observatory. With the ability to produce any type of rune, the altar holds undeniable power, but its discovery would be so much sweeter if the Zamorakian Magical Institute (ZMI) hadn't got there first.
The ZMI unearthed the Ourania Rune Altar near Scorpius's grave, but their attempts to repair it have gone a wee bit awry. Regardless of the altar's weakened state, the ZMI are guarding it fiercely to prevent any rival mages from stealing their source of runes.
This mysterious altar also seems to raise Runecrafting levels at exceptional rates - but at what cost? There seems to be something a mite unreliable about the runes the altar produces. They are all so very...random.
Whispers from the Zamorakians imply that more experienced runecrafters will receive better rewards from this chaotic altar, but there can be no predicting what it will produce next.
Will you dare risk the Zamorakian's wrath by runecrafting at the ZMI altar?
Players entering the TzHaar city will no longer receive minor injuries when holding Karamja rum.
It is now impossible to set-up deadfall traps if a player doesn't have the required level. Previously, a player could set up a deadfall trap without the required levels, but were unable to bait it to attract kebbits.
We've fixed several NPC chat-heads that weren't working. These NPCs should now appear a bit more social and lively when you're chatting to them!
Players can no longer resume where they left off in the knight waves event, after the King's Ransom quest. If a player had teleported away part-way through a fight, the player could then come back and continue the challenge instead of restarting this fun event.
A forgotten and weakened altar has been unearthed north of the Observatory. With the ability to produce any type of rune, the altar holds undeniable power, but its discovery would be so much sweeter if the Zamorakian Magical Institute (ZMI) hadn't got there first.
The ZMI unearthed the Ourania Rune Altar near Scorpius's grave, but their attempts to repair it have gone a wee bit awry. Regardless of the altar's weakened state, the ZMI are guarding it fiercely to prevent any rival mages from stealing their source of runes.
This mysterious altar also seems to raise Runecrafting levels at exceptional rates - but at what cost? There seems to be something a mite unreliable about the runes the altar produces. They are all so very...random.
Whispers from the Zamorakians imply that more experienced runecrafters will receive better rewards from this chaotic altar, but there can be no predicting what it will produce next.
Will you dare risk the Zamorakian's wrath by runecrafting at the ZMI altar?
Players entering the TzHaar city will no longer receive minor injuries when holding Karamja rum.
It is now impossible to set-up deadfall traps if a player doesn't have the required level. Previously, a player could set up a deadfall trap without the required levels, but were unable to bait it to attract kebbits.
We've fixed several NPC chat-heads that weren't working. These NPCs should now appear a bit more social and lively when you're chatting to them!
Players can no longer resume where they left off in the knight waves event, after the King's Ransom quest. If a player had teleported away part-way through a fight, the player could then come back and continue the challenge instead of restarting this fun event.
19 September 2007 - Lores and Histories - Silverlight
Those who have completed the Demon Slayer quest may recall the name of Wally - the first to banish Delrith with the famed Silverlight. You would be forgiven for forgetting, however, as the name of Wally has faded in the light of Arrav and other, more memorable, warriors.
Wally's position in Varrock's history may well change. With the aid of Aris's magic, Reldo has been able to recover a text that was thought to be burnt and beyond saving. Its contents tell an interesting, and very human, story of Varrock's forgotten hero.
Global Gaming HQ, LLC, the parent company for RuneHQ has purchased all new more powerful hardware for RuneHQ to help with the performance issues. The new hardware is faster and should perform better than what we currently have. The new equipment consists of a new faster hardware firewall, a new faster/better performing switch/load balancer, 8 new servers with twice the memory and processors than what we are currently using and a new backend switch to allow data transfer between the servers to be faster. This is all being setup and configured at the present time.
We will be moving all of RuneHQ to this new hardware once it is ready to go. This will require some downtime for various aspects of the site. The main outage that will be the longest will be the forum.
The upgrades and outages will occur sometime in the next 2 weeks. We will post more info on the time-frames for the work and outages once we know what is going on with the server builds and progress of getting any issues with the new equipment that come up resolved.
We are also working on cleaning up the site coding to make it perform better. This recoding project however will not be done in time to put in place with the new hardware. We hope to have it done in about a month and will implement it once we have finished up and tested the new code.
We are also looking at re-designing RuneHQ again to change the look and feel of the site. I am not exactly sure where we sit with this project right now. I want to ensure everyone we will not make any drastic changes with the redesign or if we do there will be options that allow you to use the old site layout if you so choose. If you have questions or ideas on this project please feel free to post them on the forum. If you have graphical or web design talents and want to help with this project, please contact Im4eversmart on the forum about joining the re-design team. (PLEASE NOTE: We will not accept the help of anyone without good references and/or skills to generate a PROFESSIONAL looking site web design. This project is tasked with taking what we have and making it better, not worse and I will not stand for an unprofessional looking site. So with that being said, DO NOT contact Im4eversmart if you do not have the references, dedication and skills necessary to do the job)
With the new hardware purchase we also added a couple new servers to our environment. These new servers right now do not have any predetermined usage. We are strongly considering renting out web space for various purposes, i.e. Clans, Personal Web Sites, or whatever else you may desire. We still have to determine how we are going to do this and how much we will charge, so stay tuned for further information as we figure it out.
This week's update brings the latest Achievement Diary - as chosen by you in the Guaranteed Content poll!
Discover a wide range of activities and tasks to perform throughout Varrock, taking you from the Barbarian Village right through to the limestone mine near the Rag and Bone Man; from the depths of the city's murky sewers to the highest point in the city!
Get ready to investigate dungeons and spiders' lairs; listen to stories from the elderly; discover Varrock's various shops and experience the very best that Varrock has to offer.
With a wide range of achievements for you to complete, you will have your work cut out if you wish to complete every last one of them. Those willing to put in the effort, however, will find themselves well rewarded with a series of useful items for completing the easy, medium and hard tasks.
Your skills will be pushed to their very limit if you wish to become a true master explorer of Varrock!
Speak to Rat Burgiss in the south of Varrock, Reldo in Varrock Library or Vannaka in Edgeville Dungeon
Also this week, we find an unlikely pairing of graphical improvements...
From Pirates' Cove in the north-west to Mos Le'Harmless in the south-east, pirates everywhere are rejoicing as they unpack shipments of stunning new clothes and fashion accessories. Decked out in their new jackets, tricorns hats, hooks, peg-legs and caps, the pirates of RuneScape have never looked more... um... piratey. So, the next time you're fighting for your life against one of these fearsome swashbuckling seafarers, take a moment to admire their outfits.
The children of RuneScape have also been given a bit of a makeover. Check out the slouch of Wilough and Shilop in Varrock, the shifty eyes of the Urchin in Pollnivneach, or maybe the anaemic pallor of Smiddi Ryak as she fights for her life on her Trek to Paterdomus. No matter whether they have been naughty or nice, the little scamps have all received a fresh new look.
Ever get confused about the identity of those herbs nestling in the far corners of your bank? Ever wondered exactly what your unfinished potion contains? Well, never fear! We've spoken to the Herbalist of Nardah and put him to work, updating the Herblore skill.
The first changes are to unfinished potions. With this update you will no longer have to wonder what potion is within your vial. The Herbalist has examined them all carefully and labelled them up for you. He's also added a new naming convention to these potions - (unf) - which stands for 'unfinished', so you can tell their status at a glance.
The Herbalist also felt 'identifying' herbs was not the difficult part of Herblore - it's cleaning! So, your unidentified herbs have been replaced with 'grimy' herbs. You will now see grimy ranarrs, grimy marrentills and other mucky herbs. These require cleaning and a certain Herblore level to do so; the same Herblore level that was required to originally identify them. With no more identifying to be done, you will know exactly what herbs you are receiving from the very start.
Your efforts in herb Farming will also produce grimy herbs - giving you a small increase in Herblore experience as you clean them!
The Herbalist in Nardah is more than willing to clean up any grimy herbs for you - for a price of course. He has also, for no extra price, trawled through your herbs, identifying and sorting them into 'clean' and 'grimy' batches. Clean herbs are ready for use, whether in potions, in salamanders or anything else you could do with a herb.
We hope you'll now find that it's impossible to get scammed when you're buying herbs. We know that, in the past, some scammers have tried to trick honest players by playing on the fact that many people could not distinguish between unidentified herbs, so we've done this to make RuneScape more enjoyable for the honest majority of players.
For those of you needing some direction in your travels The Seer's Village Map has been updated. Give special thanks to Emerald If i, for all of his hard work.
4 September 2007 - Guaranteed Content Poll - Wallpapers
A couple of weeks ago, we posted a thread in the Suggestions Forum for wallpaper ideas. There were hundreds of ideas and we thoroughly enjoyed reading them. We have sorted through them and picked out a number of our favourites for use in this week's Guaranteed Content poll - with the winner being our next wallpaper!
We've seen a number of suggestions for popular content such as Castle Wars and the Barrows Brothers, but what has caught our attention most is the number of creative and unique suggestions that we'd never have thought of!
The results of this Guaranteed Content poll will be announced on Monday, 10th September.
This poll also includes a few questions to judge your opinions on the wallpapers we already offer in the Downloads section of our website. With this information we will be able to produce more great wallpapers: just how you like them!
The Path of Glouphrie
Monday, Sep 03, 2007
News ID: 00697
The quest guide for The Path of Glouphrie has been added to the site! A big thanks goes out to Belgariad04 and everyone else who helped to finish it so quickly!
In The Eyes of Glouphrie quest, you helped clear the Gnome Stronghold of some nasty 'watcher' creatures; cuddly spies sent by Glouphrie to keep an eye on gnome doings. While managing these menaces, you dealt with a lot of gnome history and probably received your reward thinking "Where did Glouphrie go?" and "What did he do?"
In The Path of Glouphrie quest, the story passes from the Gnome Stronghold to the second main gnomish settlement - the Tree Gnome Village. While investigating the strange goings-on you will reacquaint yourself with some old friends, solve some dastardly puzzles, seek the end of the world (which is far from gnome), slay strange creatures, stray far into gnome-man's land, talk to spirit trees, and find out even more about gnome society, customs and history.
Questions need answering: How do gnomes choose their kings? Why is the gnomish empire split in half? Will you continue your quest to find the lost city of Arposandra and delve deeper into the dark deeds of Glouphrie the Untrusted? Are there going to be more of those creepy, furry watchers? The answers could well be found along the Path of Glouphrie: only those brave and inquisitive enough should travel it...
The Eyes of Glouphrie Waterfall Quest
Level 45 Agility
Level 47 Ranged
Level 60 Strength
Level 56 Slayer
Level 56 Thieving
Must be able to defeat three level 143 foes in a multi-way combat area.
Rings of life will no longer have any effect inside player-owned houses. It's safe to die inside a POH, so people didn't really appreciate having their rings of life teleport them out of the house when their Hitpoints were low!
The Agility shortcut under the wall behind Varrock Palace had become invisible in low detail mode. It's been put back now.
A small change has been made to single-way combat in the Wilderness. Player-vs-player combat now takes precedence over monster fighting, meaning that anyone in battle with a creature can still be attacked by another player. Before, a player could fight another player, run away, enter combat with a creature, and stop the other player from attacking them. All other single-way combat rules still apply, with only one player able to attack you at a time, and only one creature able to attack at any time.
September will begin with a continuation of the popular gnome quests. Activity around the gnome-infested areas of RuneScape has increased after the “Fluffy” incident back at the Grand Tree. Why exactly has Glouphrie’s name resurfaced after such a long time in exile? Where does Golrie get his weird artefacts from? Who is his grandfather? What was that strange coin machine really all about? How many gnomes does it take to change a Dorgesh-Kaan lightorb? All these questions may well be answered in the next gnome quest, The Path of Glouphrie.
Did you ever think it was strange that every pirate in Brimhaven wears an identical black outfit while the pirates of the Asgarnian Ice Dungeon and deep Wilderness wear red? Pirates aren't known for their strict adherence to uniforms or laws, or anything else for that matter (although some pirates will swear by the Pirate Code, others will merely swear about it). So this month they'll be casting off their monotonous garb and donning a far more varied range of costumes and clothes to make even the most swashbuckling pirate reach for his fashion magazine. Perhaps you'd best not ask where they'll be getting this fancy new stuff though, or whether they're planning to pay for it.
Children of all shapes and sizes across the world will also be getting a makeover this month, if they can be persuaded to stand still long enough for the Makeover Mage to work his/her magic.
September will also bring you the next Achievement Diary. Following its success in the first of the Guaranteed Content polls, players will be able to explore the city of Varrock and surrounding areas; ranging from the small town of Edgeville to the west, through to the east near Paterdomus, the Temple on the edge of Morytania. Discover areas you may not have seen before in Varrock and complete the various tasks to obtain very useful rewards! You may be surprised at what you can do in this popular region.
The druids and herbalists had their annual convention and felt that identifying the herbs really wasn't the hard part of their job. The hard part was cleaning the leafy things! So the herbalists will be busy later this month, identifying everyone's herbs and sorting them into cleaned and grimy instead of identified and unidentified. So don't be surprised when you see your herbs' names change, it's just your friendly neighbourhood herbalist giving you a hand. This should make it easier for you to know when you're buying a specific herb, rather than ending up with something you don't want. They've also gone around properly naming all of your unfinished potions, so you'll know exactly what you have in that odd-coloured vial.
Ever since the Zamorak Magical Institute discovered that Saradomin's wizards had found altars to create runes, they've been itching to get an altar of their own. Their time has almost arrived: a new altar has been unearthed and it is unlike anything the mages have ever encountered. It will grant the ability to create runes higher than their normal skill requirements, but it's just a wee bit unpredictable...
You'll also be getting a new Players' Gallery, Postbag from the Hedge and a new entry for the Lores and Histories.
Hello hello all you Knight's of the Round Table fans! We now have the Knight Training guide up on our database! Take a look at it and enjoy the challenging battles between all of the knights! This guide was written by Fatso1311 and thanked by everyone else who helped.
Pete's postbag has been stuffed to the brim with wonderful letters this month. Captain Murphy's onto the business idea of the century, the TzHaar explain a little about Jad and Thurgo just loves pie!
During the great god wars, many smaller battles were fought between the followers of different deities. Sometimes these battles were fought for strategic advantage, many for items of power and others due to age-old enmities. One battle was fought over the possession of an extremely powerful weapon: the godsword.
History has it that the aviantese were protectors of the godsword and, when attacked by followers of Zamorak, several other gods came to their aid; fighting to stop the sword falling into the hands of the one they call the Usurper. The followers of Armadyl, Bandos and Saradomin struggled against an army of Zamorakians and, during this battle, the sword became shattered. Both sides cast powerful spells, attempting to destroy their enemies and freeze them into solid statues of ice. Now, after aeons have passed, the path is clear to explore these caves, but beware: the denizens of the caves are thawing out!
Any adventurer brave, strong or foolish enough can explore the caves, finding rich rewards for their efforts. Aside from the godsword - a two-handed weapon that allows you to change the hilt once it has been reforged, using a variety of special attacks - there is a new set of melee armour, a level 70 Ranged and a combination battlestaff for mages. It is also rumoured that one of the new Slayer creatures in the dungeon may be in possession of a pair of dragon boots!
The dungeon complex itself covers four mapsquares and contains a new race, four boss-monsters, new Slayer creatures and a host of old enemies for you to fight. Keep in mind that these creatures hark back to a different, harsher time when only the fittest survived. Expect, then, to find that your adversaries are slightly more powerful than their modern-day counterparts!
The introductory offer that Thessalia, Reinald and the Hairdresser were giving to players for changing their clothing and hairstyles has ended. While they love doing what they do and are happy to assist in your fashion needs, they still need to earn some money!
We've removed the obstruction from Guthix's eye, so any tears shed in the Tears of Guthix minigame will be vivid colours once more, instead of the grey they've been for the last few weeks.
Trouble has been averted in the Trouble Brewing minigame. Players can no longer trade torches with each other in this game. This was making the sabotage of the bamboo pipes, water pump and boiler easier than intended. Rest assured, you can still set fire to all of these to slow the progress of the other team.
We've also fixed a minor issue with the various chat icons at the bottom of the screen. They should update correctly when you have read the messages in your 'All' channel.
The new Troll Stronghold Map is now available for those that dare to venture below. Special thanks goes out to Terr002.
-= DRAVAN =-
We have a new Guild guide and SR in our database!
Saturday, Aug 18, 2007
News ID: 00691
Hello again fellow RuneHQers! The latest guide rewrite is now on the site! Check out the Champions' Guild Guide to see it for yourself. Thanks to Skeletonmat and everyone else who contributed to this guide!
We also have a new Special Report in our database too! Let's all take a few minutes or so to look at the Changing Your Base Appearance guide written by Terr002! Also thanking everyone else who helped!
~ Jakesterwars ~
Updated Al Kharid City Guide!
Friday, Aug 17, 2007
News ID: 00690
The Al Kharid City Guide has been remade! A big thanks goes out to everyone who helped with it.
Keep an eye out for those changing items, monsters, people, or land areas and help us keep them updated!
~ Jakesterwars ~
Themed World Changes and Development Diary: Audio Team
We have made some slight changes to those worlds that have been designated as themed worlds. This is because themed activities were causing lag on certain servers, while they weren't on others; some servers are simply much more able to cope with hundreds of people all crowded together into one Castle Wars game, for example.
With this in mind, it makes sense to move a few of our server themes onto worlds that can cope with the levels of activity.
Our first choice was always to select worlds that players had unofficially chosen for an activity and, where possible, we have tried to keep these activities on their chosen servers. The reduction of lag on a world, we now realise, is far more important - particularly if that world cannot cope with large numbers playing something server-intensive like Pest Control.
It's time for another Development Diary. This time we're looking at the Audio team and how they create all of the varied music and sound effects for RuneScape. There's also a reproduction of the music notes from the main theme song of the God Wars Dungeon - 'Armageddon'. Those of you with musical leanings might like to play it for yourselves, to get a taste of what's to come...
The RuneHQ Browser Bar for the Firefox web browser has been updated to version 4.1. Many new links have been added, and old ones have been either updated or removed.
For those who do not know what this handy add-on is, it is a little bar with handy links to different areas on RuneHQ, the RuneHQ forums, RuneScape, and TORC, that will appear within your Firefox browser.
To check if you have the latest version or to remove it, click Tools > Add-ons in your Firefox browser. This version was coded by hand.
~ [Im4eversmart] ~
Welcome, welcome fellow RHQ users! We have the awaited Clan Chat and You Guide on our database! Thanks to Dominion and everyone else who helped make this guide!
~ Jakesterwars ~
Players' Gallery, New Player Kit, and Themed Worlds
Postie Pete has been working hard, sorting and sifting the wonderful art he's been sent. The result? Pete is covered in paint, and we have brand new gallery full of great pictures.
By taking a stroll through this week's gallery you will notice a decidedly draconic theme, with a full armoury of dragon axes, swords, helms and chains. Postie Pete is at a loss to explain this strange fashion for dragon items, but loves the pictures anyway (even with paint in his eye sockets, he knows a good picture when he sees it).
Head over to Pete's artistic haven and check them all out!
13 August 2007 - New Player Kit
The player kit update brings you a whole new selection of outfits and customisations for your character that you can choose from. If you have ever felt the need for a new set of clothes or a funky new hairstyle then you will be pleased to know that you can now visit Thessalia in Varrock and the Hairdresser in Falador to add that special touch to your appearance. Members can also visit Reinald in Keldagrim for a new selection of armguards!
At Thessalia's clothes shop, you will find a new range of styles for both men's and women's clothes, ranging from the highly tailored princely outfits down to the ragged clothing of the local peasantry. Visiting the Hairdresser in Falador, you will be able to sculpt your hair into fascinating new styles including braids, ponytails and more. If you are of the male persuasion, give yourself a fancy new beard or moustache style such as the 'Vizier' or even the 'Dali'! Reinald offers a range of designs for your wrists, in both silver and gold, so you can accessorise to go with your favourite clothes.
Most importantly, it can be a hard task to find the right clothing fashion and hairstyles to suit you, so for the first week Thessalia, Reinald and the Hairdresser will allow you to change your kit for free!
In other news...
We've updated the "Trade" tab at the bottom of the screen. While you're trading with someone, that tab will now display chat messages from your trade partner. This ought to make trading a little easier in crowded places!
Multi-target Ancient Magicks will now work against multiple players when fighting in a player-owned house combat ring.
Our Graphics team has been working hard on fixing a whole range of graphical glitches. They've fixed a huge number of trees that had recently started hovering above the ground, although we're aware that there are plenty more trees awaiting their attention. They've also fixed some buggy models, such as the slightly transparent Guthan chainskirt and the gnome goggles' strap that was changing its colour depending on the owner's hair colour!
Finally, although it was not meant to be possible to kill oneself by eating the Recipe for Disaster rockcake, determined players had still achieved it by spam-clicking. Since we don't really need any more accidental deaths-by-rockcake, we've updated that rockcake to ignore spam-clicking.
We've just added a new column to the World Select screen to help you find a world for your favourite activities. We know that it's often more fun to do things as part of a group, so we've added this list to help like-minded people find each other.
To make the list we quite simply looked at the worlds that you already use! If you regularly go air running or play Trouble Brewing, you'll already know which worlds you go to, but now anyone else who wants to do the same will be able to join in the fun. Of course, we'll be checking frequently to see if any worlds get full regularly and updating the list when necessary.
Having said all this, you don't have to do the named activity on these worlds - no one should have to do anything just because of the world they're on. The list is simply a guideline for people looking for a specific activity. You can also still do any of these on any world, but if you want the largest games or more company you might want to check out one of the suggested worlds.
We haven't assigned an activity for Worlds 1 and 2 because they already get enough traffic from being at the top of the list. Anyone looking for a busy world won't have any difficulty spotting them.
This week we are pleased to announce the long-awaited release of Clan Chat for RuneScape.
Now, both Members and Free Players can have their very own channel for chatting to friends and talking as a group, and can even assign each other ranks. Players can setup and name their channel and, once up and running, other players can join in the fun. Joining someone's channel is as simple as typing their username in!
Like private chat, Clan Chat works whether you and your friends are on the same game world or all spread across many different worlds.
The new Clan Chat interface can be accessed by clicking on the two smiley faces at the bottom-left of your in-game controls.
To get a proper understanding of the Clan Chat system, we advise you to read the Knowledge Base article here.
You may well notice, in addition to the Clan Chat, that the interfaces have had a tidy up. The dwarves of Keldagrim have produced a fine new tablet in place of the chat scroll, there are more chat filters at the bottom of the screen, and the general controls have been improved, making your day-to-day RuneScaping that much smoother and easier to look at.
In other news...
The King's Ransom music was playing correctly but not turning green when it was unlocked. This has been rectified.
Various items and objects which were previously causing graphical glitches or looking a little bit funny have been adjusted. This includes gems, food and several bits of armour and clothing that were being affected by each other.
The Items Kept on Death interface has been adjusted and should now be clearer as to what you'll keep and lose at that particular moment.
The price of cloth from the sawmill in Varrock has been adjusted so the price doesn't vary. For the last couple of weeks, when buying several pieces, the price was fluctuating more than intended.
Players can no longer get stuck at the end of the Fishing Trawler minigame. Abandon ship!
August will begin with a new feature we're sure you'll all love: Clan Chat! You'll be able to set up your own chat channel that you and your clan-mates can use to keep in touch with each other, as well as being able to rank the members in your chat channel, control who can talk, and much, much more. It's an entirely new feature for RuneScape, but we have no doubt that you'll all take to it like fish to water.
Other updates this month include a few more of our small improvement projects. You’ll be seeing better examine descriptions on some items (which should help establish where they come from) and also some graphical changes, making potentially dangerous game areas LOOK more dangerous.
The second improvement project this month concentrates on some old friends. Ever grow tired of the selection of haircuts and base-outfits in the game? Ever wondered what those odd silver arm guards are that some people have? Ever been jealous of Romeo's great hair? Well, you too can have the “foppish” look and all sorts of other styles besides, when later this month we release a player kit update. During the first week or so of launch we will make all costume, haircut and arm guard changes totally free, just so you can have a bit of fun without it denting your pocket.
We will also be adding some information to the world select screen about “themed” servers. As you all know, it’s often much more fun to train and play minigames with other people, especially those team-based events like Trouble Brewing. Because of this, we decided that we would add a new column to the world select screen highlighting those worlds with associated activities. Naturally, you’ll still be able to play the content anywhere you like, but if you want to find people with similar ideas, then you’ll know where to look.
August's game updates will be complete with perhaps the most intense update of the year as we take a peek into the past... and into the God Wars Dungeon. For many centuries, legions of unique creatures lay frozen in time, locked in a battle that began back in the Third Age of RuneScape. Recent tectonic movement in the Wilderness has caused hot springs to surface in the dungeon, thawing the occupants, with potentially devastating effects. Inside their icy tomb, relics from the most destructive period of history have defrosted and resumed their grisly battle... Incredible loot, ancient boss-monsters, extinct species and one of the most graphically intensive updates of the year will leave you begging for a nice simple goblin* to kill. Don’t worry! There are even some of them in there, with the rest of the Bandos army. Yes, we said army. Oh, and Armadyl, too. Remember him? You soon will when one of his avian troops swoops down and disembowels you. Believe us.
We'll also be adding the usual website extras like the Postbag from the Hedge and the Players' Gallery, as well as a brand new Development Diary.
That’s all folks!
* No goblins were harmed during the writing of this Behind the Scenes document. Well, maybe a few. But they did call us names.
We will be performing an upgrade of the forum to Invision Power Board version 2.3.1 Saturday Night starting at 11pm CST. The forum will be offline for approximately 2-4 hours while we perform this upgrade. There will not be much new after the upgrade, it is mainly to keep us up to date with the latest supported version. We are however adding a couple new modifications for PM Preferences/ Message tracking and also Profile preferences (Classic or Portal view).
~MrStormy~
We have a new and large guide that is on our database!
Postie Pete is back again with a new batch of letters for you all to read, including a rather intriguing contribution from Baba Yaga...
Find out how RuneScape's calendar works from Reldo, what the childerkin of Musa Point do with their spare time and what the werewolves think of the vampyre masters. Click here to read the Postbag.
Reldo has also been a bit more busy than usual, and has dug up a couple of new Area Guides: the Wizards' Tower and the Goblin Village.
New Falador map!
Saturday, Jul 28, 2007
News ID: 00681
Thanks to DarkBlitz and Alfawarlord, we have a new Falador City Map on our database! Take a look and enjoy!
~ Jakesterwars ~
King's Ransom Quest Guide
Wednesday, Jul 25, 2007
News ID: 00680
The King's Ransom quest guide has been uploaded! Thank you Scorchy_Devil and everyone else who helped write it!
This month, Reldo has been sent a tattered manuscript by some Strange Old Man who lives in Morytania. This manuscript sheds new light on the area known as the Barrows, and the legend that surrounds its existence.
Reldo has transcribed this tale, entitled The Fall of Six, into the Lores and Histories section of the website for you all to have a read.
Intrigue, murder and devious plots! Things are afoot once again at the Sinclair Mansion. The family has vanished without a trace. None of their neighbours are very sorry to see them go, but suspicions are aroused when King Arthur and his knights disappear as well...
Your help is needed once again to unravel the Sinclair family's plots. Those of you who have solved the Murder Mystery will be called upon to put your Defence skill to the test: as you act as the defence attorney and disprove the case you built up against them in the first place. All is not as it seems, though, and more people are involved in the kidnapping of King Arthur than is at first apparent.
If you're successful, you'll be invited to train with the Knights of the Round Table. If you can keep up with them, you'll be well rewarded...
Seers' Village has undergone a graphical rework and now looks more impressive than ever. If you're in the area, have a look to see the improvements to this thriving little village.
The Party Room previously in Seers' Village has moved to the north-east of Falador, which means all of our free players can now attend other players' parties or host their own! Stop by to celebrate with Party Pete and arrange a balloon drop, or perhaps dance the night away with our expert dancer Megan and dancing knight cabaret.
We've added a feature to the hiscores that you can read about here. This will let you extract your character's stats to use as a signature on other sites with much less effort than trying to link the "full" version of your stats.
If you're lucky enough to catch one, ninja implings can now drop certed dragonhides instead of filling your inventory with the uncerted version. Happy hunting!
Come and join us killing ice giants, and for a drop party in the ice caverns! First we're going to Karamja to fish some food though, so bring along your fishing gear as well as your armour and weapon.
Since we have heard people having trouble finding the guide in the Special Reports area, we have decided to move it to the Mini-Games guide area. You can now easily find it in the Mini-Game guide area labeled as "The Achievement Diary: Karamja".
Thanks for reading,
~ Jakesterwars ~
Updated Pest Control Guide!
Friday, Jul 20, 2007
News ID: 00676
After a few days of collecting data to add into this guide, it's complete, aside from the portal images that are suppose to be coming soon. The formulas for the experience are still under work since of the decrease of experience. Anyways, check out the Pest Control guide to see how it looks! Thanks to everyone that helped too!
~ Jakesterwars ~
Barbarian Training is online!
Thursday, Jul 19, 2007
News ID: 00675
After a long and excruciating time to make this guide, it is finally up! Thanks to Brenden and everyone else who helped in making the Barbarian Training guide.
We've made some adjustments to the Pest Control minigame. The biggest change is to include the very heavily requested feature to have three different boats with three different level requirements. Boat 1 requires a combat level of 40+, boat 2 requires a combat level of 70+ and boat 3 requires a combat level of 100+.
Now, this change makes a big impact on the game, so we've had to put a lot of thought into rebalancing other areas accordingly. We needed to make sure each boat provides a game which is correctly balanced for its level requirements. This means that in each boat we needed to determine such things as monster levels, Pest Control points given per game, experience given per Pest Control point, and make a change to the way killing portals works.
If you are interested in what these changes are and our decision process in coming to them, then this is detailed in the bottom section of this news story.
We have added an intermediate points-for-experience deal. Before, you could only trade in points for experience in batches of 1 or 100. You can now also trade 10 points for experience which will give you a 1% experience bonus.
We've slightly increased the stats of the Void Knight armour.
We've made some new things to buy with your Pest Control points, too. We've released 3 new helmets. One is for rangers, one is for mages and one is for meleers. When a helmet is worn with the top, robe and gloves you will receive a set bonus appropriate for the corresponding character class. You don't need to wield the mace to receive the set bonus. The player owned house costume room will store the new helmets.
Another new item to spend points on is the Void Knight seal, an item specifically for helping you in the Pest Control game. The seal has 8 charges and will deal 8-12 damage to all adjacent monsters. This can only be used within Pest Control, and it does not contribute towards the minimum 50 damage needed to earn points.
The squire now has a right-click "quick leave" option so you can now leave the island even when under attack.
Bottom section of this news story.
As outlined earlier, once we split the game into three boats, there were a lot of knock on effects we needed to address, which are explained in this section.
Firstly, we've had to adjust the strength of the monsters according to the boat you are on. A boat containing only level 40-70 players couldn't beat the game before. Now if the game is harder on a high level boat then it needs to give more points or it wouldn't be fair. Now, winning a game on boat 3 will give you 4 Pest Control points, winning on boat 2 will give you 3 Pest Control points and winning on boat 1 will give you 2 Pest Control points.
That's a lot more points per game! We obviously can't give as much experience per point if points are that easy to get, so the amount of experience you get per point is now 35% of what it used to be. You may be wondering what will happen to the Pest Control points you have collected already - we thought of that, and you will still get to cash in your old points at the old rate. (Phew!)
To do the maths for you, that means that on boat 2 you'll be getting just slightly more experience per game than previously and on boat 3 you will getting a lot more experience per game. This isn't as extreme as it sounds because games can take longer to complete now (more on that below). You'll be getting less experience per game on boat 1, but that's okay because low levels will probably be able to win more games than they could before. The experience you will receive per point if you choose Ranged and Magic has been reduced by a further ten percent as we felt receiving experience in those skills without using runes or arrows is rather generous anyway. Herbs, seeds and minerals have also had their point cost tripled to stay in line with the new point rewards. The Void Knight equipment has retained its old point value, effectively making it cheaper.
Pest Control has always given very generous combat experience. In a strange way, the main thing which kept the experience rate from reaching ludicrous levels was that the presence of enough people with low combat levels made the game hard to win quickly and consistently. Not the best balancing mechanism, I'm sure you'll agree! It was rather unreliable and could unfortunately even lead to verbal abuse of low level players who were doing no harm beyond wanting to play a minigame - not really the community building we'd hoped for from this minigame.
So, since that effect is now greatly reduced (low levels have their own boat), and since the high level boats now give more experience per game, we've had to compensate for that in some way too! The rate of experience is now kept in check by the fact that the portals will start the game being shielded and invulnerable. One portal will become unshielded 15 seconds after the game starts, then another every 30 seconds, until after 1 minute and 45 seconds every portal is unshielded. This actually brings about the strategy in game play that we had always intended as you actually have to put up a proper defence up for the Void Knight rather than simply relying on people killing the portals very quickly. Our general aims with rates of experience are to make features worthwhile training on while not being so good that they render other training methods obsolete and it is this balance that we have worked hard to achieve.
To further fine tune gameplay, the behaviour of a number of the npcs has changed. Most of the npcs now do not block players except for the brawlers and the portals, so it's much easier to move around the island now. Spinners will poison nearby players when a nearby portal is killed, portals can no longer be poisoned and shifters teleport around a lot more.
We've just added a bunch of extra features to the game to make your lives a bit easier and much safer. These range from improving existing interfaces to changing the way magic logs look.
We've introduced a couple of changes that should make the trade system easier and safer to use. Firstly, the trade interface now shows you how many free inventory spaces your trade partner has. Secondly, the interface provides a visual warning when your partner removes an item from their offer. If you're worried about your trade partner suddenly changing their offer, this is certain to make it much more obvious.
Throughout various areas of the game we've added the ability to 'make-x' on some more items. This includes a lot of the areas of Cooking such as pie making, pizza making and potato making. It also includes making arrows, potion making, glassmaking, amulet stringing and a number of other areas. You might have noticed that 'make-x' for smithing is missing - do not fear! It is still being worked on and will be brought to you soon.
A new warning system has been unveiled, which will allow veteran players to mute those pesky warning messages that they see on a daily basis. Areas like the Shantay Pass and the Wilderness will no longer force you too see a long message explaining the dangers of the area, unless you want it to. Newer players, and those that have not been to the area enough times, will still see the messages and be safer for it, but those that are more familiar with the dangers will be able to toggle them on and off as they see fit, speeding up journeys through the desert and other dangerous areas. If you want to check out the new warning interface, head to Lumbridge and find the Doomsayer, who wanders around near the Lumbridge Guide.
We have added Town Criers to Varrock, Falador, Draynor, East Ardougne and Seers' Village. These knowledgeable men know all about the Rules of RuneScape as well as providing some handy information regarding Player Moderators and what they can and can't do. So, if you have a question regarding a Rule and don't want to look on the website, just talk to a Town Crier!
We've also updated the Duel Arena so that you'll get a warning if you try to take a double-handed weapon into a single-handed duel, kebabs can no longer reduce your Hitpoints and will affect a different skill instead, and magic logs now look properly magical and very different from other logs.
New Random Event
Just when you thought school was out...SURPRISE! It's an exam for you! Mr. Mordaut is going to put you on the spot and test your abilities at spotting patterns. Will you prove your worth or be sent to the back of the class?
Aside from the terrifying Mr. Mordaut, the class is full of delinquents and dunces: from the bored goblin and the zombies who want (to be) brains to the giant trying to better himself and the imp serving time in the corner. It's just like being back at school - well, it would be if your teacher was a dragon and you had a mummy for a classmate. To prove that you've learnt something in his class, Mr. Mordaut will grant you a tome of experience when you leave.
We like to keep a bit of variation in Random Events but without just adding new ones, so in order to keep the balance right, we've removed the Broken Axe event. We've also magically repaired any broken axes you have, and any handles missing a head have been whisked away to wherever it is that lonely axe handles go.
Click here to read about all the Random Events you might come across.
The RuneHQ RuneScape home worlds have been updated! The new members home world is 77 (our original home world), and the free players home world is still 55.
Pwn, Global Gaming HQ's gaming clan, has expanded to become a full gaming community! Register on the Pwn community forums to talk about all types of games, meet new friends, and if you're good enough, even apply to join the clan itself! Click here to register.
We are currently looking for people to lead the Pwn clan in new games, so if you are interested, please post on the Pwn forums.
PLEASE NOTE: Pwn is NOT a RuneScape clan! If you want to join a RuneScape clan, join TORC, NOT Pwn!
~ [theITfactor/Im4eversmart] ~
The Fishing Guild Guide has been rewritten and uploaded to the site! Thanks to Brenden and the others who helped make this guide!
~ Jakesterwars ~
We have a new City Guide on our database!
Tuesday, Jul 10, 2007
News ID: 00670
The Canifis City Guide has been rewritten and uploaded to the database! Thanks to Jett_Man and everyone else who helped for this wonderful guide!
~ Jakesterwars ~
Players' Gallery, POH room increase and more, and A bird in the hand...
RuneScape's number one (self-appointed) art critic, Postie Pete, has thrown together a delightful collection of your finest works this month for the latest Players' Gallery. Postie Pete tells us this is some of the best work he's seen to date, with a marvellous use of light and shadow, and brush-work to die for! We're not sure Pete knows all that much about art, but he does seem to have an eye, or rather eye socket, for a great picture.
Check out this month's Players' Gallery, and who knows, perhaps you'll find some inspiration to create a masterpiece of your own.
9 July 2007 - POH room increase and more
Today we are increasing the number of rooms that high-level builders can build in their houses. The room cap still starts off at 20, but at level 50 Construction it starts rising, to a maximum of 30 rooms at level 99 Construction. With this new cap in place, you can start making your house into your castle!
The equipped interface also gets a useful update, with the addition of a new button. This button will bring up a display showing what you're carrying and which items you get to keep if you die, as well as noting what is affecting this. Hopefully you'll be able to use this to make sure you don't lose all your favourite items to some dastardly dragon.
In other news...
A problem has been fixed whereby players who were inserting or swapping items between their inventory and bank would see the item they're dragging disappear behind the bank interface; this issue has now been rectified.
The rock golem's boulder attack from one of the random events was previously being negated by Protect from Melee. This has been modified so now the boulders can only be stopped via Protect from Missiles instead. It's best to just run away though or the rock golem might just splat you!
The mithril dragons' breath attack is now more consistent with other dragons; previously, Protect from Magic was slightly reducing the damage taken by players.
We've also made a change to players entering and exiting player-owned houses.
Players who enter player-owned houses may lose or gain Hitpoints whilst inside (e.g. by eating food or fighting monsters in the dungeon). Following today's update, if you leave a house with less Hitpoints than you had when you went in, it'll restore your Hitpoints back to the number you started with.
Examples:
Player A enters a house on 20/50 Hitpoints. He eats and restores 20 Hitpoints, then leaves. He will leave with 40 Hitpoints.
Player B enters on 50/50 Hitpoints. He fights some monsters in the dungeon and takes 30 damage. He leaves the house and has his Hitpoints restored to 50/50.
Player C enters his house on 25/50 Hitpoints, he then leaves immediately. He will leave with 25 Hitpoints.
The birds of RuneScape have been perched, sick as a parrot and grebe with envy over these graphical updates that have been higher in the pecking order. Well, now it's their tern; after all, "toucan play at that game".
That's right, those with eyes of a hawk will notice an upgrade to the plumage of our fowl friends. From the ducks and gulls to the more vicious terrorbirds and jubblies, there is plenty to gobble up.
So, swallow your pride and flock into game swiftly if you want a goosey gander at our eggs-ellent new bird update - there is certainly plenty to go cuckoo over.
Finally, mugger (level 6) has sneaked himself onto the graphical guestlist and also received a rework.
This week brings the arrival of many additions to your skills that are all barbaric in origin. Some of these new activities are easy for most players, others will test your survivability to the limits...
Otto Godblessed has been researching his history and training people in the ways of his ancestors, and now he's ready to teach you. From his hut on the banks of the lake at the top of Baxtorian Falls, you'll go Fishing with your bare hands, mix fish eggs into your potions, wield one-handed spears and, finally, go deep into the ancient cavern beneath the lake.
The new abilities you can learn from Otto have new things to do right up to level 95 Firemaking, 85 Crafting, 96 Fishing, 76 Strength, 85 Herblore and 90 Smithing. If you're keen to haul sharks from the sea bare-handed or to send ancient barbarian heroes to their rest in style, you'd best check out Otto's training. And then there's the cavern...
Once you gain access to the Ancient Cavern, you'll find some of the most dangerous beasts in all the lands of RuneScape, beasts that the barbarians have been fighting for centuries. Of course, danger comes with rewards, and there are rumours of a rather impressive-looking red helm sometimes dropped by the new mithril dragons.
Summary
Requirements to begin Barbarian Training
Level 21 Firemaking
OR
Level 48 Fishing and level 15 Strength and Agility
OR
Level 55 Fishing and level 35 Strength
As part of the Barbarian Training update we have reworked a number of skill sounds so they are timed more accurately. This means that when you swing your pick to mine, or cast your rod into a Fishing spot, you will hear the sound of the rock being hit exactly when it should happen, these changes may also very slightly reduce lag when you are involved in these skills. The skills with updated sounds are Firemaking, Fletching, Mining, Fishing and Woodcutting.
As a side effect of this, you'll notice that the Mining animation has changed. Getting the Mining sounds to match up was a bit of a tough job, so we put some work into the animation to iron out those problems. The result is a really nice bit of work from the Graphics team that should make Mining a bit more enjoyable.
In other news...
We've fixed a bug that was stopping the dragonfire shield from performing its special attack while you were autocasting spells. As a bonus, these shields can now be charged by the breath attack of skeletal wyverns.
The wyverns themselves have had a very old bug fixed that was allowing the Protect from Melee prayer to block damage from their ice breath. The ice breath isn't melee, so that prayer was never meant to have any effect on it. The wyverns' attacks are now as follows:
* Bite / Tail-lash - These are simple melee attacks. Their damage may be blocked completely by the Protect from Melee prayer.
* Ice Breath - This is an incredibly powerful middle-range attack. Its damage may be substantially reduced if you are wielding an elemental shield, elemental mind shield or dragonfire shield (because the dragonfire shield is now recharged by the breath), but NOT the anti-dragonbreath shield. If you didn't have an appropriate shield, the Protect from Magic prayer will also reduce the damage, although it is not as effective. The ice breath also has a chance of freezing you so that you cannot walk for a while.
* Iceball - This is a long-range attack. Its damage is prevented by the Protect from Missiles prayer.
Although Charlie the Tramp is described as a red-haired tramp in the Shield of Arrav quest, he's actually had grey hair ever since the Varrock update! The barber has now been brought in to work his magic, and Charlie is ginger once more.
Finally, we've fixed the bug that a few of you spotted that was causing the Blast Furnace pump to turn up in random events!
We kick this month off with a very barbaric update. After the creation of the Barbarian Assault minigame, the Baxtorian Barbarians have been investigating several of the local features in the hopes of finding a new challenge for their hairy brethren... and they have not been disappointed. Lying deep beneath the surface they have found the resting place of an old, nearly forgotten, yet strangely familiar foe... the mithril dragon.
This dragon, who is going to weigh in at an impressive level 300, will hold several interesting items in its treasure horde, not least the fabled dragon full helm.
The location of this dungeon is a closely guarded secret, though, so you’ll need to prove yourself worthy to gain access. Construct burial ships, wield new one-handed spears, start fires the old-fashioned way, modify potions and go bare-handed harpoon fishing... then, with a bit of luck, they'll invite you in.
July also sees another update to the game's audio effects by improving the timing and synchronisation of various sound effects associated with several of the skills and characters. We are also working on improving instrument sounds and a feature which will allow the player to access information about where a song can be unlocked. Keep your ears open for more musical developments later in the month.
Some people might say that the graphical improvements planned this month are a bit quackers, especially when its ducks, birds and terrorbirds that receive the make-over tweetment. Be sure to pop down and coo at their shiny new plumage later this month.
We are making more changes to the Random Events in the game with the removal of specific events and the addition of a new one, this time featuring a dragon headmaster and some monstrous classmates. Let’s hope you do well, or it’ll be the dunces' hat for you.
After the scandal in Sinclair Mansion, little activity has been seen in the area from the rest of the Sinclair brood. Recently, however, some of the family have been seen in the dark corners of RuneScape plotting some kind of revenge... But on whom? Brave adventurers, misguided siblings? Perhaps their greedy minds are drawn back to the fact that Camelot was Sinclair property before their overly-generous father gave it away to those high and mighty knights. No doubt your previous experiences dealing with family affairs will come in handy as you try to solve the problems behind a King's Ransom. Expect high court hijinx and a rather interesting reward for those who accept the challenge.
As mentioned last month, we are continuing to release small changes designed to improve your overall experience of RuneScape. In July we will be launching several more changes including:
* Increasing the maximum number of rooms you can have in your house to 30.
* Altering how damage is taken in a player-owned house.
* Clarifying what items you keep on death BEFORE you die.
* Clarifying what a one-handed duel actually is.
* Restricting the opening and closing of doors to stop door spammers.
* Changing how kebabs damage health.
* Changing the appearance of magic logs.
On the website side of things, this month you'll be getting all the usual goodies, as well as a story about the Barrows for the Lores and Histories section.
This month's Postbag from the Hedge brings you tales from the history of RuneScape... as well as the Mysterious Old Man's notes on some random events he never got round to making.
Whether you're interested in Duradel's love of claws as weapons, a demonic butler's remarkable manners or just what Azzanadra thinks of the other Mahjarrat, there's something in there for you.
You'll also find that Chieftain Brundt has supplied you with a painting of one of the Fremennik expeditions to Waterbirth Island, which you can download to use as a wallpaper.
26 June 2007 - Guaranteed Content - Halloween results
It went right up to the wire, but the winners have been chosen. As voted for by you, they are:
Halloween event winner: The Grim Reaper owns a spooky House of Horror, in which he has placed you. Can you pass the traps and scares?
Halloween reward winner: A Grim Reaper hood
Halloween emote winner: A zombie hand coming out of the ground
Many thanks to all of you who voted - you have chosen some ghoulishly great options! We promise that the event will be just as exciting as the race for the winner has been.
There may have been two Guaranteed Content polls recently, but they will not be released this frequently in the future. It just happened to be that two subjects suitable for Guaranteed Content polls came up in quick succession.
This week we've made another internal upgrade to the RuneScape game engine, which makes it possible for us to do more complex/varied updates in the future.
This time around the interface system has had another overhaul, with a large chunk of the system completely replaced with a more powerful version. We've then had to adjust and retest all the old interfaces to make sure they still work under the new system (a big job!).
The sorts of changes that have been made aren't generally things that you'll notice immediately, but there's a surprisingly large amount of work involved in any engine upgrade. Admittedly, it's not the most exciting update in the short term, but it's definitely worth it in the long run!
All this frantic behind the scenes activity finally means we can now get started on some (much requested) updates to some of our main interfaces - updates which weren't previously possible, but now are! In the meantime, though, we've taken the opportunity to fix a few more bugs...
In other news...
The uncharged version of the new dragonfire shield has now been given a +7 strength bonus to match the charged version.
We've fixed the bug with POH costume rooms that was letting players store wizard boots in oak treasure chests even though they couldn't be taken out again. The boots are meant to be stored only in teak or mahogany treasure chests.
Over time, if your stats have been reduced or raised, most of them restore slowly back towards their default levels. However, if you opened an interface such as one of the skill guides or a shop, your stats used to stop restoring until you closed it again. We've now fixed it so that your stats will restore normally even if you have an interface open.
Finally, the pet rock from Fremennik Trials now has to be wielded in both hands, as if it were a two-handed sword. Some of its animations weren't looking very good if you wielded the rock and a shield at the same time.
We have 2 new City guides, a special report, and a map!
Monday, Jun 25, 2007
News ID: 00660
The Jatizso and Neitiznot and Varrock city guides have been uploaded to the site. Thanks Masterhyperg for the first and Jakesterwars for the second.
The Varrock Museum guide has also been uploaded to the site. Thanks to Sir_Brendan and everyone else who helped with it.
Thanks to Bingo and everyone who helped we now finally have a new and updated Catherby map on the site.
~ Jakesterwars ~
Guaranteed Content poll, The Dragonfire Shield and Game Improvements
18 June 2007 - Guaranteed Content poll - Halloween
Two weeks ago, we added a thread in the Suggestions Forum for Halloween 2007 ideas. Many of you posted, coming up with some ghoulish ones.
We have gathered these ideas, grouped some of our favourites together, and produced options for our second Guaranteed Content poll. Thanks go to the many of you who posted.
You may notice that all of the themes mention the Grim Reaper in some way, which was down to the sheer number of suggestions that involved him. He is obviously popular!
So pick carefully, as the winning votes will be made into this year's Halloween event. We may even include some surprises to keep you on your toes. Visit the poll system to cast your vote!
Although there have been two Guaranteed Content polls recently, they will not be released this frequently. It happened to be that two subjects suitable for this kind of poll came up at once.
Those players who have completed the Dragon Slayer quest will already be able to get anti-dragonbreath shields from the Duke of Lumbridge. Oziach the Master Smith has recently found a way for members to upgrade this shield using a draconic visage - a powerful artefact from a forgotten age that is only occasionally dropped by powerful dragons. Combining the draconic visage with the anti-dragonbreath shield will result in a new type of shield: the dragonfire shield.
The dragonfire shield's power relies on storing dragonfire. The shield absorbs dragonfire just like the anti-dragonbreath shield, but every time it does so its stats become a little more powerful. The shield is also effective against the breath of skeletal wyverns (although it won't store any of it). The stored dragonfire can also be released by operating the shield, slightly reducing the shield's stats but firing a blast of dragonfire at an opponent!
On the topic of dragons, we've also updated Crandor to make it look more like the woeful place it became after Elvarg arrived. You'll also notice that the dungeon connecting Crandor to Karamja has been improved, and Elvarg's lair looks much more like a place a dragon might choose to live.
Ever got frustrated when you couldn't right click and quick bank with Gundai? Ever wondered why the Monks of Entrana have memory loss and search you every time? These are but two small annoyances which have been changed as part of a collection of disparate but subtle alterations to the game - all suggested by you, the players!
In the first of our 'Improvement Project' updates we've bundled together a whole host of little additions to the game that many of you have suggested. Most of these are improvements to existing features, adding new detail or extra benefits. We have identified many more in addition to these, so there will also be a steady flow of them coming out over the coming year.
In the first batch we have additions that range from useful to humorous.
First up, we've rebalanced the crossbows to make them a really appealing option for rangers. This means that your crossbow will fire faster and hit harder. We've also made grapples tradeable at every stage in their construction. It was a bit odd having them untradeable as soon as you add a bit of rope. Onyx bolt tips bought from the TzHaar are also cheaper now. With all these adjustments, we feel that the crossbow is a really viable choice for the discerning ranger.
We've also rejigged the combat selection so now you'll stick to the same fighting style after you log out. This means that when you log in again, you'll automatically use your preferred style - no more defending yourself by hitting someone over the head with a staff when you have plenty of runes!
We have updated the graphics for cyclopes to make them look better than ever. Stop by and visit the Ardougne Zoo and take a look at some of the less common creatures.
Players who have completed Dream Mentor will now be able to bank items without a seal of passage on Lunar Isle. They can now speak to Bird's Eye Jack, left click the booth directly in front of him or right click to use quick-bank. Previously, you were required to have your seal of passage on you before you could access the bank.
Players can now fill all available buckets in their inventory with slime from the ectofuntus temple just north of Port Phasmatys. This change removes the need for multiple clicking to fill each bucket individually.
We've been told that Gundai in the Mage Arena is not nearly as helpful as he could be, so we've added a 'quick bank' option. Similarly, the monks on Entrana have a right-click 'quick sail' option, which gives the monks the right to check you for the usual armour and weapons before you hop aboard their boat.
The dastardly aberrant spectres in the Slayer Tower will be getting less to eat now, as we've added a short warning to the spiky chain that leads to their lair. Hopefully this will save inexperienced adventurers from getting a painfully bad smell assaulting their senses (not to mention their limbs).
The glassblowing interface wasn't pretty enough, and also a bit awkward to use, so we've upgraded it to make it simpler to turn molten glass into useful vials and the like.
To save fletchers standing about looking as if they're doing nothing, we've added an animation to stringing bows. On top of this, you'll save quite a few clicks with the new 'String-all' option!
As impressively mighty as the skeletal wyverns are, we felt their drops didn't really reflect the challenge, so they now drop some more desirable loot.
Gloves of silence (made from the stealthy dark kebbit's fur) can now be inspected to see how they're going after your pickpocketing fingers have been caught a few times. You can also grab some more fur to repair damaged ones, saving you a trip to the fancy dress shop.
For the fashion-conscious among you, Patchy on Mos Le'Harmless has been given a better set of tools, so he'll now combine a black cavalier hat with a highwayman mask, and a black beret with a mime mask. How dashing!
Finally, everyone's favourite pet, a rock, has been made even more exciting! Now you can play fetch, tell it to stay, or even wield it.
We've also identified a number of bugs, which are now fixed. These include:
The infinity hat has been adjusted due to an issue with players' hairstyles. Certain hair would occasionally appear through the hat, which looked a bit strange.
Wizard boots have been relocated in the treasure trails chest of your costume room. Up to now, players could store these in the level 1 clue scroll section; however they are obtained from level 2 clue scrolls.
The rune helm painted with Varrock colours has had its looks adjusted. This is to help differentiate between the gilded full helm and itself. The new looks are now more befitting to such an item.
A bug was fixed to allow anyone who's been lucky enough to find and catch implings to open the jars containing captured implings around the Catherby area.
There are plenty more wee additions coming up for the future, all of which are designed to make your gaming experience easier, more enjoyable or just entertaining.
After over a week's voting, the next Achievement Diary has gone to... Varrock! It was the runaway winner, and we will begin work on it right away.
Those who have read our Development Diary will know that game additions can take a long time to brief, programme, test, and go through many other stages of development, so please be patient for its release.
Many thanks go to those who voted. The feedback has been positive and the number of votes impressive, meaning we plan to do another Guaranteed Content poll in the near future.
A new bow has made its way to RuneScape from the shadowy dimension of the dark beasts. These dark bows are strange and dangerous weapons, designed to shoot two arrows at a time, even with the most powerful arrows. Its mysterious special attack deals massive damage, which is even more powerful if you use it with dragon arrows.
Dark bows can only be obtained from the dark beasts that lurk along the path to the Light Temple. Although it requires a level 90 Slayer to take on a dark beast, level 60 rangers can use these tradeable dark bows. The dark bow is also the only bow that can fire dragon arrows!
H.A.M. clothing has been added to the items players can store in the armour case in their costume room. Players can now deposit their selection of H.A.M. clothes to free up some bank space.
Players can now see when they have achieved the maximum Kudos from helping out at the Varrock Museum.
The Fountain of Heroes in the Heroes' Guild will no longer recharge amulets of glory in their noted form.
Players can now move compost into all empty buckets in their inventory if they have sufficient compost in the bin. This is to allow players to more easily extract the compost for their Farming needs.
Players who've achieved a high enough Magic level to cast Ice Barrage from the Ancient Magick Spellbook will be interested to know that we've fixed the requirements for casting to allow for combination runes. All other Ancient Magick spells already allow players to use combination runes, but it seems this one was missed off.
Players who are short on inventory or bank space can now drop wound up toy mice on free worlds. Prior to this, players could only drop the unwound version.
This week we are releasing dragon arrows and darts into the game. Yes, that's right, new dragon weaponry! Getting hold of them will be tricky, though: you will have to find and catch implings in a new Hunter mini-game, Impetuous Impulses. Chihiro has added a rabble of these naughty implings to the world.
Like their imp cousins, they are mischievous and can be found wandering around the oddest places. Implings like to collect things that people want, and if you learn how to hunt them down and capture them you will be able to pick up their loot. Of special interest will be the ultra-rare dragon implings that may be carrying the new dragon arrows and darts. But beware: only the most proficient hunters will be able to catch them.
To find the implings you can visit their home plane, Puro-Puro, by discovering the mysterious crops circles that will transport you there. You'll find many implings there, though most of them will be inexperienced implings who haven't learnt the best items to collect. You'll be able to run around their maze-like home with a butterfly net and try to catch them. They can fly over fences, though, so they may not be as easy to catch as you think.
You'll also find some of the implings wandering lost around the world. If you find a rare one, and are able to catch it, you'll get their loot without having to bother with cross-planar travel and crop circles. So keep your eyes peeled! Even if you can't catch a dragon impling yourself, maybe you can get a friend who can to help...
Postie Pete has been feeling the artistic calling and has created another fine display of your artwork. This month sees some fearsome beasts: a dragon, a demon and ...a combat triangle...? To find out what's going on you'll just have to head on over to this month's edition of the Players' Gallery.
While Postie Pete was busy selecting artwork we've also been tinkering with the archive of old galleries to make it easier to find your favourites.
Today sees the release of a new feature on the RuneScape website: Development Diaries! This new series of articles will take you behind the scenes here at Jagex HQ, so you can all get a better understanding of the work that goes into our regular updates, rather than just seeing the end result.
The first diary takes you through the entire development of the upcoming Impetuous Impulses minigame, but not just a boring step-by-step account: there are some juicy hints about upcoming content, concept artwork to ogle and amusing quotes from our mods, so there should be something in there to interest everyone.
The Development Diaries can be found in the Stories and Letters section of the website, along with Postbag from the Hedge, Players' Gallery and Lores and Histories. We hope you enjoy the diaries!
Grrr....Growl....Woof! The Makeover Mage has been hard at work giving man's best (and sometimes not so best) friend a new look. The Makeover Mage paid a visit to Canifis and gave the werewolves a haircut and pedicure. Then off he/she went to the cold mountain ranges of RuneScape to smarten up the wolves. The Makeover Mage didn't stop there, he/she sent all the dogs of RuneScape to the dog groomer. Keep your eyes peeled for the new look for man's best friend.
In other news...
An issue with the Lunar Spellbook has been fixed for one specific spell. Players should now be able to temporarily swap spellbooks, cast a spell from a different book and then change back to the Lunar Spellbook once more.
Two songs from our wonderful collection have been renamed to better suit their uses. 'Gnome' has been renamed to 'Goblin Village' which certainly doesn't contain any gnomes! The other was 'Gnome Theme' which has been changed to 'Dwarf Theme' and reflects the nearby creatures that inhabit the area.
We've added a bracelet mould to the Crafting Guild. Players should now have everything at hand for all their Crafting needs.
Players should no longer get confused when talking to King Roald. He was acting a bit strange and sometimes greeted players twice. It would've been rude to mention, but he is a king after all!
We have also slightly adjusted the text colour on stacked items, making it easier to distinguish between a large and small number of objects.
We would like to remind everyone again that buying RuneScape gold/items for real world money is against the rules and will result in a permanent ban.
Trying to get ahead unfairly by breaking Rule 12 is unacceptable, and doing so also funds many other cheating problems, so we are taking a very strict stance on this now.
As we said we would, we've been working hard to ban players who play unfairly. Since we last posted about this we've banned another 4738 players for buying RuneScape items/gold for real money, which is in breach of rule 12. We don't like banning players, but when they try to spoil the game for everyone else we have no choice. We believe this is also the most effective way to combat the botting, which is a method used by the sellers.
The fact that some people still think they can get away with it and won't just get banned is quite surprising. We really do mean it when we say that buying gold for real-world money = a permanent ban. We have reliable ways to trace this now. It's a shame so many people have to find that out the hard way. (These are NOT people lending items to their friends, we really are sure they were genuinely buying gold for real world money.)
Finally, here are another 2 examples out of the 4738 players we just banned for real world trading:
Player X
Total Level: Over 1440
Total time in-game: Over 92 days
Status: Permanently banned for real-world trading
Player Y
Total Level: Over 1500
Total time in-game: Over 113 days
Status: Permanently banned for real-world trading
What a ridiculous waste! Why these players decided to try to cheat - in a way we can easily detect - and throw their accounts away is hard to comprehend. Don't make the same mistake. Don't buy items/gold for real-world money.
"Once upon a time in a land far, far away..." Our latest quest takes you into the world of fairy tales, where you'll save a dwarf in distress, tell a bedtime story to a vicious beast and fight a monster so large, well, you'll have to find out...
In Grim Tales you take on Sylas's quest to find some of the most collectible items in RuneScape (well, they're collectible if you're odd like Sylas). Make incredible potions that will drastically change your perspective on the world. Explore your musical talents. Steal gold from the guardian in the sky and flee for your life!
The magic of the Brothers Grimm's tales is vividly brought to life for you to experience for yourself, but you may find that events differ from what you have been told! Be sure to wear your best armour and strongest weapons when you venture forth in search of treasures!
This month will see the first batch of something we are lovingly calling 'Bits and Pieces' projects. Basically, we've spent a great deal of time trawling through the Suggestions Forum and in-game comments, and then compiling a giant list of requests for small changes and improvements to the game, the first few on the list being launched this month. These will range from tiny additions like a right-click option to get to Entrana that doesn't involve clicking through the text every time, all the way up to raising the power of crossbows.
The list continues to grow, and we will be releasing more 'Bits and Pieces' in the future, so please carry on posting your suggestions in the Suggestion Forum.
Our only quest in June offers you an opportunity to take part in a rather odd story. Now, I'm sure that most of you have heard about the little boy who kicked his ball over the fence, only to find an evil witch decided to hide it in her garden shed. Some of you may have even snuck into the house and tried to rescue it... but what has the witch been up to since? To the untrained eye, it looks like she might have just been walking up and down her garden lobbing the odd teleport spell at a wandering adventurer... but in reality she has been deviously planning her next menacing experiment to throw at the unsuspecting (and a bit slow) druids nearby. In Grim Tales, you'll be shouting through windows in tall towers, telling bedtime stories to griffins, climbing beanstalks, drinking shrinking potions and even battling the next of the witch's creations. Don't be fooled into thinking it will be a simple care-free journey, though: you should know by now that our fairy tales are anything but that.
While all this is happening, the baddies of the fairy tale world - wolves and werewolves - and all their family will be heading to the Makeover Mage for a bit of a polish. The wolves will look hungrier, the werewolves more brutal, the jackals more cunning and the hellhounds more hellish. On top of this, Canifis has called in the builders and will unveil what the decorators and landscapers have done.
Elsewhere in the world you'll be noticing odd crop circles and strange imp-like creatures popping up all over the place. Implings like to collect things, especially things that humans want. When they've found something tasty, they take it back to their maze-like world of wheat, and fly about playing hide-and-seek.
You may be able to find these implings outside their extra-planar home, trying to cause trouble and collect yet more small interesting trinkets. Each type of impling likes to collect things based on a theme and require different Hunter levels to catch, starting at 17. The dragon implings, for example, like to collect objects that have the word 'dragon' in their name, including the new dragon arrows and darts. Of course, they will require an impressive Hunter level of 83 to catch...
Finding and catching the implings on the surface may be a tricky task, but if you follow them home to their maze you will have to contend with imp guardians that object to you catching their impling cousins, and a maze that keeps changing ... Just the sort of things you'd expect in an area filled with imps.
Of course, to fire dragon arrows you'll need a new bow to shoot them from... which brings us on nicely to the lvl 60 dark bow. This new bow, complete with its own special attack, will be available by killing dark beasts (lvl 90 Slayer target).
We will also be working on other graphical improvements in the game, including Crandor, Melzar's Maze and Crandor Dungeon. We even invited Elvarg herself to the makeover chair.
Today we're upgrading the way website logins work. Building on our improvements yesterday, we're finishing our new-look login page which includes a new type of login form which is more secure.
The first Guaranteed Content poll is here, and it focuses on the new Achievement Diaries. In particular, its aim is to find out which area should have a Diary next: whether that be the troll mountains, the Gnome Stronghold or the many human towns of Asgarnia, Misthalin and Kandarin. The places mentioned in the poll will include their surrounding areas and countryside, to add greater variety to the final Diary. Seers' Village will stretch to Catherby and Hemenster, for example, while the Fremennik regions will include Lunar Isle, Miscellania, Etceteria, etc.
We feel that the seven areas we have chosen would benefit from an Achievement Diary, and we would like you to choose your favourite. The winner WILL be our next Diary, and the poll results will be published on the 11th of June.
Note: This poll will be used to determine the next Achievement Diary we produce, but for subsequent diaries we may adjust the order, or approach areas not even mentioned in this poll. The third diary we do will probably be tied into content that we are currently producing.
Postie Pete returns again with another batch of letters from Glough, the elves and Lord Drakan's secretary. To go with this, there's even a creepy new wallpaper of the Drakan Family portrait.
So if you've ever wanted to know what the difference is between a vampire and a vampyre, or what the elves think about each other, you should head over there now. There's even a crossword from the Wise Old Man...
This week's bumper update brings a completely new look to the bustling city of Varrock and the surrounding lands, so take a moment out of your training to admire the freshly restored grandeur of the palace of King Roald and his - ahem - charming Queen Ellamaria. Outside the palace, the artisans and merchants of the city have had their shops refitted, from the glowing warmth of Horvik's smithy to the unkempt mess of the sword shop (apparently some people would rather play with weapons than tidy their rooms). Even the Dancing Donkey Inn, that disreputable domain of dodgy delinquents, got its due decorations.
In the southern districts of the city, where thieves and muggers from the Black Arm and Phoenix gangs roam the streets, the renovation of Varrock has shown up the grit and grime that years of neglect have brought to this ancient city. Tatty clotheslines span the alleyways, derelict and ruined buildings approach collapse and flea-ridden dogs are poised with tails a-wag, ready to harass you (and your cat).
The update doesn't stop at the walls of Varrock. Further afield, there's a new look for the Jolly Boar Inn (your last chance for a pint before the Wilderness, but watch out for the astonishingly unpleasant cook), the Lumber Yard, the Cooking Guild and the Mining spots south of the city.
The sawing, hammering and general hubbub of construction has been affecting the Varrock Museum over the past few months. Strange crates have been turning up and lots of people going in and out muttering about display 20 or how that skeleton was so hard to rig together.
Finally, as the dust settles and the new museum is unveiled, you will be allowed to explore the mysteries of RuneScape's history. Find out things that have never been revealed before, earn more rewards for old quests, clean Dig Site finds and contribute to the displays in the museum or answer quizzes to learn about the beasts of RuneScape. Whatever you do in the museum you'll find lots of information is available from the information booth just inside the door.
The timeline section of the Museum should be of special interest, as for the first time it will present RuneScape's history in one location (not to mention all the pretty exhibits to keep you entertained). This will be updated regularly to keep the Museum the definitive location for knowledge about RuneScape's history.
Although non-members will be able to have a look around the display cases on the ground floor of the Museum, only members can take full advantage of the opportunities available.
So what are you waiting for? Explore and learn while having fun and still getting those levels! Visit the Varrock Museum today!
Note: If you were in Varrock before the update, you might find yourself teleported to a safe spot. Don't worry, this is just a precaution to make sure you don't find yourself embedded in a new wall.
In other news...
Due to competition from nearby sellers, Davon in Brimhaven is now more generous and will offer better prices to the players who've completed at least one set of tasks in the Karamja Achievement Diary.
A bug has been fixed in players' houses to stop the rune display case from appearing in the wrong place when a staircase was added. Also shades in Mort'ton can no longer attack players from a great distance.
The Ardougne Zoo fence has been repaired and some holes have been fixed to stop any animals escaping.
There has been a fix for players who've completed the Dream Mentor quest. The Dream spell in the Lunar Spellbook will now break when you auto-retaliate against a monster or another player. Previously, if you were having a quick nap and a foe attacked you, you would fight back but still be in a dreamy state.
Cows and calves nearby to the Crafting Guild are now closer to the ground and can happily munch on grass again instead of hovering around. In addition Captain Donnie's Eye has been relocated back in his head and an evergreen tree that previously defied gravity on Miscellania has now been firmly rooted.
The ring of life will no longer teleport you out of the TzHaar Fight Cave. As it's a safe minigame, there's no particular reason you should need to be saved by the ring of life.
Finally, we've updated the look of the secure login form to better fit in with the rest of the website.
Reldo has finally finished collecting the last few scraps of the Legend of Arrav, and he's decided to show them to all of you. Not only that, he's also had all the stories revamped and decorated, all to enhance your reading pleasure!
The newly renovated Lores and Histories section of the website now contains all of the old stories you might remember, as well as the final two chapters of the Legend of Arrav. If you don't know who Arrav was, or what he did that was so great (or even what his fabulous shield did), then this might be the time to get a bit of reading in. There are an awful lot of stories in RuneScape, and it can't hurt to know the background...
The Tales from the Tavern will also be getting a bit of a tidy up in the future - just as soon as Reldo can figure out how to make them look just as glamorous.
It has come to our attention that some of you have not been receiving the password recovery emails when you request a password reset.
In order to assist you in accessing your account we have set up an email account you can use to assist in recovering your account: accountrecovery@runehq.com.
Please do not email us requesting passwords for RuneScape accounts! We are not Jagex or affilliated with them in any way and any emails requesting RuneScape passwords will be deleted! This is a service that should be used by users that are currently registered, but cannot access their accounts. If you have lost your RuneScape account or password do not email us telling us this, we cannot do anything about it! You must go through Jagex customer support on Runescape.com, and not our account recovery email. To do so click Recover a lost password on the Runescape homepage and follow the directions there.
Please email this account with your login name, display name, and the email address you used to register your account. If you provide us this information to prove it is your account, we will send you your password.
Players' Gallery and Dream Mentor
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
News ID: 00650
The Dream Mentor quest guide has been uploaded. Thanks Chopsteeq and everyone else who helped with it.
~ [Im4eversmart] ~
15 May 2007 - Players' Gallery
It's that time again! Postie Pete has put together another showcase of your artistic talents in the Players' Gallery. This month's is a particularly colourful selection, with a fantastic range of styles, from pens and paint to computers and clay.
Those familiar with the ways of the Moonclan will find this week's quest of most valuable interest. With massive and dangerous (not to mention bizarre) beasts to defeat and new spells to learn, there should be plenty to appeal to you.
Waiting for your help on Lunar Isle is a tormented, weak and dying man. Attacked by the native Suqah, he lies in the rune essence mine on the north-east tip of the island. Would you help a fellow adventurer down on his luck?
Choosing to help, you'll find a tough adventure to revisit the dream lands. Be prepared for real danger this time as you'll be battling the monstrous incarnations of a twisted mind. You'll no doubt meet up with familiar faces and get to grips with a selection of new spells for the Lunar Spellbook! The new spells will let you see your foes' strengths and weaknesses, make your own planks, speak to even more NPCs and much more.
Are you a perfect teacher or a guide to slumbering hallucinations? You can decide when you're a Dream Mentor.
We've re-sorted the quest list to make it a bit easier to find the quests you're looking for. Previously, the quest list was sorted alphabetically, so all the quests with titles beginning with "A", "An" or "The" were being clumped together.
The problem was that people couldn't always remember the exact title of every quest. Is it "The Hand in the Sand" or "A Hand in the Sand"? Or is it just "Hand in the Sand"? From now on, you'll find "The Hand in the Sand" sorted under H, "A Soul's Bane" sorted under S, and so on. This is how they used to be arranged before the interface update earlier this year, and people seemed happy with it at the time.
Mod Ash accidentally deleted some of the level-up messages for Construction a few months ago. We've now finally noticed, so these have been put back. He says he's sorry.
The Runecrafting skill guide has been updated to display the levels at which you receive multiple runes from each essence. Also, players can now see the level requirements for using the various pouches which you get from the Abyss.
The Home Teleport Spell is now available in all spellbooks! You can now return to Lumbridge, Edgeville or Lunar Isle depending on which spell book you have open.
Finally, we've managed to fix a bug with player-owned houses. Players trying to build a garden above their dungeon stairs would sometimes lose building materials.
Global Gaming HQ, LLC, the parent company of RuneHQ is looking to expand into other areas as some of you may know.
We are setting up a fan site for a new game due to come out soon. Gods and Heroes, Rome Rising (GNHHQ). We are also setting up a media and graphics site for those graphically talented or those needing help. We recently added a couple of game servers and pwnHQ.
Our current staff has a lot on their hands and their primary focus needs to be RuneHQ. They are working on getting these new things set up, but we need help. This brings me to the reason for this news article.
We need people that have leadership and project management skills, web development skills, graphics skills along with any other skills that may be useful in making this and other new adventures a success. There is a chance for the right people to become partners in Global Gaming HQ, LLC and share in the profits if they work hard and earn it. Sorry BUT, this would have to be an adult to be eligible to enter into a legal contract. Anyone under 18 may apply to help out, but would not be eligible for profit sharing.
If you have experience and want to be part of a growing company, please submit your resume or qualifications by sending a PM to any of the RuneHQ forum admins. WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR GNHHQ FORUM MODS AT THIS TIME. We need some people to build the site, not monitor it at this time. This will get the ball rolling and we will contact you for further references and qualifications. This is for SERIOUS applications only! Anyone submitting an application that is lacking in content will be deleted unanswered! We hate laziness and if your application is short, your chances are zero!
We are also launching a new affiliate link - SaySwap! They are a video game swapping community that allows you to buy, sell and swap video games for a reasonable price. RuneHQ will earn money from our members that sign up there and trade games. We urge you to click on the links and sign up there if you own a video game console. You can really save money on games and help Global Gaming HQ in the process!
We also will try to branch out in other areas and are always looking for suggestions! We plan on changing some of our advertising and also have our original designer working on some new layouts for the site! Stay tuned for additional news and events!
In a follow up to last week's news post, we thought we'd let you know exactly what we've been doing in order to remove those who cheat from the game.
Firstly, we've been upgrading our detection software to ban the bots from the game. We've also been particularly focusing on cleaning up the members' version of the game. Bots on the members game are banned significantly more quickly. Of course, the free version has seen a fair share of bans, too.
The Investigations in the Community Unit (ICU) have worked hard, double checked all the facts to make sure we're only getting the cheats, and then have banned 19075 accounts for breaking Rule 7.
We've made significant progress over the last week, but there's still lots more for us to do yet.
Secondly, and equally importantly, as we warned last week we are now banning people who are BUYING RuneScape gold for real-world money - those people who are funding the whole problem in the first place. In the last week we have banned 2300 accounts for breaking Rule 12 by buying RuneScape gold.
Clearly a lot of people buying gold thought they would get away with it, so were quite surprised when they actually got permanently banned. This goes to show that we really do mean it when we say that buying gold for real-world money = permanent ban. We have reliable ways to trace this now. (These are NOT people lending items to their friends, we really are sure they were genuinely buying gold for real world money.)
Note: These weren't bots, these were players who built up their account, sometimes over years, but then threw it all away by cheating and buying gold for real-world money. This means that all the time and money they spent on their account was wasted - and all because they wanted to get ahead of others by using unfair means and tactics.
Have a look at the following examples of accounts banned for real-world trading activities in the past week and decide whether you think it would be worth risking your account. You won't get a warning - you'll just find your account banned, and that will be that.
These are just 2 examples out of the 2300 total.
Player X
Total Level: Over 1600
Total time in-game: 140 days, 8 hours
Status: Permanently banned for real-world trading
Player Y
Total Level: Over 1550
Total time in-game: 89 days, 14 hours
Status: Permanently banned for real-world trading
A pretty silly thing for them to go and do, I'm sure you'll agree. Don't make the same mistake.
The Achievement Diary, Small spiders, kalphites, scorpions and metal dragons
This week we bring you an entirely new kind of content: the Achievement Diary, which is sure to fire up your desire to head to Karamja. By completing sets of tasks you'll earn rewards to make Karamja an even more appealing place to visit and to train in.
The Achievement Diary entries will each relate to an area in the game (in this first case, Karamja), and each will have a set of easy, medium and hard tasks to complete. The easy tasks could be as simple as picking a few bananas, while the hard tasks include defeating a mighty Ket-Zek (level 360) in the TzHaar Fight Cave! There are rewards for completing each set, so if you can't beat all-comers in the Fight Pits yet, don't worry.
The rewards range from improved Agility experience in the Brimhaven Agility Arena to an entirely new mine that can only be used by people who have done all of the hard tasks. On top of that, you'll increase your knowledge of Karamja, and might even discover more interesting and enjoyable ways to do things.
There are plenty of reasons to start filling in your Achievement Diary, and we'll be adding more areas to the diary in the future.
Small spiders, kalphites, scorpions and metal dragons
They're creepy, they're crawly, and now they look even scarier! Our eight, six and four legged friends have been getting a visit from the Makeover Mage, and it wasn't a pleasant visit! Between trying to convince the Kalphite Queen that black really wasn't her colour and the fine detail work on the small spider, the mage is beginning to wonder if he/she is in the right line of work.
As a small surprise, the Mage also managed to hammer the metal dragons into shape, which is no easy feat. But all the hard work paid off as small spiders, kalphites, scorpions and metal dragons have shiny new looks and animations.
In other news...
Players entering the Abyss become 'skulled' - marked as player-killers by the skull emblem above their heads. Anyone entering the Abyss while already skulled has their timer reset, so they have to wait at least another 10 minutes for the skull to disappear. The abyssal bracelet, released in last week's Crafting update, has now been upgraded to prevent the timer being reset in this way, so if you've been skulled and then put on the bracelet, the skull's duration won't be extended when you re-enter the Abyss. This doesn't use up any charges on the bracelet.
The jacket and cap from An Enlightened Journey may now be stored in your houses' costume rooms.
Players visiting the Fountain of Heroes or Legends' Guild to recharge their amulets, necklaces and bracelets will be glad to hear that the fountain now recharges all the amulets of glory in your inventory (including any that you're wearing) without the need for repeated clicking, and the totem pole in the Legends' Guild does the same for the bracelet of combat and necklace of skills.
Finally, you'll find that the minimap icon for general stores has been changed. It used to represent a pot of flour. It's been pointed out to us that general stores don't usually stock pots of flour, so the icon now resembles an empty pot. Please try to contain your excitement.
RuneHQ Stance on Real World Trading and Forum Passwords
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
News ID: 00646
Due to the hacker on the forums we had a couple weeks ago having a list of passwords and login names and the fact that several thousand people have not updated their passwords, we had no choice but to do a MASS password update. You will have to do password recovery to get your account password reset! We are sorry we had to do this, but it is the only way to verify 100% that the hacker does not have anyones current forum passwords and also for us to be 100% sure he has not hacked into IPB 2.2 like he claims he/she has. They keep telling us to downgrade back to 2.1.7 like we are stupid enough to do that. Some people need to get half a brain and realize we are not that stupid. He obviously wants us to go back to 2.1.7 so he can hack in again since 2.2 is preventing him from doing what he wants.
In response to today's announcement by Jagex concerning real world trading we just want to say that we do not condone real world trading. We block the ads when they are advertised on our site. The people who are advertising real world trading create new sites as soon as we block the old one so we are constantly updating that list. The sites that are blocked from advertising with us are also reported to Jagex so that they can follow up with it. We do not now and never have condoned real world trading or any other form of Jagex rule breaking. You can help by not clicking on those ads and by reporting them to the administrators on this site so they can be removed.
We have contacted Google adsense about the Site Ad Filters not working and they are looking in to it. A lot of the ads you are seeing have been added to the filter list but for some reason it is not excluding these from being displayed. We do apologize for all these ads that are violating the rules. They are NOT intentional. Google assures us they are looking into getting this fixed.
We work very hard to maintain a high quality site. Providing this site to you costs lots of money and without Goodle Adsense and other advertisers there would be no RuneHQ., so the ads are a necessary evil. We will work on making sure the ads are appropriate and do not violate the rules as best we can but we have no control over when new ads are placed on Google, so from time to time, even with the ad filters working you will see these ads.. It is still YOUR responsibility to know the rules and to follow them. Violating Jagex's rules just because the ad is on our site is NOT an acceptable excuse to us or to Jagex.
Ever wondered what to do next? With the growing number of things to do in RuneScape, it's no wonder that most of us spend a fair amount of time just imagining all the things we want to achieve. We've been thinking that it would be great to have a list of all the things you could do, and give some reward for doing them all. Naturally, this would be a huge project to release in one go, so starting the proceedings this month we will be bringing you... the Achievement Diary - Karamja Jungle Tasks.
Found in the quest interface, the diary button will display a list (similar to the music and quest list) of all the various tasks you can do in and around Brimhaven and the Karamja jungle. These tasks will be categorised as easy, medium or hard tasks, and completing each set will give you access to new rewards such as teleports, better shop prices and increased Agility rewards in the Brimhaven Agility Arena. Easy tasks could be as simple as using the rope swing to get to the moss giant island, a medium task involves more skill (like trapping a horned graahk) while hard tasks include becoming the champion of the TzHaar Fight Pits!
Look out for more parts of the achievement diary to be released in the future!
Our quest in May will bring us back to Lunar Isle, and will offer new spells to add to your lunar spell book. A young adventurer called Cyrisus will find himself trapped and frozen by fear and depression, and it will be up to you to bring him out of his misery. Someone who can't even make it to the Moon Clan town is unlikely to be able to survive long in the dream world, so you'll also be asked to guide him and become his Dream Mentor. What horrors await you inside his addled mind?
Our next batch of NPC improvements is also due for launch this month, and is going to be fantastic. The graphics team have been working extra hard to produce what will be arguably the best looking graphics in the game, and boy is the Kalphite Queen pleased they chose her to put all these efforts into. In fact, all of her brood will be given the makeover treatment, as well as the scorpions and tiny spiders in the game. I'm sure that the bravest among you will want to risk the journey across the Kharidian Desert and take a look for yourselves - but beware! She is still one of the nastiest beasts to inhabit RuneScape... she'll just look great doing it.
Not wanting to be outdone, the King of Varrock heard about this proposed makeover and, well, he got a bit upset by it all. How could a funny little insect get all this attention when his own kingdom was feeling a little neglected? Queen Ellamaria wouldn't stand for this much longer; left with little choice, he decided to get the builders in. In our last update of the month, we will be introducing the new look Varrock, complete with a totally new and redesigned Varrock Museum. You'll be able to experiment with rock samples carted over from the Dig Site, help out in the natural history section and even complete new exhibits by telling the curators about the adventures you've had during your quests and travels. Naturally, you'll be rewarded for assisting with these things, mainly with good old fashioned chunks of experience. Don't forget, you'll also have the new look city to explore, so we're hoping you'll find something to amuse you!
Reldo had a slight mishap with the Library last month and a few of his prized tomes went missing briefly (apparently one of the restoration spells used to tidy up old books put the wrong covers on them). As a result, last month's Lores and Histories update didn't happen. Rest assured, though, it'll take a natural disaster of epic proportions to deter Reldo from bringing them to you this month (although rats chewing through the binding will probably upset him enough).
Also look out for some great new player art and letters, as well as some rather handy Knowledge Base additions.
Over the last couple of weeks we've had a sudden increase in reports of people apparently using 'bots' to play the game automatically (which is in breach of Rule 7). Firstly, we want to let all our honest players (and that's the vast majority of you) know that we are aware of this problem, and that we are taking immediate steps to tackle it. We currently ban about 8000 accounts every week for trying this sort of cheating, and for a long time that kept things under control. Things have clearly moved on, however, and that is no longer enough, so we are in the process of upgrading our detection and prevention systems. We also have logs of historical activity, so will be able to make sure that dishonesty doesn't pay. Please bear with us while we sort it out! There are also ways you can help us, so please read on.
What's happening is more complex than it first seems. What's actually going on is that the VAST majority of the level-3 characters you see playing the game repetitively and not talking to anyone, are actually people from countries such as China and Korea, who are trying to collect RuneScape gold to sell for real world money (obviously against the rules). Some of them aren't even using bots, they are just playing the game very repetitively with a single-minded purpose to collect gold. These people have no interest in playing the game properly, and therefore don't care if they get banned. The final effect is the same, though - it spoils the game for everyone else.
We can (and do) ban them - including using IP bans - but they still find ways to make accounts. We seized 6 billion in RuneScape gold by banning real-world traders last week! Unfortunately, these people are obliged to work such long hours and are paid such low wages that if even a tiny fraction of gold makes it to the market, those running the sweatshops will be encouraged to continue. This is why we are now further increasing our efforts.
So how to stop it? The answer is clearly to tackle the black market. As long as there is the potential to make money, they won't stop trying, even though it damages the game for everyone else. Of course, if nobody spent real world money on RuneScape gold these unwelcome groups would just switch to a different game.
Therefore, we are going to be cracking down HARD on people who breach Rule 12 (no real world trading). We can catch people who break this rule, because we have a sophisticated trade monitoring system and we can trace suspicious activity all the way back to the original bot accounts.
If you break Rule 12 and buy RuneScape gold you are directly funding this problem. You are funding underground gangs who run Chinese sweatshops, and creating the black market which causes this botting problem. Therefore, this rule will now be enforced as a priority, with no second chances. If you break Rule 12 and we catch you, then you will not only lose the money you spent, but also your entire account. Obviously, we will always be careful to make sure nobody is banned in error.
Finally, we have noticed some 3rd party sites, which call themselves 'fansites', but then advertise black market trading sites. This will no longer be tolerated. By running such advertising these sites are directly supporting these gangs, and are thus causing the botting problems they then complain about! We don't consider sites that encourage our players to break the rules and endanger their own users to be 'fansites'. (i.e. They're advertising things to their users, which, if the advertising works, will serve to get their users banned!) We consider them cheat sites, and they will be treated accordingly. True fans of the game don't encourage cheating!
This brings us to the last point. HOW YOU CAN HELP! You can help us by:
Using the in-game 'report abuse' facility to tell us about players you see breaking rule 7. Of course we're not going to ban anyone just on the basis of a player report and will always thoroughly check them ourselves, too - but such reports still help us know who we should be checking up on.
Boycott any corrupt 'fansites' which advertise RuneScape gold for sale. There are plenty of genuine fansites out there who don't support cheating in this way, and we fully support those sites. Use those ones instead. Also, don't advertise, link to, or talk about any of these corrupt fansites. Obviously, if they stop supporting cheating, you can start using them again.
Under absolutely no circumstances buy RuneScape gold/items for real money! Doing so causes this whole problem, and we'll ban you if we catch you doing it.
The number of honest players still far, far outweighs the tiny minority causing trouble. Now we're on the case you can be sure we'll have this sorted out asap.
Among the things that we regularly see on the forums are possible uses for some of the jewellery that can't be enchanted yet. So this week's update is to give all those neglected necklaces a purpose. There were so many good suggestions, though, that we had to create an entirely new type of jewellery in order to use even a fraction of the great ideas! So that we could use more of these ideas, we've made bracelets with new magical effects which we hope will keep you enchanted.
We've added jewellery that lets you mine soft clay, some that have new teleport destinations, some that will help you in your Runecrafting, and, of course, some that will help you in combat, to mention just a few. The TzHaar have even got a necklace that will make their obsidian weapons more powerful! For more details have a look in the Knowledge Base.
Summary
Requirements for new jewellery
There are 7 new bracelets, 6 of which are enchantable, and 3 newly enchantable necklaces.
Crafting levels from 7 to 84
Magic levels from 7 to 87
Note: The bracelet of innoculation requires the completion of Zogre Flesh Eaters to wear
In other news...
Castle Wars fans may be glad to hear that we've fixed the bug whereby players could pass through barricades if the dragon spear's special attack was used on them.
The gauntlets of goldsmithing now give you their usual Smithing Xp bonus when you use the Blast Furnace to smelt your gold ore.
After the dust rune's graphic was mysteriously shrunk last week, we've had it reinflated.
The splitbark greaves (available from the Draynor Wizards' Tower) have been renamed because they aren't greaves. They're now called splitbark boots.
Finally, after last week's update to goblins, we've seen a few of them sliding across the floor during combat. The makeover mage has been recalled to fix their legs (fortunately they're still under warranty) so there should be no more problems with skiddy goblins.
Postie Pete's back from his travels once again, bringing you replies from some very odd and some very clever NPCs. Evil Bob explains what ScapeRune is really like, the H.A.M. leader defends his fashion choice and Melzar rambles in a suitably mad way. On top of this, the Wise Old Folk have gone a bit creative, and have a selection of short haiku (poems) for you.
The artwork that Reldo has uncovered showing one of the ancient foes of Varrock is also available for download as a wallpaper. It's a bit creepy and very dark; but what else can you expect from one of RuneScape's ancient villains?
We would like to remind everyone to NEVER enter their password into the RuneScape chat. Not for ANY reason.
In an attempt to better protect our players' passwords, we've updated the game to prevent you from saying any sentence which contains your exact password. This is only a basic check, however, and it's still extremely unsafe to type your password into the chat, so please DON'T try it out to see! That would be foolish and extremely dangerous. For instance, you could still accidentally give away your password if you mistyped it, or if you typed it somewhere we don't filter yet (such as the forums). So please, please DON'T test this out - it's not worth the risk!
From now on, if you enter your exact password into the chat, the entire sentence will be blocked and you will receive the message:
"You appear to be telling someone your password - please don't!
If you are not, please change your password to something more obscure!"
(We block the entire sentence to avoid giving hints about your password from the context.)
Also, please remember it's still a very serious offence to ask/try to persuade another player to give you their password. This is a direct breach of Rule 3 and will not be tolerated.
The Dorgeshuun were hesitant about the outside world at first, but now they are embracing contact with other cultures and are even building a long-distance rail link between Dorgesh-Kaan and the dwarf city of Keldagrim. But work is being held up by archaeological finds that date back to the early days of the city, including an ancient weapon connected with the goblins' mysterious god.
If you're an experienced archaeologist, you can help the cave goblins learn about their history and accompany Zanik on another trip to the surface. It should be a simple mission - unless the dastardly Sigmund makes an appearance...
In this new quest we've tried to recreate some of the elements that made Death to the Dorgeshuun popular. You can take Zanik to another part of the surface, gain new goblin companions, and have another showdown with the villainous Sigmund. It also advances the cave goblin storyline and sheds a little more light on Zanik's destiny - while leaving more for future instalments...
In order to look their best compared to their cousins underground, we've also updated the surface goblins. Now they look like warriors, and just as mean as you'd expect.
Down in murky Morytania, the rewards for the Temple Trekking / Burgh de Rott Ramble minigame have had a bit of a boost. The grateful travellers will now reward players with watermelon seeds instead of wildbloods.
The locals are so impressed by the flow of travellers into Burgh de Rott and Paterdomus that they've erected a signpost at each end of the journey to record how many treks have successfully been completed.
Besides these Morytanian tweaks, we're fixing a handful of unrelated bugs in today's update...
Our skilled tailors have solved a minor bug with the Skillcape of Prayer that made men's and women's capes have different coloured lining.
Gilded thrones in players' houses used to be made of oak planks. They now require mahogany, as befits such grand items.
In sunny Mos Le'Harmless, we've patched a problem in the Trouble Brewing minigame that was preventing players from entering the game if they stood in certain places in the waiting rooms.
The Agility short-cuts up Trollheim Mountain have had their level requirements adjusted to match the skill guides.
Finally, Australian players may be glad to hear that we're uncensoring "G'day".
Up at the border to the Wilderness you will notice a small change this week. Far too easily have people mistakenly entered the dangerous lands of the north and so, with spades-united, a ditch has been dug!
You will now find that to enter and exit the wilderness you have to hop over a small ditch (no Agility level required). There's a safe zone just north of the ditch, so you needn't worry about getting over the ditch quickly.
Careful you don't trip!
In other news...
Easter has come and gone, and with it the Easter Bunny has gone back to his mysterious home to prepare for next year's (hopefully) mishap-free chocolate festival. As a result, we've taken down the Easter Event. Don't worry if you missed out on it, there will be another holiday event for Halloween!
In our unending quest to make the website easier for you to use and prettier to look at, we've just updated the system that runs the Knowledge Base. You probably won't see most of the changes as they're behind the scenes, making sure that everything works properly. What you will see is the new KB homepage, and in the future we'll be able to do much more with the articles to make it all that much simpler to find what you need.
The KB homepage now features an Article of the Week (an article that we think will interest you, or just a part of the KB that doesn't get as much attention as we think it should), FAQs (commonly asked questions and their answers, as well as a link to find out more) and Recent Articles (so you can make sure you keep up to date with all the latest KB additions).
On top of this, the search tool is now much, much better at finding the right information. With all this in place, we hope you'll find getting to the right information much simpler and enjoyable.
We are proud to announce the official launch of Global Gaming HQ!
GGHQ is a series of websites dedicated to improving your gaming experiences. Currently, GGHQ sites include RuneHQ, TORC, and PwnHQ. More sites are coming soon, even a media/graphics site!
~ [Im4eversmart] ~
11 April 2007 - Olaf's Quest Slippery Bridge
The slippery bridge in Olaf's Quest wasn't quite working how we intended, which resulted in a lot of frustration. We never like our content to be frustrating - we prefer it to be challenging (there's a big difference!) - so we've tweaked the calculations that sort out whether you succeed.
Originally, the bridge was designed so that you had a reasonable chance of passing each individual step, which seemed right to us... Unfortunately, with 12 steps in a row this all added up to a very annoying part of the quest. We're really sorry for this, and would like to thank all of you for persevering in the face of this mistake and trying to finish the quest anyway. It's a testament to your dedication to the game!
What we've done now is to make your character learn every time he or she slips, so the more times you fall the more likely you are to get past it. We haven't 'nerfed' the quest - high level Agility is still a big advantage and will still really help you cross the bridge much more quickly than players with low level Agility. It's still pretty challenging to get across, but hopefully a lot less frustrating because at least now each time you fail you know you've got a better chance next time you try.
As stated on the original quest page high agility is supposed to be an advantage for this quest (not an outright necessity). That was always what we intended, and so that is now how it works. Hopefully, this will make the quest much less irritating so you can focus on the story and get to the rewards!
Olaf Hradson is a bit down on his luck and a little bit soggy too. He's crashed his boat while in search of treasure and needs your help to find his feet again. Maybe you can find the treasure for yourself as a reward...
You'll also now be able to get hold of the brine sabre - with its nifty underwater special attack - by killing the new brine rat Slayer monster.
Some people may have found that sometimes their Protect From prayers showed up in their prayer list as being on when they were actually off, such as when they didn't have enough prayer points. This has now been fixed.
Last year the Easter Bunny brought us confused children, transmogrifying eggs and even the odd hypnotised rabbit. Although the Easter Bunny himself wasn't too displeased with the results, he did agree that it was not the most efficient way of doing things. But do not fear! This year he has an even better idea... to get the chocolate treats to deliver themselves. Fortunately, he is absolutely certain that it won't go wrong, and he definitely won't need your help to sort it all out. Well, unless some kind of terrible mix-up happens and he ends up being delivered chocolate kebbits! I mean, what would he do with them? No doubt more Easter rewards will be on offer if the unthinkable happens.
Our first quest this month will be a brief trip out to the northern coast of the Fremennik Province. Olaf the Illiterate takes great pride in his family history, but sadly he hasn't inherited their abilities as excellent navigators and competent sailors. Fortune has smiled upon him, though, and saved him from the watery graves that claimed most of the others who have gone out searching for the secret treasure. Oops! Did we say treasure? Later this month you'll be able to find out for yourself in this short but fun quest, featuring the new brine rat and a rather nifty underwater weapon. Perhaps it will be of some use in the distant future...
The generals of the Goblin Village have heard about the cave goblins' makeover and they don't want to be outdone. They haven't summoned the Makeover Mage yet, though, because they're still busy arguing over every feature. Big noses or small noses? Beady eyes or bulging ones? Not since the armour colour debacle has there been this much disagreement in the generals' hut. If they haven't made a decision by the end of the month, the Makeover Mage will create a new appearance for them and they'll just have to put up with it.
Some of the more inquisitive among you may have already noticed the Dwarven engineer in the new goblin city. Some of you may have even spoken to him about planned trade routes between Keldagrim and Dorgesh-Kaan... something that Sigmund and his evil H.A.M. brotherhood are keen to take advantage of. Our second quest of the month is the next fascinating chapter of the plight of the cave goblins. Digging new tunnels in areas of historical interest is likely to need some professional expertise - the kind you may have gathered from the Dig Site quest. With any luck you'll get to learn about more goblin history while creating a link between two of RuneScape's greatest cities. Who knows what antiquities might be unearthed, and when the dastardly Sigmund is likely to play his next despicable trick? You'll have to wait to find out what Another Slice of HAM might taste like.
Finally this month, we will be bringing you a large jewellery update, featuring several new uses for your gems and gold across a wide range of Crafting levels, all the way up to level 84 and the onyx bracelet. These new bracelets, equipped in the "hand" slot, and new necklaces offer a wide variety of new functions including:
"Castle Wars" specific jewellery
Emergency aid effects
Ability to mine soft clay
Slayer jewellery
Protection from disease
And much more...
Of course, our website has a few updates coming, too. Aside from the usual Postbag favourites, QuestHelp and the Knowledge Base all getting new content, the Lores and Histories will also get a look in towards the end of the month. We'll be bringing in our finest designers to make it look fabulous, and pestering Reldo to find the last few parts of the Legend of Arrav. From there, we'll be adding new stories regularly, and hopefully bring back Tales from the Tavern as well!
The polls module should be getting a bit of a makeover, too, and will let us gather more useful information about what you want from RuneScape.
This week we bring you our annual Easter Event, and with all the chocolate and bunny-themed mayhem, we're sure you'll love it. You'll have to catch chocolate kebbits, go bowling with massive eggs, and evade a particularly angry farmer to get your rewards, which certainly look fowl.
The Easter Event will run for the next two weeks and it's your only chance to get a new festive costume, so you'd best head over to the Easter Bunny to help him out.
To start the Easter Event, head south of Falador and speak to the Easter Bunny.
The poll system has received a few necessary changes this week.
For one, we can ask several questions at any one time. This means we can get more detailed responses instead of trying to get a comprehensive result from just one question!
Additionally, we can propose many more answers than we could before, which means we can ask you about your favourite skill, quest or minigame without having to limit your answers to the usual ten.
There are other changes - too many to cram into Postie Pete's postbag - but you'll soon find out that we can add images, thank you messages, the possibility of selecting several answer options, and feedback about how we have used your answers. This last one is very important to us - we want you to know just how important the polls are to us, and how much they can affect future content.
Which brings us onto the final additions that have arrived with the shiny new poll system: Guaranteed Content polls and Player-submitted poll week.
Every so often, we will release a poll that leads directly to content being added to the game; whether that be the reward for an upcoming quest or which minigame deserves an update. This does not mean that other polls will not lead to content changes - far from it - but it does mean that we can guarantee that the winning choice will make its way into the game. Keep your eyes peeled for these Guaranteed Content polls - they will be preceded by a news post, much like this one!
Finally, the Player-submitted poll week is your opportunity to ask the entire RuneScape community a question that has been niggling you. So, we would like you to send any poll ideas you have to and we will handpick the most interesting of them. These will then be published, once a month, in Player-submitted poll week!
Please take the time to vote in the polls. As they always have been, they are an essential means of finding out what you want from us!
Ok, I think it's past mid-day for most our players now, so I'd better come clean. This post was of course (as most of you guessed) a joke for April 1st. I hope you enjoyed it. The real behind the scenes for April will be posted first thing tomorrow on Monday 2nd April.
Original joke post below:
With Easter comes spring. Spring brings us new plants, so we asked ourselves, "What's everyone's favourite plant?" Of course, the answer is obviously the cabbage.
So this year's Easter update will be Cabbagey Easter, featuring cabbages for everyone! And if that doesn't whet your appetite enough, these aren't just ordinary cabbages. Easter is traditionally about foods (such as eggs) being strange colours, so we've come up with what we think is a completely unique idea: red cabbage!
Next up, Fred the farmer has a severe problem. His cabbages are not growing as big as he'd like! In the first quest of the month, Cabbage Ritual, you'll get the chance to explore some of the most exciting and dangerous places in RuneScape, from the bustling city of Rimmington to the shadowy remote town of Lumbridge, searching for pieces for a fantastic new weapon: the hallowed cabbage-grow-a-bit-bigger laser!
After the quest you'll even be able to use the laser on your own cabbage patches, so that your cabbages grow into big cabbages which will heal 2 hitpoints! (If you do the maths you'll find that's twice as many hitpoints as an ordinary cabbage heals.)
Deep under the Melzar's Maze vegetable patch, darkness lies. Actually it's always been a bit dark under there, what with it being underground and never getting any sun, but soon there will be a new, more dangerous, metaphorical sort of darkness. The secret tunnels which run under the patch are about to be invaded by a new deadly enemy: killer cabbages!
Get your spades ready, for the 3rd update of the month, will feature one and a half levels of increasingly dangerous enemies. First you'll meet the level 2 cabbage spawn, but soon the challenges will ramp up as you confront the level 5 cabbage knights. Finally, at the end of the dungeon, prepare to face our new high-level boss monster, the deadly level 11 Brassica Prime, king of the cabbages!
Of course, we'll be adding some special new item drops for anyone with the strength and stamina to defeat these terrifying new monsters. So watch out for the cabbage armour! With legs, helmet and body to collect, you can make yourself look a complete cabbage!
A couple of notes:
Beware of rabbits. This armour won't protect you from them, since they actually like eating cabbage.
Please note that we felt it necessary to set level 3 Defence and level 5 Cooking requirements for wielding this armour. We suspect the 'no Cooking level' pures may not be happy, but in the interests of good game balance we will definitely not be backing down on this.
The penultimate update of the month will be a new rune, the cabbage rune, which will be sold in the Varrock rune shop. We plan to add this to the Runecrafting skill soon (planned for 2014).
With a new rune, you'll be needing some new spells, so we're releasing four!
Cabbage-speak will cause filtered words you say to become cabbages instead of asterisks (stars).
Locate Cabbage will bring up a yellow flashing arrow on your screen to point you in the direction of the nearest cabbage.
Bones to Cabbages is a daring new spell concept that will turn all the bones in your inventory into cabbages.
We will also be adding the Share Cabbage spell to the Lunar magicks spellbook so you'll be able to give all your friends cabbages too!
In the final update of the month, on April 31st we will turn everyone into a cabbage.
Muahahahaha!
In our continuing efforts to make RuneScape a nicer place to be, we've just made a slight modification to Rule 2. It hasn't changed much at all, it's more of a clarification, and there are no changes to the meat of the rule itself. If you look at the bottom of the rule, here, you'll see a brief list of example scams. We've now expanded this to state that luring someone into the Wilderness under false pretences is definitely a scam.
The majority of you all are good players who stick to the rules, so this shouldn't affect you, but rule breakers beware!
Note: This is a reversal of what was posted on the forums a while back. We realised the earlier decision was a bad idea, and that luring really isn't very nice.
This month is the Chaos Elemental's birthday, and we've arranged for him to take over from the Wise Old Man this month, so the Wise Old Tips section is looking very chaotic.
Pete's also bringing replies back from the Void Knights, the TzHaar, Port Phasmatys and Shanty Claws's ship. At this rate, I don't think Postie Pete is at any risk of putting on weight...
Rat Burgiss is in trouble! His cart has broken down outside of Varrock and he needs your help with an important task. The quest isn't so simple, though, as you'll discover when you get inducted into the Varrock Palace Secret Guard!
There are conspiracies everywhere and some very dark secrets in Varrock's past, and you'll need to unravel all of them to get to the truth. What Lies Below Varrock?
You won't go unrewarded, getting some help with your chaos Runecrafting.
Down in Dorgesh-Kaan, we've made a handful of minor tweaks to improve some of the features. For a start, Barlak is now paying higher prices than before for the special shells people bring him. Secondly, Miltog the lamp merchant has expanded her shop to allow players to sell a variety of fuelled lamps to her (i.e. lamps that have been completed and are ready to be lit). Finally, the weight of the heavier power plant items has been drastically reduced, so they won't drain your run energy so severely when you're carrying them around the Agility course.
26 March 2007 - New Payment Option: PayByPhone in Germany
We are pleased to announce the launch of payment by phone in Germany!
This service allows a quick and easy way to get our optional "members game" for those without a credit card.
Payment by phone in Germany costs EUR6.99 for one month of membership. The higher cost of this payment method covers the additional costs we incur running the convenience of this service. Please note: Our other existing payment methods are still the same price as before. e.g. subscription via credit-card in Germany is still only EUR4.60 a month
All customers from Germany who wish to subscribe using PayByPhone can now do so by clicking the 'Start a new subscription' link from our front page.
We are constantly looking to make our PayByPhone and PayBySMS/Text Message payment option available for more countries. If these payment options are not yet available in your country, be sure to check the latest news regularly for announcements.
After much deliberation, the Dorgeshuun Council has decided to open the doors of Dorgesh-Kaan to surface-dwellers. Those adventurers who have completed Death to the Dorgeshuun may now enter the secret city of the cave goblins.
The first visitor to the city was the Makeover Mage, hired by the council to make the city presentable for its grand opening. Despite their concern at the presence of outsiders, even the humble citizens have submitted themselves to the Makeover Mage's skills, and they're all pleased with the results.
Inside the city you will find a marketplace specialising in exotic foods - which, for the cave goblins, means anything from the surface! You can attempt to sell any foods you like to the gourmets in the market, but the cave goblins have fickle tastes and a keen eye for trends, so you will find the prices changing as they become more used to certain foods. Vary your stock and you can reap the financial rewards that await the cunning merchant.
Also in the city, adventurers will find that they can practice their Crafting and Firemaking by helping to maintain the city's unique magical lighting system. Any adventurers prepared to abuse the cave goblins' trust will find rich pickings for skilled thieves. There is also a magical inventor who has found a way of making the city easier for surface-dwellers to reach, so you should look for him if you want to visit often.
Beyond the city is another area of the Lumbridge Swamp Caves populated by familiar monsters, plus a new one: the mysterious molanisk. Only adventurers with enough skill and the right equipment will be able to entice them off the walls to fight. Some of the cave bugs in this area have also grown to enormous proportions, and might provide a better option for experienced Slayers who receive cave bugs as an assignment.
High above the molanisks' heads is the magical power generator that the cave goblins use to power their city. The generator is a remarkable piece of technology, but prone to breaking down, and those with remarkable Agility will be able to help out by locating spare parts. Smashed pylons and old cables form the most difficult Agility course in the game, and crossbow-fired grappling hooks will also be useful to make the most of it.
On top of all this, there are plenty of ordinary cave goblins to talk to, and if you search the city you will find your old friend Zanik wandering around. She is dying to see you again, so grab your lantern and make the journey to Dorgesh-Kaan!
Avast, ye landlubbers! Murphy at Port Khazard has discovered a new spot teeming with fish for his trawler! He can't haul in this bountiful booty by his lonesome, though. With more high-quality fishy things to catch (those with the ability to catch manta rays and turtles, for example, are likely to catch quite a few more on the trawler than they could previously), it's time to strap on your Fishing gear, fix those leaks and start reaping the rewards.
Bring your friends along for a voyage on the high seas, but don't be afraid to get wet! The more friends that set sail, the greater the chance of more fish. Murphy has also fashioned himself a handy bank deposit box to allow you to send your fish straight to your bank (assuming you have the space, of course)!
RuneScape's Group of Advanced Gardeners (G.A.G.) recently commissioned the Makeover Mage to improve the appearance of their favourite animals. Sadly, the Mage was deeply involved in business with the Dorgeshuun, so he/she couldn't attend. Always resourceful, though, G.A.G. got some help from the Oneiromancer to tap into the Makeover Mage's dreams, so they could then manipulate him/her to cast the appropriate spells in his/her sleep. They're a cunning bunch, those farmers.
To cut a needlessly long story short, cows, chickens and rabbits now look fabulously new and shiny, and are sure to be a joy for players to slaughter!
In other news...
Fighters, fishers and deforesters alike may be pleased to hear that we've adjusted the game engine so that you don't stop fighting, fishing or felling trees when you rearrange items in your inventory. Similarly, we've made some changes to the prayer interface so that the buttons will light up as soon as you click them instead of waiting for the signal to reach the game servers, just like they used to do before last week's update.
The anchor from the Great Brain Robbery quest has had its stats boosted one more time. Its strength bonus has risen from 87 to 100 and its crush attack has increased from 80 to 92. On far-off Mos Le'Harmless, Smithing Smith has decided to change the fee he charges for repairing all broken anchors, so he'll now demand 230k coins to make your new anchors ship-shape and ready for head-pounding action.
Finally, there's a new button on the login screen that lets you move between game worlds more easily (unfortunately it is not available if you're using the unsigned version of the applet). Enjoy!
As you may or may not know, today is in fact Roklykthat's Birthday!
She has been a RuneHQ Owner for quite a while now, and we all love her and the work she does.
I want to wish her a great birthday here on the main site. You can congratulate her here.
We wish you a very happy birthday!
~The RuneHQ Staff
DarkBlitz has provided us with the Falador City Map. Thank you to DarkBlitz and all those who helped!
In Addition Jett Man has made an excellent map of the Creature Creation Dungeon! Alot of hard work was put into this map so check it out!
~(Sheep01)~
PwnHQ Launch!
Sunday, Mar 18, 2007
News ID: 00628
As you may or may not know, RuneHQ is a website owned by Global Gaming HQ LLC, a company headed by MrStormy, Roklykthat, Apuredelite, and DRAVAN. Recently, GGHQ has decided to expand into more games outside of RuneScape. After much work, we are pleased to announce the grand opening of PwnHQ, the official elite gaming clan and community of GGHQ. PwnHQ currently specializes in a variety of PC games, including Star Wars Battlefront 2, America's Army, and more.
To join PwnHQ, apply on the new PwnHQ forums. You do not have to play either of the currently supported games to join, instead you can request to help us expand into a new game.
PwnHQ currently has two servers for Star Wars Battlefront 2, the 32 player {Pwn} Combat Colosseum and the 16 player {Pwn} Pwn or be Pwned.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 can be purchased at most stores for only $20, with no monthly fees. America's Army is a free game you can download from their official website.
Those brave adventurers who have recently helped out the Myreque in the Darkness of Hallowvale quest will find loot-minded mercenaries are waiting at Paterdomus looking for guides down to Burgh de Rott.
The ability of these so-called 'mercenaries' ranges from experienced down to vampyre-fodder, but they can all lend their support to the cause of the Myreque. As an experienced member of the Myreque, you know Mort Myre like the back of your hand, so who better to guide them to Burgh de Rott?
Any of these mercenaries would be well-disposed to reward those that successfully guide them to their destination, no doubt with useful skill-related items. This new journey means that players can now lead villagers to safety from Burgh de Rott and bring back a fresh recruit on the return, meaning every trek can have purpose and reward.
With the recently repaired bank in Burgh de Rott being so handy, it couldn't be easier to prepare for plying those Morytanian swamp routes for some useful experience rewards.
With the growing number of visitors to Mort Myre recently, it's hardly surprising to find that more predatory creatures are carving themselves a niche in this forbidding swamp, so even those of you already familiar with the swamp-dwelling residents from Temple Trekking will be in for more surprises. Strange stories of dark nail beasts, humans turning into ghasts and zombie lumberjacks have all been reported to the authorities at Paterdomus - let's just hope you don't run into them when doing the Burgh de Rott Ramble.
Barrelchest Anchor
Players who've completed The Great Brain Robbery will find that we've made some changes to the Anchor weapon. In particular, we've increased its strength bonus to 87, but its attack speed has been reduced very slightly, as befits such a heavy item.
We have also increased the price, as we felt it was too cheap for such a powerful weapon. To make things fair, everyone will be able to get the anchor repaired one more time at the old price of 50k, but after that it will cost 700k to replace.
Finally, we have changed the way the anchor behaves when you die with it. If the anchor is one of the items you would normally expect to drop when you die, it will disappear and you will instead drop 230k coins. We made this change because the anchor is an item which people use for player-killing; we felt it was worth rewarding the big risks involved in killing a player-killer who was armed with this weapon.
Another month, another batch of your lovingly-crafted artwork on display in the Players' Gallery. This time there are four dragons and a funeral, and a very stupid rock... (We'll leave you work out which is which.)
QuestHelp gets bolstered once more, with another batch of quests now having hints to aid you through: A Soul's Bane, Between a Rock..., Horror From the Deep, Regicide and Throne of Miscellania.
8 March 2007 - World Switchers Temporarily Unavailable
Jagex has again updated Rule 7 meaning that changes need to be made to the World Switchers. We have taken the world switchers offline until we can update them to meet the new rules.
Please do not panic, the RuneHQ coding staff are currently in the process of updating both of the world switchers so they comply with these new rules.
However, it will take us time to make the world switchers comply with these new rules as they are very strict.
Postie Pete has swallowed his pride and delivered some of the more dangerous letters this month, swinging by Waterbirth Island, the Barrows and Trollheim to deliver letters that are a smidgeon less than respectful! One particular adventurer is in Postie Pete's bad books for getting him kicked into the Lunar Sea by Dagannoth Supreme.
There is not a resentful bone in Postie Pete's skull, however, as he has not decided to sulk and retreat into his abode (yes, he has one!), but instead has worked on making the letters even snazzier! Feast your eye sockets on the new Postbag page, all courtesy of Postie Pete and his workmates in the R.P.D.T...
6 March 2007 - The Feldip Hills are alive with the sound of muuuusic!
We've just finished an enormous update to our music system to make the harps and bells of RuneScape's music all the sweeter.
Firstly, we've changed the underlying technology used to play the music. We've completely rewritten the music player from scratch, so it now uses a bank of instruments built into the game itself rather than using whatever your soundcard happens to have. This has the advantage that the music sounds the same regardless of your computer, rather than varying from machine to machine. This in turn allows us to fine-tune the music exactly, instead of having to try to get something which generally works. Our new music technology should also be more compatible, meaning the music works correctly on more operating systems and soundcards than before!
Secondly, we've gone through every single song in the game, (a huge undertaking: there are nearly 500 songs), and hand-tuned each one to sound optimal with our new instrument set! As a result, many of the songs are sounding better than ever before, and you can finally hear them as we intended them to sound.
You may also notice the shiny new button on the log-in page. This lets you turn off the log-in music to preserve your speakers while you pop off to get a snack or take a break, all without interfering with your music settings in-game.
So, if you've been put off listening to the music for one reason or another, now's the time to turn it on and enjoy the ambient delights!
We're still planning some more tweaks to the system to improve your auditory experience, so keep checking the front page for news.
In other news...
In addition to the big soundbank update today, we've added 'equip sounds' to armour and weapons.
Better dig out some protective headgear: the zombie pirates are back, and hungrier than ever for grey matter! Robbing innocent monks of their piece(s) of mind, crashing ships into their harmonious island monastery and generally raining on their pious parade - these scurvy dogs have set up a literal 'chop shop' in the once hallowed halls. Are there no depths to which they will not stoop? If you want to help out the cranially-challenged clergy and claim the reward for shifting the sort of headaches that even a willow bark infusion cannot remove, then speak to Brother Tranquility on Mos le'Harmless for details. New rewards - from craftable felines to the most nautical weapon in the game - await those players with the skill and know-how to foil the Great Brain Robbery!
In other news...
In the basement of the Tower of Life, players were finding they could steal other people's frogeels from combat. This has now been fixed.
October is coming to an end, and the Events Team has one last event for this month that'll give you all a chance to make the creatures of RuneScape cower in fear! As you all should know, Halloween is considered one of the scariest nights of the year. So why not spend it in some of the scariest places in RuneScape?
Maggie, a travelling witch, has come to southern Asgarnia for the holiday festivities, but she's in a bit of a spot. She needs an enchanted broom to finish her potion but her ox has a cold and can't be left alone. In 
PvP worlds have arrived! Are you ready to pit your combat skills against other players in the halls of the White Knights’ Castle? Are you prepared to fight to the death in the fields of Lumbridge? Well, now is your chance.
For the third event, we will visiting two mini-games - Trouble Brewing and Pest Control! Not only do you get to dress up as a pirate, but you can also help out the Void Knights and gain some experience along the way. We'll start the day with Trouble Brewing and alternate it with Pest Control. If you want to prepare ahead of time, take a look at the 
From today we have doubled (in some cases tripled) the flexibility of the 
Once more Evil Dave has left his mark on the Postbag, and has even sent us his favourite PORTRAIT OF TERRIFYING ARTISTRY.
Captain Rovin is eager to recruit a bold adventurer for a scouting mission to the Wilderness. There's talk among the Varrock Guard of suspicious zombie behaviour and sightings of well-armoured zombies standing in organised formations. This isn't normal behaviour for zombies - they're much more likely to wander around aimlessly when left to their own devices. Could someone be controlling them?
The dwarves of Keldagrim don't only study bricks and mortar; they have been known to study combat too. This week's wallpaper shows an early attempt to understand the combat triangle.
The 
Those who have completed 
The popular Wilderness minigame, 
From the far corners of Runescape come the Events Team. Who are they? Where are they? If you accept this mission, then it will be up to you to find out. Are you brave enough to track them? Find them all and you will be rewarded. Join us this month for an exciting 
Are you a member of a powerful clan and want to show off? Want to prove to the world that your clan is the strongest? If you answered 'yes' to either of those questions, check out 
Two weeks ago, we introduced USB wireless mice, hoodies, t-shirts and other goodies to the Jagex Store. This week, we can add to their number with four items for use at school, work or home:
When levelling skills or trekking around RuneScape, you might want to keep an eye out for some unusual goings on. This is because the 
When you decide to train a skill, you may have one area in mind: a favourite patch of trees, perhaps, or a specific altar to craft your runes. Well, this month's first update, Distractions and Diversions, will threaten to turn that way of thinking on its head. You see, Distractions and Diversions will offer new ways of training your skills, but you'll rarely know when (or where) they'll turn up next...
In this month's postbag we've got some wise words from the Poll Orks, Mr Mordaut explaining planar theory and the latest edition of Evil Dave's Conspiracy Theories. So, if you want to know some harsh truths about RuneScape, head over to the latest installment of the 
Increasingly concerned by Morytania mischief makers and invaders from the Wilderness, King Roald has a burning desire to increase homeland security. This has taken the form of a beacon network that will warn Varrock of invasion. The beacons have been built and firetenders have been assigned to look after them; the only problem is that they are yet to be tested – and that's where King Roald could use your pyromania...
RuneScape has entered the record books this week. The game has been recognised as the most popular free MMORPG in the world for the second year in a row, with a certificate awarded by Guinness World Records. That's one record that Usain Bolt didn't manage to get!
Citius -Altius - Fortius! No those aren't words to some new spell, they are actually the words that compose the Olympic motto, which in English translates to: Faster - Higher - Stronger!
The most frequent request we have received over the last few months has been to put more PvP back into the game. We want to let you know that this request hasn't gone unheard, and that we've put a lot of research into how we can introduce new PvP mechanisms. The aim is for PvP content that better replaces the old Wilderness, but without reintroducing RWT.
Ever since a brave adventurer rediscovered Runecrafting, mages from the 
This week, we have released a new method of making 
Due to recent server problems, we have lost some user data for our Ventrilo server. Anyone who had access to our Ventrilo servers but did not have a RuneHQ Forum account will need to make another request to access our Ventrilo Servers. To request access to the RuneHQ Ventrilo server, please go 
Having helped Jorral in 
The RuneScape novel - Betrayal at Falador - has been officially released and is available for you all to purchase! Go to the 
When RuneScape HD launched early this month, we released a newspost about the planned price change for new subscribers. We would like to remind you of that price change.
We are moving our non-UK European servers to new facilities, bringing better service and reduced slowdown to all players that use them. While this change is ongoing, you may have difficulty accessing worlds located on non-UK European servers, including all German-language worlds.
To help you with some belated Spring cleaning, we have introduced a few 
Since we first released the tutorial, a huge amount has been added to the game. New content, extra skills, new-look interfaces: all of these combine to make the old tutorial seem a little outdated. So, we've gone back to the drawing board and completely reworked it: from the creation of your character right through to your first explorations of RuneScape.
In the coming months, you can expect a lot from the Jagex Store. Plans are afoot to bring you a range of RuneScape merchandise to buy, including many that you voted for in the 'Shop till you Drop' poll.
It really is the most impossible of impossible missions: how do you follow the graphical improvement of an entire game? Have a nap for a month or two? Boogie with Party Pete? Go on holiday to Brimhaven? Well, we've taken a different approach, following RuneScape High Detail with some updates that have been anticipated for a very long time...
So that RuneScape HD can be played by as many players as possible, we have released some FAQs. These are available to help those who are having trouble loading RuneScape HD. Today we have updated them with some of the more commonly asked questions:
TehNoobWorld Launch!
We are pleased to announce that the PayByPhone payment service is now available to both the Netherlands and Belgium. If you live in one of these countries and would like to subscribe using this method, please access the Account Management section of our website.
As RuneScape applies the final touches to the upcoming graphical improvement, the FunOrb team have been busy revamping their most popular game. The free to play and multiplayer game 
In the first Development Diary on our graphical improvements, we showed you the results of textures, texture blending, shadows and fog. In this, the 
Summer came too early?
There are many mysteries of the seas - hidden treasures, ghostly ships, pirate fashion - but few are as intriguing as the tale of Rabid Jack. Revered by a few, feared by many, his name is known by virtually all that sail the seas.
We are currently performing maintenance on some of our web systems.
This new quest brings a new Slayer master for all those avid Slayer skillers! Along with the new master is a new dungeon area with some new and old monsters and a new Slayer Point system. This new system gives you a new way to earn Slayer experience, new items, new training, and many other rewards. So sharpen your scimitars and tighten up your whips for the 
Someone new has moved to 
Instead of beginning with a starter or main course, we will skip straight to desert this June! If that pun doesn't kill you, the beasties just might in Smoking Kills, our brand new desert quest. At the start, it won't seem too dangerous: a red-headed citizen of Pollnivneach has lost her sister down a well and wants you to retrieve her. Explore the depths, however, and you'll find yourself in situations more uncomfortable than sand between your toes.
The pictures shown in the 'Image of the Future' newsposts were just a taster of what is to come with our graphical improvements. In this 
Going up a skill level can access a shedload of new activities, items and quest requirements. You need to know exactly what you're capable of at these new levels, so we've taken a fresh look at your level up messages and skill guides.
This week brings the 
If you are looking for a new mining area with high level ores, such as Adamantite and Mithril ores, then the lastest quest from RuneScape may be just what you need. The 
A giant creature is causing havoc inside the Karamja volcano, digging tunnels beneath the city. The TzHaar now risk losing their beloved home, unless they can be convinced that they need help.
The Guaranteed Content Poll is your chance to have a genuine impact on the game, and you have made some great choices this time. We asked you to choose the single character and group of characters that you would like us to transform. The results were 
This week brings a change that will have an impact on the 
Many thanks for voting in last week's Guaranteed Content poll. We had a huge number of votes and it really captured everyone's imagination. So, without further ado, we can reveal that the familiar you will be summoning in the future is...
When planning future projects or attempting to really push the technology of the RuneScape game, we often come across the same problem: we have no information about everyone's computer hardware. With this kind of information, we could release more RuneScape improvements that make the best use of your system's capabilities.
Hi everyone,
Do you want to help decide on a new Summoning familiar? In this week's poll you can do exactly that! Choose from such varied creatures as killerwatts, giant kebbits and kangaroos...
Ever ventured into the Wilderness for a clue scroll, to get to the Mage Arena, or the dragons; only to be stopped by the Revenant monsters? Time after time you try, but they always seem to get in the way. Well, not anymore. Now it's your turn to get in their way as we get some revenge on those pesky monsters for all their interference, in April's massive RuneHQ event, The Revenant Hunt! Join the hunt as scores of fellow players pour out into the wilderness to hunt these most annoying creatures, defeating them as we go. Don't worry if you're not a high hitter, we will bring them down all together. Using Jagex's LootShare and CoinShare, everyone can get in on the action and profit from it too. Let the bloodshed begin!
Today, we are proud to present you our 
The Vyrewatch continue to draw blood tithes from the citizens of 
Card payments and services are temporarily unavailable while we perform some essential maintenance on our billing systems.
This affects:
We have made several changes to 
Many of you asked for the ability to view graphs of market values and track item prices as they rise and fall. Well, this week we introduce the 
Around 50 new clues have been added to the medium and hard 
We have changed the way that PayPal payments are made. Instead of using PayByCash to process any 
A number of Guthix druids have discovered an unexplored cave under the lower 
Hello everyone! Today we are pleased to bring you an update that was waiting to happen to this guide.
You can break Summoning 2 into two halves. The first is a rebalancing of the skill using your feedback. We have chosen to do this because we wanted 
In a quiet field east of Draynor Manor, two enterprising gnomes have founded Gnomecopter Tours, featuring the latest development in gnomic flight technology. They're open for business now, offering free-players (and curious members) the chance to take a look at distant lands, including the beautiful elf village of 
We seem to have reserved the most humongous, terrifying and downright impressive creatures for Summoning 2. Visit the 
This month, Reldo has received a parcel of books from the High Priest of Icthlarin, who loaded them onto his camels and sent them packing all the way to Varrock. You should have seen the mess they made on the palace carpet! Queen Ellamaria wasn't best pleased, but then, when is she ever?
Welcome everyone! We have two updates helpful in training for both F2P and P2P. Also, check them out just to increase your Runescape Knowledge!
It seems that the problem-prone Easter Bunny is once again experiencing difficulties. He's spent so much time redecorating his warren that he hasn't noticed critters burrowing in and devouring his entire chocolate stockpile.
This month, Postie Pete has returned with a Players' Gallery of RuneScape-related humour and comics. So, if you feel like a laugh over the Easter season, view this month's Players' Gallery 
As ever, there are strange occurrences afoot in the slug-riddled town of 
Professor Henry has opened a new 
Hey everyone! Are you planning on purchasing a copy of Super Smash Brothers Brawl? Do you want to be part of an elite gaming clan and a community? If yes, then go check out 
Everyone can join the 
Hello everyone, today we have a new City Guide for your eyes to view. Please take a look at the 
It seems that Surok has made a cunning escape from his Varrock Library prison and is intent on continuing his nefarious schemes. He even found time to steal some ancient tomes from the library, unearthing dark secrets and powerful magicks.
Clan Chat owners now have the option to use 
Over the past few months, lots of you have offered us ideas for how to get the best out of the Grand Exchange and LootShare system. Well, by Guthix, our first update of the month will see the introduction of the best of these!
Welcome all users, we bring to you a new city guide for your viewing. If you want to check it out, roll around to the 
Being a games tester is a dream job for many, but does the reality live up to the dream? In this month's 
The price of a RuneScape credit card subscription in Canada has reduced from CAD7.30 per month to CAD5.00. There are a number of factors that determine how we set our prices (for example, currency and sales tax changes), and these have allowed us to lower our monthly credit card rate for our Canadian customers.
Last week, we felt that there were a number of improvements we could make to the rewards of 
It became clear that the 
If you look back at the last few months, you may have mixed feelings about some of the releases. Unbalanced trade removal; Bounty Hunter and Clan Wars; LootShare; the Assist System; the Grand Exchange: these were all massive changes affecting a huge number of people. They were so big, in fact, and released in such a short period of time, that we could not get everything right while also making every player happy. We certainly aimed to do so, but we still came some way short.
When we introduced 
It is not only RuneScape that has seen a sudden increase in creatures thanks to Summoning. Postie Pete has had animals popping up left, right and centre in this month's 
Following your disruptive behaviour in the Tyras Camp, things are not going well for the catapult guard. Already unpopular with his comrades after various security lapses, he's now neglected the catapult, allowing damp to seep in and rot the frame. General Hining is furious, the replacement catapult parts haven't arrived and the rookie catapult engineer has gone missing in hostile 
Following this comes probably the biggest update. We are very pleased to inform everyone that RuneHQ and 
The next update is the launch of RuneHQ Radio! This cool feature will let you listen in to various songs being streamed by the RuneHQ DJs. In the near future we will open up applications to everyone interested in becoming a DJ. At the moment we only have a few, so music may not be streaming all the time. If you press play and nothing happens then chances are no DJ is currently online. Have fun listening! NOTE: The server it is currently on will not be able to support a massive number of listeners. Therefore for the next few weeks keep in mind that we are just testing the functionality of the radio, and that there WILL be a lot of lag.
We've had to turn off some parts of the new music system because they'd been causing problems with server load.
The bards of Runescape have been handed the task of creating a music player that is simpler to use, offering more advanced options. Well, they have certainly managed it, and this week sees its release!
This month will start with a fanfare. February plays host to Audio Week - a collection of nips, tucks, changes and improvements that will jazz up your listening experience and make the music system easier to use. You can expect to hear songs all the way to the end, without them constantly changing as you move from area to area. Ardent adventurers who unlock 500 songs can expect an air guitar emote. Gnarly!
Hello everyone, welcome back to our next update. Today, we have the newly written 
Moving from one RuneScape website feature to another often required you to repeatedly enter your username and password. For example, posting a message on the Forums, accessing QuestHelp and setting your recovery questions meant entering your details on three separate occasions.
Having travelled to the ogre town of 
Introducing our 
The Castle Wars minigame is a place to prove your mettle against others, fight for the honour of the gods and bask in the glory of victory. We've added an action-packed new wallpaper to the 
The pine forests of 
Having read your feedback on the Forums, we planned a change to the price of Summoning shards. Today, this change has been made, alongside a few others...
Strange obelisks have been spotted underground and in the farthest reaches of RuneScape. What could they be for? Who put them there? And what do they have to do with our new members-only skill, 
Recent earthquakes have opened rifts in the areas north of Edgeville, and the townsfolk have sent out explorers to discover what lies below. Setting ropes down so others can follow them, these explorers have disappeared, leaving no trace. It has fallen to you to enter these Chaos Tunnels, where the laws of physics do not break, but bend into all sorts of strange and curious shapes.
Salutations everyone! We're back again with another rewritten quest guide!
We have overhauled the account recovery system to make completing the request form easier and recovering a lost account faster.
Hello there everyone! We're back with a new city guide!
It is time for the fourth and final Summoning Development Diary. This diary's focus is on the anticipation for the skill, and how it has been built up both in game and on the website.
Hello everyone! It's been a good bit of time before a news post about updates on the site, but here we are with two new maps!
The Contact! quest sent you on your adventurous way to face the followers of Scabaras, making grim discoveries of death and intrigue beneath the desert. In Dealing with Scabaras there has been a reaction to these events, dragging you kicking and screaming into a tale of revenge and redemption.
This month will begin with an important change that you are all aware of: unbalanced trade will be removed on Wednesday, 2nd of January. As you may have read in the Development Diary: RuneScape vs Real-world Trading, this will be a change that reduces the threat of bots, gold sellers and scammers dramatically. With a fatal blow delivered to real-world trading, we can focus more on updates like three quests in one month!
From this moment on, no unbalanced trades may be made. This applies to every player, on every world, no matter if you are free-to-play or a member.
With the new year, RuneHQ has already begun rolling out some big and exciting changes! Today marks one of our first, a RuneHQ Newsletter Directory!
In our latest Summoning Development Diary, we are going over what it takes to test and balance a skill so that it can fit in with the rest of the game.
A white Christmas has come to RuneScape this year! It is a gift from the Queen of Snow, who has enlisted her cheeky snow imps for a festive task: to bring snow to some of RuneScape's major settlements. As far as the imps are concerned, you can do what you like with it: there's plenty more where it came from!
Hello everyone! Welcome again to our next guide to be released to you! Today, we now have our 
We have opened the doors of the 
We strongly advise you to read this week's 
You will be aware, from newsposts and this week's Development Diary, of real-world trading and the danger it poses to RuneScape. To solve this once and for all, we are tweaking what happens when you drop items, updating the trade system to warn you about unbalanced trades and planning a final adjustment to the trading system, in the first week of January.
We will be awarding the top prize once a month of a new gaming system of your choice, 
First up is the latest addition to our 
As a result of this, we have revamped the 
Kicking things off this month will be Bounty Hunter. This dangerous minigame will take place in a dormant volcano, with three separate arenas for different Combat levels. Each of them will put you in the role of a Bounty Hunter with a simple task: to kill one randomly-assigned player in the same arena.
Welcome again everyone to the next big update to our database! What we have here is our 
Hello all you goblin quest fans out there! Today, we have added our newly written 
We've made some important changes to how duel tournaments work.
Remember that Development Diary last week, all about ‘Summoning’? Well, we promised you a Summoning wallpaper and that’s exactly what we’ve got for you!
Are you fed up of trying to be heard above a crowded Varrock Marketplace? Are you tired of organising to meet players who want to trade with you? Do you just want to get on with the things you enjoy, rather than standing around, hoping that someone wants your full splitbark armour?
That speck on the horizon we first mentioned in this month's Behind the Scenes is now a little closer. It's just about big enough to make out some writing on its side... What could it be? What does it say? And just what on RuneScape have wolpertingers got to do with it? All these questions and more are answered in today's brand new Development Diary (well, okay, maybe not the wolpertinger one just yet).
Welcome everyone! If you're confused about the new Assist System, take a look at our new Guide. The 
Payment by Phone & SMS billing services on our website are temporarily unavailable while we perform some essential maintenance to complete our upgrade.
The Billing System has had a rework to make it easier for you to start or change a subscription to RuneScape.
This month's Gallery is a feast for the eyes, especially if your eyes are hungry for ham. You'll also find some great pictures of Barrows armour including one of the most innovative uses for duct tape we've seen in a while!
Those who have played through the Achievement Diary: Varrock, experienced the Grim Reaper's holiday event or appreciated the Triple Trouble wallpaper will know about Guaranteed Content Polls and the effect they have on future content. So, after the success and popularity of these releases, we would like to invite you to decide upon another piece of content.
Our latest quest starts with a little goblin and a big dream. Grubfoot, the generals' dogsbody from the 
Today we introduce a new means for players to help each other: the 
This month also sees the release of the penultimate cave goblin quest. Ever since Zanik emerged from the mines below Lumbridge she has been faced with troubles very much of the H.A.M. variety. A different challenge faces her in this quest, which will require stealth and subterfuge to complete, taking you to places that have never been seen by human eyes, including some that have only been noted in goblin fable. Will a discovery of monumental proportions help bring the goblin tribes together? Only time will tell. Listen well and show your true knowledge to find a path to the Land of the Goblins.
This year's spooky event has arrived! A few months ago we posted a Guaranteed Content Poll on the website allowing you to choose the nature of the Hallowe'en event and the rewards you'd get. After working our fingers to the bone we've made something to meet all of your wishes!
We have made a few changes to the RuneScape front page, making it more accessible and easier to get around, while also highlighting some areas you may not have looked at before.
Hello everyone! After numerous site and server additions, we finally have a guide update!
Horacio has his heart set on some improvements to his master's already meticulous garden this week. Rather than filling it up with flowers, a patio and some crazy paving, Horacio is after one of the rarest plants on RuneScape.
"Legends tell of a magical lost city hidden in the swamps. Many adventurers have tried to find this city, but it is proving difficult. Can you unlock the secrets of the city of Zanaris?"
"Sanfew requires a rare herb for the next part of the purifying ritual. Travel back to the Troll Stronghold to find this herb that the trolls use as an ingredient for their favourite dish."
As part of our continuing effort to improve the looks of the 'older' places of RuneScape, our Graphics team have been busy enriching and enhancing above-ground 
The month of October starts with another graphical improvement to an existing area. This time, Evil Dave’s house and the well-used town of Edgeville gets a lick of paint. The team of decorators were a little scared to progress down into Edgeville Dungeon, however, so stay tuned for further improvements to this area. You see, Vannaka is a little defensive of his existing décor and, as he can wield a two-handed sword in one hand, we don't want to question him too much...
Today, we've released the fourth 
A few weeks ago we asked you to vote in a Guaranteed Content poll for the next wallpaper to be created by our artists. Over one hundred thousand of you cast your votes, and it was a pretty close call! "The Taming of Jad" came a close second, but a certain Black Dragon, proving he's still the King, came out on top.
Hello again everyone! After lots of work and a few aching fingers, it's finally here! Head on over to the Special Reports section and visit the 
Hello everyone! Today we have a nice updated 
and we will handpick the most interesting of them. These will then be published, once a month, in Player-submitted poll week!
