ZipRealty and RuneScape: Difference between pages

RuneScape is an MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role-playing game) implemented in Java, with over 2.8 million registered players. RuneScape was launched by Jagex Ltd. on January 4, 2001 and offers both pay to play ("P2P") and free to play ("F2P") membership options to players.

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The Runescape website's homepage

Runescape allows players to develop many different non-combat skills ranging from runecrafting and mining to cooking and crafting. The large range of non-combat skills means that Runescape has an expansive, dynamic player economy.

Being implemented in Java, RuneScape requires no installation and can be accessed from the official site.

RuneScapeFile:Rslogo.gif
Developer(s)	Jagex
Publisher(s)	Jagex
Designer(s)	Jagex
Engine	Java
Platform(s)	OS Independent (Web Based Java Applet)
Release	RuneScape 1 (Classic) - January 4th, 2001 Runescape 2 (Modern) - March 29, 2004
Genre(s)	MMORPG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Overview

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Players trading in the crowded Varrock east bank. The bank gets even more crowded during peak levels and on World 1.

RuneScape is set in a medieval fantasy world, similar to "Guild Wars" or "EverQuest", where players control character representations of themselves. As with most massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), there is no overall objective or end to the game. Players explore, form alliances, perform optional tasks, and complete quests for rewards and to build character's skills.

During peak hours, as many as 160,000 players may be online across 106 international servers. These servers are located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands, making it the most popular online Java-based game in the world. RuneScape is typically updated on a weekly basis with the addition of new skills, quests, or other details added to the imaginary world.

History and Development

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A screenshot of DeviousMUD. The first version of the game, not released to the public.

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A screenshot of Runescape Classic

Version 1: Original started out as a one man project. The developer (Andrew Gower), and his brother (Paul Gower) started work on the original game in 1998. This version was very different to the RuneScape of today. It had Isometric graphics, and was originally titled 'DeviousMUD'. This version was never released to the public, and only a few people ever saw it.

Version 2: Developer scrapped version 1, and started work on a complete rewrite in 1999. Despite being a complete rewrite, this version was very similar to version 1, with the same graphics and name. This version was released as a public beta for only about 1 week, and then withdrawn again.

Version 3: Developer started yet again with a 3rd attempt starting on Oct 1999. This time the isometric view was replaced, in favor of 3D graphics and 2D sprites. The game was renamed to 'RuneScape' and released to the public on January 4, 2001. This version is still online today but only for RuneScape Members. It's currently called RuneScape Classic.

Jagex Ltd formed: In December of 2001 Jagex Limited was founded as a commercial operation to take over the running of RuneScape. Jagex acquired RuneScape and all related technologies, and continued to develop the game further. Andrew joined Jagex as its lead developer.

Members launch: On February 27, 2002, Jagex launched a new optional 'members service'. This allows players to pay $5 USD a month to obtain access to new quests, over twice as large a map, mini-games, skills, and more. Paying members have a far greater choice of things to do, but it is still possible to play the game for free, and there is still more free content available than ever before. While not a new version as such (the game still ran on the same version 3D engine), this update did significantly change the focus of the game.

Version 4: Jagex went for yet another complete rewrite. Version 4 changed the graphics to full 3d and made many other significant improvements. While in development this version was called 'RuneScape 2', but when launched was just called 'RuneScape' (version 3 being renamed at the same time). An incomplete beta of this version was available to members on December 1, 2003, and then the finished version was launched on March 17, 2004. This is the current version of the game being promoted by Jagex. This is the version most people think of when one says 'RuneScape'.

The free version of RuneScape Classic was removed on August 3, 2005, due to the massive amount of rule breakers and an inability to punish them. Now, only subscribers that pay on a monthly basis can play "RuneScape Classic."

On September 26, 2005, the RuneScape website was redeveloped and now uses a more logical format. The new format was mainly designed to improve navigation and to help make particular sections of the website more secure. However, the new "world select" pages were unpopular and were soon replaced with a real-time world capacity page.

A commonly used program, RuneScape Xplorer, allows players to access RuneScape from the desktop rather than through the official website. It includes many features such as a World Switcher and a stats Calculator. This is much quicker than Internet Explorer, because you can choose for it to take you directly to a world of your preference. RS Xplorer was originally developed by RuneHQ then it was transferred to Rune Masters when RuneHQ shut down. It is now back at RuneHQ and on version 3.

Combat

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Members training on Dagganoths (level-74 and 92), in the Lighthouse Basement of Kandarin.

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A team of players fighting the Kalphite Queen, one of the most difficult enemies in the world of RuneScape

Combat is an important aspect of the game, as killing monsters is one of most direct ways of gaining wealth. Virtually every skill affects combat in one way or another. Combat is also needed to complete many of the quests, and can be used to fight other players.

Players are ranked in strength based upon their combat level. Combat levels are based upon a math formula which considers 7 skill areas: a player's attack, defence, strength, hit points, prayer, magic and ranged skill. Other skills, while beneficial will not increase one's combat level.

Combat is subdivided into three primary categories: melee, ranged, and magic; a so-called combat triangle.

Melee

Melee based combat is the simplest form of combat a player can choose to specialize in; those who do so are named 'warriors'. This skill is also the most basic and is most often trained by a player's attacks upon various monsters or other players. As a player gathers experience in their strength or attack skills, their combat level is raised. The attack skill determines the chance of a successful strike, whilst strength determines the maximum damage a player can deal (higher level yielding greater accuracy and more damage, respectively). Note also the defence stat, which determines the chance of a player's successful evasion of an opponent's strike. Notably however, this can be trained by means other than melee attacks. A higher attack level will also allow a player to wield more powerful weaponry, whilst a high level in defence allows the player to equip himself with more powerful armour.

In the so-called 'Runescape Combat Triangle', which is designed to stop any single class of combatant in becoming superior, a warrior is normally most effective against the 'ranger' (archer), due to the weak nature of a ranger's armour. Warriors can be effective against mages, though only at close range. Platemail armor, the armour of choice for many warriors, weakens your magic defence significantly.

Ranged

Ranged combat most popularly consists of the use of bow and arrows, but can also include crossbow and bolts, as well as a variety of miscellaneous members-only items including throwing knives/axes, javelins, throwing rings, and a crystal bow which fires a given number of 'charges', to name a few. Higher range stats results in an increased chance of striking the target, as well as a greater damage output, although the latter is also affected by the ammunition type, such as steel ammunition as opposed to bronze ammunition. Ranging is harder to train in the free version, as only members can make their own arrows. Some arrows are often lost in an attack, while more may be lost if you are not quick enough to retrieve them. While training, it is possible and beneficial to trap your target behind a fence or other obstruction, making it so they cannot hit you with melee. In player vs. player situations, ranging tends to be most effective against mages.

In the ranged attack, several armour pieces also increase your attack, so it is best to wear full leather with vambraces instead of gloves. With level 40 range, 40 defence and the Dragon Slayer quest, you will be able to wear full green dragon leather. At level 40 member players will also be able to equip a Robin Hood hat and rangers boots. At levels 50, 60 and 70 range, members will be able to wear blue dragon leather, red dragon leather, and black dragon leather respectively. Rangers usually have an advantage over mages.

Magic

Magical attacks are marked by the use of runestones (simply known as 'runes') as a form of ammunition. The 'runes' are probably only 1cm in diameter as they can be 'stacked' (Multiple items that take only one space). As with all other combat stats, players must train their magic stats to a higher degree in order to generate a higher damage output, as well as increase the likelihood of a successful strike. As levels are increased, a greater number of spells become available to the player. Apart from combat, magic can also be used to teleport to (normally) set locations at higher levels, or enchant amulets and magical rings which enhance other abilities. In the new RuneScape (RuneScape 2), failed missile spells receive equal experience points received to what would have been received if the missile spell had been successful. Magical combat is most effective against people in metal armour (and therefore, best against melee warriors).

While some experience is received for a failed missile spell in RuneScape2, it must be noted that it is not the full experience. For damage-causing spells, assuming a fighting stance of strength or attack, the experience derived from damage is two times the damage itself. (ExpMagic=2*damage+default experience) There is also a default experience that is received, which differs from spell to spell; generally, the higher leveled the spell, the more default, or "base" experience. As for spells cast on a defensive setting, (This is known only for staffs, and by that, it is meant all staffs.) the experience given to magic is 4/3*damage+default experience.

Ancient Magicks is another form of magic, which only members may perform. Ancient Magicks cannot be performed by a traditional mage, only by praying at the proper temple after passing the Desert Treasure quest can access the spell of the Ancient Magicks. The weakest attack requires a level 50 mage and thus requires a great deal of specialization. To autocast Ancient magicks, you must use the Ancient staff, bought during the Desert Treasure quest. The Ancient Magicks are very powerful compared to standard magic, not only because of the high damage, but because every spell has a side effect, such as poisoning, blinding, stealing health, or stunning your foe. Several effects are concurrent (you can be blinded while poisoned) and the Ancient Magicks are one of the only forms of combat in which one person can fight a mob (in a multi-way combat zone) because several Ancient Magicks spells allow you to hit multiple targets at once. Some of the spells will hit in a 3 by 3 square, attacking all in that range. However the Ancient Magicks is more expensive than regular magics to cast, because it uses more runes.

There are currently 4 types of elemental spells, of which there is a fire form, earth form, wind form, and water form of each type. The four types are "strike", "bolt", "blast" and "wave". This allows for a total of 16 elemental spells such as "fire strike" or "wind wave". For Strike attacks you need Mind runes. For Bolt attacks, you need Chaos runes. For Blast attacks you need Death runes. For Wave attacks you need Blood runes, which are available exclusively to members.

Please note, Magic level allows you to cast more spells and increases your accuracy. It cannot increase the max damage a certain spell can do. At level one magic, air strike will do the same damage as level 99 magic. Chaos gauntlets, however, obtained from the Family Crest quest, increase the damage of bolt spells by up to 3 damage.

Combat Triangle

File:Runescape combat triangle.png

The combat triangle. Green arrows mean "good against" and red arrows mean "bad against"

RuneScape has a 'combat triangle', which is intended to stop any one class becoming dominant. In member's worlds, magic will tend to beat melee, ranged will tend to beat magic, and melee will tend to beat ranged. In free worlds, this triangle tends to differ (eg. mages are at the top because rangers cannot wear the best armour possible for them). However the Combat Triangle is merely a chart of strengths and weaknesses, and players with a disadvantage still are able to beat the advantageous class if they use skill and strategy. Equipment also plays a huge role in changing how combat will result, so if you had lots of magic defense, you would do well against Mages for example. By taking advantage of the combat triangle, players can alter the outcome of a battle dramatically. (For example: Remove melee Armour and wear Mage or Ranging outfit whilst fighting Mages can help immensely, because melee amour add negative defence bonus while magic and ranging sets add more defence bonus.) Although many players expect it to be "This always kills that", the reality is otherwise. The combat triangle is often manipulated by skillful or tactical players so that they may defeat their opponents more easily.

Other Combat Factors

All three combat types also rely on the player's defence and hitpoints stats. The defence stat determines how likely one is to block an incoming attack, whereas hitpoints stat determine how much damage can be taken before dying. The prayer stat, while seeming subtle at first, can turn the tide in a fight. Prayers such as the protection spells can render a person invulnerable to enemy attack, and they provide numerous protections. The most powerful and recent prayers can also set back the enemy in different ways. There's a type of armor called "God Armor". God armor includes Saradomin Armor, Guthix Armor, and Zamorak armor. These 3 types of armor do not give you prayer bonuses and your prayer will not last longer. God armor looks like trimmed armor except with different colors. For example: Guthix is green, Saradomin is white, and Zamorak is red. When fighting other types, players generally switch armour to best suit their opponents attack. Warriors fighting mages will usually wear dragon hide armor, a type of armor with high "magic defence". To counter this, the mage may use a dagger, a weapon which armor high in "magic defence" is usually vulnerable to.

when youre fighting with melee you should always bring binding so you can bind your opponent if he tries to run.

In addition, the equipment a player is holding, the potions he has consumed, how much and what kind of food he has, luck, tactics, and countless other factors all combine to determine who will win the battle.

Certain weapons, mostly melee weapons, have special attacks on them. These are almost always high-end weapons. The amount of times you can do a special attack is determined by how much percentage of the special attack bar it takes per attack. This is different for every attack.

Combat Level

A player's 'overall combat level' is derived from the seven stats mentioned above: attack, strength, defence, hitpoints, magic, prayer, and ranged. The combat level is designed to indicate a players overall strength and is also used to decide which players can fight each other to stop, for example, very high level players preying on very new players. The maximum combat level in RuneScape Classic is 123 (123.75), and the maximum in RuneScape 2 is 126 (126.13293) (on a different note, one's combat level also remains as a popular flaunt of in-game status among players).

Your combat level, in Runescape 2, can also be determined by your combat type. A warrior for example, will overall have higher melee stats than magic or ranged stats; your combat level is then based off of these.

The same goes for range and magic.

Some players who train a select few, or even just one of the combat stats that affect their combat level are known as "pure". The purpose of "pure" accounts is to deal more damage compared to most other same level or lower level players by specialisation, which is especially helpful in player vs. player combat.

(For more information, see RuneScape skills.)

Player vs Player combat

Players cannot normally fight with each other in most areas of the map. There are however 4 different areas where player vs player combat is allowed in RuneScape, each with different rules and properties. Here more than anywhere else, the RuneScape combat triangle becomes an important factor in determining who emerges the victor. Rangers will have an advantage against mages, mages will have an advantage against warriors, and warriors have an advantage against rangers.

The Wilderness

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Player exploring the Wilderness

For a long time the only way to fight other players was to visit the Wilderness. The Wilderness, frequently referred to as the wildy is a large area of map located in northern RuneScape. The Wilderness has great rewards, but also great risks. The Wilderness is the most hostile of the Player VS Player types available because players can be attacked and if killed, will lose all but their 3 most valuable items (unless the Protect Item prayer is used to save the 4th item). However, the character who attacks first is punished with a skull floating above their head. If the player dies with the skull, they will lose all of their items instead of keeping their best three. A skull will go away after 20 minutes of peace, or after the character dies. Killing another player in this area is referred to as PKing (Player Killing). As one gets deeper into the Wilderness they can fight with other players further and further away from their combat level which makes it more dangerous (or easier if they are attacking a weaker player). Some areas of the wilderness only allow 1-on-1 battles, whilst other areas allow multi combat and potentially huge team wars.

The level of the Wilderness tells you what level players you can engage in combat above and below your own combat level. For example, If you are in level 50 Wilderness, you can fight people 50 levels below or 50 levels above. A pure is a player who only trains in certain skills to keep their combat level low. This allows them to engage in combat with less equipped players, however their lack of certain skills means that they will not win every engagement.

There are different forms of PKing in the Wilderness. RPKing (random player killing) is a term used to describe someone who kills any person they see in the Wilderness, whether he/she be hostile or not. Some people and clans follow AntiPKing, meaning that the only people they strike are other PKers, not innocents such as rune miners, trainers, or those working on a treasure trail.

There are many treasures in the Wilderness, and many people sacrifice their avatar's lives and inventory for such treasures.

There are also many attackable non player characters in the Wilderness. Unlike most aggressive NPCs, those NPCs in the wilderness are all aggressive ignoring the players combat level (except bandits in camp). Many of the most powerful creatures in Runescape dwell in the wilderness.

Duel Arena

The Duel Arena is only available to members. Located in the Al-Kharid desert it allows a more formal fight where the players can pre-agree the exact terms of combat, and what items will be gambled. It is possible to change a large number of settings to restrict exactly which items and combat styles are required, and players can choose either to duel for fun (in which case no items change hands), or to wager items which the winner will receive. Because of the option to limit the risk to a level of a player's choosing, this way of testing a player's combat prowess against other is popular with many players. Duel arena tactics.

Tip #1: Watch out for low-level melee people the have a high ranged or mage level. So when fighting melee, make sure you turn off mage and ranged, this also goes for when you are fighting mage or ranged. Also, make sure the to turn of ‘drinks (potions)’ option (unless you want to use some your self)! Same goes for food, but make sure you use the best kind of food, like sharks or lobsters, even swordfish, because it is likely that they are using higher level foods, watch out!

Tip #2: Use Dragon Maces or Dragon Dagger (+), (p), or (s) special at the start of the battle to get a good head start.

Tip #3: At the start of the battle use a poisoned weapon (any kind of poison) until your opponent is poisoned, then you will have the advantage of poison that will last through the entire battle, so even if he or she has good armor, over time he or she will die. (For a better effect, turn off ‘drinks [potions]’ option, so he or she cannot use anti poison potions)

Tip #4: Never get mad at your self if you lose in a duel, it has nothing to do with how good you are, none of the duels count (unless you are staking items or money). It does not state that you are better or worse then your opponent, it could be that you were winning but your opponent just hit the last hit! Do not be mad at your self if you lose!

Tip #5: Don’t stake items unless you are certain that you are going to win, and also you are experienced enough to know you is a good match, and remember the tips #1 - #4 and you will have better chances of winning and you might even make a living fighting in the dueling arena! Better then trading of training skills! Dueling requires you to notice your opponent’s weaknesses and use them to your advantage during your fight.

Castle Wars

• See main article: Castle Wars

Castle Wars is a mini-game involving two teams( Saradomin vs. Zamorak) in a capture the flag-type game. The aim of the game is to take the enemy's standard (flag) from their castle and take it back to the standard in your own castle to gain points. You must prevent the opposing team from taking your flag by blocking them from your castle (place barricades, lock doors or collapse tunnels underground), or by killing them. Slain players will respawn inside a protected room in their castle, so both sides are constantly fighting in most games. The game lasts for 20 minutes, and the team with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.

The object of the game is to play for tickets, which can be used to buy exclusive armor and clothes. Every player on the winning team of a match will receive two tickets at the end of the game, and in the event of a tie, each player will receive one ticket.

Fight Pit

The TzHaar Fight Pit is a massive, free-for-all arena in which player can attack each other with no limits to time or tactics. The game is based on the last man standing ruleset, so there are no limitations regarding one's attacks. If the fight continues for too long however, monsters from the 'audience' may appear in the arena. These monsters start out at combat level 22, and appear in increasing waves, combat level rising from 22 to 45 to 90, after which the players start to receive constant damage due to extreme heat. This is designed to prevent people from agreeing not to attack each other, thus preventing a new game from starting. As with the Castle Wars minigame, dying in the Fight Pit allows a player to retain their items with no penalty. Instead, the player is sent to the waiting area, ready for the next battle. If a player manages to defeat all opponents in the Fight Pit, they receive a number of TokKul, which can be used to purchase new items in the TzHaar City. A unique, untradeable item, the Fire Cape, is awarded when the player defeats all monsters in the Fight Cave, another update released shortly after the TzHaar city. They can also choose to stay in the Fight Pit in order to potentially increase their prize; however this poses a significant risk as it is highly likely that the food supplies of the victor will be depleted, and as such he may not survive another round. The number of tokkul recived for winning varies; it is based on the combat levels of the players that have been defeated added together.

Older Forms of Combat

During the period after the release of Version 3, players could select whether or not to play as "player-killer" characters or not. The player could switch from player-killer mode to non-player-killer mode (in which the character could not attack or be attacked by other players) three times, after which they remained at their chosen setting forever. Player combat could take place at any point in the RuneScape world, with some exceptions noted below. The rules of combat were the same as in the modern Wilderness; however, the village of Lumbridge was designated as a neutral area in which players could not attack each other, to prevent "spawn camping" in which recently killed players were immediately killed after they respawned in Lumbridge. In addition to this restriction, NPC Guards and White Knights patrolled the cities of Varrock and Falador, and broke up player fights by attacking the aggresor. These guard units were limited in number, however, and if all the units in a city were already in combat, player combat could go on unimpeded. This system was scrapped due to unpopularity among players who were unable to leave Lumbridge without being attacked by packs of hostile player-killers, and were unable to switch back to "non-player-killer" mode as they had already switched three times.

Skills

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A player using the Mining skill

Main article: RuneScape skills

Skills are abilities that enable players to perform activities in the game. Some skills are available only to members and some skills are only present in newer versions of the game while yet some can only be utilised by completing a specific quest. Many of the high-level abilities in most skills are reserved for members only. Players gain experience in a skill when they perform activities that utilize that skill, for instance mining a rock would raise the mining skill. A player's level of experience determines the level of that skill. New abilities are given to the player when he reaches certain levels. Higher-level abilities in turn give more experience to compensate for the roughly quadratic increase in experience points needed to reach each new level.

As in a number of games, some players chose to focus on improving themselves in a small number of skills. These players are called "pures" (eg: a player specialised in mining is called a mining pure).

In Runescape there is no general level for player as such. Player must train each skill individually. In this game, there are 21 Skills including Extraction ones (such as: mining, woodcutting, thieving and fishing), secondary (processing) skills (such as smithing, cooking and fletching), combat skills and others (such as agility). Unlike most other MMORPGs, every skill can be trained to maximum level (level 99) without extra barriers. However only the combat level is immediately visible to other players.

However, there are two restrictions to training combat levels. The first one is "player status". For example, only paying members are allowed to train certain stats (herbology, thieving, agility, farming, slayer and fletching). The other restriction is quests. There are a few skills (herblore, runecrafting) that are locked when you first start the game and are the reward for completing the appropriate quest where you learn how to use them.

For a full list of skills and a description of each one, see RuneScape skills.

Quests

Quests in RuneScape are one-time adventures which serve a variety of purposes. The novice quests act as tutorials to acquaint new users with the various skills and abilities. All quests include some kind of reward such as money, rare/valuable items, or an increase in abilities. Some quests are part of an overlapping storyline. Each quest also awards a certain number of quest points. Thirty-two quest points will grant access to the Champions' Guild. The members-only Hero's (55 quest points required to start) and Legend's (107 required) quests grant access to their respective guilds upon completion. Quests can be found all over the map, in the game's three kingdoms of Misthalin, Asgarnia and Kandarin, as well as some even more distant lands.

Mini-games

See main article: RuneScape Mini-Games

There are a few mini-games that can be played within RuneScape. These are available to paying members only. These may or may not provide a benefit to players, however they are fun and unique things to do within the game.

Community

Players of RuneScape represent a wide range of nationalities, and ages. However, the user base is predominantly English speaking because the game itself is currently only available in English.

There has even been one player, LeeroyPals4L, who considers himself the Leeroy Jenkins of RuneScape.

Over the years, RuneScape has developed quite a following and the result has been the emergence of fansites, with their own communities. A few of the popular ones are listed below in the External Links section.

While significantly better than many other online communities, Runescape is not entirely free from anti-social behaviour. The forums are patrolled strictly by the forum mods (see 'Moderators') but in game the censors are often avoided and the report system gives slow results; nevertheless, Runescape remains overall a very child-friendly game.

Drop Parties

Occasionally, players host drop parties. A drop party is where a player or group of players drop items they would otherwise keep, thus allowing nearby players to pick up their dropped belongings. Parties are sometimes advertised on forums so that more people attend. However, sometimes other players will host fake drop parties where the activity is not mutually beneficial.To remedy this, Jagex installed a party room in which all items are in plain sight beforehand.

Clans

Clans are groups of players that are commonly formed because the group shares similar interests or combat levels. Many clans venture into the largest player versus player (PvP) area in RuneScape, known as "The Wilderness". These clans hope to find and eliminate other clans or players in support of the clan by taking the dead players' leftover items. The size of clans varies, as clans can be very large and powerful, or just a small group of friends. Clans are also found participating in events such as monster killing, drop parties, mini-games, and multi-quests.

Graphics

The latest version of RuneScape is rendered in complete 3D.

A lot of emphasis has been placed on allowing players to customize their character. Players are given a wide choice in creating character models, from hairstyle to facial features and gender. Additionally, appearance can be further optimised by wearing/holding different items, with each different weapon having a unique image. Once the game has started, players can change their character's appearance in total at a variety of places in the land of RuneScape.

There are also many different animations in the game for the variety of things one can do from combat, to magic, to the various quests. The game can be run on high or low detail level. While high detail gives different things more texture or design (and has sound), low detail gives everything a cleaner cut look (without sound), and reduces in-game latency.

From February 2005 onward, Jagex has put a massive effort forward to update the RuneScape free world cities. They began with Lumbridge and Thurgo's Peninsula, and on September 2005 they announced that the cities of Port Sarim and Rimmington have been graphically updated. They plan to eventually improve the graphics of the whole free world (and maybe members areas too) without causing more lag for people using dial-up internet connections.

Fashion

A lot of emphasis goes on fashion in the world of RuneScape as members and non members are willing to pay large sums of money for items such as rare berets or trimmed/gold trimmed armour which can only be gotten by members in treasure trail (mini quests) but can be worn by nonmembers as well (The trimming of the armor bears no effect on the armour other than it changes its appearance slightly). Also, as mentioned elsewhere in this article santa hats, halloween masks and various coloured party hats are among the most expensive items in the game. These items get more expensive as time passes because some of the items were holiday drops and they could only be obtained on that day.

Random events

See main article: RuneScape Random Events

A variety of random events can take place in the game, positive and negative, which are said by Jagex to prevent macroing. They can also add variety to some of the more repetitive activities in the game.

Players must respond to most of these in the correct manner or will receive a negative effect (such as being teleported across the map). If a random event requiring you to talk to someone (i.e. Mysterious Old Man) occurs, you should respond, or you may receive such a negative effect. Other random events include a mime that you need to copy its moves and you will get a piece of mime clothing e.g. mask, gloves. Or to get a new emote were you can, climb rope and other random mime emotes.

Weapons

See main article: RuneScape weapons.

The main weapons available in RuneScape are dagger, short sword, long sword, mace, warhammer, battle axe, claws, scimitar, pick axe, hatchet, spear, two-handed swords, and halberd.

They are all available in the following metals, in order from weakest to strongest: Bronze, Iron, Steel, Black, Mithril, Adamant, Rune, dragon (members only) and barrows (also members only, and decays with use, resulting in limited use.)

Dragonmetal, commonly referred to as dragon, is the strongest metal in the game, and is for members only. The only weapons that have dragonmetal versions are: daggers, axes (for wood), scimitars, long swords, battleaxes, halberds, maces, hatchets, and spears.

There are also many other weapons that do not go into the basic weapons such as the Granite Maul, Silverlight, Darklight, Excalibur, Obsidian weapons from the TzHaar Pits, Barrows weapons from a minigame called "The Barrows," Mjolnirs from the "Making History" quest, and the Abyssal Whip.

Monsters

There are many monsters in the RuneScape world. Below is a list of the 8 most high levelled monsters from highest to lowest. In brackets are their combat levels.

• TzTok-Jad (702)
• Ket-Zek (360)
• Kalphite Queen (333)
• Dagannoth King Prime (303)
• Dagannoth King Rex (303)
• Dagannoth King Supreme (303)
• King Black Dragon (276)
• Steel Dragons (246)

Some of the more notable include:

Ket-Zek

The Ket-Zek, at level 360, is the second highest levelled monster in RuneScape. It is fought in the TzHaar Fight Cave Minigame. It has a maximum melee hit damage of 45. Reaching this monster requires a lot of prayer potions, food and time.

Kalphite Queen

The Kalphite Queen is revered as one of the most difficult enemies to defeat. This giant insect empress lies in a deep lair in the Kharidian Desert. To get there, players need to bring a total of 2 ropes and exit the Shantay Pass just south of Al Kharid. After going west, the first rope must be used with the lair entrance in order to enter. The Queen (Level 333) is at the very end of the cavern where you'll need the second rope, past the Kalphite Workers, Kalphite Soldiers and Kalphite Guardians. Make sure to bring an antipoison potion as all but the Workers are poisonous.

King Black Dragon

The King Black Dragon, also known as the KBD, is the seventh strongest monster in RuneScape. He has combat level 276 and 257 hitpoints, as well as very high attack and defence levels. Thus a player should have at least level 70 Attack or he/she will not hit the KBD very often.

The King Black Dragon lair is a multiway combat zone, allowing a group of players to attack. It is in a level 40+ Wilderness (near the Lava Maze) dungeon. The dungeon entrance is in a fenced area containing six Lesser Demons. When players go down the ladder they will see Poison Spiders and a lever which will teleport them to the KBD Lair when activated. The King Black Dragon's lair itself isn't in the wilderness (players will be in the wilderness until they pull the lever).

The King Black Dragon uses many attacks, including regular melee attacks, a fire wave magic spell, and 4 types of dragonfire, all of which may cause high damage. He can use regular dragonfire that will lower stats, an "ice" breath attack that can freeze players to the ground, poison breath that will deal 4 poison damage, and a water-like breath attack.

Dagannoths

Dagannoths are sea monsters. According to the Fremenniks, a tribe of barbarians, they are known as Dagger-mouths (probably because their teeth are similar to little daggers). There are many types of Dagannoths, with the most powerful being the 3 Dagannoth kings: Dagannoth Prime, Dagannoth Rex, and Dagannoth Supreme. Dagannoth Rex uses melee, Dagannoth Prime uses magic, and Dagannoth Supreme uses ranged. They can all hit up to 40 damage so be careful when you encounter one.

TzTok-Jad

TzTok-Jad (sometimes referred to as the 702 because of its level, and because the name has no known correct pronunciation) is the final monster encountered in the TzHaar Fight Cave Minigame. It is the most powerful monster in the game as it may deal up to 95 damage in a single blow, which is even more damaging than fighting the KBD without an anti dragon breath shield.

If one is successful in defeating TzTok-Jad, they receive 8000+ TokKul and the much-coveted Fire Cape. This cape has a "lava" pattern that is animated when viewed on RuneScape's high-detail mode. The animation shows lava flowing downwards continually. This is the best cape in the game with a great attack, defense, strength, and prayer bonus.

Moderators

There are three types of moderators, each given different abilities.

• Jagex Moderator (J-Mod): Jagex Moderators are employees of Jagex. They consist of coders, script writers, graphic designers, and customer service staff. One must apply as an employee of Jagex in order to become a Jagex Moderator. In RuneScape, they can be identified by a gold crown beside their name. On RuneScape's official forums, posts of theirs appear in green with the addition of the words "Jagex Mod" beneath their name. All Jagex Moderators are identified with the word "Mod" as the first part of their username with the exceptions of Andrew, Paul, and Ian. Including P-Mod and F-Mod abilities (see below), Jagex Moderators have a number of additional abilities for playtesting purposes. J-Mod accounts are only used for testing and moderating RuneScape and their official forums. J-Mod accounts are not used for normal play, to avoid an unfair advantage because of these special powers. To ensure this occurs, it is not possible to trade with a J-Mod in-game, and it is not possible for a J-Mod to attack regular players. Jagex Mods do not appear in the hiscore tables.

• Player Moderator (P-Mod): Player Moderators are a volunteer team consisting of regular players that are hand-picked by Jagex staff to allow them the opportunity to help maintain RuneScape to keep it safe and free from rule-breaking. They are given the ability to mute players for a short amount of time, and given the ability to send priority abuse reports. P-Mods are not employees of Jagex and they receive no tangible benefits. P-Mods are not expected to spend anymore time playing RuneScape than they normally would. P-Mods are not even expected to make use of their special abilities, but most enjoy reporting problems they see during the normal course of play. P-Mods are identified by a silver crown beside their name in RuneScape, but are not identified on RuneScape's official forums.

• Forum Moderator (F-Mod): Forum Moderators are also a volunteer team consisting of regular players that work to carry out the tasks of managing RuneScape's official forums in order to keep them safe and free from rule-breaking. Like Player Moderators, Forum Moderators are hand-picked by Jagex staff. They are not employees of Jagex, and they receive no tangible benefits. Forum moderators are given the ability to move and lock threads, hide posts or entire threads, edit titles, and temporarily ban players from posting for 24 hours. Posts of theirs appear in green with the addition of the words "Forum Mod" beneath their name. Forum moderators are not identified by a crown beside their name in RuneScape.

In-game Slang and Terminology

RuneScape players have their own language which can be incomprehensible to outsiders and difficult for newcomers ("newbies") to learn. This consists mostly of the proliferation of ingame terminology and the abbreviation of commonly used words, such as "baxe" for 'battle axe', "pk" for 'player kill' (This means a picture of the game in which is clearly noticable that the person 'PKed' the killed person), "pking" for 'player killing', "nats" for 'nature runes', "scimmy" or "skimmy" for 'scimitar', "hally" for 'halberd', "p hat" for 'party hat', "ess" for 'rune essence', "wc" for 'woodcutting', "lobs" or "lobbies" for 'lobsters', "swordies" for 'swordfish', "Fremmy cloak" for a 'Fremminik Cloak'and many more. This list is not exhaustive. This allows for easy communication between established players despite the small space available in the ingame messaging system.

Price Information

Runescape is a Java Browser-Based game; no software purchase is required and gameplay is free (excluding any fees incurred by an Internet Service Provider to access the internet). Additional game content can be unlocked by upgrading to a members account. Paying through mail and single month subscriptions cost US$7.95 per month, while full year subscriptions are available at US$5.50 per month (total cost US$65.95; charged in advance). Using a Credit Card, subscriptions are US$5.00 per month. You are automatically charged that amount every month for as long as you keep your membership.

External Links

Official Links

• JaGeX site - The official Jagex site.
• Jagex Corporate - The Official Jagex Corporate Site
• RuneScape - The official RuneScape website.
• Miniclip official affiliates #1
• Mofunzone official affiliates #2

Links past this point are in no way endorsed by or affiliated with Jagex Ltd.

Most Popular Fansites

• Tip.It - Rune Tips - A RuneScape fansite with guide, atlas, calculator, database, community section and more.
• RuneHQ - A fansite, with guides, features, a community, (combat) calculators, and other things you may need to know about Runescape.
• Runescape Bits & Bytes - Offers many tools such as Stat Signatures, Goal Signatures, Skill Calculators, and a nice forum community.
• Zybez - A fansite contains guides, info, and maps.
• Rune Village - A fansite contains guides, info, and a large forum.

[1] -- Sal's Realm of Runescape! Guides, Info Maps, and Everything Else!

Large Runescape Communities/Forums

[2] -- Sal's Realm of Runescape! Want Friends? An Active/Friendly Moderating Team? Then Join Sal's Realm of Runescape!

Other Fansites

• RuneScape Apocalypse - Fansite for runescape, offers more.
• Runescape Masters - A helpsite with hundreds of free Runescape guides and a community forum.
• Just RS - A place to talk to other Runescape players, buy and sell items, or get help with quests.
• Global RuneScape - Skill guides, Quest guides, maps, tools, community, RuneScape topsite and other RuneScape-related pages.
• Runescape Daily - Free Runescape Blog Service.
• Nomad Gaming - Offers quest and skill guides, maps, an active forum, and more.

Other Runescape Communities/Forums

• Runeboard.com - A forum, teaching players how to merchant, raise skills, and talk with each other.
• The Black Hole Experience - Fansite forum geared at the more mature members of the community.

Other Runescape Related Sites

• Open Directory Project: DMOZ Runescape Listings
• Runescape 100 - A Runescape topsite comprised of hundreds of runescape sites, like fansites, forums, clans etc.
• SwiftSwitch - A portal programmed which offers world switching, integrated stat-lookup and IRC Chat, and other tools.
• Runescape World -A Runescape Google group. Talk about anything that has to do with Runescape.
• Runescape Portal - An online portal which offers world switching, integrated stat-lookup and IRC Chat, and other tools.

Dynamic Signatures

Below are some sites offering the popular Dynamic Stat Signatures.

• RuneScape Apocalypse - Simple, free, dynamic signatures. Registration required.
• Runescape Portal Sigs - Simple and high-quality stat sigs as well as a complete "Goal Sig". No registration required.
• Runescape Bits & Bytes - Offering the increasingly popular "Goal Signatures". Forum registration required for signatures.
• RuneHQ - Forum registration required.
• IceFuzion - Free High quality Signature Designs, Random Quotes.
• RuneWeb - Also offering guides and info.
• SaraClan - Requires registration
• Global RuneScape - Simple creation of Dynamic Signatures