RuneScape PVP Review

by Michael Justice, Onrpg Writer

Runescape is pretty much an obligatory game for anyone venturing the MMORPG universe. There are plenty of people who have started from Runescape and then expanded their horizons to many other MMORPGs. Those people, however, usually never come back as they compare their current MMORPG to Runescape and laugh at how “simple” or “basic” it used to be. One thing many people fail to realize is that Runescape ages wonderfully. The Jagex team is constantly working to bring their players new and exciting updates and new players are always joining. This means that if you leave for three years and come back, you're going to be overwhelmed at how much they have added, as well as how much the community has changed. My position was just that; a Runescape veteran coming back after an immense amount of time to find that the game has been completely renovated. That 5.80 dollars I payed for certainly took me for a ride to the past.

PvP
In the olden days of Runescape, there were times when I used to chat over the phone with my friend as we ganged up on people and such. Well apparently, all of that has changed. Runescape's PvP system has changed greatly over the years in more ways than one. While that may be true, it is merely all in the past, and I am sure people are wondering about the current state of Runescape PvP. Well fear not, for I have spent a great amount of time exploring the newfound PvP system.

Firstly, the old wilderness system still remains with some minor changes. These are oh-so slight and such, like having to cross a “Wilderness ditch”. Combat levels still apply somewhat, however, you will quickly come to find that it is completely devoid of life. Perhaps there were some brave souls that actually did still PvP in the wilderness before the latest PvP update, however, as far as I could see, it was empty. Instead, everyone is now playing on the “PvP worlds” which is the latest and greatest PvP update that Jagex could come up with, in my opinion.

PvP worlds incorporate a system of free-roaming PvP in nearly all of the Runescape world. There are of course, hotspots where plenty of people hang out, such as Lumbridge. Then there is the possibility you could run into anyone at any time in the world and have a fight to the death! Combat level restrictions do apply in PvP worlds, however, so the level 130's don't gang up on the level 24s. The PvP world drop system includes many factors. You can acquire items that help you through future battles if you kill a player, such as food, potions and such. The rate at which these drop as well as the quality of the item increase as you stay alive longer or kill more people. There is also an item value system which incorporates the value of the items you have on hand and puts it at “risk” to increase the drop rate and quality rate. In short, it is like playing a game of poker with your account, only you're slashing swords instead of drawing cards.

From what I can gather, the community seems to be somewhat pleased with the latest update. They used to be angry at Jagex for changing their beloved PvP system so much, however, the PvP world addition has given them the strength to forgive Jagex somewhat. My experiences with the Runescape community were not so pleasant, as expected. I did run in to a couple of very old friends which gave me a bit of hope, yet it was very hard to make new friends for... obvious reasons. I did meet some nice fellows with which we participated in the slaughtering of countless people over and over again, which was extremely invigorating. It reminded me of the good old days of Runescape, back when everyone wore adamant armor and wore rune longswords.

Other features
By now, if you're still reading this review, I have hopefully taken you into a nostalgia whirlwind. Runescape was great, and it still is, however, if you are going to reactivate your member's account there's probably some stuff you should know so you aren't blindsided by all of the new things you'll see.

Many new skills have been added since you've probably been on last. Perhaps 5-10 depending on how long you've been gone. I know it took me 8 hours to barely unlock these skills or get started on them. Runescape's skill system is what basically creates the game, you won't want to miss out on the new ones if you're going to join. I would take a couple of hours just to explore them for a bit, maybe skill up the ones you take a liking to. My favorite has personally been the new Summoning they have just added. It was always a dream of mine for Runescape to have summoning.

Various other things have been added besides skills. Obviously, the first thing you will notice is the new “HD” version they have. I can not express my surprise enough at how they can create these amazing visuals in a browser-based game. Other things you might notice are things like the new “Event” description on the server selection. Some servers are dedicated for events such as Tournaments at the Duel Arena and such. There is also another great feature which is called the “Great Exchange” which has greatly increased Runescape's economy. It is similar to an “auction house” of sorts, I'll just leave it at that.

There is just too much else to explain. This entire review is focused on PvP, however, PvP is simply one element of Runescape, there is an entire other world out there waiting for people to explore it.

Summary
Runescape has become more advanced yet again. Their latest update which includes world-wide PvP has only bolstered Runescape's frame. I believe Runescape will continue to grow and become a safehouse to people looking to get into the MMORPG world. If you used to play Runescape as a member or such, I would go ahead and reactivate and if you never were a member, I would go ahead and become one, just to explore the rest of Runescape, because you sure missed out on a lot back then. The main thing, though, is that you should just go back to Runescape simply to check up on things. It's good to go back and reminisce. It sounds a bit cheesy, but I treasure the time I spend catching up on old MMORPGs. It's great to have some memories and it is just as great if not better to make new ones.

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