Oct 30, 2023

Combat Beta Launch & Community Hitlist Strike - This Week In RuneScape

RuneScape ® - Jagex Azanna

Try out the new combat beta, feel the benefits of updates from the community hitlist and check out the upcoming cookbook!

Once again we’re returning to the Community hitlist and checking off some of your most requested changes!

This time around, we’ve enabled combining Brawling Gloves of the same type, pumped up the power of the 'Feeling Pumped’ Mutator and rebalanced the cost of Slayer masks in Shattered Worlds.

We've also had the team sleuthing out the mechanics of Golden Bamboo: the introduction of the Grove updated the backend systems of Woodcutting, which meant players might encounter discrepancies, depending on the boosts and setup used. We’re pleased to say we’ve now been able to restore the flow of bamboo, so grab your axes!

We've also made improvements to Clue-solving flows, among other changes - check out the Patch Notes below for a full list.

This is the first strike of the month, but hopefully not the last. We’re aiming to bring you another strike later in November, so stay tuned!

Whether we’re battling cows in Lumbridge, the undead hordes outside Fort Forinthry, or the next big boss on the scene, combat is a core pillar of RuneScape for many of us. But with the launch of Necromancy, older combat styles like Melee, Magic and Range have started to show their age.

So, we've been considering new ways to enhance the old combat styles you know and love.

From today’s update you’ll be able to access our new Combat Beta! For the next several weeks you'll have the chance to get hands-on with some potential changes to various combat styles - and let us know what you think. We outlined the core changes in a recent blog:

Check out some of the proposed changes:

Enable 'Damage Potential' for all combat styles for the player:

This is the removal of hit chance and instead, a damage scaler based on % chance to hit (e.g. 50% = do 50% of your damage instead of having a 50% chance to miss).

Increase the 'Damage cap' for all combat styles (from 10,000/12,000 to 30,000).
Implement a simplified Critical Strike system for all combat styles:

Each style will have a % chance to critically strike. When you do land a critical strike, your damage is increased by your critical strike damage % - which increases with your level.

Critical Strike chance: 10% by default for all styles, although this could change based on Beta feedback.
Critical Strike damage: Same formula as Necromancy for all styles, but again, this could change based on Beta feedback (e.g. Melee could have 100% Critical Strike damage).

Note: Melee uses the 'Strength' stat for this.

As the Beta proceeds, we’ll look to include other changes to combat styles, and refine the identity of each style. Together we can work towards modernizing the feel and flow of combat!

Ready to give the Beta a try? Check out the main site for further instructions

Once you’ve given the changes a try, share your feedback with our team through the following channels:

The #Combat-Beta channel in the Official Discord.
This initial Beta Thread (more subsequent threads may be created as the Beta progresses).
Plus: as the Beta progresses we will look to include in-game polls on Beta worlds.

Please note that not everything that is showcased in the Beta will automatically make its way into the live game. We will endeavour to work with players to refine the changes shown and bring them into the live game when they’re ready!

Grab your ingredients and put on your cooking cape—it’s time to make the most mouthwatering recipes in Gielinor!

Insight Editions have just announced an official RuneScape cookbook! It will be published 16th April next year - and is already on pre-sale. Take a sneak peak at the cover and some of the recipes below!

The Culinaromancer is back, and he’s bigger and badder than ever. Level up your culinary skills and rescue beloved NPCs with RuneScape: The Official Cookbook! With over 50 recipes inspired by the epic fantasy world of RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, this officially licensed, high-quality cookbook will transform you into a master chef. Gorgeous full-colour photography, flavourful lore, and step-by-step instructions make this truly immersive experience a recipe for success.

Not only will you create iconic dishes from the Recipe for Disaster quest, you’ll find a treasure trove of favourites, including the beloved Baked Potato, Cake (four ways), stackable Purple Sweets, and gnome specialties from Gianne’s Restaurant!

For details of where to pre-order this delectable hardback tome now, check out this link : https://geni.us/runescapecookbook

Insight have also announced this premium A5 hardbacked notebook featuring a gold foil debossed map of Gielinor, 192 lined pages, a bookmark and elastic closure to keep your notes safe - coming to stores 9th April 2024. Ideal for logging your achievements and keeping track of XP gains! Available to pre-order now : https://geni.us/runescapejournal

We’re always keen to hear your feedback, and regular surveys help us to gauge how the community is feeling - and where we should be headed next.

Follow this link to share your thoughts!

The survey will be available from today, October 30th until Sunday November 5th at 11:59pm BST, so be sure to get your responses in before the deadline!

Something long left Dead and Buried has had an Ancient Awakening - and its time to prepare for the Unwelcome guests! Now what better way to beef up your skills than with DXP LIVE?

DXP LIVE is a 10-day event where you have 48 Hours of Double XP to use at your leisure. You can pause the timer if you need to do other activities but don't want to lose out on that precious DXP time. If you won't be using all your hours, you can trade an hour of DXP per day for credits to use with Nic The Trader. More about how it works here!

Double XP LIVE kicks off Friday, November 10th until Monday, November 20th, starting and ending at 12:00 PM Game Time.

Starts November 2nd | Ends November 6th | Phoenix Rising

The Phoenix is on the rise and the rewards are red hot! Get ready to burn bonus experience, unlocking boosts and stronger Lamps.

Community Hitlist

You can now combine Brawling Gloves of the same skill. The max charge count is 1 million.
NPCs involved in Easy clues will now hand out the next Clue Scroll or the Casket faster.
Players no longer experience a delay when answering Challenge Scrolls.

Ysondria's Challenge Scroll has been updated to avoid confusion.

The following items can now be Noted:

Rusty Swords
Broken Armour
Damaged Armour
Buttons

The rings of the scan Elite Clues now have different colours depending on the distance to the treasure.
It's now possible to obtain Puzzle Skipping Tickets and Knot Skipping Tickets from Elite Clues.
The text output for Scan Clues in the side interface is now colourised to help distinguish distance from the dig spot (Gold within 6 paces, Silver within 12 paces, and Bronze further than 12 paces).
Dodgy Derek's Safecracking Stethoscope and Lockpick can no longer be purchased when you already own them.
You can now use the Elder God Eggs in the Senntisten Cathedral base map to replay the 20 weeks of god dialogue from the release of the Elder God Wars in 2021 (plus a pivotal scene in Eye of Het II, if you've completed that quest)!

The player can also choose to display the god conversations as either overhead chat or chathead dialogue.
Corrected a couple of erroneous references to 'Anathema' in this god dialogue to 'shadow anima'.

Graphically updated the portal to Erebus in the Extinction quest.
Golden Bamboo is now chopped approximately twice as fast, making it once again possible to deplete a triple bamboo island within the duration of the Lumberjack Aura.
The Feeling Pumped Mutator in Shattered Worlds once again has a 25% chance to trigger, a 10 second duration, and its 18 second cooldown has been removed.

To counterbalance this, Shattered Worlds monsters defeated while under the effect of Feeling Pumped award minimal combat XP, to decouple combat XP gains from unlimited adrenaline (Augmented item XP is unaffected).
Feeling Pumped is still listed as a positive Mutator, to maintain expected availability.

The Slayer Masks in the Shattered Worlds Reward Shop, particularly those of low-to-mid Slayer monsters, have reduced in cost to make them more accessible to lower-levelled players.
The 'I have killed x bosses' quickchat output for Dominion Tower now explicitly states that it relates to Dominion Tower bosses only.
The Fort Forinthry and City of Um Lodestones have been ordered (by alphabet) in the Magic Abilities book (note that the Teleport Spells listed below these on your action bar may change as a result).
Removed the dialogue from the Nature Amulet Teleport (unless it fails). Your Bound Patch no longer needs to be diseased for you to teleport it, either.

Necromancy

"Conjure Putrid Zombie' ability:

Passive rate: 3s -> 1.8s

'Conjure Vengeful Ghost' ability:

Base duration: 30s -> 42s
Heal value: 125% -> 140%

'Command Vengeful Ghost' ability:

Removed the 30 second duration, now making the effect active for the spirit's lifetime.

'Life Transfer' Incantation:

Fixed an issue where it wouldn't function as expected when used immediately after conjuring a spirit.

Fixed an issue where the Depleted Glyph in the Necromancy tutorial was showing as non-depleted, preventing progression.
That Old Black Magic is now a special quest, with four subquests.
The remaining number of Runes needed to complete That Old Black Magic: Flesh and Bone will now be displayed in the Quest Journal.
The SFX and WFX within the Rasial boss encounter have been updated.

General

Corrected a lighting issue at the Ungael Ruins entrance.
Fixed the Gem prize selection menu's right-click option.
Fixed several blocking issues with a wall to the south of the Old Crypt within the Wilderness.
Overhead emotes are now cleared and disabled when triggering a non-combat transmog.
The scanning animation for scanning clues and the penguin locator are no longer interrupted by using Soul Dive/Bladed Dive.
The text view for overhead emotes is now more tightly spaced so it matches emotes and transmogs.
Fixed an issue in the Smithing interface where using an anvil in the City of Um would still leave a cross next to the anvil requirement.
Fixed a typo in the As a First Resort quest when talking to Balnea.
Fixed a typo in the Elemental Anima Stone tooltip.
Fixed a bug in the The Light Within quest where Seren wasn't visible in certain cutscenes.
Fixed an issue where some of the Thieving skillguide icons displayed incorrect tooltips.
The tooltip of the water essling in the Runecrafting skillguide no longer mentions a mind essling.
Added a dungeon map label to the world map and minimap in the north-eastern building within Sophanem.
Fixed a typo with the Excuse Me, That's My Seat achievement reward tooltip.
Some names inside the Cooking skillguide have been readjusted.
Fixed a number of blocking issues within the Wilderness Ruins.
Updated the description of the Loot Area setting to mention 7 tiles rather than 3.
Porter effects now work for additional farming produce created by effects such as Juju farming potions and Greenfingers Auras.
Fixed a typo in the Woodcutter's Grove introduction.
Fixed a typo in the New Foundations quest journal.
Fixed an issue with the Grifolaroo jump attack delay.
Oddment numbers no longer clip out of UI.
Fixed an issue that caused the Prismatic Stars interface to close after using a specific combination of options to redeem them.
Adding Runes to Urns has been re-themed to Imbuing Urns, and Staves can now be used to perform this action.
Adjusted lighting in The Old Tower Shrine Room to make it easier to spot NPCs and interactable objects.
Reduced the overall brightness in the Wizards' Tower.
Fixed an issue that was preventing some players from reclaiming the Flame Gloves from the All Fired Up minigame if they have keepsaked them. Completing the minigame again will now correctly award the gloves.
Replanted the Davendale trees so they can no longer be cut down.

Community Showcase

Recently the talented folks over at the Runescape Art Community & PvMe discords joined forces to play Gartic Phone with some of the Jmods. They ended updrawing some adorable scenes, like their first fashionscape!

Not to be outdone, viewers watching the show decided to take on some of the prompts themselves, including...

Xau Tak, yassified by Quardri!

Rasial petting his cat Miso by @Legend_Arts!

And finally Harold Death and his fantastic new shoes by @TaffingSpy! Slay queen....

Scapers' Screenshots

Bjorngomes and his Midas minions investigate a notoriously haunted house....

Taresu has spotted the headless horseman at the fort.

4D Oranges contemplating if they should get a boat. The high seas are a-callin'!

Pink Skirts Player Events

Each week the Pink Skirts put on a selection of fun activities that everyone can join. Here are the main events this week:

F2P Spooky Parade

Hosted by: Apazos & F2pironmanfc
Date/Time: Monday October 30th, 17:00 Game Time
World: 3
Location: Varrock Square
FC: F2pironman

Spooky Parade & Trick-or-Treat

Hosted by: Apazos (Zerelim), Necromancy Discord & ScreenieScape
Date/Time: Tuesday October 31st, 17:00 Game Time
World: 2
Location: Varrock Square
FC: Ahelp

Twin Furies

Hosted by: M e r c y & Helpscape
Date/Time: Thursday November 2nd, 18:00 Game Time
World: 35
Location: The Heart of Gielinor - Zamorak Lobby
FC: Helpscape

If these don't take your fancy, take a look at the full events schedule here. There’s sure to be something you’ll enjoy!

Community Spotlight

Necromancy Discord Server

The marvelous team over at the Necromancy Discord have teamed up with ScreenieScape and the Achievement Help to bring you some fun-filled, Halloween-themed events for the week.

Whether you need some Nex kills, enjoy dressing up in spooky garb, or just love to draw, they've got you covered! Check out the list of events:

Spooky Parade + Trick-or-Treat

Where: Varrock Square on World 2.
When: 17:00 Game Time on October 31st .
Details: Folks will be parading from Varrock to Um with their most spooktacular looks!

Bring a set of Bedsheets for some extra fun when we get to The City of Um!

Spook 'n' Skribbl with Ahelp

Where: World 76 - Fort Forinthry.
When: The game link will be provided in #event-links at the start of the event, which is 20:00 Game Time on November 3rd.
Details: Graceepants, The Achievement Help Discord and Necromancy Discord Discord will be drawing up a storm with some fun spooky themed http://skribbl.io/!

Nex Mass

Where: World 1 Nex's Prison.
When: 20:00 Game Time on November 4th.
Details: Bradleyjs and The Necromancy Discord will be tbattling Nex for an hour - jump in if you need help getting your Necromancy equipment task completed!

- The RuneScape Team

Oct 30, 2023

Update 193: The Dead of Autumn - Released!

War of Rights - [CG]TrustyJam

Hello everyone,

Today, we’re happy to introduce base update 193 to the game as well as detail two soon to be released Autumn time limited events for War of Rights! It’s been a few months since the last game update was released, and so this one contains many fixes and additions to the game - as well as a few surprises.

Let’s start off by detailing the upcoming time limited events and then continue to dive into what is included in today’s update.

Autumnal Splendor - Limited Time Environment

Just two days from now, come November 1st, Maryland will undergo a mesmerizing autumnal transformation for the fall season. The trees are shedding their leaves, painting the landscape in a vibrant symphony of oranges, reds, and golds. This enchanting metamorphosis, for the duration, will cover every map and mode, embracing the beauty of fall.

But that's just the beginning...

The Risen Dead of Antietam - Limited Time Event

In this limited time 100-player event, 'The Risen Dead of Antietam,' Confederate and Union soldiers must band together to confront relentless hordes of over 400 risen dead in a cooperative and adrenaline-pumping experience. Teamwork is not merely encouraged, it's the key to your survival. As you face wave after wave of the undead, you'll need to rely on each other's unique skills and strengths to endure.

The core objective in this mode is to hold successive key points strategically, fending off the approaching zombie onslaught. Your team's ability to work in harmony is paramount, as these points represent the last line of defense against the encroaching undead.

Exclusive for this event is the introduction of the 'Torch Bearer' class, which adds a unique dynamic to the mode. In lieu of the flag bearer class, the ‘Torch Bearer’ is armed with a signal torch (specifically, a Flying Torch used by signal corps in the Civil War). In addition to serving as a remote spawn point (the only active one during a zombie wave), the 'Torch Bearer' is the literal guiding light of the team, crucial for spotting the incoming risen dead and preventing them from overwhelming your position.

'The Risen Dead of Antietam' features a variety of zombie types, each presenting distinct challenges. The undead range from fast and relentless, to slow but overwhelming in number. Your team will need to adapt and strategize accordingly.

This mode is the thrilling result of extensive research and development into AI navigation and behavior, which also functions as a necessary test intended for our highly anticipated addition of horses to War of Rights - and what better way to ‘enliven’ a boring stress test than in a way that promises both valuable data and a true test of your survival skills? A 'War of Frights', if you will.

This immersive zombie mode promises an unforgettable experience where teamwork, strategy, and the guiding light of the 'Torch Bearer' are the keys to your survival. Do you have what it takes to hold the line and withstand the relentless undead in 'The Risen Dead of Antietam'?

This limited time event represents a groundbreaking first for War of Rights and Campfire Games. To say it's a departure from our usual updates is a vast understatement. We are extremely eager to hear your thoughts and sincerely appreciate all feedback!

Join in on the spooky autumn fun come November 1st at the moment both events go live by tracking the traditional main menu countdown timer signaling the events’ commencement!

Character Customization Improvements & Losable Hats

In this update, we have enhanced and expanded character customization for your character's head. Players can now finely adjust age, eye color, hair, and the newly introduced skin tone using sliders. Additionally, you can toggle the hat on and off for a better view of your character.

Skin tone and age will also influence other visual aspects of your character. If you increase your character’s age, his hair will naturally lighten and whiten. Moreover, selecting a slightly darker skin tone also will impact eye color and hair.

These changes also enable hats to become dislodged during battles. Any dramatic experiences the player encounters, such as being knocked down, can result in their hat being knocked off. To save on server performance, unfortunately you cannot pick them back up.

Procedural Dirt and Blood

In today’s update, we're also immersing you in a new way as blood and mud collect on characters as battles unfold. No longer will character dirtiness be statically assigned during customization and at spawn. Instead, it will dynamically accumulate dirt, blood, and debris based on your in-game experiences.

For instance, trudging through deep mud will muck up your trousers and brogans, while taking a tumble in the mud will cover your entire character in grime. And when it rains, nature will lend a hand by washing the blood and dirt away.

This transformation necessitates extensive changes to our asset setup. As a result, this feature will initially be available on specific clothing items, with a gradual rollout planned for the rest of our assets over the upcoming months.

Destruction - Doors

This update also brings further enhancement to our environmental destruction. Doors are now included in our growing list of destructible objects. In past interior combat scenarios, players could exploit doors for unrealistic protection from attackers by keeping them closed. This is no longer the case. Doors can now be broken down using artillery, small arms, and melee attacks - such as those made by the undead!. Doors will go through various destruction states, becoming more mangled, and soldiers hiding behind them become increasingly vulnerable to small arms fire at each stage of destruction.

As this is the initial implementation of the feature, not all doors will be destructible at once in this update. Expect to see more and more doors become destructible throughout the next few updates.

Quality of Life Improvements

In response to community feedback, long-awaited relief is on the way for 'T' spammers. In this update, we're introducing the ability to customize the game information elements that are displayed. You can choose from three settings:

Timer: This maintains the current behavior, appearing for a few seconds when pressing 'T.'
Always: The element will always be visible.
Never: Ideal for those seeking full immersion, as it prevents the visual aid from appearing at all."

For instance, you can now configure player name tags to remain visible regardless of whether you press the HUD display button. Furthermore, you have the ability to adjust the duration for which a chat message remains on the screen when a message is sent.

Update 193 Patch Notes

Added 10 artillery battery crews to the character customizer: Cooper, Edgell, Stewart, Cook, Richardson, Miller, Squires, Pelham, Balthis and Brockenbrough.

Fixed several character issues including artillery items, kepi materials, incorrect insignias, shirt textures and beard vertex normals.
Updated the straw hat geometry.
Added additional shirts and trousers for the 1st LA.
Added destructible doors.
Added more facial customization settings in the character customization menu.
Hats can now get knocked off of soldiers during knockdowns.
Added procedural blood and mud buildup on characters.
Updated the kepi and braids for the US sharpshooters.
Added feather options for the hats of the 6th WI.
Fixed inconsistencies with the sun angles across all of the levels in the game, resulting in longer and more interesting shadows at noon throughout the game but especially at South Mountain.
Resolved several animation issues tied to performing an action while at the double quick or charge speed such as aiming a revolver, entering right shoulder shift, stabbing with a bayonet and clubbing with the rifle butt that would result in a lot of tiny and very quick steps taken by the character.
Fixed the revolver’s idle animation, causing it to dip down towards the waist of the character each time movement was initiated.
Fixed officer haversack clipping through the baldric.
Fixed the Sgt. Major NCO rank of the 14th TN not having an NCO sword.
Added 1st VA cavalry, 2nd MD and 2nd WI infantry to the character customizer.
Added double breasted frock coats as an option in the character customizer for all CSA officers.
Made the text on the credits page white.
Updated the terrain shader of the game, resulting in us being able to seamlessly blend between detail terrain textures and distance terrain textures without any of the distance terrain texture colours bleeding into the detail terrain textures. In short: more colour accurate textures up close.
Updated the grass detail terrain texture.
Fixed the normals of the herringbone and concrete sidewalks of Harpers Ferry to eliminate any ugly seams.
Made the stone wall around the Mumma graveyard slightly slimmer so that it is consistently vaultable.
Added a new opened variation to the North Carolina Sack Coat and updated the skinning of the NC sack coat.
Fixed undershirts clipping with the open jackets.
Standing in close proximity to the muzzle or on top of the barrel of a cannon while it fires will now cause a knockdown and damage to your health.
Added several new settings in the gameplay options menu related to the in-game HUD such as always-on player names, text chat and compass/morale states. Also added a chat message display timer setting to prolong/shorten the duration that the chat is shown.
Overhauled the quartermaster wagon models of the game.
Added the following flags: 89th New York National Colors, 30th Ohio Infantry National Colors, and 1st Virginia Cavalry standard. The 1st Virginia cavalry flag is based upon a September 1862-dated eye-witness sketch by Alfred R. Waud. The sketch is now held by the Library of Congress.The 6th Wisconsin National colors have been revised to more closely match the surviving artifact, with thanks to the archivists of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum for their kind assistance.
Added regimental drums for the 4th Alabama Infantry, Hampton's Legion Infantry, 30th Virginia Infantry, 20th New York Infantry, 30th and 36th Ohio Infantry regiments.
Fixed the Pry barn door LODs.
Fixes to the R. Miller Tenant house model.
Fixed the Henry Rohrback farmhouse’s attic glitch.
Updates to the time of day settings, resulting in slightly less pitch black house interiors at night.
Minor Piper slave house scene fixes on the Antietam and Drill Camp levels.
Updated the Washington artillery hat insignias.
Adjusted the red colour on artillery uniforms.
Changed the material of the artillery gauntlets.
Fixed incorrect collar insignia for some of the double breasted frock coats in the character customizer.
Added a new backend master server separate from Steam’s server tools to more reliably populate all of the online servers within the server browser of the game. Once mass tested and verified to be working as intended, this new backend master server will replace Steam’s version.
Completely overhauled the main menu backend code to be much more modular and thus futureproof.
Implemented the first iteration of the new server browser, designed to offer up more information of each listed server.
Motion vectors for DLSS & TAA are now more accurate, requiring no more intermediate format to work with motion blur, reducing rounding errors.
Forward rendering and post effects are now able to sample sun shadow information past the first 4 shadow cascades.
Fixed an issue with glass materials resulting in them rendering through volumetric fog.

That’s all for now. We look forward to joining you all on the soon-to-be autumnal clad fields of glory!

- The Campfire Games Team