Runescape fans:

Grinders Online Addicted to Training Skills [GOATS]

Jagex:

Not Open to Other Bot-stopping Strategies [NOOBS]

Plqx,

Of course you wouldnt be bothered much by the changes to icebarrage since you dont have the ability to cast it. You are mainly a skiller. You have over 30Mil xp in woodcutting alone. & yes it is a big deal to me that i trained 99 magic so that i could have the most feared spells in the game & jagex nerfed the best 1 to the degree that it looks like a low lvl air spell. And 1/2 the time it doesnt even ice on 1st cast. & if i cast on a crowd, it only 'cubes' 1-2 targets max.

It also irritates me as a maxed ranger that the graphics for all of the best bows have been worsened, as well as the stance while they are equipped. Crossbows look the same as before however.

The chinning spot was always there as far as i know. It wasnt a bug. Jagex even acknowledged that they decreased the spawn rate on purpose to balance training.

The old BH rules were not a bug.

A bug would be like an unintentional P-hat spawn, or being unable to leave an area once you enter it.

I almost forgot that my old PKing weapon of choice [obsidian rings] were nerfed from knife speed down to shortbow speed. The price has since dropped by over 90% since they are prctically useless now.

Runescape never had 40-50k bots online. That would be over 25% of the online population last year during peak hours, and nearly all accts during the wee hours. I used to go bot hunting on my ruined str pure/p-mod [pmods dont have to w8 60seconds between reports, so its much faster] & the most id ever see on a server were like 100 or so f2p [by my estimate], and much less p2p [mainly just a handful of flaxers ess miners].

Any why do u keep referring to nerfs being last year?

The point is that for the past year we have had alotta nerfs & lost many great official & emergent features.

Just what *have* we gotten?

Some low lvl quests?

More lag?

Summoning?

Why is it that mages havent gotten a real update in the last 2 years?

Oh w8...they removed the best spell in the modern book [tb] and replaced it with BH locate.

Then they nerfed BH locate from lvl 80 down to lvl 32-ish so that noobs could have the same advantage as skilled mages.

They even made ancient teleports & alchemy look worse.

They did make degrading FoG robes that are worse than what mages have already had for years.

Sorry, but not all ppl enjoy grinding on trees/rocks/fishing spots for hundreds of hours with no reward for lvl gains.

Most non-combat skills are just endless grind that farms stuff to sell so that you can afford combat items & status symbols like rares & high scores in 'buyable' stats.

The rest are just moneysinks.

All of my membership accts i paid over the years were different types of PKer pures & 1 staking pure.

Chopping wood & doing silly kid-friendly quests that grant small rewards just isnt my thing.

I liked using rl skill to defeat other ppl my own lvl in 1vs1 fair & riskey fights.

Old-school PKing was an adrenaline rush.

BH is a zero honor gankfest. Its full of clans & pjers.

A soloist/honor PKer dosent stand much of a chance, and now even if they do get a kill they probably wont escape with the loot.

Years ago jagex claimed to have 'over 1mil members'. Years later, they still say 'over 1mil members'.

1 thing i *have* noticed is that during peak usa hours it never even reaches 200k+ online like it did in the past. Right now its about as peak as it gets, and theres little more than 148k online.

It didnt even top 200k when HD was released.

The only 'features' that distinguish runescape from other modern mmorpgs are the excessive grind, zero learning curve, frequent small updates & the poorer quality graphics.

We all know its a java game & its cheap. But when you consider that a year-long membership to runescape costs more than buying a cutting-edge download game from an old reputable publisher, its not such a bargain.

I understand that ur a fan, and you may even be proud that a UK made game has had such world-wide success.

I used to be a runescape fan also. I played almost daily for 3 years and even earned two player moderatorships on my 1st 2 pures.

There came a point when i realized that i was just clicking my life away with zero upper-lvl rewards for my efforts.

There also came a point when i opened my eyes and realised that a large amount of players just macro their stats & cash, thus making all my honest accomplishments rather meaningless since gp buys stats & power in rs.

Actively 'modding' isnt fun either. It feels like ur babysitting a bunch of unruley little kids.

Man, i didnt intend to make this post quite that long

I guess im done lol

EDIT: nvm. u agree that its a grind.

Nerfs: Ice barrage graphics nerfed so that you only see ice on the very 1st cast [sometimes you dont even get that].

G-maul weakened again ive been told [im a mage/range pure & i dont melee so i cant verify].

If you kill at BH and then leave to bank/restock  b4 picking up the loot, it disappears when u return [this is a new nerf ppl are complaining about in the official RS forums. That was the 'secret' to being able to loot ur kills & live b4].

Wilderness map reduced to only 40% of its original size.

Old school PKing deleted rather than being 'fixed'.

Free trade removed from game.

That solo spot for rangers at GWD OP mentioned.

Some chinning spot where ppl trained range on skeletons had its re-spawn rate lowered.

Virtually all magic robe tops have a tire-tread texture now instead of the cloth texture of the other robe parts.

Many range / melee / magic weapons have had their stances changed to this awkward 'heels together military-looking thing'

Obby maul now looks like iron & is held in an awkward manner.

The character model in low detail mode looks horrible compared to the old version

Well, im not gonna detail all the item graphics that have been changed for the worse since HD's release. Just look at them.

-

I have also been noticing that the average # of players online during peak hours has dropped. Used to have upwards of 200k during weekends. Most i saw today was like 154k i think.

That may be due to the removal of the tutorial island [now u have to do a series of 'go fetch' quests for an npc], the BH change i mentioned, the increased lag, the graphic nerf of players avatars/items in low detail mode, the cpu problems many experience while using the HD mode, item lending killing the 'prestige' of ownership, and the subscription price increase [was 5$/mo usa, now 5.90$/mo usa].

Its anyones guess.

-

I do like the new graphics, but then again, i liked the old fun & fair runescape alot better than this new version.

I have gone from almost daily RS addict [3 years] to an hour a week lately.

In a way, im grateful that they ruined it. I used to spend way too much time playing/ranting

Oh, and i agree that its a major grindfest. I cant imagine a bigger grind than runescape

Originally posted by BlackWatch

I guess I've never been one who plays games to be 'rich'.  Especially WoW.  I mean, what do you really have to show for your wealth in WoW?  There's no in-game housing or anything really cool to show off your wealth, so what does it matter?  Are you going to take screen shots of you standing at your bank in order to show off your bling and your bankroll?

Where purchasing in-game currency would come into play for me... I hate crafting.  I think it's crap, complete and total crap.  A big friggin' waste of time, because I believe that these MMORPG's should be more about 'keep what you kill' than they are.   So, I have to pay for the stuff that some of the crafting type folks have made. 

I don't want those prices to climb out of my reach, but then again... I don't want to spend a lot of time worrying about farming money and all of that.  Remember, I'd rather be killing, not care-bearing/crafting. 

So, if I can plop down $10 and come away with enough in game $$$$$ to buy what I need now and have some left over for next time, I'd probably do it.

...

I'd be more likely to buy in-game services than currency, however.  After you grind your way to cap level a few times in a game, why do it again?  I'd rather just fork over some currency and have a cap level toon, imho. 

 

Dont you think its unfair to the others who are actually "working" their way towards a maxed or rich character? Whats the point of playing when everyone just buys their "accomplishments" with real life cash?

It all becomes meaningless. Who cares about achieving something when another impatient player just instantly bought the same thing with real cash?

Just because ppl dont wanna work dosent mean its ok for them to cheat their way to the top.

If Bob works 60 hours a week and you work part time, should the two of you get the same paycheck?

Ppl want all the rewards with none of the work, and it kills the game.

Its multiplayer. Aka theres competition. Those who dont care to put forth much effort are supposed to have less than the ones who work hard.

Oh, and thanks London

I was downloading till i looked at the "premium content" section.

They sell instant lvl 30 with a pile of cash.

They sell 3x experience for an hour, and other unfair items like that.

If a game sells fake acomplishments to all the lil impatient noobs, then its not worth playing imho.

Wow, 45% RWT for an advantage?

That makes me not feel like playing anymore.

If i even see "item mall" on the main page, im off to find another game.

Whats the point of playing a game when u dislike the gameplay  so much that u gotta use real cash to outshine others?

Thats like steroids in pro sports. Its just not right, and it ruins the game for honest players.

Eww

Thats why i always tell the kidos not to use the game for a dating service.

Well...i donno what else to say. Plz dont do that , its sick

You should go to the local gym, find the biggest dude there, and ask him what he thinks about it.

"""NO WAY THERE MEMBES INCREASED!!! why do you think they fired there head of RS from b4? why do you think they got so many ads? they lost alot of money formn members now they are paying mmosite like miniclip to drag there playerbase to play RS."""

They didnt fire their old CEO. The old CEO still works in another position in the company, and the *new* paypal  CEO Geoff was appointed around the same time they ruined staking [a few months b4 dec '07].

It has an item mall & exp events.

dont play it unless ur the type that buys their stats with rl cash, or you just like being outdone by ppl who worked 1/2 as hard as you did.

Im not even gonna bother trying it.

Im back after testing out  SB for about 4 hours.

It really does have awkward controlls.

The whole 'earn skillpoints/go buy ur stats from NPCs' thing is kinda silly.

The character creation is a pain also. I think its possible to make a bad acct design right from the start

Its like you need to make ur 1st acct disposable and make a 2ndary acct after u learn the basics.

In the time i spent playing, no1 even spoke ingame. All i saw were PK anouncements.

There are also 20-somethin buttons at the bottom of the screen, some of which dont seem to do anything.

I spent alot of time reading noob guides & stuff on the sb site before making my 1st acct, and it didnt help much.

This game isnt very newbie friendly.

Im probably gonna uninstall it since it seems like ill never get the hang of it, and ive never liked guilds & stuff

Im not a fan of unfair PvP inwhich high levels can 1-hit lower lvls, or teams can all attack 1 target either.

Im not gonna reply to flame over me not liking the game.

Im actually relieved to hear that its point & click.

i cant seem to get the hang of wasd or even a ps2 controller for that matter he he

graphics dont really matter to me, as long as its not cartoonish

just go play rs instead for now. you can train def or something 

Originally posted by nightwing70

Oh SDFU STOP BSING

 

they had 1m members before the doomsday update

So with that update they minused the bots, loyal pkers, merchanters, and me

I say there down to atleast 8.5m from my opinion (THE MOST)

I know 8.5mil was just a typo. But if u think theres less members now...

Heres up-to-date info straight from Jagex's corporate site:

www.jagex.com/corporate/Press/releaseRuneScapeHD.ws

"RuneScape remains the 2nd largest free-to-play and subscription-based MMO in the western world, with more than 6 million active players, including over 1 million subscribers."

Also, there are still lots of bots. They just arent obvious bald lvl 3s anymore. They are low-high lvl accts "farming" wealth 24/7 for the true owner's of those accts.

Merchanting is alive & well. The grand exchange makes it possible to earn millions a day with very little effort provided that u have a decent cash pile to get you started. You just have to follow price trends & know when to buy low / sell high.

mike470:

pictures really dont do the new graphics justice. you need to actually play them.

you need to try fullscreen HD with all options 'on', and resolution set to the max [1280x1024]

You can see faces depending on how close they are to ur screen, and the character outlines are really smooth.

metal looks like metal, cloth looks like cloth.

the shading & lighting effects are great.

colors of ur skin/clothing change according to what color light is reflecting off them.

it really looks like a completely different modern cd rom game.

and it dosent even require a download, just a good cpu & the internet.

all i know is that its stunning, and its so laggy that my cpu crashes frequently.

as impressive as it is, its no replacement for PKing & free trade.

I still do not recommend that anyone play rs.

I  dont wanna dis on a great update just because most other updates were bad.

And as ive already said, Low-D mode got worse in the process of making the great looking HD mode.

Originally posted by mike470

Originally posted by V_Repoman_V

Originally posted by iamnobody

Oh, come on, how long are you two going to argue?

Anyway, The_Hate, how can you explain how rs lost the majority of their members? I think deviliscious' opinions are valid, yet you criticize her without thinking. Also, who cares about from spelling and grammar?

...This is going completely off-subject.

 

Runescape currently has 1.3Million active paying  *members*.

That is the highest it has ever had.

 

 

1.3 million?  Link please.

 

 I tried to find it again.

I think they removed "1.3 Mil members" when they updated the "why should i play" thing on their homepage to include new HD graphics images instead of the old chopy ones.

Now all they say is  "over 130 Mil accts created", and on the jagex website it says "over 1 million members".

Maybe the old number included current funorb members, or all RS memberships ever started?

Anyway, they havent "lost the majority of their members" as a lot of POES claim. Their membership is up from when they hit the big 1 Mil in the past..

Dont get me wrong, im also a POE.

I just dont like it when ppl throw out assumptions for the sake of making a point.

Im not trying to get in on this whole 'hate vs devil' war, its just that a devil supporter was wrong.

Look at my avi. Im a maxed 1 def pure (aka i liked PKing alot), and i hate the updates. I rarely login, and cancelled all but 1 of my subscriptions.

My neice even told me to cancell her sub, and she wasnt even a PKer.

Heres the link to the "over 1mil" thing (its about 1/2 way down the page)

http://www.jagex.com/corporate/Press/releaseRuneScapeHD.ws

Runescape has *years* of hardcore grind, not just 100 days.

Runescape PvP is entirely minigame based, and only offers 1 unsafe "kill & loot" style minigame.

You cant attack players outside of minigames.

Just wanted to clarify.

Ive been playing that game for about 3 years on various characters.

EDIT: i do not recommend playing it. Its way too much grind, and past certain stat levels, there arent many high-lvl rewards or incentives to keep grinding. the community in general (not everyone) is immature also.

  Cha-cha-cha-chia!

Originally posted by iamnobody

Oh, come on, how long are you two going to argue?

Anyway, The_Hate, how can you explain how rs lost the majority of their members? I think deviliscious' opinions are valid, yet you criticize her without thinking. Also, who cares about from spelling and grammar?

...This is going completely off-subject.

Runescape currently has 1.3Million active paying  *members*.

That is the highest it has ever had.

The low-detail mode changed for the worse (player-characters).

The HD mode (with all options on & the highest fullscreen resolution possible) has graphics comparable to many download/cd-rom style games.

My fourm avi is a poor-quality pic [had to make it under 8 kb] of my fav acct in the new HD mode, so its not the best example.

Despite the new graphics, the gameplay is still worse than it was in the past.

I agree that its probably too late to save PKing.

The closest thing to PKing is the BountyHunter minigame, and its really unfair to solo "honor" PKers & the lower lvls in the 3 crater divisions.

In all these months, they havent bothered fixing BH, so its likely that  PvP will never come close to even meeting its old measure.