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Pure Essence on free servers                                                    20-Apr-2006

It has been brought to our attention that some free players who used to be members have had their essence converted into pure essence which they now can't use.

Don't worry, we are aware of this and are working to fix it. In next week's update we will make it so that whilst free players can't mine any more pure essence they can however still use/trade any which was automatically converted.

If you haven't already read it, then please see the previous news post entitled Rune Essence adjustment for more details on the Rune Essence changes.

Rune Essence adjustment                                                            20-Apr-2006

Today we have made an adjustment to rune essence mining due to players breaking rule 7 and rule 12, using macros to mine the rune essence and then sell it.

As you are probably aware we have various systems in place to detect people breaking rule 7 and ban them. These systems work very effectively at detecting people breaking this rule, and make macroing a really bad way to try and train a high level character.

The problem we are now solving is not a problem with our macro detection systems which are still working well, but rather a problem with banning being an ineffective punishment against abusers who only use very low level accounts, and who have no intention of ever playing the game properly.

Over the last few weeks we have banned literally hundreds of accounts a day for macroing at the rune essence mine. However the bans were ineffective as the abusers could just create more low level accounts that they didn't care about to mine more. We also track trades so we can ban the recipiant of the illegally obtained items, but the abusers in this case were swapping the runes for gp, and then selling the gp for real world money on auction sites. Of course the person buying the gp for real world money gets banned, because we track the money they received in an unbalanced trade to a macro account, but the seller doesn't care that their customers get banned shortly after, as they have their real world money by then.

The fundamental problem is that rune essence was one of the few areas of the game which could be used to generate a reasonable amount of RuneScape money on a 'throwaway' low level free account. Normally to earn large amounts of money quickly you need to level up an account first, and then of course you care if it gets banned so our normal deterrent is effective.

We have therefore split rune essence to have 2 grades. Normal essence can only be used to make the six basic runes, whereas pure essence can be used to make any rune. You can mine both types of essence at the same place as before. The kind of essence you receive is automatically decided when you mine the rock. You will always get pure essence only if your mining is over 30 and you are on a members' world, otherwise you will get normal essence.

As a one-off event whilst we introduce this, existing essence in your bank and inventory will have been automatically converted to pure essence if you are a member or have other members-only items in your bank, provided you have level 30 mining or runecrafting.

Since free players can only craft the six basic runes anyway, the normal essence is just as good for its intended purpose of letting free players do low level rune crafting. However it is not so useful for selling to members who want to make law and nature runes (who we believe buy the vast majority of rune essence in Runescape) which should reduce its price significantly and make it a much less appealing proposition for real world traders.

The only people who should be significantly affected by this are players mining very large amounts of essence on free accounts purely to sell to members. There are better way of making money on high level free accounts anyway, so this change should only really affect players trying to making large amounts of money on a low level free account - which is of course the exact idea.

We would also like to yet again remind our players NOT to break rule 12 and be tempted to buy RuneScape gold for real world money. Nearly all the gold being offered for sale in this way was generated by cheating on 'throwaway' accounts. If you buy it not only are you encouraging further cheating, but you run the very real risk of being banned yourself as the money you receive is dirty money and will be tracked. Again we have banned countless players for breaking rule 12 and fuelling this problem, and will continue to do so.

We hope most players will agree we shouldn't let rule breakers spoil this game, and we are determined to not let them do so. As well as banning, where necessary we will also make minimal changes to the game to make rule breaking unviable.

***Easter Guide, Contact, and new Polls***                19-Apr-2006

I have finally finished my Holiday Easter 2006 Guide. Sorry for the late arrival, I plan on getting new holiday guides out in the first 3 days, but I didn't come up with the idea until the night before. Click here to view it. I switched my Runescape picture to the normal one from the winter, snow-covered one. I have now also added a Contact Me... page where you can send me an email! Click here to go to the form page. All you need to do is fill out the form and click the "Submit" button and I will receive it. You can use this feature to send ideas for new polls too. My Polls page has a few polls for you to fill out and send in your opinions. Also look at the new page for the mini-game "Pest Control" because it looks really cool and should be a favorite!

Pest Control                                                                                         18-Apr-2006

The Void Knights are a military order who have helped serve Guthix and his penchant for balance since the early Fourth Age. It is their job to ensure that the flux of good and evil coming through to RuneScape each day remains constant, but there are some beasts they find more difficult to accept than others.

On a series of islands in the far south of the world they have found some portals that are nothing but pure evil, which must be shut down at any cost.

Pest Control, the biggest update of the month is finally here!

This update includes:

• A new cooperative combat-based minigame
• 7 new kinds of deadly monster
• A new island featuring a bank and shops
• A new food item: field rations

Protect the Void Knight from the invading hordes for 20 minutes or go and destroy the portals yourself while your friends rebuild the smashed barricades left behind you. With boats visiting the portals as soon as enough volunteers are available, we are confident this game will become a firm favourite for fans of cooperative gameplay.

Dying during the Pest Control game is the same as dying in Castle Wars (no item loss and no trip to Lumbridge), so you have no excuse not to visit! Speak to the Squire at the southern end of Port Sarim to try out Pest Control today!

***A new piece of Music, Setup, and Page***             16-Apr-2006

I am working on an Easter guide to help newbies get their magical ring! I have also added the Easter song played when you go underground into the rabbit's warren. My legal page is finally done and as most of you could see, I was busy re-arranging my old news section. The point of this was to make the pages load faster and to make it more simple to read/navigate. The news posts are placed 10 per page, listed from newest to oldest, and there are currently 5 pages. Once I was nearly done, I decided to add an ALL page where all of the old news would be placed together for people that like to look at the big picture. Note that this page is extremely long and will take a long time to load (I only recommend if you have DSL or cable internet). I have finished that project today and next time I plan to forewarn people of these events and make them run smoother. After I get my Easter guide up and running, I will be re-arranging the links to the RuneScape world map so they will take up less space. I hope you enjoy all of the new things!

New RuneScape Forums!                                                          10-Apr-2006

Today we have released the new version of the RuneScape forums, improving on the style and look of the old forums. As well as making it easier to navigate around, we have removed the need to log in to the forums in order to read them. Members will still be able to post by logging in using the link at the top of the forums page.

We have also added a host of new features - here are some of them:

Bump button
If you look next to the reply button, you'll see a new feature - "Bump". Clicking this will move the thread to the top of its forum. This feature has been added to remove the need for people to post "bump" messages, which will in turn make it much easier to see the actual conversation in the thread.

Note you can only bump your own thread, and you can only bump one thread every 10 minutes, to avoid this system being abused.

Message previews
The message preview feature will allow you to know what your message will look like before it's posted. You'll find the "preview" button next to the "add" button when you're adding a message.

FMod and JMod colours
Jagex Moderator posts have changed, so that now they will be gold. There will also be a gold crown next to their names. Similarly, Forum Moderators will have a green crown next to their name as well as keeping the green background on their messages

Smilies!
When you add messages, you can also add smilies :)! Check the smiley legend (available when adding a message) to see what smilies you can use.

User profiles
If you're logged in, on the main forums page, in the top right, you'll see "My Profile". This shows the list of the last threads you posted in, as well as your post count and gives you the option to turn smilies on or off.

Quick-Find codes
At the very bottom of a thread page there is now a "Quick Find Code" - if you put this into the "Quick Find" box at the top of the page it will take you back to that thread. This means you can jump straight to a thread by knowing this number, and will help in the forum emergencies forum.

Jump to forum
Also in the top right, there is a drop-down box which will let you go straight to another forum without navigating to the front page. Speedy!

Updated search (multiple words)
You can now search by typing in multiple words, and any thread which has any of the words will show up in the results, sorted by relavence. If you want to search for a whole phrase, use quotes around your search

Updated wordfilter
The wordfilter has been updated, making sure everyone is protected from bad language.

Go visit the new look RuneScape Forums!

Easter bunnies infest RuneScape!                                    10-Apr-2006

Easter bunnies are infesting RuneScape!

Children around RuneScape were expecting the Easter Bunny to bring them eggs this week, but instead of one big bunny they have found dozens of little ones! The bunnies are contained in two areas, south of Falador and north-west of Varrock.

Unfortunately the new rabbits haven't quite grasped the spirit of Easter, and rather than handing the eggs out they are burying them in the ground. Bring a spade to dig them up again and give them to the children (or eat them yourself).

One of the eggs has a rather interesting effect that will unlock a new emote, and, if eaten in the correct place, will open up a whole new area. If you venture into the rabbit warren you can discover who is behind the rabbits' strange behaviour, and perhaps even earn a new magical ring.

The Easter eggs will all melt on 24th April, and the rabbits and their warren will disappear. Players who have unlocked the new emote will still be able to use it, and those who have obtained the magic ring will be able to keep it.

Rag and Bone Man                                                                         10-Apr-2006

If you are travelling along the road from Varrock to the Temple on the River Salve, you might notice the camp of the Rag and Bone Man (Rune HQ Link), who is looking for help, and would not turn down a hand, leg, or any other bone to be honest! His expanding collection needs to be finished off.

Low level players will be able to help him complete the bare bones of the quest. More experienced players will then be able to help him further and get extra rewards. Good luck and bone voyage!

Armour model changes

You will find that we've altered the appearance of a small number of armour items in this week's update, including chainmail tops, the camoflage kit and certain pieces of kit found in the Barrows. These changes are to make the models more flexible for animating. With these changes it will allow us to do more impressive animations of your characters in the future.

Of course some players will prefer the new models, whereas others will prefer the old ones. But once you also bear in mind that as well having an improved new look, this allows a greater range of animations, we feel it's definitely worth the change.

The combat stats of the items will not be affected in any way.

A Soul's Bane                                                                                      3-Apr-2006

A rift in the ground has opened in the lands to the west of the Digsite. All manner of bizarre noises have been escaping from it, and yet a sorrowful mother waits at the top, unafraid. She is waiting for her long lost son, Tolna, who has been missing for 25 years, and she needs your help!

If you choose to accept this quest into the unknown, you'll find yourself entering an adventure full of twisted monsters all created from the mind of a young boy driven to madness through incarceration. Through perseverance you may find yourself with a new place to train your combat!

Are you a Soul's Bane?

Behind the Scenes - April                                                           3-Apr-2006

This month we are releasing two quests based in the Varrock area. The first of these tells the story of Tolna, a young lad who left Varrock years ago to seek his fortune. Little did he know that his journey would only take him a few feet before the cruel hand of fate would snatch him up and throw him down into the pit of despair. Recent surface activity in the area has unearthed some dangerous crevices into the caves below. After all these years, can the boy still be alive? And if so, what sort of condition will he be in? Adventurers willing to take on these questions are sure to be faced with some difficult challenges but will be rewarded with new training areas and some quite fantastic cutscenes.

The second quest of the month will start on the pass from Varrock to the Salve Temple. An odd old man carrying a large sack of bones has a problem and will need your help to solve it. Why is he collecting all these bones? Why is the mysterious sack on his back making odd mumbling sounds? Although this quest is designed for low level players, high end players will find a better reward from the optional "big boned" list.

Later this month the gnomes get a new advantage on the Khazard Battlefield with the appearance of Battle Tortoises. These armoured tanks, mounted by mages and rangers, are sure to be quite a challenge for the General and his troops, but beware - they leave quite an impression!

We are also updating the Wilderness this month with new teleportation portals and a repeatable minigame. The portals act as a new way of getting round the Wilderness, but be careful. Once a portal is activated, everyone in the immediate area will be moved away, so don't rely on it to get out of trouble... you may find that trouble follows you through!

Wilderness Tag features a series of pillars dotted around the entire of the wilderness, with players being invited to tag them, similar to the way the Agility Arena works but without the timers. Players who successfully tag all the pillars (featuring various levels of difficulty) are rewarded with a generous helping of combat XP in the discipline they choose. Be careful, though, it is the Wilderness after all.

As Easter approaches, the Easter Bunny starts preparing for the busy month ahead. This year, however, he is feeling a bit lazy and so has asked the local rabbits to give him a hand. Sadly, they aren't as clever as they are cute... so it's a good job the land is full of helpful adventurers to correct the mistakes they are making. With a new seasonal emote and magical eggs, we are sure you'll be happy to celebrate Easter with the kids of RuneScape.

The biggest update this month will be Pest Control, a brand new player vs monster minigame. The Void Knights are a military order who have helped serve Guthix and his penchant for balance since the early God Wars. It is their job to ensure that the flux of good and evil that come through to Gielinor each day remains constant, but there are some beasts they find more difficult to accept than others. The portals they have found are nothing but pure evil, and so must be shut down at any cost. Protect the Void Knight from the invading hordes for 20 minutes or go and destroy their portals yourself while your friends rebuild the smashed barricades left behind you. With 6 new creature types and boats visiting the portals as soon as enough volunteers are available, we are confident this game will become a firm favourite for fans of cooperative gameplay.

Also in April we launch city pamphlets to help newer players find out what Varrock can offer and more readers' letters, focusing on the thousands of letters you have sent in addressed to the mime.

Temple Trekking                                                                                 28-Mar-2006

As many adventurers know, life can't be all dragon-slaying and rescuing maidens in distress. For one, dragons are pretty fierce and most maidens tend to be able to look after themselves these days. So, to be a little useful and perhaps earn a crust, the wily adventurer knows how to turn their skills to many a trade, such as the ability to be a guide.

Since Burgh de Rott has had a recent face lift, and the general store has been filled up with supplies, some of the villagers feel ready to brave the trip to Paterdomus, the temple on the Salve. Of course, there are some trivial dangers to keep an eye out for, but nothing that a well-prepared adventurer couldn't deal with.

So stock up your companion with food (just in case), dust off your trusty map and set forth in the new minigame: Temple Trekking.

Features:

• 3 different routes to choose from with varying difficulty.
• 3 different levels of NPC followers to escort.
• Weaker NPCs are more taxing to protect but offer greater rewards if you can keep them alive.
• Rewards from the trip are made in skill related items and tomes of learning - novel ways to level your XP.
• Challenge enormous swamp snakes and protect your trek companion.
• Tackle giant swamp snails and tentacle monsters!
• Solve tricky puzzle encounters.
• Use the temple trekking as a fun, more interesting way to get back to Misthalin.

This minigame is designed to be a more fun and challenging way of making money and gaining xp than your normal RuneScape routine, and gives you something else to worry about while crossing the perilous swamps of Morytania.

Of course, every adventurer likes to feel important – so what better way than to help villagers escape the evil clutches of the vampyre horde? If you really miss the damsels in distress you can always go back to them... but have a wash first. Damsels hate swamps.

NOTE – Only players who have completed last week's quest (In Aid of the Myreque) will be able to attempt this minigame.

Reader's Letters - March                                                                    28-Mar-2006

Today we have released the March edition of the Postbag from the Hedge, where you get the chance to ask in-game characters the burning questions that have been bothering you since last Pentember.

This month, what is the new Chaos Elemental all about, how does the KBD feel about being a bit of a wuss, and what exactly do Elven gods look like?

Sweden worlds offline/5 new worlds in Sweden/***Other News***  24-Mar-2006

We have taken our Sweden servers offline whilst we fix a problem some people are experiencing with them. No other worlds are affected by this problem. Thank you for your patience whilst we resolve this issue, please use another world in the meantime.
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Update: We have taken our Sweden servers offline whilst we fix a problem some people are experiencing with them. No other worlds are affected by this problem. Thank you for your patience whilst we resolve this issue, please use another world in the meantime.

We have yet again broken the simultaneous player record, with just over 197k players online at the same time. To accommodate for this massive growth we have put 5 new worlds online in a new location - Sweden. This should alleviate some of the contention for slots on our busy Amsterdam servers. 3 of the worlds are for free players and 2 are for members only.

Enjoy the extra space!
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Runescape is really spreading in popularity! Today there was more than 197,000 people playing at ONE time. Because of this new record break, Jagex had tried to add 5 new worlds in Sweden, although as soon as they did they took them offline to fix a "problem that players were expiriencing". This should be fixed by tomorrow. Also, I have added the Rune HQ In Aid of Myreque guide link.

Responsible gaming reminder                                                                                               23-Mar-2006

RuneScape is a fun, challenging, and exciting game which is very important part of the life of many people. More important to us here at Jagex is our players' well-being and safety while they play the game. We realise that a lot of our players can get very passionate and immersed in the game and we would like to take a time out to remind everyone to take care while playing. We have a whole section of our website dedicated to your safety and health which we would recommend you take the time to read; simply follow the Safety and Security guidelines link on the front page.

Whilst playing the game will mostly be a fun and rewarding experience there are times of great frustration involved with that fun, something which helps give the game the sense of challenge which we all know and love. The loss of items due to character death or the actions of other players can all be very disappointing but it must be kept in the context that without these setbacks the victory would not be as sweet. Always remember that this is just a game, that it should never become your life, and that you should always be making time for other activities such as your studies or job, and meeting your friends in real life. Also remember that if events in the game are getting too emotional then you should take a break from the game and do something less stressful until you're happy to return.

If you continue to feel upset due to an in-game incident then we would recommend that you continue to take a break from the game and talk to someone. You could talk to a family member, work colleague, teacher or friend; whomever you feel the most comfortable with. There is also counselling available in most areas which can easily be found on the Internet or a local telephone directory. RuneScape will still be here when you return and will be filled with even more new content for you to enjoy.

We are aware that a small minority of players attempt to scam in RuneScape and we are continuously introducing new ways to protect you while playing and prevent scamming from happening. Already we have Customer Support, the player mods, Bank PINs, and the Password Support system in place, with more innovations being developed all the time. However all of these systems can only be truly effective if you work with them and use them regularly.

It is vitally important that everyone secures both their accounts and the computers which they use to play the game. To secure your account you should have a hard to guess password, a Bank PIN set in-game, and recovery questions set via the main website. Full details on how to secure your PC can be found in the Security Tips section of the main website. It is also important never to tell anyone your password or to share your account with anyone.

Whilst buying or selling goods in the game, always remember to read the second trade window as it shows everything that will be traded. Also, always be careful and pay full attention to the game whilst in dangerous areas so that your character does not get killed and cause you to lose valuable items. This goes doubly so for the Wilderness where monsters and players can attack you. If you don't want to lose an item then the best thing to do is avoid taking it anywhere where you might lose it. Finally everyone has access to the Report Abuse button at the bottom of the screen so you can hit that button and help us remove the small minority of rule breakers who get in the way of honest play.

At Jagex we are fully aware that behind each character is a real person, many of whom put in a lot of effort and passion into their accounts. When someone in game is hijacked, scammed, or verbally abused it can seriously upset the person in real life and can sometimes lead to tragic results. This is why we not only put so much effort into improving the game content but also deterrents against breaking the rules. This is also why we will remove from play anyone found breaking our rules. RuneScape is not a place for a small minority to abuse other players. Jagex will continue to use all the resources at its disposal to ensure RuneScape stays a fun, honest, and enjoyable place for you to spend your time.

In Aid of the Myreque/***Music Moving***                                                            22-Mar-2006

The peasants of Burgh De Rott are nervous. With no champions to defend them, it is only a matter of time before the Vampyres bleed them dry and leave them to disappear into the swamps. Will you allow the persecution to continue? Can you sit by as the Myreque, damaged from their last struggle in the Search of the Myreque quest, try in vain to stem the tide?

This update brings new hope to the desolate swamps of Morytania. With an entirely new village to help repair and even the hope of a new weapon to help combat the Juvinates, those who are brave enough to take on the challenge of the swamps are once again invited to help the agents of the Myreque in their struggle. A new base of operations must be found... can you find one and come to the Aid of the Myreque (Rune HQ Link)?
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Since all my music files are too big to stream off the web, I removed the links off my homepage so now all you have to do is goto my downloads page, right-click on the music link, and select "Save Target As...". This will save the music to the area of your choice on your computer so now all you have to do it double-click on the media file that was just saved and it will play instantly. Have fun in the new part 2 quest and be sure to check out the Rune HQ links I'm going to add as soon as they have the quest guide created!

***Spring Time...?***                                                                                                                  21-Mar-2006

Today was actually the first full day of spring, as I miscalculated earlier, and with it comes the beautiful blosseming of flowers and that sweet smell in the air. It also starts to warm up (yeah!) but today I had about 4-6 inches of snow to fall in the freezing cold! A few days ago , incase anyone forgot, was Saint Patricks day. Today I removed the snow and replaced it with falling rain. Have a good time splashing in puddels!

***The 100th Quest!***                                                                                                        16-Mar-2006

If your stuck on this just visit the new Knowledge Base to get a few tips. I can't tell you much about the storyline, though, since I'm still waiting on Rune HQ to come out with a guide for it (in case you wondered, I'm not a member so I can't do it myself). Also I am adding more links to my website so that now it can actually start helping people out because before I was busy working on getting setup and the feel of running my website. Note that I am just now starting on creating my own guides so new ones will occasionally come out! Also be sure to check out the old news page if you need some more info on canoes and the other quickly coming updates and if you want to add snowflakes to your website visit my downloads page to copy the javascript.

***Celebrations, some confusing pages, and a few changes***               15-Mar-2006

Hurray! Hurray! Today was the BIG 100 for RuneScape quests. This new and exciting adventure, all though sadly only for members :(, may be the biggest quest, mot neccisarily in length, but this is the first quest to feature several different endings! See Rune HQ tomorrow fo a quest guide (but try not to spoil the fun unless you really get stuck!) and have fun. In other news "See THE NEW and AMAZING GAME GUIDE!!!" (not). Although I think this is a great idea (I really do) since there is lots more pictures to give you a visual and more detailed info, but there are lots of different links to different pages. Note that this only a beta version so hopefully they will make it easier to navigate. Since they have made this, the links on older news will not work, but I am leaving them this way and will continue to update my main guide links.

Hundredth Quest - Recipe for Disaster!                                                             15-Mar-2006

The cook in Lumbridge has a surprisingly small number of ingredients to hand in his kitchen, possibly as a result of an endless stream of newcomers with light fingers taking anything that isn't nailed down. Luckily, in the past a kind Cook's Assistant was willing to help him in his culinary duties, but now a problem has appeared that could spell... a Recipe For Disaster!

Almost all members can attempt to solve his tricky predicament, and be rewarded accordingly, but only the very elite of questers will be able to put paid to his problem permanently! The quest itself has several sub-sections, each with their own unique rewards. Check out our new look quest pages for more information.

Players willing to take on the challenge of this, our hundredth quest in game so far and possibly the largest yet, should head immediately to Lumbridge Castle's kitchen, and help out their old employer the Cook immediately...

In other news, some players will be asked to help out Leo, the short sighted Gravedigger. He's buried in some serious trouble and needs his problems laying to rest. Can you help identify which grave is which? This new random event has a new costume to collect and some new emotes for the players to unlock if they can solve the puzzle.

New Improved Game Guide Released                                                                    13-Mar-2006

Today we have released a beta version of our new Knowledge Base system, packed with hints+tips about the game and answers to your gameplay and technical questions. With over 150,000 words, hundreds of pages and thousands of images, there's lots of information to improve your RuneScape experience.

The aim of this update is to provide better support for our players, so that if you're stuck or just need some friendly advice, you can quickly get the help you need rather than asking Customer Support or hoping someone is talking about it on the forums. The Knowledge Base includes:

• Statistics for armour and weapons
• Quest rewards fully detailed.
• XP gains listed for many activities, to help you decide the best levelling strategy.
• Tips and tricks on how to train.
• Hints on successfully completing minigames.
• Location and transportation guides.
• Basic and advanced sections for every skill.
• In-depth FAQ documents.
• Detailed guidelines regarding customer support, rules, forum use, reporting abuse, bans and safety and security documents.
• Scamming prevention guides.
• Website, billing and technical support.
• Special Knowledge Base news.
• Lists of the most popular articles.

... Plus all the normal "how to start playing" guides.

The RuneScape Knowledge Base also has a search function to help players find the information they want at the touch of a button.

Important Information

This is a BETA launch so that we can get your ideas and suggestions to make the Knowledge Base a better tool. It is, after all, designed to help you, so we want to know if it does!

Whilst it's packed full of info, it's very much a work in progress at the moment. We know some bits of it aren't perfect (yet), and there is still lots more we want to add, and further improvements are planned over the next few weeks. But we thought we'd let you see what we've been working on and have produced so far.

Your feedback is important to us. If you wish to discuss any of the features in the Knowledge Base, we have provided a specific forum for members to discuss the content of the pages and even on the way it is presented. If you find any bugs or mistakes in the Knowledge base, please use the category provided in our bug reporting page and be as clear as possible with your feedback or report, so we can make it a super accurate source of info.

Please remember, some articles contain suggestions and opinions on how to play the game. Your views may differ from the authors' views. Please feel free to discuss this on the forum, but do not submit it as a bug. Opinions are only opinions.

So, if you need illumination about where to find candles, seek enlightenment about the prayer skill, want to hook up with more detailed fishing information or even get technical with technical support, the KB is the place to be!

We hope you find the KB useful, and that it makes your experience in RuneScape a better one.

Visit the Knowledge Base today!

***Some Technical Problems Fixed***                                                                      8-Mar-2006

2 days ago I was busy re-aranging the news and I had to get off my computer before the changes were complete. As some of you have probably noticed, the link at the bottom of the page was not working all because I typed "veiw" instead of "view",  but the link at the top of the page that says View Old News was functioning correctly. I have finnaly moved all the old news to another page and will only leave the 5 newest on my homepage. I also removed my Webpage Help link because the only thing that could mess up my site is if you have on pop-up blockers (causes all links to be disabled) or you brought up this page restored (or not taking up the whole screen) and then maximized it (the snowflakes would only appear in the areas visable when it was smaller and to fix this simply refresh the page). I am now working on a combat calculator and putting a few game hints on my Other Stuff page.

Canoeing, Zygomites and a Mole!                                                                             7-Mar-2006

The Giant Mole

If there's something that Wyson the gardener in Falador Park simply can't abide, it's damage to his beloved flower patches. After a slight accident involving a bottle of Malignius-Mortifer's-Super-Ultra-Flora-Growth-Potion and a rather unlucky mole, it suffices to say the mole hills in Falador Park are big enough to make the strongest gardener weep.

Travelling down into these dark mole tunnels, it's up to you to track down this critter and try and put an end to Wyson's misery. Bring a few friends though, because it's not an easy creature to tackle and it may well give you the slip a few times.

When you've defeated the mole, don't forget to collect the proof that you've dealt with the beast. Wyson will be happy to give you something for them - He finds a lot of old bird nests while he's gardening. These nests are similar to the ones found through woodcutting, but may offer a selection of vegetable seeds instead of the eggs. Naturally the lucky ones will still contain tree seeds.

Canoes

This week also brings an update to woodcutting, and with it a marvellous opportunity to save on shoe leather. Look for a transportation icon on your minimap at key points along the River Lum, and near to it you'll spot a canoe tree. This remarkable new species will allow you to carve your own canoe to get you from A to B in style.

You'll need at least level 12 in woodcutting to make a basic canoe. As your woodcutting level increases, you'll be able to make better canoes which can travel further. Expert woodcutters can even create a canoe so reliable that you can safely navigate underground portions of the River Lum for a one-way trip straight into the Wilderness itself! Canoe locations include Lumbridge, the Champions' Guild, the Barbarian Village and Edgeville.

Zygomites

Deep within the twisted wonders of Zanaris, a deadly and cunning ambush predator waits for its prey. The Slayer Masters obviously think their students have gone a bit soft, so they have added Mutated Zygomites (Slayer level 57 required) to their menacing menagerie.

Keep your eyes peeled, they might prove hard to find... and make sure you are properly equipped before you go hunting them! Adventurers clever enough to squash this most ferocious of fungi might be lucky enough to find strawberry seeds and buckets of supercompost left behind.

In other news...

The little leprechauns who look after farming tools have grudgingly agreed to store magic secateurs in their mysterious toolshed. The secateurs themselves have been improved to work for pruning diseased trees.

Behind the Scenes - March                                                                                            6-Mar-2006

March brings new perils to RuneScape with two updates to the Myreque storyline. The vampires of Morytania are once again hungry, and their lifeless eyes are transfixed on the village of Burgh De Rott. The locals are pale and restless and have little left to give, but what can be done against this vile oppressor? With many of the residents packing up and leaving, it won't take long until all the life has been sucked out of Morytania. Perhaps the Myreque (Rune HQ Link)  have an answer and maybe, just maybe, you could help to bring some hope to those desperately in need.

The second of the Myreque updates is a journey-making minigame. With life becoming unbearable for the majority of the residents, many want to leave and seek out a better life on the other side of the Salve. Adventurers willing to accompany frightened villagers through the perilous Mort Myre swamps will be rewarded, but the challenge is great! Will you take the quick but dangerous path, or do you fancy the longer (but potentially less risky) scenic route? The choice is yours. Various rewards await those brave enough to try.

With the coming of spring, several new shoots of life can be seen in even the strangest of places. Fairies in Zanaris will have to watch out, for this month the Zygomite season starts. These clever beasts bury themselves beneath the surface, leaving only their mushroom-shaped scalps showing at the top, twitching in excitement. Unsuspecting fairies are soon lured in by this appetising sight and then WHAM... it's all over. Have a chat with your local slayer master for more information when it becomes available.

Fairies aren't the only things worried about what lurks underneath this month. Wyson, the Falador Park gardener, has heard strange rumblings and is worried that the special 'power-gro' formula he bought from the elemental magi has had unexpected side-effects on one of the locals. This monster isn't quite as tough as our more recent team-based multiway combat updates, but keen farmers might be interested in its drops.

As part of our continuing commitment to speed up travel in our ever-growing world, we bring you canoes. Using your woodcutting skill, you will be able to fashion various qualities of floating apparatus to sail (or just float badly) down the River Lum. This will make travel from Edgeville to Lumbridge considerably easier and far more picturesque.

Another random event will also be popping up and asking players to help a rather confused gravedigger. He can't quite seem to match up the right box to the right headstone. Can you help? New clothes and emotes will wait for those that can.

More readers' letters will also be answered this month. This time we will be talking to such dignitaries as the Makeover Mage, asking him (or her?) where her (or his?) magical powers come from and also King Vargas about his adventures in the Icelands. Keep those letters coming in - Postie Pete has been given a new lease of life, and will be delving far deeper than anyone has ever delved before! Eeeek!

Also this month, as those who have been counting will be aware, we will be releasing our hundredth quest - a sequel to our first ever quest, Cook's Assistant (Rune HQ Link).We don't want to say too much about it, but it is one of the largest quests released so far in RuneScape's history, if not the largest, with a large percentage of our content development team having worked on it especially.

This quest has been written in such a way that almost every single member will be able to enjoy the beginning of the quest and its early benefits... but only the best of the best when it comes to quests will be able to fully enjoy all its rewards. And what rewards they are, with access to new areas, new weapons, new armours, a variety of new foods to cook and eat, new methods of getting around RuneScape, new cat types, a new agility course, and (of course) lots of experience in a variety of skills! Each part of the quest may be completed separately from the rest and each has its own rewards, allowing everybody to 'cash in' in one way or another.

As a final note, we will also be adding more mahogany and teak trees to the Kharazi Jungle and other remote areas of RuneScape. Good luck!

A Fairy Tale Part I                                                                                                             24-Feb-2006

Martin the master gardener is confused. What can have caused all his crops to fail? Pop down to Draynor Village and try to help him get to the root of the problem. Is there something more serious going on, or are these just growing pains (Rune HQ Link)? Players clever enough to solve the problem will be rewarded with a generous dose of xp, and even a new farming tool to help you get the most out of your crops.

In other news, we highly recommend you visit and take a look at our new and improved Zanaris! Stand and stare at the marvel that is a cow-powered windmill or converse with poetic sheep! Watch out for random fairy effects though, things have become awfully strange down there...

Elsewhere, we've got another batch of letters brought to you by RuneScape's beloved Postie Pete. This time he's been down into the dark caves below Lumbridge to find out what the Dorgeshuun tribe has to say about frogs and cannibalism...

Updates, updates and more updates…                                                                                 20-Feb-2006

A bumper update week this week, starting with the arrival of a new visitor to the Wilderness. This strange cloud is said to affect nearby enemies in various strange ways – so be even more prepared for the unexpected than you were before. Please do remember that this evil menace is located deep in the multi-way wilderness, so care must be taken. Don’t take anything you’re not prepared to lose. We can confirm that this Chaos Elemental carries a few of the legendary Dragon two-handed swords (Rune HQ Link), but don’t expect an easy fight. The blade has also been seen being carried down to the Kalphite lair, so if you’re really really lucky, you might find one down there.

Any players being assigned Killerwatts (Rune HQ Link) by their local slayer master should enquire with Professor Oddenstein in Draynor Manor. He's been tinkering with that strange machine again, and this time he's torn a rift through the very fabric of space to a very shocking place indeed. If you are planning on investigating this new plane, make sure you are properly equipped before you go.

Also this week we bring you new treasure trails to spice up the trim-seeking, hat-hunting adventurer's life. These trails will take you to a wide variety of new locations and test your brain once more. Look out for new rewards too, including gnomic firelighters, trimmed ranger and mage gear and heraldic shields.

Those of you logging into the Asgarnian region will also notice quite a change. As part of our commitment to improving the graphical feel of the game, we bring you the next phase of our area improvement scheme. This time we focus on the White Knight Castle, Falador, the Barbarian Village, the Dark Wizards' Tower and Draynor Manor (oooooh, spooky). We hope you like it.

Finally, players will now be able to roast Chompy birds and rabbits where they like with the new mobile spit (Rune HQ Link), and keen chefs can now create a new range of healthy stat-boosting pies (Rune HQ Link Note: You must type in "pie", press enter, and look though the search results), including the Vegetable Pie (+3 farming), the Admiral Pie (+5 fishing), and the Mud Pie, which can be thrown at your enemies to slow them down! Dig out your pie dishes and bake until you're blue in the face! Mmmm, pie.

We also bring you a new random event, so keep an eye open for a new member of the Pete family and his mysteriously extinguishing candles.

***Some Slight Tweaks***                                                                                    16-Feb-2006

I decided to put my music links at the top of my page in the first paragraph where people won’t miss it. My Olympic music has been linked to my sister site, daddy3636, because I’m only aloud to have 40MB of files here so I needed the extra room. Also, if you want to download this (the media player may never pull it up on the web, unless you have cable where you should just click on the link and leave the player alone for 5-8 minutes) just go to my Downloads page. Don’t worry about bad things because I made that site too and it is guaranteed to be spy-ware, pop-up, etc. free. I think I’m going to have to put some of my updates on a different page (show the first 5-8) because it is wwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy toooooooooooooo long and takes an extensive amount of time to load. I know that as first said I would keep it all but I wasn’t planning on that giant Postbag from the Hedge!!!

***A Serious Problem Fixed! ***                                                                                   15-Feb-2006

I been debating what to do and I found that I am just going to have to remove my Christmas music from playing automatically, but there will be a link on the bottom of my page near my Olympic music to play it. The link will bring up Windows® media player and hopefully it will load. I think it is just these slow Freewebs® servers, but any music just freezes my site! To download any of this music, go to my new “Downloads Page”. I know some you viewers out there have older computers and my Papyrus font may not load correctly so I’ve uploaded the font and you need to put it in a certain folder, so see my Downloads Page for more info. Also, I’m glad Andrew (RneSape’s owner) has changed the friend’s list because half of the time when I tried playing RuneScape I couldn’t talk to my friends because when I clicked on the smile-face, it said “loading friends-list sever” and would never pull up. Hopefully this fixes that problem. And if anyone was wondering about right-clicking, it is OFF LIMITS and will not work. I specifically did this when I began to prevent people from copying my stuff so sorry for any inconveniences it causes.

Friend system upgrades                                                                                                      15-Feb-2006

Today we have upgraded the friendlist system to be 50% faster. This should hopefully mean it runs more reliably.

*** New Music, Maps, and more***                                                                      13-Feb-2006

I have found some Olympic music! Although when I tested it, it froze up my page, I have added a link that you need to click on to start the music. Before you try this scroll to the bottom of the page, press the pause button to stop the Christmas music and make sure you have Windows® media player. I have also updated the printable version map to include the Mage Arena and plan to add my own GW Basic programs. There will be more on this when I add it. I now also have changed my guestbook to make it clearer on how to use it. So have fun!

***The 2006 Olympics***                                                                                                  11-Feb-2006

Last night was the start of the winter Olympic Games. This year, 2006, they are being held in Torino, Italy but if you don’t want to travel around the country, I suggest you watch them on TV. Ohh, I almost forgot, I’ve still got my Christmas runescape music to go along with my winter theme and I’ll remove it as soon as spring starts. I tried to get some Olympic music but I couldn’t find a website that had some. If you know a place to get it, please tell me by using the guestbook. The music should only take about 10-15 seconds to start playing so I hope you enjoy!

***An update – finally.....***                                                                                                              8-Feb-2006

I’ve gotten sidetracked lately so I’ve decided to let you Runscape’rs know I’m still here. I’m planning on adding an exact copy of my site, but with a runescape theme, later on this year. Don’t get your hopes too high as I must make this version in plain HTML (that’ll take a while). Just as a notice, you can send me emails by clicking on the guestbook link. You never have to put in your real name (i.e. Mysteryrunescaper) or your real address (i.e. nobody@nobody.com) but you must fill out something. My newly added Games page is full of Zuthura mini-games and the website help link is ONLY FOR MY WEBESITE, it has no runescape info so please look here before sending an email. If you ever need more information, just click on the RuneHQ link.

Cabin Fever                                                                                                                                 7-Feb-2006

Avast! Piracy and plunder await! For all of you who dream of a life on the ocean wave there is now a pirate captain recruiting for a dangerous voyage to a hive of scum and villainy south of Morytania.

Bill Teach needs someone to help him sail his ship back home, and not just anyone can make the grade. Take part in a pitched sea battle, explore a town on an island in the south seas and learn how to look and behave like a proper pirate.

Visit Port Phasmatys and come down with a case of Cabin Fever today!

4 new worlds now online                                                                                                       6-Feb-2006

We have yet again beaten our simultaneous player record, with 185,000 people playing at once last weekend! Woot! Therefore we're adding some more worlds to keep up.

Given we've just launched new subscription options for Canada it seems fitting that the next 3 worlds we put online should be in Toronto... So they are!

We've also got world 105 fixed, (which is another UK server). Giving a grand total of four new worlds to play on. Enjoy the extra space!

Behind the Scenes – February                                                                                    6-Feb-2006

Arrrr, dust off that cutlass and hoist up the Jolly Roger for we be sailing again! The month kicks off with another piratical adventure, this time with the player joining the crew of the Adventurous, helping to sink the enemy before they sink you! Can Captain Bill Teach reach the Island of Mos Le'Harmless before he's sent down to Davy Jones' Locker? Several new items of the latest pirate fashion will be available through this update. Arrrr.

The Wilderness welcomes a new visitor this month. At first, local bandits and wolves thought it was some kind of rain cloud, but the path of devastation scattered in its wake told them otherwise. Even the KBD made sure not to annoy this beast, since he knew it was bigger than him. Fans of dragon weapons should make sure they visit but be careful! Multiway wilderness areas are not the safest places in the game, so take some friends to watch your back. More information to follow on release.

Monsters will be queuing up later this month to collect the latest set of Treasure Trail clues. Make sure you dig out the old grey matter and get cryptic with over 40 new clues, leading to more than 30 new items spread out all over RuneScape.

More food types will be added to the game, with new high level pies for master chefs to tackle. These new pies, as well as offering a healthy bite or two, will also boost specific stats for each pastry treat. One of them can even be thrown at escaping wilderness targets! Mmmm, pie.

Also coming out this month is the latest batch of area improvements, this time focused around Falador, Draynor Manor, the Barbarian Village and Ice Mountain, so be aware that some of the locals might receive a facelift or two. Adventurers interested in portals to other dimensions and slaying foul beasts will want to talk to Professor Oddenstein once the update is launched. More area improvements to follow later in the year.

Another random event will also come out this month, so look out for Pious Pete and his problematic church lighting, for he may well call on your help in the future.

In the second quest of the month, Martin the Master Gardener has a problem. All of his crops seem to be failing and catching disease far more than normal and he is convinced there is something odd going on. Can you weed out the source of the problems, or will you just leaf him to his rotting veggies? Can anybody help sort out these Growing Pains? The update will also be accompanied by another smaller set of area improvements, but we'll keep those secret until they’re released.

Other smaller additions this month include mobile spit roasts so you can cook your Chompies where you like, and another set of readers' letters!

PayByPhonescriptions Available for Canada                                                               2-Feb-2006

We are pleased to announce the launch of PayByPhone subscriptions in Canada.

Canadian players will now be able to subscribe through the PayByPhone service provided by SurfPIN for CAD$10.99. Each use of the service will buy one month of membership credit.

To use this payment method, Canadian players should click on the "Start a new subscription link" on the front page and follow the on screen instructions.

New Look Hiscores                                                                                                                              30-Jan-2006

We have updated our hiscores pages to look better than ever before. Also, you can now compare your hiscores with someone else, side by side.

To compare one character with another, simply click on one name in the hiscores tables to see their personal hiscores, then enter a second character name in the 'compare to' box and click 'Compare'.

Check out the new hiscores pages by clicking the 'View the hiscores' link on the front page.

Postbag from the Hedge                                                                                                   30-Jan-2006

Hello readers. Once again I have been delivering your letters to characters around RuneScape. I must admit to being a little scared when I found that my duty to the RPDT would take me to the Barbarian Village, Delrith's stone circle, and even the lair of the Kalphite Queen! But I finally managed to extract responses from even these fearsome personages, and have compiled them below...

Hey all you frenzied, blood-loving barbarians at barbariantown! I have some Questions for you. What is that small, grayish-brown thing in the middle of your wonderful town, right next the tin mining area? It would appear at first glance to be a brick, but when I attempt to pick it up, it will not move! Why can't I pick up this miniscule thing? Is it so heavy I cannot lift it? Do you know how many times I have tried? Also, I noticed that you can YELL. I have never been able to YELL in all my years of being an adventurer. My fearsome battle-cry (DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH!!!!) always comes out as a faint, pathetic string of lower-case letters, yet yours rings clearly throughout your mighty fortress. How? Is there a YELLING school that all barbarians attend? Or is it inborn talent? Also, where do you get your axes from? Bob's Axes is the best I know, but he lives all the way down in Lumbridge, and you never leave your village. I find this odd...

Thankee Kindly. The Kumquat Lord.

P.S. As an afterthought, why do you all dress exactly the same? Isn't the very essence of Barbarian-ism eclectic, entropic, and chaotic???

P.P.S. Where do your helmets go when you die? Not on the ground, that's for sure... Is there a helmet heaven? Where do all the good helmets go?...

HA HA HA HA! Call yourself an adventurer and you can't even pick up a brick? And your voice is as feeble as your muscles! No matter how hard you yell your battle-cries will always pale in comparison to ours! We simply have LOUDER VOICES than you! Whether this is an INNATE ABILITY or due to our harsh upbringing WE DO NOT KNOW, and we are unlikely to ever work it out because our village is TOO LOUD for us to THINK CLEARLY! HA HA HA! We have no time for the feeble-voiced weaklings of your so-called 'civilisation'. We make our axes for ourselves! And our helmets we make also, and no true-blooded barbarian warrior would give up their helmet even in death! It is with our axes and helmets that we journey to the GREAT FEASTING HALL of our ANCESTORS, where we use our helmets to drink the MEAD of the GODS, and the SOUND of our YELLING shakes the very FOUNDATIONS of the EARTH!!!

Dear Evil Bob,

How are things in Scaperune? Opposite, I trust. I was just walking around here in Runescape and wondering about my parallel self . How is she... or, erm he? Also, is this the first time you realized I'm gone, or have you even woken up yet? I thought you needed some more competent servants, yet you yourself are sleeping on the job! Bad kitty.

Feel free to capture me anytime,

Chibikag

(P.s. What is up with those fish?)

Dear Chibikag,

 

Things in ScapeRune are as they should be. It is your own world that is strange and opposite! And nothing is 'up' with those fish, they are perfectly normal. I've seen some of the fish that people have brought from your world into mine. You catch raw fish, and then cook them on a hot fire to put them into the state that they should have been in when they were caught! And then you eat the cooked fish, fish that looks like it came straight out of the sea! How you can live in such a twisted up world I will never understand. And to add injury to insult, your whole world is overrun by stray humans, while the cats are kept as pets! Your parallel self back in the real world is much better off, living a life of willing submission to her feline overlords. As for why I am sleeping on the job, that is simply what cats do. It is the natural order of things for humans to serve cats, to feed them and give them a place to sleep, and for cats to give nothing in return but the occasional purr or meow. You can't tell me that that is different in your world, can you?

Hi i would like to ask the Fire Giant a question. Why is it that you get the only dragon two hander in the game, and you dont even drop it.....

Yours truely,

Jabbaz

If you had the only dragon two-hander in the game, would you drop it?

A fear that all tree cutters have is the dreaded Tree Spirit. Here we are cutting tress down to cook our food or make some cash; when all of a sudden we seem to hack into a tree that decides to hit back! I understand that these woods are important to you, but isn't once enough? Do the other spirits not see what happens to you when you jump out at us? We hack you to bits just like your precious forest! Yet sooner or later, more spirits come out to protect the woods.

My question is, have you thought of making a forest where no humans could find you? A place where you can be undisturbed for all eternity? Do you really think attacking us brawny adventurers is a good idea? Sooner or later, you will have to ask yourselves if it's really worth it!

Sincerely yours,

Sir Griever0

p.s. Though I am concerned for your safety, I have to admit, I will still attack you should you attack me!

I understand that cooking food and making cash is important to you, but isn't cutting down one tree enough? We live inside the trees, and if your home were suddenly chopped down, what option would you have but to jump out of it? However often we see our fellow tree spirits hacked to bits, we must emerge and fight to defend our homes.

As for the Eternal Forest... well, since you define that place as one which no humans could find, how do you know that it does not already exist? But even if we could live there forever undisturbed, the trees of RuneScape would still cry out to us for help, and we could not live in happiness knowing that any tree anywhere is suffering. So we must stay in RuneScape and defend as many trees as we can, even though we do little good and even though many of us will die. It is the principle of the thing.

Dear Delrith,

Please put some clothes on. Your nudity is offensive to some people. I know being evil and trying to destroy possibly the strongest city in Runescape is tiring, but please put some clothes on.

Thank you,

Wrath Monkey

Oh dear! I was already worried about this; you see it's very hot in the dimension I was trapped in, and the dark wizards didn't give me any warning before they summoned me so I simply didn't have time to get dressed. Of course I don't care what people think of my plans to destroy Varrock and make its streets flow with the blood of the innocent and its ancient walls echo with the screams of my tormented slaves. If people don't like that then it's their problem. But I would never dream of offending people with nudity! In fact that was why I was waiting outside the city rather than tearing down its mighty walls at once: I had sent one of the dark wizards off to see if the clothes shop had anything in my size. But they can never find anything I like - I'm sure you can imagine how difficult it is to find something that goes with my complexion and horns. And before they return some adventurer always turns up with Silverlight, and when I see my reflection in that shiny blade I am so ashamed of my nakedness my combat level drops down 27! Once again I am most terribly sorry for invading your dimension without being properly dressed. Rest assured that once I have finally conquered Varrock I will set the survivors to work constructing the most magnificent set of clothes that a demonic overlord has ever worn!

Dear Man who spawns near Lumbrige Caste,

I realized how much people (the ones in training) continusly kill you. And most of your freinds all around are being killed to. Do you put up with this? All you do is spawn waiting to be killed. Get some iron armor and a nice weapon so trainers don't bug(kill) you. They have the dummies in Varrok to attack. I would'nt like being killed every time . Have any plans to pervent all the training people from harming you?It would be a good suprise to those who train on you.

P.S

Sorry members pickpocket you for training, try puting a mousetrap in your back pocket.

Your friend,

Pageup11

Terrible, isn't it? What is the world coming to? As soon as I spawn I'm a little disoriented and it takes me a few seconds to decide what-- Ow! Aaargh!

What? Oh, yes, right. As I said, it takes me a few seconds to remember what I was doing, and in that time someone often appears and kills me again, just like that. I sometimes think I'll go to Varrock to train on the dummies to make myself strong, but as soon as I set off-- Hey, what do you think you're doing? Get out of my pockets, you thief! No, don't kill me, aaargh!

Oh. Yes, then I sometimes think I'll go to Varrock. But hey, what's the point? I'll never get very far. Perhaps it is punishment for some great crime I committed in a previous life. But if so it must have been a very great crime committed many lifetimes ago, for as long as I can remember my existence has consisted only-- What? No, I don't have any quests for you. Have a flier. No, stop hitting me! Aaargh!

Dear Juna

It's a while that I'm a bit too busy to come for a chat. I've just finished drawing maps of an old haunted temple, in doing further errands for those fancy pansy pointy-ears... And in between in my repose I grabbed scraps and bits of papyrus and elven dyes and started doodling. I sent you one of the results. Hope you'll like it. This is you listening to my magnificent tales of glory (not decided which one yet... figure it yourself).

I'll be back in a few days with new tales of my heroic and fiendish deeds. But meanwhile, perhaps you can spend some time repairing that blasted stone bowl? It was the bowl I tell you! Not my agile and mighty arms and legs. And it was already useless before I threw it at the rocks. Maybe it amused you that I got no more than 41 tears the other day... But how could the the other guy boast of getting 101 tears if all stone bowls are the same?! I know our venerated Guthix has little humor, so...

Till next time. -- Gnollpaw

Image by: Gnollpaw 

 

Dear Gnollpaw,

Ah, yes. Your painting brings back all the happy hours I spent listening to the tales of your adventures. I would hang it on the wall of my cave, except that it would not be proper to defile the Tears of Guthix by introducing a competitor to their beauty.

But as for the bowl, come now, you know that the power of our lord Guthix would not make a bowl that is less than perfect. Perhaps the other guy of whom you speak was more skilled at collecting the correct tears. Or perhaps he had more time in which to collect them, for the more someone can entertain me with their stories, the longer a time I will allow them in the cave of tears.

But do not let that dishearten you from your next visit! However many adventurers visit me I still long for more stories, and I am sure I will by fascinated by the tale of how you mapped the haunted temple.

Dear Kalphite Queen

I guess you have been very angry of late; I too share your anger, as I have been training to kill you so I could brag to all my friends and now TzTok-Jad comes along and your old history. Hope you don't become as sad as the King Black Dragon people can't kill him but they don't fell its worth it. Your days of blowing up cannons and taking down teams of people are going to die down; your drops are so yesterday. Have you seen the forums? You don’t see many questions about what you drop now. In short, you’re used to be cool.

From a past admirer mark strike

Yes, yes, leave us in peace so we may prosper. Our children have grown strong on your kind and now we wait for the call to swarm again. Do you not wonder where we got those trinkets you prize so highly? They are from times past when we ravaged the land, when we fed on all before us until it was laid barren. Yes, soon we shall crawl forth again.

Now run home soft-thing, leave a trail for my children to follow and show us where your hive lies. We will come for you in time, and we will consume the land again.

Phew! After that visit to the Kalphite Queen I think I need a short holiday to calm my nerves. But I'm sure by the time I get back a new pile of letters will have accumulated!

- Postie Pete

Write your letters to POSTBAG@JAGEX.COM

Runesquares, Harpie Bugs and new potatoes recipes!                                           30-Jan-2006

The Prince of Burthorpe is well known for his love of games and puzzles, and he's just learnt some new tricks! Runesquares and Runeversi are now available in the Burthorpe Games Room in addition to the usual games of Runelink and Draughts.

Runesquares involves players "drawing" lines in an attempt to create squares, scoring a point and gaining an extra turn for each square they complete. Runeversi is the Prince's version of Reversi, and uses the standard rules.

The stairs down to the Burthorpe Games Rooms can be found in the entrance hall of the Prince's Castle in Burthorpe, north-west of Falador. There is no entrance fee and there is a bar in which to relax between matches.

________________________________

The natives of Karamja have been complaining recently of a new type of bug giving them a bit of trouble, so the slayer masters have decided to add this monster to their lists. Think you could help them out? If so, head to the northern coast of the island to find this new slayer monster (slayer level 33 required).

Beware: these bugs aren't easily hit, so you'll need to buy a special lantern from the slayer shops to distract them and make that killer blow!

________________________________

Players can now use their culinary talents to make more baked potatoes. With toppings varying from a simple chilli-con-carne potato to a mushroom and onion fry-up, there's something for cooks of all levels. High-level cooks may find the tuna and sweetcorn potato to be very filling indeed...

Unfortunately, the ghasts in Mort Myre have got wind of this, and may now rot your potatoes - and your rare gout tubers - if you enter their swamp, so be extra careful.

To make baked potatoes with toppings:

1. Bake the potato on a range.

2. Add some butter.

3. Combine topping ingredients by chopping them into a bowl.

Ingredients for toppings:

Chilli-con-carne: meat & spicy sauce (made from garlic and gnome spice).

Egg and tomato: scrambled egg, tomato.

Mushroom and onion: fried Bittercap mushroom, fried onion.

Tuna and sweetcorn: tuna, cooked sweetcorn.

________________________________

In other news, the Strange Box anti-macro event has been modified to ensure that it no longer penalises our colour-blind players. You'll now see a variety of shapes with numbers written on them; identify the required shape or number to open the box.

Enakhra’s Lament                                                                                                                   23-Jan-2006

Continuing with the sand theme for this month, we have a quest featuring camel amulets, mysterious ancient temples and a chance to show off those magic skills you've been training up recently.

A shifty, sunburn sculptor called Lazim wants your help to build a statue in the desert south of the Bandit Camp. Does his choice of location have something to do with the ruins nearby, and why does he react so oddly to the mention of camels?

 

Use your cunning and experience to delve into RuneScape's hidden past, and discover the reason for Enakhra's Lament.

Agility Pyramid tweaks                                                                                                                       19-Jan-2006

We have made some changes to the way the Agility Pyramid works.

As of now, if you attempt to travel backwards over an obstacle, you will always fail it regardless of your agility level. (If you fall down by trying to go backwards you will now only take minimal damage.) This was necessary to stop players from taking advantage of an oversight where it was possible to gain a better rate of XP by simply traversing back and forth over certain obstacles rather than attempting to get to the top.

On Monday we were forced to alter the XP rates for the affected obstacles; the original higher XP rates for all the obstacles have now been reinstated. You will now gain exactly the same XP from the pyramid as you did when it was initially released, and as a useful side effect it will be a lot easier to give up and escape the pyramid if you find yourself running low on food or water.

Over 15000 RuneScape accounts banned for cheating                                         19-Jan-2006

We have just banned over 15000 accounts from the main RuneScape game for breaking rule 7, and attempting to use software to play the game automatically for them.

We can detect this type of cheating VERY easily. Surprisingly some people seem to think they can get away with this, but we're making absolutely sure you can't.

As well as having new systems to detect people cheating in this way, we are also using a new system to go through and ban other accounts used by these cheats, so they can't just cheat on a 'throwaway' account they don't care about, and expect their other accounts to be unaffected.

We will not let cheats spoil our game for everyone else. It's just not fair on our millions of legitimate players to let a selfish few try and spoil the game for everyone else.

Agility Pyramid                                                                                                                          16-Jan-2006

A recent sandstorm has uncovered an ancient pyramid between Sophanem and Nardah. Thousands of years under the sand have taken their toll on the construction, but those daring enough to make the dangerous ascent to the top will find riches waiting for them.

In this agility update you will make your way to the top of a pyramid by jumping gaps, balancing on planks, dodging moving walls and much more. Complete the course for an agility bonus and to find an ancient treasure.

This course has an entry requirement of level 30 agility. To find it, move due east from the Crocodile pond north of Sophanem, running past the Wanderer's tent until you see the pyramid. Talk to Simon when you get there!

We have also made some slight tweaks to Doric's Quest. Much like with our area improvements last year on Lumbridge and Port Sarim, new graphics and slight game play alterations will be added to improve the general feel of the quest. More quests will follow shortly. This will not change any of the rewards, so don't worry, you won't be missing out.

Now that the Mage Training Arena has been available for a couple of weeks, we've updated the website with information about its features and the rewards you can earn there.

Nearly 5000 RS-classic accounts banned                                                       12-Jan-2006

As regular classic players will know the classic game was being seriously spoilt by players breaking rule 7. We won't let cheats spoil our games, so we are currently permanently banning nearly 5000 accounts which our system has flagged as using macro software in breach of our rules. RS-classic will be brought back online once that operation is complete.

We recommend all players make sure they are aware of our rules, which are there to keep the game enjoyable for our millions of players. We simply won't let a small minority spoil the game for everyone else. If you don't know the rules already then please make sure you Read them here!

As you know our focus these days is on the main RuneScape game which is far more advanced than RS-classic. The main reason we are keeping RS-classic online at all is to support some of our loyal players who have been with us for years and want to play the old version of the game they are used to. We've therefore decided the best way to stop the cheats just creating new accounts to cause trouble in RS-classic all over again, whilst still supporting the loyal players who have been playing RS-classic fairly for years, is to close RS-classic to new accounts. As such only accounts which have played RS-classic at least once in the last 6 months (since it went members only on August 3rd 2005) will be able to do so from now on. This allows the currently active players of RS-classic to continue playing, whilst keeping out the cheats trying to spoil it.

If you attempt to log into RS-Classic and haven't played since August 3rd then you will receive a login error message.

The latest and greatest version of RuneScape - which 99% of our players use - of course remains open to everyone (except rule breakers). It has much better anti-cheat technology and we will also be taking a strong stance against rule-breakers in the current version of the game, but without the need to restrict account signups.

The Hand in the Sand                                                                                                         10-Jan-2006

Finally! The answer to a conundrum that has confounded the best minds in the lands - how do the sand pits stay full? Of course the other question is: whose severed hand is that? Find out with the help of Bert the sand pit worker and his friends in a strange and funny tale of murder, mystery, bad puns and sand. Use your crafty skills in more than one way to gain rewards in both the crafty arts - thieving and crafting! You can also earn Bert's gratitude and a lifetime's supply of sand!

Mage Training Arena changes

After reviewing some player feedback we felt that the prices of items available in the new Mage Training Arena needing adjusting. Hopefully some of the items will be more affordable and you should be able to buy back a decent amount of runes with the Pizazz points you earn.

We have also adjusted the Telekinetic area so that when you complete five mazes in a row you will be given a bonus of ten law runes. The number of mazes you have completed will now be stored if you log out or leave the area so that you can continue where you left off.

In other news...

Rumors have been heard of a malignant cat dragging innocent people off to a strange mirror world and locking them in jail! If this happens to you, you'll meet an experienced convict known as Prison Pete who'll help you escape.

Other rumors speak of an obsessive sandwich lady traveling the world with her tray of tasty morsels. If she offers you a free snack, make sure you take only what she says you can have, or she'll get angry...

Mage Training Arena                                                                                                                          4-Jan-2006

Far too many incidents have been brought to light of inexperienced wizards causing some pretty horrific accidents (and we use the word 'accident' very lightly).

So whether you're a mage of experience or you're someone in need of a little training, you'll want to travel north of the Duel Arena to find a grand building of magical design: The Mage Training Arena! In this building, the magical powers of RuneScape seem to have a mind of their own, so you'll find some very unique ways to practice the art of magic whilst collecting points to trade for prizes. Shazzam! There's a great deal on offer: you can have a go at moving statues around mazes with the power of your mind, or perhaps you'd like to try hunting for items to practice the art of alchemy. Or maybe you'd rather live dangerously and try your hand at frantically turning bones to bananas just to stay alive? It's your choice.

If you train long and hard enough, you could be the proud owner of some funky new robes! Trust us - wearing these, you will not go unnoticed as you strut your stuff around the dunes of Al Kharid. There's also the chance to look into upgradeable wands and maybe even a new spell...

Intrigued? Why not take a visit and train to become a mage of irrefutable power...

...or at least put an end to those horrific accidents.

Your guide for the arena awaits you in the entrance hall.

Please note that the Xmas update has been removed today.

Behind the Scenes - January                                                                                     4-Jan-2006

The month of January will include several amazing updates, most with a very strong sand theme.

We kick off the New Year with the introduction of the Mage Training Arena. Over the last few years, many wizards have come to an unfortunate end because of a lack of training in the less aggressive spells. Too many royal vases have been smashed from a badly directed telegrab or alchemy spell, and the Wizards' towers have received one too many insurance claims. In response to this they have unearthed an old deserted building thought lost to the Kharidian sands forever.

Several games can be played there, all with the intention of learning the finer arts of magic. Do well, and collect some unique robes and even talking merchandise! This update is one of the most beautiful updates we have had in a long time and should not be missed.

Later this month we see the addition of another agility course, but this time in the sands near to Menaphos. Rumors of a glint of gold sparkling on its pinnacle are unsubstantiated, but the appearance of an archaeologist has helped the rumor spread. This course is aimed at mid-level athletes.

The Burthorpe games room has finally opened its doors to some more games! Later this month you will be able to go and play Runeversi and Squares as well as competing at the current Draughts and Runelink games.

Squares is an old game played between the Duke of Lumbridge and King Roald of Varrock back in their math lessons when they were children. It's based around the simple principle of putting lines down on a board, scoring points when you complete a 'square', but tactics and logic play a big part.

More random events will also enter the game this month, with visits from a friendly sandwich lady and Prison Pete. Help sort out baguettes and pop balloon animals soon!

Two quests this month develop more of the desert gods' storylines and answer the age old question – where does all the sand in the sand pits come from? Who brings it there? Help Bert the sandpit worker come to terms with a strange discovery as you take on the challenge of The Hand in the Sand. Be careful though, or the puns might just kill you. Dust off that chisel and hammer as you attempt to make statues...

Also this month look out for more readers' letters, one brand new slayer monster for mid-level characters and some new fillings for your baked potatoes!

6 new Australian servers online!                                                                               28-Dec-2005

Hello, I hope you all had a very happy Christmas. We're back to work now, and we've just got six new Australian servers online! Hosted in Sydney, Australia - these servers have a super fast connection to the main Australian and New Zealand ISPs we tried. This means they should provide a better game for our players from that part of the world. Players outside Australia/New Zealand on the other hand would be best off sticking to their usual servers. The Australian servers are setup to provide the best connection speeds locally, so may be quite slow from the rest of the world.

 Postbag from the Hedge                                                                                               19-Dec-2005

After a few months of looking for a lvl 2 man in the Wilderness, the RuneScape postie has returned with another sackful of letters. Perhaps he has managed to deliver yours? Find out now in the latest installment of Postbag from the Hedge. Fascinating interviews with Wizard Traiborn and Hans can be found inside, as well as some more information regarding the elusive evil chicken (bwuk bwuk). Don't forget, if any of you want to write to any of the NPCs in the game and ask that burning question that's been bothering you for years, write to POSTBAG@JAGEX.COM... if Postie Pete can find them that is...

 Christmas update for all players                                                                           19-Dec-2005

This update is for free and member accounts - Happy Christmas!! Diango needs help - the Pixie workers whom he hired to help in his workshop aren't working out. They're so accident prone that despite all their hard work, they're getting nothing done. Find Diango down in the Draynor market and he'll tell you where his workshop is. Once there, you’ll need to put together some marionettes and paint some baubles, as well as packing them into the appropriate boxes. Talk to the local pixies for more information on what exactly to do once you're down in the workshop. Once you've finished at least one box-load of puppets, you'll be required to drop them off at the Taverley Members' Gate, where a familiar face will be waiting for you. Completing boxes of puppets will earn you a special woolly hat! If you want to, complete more boxes for even more rewards. Different hats can be achieved by completing 1,2,4 and 8 boxes. You can also give some boxes of baubles to Rosie, the pixie supervisor. Completed boxes will earn you a special colourful scarf! As with the puppets, more completed boxes will result in different scarves when you complete 1,2,4 or 8 boxes. Rosie has unfortunately had several problems with Imps invading the workshop and stealing all the baubles, so if you don’t fancy painting them, you can always retrieve them from the Christmas imps hanging around the Varrock Xmas tree. Don’t forget you’ll still need to pack them in boxes before you can give them back to Rosie. Finally, those pesky Imps have not only stolen Rosie’s baubles, but all the ones from the Varrock tree too. What is it with Imps anyway? Why are they such thieves? Where do they live anyway? Can they fly? If they can teleport, how come they never drop runes when they die? Rest assured, none of those questions will be answered in this update. However, if you take 5 boxes of decorations, you can decorate the tree yourself! Those that do so will find a special marionette for them under the tree. If you should be unfortunate enough to misplace or lose your marionette, you can get another one from the large box by the ladder to the pixie workshop. Lost scarves and hats can be retrieved from Diango himself.

Please note - The Christmas event will be removed on the 3rd of January. The hats, scarves and gift marionettes will remain for those who've taken the time to help out Diango, Rosie, the mysterious stranger and decorated the tree in Varrock. All player-made marionettes, their component pieces, baubles and boxes containing each will disappear, including the tree itself. The festive imps, the hooded stranger and Diango's hired workforce will also be moving on after another busy Christmas. Of course, no-one likes to miss a good ceremony, least of all a certain lowly monk who will need your assistance! Will you be able to help his dreams come true? With the appearance of a strange new weapon and some Devious Minds, you may find yourself biting off more than you can chew... Head over to the temple on the River Salve and find out!

Devious Minds                                                                                                                        19-Dec-2005

This quest features some of the highest non-combat skill requirements ever to be released into the game and requires you to have completed Doric's Quest! A strange combination you might think, but is it as strange as the quest itself? We will let you decide...

RuneScape Posters                                                                               15-Dec-2005

We are now offering a great new poster through the Jagex shop. The Poster is currently only available to UK players. Anyone wishing to buy one should check out the Jagex shop now! To get your poster in time for Christmas, you will need to purchase one by Saturday 17th December 2005 at the latest. Orders placed after this date cannot be guaranteed in time for Christmas. Customers from outside the UK should note that we are working on providing them with the opportunity to buy posters in the future.