November Screwjob

All the way at the bottom of the news article about revamping the RS website, here's this tidbit:

"Along with the release of the new website, we will be making hi-scores a members-only feature.

 

This is for a number of reasons, but the main one is to keep them fresh. We want the hiscores to feature players who will compete with each other, tooth and nail, for hiscore glory. There are many dormant accounts within the hiscores that have not played for a very long time, and this will give new arrivals in Gielinor a shot at hiscore fame alongside the grizzled veterans on equal terms for all."

Emphasis mine.

Well, you learn something new everyday, dontcha? I had no clue that F2Pers were uncompetitive lumps; lesser gamers because they don't hand over their $7.50 (CAD) per month.

"Members only" but "on equal terms"? Does it really surprise me? Not at all. After Mark Gerhard's "only true RuneScapeers are at RuneFest" statement when it was announced anyone going to RuneFest 2010 would be getting their tickets refunded (essentially going for free, aside from travel fare). He, or Jagex as a whole, is screwing over a fair percentage of their game base.

My question is: will all the F2P accounts be eligible to be wiped out so the names can be thrown into the bin for lucky P2Pers? Dibs on Syzygy!

Haters gonna hate

The ides of March proved fruitful for free to play (F2P): a new permanent quest in nearly eight years. With it are three new combat items, a mask, a new dungeon and, for those with 300 quest points, a helm. Though a few of us are excited over this, many denigrated it by claiming the rewards "are useless".

The Blood Pact (spoiler link) is fairly simple even for a new player and teaches the basic form of the combat triangle (melee>range; range>magic; magic>melee). At the start, a new player might bring some food and a melee weapon to deal with the first enemy, but you can take the items of the remaining opponents and use them throughout the rest of the quest. The final rewards are the equipment of your defeated foes (which all look quite nifty imo), a good supply of arrows and runes and enough melee combat experience to get you to level two in all of them. You'll receive access to the dungeons where you can practice your newfound fighting skills on relatively easy foes (definitely not more difficult than a cow) though the dungeon boss may give you pause. Throughout the dungeon, monsters will drop mask pieces which you can put together to make the Mask of Dragith Nurn (+1 attack and defense bonuses across the board). For people who have 300 quest points, you'll get a special Helm of Trials, while having no bonuses, looks very good (especially with the quest cape).

Not every person will be happy with a quest's rewards. They can be too much, too little and/or not quite what they should be. This is the first time I have seen so much bile spewed over a simple mask and helm. The haters are claiming these items are useless and should have better stats or be able to be combined with other helms. Of course, I should mention these haters are typically combat-oriented types rather than the skillers or new players. All I can say is: if you do the quest, just drop the mask/helm and stop bickering over it. I got caught up in an arguement with one such hater, trying my best to get across the notion that not all items have a point to them. 

I am happy over this quest and its rewards. I feel this is something worth having as a beginner in RuneScape.