Category: Editorials

Note: This is a beta preview. All details are subject to change before the update goes live.

If I had one word to describe the RuneScape combat upgrade, it would be overwhelming. I don’t even know where to start with this preview, so buckle yourself in and let’s get rolling. RuneScape’s combat system has, for the most part, remained unchanged since RuneScape 2 launched in 2004. Updates over the years have attempted to bring in changes, from set effects, special attacks, and most recently absorption and health boosts, but these have been minor and unsubstantial in the overall scheme of things. Over the years, much of the older equipment has become outdated, obsolete, and as a result: Unused. So with the Evolution of Combat update, Jagex is overhauling both player equipment, abilities, and mobs to bring RuneScape’s combat system into 2012.

The combat level system has been reworked to sport a level cap of 200 over the current 138. Likewise, the mobs you find around the world have been given the same treatment, altering their combat level to more accurately portray their power. The combat level change comes with a drawback, however, as creatures that are far lower level than you (30+) will give reduced experience, or no experience at all. Thankfully this experience reduction does not transfer to slayer tasks.

Health is now wildly different than it was under the old system. HP has been exponentially increased to the point where, at later levels, your health can extend well over ten thousand. Your maximum health is now determined by a combination of constitution level, the health boost of the armor you are wearing, and any other temporary boosts offered through in-game activities. To reflect this change, food has also had a drastic makeover to dynamically alter its healing properties based on your constitution level. To keep the system balanced, however, lower level players will find that high level food scales down to offer a more appropriate healing for their level.

If you have any familiarity with MMOs, the new RuneScape system should come as a very familiar game. Abilities are activated by pressing their corresponding buttons or clicking on the ability bar/book, and encompass everything from instant damage, damage over time, area of effect, etc. The defense abilities, for instance, are dedicated to preventing and offsetting damage, while the constitution book is more based in recovering health. Regardless of your choice of combat style (Melee, Ranged, Magic), just about the same options are available for the picking, while defensive abilities are more universal.

I’m going to use the word overwhelming again to describe coming into this new update as a decently high level player. If you have ever played an MMO beta that allowed you to create a max-level character, you’ll know the feeling. Rather than enjoying the smooth ride that would have been leveling up, I instead found myself spending well over an hour comparing stats, weapon requirements, effects, etc. Perhaps it would have been better to start anew, but I had neither the time nor patience to endure RuneScape’s long grind to level.

Right now, the Evolution of Combat has a lot of work ahead of it. Currently combat is far too heavily reliant on the use of the ability bar, a change which the community has not reacted positively to. In response, Jagex has promised that future updates to the beta will put less focus on button mashing the ability bar. Additionally, a new feature which lowers the experience gained for creatures much lower level than the player’s current combat level is being tweaked, and possibly removed in a future update.