Menaphos was meant to be the first RuneScape expansion, big content packages dropped on players every three months introducing new mechanics, new areas, and new quest lines. By estimations, the second expansion should be on its way for a September release, however recent news has revealed that Jagex is scrapping the development style after one go. While there will be larger content packs released in the future, there won’t be a release structure similar to the planned 3 month release window.
In a post on the official RuneScape website, Jagex revealed that while the idea was sound, the development of expansions had taken an unexpectedly high amount of focus away from other aspects of the game, which suffered as a result.
For the foreseeable future, content plans include bringing back polling to gauge player feedback for updates. Additionally, the content teams will be working on updates that have been in the works for quite some time, such as the bank rework, mining and smithing updates, and invention batch 2. The team is also taking a look at other community issues such as reducing the “dailyscape” daily task grind.
Finally, the big RuneScape 2018 poll is available for players. Jagex polls the community every year and uses that information to plan the next year’s content. Check it out at the link below.
Menaphos is the first expansion to RuneScape, a series of massive updates that are set to release every three months. While the content drops on the live servers today, MMO Fallout was invited to preview some of the changes last week, and the new content looks pretty exciting. As I have mentioned in previous update teasers, it’s been a while since Menaphos was first revealed to the public: Twelve years in fact, it’s like Boyhood but with a lot less growing up and a lot more angry desert deities. The city of Menaphos was first added to the map on April 26, 2005.
But players couldn’t get in. While its sister city Sophanem became available, Menaphos immediately closed its doors to outsiders amid rumors of corrupt leadership and stayed that way, for twelve years. In that time, players have come in contact with numerous desert deities, learned new magics, and assisted in god-tier sibling rivalries. Now, the cruel Pharaoh has reopened the doors and adventurers are flooding in to see what secrets the city holds.
You may be asking at this point: How is RuneScape sixteen years old and is only releasing its first expansion now? For the better part of that time, Jagex has been releasing content updates on a weekly basis with various major updates every year to add in new skills, update the game engine, and more. Last year Jagex polled players on whether they would like to continue the current system of trickling updates out on a weekly basis or release major content packs every three months. Players chose the latter, and here we are.
Content in Menaphos is targeted towards mid to high level players, although most players will find something to do after completing the three pre-requisite quests. The city itself is divided into four areas, with access to everything from a Grand Exchange, new skilling areas, a merchant area to steal from, and more. Each of the four areas has its own reputation system, and while it is possible for the more dedicated gamer to maximize his rank in all four areas, Jagex told me during the preview that it will take some time and most players will just focus on one or two factions.
The centerpiece to Menaphos is the giant pyramid around which the city goes about its daily life. Inside that tomb you can find the Grand Library which will be comprised of stories submitted to Jagex by the player base. As massive as the library is, we were told that so many players had submitted quality stories that Jagex is having a hard time fitting them into the game!
Shifting Tombs is a randomized dungeon crawler with procedurally generated tombs and monsters. Players have a set amount of time to plunder the dungeon, gathering as much loot as possible while still making it to the end and escaping within the time limit. Personally, I’m looking forward to meeting Krondis, the alligator goddess of life and pleasure. Krondis, as with much of the rest of the city, has been corrupted and is currently hoarding the treasures for herself, but we’ll see if that can be changed.
The city is full of lush trees and vibrant colors, a rather stark contrast to the other desert areas. Every area has its own stylistic theme, from the extravagance of the imperial sector to the downtrodden workers district. A big piece of the Menaphos update is that the Slayer skill is having its level cap increased to 120 along with new content to fill in that level gap. You can check out the update details on the launch page here.
Players can also get in on a free weekend beginning on June 9th, allowing free players to enjoy all member content throughout the weekend until the 12th.
RuneScape’s first expansion Menaphos: The Golden City doesn’t come out for another month, and Jagex has revealed the first mini-game coming along with the desert city: The Shifting Tombs. Playable alone or with a group, The Shifting Tombs is a fast-paced skilling activity for mid to high level players launching alongside the expansion. Adventurers will navigate through procedurally generated catacombs with the goal of gathering as much loot as humanly possible and cleaning the corruption that has spread through the city.
Access to the tombs requires a minimum of level 50 in Agility, Construction, Crafting, Divination, Dungeoneering, Prayer, Runecrafting, Thieving, with better rates unlocked at levels 70 and 90.
RuneScape is set to shake things up with the launch of Menaphos: The Golden City of June 5th. The update takes players to the lost city of Menaphos, an area first hinted at over a decade ago and finally opened to the public. Players won’t find themselves so easily welcomed by the citizens of Menaphos, and instead must work to increase their reputation among the city and go from outsider to exalted. The update brings with it an ever-changing network of tombs to plunder, new quests, a new slayer dungeon, as well as an increased slayer level cap: 120 from 99.
“RuneScape has always been underpinned with the telling of great stories and quests, and launching RuneScape Expansions – beginning with Menaphos: The Golden City – allows us to do that in an entirely new way,” said David Osborne, Lead Designer, RuneScape. “We’re working hard to ensure this gleaming metropolis eclipses the Menaphos that’s been in the imagination of our many millions of players for more than a decade, and we can’t wait to share more details over the coming weeks before the gates open.”
Menaphos is the first piece of content to be released under RuneScape’s new content system, focusing on massive expansions every three months. You can find the new trailer on the official Youtube channel, or below on this page.
Jagex today released the latest trailer for upcoming content in RuneScape, offering the first glimpses at the city of Menaphos, a desert area that has been locked away for years. In the trailer, familiar hero Ozan discusses his feats around the world of Gielinor, stopping short at gaining entry to the city. Menaphos was first teased back in 2005 with the update releasing the neighboring city of Sophanem. As a response to rumors of plague, Menaphos was closed to outsiders.
According to the trailer, Jagex is aiming for a June 2017 release for Menaphos.
MMO Fallout 