Category: RuneScape

The crisis in TzHaar City is about to reach breaking point. Ga’al – TzHaar born without the inherited memories of their forebears – were once merely an anomaly, but now they’re the only TzHaar being born from the eggs at the birthing pools. If this continues, the TzHaar race – as we know it – will cease to exist and TzHaar society will collapse. The TzHaar-Mej have a radical solution, but they’ll need you to return to the Elder Kiln – home of the shadowy TokHaar – to enact it.

Fight your way through some of the most complex combat challenges we’ve ever unleashed, making full use of the new system released with the Evolution of Combat, and dig deep into TzHaar lore to solve puzzles on the way. You’ll also find yourself in the middle of a clash of ideals between the TzHaar and the TokHaar, and the solutions on the table involve pain, death or both. It’s up to you – and a rogue Ga’al bearing a particularly painful grudge – to retain the fragile peace between these two ancient races.

This Grandmaster quest contains some of RuneScape’s toughest combat, and the rewards are appropriately prestigious. Along with 100,000 Mining XP, 275,000 XP in the core combat skill of your choice and a TzHaar title, you’ll earn the ability to smith and wear obsidian armour, and will gain access to an all-new solo combat area: the Fight Cauldron.

We’re kicking things off with a weekend of double drops from bosses, the Barrows, and more. A whole range of bosses and other beasties are waiting to be taken down – emerge victorious and fill your inventory with double the rewards! What’s more, the Barrows chest will also yield double the bounty. That means you could end up with two pieces of much-coveted Barrows armour!

For full details of which enemies will give you double drops this weekend, see our FAQ.

This weekend of double drop mayhem runs from Saturday 1st December 00:00 GMT until Sunday 2nd December 23:59 GMT. Don’t forget that every Winter Weekend hosts a new bonus – next week there’ll there’ll be double rewards from minigames!

If you’re after more festive fun, anyone who becomes a member in December will get the awesome Festive Aura and receive a +50% XP boost for 30 minutes a day! To grab your aura, click here and become a member today.

Taking inspiration from the TokHaar – builders of Gielinor’s mountains – this majestic armour is not only awe-inspiring in appearance, it also comes in three distinct variants. The indomitable spirit of this ancient race is captured in this collection of armour.

The Brute armour is indeed formidable; cast of obsidian and instantly imposing. Seekers of a most statuesque demeanour should run a keen eye over the Veteran armour; and those wishing to inspire feelings of utter doom in all they encounter should consider the Warlord armour.

A fine addition to any armoury, this trio of expertly forged suits is available right now from my store. Do you have any queries regarding my distinguished boutique? I’m confident you’ll find an answer in the comprehensive FAQ, found here.

This mighty new gear looks truly spectacular, and works much like Void Knight armour: the body armour can be paired with melee, range and magic-specific helms, each giving a 10% accuracy bonus in its style. It requires no less than 80 Defence to wear, and the completion of The Brink of Extinction, and its stats are suitably spectacular: equivalent to Torva armour, with additional damage reduction per piece against against creatures within the TzHaar City and its surrounding PvE minigames (the same creatures affected by the TokKul-Zo). However, you’ll take triple damage if you use it against other players, or in any other location. It also degrades, and new pieces must be made once the armour is destroyed. That said, for a run through the Fight Cave or the Fight Kiln, there’s no better gear out there.

The armour and its raw materials are untradeable, and smithing it is no small feat: you’ll need 90 Smithing to complete a full set, and the obsidian shards needed to make it can only be found in one place…

The Fight Cauldron

In the Fight Cauldron you’ll face the full might of the TokHaar, dodging lava and doing battle with everything they can throw at you: from the humble TokHaar-Hur, all the way up to indomitable TokHaar-Ket-Zek.

All enemies you defeat within the Fight Cauldron will drop obsidian shards. If you have the Smithing level necessary, these can be smelted into obsidian bars and smithed into obsidian armour.

The onslaught will continue until you choose to leave or are killed. You won’t lose any of your gear upon death, although you will expend runes if you’re using magic, and anything left on the ground – such as arrows or bolts – will be left behind.

Last, but not least, you’ll have the option to donate TokKul at a coffer near the Fight Cauldron entrance, which will give any obsidian armour a defensive buff during your next session in the Fight Cauldron.

The TokHaar live for battle, so steel yourself and step into the Fight Cauldron for all the combat you can handle, as well as all the obsidian shards you can carry!

The Book of Faces is now available to equip from within your in-game customisation interface, providing a brilliantly bookish override for your character’s head slot!

Reaching one million Facebook likes is not something that comes easily and certainly isn’t something seen very often in the games industry. As such, we’re incredibly proud of you – our community – for reaching this momentous milestone!

Liking RuneScape on Facebook is a great way to keep up-to-date with all of the latest RuneScape news, events and competitions, and to discuss the world’s greatest adventure with other players!

Until now, only those with an Attack level of 70 or higher could wield a whip. The TzHaar Whip changes that: this awesome whip can be used by members from level 1, and now that Yelps has added it to the wheel, anyone can have a crack! Like the shark fists released during Sizzling Summer, the whip can be converted between level requirement tiers from 1-60, so it’ll stay useful as you level.

The whip is a limited edition weapon, and can be won only until the end of December. No need to worry, though; between Friday and Monday there’s an increased chance of getting this unique weapon!

Yelps has another fantastic opportunity for you this weekend. Alongside an increased chance to win the newly released TzHaar Whip, you’ll have an increased chance of taking away pendants of skill related to the more aggressive combat disciplines. Pendants for Attack, Strength, Ranged and Magic are more likely to appear on the wheel, so you can boost your offense as the Evolution of Combat continues to change the combat landscape.

Your increased chance of winning the whip and pendants starts from Friday, December 7th at 00:00 GMT until Monday, December 10th at 23:59 GMT. You’ll be able to win the TzHaar Whip until Monday, December 31st , but this weekend is your best opportunity!

We’ve read through all of the questions and sent them on to the relevant teams here at Jagex. Now it’s time for the first batch of answers from Jagex’s CEO, Mark Gerhard.

The questions answered in this batch deal with matters about RuneScape and Jagex as a whole. We’ve posted the questions and answers on this forum thread, so you can discuss the answers.

Mark Gerhard’s (Mod MMG) live Q&A session will be held on this forum thread tonight, running from 8-10pm (GMT).

Remember that this is just the first batch of answers, and that other questions will be covered in different teams’ Q&A sessions.

I’d also like to emphasise how important these sessions are to us. While we’re all busy working on RuneScape and other Jagex games, we know it’s important to make time for our players to share their views and ask us questions on a whole range of areas. After all, you are the community, and we want to know what you want to know.

I’d also like to emphasise how important these sessions are to us. While we’re all busy working on RuneScape and other Jagex games, we know it’s important to make time for our players to share their views and ask us questions on a whole range of areas. After all, you are the community, and we want to know what you want to know.

Great news: We have been working with some of the largest retailers in Canada to make our Incomm pre-paid subscription cards available across the country.

The cards are available for 1- or 3-month subscriptions to RuneScape and can be purchased from Best Buy, Future Shop, and the Universities of Toronto, Capbreton and Calgary. Very soon, the cards will also be available to purchase from other major retailers.

Once you have purchased your card, you can use the PIN number on the back to subscribe to RuneScape. Click here to find out how.

These cards are also available in the United States, and they can be found in branches of Target, 7-Eleven, Wal-Mart and Rite-Aid. We are hoping to launch these convenient cards in more countries in the future, so keep an eye out for further announcements.

• If you get attacked by other players and there is no way out, don’t attack back and select the protect item prayer. You will save 1 item, unless your prayer runs out.
• Remember that Corrupt dragon equipment degrades when worn; don’t misclick.
• Always wear Jennica’s ring to improve drop rates. (Does not increase the chances of receiving Ancient Warriors’ Equipment, Corrupt dragon equipment, Ancient Artefacts, or Brawling Gloves from revenants.) A Ring of life can save you, should you get piled by pkers, as clans of 20+ using Dark bows, Dragon claws, and other high-level ‘spec weapons’ can come out of nowhere. Assuming you are just within the level 30 area of the dungeon, a Ring of life will prevent death most of the time, but be aware that mages on the standard spellbook can cast Teleport Block to prevent this.
• Ranged defence based armour like black dragonhide is very good, it is inexpensive, and helps protect against the Revenants’ ranged attack.
• Members should wear a charged amulet of glory, combat bracelet, or ring of wealth to teleport out of the cave as this jewelry allows you to teleport from up to level 30 wilderness when charged. However, this requires you to know the mages are here to kill you, and you must click your equipment slot, and by then, one of their mages in the group will have probably teleblocked you. The better but more expensive method is using the Grand Seed Pods, as damage the Player Killers do on you is negated, making them waste profit as well. However, a Grand seed pod is currently worth 10-12k, so it might not be a good idea to use it as it only contains one charge.
• A Salve Amulet (e) can be used to gain a 20% Attack and Strength bonus on revenants if the player is willing to risk not having an amulet of glory equipped, however, a combat bracelet or ring of wealth can be worn and used to teleport up to level 30 wilderness as well.
• Hanging at the bottom entrance can give you a lack of Revenants, as most seem to be in the upper level. Don’t be fooled, because being frozen for 20 seconds will probably get you killed in that time, and in the pking clans, there’s always someone that will be using Teleblock on you.
• There will be occasional high level players who will fend off the teamers and possibly kill some of them before dying.
• If there are a LOT of high level players who are killing Revenants, there can be enough to scare off a group of high levelled teamers due to the Revenant Killers range of weapons (godswords, dragon claws, barrow weapons, chaotic weapons, etc.)
• Remember that all Revenants have the same drop table, so don’t go for the higher level ones unless you can take them on. Higher level revenants will drop the rare item more often than their lower level counterparts.
• Never take items you aren’t protecting or are willing to lose, and be aware that should you get a high valued item as a drop, it may protect over some of your valuables. The cost of the item, depending on what it is though, might let you get that valuable again.

Th is strongly recommended you are of a high combat level (105+), because revenants can easily overwhelm and kill even level 100’s in a few seconds without the proper equipment. Lower levels can attempt to kill the revenants, but they must be wary of other revenants and players. The walls around the room and the ruins will be your only defence from a relentless onslaught of attacks. If meleeing, a good luring tactic is to cast a weak spell or fire an arrow and then hide behind a wall, this will draw the revenant near you without attracting the attention of any others. After it is close, you can melee it without being piled by other revenants. It is advised to bring Jennica’s ring (for better drops) and a forinthry bracelet (to make the revenants un-aggressive). Make sure that, if using a forinthry brace, you use the repel option as soon as you approach the revenant section. This will activate the special; revenants will hit 0’s only for a minute and be un-aggressive for an hour. This timer only runs when inside the dungeon and is paused if you leave the dungeon by any means (including death). The forinthry bracelet’s effect DOES NOT work in a F2P world. You can also use the single-way ability so that revenants can not pile you.

Ankous can be found in the north-western section of the dungeon. As this is level ~30 Wilderness, it is advised to go to the Sepulchre of Death in the Stronghold of Security, where there are also numerous ankous. Crumble Undead and stab attacks work very well against Ankous. Safespots for rangers and halberdiers can be found at the eastern rift, where ankous are easily trapped. However, they are aggressive and you will likely be attacked by ankous while safespotting another one. They frequently drop high amounts of blood and death runes, as well as level 3 clue scrolls. There are 8 spawns of Ankous there, and it is not recommended to kill them there as it is a multi-way combat area, and PKers can arrive and loot your Blood and Death runes for their Ancient Magicks.

Lesser demons can be found in the western/middle section, east of the ankous and west of the hellhounds. It is not recommended to fight them here, as there are safer spots, like Karamja Volcano. It is advised to bring an Accursed urn (or Infernal urn) to collect the ashes for extra Prayer experience. There is also a rift in the middle to trap the demons, but it is a multi-combat area. They can be acessed by turning left at the Hellhounds, or if coming from the level 31 area, go left and a path will split up. Take the left one to go to the Lesser demons.

Ariane’s had premonitions ever since she was a child, but lately her visions have shown her just one thing: the Wizards’ Tower – her former home and place of study – in flames. Sure enough, there are already magical creatures manifesting and attacking the wizards, and Ariane’s convinced that Archmage Sedridor’s plan to purge the tower will trigger the disaster she foresees. Ariane’s banned from entering the Wizards’ Tower, so she needs your help to open the archmage’s eyes to the truth.

On log-in, you will receive a notification (or two notifications if you are eligible for both items) in your message box and you can collect your rewards from Diango in Draynor Market Square.

If you took part in four or more Combat Beta events and – as such – are eligible for the Mad Scientist Outfit, you just need to ask Diango for any outstanding holiday items he has.

If you’re eligible to receive the XP reward from taking the Combat Academy survey in the EoC beta period, he will tell you he has an item for you, and the XP can be acquired from the dusty tome he will hand over. Simply activate the item and choose the skill in which you wish to receive the XP reward, which will be ten times as much as you’d receive for redeeming a Jack of Trades reward in that skill!

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been featuring a number of excellent community-created video guides, which show off various aspects of the new combat system. The videos cover all aspects of playing the Evolution of Combat, from acing the Combat Academy all the way up to tactics for competitive PvP and high-level boss hunting.

Start the month with membership and you’ll get your hands on the aura on December 1st. Details of how you’ll get the aura are coming soon. Join on any other day of the month and it’ll be yours the moment your membership starts!

What’s more, every Saturday and Sunday in December is a Winter Weekend, each featuring a hearty bonus for members, starting with this weekend – December 1st and 2nd – with double drops on bosses! There are five weekends in total, with members’ bonuses including double Dungeoneering XP and double minigame rewards to come. Watch this space for further updates.

December is already set to be an incredible month with the launch of our Tzhaar Grandmaster Quest: The Brink of Extinction, Player-Owned Ports, plus our awesome Xmas 2012 Stray Dog event. To grab your aura – with its 50% XP boost every day in December – click here and become a member today.

At the end of Rune Mysteries, Ariane found herself in a bit of a bind, and now she needs your help once more. You’ll fully explore the arcane ruins beneath the Wizards’ Tower and experience – through the memories of its former inhabitants – the clashes of magical ideals that led to the old tower’s downfall. Dig deep enough and put together the pieces of this ancient puzzle, and you’ll have all you need to free Ariane and avert the disaster once and for all.

Rewards for this members-only quest include a full set of magical robes to accompany the last quest’s hat, as well as access to Archmage Sedridor’s personal rune essence chest, which will grant you rune essence every time you level up in Runecrafting. This is applied retroactively if you’ve already levelled the skill, and by 99 you’ll have received a mighty 24,750 essence in total! Those of you with very high Magic, Prayer and Runecrafting will find further, hidden rewards – ask around the tower once the quest’s complete.

This mighty new gear looks truly spectacular, and works much like Void Knight armour: the body armour can be paired with melee, range and magic-specific helms, each giving a 10% accuracy bonus in its style. It requires no less than 80 Defence to wear, and the completion of The Brink of Extinction, and its stats are suitably spectacular: equivalent to Torva armour, with additional damage reduction per piece against against creatures within the TzHaar City and its surrounding PvE minigames (the same creatures affected by the TokKul-Zo). However, you’ll take triple damage if you use it against other players, or in any other location. It also degrades, and new pieces must be made once the armour is destroyed. That said, for a run through the Fight Cave or the Fight Kiln, there’s no better gear out there.

The armour and its raw materials are untradeable, and smithing it is no small feat: you’ll need 90 Smithing to complete a full set, and the obsidian shards needed to make it can only be found in one place…

The Fight Cauldron

In the Fight Cauldron you’ll face the full might of the TokHaar, dodging lava and doing battle with everything they can throw at you: from the humble TokHaar-Hur, all the way up to indomitable TokHaar-Ket-Zek.

All enemies you defeat within the Fight Cauldron will drop obsidian shards. If you have the Smithing level necessary, these can be smelted into obsidian bars and smithed into obsidian armour.

The onslaught will continue until you choose to leave or are killed. You won’t lose any of your gear upon death, although you will expend runes if you’re using magic, and anything left on the ground – such as arrows or bolts – will be left behind.

Last, but not least, you’ll have the option to donate TokKul at a coffer near the Fight Cauldron entrance, which will give any obsidian armour a defensive buff during your next session in the Fight Cauldron.

In this Grandmaster finale to the TzHaar storyline, you’ll be asked to resolve the differences between the Ga’al, TzHaar and TokHaar by using a fiery combination of wits, knowledge and the sheer, unbridled potency of the new combat system. You’ll have to fight your way through waves of vicious foes and burn through tricky puzzles, as you march forward to the ultimate goal – bringing the city back from the brink of extinction. With fantastic graphics, voiced characters and full integration with the EoC, it’s the flaming hot action we’ve all been longing for.

Huge thanks go out to everyone who’s tried the beta and offered their opinion so far. The Evolution of Combat’s come on in leaps and bounds since its beta launch in June, and that – in large part – is down to you. Some of the biggest changes we’ve made so far have been in direct response to feedback from you. Here are a few examples of the most prominent:

The new combat system’s more involved, tactical and exciting than ever before, but some of you found that long combat endeavours such as Slayer tasks had – as a result – become feats of endurance. As such, we upped auto-attack damage and introduced a new ultimate named Momentum – which further increases auto-attack damage for 20 minutes per activation – which means a lower intensity approach to combat will remain available.

The relationship between gear and your combat capabilities is one of the most profoundly altered areas of the combat system, and your feedback and gameplay data have been invaluable in balancing these aspects. A great example of this was rebalancing shields, which many of you said were overpowered.

Another big change is the introduction of adrenaline and abilities, and your input helped us not only to ensure that they worked in a fair and balanced way, but also to make the ability book interface as user-friendly and intuitive as possible.

Dungeoneering was a big point of feedback too, as increased emphasis on the combat triangle and introduction of elemental strengths and weaknesses meant that solo players among you were having a much harder time than you should. With this in mind, we relaxed the vulnerability relationships as they’re applied in Daemonheim, and brought in a new range of omnielemental staves for use by dungeon-delving wizards. There are some big changes to the binding system coming soon, too!

A fine addition to any armoury, this trio of expertly forged suits is available right now from my store. Do you have any queries regarding my distinguished boutique? I’m confident you’ll find an answer in the comprehensive FAQ, found here.

If you’ve yet to visit my establishment, why not drop in and receive 200 RuneCoins absolutely free? Remember that if you wish to purchase additional RuneCoins, you can do so here or by clicking ‘Buy RuneCoins’ inside my store. Don’t forget that I offer a 10% discount to all members.

Until next time.