Well, the end of the year came with a bit of an early new years resolution. Jagex practically, in some people’s eyes, “ruined” the wilderness by preventing people from PKing each other directly, confining such PKing methods to a large, single space and transforming it into a completely restricted, hardly worthwhile event. Good for clan wars, I suppose, but it still did somewhat get rid of a number of those reliant on the basis of PKing.

But come now. Was it really Jagex’s fault this had to happen? Of course not! It was the players that caused this. The players, and their greed for quick and easy Runescape money. Autoers, macroers, bots, and real-life traders made getting rich in Runescape as simple as spending a few bucks in an attempt to make themselves rich in the process. Why should they make money off of something not only virtual and intentionally unprofitable except for Jagex themselves, but also for cheating at the game and causing a great inconvenience to those who play fair? And is it fair to Jagex that they must get pointed the blame for faulty deals and stolen credit card numbers? Goodness sakes, we should be grateful to them they have provided such an incredible gaming experience in the first place! People are cheating, and all hands point to Jagex!

So what better way to prove they just won’t take it any longer then by completely eliminating any possible means for players to exchange high-valued items freely? If Jagex were OK with all of this, they never would have made such an update. Sure, they killed the wilderness, and sure they killed a number of other trade-related activities, and I’m sure a number of players have over-reacted to such a change.

But hey, it’s not like this has never happened before.

And no, I’m not talking about pest control.

Folks, let me tell you a little story as to how Runescape USED to function.

Before real-world trading and whatnot, it used to be that people could PK anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE. The streets of Varrock, the forests of Draynor, the town of Rimmington … ANYWHERE … save for Lumbridge castle; the one and only safe-spot for those who had “set” themselves to PK.

It was quite a simple set-up. Each character had 2 chances to change their status from PK to non-PK. If one set himself to PK, then others who too had this status set could be attacked by him, or vice versa. The Lumbridge cabbage fields became a graveyard, as desperate players tried to grab at the cabbages and heal themselves before getting attacked again. Combat levels didn’t matter – a level 100 could take on a level 3. Also, there were no banks at the time save for storing money, so you couldn’t keep your items safe! The only real way you were safe outside Lumbridge is if you were in the vicinity of a guard NPC, who attacked anyone who clicked on you, stopping them from attacking and threatening their own lives. They were more useful at the time as protectors, but now they are training dummies, and nothing more.

It was quite fun, actually. I still had one switch remaining on Alex 43 to set him to PK, but I never used it. Struggling to stay alive and get to Varrock with even an iron sword was a challenge in itself, so I decided to let myself train a bit, and then have at everyone. Unfortunately, with the introduction of the wilderness, this was restricted quite a bit, but with the introduction to a huge new area, a trainload of new monsters, and the opportunity for everyone to get into the action, there wasn’t a complaint to be heard from anyone.

Consider the situation. Jagex restricted PKing to a certain, smaller area. If they made single-way and multi-way wilderness Bounty Hunting areas, then it would simply have become a miniature wilderness. That’s what people want, after all, is to face off, one on one, or clan VS clan super-wars.

Perhaps Jagex had restricted the wilderness a tad too much, but again, they wanted to show everyone that they will not stand for rule-breaking. I saw it as sort of a display of power, to give us all the impression that should a number of us break the rules, it’s everyone else that suffers for it. Simply enough, we all have to realize this and spread it around, preventing it altogether and thereby, learning our lesson from the matter.

The majority of those who quit were the ones reliant of the aspect, and the rest were feebly trying to punish Jagex for this crucial decision (like THAT’S gonna work …). For goodness sakes, everyone, Runescape isn’t all about PKing or merchanting! It’s all about clan events, quests, challenging yourself, and exploration! Put on some armor, pick a quest, and go do it! Get a slayer assignment, restock the coffers at Miscellania, grab a clue scroll, and just have fun playing the game! It is Jagex’s resolution, and I may quote: To become the first MMORPG to ever take such a stand against real-world trading.

That’s my analysis. I’ve said all I could say on the subject, so the rest is up to you. Plus, we all know Jagex. Without a doubt they will add and fix a few things to slowly loosen their grip against real-world trading, and ultimately perish it away.

Anyways, that’s only ONE of their resolutions. Let’s look at all the other, interesting things going on as well.

– Summoning’s coming out in the near future, and with it, a new method of combat!
– The Red Axe is beginning to make a movement …
– The goblins’ Chosen Commander prophecy is taking motion …
– Something big is stirring in Morytania …
– Zamorak’s coming! Prepare yourself …
– New rooms in our houses, new potions, weapons, foods, armor …
– Will we finally get to see the great, fabled dragon plate?
– The Elemental workshop is opening up – we’re looking at super-improved magical armors: air, water, earth, fire, chaos, body, cosmic armor! Maybe even a soul plate or astral leggings?
– More interactivity between players – multi-player quests and co-op mini-games are coming as well!
– Seriously, who’s to doubt that Jagex are not going to do more plaer-related things on their side then just the Players Gallery and Postbag from the Hedge?
– Are the rumors of a brand new MMORPG called “Mechscape” real? Only one way to find out …
Of course, none of these are guaranteed, but the potential and possibility for their future existence is there and something to look forward to!

Just keep playing Runescape as though nothing happened. Chances are, that’s really what happened to it.