As we move through RuneScape’s 15th anniversary year one groundbreaking update after another seems to be landing. Our articles this month look towards the future but also appreciate the history of RuneScape. Our first article saw Alex reflecting on his RuneScape expertise, he’s been around since the beginning. To commemorate this he wrote his own RuneScape 15th Anniversary Quiz, you can find the answers at the bottom of this post. February saw the kickoff of Sliske’s Endgame with its first quest, Nomad’s Elegy. Colton talked about potential outcomes of this storyline and where this years series of quest can ultimately go in Nomad’s Elegy: Going Forward in Story. February also brought about this years annual GameBlast charity event at Jagex HQ. Tanis highlighted the accessibility of RuneScape and gave a few suggestions as to where accessibility could improve. Aside from being 15 years old, kicking off a new quest arc, and running a very successful charity event, Jagex gave us one more gem: the NXT Beta. For anyone who has been hiding under a rock the NXT beta is the limited preview of the upcoming game client, Mr Bistro gave us a review. Finally, I commend the latest RuneLabs criteria as being an important step to fostering diversity in RuneScape’s content and enabling Jagex to have creative discreiton over the game we all love.

February continued to surprise, with a competitive race in our Constitution Skill of The Month. Dave took the win with 10,135,736 experience gained. Sorensen57 placed second with 8.8 million experience and Pyrnassius finished third with just over 5 million experience gained. Congrats Dave, here’s your trophy:

If you have a desire to join our writing team, we are looking for at least one new individual to write about RuneScape! Please apply, here’s how:

• Write a 750 word minimum article about Jagex’s 15 Years of RuneScape (avoid news post re-hashes) or tell the readers about your favourite non-combat feature currently in game.
• Bonus points will be awarded for: pictures and other rich media, pizzazz, and a willingness to go against conventional player, community, or Jagex wisdom.
• Send the article to Myself or King Kulla on the forums
• Include your Runescape name, country, timezone, and the easiest way to contact you!

2016 is just ramping up and is bound to have plenty of surprises and shocks along the way!

Alex’s Answers:

2015: In 2015, we were presented with a real treat from the graphics team; the Player Owned House Aquarium. By fishing, you can haul in decorations, inside and out, as well as golden eggs to add your own fish. How many types of fish can you add to an Aquarium? ( 14 )

2014: In 2014, the Empty Lord made his return, bringing the most hyped over God ever into to Gielinor. Along with him gave the knowledge of the greatest threat Gielinor had coming; the return of the Elder Gods. Can you name all five Elder Gods? ( Jas, Ful, Wen, Bik, Mah )

2013: In 2013, Old School Runescape made a return from the 2007 archives, and Runescape 3’s release was officially announced. Although the interface was changed and made customizable, the gameplay itself didn’t get as dramatic a change as Runescape Classic to Runescape OS. Instead, a certain in-game event made the release more official, setting the stage for what Runescape was going to become. What was this event? ( The Battle of Lumbridge )

2012: In 2012, the Gielinor Games were released in tribute to the 2012 London Olympic Games. Players competed against… well, themselves mostly, in several fun little events that rewarded the usual EXP, emotes, and outfits. During the events, several voice-acted announcers game you “encouragement”, casually conversed, or told bad puns. How many of them were there, and can you name them all? ( 6: Mr. Mordaut, Troll, Zombie, Thok, Tentacle, and The Raptor )

2011: In 2011, the Ritual of the Mahjarrat was released. This was a very hype quest upon release, because it meant that at long last, we took on the most dangerous Mahjarrat Runescape had to offer at the time. After stealing both the Staff of Armadyl and the Stone of Jas, we could do nothing but sit and wait for some very long, tense months for him to make his move. Y’all remember his name? (Lucien)

2010: In 2010, Jagex won the Golden Joystick Awards for the second year in a row. To celebrate, we all got a neat item; a golden cracker! It was neat, because crackers in Runescape are the most expensive item ever. Still are. And we got one made of solid gold! Rich! Anyways, what can players find inside the golden cracker? (Golden Hammer)

2009: In 2009, an April Fools prank was added in-game for a while where the cabbages at the farm south of Falador all started bouncing around, and could be kicked all throughout Runescape. To award players’ persistence, Brassica Prime itself would appear if the players managed to kick one of the cabbages a considerable distance away to a certain location. Where was this? ( Oo’glog )

2008: In 2008, to help encourage FTP players to invest in membership, an in-game preview of the members-only lands became available as an in-game feature. With the aid of a certain device, players could move around Castle Wars, Priffdinas, and more. What were these devices called and where could you find them? ( Gnomecopters, Cow Field west of Lumbridge )

2007: In 2007, to combat real world traders and bots, Jagex added the Trade Limit to prevent unbalanced trades. Alongside this, something else was completely taken away, resulting in thousands of players up and leaving the game, as it was a considerably core mechanic of the game. Fortunately, 95% of those players were rule-breakers anyways, so it worked out in the end. What was removed? ( The Wilderness )

2006: In 2006, Player-Owned Houses were finally released after years of anticipation, along with a new skill to go along with it: Construction. Like Sailing, it was one of those skills that many players actively looked forward to, except it had a different name at the time. What was Construction originally going to be called? ( Carpentry )

2005: In 2005, Slayer and Farming were released. While Slayer was a more quick and sudden release, players were actually given a few weeks to prepare for Farming when it was released. What could players do to prepare for this new skill? ( Buy and steal seeds from Draynor Village )

2004: In 2004, the Runescape 2 Beta was well on the way of becoming Alpha. Since it was such a large update, players were actually given the choice of either staying with Runescape Classic or moving over to Runescape 2 by transferring their items in between. How many times were players given the option to switch? ( 3 times – once to move items to RS2, once to move items back to Classic, then once more to move to RS2 again )

2003: In 2003, May was the release of my favourite weapon in-game: the dwarven multicannon (happy birthday me!). It became, by far, the most expensive thing you could buy from an NPC store. What did it claim this title from at the time? ( Dragon Battleaxe )

2002: In 2002, magic got a make-over, where it changed from having Good and Evil spell-lists to having spells that required more than… level 12 magic. In Runescape Classic, magic had a very different mechanic to failure. What happens if you fail a magic spell in Runescape Classic? ( Cannot cast any magic spell for 20 seconds )

2001: In 2001, Runite came out near the year end after Adamantite had a good run of being the best and most expensive armor in-game. Runite was one of the first ideas that Jagex used that directly came from the players, due to the intense popularity the material suggestion had on the old forums. However, when it was first suggested by players, Runite was to have a different color other than cyan. What was its intended color at the time? ( Purple )