Tanis

On June 5 we finally had the opportunity to experience the golden city of Menaphos. Jagex’s first expansion was, by most accounts, a success. The city is visually stunning and it offers a range of content mostly centered on mid-level players. There are things for the high level players as well, most notably the 120 Slayer Expansion. That’s what I’ll be looking at this month. It’s a momentous occasion for Jagex marking the first time they have expanded an existing skill to 120. Slayer is the first, but may not be the last, existing skill to be expanded to 120. That’s why as players we should take a realistic assessment of the 120 Slayer Expansion in order to provide constructive feedback to Jagex and assure we get the best product possible. Now it’s time to fill you in on all the new content that came with the Slayer Expansion.

Jagex added twelve new slayer mobs, a new slayer dungeon, and a new slayer boss that is slated to come out the first week of July. By far the most exciting part of the expansion has been the new player owned slayer dungeon (POSD) and slayer codex. Both the POSD and the slayer codex were complete surprises to the players on the day of release. However, before we get too carried away, let’s look at the new mobs first. The new creatures come in two varieties: corrupted creatures and soul devours also known as akh. The corrupted creatures begin at slayer level 88 with corrupted scorpions and end with corrupted workers at slayer level 103. There are also corrupted scarabs, lizards, dust devils and kalphites as well. The second group of new slayer creatures are known as soul devours or akhs and they begin with salawa akhs at slayer lever 105 and end with imperial guards at slayer level 117. Also included in this set are feline, scarabs, gorilla, and crocodile akhs. All of the new slayer creatures can be found in the Sophanem Slayer Dungeon and you must have a Feather of Ma’at to kill them.

The Sophanem Slayer Dungeon has also brought new loot mechanics into the game. At the entrance of the dungeon there is a loot chest. This chest will fill up with drops as you kill creatures in the dungeon. It has a maximum of thirty spaces and rare drops like the corrupted gem and keys of the crossing will drop on the floor with a loot beam. It’s important to note that this auto loot system can be turned off resulting in a 20% chance of a double drop. The dungeon is the home of the new slayer boss called the Magistrate. This boss was supposed to be out two weeks after Menaphos’ release however Jagex has elected to hold it back until July for some more fine tuning. The boss requires 115 slayer to fight and a Key of the Crossing. Keys are obtained as drops in the Sophanem Slayer Dungeon or bought on the Grand Exchange. This is the same mechanic as is in the Legions Dungeon and helps make the entire dungeon an eco-system of sorts.

Now it’s time for what everyone has been waiting for the surprise of the expansion, our very own slayer dungeons. In the south west part of the port district in Menaphos you can find Port Master Kag. You can use him to travel to the sunken pyramid. This is your slayer dungeon. Once inside, click on the chest and speak to the NPC. It tells you that you can become a slayer master by collecting 143 souls of slayer creatures you’ve faced throughout your journey. You must be level 99 slayer to begin filling up your codex. In order to catch souls you must use an ushabti container to catch the soul in. These cost 20 slayer points apiece but you will receive a number of them for free depending on your slayer level. The dungeon has two smaller rooms and one larger room. Some monsters can only be placed in large rooms and vice versa so make sure you know where you want to put what monsters and check this ahead of time. In order to place a monster just catch its soul in the ushabti container and go into build mode at the sunken pyramid and place it on a hotspot. That’s the nuts and bolts of the 120 Slayer Expansion, now let’s take a look at what Jagex got right.

First of all, the new slayer dungeon and new slayer creatures look amazing. Jagex has continued to produce high quality graphical content that seems to only be getting better. The NXT client has definitely unshackled Jagex and I couldn’t be happier with the way things are looking. The dungeon is also well thought out and I like the new loot mechanics. The dungeon brings together mechanics like those that are found in the legions dungeon which have worked so well and elaborated on them by utilizing the Feathers of Ma’at which can be obtained by NPC or shifting tombs. The loot is good but not economy threatening and the experience is right on the money for these level creatures. The mobs themselves are more difficult as their levels increase but they are unmistakably slayer creatures, something I wasn’t sure they would pull off after in a previous update getting mammoths camel warriors and ripper demons which were really mini bosses. The player owned slayer dungeon is the jewel in the crown of the expansion. I love the way we can customize our slayer skill with our dungeon and it’s nice to see we can get customization from more than just a toggle. What the POSD has done to alleviate overcrowding at slayer mobs on the surface world has been immediate and dramatic. I’m also a big fan of how they were able to keep it a surprise. It really gave me a sense of discovery and awe that I haven’t experienced since the release of Prifddinas. Unfortunately as good as it is there is always room for improvement and that’s what I want to address now.

Let’s deal with the gorilla in the room first. The slayer codex left a lot on the table and has so much potential it’s hard to believe there isn’t much in it as a tangible reward. Like many players, after talking to the NPC in the sunken pyramid I thought we would become slayer masters after completing the codex and be able to assign ourselves tasks. This has since turned out to not be the case. Even if it had only been a daily task it would’ve been better than nothing. No task, no title, nothing but a teleport and a small xp boost on the new slayer helmet. Filling out that codex is a big commitment of time and can be tedious with its rng nature. There should have been something more with its completion. The POSD is so good but it could have been just a little bigger. Maybe even unlocking more rooms as you fill up your codex, etc. The new creatures are exactly what I wanted with this expansion but twelve creatures for a twenty one level increase is not quite enough. I hate to say it but we just need a little more. The content is great we just need a little more of it. I would also like to see content added in the future that fills out 120 slayer even further utilizing the entire map of Geilinor as well.

There you have it, 120 Slayer. It’s a good expansion and I think it’s definitely put us on the road to more 120 skill expansions. Everything with just a few small exceptions is good. The content is solid I only wish there was just a little more but all and all good job Jagex. Until next time, Happy RuneScaping