Mo-bility, Mo-players

posted by on 17th June 2021, at 6:00am | Discuss Article

Jagex is hoping to tap into the mobile gaming market with the release of RS3 mobile. They are hoping to bring in new players and give the chance for current players a new way of playing but will it only attract players who have already been playing?

The mobile based tutorial should help with getting new players to keep playing the game. This tutorial is based in Davendale and will walk users through using mobile and playing the game. The city is being attacked by trolls and the player must help the mayor defend it. The tutorial gives the player an option to either help fight the trolls or to gather supplies for the fight.

The ability for the player to choose is something that I really like in this tutorial because different people have different play styles and like to do different things. Once the player fends off the troll invasion they will be dropped off in Burthorpe. In Burthorpe they will get more of a tutorial on things like using abilities in combat or some of the other skills not used in the tutorial but they can also just start playing like normal if they would like.

I was one of the lucky 10,000 or so who was able to get entry into the RS3 mobile beta on iOS. It was a struggle waking up at 4 A.M. multiple times to try to get in but I finally did. Since the beta came out I think I ended up playing more on mobile than I did on my computer. During this time I was able to get 120 Archaeology, 120 Firemaking, 120 Fishing, 120 Agility and make hundreds of millions of GP doing Divination while on mobile. My favorite part of the beta experience was the convenience of being able to gain XP anywhere. Most nights I would watch some Netflix and play mobile before falling asleep, it became part of my routine and I have been lost since the beta ended on what to do.

RuneScape Mobile Top Level UI
The HUD has been tweaked from what beta users last saw, as the mini-map was moved back to the top right after a lot of negative feedback when it was moved to the bottom right. The inventory will be along the right side of the device and you will be able to have both the map and inventory open at once if you want. The map can not be shown at all if you want more room for your inventory. Along the right there are other options you can open up, including prayers, spells, and abilities.

In the top left corner you get the menu, the store, chat box and the objectives. The menu is where you can find quests, daily challenges, settings and more. The store lets you buy membership, bonds or keys. Membership on mobile will work a little bit differently as they are offering the usual 12 months, 6 months, 3 months, 1 month option but they added in 7 days, 3 days and 1 day of membership. This will allow new users to try out membership for a week or less to see if they really like it before investing money for a year if they do not plan on playing for a year.

The health points and adrenaline will be at the bottom of your screen along with one ability bar that uses revolution while in combat. You have an option to open a second ability bar that gives buttons you can hit to queue up an ability or use one. There are 5 buttons in each of the two bottom corners.

RuneScape Mobile Combat UI
The app runs well assuming you are not in a highly populated area, like world 84 portables. The only time the game ever crashed for me was when I logged into w84 and teleported to Lumbridge. I never had any issues on an iPhone X or an iPhone 12 when not on world 84. The only issue with the mobile app is how much it drains your battery. When I was on the beta I would switch off between my iPad and my phone and have the other one charging if I was playing. The phone would like 3-4 hours of playtime and the iPad 4-5 hours. Considering how much you can do on the app it is a trade off I am willing to take.

I think there will be a decent amount of people who played as a kid who will see RuneScape in the app store or google play store and download it. The memories of killing cows in Lumbridge or mining in Varrock for money will get people in the door and the tutorial and gameplay will keep the players playing.

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