Combat Beta, Combat Academy & XP Reward: Open to All

Combat Academy & Open Beta for All

Those of you playing the Evolution of Combat Beta can now access the Combat Academy: a great way to pick up on the finer points of the new combat system.

Veteran adventurer Lady Deathknell has set up shop in Lumbridge, with her Combat Academy replacing the old melee, magic and ranged training dummies. She has a class full of wide-eyed rookies to beat into shape and she needs a hardy volunteer to help out.

Act as Lady Deathknell’s assistant and you’ll be put through your paces in a set of fully voiced combat trials. You’ll cover everything from basic attacks and the relationship between the styles of combat, right up to more advanced techniques such as damage-over-time effects, exploiting enemy weaknesses and ultimate abilities.

Outside of the training, there’ll also be the opportunity to deploy training dummies – with defensive strengths or weaknesses of your choice – which can be used to test out your latest gear loadout or ability bar setup.

Make it through Deathknell’s rigorous regimen of training in the beta and you’ll have the opportunity to take part in a short survey. With this, we’ll fine-tune the new tutorial to give everyone the know-how they need to become all-conquering combatants. Complete this and you’ll be sent a tasty XP reward in the live game (equivalent to 10 times the XP you’d get from a Jack of Trades aura) on the week commencing with the 19th of November 2012.

Whether you’re daisy-fresh from the Troll Warzone or a grizzled veteran of a thousand battles, we want your feedback on the Combat Academy. The beta is now open to everyone, so log in and enlist now!

Evolution of Combat: Mod Mark’s Big Five!

Watch on for details of Mod Mark’s five favourite Evolution of Combat features:

Make X Interface

Also going into the beta this week is our new Make X Production Interface. This awesome new set of tools streamlines skilling like never before: it displays details of all items that can be made in all skills, gives vital information on skill requirements, components needed, and both Grand Exchange and Alchemy value for however many you’re making, and it does this in one tidy interface. You’ll be able to make Evolution of Combat-specific gear too, so take a look and be sure to let us know what you think!

Tears of Guthix: Go with the Flow

 

Tears of Guthix: Go with the Flow

If you’ve never tried Tears of Guthix before, it’s a cool D&D located under Lumbridge which – after completing the short Tears of Guthix quest – can be played up to once a week for a handy XP boost to your lowest-levelled skill. It’s steeped in RuneScape lore too, as you’ll tell stories of your adventures to Juna – a serpentine servant of Guthix – in exchange for a short time catching the XP-giving tears.

The first thing veterans among you will notice is the full graphical rework. Juna, now super-sized and draped across the entrance to the tears alcove, makes for an imposing sight as she unravels the skeins of your fate. The tears themselves now make for a stunning cascade down the beautifully re-rendered walls, and the light creatures shimmer eerily as you make your way through the cave.

We’ve multiplied XP gain in the cave by three times, bringing it in line with equivalent areas of gameplay. The biggest boost comes to high-level players, though. Those of you with 80 Crafting and Mining can make an ornate and extra-large bowl for up to five times the XP gain you’d have got before the update.

We’ve made some technical tweaks so that switching between the streams of tears is quicker and feels more responsive. We’ve also updated the Games Necklace so it can be used to teleport directly to Juna’s cave. The new interface we’ve built for it includes keyboard shortcuts so, it’s quicker and easier to use than ever.

Whether it’s your first time collecting the tears, it’s a cozy part of your weekly routine, or you’ve been waiting for a reason get back into the flow, it’s the best time ever to drink deeply from the Tears of Guthix.

Mod Wilson


How to start Tears of Guthix:

  • First, you must complete the Tears of Guthix quest, which has the following requirements:
    • 44 Quest Points
    • 20 Crafting
    • 49 Firemaking
    • 20 Mining
  • You may then complete the D&D once per week, but you also need to have obtained at least one of the following since you last collected the tears:
    • 1 Quest Point
    • 100,000 XP. This can be shared across any number of skills.

Other requirements:

In order to craft the improved bowl, you must have at least the following. You will then be able to talk to Juna to begin the process of making the bowl:

  • 80 Crafting
  • 80 Mining

Behind the Scenes Video

If you haven’t already, you can take a whistle-stop tour of the Tears of Guthix content in our latest Behind the Scenes video:

In Other News

  • We’ve fixed a bug where near-maxed level players were not receiving Dungeoneering XP from Tears of Guthix, when they should have.
  • Solomon’s Store is now stocking Dragon Keepsake Keys. One of these handy objects will allow you to convert any wearable item into a cosmetic re-skin for your gear, so you can truck down into the QBD’s lair with your p-hat proudly on display. Log into Solomon’s General Store to treat yourself, or check out our FAQ if you have any questions.
  • Yelps has introduced D&D Tokens onto the Squeal of Fortune. Fancy an extra go per week on Tears of Guthix? Check out our FAQ for more details!