Runescape: Virtual Game without the High Demands

Runescape the MMORPG

Runescape is a MMORPG game on the Internet using java code. No program to download or install. Should work in any browser including firefox and opera. My first RPG game that I played with others was tele-arena on a local Bulletin Board Service in the 80’s and 90’s but was only text based. Runescape reminds me of that game but bigger, better and with graphics. I found the game when it first started but the graphics didn’t look as good as I wanted. 2 years ago my nephew was talking about this new game he was playing and showed me the improved version of runescape. Much better graphics and animation but nothing compared to WOW or Second Life. For me that is good because I can do other things while I play. The graphics could be compared to a game called Diablo.

This is outside Lumbridge Castle in Runescape

This is outside Lumbridge Castle in Runescape

The game is free to play for everyone and does have a member section which costs $5/month. I’ve played the game for more than a year as a free member and had a lot of fun. There are three main ways of killing other players and monsters. Using a sword (melee), bow and arrow (archer) or magic (mage). There are quests to accomplish and skills to train. It’s not all about killing monsters because you can train in cooking, fishing, crafting and mining. Every skill can be trained to get better stuff which can be sold to other players who need it to go on quests, kill monsters or other players. This is the big part of why I stayed playing in this game. If I get bored doing one thing there are more things to do.

Warning before you enter the Wilderness!

Warning before you enter the Wilderness!

There is one section called the wilderness where players can kill each other. When a player dies they will lose everything they have on or carrying except the 3 most valuable items. Lot of players get gold pieces, armour and weapons from killing other players. Some will train only one of their skills like magic so they can be strong in magic at a lower level. These people are called pures. There are different levels with rules in the wilderness. Level 1 wilderness would allow players to attack other players 1 combat level above or below themselves. Level 13 wilderness would allow players to attack other players 13 levels above or below themselves and so on. This is the reason why people who pk choose to be pure so they can look weak but have hidden strong combat, archer or magic levels.

When someone kills another player they get a skull over their head to warn others as seen in the picture below. If a person with a skull gets killed they will lose everything they are carrying and wearing! One of those risks you have when pking. The good thing is that none of the quests require you to go into the wilderness. I love going on the quests and training my skills mainly.

Person Killing or Pking in Runescape

Person Killing or Pking in Runescape

As a free member you get access to a smaller world and able to do more than half of the skills available. Some of the good skills are for members only like Agility which allows you to run faster and longer, Fletching to make bows and arrows and construction to make your own house. I spent over a year as a free member and got my character to a level 60. I am now a member for 2 months which I will talk about in another post. Free players can go on over 15 quests which can be easy or very hard.

Some fun things to do in Runescape

Some fun things to do in Runescape

There are over 100 worlds to log into and the max amount of players for each world is 2000. Paying members have different worlds to log into which are less busy. When I was playing on a free world it got very frustrating mining the same rocks as other players, trying to find a good place to kill monsters or being followed and asked simple questions found on the website. I am proud getting to level 60 without having to be a member. Took a long time and frustration but it can be done. A free player gets very little space in their banks compared to a paying player. Free worlds do not have mini-games where group of people can play a small game inside the bigger game. Some of these mini games are not dangerous to your character. So if you die in a mini-game you won’t lose anything.

Leveling up in Runescape by killing monsters

Fighting creatures in Runescape

If you’re looking for a game to play with other people and won’t take over your computer then this is a good game to at least try! If you like it and want to be a member it only costs $5 a month and if you cancel you can still play the game but without the membership benefits of course. This is a big benefit to me compared to some other Pay to Play games. I could cancel my membership and still have fun training and chatting with others in the free world. You can also place a person on the friends list which will allow you to message them in any world! You can also see what world your friend is playing in so you can join them.

Runescape Related Websites with walkthroughs, tips and help: