Please note, the following considers mid-to-elite level players
All MMOs have it, they need it, otherwise they probably won’t do very well. I’m talking about the instance of danger in games. Danger is something that a game needs; otherwise it’d be, for the lack of a better phrase, extremely boring. When RuneScape first started, everything was pretty damn dangerous. It seemed like everything was out to get you and, if you died, you had 3 minutes and that was that. However, now it seems like everything has been turned on its head and that very topic is what I’d like to discuss.
Danger, nowadays (in my opinion), is largely underestimated. Of course, you’ll always have those players that overestimate the danger and pack 20 sharks, 7 prayer pots and a teleport to kill a troll or two, but generally, it’s unheard of. Just recently, whilst on a Slayer task, I had an epiphany, if you will. I noticed I had 10 Monkfish, 2 Bunyip Pouches, an Enhanced Excalibur, full Barrows Armour (excluding helmet), a Chaotic Rapier and a teleport out to kill… about 160 Abyssal Demons. But then I realised – I’d not got hit at all during the task, and that the Bunyip had pretty much done all the healing I needed. It was at that point that I realised the world of RuneScape is a lot easier now than it was. I remember once, when I was doing the Mountain Daughter quest, I brought about 15 sharks, 10 prayer pots, a teleport out and wore full Guthan’s to kill that bear boss. By the time the battle was over, I was like “What?”
So what has changed to have made me realise that? Well, it’s not hard. Look at your banks. I’m sure most of you will have a healthy supply of fishes and foods to keep you going for a long time. But then, I’m sure a lot of you will have Bunyips (or even Unicorn Stallions) as well. And then don’t forget your Saradomin Godsword, Bow, or Enhanced Excalibur (that I’m sure a lot of you have upgraded to the elite form). Lastly, just press that little button, the ‘items kept on death’ button. Yes, that’s your gravestone.
It just so happens that those 3 changes have changed the way we look at combat for ages to come. Summoning introduced healing familiars (brilliant ones at that) that are finite healing resource (just until their timer runs out) for a pretty low cost (when compared to fish prices). The Camelot Diary brought the ever-so-hated Excalibur to the hands of even the most elite players when it gained a 200 (then 400) LP healing special (which is pretty much infinite). Lastly, Gravestones rid the fear of loss of items and added additional time to those dreaded 3 minutes (which can go all the way up to 15 minutes now!). And thus, most instances of danger are taken lightly, now, mainly due to the aforementioned reasons, but needless to say, combat becomes a lot easier when you're higher levelled (that is to say, not elite. I know a person with combat level 80 who doesn’t find anything but bosses particularly dangerous).
Notice, however, I said ‘most instances of danger are taken lightly’. That’s because most Slayers just do their general tasks and that’s about it. But don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that Boss Monsters aren’t dangerous. Because they’re quite the opposite. With the addition of the feared Nex, boss monsters got a whole lot more dangerous. It’s these kinds of fights, however, that some of us pack for when doing a daily task, or such.
And thus, I bring my discussion to an end. In my opinion, yes, most of my daily Slayer/Monster killing tasks on RuneScape have become a whole lot easier (I only bring 5 monkfish with me, and even then that’s too many), but there’s always the challenge of boss fights that can, pretty much, never become safe (disregarding the Giant Mole, of course… and possibly the KBD).
