As anyone has been told many times, there are two sides to every story. From detailed accounts of major historical events, which are put into textbooks for millions of schoolchildren to read, to the desperate explanations of two guilty-looking children, there will always be a contrasting opinion to be given. This is also true in the case of our beloved Runescape.
There are many debates in Runescape - read some of the other editions of the Tip.It Times - but the one I will focus on is the debate between ‘old and new’ in the game. Most prominent directly after an update (specifically new content), this debate stalks the lands of Runescape, preying on every opinionated player. Is it good that Jagex have yet again added more content, or are they just ruining the game with another ill-thought addition to an already well-oiled money machine?
Obviously, there are no two opposing sides in this debate going as far as waging war on each other in the wilderness, but rather conflicting feelings within every player. This is human nature, as the grass is always greener on the other side. If we had no new content, we would complain that playing had become boring. If we receive new content, we complain that it takes away from the importance and prestige attached to older methods of training skills - training then becomes boring. In essence, everyone in the Runescape community is a complainer. Whether a recruit or a general, we are all part of a worldwide complaining clan.
With new updates making skills easier to train, clans easier to form, and trading easier to execute, I often find myself questioning whether Runescape has lost its character. By this I mean that it is no longer a laborious and time-consuming task to level up in most skills. 99s are commonplace now, and there are few capes in the game that are revered and respected so much as they once were. No longer do you see a crowd of people around a player with 99 prayer shouting, ‘do the emote!’ and the novelty of the completionist cape has worn off. Even on the day of release, I saw at least six players turning into airborne dragons and torching the ground below them.
Do I miss this aforementioned ‘character’ of the game? Do I miss having to forage through the forums when trying to buy or sell an item? Do I miss skills taking twice as long to level up? Do I miss being lured into the wilderness and robbed of everything I have? No. However, I do miss complaining that these faults have not been fixed, and I’m sure you can quietly admit that you hold similar feelings.
Yes, Dungeoneering was a new skill that we all expected to blow our minds, but on release day, hundreds of players were lining up at the entrance to Daemonheim like teenage girls at a Justin Bieber concert. The game must evolve if it is to keep its appeal, especially to the completionists. This means new skills, new quests, new convenient ways to improve your character - and even though we may reminisce on ‘Ye Olden Days,’ we cannot deny that our Runescape experience has drastically improved. Would we really approve if our skillcapes were no more, and all we had to show for months of hard work was two 9’s on our monitor and no pretty piece of attire that saves us screaming ‘look me up on hiscores!’ to our fellow players? I think not.
I'm not saying players shouldn't complain about these new updates ‘ruining’ the game now and again. However, if you’re constantly whining about ‘the way things used to be,’ the gruelling and relatively deprived experience of Classic is waiting with open arms.
